Li Xuanxiao withdrew his True Essence, and the vast, boundless aura of compassion gradually subsided.
Inside the tent, all the Martial Artists who were not missing limbs were instantly healed.
The "Universal Salvation" was, after all, a Buddhist Dharma from the Mystic Realm; even the lowest level of True Essence release produced astonishing results.
The injured marveled at the incredible healing process and immediately knelt halfway, cupping their fists in salute: "Thank you, Vice General Li, for stepping in to treat our wounds."
They were both surprised and deeply grateful.
Wounds inflicted by the Demon Race often carried the invasion of Demonic Qi in addition to the physical injury itself.
The longer it dragged on, the more likely sequelae were to remain.
But they were just ordinary Martial Artists and dared not ask for more; receiving treatment immediately was already extremely fortunate.
They never expected Lord Li Xuanxiao to personally intervene and use Buddhist Dharma to heal them.
Not only was the effect superb, but it also completely eliminated the possibility of aftereffects.
The Martial Artists were overwhelmed by the favor. At this moment, Li Xuanxiao was like a god in their hearts.
"Rest well today; tomorrow you will need to fight the Demon Army again."
The group of Martial Artists responded excitedly, pounding their chests and guaranteeing they would slay demons with all their might.
Li Xuanxiao nodded and left.
"Lord Li is truly the great hero of our Pei Prefecture, just as the rumors say!"
"He even used his True Essence and Buddhist Dharma to treat insignificant people like us..."
"From today onward, Lord Li is my savior, Long Tao. Whoever dares to speak ill of him, I, Long Tao, will confront them!"
Many Martial Artists immediately echoed the sentiment, saying, "Me too."
Just then, the flap of the infirmary tent was lifted, and a Battalion Commander walked in.
The carriages escorting the wounded to the rear for treatment were already prepared outside.
He had come to arrange for some of the wounded to return to the rear for further treatment.
When he looked up, he was stunned by the scene before him.
What was going on? Why was everyone standing? Where were the wounded? Where were the injured?
After Li Xuanxiao left the infirmary tent, he did not return to his own Vice General's tent.
The scarab-like Yao Demon that had burst from the earth had put him on high alert.
Who could guarantee that the Demon Race wouldn't launch another sneak attack?
In this regard, humanity had an absolute weakness.
The Demon Race had countless varieties, with different abilities—sneak attacks, infiltration, burrowing—they were truly impossible to guard against.
Li Xuanxiao could not remain vigilant at all times, nor could he always detect a Yao Demon's sneak attack instantly.
Being so slow and passive was not his style.
He had to take the initiative!
After a brief thought, a golden light appeared in his eyes.
Without knowing the opponent's true strength, rashly infiltrating the main camp of the Demon Army was likely to lead to an ambush, trapping him like a turtle in a jar.
But clearing out the Yao Demons lurking near their own camp was achievable.
He soared into the air, his gaze sweeping over every blade of grass and every tree around the tents.
The comprehensive strengthening from reaching the Origin Realm granted him a broader and farther golden sight, allowing him to perceive Demonic Qi from further away.
Upon looking, he indeed found quite a few anomalies!
In the woods, in the grass, and even near the mountain stream where the army fetched water, there were faint wisps of Demonic Qi drifting.
This at least indicated that Yao Demons had indeed set foot in the nearby areas.
Li Xuanxiao immediately took action; whether there was anything there or not, he had to go and check.
As his True Essence surged, the "Star-Chasing Moon-Pursuing" technique, refined to the Transcendent Realm, brought forth bursts of sonic booms, allowing him to instantly rush far away.
He still controlled his True Essence at the Mystic Realm level; concealing his sharpness had become second nature.
This tactic had repeatedly proven successful; during the turmoil in Pei Prefecture, he had tricked countless Yao Demons by feigning weakness.
Now, reusing the old trick, he wondered how many Yao Demons he could trap this time.
