The members of Forget Love Valley were intently observing Shi Chun and his group with their Dharma Eyes.

Jin Hao, whose face bore an ugly scar from a knife, was responsible for guarding the surroundings. He suddenly spoke up, warning, "This is bad, the people from Extreme Fire Sect have arrived."

Upon hearing this, Wu Shanshan, who lacked ears, and Lin Yuefang, who lacked a nose, both turned their heads to look in the direction indicated and saw a newly arrived group under the starlight. A close look with the Dharma Eye revealed their identity by their attire, not to mention these were disciples from a prominent sect which they had been monitoring closely.

What made them easier to identify was their numbers—a group of what seemed to be a hundred people, which only three of the attending sects could muster, making them hard to mistake.

The leader of the Extreme Fire Sect, Yin Tianlu, had a majestic appearance and glanced over the scene once. With a wave of his hand, some people went to inquire about the situation from the disciples of other sects nearby to figure out what exactly was going on.

Given the status of the Extreme Fire Sect, they were naturally shown respect, and soon someone came over to report the current situation at this location.

Standing behind Yin Tianlu, Black Tiger, robust in stature and gleaming eyed, listened to the report quietly, maintaining a low profile.

In reality, he was the key figure of the Extreme Fire Sect's mission, possessing a top-secret ability to locate Divine Fire, which should not be flaunted. Yin Tianlu, endowed with significant capabilities, was consequently pushed to the forefront as a cover.

Wu Shanshan, keeping a close watch, looked again towards Shi Chun's group and said gravely, "This is trouble now. Extreme Fire Sect has come all this way to the Forbidden Land, probably also targeting the method for acquiring Divine Fire from Shi Chun's group."

They couldn't think of any other possibility.

Lin Yuefang asked, "What should we do?"

Wu Shanshan thought for a moment, then said, "It might not be a bad thing. We have a relationship with Shi Chun of exchanging Magic Artifacts for Divine Fire, and we can speak on good terms. Previously, when he was partnered with Shudao Mountain, they might not have valued us, and Shudao Mountain might not have taken us seriously. Now, with the pressure from Extreme Fire Sect, the situation is bound to be different. Among these sects, under these circumstances, only a few would dare to cooperate with Shi Chun and his group and not fear Extreme Fire Sect."

Lin Yuefang agreed, "That's right. The rumors that Shudao Mountain has greatly weakened are probably true, based on what we've seen along the way. The manpower of Shudao Mountain has nearly halved, whereas Extreme Fire Sect appears vigorous with a group of a hundred. This is indeed an opportunity for us to leverage."

Without any hesitation, having a direction and strategy, the trio immediately took action. After briefly instructing other disciples, the three of them did not bring anyone else and directly flew towards Shi Chun.

Shudao Mountain's group wasn't just for show either, and when they saw people rushing in, they quickly intercepted them in mid-air.

After a brief communication when it was known that they were acquaintances of Shi Chun, Gu Lianni naturally stepped forward up the hill, bringing along two disciples to interrupt the private world of Shi Chun and Zhener.

"Someone is looking for you..." Gu Lianni said with a cold snort, explaining the situation while giving Shi Chun a contemptuous look, as if to say, "Bullying someone brainless, taking advantage of a girl, you really dared."

Shi Chun didn't mind, his hand still on Zhener's tender waist to show intimacy, his warnings to Zhener almost complete.

Of course, in the name of "love," he had advised Zhener who seemed to have remembered it deeply.

Forget Love Valley's people coming looking for them was predictable. Like all other entangled sects, they were definitely coming for Divine Fire.

There was no possibility of exchanging back the Magic Artifact. If it were for an exchange, they wouldn't have been tracked all this way. It's not like they were blind and hadn't noticed already.

He wanted to see what Forget Love Valley was up to, allowing Shudao Mountain to let the three ladies come over.

Upon landing, all three women instinctively took a good look at Zhener, curious to see what kind of beauty could cause Shi Chun to lose his manners in public.

From a close distance, she was indeed beautiful—so much that even they had to admit she had a unique charm, though they thought she might not look as good as they did when unbeaten in appearance.

Now that they had come, they definitely needed to snoop around. After regaining her composure, Wu Shanshan, looking at Zhener, asked with a smile, "Brother Chun, may I ask who this is?"

Shi Chun refused to answer. What everyone saw was one thing, whether he admitted it was another. He did not wish to proclaim across the world that Zhener was his woman and deliberately changed the subject, "Speak of your matter, are you here to retrieve the Magic Artifact?"

Wu Jinliang also flew down upon seeing this.

Wu Shanshan didn't want to involve in idle talk, knowing well that once the people from Extreme Fire Sect grasped the full details, the situation could spiral out of control, so she got straight to the point, "People from Extreme Fire Sect have rushed here, who they are targeting needs no mentioning, right?"

While speaking, she pointed at the vague figures of the people from Extreme Fire Sect.

Not needing her to point out, Gu Lianni had also taken notice.

However, in terms of mindset, Gu Lianni didn't quite regard Extreme Fire Sect very highly either—that was the difference between the second and fourth-ranked in the Artifact Refining World.

In fact, Shudao Mountain used to be the top sect in the Artifact Refining World, but after Situ Gu of the Refining Heaven Sect made his meteoric rise, he singularly elevated his sect to another level, forcing Shudao Mountain to accept being second.

