Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang might not have known that this canyon they were busily dealing with was their "blessed land." Just by running over here to stir up trouble, they could be discovered by the outside world.

It was impossible to dig out all the collapsed rubble in the canyon; finding the buried entrance and digging a hole there would suffice.

Although there was a large volume of collapsed rocks, it wasn't much work for these monks once they got started.

In less than half an hour, the buried entrance had been dug out, and the two men who didn't mind getting dirty went in first.

By the time the two women entered with Sandal Gold Flame Energy illuminating the way, Shi Chun had already arranged the items left on the ground, nearly all of which were taken from the five men, including Sun Shigang.

When the two women came in, the two men were going through the items scattered on the ground, so the women naturally drew closer to see what they were looking through.

After gathering the items tossed to the corners, Wu Jinliang gave Shi Chun a meaningful look, indicating that they had nearly everything they needed.

Shi Chun immediately observed Xiang Laner's reaction. He didn't blame Wu Jinliang for not having an eye for these things; after all, even he, Shi Chun, couldn't see any special use for the pile of messy items. Now it depended on whether Xiang Laner could recognize anything.

Unfortunately, Xiang Laner let him down. Although she carefully examined the pile of items on the ground, she showed no unusual reaction.

Could the woman be lying? He felt it unlikely. To expose Sun Shigang's identity just to test if they had a connection to his disappearance seemed pointless; there had to be something on Sun Shigang worth exposing.

He couldn't have come all this way just to leave empty-handed, could he? He quickly began to think of countermeasures.

As Bian Weiyin surveyed the cave, she suddenly asked, "Is this where you two were in secluded cultivation? After joining the West Pole collective, did you come here to cultivate in seclusion?"

Shi Chun's gaze shifted slightly as he responded, "Otherwise, how could I have broken through to High Martial? After joining the West Pole, I felt a breakthrough in my cultivation was imminent, so I left to cultivate in seclusion. And don't blame me—with the attitude of Bai Shuchuan and his people, they wouldn't have let me cultivate in peace. They didn't care whether I would break through or not."

He used it as an explanation to Bian Weiyin for his departure back then.

Then he nudged the pile of items on the ground with his toe and continued, "Speaking of that night when I left the group, I nearly lost my life. Shortly after leaving, we encountered five guys who ambushed us. Luckily, I had just gotten some immobilization charms from you; otherwise, I would've been dead. Here, these items belong to those five guys. Alas, I still can't figure out why they wanted to kill us."

He kept an eye on Xiang Laner's reaction as he spoke.

Wu Jinliang blinked in surprise, puzzled as to why Shi Chun would reveal the matter of killing Sun Shigang.

This time, Xiang Laner's reaction was significant; she abruptly raised her eyes and stared intensely at Shi Chun.

Shi Chun immediately realized his probing had an effect; Sun Shigang's initially deliberate malice was not without reason—this woman truly knew about Sun Shigang's plan to attack them.

Even though he didn't know the reason behind their attack, his objective had been achieved.

He was letting her know that these items were Sun Shigang's possession, yet she couldn't hold them accountable for killing Sun Shigang and the others, lest she first explain why Sun Shigang's group wanted to kill them.

Xiang Laner's lips were tight, her eyes returning to the pile of disordered items. She knelt down and started to slowly sift through them.

This was precisely the effect Shi Chun wanted. He knew she was going through whose belongings, she knew who had killed Sun Shigang and his men, but both could only acknowledge it in their minds, neither could break the silence.

Wu Jinliang, too, slowly caught on to what was happening and smirked.

Shi Chun realized that earlier, Xiang Laner had been deceiving them; the supposed important item might indeed exist, but she probably didn't recognize what it was. He promptly said, "Jinliang, don't just throw things around anymore. Running back and forth, isn't it troublesome? Gather them up quickly."

"Alright." Wu Jinliang responded promptly and knelt to pack up the items quickly, even pulling back the bottles and jars that Xiang Laner had picked up to examine.

In the presence of Bian Weiyin, Xiang Laner hesitated to make a scene and could only watch Wu Jinliang pack up everything and leave.

The group crawled out of the cave and flew up the cliff face. Wu Jinliang handed Shi Chun the packed items, pulled his knife from the cliff, and took out the Wind Scale, asking, "Where to?"

Shi Chun looked at Bian Weiyin. "Let's first take sister to where she can heal her injuries."

"Easy." Wu Jinliang said cheerfully, using the Wind Scale to swiftly bring them all into the air.

He also quickly brought them back to the previous valley, which was not far away.

After landing, Bian Weiyin asked again, "Where are you going?"

Shi Chun replied with a smile, "Never content with mediocrity, off to seize the first place!"

"Ha ha ha!" Carrying his knife, Wu Jinliang laughed heartily, the kind of laugh that came from great confidence. He once again cast the Wind Scale, taking them into the sky and away.

Bian Weiyin watched them go, convinced that Shi Chun was brushing her off. How could they possibly be going to snatch first place—when it came to the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, it wasn't their turn to vie for the lead.

Just like the previous night, when asked which power they were from, Shi Chun brushed it off, stating they had no backing power.

Thus, leaving leeway at every turn, how could she dare to be reckless?

And there was Xiang Laner; she also felt something was off, lacking her former meek and compliant demeanor.

After flying for a while, Xiang Laner suddenly said, "Find a hidden place along the way, let's go through that pile of items again."