...In the dense forest not far from the army camp, a Spider Demon was hanging upside down from a tree trunk.
Its eight eyes shimmered with a deep luster, and the large web it had woven behind it covered a vast area.
Suddenly, its legs, covered in fine fuzz, twitched slightly, as if sensing danger.
It abruptly turned its body and moved rapidly across the large web.
However, in the next second, a streak of blade light shot across the sky in an instant, directly splitting it in two, pulverizing it and its web into scraps.
["Killed a Xuan Realm Seventh Layer Spider Demon, gained 700 Demon value Points!"]
Li Xuanxiao didn't even look back, heading directly to the next suspicious location.
Dense forest, grass, rock crevices, swamps...
In some places, he found lurking Yao Demons; in others, only residual Demonic Qi.
After a round of investigation, he had quite a harvest.
His Demon value Points reached 36,000 points.
Although it wasn't much, Li Xuanxiao was already satisfied, as he hadn't come for the Demon value Points in the first place.
There was one last stop: the mountain stream!
The Demonic Qi there was too thin, which is why Li Xuanxiao designated it as his final destination.
He changed direction, and the sound of sonic booms erupted once more.
In just a few breaths, Li Xuanxiao arrived here.
At this moment, a squad of Martial Artists was drawing water at this spot.
Seeing Li Xuanxiao descend from the sky, the Martial Artists respectfully saluted: "Vice General Li, why have you come here?"
Li Xuanxiao gave a casual reply, not telling them the truth.
The Demonic Qi here was too faint; it was most likely residual traces left by Yao Demons.
Even if there were Yao Demons, he would resolve the issue on this trip.
There was no need to frighten these Martial Artists further, lest they become afraid to even draw water.
He walked along the mountain stream, searching for the source of the Demonic Qi, but after investigating, he frowned.
The extremely faint Demonic Qi seemed to have no source.
Li Xuanxiao half-crouched, scooped up a handful of water, and discovered that faint Demonic Qi was seeping out from it.
A flash of lightning struck his mind—Poisoning!?
He immediately shot into the sky and rushed directly back to the Martial Army camp.
Despite his utmost caution, he had still underestimated the treachery and the utterly ruthless methods of the Demon Race!
This faint Demonic Qi could not escape the perception of Martial Artists above the Mystic Realm.
But for the majority of Martial Artists below the Mystic Realm, it was almost undetectable.
By the time a large number of ordinary Martial Artists were afflicted, the battle would be lost.
Their high-end combat power was completely tied up by the Demon Emperors and Demon Venerables.
The remaining Yao Demons would charge into the Dayu territory as if entering a land with no one to stop them.
Li Xuanxiao moved with incredible speed, returning to the camp in a short time.
He arrived at the Commander's tent and found several Origin Realm Martial Artists already there.
After a brief greeting, he immediately recounted what he had witnessed.
"What!?"
Commander Si Yiwu jumped up abruptly and immediately ordered someone to urgently summon Buddhist Zen Doctors from the rear to treat the Martial Artists with all their might.
After giving the order, he showed shame on his face.
As the Commander, such an incident occurring, regardless of the reason, could not cover up his dereliction of duty.
Neither the Dayu nor Tianxuan and Qingluan often engaged in large-scale legion warfare, let alone against a Demon Legion...
So there were many things they simply couldn't have imagined.
Their strategic thinking subconsciously treated the enemy as a human army when analyzing and formulating plans.
Once Li Xuanxiao spoke, everyone present understood their own limitations.
Many approaches needed adjustment, but the immediate priority was to solve the water source problem!
The news that the water was contaminated quickly spread to the Martial Artists below.
Quite a few Martial Artists immediately showed looks of horror—they had just drunk some!
Soon, large-scale poisoning symptoms appeared among the Martial Artists who had drunk the water.
Facial muscles paralyzed, eyes wide open, corners of the mouth drooping...