Seeing that Gu Lianni was leaving now indicated that there was no rush to examine the stone's secret.

Elder Jin said with a smile, "Go on, go on, busy yourself."

Gu Lianni extinguished the Divine Fire in her hand, mounted the Wind Scale with the masked person beside her, ascended into the sky, and looked around to confirm there were no ambushes before streaking away.

In truth, she wasn't afraid of ambushes; she was quite confident when facing ordinary sects.

Elder Jin, who watched her departure, was still pondering—who was that masked individual? He hadn't had the chance to ask in the moment, but then again, it didn't matter, as long as it was a disciple from Shudao Mountain.

He looked at the mystical artifact in his hand, then casually placed it into the Qiankun Bag.

Once the mystical artifact entered the Qiankun Bag, it separated from its base, and a jade slip fell out.

Elder Jin, sitting cross-legged with his hands tucked into his sleeves, began to meditate. Though he appeared motionless, he had taken the opportunity to extract the jade slip, holding it in his sleeve, and secretly applied spells to inspect its content.

"It's obvious now, Shudao Mountain has at least two Divine Fires," murmured Elder Jin. "Elder Jin Guiqi, should we congratulate you now?"

"Gu Yanduo's daughter is not bad at all, no worse than those brats."

"It's a shame that the likelihood of inter-sect marriages is slim; otherwise, I would definitely have proposed on behalf of the young lads in my sect."

"Alright, the Divine Fire Domain has truly made a great stride this time. It's likely they are grooming the successor for the next Sect Leader of Shudao Mountain. How could she easily marry off?"

A bunch of elders were either sarcastically congratulating, speaking with envy, or joking around.

Elder Jin Guiqi, however, ignored them all, staring blankly, startled by the content within the jade slip.

Shudao Mountain had actually started collaborating with Mingshan Sect—the two sects had joined hands!

He involuntarily cursed Gu Lianni for her foolishness. Did she forget everything talked about during the Sky Rain Meteor Conference? The tales of sects being deceived—wasn't this dancing with wolves?

He also wondered what had possessed Gu Lianni, and even worried whether Shi Chun had manipulated something in their personal relationship.

He suddenly snapped out of it. Just moments before, he had found it strange that Gu Lianni and those of her pedigree would use such wild methods, but now it was clear—these weren't likely Gu Lianni's ways; they probably stemmed from Shi Chun's tactics.

After carefully examining the entire content of the letter, he became more convinced that the idea hadn't come from Gu Lianni and the others. It even began with assigning tasks to him, an elder of his stature.

Having read the entire content of the letter, many of his concerns also subsided considerably.

The letter did not mention how the two sides were cooperating, only that they had joined forces and then listed the tasks they hoped he would assist with—no superfluous details, leaving everything to his own judgment.

The solid contents of the letter, along with the Divine Fire exhibited by Gu Lianni, could not be faked. The tangible acquisition of the Divine Fire outweighed countless explanations.

Eventually, he made his own judgment.

Although he still harbored worries, after careful contemplation, he quietly slipped the jade slip back into the Qiankun Bag.

Later, he suddenly spoke, "Gentlemen, have you ever heard of sects running off to the exit on their own in the past?"

An elder chuckled, "You from Shudao Mountain started this, and now you have the nerve to say it. Just don't say you're planning to target your own sect first."

Jin Guiqi said, "I'm talking serious business. Don't be contentious."

Another elder added, "Personally, I've never heard of such a thing. Isn't it Mingshan Sect that started it? That Shi Chun is truly no good bird. Why let him in at all?"

Someone replied, "You think we wanted to let him in? How helpless do you think we were? I didn't see your sect taking a firm stand back then. What's the point of being sarcastic now?"

Seeing an argument was about to ensue, Jin Guiqi interrupted, "Gentlemen, are we really just going to stand by and watch?"

Another laughed, "What can we do if not just watch? Should we intervene? There's no rule against people settling near the exit. Your Shudao Mountain disciples have done the same; if you don't manage your own, how can you manage others?"

Jin Guiqi said, "I'm not saying we intervene, but I'm pondering a question: do we really just sit here and do nothing?"

Isn't that a stupid question? Aren't we just sitting here doing nothing?

However, upon hearing his words, the nine elders didn't refute but realized that he must be suggesting something else.

Someone impatiently said, "Speak up if you have something to say. What exactly do you want to say?"

Jin Guiqi said, "It just occurred to me, our disciples from various sects who have attended the conferences over the generations and found Divine Fire locations, don't they usually record them for posterity? We all know the reason; places where Divine Fires emerge must have factors that contribute to their formation. Looking again at the old places next time, chances are higher of finding them again.

"We all know what happened to the sects that were lured away through deceits. Those sects that resort to underhand methods are truly worrisome. Sitting here without any concern, is that really appropriate?

"Not that I'm saying we should get involved, but preventing problems before they arise is also necessary. If a deceived sect comes here, we can call them over, ask for detailed information about the incident, record it, and gather some intelligence. Should things change, it would help us respond. Wouldn't you agree?"

The elders looked at one another, eyes twinkling with understanding. Piecing together what was said, they knew what he meant.

Someone then voiced their support, "This suggestion is feasible."

Another elder hummed, "We're just sitting here watching the excitement anyway. We haven't interfered with anything, so it's not against the rules."

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