It just so happens that they're still not out of danger, and facing this barrage of questions, it's hard to deal with it without responding.

Even when he wasn't as badly injured before, Li Hongjiu wasn't a match for Wu Jinliang's magical treasure. Now, having been injured this badly by Wu Jinliang, if their relationship were to sour, it would naturally become even more dangerous.

This made him think of something as his gaze shifted back to Wu Jinliang. This guy had learned far too much that he shouldn't have from his mouth. Should he silence him?

His eyes swept over the other Mingshan Sect members. These people had overheard everything too. Should he take them out as well?

The thought flickered through his mind but never took root. After all, he wasn't someone who cared too much about face.

Though he had his own reservations, when answering Shi Chun's questions, he put on a serious expression and said, "I've already told Brother Wu before—I don't know who attacked me. The person acted from across the void and had the power to strike through space. They're at least a Heavenly Immortal Realm cultivator who has reached the stage of Great Achievement."

This was exactly what puzzled Shi Chun. Where could such a terrifying expert still exist in this area? If someone from within the Earth Heart Tower had made the move, he wouldn't believe it.

The logic was clear. They had already carried out a massive slaughter of the Divine Fires in the Earth Heart Tower. If the old monsters inside still retained such power, there was no way they would just stand by and allow it. Even if there might have been some leniency out of courtesy, they wouldn't have been so tolerant as to let them wreak so much havoc.

Shi Chun nodded slightly and said, "Brother Jiu, I've already heard this from Jinliang. Both of your attacks happened by this lakeside?"

Li Hongjiu looked towards the lakeside, still shaken. "Yes, that's right."

Shi Chun asked oddly, "The mountain over there connects to the lake, and we're currently by the lakeside too. We've even been running around the lake. Why haven't we encountered the kind of attack you faced?"

Li Hongjiu blinked and said, "Are you suspecting that I'm making this up?"

Shi Chun did indeed harbor such suspicions. Who knew how this smiling tiger had gotten injured, but he didn't expose him. Instead, he continued asking, "Brother Jiu, are you suggesting that this terrifying entity only targets you?"

"I can't be that unlucky, right?" Li Hongjiu retorted before breaking into a chuckle. "No, seriously, brother, you still think I'm lying to you, don't you? I'm telling you, this isn't a joke. You can see the state I'm in now. Besides, what would I gain by lying to you?"

Shi Chun thought internally, "Even if I didn't want to doubt you, it's hard not to. A Heavenly Immortal Realm expert, at the Great Achievement stage, specifically targeting you, taking action twice, yet every time failing to kill you. And you, fool, face such terrifying attacks and still dare to come back as if asking for death. How do you expect me to believe that? Do you believe it yourself?"

But on the surface, he replied with a different tone, "Not at all, not at all. What I mean is, I'd like you to help us test again, to see if that attacker would strike once more."

Test again? What kind of nonsense is this?

Even with Li Hongjiu's easy-going nature, he got a bit worked up this time. He immediately jumped up and said, "Brother, if you want to kill me, just tell me directly. You don't need to take action; I'll find a rock and bash my head in instead!"

Shi Chun quickly stepped forward to calm him. "Brother Jiu, that's not what I meant. You'll stay behind us while we move up front."

Li Hongjiu shook his head and waved dismissively. "It's useless. You haven't seen the way experts like that strike. If he wants to attack you, it doesn't matter whether you're in the front, back, or at the sides. He can target you from anywhere."

Shi Chun responded, "Then how about we surround you from all directions?"

"…" Li Hongjiu was momentarily speechless. He asked, baffled, "Why are you so determined to test this?"

Shi Chun answered, "To be honest, we have a big mission to accomplish here, and we won't feel at ease unless we verify the situation you described."

"A big mission?" Li Hongjiu sounded puzzled.

But he didn't get an answer. When he asked further, Shi Chun avoided the topic, saying only that he would find out when the time came.

In truth, Li Hongjiu had no choice in the matter. He wasn't in a position to refuse.

He could have chosen to die honorably, but he didn't. Enduring the discomfort of his injuries, he had no choice but to follow along.

Thus, with two fewer people in the group, they gained one more in their ranks.

This time, Shi Chun summoned everyone together. With Xu Anzhang and Youu Mu dead, there was no one left to capture Divine Fires here. Those who needed to cultivate Fire Attribute Skills had to do it themselves, and so everyone was headed to the Earth Heart Tower.

Before doing so, however, they naturally needed to validate Li Hongjiu's account.

And it was precisely here that things became awkward for Li Hongjiu.

The group boarded a Wind Scale and surrounded Li Hongjiu in the center. Flying above the Ice Sealed Lake, they encountered nothing unusual.

They descended to the ice and began trekking across its surface on foot. Still, no signs of an attack on Li Hongjiu appeared.

Finally, they even broke through the frozen lake surface and escorted him underwater for a while. Yet, there wasn't the slightest disturbance.

"Get out of my way! I'll walk on my own!"

Li Hongjiu suddenly shouted, pushing everyone aside as he walked forward alone across the frozen lake's surface. It wasn't that he was enraged. In fact, he himself found it strange and wanted to test if this was truly the case—was the mysterious entity only targeting him?

Seeing no signs of an attacker for some time, he even waved at Shi Chun and the others behind him, motioning for them not to follow too closely.

Shi Chun stopped and shook his head with a sigh. "He's acting like it's real. This guy can really put on a show."

Wu Jinliang laughed. "After all this back-and-forth between you two, you're just figuring this out now? We've all had enough of this act. We've never seen such a disciple from a famous sect before, let alone the Sect Leader's direct disciple."

