Jiao Hua was already in a semi-conscious state from the pain. Hearing Li Yan's words, he immediately became a little more lucid, and his hatred surged like a tide. Of course, he now hoped that Li Yan would take his Demonic Core and let him die.
Li Yan, however, paid him no more mind and started walking toward the door. He wanted to leave Jiao Hua behind to let the demonic cultivators know the bloody nature of the cultivators of the Desolate Moon Continent.
However, even if Jiao Hua was discovered later, he wouldn't live for long. Li Yan never left loose ends.
He had just infused a potent poison into both Jiao Hua's soul and Demonic Core. By the time he was discovered, the poison would have long since seeped in and fused. Even if a Nascent Soul expert were to intervene, the chances of survival were slim, not to mention that someone of Jiao Hua's status would find it difficult to even meet a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Taking a step back, even if someone did try to save him, if they failed to discover the hidden poison in his soul and Demonic Core, and since Jiao Hua's physical body had been completely destroyed by Li Yan, leaving him paralyzed, his only choice would be Body Seizure.
But if it really came to that, JIO Hua's soul would discover that he was growing weaker and weaker, until he became nourishment for another's soul.
Moreover, the poison in his Demonic Core would spread, continuously destroying the body he was trying to seize, causing Jiao Hua to despair, break down, and die in boundless terror.
This would cause a psychological ripple among some of the demonic cultivators. Even if it was just a small ripple, Li Yan's goal would have been achieved.
Li Yan didn't expend much effort to open the sound and sense-isolating restriction set up by Jiao Hua. His cultivation was already higher than Jiao Hua's, not to mention that the spirit power refined by the True Scripture of Gui Water far surpassed that of his peers.
After leaving the room, Li Yan set up a few more restrictions with a backhand motion. He did his best to ensure that no one would discover why Jiao Hua was not leaving his room until the next day.
After doing all this, Li Yan finally looked out into the courtyard. It was now midnight. Apart from a few cultivators on guard duty who were sitting cross-legged in the four corners of the courtyard, there were no other cultivators in sight.
With a sweep of his divine sense, Li Yan found that Bai Rou and the other three were in one of the rooms, and an isolation restriction had been placed outside the room. This restriction should have been set up by Hu Xiaowang or Yan Feijun. Li Yan couldn't easily penetrate it with his divine sense, but he could roughly sense the situation inside the room.
Then, with another sweep of his divine sense, Li Yan discovered the Luoshu Lake disciple was in another room with the other five. The protective restriction on that house was much simpler. Li Yan could eavesdrop on the five of them without any effort.
The Clear Spirit Sect disciples had given the other room to Bai Rou and her group.
The three demonic cultivators in the other rooms had already entered meditation. They had sensed Li Yan's appearance, but after a brief scan with their divine sense, there was no further movement.
After scouting all this, Li Yan finally felt at ease. At least for now, everything was normal.
Li Yan then walked directly toward the room where Bai Rou and the other three were. The few guards in the courtyard just glanced at him, and seeing that Jiao Hua's room was quiet, they closed their eyes again.
When Li Yan walked up to the door without any attempt at concealment, the door was already opened from the inside. Li Yan stepped in, and then saw Hu Xiaowang wave his hand again. As the door closed, the isolation restriction was activated once more.
"How did it go, Junior Brother Li?" The moment the restriction was activated, Hu Xiaowang asked in a low voice. The other three also had looks of hope on their faces.
"Hehehe, the restriction token is in my hands." Li Yan didn't want to delay any longer. He slapped his storage pouch, and two crimson iron blocks appeared in his hand.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the four, Li Yan formed a seal with his hand and then pointed. The faces of the six people appeared on the two crimson iron blocks, rotating like a revolving lantern.
"Junior Brother Li, you really got the restriction token! How did you do it?"
"Junior Brother Li, what about that demonic cultivator named Jiao Hua?"
Seeing Li Yan directly take out the restriction token, the group was first overjoyed, then their faces filled with astonishment. Li Yan had only been gone for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn. They had just been discussing how to coordinate with Li Yan's actions later.
They had thought Li Yan had gone to gather more information about Jiao Hua and would only be able to act after returning. But now, to everyone's surprise, they saw Li Yan bring back the restriction token.
This result was simply unbelievable. No one knew what means Li Yan had used. Although they had been discussing their subsequent plans here, their attention had been constantly on Li Yan's side, fearing that a battle would break out at any moment.
Li Yan, however, just waved his hand. "Jiao Hua is no longer a threat. We'll talk about him later. Time is tight now, I can't explain in detail. What did you find out about the two 'inside agents'?"
Hearing this, although they had many questions, they all felt that Li Yan was right. Every extra breath they spent here could lead to an accident.
The gazes of Hu Xiaowang and the other two turned to Bai Rou. It was Bai Rou who had made the final contact with the "inside agent," because only Li Yan and Bai Rou knew the most about the inside story.
At this moment, although Bai Rou still had the appearance of a middle-aged woman, a trace of agility would occasionally flash in her eyes. She tidied the hair at her temples.
"This person is basically confirmed to be one of the targets we're looking for, named Yu Yuanjun. Although I didn't have your token just now, when I mentioned his sect's situation, his reaction showed he was seventy to eighty percent convinced. Although he didn't admit it verbally, he didn't deny it either.
