"Whooo...whooo...whooo...whooo..."

On the barren loess wasteland, a deep and muffled flute sound echoed across the wilderness.

Those on the ground looked around, while those who had burrowed underground gradually emerged and ran out. It was Qianyan Sect's group; they were still here.

Seeing his fellow sect members about to head towards the source of the sound, Gong Shixi, whose eyes were rapidly shifting, suddenly shouted to halt them: "Everyone, stay put! Mind your own business!"

He had stopped everyone, yet he himself soared off, not wanting anyone to follow. Some people faintly realized something.

At the bottom of a pit, the flute sound continued to spread with the enhancement of mana, played by another cloaked figure.

Gong Shixi, who had descended from the sky, landed in front of him and responded, "Following the sound to meet, fortunate is our encounter."

Upon hearing this, the cloaked person stopped playing, put away the flute, and said softly, "There has been an incident at Refining Heaven Sect. It all started when Yan Ketao of Shudao Mountain found the lead team member of Refining Heaven Sect, Zuo Zisheng..."

He recounted how Yan Ketao's finding Zuo Zisheng had led Refining Heaven Sect to stop their search for the Divine Fire and instead start looking for Shi Chun and his group.

After listening to this, Gong Shixi furrowed his brows, "You mean to say, there is some trick on Shi Chun's side?"

The cloaked person: "Refining Heaven Sect's purpose in coming to the Divine Fire Domain, besides the Divine Fire, there could not be anything else. The only possibility that could make Zuo Zisheng abandon the search for Divine Fire and focus on finding Shi Chun's group, must be even more Divine Fire. However much Divine Fire there is, if someone has absorbed it, searching further would be futile, so…"

Gong Shixi, with a flash in his eyes, said sternly, "Does Shi Chun have a way to find more Divine Fire?"

The cloaked person: "Exactly. Besides that, even if someone killed Zuo Zisheng's parents, under such circumstances, it would not be possible for Zuo Zisheng to have the entire sect abandon the search for Divine Fire and turn to seek out Shi Chun and his group."

Gong Shixi mused, "How much Divine Fire must there be to make Refining Heaven Sect stop what they're doing…" As he said this, he himself realized that the amount must be extremely tempting; he couldn't help but bare his teeth, feeling a toothache.

He was thinking about Shi Chun's identity and that was what caused the toothache.

Should he also go and plunder? Damn it, Shi Chun belongs to another lineage of the Demon Path, and the Three Sects of the Demon Path have a covenant: competition is fair game, but there must be no fratricide. He could use the status of the Demon Path to drive Shi Chun away, but if he pushed Shi Chun too hard, he would also suffer the backlash of his own identity.

That made it difficult for him to act in this matter.

The cloaked person: "Definitely a lot, a lot. One or two, even three or four Divine Fires are unlikely to make Zuo Zisheng completely abandon his tasks."

Gong Shixi puzzled, "How come Shi Chun, by mixing with Shudao Mountain, can find so much Divine Fire? I can't figure it out!"

He remembered that Shi Chun had previously come to him proposing a collaboration.

The cloaked person: "I think it might be related to the vicinity of the exit. Zuo Zisheng and that Yan Ketao have both repeatedly ventured to the area around the exit. They certainly wouldn't have done so without reason. Unfortunately, Zuo Zisheng is cautious and has placed me far away; I have not been able to observe up close, so I don't know what happened around the exit."

"The exit, could it possibly be a ploy to lead the tiger away from the mountain…" Gong Shixi muttered to himself and then felt that it didn't quite add up. At first, Shi Chun's group had used some underhanded methods to steal Divine Fire clues from his side, but later he was certain they had not done so again; otherwise, he would not have shown mercy and would have certainly retaliated by now.

The question was, even if they found clues, what then? The real key was to extract the hidden Divine Fire. He had Divine Fire clues as well, but what use were they? They were almost going insane, and also sent people to try searching in other Divine Fire clue locations, but all in vain.

The cloaked person: "I'm not sure either. I'll try to find out more when I return."

Gong Shixi nodded and asked, "How many Divine Fires did the Refining Heaven Sect find?"

The cloaked person: "Two, and both were absorbed by Zuo Zisheng. What about you?"

Gong Shixi said with a wry smile, "One. They say Divine Fire is hard to find, and I've truly come to realize that. At first, I found one quite soon and was fairly confident, but now, I feel like I'm on the verge of madness at any moment."

The cloaked person: "That's perfect; you might think of some way with Shi Chun."

Gong Shixi hesitated, refraining from speaking. It would be inappropriate for him to casually disclose Shi Chun's identity, respecting the basic rules of the Demon Path after all. Both sides belong to the Demon Path, and they are both aware of each other's identities. In case of an accident leading to being caught due to one's identity, can you expect that person not to turn you in?

If the other party didn't know he was from the Demon Path, he could indeed trick them.

"I will consider it," deflected Gong Shixi, quickly changing the subject, "You running out like this, having been away for so long, won't you be suspected?"

The cloaked person: "It's fine; precisely because we were scattered searching for Shi Chun's group, I took this chance to come over and communicate."

Gong Shixi: "Alright, if there's nothing else, you should head back early to avoid suspicion. I won't see you out."

"Until next time." The cloaked person included a waist bow, turned, and leaped away.

Gong Shixi did not actually see him off and it was not convenient for him to do so, but he remained silent in place, sighing, still troubled by the matter.

Truth be told, he wished he had not heard this news. Without knowledge of it, he could continue to busily occupy himself here. As long as he tried his best, once he returned, the higher-ups could not lay all the blame on him.

To some extent, he felt the same as Xu Anzhang; deep down, he did not believe his side had a chance of taking first place.

Some things are limited by their very nature; no matter how grand the rewards offered from above, they're of no use.

Now, with such sudden news, how was he supposed to continue on?

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