Both parties had officially merged into one and did not linger or need to choose a direction, as they had no idea where the Divine Fire might be, so they randomly picked a direction and proceeded straight.

As far as the current region was concerned, there wasn't much to investigate; tens of thousands of people had just dispersed from the area—if there were any Divine Fire, it would have been discovered and they would not have had a chance.

Nevertheless, they did not give up easily and fanned out to comb through the area.

Though the merged teams did not interact seamlessly, there were no conflicts.

The lack of harmony stemmed from their unfamiliarity with each other, and the absence of conflict was because the Demon Path members made up the majority of Four Cauldron Sect, allowing Shi Chun to suppress the Mingshan Sect group, and the greatest conflicts were temporarily suppressed—Feng Yaoyang, who was "less skilled," could no longer act arrogantly.

Xu Anzhang and Shi Chun naturally found themselves at the back of the group, chatting softly.

As soon as the two met privately, Shi Chun immediately focused on the details, "What's the situation, why are you so late?"

"Oh," Xu Anzhang sighed, "What else could it be? It's still that Senior Brother Feng, managing to persuade him to come and meet was already quite an achievement. Speaking of which, the sect master on your side, is he really as formidable as you claim?"

Shi Chun replied, "What do you mean by 'as you claim'? Are you saying he's been talked up? He is inherently one of the elite, an artifact refining talent from the Hundred Refinement Sect. I don't understand artifact refining, but I know his talent in artifact refining is very high."

Xu Anzhang wondered, "With such high talent among the elite disciples, how could the Hundred Refinement Sect bear to expel him?"

Shi Chun pointed to the people in front, "The eleven ahead, each from different sects, aren't they all elite disciples of their respective sects? Originally, they were all leaders representing their sects at the conference, and in the end, not one was spared; they were all expelled from their sects. How could Tong Mingshan be an exception? It was a special situation, forced by circumstances; they had no choice."

Xu Anzhang joked, "I've heard some of that, seems like they were all tricked by you, right? You really succeeded, deceiving them into complicity at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference and then having the audacity to team up with them afterwards."

Shi Chun responded, "I also learned later that they were expelled from their sects because of me, and some even went to prison. I couldn't bear it, so I pulled them out."

Xu Anzhang could not help but shake his head and lament, "It's a pity—such talented disciples. If I were the Hundred Refinement Sect, I would deeply regret it."

Shi Chun agreed, "Exactly. To be frank, just before we came in, the sect leader and several top officials of the Hundred Refinement Sect found him and tried to pull him back to the sect, hoping he could leverage the Mingshan Sect's manpower in the Divine Fire Domain to help the Hundred Refinement Sect."

Xu Anzhang chuckled, "That's also normal; if I were the Hundred Refinement Sect, I would do the same. He didn't agree?"

Shi Chun continued, "Obviously not, if he had agreed, would he still be with us? Do you know how he refused the sect leader of the Hundred Refinement Sect? He said, 'I am the Sect Master of the Mingshan Sect, how can a sect master betray his own sect!'"

Listening intently, Xu Anzhang's gaze towards Tong Mingshan ahead was filled with admiration.

Shi Chun added, "Listen to that. A good horse doesn't eat the grass that lies behind it, and talented people are proud like that—not just your Feng Yaoyang. This sect master, too, is proud; who cares about talent arrogance, when one can even outdo his humility to his own sect, much more than your Senior Brother Feng. Of course, his artifact refining talent is definitely higher than your brother's."

Xu Anzhang nodded in agreement, "Absolutely, people with real skills are like that, they don't like pretenses. Let me confirm, in Mingshan Sect, do you call the shots, or does he?"

Shi Chun reassured, "Don't worry, even if he wants to call the shots, it won't matter. As long as they don't know our details, they will still listen to me."

