It's already outrageous to wear a mask amidst the crowd, yet among so many people, one still dared to take off the mask and reveal their face to him—aren't they afraid of being seen? Do they think others are blind?

Yuan Yao naturally understood Gu Lianni's intentions. As an elite disciple of Shudao Mountain, he too had to stand with Shudao Mountain's interests.

He did not wish for Shi Chun to be captured either. In fact, he hoped that when they leave, the Divine Fire Secret Technique would only remain in Shudao Mountain's possession. As an elite disciple of the sect, he didn't need the sect's explicit approval to know how such things should be handled.

If he couldn't even grasp this, then out of all the disciples, why would the sect select him for this mission?

Furthermore, with Elder Jin's violation during the exit, should this incident come to light, Shudao Mountain would lose its qualification to enter the next Divine Fire Covenant.

Yet completely silencing Shi Chun wouldn't be feasible either. If Shi Chun were dead, what would become of the Divine Fire Secret Technique?

If the Divine Fire Secret Technique could be brought back, it would be an achievement of monumental proportions!

His nerves suddenly tightened, even more so than Shi Chun who was directly involved. Subconsciously, he glanced at the reactions of those around.

After observing, he let out a small sigh of relief, realizing that no one even paid attention to that masked man. Amid the moment of chaos, everyone's eyes were fixed on the streaks of light flying away, entirely captivated by them, chattering about what they might be. Only that masked person stood within the crowd, flaunting.

Yuan Yao suddenly had a revelation. Glancing at the direction of the streaks of light flying away, then back at the masked Shi Chun, he instantly realized whose handiwork caused this chaos.

Now, he was curious about what those streaks of light were. They didn't quite seem like something launched into the air since they flew too high and far. Instead, they seemed more like living entities.

What on earth is that guy up to? Yuan Yao muttered inwardly, unable to recognize or figure out the nature of the phenomenon.

Simultaneously, he began considering how to approach Shi Chun. It was apparent; the man dared to cause a commotion amidst the crowd and signaled for a meeting. It was clearly an urgent matter; otherwise, he wouldn't take such a risk.

Why does the guy insist on meeting under such circumstances? If he doesn't get away quickly, what is he trying to do?

Rather than reacting similarly to others with sudden fright and an instinctive move to evade, Li Hongjiu hesitated for a moment before suddenly leaping into the air. He chased after the streaks of light, eager to see what they were. To pursue, he even released Wind Scale, darting upward into the night sky.

Although those streaks of light weren't particularly fast at the outset, their speed increased endlessly as if infinitely accelerating.

Eventually, the streaks of light disappeared beyond sight, and Li Hongjiu's figure reappeared in everyone's view. Retracting the Wind Scale midair, he gracefully descended back into the crowd.

Zuo Zisheng asked, "What is it?"

Li Hongjiu replied, "I don't know. Wind Scale reached a height where it couldn't ascend further, but those streaks of light seemed to fly beyond the heavens."

"Beyond the heavens?"

"Being able to fly beyond the heavens—what on earth are they?"

The leaders of various major sects, puzzled, quickly approached the site of the phenomenon. Zuo Zisheng questioned the surrounding people, "What was it? What happened here?"

"No idea."

Those nearby shook their heads and answered similarly.

One individual, who had backed away during the commotion, cautiously returned and said, "No clue—it suddenly shot out from beneath my feet and gave me quite a scare."

From afar, someone suddenly shouted, "Seems like 'Insect Extreme Crystal.'"

This statement instantly quieted the crowd, drawing everyone's attention.

Shi Chun turned his head at these words and muttered inwardly, Who's flaunting their knowledge now?

Indeed, the observation wasn't wrong—it was Shi Chun who had released the Insect Extreme Crystal. Back at the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, Shi Chun had thought that having a few more or fewer Insect Extreme Crystals wouldn't affect his chances of ranking first. Considering how easy it is to hand them out yet hard to reclaim, he had furtively kept some for personal backup.

