sneak attack, stun, and strip clothes

Mu Wanqing and Lan Caier stepped out from their hiding spot. Looking at the two corpses on the ground, mangled beyond recognition by vines and Sword Qi, both felt a jolt in their hearts.

The entire process was extremely fast, clean, and efficient, with not even the slightest ripple of magical power leaking out.

This was not a battle at all; it was a pure, efficient slaughter.

"Your methods... are really..." Mu Wanqing struggled for a long time before squeezing out, "Impressive!"

"Thanks for the compliment." Lin Yuan remained expressionless and casually disposed of the corpses. "In war, deception is the Dao. We are here to kill, not to compete in martial arts."

With Lin Yuan, a top-tier sneaky expert, providing technical guidance, the rest of the journey went incredibly smoothly.

The Phantom Mosquitoes were responsible for reconnaissance, Lin Yuan was responsible for formulating the ambush plans, and Mu Wanqing and Lan Caier were responsible for executing them. The three worked with tacit understanding, eliminating four more waves of patrolling Disciples, and finally, in the deepest part of the night, they crept up to Lanyue City.

Lanyue City was completely different from the Black Stone City of the Yin Corpse Sect, which was shrouded in Yin Qi all year round.

The entire city was built from a type of pure white jade. Under the illumination of moonlight, it emitted a cold and holy radiance. Viewed from high above, it looked like a bright full moon that had fallen into the mortal world, hence the name.

At this moment, a massive City Protecting Grand Array light screen enveloped the entire city. On the city walls, teams of guards held Magical Artifacts, their gazes scanning vigilantly back and forth, leaving almost no blind spots.

The three lurked in the shadows outside the city, looking at the impregnable fortress before them, and all felt it was tricky.

"What do we do now? These patrolling guards are everywhere. It won't be easy to sneak in without a sound." Lan Caier frowned slightly.

"What are you afraid of?" Mu Wanqing lowered her voice, a trace of ruthlessness in her eyes. "Why not just rush up, knock out a team, and put on their clothes to blend in?"

Lin Yuan immediately shook his head and rejected the idea. "No. Look at their routes; every team has a fixed patrol area and handover time. If a team suddenly loses contact, it will inevitably raise an alarm within half an hour. We are here to cause destruction, not to alert the enemy."

"Then what do we do? We can't just wait here forever, right?" Mu Wanqing was getting anxious.

"Don't worry." Lin Yuan's gaze slowly swept over the massive city wall, and the corners of his mouth curled into an arc of confidence. "Right now, Lanyue City has sent out all its elites, and manpower is scarce. Although they have activated the highest-level City Protecting Grand Array to prevent sneak attacks, the lack of manpower means there will inevitably be oversights. The more seemingly seamless the defense, the more fatal its internal weak points are."

He made a gesture and led the two women to move silently along the outer perimeter of the city wall.

Finally, his footsteps stopped in front of an extremely hidden water gate.

The terrain here was low and overgrown with weeds. A channel about a foot wide passed under the city wall, sealed by a rusty iron gate.

A stench mixed with sewage drifted out from inside; it was clearly a channel used for discharging the city's domestic sewage.

The city wall above the water gate, because of its remote location, did not even have a decent guard post. There were only two bored Qi Refinement Stage Outer Sect Disciples leaning against the corner of the wall, chatting.

"This is it!" Lin Yuan's eyes lit up.

He was a Sixth-Grade Formation Master. Although he couldn't be considered top-tier, his eye for detail was viciously sharp.

The entire City Protecting Grand Array of Lanyue City was a cohesive whole, but here, due to the sewage discharge, the operation of the Formation runes exhibited a slight, imperceptible stagnation and obscurity.

To others, this might not mean anything.

But to Lin Yuan, this seemingly perfect city defense had finally exposed its... chrysanthemum.

"Wanqing, you help keep watch. Caier, come with me!" Lin Yuan whispered instructions, and his figure, like a wisp of green smoke, hugged the shadows and quietly crept toward the water gate.

At the corner of the city wall, two guarding Misty Immortal Sect Disciples were leaning against the wall base, their faces full of boredom.

