Po Yuan, who was near the entrance, hadn't gone far. After escorting the group from the Extreme Fire Sect out of the mountain gate, he noticed Lou Xiu arrived but didn't hurry into the mountain gate; thus, he concealed himself nearby, wanting to see what Lou Xiu was up to.

His special attention to Lou Xiu was still because of the incident in Dazhi City. He also agreed with the Dazhi City City Lord Li Xianghong's judgment of Lou Xiu, believing that A Xun's death might be related to Lou Xiu, but unfortunately, they couldn't produce evidence, and someone had his back. As a result, not only did nothing happen, but Lou Xiu also went to the better-off position of Inner Court Captain in Yao Mountain City.

It's impossible not to have any opinions about such a result, but still, there is that saying: with someone backing him, you must talk evidence in everything!

However, just because of this observation in secret, he noticed something abnormal: he discovered another familiar face from Dazhi City—an employee from Chao Yue Bookstore, and he even remembered his name, Wang Ping!

The upheaval in Dazhi City hadn't been long, and he had paid attention to everyone in the Chao Yue Bookstore, so he was naturally familiar with this employee Shi Chun, especially since he had deliberately observed him that night, so he wouldn't mistake him.

How could the bookstore employee appear here and even enter the Divine Mountain? What was going on?

His mind full of suspicion, he turned his attention to Wu Jinliang. He didn't recognize Wu Jinliang, but by his appearance, he clearly matched the tall guest who was rumored to be leaving from the North Mountain District.

It was evident that Lou Xiu and Jiang You'er were very polite to this tall guy; they were chatting and laughing, while the bookstore employee stood courteously beside them, still carrying his employee demeanor.

His gaze bounced back and forth between Lou Xiu and Shi Chun; the two from Dazhi City appearing here, could they be related to that upheaval in Dazhi City?

Without evidence, all he could do was speculate and continue watching; he couldn't easily raise doubts, or he'd face an internal struggle within the Divine Mountain!

Once a struggle erupted, peace would be hard to find again; sometimes, internal struggles are even more ruthless and draining than bloody battles.

Outside the mountain gate, Lou Xiu also saw the people from the Extreme Fire Sect leave earlier, but he didn't tell Shi Chun, and instead made polite farewell remarks to Wu Jinliang.

Of course, there was a bit of trying to persuade him to stay.

Mysteriously, Shi Chun felt alert during this farewell and passage, though he hadn't detected any specific flaw; it was just a vague sense from the continuous actions that something seemed wrong.

After the pleasantries, Shi Chun maneuvered the Wind Scale to lift Wu Jinliang into the sky.

While ascending, Shi Chun's right eye superpower was sizing up the surroundings below, and the flight path suddenly veered into a "C" shape, changing midway and heading straight to Yao Mountain City.

Wu Jinliang asked in surprise, "What happened?"

Shi Chun replied, "Someone is targeting us, seems like it's from the Extreme Fire Sect; they're a bit far, can't make out their magical source. If they're really from the Extreme Fire Sect, we can't escape like this."

Indeed, he wasn't sure, but his instinctual alert led him to make this cautious decision.

Instantly, Wu Jinliang's expression turned serious. With Heavenly Immortal realm experts from the Extreme Fire Sect present, once they were targeted, even with Earth Escape Technique, his cultivation realm's escape skills wouldn't offer any chance of escape under their watch.

Not to mention Heavenly Immortal realm, even Earth Immortal realm would make escaping extremely unlikely without a powerful magical treasure to counteract. The problem is, their fifth-grade magical treasures could at most clash with the Earth Immortal realm; facing Heavenly Immortal masters with world-transcending powers, they could break through with a mere flick.

At the mountain gate, watching them leave, Jiang You'er whispered, "Did we really let them escape so easily?"

Lou Xiu chuckled lightly, "They won't escape. When you shared the intel, I reported it to our leader. These two have such elusive moves, even the leader couldn't pin down their patterns. Knowing their deceitful fame, he's concerned about losing control. So, he decided to play the game a different way. Someone has already leaked intel to the Extreme Fire Sect, and I saw their people moving fast; a Heavenly Immortal expert on the scene ensures that once they're targeted, escape is essentially impossible."

Jiang You'er showed an understanding expression and murmured, "Once they act, we'll rescue them."

Lou Xiu said, "Whether or not to rescue them is another matter. The leader wants to see if there's a trace of other factions behind them. If they are truly of the same kind, there must be support from a certain faction for their secretive actions. If danger arises, naturally someone will intervene. If no one intervenes, and the Extreme Fire Sect pries their secrets, we can decide whether to act when the time comes."

Jiang You'er pondered, "Just afraid of losing track, not necessarily able to follow closely."

"Can't lose track, no need to follow much…" Lou Xiu said, glancing around, then leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "If I guessed correctly, there might be someone from our side among the Extreme Fire Sect's higher-ups. Once the person is caught, their position, and whatever they confess, won't be hidden from the top. Saving them depends merely on the whims of those higher up."

Jiang You'er realized, glanced around too, and whispered back, "That's something only we should know; leaking this would spell no good end for us."

"Of course, that's why I trust Brother Jiang." Lou Xiu whispered diplomatically, but internally scoffed; had it not been for him being part of the inner division and himself being from the outer circle, he wouldn't bother flattering him.

"What's happening to them?"

Jiang You'er suddenly exclaimed, seeing Shi Chun's group and the Wind Scale glinting back towards Yao Mountain City.

