When two people meet on a narrow path, this position is a bit too much for me to handle!

Immediately, the deacon's tone suddenly turned gentle: "Nephew Disciple Zhang, this morning at the martial arts arena, my tone was a bit harsh and I scolded you a few times, but it was for your own good. Do not take it to heart."

"Junior Martial Uncle's teachings are correct, this Disciple would not dare." Lan Caier hurriedly lowered her head to answer, quietly letting out a sigh of relief in her heart, thinking herself lucky.

However, the moment that person finished speaking, the deep, dead water in the depths of Lin Yuan's eyes, who was beside her, had already rippled with a lethal cold glint.

Are you joking?

A high and mighty Inner Sect deacon would take the initiative to bow and apologize to two Outer Sect Disciples who guarded a stinking ditch and had statuses as lowly as ants? These two probably didn't even have the qualifications to speak to a deacon on a normal day.

Clearly, the other party had already discovered something amiss. Speaking now was merely using false information to conduct a final probe!

"Hmm, then I shall go ahead and take a look." The deacon seemed very satisfied with Lan Caier's answer, nodded, and was about to turn and leave as he spoke.

The moment he turned around, Lin Yuan moved!

He suddenly raised his hand, and a golden light shot out from his sleeve—it was the essence binding rope! That golden rope was like a spiritual snake possessing life; the moment the deacon's magic power surged, it bound him tightly.

The man's expression changed drastically, and he opened his mouth to sound the alarm.

But he was fast, and Lin Yuan's sword was faster!

A stark white Sword Light tore through the night, arriving before his shout, silently slicing across his neck.

"Pfft..." With a barely audible, light sound, the deacon's shout came to an abrupt end. With intense horror and confusion in his eyes, his head soared into the sky.

"Why did you suddenly attack? What if..." Lan Caier was startled by Lin Yuan's sudden, decisive killing, and asked with lingering fear.

"Idiot, you've already given yourself away and you don't even know it!" Lin Yuan glared at her with annoyance.

As he spoke, he skillfully—as if it were breathing—untied the Storage Pouch from the deacon's waist, released the Earth Core Nether Fire, and disposed of the corpse cleanly, leaving not even a trace of blood. Only then did he beckon to Mu Wanqing in the distance, signaling her to come over.

The three gathered in the shadows. Lin Yuan handed another identity token and set of clothes to Mu Wanqing, simultaneously lowering his voice and speaking in an extremely serious tone:

"Remember, from now on, we are the lowest-level, least prestigious, and most miserable Outer Sect Disciples of the Misty Immortal Sect."

"When walking, keep your head down, chest hunched, back slouched, and eyes cowering. Absolutely do not look around. If you encounter someone with higher Cultivation than us, no matter who it is, you must proactively roll to the side of the road to make way and salute, with a fawning yet fearful smile on your face. In a word, act as wretchedly and cowardly as possible. Don't ever think of yourself as anything special, understand?"

As Lin Yuan spoke, he demonstrated it himself. That vivid, wretched, and cowardly appearance seemed innate, causing the corners of Mu Wanqing and Lan Caier's mouths to twitch repeatedly, feeling as if their worldviews were being rubbed into the ground by this man.

In the end, the two still nodded solemnly with expressions of having their perceptions refreshed.

The three tidied up their appearance and, imitating Lin Yuan, kept their heads low and eyes submissive, hunching their backs like three mice traveling through the shadows, silently blending into the night of Lanyue City.

"Now, we need to find where the Formation Eye of the City Protecting Grand Array is." Lan Caier transmitted via Divine Sense.

"For this kind of City Protecting Grand Array, the Formation Eye is inevitably in one of three places." Lin Yuan's gaze pierced through the layers of buildings and finally locked onto the tallest, most conspicuous white stone tower in the center of the city. "First, the City Lord's Mansion; second, the place with the densest Spiritual Qi and strictest defenses; third, the highest point in the entire city."

That white stone tower was built entirely of pure white jade and soared into the clouds. Under the moonlight, the tip of the tower exhaled visible Spiritual Qi, like a needle pinning the sea, gathering the entire Spiritual Vein of Lanyue City here.

No matter from which angle you looked at it, it perfectly met all the conditions.

"Follow me!"

Lin Yuan lowered his body, like a mouse traveling through the shadows, leading the two women through the intricate streets and alleys, twisting and turning.

