Chase? How to chase? The arriving Four Cauldron Sect disciple hesitated as well; if someone could kill Feng Yaoyang, was it appropriate for him to pursue alone?

Yet, not chasing wasn't an option either. Ignoring the killing of a sectmate was unacceptable, especially with ten elders watching with wide eyes. The Four Cauldron Sect disciple, putting himself in a tough spot, had no choice but to once again ride the Wind Scale up into the air and head in the direction of the murderer's escape, whether or not he could or would catch up, heaven knew.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief, glanced at each other, then hurriedly went to face the ten elders, bowing deeply in apology.

"Being pursued and left with no choice but to seek refuge in this sacred place, disturbing the seniors here, was impolite of us juniors," Shi Chun said courteously.

Wu Jinliang followed suit with the bowing; since the Master liked to act cultured, and he couldn't speak the flowery language, he let the Master do the talking, just saying extra on his behalf was enough.

The ten elders recognized these two rascals; they had seen them before at the entrance of Qi Yun Valley.

These ten had their own responsibilities and their own limitations. They monitored each other and couldn't get involved in the competitions between various sects, fearing they might abuse their power to help disciples from their own sects.

Without the unanimous agreement of all ten for a significant reason, they couldn't even leave this mountain top.

However, one elder couldn't help but speak up, "You hide behind us whenever there's trouble, using us as shields, is that appropriate?"

Shi Chun hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes."

You're right, but we're not going anywhere anyway.

Though scolded, the two didn't retreat far, merely down a slope, and continued to linger under the gaze of the ten elders, looking fearful for their lives.

Elsewhere, the Four Cauldron Sect disciple, who discovered Feng Yaoyang's death, was shocked and began to rush about to notify his sectmates, linking up everywhere.

Soon after, Xu Anzhang and others gradually arrived at the murder scene.

Crouching in front of Feng Yaoyang's corpse, Xu Anzhang was truly stunned. Their hope from the Demon Path for the championship was gone?

Eventually, he yelled out, "What on earth happened here?"

"I don't know, saw people fighting, and someone chasing after Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang. They were being chased in that direction," someone pointed and explained.

Someone else was after Shi Chun? Xu Anzhang became increasingly puzzled and immediately redirected his group. He then personally rode the Wind Scale with a few men in the indicated direction to pursue further investigation.

Along the way, they occasionally met people from the Mingshan Sect and their sectmates. They couldn't help but stop to ask for information. Guided by these people, they naturally ended up at the mountain guarded by the ten elders.

Not caring about the ten elders, Xu An immediately landed in front of Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang and urgently asked, "Brother Chun, what exactly happened?"

Shi Chun grimly said, "What else could happen? So many saw it; we were being chased."

Xu An asked, "How did Feng Yaoyang end up being killed?"

Shi Chun said in a grave voice, "The murderer must have been targeting us, or else they wouldn't relentlessly chase us. If it weren't for Brother Feng and another brother intervening briefly, we wouldn't have had the chance to get away. The murderer is very strong; we implicated Brother Feng and the other brother."

He turned his head to look at the ten elders gazing down from above and sighed, "It was perilous. If not for the ten elders deterring the murderer, our lives would have been in grave danger."

Wu Jinliang nodded repeatedly, "It was too dangerous, fortunate to be near the ten elders."

Xu An and the others looked up at the elders above, now understanding the reason why Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang hid here.

Shi Chun then questioned Xu An in return, "Did someone from Four Cauldron Sect chase after the murderer on a Wind Scale? Any results?"

Just as he finished speaking, someone riding a Wind Scale arrived; it was Tong Mingshan, along with a few, including Chu Jingtang. Not everyone from the Mingshan Sect had gathered, they probably hadn't met up yet.

Startled, Xu An, ignoring Tong Mingshan and the others, urgently asked, "Someone from our sect went after the murderer? How many are chasing?"

