Yuan Yao immediately turned around to assign his people, and dozens of them split up to flank from both sides, looking for a suitable location to lie in ambush and get ready.

Once everything was in place, the "Green Soul Refining Rainbow Sword" on Gu Lianni's back suddenly turned into a cyan rainbow that shot up into the sky, then like a meteor, it slammed towards the iron forest.

There was a thunderous roar, the sky and earth shook violently, and dust shockwaves spewed out in all directions; that one sword strike seemed as though it pierced through the steel ground.

People on the ground trembled, their entire beings vibrating, staggering in their steps and looking around in panic.

In a short while, Xu Anzhang and others underground ran out one after another, their faces having changed color; caught off guard by the attack, their ears almost went deaf from the shock.

Whether it was people from the Four Cauldron Sect or the Mingshan Sect, they all flew up into the air on Wind Scales and looked around.

At first, Xu Anzhang thought it was Wu Jinliang causing trouble again, as he saw him. But later, he felt something was off; Wu Jinliang shouldn't be capable of causing such a huge commotion, and moreover, he saw Wu Jinliang and others looking around in shock as well.

Soon, they saw a large pit blasted open on the steel land.

Before they could fly closer to examine it, they saw a cyan rainbow rise from the ground, turning into a streak of light that flew towards the mountainside beyond the iron forest.

Seeing this cyan rainbow, most faces of Mingshan Sect changed drastically; those who had seen it on the Ice Field knew whose weapon it was, and their eyes all followed the direction of the cyan rainbow.

An Wuzhi shouted loudly, "Master, it's Shudao Mountain, let's go quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Anzhang and others also changed their color.

However, they saw Shi Chun showing a pleased expression, showing no intention of fleeing.

Just as Xu Anzhang, who was about to call his people to escape quickly, saw Shi Chun's reaction, he asked in surprise, "Brother Chun, why are you smiling? Aren't you going to run?"

Shi Chun said with a smile, "I was just worrying about not being able to find them, but they finally showed up, not too stupid after all."

His tone was quite that of someone who had been expecting them.

Xu Anzhang asked, "What do you mean?"

Shi Chun replied, "Obviously, they are prepared to startle the snake by hitting the grass; escaping might not be that easy. Look, how few people are with her."

Everyone looked and saw five people flying swiftly towards them, with Gu Lianni leading the way and no one else in sight.

Shi Chun also calmly landed on the ground, and seeing their Master so composed, the Mingshan Sect followed suit and descended as well.

After some hesitation, the Four Cauldron Sect, too, came back down to the ground.

Now, the Mingshan Sect had a total of seven people present, while the Four Cauldron Sect had a group of six.

The group of Gu Lianni hovering in the air exchanged glances, unsure of what Shi Chun and his group were up to, showing no sign of fleeing.

A signal arrow was fired from Yuan Yao's hand, shooting a streak of light up into the sky.

Swoosh, bang!

After a loud explosion, dozens more people flew in from all directions, surrounding Shi Chun and the others on the ground.

At this point, Gu Lianni and her group landed on their Wind Scales.

The two groups who had scattered after the confrontation on the Ice Field finally met again.

Seeing Shi Chun, Gu Lianni could not help but feel a surge of anger, as she felt that Shi Chun was mocking her, seeing him with a smile on his face, with no sense of awareness of being surrounded or called to account, showing no fear.

If she did not want to secure the thing she desired, she would have loved to order an immediate attack.

Shi Chun turned his head towards Wu Jinliang, "It must be someone following you; Shudao Mountain has given us a reminder to be more careful in the future."

"Hm?" Wu Jinliang was taken aback, as he had observed carefully and did not notice anyone following them.

Shi Chun then looked at Gu Lianni with a smile, "I've been wanting to find you. Couldn't find you, but you managed to find this place; you must have already been back to the Ice Field."

"You were looking for me?" Gu Lianni asked with a face full of scorn.

Shi Chun said, "Some misunderstandings need to be cleared up; if we don't clear the air, we can't continue our cooperation."

"Misunderstandings?" Gu Lianni scoffed.

Shi Chun turned to the others and said, "Mr. Tong, Brother An, show Miss Gu the Ice Flame Divine Fire that you absorbed on the Ice Field."

Tong Mingshan and An Wuzhi exchanged glances, took a step forward, and spread their palms. Instantly, they released a wisp of faintly silvery-blue flame, skillfully controlling its size with ease.

This scene made all those practicing Fire Attribute Skills around them somewhat envious, Gu Lianni included.

Shi Chun explained, "The anomalies on the Ice Field were witnessed by everyone from Shudao Mountain. The continuous chain of ice mountains turned into that after the Ice Jiao perished; these are two strands of Ice Flames we gained after its death, not just two strands, but there were others who did not come."

In Xu Anzhang's presence, he couldn't admit that he had obtained five divine fires; otherwise, he couldn't explain why he had kept it a secret from the Four Cauldron Sect. He believed that the group from Shudao Mountain would understand.

Gu Lianni was stunned, and Yuan Yao hurriedly reminded her, "Senior Uncle, this rogue has always been deceitful. Don't be fooled by him again."

Hearing this, Gu Lianni suddenly snapped out of it, thinking how close she had been to being tricked again. She chided herself for almost forgetting that the swindler's success was precisely because he could make others believe him—if not, how could he continue to deceive?

