Blazing flames burned in a fire basin supported by three tall wooden poles, illuminating the surrounding area for dozens of meters. The farther away from the fire, the dimmer the light became.
Tonight, the moon was hidden behind dark clouds, and the demonic aura around the Demon Sect outpost was thick, making it pitch dark. Only the fire stands placed every few dozen meters provided any light, allowing people to see their surroundings.
At the outskirts of the Demon Sect outpost—
Two Demon Sect disciples were standing guard on the watchtower, ready for action!
They were well aware that strong enemies would be attacking tonight.
Because of this, they dared not slack off even for a moment, focusing their full attention on the forest outside the wooden barricades.
Suddenly!
A flash of light appeared and disappeared quickly!
"Huh? What was that?"
The blue-green-robed Demon Sect disciple on the left asked suspiciously, "Did you see that?"
"What?"
The black-robed disciple on the right asked in confusion, "Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"
"How could I? I clearly saw a flash of light just now! But now it's gone."
"You're just too nervous! Relax! It's only twelve people attacking. Our outpost is huge—what are the chances that the two of us would be the ones to encounter them?"
While the black-robed disciple was speaking carelessly—
A sword light shot out from the dense forest outside the barricade!
"Watch out!"
The blue-green-robed disciple shouted, but it was already too late!
The sword energy had already struck, instantly killing the black-robed Demon Sect disciple next to him!
"En...enemy attack!!"
The blue-green-robed disciple screamed in panic, rushing to sound the alarm by ringing the large bell next to him and alert the others.
Unfortunately, the disciples guarding the perimeter were only at the early or mid-stage of Qi Refinement, assigned to this area as mere sentries.
Not only had they missed the meeting in front of the Blood Altar earlier due to their guard duties, but they were also unaware of the Altar Master's plan to ambush the three sects' strike force...
In short, these perimeter guards were nothing more than expendable pawns in the outpost's crisis.
Before he could even reach the bell, a figure flew out from the forest using a magical umbrella, casting a spell as he soared.
The blue-green-robed disciple didn't even have time to ring the bell before his body was sliced into pieces by several nearly invisible wind blades!
"Good!"
The captain of Tianjue Mountain cheered from the forest below, praising, "The sword energy from Xuantian Sword Sect truly lives up to its reputation! A lethal strike from such a distance!"
"Haha, and the wind techniques of your Tianjue Mountain are just as impressive!"
Wei Heng laughed as he led the group out of the forest.
Lin Li naturally followed them.
Each watchtower was spaced dozens of meters apart.
Due to the limited visibility caused by the dim light, and since the bell hadn't been rung, the incident at this watchtower went unnoticed by the others.
Reaching the wooden barricade, Wei Heng casually slashed it, creating an opening wide enough for the group to pass through.
After entering, they moved forward about ten meters and arrived in front of a two-story building.
"Strange, why is there no one here?"
Wei Heng frowned in confusion.
"By all rights, this kind of two-story building should be the living quarters for the Demon Sect disciples. It's late at night, so there should be people inside."
The captain of Zhengmiao Sect also sensed something was amiss.
"Look!"
The captain of Tianjue Mountain pointed toward the fence on the first floor of the building.
Inside, they saw countless centipedes!
The first-floor enclosure was filled with wooden platforms.
On those platforms were large centipedes, so massive and terrifying that they sent shivers down the spine at just the sight of them!
The smallest of these centipedes were as thick as a baby's arm, far larger and more frightening than any centipede seen in the outside world.
"No wonder there were so many snakes, insects, rats, and ants around the wooden barricades."
The captain of Tianjue Mountain said, "It seems these Demon Sect disciples are raising them. Some probably escaped, which is why there are so many creatures infesting the area."
As the three captains discussed, Lin Li, without a word, suddenly rushed toward the building.
"Lin Li! What are you doing?!"
Wei Heng's eyes widened in anger, his tone stern but hushed, not daring to raise his voice for fear of alerting the Demon Sect.
"Damn it! That kid is disobeying orders again!"
The disciples from Tianjue Mountain and Zhengmiao Sect also glared angrily, "We just agreed to avoid all combat, sneak into the Blood Altar, destroy it, and escape, but now he's pulling this stunt again?!"
"Does he want to ruin our whole stealth plan?!"
Everyone was furious!
However, Lin Li smiled to himself, thinking: This is perfect!
Ye Fan was equally delighted, "This Demon Sect is truly my lucky star! Just in this one building, there are so many demonized centipedes. Looking at the size of this Demon Sect outpost, who knows how many similar buildings there are! This time, we're in for a huge haul!"
Hearing the angry shouts from behind, Lin Li turned and waved them off, saying, "You all go ahead! I'll stir things up here to attract the Demon Sect's attention! This way, your stealth plan can proceed more smoothly!"
Everyone was stunned, their eyes widening in disbelief!
But instead of anger, their eyes were filled with confusion.
"What is he doing?"
"Is he crazy?"
"Is he an idiot?"
"Is his brain filled with garbage? Is he trying to get himself killed?"
The disciples from Tianjue Mountain and Zhengmiao Sect were utterly baffled, unable to understand what was going through Lin Li's mind.
The three disciples from the Xuantian Sect, however, were moved, their hearts touched!
"Junior Brother Lin... He must know that, facing the higher-ups of the Demon Sect, as a mere first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator who has already exhausted much of his spiritual energy, he won't be able to pose much of a threat..."
"So he's willingly risking his life, drawing the attention of the Demon Sect and luring their main forces away to ensure the success of our stealth mission!"
"Junior Brother Lin is truly admirable!"
"Sigh! We owe him so much."
"If something happens to Junior Brother Lin, how will I explain it to Elder Zou?"
The three disciples from Xuantian Sect were deeply moved, while the disciples from the other two sects urged, "Let's go! That fool is on his own; we don't need to worry about him!"
"Don't let one person ruin our mission!"
Hearing them call Lin Li a fool, the three disciples from Xuantian Sect felt a surge of anger.
However—
What the two sects said made sense, and they couldn't refute it.
"Junior Brother Lin, take care!"
The two sword faction disciples called out with concern.
Wei Heng added, "Junior Brother, thank you for your good intentions! If you encounter danger, crush this positioning jade token crafted by a Talisman Sect disciple! We'll come to your rescue!"
As he spoke, Wei Heng pulled out a thumb-sized square white jade token from his sleeve and tossed it to Lin Li.