His route choices were extremely tricky, always perfectly avoiding one patrol team after another, as if he knew the layout of this city like the back of his hand.

Just as they were about to cross a main road, Lin Yuan's footsteps suddenly stopped. He almost instinctively stretched out his arms and pulled Mu Wanqing and Lan Caier, who were beside him, into a pitch-black alley filled with miscellaneous items.

The alley was so narrow that it could only accommodate one person passing through, and the three of them were instantly pressed tightly together. Lin Yuan held one in each hand, pressing them firmly against the cold wall. His tall body was like a wall, completely shielding the two warm, soft, and fragrant bodies.

His movements were lightning fast; he backhanded a breath-concealing talisman onto each of their bodies.

A warm masculine scent, mixed with a faint hint of sweat, instantly enveloped the two women.

Mu Wanqing's cheek was almost brushing against Lin Yuan's solid chest. She could even clearly hear his steady, powerful heartbeat, as well as her own uncontrollable, deer-bumping heartbeat.

Lan Caier was squeezed on the other side, her back pressed tightly against the rough wall, and in front of her was Lin Yuan's solid arm. An unprecedented sense of security and oppression surged into her heart simultaneously, making her breathing somewhat rapid.

"You..." Mu Wanqing just wanted to speak when she was stopped by Lin Yuan's gaze.

"Shh! Don't make a sound." His lips were almost pressed against Mu Wanqing's earlobe; the hot breath he exhaled blew against her earlobe, causing a tingling numbness and making her body somewhat weak. "There is a Core Formation Stage expert outside. If we are discovered, we will be heading to the Yellow Springs together in this little alley today."

These words were said in all seriousness, but for some reason, Mu Wanqing actually heard a hint of indescribable ambiguity and teasing in this phrase "heading to the Yellow Springs together."

Sure enough, a moment later, an elite patrol team led by a Late Core Formation Stage Cultivator slowly passed by the alley entrance.

That Core Formation Cultivator's powerful Divine Sense swept across the entire street like mercury pouring onto the ground. It paused briefly at the alley entrance, but did not discover anything unusual, and soon continued on.

Not until that heart-palpitating pressure had completely faded away did Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief, and his body relaxed along with it.

"Alright, it's safe."

He let go of his hands as if nothing had happened, as if that ambiguous position just now was purely a tactical maneuver.

Mu Wanqing and Lan Caier, however, both somewhat unnaturally straightened their clothes, and a charming rosy glow simultaneously flew onto their pretty faces.

After walking for another incense stick's time, that magnificent Moon Gathering Pagoda finally appeared in its entirety before the three of them.

The tower was nine stories high, and under the flying eaves of each floor hung a moonstone emitting a clear radiance. On the tower body, countless profound runes appeared and disappeared, echoing from afar with the light screen barrier shrouding the entire city.

Around the tower was an open white jade plaza. On the plaza, there were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps, and there were even several hidden and powerful auras lurking in the dark, guarding the entire tower like an iron barrel; not even a fly could fly in.

Looking at this heavily guarded pagoda, expressions of solemnity and despair could not help but appear on Mu Wanqing and Lan Caier's faces.

Wanting to sneak into it without alerting anyone was simply a fool's dream.

"This Moon Gathering Pagoda... if we force our way in, I fear we three wouldn't even be able to touch the door of the first floor." Mu Wanqing's voice was dry, and a sense of powerlessness rose in her heart.

"We can use my poisonous insects to create chaos elsewhere in the city and lure the guards away!" Lan Caier immediately thought of her signature skill, but her tone also carried uncertainty.

Lin Yuan, however, shook his head without hesitation: "No. Once your poisonous insects come out, even a fool would know that people from the Five Poisons Sect have arrived. The commotion is too big; once we make a move, the nature of the mission changes from 'infiltration' to 'enemy attack.' By then, let alone luring away the guards, I fear all the Cultivators in the city will be attracted over and surround us like dumplings."

"Then what should we do?" Mu Wanqing was a bit anxious.

"We are here to cause destruction, not to attack the city." Lin Yuan's eyes flickered with a cunning light in the night, like a fox plotting to steal a chicken. "Causing destruction is not about fighting and killing; it is an art. We must make them fall into chaos themselves, chaotic enough that they have no time to attend to anything else, and only then can we take advantage of the void to enter."

"Make them fall into chaos themselves?"

The two women looked at each other, their eyes filled with intense confusion.