Shi Chun: "Brother Jiu, if you put yourself in their shoes, anyone who had the chance to leave back then probably wouldn't want to perish in the Exotic Realm. It's better to bring them out of the Divine Fire Domain for a proper burial. People shouldn't just think about themselves; it's good to do a bit of virtue-building when it's convenient."

Li Hongjiu gave him a thumbs-up, "Brother, I really didn't misjudge you."

Although his words sounded noble, Li Hongjiu couldn't help but harbor a trace of suspicion. Someone from the Land of Exile having such moral understanding?

He had inspected the remains earlier and found nothing, dismissing it as unimportant at the time. But Shi Chun's actions now made him doubtful, though it wasn't appropriate to demand Shi Chun hand them over for reinspection.

Shi Chun also showed concern, "Brother Jiu, instead of wasting time here, shouldn't you focus on recovering your injuries on the island? Tagging along with us recklessly—would your body hold up?"

Li Hongjiu: "No worries, I won't die." Glancing around, he sighed, "To almost lose my life over this damn place… If there's a chance to look around without coming back here, wouldn't it be regrettable?"

Shi Chun found no time to pretend kindness and let Li Hongjiu have his way. He turned back to the group and rallied them to leave together, heading to the second floor to open it up.

As everyone ascended the stairs to the second floor, they suddenly halted and looked back. The massive metallic rotating cylinder began to hum and rotate on its own. The group retreated to observe, only to find the door frame aligned perfectly with the main entrance, as if it had reset itself.

The crowd muttered among themselves briefly but didn't linger to study further, returning to the second floor of the Earth Heart Tower. Using the same approach as on the first floor, they spun the metallic cylinder again.

After revealing several openings, they found someone hidden inside.

A burly man with dark red hair cascading thickly over his head, clad in brown, form-fitting attire. He wore purple, metallic wrist guards glowing faintly, and this figure was none other than the infamous Second Master—the terrifying entity inside the Earth Heart Tower, referred to by Zhener as Second Master.

Though he looked fierce and imposing, with piercing eyes and a robust presence, he now crouched in terror, thoroughly afraid.

Like the previous encounter with the First Master, before the cautious group could even react, he transformed into a burst of orange Divine Fire and escaped over their heads.

Having learned from the last experience, An Wuzhi did not hesitate and sprinted forward for interception. With a few lightning-fast moves, he dispersed the fire's power and captured it on the spot.

This time, Zhu Xiangxin didn't even need to help. Prepared to assist, Zhu Xiangxin still held onto the previously captured Divine Fire in his hands.

The results were not ideal; the weakened Second Master turned out to be mute and incapable of speech.

Shi Chun grew anxious. He was eager to unravel the mysteries of the Earth Heart Tower, particularly the fate of the missing relics, so he sternly reminded An Wuzhi, "Next time, don't rush to scatter someone's powers! Give them a chance to talk—capture someone who can speak so we can inquire about the situation here."

Embarrassed, An Wuzhi nodded reluctantly and handed the captured Divine Fire to Zhu Xiangxin for safekeeping.

The group continued spinning the metallic cylinder, waiting for gleaming treasure lights to reveal an entryway, before rushing in fervently.

Shi Chun glanced at the people following inside and cursed inwardly at their negligence—none were left outside to keep watch. If they ended up trapped in here, who would report back to Wu Jinliang?

Left with no choice, he assigned Chu Jingtang to guard outside.

Chu Jingtang surveyed for a moment, noting the floor's layout and environment looked identical to the lower level, then turned to leave.

The scene within the second-floor hall mirrored the first floor almost exactly, except the desiccated corpse seated on the altar was different.

The group started knocking and probing, looking for any hidden clues. Li Hongjiu was the first to handle the corpse this time, casting spells to thoroughly inspect if there were any anomalies. He found nothing hidden within the corpse's body or bones.

All he could do was watch as Shi Chun approached with his supposedly benevolent intentions. This time, Shi Chun didn't even conduct a detailed inspection; he merely shook the bare corpse lightly and then casually stored it away.

Li Hongjiu began doubting himself—was he imagining things?

