Li Hanfeng was very clear that when he hesitated, he was already leaning toward staying.
Human lives were at stake - whether in his previous life or this one, he couldn't stand by and watch.
He couldn't gamble with human lives that sect elders were constantly watching them and would handle this matter.
After stating his decision, no one objected.
Of course, if possible, he still hoped to have the best of both worlds.
So he said: "Village chief, you continue notifying the authorities and have them notify the Shushan Sect to send people. Before immortal sect members arrive, we'll help patrol and try to kill that beast."
As long as sect people arrived, they could leave.
The village chief was overjoyed: "Thank you for your great kindness, immortal masters! Actually, we sent people to the county office early on. By time calculations, they should be returning now."
Li Hanfeng shook his head: "Send another person, and say this time it's ordered by immortal sect members."
He didn't know what this area's county office was like, but he knew people had inertia. Without pressure, they might drag things until tomorrow or even later, making sect people arrive even later and wasting time.
Using immortal sect members' identity to pressure them could improve efficiency.
It's just that they had no way to contact the sect directly, otherwise they wouldn't need the authorities to contact them - the Shushan Sect received many requests for help from various places, so secular authorities must have secret methods for emergency communication with the Shushan Sect.
The village chief immediately said: "Immortal master, I'll send someone to the county office right away."
Li Hanfeng nodded, then said: "Good, go find people. We need to discuss how to deal with that demon. If you're worried, gather all the village children here with us."
The village chief was startled, then said: "Immortal master, there are still quite a few children in the village. How about you move to the ancestral hall? It's big enough there."
"That's fine." Li Hanfeng nodded without refusing.
On the way to the ancestral hall, he focused his mind on his consciousness.
[Evil fox rampages, villagers seek protection]
[Choose to eliminate demon, receive weak karma 'Demon Fox Causing Trouble,' can obtain three Qi Condensing Pills.]
After making the decision, the Qi Condensing Pills had quietly appeared in his pocket.
'Qi Condensing Pills?'
Li Hanfeng had learned about this type of pill when trying to obtain Qi Refining Pills in the sect. They were higher-grade than Qi Refining Pills, with effects several times better than same-level Qi Refining Pills. Generally, they were used more in late-stage Qi Refining.
'Not a bad reward. After refining them, I should have a chance to advance to the seventh layer of Qi Refining. And since the reward is just Qi Condensing Pills, this matter shouldn't be too big.'
Unremarkable rewards meant the Heart-Devouring Fox incident wouldn't have major impact.
Thinking this, he felt much more relaxed. Before long, he and everyone moved to the ancestral hall.
The village also began gathering children, with no one objecting. After all, those children's deaths were too tragic - no one wanted their own children to follow that path.
Li Hanfeng looked at everyone: "Sorry for making you all stay."
Xie Wen, who hadn't spoken much, immediately said: "Since we've made the decision, let's not think about other things. First consider how to find and kill the Heart-Devouring Fox."
The other eight all nodded.
Seeing this, Li Hanfeng said: "These past few days, we've traveled about 550 li. According to the sect's route, there are still over 400 li left. Traveling day and night, we can finish in two days, then we need to reserve one day for rest and understanding the situation."
"Three and a half days - including today, we need to find and kill the Heart-Devouring Fox within three and a half days, or wait for sect people to arrive."
Fang Yu immediately asked: "Hanfeng, what do you plan to do?"
Li Hanfeng looked at him: "Are you sure the Heart-Devouring Fox is only equivalent to middle-stage Qi Refining?"
Fang Yu answered: "I'm over ninety percent certain. Heart-Devouring Foxes the size of house dogs are at most middle-stage Qi Refining. If they were comparable to late-stage Qi Refining, they'd be much larger. Only when they become lesser demons comparable to Foundation Establishment can they freely control their size."
"Then let's try to draw it out." Li Hanfeng immediately decided.
Xie Wen analyzed: "We have no clues and no tracking techniques. We can only fumble around blindly - that wastes a lot of time."
Fang Yu sighed: "I should have chosen a tracking technique. Not only could it be used here, but it could also be useful when facing the water demon in Shuangxi Town."
