Chapter 242: Fewer Than Other Sects

Indeed, no one was particularly on guard. The current eleven individuals didn't believe they had any value left for Shi Chun to exploit, nor was there any need for him to do so.

Lao Changtai then asked, "I heard that the Divine Fire Domain can only be opened by a joint effort of some powerful figures from artifact-forging sects. Is that true?"

Tong Mingshan replied, "Yes and no. Not just any powerful figure can participate in opening the Divine Fire Domain. Those who can are at least seniors who had the opportunity to absorb divine fire during the previous opening of the Divine Fire Domain. And to be alive now, their cultivation must have reached at least the Human Immortal realm."

Wu Hong asked, "How many people need to join forces to open it?"

Zhu Xiangxin interjected, "Opening the Divine Fire Domain is not necessarily related to the number of people involved. It mainly depends on how many divine fire attributes are mastered. More than half of the divine fire attributes are required to open the Divine Fire Domain. In other words, at least eighteen types of divine fire attributes must be gathered for a successful opening. If one person only possesses one divine fire attribute, then at least eighteen people must join forces. However, if someone alone possesses all eighteen divine fire attributes, that person alone is sufficient to open it."

Tong Mingshan nodded. "That's right, that's what it means. However, in the current cultivation world, the one who possesses the most divine fires is Elder Situ Gu of the Heaven Forging Sect, the foremost artifact-forging sect. He likely entered the Divine Fire Domain about six hundred years ago and absorbed and merged six types of divine fire into one in a single instance, achieving superb artifact-forging skills. He is now the foremost Grandmaster of Artifact Forging in the cultivation world. As for others, possessing two or three divine fire attributes simultaneously is already considered quite good."

Hot winds swept across the island like waves. Chatting as they walked, the group remembered to find a place to stay first and inquired about prices whenever they saw an inn along the way.

They wouldn't have known if they hadn't asked. Upon inquiring, they discovered that accommodation costs were exorbitant; even the cheapest rooms were two thousand gold per day.

When the waiter mentioned that everything on Lihuo Island was expensive, Chen Wuji couldn't help but grumble to him, "If that's truly the case, we might as well go through the Xun Gate to the Yan Continent Prefecture to find accommodation."

The waiter immediately chuckled. "My esteemed guest, it seems you know very little about the opening of the Divine Fire Domain. Once the Divine Fire Domain opens, under its divine power, many things within a certain range will be affected. The Xun Gate will become useless, and even parent-child talismans cannot be used. Once you leave, during the Divine Fire Domain competition, you won't be able to easily re-enter, unless you fly a long distance to the Yan Continent Prefecture."

Chen Wuji immediately turned to look at Tong Mingshan. Seeing the latter nod slightly, he realized it was true.

The waiter continued, "Look, we spent a lot of money on this newly built inn. We can only make money for forty-nine days, or just over fifty days if you include the days before and after. As soon as the Divine Fire Domain competition ends, all this will be abandoned here for nothing. The supply of some fresh goods requires traveling long distances. Lihuo Sect also takes a large cut, so our costs are very high. Two thousand per day is still considered cheap now. Once it officially begins, whether there will even be rooms available for you will be a question. This is the Lihuo Sect's home; it's impossible for them to let you run around freely. They've only cordoned off this area for outsiders to observe the excitement, and everything outside this area is forbidden to outsiders."

Shi Chun reached out and patted Chen Wuji's arm, gesturing, "Let's go."

Everyone thought he also found it expensive, while the inn waiter watched them leave with a look of disdain.

To their surprise, Shi Chun hadn't walked far when he said, "If we're going to stay, let's find the best place. Everyone, let's see which inn has the best environment."

Hearing this, Fang Zicheng quickly said, "Boss, we can just make do. We are all cultivators; a slightly better or worse environment doesn't make much difference."

"That's right," Zhu Xiangxin said, also doing some calculations. "As the waiter said, the good ones cost five thousand gold per day. With sixteen of us, that's eighty thousand per day. It's really unnecessary for forty or fifty days."

It wasn't that they didn't want to enjoy themselves, but they felt uneasy. It was already enough that they were getting free food, drink, and goods; to demand something good as well was unreasonable and improper.

Feng Chi and Xiang Lan'er lowered their brows and eyes, remaining silent. Both thought to themselves, "Forty or fifty days? You're thinking too much. At most, it will only be three days."

This was because they had arrived three days before the Divine Fire Domain was set to open.

Although the two were unsure of Shi Chun's current financial situation, they knew he had previously acquired five hundred million in one go. Such minor expenses wouldn't even scratch him. What a bunch of ignorant fools to worry.

Shi Chun said, "Alright, I've got this handled. Jinliang, arrange for two people per room and look out for each other. We'll continue walking around."

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "Alrighty!"

He strode away, carrying a large gourd on his back, with Duan Xiangmei quickly following him.

Tong Mingshan suddenly muttered, "The artifact-forging sects participating in the conference don't have to pay to stay here. Lihuo Sect has allocated a separate area to host them, fulfilling their duties as hosts."

Shi Chun smiled faintly. He, of course, knew this; wasn't he just trying not to draw attention for now?

Feng and Xiang naturally knew as well. Not taking the free accommodation was simply to deceive this group. Recalling how Shi Chun had used the alias Wang Sheng to deceive these people earlier, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

As long as they weren't staying for long, the sea views of Lihuo Island were beautiful, possessing a unique charm compared to the inland.