Xu Anzhang felt much relieved, "That's good. Let's get back to business, seeking Divine Fire is our main objective. If you have any good plans, feel free to speak. Before I came, the higher-ups told me to listen to your advice. After meeting you, I understand why. I assume they must have briefed you when you were sent here?"

Shi Chun shared, "They asked me to assist you indeed and to offer strategic advice. However, I'm nearly clueless about this place. I don't even know the current situation, so asking me for suggestions now would be fruitless. By the way, you are from an Artifact Refining Sect, youbshould have more experience than I do. Regarding finding Divine Fire, do you have any experience to share?"

Xu Anzhang replied, "There's not much experience to speak of; Four Cauldron Sect has only been established for about two hundred years, and no one in our sect has entered the Divine Fire Domain before; we are the first batch. Moreover, the experiences of other sects who have entered the Divine Fire Domain are highly guarded secrets that are typically not disclosed.

The higher-ups were aware of our lack of experience in this area and did think of ways to address this, but due to hastily made plans and the limited time, they were unable to procure much—only managed to gather a phrase, which is said to possibly be useful advice."

Shi Chun was skeptical, "Possibly useful? Isn't that a bit nonsensical? What is the phrase?"

Xu Anzhang elaborated, "'Seek commonality in balance, take from extremity.'—'commonality' as in the mundane, 'balance' as in the middle, 'seek' as in striving for, and 'extremity' as in the limits. 'Seek commonality in balance, take from extremity,' just these six characters."

"'Seek commonality in balance, take from extremity'?" Shi Chun mused aloud, asking, "What does that mean?"

Xu Anzhang responded, "I'd like to know too. The higher-ups don't know either. They wouldn't disclose where it came from, so it's difficult to ask further."

After some contemplation, Shi Chun suggested, "Take from extremity, when you mentioned 'limits' earlier, could 'take from extremity' mean taking from extreme conditions given our current environment?"

Xu Anzhang hesitated, "I thought about it that way too, but then there's also 'seek commonality in balance'—what does that mean? It's baffling!"

Shi Chun countered, "When will you be able to figure it out?"

"Uh..." Xu Anzhang was taken aback, "How would I know that?"

Shi Chun concluded, "If it's bewildering, let's set it aside for now rather than let it trip us up; let's first verify if the latter half means what we think it does."

Xu Anzhang asked, "You mean to find an extreme environment to test it out?"

Shi Chun suggested, "The entrance, that vast expanse of the lava field, wouldn't that qualify?"

Xu Anzhang speculated, "It should also count, but so many people have been there and found nothing. Going again..."

Shi Chun interjected, "Brother Xu, it seems like that's not how you should calculate it. I think, if Divine Fire had been discovered there, there would be no need to search. But if nothing was found, it's actually worth searching. The problem is that at the time, it seems no one seriously searched there. Of course, whether someone went afterward remains unknown."

Whether it made sense or not was debatable, but he felt there was no need to return. However, some issues needed an early resolution, and it was best addressed promptly.

Seeing his insistence, alright, a somewhat hesitant Xu Anzhang still felt the need to respect his opinion, perhaps he really had a high opinion? Moreover, the seniors had told him to listen more, so it wouldn't be appropriate to reject the first suggestion immediately.

"Alright," he nodded and agreed.

What remained was for each of them to convince their respective people. Shi Chun had it easy; a call was all it took.

As soon as Xu Anzhang approached Feng Yaoyang, he was immediately met with Feng's ridicule, "Brother Xu, you've been quite close to that Shi Chun, be careful not to lift a rock only to drop it on your own foot."

Xu Anzhang did not argue with him, instead whispering, "Senior Brother Feng, I have discovered important information about finding Divine Fire from the Mingshan Sect."

At that, Feng Yaoyang immediately retracted his previous words, looking very serious as he asked, "What important news?"

Xu Anzhang said, "The Hundred Refinement Sect had previously entered the Divine Fire Domain and summarized their experience in six words: 'Seek stability, take the extremes'..."

