But at that moment, among the two demonic cultivators who hadn't moved, a bald, large man suddenly spoke up. "Fellow Daoist, you said you were looking for friends. Are you planning to regroup with others?"
Hearing this, Li Yan's heart stirred. "Here it comes!"
Among the information they had gathered earlier, they had discovered that some demonic cultivators in the town seemed to be reorganizing into new squads. These squads often consisted of only a few people. The five of them had discussed the reason for this but hadn't come up with a good answer.
If this place was a gathering point for a major army attack, then all cultivators would be assigned to squads. There would be no need to form new ones.
Before they figured it out, this piece of information had been ignored by the others. But Li Yan felt he could give it a try, which was why his words had been ambiguous.
He turned his head and shot a sidelong glance at the bald man. "I was originally hoping to find some familiar faces to form a team and make preparations early, but I haven't been able to find them. The town is crowded, and bringing these human cultivators along is not only unhelpful but also a hindrance in some places."
The words Li Yan had just spoken were all part of a trap based on his speculation, but he wasn't very confident. If it didn't work, he would try another excuse.
But given the cold attitude of the demonic cultivators in the courtyard, Li Yan felt the most likely outcome was that they would have to temporarily withdraw.
Later, Li Yan thought he could quietly use the "Stealthy Night Art" to sneak back into the courtyard alone and see if he could make contact with the Luoshu Lake disciple to formulate a further plan.
As for how to lure out the demonic cultivator holding the restriction token so the five of them could ambush him, the difficulty would be much greater.
Zhouyang Town was now teeming with cultivators. It might even be impossible to find a place for an ambush. So, the subsequent series of plans would be very difficult to implement, but they could only take it one step at a time. The changes here were too great and had caught them off guard.
It was only when the bald demonic cultivator spoke that Li Yan rejoiced inwardly. This person was the sole demonic cultivator leader of the Clear Spirit Sect team that Bai Rou had discovered while they were hiding on the mountain.
Though Li Yan was happy, his face remained impassive. Instead, he looked the bald demonic cultivator up and down a few times without immediately speaking.
"Fellow Daoist, my name is Jiao Hua. My squad went out on a mission the day before yesterday and also encountered a fierce battle. Although we killed the entire enemy squad, we also suffered nearly half casualties.
"The human cultivators are despicable and shameless. Two of them ganged up on my squad's vice-captain. When they couldn't win, they both chose to self-detonate, killing the vice-captain on the spot." As he spoke, a ferocious look appeared on the bald man's face.
"But in the end, I didn't let their surviving cultivators off easy. I sealed their cultivation, lined them up so they could all see each other.
"Then I slowly disemboweled them one by one, dragging their intestines on the ground until they died slowly in agony after wailing and screaming for a long time. Hehehe..."
As he spoke, the patterns on the bald man's face trembled violently, and he looked exceptionally excited.
Hearing this, the other three demonic cultivators also burst into laughter, and even began discussing how they had tortured and killed human cultivators in the past.
Li Yan, however, remained indifferent. He directly interrupted the four demonic cultivators' excited chatter and cupped his fist. "I am Li Yan. Fellow Daoist Jiao, do you mean for our two teams to combine?"
As Li Yan spoke, he clearly felt that among the four people behind him, except for Sun Guoshu, the other three were trembling slightly, their auras somewhat unstable.
Li Yan knew they weren't trembling out of fear from hearing about the torture methods, but out of extreme anger.
Before Jiao Hua could answer, the short, sturdy demonic cultivator suddenly shouted in a cold, deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Li, it seems your subordinates are somewhat dissatisfied."
This demonic cultivator was the strongest of the four, so his senses were the sharpest. He immediately noticed the abnormality. As soon as he spoke, the eyes of everyone in the courtyard fell on Bai Rou and the other three.
Sun Guoshu felt as if he were being stared at by a pack of vicious wolves and couldn't help but curse inwardly. "Why are these masters from the Malevolent Spirit Sect so impatient? Are they going to make a move now?"
But when he thought about the consequences of making a move here, which was almost certain death, a sense of unwillingness rose in Sun Guoshu's heart.
At that moment, Li Yan's voice rang out again. "So what if they're dissatisfied? If I didn't need people, I could make them die right now. It's just a matter of a single thought. Besides, your people are no better, are they?"
With that, Li Yan glanced sideways at the South Sea cultivators on guard in the courtyard. Some of them still had looks of shame and pity on their faces. It seemed they, too, had participated in such torture.
The four demonic cultivators, whose gazes had been as sharp as knives, heard Li Yan's words, snorted heavily at the cultivators in the courtyard, and then stopped looking at Bai Rou's group.
They certainly knew that these South Sea cultivators who were under restrictions truly hated them to the bone. But the restriction tokens that controlled their lives were in their hands.
It was just as this Li Yan had said: if they wanted them to die, it was just a matter of a single thought. No matter how unwilling they were, didn't they still have to obey every order?
Jiao Hua withdrew his gaze and then said to Li Yan, "I have just that intention. Time is tight now, and Fellow Daoist Li's friends may not have even arrived at Zhouyang Town. How about we combine into one team?"
The demonic cultivators here all knew that their numbers, having broken through the two-realm passage from the South Sea, were limited. If they had no one under their command, they might have to be the ones to charge in the first wave.