Lou Xiu was also astonished and immediately said, "I'll go take a look."

Jiang You'er watched him fly away.

Inside the mountain gate, Po Yuan concealed in the dark was contemplating another matter—did the sudden departure of the Extreme Fire Sect's people relate to those two leaving just now?

Simply because Qiu Ben heard the news of the two's departure when Po Yuan was nearby, he couldn't determine whether Qiu Ben's abrupt halt and change of mind was coincidental or a decision after hearing the news.

At that time, he only had a slight suspicion, but did not take it seriously.

It wasn't until he saw the clerk in the bookstore just now and Lou Xiu's response that the repressed frustration of Dazhi City being forcibly silenced began to churn again in his stomach.

Encountering someone worth his attention, he began to take Qiu Ben's abnormal behavior seriously.

He couldn't help but wonder, if Qiu Ben's sudden change of mind was not a coincidence but related to their whereabouts being known, then the Extreme Fire Sect's ascent this time might have more implications.

Thinking of this, he took out the Mother-child Talisman and directly sent an inquiry to Li Xianghong, the City Lord of Dazhi City: That clerk with the surname Wang from Chao Yue Hall, help me check his detailed situation.

Li Xianghong's response was quick, asking: Why investigate him? He has already left Chao Yue Hall and was recruited by Bai Qiru to work at Bai's Rice Shop; currently, he seems to be outside sourcing goods.

"Bai's Rice Shop..." Po Yuan muttered in surprise, subconsciously looking towards the direction of the main peak. He naturally knew that the current head of the Bai Family, Granny Qi, had just arrived at the Divine Mountain.

How did it involve Bai's Rice Shop again? He was full of doubt. Could it be that Granny Qi's visit was also related to this?

He felt as if he had suddenly fallen into a vast fog, unable to see through or understand it.

He became even more cautious, reluctant to act rashly. Although Granny Qi had been a servant in the Phoenix Clan for many years, her influence there was such that, while she might not decide his life and death with a single word, she could at least affect his future.

At the pinnacle of Dazhi City, Li Xianghong, who had been waiting for a reply for a long time, paced with the Mother-child Talisman to a pavilion at the mountain's edge, her gaze searchingly fixed in the direction of Bai's Rice Shop. She knew that Po Yuan's sudden inquiry about a clerk was unlikely to be unfounded...

In Yao Mountain City, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang quickly entered the city from outside the city gates.

As soon as they passed the city gates, the two exchanged a sideways glance and headed into the nearest inn, where they found a suitable window-side seat upstairs and ordered a pot of tea.

Before long, a few people dressed in varying attire hurriedly arrived outside the city gate. After entering the city, they glanced around before beginning a discreet search in the streets and alleys.

Shi Chun's right eye superpower instantly discerned this group's identities as disciples of the Extreme Fire Sect. He retracted his head and quietly informed Wu Jinliang across from him, "That's right, they're from the Extreme Fire Sect."

Wu Jinliang cursed softly, "Damn it, are they staking out on us?"

Shi Chun, however, connected this to the alertness he felt when Lou Xiu had just seen them off, pondering and warning, "I don't know if someone leaked our departure, or if it has something to do with Lou Xiu and them."

"What do you mean?" Wu Jinliang was visibly shocked, lowering his head to the table and whispering, "There's no reason for that, this is his turf. If he wanted to make a move on us, he wouldn't need such trouble, right? If that's really the case, the moment he orders the city gates to thoroughly check anyone entering or leaving, once we're in the city, there's no way we could get out; disguising ourselves might not even work."

Their concerns were understandable, as every city had protective Arrays. If the Arrays were fully activated, they could seal the city, and even if not entirely activated, the boundaries between the inside and outside of the city weren't just for show. At the very least, the ground wouldn't allow just anyone to burrow in or out freely, and the Earth Escape Technique would be useless.

Unless absolutely necessary, no one would forcibly fly out from the sky and risk being chased and killed.

"He has already arrived." Shi Chun suddenly stretched his head to glance out the window.

Wu Jinliang also peeked outside, only to see Lou Xiu, who had just entered the city, looking around, then calling over the gate guards to discuss something.

Shi Chun, however, called a waiter over, threw some money, and asked for help to hire a carriage.

Before long, the carriage arrived outside the inn. The two of them seized the opportunity to leave the inn and slip into the carriage. Before stepping into the carriage, Shi Chun instructed the driver, "To Zhu Lang Pavilion."

"Sure." The driver responded and drove the carriage away.

On a small peak of the Divine Mountain Main Range, amidst the serene woods, stood picturesque pavilions and towers.

An old man with long black robes, hair grayed, approached the courtyard gate to meet Granny Qi, who had just settled in.

This old man was Yin Fei, one of the three major Mountain Patrols in the Central District.

Granny Qi remained her usual polite self, rushing out to greet him upon hearing his arrival, so courteous that Yin Fei found it overwhelming.

The two walked together inside and sat down in the main hall.

After a few pleasantries, Granny Qi dismissed those around her.

Yin Fei changed his tone and said quietly, "Those two just left the mountain. The place they stayed is already being cleaned up. They say they left and aren't coming back."

Granny Qi was surprised and asked, "What about Huang Yingying?"

Yin Fei replied, "He's still here."

Granny Qi froze at that; weren't those two targeting Huang Yingying? They didn't even meet, and just left like that? She had really traveled a long way for this.

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