Amidst the picturesque mountains, Denggao Pavilion stood in a veil of mist where Qiu Ben occasionally sighed softly.

Days passed by, and the interrogation of Mrs. Bai reached a stalemate, or perhaps the previous judgment about Mrs. Bai was wrong.

Currently, among all the detained members of Mrs. Bai's group, most couldn't withstand the interrogation; some confessed to several unfavorable matters, but none involved the delivery or abduction at Shi Chunhe's rice shop. In fact, they were almost completely unaware of the connections between Shi Chunhe's rice shop and Mrs. Bai.

In other words, since they could confess some matters unfavorable to Mrs. Bai under severe treatment, they've already betrayed her; there's no need to conceal anything regarding Shi Chunhe and Mrs. Bai.

Conversely, Mrs. Bai may truly have no relation to the shocking events outside Dazhi City.

The reasoning is simple; Granny Qi, despite her high cultivation, cannot possibly be handling everything inside and out single-handedly; there must be insiders aware.

Further deducing, if not even Mrs. Bai's subordinates speak, even severe interrogation of Granny Qi would yield no result, and it wouldn't be necessary to continue the interrogations.

Thus, the Phoenix Clan has become increasingly dissatisfied with the actions of the Extreme Fire Sect; you Extreme Fire Sect ask for cooperation, we have cooperated; you can't expect our Phoenix Clan to cooperate endlessly, can you?

Pressure has begun to be applied for them to cease the mistreatment and release people.

Extreme Fire Sect is also not allowed to continue excessive interrogation, as the focus is gradually shifting towards protecting Mrs. Bai.

Of course, if Extreme Fire Sect can offer great benefits, Phoenix Clan might not mind selling off Mrs. Bai entirely to them.

But the question is, does Extreme Fire Sect need to continue expending great costs for a potentially wrong direction?

Therefore, Qiu Ben, who is personally stationed here, is under great pressure; some high-ranking sect members have expressed dissatisfaction with him, with rumors suggesting assigning a nobody to oversee things here.

Huang Lang ascended the pavilion, noticing his master's melancholy; he approached his master and gently reminded, "Master, if it becomes unfeasible, try the connection with Yin Xu at Zhu Lang Pavilion?"

Qiu Ben shook his head slightly, "The disturbance caused by forcibly entering Zhu Lang Pavilion previously was too great. We may have already alerted them, and now touching Yin Xu's line means little; avoiding contact with Yin Xu may lull Shi Chun into lowering his guard, allowing us to seal the bag tightly, preventing escape, making Yin Xu's line effective. Shi Chun's past behavior suggests he is extremely cunning and slick; caution is needed, we were impulsive before."

Huang Lang hesitated, "Could Shi Chun have already left Juku State?"

Qiu Ben: "In this regard, let's trust the West Emperor's judgment; since he determined Shi Chun hasn't departed based on Yin Xu's reactions, then he should still be within Juku State. Although we don't know Shi Chun's secretive intentions… we need to keep monitoring Huang Yingying as Po Yuan reminded."

"Yes." Huang Lang responded, though he had doubts internally about whether this prolonged effort would be useful.

That evening, in the place of confinement, the on-duty Mountain Patrol Yin Fei found an opportunity to send others away, then approached the cage, whispering to Granny Qi inside, "Granny, that tavern in town has indeed introduced the new dish you mentioned."

He was unaware of the implication of the tavern's new dish; however, Granny Qi's eyes gleamed, recognizing that presumably those outside refining the Death Refusing Incense had succeeded.

She immediately approached the cage bars, whispering, "Arrange for a secret message to Yin Xu, the proprietress of Zhu Lang Pavilion, telling her to relay to Gao He that the goods are prepared and will be placed beneath a large stone at the initial meeting place at tomorrow's time slot, for them to retrieve independently. Also, arrange for someone to reserve that new dish at the tavern, with the reservation time tomorrow during the time slot."

Yin Fei repeated her words, confirmed accuracy, then swiftly left.

Two two-hours later, the so-called secret message appeared inside Zhu Lang Pavilion, falling into Yin Xu's hands.

Regarding the message contents, Yin Xu couldn't help but ponder; the so-called "goods" remained mysterious, and nobody could guess what the initial meeting place referred to.

After some hesitation, she forwarded the message via Mother-child Talisman to Shi Chun.

At that moment, Shi Chun and his group were hiding underground, inside a subterranean cave Wu Jinliang had excavated using the Earth Escape Technique. It had concealed air vents, ensuring safety; they were simply bored.

The reason for their dull waiting was news from Granny Qi; previously, Granny Qi had already asked Yin Xu to convey that the cooperation should continue.

Earlier, Granny Qi had mentioned that refining Death Refusing Incense would take around ten days.

Since Granny Qi was still able to send messages outside, it indicated she maintained control over certain aspects and capable of continuing the cooperation.

They opted to trust her temporarily and awaited her news.

Their wait proved worthwhile; as soon as Yin Xu's message arrived, they understood the delivery location; where could Wu Jinliang and Granny Qi have met initially but in the Shelter Slope outside Dazhi City.

He immediately called his associates to discuss and plan the retrieval.

The next morning at the time slot, Lao Changtai, in disguise, rode the Wind Scale, landing precisely at the meeting place at Shelter Slope under the morning sun.

Though they could hire a local person to retrieve the goods, Shi Chun reconsidered and decided to send one of their own for the job.

