Li Xingtian only executed the Golden Core evil cultivator. The remaining evil cultivators were handed over to his followers.
If he didn't eliminate the highest-cultivation opponent first to boost his followers' morale, this bunch would fight like a disorganized rabble.
They'd only put in three parts effort, keep two parts ready to flee at any moment, and spend the remaining five parts looking for a sucker to take the hits for them.
But once the strongest cultivator on the other side was killed, this bunch would genuinely be willing to fight to the bitter end.
No other reason—because victory was assured.
These evil cultivators were truly willing to go all out when fighting a winning battle.
His followers currently only had Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivation.
Foundation Establishment cultivators still had some techniques at their disposal, but Qi Condensation evil cultivators basically just fought with brute force.
Li Xingtian stood silently at the highest point, his gaze surveying below, but not a single evil cultivator down there dared to look his way.
With the Golden Core evil cultivator's swift demise, the morale of the evil cultivators here collapsed rapidly.
They had initially planned to flee, but found that the entrance was where the enemy's numbers were greatest, so they immediately opted to kneel and surrender instead.
Only a single voice pronounced their death sentence.
"Not a single one is spared this time. Kill them all." Li Xingtian's cold voice rang out. "Whoever kills the most will be rewarded upon return."
Some rejoiced, some fought desperately.
But whether joy or desperate valor, it all ultimately dissolved into a floor of blood.
Li Xingtian's side held an overwhelming advantage in both numbers and momentum, so the battle didn't take long to settle.
Li Xingtian swept his divine sense across the area, first confirming there were no other ambushes before tallying the numbers.
His own side's losses weren't significant—around seven people.
The battle had barely ended when Wen Zuo, who had been outside confirming no one had escaped, strode in quickly.
After surveying the surroundings, Wen Zuo spoke:
"Search thoroughly. Bring any living mortals to me. The dead can be buried on the spot alongside our own people."
"Gather all items and organize them—I'll personally come take inventory."
After giving these instructions, Wen Zuo hurried forward and cupped his hands before Li Xingtian. "Sect Master, please wait a moment."
Since Wen Zuo was a Golden Core cultivator, his divine sense could detect many hidden treasure caches.
Every time they mopped up, Wen Zuo would personally join the search team.
Li Xingtian nodded lightly in agreement.
Led by Wen Zuo, a group of still-bloodthirsty evil cultivators delved deeper inside and began their sweep.
It wasn't long before Li Xingtian's gaze shifted toward the depths of the entrance.
He saw his followers escorting a group of ordinary mortals forward.
Evil cultivators came in many varieties, but all of them would capture a batch of living mortals.
Whether for sacrifices, experiments, or absorbing Blood Qi.
At the very least, they could handle the cooking for the Qi Condensation evil cultivators—not only could they prepare meals, they could also be the meal.
However, mortals who had been captured for a long time, without intervention, mostly found it very difficult to return to the ordinary world.
The method of intervention wasn't actually complicated, requiring no elaborate mental healing or relaxation.
Tai Dao Sect's approach to these mortals was exceedingly straightforward—the Grand Memory Wipe Technique!
Simply using spiritual energy to wash through these mortals' minds would suffice.
Though it couldn't be done with extreme precision and would likely erase quite a few extra memories, the overall effect was still quite satisfactory.
Li Xingtian's gaze swept over the group before he withdrew his attention, unconcerned.
These people's final destination would still be handed over to Tai Dao Sect for careful processing.
What he cared about was the financial inventory report Wen Zuo would provide later.
The followers were also very familiar with this process, escorting the mortals and beginning to lead them out, lest their faint whimpering spoil their Sect Master's mood.
But a gentle and melodious voice called out from within the crowd.
"Are you the benefactor who saved me?"
Li Xingtian's brow furrowed slightly, his gaze following the direction of the voice.
He quickly locked onto a delicate-looking young woman squeezed among the crowd, gazing up at him with pitiful eyes.
In the hall, all the evil cultivators dared not utter another word.
Half their gazes fell on the young woman who had spoken, and half on Li Xingtian, who sat frowning in his chair.
The oppressive silence made even the mortals who had been whimpering unconsciously fall quiet.
After a moment, Li Xingtian spoke in a calm voice:
"Bring her out. Take the rest back first. Remember—not a single one dies."
As his words fell, the air in the hall seemed to stir once more.
The followers escorting the mortals had naturally noticed the young woman's beautiful face and those large eyes that seemed to speak.
They roughly understood what was happening and very gently separated her from the group.
The young woman stood alone in the center of the hall below, nervously clutching her torn garments.
She glanced upward briefly before hurriedly lowering her head again.
Li Xingtian regarded the young woman before him who appeared exceedingly innocent, his gaze remaining as calm as ever.
He had no doubts about his own appearance—not as handsome as his Master, but definitely not ugly.
What truly undermined his looks was something his Senior Sister had described—how you always look like your parents were brutally murdered, and everyone around you is the killer, and you're planning to slaughter them all.
Li Xingtian didn't understand.
He clearly had no expression on his face, and his heart was completely calm.
Why did his expressionless face get so wildly misinterpreted by his Senior Sister?
Though he was reluctant to admit it, Li Xingtian understood that this was likely an innate aura.
Even his usually gentle Third Junior Sister would change the subject when it came to his presence.
Li Xingtian was absolutely certain that sitting expressionless on an evil cultivator's throne of terror, with a bunch of demonic followers under his command, anyone with functioning eyes would never call him a benefactor.
After all, this was clearly a case of escaping the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's maw.
He was sure that this young woman who had called him her benefactor clearly had functioning eyes.
So what he needed to determine now was whether she had been scared senseless.
If not, then this seemingly harmless young woman had ulterior motives.
Combined with what he'd been doing lately, it was likely that the fish his Master wanted to catch had started testing the bait.
Li Xingtian lowered his gaze, looking at the nervously trembling young woman:
"I'll give you the chance to say three sentences. Who sent you, and what is your purpose."
The young woman looked up in apparent panic. "Wh... what..."
"One."
"No one sent me..."
"Two."
"Really..." The young woman seemed to panic completely, instantly collapsing to the ground.
Tears flowed freely from her eyes—what a pitiful sight.
Li Xingtian rose to his feet and advanced toward the young woman step by step.
"You're neither foolish nor blind. You just didn't pick a very good excuse. I'll give you a piece of advice—if you insist on calling me your benefactor to get my attention, you should pretend to be blind first."
The young woman's eyes widened as tears continued to stream down her face, her body slowly inching backward.
Li Xingtian's steps were faster. He stopped directly in front of her, his gaze turning slightly colder, one hand already reaching toward her.
"I just think you look like a good person!" The young woman squeezed her eyes shut and cried out loudly.
The young woman felt her arm being grasped, then she was pulled to her feet.
She opened her eyes again to see Li Xingtian's expression was calm, the killing intent in his eyes having dissipated.
Li Xingtian helped the young woman up, a smile appearing on his face. "You do have good taste."
The young woman instantly breathed a sigh of relief... had she gambled correctly?
The next moment, an extremely intense pain spread through her abdomen.
The young woman looked down in disbelief toward the source of the agony.
She saw Li Xingtian holding a short dagger, and in her field of vision, she could only see the hilt.
The blade had already sunk completely into her belly.
She slowly raised her head and looked at Li Xin
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gtian.
Li Xingtian's expression was utterly neutral, neither sad nor pleased.
"Just that... you don't look like a good person."