Zhu Xiangxin hurriedly thumped her chest, assuring, "Master, I swear to heaven I can absorb it, I definitely can absorb it, absolutely no problem. If there's a single lie, may I be struck down by divine retribution!"

"No matter to whom you swear, it's useless. I've been burned once by someone who risked their life to obtain the Divine Fire, and to trust you again would mean it's my turn to die!" Shi Chun couldn't help but curse, still shaken by the previous events—who could understand that despair?

He turned to look at An Wuzhi, "You tell me, can she successfully absorb it?"

An Wuzhi naturally wanted to say she couldn't, but some lies were impossible to tell—there were too many people here who understood Fire Attribute Skills, and a simple inquiry would reveal the truth.

Zhu Xiangxin immediately tensed up, not expecting Shi Chun to pull such a move—it was brilliant to have her competitor confirm her words.

She anxiously looked toward An Wuzhi, truly afraid he would ruin the opportunity; she, of course, knew he desired it, too.

After An Wuzhi swallowed hard several times, though reluctant, he was forced to tell the truth, "The might of the condensed Divine Fire has been dissipated. Even after another decade or two, it's unlikely to recover significantly. Controlling it isn't difficult; anyone proficient in Fire Attribute Skills who can suppress it should be able to absorb it. It's just a matter of the length of absorption time, but she should be capable!"

After speaking, he felt deflated like a punctured ball.

Without another word, Zhu Xiangxin bowed deeply in gratitude.

With that, Shi Chun finally felt at ease. Of course, he still cursed in his heart—it was such a simple matter, yet he was forced to complicate it.

In the end, he handed the Divine Fire over to Zhu Xiangxin.

Upon receiving it smoothly, Zhu Xiangxin was so joyful she wept, truly shedding tears, bowing and thanking Shi Chun repeatedly, "Thank you, Master, for making this possible!"

Right then, it felt surreal, her excitement bringing tears and causing her to tremble.

She had thought that being expelled from her sect would be a terrible fate, but who could have imagined that she would enter the Divine Fire Domain, gaining the Divine Fire that every Alchemy Refiner dreamt of?

She was well aware that after absorbing this thing, she would wield a Divine Artifact, and her life would soar to another esteemed realm.

Unable to believe it, the reality was still unfathomable even with the item in hand.

Shi Chun said, "Although I've given you the item, let's make things clear. Remember this, before leaving the Divine Fire Domain, unless absolutely necessary and without my order, you must not reveal that you've absorbed the Divine Fire, especially not to the Four Cauldron Sect."

While Zhu Xiangxin didn't fully grasp what the Master had in mind, she absolutely understood there was a plan involved. Nodding in agreement, she said, "Rest assured, Master, Xiangxin remembers."

Now, she was thoroughly submissive.

Shi Chun then looked at the dispirited An Wuzhi, "Enough, she's a woman; you, a man, should step aside for her. There's still plenty of time ahead, and you won't be forgotten. I'll consider you in due time."

Wiping away tears, Zhu Xiangxin also hurriedly consoled, "Brother An, don't worry. With the Master here, there will surely be another chance, and next time it will definitely be yours."

Shi Chun coldly retorted, "Who's to say you have a say in this?"

At that moment, his words were tinged with irritation—no help for it, given the lingering trauma from before, he still found these two utterly distasteful.

"Uh..." Zhu Xiangxin quickly zipped her lips, both verbally and mentally acquiescing, showing a docile stance for fear of any mistake that might jeopardize everything.

Inside the cave, Chu Jingtang and others faced the roaring flames at a distance, sighing in awe but not daring to approach.

After trying several paths, all were blocked by fire, and there was no way to figure out Shi Chun and the others' conditions or to advance any further.

"Is the situation over already?" Chen Wuji asked with a bitter smile.

Hao Ji replied, "Not necessarily. The fire is still burning, which could mean that the fight inside hasn't ended yet."

That made some sense, indeed.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Chu Jingtang suddenly raised his hand to signal silence and tilted his head to listen intently, asking moments later, "Did you hear anything? I thought I heard a sound of fighting just now."

Hao Ji asked, "Did you?"

Chen Wuji chimed in, "There seemed to be an explosion. I heard it too, but it might not be a fighting noise. It could also be a combustion blast when the flames encountered something."

As he spoke, the three of them froze, their gaze riveted as the wall of fire ahead receded like a tide and quickly vanished without a trace, leaving them with the sensation of being plunged into darkness.

Of course, this "darkness" was relative, merely contrasting with the intense white light from before. The molten iron in the cave still dripped with a ticking sound, while the metal continued glowing red-hot.

Despite being reluctant to venture in recklessly, they debated what could have happened, worried that the end of the flames might signify some true conclusion to the events.

To tell the truth, without Shi Chun holding them back, they had no intention of taking any more risks, even if Wu Jinliang gave the order; they wouldn't listen.

They had all once been elite disciples of their respective sects and were not so easily commanded.

Without Shi Chun, Wu Jinliang had no real power or credibility over them. They acknowledged Wu Jinliang's abilities, but some things could be felt without words; he couldn't provide the sense of direction Shi Chun had.

It was a hard feeling to describe. Although sometimes they thought the Master talked nonsense, they wouldn't display much resistance out of fear of retribution, eventually following him nonetheless.

It wasn't noticeable in ordinary times, but the thought of someone else taking charge woke an inherent comparison they all felt deep down.

Without Shi Chun, they would definitely have retreated to the area near the entrance and waited there peacefully for the opening of the cave mouth, not believing they stood to gain any benefit from this place.

But as the metal walls cooled down a bit, they continued deeper into the cave, afraid of the embarrassment if Shi Chun was still alive and they hadn't shown their worth. They proceeded towards the underground space following their initial impressions.

Halfway through, light suddenly illuminated the path ahead, causing the three to halt, surprised and curious.

Soon, they saw Shi Chun and his two companions, unscathed, and the Divine Fire controlled by Zhu Xiangxin. Chu Jingtang and the others felt a wave of relief and hurriedly ran forward to greet them.

"Master, are you alright?" Chen Wuji earnestly showed concern. In truth, he was curious: how had the old man avoided the devastating power of the Divine Fire?

Earlier, they had all hoped Shi Chun had escaped the range of the Divine Fire and simply lost his way. But now, seeing the Master emerging from where the Divine Fire raged, how could they not be shocked?

Shi Chun gave them a nonchalant reply, "I'm fine. But you seem to have run quite fast."

Indeed, they ran faster than him; his cultivation had only recently made a breakthrough to become an Upper High Martial, while the others were established Upper High Martials. Even within the same realm, there were levels of cultivation strength.

The three laughed awkwardly. Hao Ji exclaimed, "Thankfully we ran fast; any slower and we would've lost our lives. Damn, that was too dangerous. Lucky we scattered so much white ash earlier; otherwise, if we'd blundered into a dead end, we'd be gone."

Shi Chun could relate deeply to that sentiment.

Chu Jingtang lashed out at An and Zhu, "What the hell were you two thinking? If you weren't sure you could control it, you could have at least warned us. Let us get away at the very least, will you? Is this how you play? Master, if they keep this up, we really can't stick with them. We might not burn to death but we'll die of fright! This is just selfishness to a terrifying degree. My beautiful spade beard is toast now!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.