Chasing and pursuing, the sects that trailed relentlessly began to realize something was amiss.

The people of the Qianyan Sect, who moved calmly toward the exit, came to a sudden halt at a gesture from Gong Shixi.

Faced with the scout who had come to report, Gong Shixi expressed his astonishment, "Heading to the 'Wuming Forbidden Land'?"

He had directed all efforts at gathering clues of the Divine Fire to focus on Shi Chun and his companions, feeling particularly sensitive about their predicament; he knew they had fallen into a dangerous situation.

He had already figured that Shi Chun and his companions would sooner or later flee to the area near the exit seeking refuge, which is why he had hurried there.

Rushing to the exit was not for anything else, but to ensure that once Shi Chun and his companions reached the exit, he could turn the situation to his advantage and push them into a dead end.

Facing the temptation of the Divine Fire for all parties, he believed it was not difficult to stir things up.

The messenger nodded and said, "The third group sent back information, based on the direction Shi Chun's group was headed and the situation they were entangled in, they believe it's very likely that they are heading to the 'Wuming Forbidden Land,' presumably to use the dangers of the Forbidden Land to shake off their pursuers."

Gong Shixi's already somewhat sinister face grew increasingly grim, his mustache twitched repeatedly.

After much deliberation, he believed the report to be accurate, indeed a possibility, but it truly exceeded his expectations. He couldn't help but exclaim, "No wonder they took first place at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, so ruthless, choosing danger over safety, determined not to stop until they prevail, even seeking to continue their quest for the Divine Fire despite the pursuit."

What he thought was nearly a certainty, unexpectedly turned out to have such a twist.

He summoned his allies and after verifying the direction to the 'Wuming Forbidden Land,' he immediately ordered a change in their course, heading straight for the Wuming Forbidden Land.

As always, if he couldn't win the top spot, he definitely wouldn't let Shi Chun and his group win it either, determined to wipe them out; otherwise, he'd have no way to explain himself after leaving, with so many eyes watching. How could he not intervene – was he supposed to silence his own men instead?

Annoyance at Shi Chun's tenacity festered within him; why try so hard for something so uncertain? It was normal for everyone to fail to win the top spot – even facing punishment would have been bearable. But now, Shi Chun had to show off his abilities and turn the uncertain into the certain, what was he supposed to do?

In the Divine Fire Domain, finding information as readily as he did was challenging, naturally because he had the means and the focus to do so.

And while the larger sects didn't have his level of information access, they still had resources smaller sects didn't possess. They could leverage their status and power to ask smaller sects for help, such as obtaining faster ways to locate the Divine Fire, promising a share of it once found.

Wasn't that a hope for sects who couldn't find any piece of it by themselves?

For example, 'Golden Appearance Hall,' the fifth-ranked sect in the Artifact Refining World, did just that, albeit their information was slower compared to the Qianyan Sect.

At that moment, this group dressed in grey, lay silently in a chaotic, deep layer of the earth's crust, disguised as rocks under the dim light of large phosphor stones.

Leading them was a good-looking man in both face and figure, although his expression was impassive – his name was Mi Liangmeng.

Someone quietly approached with news, Mi Liangmeng turned and signaled for silence.

After waiting a while, that person whispered softly, "Brother…"

Mi Liangmeng turned and pointed to his mouth, his eyes deep with a 'swallow it no matter how big the matter' expression.

The man looked sheepish and finally stopped talking altogether.

After lying in wait for about two more hours, a sudden burst of amber light emerged through an underground opening.

The light gradually transformed into a rising amber-colored flame, floating in the complex subterranean space, casting a hue around it like withered ginkgo leaves.

Expectation and excitement shone in the eyes of the Golden Appearance Hall disciples.

The flame drifted toward an area with uneven terrain that was relatively open, where there stood an eighteen-story iron tower. Each level of the tower had a window housing a pearl, each pearl varying in color and size.

Each pearl represented the ultimate essence of various elements that Golden Appearance Hall had gathered over the years, such as gallstone, gold essence, and the likes, like ice essence.

This method of baiting and trapping using baits was incidentally discovered by the previous generation of Golden Appearance Hall seekers of Divine Fire when they noticed that Divine Fire consumed such elemental substances.

Thus, for the past two or three hundred years, Golden Appearance Hall had been discreetly searching for these ultimate elements.

Regrettably, with thirty-six types of Divine Fire identified, they had only found eighteen corresponding elements. Some were unfindable, and some they didn't even know what matched, like the 'Transparent Flame' from the Divine Fires, which was a clear flame, and others like 'Wind Flame,' for instance.

The search would continue, but for now, they would use whatever they had managed to find to at least test if it was effective.

The efforts of the predecessors were not in vain, as they elevated the position of their successors. This time, the people of Golden Appearance Hall had successfully captured six Divine Fires.

At the moment, the fiery orb drifted to the front and back of the iron tower, circling around a few times before it finally settled. Then, a pale yellow mist began to emanate from the dull yellowish stone gall within the tower and was sucked into the flame.

