Facing the rebuke of the elder, how could the conflicting parties dare to resist? They naturally reported the detailed location and what had happened.

One party spoke with righteous indignation, while the other gave a vague account.

The disciples of Forget Love Valley were the latter; they couldn't disclose the true facts and were unable to reveal the details.

Fortunately, these ten elders had an attitude of feigning involvement without true intervention, asking questions without really probing into the truth or falsehood.

And so, the matter ended just like that, with no intention of intervening.

Hiding in a slanted cave on the hillside, Wu Jinliang and Lao Changtai listened in secretly. Wu Jinliang then quietly left, first finding Lao Changtai and asking for Shi Chun and others' current location. Once he had the address clear, he rushed to inform them immediately.

Shi Chun now had sufficient manpower, and the arrangements had been completed. The manpower could be adjusted with ease, and at each new location or when moving to the next, Chu Jingtang and others would take turns to run and specifically inform the others.

It seemed very troublesome, but for the sake of maintaining high efficiency, it was indeed necessary.

Forget Love Valley was also very efficient; they had already stockpiled several Divine Fire leads. With the Divine Fire bait provided by Shi Chun, they immediately cleared out and backed up each site one by one.

Hence, Shi Chun and his group's efficiency was also very high.

In addition to the Divine Fire leads occasionally sent back by the spies from the Four Cauldron Sect, and those from the Qianyan Sect that involved luring the tiger away from the mountain, and the accumulated heritage of Divine Fire leads from Shudao Mountain over generations, the Mingshan Sect and Shudao Mountain group were exceedingly busy.

Based on the daytime and nighttime periods of the Divine Fire Domain, initially, it was a flurry of activity, with the need to deal with three to four Divine Fires daily; most of the time was spent on the road or resting to recover mana, but the speed of acquiring Divine Fires was unprecedented.

Gu Lianni and the other team leaders were very pleased, feeling fortunate to collaborate with Shi Chun. Their happiness represented that of Shudao Mountain.

The reason for "representing" was that most of the people at Shudao Mountain were still somewhat unclear about what was happening; in most cases, they were simply running about and didn't really know the specifics.

Each time a Divine Fire was taken, it was Shi Chun working secretly with Gu Lianni or Yuan Yao and a few others. After obtaining the Divine Fire, apart from the occasional exposure, they generally did not reveal it to the Shudao Mountain members.

Most of the Shudao Mountain members knew only that they had been lured away by Mingshan Sect, that they were collaborating with Mingshan Sect, and that some situations seemed abnormal and secretive, but they didn't know the full story. They were often summoned to come and go as ordered and were only notified when they were allowed to be involved; most were unaware of the core secrets.

And this was also Shi Chun's intention, to have Gu Lianni and a few others control the spread of information as much as possible within Shudao Mountain.

To put it bluntly, tall trees attract the wind, and with so many people at Shudao Mountain, who knows what kinds of thoughts might be lurking among them.

His own people from Mingshan Sect were different; they had been screened through a certain "natural" method. It was possible that for some reasons they might develop divergent thoughts, but their backgrounds were controllable.

This was why he used people like Chu Jingtang. Their starting point was good; the color they turned into later would depend on the direction they flowed.

For those people from Shudao Mountain, he knew nothing and, with the vigilance cultivated in the Land of Exile, it was imperative to maintain certain precautions.

A week later in Divine Fire Domain time, which was after obtaining the Flowing Flame, the group from Mingshan Sect and Shudao Mountain had acquired another eighteen Divine Fires.

Mingshan Sect received ten of these, and Tong Mingshan alone had gotten six, with the rest evenly divided between An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin.

By then, Tong Mingshan had absorbed ten Divine Fires, Zhu Xiangxin four, and An Wuzhi three.

Gu Lianni personally had absorbed five, Yuan Yao two, and Pang Hou one, while other remaining or surplus Divine Fires had gone to other disciples of Shudao Mountain.