"Damn it, I'm so unlucky to be assigned here to guard a stinky ditch, where I can't even see a ghost. I heard the Senior Brothers who went to the front line have made a fortune!" One of the tall, thin Disciples lowered his voice, full of envy.

"Isn't that the truth? It's said that those demon brats from the Yin Corpse Sect dug out mountains of High-Grade Spirit Stones in the Blood River Spirit Mine. Tsk tsk... If I could get a few pieces, maybe Junior Sister Qingyue in the Sect would agree to be my Dao Companion!" The other short, fat Disciple chuckled, his face full of lewd fantasies.

"With your toad face, you still want to eat swan meat..."

The two were talking excitedly, completely unaware that two shadows had already, like geckos, silently crept up to the wall behind them.

The next moment, death descended!

Lin Yuan and Lan Caier struck at almost the same time. Their palm strikes carved two sharp arcs in the air, cutting with absolute precision onto the unsuspecting napes of the two Disciples.

"Ugh!"

Before they could even let out a muffled groan, the two rolled their eyes, their bodies went limp, and they collapsed silently to the ground.

Lin Yuan's movements were unbelievably swift. The moment they hit the ground, he had already crouched down and, in a flash, stripped off the outer robe and the identity token from the waist of one of them.

The entire process was smooth, like flowing water, completed in one go.

Lan Caier, watching from the side, was somewhat dumbfounded.

This proficiency in ambushing, knocking out, and stripping clothes did not look like something a Sect Prodigy should have; instead, it looked like a seasoned, career bandit who had been committing crimes for years.

"What are you dazing for? Hurry up and put it on! Do you need me to help you?" Lin Yuan threw a set of clothes that still carried body heat over and urged her.

Lan Caier finally snapped out of it, her pretty face slightly flushed, acting a bit coy. "But... here..."

"But what? It's all to complete the mission, why be so particular? Don't worry, it's not like I haven't seen your figure before." Lin Yuan said without looking up.

Lan Caier glared at him indignantly, but ultimately she knew the importance of the situation. She quickly turned around, facing away from him, and swiftly stripped off her own outer robe, revealing the exquisite, form-fitting undergarment inside, then quickly put on the sweaty, smelly Misty Immortal Sect Outer Sect Disciple uniform.

"Pop, pop, crackle..."

After Lin Yuan changed his clothes, a series of fine bone-cracking sounds came from his body.

He cast the Illusion Transformation Art, and his figure, appearance, and aura changed at a speed visible to the naked eye. In a few moments, he became almost identical to the short, fat Disciple from before, even imitating the lewd temperament on his face to a T.

Lan Caier followed suit and also cast an illusion art to change her figure.

However, her technique was clearly not as refined as Lin Yuan's. Although her appearance changed, upon closer inspection, one could still see a touch of coolness and spiritual energy in her lively eyes that did not belong to the original owner.

After finishing all this, Lan Caier was just about to call out to Mu Wanqing in the distance.

But Lin Yuan suddenly stood up straight, his gaze lowered, adopting a respectful posture.

Lan Caier's heart skipped a beat. Following his gaze, she realized that a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, wearing the attire of an Inner Sect Deacon, was flying slowly toward them on a Flying Sword.

The Cultivator's gaze was sharp. He scanned the surroundings and asked in a deep voice, "Is there anything unusual!"

"Reporting to Junior Martial Uncle, there is nothing unusual!" Lin Yuan imitated the short, fat Disciple's voice, his tone filled with a mix of sycophancy and cowardice, answering flawlessly.

The man nodded, his gaze sweeping over the two. He seemed to find no problems and just gave a routine admonition: "The Sect is currently short of manpower, and these are extraordinary times. You all need to be on high alert and must not slack off, lest any accidents occur!"

"Yes, this Disciple obeys!" Lin Yuan and Lan Caier quickly bowed and replied.

The Deacon gave an "hmm," appearing quite satisfied, and turned to leave on his Flying Sword.

However, just as he was about to fly away, the Deacon suddenly stopped his movement. His gaze, sharp as a hawk, suddenly turned back and locked firmly onto Lan Caier.