"As for the other target, he died six days ago during a mission. After being seriously injured by a cultivator from Windy Cool Mountain, Jiao Hua activated the restriction token, causing that disciple to lose his mind and self-detonate his physical body, taking the Windy Cool Mountain cultivator with him."
There were several points in Bai Rou's words that only Li Yan could understand, such as mentioning the other's "sect," which referred to Luoshu Lake and not the Clear Spirit Sect.
But as soon as Bai Rou's voice fell, Yan Feijun's regretful voice was heard. "As an inside agent, the Windy Cool Mountain cultivator didn't know of his existence. It's helpless that he was seriously injured, but to end up taking one of his own with him, this is truly absurd."
He still thought that the two they were here to retrieve were inside agents. Li Yan's face remained calm, but he sneered inwardly. 'It would be better if both of these Luoshu Lake disciples were dead. Who knows how many of our cultivators they've killed.'
But on the surface, he still nodded. He had already learned of the other's death from the restriction token; this was just the final confirmation.
"Why do you say 'basically confirmed'?"
"The other party was extremely cautious. At first, he just pretended not to understand. Even when I mentioned the 'sect,' he still looked bewildered. It wasn't until I mentioned the message they had sent out a few days ago that he cooperated and answered about the other target, which was a tacit admission," Bai Rou said helplessly.
"We already have their appearances from the jade slip to match. This contact was just to let him know that we are friends, not foes, so he would be mentally prepared, to prevent him from not cooperating later and messing things up.
"We need to find an opportunity for him to see the token with his own eyes, then there will be no problem," Li Yan nodded.
The others also nodded. They could understand the "inside agent's" caution and prudence.
"Since the other person is already dead and Yu Yuanjun is alive, our plan can proceed ahead of schedule. The next step is how to escape from Zhouyang Town.
"According to the information I've gathered, this gathering is very likely in preparation for a major battle, which is basically consistent with our previous analysis.
"What could cause a sudden turn of events is that right now, there are only four or five Golden Core demonic cultivators overseeing this place, but perhaps tomorrow, a large number of Golden Core demonic cultivators, or even Nascent Soul demonic cultivators, will appear.
"So our only chance to escape is tonight. Otherwise, it will be as difficult as ascending to the heavens to leave later."
Li Yan changed the subject and didn't dwell on confirming the identity. As he said, it was just to mentally prepare the other party and to confirm the situation of the other target.
"Oh, a large number of Golden Core demonic cultivators will be here tomorrow? This is really troublesome. Regardless of whether the news Junior Brother Li got is true or not, we really must leave tonight.
"Even with the four or five Golden Core demonic cultivators in the town right now, if even one of them appears to stop us, our chances are slim to none. It should be said that death is certain.
"So now we must find a reason to take that inside agent away, and at the same time, not arouse anyone's suspicion. This is very difficult," Hu Xiaowang said, his expression turning serious.
"To get this person out of here, Jiao Hua is the key," Yan Feijun added.
Then he looked at Li Yan. Although Li Yan had just said that Jiao Hua was no longer a threat, they still hoped to get a clear answer from him.
Li Yan nodded without hesitation. "Jiao Hua won't be leaving his room before dawn, at least. Unless someone goes looking for him directly, which is still a possibility." Li Yan didn't say that the next time Jiao Hua appeared, it might be as a corpse.
"Oh, if Jiao Hua doesn't show up, that's actually very easy. I can call Yu Yuanjun over without attracting attention, and I'll have a reasonable excuse for leaving this courtyard later."
Hearing that the situation was critical, Sun Guoshu rarely took the initiative to volunteer. After speaking, he explained his plan to the others.
"Fellow Daoist Sun's plan is the most stable method at present. In that case, let's not delay. We'll act immediately."
After hearing Sun Guoshu's plan, the others felt that although it had flaws, if Jiao Hua really couldn't appear, it wasn't a bad plan. Li Yan immediately gave the order.
Thus, the formation restriction in the room was immediately dispelled, and Sun Guoshu walked straight out. Soon, Sun Guoshu arrived at the door of the room on the other side. His expression was normal, and he didn't even look at the guards in the courtyard. He said in a loud voice, "Fellow Daoist Yu, my lord asks you to come over. There are some matters that require your assistance."
In the room on the other side, six people were sitting cross-legged. They were all injured and were seizing the time to heal.
But among them was a handsome young man of about twenty, who would occasionally lift his eyelids slightly to secretly observe the other five. He was the Luoshu Lake disciple, Yu Yuanjun.
His experiences of late had made him feel as if he had fallen into the Nine Hells. Every day he hoped that someone from his family would come to save him and his younger cousin. They had gone from being full of confidence at the beginning, to being terrified later, and finally to having hearts like dead ashes.
In just over a month, Yu Yuanjun and his cousin had begun to despair. Almost every day, a cultivator from the Clear Spirit Sect would die by their side, and no one knew who would be next.
Until the death of his cousin six days ago, which made Yu Yuanjun completely lose hope, the last spark in his heart was extinguished.
He didn't know what the point was of sending out the same distress call every day. Perhaps this place was too far from the South Sea, and the distress messages he sent couldn't reach his family at all. Or perhaps his family had also been discovered by the demonic cultivators and no longer existed.
What was most unacceptable to Yu Yuanjun was the possibility that his family had already abandoned them, that they couldn't expose the family's location and go to war with the demonic cultivators just for him and his cousin.