The sea view on Li Huo Island was indeed breathtaking, but even the most beautiful scenery grew tiresome when seen every day, which made the competition for the Divine Fire Covenant somewhat boring for those not fond of gambling.

Not to mention Lan Qiaoyan and her daughter, even Gong Shaoci, who had issued the invitation, found it dull.

Thus, they agreed to come back and take a look when the conference was over.

Young Master Nan personally came to see them off, inevitably bringing up "Brother Miao" in conversation.

As he watched the "family of three" fly away, Young Master Nan sighed, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "Brother Shi Chun, I truly owe you an apology."

He was well aware that by ruining the potential marriage between Shi Chun and Miao Yilan, he was essentially destroying Shi Chun's future prospects. Having an in-law from the Bowan Building, one of the six cardinal mechanisms, would have led to a much brighter future.

The reason he was willing to help Shi Chun—a part of it was certainly the money Shi Chun had helped him make at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference—but ruining someone's marriage and future prospects out of gratitude and then feeling guilty about it was an even more pressing issue.

There were actually quite a few who found it boring and left.

And there were also many who stayed, such as Young Master Nan himself, who was determined to keep watch here.

Another was Mulan Qingqing, who could see the floating lotus Lifebound Lantern just by opening the windows of her room. She occasionally pushed open the window to check, with no intention of leaving, and had checked into the inn for a long-term stay, which was expensive.

Then there was Duan Xiangmei, who, except for resting, sat under the same tree most of the time, staring at the floating lotus lantern.

Xiang Laner and Feng Chi were also still there. They were in their guest room when the door suddenly opened, startling them.

Upon seeing that it was the person in green clothing who had changed their appearance, they relaxed.

The person in green walked up to Feng Chi and said, looking into her eyes, "We won't give up on plan A for now, but we will continue with plan B after the opening of the Divine Fire Domain, although we'll have to delay it."

Feng Chi let out a sigh of relief, having been on tenterhooks these past few days, and bowed promptly, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Qing, for making this happen."

The person in green said, "Don't forget your guarantee. If the outcome you ensured is not visible from above, you know what the consequences will be."

Feng Chi showed a forced smile and nodded, "I understand. When the time comes, there's no need for Mr. Qing to take action; I will do it myself."

Xiang Laner pursed her lips and stayed silent. She remembered the words Feng Chi had said to her clearly, that if there was no hope, she'd rather not live at all.

With that said, the person in green turned and left...

The starry sky was vast and glittering.

A desolate and vast gravel landscape from above showed many towering circles, each with a deep pit in the center.

Some of the seemingly flat areas would occasionally explode with a bang, followed by a jet of white vapors shooting up into the sky. When the vapors subsided, ring-shaped pits remained on the ground.

Walking through this gravel realm, the sound of gravel tinkling and splashing into the pits could be heard from time to time. A few sporadic falling sounds even produced a sense of musical rhythm.

In the world of gravel under the moonlight, there were scattered, twinkling sparkles.

The sound of footsteps rushing over the gravel belonged to Xu Anzhang's party of four.

Twenty had died, nine were gone, two were at the exit, five were tracking, and now only these four were left with nothing to do.

The group talked as they walked.

"Elder brother, do you think there could be Divine Fire here?"

"Who knows, but the night is the best opportunity to find Divine Fire—it's easier to spot the glow."

"Elder brother, now there are only a few of us left. Can we even find the Divine Fire with our limited numbers?"

"Sigh, let's just do our best. We are already fortunate to have avoided being killed. Those bastards—once we are out of the Divine Fire Domain, we will make sure our sect revenges this grudge."

"The elders guarding the exit said that those bastards seem to have already found seven or eight Divine Fires."

"Combining what the elders at the exit said with our own experience, the tactics of those bastards aren't hard to guess. They don't search for Divine Fire themselves but instead keep an eye on other sects. As soon as a sect discovers a trace of Divine Fire, an internal traitor will inform them.

They will immediately send a person or two who have absorbed the Divine Fire to the site. Using the Divine Fire, they will snatch it away, making it obvious, pretending to find the Divine Fire where others are searching. Then, those searching will engage in pursuit and try to seize it.

They take the Divine Fire to the exit, right in front of those ten elders, and when the pursuing sects catch up, they can do nothing, as they can't snatch it in front of the elders.

The pursuers will be misled into thinking that the Divine Fire from the search area has been found, so they won't return to the original search area, allowing those bastards to easily claim the hard-earned efforts of others and naturally find the Divine Fire more easily than everyone else."

"Elder brother, we could actually try imitating their method."

"There are only a few of us left, how can we try? Their method requires having internal traitors in other sects."

"Sigh, elder brother, I really didn't expect that, just for the sake of absorbing a Divine Fire, Junior Brother Wang would betray us."

"Didn't he say before he died? Being with us, even if we found Divine Fire, it wouldn't be his turn to absorb it. Those bastards promised him a load of benefits to win him over..."

The group continued to converse as they gradually faded into the desolate landscape.

In a pit they had passed, a group of women dressed in coarse cloth listened intently as the noises of the conversation slowly disappeared into the distance.