It was then that the tower's Array mechanism was triggered to protect those exquisite items. The 18 layers of tower windows suddenly shut all at once, and the Element Locking Array was also activated simultaneously; an upside-down, bowl-shaped virtual ripple appeared and then vanished.

The amber flame immediately sensed danger, swiftly darted away, but then collided with the blocking virtual ripples. Obstructed by an invisible force, it couldn't escape and desperately slammed against the barriers.

Throwing off their disguised cloaks, Mi Liangmeng and his group swiftly charged forward. Amidst the banging noises, they captured their seventh Divine Fire.

A group of Golden Appearance Hall Disciples cheered.

After securing the Divine Fire, Mi Liangmeng turned his head towards the disciple who had previously tried to speak and asked, "What is it?"

That disciple stepped forward and reported, "We have discovered the whereabouts of Shi Chun and his group."

Mi Liangmeng succinctly commanded, "Pack up the Magic Artifact and go find them."

He handed the Divine Fire to another disciple, "You stay here and absorb this one."

He had already absorbed one similar Divine Fire, in total absorbing four Divine Fires.

Under the envious gaze of the crowd, the disciple receiving the fire continuously bowed in gratitude, "Thank you, senior brother, thank you, senior brother."

"Leave two people here to protect him, the rest follow me."

Mi Liangmeng dropped the directive and turned to leave. From start to finish, his demeanor remained impassive, even obtaining the Divine Fire elicited no reaction...

Assuming Shi Chun would head towards the exit, and not only Gong Shixi, but others also rushed there, albeit not as well-informed, some hoped to sneak a share of the opportunity.

Thus, the Disciples of Refining Heaven Sect deployed around the exit noticed something abnormal. The Divine Fire Domain's exit was not supposed to open yet, so why were some sect members returning one after another? Was their search for Divine Fire abandoned? Strange indeed.

Zuo Zisheng, who was overseeing this area, naturally wanted to clarify the situation. Using the status and strength of the largest sect, this was not a secret to them, and those they approached didn't hide the truth.

Zuo Zisheng, belatedly informed, realized his Refining Heaven Sect had been led into a swirl of rumors.

He simply replied that someone was spreading rumors, further explanation seemed unnecessary now; if explanations were useful, it wouldn't have reached this point.

What puzzled him was that despite having dispatched many people and questioning other sects about Shi Chun's whereabouts, not one brought back news related to these rumors.

Meeting with the heads of his own group later, Zuo Zisheng, with a hint of direness, commented, "Either we have spies from other sects within our Refining Heaven Sect or there are undercover agents from other groups within Shudao Mountain."

Everyone understood his implication, Yan Ketao curiously said, "What's the purpose of spreading this rumor? It doesn't seem like the work of someone plotting for Divine Fire. Could it be a vengeful act for failed negotiations with Shi Chun?"

Zuo Zisheng stated, "These things don't matter anymore. We have leverage over Shi Chun and his group. Once they show up, they will have no choice but to hand over their secret. After securing the secret, we'll just run and find our Divine Fire. Whether they're willing to share it with others is their problem, not ours."

Yan Ketao acknowledged with a nod and slight smile, "Brother Zuo, perhaps this isn't bad. Normally, if we collaborated with Shi Chun's side and found Divine Fire, we'd have to share with them. If they end up trapped here, we can't be blamed. We could take the Secret Technique and enjoy the Divine Fire alone. We might end up with all the benefits, both internal and external."

This referred to both the local Divine Fire and the external grand prize.

Indeed, everyone smiled knowingly after hearing this.

However, dreams are easily shattered, and soon two disciples from the Refining Heaven Sect rushed back with news.

Apparently, the commotion caused by Shi Chun and his group being entangled by a large force was so intense that the scattered members of the Refining Heaven Sect also heard about it.

"Wuming Forbidden Land?" Several people almost simultaneously voiced their confusion.

One of them reported, "Yes, that's how other sects have assessed it. We've evaluated the situation and their likely path, and reached the same conclusion. Shi Chun and his group might be planning to use the dangerous environment of the 'Wuming Forbidden Land' to fend off their pursuers."

"Damned fools." Zuo Zisheng couldn't help but curse, "Even now, they still want to monopolize."

They and Gong Shixi judged alike, believing that Shi Chun's group would try to shake off the trouble and continue seeking Divine Fire.

His close disciple suggested, "Senior brother, following this trend, I fear they might get burned playing with fire and perish in the Forbidden Land. That place is too dangerous. If they fall into other's hands, we won't have any leverage to coerce other sects, and certainly, other sects won't let them easily fall into other hands. Then, our efforts these past few days would have been in vain."

"Let's go, let's go," Zuo Zisheng, perturbed and anxious, waved his hand, indicating, "Hopefully they won't be captured so easily, and there's still time. Quickly gather our people and rush over there; just leave two here to meet up with those returning."

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