79: Leaking information, scaring people

At the First Watchtower, besides the known Chen Yao, there was also a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Formation Master responsible for maintaining the Formation base. The Demonic Mirror showed a faint but clear reaction to him!

This person, usually taciturn and reclusive, was also corrupted by the Devilish Qi!

At the Third Watchtower, Situ Ying!

When the Demonic Mirror approached him, although the reaction was not as strong as with Chen Yao, the chilling Devilish Qi was clearly discernible! As for Zhao Tieshan, Wu Ming, and Liu Qing霜, the Demonic Mirror showed no unusual reactions.

At the Second Watchtower, Sun Yan's own watchtower, two out of the five Foundation Establishment Cultivators besides him, actually showed a faint reaction on the Demonic Mirror!

One was the Deputy Commander, and the other was the Cultivator responsible for logistics and allocation!

There were so many infiltrators!

They were almost everywhere in the key positions of the three outer watchtowers!

What was even more terrifying was that these people usually showed no flaws in their behavior. If it weren't for the Demonic Mirror, they would have been impossible to identify!

A cold chill swept over Lin Feng and Sun Yan.

This Qianshan Island Chain had long been infiltrated by Demonic Cultivators, like a sieve!

"We can't wait any longer!"

Through a brief rendezvous via the Tide Talisman, Sun Yan's voice carried an uncontrollable urgency and fear, "We must gather reliable people! Otherwise, once the Demonic Mark is activated, we won won't even have a chance to resist!"

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "Good! Let's start with our Third Watchtower! Zhao Tieshan is straightforward, Wu Ming is silent but meticulous, and Liu Qing霜... her Family background is special, so she can be trusted for now. Let's try to win them over first! The time will be tomorrow night at midnight, and the location... will be the abandoned old storage cave below the watchtower!"

The operation proceeded with extreme secrecy.

Lin Feng used an opportunity to reinforce the outer Formation of the tower base with Zhao Tieshan, using the pretext of discussing the modification of a reef Formation base, to subtly convey the message: "Midnight, old cave, a matter of life and death."

Although Zhao Tieshan was a bit puzzled, Lin Feng's profound attainment in the Dao of Formations and his solemn expression made him choose to trust him. He nodded heavily.

For Wu Ming, Lin Feng chose to seemingly accidentally drop a small stone engraved with the simple characters "child" (midnight) and "cave" (cave) during a shift change. Wu Ming picked up the stone, silently glanced at Lin Feng, and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Liu Qing霜's side was a bit more troublesome.

Lin Feng directly approached her, getting straight to the point, lowering his voice: "Fellow Daoist Liu, this matter is of great importance, concerning the survival of the watchtower and even the entire Island Chain! Tomorrow night at midnight, in the old cave below the tower, you must come! Trust me this once!"

He looked directly into Liu Qing霜's cold eyes, his gaze frank and solemn.

Liu Qing霜 looked deeply at Lin Feng, a ripple flashing in her ice-blue eyes, and finally slowly nodded: "Good."

...

Midnight, the moon was hidden and stars were sparse, and the sea wind whimpered.

Inside the damp, cold, abandoned cave, the air seemed to solidify. The smell of mold mixed with the salty tang of seawater, entering their nostrils. Water droplets seeping from the cave ceiling dripped onto the jagged stalagmites, making a monotonous and oppressive "drip... drip..." sound, intertwining with the ceaseless roar of the waves outside the cave, like a muffled drumbeat for the approaching storm.

Lin Feng stood in the center of the cave, his back to the faint natural light filtering through the crevice at the entrance, which was half-covered by rubble, making his figure appear somewhat blurry. He took a deep breath, but even the scorching sensation, carrying the scent of sulfur and hot iron, could not dispel the chill in his heart.

His gaze swept over the three people in front of him. Zhao Tieshan's burly figure was like an iron tower, his face filled with confusion and a hint of impatience from being woken up in the middle of the night.