Forget about tracking techniques - because of limited energy, most of them had only learned two techniques, one attack and one defense, to handle the assessment. They planned to choose a third technique after the assessment depending on circumstances. Who knew they'd encounter this during the assessment mission?
Li Hanfeng knew this was indeed a problem.
He pondered for a moment, looked at the somewhat troubled Fang Yu, and asked: "Fang Yu, does the Heart-Devouring Fox only attack children?"
Fang Yu was startled and shook his head: "Yes, it's like the Heart-Devouring Fox's bloodline inheritance - they only attack children aged six to twelve and rarely attack other ages. I heard that when attacking demon beasts, they also attack specific ages of demon beasts. It's extremely disgusting."
Hearing this, Xie Wen suddenly looked at Li Hanfeng and asked: "Brother Li, are you thinking of drawing the snake from its hole?"
Li Hanfeng nodded and explained his idea: "My age is also within its attack range. When night comes, if I act alone, maybe I can lure it out."
Wang Mingyue, who had been standing beside him, changed expression and wanted to object, but Li Hanfeng seemed to anticipate this and gently pressed her wrist, shaking his head to signal silence.
However, while Wang Mingyue didn't speak, Fang Yu said: "Hanfeng, you being bait probably won't work. Heart-Devouring Foxes bully the weak and fear the strong, and have very strong sensing abilities. Without special breath-concealing methods, even if the Heart-Devouring Fox sees you alone, it won't attack."
Li Hanfeng frowned, not expecting this Heart-Devouring Fox to be so troublesome.
But before he could say anything, Chen Yang, who had been silent, stepped forward looking somewhat cautious: "What if I become the bait? I'm only at the second layer of Qi Refining."
Everyone looked at him.
He continued: "If we let village children be bait, they have no ability to resist and might have accidents. I'm different - while I'm relatively weak, I also know techniques. Even if attacked, I can hold on for a while until you arrive for support. So if we must have bait, I'm definitely suitable. Fang Yu, is that right?"
Fang Yu was silent for a while, then said: "It would indeed work. As a cultivator, you'd even be more attractive. But you need to understand - you're different from Hanfeng. Hanfeng could handle a Heart-Devouring Fox with ease, but you'd be in danger."
"No problem, I trust you all."
For a moment, everyone felt considerable pressure.
"Let's decide like this. We have no other methods - this is the fastest way." Chen Yang, the weakest in the team, made the decision. Speaking of this, he seemed to think of something and said in a joking tone: "Whether you agree or not, I'll try to lure the Heart-Devouring Fox tonight. You all wouldn't just watch me die, right?"
He understood very well that he was the weakest in the team. When traveling, if they didn't have to accommodate him, they definitely could travel more than 150 li per day. He'd been holding them back.
If nothing unexpected happened, when they reached Shuangxi Town to deal with the water demon, it would be the same.
So he wanted to contribute, not just for the assessment mission, but also to help Senior Brother Li Hanfeng.
He spoke little but saw clearly. The decision to stay was made by Senior Brother Li. Now it seemed no one objected and everyone nodded in agreement, but if it affected the assessment mission, Senior Brother Li would definitely be blamed or even hated.
But if they could solve the Heart-Devouring Fox early, none of this would happen.
So he stepped forward. He did this for no other reason than because Senior Brother Li accommodated his speed while traveling and gave him a Qi Refining Pill.
Seeing Chen Yang's determined attitude, Li Hanfeng could only say: "Then let's try it, but remember - safety is most important."
Everyone made the decision to set up arrangements for Chen Yang to act as bait and draw the snake from its hole.
No one noticed a figure in the shadows taking everything in.
"This time we recruited some good youngsters." The teaching elder hidden in the shadows smiled, very satisfied with several people's performance.
He focused his gaze on a leafy ancient tree in Qingshi Village, where a black fox was hiding.
Then he flicked out a ray of light with his right hand, which silently landed on the black fox.
"Evil beast, serve as training for my disciples!"
After doing this, he sighed in his heart.
Even the Shushan Sect couldn't monitor every place in Azure Continent at all times. The Heart-Devouring Fox's appearance was an accident.
The fate of those children was truly regrettable. Now he could only ensure the Heart-Devouring Fox would definitely die... consider it belated revenge.
But his heart had grown much colder. If it were in the past, he would have acted long ago...