Li Yan had his suspicions before, which was why he had also collected the corpse of the young woman from Griefspirit Manor. Firstly, he thought that if he couldn't find answers in the manor, he would have to study this corpse to understand why his own spiritual power couldn't activate those Magical Treasures, but the enemy's could.
Alternatively, if the cultivators he rescued from the manor deliberately concealed information during questioning, he would use the young woman's corpse to bluff them, making them abandon any hope of getting lucky and tell him everything they knew.
This showed that Li Yan was greatly restricted by his inability to cultivate the Soul-Searching Art before reaching the Golden Core realm.
Now, it seemed he no longer needed to seek confirmation. But Li Yan still had other uses for the young woman's corpse, so he wouldn't be throwing it away anytime soon.
After thinking for a while, Li Yan sighed inwardly, 'I must complete my objective for this trip as soon as possible. Otherwise, the longer I delay, the more troublesome the journey back to the sect will be in the future.'
Then, under the dodging gazes of the crowd, his eyes fell on the unconscious Mi Heng on the ground.
When he had made his move earlier, black smoke had also emerged from this person's body, which also had the effect of disturbing spiritual power and confusing the mind. This meant this person was either a Demonic Soldier or a human cultivator who had been possessed by one.
So Li Yan extended a finger and gently tapped, sending a stream of spiritual power into Mi Heng's body.
A moment later, he looked up with some confusion. There was nothing unusual in this person's Primordial Spirit, and his bones were similar to a normal human's, just a bit sturdier than an ordinary cultivator's.
Then, Li Yan's gaze shifted to the other five cultivators from Griefspirit Manor. He wanted to see what a living member of the Demon Clan was like.
Just then, Ding Yushan's respectful voice sounded.
"Fellow Daoist, do you think they are all demons in disguise? To be honest, based on our experience in exterminating demon lairs during this time, the probability of that is very low."
"After tens of thousands of years of slaughter, the ones that remain are usually Demon Lords. There might still be some Demonic Soldiers, but their cultivation is too low, and they are usually used for reconnaissance."
"Therefore, the casualties among Demonic Soldiers are the highest. As for whether any Demonic Generals still exist in this realm, that is beyond our knowledge."
"The current demonic activity that has been discovered is mostly a few Demon Lords leading a small number of Demonic Soldiers to remote places, like here."
"In the early stages, it was still Demonic Soldiers who went out to gather information. But according to the elders' Jade Slips, so many Demonic Soldiers have been killed over the past few decades that they are now rarely seen."
"So now, in a stronghold, the low-level cultivators are basically humans. After being captured, they are coerced and tempted into surrendering to the Demon Clan, willingly becoming their slaves."
"Of course, many of them are sealed and unable to escape. In short, it is much more convenient for them to use human identities to gather information."
"The demons will then, based on their performance, appropriately teach them some Demonic Arts. Demonic Arts progress rapidly in the early stages and are also very powerful. This is similar to the evil cultivation methods in our cultivation world; they all belong to those who tread a side path."
"The remaining cultivators here, if nothing unexpected happened, are at most human cultivators who have practiced Demonic Arts, not true members of the Demon Clan."
Ding Yushan, seeming to understand the meaning behind Li Yan's actions, shared some of the other information he knew.
At the same time, he thought of the two Golden Core cultivators in the manor and the Foundation Establishment cultivator who was first burned to death by Li Yan. He could basically confirm that the two Golden Core cultivators were true Demon Lords.
As for the Foundation Establishment cultivator, he couldn't judge for a moment. Thinking that the person before him had killed two Demon Lords, Ding Yushan couldn't help but wonder what divine arts Li Yan possessed.
They had all heard from the Golden Core elder of Lingtian Gate that even if they encountered a Demon Lord, in a one-on-one situation, unless the human Golden Core cultivator had a profound cultivation method, it would be difficult to be a match for a Demon Lord. The odds of victory were only four to six, with the human Golden Core cultivator having only a forty percent chance.
Hearing this, Li Yan finally understood the peculiarity within Mi Heng's body. "So it's a human cultivator who has practiced Demonic Arts."
But how could he be someone who easily believed others' words? He nodded at Ding Yushan with a smile, then extended his hand and tapped again, sending a stream of spiritual power into each of the other five people.
A moment later, he withdrew his spiritual power with a sense of disappointment. It was just as Ding Yushan had said; the other five were all human cultivators, and they hadn't even cultivated a trace of Demonic Art.
It seemed just as Ding Yushan said, only cultivators who had earned the deep trust of the demons would be taught Demonic Arts.
Having obtained these results, Li Yan lost interest. He turned his head and said to Ding Yushan, "Fellow Daoist Ding, these cultivators have only been hit by a hallucinogenic poison. They should wake up after some time. Except, of course, for this one!"
Saying this, Li Yan pointed at Mi Heng. Given the demonic characteristics Mi Heng had displayed, Li Yan's attack had naturally been much harsher. Mi Heng had basically no hope of survival; at most, he could retain a trace of his soul.
Seeing Li Yan speak this way, they knew he was about to end the conversation. The next moment would be the one that truly decided their fate.
