After receiving Han Li's new orders, the three contingents under Lu Yun, Tu Xiaoyi, and Black Bear abruptly changed their mode of operation.
They abandoned their previous strategy of advancing steadily and holding key positions. Like daggers drawn from their sheaths, they lunged with astonishing speed and at treacherous angles toward the relatively vulnerable "soft spots" in the outer defenses of the three demonic sects-the Ghost Spirit Sect, the Demonflame Sect, and the Joyful Union Sect.
At a remote Yin Soul Wood plantation belonging to the Ghost Spirit Sect, dozens of disciples on guard were making their routine patrols when hundreds of streaks of sword qi suddenly came screaming across the sky like locusts. Before they could react, several specially made Restriction-Breaking Shuttles tore gaps in the perimeter warning formation.
Tu Xiaoyi led the charge, taking the Heaven Division's elite into their midst like tigers descending on a flock of sheep. Rather than seeking casualties, they felled and burned swathes of Yin Soul Wood that required centuries to mature, then carried off the yin soul wood hearts stockpiled in the storehouse.
By the time reinforcements from nearby Ghost Spirit Sect outposts came rushing over in a panic, all they found was a devastated stretch of scorched earth and the corpses of a few unlucky souls. Tu Xiaoyi's contingent had long since vanished without a trace, leaving only the lingering echo of a defiant sword cry in the air.
At a medium-sized earthfire refined gold deposit controlled by the Demonflame Sect, the guards were changing shifts, and security had grown somewhat lax. Disguised as a band of vicious, wandering rogue-cultivator bandits, Black Bear's contingent suddenly struck. Several powerful magical artifacts with area attacks opened the way, leaving the guards reeling in an instant.
They did not venture deep into the mine