The group wandered across the Ice Lake and reached the Lake Heart Island without encountering the so-called terrifying force.

On reaching the island, Li Hongjiu didn't say a word. He simply found a spot to sit down and look at the stars.

Whatever. Believe it or not, there was no need for further explanation. His story had too many inconsistencies, and he completely understood everyone's skepticism. If he were in their shoes, he wouldn't believe himself either. Still, he figured they needed him to make their escape, so they probably wouldn't kill him over this.

Of course, Li Hongjiu himself was deeply puzzled and continued mulling over the strange attacks he had experienced.

The old monsters in the tower surely knew of his arrival, yet it was baffling that Shi Chun's group had also dared to show up here. Had Shi Chun's people not asked, or had the monsters not mentioned his presence?

Some things simply couldn't be figured out. The outside world was too complicated for him, and his lack of experience showed. Remaining silent, he decided to observe the developments within the tower.

Soon, Shi Chun arrived on the island and tactfully chose not to further embarrass Li Hongjiu. If you're tired, sit down and rest; he'd act as if nothing had happened or been said. As long as he could confirm that the mysterious force Li Hongjiu spoke of didn't exist, that was enough.

Zhener was already waiting on the island. Seeing so many people arrive, she was delighted and eagerly approached Shi Chun to ask, "Is it time for an official proposal?"

Shi Chun immediately wrapped an arm around her, taking advantage by touching her upper body in full view of everyone. He whispered in her ear, "Get ready for us to break the formation for you."

The men present turned away awkwardly, pretending not to see the blatant display.

Wu Jinliang, however, brazenly watched with an amused grin.

Li Hongjiu glanced over briefly before doing a double take in a mixture of surprise and admiration. Shi Chun was indeed openly touching a woman in public. Internally, he couldn't help but applaud. Bold!

Suddenly, he understood why Shi Chun's shameless style of addressing everyone as a brother had such an audacious flair.

For the first time, he began scrutinizing Zhener, wondering what sect she belonged to and how she had ended up with Shi Chun.

Meanwhile, Zhu Xiangxin, being a woman herself, spat quietly—though not at Shi Chun, but at Zhener for her shamelessness. How could she let someone publicly touch her without resisting?

Zhener, however, didn't resist at all, having grown used to it. Hearing Zhu Xiangxin's muttered scorn, she simply raised her head, her bright eyes glimmering with surprise and joy. After meeting Shi Chun's approving gaze, she nodded repeatedly and even kissed him on the lips, unashamed of the audience. She liked kissing.

After letting go of her, Shi Chun promptly called Zhu Xiangxin and An Wuzhi over. He instructed the two to enter the tower and capture Divine Fires to absorb.

This was both a final test during their limited time here and an opportunity for Zhu and An to absorb more of the Divine Fires. Captured Divine Fires were to be absorbed on the island itself. Shi Chun wanted to see just how much longer those old monsters in the tower could hold back.

Entering the tower to grab Divine Fires? Zhu and An were understandably apprehensive. Shi Chun didn't force them. After all, Xu Anzhang and Youu Mu had been the ones to capture Divine Fires here and give them to others. Now the two were dead. If Zhu and An were unwilling to retrieve the fires themselves, they could hardly expect anyone else to hand them over.

After some hesitation—coupled with the undeniable lure of the Divine Fires—the two finally gathered their courage and stepped into the tower.

Sitting on a rock nearby, observing everything, Li Hongjiu tilted his head back to gaze at the skies. His confusion only grew deeper. This place was undeniably the central hub of the rumored Forbidden Land, the final resting place of countless Artifact Refining World masters. How on earth did Shi Chun's group have the guts to stir up trouble here?

He thought back to his encounter with Master Nine and how his probing, deceitful words had kept the other too wary to act against him. That encounter had ultimately piqued his curiosity and brought him here to investigate further.

When Shi Chun had mentioned some "big mission" earlier, it left Li Hongjiu restless and unable to focus on cultivating or healing. His relentless curiosity drove him to gather near Shi Chun and the others, despite his severe injuries and frequent coughing. He blended in seamlessly, as if he belonged.

A while later, Zhu Xiangxin and An Wuzhi stumbled back out of the tower empty-handed.

"Master, there are no Divine Fires in the tower—not a single flicker from top to bottom," An Wuzhi reported with evident frustration.

The mention of searching the entire tower prompted a surprised reaction from Shi Chun. "You even ventured to the lowest level?"

An Wuzhi nodded. "We searched all the way to the bottom."

Shi Chun's expression turned to one of doubt. "And no one stopped you?"

An Wuzhi shook his head. "We didn't see a soul."

Zhu Xiangxin added in a solemn tone, "We didn't check the central pillar, though. Maybe something's hiding in there."

What the hell? How could that be possible? Without hesitation, Shi Chun shrugged up his sleeves and darted to the entrance of the tower to investigate for himself.

True to form, Zhener swiftly followed him.

The rest of the group trailed behind, their curiosity evident. Even a gravely injured Li Hongjiu hurried along, coughing intermittently and blending into the crowd without hesitation—completely throwing off any pretense of being an outsider.

"Sect Master!" Wu Jinliang suddenly called out to Tong Mingshan by the tower's entrance as if he'd just remembered something.

Tong Mingshan paused in his steps and looked at him in puzzlement.

In response, Wu Jinliang pulled out a magical treasure resembling a prayer mat. Activating it, he unleashed a Divine Demon Dharma Form around him, remaining vigilant of their surroundings, and said, "Let's stay outside and keep watch."

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