Although Ding Yushan and the others felt that this black-robed youth probably wouldn't kill them, before the final outcome was known, the few who were still conscious couldn't help but feel nervous.
Ding Yushan quickly interjected, "Fellow Daoist's magical power is heaven-defying. You easily subdued these villains and saved our lives. If not for your help, the consequences would have been truly unbearable..."
Li Yan smiled faintly. He naturally knew the fear in Ding Yushan and the others' hearts. Without beating around the bush, he directly interrupted Ding Yushan's words.
"You can deal with these people as you see fit. I have important matters to attend to, so I will be leaving now."
After speaking, he gave a great wave of his sleeve. The storage pouches on the six Foundation Establishment cultivators and the Magical Treasures left outside were all unceremoniously collected by him.
Seeing Li Yan do this, not only did Ding Yushan and the others not feel a trace of resentment or dissatisfaction, but their hearts were greatly settled. The other party didn't kill these six but only took their treasures before leaving. This showed that Li Yan intended to leave these demonic remnants for them to handle, and their own lives were saved.
It was Li Yan who captured them, so the spoils of war naturally belonged to him. Besides, even if they had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to intervene.
The credit they would receive for this unexpected event was also not small. Just by reporting this stronghold and bringing these people back for the Golden Core elders to perform a soul-search, they would receive generous rewards.
But when their gazes swept over the few dead companions beside them, the bit of joy that had just risen was mostly gone.
Of course, besides the Wind and Snow Sect, of Ding Yushan's group of three, only one was seriously injured while the other two were fine. This was a world of difference compared to the Hualing Sect.
"When we go back this time, the squad members will probably have to be replenished," Ding Yushan thought to himself.
After speaking, Li Yan didn't wait for them to reply. His figure had already begun to blur. The crowd saw Li Yan's figure turn into a very faint wisp of smoke, which quickly circled the manor once before finally returning to stand before Ding Yushan and the others.
"I can't sense any other formation or restriction fluctuations. Then, the most valuable things in the manor should have been carried by those two Demon Lords at all times."
Li Yan, of course, wouldn't so easily assume that these were all the spoils. He had quickly circled the manor, carefully sensing every corner with his divine sense.
But to Li Yan's disappointment, he found nothing. On second thought, it made sense. For beings like the Demon Clan, who were constantly being hunted by human cultivators, they would always be prepared to move their base of operations, so they would definitely carry their valuables with them.
Li Yan's actions were done in a grand manner, without any attempt to hide his movements. This made Ding Yushan and the others, who were standing where they were, look at each other and smile bitterly.
"This senior really leaves no stone unturned wherever he goes."
By this time, Ying Kai had also been woken up by his two junior brothers. After learning from them that there was no more danger and hearing everything that had happened, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear when he looked at the black-robed youth in mid-air.
After returning, Li Yan did not leave immediately, which made the crowd wonder what else he wanted. The hearts that had just settled down began to pound rapidly again.
"Oh, right. Where is that teleportation formation you mentioned? Do you plan to destroy it?"
Li Yan's gaze still fell on Ding Yushan. Being stared at by Li Yan, Ding Yushan felt a chill in his heart. He quickly replied, "That teleportation formation is not far from here. Fellow Daoist can go with us later. As for whether it will be destroyed, this... is usually decided by the Golden Core elders."
"But generally speaking, it won't be destroyed. They will only arrange for cultivators to stand guard, to be used as a backup plan."
After hearing this, Li Yan nodded. It made sense. Having finally found a trace of the Demon Clan, how could the higher-ups easily erase the trail? Anyway, there were plenty of low-level human cultivators to be arranged as guards everywhere.
He had always been meticulous in his work. He had heard earlier that there was a teleportation formation leading here. He had flown here bit by bit, unlike Ding Yushan and the others who had arrived in a short time.
If he remembered correctly, Lingtian Gate was more than thirty thousand li away from here on his jade slip map, and the other end of that teleportation formation was not far from Lingtian Gate.
Then, when he returned in the future, if he could use this teleportation formation, he could save at least two days' time.
With his true human cultivator identity and the copper coin from the Jingtu Sect, he should be able to use it, at most paying some extra Spirit Stones.
His current wealth was far from that of an ordinary cultivator. He had more than a hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones alone, so why would he care about such a small amount?
Li Yan nodded and said no more. He flew directly out of the manor and then stopped in mid-air alone, waiting for Ding Yushan and the others.
Ding Yushan and his group naturally had to clean up the mess here, collect the bodies of their companions, and at the same time, carefully inspect the manor again, recording any suspicious points to be reported upon their return.
At the same time, they also obtained many cultivation materials that Li Yan had looked down on and not taken. For Ding Yushan and his team, these were unexpected joys.
This further confirmed in their minds that Li Yan's identity was extraordinary. His standards were naturally high, far from what they, cultivators from second and third-rate sects, could compare to.
An hour later, Li Yan was flying alone in the gray, cold sky, holding a jade slip, confirming the distance to the Sea of the Northern Abyss. After a brief pause, in the gloomy, leaden world, Li Yan's figure once again disappeared into the vast wind and snow, leaving behind only the empty world and the howling north wind...