Surprise tinged with doubt was the unintentional expression in Black Tiger's gaze as he scrutinized Zhener, looking her up and down thoroughly.

None from the Shudao Mountain group were paying attention to him. Even within the Extreme Fire Sect, Black Tiger had always maintained a low-key presence. For this Divine Fire Covenant, the Extreme Fire Sect had deliberately downplayed Black Tiger's existence. Even most of the fellow sect members attending the event only realized the strength of Black Tiger's methods after witnessing them, which explained why the sect did not hesitate to bring out its treasured resources to boost their presence at the meeting.

Thus, the people from Shudao Mountain were all focused on Yin Tianlu, treating Black Tiger as nothing more than an attendant or assistant—not worth serious consideration.

When Zhener caught Black Tiger's gaze, she felt as if her soul had been pierced, involuntarily feeling an inexplicable unrest and pressing closer to Shi Chun, marginally shrinking behind him.

The abnormal reaction from Zhener also made Shi Chun pay special attention to Black Tiger's response. Zhener wasn't encountering someone for the first time. Yet, it seemed that only this robust individual was causing Zhener a sense of dread. What was going on?

The Extreme Fire Sect was one of the few Artifact Refining Sects for demon cultivators within the Cultivation World. Could it be that its true form was some special kind of demon?

He opened his right eye's superpower to examine—the demon cultivators transformed into human form. Even in the vision of his right eye's superpower, they still appeared human-shaped. However, unlike normal people's foggy white silhouettes, they were a cloudy grey. Observing the source of their powers in the dantian area, he found a obscure black tiger shadow.

That was the biggest difference between human monks and demon cultivators.

So the true form was a Tiger Demon, not so surprising. But Shi Chun still felt taken aback; entwined around the Tiger Demon's core were eight strands of flame, each of a different color.

It wasn't unusual for him to be around those who had absorbed Divine Fires; he had already observed the state of those people after absorption through his right eye's superpower. It was clear at a glance that this Tiger Demon had absorbed eight Divine Fires.

What was going on, had he seen wrong?

After double-checking, there was no mistake—it was indeed the light and shadow of the aura from the Divine Fire.

Here, because of the Secret Technique for seeking Divine Fire, the most absorbed by Tong Mingshan to date was only eleven Divine Fires. This Tiger Demon clearly wasn't leading the Extreme Fire Sect, yet it had absorbed eight.

Who was leading, then? It was obvious—it was Yin Tianlu, who was currently exchanging greetings with Gu Lianni, one of the top ranked leaders from the various sects. Shi Chun was no stranger to his name.

Could it be because Yin Tianlu, like himself, was unable to absorb Divine Fire?

Scanning Yin Tianlu's source of power with his right eye's superpower, Shi Chun immediately realized he was wrong. There were traces of Divine Fire on Yin Tianlu's source of power, but only three wispy Divine Fires.

Huh, the leader capable of absorbing Divine Fires had only absorbed three, while his follower had absorbed eight? What kind of situation was this?

Under normal circumstances, the leading Yin Tianlu couldn't possibly let go of such a great opportunity. It made no sense.

There could only be one explanation for the anomaly—if Black Tiger had secretly absorbed them without Yin Tianlu knowing.

That probability was slim.

Comparing the colors of the Divine Fire wisps absorbed by the two, Shi Chun confirmed something: all of the Divine Fires absorbed by Yin Tianlu had been previously absorbed by Black Tiger, meaning, the Divine Fires that Black Tiger should not absorb repeatedly were the ones given to Yin Tianlu to absorb.

After reaching this conclusion, Shi Chun narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing a problem: Yin Tianlu was likely just a front that the Extreme Fire Sect had put up, while the truly important figure for this trip was Black Tiger.

Combining Zhener's abnormal reaction to Black Tiger, his understanding became clearer.

Even ignoring the disparity between Yin Tianlu and Black Tiger in absorbing the Divine Fires, the two demon cultivators together equaled eleven absorbed Divine Fires, and that didn't even include other members of the Extreme Fire Sect.

What did that imply? Given the Extreme Fire Sect's low-key setup for Black Tiger, it meant that their trip was well-prepared.

Shi Chun thought of the 'Desolate Blade' that had stirred the three veins of the Demon Path—it was exactly what the Extreme Fire Sect had brought. This added to his understanding of the Extreme Fire Sect's determination for this venture.

He was also curious. The Extreme Fire Sect had some secret method for finding Divine Fires, one that hadn't been evident in previous events but had been brought out this time.

Or was it because of Zhener's response, coupled with his guess about Zhener's true form, and adding to that the abnormal attention Black Tiger was paying to Zhener.

He almost immediately suspected that the secret of the Extreme Fire Sect's search for Divine Fires lay with Black Tiger.

It was precisely because of this that, when he noticed Black Tiger's gaze shifting towards him, he quickly shifted his gaze away from Black Tiger, concealing his reaction and feigning ignorance.

Yin Tianlu, who was exchanging pleasantries with Gu Lianni, also took notice of Zhener. First, because Zhener's attire was indeed very 'provocative and enticing'; second, he had heard from other sects about Shi Chun's public display of affection with this woman.

Previously, he had been curious—what kind of beauty could cause Shi Chun to lose his composure like that.

Now that he saw her, he had to admit she did have a unique charm and rhythm, but still felt it wasn't enough to justify such behavior, especially not at a time and place like this. He also sensed that there might be something more to it.

"All right, let's skip the pleasantries, what brings you here?" Gu Lianni cut through the small talk to get to the heart of the matter.

Yin Tianlu gave a faint smile, his gaze flicking towards Black Tiger who was beside him.