Shi Chun glanced at Tong Mingshan and the others and replied, "From what we saw, only one person was chasing after the murderer on a Wind Scale."

Xu An looked concerned, unable not to worry. Feng Yaoyang's strength wasn't weak, and he had capable protection, yet he was killed. Was one person enough?

However, worrying now was futile; they didn't know where the person had gone. In this damn Divine Fire Domain, communication talismans were useless and there was no way to make contact.

He had to face reality and asked Shi Chun again, "Do you know who the murderer is?"

Shi Chun said gravely, "Though the murderer was masked, I have a guess as to who it might be."

Xu An said urgently, "Speak quickly."

Shi Chun explained, "From the Shengshen Continent in the east, four Artifact Refining sects are participating: Heavenly Furnace Sect, Fengluo Sect, Refining Castle, and Seven Star Island. The murderer must be from one of them; there's no mistake."

Xu An asked, "What makes you say that?"

Shi Chun elaborated, "It's a long story, but to put it simply, it involves Wukang Mountain, where I used to be. After the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, Jieyun Mountain, the most powerful sect in Sheng Province, wanted to swallow Wukang Mountain. At a critical moment, I obtained a protection charm from the Shengzhou Domain Master, which caused humiliation for the aggressively demanding Jieyun Mountain who came calling.

I was well aware that Jieyun Mountain would not let me off the hook. Upon arriving at the capital city of Shengshen Continent, I dared not leave the house for a good half year.

I thought that after so much time, Jieyun Mountain's anger would have subsided and they wouldn't keep holding a grudge against such a trivial person as myself. But shortly after arriving on Li Huo Island, I realized that people from Jieyun Mountain were after me. Luckily, I was warned in time, and Jieyun Mountain didn't dare cause trouble on Li Huo Island."

"But before I entered the Divine Fire Domain, I had already received reliable news that Jieyun Mountain had summoned the Four Sects' Masters again, planning to have their hands hunt me down within the Divine Fire Domain.

I thought that the Artifact Refining Sects would prioritize finding Divine Fire and wouldn't waste time on me, but now it seems I was too optimistic. After all, Jieyun Mountain is the biggest sect in Sheng Province; they must have put some pressure on the Four Sects."

When these words were spoken, the group from Four Cauldron Sect was filled with astonishment and apprehension. Were they being implicated just like that?

The ten elders on the mountain looked at each other, originally thinking guarding this place would be dull and uninteresting. They hadn't expected to be able to enjoy such a lively scene and encounter such a spectacle.

However, Chu Jingtang's group exchanged covert glances, their eyes lingering a moment longer on Tong Mingshan.

Xu Anzhang frowned deeply in thought, then suddenly lifted his eyes, staring into Shi Chun's and demanded, "Why are you two with Senior Brother Feng?"

Shi Chun's eyebrows shot up, counter-questioning, "What do you mean?"

Xu Anzhang pressed his hands down, "Don't overthink it. I just want to know why Senior Brother Feng, who doesn't get along with you, would stay with you, and even help you out?"

Shi Chun took a deep breath and explained, "Because when we were searching around in the sky, we discovered traces of Divine Fire. We intended to look for you, but happened to see him on the way. Wanting to ease the tension, I went over to alert him. I didn't expect this to happen."

Upon hearing this, the crowd momentarily put the death of Feng Yaoyang aside. Xu Anzhang urgently asked, "Brother Chun, did you really find traces of Divine Fire?"

Not just them, even the ten elders on the mountain had their spirits ignite, all eyes on Shi Chun.

All ten of them were the ones who had ventured into the Divine Fire Domain in the previous session, and they were fortunate enough to have obtained Divine Fire before. They knew all too well how difficult it was to find it, and here this group had made a discovery upon just entering.

It should be known that for each convening of the Divine Fire Covenant, the session with the most gains only reported a hundred people finding success, with most other times, only a few dozen being so lucky.

Saying it was a one in a thousand chance was not an exaggeration.