With that, Feng Yaoyang immediately issued an order, summoning the Four Cauldron Sect to assemble.

The two groups of people congregated again. This time there was no need to search along the way; they simply brought out the Wind Scale Magical Treasure, enveloping their people and returned to the entrance area.

Soon, the group returned to the entrance's molten domain. Even before landing, they felt the intense heat.

Scattered around were either bubbling, fiery-red molten lava or parched land chunks, like islands of varying sizes in a lake, from which black, white, or grey smoke occasionally emitted.

The group then began their search.

Chu Jingtang, frequently sighing while exploring the molten island surfaces, was with Lao Changtai who knew his thoughts and felt this fruitless effort was meaningless and tormenting.

"It'll be just forty-nine days, we'll get through. I heard that inside the Divine Fire Domain, as long as you don't fight or vie, it's quite safe," Lao Changtai took the opportunity to console him.

Chu Jingtang bitterly smiled, "It seems you still don't understand our Master. If it's just getting through by muddling along, I wouldn't say anything.

Just wait and see. He came to this place so quickly and already cooperated with others; it would be strange if he were just muddling through. I vividly remember the incident by the Moon Sea, every time gathering people meant trouble, and it seems like it won't be long until something happens again."

Lao Changtai, deep in thought, suddenly saw a figure descending in front of them. It was Wu Jinliang, who pointed to a larger island in the distance and called them, "Meet over there, the Master is waiting for you. Ah, it's annoying without the mother-son amulet being useful."

Having enjoyed better days, Wu Jinliang was not used to living in the Land of Exile again. He took a deep inhale from the frozen goat before flying away with the Big Gourd on his back, continuing to gather others.

"His gourd seems to have lost its weight, it's gotten lighter again."

Chu Jingtang muttered as he watched the departing figure and then followed Lao Changtai to the designated spot.

Upon encountering Shi Chun and asking what was the matter, Shi Chun did not reveal anything, asking them to wait a bit longer.

It did not take long for all thirteen people from the Mingshan Sect to gather back.

Sweeping his gaze over everyone, Shi Chun bluntly stated, "Gentlemen, I wish to take Feng Yaoyang's life. Who is willing to take a risk for me?"

At these words, except for Wu Jinliang chuckling, the other eleven were startled and looked at each other.

Particularly, Lao Changtai, giving Chu Jingtang a meaningful look as if saying what was just discussed was still fresh, and indeed, the situation had quickly heated up as expected.

Shen Moming asked, "Master, why? Is it just because he spoke disrespectfully?"

Shi Chun replied, "That's one reason, but not the main one; no need to delve deeper. I have my plans, and you'll understand in due course."

Chu Jingtang really admired him; it was exactly as feared. Sighing, he said, "Master, it's not that we cherish our lives too much, it's just that we can't do this. I asked, and Feng Yaoyang is at the High Martial Great Success Realm, a realm of Great Success

is true High Martial, already capable of injuring people from afar, not something we can compare with. They might also have Magical Treasures."

Lao Changtai also said, "Exactly, we couldn't kill him even if we wanted to. We are no match for Mulan Qingqing. In terms of strength, only you, Master, are capable here."

Implicit in his words, he asked, does the Master have the confidence to kill Feng Yaoyang?

Shi Chun explained, "I cannot make a move myself, I need to be present to manage the aftermath. Wu Jinliang and Zhu Xiangxin being too conspicuous won't work, and as she is a woman, it's not suitable. It has to be you guys. Who is willing to take the risk?"

While everyone exchanged glances, Tong Mingshan spoke up, "Since the Master insists on doing so, I might as well be the Sect Master. It will be me."

He felt helpless too; he didn't want to take the risk. Which sect would let the Sect Master take the risk first? But the Master had found him beforehand, insisting he lead this act.

Shi Chun immediately applauded and praised, "True to the Sect Master of the Mingshan Sect. Well-deserved!"

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