"The blood on the ground isn't all demon blood. Quite a bit of blood from cultivators like us is mixed in."
As he spoke, he waved at the Gu Insect.
The Gu Insect buzzed away and circled above the hillock, occasionally swooping down before swiftly taking flight again, seemingly investigating something.
Only when it returned to Incense Master Shen's shoulder did everyone see what its tiny pincers held: bits of flesh and bone.
They swept their Divine Sense over them, and their expressions grew even grimmer.
Some of the scraps belonged to demons, but others actually belonged to human cultivators.
One guardian hesitated before speaking, his expression grave. "It seems those demons fought a great battle with our people here, with casualties on both sides."
"It's just... we still can't determine which side gained the upper hand."
Another, more forthright guardian beside him immediately interjected, "At a time like this, stop trying to save our own pride!"
"Can't you tell just by looking at these scraps of flesh and bone? Our people clearly lost!"
The first guardian's expression grew even uglier, and he looked deeply uncomfortable. He, too, knew how perilous the battle had been; he had only spoken to reassure everyone.
Incense Master Shen spoke bluntly, without concealing anything. "If our sect's guardians had won, whether the demons were wiped out or fled, they would certainly have cleaned up the battlefield and carefully collected the demons' bodies as materials."
"They would never have left so much demon blood to seep into the soil. That would be a waste."
"But if the demons won," he paused, "our people would have withdrawn in haste, with no time to clean up the battlefield, leaving their fallen companions' bodies here."
"The demons of the Seventy-Two Caves are savage by nature. They would certainly