"Qianyan Sect..." Xu Anzhang muttered softly, his eyes narrowing as he spoke slowly, "If that's really the case, it must be people from the other two veins."

Shi Chun didn't speak, letting him and Youu Mu ponder slowly.

After a long while, Xu Anzhang looked at Youu Mu's reaction and suddenly blurted out, "Everyone takes their own path, as long as they don't hinder us, we won't hinder them either."

Shi Chun was taken aback, thinking he had heard wrong, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Xu Anzhang said, "Just that, we stay out of each other's way."

Shi Chun was stunned for a moment, then said with realization, "Are you saying that the mission given to us from above, we can give up?"

Give up? Several people, including Wu Jinliang, turned their gaze towards him.

Xu Anzhang said, "Hey, Brother Chun, don't misunderstand me, that's not what I meant."

Shi Chun replied, "The people from the other two veins aren't here for fun. We want to seize the first place, and they also want to seize the first place. Do you think they won't hinder us?"

Xu Anzhang sighed and said, "Things aren't as you think. How should I put it... the Three Sects have an alliance. If there's a dispute, it's to be settled through fair competition; no more fratricide is allowed. Anyone found breaking the covenant will be judged jointly by the Three Sects."

Although he found it hard to say, he was aware that the chances of any of the three getting first place were extremely slim. This was because the Demon Path had little power to exert here. The real effective competition would likely be outside the Divine Fire Domain; there was simply no need to clash with the other two sects here.

Shi Chun said, "I know about the Three Veins Alliance, but if it hadn't been by chance, we wouldn't even know the 'Qianyan Sect' people are from the Demon Path. Besides, I'm not suggesting we turn on each other. The alliance also allows fair competition, not the no-contest that Brother Xu mentioned."

Hearing Shi Chun put it that way, Xu Anzhang felt somewhat displeased in his heart. This could reflect poorly on him if reported to the higher-ups. He spoke indifferently, "Then what, Brother Chun, do you suggest?"

Shi Chun nonchalantly threw out an idea, "Since people from the other two veins dare to come in, their level of preparedness might not necessarily be inferior to ours. The Four Cauldron Sect has undercovers in other sects; do you think they don't?"

Xu and You glanced at each other with a hint of confusion, and Youu Mu asked, "And then?"

Shi Chun replied, "We are tracking undercover sects to find clues to the Divine Fire, which means we have five channels to obtain information about the Divine Fire. This greatly increases our chances of finding it, as reality has already proven. If we can make them also follow the undercover sects to obtain clues, and we manage to intercept those clues, doesn't that mean our chances of finding the Divine Fire could potentially double again?"

The three listeners thought it over and understood his point, but could the calculation really be so straightforward?

Xu Anzhang laughed, "Brother Chun, even if Qianyan Sect tracks down clues to the Divine Fire through undercover sects, they will not let us know. Qianyan Sect has no undercovers leaving us markers; we can't even keep up with them. We certainly can't just follow behind them openly. We have limited manpower; we can't spread our net everywhere to follow."

Shi Chun countered, "Brother Xu, we can't avoid the issue when we face it; we must solve it!

We can find a way to leak our method of tracking undercovers to gain information on the Divine Fire to Qianyan Sect, exaggerating our successes. Once Qianyan Sect catches on, they will surely emulate it.

We need not dispatch anyone to follow them, or even add to our manpower; we just need a reliable person to watch over the exit area.

Whichever sect Qianyan Sect draws out to the exit, we only need to find the person they have lured, determine where it happened, and then we can take the opportunity to intervene."

Xu and You were dumbfounded upon hearing this, finally grasping his intention, and they were a bit shocked.

The two of them now had a deeper understanding of the intention behind sending this person from above.

Wu Jinliang also figured it out, snickering on the side, realizing why the Master wanted to find those two Demon Path sect people; it seemed the Master thought the Four Cauldron Sect's undercover operations weren't efficient enough in obtaining Divine Fire clues.

Speaking of which, wasn't it busy enough? They had been running non-stop, having already obtained seven Divine Fires. To double the clues to Divine Fires again, he genuinely feared they couldn't keep up; with such limited manpower and not allowing any new recruits for the Four Cauldron Sect, they might not even have time to rest.

Returning to his senses, Youu Mu asked, "The people lured by Qianyan Sect, what makes you think they will tell you where it happened?"

Shi Chun waved dismissively, "The big problem is solved; those are small issues, not for you to worry about. We brothers will handle it."

Wu Jinliang gave another round of snickers in response.

Xu Anzhang glanced at him, sometimes getting really annoyed with the big guy's snickers. Always crashing and smashing around like an earthquake—how was one supposed to find the Divine Fire here in this ruckus?

He suspected that they hadn't seen a shadow of the Divine Fire for so long because this big guy's commotion had scared it into hiding.

With this thought, he couldn't help but sigh, "Brother Chun, it's not that your method is bad, but right now there's no need for it. We haven't yielded results from the Ironwood Forest as it is; if we have too many Divine Fire clues, we genuinely won't be able to handle it all."

