Tonight, a great victory.

After the Lingyi Sect’s disciples went out on patrol, red lanterns hung, emitting a faint glow.

In the mountain retreat, only Li Xuan, Hua Xiaoying, and Shuichengzi remained.

Li Xuan said, "Ji Changfeng didn’t come."

Hua Xiaoying looked at him gently; in her eyes, Li Xuan was truly a capable young man, which inevitably reminded her of her deceased husband. Wasn’t her husband also talented and of fine character in his youth?

Since her husband’s death, her heart had withered, sustained only by two things: caring for her daughter and strengthening Purple Mist Peak.

A daughter should marry.

And in the long lifespan of cultivators, choosing the wrong partner would be far more serious than for mortals.

Hua Xiaoying always had the worries of a mother, silently searching for a partner for her daughter. Now... she saw in her foster son’s eyes what seemed a bit like a son-in-law’s gaze.

However... Feng Mengrou was quite troublesome.

She didn’t dare to interfere rashly for fear of upsetting Li Xuan, so she decided to wait and see.

As someone with experience, she knew that "intense emotions often come quickly and go just as fast."

Various thoughts flashed by, and Hua Xiaoying suddenly chuckled quietly, thinking: ’With calamity at hand, why are you thinking of such things?’

She looked up at Li Xuan and said, "If Feng Xiongyi’s words are true, and the one mastering that puppet technique is the eldest son of the Alliance Leader of the six alliances in Lishan, Ji Changfeng, then this Ji Changfeng must be the Demon Bear."

Shuichengzi pondered, "Such a large demon living among the six alliances in Lishan. How could those comrades not notice at all?"

Li Xuan said, "Human skin."

Shuichengzi seemed thoughtful, then suddenly understood: "Right, wrapped in human skin, how could one discern? Unless an inexperienced demon reveals itself, that’s how it would get noticed.

Now it seems this Ji Changfeng is definitely a completely cultivated Great Demon, otherwise how could both Taishi Peak Master and Peak Master Yan have become his Bear Puppets?"

The green-cloaked cultivator sighed, then said, "What should we do now?"

Though older, as a cultivator who mostly used his own resources and only went out for normal trading once every ten years, his ways of handling matters were still at a "childish stage."

Simply put, neither he nor Hua Xiaoying, if stripped of their power and sent to the Great Yin court, would survive for long.

Li Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe we should notify the Sect Leader first, since so many changes have occurred within the sect."

Hua Xiaoying looked at him and said softly, "Xuan’Er has fought continuously and must be exhausted. Why not rest first? Let us old ones handle these trivial matters, then tomorrow, or when there’s news, Xuan’Er can come see."

Li Xuan looked at his young foster mother, amused in his heart, but he knew age couldn’t be judged by appearance for cultivators, so he thought it over and said, "I’ll listen to my foster mother."

...

As Li Xuan stepped out the door, it was still raining outside.

Under the eaves, the bodies of newly dead demons lay in terrible death.

Li Xuan took a few steps, suddenly furrowing his brow.

His gaze fixed on those demon bodies.

The demonic blood gave him a familiar feeling.

He thought for a moment, then had a guess: ’The relationship between the Demon Bear and Bear Puppets must be like the Black Mountain Tuo and Pig Dragon.’

Long-hidden doubts were now awakened.

’Did the Demon Bear share its own essence with the Bear Puppets? But this way, wouldn’t it weaken itself? Every time it loses a Bear Puppet, it would grow a bit weaker.

How is this possible?

This doesn’t make logical sense.’

’Then...’

Li Xuan stared at those corpses, silently thought: ’Is it nurturing blood? Using the puppet or the bodies of sub-demons to cultivate essence and then consume it itself?’

This answer fit better logically but lacked evidence.

Li Xuan shook his head, trying to dismiss these thoughts for now.

He had a faint premonition that this encounter with the demons might be extremely troublesome.

Firstly, it’s the demon’s nature.

Dominant, yet not without patience.

Today, if it were any other demon, it would likely have come, but Ji Changfeng didn’t show up.

Yet simultaneously, he sent numerous Bear Puppets in a grand gesture.

Secondly...

During the previous battle with Black Mountain Tuo, he could still sense Pig Dragon’s Demonic Qi. But this time, he couldn’t detect the Demonic Qi of these Bear Puppets at all.

In other words, even if these ghostly things stood right in front of him, unless he closely sensed them, he couldn’t differentiate them. Even the Demon Bear itself might be the same.

Of course, he and his evil spirits had the same effect.

Ever since he uncovered the "life facade," he could completely suppress his power while appearing entirely human – even the matter with his wife wouldn’t hinder this, though whether he could still conceive offspring was unknown; it likely wouldn’t happen. Hence, he could also conceal his Demonic Qi well.

Apparently, the spread of Demonic Qi is only a characteristic of lower-level demons.

And his evil spirits were becoming increasingly covert.

However, his evil spirit’s upper limit was far less than the Bear Puppets.

These Bear Puppets could completely exert their pre-death power, even to the Soldier Lord Realm, which was truly puzzling.

Li Xuan thought again and mused: ’It must be a matter of quantity.

My evil spirits can be mass-produced, whereas the Bear Puppets might require meticulous crafting by that Bear Demon.’

This is a battle where one cannot see where the opponent is, a struggle where there might be enemies hidden all around or possibly none at all...