Chapter 254: Initial Entry into the Divine Fire Domain

Anyone with common sense could understand the implication. Shi Chun and his group quickly turned to Su Qiao, their eyes instinctively showing a hint of wariness.

Their reaction was understandable, as Su Qiao's previous inspection for contraband had been truly abnormal.

At the same time, Shi Chun cast a few more glances at Qu Wuming. They were strangers; what was the meaning of this man's sudden kindness?

The scene suddenly fell silent, and the high-ranking members of the artifact-refining sects watching all wore peculiar expressions.

Su Qiao, after a brief pause, suddenly sneered repeatedly. Pointing at Qu Wuming, he retorted, "Shi Chun, this is Qu Wuming, the Sect Master of the Yanbao Sect. You see how good this sect is at sowing discord, don't you? It's a long-standing tradition. Be careful when you encounter Yanbao Sect disciples inside."

Shi Chun and his group looked left and right, seeing nothing but a bunch of scoundrels. They couldn't figure out what these old rascals were up to.

Qu Wuming was about to speak again when Luo Yan, the Sect Master of the Liantian Sect, interjected, "Alright, there's a whole line of people waiting behind us."

Both sides then fell silent, and Su Qiao returned to the supervising group.

After confirming there were no issues, Shi Chun and the others proceeded. They pricked the iron ring on their wrist with the sharp point of the lotus lamp, drawing blood to activate the ring and open the lamp. They retrieved their ice sheep, released the lotus lanterns, and then, one after another, leaped into the aerial ring, where they were enveloped by the orange-yellow swirling clouds.

This process was generally accompanied by some tension.

The spectators outside the mountain were puzzled, wondering why the orderly entry into the aerial ring had paused.

"Didn't they say there were over thirty thousand people? It can't be over yet, can it?"

People began to murmur.

Suddenly, more lotus lanterns flew out of the sky.

Miao Yilan, observing, pointed excitedly, "Mother, look, it's Shi Chun's life lantern."

Gong Shaoci, standing beside her, first noted her reaction. Seeing her somewhat elated and losing her composure, she was slightly taken aback before following her gaze.

On one of the lotus lanterns that flew out, green glowing characters read: Shi Chun, Mingshan Sect, Sheng Shenzhou.

Then Wu Jinliang's was seen as well. Including the lanterns that followed, this wave consisted of exactly thirteen.

Xiang Lan'er, Feng Chi, and Duan Xiangmei, who were also observing, widened their eyes and stared intently. They then watched, transfixed, as a group of thirteen flashed by and disappeared into the aerial ring.

Duan Xiangmei expressed her concern, "I hear it's very dangerous inside."

Xiang Lan'er and Feng Chi looked at her, knowing she was worried about Wu Jinliang. Neither of them knew what to make of her.

They knew perfectly well that Wu Jinliang was sleeping with her while simultaneously dallying with numerous other women outside. Yet, this woman seemed perfectly content, taking on all the chores and being utterly devoted to Wu Jinliang, serving him with exceptional comfort.

The crucial point was that she remained completely unaware of anything, having no idea how promiscuous Wu Jinliang was outside.

As women themselves, they felt compelled to speak yet held back, finding it difficult to offer a warning.

In comparison, they found Shi Chun to be far superior, a thousand times better than Wu Jinliang.

The arrival of the Mingshan Sect group also sparked a wave of discussion among the spectators.

Trapped within the orange-yellow swirling clouds, Shi Chun and the others felt a powerful suction pulling them in. Looking around, they realized that what had appeared to be orange-yellow clouds from a distance was, in fact, an indescribable, chaotic torrent of light.

Suddenly, the chaotic light around them vanished, and their bodies, which had been pulled and manipulated, abruptly regained their freedom. Before them lay a landscape of contrasting light and shadow.

They found themselves plummeting from the sky. Below, on the mottled ground, vibrant red molten lava was bubbling and erupting.

The glowing areas were lava, while the dark areas appeared to be land. In the distance, a very peculiar starry sky was visible, where normal starlight mingled with distinct, shimmering flashes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, creating an oppressive and mysterious aura.

As they plummeted rapidly, they instinctively cast spells to create resistance, gradually slowing their descent. They then successively looked back up, toward their point of origin, where they saw a vast expanse of swirling, dim yellow light and shadows.

Soon after, they felt surging heat waves wash over them, immediately sensing the truth behind the name "Divine Fire Domain."

Shi Chun pointed to a larger patch of land and called out, "That way."

The group swiftly cast spells to adjust their trajectory, gliding diagonally towards that patch of land.

Upon landing, they noticed that the individuals who had arrived earlier were observing their surroundings in a similar manner. Many people had already landed on that patch of land, presenting an excellent opportunity for observation. Shi Chun quickly activated his right eye ability to scrutinize them.

Soon, his gaze sharpened as he spotted three individuals within one group who possessed demonic flames within their bodies. These must be his confederates.

He immediately guided his comrades to land in the available spots near those individuals, getting closer to avoid any trouble locating them later.

After landing, the high temperature underfoot was likely hot enough to ignite materials. Shi Chun and his group adjusted by lifting their feet back and forth for a moment. Once they had cast protective spells and grown accustomed to the heat, they took out their ice sheep and held them to their mouths and noses to breathe.

It was clear that in this place, an ordinary person, unprotected by cultivation, would likely not survive for even a moment.

