Young Master Nan, sitting in the stands, had a pensive look on his face. Although he was well-versed and had seen numerous sect presentations, he just couldn't comprehend what Shi Chun and his companion were up to on the screen.

In contrast, members from other sects seemed almost desperate to stick with their own groups, not wanting to stray for even a moment. They would even avoid tasks that required them to work alone, fearing any dangers they might encounter.

Yet those two were quite the opposite. From the outset, they had separated themselves and even mingled with other sects, no, other states—heading straight to their biggest competitors. It was truly a unique move; were they not afraid that the Shengzhou Domain Master would kick them out?

It was not just him that was perplexed. Whether it was Feng Chi shrouded in a black cape or the mother and daughter duo of Lan Qiaoyan, confusion was widespread.

Yan Ji, who had inquired about the situation, was also bewildered. He wandered over to the cliff's edge, watching the morning sun's rays pierce through the misty mountains, wondering where Guan Wen had gone.

He believed the group's report partly because of the Extreme Crystals they had gathered. But more importantly, he understood Guan Wen's thinking. With a shower of Extreme Crystals falling nearby, Guan Wen, appearing tranquil yet turbulent beneath, would not want to miss it. Who amongst the sect brothers didn't want to impress their senior sister?

After much deliberation and feeling the bonds of brotherhood, he finally turned to address the others, "Alive, we must see the person; dead, we must see the body. Let's all go in and search again, those who've been in before can lead the way."

"Ah, this..." someone immediately expressed hesitation.

Tong Mingshan from the Hundred Refinement Sect bluntly stated, "The maps distributed by the conference clearly marked this area as dangerous, a Forbidden Land. If someone dies inside, even the conference organizers wouldn't retrieve the body."

An Wuzhi from the Vermilion Bird Pavilion said, "Guan Wen has already proved the dangers of this place with his disappearance. Brother Yan, you pushing us to go in again is unreasonable. If you really want to search—" he nodded toward the twenty people Yan Ji had brought, "you can take them in."

Those freshly arrived twenty people coldly glared back, cursing him inwardly.

Yan Ji turned to look at them, and before he could speak, one of them interrupted, "Brother Yan, I suggest we inform Miss Mulan before making any decisions."

Perhaps he was right. Yan Ji himself wasn't keen on risking his life; Guan Wen had disappeared already, and he didn't think himself any tougher. It was merely a matter of going through the motions. He readily agreed and took out an amulet to contact Mulan Qingqing.

Mulan responded quickly, and after a brief exchange, she too advised against any rash actions. Instead, she suggested re-establishing contact with the thousand people scattered by Guan Wen, and to take over the tasks he had left behind.

Yan Ji then relayed Mulan's instructions to the group and began organizing them.

Shi Chun immediately objected, disliking the plan. Diving into this mess wasn't why he had infiltrated this place—it was cumbersome, time-consuming, and thankless. He spoke up, interrupting, "Brother Yan, I think this is not a good idea."

Everyone looked at him uniformly.

Chu Jingtang blinked, feeling that Brother Wang was better off silent, as his words tended to unnerve people.

Yan Ji frowned unconsciously, thinking that it wasn't Shi Chun's place to decide, and he was merely expected to follow orders.

However, maintaining an appearance of mature consideration, he didn't outright dismiss the suggestion but instead inquired, "Why do you think it's inappropriate?"

Shi Chun explained succinctly, "Rounding up those thousand-plus people is easy, but once contact is lost, reconnecting is troublesome. Searching sect by sect is a foolish method I wouldn't recommend. They've found hidden terrains for laying low, and even if you have the Magical Treasure Wind Scale, it won't be much help. How long will this search take? In my opinion, it's better to wait here. Other sects, having lost contact with Guan Wen, will naturally send people in due course, just as you've come to us. It's already been a night without contact; they might already be mobilizing."

His words resonated deeply with the crowd.

"Indeed, continuing this way is too troublesome."

"We can't possibly keep shouting for them to come out and meet us, can we?"

"Exactly, making too much noise might reveal us if other states are indeed targeting the Moon Sea Worm Extreme Crystal. It could endanger our scattered forces."

"True, waiting for them to contact us is safer."

Voices of opposition were unanimous, aligning with what seemed beneficial for them. Even those that Yan Ji had brought expressed the need for reconsideration.

Seeing Yan Ji falling into contemplative hesitation, Chu Jingtang gave Shi Chun a smile, realizing he wasn't just about unsettling remarks.

Then Shi Chun spoke again, "Brother Yan, consider informing Miss Mulan about this consideration. Also, Brother Guan's disappearance is indeed mysterious; what if he's trapped somewhere, waiting for rescue? The search last night might have missed something due to poor visibility. Searching again in daylight might reveal new clues."

He watched Yan Ji's reactions closely as he spoke, doubting that the other would easily risk disregarding the well-being of their fellow sect members.

