Holding the black flag, Xu Anzhang also had many questions to ask. What the hell was it to cooperate with Shudao Mountain, and what was he supposed to verify by bringing someone from Shudao Mountain?

Furthermore, he really was confused, was it appropriate to expose the Qianyan Sect like this? Previously, he had taught the Qianyan Sect the trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain. Now, after having done this, how could they still pick the fruits of the Qianyan Sect?

Similarly, at this time, it wasn't appropriate to ask these questions, as a group of people from Shudao Mountain were surrounding the area; he could only maintain his silence and continue to ponder in secret.

And so, the various factions stood in mixed opposition...

The rapidly-moving Wu Jinliang didn't go anywhere else but directly to Zhu Xiangxin's hiding place.

He didn't need Shi Chun to tell him where to go; he knew exactly which place Shi Chun referred to.

Chen Wuji, who was on lookout, saw him coming and bounced out, ready to have a good laugh, but suddenly noticing Pang Hou following behind him, he felt puzzled because he didn't recognize the man and couldn't help but ask, "Who is this?"

"He's here to inspect the goods," Wu Jinliang chuckled and asked, "Where's Zhu Xiangxin?"

Without waiting for Chen Wuji to answer, Zhu Xiangxin's voice came from inside the cave on the right of the three, "Over here."

He originally wanted to show his face, but hearing about an outsider and having control over the Divine Fire in his hands, he decided to stay in the cave and not come out.

Wu Jinliang walked to the entrance of the cave, glanced inside, and then waved at the wary Pang Hou, "Alright, if we wanted to kill you, it would've been done already. Just with you, I could snuff you out with a single finger. Come over and inspect the goods."

For someone of the High Martial Small Success Realm to speak so naturally and confidently to someone in the Great Achievement Realm was rather rare.

Yet, Pang Hou believed him, probably because it made sense, and so he boldly walked over to the cave entrance and upon looking inside, saw a woman holding two faint silver-blue flames in her hands and his eyes instantly gleamed with excitement.

Then he spoke with a wary look, "I've seen your tricks of deception before."

Wu Jinliang retorted, "Did you not come here to inspect the goods? What are you doing standing at the entrance of the cave? Are you afraid she'll eat you, or do you want her to flaunt the Divine Fire publicly for a while?"

Since he had come all this way, and with someone provoking him in such a manner, Pang Hou certainly wouldn't show a lack of dignity befitting of a disciple from a great sect; he strode into the cave with grandeur.

Wu Jinliang, who entered with him, said to the puzzled Zhu Xiangxin, "Let him inspect the Divine Fire; this is the Master's order."

Zhu Xiangxin didn't know what was going on, but trusting Wu Jinliang, he extended the Divine Fire in his hands.

Actually, staying there and controlling the Divine Fire was quite strenuous, requiring the constant expenditure of Mana to maintain.

Pang Hou immediately performed the Fire Manipulation Skill and carefully reached out to adjust for a moment before taking the two flames into his hands. Upon touching them, he became thrilled; if he couldn't differentiate between real and fake now, there really must be a problem with his brain.

For a moment, he truly wanted to overthrow everyone present and run off with the Divine Fire.

Seeing his hands tremble with excitement, Wu Jinliang chuckled merrily and then said to Zhu Xiangxin, "Come on, show off the Ice Flames you've absorbed to him as well."

Zhu Xiangxin didn't understand the intention, but still cast his spell and did as told; he raised a single palm, and immediately a faint silver-blue flame appeared out of thin air, drawing Pang Hou's envious gaze.

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "Previously in the Iron Forest, two have already demonstrated this to you, and now here's another one. You still have two on your hands. Use your clever brain to calculate—isn't it five Ice Flames? Did we speak any falsehood back at the Ice Field?"

Pang Hou expressed his doubts, "Who knows when you guys got these Ice Flames, maybe you had them before the incident."

"Heh!" Wu Jinliang was again amused, "We have so many Ice Flames we can't use them all up, and even have to station two people to guard them. How big of an issue must one's brain have to possess so many Ice Flames and still try to seize yours? Whether these Ice Flames were obtained before or after the incident, is it still necessary to be so stubborn? Are you insulting our intelligence or your own brain?"

Pang Hou felt somewhat embarrassed by his words, but still stubbornly said, "We've seen the strength of the Ice Jiao, how could you manage to kill so many to obtain these Ice Flames?"

Wu Jinliang didn't bother with his pointless talk and pointed to the Divine Fire in his hand, "Alright, stop holding on to it. It's not yours, give it back to her. Go back quickly, and don't just insult our intelligence; go back and insult Gu Lianni and the others' brains as well."

He couldn't be bothered to answer such a question; afraid it wouldn't align with what Shi Chun might say later, he left it to Shi Chun to deal with.

As an Artifact Refiner who had never absorbed Divine Fire before, Pang Hou found holding the two flames blissful and didn't want to let go—it was a happiness that outsiders couldn't comprehend.

But reality was cruel. He feared he couldn't win against Wu Jinliang if he forcefully stole them, considering there were two more people here.

However, recalling that Shi Chun's push for cooperation meant that the earlier agreement would continue, and these two flames were supposed to be given to Shudao Mountain anyway—that is to say, these two flames would eventually have to be returned to them—his heart suddenly flared with excitement again. He promptly returned the two flames to Zhu Xiangxin.

While returning them, he also nodded slightly in acknowledgment and bowed a little, as if to say, "You must keep these two flames safe!"

"Let's go," Wu Jinliang turned and called the man out.