And now, by tossing a few, they served their purpose.

Upon hearing the shout, Zuo Zisheng raised his hand, pointing the direction. His commanding presence as the leader of a major sect became evident, as the crowd voluntarily made way.

The shouting individual stepped forward, but before he could complete his bow, Zuo Zisheng wasted no time asking, "You've seen it before?"

The person promptly clarified for the crowd, "I've never seen it personally, but my junior who participated in the Sky Rain Meteor Conference mentioned it—Insect Extreme Crystal looks like these blue meteors. Not only that, it can fly into the heavens, and judging from the phenomenon earlier, it's strikingly similar."

Having heard this, Zuo Zisheng cast a spell and called out, "Has anyone here attended the Sky Rain Meteor Conference?"

Other than the sound of the wind, no voices responded.

Li Hongjiu suddenly interjected, "Forget it. Don't bother asking. That conference—I always wanted to see it, but couldn't get an opportunity to attend.

Only certain sects from Shengshen Continent participate. The majority chosen are those inclined toward fighting-oriented sects. Artifact Refining sects participate very little, excluding those in the High Martial Great Success Realm.

Regarding the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, many sects treat it perfunctorily. The situation in the Divine Fire Domain, however, is different. Every sect here is proactively engaged, and it's unlikely those below the High Martial Great Success Realm were sent here, right?"

With these rules explained, sect members outside Shengshen Continent understood. Someone chuckled, "Looks like finding participants from the Sky Rain Meteor Conference here is unlikely."

Yuan Yao, hearing this, instinctively glanced at Shi Chun. As expected, someone immediately mentioned Shi Chun.

It was Mi Liangmeng, the taciturn leader from Golden Appearance Hall, who suddenly spoke up, "There is! Mingshan Sect participated. In fact, the entire Mingshan Sect participated—they even won first place."

The crowd fell silent, then burst into laughter. It was Yan Chunlai from East Cloud Island who jested, "Brother Mi is being too literal here. What people meant was 'here,' this current scene—not the entire Divine Fire Domain."

Once again, Yuan Yao cast a glance at the masked figure. He was curious about how it felt to hear others discussing oneself while secretly standing by.

Li Hongjiu unexpectedly questioned Zuo Zisheng, "I heard that during Xun Gate's earlier refinement project, Elder Situ Gu managed to persuade the Shengshen Continent Royal Court to gift some Insect Extreme Crystals. Haven't you seen those either?"

Zuo Zisheng shot him a look, tempted to retort, "Do you think someone like me, still fumbling at the beginner's stage of refining, would have access to such high-end artifact refinement tasks?"

Yet, he chose not to explain publicly.

He knew his own place clearly—if not for attending this conference, his rank and standing within the sect were far too low to even meet Elder Situ. Elder Situ, who held an exalted position in the sect and didn't bother with daily sect matters, barely interacted with disciples. How could Zuo Zisheng have had the opportunity to see the Insect Extreme Crystals he handled?

Gu Lianni voiced a sudden curiosity, "How on earth did an Insect Extreme Crystal end up here? Surely Shi Chun and the others didn't bring it along, did they?"

Yuan Yao inwardly cringed, wanting to remind Gu Lianni, "Please, Miss—stop recklessly hinting at things."

Shi Chun subtly tilted his head, gazing at the starry sky. He came to the conclusion that cooperating with old comrades from the Land of Exile was far more efficient—what is all this nonsense?

Fortunately, no one took Gu Lianni's remark seriously. Whether or not it was an Insect Extreme Crystal still required verification, and peculiar occurrences within the vast Divine Fire Domain were deemed normal. Pulling in Shi Chun just seemed far-fetched.

As discussions resumed on the previous negotiations regarding profit distribution once the Divine Fire Secret Technique was obtained, Zuo Zisheng and others returned attention to the topic.

Yuan Yao didn't delay any further. He approached disciples from the nearby Refining Heaven Sect and bargained for a word with Gu Lianni.