The group emerged empty-handed from their search. As they headed upstairs, everyone stopped midway, waiting on the staircase. As expected, the enormous metallic cylinder once again rotated automatically, returning to its original position.

Next, they worked their way to the third floor.

Not surprisingly, they uncovered yet another hidden figure within an opening.

A man clad in translucent, snow-like robes with a sword on his back. His hair and beard were jet black, and though he appeared elderly, he exuded a refined charm and remarkable good looks—a handsome older man, identified as the Third Master of the tower. However, when confronting the group, he cowered as well and quickly transformed into white Divine Fire to escape.

Like before, he didn't manage to flee far.

Despite exhausting himself capturing the Third Master, An Wuzhi refrained from scattering his powers. Yet, this Third Master stubbornly refused to return to human form. No amount of torment convinced him to utter a single word. Feigning weakness, he was oddly resolute.

In the end, with no better options, they dissipated the Divine Fire's powers within the Third Master for easier control.

They entered the third-floor hall, but the results were identical to the previous levels—no discoveries were made.

Emerging from the hall, they repeated a similar sequence—ascending floor by floor through the tower, encountering and capturing each guardian along the way. None posed a significant challenge.

Thus, they eventually reached the most infamous figure—the Ninth Master. Like the others, the Ninth Master remained silent and refused to take human form.

After exiting the ninth-floor hall, Shi Chun fell silent. Aside from a single dried-up corpse, they found no other relics or belongings.

He pondered over one pressing question: long ago, Zhener had stripped clothing on the eighth floor—where did the garments of the corpses in other levels go? If these guardians couldn't enter the halls above or below their respective floors, how had they known there were still clothes on the eighth floor?

Could it be that they had known whom "Su" had stripped the clothes from—or who hadn't been stripped?

Had this legendary location in the Artifact Refining World been dismantled so effortlessly?

While they finally discerned why those nine guardians refrained from action, the reason their strength had suddenly diminished remained a baffling puzzle to Shi Chun.

He should have known the answers, but Xu Anzhang and Youu Mu had taken the secrets with them, leaving him in the dark.

Chu Jingtang and the others outside were already explaining the events inside the tower to Wu Jinliang.

Standing on the island and gazing up at the brilliant stars above, Shi Chun turned around and looked at Zhener. It was evident from her yearning expression—she desperately wanted to leave the Forbidden Land to explore.

Originally, he hadn't planned to help Zhener break the formation or take her away.

He turned his gaze toward An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin, who were visibly thrilled after obtaining nine drops of Divine Fire, unable to hide their excitement.

However, Shi Chun declared that Divine Fire with different attributes should first be given to Tong Mingshan. The two were negotiating with Tong Mingshan, who shook his head, revealing he hadn't discovered an attribute he hadn't absorbed before.

Shi Chun then glanced at Li Hongjiu. Although he was willing to share the Divine Fire with him, strangely, this disciple from the Artifact Refining Sect showed no interest in Divine Fire. Despite stating his injuries prevented him from absorbing it, Shi Chun noticed a deeper truth—unlike other disciples from the Artifact Refining Sect, Li Hongjiu seemed indifferent to Divine Fire, even viewing it as burdensome.

What was that saying again? He had seen it in a book—"Extraordinary people do extraordinary things."

Suddenly, Shi Chun thought of something and called out to the trio discussing Divine Fire: "Leave two or three drops of Divine Fire for me—I need them."

An Wuzhi responded enthusiastically, "Alright! Boss, there are just two drops with attributes we've all previously absorbed."

Li Hongjiu walked toward Shi Chun, clicking his tongue in amazement about how this group had chosen the right leader. He didn't know how many drops of Divine Fire they had absorbed altogether but hadn't managed to get answers after asking. He didn't particularly care, though, as he reached Shi Chun and asked, "What are you keeping the Divine Fire for?"

Shi Chun: "To identify the culprit who murdered disciples of the esteemed sects—I need to fulfill my promise."

With that, he sighed deeply, hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward the stars. He contemplated facing the final challenge, uncertain of potential disruptions, his burden heavy—and yet it had long become an integral part of his survival.

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