For instance, the Shelter Slope was quite vast, directing a local to locate the precise position in the Heart-wrapping Grass forest was a hassle.

With sunlight filtering through leaves, obscuring the lush green, landed Lao Changtai first cautiously checked the surroundings, then headed straight for a large stone within sight. He directly used his skill to flip it over, revealing a pit with a small box placed inside.

After checking with his skills, he quickly took the box in hand and opened it, revealing inside a padded area with a small silver container embedded.

Taking out the sealed small container, he opened the lid, revealing an egg-sized lump of smooth black paste exuding enthralling fragrance.

"Is this the Death Refusing Incense?" Lao Changtai couldn't help but murmur softly, it seemed not to have the legendary exaggerating fragrance.

He stretched out his hand to cast a spell and checked the pit again, confirming that this was the only thing and there was nothing else.

Immediately, following Shi Chun's instructions, he took out another jar, used a spell to scrape the black ointment from the small silver jar clean, poured it all into his own jar, and then threw the original box and jar back into the pit, covering it with the large stone.

Then he ascended into the sky on the Wind Scale, removing his gloves and foot coverings mid-air and throwing them away, transforming into a stream of light that quickly disappeared into the distance.

He wondered if he was being a little too cautious.

Shi Chun, however, said at least the Extreme Fire Sect already knew Wang Ping was indeed Shi Chun.

There was a whole set of precautions to follow.

Lao Changtai followed the predetermined route, as Shi Chun and his companions would be lying in wait along the preset path to observe if anyone was following.

After confirming safety and receiving the message, Lao Changtai proceeded to the meeting point.

In the crevice of a mountain, Shi Chun opened up the Death Refusing Incense for inspection; having never seen the genuine product, he couldn't tell if it was real. If it was genuine and Granny Qi's side hadn't arranged for reinforcement, he might really have to adapt.

Several heads gathered around to take a look.

"So little..." Wu Jinliang muttered after seeing it, clearly dissatisfied with the quantity.

Shi Chun weighed it in his hand, "They say three hundred catties of core material can be refined into one liang, which matches the legend. As long as the item is authentic, the amount can be discussed later."

Wu Jinliang also nodded, "First verify the authenticity of the item."

Shi Chun immediately said to Chu Jingtang and the others, "Who's going to catch a live creature nearby?"

Chu Jingtang responded, "I'll go. What kind of creature?"

Shi Chun suggested, "Anything, just slightly larger."

"Okay." Chu Jingtang agreed and quickly dashed off.

His departure was swift, and his return was just as quick. Before long, he captured an Earth Wolf, its eyes still fierce and growling through its teeth.

Shi Chun directly grabbed the wolf's neck, only letting go once it stopped breathing, then threw it aside, and pulled out the previously prepared 'Ice Sheep' used for aiding breath in oxygen-lacking environments. He instructed Chu Jingtang and the other two, "I've heard that when Death Refusing Incense is used, its fragrance spreads far. I don't know how effective it is at being masked deep underground, so you three hide around the area, and if the scent seeps out or something unusual happens, alert immediately."

"Got it." The three nodded in agreement.

Shi Chun then nodded to Wu Jinliang.

Wu Jinliang let out a chuckle, crouched down, pressed the earth, and the ground immediately opened into a pit, taking Shi Chun and the wolf carcass underground.

From a spectator's viewpoint, Chu Jingtang remarked, "This guy learned this trick, probably to steal from others, huh?"

From below the soon-to-be-repaired ground, Wu Jinliang's snort was heard, "Nonsense, I now have plenty of money, why would I need to steal?"

The three above laughed heartily. They were quite wealthy now, something they never imagined during their time in their original sect; it seemed incredible to have come so far in such a short span of years, even if the excitement sometimes got a bit overwhelming.

Alas, having boarded this ship, they could only strive to adapt.

After a hearty laugh, the three of them waved their hands, each assigned a direction to stealthily keep watch.

Underground, once Shi Chun reached a sufficient depth, he said, "This should be enough; if the scent can still escape from this depth, going deeper won't make a difference."

Wu Jinliang widened the space a bit more before stopping.

With Sandal Gold Flame Energy and Ice Sheep in hand, Shi Chun tossed the jar containing the Death Refusing Incense to him.

Wu Jinliang took the jar, opened it, dipped his fingertip into the goo, and asked Shi Chun, "Should I just burn it directly?"

Shi Chun replied, "You're asking me? I don't know either. It's supposed to be burned directly, I think."

Alright, Wu Jinliang closed his eyes for a moment, concentrated his spells, and when he opened them abruptly, an orange-red flame flared up on his fingertip, showcasing the Fire Manipulation Skill.

No choice, there were a few cultivators practicing Fire Attribute Skills in the Mingshan Sect; even though his cultivation of the All Forms Technique couldn't perfectly replicate those Fire Attribute Skills, he could certainly manage to burn things.

The burning flame enveloped the black ointment on his fingertip.

Soon, a peculiar aroma wafted out, a kind of indescribable phenomenon, an enchanting scent that made one's soul ripple as if ascending into ethereal delight, requiring the use of a spell to stabilize the mind and maintain clarity.

Shi Chun closely observed the changes in the burning ointment, strangely noticing tiny bubbles gently surging without any smoke emerging.

He immediately cast a spell to activate his right eye's superpower to scrutinize.

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