Chapter 106: I Will Bear It All

The Summit! Inside an ancient, weathered hall of the Suyuan Sect, ancestral tablets were meticulously arranged on the divine steps, incense smoke curled upwards, and oil lamps burned brightly.

On the ground in a corner of the hall, five glass lamp covers were arranged in a five-star pattern. Inside, the lamp flames were enveloped by a cloud-like swirl of ethereal energy, exuding peace and serenity. Suddenly, the ethereal light within one lamp cover fluctuated violently, disrupting the peaceful aura, and the energy surged, engulfing the flame within the lamp cover.

The flame quickly suffocated and died, extinguishing with a soft puff, and a faint, wispy vapor drifted gently upwards from the lamp cover.

Below the divine altars, a middle-aged man in white robes, sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, suddenly opened his eyes. He slowly turned his head to look at the five glass life lamps placed in the corner, saw the faint white smoke rising straight up, and his face immediately filled with shock and doubt. He quickly rose and went to the life lamps to inspect them.

After confirming, he quickly turned and rushed away. Not long after, he returned, accompanying several elders who were walking briskly.

After the group stared at the life lamp and examined it, one person spoke gravely.

The elder leading them said, "The daily reports from the capital have consistently stated that everything is proceeding smoothly. The parent-child talismans cannot be used for cross-realm communication, so someone must go and personally ask Qinghe what happened."

The death of one disciple is a minor matter; what worries them most is whether an ominous sign has appeared, whether the participating disciples have already fallen into danger, and whether it will affect the outcome of the competition.

Soon, a man flew down the mountain, heading directly for the nearest bustling city at the foot of the mountain. There, a Xun Gate led directly to the capital.

This was the prestige of Shengzhou's foremost sect, having a Xun Gate right at their doorstep.

The man, who reached the capital via the Xun Gate, then quickly rushed to the training grounds of the Sky Rain Meteor Convention. However, he was stopped at the entrance because he lacked an entry pass.

Having no other choice, the man had to reveal his identity as a Suyuan Sect disciple and requested assistance in notifying the Suyuan Sect disciples inside.

The prestige of Shengzhou's foremost sect was indeed sufficient; a guard went in to relay the message.

Not long after, fellow disciples inside the training grounds came out upon hearing the news. They only then learned that Guan Wen's life lamp had been extinguished and were greatly shocked.

Coincidentally, the elder stationed there was not in the training grounds. As it was night in the Western Extremes, where nothing could be seen, there was no point in the elder staying there idly; thus, they were often not present during the day.

Having no other choice, the two had to go find the elder again...

In the Moon Sea Mountain Forest, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang actually found several Insect Extreme Crystals. However, the two did not venture far; after finding eight, which they estimated would be enough to fulfill their task, they retreated to a spot not far from the rendezvous point and hid in the darkness, waiting in the pitch black.

This cursed place was notoriously dangerous, and the two dared not wander around recklessly.

As it approached the latter half of the night, scattered auras of flame began heading towards the rendezvous point.

Some people returned to the agreed-upon mountaintop rendezvous point but did not see Guan Wen. Unsure of the situation, they decided to wait there.

Wu Jinliang, who was observing from the shadows, whispered a reminder, "There's a light on the mountaintop; someone has returned."

Shi Chun, beside him, shook his head, "Let's wait a little longer."

The light that appeared on the mountaintop was like a summons; lights began to flash successively from deeper within the forest, as all relevant personnel were gradually returning.

After noticing this scene, Shi Chun couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, what was Guan Wen thinking, sending these people to Moon Sea to find Insect Extreme Crystals? He's probably overestimated them. We were too eager ourselves, returning too late, which might arouse suspicion."

He had thought Guan Wen understood these people well, but now it seemed Guan Wen was merely too conceited.

So the two also revealed their Sandalwood Gold Flame and returned.

On the hillside of the rendezvous point, coincidentally, the two happened to meet Chu Jingting's Bilan Sect group. They greeted each other and ascended the mountain together.

Upon reaching the mountain, as expected, almost everyone had returned. In the short time they greeted each other, the remaining people also arrived, but Guan Wen, who was supposed to be stationed there, was nowhere to be seen.

Shi Chun proactively asked, "Where is Guan Wen?"

A sect leader replied, "I don't know. We were among the first to arrive, and he wasn't here when we got back."

Someone else said with dissatisfaction, "Didn't he say he'd wait for us here? Where did he go?"

Another person mumbled quietly, "He wouldn't have gone ashore first, fearing danger here, would he?"

At this remark, no one spoke, as if they all harbored the same suspicion.

Shi Chun said, "It's impossible he would just abandon us, right? Could he have also gone to look for Insect Extreme Crystals?"

Wu Jinliang's mouth twitched, the curve of his lips somewhat eerie.

"Haha." Someone laughed mockingly, as if to ask, "Do you believe that?"

The representatives from various sects also looked sullen and discontent, but no one uttered a word. Shi Chun then asked, "Everyone, how many Insect Extreme Crystals did you find?" "Five." "I also found five." "Four." "We found six." "Three."

The highest reported was six; no subsequent reports exceeded six.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, holding eight crystals, exchanged glances. After all that fuss, it turned out they had found the most Insect Extreme Crystals. Could this be true?