The reason for his polite small talk was to buy Black Tiger more time to observe; he needed to decide his course for this visit based on Black Tiger's observational findings.

Understanding his intention, Black Tiger looked up once again at Tong Mingshan and others in the air and responded with a barely perceptible nod.

This action immediately caught the eye of Shi Chun, who was watching from the shadows, and instantly confirmed his guess that this Tiger Demon was the lead figure for the Extreme Fire Sect on this trip.

Receiving the signal, Yin Tianlu felt a sudden heaviness in his heart as Black Tiger's response told him that the rumors were true—their opponents had indeed found a lot of Divine Fire.

He took out a chilly goat horn and took a deep breath before speaking slowly, "Gu Lianni, it's clear why so many are pestering you; you must have some idea. To be frank, the Extreme Fire Sect can't stand to see Shudao Mountain being harassed by all these scoundrels. We'd like to lend a helping hand to Shudao Mountain to shake off these nuisances. What do you say?"

He didn't hide his intentions and added, "Of course, the Extreme Fire Sect isn't acting out of boredom—there must be a reward for our efforts. We want to share in the Secret Technique you have for finding Divine Fire."

His demand sounded no different from those pestering sects, except it was more blunt and straightforward, leaving seemingly no room for negotiation which made Shi Chun slightly frown.

Gu Lianni's eyebrows arched as she caught a glimpse of something in Shi Chun's flashing eyes, signaling he was about to say something discourteous. Considering the stature and status of Shudao Mountain, how could they bow to someone ranked lower than themselves? Even for the sake of maintaining the sect's dignity, she, as Shudao Mountain Sect Leader's daughter, couldn't make any concessions.

Therefore, Shi Chun intervened urgently, "That suits me perfectly, it's just what I was hoping for."

These words surprised Gu Lianni, who was about to speak. She, along with Yuan Yao and others, turned to look at Shi Chun. Having spent so much time together, they had come to understand a bit about Shi Chun's character; they knew his words were plainly unusual and wondered why, leaving them unsure whether it was appropriate to express any opposition.

Could this be what Shi Chun meant before by the more allies, the better?

Yin Tianlu and Black Tiger were also stunned and stared at Shi Chun.

Only Wu Jinliang chuckled, glancing left and right. He didn't know what Shi Chun was up to, only that when Master acted this out of the ordinary, it inevitably meant something unorthodox was afoot.

Seeing everyone's surprised expressions, Shi Chun sighed again, "Being hounded all the way here has made it impossible to search for Divine Fire properly. It's better to settle this sooner rather than later."

Yin Tianlu's gaze shifted from Shi Chun's face to Gu Lianni's as he asked, "Does Brother Chun speak for Shudao Mountain's intentions?"

Gu Lianni pursed her lips and with a smile from Shi Chun she replied, "Our two sects are now working together; should there be disagreement, Shudao Mountain will naturally express opposition."

Yin Tianlu and Black Tiger exchanged glances, finding it hard to believe how smoothly things were going.

After some contemplation, Yin Tianlu took the lead, "In that case, please present your Secret Technique so that we may verify its authenticity."

His tone was somewhat aggressive.

Gu Lianni and others turned their gazes back to Shi Chun, waiting to see his move.

And Shi Chun responded on their behalf, "No problem, but shouldn't the Extreme Fire Sect also show some sincerity in cooperation?"

Seeing the situation, it seemed this man could indeed represent the people of Shudao Mountain. Yin Tianlu was secretly amazed; he knew well the traditional arrogance of Shudao Mountain. It seemed the key to finding Divine Fire really lay with him. Without hesitation, Yin Tianlu voiced, "What kind of sincerity does Brother Chun expect from the Extreme Fire Sect?"

Shi Chun motioned towards the people from Forget Love Valley with a nod of his chin, "The Forget Love Valley people also came to us seeking cooperation, but honestly, how can they compare with the Extreme Fire Sect? They aren't worth it, so we declined, and they left with resentment. Then we saw them heading your way, and who knows what you've been conspiring. We don't know if the Extreme Fire Sect genuinely wants to cooperate with us or if you're brewing some plot with them. If the Extreme Fire Sect truly wishes to cooperate, you cannot play both sides—you have to choose one, and with the strength of the Extreme Fire Sect, dealing with Forget Love Valley should be easy."

He then looked towards Wu Jinliang, "My brother here has a rather unique preference for women; he takes a particular interest in those with flaws and has been eagerly imploring me to help him. Jinliang, you can't take all of them. Leave those who aren't too unattractive—the five leaders should suffice for you, right?"

Everyone's gaze turned towards Wu Jinliang, all showing surprise and astonishment; no one expected this big man to have such peculiar tastes, which was rather shocking.

Wu Jinliang chuckled, appearing brilliantly cheerful, though he felt an urge to deny it. He was well aware that Chun Tian, the scoundrel, had probably set his sights on the Demon Essence of a few demon cultivators and couldn't find an excuse to keep them alive, leaving him to be the scapegoat.

With this in mind, he retorted to Shi Chun, "How does that saying go again? The one about flaws being attractive?"

The image of a woman flashed in Shi Chun's mind, and he said knowingly, "Flawed beauty."

"Oh, right, flawed beauty," Wu Jinliang sounded somewhat melancholic as he looked towards the sky and laughed heartily for a while before telling everyone, "One must learn to appreciate. There's nothing perfect in this world. Flawed beauty is the truest form of beauty, with a charm all its own!"

Seeing him confirm it himself, the crowd was speechless. Gu Lianni couldn't hide her disdain, remembering how this big man liked to ogle women's breasts and buttocks, sending shivers down her spine; no wonder he always let out that lewd chuckle.

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