With this thought, her resolve solidified. "Regardless of the winds from the east, south, west, or north, I shall remain unyielding," she declared firmly. "Congratulations to you, then. I came here for no other reason than to find out how you were able to quickly locate the Divine Fire. Surrender the method, and I will spare you."

Shi Chun replied, "If you managed to find this place, don't you already know?"

Gu Lianni said, "Don't beat around the bush with me. I'm asking how you were able to capture the Divine Fire so quickly after you discovered its hiding place."

Shi Chun couldn't possibly reveal the secret of his supernatural eye ability and said, "This is the basis on which I am qualified to cooperate with you all. If I reveal this secret, how can we continue to collaborate?"

Xu Anzhang thought he was blathering nonsense. If he could truly find the Divine Fire, why hadn't they found the Divine Fire in this Iron Forest up until now?

Gu Lianni threatened on the spot, "I'll ask you just once—will you hand it over, or will you not?"

Shi Chun said, "I also know the location of two Ice Flames. To demonstrate my sincerity in cooperating and to dispel your doubts, I'm willing to take you there."

Gu Lianni coldly replied, "Thanks, but we've already taken up your offer once, and we don't want to do it a second time. I'll repeat one more time—hand over the method for quickly finding the Divine Fire."

Shi Chun conceded another step, "Miss Gu, I know there's a deep misunderstanding. How about this—I'll find those two Ice Flames and present them to you as a gift. That should make you believe me, right?"

Gu Lianni said, "Let me tell you, I take every word you say as nothing but farting, and I won't believe a single one. For the last time, hand over the method for quickly finding the Divine Fire, and don't make me force you to drink the penalty wine after refusing the toast!"

The conversation had come to this point, and Xu Anzhang's face had darkened, inwardly blaming Shi Chun for provoking Shudao Mountain when he had advised against it. Now look what happened.

Shi Chun looked at Gu Lianni, utterly speechless. Were the people of Shudao Mountain blind? Couldn't they see the anomaly on the Ice Field?

The two Divine Fires he had prepared were meant to be offered to Shudao Mountain to clear up any misunderstandings, but this woman, being unreasonable and impervious, wouldn't listen to anything. What was he to do? It was getting to the point where they might have to start fighting.

He wasn't exactly afraid to fight; judging by Xu Anzhang's demeanor, he didn't seem panicked. He probably could put up a fight against Gu Lianni's magical treasures.

The problem was that the Mingshan Sect's forces were comparatively weak, while the other side had strength in numbers. A conflict would likely lead to significant casualties, and as the Master, he had to consider his people.

After much deliberation, he slowly said, "If I give you the method for quickly finding the Divine Fire, what about us?"

Yuan Yao snorted, "Do you think you have a choice?"

Shi Chun immediately seized the loophole to counterattack, "What a joke. If I had no choice, if every way led to a dead end, do you think I would let you have my method?"

The faces of Gu Lianni and her party sank.

Shi Chun quickly followed up, "I want to make an exchange!"

"Exchange?" Gu Lianni asked, puzzled. "What exchange?"

Shi Chun said, "I give you our quick-search method, but what will we do afterward? Surely we can't leave empty-handed. We might not care for your search method, but since you insist on using power to bully us, we have no choice but to secure our own means to proceed. We can offer you our method, but in exchange, we need your array-setting Magic Artifact!"

The group from Shudao Mountain exchanged glances. If they had that Magic Artifact, would they need to go to great lengths to find you?

An Wuzhi and others also exchanged looks. Those in the know were aware that Shudao Mountain's Magic Artifact had already been picked up by them after the event.

Of course, it wasn't complete; it seemed that the activating Artifact was still in Gu Lianni's hands.

Unlike their reactions, Wu Jinliang remained expressionless.

Just as Gu Lianni was about to refuse, Shi Chun added, "First, give us one piece as collateral! Our Magic Artifact isn't with us right now, as you've seen. We're not all here; that Artifact is in the hands of others who are using it. After we get our Artifact for you, it won't be too late for you to hand over the rest of your Artifacts.

However, I also need Miss Gu to make another vow similar to the last one she took—using her father's safety as assurance—to guarantee that after getting what she wants, she will fulfill her promise, hand over the rest of the Artifacts, and assure us she will let us go without harm. Only then can this transaction continue."

After a moment of flickering eyes, Gu Lianni suddenly became more agreeable, "If you break your word again, I will not let you off!"

Not only her, but Yuan Yao also didn't make any move to stop the proceedings. The group from Shudao Mountain suddenly became very quiet.

They probably all understood the intent of their young Senior Uncle. Without the remaining Artifacts, retaining the Array Compass was useless. It would be better to make use of it now.

If the time came to fulfill the oath, they would hand over the remaining Artifacts to Shi Chun and his people, telling them where to find them, letting them retrieve them themselves. If they couldn't secure the items, then it wouldn't be this side's fault; they neither withheld nor impeded the process.

If Shi Chun's side broke their word, the oath could similarly be disregarded.

Thus, trying out the deal wouldn't really be a loss for either side.

Shi Chun said, "I've said I haven't broken my word before—it's a misunderstanding. You don't believe me, and there's nothing I can do about it. We are surrounded by you; if we really had the power to go back on our word, do you think we'd still need to go around in circles with you?"

Yuan Yao suddenly spoke up, "If you truly believe an oath can guarantee your safety, then vow by it. Why do you still need to take one of our Artifacts as collateral?"

He reviewed the entire exchange condition over and over, feeling suspicious about this particular point.

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