On this side, they were interspersing and surrounding the area, while You Mu, who had circled around a considerable distance, was also spotted by Shudao Mountain's sentries.

It would have been difficult not to be noticed—You Mu appeared openly and swaggered through, but there was no way he could shout reminders aloud.

Those who discovered him didn't alert him; instead, they stealthily reported back, quickly alarming both Shudao Mountain and Shi Chun's group.

Just one person? Naturally, Shi Chun had his doubts. He immediately activated his right-eye superpower. This time, due to Wu Shanshan's group's close approach, he quickly detected the interspersed encircling formation.

This sight startled him—a large group had managed to infiltrate this place while evading the surrounding sentries?

His right-eye superpower clearly showed the sentries being bypassed.

"Let's go and see who those people are." Gu Lianni climbed up to look around, waved to nearby sect members, and turned to leave.

"Wait." Shi Chun urgently reached out, grabbing Gu Lianni's arm to stop her. To him, the tension of the atmosphere had escalated instantly.

Men and women should maintain proper boundaries, so Gu Lianni immediately glared at his hand clasping her arm.

Yuan Yao and Pang Hou remained wide-eyed and eerily silent, holding their breath as they watched attentively.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" Gu Lianni exploded with visible disgust. The same hands that had been tugging and cuddling Zhener now landed on her, leaving her repulsed.

Shi Chun didn't pay much attention and didn't even glance at her reaction. He stayed wary of his surroundings while urgently instructing, "No, it's not just one person. Move—everyone follow me immediately this way." He pointed in a specific direction.

He didn't recognize You Mu, nor did he know that You Mu had managed to pass the Fire Bat obstacle in the underground passage or that You Mu was now coming to report. He couldn't identify Demon Essence within someone's body unless they got closer; the surrounding Primordial Energy blurred his vision.

Shi Chun was accustomed to commanding forces in the Land of Exile amidst frequent skirmishes. Faced with such an encircling formation in unknown circumstances, he would never engage impulsively. Who knew what hidden cards the enemy had? Avoiding their edge was clearly the smartest strategy.

Moreover, in his view, anyone who could keep up with them was exceptional. To attempt to encircle Shudao Mountain's forces, the attackers were obviously not to be underestimated.

At the same time, he was somewhat thankful—thankful for acquiring his right-eye superpower. In the past at the Land of Exile, if someone had managed to sneak this close beneath his nose, a bloody battle would have been unavoidable.

Now, wielding such abilities, he naturally chose to maximize benefits while minimizing risks.

When Gu Lianni heard his sweeping command, her tone irked her subconsciously—a reflexive irritation was building. She wanted to retort sarcastically but quickly remembered the Sky Pit incident and the loss of over a dozen disciples due to her prior defiance of Shi Chun's orders. Shame made her hold her tongue. Calmly, she said, "Pang Hou, notify the sentry disciples to withdraw quickly. Be fast."

"Understood."

Pang Hou had just responded when Shi Chun immediately countered, "It's too late. We must retreat first. We may escape unharmed, but they might not be so fortunate. If we can't break away, they won't fare much better either—now go!"

Abandoning fellow sect members in indeterminate circumstances? Unthinkable! Not only for Gu Lianni, but even for other Shudao Mountain disciples, this was hard to accept.

"No way." Gu Lianni firmly objected, tilting her head to signal Pang Hou to proceed with the order.

Shi Chun raised an eyebrow. He couldn't just reveal what he saw using his right-eye superpower. Honestly speaking, the lives of Gu Lianni and the others weren't worth exposing this secret. Unless absolutely necessary, he was determined to keep it concealed.

He understood well: this secret could either make him soar to prominence or reduce him to servitude—and that was a relatively optimistic outcome— there could be fates even worse.

The most critical issue now was that he could see the movements of the encircling forces, leaving no time to concoct an explanation.

The situation was irresolvable at the moment, and he could no longer afford to worry about the fate of Shudao Mountain's group. He had to prioritize his own survival while deciding on further action later.

Without uttering another word, he turned to leave, calling on the members of Mingshan Sect to flee with haste. The first thing he did was grab Zhener's hand, taking her along as they escaped.

First of all, Zhener possessed the strength of the Human Immortal Realm, making her a formidable weapon against opponents without Magical Treasures.

Second, Zhener was deeply familiar with the environment here, fully aware of which areas were dangerous or safe. Abandoning her at this critical juncture would be foolish.

"Let's move." Wu Jinliang also gestured for everyone to leave. Knowing about Shi Chun's right-eye superpower, he understood this urgency signified imminent danger.

"Go, go." Chu Jingtang encouraged the group, reinforcing Shi Chun's instruction.

In some ways, this demonstrated the cohesiveness of the Mingshan Sect members.

Swiftly, under the noses of Shudao Mountain's group, and before their very eyes, Mingshan Sect fled cleanly and thoroughly.

It wasn't an elegant escape utilizing Wind Scale, nor soaring flight at high speeds, but rather a discreet retreat led by Shi Chun, exploiting the cover of the terrain like stealthy thieves.

Mingshan Sect members didn't know why it had to be this way, but given their past experiences, they realized it was better to act according to their leader's instructions during moments of adversity.