Shi Chun waved his hand and said, "Brother Xu, there's no such thing as not being able to handle it. Just let Qianyan Sect catch a whiff of it; I will take care of the rest."

"Brother Xu, it's like securing several pieces of reserved land. After searching through the Iron Forest, a slew of options will lie before us; you can pick any. Isn't that good?"

"Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that the Mingshan Sect's people are too conspicuous, and it's inappropriate to leak any information to the Qianyan Sect, I wouldn't even argue with Brother Xu. Such a trivial matter won't take much time. The Mingshan Sect will take care of it by themselves. Brother Xu, we are here to emerge victorious. The more clues we can grasp, the better. Being too conservative and playing it safe isn't suitable!"

This time, You Mu also stood by Shi Chun's side and turned to persuade Xu Anzhang, "Senior Brother, I think Brother Chun makes sense."

Xu Anzhang sighed and said, "I know what he is saying makes sense but look at our situation, stopping and searching like this, and now we're about to stop again. How will we ever find the Divine Fire in the Iron Forest this way? Alas, alright, Brother Chun, you're right. Is it okay if we do it your way?"

"Don't be annoyed, don't be annoyed," Shi Chun grabbed his hand and patted the back of it to comfort him. "Just leak some rumors over at Qianyan Sect, then you can search here at ease, slow and steady. Let Mingshan Sect handle the rest."

Xu Anzhang felt helpless and said, "I'll agree to your plan, but you have to promise me one thing too."

Shi Chun replied, "Go ahead, say it."

Xu Anzhang said, "Stop taking unnecessary risks. Don't provoke sects like Shudao Mountain anymore. If you really can't control yourself, at the very least, don't let Tong Mingshan take any risks. Since he has already started absorbing the second Divine Fire, we must ensure his safety."

"Alright, I've taken note of that," Shi Chun nodded solemnly.

While the two sides were discussing the details, Fang Zicheng came again. Perhaps fortune comes in pairs, as he also brought news of another hidden Demon Path sect, Forget Love Valley.

For Shi Chun, this was incredibly good news. He thought it would be very difficult to find those two Demon Path sects, yet unexpectedly, he managed to find them all so quickly.

But come to think of it, it made sense. The sects had just entered the Divine Fire Domain not long ago, and most weren't too far from the exit. The probability of encountering other sects on their searches was still quite high. It would be much more challenging to meet once they all dispersed later in the stage.

He felt a bit relieved that he made an early decision.

With this information, he could call back the operatives he had sent out to track others since he was running short of personnel.

He then informed Xu Anzhang of the news in a similar fashion and asked to "take care" of the two Demon Path sects in the same manner.

He knew this would arouse Xu Anzhang's suspicions, but he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to complete his arrangement as soon as possible.

Xu Anzhang did indeed become somewhat suspicious. How could it be that Mingshan Sect happened to see the other Two Sects using Demonic Qi?

But Shi Chun was too lazy to be meticulous with him. After dealing with these guys, to be honest, he had lost some respect for them. What could suspicions do? If you're capable, go verify them.

If one wanted to pry something from the lips of Shen Moming and Fang Zicheng, they had to get past him. If he could guard this checkpoint, nothing else was a concern.

Little did he know that after Xu Anzhang and You Mu's secret discussion, they gradually dispelled their doubts, rationalizing the coincidences.

The logic was simple because Xu Anzhang believed that a shrewd person like Shi Chun would not make such a low-level mistake. If there really were issues, he wouldn't reveal such obvious suspicious behavior to him.

Moreover, concocting such a false appearance on Shi Chun's part seemed pointless.

Of course, vigilance was still necessary during this process.

Additionally, all aspects of the issues would be noted here and certainly reported once they were out.

While preparing to leave but still not having left, Zhou Wuxian, the undercover agent from Red Cloud Castle, came for a rendezvous and informed them of Red Cloud Castle's current location.

Only the tracking operatives from Four Cauldron Sect followed Zhou Wuxian away this time. Hao Ji was held back by Shi Chun.

Xu Anzhang had no objections to this. He had felt earlier that they were short of manpower, and sending too many trackers was a waste. Nevertheless, he later inquired, "Why are you not letting them follow now?"

Shi Chun pulled him aside to talk privately. Once they were alone, he explained, "We are short on manpower. Once Four Cauldron Sect's people meet with Qianyan Sect's people, it's not suitable for your two operatives to stay at the exit. What if they were recognized from before?

Plus, I'm anxious about the Divine Fire not being found in the Iron Forest yet. By calling those two back, it will also strengthen the search force here.

Later on, let Four Cauldron Sect focus solely on searching for the Divine Fire. All other miscellaneous and adventurous tasks will be handled by Mingshan Sect's operatives."

He leaned closer to Xu Anzhang, whispering in his ear, "Let's preserve our own forces as much as possible and engage in safe tasks. If any of Mingshan Sect's people encounter danger or mishap, let them be. It saves us the trouble of taking action later."

Xu Anzhang appreciated this realization, smiling in agreement as he said, "Okay, let's go with your plan."

Afterward, the operatives from both sides gathered together and swiftly departed, with Fang Zicheng leading the way to deal with Forget Love Valley first.

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