In terms of adjusting the varieties of Divine Fires, Gu Lianni's group respected the priority selection rights of Ming Shan Sect. Shi Chun's ability to find Divine Fires had earned their respect, and everything depended on Shi Chun's arrangements.

Moreover, there was still a long road ahead; they would continue to rely on Shi Chun's ability.

The fruitful results of the collaboration were already evident, and they had no complaints, even though the pace of acquiring new Divine Fires had gradually slowed down.

Slow was fine; at this stage, the key figures in this group no longer had much ambition. It was enough to continue growing slowly and steadily. There was no need for any further gambles or risky ventures.

It was known that Situ Gu, the elder of Refining Heaven Sect and currently the number one Artifact Refining Master in the world, had absorbed only six Divine Fires upon entering the Divine Fire Domain. Gu Lianni had already absorbed five, and with almost half the period remaining, it was almost certain that she would surpass Situ Gu.

Not to mention that Tong Mingshan had reached the astonishing number of ten Divine Fires.

During another rest and regrouping session, the secluded Tong Mingshan pushed open the stone that sealed the cave entrance.

The noise drew Gu Lianni and the other two over from the Shudao Mountain group, claiming to come to watch but actually carrying the sense of greeting in their actions.

Now, they looked at Tong Mingshan differently; this was a fearsome being who had absorbed ten Divine Fires. It was unimaginable what achievements he would have in the Artifact Refining World. If all went well, it was a certainty that they would look up to him in the future.

The term "Sect Leader of Mingshan Sect" often circulated in their minds. As Yuan Yao said, we used to laugh at him for not being qualified to start a sect, but looking back, who would dare to laugh then?

What Shi Chun cared about was something else, he asked Tong Mingshan, "How is it going, have you felt a breakthrough to the Fire Element realm?"

Asking this again, Tong Mingshan just gave a wry smile and shook his head.

Gu Lianni elbowed Shi Chun in the lower back and said, "How many times have you asked that question already? After the breakthrough to the Human Immortal Realm, it's hard to measure our own cultivation, and without experience in that specific realm, it's difficult to differentiate. I felt like my Fire Element entered the Human Immortal Realm after one petal; Sect Leader Tong, how many for you?"

Tong Mingshan replied, "Two petals. Master, Miss Gu is right; after two petals, it's hard to know how to measure."

Shi Chun stroked his chin, thinking it would be nice if he could find an expert from the Earth Immortal Realm.

Yuan Yao cautioned, "Sect Leader Tong, you need to be careful when you use your mana. Our mana has been overdrawn by the Divine Fire to some extent, so we need to control it when we use it; otherwise, our current bodies can't withstand it."

Gu Lianni also hummed in agreement, "That's right. We have to wait until we get out and build our immortal bodies before we can let loose and manipulate them without restraint."

Chu Jingtang and the others who were listening felt extremely envious, not just of Tong Mingshan, but also of Zhu Xiangxin and An Wuzhi, because the origin of their cultivation had broken through to the Human Immortal Realm. This meant that their cultivation pool was almost filled; they just had to let the water in.

That is to say, once these three returned to the outside world, as long as they had sufficient cultivation resources, their cultivation would break through to the Human Immortal Realm at a rapid pace.

Originally, everyone's cultivation was at the peak of High Martial, but now thanks to the Divine Fire, they had been brought directly to the pinnacle of High Martial Great Success, and even more astonishingly, stepped straight into the Human Immortal Realm. It was natural to feel envy.

Yan Ketao, one of the disciples from Shudao Mountain, was quite handsome with clear brows and bright eyes. Seated at a spot where the people from Shudao Mountain rested, his position allowed him a clear view of the entrance where Tong Mingshan emerged while also concealing his own figure.

He took out a stone from his person, upon which were several marks. Using a spell on his fingernail, he added another scratch to the stone. Then, he stood up and started to stroll around. Once he was away from the crowd and quick to use the terrain for cover, he vanished stealthily.