Since the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, they had followed their leader, witnessing firsthand how his decisions led to the best outcomes.

The current Divine Fire Covenant was no exception. Doubts from before had gradually cleared, confirming that their leader's calculated decisions achieved optimal results, including them gathering the most Divine Fire.

Before entering the Divine Fire Domain, who would have dared to believe they could surpass those refined Artifact Refining sects in gathering Divine Fire? It would have seemed like wishful thinking—even those cultivating Fire Attribute Skills, despite their desires, feared they were dreaming, unable to imagine their abundant harvest.

Before entering the Divine Fire Domain, their leader stated they were merely going for fun. In hindsight, it was obvious he had deceived them.

But now, they didn't even resent being deceived. Reflecting on their gains, it seemed deception had been more of an effective strategy for progress. Weren't the Qiankun Bags tied to their waists—and filled with treasures—testaments to that? Before entering, could any of them have imagined having spare Wind Scales so advanced?

Even the Sky Rain Meteor Conference had seen them getting tricked by their leader—yet later, it was their leader who got them out of prison and gave them numerous rewards.

It's safe to say that, by this point, their nerves regarding his deceit had numbed. Tricked over and over, they had become indifferent to it.

If their leader wanted to deceive them again, so be it.

In the Sky Pit earlier, too, their leader was the first to detect danger and decisively lead the group to safety.

Not long after, the lessons of that experience were still fresh, reinforcing their leader's keen ability to sense threats.

Now, with their leader urging them to flee due to imminent danger, wasn't it logical to follow?

Although Chu Jingtang and the others were puzzled about the situation, they didn't hesitate to glance back at the lingering Gu Lianni group. Some scoffed, some sighed and shook their heads, feeling pity for that woman. Despite losing disciples from disobedience previously, she still hadn't learned her lesson!

The escape could have been faster, though Extreme Fire Sect forces formed their encircling maneuver just before Mingshan Sect fled.

But for the moment, that didn't matter.

First, Extreme Fire Sect members were unfamiliar with the terrain, preventing them from securing the most strategic vantage points immediately. Moreover, their numbers were insufficient for an airtight encirclement of the vast area.

Second, Wu Shanshan dared not openly use her Demon Eye here and could not observe the trapped group's movements either.

Wu Shanshan had led her group through interspersed routes; Shi Chun could leverage similar methods to escape before the enemy's encirclement could fully take shape.

Gesturing here, signaling there, pressing down to indicate lowering their profiles—within moments, Shi Chun successfully led his team to break out amidst the shadowy terrain beneath the starry sky. Only after creating ample distance did they dare to continue retreating in a straight line.

Wu Jinliang, being familiar with Shi Chun, realized they had likely escaped and walked alongside him. He then asked, "Chun Tian, what's going on?"

"Something's not right."

Shi Chun shook his head slightly, his brows furrowing in confusion as he answered vaguely.

He couldn't exactly state outright that he'd seen encircling forces—after all, others weren't blind.

But the matter left him deeply suspicious. Given Shudao Mountain had insufficient manpower, its sentries alternated shifts with nearly half stationed outside on watch. It was already worrisome anyone could approach undetected—let alone maneuver with such precision.

This wasn't mere boldness but outright calculated evasion.

Shi Chun's mind flashed back to the Fire Bat underground passage, where the attackers somehow tracked his group despite multiple twists and turns. He was beginning to connect the dots.

Seeing Chun Tian's reluctance to explain further, Wu Jinliang didn't press him, trusting their longstanding camaraderie. Instead, he glanced back at the direction they came from and asked, "Should we wait for them?"

They were originally collaborating with Shudao Mountain's group and might need them at the exit checkpoint later—this had been Shi Chun's previous intention.

Awakened by Wu Jinliang's words, Shi Chun suddenly lifted his head slightly. "We must leave here quickly! Fly far away with Wind Scale!"

Immediately, the group activated Wind Scale to fly off hurriedly.

Back on the mountain, Yuan Yao hesitated for a moment and reminded Gu Lianni, "Martial Aunt, remember how previous incidents proved Extreme Fire Sect harbored malice? Shi Chun's judgment and his ability to detect danger far surpasses ours. We mustn't be careless!"

Gu Lianni, still stunned by Mingshan Sect's abrupt departure, felt frustrated. After spending time alongside Shi Chun amidst many incidents, she had come to acknowledge his capabilities. Yet deep down, her irritation toward how Shi Chun and Zhener were affectionate stemmed from a recognition of his excellence.

No matter each faction's alignment or eventual stance, competent individuals tended to attract admiration, even subtle admiration from the opposite gender.

What baffled her the most was how cleanly Shi Chun's group slipped away—without bothersome persuasion or extra words. A slight hindrance from her was all it took before they vanished into the shadows. Was this their idea of collaboration?

Her mind reeled from feeling blindsided, her thoughts thrown into disarray.

Secretly, she wanted to confront Shi Chun, asking, "Do you think I'm someone unreasonable in your eyes?"

Reflecting on her stubbornness during the Sky Pit incident, however, she could understand Shi Chun's behavior, perhaps thinking it futile to discuss matters with her in detail.

This realization sent a mild chill down her spine. She quickly scanned her surroundings, her vigilance increasing significantly in response.

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