Ying Huaixu had genuinely intended to sneak in normally at first, but when he saw the red exclamation marks above these people's heads, he simply couldn't help himself.
To him, they were all experience points.
So Ying Huaixu simply took Ye Ningshuang and He Xiuyuan on a purge.
After wiping out four or five Thousand Mechanisms Sect outposts in succession, Ying Huaixu had accumulated 70,000 experience points.
That thrilled Ying Huaixu.
At this rate, he would definitely be able to stockpile 100,000 experience points before reaching Meridian Opening.
This was practically the perfect start.
Meanwhile, after following Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang as they slaughtered their way through these outposts, the once thoroughly upright He Xiuyuan felt his entire understanding of the world being frantically reshaped.
"Hold on, Ying!"
Seeing Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang excitedly holding their swords, ready to head for the next outpost, He Xiuyuan hurried to stop them.
Ying Huaixu looked back at He Xiuyuan, his face full of confusion. "What is it?"
He Xiuyuan was struggling to keep it together.
"I wanted to ask, just how many outposts does the Thousand Mechanisms Sect have left?"
Ying Huaixu counted on his fingers. "About seven!"
He Xiuyuan no longer bothered wondering how Ying Huaixu knew all this.
Compared with Ying Huaixu's mysterious knowledge, his way of doing things frightened He Xiuyuan far more.
"Stop killing them. If we clear out all these outposts, we'll be in trouble once the City Lord's Manor and the Thousand Mechanisms Sect catch on. What we need to do now is find that inside contact you mentioned and get the details of their blood sacrifice plan!"
Ying Huaixu fell silent for a moment.
He suddenly felt that this fellow might have a point.
Even if they killed everyone here, Falling Radiance City would still be sacrificed.
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect had prepared a backup long ago to ensure this plan succeeded.
The Blood Sacrifice Array on the surface of Falling Radiance City was just for outsiders to see.
In truth, the Thousand Mechanisms Sect had already prepared the offerings for the Annihilation Envoy's arrival beneath the City Lord's Manor.
Besides, plenty more monsters would spawn when Falling Radiance City fell. He would have more than enough to kill.
With that thought, Ying Huaixu nodded. "All right, let's find the inside contact first!"
Then Ying Huaixu led the two straight off in one direction.
Beneath the City Lord's Manor...
The City Lord stood outside an enormous array, watching his subordinates cart in wagonloads of corpses. The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
Beside him stood a Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple wearing a black mask with a smiling face.
The City Lord spoke. "When His Excellency arrives, sorry for the trouble, but please put in a few good words for me, fellow cultivator!"
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple nodded.
"Rest assured. You've made an enormous contribution to His Excellency's arrival, and you'll be amply rewarded. You'll also feel honored to have made the decision you did today!"
The City Lord's smile grew even brighter.
But then he began to worry.
"We can already bring His Excellency here. As for the plan targeting the Divine Firmament Sword Sect... isn't it rather unnecessary?"
The City Lord was genuinely a little afraid of the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
Although Falling Radiance City wasn't under the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's jurisdiction, it wasn't all that far from the sect.
If the Divine Firmament Sword Sect learned what he had done, he could guarantee he wouldn't survive.
And now they were going to actively provoke members of the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple snorted. "No. The Divine Firmament Sword Sect's people must come. Once His Excellency arrives, he'll need food. He'll need a feast. The unaffiliated cultivators in Falling Radiance City alone won't be enough, so we must bring the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's people here. They are His Excellency's most delicious food!"
The City Lord remained worried.
"But if too many members of the Divine Firmament Sword Sect die, it's bound to draw the attention of their higher-ups. I'm afraid..."
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple raised a hand, cutting him off.
"It doesn't matter. By then, His Excellency will already have arrived. Once he's here, what can even the Divine Firmament Sword Sect's higher-ups do? His Excellency is invincible!"
The City Lord said, "..."
"Enough. Haven't three ants from the Divine Firmament Sword Sect arrived? We can begin our plan now!"
Seeing how adamant the disciple was, the City Lord could only take out his token and issue the order.
But even after he had spent quite some time sending it, there was still no response.
"What's going on?"
The City Lord's heart lurched for no apparent reason.
He sent the order several more times, but there was still no reply.
"Fellow cultivator, could something have gone wrong?"
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple frowned.
"That's impossible!"
Then he took out his own token and began issuing assignments.
At first, there was no response, but after a long while, a reply finally came from the other end. "Received!"
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple put away his token.
"There. Everything is ready!"
With that, the Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple looked toward the Blood Altar again, his eyes filled with anticipation.
The City Lord thought for a moment and wanted to take his leave.
But the Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciple refused.
"This is a critical moment. Don't go wandering off for now!"
His tone left no room for refusal.
The City Lord could only give up.
Yet an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
Looking at Ye Ningshuang in the distance, He Xiuyuan couldn't help rubbing his face.
Where did my shy, even slightly delicate junior sister go?
The way Ye Ningshuang was now honestly frightened He Xiuyuan a little.
Ying Huaixu had brought them to find the inside contact, but that damned contact was in a death-row prison at the City Lord's Manor.
This time, Ying Huaixu hadn't acted himself. Instead, he had Ye Ningshuang do it.
Rather than sneak into the prison, she had slaughtered her way straight through it.
The thing was, these were assassinations. There was hardly any commotion; she simply killed many of the prison guards without a sound.
Ye Ningshuang also grew more and more proficient at killing.
Now that she had finished killing everyone, Ye Ningshuang held a handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from her sword.
As she wiped, she grinned foolishly.
He Xiuyuan was genuinely worried.
"Ying, is she really going to be all right like this?"
Ying Huaixu shook his head. "Don't worry. There won't be any problems. On the contrary, this is actually how she's supposed to be. It's just happened a little early!"
He Xiuyuan said, "???"
"What do you mean, a little early?"
Ying Huaixu said, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you!"
He Xiuyuan turned back to see Ying Huaixu standing outside the prison, killing its condemned inmates one sword strike at a time. He couldn't help rubbing his temples.
"Should I kill a couple too? Otherwise, I keep feeling like I don't fit in with you two!"
Ying Huaixu shook his head. "Don't go killing innocent people. I can see their sin values. You can't!"
He Xiuyuan felt that Ying Huaixu wasn't speaking any kind of human language.
But he did watch for a while, and Ying Huaixu really was selective about whom he killed.
Some people in the prison, Ying Huaixu left alive. Others he killed without hesitation.
Fine. He Xiuyuan no longer bothered wondering how Ying Huaixu did it. He could do as he pleased.
Before long, however, Ying Huaixu stopped, pulled a leather-wrapped scroll out of a corpse's belly, and tossed it to He Xiuyuan.
He Xiuyuan froze for a moment. "What's this?"
Ying Huaixu said calmly, "The Thousand Mechanisms Sect's detailed plan!"
Before you continue