Yet his words startled the others. The fifty-odd people aligned with him looked at him as if he were a ghost, including the twenty that Yan Ji had just brought in. Their gaze towards Shi Chun was even more hostile.

The group was itching to ask what on earth he was up to. Just when they had convinced Yan Ji to abandon the search, why was he stirring things up again?

Particularly Chu Jingtang, who had just appreciated Shi Chun, now thought he had overestimated him.

Before others could voice their objections or even display their disapproval, Shi Chun added, "Of course, we are not daring to search again ourselves. However, I have another idea, and I'd like a private word with you, Brother Yan."

Extended an invitation.

What is this guy up to, what can't he say in front of us?

All fifty-plus people were tensely watching Shi Chun last night, genuinely afraid of him.

Since there was a way to find Guan Wen, how could Yan Ji, as a fellow sect member, refuse? Naturally, he could not; he nodded slightly and paced away with Shi Chun.

Inside the capital's training ground, thanks to Xuan State Domain Master Chi Rang's attention, the mirror image occasionally jumped to display Yan Ji. At this very moment, it just happened to show an image of the two of them walking side by side, instantly capturing everyone's attention.

In reality, after the two of them walked behind a large mound and avoided the public eye, Shi Chun spoke in a low voice, "If you want to go to Moon Sea to search for someone, everyone here now knows what happened and wouldn't dare to go. I suggest that Miss Mulan sends some uninformed people from her side, don't tell them about Brother Guan's disappearance. If they don't know, naturally, they won't fear, and we can use another excuse to have them go in search of the person."

Yan Ji was startled, truly dumbfounded. He had seen outrageous before but never anything like this. Were they that desperate to ingratiate themselves with the Su Yuan Sect, to propose such an unethical method?

No wonder he wanted to step aside to speak; if he dared to say this out loud, he would probably be drowned in spit from the crowd.

But then again, if people were willing to flatter their Su Yuan Sect this much, he didn't mind.

However, his scorn reached its limits, and he even harbored thoughts of murder; if they truly went through with this man's method, "Wang Sheng" could not be allowed to live afterwards. The Su Yuan Sect would never allow such disgraceful exploitation of other sects to be known.

But for now, this man was still useful.

He said reservedly, "Is this really appropriate?"

Shi Chun chuckled, "I was just suggesting. Whether it's appropriate or not is for you to decide."

It was indeed just a mere suggestion, aimed at using the opportunity to get closer to Yan Ji. Whether Yan Ji liked him or not did not matter; as long as he was willing to come alongside him amidst this crowd, it would be convenient for him to take action.

Of course, if the other party was foolish enough to use this method, all the better.

Yan Ji gave a slight smile, patted his shoulder warmly, and said, "Okay, I'll think about it. You go back first."

"Okay." Shi Chun smiled, nodded, and turned to leave.

This scene, fully displayed on the capital training ground's mirror image, made it seem as if the two had a good relationship, causing some people's expressions to sour even further.

Fortunately, the scene quickly passed.

After watching Shi Chun leave, Yan Ji turned back behind the mound and took out the mother-and-child talisman to contact Mulan Qingqing.

Back at Shi Chun's side, he was immediately surrounded by the group from last night, who asked him what exactly he had said. He replied that the less everyone knew, the better.

He refused to elaborate, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Later, Wu Jinliang found a moment to pull him aside and quietly asked what was going on.

Naturally, Shi Chun did not hide anything from him. Wu Jinliang listened and chuckled, "If we really do go in and search, we'll definitely need someone who has been there to lead the way."

Shi Chun raised his hand, signaling him to keep his voice down, fearing it was too loud...

The people from Xuan State did not stop their plans to collect Insect Extreme Crystals due to this incident.

Mulan Qingqing, who was pushing the agenda, suddenly stopped, took out the mother-and-child talisman to check, and frowned after seeing it.

The two brothers, who cared about her, noticed and quickly closed in on her.

Guann Yingjie asked, "Senior sister, what's the matter?"

Mulan Qingqing did not reply, instead, she moved the mother-and-child talisman a bit farther from her hand to let them read the content sent back by Yan Ji.

After reading, Chao Zhilin contemplated and said, "Brother Yan's method also makes sense, rather than searching ourselves, it is indeed better to let those people send their own to find."

Guann Yingjie also nodded.

Seeing that both junior brothers agreed, Mulan Qingqing immediately gave her approval.

The message Yan Ji sent afterwards startled all three again.

Chao Zhilin shook his head as he read, "This Wang Sheng from Youxia Mountain is really a petty man."

Guann Yingjie hesitated and said, "The current problem is not knowing whether Brother Guan is alive or dead, and we also need to decide if we want to search. If we give up now, then forget Wang Sheng's suggestion, but if we really want to search, Wang Sheng's method is also a possibility. To search inside, relying on one or two people is useless; we indeed need some manpower involved."

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