Xiao Yicai

At this moment, that unremarkable young man moved.

He seemed to have just woken up, stretching lazily before saying to a minor Demon Sect leader beside him, "Boss, this godforsaken place is cold and damp. Standing guard here is too boring. Why don't we go inside for a couple of drinks to warm up?"

The minor leader's eyes lit up at these words.

"You brat, you sure know how to think."

He glanced around, and seeing nothing unusual, he waved his hand.

"Fine, take a few brothers inside and bring out a few jars of good wine. We'll drink right here at the cave entrance; that still counts as standing guard."

"You got it!"

The young man responded, immediately beckoning five or six other Demon Sect disciples, and walked into the cave with a grin on his face.

Seeing this, Li Xiaoyu frowned deeply.

He felt that things were not that simple.

Sure enough, just after the young man led the few Demon Sect disciples deep into the cave:

"Boom!"

A dull, thunderous roar suddenly erupted from within the cave.

The entire cave shook violently.

Immediately following, a surge of violent energy fluctuations swept out from the cave.

The Demon Sect disciples guarding the entrance hadn't even realized what was happening before they were sent flying by the energy shockwave, suffering heavy casualties.

As for that young man, he had darted out from another secret exit of the cave like a ghost the moment before the explosion, completely unscathed.

The laziness and ordinariness were gone from his face.

His expression was now one of cold, murderous intent.

His gaze was sharp.

The young man looked at the collapsed cave, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"A bunch of idiots."

He muttered, then his figure flickered, preparing to vanish into the night.

However, the moment he turned, a figure appeared silently before him, blocking his path.

"Brother, in such a hurry to leave, where are you planning to go?"

A calm voice rang in his ears.

The young man—who was none other than Xiao Yicai, having infiltrated the Demon Sect under orders from Daoist Daoxuan—stiffened abruptly.

He looked up and saw that handsome face with a playful smile.

Xiao Yicai's pupils constricted, and a stormy sea surged in his heart.

Who is this?

How could he be here?!

And how was his own trail discovered by him?!

Xiao Yicai's heart was filled with shock and vigilance.

He had been lurking in the Demon Sect for years under the orders of Sect Leader Daoist Daoxuan, always acting with caution and never once making a mistake.

Xiao Yicai considered his disguise flawless; even the elders of the Demon Sect could not discern his true identity.

Yet today, he had been called out by someone even younger than himself.

How could he not be alarmed?

"Junior Brother Li Xiaoyu, greetings, Senior Brother."

"Li Xiaoyu?"

"The winner of the Seven Meridians Martial Arts Tournament?"

He had, of course, heard of him.

Xiao Yicai felt a sense of relief upon hearing this, but the wariness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"How did you discover me?"

Li Xiaoyu looked at him, a smile still lingering on his face.

"Senior Brother, your disguise is indeed brilliant. Whether it is your aura or your words and actions, you are no different from an ordinary Demon Sect disciple."

"It is just a pity that the essence of the Taiji Profound Clarity Path within you, though suppressed to the extreme by your secret techniques, still exists after all."

"Perhaps others cannot perceive it, but to me, it is like a firefly in the dark—nothing could be clearer."

Li Xiaoyu's words caused Xiao Yicai's heart to tremble once more.

Only then did he remember that this junior brother before him was also a monster who could not be judged by conventional logic.

This junior brother had broken through two realms in a single night and had defeated Qi Hao, who was at the eighth level, while only at the sixth level of the Jade Purity Realm. His keenness of spirit and his comprehension of the Daoist arts likely already exceeded the scope of ordinary people.

In front of him, there was truly no possibility of hiding.

Having realized this, Xiao Yicai stopped pretending.

He cupped his hands toward Li Xiaoyu, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

"So that's how it is. It seems I underestimated Junior Brother Li."

"Since you have discovered me, you must have already guessed my identity and purpose."

"I am Xiao Yicai, acting under the orders of my Sect Leader and Master to infiltrate this place and wait for an opportunity to sabotage the Demon Sect's plans."

He admitted his identity candidly.

Li Xiaoyu nodded, admiration showing in his eyes.

"For Senior Brother Xiao to venture into the tiger's den all alone—this courage and sense of responsibility are truly admirable."

"That move just now, luring the snake out of its hole and then detonating it with a formation, was truly a stroke of genius. I imagine the Demon Sect's logistics have been completely destroyed by you."

Hearing this, a trace of pride appeared on Xiao Yicai's face.

"It was merely a trivial trick, nothing worth mentioning."

He paused, then added, "Since we have met here, I assume Junior Brother Li was also sent here to carry out the same mission."

"Now that the Demon Sect's logistics are severed, their morale will surely be in chaos. This is the perfect moment for us to launch a full-scale attack."

"Let us go and rendezvous with our fellow disciples currently leading the main assault. With a pincer attack, we will surely be able to annihilate these Demon Sect evildoers in one fell swoop!"

Excitement flickered in Xiao Yicai's eyes.

However, upon hearing his words, Li Xiaoyu slowly shook his head.

"No."

"It is not yet the time."

Li Xiaoyu's words left Xiao Yicai stunned.

"Why?"

"The true main force of the Demon Sect has yet to appear."

His gaze turned toward the pitch-black summit of the main peak, his eyes grave.

"The Ghost King, the Poison God, and Yu Yangzi—these three giants of the Demon Sect have not shown themselves from start to finish."

"They are like three venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, waiting for us to reveal a flaw so they can deliver a fatal strike."

"If we were to rashly launch a full-scale attack now, we would fall right into their trap."

"They are hoping for us to fight the Demon Sect disciples until both sides are crippled, so they can sit back and reap the rewards."

Li Xiaoyu's analysis was like a basin of cold water poured over Xiao Yicai's burning heart.

He calmed down and thought about it; it was indeed true.

He had been thinking only of earning merit, ignoring the greatest danger of all.

If the three sect leaders were to strike, let alone young disciples like them, even the heads of the various factions might find it difficult to resist.

"Then what should we do now?"

Xiao Yicai looked at Li Xiaoyu and asked humbly.

At this moment, he had completely come to regard Li Xiaoyu as someone he could converse with as an equal, or even someone who surpassed him in strategy.

Li Xiaoyu pondered for a moment and said, "Wait."

"Wait?"

"Yes, wait for an opportunity."

Wisdom flickered in Li Xiaoyu's eyes.

"The three factions of the Demon Sect are not a monolith; they are filled with suspicion and conflict among themselves."

"Now that their logistics have been destroyed, they will inevitably blame and shift responsibility onto one another."

"What we must do is remain hidden in the shadows, observe the changes, and perhaps even add fuel to the fire to make their infighting even more intense."

"Only when they have fallen into chaos and are exhausted from running about will it be the best time for us to launch our full-scale attack!"

As Xiao Yicai listened to his plan, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He realized that the meticulousness of his junior brother's mind and the ruthlessness of his methods were simply not those of a young man around twenty years of age.