When everyone had left, a group of women suddenly burst out of the hole and landed on a pile of sand and gravel outside the cave, watching the direction in which the passersby vanished.

The woman leading them was quite beautiful, but her most significant flaw was the absence of a pair of ears, hence strands of hair hung down on both sides to cover it. The ears could occasionally be glimpsed when the wind blew apart the hair.

Her name was Wu Shanshan, the team leader representing Forget Love Valley at this event.

Forget Love Valley, with its name, had its reason for being an Artifact Refining Sect.

It's said that there are few women in the artifact refining business, but Forget Love Valley is an unusual exception—there isn't a single man in the entire sect; all are women, they don't accept male disciples, and those who join are forbidden from engaging in romantic relations for life. Any violation would be met with severe punishment according to sect rules.

Upon initiation, there was also a cruel ritual, called the severance of love, performed personally by the master who received them. It involves cutting off a body part and disfiguring the new member's face.

Some lost their ears, others fingers, or toes, and those with ruthless masters might even have an arm chopped off, not to mention even more unthinkable mutilations.

In the end, the exact nature of the punishment depended entirely on the master's mood at the time.

Thus, among Wu Shanshan's fellow sect members, many bore ferocious scars on their faces. There were none who were missing arms or legs, though, since they were here on important business, and being physically impaired would not do.

From other pits in the distance, people began to emerge as well, totaling exactly twenty.

"Sister Witch, did you hear that?" asked Jin Hao, a woman standing nearby. "We've been here for only two or three days, and people have already found seven or eight Divine Fires."

Jin Hao would have been considered quite attractive if not for the conspicuous scar across her face and the missing pinky finger.

Wu Shanshan's gaze flickered as if she had not heard what was being said.

A woman, whose nose was merely a hole without an actual nose, said, "Sister Witch, did you hear about the method those people just mentioned for finding the Divine Fire? We happen to have connections in some of the sects, so there's no need to expend effort in bribing anyone."

Her name was Lin Yuefang.

"This short period of time, seven or eight Divine Fires—what does that imply?" Wu Shanshan mused to herself, her face contemplative as she scanned the vast expanse of earth and sky. "We've managed to find clues to the Divine Fire here as well, so why can't we seem to locate it?"

Lin Yuefang replied, "They cast a wide net, having more options to choose from. They are bound to be much stronger than us, who focus our attention on just one place."

Wu Shanshan's gaze settled on Lin Yuefang's face, "First, we need to find at least one Divine Fire!"

Lin Yuefang suggested, "We can proceed simultaneously. Make sure our people infiltrating the sectors are ready."

Wu Shanshan said, "You handle this."

"Alright," Lin Yuefang acknowledged and left, taking a few people along with her.

Wu Shanshan then addressed the remaining people, "Search, find that Divine Fire as quickly as possible. I refuse to believe it can simply vanish into thin air!"

In the distance, several figures descended from the sky and blocked the path of Xu Anzhang and his group—it was Shi Chun and company.

"We can move on to the next place now," Shi Chun said cheerfully.

Xu Anzhang asked, "Is that enough?"

Shi Chun nodded, "My right eye's superpower has personally surveyed the route, and from above, I've confirmed the post-observation effects. I'm certain of it."

Xu Anzhang said, "Then let's move on."

Promptly, Shi Chun turned to a disciple of the Four Cauldron Sect, "Fang Zicheng, I'll be taking Xu Anzhang with me. I'm entrusting that undercover matter to you alone."

The change in plans—tracking the undercover individual from one of the infiltrated sects to following people from Forget Love Valley—had been requested by Fang Zicheng.

Fang Zicheng had to report back previously, and having one person follow two sects at the same time was neither feasible nor practical.

Consequently, before Fang Zicheng returned to find Shi Chun, he had requested another disciple from the Four Cauldron Sect to help track the members from Forget Love Valley.

It wasn't crucial to follow that other sect with an undercover agent for the time being since the undercover would leave markers. They could easily resume the pursuit later.

Hearing this, the Four Cauldron Sect disciple didn't respond but looked towards Xu Anzhang.

Xu Anzhang answered for him, "It's our own business; there's nothing to ask for help with."

Without further ado, the group ascended to the skies and flew off...

The vast land, riddled with gorges and fissures, took on an eerie glow under the night sky.

There were many cracks in the gorge, some deep, others shallow. The deep ones were extremely profound, like bottomless abysses. From high above, the chaotic scars etched across the land appeared as if someone had sliced them with swords—casual streaks that extended for miles, their outlines remaining clear and distinct after countless ages.

Standing at the edge of one fissure was a line of disciples from Qianyan Sect, dressed in blue. Among them was a thin man with a sinister complexion, leading the group, known as Gong Shixi.

The group was peering down intently.

With a sudden click, a pebble flew over and struck down.

It was a signal, prompting Gong Shixi to whistle softly, "Down."

The entire group leaped into the abyss, clinging to the dark cliffside hanging there, with hushed breaths and focused minds.

Catching sight of a flash in the sky as a signal, Xu Anzhang and You Mu, along with the others crossing above, paused their strides atop the cliffs. They shared their disappointments, echoing the sentiments heard among the members of Forget Love Valley. Their conversation gradually faded into the distance...

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