No need to elaborate, she knew the other party understood her meaning very well.

Shi Chun surveyed the area, "There aren't many people around here, so let's set up down below."

Wu Jinliang was about to execute the plan when Xiang Laner immediately called a halt, "No, we need a place that can't be easily observed from above."

Shi Chun was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Xiang Laner turned to him, somewhat surprised, "Do you really not know, or are you pretending?"

Shi Chun, "Know what? Be clear about it."

Laner's gaze flickered, finding it strange how these two had managed to kill Sun Shigang. They were under the banner of Wukang Mountain; Sun Shigang wouldn't have neglected to guard against immobilization charms, especially since he was accompanied by five fairly strong individuals. She didn't believe Shi Chun and his companion could take down Sun Shigang without some help.

And then there was this Wind Scale, which was clearly supplied by a power behind them.

That's why she found it peculiar, that even though some power was involved from behind the scenes, how could they fail to inform about something as important as the Heavenly Mirror? Weren't they afraid of exposing their Demon Path identity?

Seeing that they were genuinely confused, she still explained, "The Sky Rain Meteor Conference this time has employed the precious Heavenly Mirror." She showed off a chain on her wrist, "This is the Magic Artifact that locates us, as long as the Heavenly Mirror wants to see us, it can see us anytime unless we're covered."

Both Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were dumbfounded. Was there such a thing?

Wu Jinliang tried to ask, "Can it see us flying right now?"

Xiang Laner, "Of course."

"Damn it!" Wu Jinliang let out an exclamation and suddenly put away the Wind Scale.

So, the three of them plummeted to the ground from the sky in unison.

Xiang Laner cursed, "Wu Jinliang, what the hell are you doing?"

With cultivation reaching High Martial, they wouldn't die from a fall, and after casting a spell to buffer their descent, they landed without incident.

Shi Chun could empathize with Wu Jinliang's feelings, as he also felt heavy-hearted, considering he was also involved in the matter. He immediately tried to explain to Xiang Laner, "We didn't want to hide this from you, but we stole this Wind Scale. Wasn't our robbery process seen?"

Stolen the Wind Scale? Shocked by the revelation, Laner explained, "Who do you think you are, that someone would always be watching you? Besides, the Wind Scale doesn't have your name on it..."

She then explained the function of the Heavenly Mirror.

Shi Chun was concerned if their enterings and exits from the Moon Sea had been seen, but upon learning that the Heavenly Mirror—like the mother and child charms—was ineffective against the Moon Sea, the two men finally breathed a sigh of relief. So, the process of stealing the Wind Scale must have gone unnoticed.

"Then why bother finding a place? Just take off your cloak, and it will be enough. We'll hold it up for you, let's do it here." Shi Chun said, throwing down his burden, knowing how to avoid the Heavenly Mirror and too lazy to bother finding another place.

Xiang Laner realized that these two men had a rough way of doing things, or rather, they were simple and crude.

Well, the important task at hand took precedence, so she didn't bother about it and took off her cape to give to the two men, squatting down to open the bag of items for inspection.

Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun, who had set down their knives, also spread out the cape and squatted, both raising their hands to hold up the cape to block the view from above.

Laner couldn't help but doubt their actions; indeed, the three of them looked quite crude, like squatting to defecate.

The two men watched as Xiang Laner inspected each item, Wu Jinliang suddenly murmured, "Chun Tian, our actions just now reminded me of someone."

Shi Chun glanced at their raised-hand gesture but couldn't think of any association; he asked, "Who?"

Wu Jin, "The one with the umbrella in the Land of Exile, you know, the one from the legend."

Shi Chun was startled, "That warden?"

Wu Jin, "Yeah, him. Could it be that he carried the umbrella to avoid the snooping of the Heavenly Mirror?"

Hearing this, Xiang Laner looked up and asked, "That warden is quite a figure, do you know him?"

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "We'd like to, we only know of him, never met him. Chun Tian, what if we win first place at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference? Would that be an honor for Life Prison, and might the warden take notice of us?"

Shi Chun nearly jumped with fright at his suggestion, and said with wide eyes, "Are you nuts? Why would we want his attention? Do you want to be dragged back there? The best thing would be for him to completely forget about us."

This last sentence also served as a reminder to Wu Jinliang, who realized their differences from others, as their matter with Life Prison was not yet settled; they could be taken back at any time, and he scared himself with the thought.

Having tasted the better life on the outside, they would rather die than return to that hellish place, Life Prison.

Xiang Laner, who was browsing the items, scoffed, "Don't worry, once you're released from Life Prison, they have no jurisdiction over you. No matter what you've done, they can't take you back, unless you commit some heinous crime on the outside and are condemned to return. You keep talking about winning first at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference; don't you think you're aiming too high? Even if you did win, you wouldn't be worth a second glance from that warden; you're nothing in his eyes."

"Sigh." Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, as if on cue, both heaved a sigh. Only the two of them knew the depths of their criminal past in Life Prison; it was indeed a heavy weight on their hearts.

Shi Chun glared fiercely at Wu Jinliang, who had dredged up that forgotten memory.

Wu Jinliang was ashamed.

Their sighing drew the attention of Laner, who looked up slightly startled, then stared intently at the bracelet on Shi Chun's wrist, thinking she had seen wrong, and rubbed her eyes before looking again.

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