Although demonic cultivators were fierce, no one wanted to die so easily. If they could control the South Sea cultivators to deplete the enemy's strength, why wouldn't they?
Furthermore, if they were to die unexpectedly in a major battle, these South Sea cultivators under their command would definitely take the opportunity to escape. Therefore, squads like theirs, with only one demonic cultivator left, all hoped to regroup. That way, even if they died, the restriction tokens on them would still be effective.
Perhaps if this Li Yan were to die, and they got the restriction token from him, the four people under his command would belong to them. And among those four were two Pseudo-Core Realm cultivators.
After hearing Jiao Hua's words, Li Yan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced around the courtyard and then said, "Fellow Daoist Jiao's proposal is indeed a good suggestion for the current situation. But which of these people are yours?"
As soon as Li Yan said this, an embarrassed look appeared on Jiao Hua's face. He currently had six people under him, but the highest cultivation among them was only two at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. The rest were all at the Initial-stage Foundation Establishment.
Although they seemed to have more people than Li Yan's group, their combat power was inferior. Even his own cultivation couldn't compare to this Li Yan before him.
He understood what Li Yan meant. He clearly wanted to see the strength of his side, fearing that he would drag down their overall strength.
At this time, among the other three demonic cultivators, the short, sturdy one and another were from the same team, and their squad had just arrived and hadn't suffered any losses yet.
At the same time, even if they could pull Li Yan's squad in to strengthen their forces, if a squad had too many demonic cultivator leaders, the distribution of command would also be a problem.
So, the short, sturdy demonic cultivator and his vice-captain just chuckled and crossed their arms to watch the show.
Now, apart from Jiao Hua, the remaining gloomy-faced demonic cultivator glanced at Li Yan and then said slowly, "My squad also has two Pseudo-Core Realm cultivators. It's just that I have a few more people than you: two at Late-stage Foundation Establishment, and five at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
"If we reorganize our squads, we should be able to form a stronger fighting force. But the position of captain must be held by me. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Li?"
This demonic cultivator's squad, whether in terms of numbers or cultivation, was far superior to Bai Rou's group overall. Of course, this was without them knowing that Bai Rou had strength comparable to a Pseudo-Core Realm cultivator.
After hearing this, Li Yan shot a sidelong glance at the gloomy demonic cultivator, then turned his gaze back to Jiao Hua. "Fellow Daoist Jiao, what do you say?"
After being directly ignored by Li Yan, the gloomy demonic cultivator's face turned even darker. He snorted heavily through his nose, then turned and walked toward one of the rooms.
Although his squad was stronger than Li Yan's, his own strength was only equivalent to a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, a considerable gap from the Pseudo-Core Realm that Li Yan was displaying.
But to have him hand over so many of his men for Li Yan to command, he was certainly unwilling. So his words just now were also a probe.
"Hehehe, I have six cultivators under me. How can my cultivation compare to Fellow Daoist Li's? The position of captain will naturally be held by Fellow Daoist Li."
Jiao Hua reached up and rubbed his bald head, chuckling. His thoughts were completely different from the gloomy demonic cultivator's. Don't be fooled by his crude appearance; he was actually very cunning.
In his words, he only said to let Li Yan be the captain, but he didn't say he would be the vice-captain. When the time came and all his subordinates were dead, if Li Yan tried to command him, he certainly wouldn't listen.
The highest cultivation among his six subordinates was only two at Late-stage Foundation Establishment. In a fight with the enemy, it was very likely they would be depleted at the fastest speed.
But if they combined with Li Yan's five subordinates, their combat power would surely multiply, and they should be able to hold out for a much longer time. This way, he himself could hide behind and have much more time to ensure his own safety.
After hearing this, Li Yan did indeed nod. "Then Fellow Daoist Jiao should also bring your people out to meet. After we get to know each other, we can make further arrangements for combining our forces. What do you think?"
At the same time, Li Yan was overjoyed. He couldn't believe how smoothly things were progressing. This was what you call luck.
"Oh, of course. My men are all injured. Thanks to Fellow Daoist Wen's kindness, they were spared guard duty and are all resting in two rooms."
Jiao Hua was delighted when he heard Li Yan agree. As he spoke, he even cupped his hands toward the short, sturdy demonic cultivator on the side. The short, sturdy demonic cultivator just waved his hand and didn't say anything, but he also didn't leave immediately with the other demonic cultivator.
"The few of you, come out. Come and pay your respects to Captain Li," Jiao Hua then turned and shouted at the house behind him.
At this time, Bai Rou and the others behind Li Yan also raised their heads and looked at the house opposite them. They hadn't said a word since entering the courtyard.
Of course, the reason for their silence was also due to their current identity. If they had transformed into foreign cultivators, they might have had the right to speak with the demonic cultivators.
Their feelings were somewhat complicated, from the initial tension of barging in with Li Yan, to the confusion of not knowing his plan, to the anger after hearing the demonic cultivator's words, and finally to the turn of events.
In the end, they just watched as Li Yan completed the plan to approach the target step by step. The whole process seemed so smooth, even easy.
Only now did they realize that they had overlooked a seemingly irrelevant piece of information just now, which Li Yan had keenly grasped. However, without knowing the reason for this information, if they had made one wrong move, they might have already been exposed.