Among the group from Four Cauldron Sect, some were exceptionally excited. With Feng Yaoyang dead, who should have the chance to absorb Divine Fire?

Chu Jingtang's group remained silent; they really didn't know how their Master would wrap up this lie.

Shi Chun calmly stated, "I can't guarantee it's Divine Fire, but indeed, we may have found where the Divine Fire is."

Xu Anzhang looked around at everyone, then at the ten elders on the mountain, and immediately motioned, "Brother Chun, let's step aside and talk."

He gestured to Youu Mu to join them.

Shi Chun offered no resistance and followed them to a shorter mountain peak.

Without others around, Xu Anzhang whispered, "Did you truly find traces of Divine Fire?"

Shi Chun replied, "Brother Xu, I feel something's off with you. We both know why we're here; why do you keep questioning me?"

Xu Anzhang insisted, "Isn't this just to confirm with you? Did you really discover Divine Fire?"

Shi Chun answered, "I don't know if it's Divine Fire. I spotted unusual red lights pulsating near some magma. Now let me ask you, do you think it's Divine Fire?"

Xu Anzhang asked, "Do you still remember where that is, can you still find it?"

Shi Chun retorted, "Are you kidding? This is important; how could I forget the place? Just call everyone over to take a look, and we'll know."

Hearing this, Xu Anzhang fell silent for a while, then turned to Youu Mu and inquired, "If it really is Divine Fire, what should we do?"

Youu Mu furrowed his brow, saying nothing.

Shi Chun said, "What else can we do? With so many of you here, just pick someone else to absorb it. If you don't want to, I still have three people on my side who can. They're probably dying for it. Didn't you see their longing looks just now? If you won't go and investigate, then I'll have to take them."

Xu Anzhang suddenly questioned him, "Brother Chun, if Tong Mingshan absorbs the Divine Fire, do you think he will listen to you once we're out?"

Shi Chun chuckled, "What, does Four Cauldron Sect plan to let an outsider absorb it…" He paused mid-sentence, then with a sly suspicion, he asked, "What do you mean?"

Xu Anzhang slowly nodded, "Let him compete."

"That's not going to work," Shi Chun decisively waved off the idea. "It's true he listens to me now, but if he were to absorb Divine Fire, if he grew strong, once we're out, there's no certainty he would still obey me. I can even assure you that with a better prospect, the chances of him still listening to me are slim. Letting him absorb it would be a mistake; you should find someone from Four Cauldron Sect who can be controlled. I don't want to be responsible for that."

Youu Mu spoke up, "Brother Chun, the issue at hand is who, among the two groups, is most likely to seize victory after absorbing Divine Fire. How we fulfill our instructions from above and achieve the goal of victory is what matters most, not which side absorbs Divine Fire."

Xu Anzhang added, "Once Tong Mingshan absorbs Divine Fire and gets out, he wouldn't give up the chance to compete, would he?"

Shi Chun remained silent.

Xu Anzhang said, "It's not about whether he will listen to you in the future. For a while after getting out, if he can win the competition, with your abilities, influencing him for a short while shouldn't be a problem, right? Enough for us to act, enough to conveniently get what we want. What happens to him in the future is irrelevant."

Shi Chun hesitated before responding, "If you put it that way, it shouldn't be a problem. He knows I'm close to Young Master Nan; he wouldn't dare cross me in the short term. Tong Mingshan would definitely be willing to absorb Divine Fire, but have you thought about it? With so many from Four Cauldron Sect, is it appropriate to let an outsider have the chance? There are seven among us not on the same path as us; they will never agree."

Xu Anzhang spoke indifferently, "Given the circumstances, it's simple—make them disappear completely!"

Shi Chun rested his hand on his forehead, silent. They had said everything he was planning to say; what more could he add?

When others hadn't spoken, he would have sought ways to express those thoughts, but now that they had, there was no need for him to speak.

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