Tong Mingshan had almost emerged from his seclusion at the same time as Yuan Yao.

Gu Lianni came out about an hour later.

She wasn't aware of Shi Chun's situation when she emerged, not having had the opportunity to inform him of the Divine Fire clues from the two locations. To her surprise, as soon as Gu Lianni came out, she hurriedly sought him first.

Shi Chun was about to mention the Divine Fire clues he had when the eager Gu Lianni couldn't wait to say, "My Shudao Mountain knows of some places that might have Divine Fire; we could go and take a look."

Now, with the Element Locking Array in hand, coupled with Shi Chun's Secret Technique for finding Divine Fire, her confidence soared.

Hearing this, Shi Chun was delighted. Putting everything else aside, the mere fact that Gu Lianni was willing to share clues about the Divine Fire made him feel that their cooperation was worthwhile.

However, he didn't accept immediately, instead asking back, "Might? Are you certain those places have Divine Fire?"

Gu Lianni, "They are locations where my Shudao Mountain ancestors found Divine Fire. Environments capable of nurturing Divine Fire inevitably possess their peculiarities. Even though there may not be any now, it's still infinitely better than blindly searching everywhere. The place you stole our Ice Flames from is an example."

Shi Chun said, "Alright, since you know the locations, they won't get away from us. I've just learned about two Divine Fire clues here; we should deal with these first before heading to your known spots."

He had also gained some new insights from a more experienced sect like Shudao Mountain, learning things that Tong Mingshan and the others didn't know.

For instance, Pang Hou had told him that Divine Fire might not be hard to find, nor did it prefer to stay hidden. In fact, Divine Fire tends to enjoy wandering out and about, and the odds of discovering it were not low.

The real challenge was in actually capturing it. Finding a flame of Divine Fire in a certain place could grind down a sect from the moment they entered the Divine Fire Domain until they left.

Gu Lianni was quite surprised to hear this, "Where did you get more Divine Fire clues from?"

"My people found out," Shi Chun pointed to Xiao and Wu who were rejoining the group not far away, and joked with a smile, "Working with me isn't bad, right?"

Gu Lianni glanced at the two additional people and, somewhat taken aback, inwardly marveled at just how strong Shi Chun's subordinates were in gathering intelligence, then asked, "How should we proceed? Using the same 'luring the tiger away from the mountain' strategy?"

She had been deceived by this tactic and knew its effectiveness very well.

After a lot of effort to pinpoint the approximate location of the Divine Fire, someone else had plundered it. That was Divine Fire they stole from us! Who can understand the feelings of an Artifact Refiner? They instantly bellowed and chased after the thief.

There wasn't even the need for any signals; too late for slowly dispatching troops and assigning tasks, anyone who was available dropped what they were doing and went after the thief, afraid they would escape, even abandoning the Element Locking Array without anyone to watch it, all panic-stricken.

They were truly in a rush. Thinking back on it, it was embarrassing—too reckless. What if the Element Locking Array had been lost?

Besides, seeing that the plunderer was alone and weak, the chances of them stopping the chase to turn back once started were slim.

Therefore, she knew the power of this ploy all too well.

Shi Chun nodded, "Of course, but this time we'll need you to personally do the 'luring the tiger away from the mountain.' Hmm..." He sized her up and down, then pointed a finger, "You'll have to change out of those sect clothes. It's best to not let people recognize you're from Shudao Mountain, or they might not dare to chase."

Gu Lianni puzzled, "If you're worried about being recognized, why have me personally execute the 'luring the tiger away from the mountain' strategy?"

Shi Chun sighed, "It's because I want you to make a trip and greet your sect elders. I have several brothers stationed there to receive messages and also to block the news from Qianyan Sect about the 'luring the tiger away from the mountain' tactic.

As the saying goes, if you always walk by the river, you may one day get your shoes wet. Should anyone want to act against them, your elders could intervene. As long as your elders are willing to help, their safety near the exit will be absolutely no issue.

This matter, if just anyone goes, your elders might not believe it. If you go personally and let him know, he'll naturally know what to do."

Gu Lianni stared at him wide-eyed for quite a while before managing to say with a mix of laughter and tears, "What fantasies are you indulging in? It's one thing for us to partner up, but you're even thinking of roping in the elders of my Shudao Mountain?

The elders from the ten sects are stationed there, with rules to follow and other elders overseeing. They can't possibly intervene to help you with this, nor can they actually get involved. You better not entertain such wishful thinking."

Hearing this, Shi Chun was amused again, "I'm telling you, you still have the nerve to talk to me about rules? If it weren't for your elder getting involved, allowing you all to come to your senses, could you have stopped us on the Ice Field? Honestly, if your elder hadn't dared to break the rules, I wouldn't even think of asking for his help."

At this point, Gu Lianni couldn't exactly feel embarrassed and hesitated with a wave of her hand, "I get what you're saying, but he really can't step in to mediate conflicts. Also, in front of all the elders, I can't hint at such matters to him."

Shi Chun waved his hands dismissively, "No problem, no problem at all. I'll solve all these troubles for you, ensuring you won't have any difficulties, nor will your elders. If there's the slightest difficulty, you don't have to do it. There's really nothing to it, just take a personal trip yourself."

Really? Gu Lianni looked doubtful. If it weren't for actually obtaining two Divine Fires, and having witnessed the other party's ability to find Divine Fire, she would seriously suspect she was being deceived.

Of course, she would insist on inquiring into the details. Without a clear understanding of the situation, she would never rashly agree to act recklessly.

After a detailed discussion, Gu Lianni's expression was one of complete shock, staring at Shi Chun for a long time.

Shi Chun felt uncomfortable under her gaze and asked, "What's wrong? Is there any problem? There shouldn't be any problem, it's just a matter of giving your elder a gift."

Gu Lianni appeared doubtful and reflective, "No wonder you deceived Mulan Qingqing so badly. I'm somewhat worried that your cooperation with me is just a trap. Are you targeting our Elder Jin by cooperating with me? It's not about asking our Elder Jin for help at all, you clearly want to drag all the elders into this mess."

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