Upon seeing them, the surrounding individuals might not have recognized other sects, but they all identified them as the Mingshan Sect group. Everyone began to scrutinize and observe them. Shi Chun noticed that even the demonic cultivators were staring and observing him.

After a brief scan of their surroundings, Shi Chun whispered his first command to his companions, "Be wary of anyone from those four sects approaching."

They all knew which four sects he referred to. Shi Chun had already informed them beforehand, having received intelligence that Jeyun Mountain had recruited members from four sects to deal with them, and he had even had them identify those specific individuals in advance.

Chu Jingting and the others immediately became vigilant of their surroundings.

Simultaneously, Shi Chun nudged Wu Jinliang with his elbow and gave him a discreet glance.

Wu Jinliang understood. He took out a piece of sandalwood gold and began tossing it in his hand, letting it rise and fall three times before pausing. After a brief halt, he would continue the three-rise, three-fall pattern. As long as Shi Chun didn't signal him to stop, he kept playing, and others simply assumed he was bored and fidgeting.

Shi Chun tried to avoid looking directly at the demonic cultivators, instead observing them with his peripheral vision. He waited for their response, and once it was given, everyone would implicitly understand that they should find an opportunity to meet later.

To his surprise, no matter how Wu Jinliang signaled, the demonic cultivators clearly saw him but offered no responsive signal, as if they didn't understand.

People continued to descend from the sky. Just as Shi Chun wondered why the demonic cultivators weren't responding, he detected a rushing sound overhead and immediately looked up, alert. He saw twenty people drifting down towards his location.

Shi Chun's mouth twitched slightly, as, surprisingly, two of the twenty descending individuals also possessed demonic flames.

He immediately understood. It seemed Feng Chi had sent more than one group in; the previous one was likely not responsible for making contact with him. He wondered how many groups had entered and if this current group was the one meant for the rendezvous.

Soon, he had his answer. He noticed that the two newly descended individuals with demonic flames were intently watching the sandalwood gold rise and fall in Wu Jinliang's hand. One of them even met his gaze, curving his lips into a knowing smile.

This single interaction confirmed it for Shi Chun: this must be the contact group. Their decision to land near them was likely due to having spotted the rising and falling sandalwood gold aura from above.

As expected, that person rolled up one sleeve high, as if feeling the heat.

Seeing this, Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun exchanged a glance, then Wu Jinliang put away the sandalwood gold he had been tossing. The person with the rolled-up sleeve also responded by lowering their sleeve.

And just like that, the rendezvous was silently completed.

Yet, both parties now seemed even more like strangers. While they had previously exchanged glances, now they avoided looking at each other altogether. Even Chu Jingting and the others could not discern any connection between Shi Chun and these individuals.

With the contact complete, all that remained was to wait for all participants to arrive.

Among the gathered crowd, the action of taking out ice sheep and holding them to their mouths and noses to breathe was frequent. Some individuals even showed signs of impatience, likely feeling that this delay was wasting time they could be spending searching for the divine fire.

Yet, they had no choice but to wait. They had to await the final arrivals, who would announce the return location.

What piqued Shi Chun's interest was that, as he continued to observe with his right eye, he noticed yet more individuals possessing demonic flames among a new group descending from the sky—five of them, this time.

He couldn't help but think, "Three groups, that's sixty people. Which of those three treasures is so important that the demonic path is making such a grand show of it?"

Having dealt with the demonic path for so long, he had a general understanding of their hierarchy, knowing that those who possessed demonic flames were the true core members of their power.

For a force that operated in such secrecy, fearful of being discovered, to dispatch so many core members for this endeavor clearly indicated an extraordinary level of importance.

After a brief consideration, Shi Chun crooked his finger, signaling Wu Jinliang to lean closer, then whispered a few words into his ear.

Wu Jinliang nodded slightly, then gestured for five people to follow him.

The demonic cultivator who had just made contact noticed this interaction, and, unsure of its meaning, gave Shi Chun a few extra glances.

On the mountaintop of Qiyun Valley, once all participating sect disciples had entered, an elder from each of the ten major sects stepped forward, forming a line facing the crowd.

The high-ranking officials of the ten major sects stood solemnly, then bowed their hands in a gesture of farewell.

The elders chosen by the ten major sects returned the bow, then one by one soared into the air, successively entering the aerial metal ring.

After passing through the void and appearing in another world, they descended above Shi Chun and the others. After surveying the surrounding terrain for a moment, one individual cast a spell and shouted, "Follow me!"

The ten elders flew in one direction, and the crowd on the ground swiftly followed.

It wasn't until they had flown away from the scorching land and reached a mountain peak under the night sky that the ten elders descended. They looked up at the vibrant, multicolored starlight in the firmament.

After the swarming, locust-like crowd of participants arrived, an elder from the Liantian Sect conjured a metal great pestle, approximately ten meters tall, out of thin air. It plunged with a boom into the mountaintop, and he formally announced, "You have exactly forty-nine days. On the last day, return here; there will be no waiting for latecomers!"

"Yes," came a scattering of responses, with the most enthusiastic replies coming from the Liantian Sect disciples in the crowd.

The elder then swept his sleeve and declared, "Go forth, all of you, and seek your fortunes!"

Some swiftly called their fellow disciples and departed, while others bowed in farewell to the ten elders before leaving. Shi Chun was among the latter, understanding that he might not be well-regarded there, and that being overly polite was never a fault.