Pang Hou, still somewhat uneasy after leaving the cave, glanced back inside, then looked at Chen Wuji and hesitated, "Is it safe to have just two people guarding these two Divine Fires?"

It seemed as if they had already considered Shudao Mountain's property.

Wu Jinliang said, "Whether it's safe or not is none of your damn business. The Divine Fire isn't yours; if it's lost, it's our loss, not yours. Frankly, if it wasn't for the Master insisting, I really wouldn't want to cooperate with you. Isn't it better to trade the two Divine Fires for two of another variety?"

Zhu Xiangxin's voice suddenly came from inside the cave, "Brother Wu speaks sense; I also think the same way. Please convey this to the Master."

Pang Hou hurriedly said, "This isn't for us to decide; it's still up to how our junior sect master and Shi Chun negotiate. Brother Wu, let's go; we must hurry back. We can't let them wait too long, lest something unexpected occurs."

Wu Jinliang wasn't in a rush, "Wait, I have to make them change their location to prevent you from coming back later and stealing."

Pang Hou replied sternly, "We wouldn't be so shameless."

Wu Jinliang sneered, "You couldn't produce a complete Element Locking Array and yet had the nerve to swear such a poisonous oath on your own father. Tell me, how shameless must someone be to do such a thing? To be honest, if it wasn't for the Master insisting, I really wouldn't feel at ease!"

"..." Pang Hou was at a loss for words, unsure how to explain himself.

After all, following this big fellow on this trip, why did it feel like everything on the side of Shudao Mountain was all wrong, as if they were the ones taking a loss?

Wu Jinliang moved to the side, whispering a few words into Chen Wuji's ear, indeed as he had mentioned before, changing the location was necessary for safety.

Shi Chun must have entrusted him with such an important task because of trust in his capability, and he wouldn't lack even that bit of vigilance.

Afterward, Wu Jinliang and Pang Hou took to the skies together.

This time, Wu Jinliang wanted to rest a bit, save some of his Mana, and use up a bit of someone else's. He took out a broken Wind Scale he had picked up from the Ice Field, but after several shakes, he couldn't make it work. Then he waved into the air as a signal.

So Pang Hou descended back to the ground, questioning what the matter was, took over the Wind Scale, and upon trying to use it, discovered it was truly defective. He then had to make the trip, taking Wu Jinliang with him on the Wind Scale.

After another long journey, they finally arrived back at their destination, alighting within their respective camps on the barren loess plain.

Wu Jinliang nodded ever so slightly to Shi Chun, a signal that everything was taken care of.

Pang Hou gestured to Gu Lianni and Yuan Yao to step aside for a talk, and the three moved a bit away to confer.

There was nothing else to it, just listening to Pang Hou recount what he had seen and heard on the trip, confirming that Shi Chun's side really had obtained five Divine Fire Ice Flames.

"Could it be that we've misunderstood?" Gu Lianni muttered, glancing occasionally towards Shi Chun.

Pang Hou reminded, "According to the original agreement, they are to take three; the two extra Divine Fires should be given to us."

He was quite eager about this matter; two identical Divine Fires couldn't possibly be absorbed by the same person, which meant that once the junior sect master had absorbed one, the choice of who would get the other would inevitably lie between him and Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao hesitated, "How did they manage to kill the Ice Jiao? If they really had the ability, why didn't they act earlier? Why wait until after we've suffered heavy casualties to make a move? This further proves there's something wrong with them." Then he whispered, "Sect Uncle, if he can't explain this clearly, you mustn't believe him!"

Gu Lianni narrowed her eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, then gave a slight nod before calling out, "Shi Chun, do you dare to come over and speak?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun knew what was coming, immediately replying loudly, "Why wouldn't I dare!"

Upon saying that, he didn't wait for the surprised and worried Xu Anzhang to stop him and had already zipped through the air on his own.

With Gu Lianni calling out, the encircling forces of Shudao Mountain didn't intervene.

Shi Chun stood alone in front of the three from Shudao Mountain, drawing intense attention without showing any sign of timidity.

At the Qianyan Sect side, Gong Shixi's eyes flickered, feeling tempted to join in and see the excitement for himself.

Yuan Yao didn't beat around the bush and directly asked, "Shi Chun, how did you kill the Ice Jiao?"

Shi Chun knew they would ask this and calmly said, "To tell the truth, we didn't kill the Ice Jiao. It seemed like it had eaten something wrong and was having a stomachache, flailing about wildly and finally thrashing itself to death."

His answer was clearly dismissive, making the three frown, but he seemed unfazed, continuing, "When the Ice Jiao died, I realized that there was a mistake in what I had said earlier about the five Divine Fires inside its body.

Initially, I really saw five Divine Fires enter the ice pillar, but before its death, six Divine Fires emerged from its body. We also don't know where the extra one came from. The extra Divine Fire seemed to be the source of its stomach troubles, or perhaps it was due to an injury inflicted by you earlier. Anyway, it appeared like the six Divine Fires were at odds, either one against five or five bullying one. In short, it caused the Ice Jiao great pain, and then it suddenly exploded into a range of ice mountains.

After it burst into ice mountains, another even larger Divine Fire emerged, seemingly the original essence of the Ice Jiao. In other words, a total of seven Divine Fires emerged from within the Ice Jiao. But at that time, our abilities were truly limited, and in our panic, we couldn't capture them. Two fled into the ice mountains, and we only managed to catch five.

I know this doesn't sound right; saying the Ice Jiao died of a stomachache is absurd, but that's really how it happened. If you insist on thinking I'm deceiving you, then I have nothing more to say."

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