The problem was, there was no need to fake it.

The two realized that this group's bottom line was even lower than they had imagined. In fact, they were the most straightforward ones; under the influence of their guilty consciences, they had actually managed to find so many in such a short time by diligently searching.

They could even guess that these guys hadn't dared to venture far either and most likely had also found a place to hide.

The group that found only three was truly a bit excessive.

Everyone had reported their numbers. Seeing that the two remained silent, Chu Jingting asked, "Brother Wang, how many did you find?"

Shi Chun was too embarrassed to speak. Wu Jinliang answered quietly, "Eight."

And sure enough, the eyes of over fifty people uniformly focused on the two of them, as if looking at some spectacle.

It made the two of them genuinely embarrassed. Only then did the group casually shift their gazes away.

The matter of the Insect Extreme Crystal quantities was thus dropped; no one mentioned it again.

However, this was not the most pressing matter at hand. After waiting a little longer, someone else spoke up, "Guan Wen's whereabouts are unknown; are we just going to keep waiting here indefinitely?"

Wu Jinliang touched the magic artifact in his pocket and remained silent.

Shi Chun also kept silent. Anyway, the two of them would not be the first to suggest leaving.

After the group fell silent again for a while, someone spoke up once more, "What if he has already gone ashore and is waiting for us there?"

Someone impatiently said, "He was the one who broke his word first. We'll leave a message here; if he hasn't gone ashore, he'll see it when he returns."

Without further ado, with two fingers like knives, he used a spell to carve two large characters onto the tree bark: "Regrouped ashore, return quickly!"

He had lost his patience and was too lazy to keep feigning civility with the group. After leaving the message, he called out to his fellow disciples, "Let's go!" He said 'go' and immediately went, taking his fellow disciples and rising into the air.

With someone taking the lead, no one in their right mind would want to linger in a place where unpredictable dangers could appear at any moment. They all followed suit.

The group soon reached the shore but found that Guan Wen was not there. They searched around but saw no trace of him.

A team leader took out a parent-child talisman to contact Guan Wen, but there was no response. He then immediately said to the others, "He has the other half of the talisman; everyone try contacting him."

Except for Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, all the other sect leaders took out their half of the parent-child talisman to attempt contact.

They tried contacting him for a long time, for a full hour without any response. What did this mean?

It meant Guan Wen hadn't returned at all. He was still in the Moon Sea Mountain Forest.

Only then did the group truly become unsettled. They successively stood by the shore, almost in a single line, gazing at the misty basin that occasionally emitted strange sounds under the starlight. Their expressions were all grave.

As for Guan Wen not being at his station, having run off to find Insect Extreme Crystals, they absolutely did not believe it.

Not at his station, and not returned—where could he be?

Something happened! Everyone came to the same conclusion in their minds. Yet, they hadn't heard any sounds of fighting, which made them...

They clung to a last shred of hope, to wait and see, that perhaps something unexpected had occurred.

Finally, it was Shi Chun who broke the silence again. "How about we go back into Moon Sea and search around?" People to his left and right turned their heads to look at him, their gazes like looking at an idiot. If they dared to search all over Moon Sea, they wouldn't have spent half the night failing to find even a hundred Insect Extreme Crystals.

They had just managed to return with great difficulty; did he insist on not giving up until they encountered danger?

Someone couldn't help but say sarcastically, "If you want to search, you go search. We'll wait here. If you encounter danger, shout, and we'll come to your aid." Shi Chun sighed, "It's such a vast place, how can just two of us search? How long would that take? Everyone, Guan Wen was, after all, tricked by us into going down there. If something truly happened, and the Suyuan Sect couldn't swallow this insult, I'm afraid they wouldn't let us off easily." These words threw the crowd, lined up on the cliff, into disarray; their formation immediately broke.

Especially the team leaders, who flashed forward and stood before Shi Chun, each with either a grim expression or a face full of rage.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" "Who tricked me?"

"Brother Wang, what is he blabbering about? Don't drag us into this for no reason."

The group spoke out in condemnation.

Shi Chun's gaze swept over everyone, and he said with a chilling tone, "Do you intend to silence me?"

Hearing this, Wu Jinliang's small knife, which had been resting on his shoulder, slid into his hand.

Despite their agitation, no one had actually harbored the twisted thought of silencing him. But with that reminder, they suddenly became clear-headed. If they really did silence him, with so many people watching, and if word ever got out, it would be hard to wash off the stain, true or not.

One person solemnly reminded him, "Wang, you didn't trick us. If there was any trickery, it was Shi Chun who deceived himself into going down; everyone here saw that with their own eyes! Indeed! If anyone was tricked, it was he!"

Facing the torrent of accusations and spitting foam directed at him, Shi Chun silently nodded. "You're right," he said, "it has nothing to do with any of you. If anyone was deceived, it was I who deceived. Don't worry. If the Suyuan Sect investigates this matter later, I will bear full responsibility."

Hearing him say that, everyone immediately calmed down considerably. Who knew Shi Chun then added another remark, "I would never dare to distort anything concerning you all. What truly happened is what happened. I will explain the exact sequence of events in detail to the Suyuan Sect."