The Refining Heaven Sect disciples were simply keeping an eye on Shudao Mountain's group, not overtly restricting anyone's movement. This kind of request for a conversation posed no issues whatsoever.

Upon reaching Gu Lianni, Yuan Yao whispered to her directly, "Master, someone's monitoring us. Whatever I say, do not show any obvious reactions. Shi Chun has arrived—the masked guy over there is…"

Gu Lianni froze in place at the report. She subtly controlled her expression, yet still glanced towards Shi Chun's direction, discreetly taking note of a masked figure. She hadn't realized previously, but upon mention, she recognized Shi Chun's silhouette.

She was slightly flabbergasted. Really? Just like that? Wearing such an eye-catching masked outfit amidst the crowd? Is he worried he won't attract enough attention? Truly absurd! Furious thoughts berated his ancestors in her mind.

Nonetheless, she accepted Yuan Yao's judgment—Shi Chun must urgently need a meetup, and collaboration was necessary.

But this posed difficulties. She muttered under her breath, "This is ridiculous. So many people watching—how are we supposed to meet?"

Yuan Yao quickly shared a plan.

Following his scheme, Gu Lianni distractedly engaged Zuo Zisheng directly amidst his negotiations with Yin Tianlu, loudly demanding, "Zuo Zisheng, what's your deal?"

Startled, the crowd turned to Zuo Zisheng, unsure what misconduct provoked her sudden outburst.

"What deal?" Zuo Zisheng was baffled and asked, "What's the matter?"

Gu Lianni pointed at the encircled Shudao Mountain disciples and retorted, "My disciples are complaining, saying your encirclement makes them feel like prisoners. Is this your idea of joint collaboration? Do you truly think Shudao Mountain fears you?"

The issue had been raised—Zuo Zisheng exchanged glances with Guang Haoyou from Yanbao Sect. Indeed, the encirclement was mutually agreed upon by both parties to prevent escape. Shudao Mountain had expressed no dissatisfaction until now.

Choosing not to allow explanations, Gu Lianni stormed off, reclaiming her dignity as a representative from the second largest Artifact Refining sect.

Feigning displeasure towards Refining Heaven Sect disciples nearby, she directed her disciples to forcefully drive them away, shouting, "Move aside! Get out! Why are you still watching? Are you letting us through or not?"

Pretending to throw a tantrum, her aggressive display appeared somewhat advantageous given her gender. She knew it herself.

Perplexed Refining Heaven Sect disciples awaited instructions, eventually yielding as Zuo Zisheng gestured subtly. Though permitted passage, Zuo Zisheng secretly commanded his subordinates to monitor Shudao Mountain's team closely, ensuring no escape.

Gu Lianni carefully chose the direction of her "breakthrough," coincidentally heading towards Shi Chun's location. Expelling Refining Heaven Sect monitors in the area, Shudao Mountain disciples converged with Shi Chun.

The disturbance didn't end entirely—pushed others close by from different factions under Yuan Yao's signal, Shi Chun covertly crouched amid the sudden convergence, using terrain and motion to blend in among Shudao Mountain disciples.

Only then did Shudao Mountain settle down.

Not showing overt movements indicating escape attempt eased Zuo Zisheng's team, letting negotiations resume uninterrupted.

Meanwhile, Gu Lianni remained surrounded, seemingly pacifying overly agitated Shudao Mountain disciples.

Hidden among the group, a masked figure crouched discreetly by her side.

Pretending to interact with disciples, Gu Lianni glanced down and whispered irritably, "What are you up to?"

Shi Chun knew this setup couldn't last long without attracting suspicion. Frankly, he admitted, "Don't be fooled by the Extreme Fire Sect. I've had direct confrontations with them. Black Tiger is dead—we dealt with him. But real trouble lies with Wu Shanshan. She uses a spell that tracks us, explaining why we keep getting located. She must be eliminated—quickly!"

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