Wu Ming was like a silent reef, his figure almost merging into the shadows of the corner, only his eyes, gleaming sharply in the dim light, revealed an extraordinary vigilance. Liu Qing霜 was as cold as ice, standing quietly a little further away, her ice-blue Daoist robe seeming to emit a faint glow in the gloom. Her hand on the sword hilt was steady and strong, and her gaze was as sharp as a sword, looking directly at Lin Feng.

"Brother Lin, what's so mysterious that we have to come to this ghostly place in the middle of the night?"

Zhao Tieshan finally couldn't help but ask in a low, booming voice, his voice echoing in the small space with a metallic clang. He shifted his huge foot, and a loose piece of gravel crunched under his weight.

Lin Feng did not answer immediately. His gaze slowly swept over the faces of the three, finally resting on Liu Qing霜's cold eyes. His voice was deep and solemn, every word seemingly carrying immense weight: "Fellow Daoist Zhao, Fellow Daoist Wu Ming, Fellow Daoist Liu. My apologies for inviting you so abruptly tonight, but the situation is truly urgent, concerning our lives, and even the survival of the entire Qianshan Island Chain... and even the southwestern barrier of the Eastern Sea Region!"

"Survival?" Zhao Tieshan's bell-like eyes widened abruptly, his thick eyebrows almost twisted together. "Brother Lin, what do you mean by that? Are the Demonic brats going to launch a major attack again?"

Wu Ming leaned slightly forward from the shadows, still silent, but his focused gaze was fixed on Lin Feng like a nail, silently urging him to continue.

Liu Qing霜's brows furrowed imperceptibly, and her fingers on the sword hilt tightened slightly. Her cold voice carried a hint of imperceptible tension: "Fellow Daoist Lin, please speak directly."

Lin Feng no longer hesitated, his words steady yet each word like a hammer: "Our watchtower, and even the three outer watchtowers of the entire Qianshan Island Chain, have been severely infiltrated by Demonic Cultivators! The infiltrators are right beside us!"

"What?!"

Zhao Tieshan gasped in surprise, like a clap of thunder on a clear day, shaking a few wisps of dust down from the cave ceiling. He instinctively gripped the handle of the huge axe on his back, his bulging muscles instantly tensed, and a fierce aura permeated the air, like an enraged beast. "Who is it?! Brother Lin, explain yourself! Which son of a bitch dares to be an inside agent for the Demonic brats? I'll be the first to chop him down!"

Wu Ming's eyes flashed with sharp light, like candles lit in the dark night. He spoke hoarsely, his voice dry: "Chen Yao? Situ Ying?" His gaze sharply turned to Lin Feng, carrying a heavy weight of suspicion he had long harbored.

A sudden burst of cold Qi emanated from Liu Qing霜, and the temperature inside the cave seemed to drop by several degrees.

Her ice-blue eyes were locked on Lin Feng, her voice like dropping ice beads, carrying oppressive pressure: "Fellow Daoist Lin, these words are no small matter! Slandering fellow Cultivators is akin to treason! What evidence do you have?"

"The evidence is conclusive!"

Lin Feng stated firmly, meeting Liu Qing霜's cold gaze without flinching, "Fellow Daoist Sun has a secret treasure that can sense extremely subtle Origin of Devilish Qi! This treasure shows that the aura of a Demonic Seed is strong on Chen Yao! She is definitely not suffering from unstable Qi due to injury, but has been corrupted and controlled by Demonic Technique! Situ Ying is also tainted with Devilish Qi; his coldness is not his personality, but an outward manifestation of his demonic nature! These two are the vipers lurking in our Third Watchtower!"

He paused briefly, giving them time to digest the information. Only the sound of heavy breathing and the roar of the distant waves remained in the cave.

Zhao Tieshan's chest heaved violently, his face flushed with anger, his teeth gritting, as if he was about to rush out and fight someone at any moment.

Wu Ming's face was as solemn as black iron, and he slowly nodded, as if confirming some long-held doubts of his own.