It's just a list, what's so special about it?

In Li Yu's guess, this was at most an internal list recording the people who had joined the Changsheng Sect.

It's understandable that they can't be brought to light.

However, when he glanced at the group of old men, he found that their reaction was unusually intense.

Those who had barely managed to remain calm in the face of various threats were now ashen-faced.

Some people seemed to be engaged in a fierce internal struggle, their bodies trembling slightly, their fists clenched, their lips quivering, wanting to say something but unable to utter a sound.

Li Yu's gaze gradually darkened.

This list is definitely not simple!

"So you've all heard of this?"

Zhao Dezheng's voice rang out at the right moment, seemingly quite satisfied with the guests' current reaction.

This gave him great satisfaction with his discoveries within the stronghold.

A smile, almost gleeful, curved his lips, but he was then drawn by a wave of heat. His gaze passed over Li Yu and was fixed on the brilliant, burning flame.

A firebird?

The fiery, surging energy emanating from the firebird was exactly the same as Li Yu's oppressive, blazing flames.

It's clear that this strange firebird is Li Yu's mount, and with such perfectly matched flames, they are an absolute match.

"etc……"

Zhao Dezheng frowned deeply, seemingly lost in memories.

However, he seemed to remember that in all the photos and materials he had seen, Li Yu was always riding a black horse.

"Li Yu".

He suddenly turned his head, his voice carrying a pure, unadulterated, clear confusion:

Where is your horse?

Li Yu: "..."

Li Yuzhen didn't know how to answer this extremely simple question.

The phoenix tilted its head in disbelief, its crystal-clear eyes looking at Zhao Dezheng's face, which was filled with a serious thirst for knowledge. Its wings folded slightly, as if to say, "With it here, is there any need to ride a horse?"

Zhao Dezheng also noticed the phoenix's human-like gaze, and kept looking at it with great curiosity.

The intense gaze made the phoenix look down at its burning feathers with some insecurity, wondering if there was really something dirty on them.

As Zhao Dezheng was reading, a sudden thought struck him, and after a moment of surprise, he realized:

"Could this be... that horse???"

Li Yu gave Zhao Dezheng a deep look before finally reacting.

He was deeply concerned about Zhao Dezheng's mental state and could only clarify:

"It has always been a bird."

"It's always birds?" Zhao Dezheng was stunned.

He suddenly looked at the phoenix again, examining it closely from top to bottom. His eyes became somewhat unfocused, yet also held a terrifying glint.

"Horse is a ground unit, four-legged."

"Bird is a unit of flight, with two wings."

"This is a fundamental classification in biology. There is an insurmountable gap between them."

Zhao Dezheng seemed to know something about this kind of knowledge, and even started to show off.

The phoenix was utterly speechless. It even forgot to be angry and just looked at Zhao Dezheng with the same eyes it would give an idiot, its gaze filled with a human-like pity.

Zhao Dezheng circled the phoenix halfway around again, even reaching out to touch its burning tail feathers, only to be swatted away by the phoenix's wing. He finally confirmed, somewhat embarrassed, that...

"It really is a bird."

Only when he was certain that the firebird beast before him was definitely not the black horse that Li Yu had ridden earlier did he finally turn his gaze back to Li Yu and refocus his attention on the main topic.

Under Li Yu's helpless gaze, Zhao Dezheng couldn't help but chuckle.

He lifted the middle-aged man, whom he had dragged along for so long, half-dead with fear, a little higher, as if displaying a trophy, and began to explain to Li Yu:

“Li Yu, the list he knows doesn’t include those who joined the Longevity Sect to extend their lives.”

"Instead, it is a special list of those who have worked closely with the Changshengmen and who record the financial backers and 'partners' behind the Changshengmen."

Zhao Dezheng's gaze swept meaningfully over the group of pale-faced guests, like a cat playing with mice:

"The people on the list are the true protectors of the Changsheng Sect!"

"Those 'insiders' who provided funding, channels, protection, and even actively gathered 'materials' for the Changsheng Sect."

Behind every name lies a family, a power, a shady deal, and a bloody debt of lives!

As Zhao Dezheng watched the last trace of color drain from the distinguished guests, a slow, widening smile spread across his face.

"Li Yu, what do you think would happen if such a list were accidentally leaked and made public?"

Zhao Dezheng's words struck like a heavy hammer, hitting the hearts of every distinguished guest and elder!

Before the words were even finished, one of the distinguished guests staggered backward and almost fell.

Of course they knew the consequences!

If the list falls into the hands of certain people in Jincheng, the entire Zhongzhou will likely face an unprecedented earthquake!

Many families in Jincheng could disappear completely overnight, and after their collapse, they would be thoroughly wiped out.

Once chaos begins, the leverage held by the Changsheng Sect will be enough to ruin the reputations of many high-ranking figures.

If anyone yields, it could even trigger factional infighting, political turmoil, and plunge the entire Central Plains into civil war!

After all, it's okay to do some things in secret; everyone can turn a blind eye and cover it up tacitly.

Once the list of irrefutable evidence is brought to light, it will be an inescapable dead end!

And that was truly the end.

"I think you're beyond saving, you're doomed," Zhao Dezheng said slowly, deliberately drawing out his words.

The old men all had serious and solemn expressions.

This list is practically a death warrant that could drag their entire families into an abyss of no return!

If this is made public, it will not only affect their personal lives and deaths, but also the collapse of their entire families, the destruction of century-old businesses, and the reckoning of countless people involved!

That would be a thousand times worse than death!

Their descendants will all be buried with them.

In this desperate situation involving the survival of their families, their lives suddenly become insignificant, as light as a feather.

Even death seems less important now.

If the secret of the list could be buried at the cost of one person's life, he would immediately become a "necessary" price in the eyes of the family decision-makers.

Unless they themselves want to drag their entire family down with them to hell.

Otherwise, any rational member of the family would know what choice they should make now...

That means we absolutely cannot let anyone who knows this list leave alive!

To silence them.

That person must be silenced forever before the list is leaked!

The old men's eyes suddenly sharpened, and they scanned the positions of everyone around them, intentionally or unintentionally.

Li Yu took in everything, but calmly turned to look at the middle-aged prisoner and said to Zhao Dezheng indifferently:

"Since you know, let him tell us the list."