Becoming second had a huge impact; for some matters or interests, such as recruiting talents, everyone would rush to the number one position.

Under the effects of the resource landscape, the respective strengths of the different parties were waxing and waning. Thus, the second truly became a solid second in every aspect, causing the disciples of Shudao Mountain to often reminisce about the old times.

"The Extreme Fire Sect has arrived?" Shi Chun had not noticed. He looked around, but the distance was too great to see clearly, so he subconsciously turned to Gu Lianni for confirmation.

Besides nodding slightly, she couldn't help but sneer sarcastically, "Seeing you all lovey-dovey, it seemed inappropriate to interrupt."

That meant they had not come to notify them.

Having cooperated for so long, a few sarcastic comments from Shi Chun were nothing serious, but he was somewhat surprised that this woman would insult her partner in front of outsiders. After glancing at Gu Lianni, his gaze returned to Wu Shanshan's face, "Thanks for the concern, but speak for yourself."

The leaders of Forget Love Valley exchanged glances, and Wu Shanshan got straight to the point, "The Extreme Fire Sect has come with a ferocious momentum, and since we still have something that belongs to you, we don't want you to run into trouble. Therefore, we wish to cooperate with both your factions to overcome this crisis."

There was such a good opportunity? Naturally, Shi Chun was pleased.

Zhener, standing close beside her, tilted her head, trying hard to understand the meaning of their conversation.

Before Shi Chun could speak, Gu Lianni scoffed and sneered at Shi Chun, "Who is this? Rushing up to offer help, could it be an old lover of yours?"

Shi Chun was surprised again, finding this woman unusually sarcastic today.

The expressions of the three women from Forget Love Valley turned gloomy immediately; Wu Shanshan sternly said, "Miss Gu, please show some respect!"

Their backgrounds were clear; Forget Love Valley adhered strictly to its rules of forbidding romantic entanglements, and Gu Lianni's remarks were akin to insulting them.

Hearing this, Gu Lianni snorted, "So that means, without desires or demands, you came here just to help for nothing?"

Wu Shanshan's mouth twitched slightly, "We all understand the situation, there's no need to beat around the bush. Going in circles is insulting. Fighting against the Extreme Fire Sect is too dangerous; offering help without gain is something we can't explain to our sect. Since it's cooperation, it naturally involves shared benefits. If we find the Divine Fire, my Forget Love Valley must also have a share."

Gu Lianni heaved a sigh, directly declining, "Kind intentions acknowledged, but not necessary. Please leave."

Wu Shanshan felt compelled to remind, "Shudao Mountain has suffered great losses. With the Extreme Fire Sect's large numbers and influence, once they rally, those sneaky sects nearby may not stay quiet. Frankly speaking, at this time, the number of sects willing to risk their safety for shared honor and disgrace with you all might not be many."

Seeing the other party didn't understand, Gu Lianni this time refused rudely, "What is Forget Love Valley anyway, to dare discuss cooperation with us at Shudao Mountain arrogantly? Get lost!"

She didn't know about Forget Love Valley's hidden identity with the Demon Path, thus truly didn't think much of Forget Love Valley.

The leaders of Forget Love Valley's expressions turned ugly immediately, some even flashed a look of gloom in their eyes, looking at Gu Lianni as if staring at a dead person.

Wu Jinliang smirked from the side; each party felt differently about his mirth, sensing that it was biased toward them.

Wu Shanshan immediately focused on Shi Chun, wanting to ask his opinion, but Gu Lianni rudely said, "Looking at him is useless. I call the shots here. If you don't leave, don't blame me for being rude!"

With the conversation having reached this point, the three women from Forget Love Valley could only retreat, thoroughly defeated.

Shi Chun, wanting to gesture them to stay, was stared down by Gu Lianni who coldly said, "What, are you trying to publicly humiliate me?"

She had just stated that she had the final say here.

Shi Chun hesitated, retracting his hand, not making decisions on his own, first trying to persuade the other party. He wore a bitter smile, "Isn't this a good thing? Someone proactively seeks cooperation with us, which is beneficial. We can negotiate the terms. There's no need to drive people away without even talking."

Pang Hou raised his eyebrows, "Brother Chun, they came specifically for our Divine Fire, and they made it clear. Don't you understand?"

Yuan Yao also hummed in agreement.

Shi Chun rolled his eyes slightly, feeling these people were somewhat slow to understand, and sighed, "Isn't this normal? Isn't everyone here for the Divine Fire? Even if they came for our Divine Fire, we still need to find it, right? And even if we occasionally find it, wouldn't it primarily benefit us? Not to mention the clues to finding the Divine Fire are almost lost. Given the current tangled situation, do you think our search for the Divine Fire will continue smoothly? If they want us to peacefully search for the Divine Fire, fine, no problem. But first, they need to help us handle this trouble.

The more people willing to fight for us, the better. I wish all the sects were our allies at our beck and call. Forget Love Valley's arrival was a reminder; we could do this, there's no need to keep fleeing. We now have more options to deal with the situation. If this plan doesn't work, we can always change the plan. But you guys, without a word, directly drove them away."

"..." Gu Lianni and the others fell silent, whether pondering, frowning, or staring blankly.

"Hehehehe." Wu Jinliang, grinning maliciously, watched the movements of Forget Love Valley, clicking his tongue, "Look, they also change from one act to another and now they are heading toward the Extreme Fire Sect, making quite a scene."

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