As the sun set in the west, Shi Chun's group stood in a line on the tide-kissed beach, watching the sunset. Their silhouettes were momentarily picturesque, and the sky was ablaze with color.

Not until dusk did the group head to an inn called "Divine Fire Palace." It was currently the temporary inn with the best environment and conditions, offering the most beautiful views of the mountains, island, and sea. Just by its location, with no other inns nearby, one could tell the owner was extraordinary.

Not to mention its jade-palace-like exterior, its interior environment also didn't seem like a temporary, makeshift building.

That night, everyone gathered in the seaside pavilion, enjoying good wine and delicious food, and envisioning their future.

When it came to food and drink, Shi Chun didn't economize. After all, they wouldn't be eating and using things for many days, and later, he might need to enlist this group for dangerous tasks.

Outside this area, in another direction from the Xun Gate, the slopes surrounding a huge valley were covered with pavilions and towers, and everywhere was brightly lit.

This place was called "Qi Yun Valley," used by the Lihuo Sect to host guests. Over a thousand artifact-forging sects from the Four Great Continents were arriving here one after another.

Sect Master Yan Qufeng of the Hundred Refinements Sect personally led his contingent, comprising dozens of people.

It wasn't just the Hundred Refinements Sect; almost all the sect masters of the participating artifact-forging sects would personally attend. Such a level of importance and scale was far beyond what the Heavenly Rain Meteor Competition could compare to.

After the group settled into a building, Yan Qufeng hadn't even fully settled down when he heard faint commotions coming from the valley outside.

He immediately spoke, "Send someone to check it out."

"Yes," someone replied. Several people took the order and went together.

Yan Qufeng, now seated, took out a booklet titled "Divine Fire Alliance Roster" and began to flip through it. This had been presented by the reception staff when they arrived at Qi Yun Valley. Not every person received a copy, but each participating sect had three.

The title page was densely covered with alliance terms, which he didn't need to read to know what they said. The actual list of participating sects and individuals for this session was found by flipping to the back.

He couldn't help but pick it up for a closer look. As a participating sect, it was inevitable to study the situation of their competitors.

His eyes scanned as he gently flipped the pages, carefully examining the names of each sect and the densely packed names of participating individuals.

Most of the sects were familiar, but he didn't recognize most of the participating individuals' names. The participating disciples generally had lower cultivation levels, so he certainly wouldn't know many of them.

After flipping to his own Hundred Refinements Sect's roster, he carefully checked the names of the participating individuals. Only after confirming there were no errors did he feel somewhat relieved. He then closed the roster and placed it on the desk.

After a while, the disciple who had gone to investigate returned. He bowed and reported, "Reporting to the Sect Master, there's a quarrel outside concerning someone on the participant roster. Someone found a person on the roster who shouldn't be there, claiming that Shi Chun from the Heavenly Rain Meteor Competition has also snuck in and intends to enter the Divine Fire Domain. Some are expressing dissatisfaction, claiming he is not an artifact forger."

"Such a thing happened?"

Two elders arrived after hearing the news. They had overheard the conversation from outside, and one of them exclaimed in surprise as he stepped through the door.

"Shi Chun..." Yan Qufeng muttered. He was not unfamiliar with this name. Because of this person, the Hundred Refinements Sect had even been forced to expel an elite disciple to provide an explanation. He immediately asked, "Which sect did he join?"

The disciple replied, "They say it's something called Mingshan Sect."

"Mingshan Sect?" Yan Qufeng pondered for a moment, then looked up at the two elders and asked, "Have either of you heard of this Mingshan Sect?"

One of them shook his head and said, "It sounds very unfamiliar."

The other also shook his head, "I haven't heard of it. It can't be a prominent sect."

As he spoke, he had already pulled out a copy of the roster.

The Sect Master and the two elders were all holding rosters and flipping through them.

With over a thousand sects participating and roughly thirty thousand names on the roster, it wasn't easy to check. Fortunately, they only needed to quickly flip pages to find sect names.

After flipping through about half of the roster, one elder's hand paused. He muttered, "Mingshan Sect, Shi Chun, Shi Chun... Oh, yes, this is it, it matches, this Mingshan Sect... Hmm? Why is the number of people in this sect significantly fewer than other sects?"

It wasn't because his eyesight was failing; the contrast was too obvious. When he compared it above and below, the number of lines for Mingshan Sect's names, nestled between two other sects, was noticeably fewer.

But he still suspected he had read it wrong. As he was counting the names one by one, Yan Qufeng, who had accidentally flipped past it while searching, asked, "Which page?"

The elder replied, "Page ninety-seven."

After speaking, he resumed counting.

Yan Qufeng and the other elder quickly turned to that page to check, and indeed found the names of Mingshan Sect and Shi Chun.

After the other elder looked at it, he hummed, "It seems there are names missing."

The elder who had finished counting said, "Thirteen people, even the Sect Master participated, but there are still seven people missing. What's the situation with this sect? Is it because they're short on people and had no choice but to temporarily bring in that Shi Chun to make up the numbers? It couldn't be a namesake, could it?"

The other elder said, "It's that Shi Chun, no doubt. Look, that Wu Jinliang is also there. It's impossible for two people with the same name to appear in the same sect at the same time. I remember they're together. The sect master's name looks familiar too... Tong Mingshan, Tong Mingshan, huh?"

The three, who were somewhat accustomed to ignoring the names of lower-level disciples, scanned this name several times without reacting. It wasn't until they muttered it a few times that they simultaneously seemed to awaken, all looking up at each other, their eyes filled with uncertainty and surprise.