When Lao Changtai, who had hurried over from the exit with new clues about the Divine Fire, arrived, Shen Moming immediately took his place, allowing Lao to return to the exit area.

As the messages began to be passed more frequently and distances grew, they started this rotation system, which was necessary because it was too taxing for one person to run back and forth. Those who were available would take turns to share the burden.

Of course, this didn't apply to the three individuals practicing Fire Attribute Skills, who were key figures supported by the Mingshan Sect.

Wu Jinliang wasn't rotated either; he was stationed at the exit area.

Once the new clue arrived, Shi Chun immediately notified Gu Lianni's group to set out.

Right when everyone was mounting their Wind Scales and taking to the sky, the Shudao Mountain group suddenly called a halt, causing those who had already flown up to descend again.

Shi Chun went over and asked, "What's the matter?"

Yuan Yao replied, "We're missing someone. Yan Ketao is gone."

Shi Chun was skeptical, "Missing someone? How can someone just go missing? Did he disappear before coming here, or just now?"

Yuan Yao said, "We always travel in groups, so definitely no one was missing when we arrived."

Instantly wary, Shi Chun nodded to Gu Lianni and the others to talk aside, "Don't tell me he got lost. We didn't hear any commotion, could he have run off on his own?"

Gu Lianni asked, "What do you mean?"

Seeing the three still confused, Shi Chun laid it out clearly, "Isn't the one who's missing problematic? Couldn't he be a spy from one of our opponents?"

Gu Lianni laughed, "You're thinking too much. If it were a spy, there'd be no need to wait until now to disappear. Given our situation, they would have signaled their side long ago, right?"

By that logic, Shi Chun felt this was true and said no more. Seeing the people from Shudao Mountain had already dispersed to look for him, he also called for Chu Jingtang and a few others to help with the search.

But even after combing the surrounding area on their Wind Scales, there was no sign of Yan Ketao, let alone any traces of anything unusual. His disappearance was indeed puzzling.

After searching for quite some time without results, Shi Chun began to frown, occasionally glancing at the sky.

One couldn't let the search for one person delay the quest for the Divine Fire, so eventually, everyone regrouped. Shi Chun approached the Shudao Mountain group again and inquired, "Any news?"

Gu Lianni was puzzled, "This is strange, no idea what happened. Anyway, we can't delay the important things, let's set out. If he doesn't come back, it means something has happened to him. But if he does return, no need to worry about losing contact; not knowing where we've gone, he should head for the exit."

Shi Chun raised an eyebrow slightly and then went to signal his own group to set out, quietly instructing Chu Jingtang, "Go to the exit and tell Wu Jinliang about Yan Ketao's disappearance, and to stay alert on that end."

Chu Jingtang was surprised and asked in a low voice, "You suspect something wrong with Yan Ketao?"

Shi Chun replied, "His disappearance is somewhat mysterious. It's always good to be cautious. Just inform Wu Jinliang; he'll know what to do."

"Alright," Chu Jingtang acknowledged.

After everyone had left, he emerged from his hiding spot and quickly departed...

In front of an underground lava sea obscured by the Earth's crust, a group clad in solemn dark red garments was darting around the complex subterranean environment in search of someone. They were delegates from the top faction of the Artifact Refining World, the Refining Heaven Sect.

The leader, Zuo Zisheng, stood alone on a cliff overlooking the underground sea of fire, hands behind his back. With his sharp brows and bright eyes, and a complexion darkened from the heat, his stature seemed even more imposing and upright, his clothes fluttering in the hot breeze.

A shadow moved swiftly through the rugged terrain and landed beside him, reporting, "Senior Brother Zuo, there's someone outside looking for you. When asked who he was, he refused to say. He told me to inform you that he followed the marks left behind, and that once I passed the message, you would naturally know who he is."

As if to validate the messenger's words, Zuo Zisheng, whose face bore a certain majesty, showed a look of surprise upon hearing the report and quickly turned and said, "Quickly, bring him here."

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