Chapter 265: Just Your Style

After the main group left, only four people remained outside the cave where Tong Mingshan was in seclusion.

Wu Jinliang sat on the ground, stretching one leg out and bending the other, resting his arm on it, bored as he tossed and played with the wind scale in his hand.

Since Hao Ji had a wind scale to use, Shi Chun threw his own wind scale to Wu Jinliang for him to keep as a spare, so he could get there faster to meet up.

The two Four-Cauldron Sect disciples were genuinely focused on healing their fire injuries, so the main lookout duty fell solely to Lao Changtai.

"These several suns, big and small, in the sky, why do they feel so still?" Wu Jinliang, who was occasionally glancing boredly at the sky, suddenly asked into the air.

He had heard that some continents had places with more than one sun.

A Four-Cauldron Sect disciple meditating nearby slightly opened his eyes and replied, "A day here is longer; it's equivalent to three days in universal time."

Wu Jinliang asked, "So these forty-nine days, are they counted in local time or outside time?"

The Four-Cauldron Sect disciple, sensing Wu Jinliang was just trying to make conversation, replied, "Of course, it's normal outside time."

Wu Jinliang mumbled, "One day here is three days there, so a little over sixteen days."

Holding the Ice Sheep and occasionally taking a puff, the boring wait didn't last too long. Roughly two hours after Shi Chun and the others had left, faint sounds emanated from inside the sealed cave.

Wu Jinliang and the others all turned to look.

With a clatter, a figure appeared amidst the dust stirred up as the cave stones were pushed aside. It was none other than Tong Mingshan, looking radiant and refreshed, clearly having reaped immense benefits.

"Brother Wu," Tong Mingshan greeted him proactively.

Wu Jinliang scrambled to his feet and immediately asked, "How is it? How is it?"

Tong Mingshan couldn't help but laugh himself. "It's done!"

*Clap!* Wu Jinliang clapped his hands in approval, then urged, "Come on, show us, quickly show us!"

Tong Mingshan found it amusing but didn't refuse. As Wu Jinliang wished, he flipped his palm on the spot, and soon a crimson flame emerged from it. It then transformed into a coiled dragon in his hand, easily controlled as if an extension of his own arm.

After showing it off for a while, he finally reabsorbed it into his body.

Wu Jinliang made a sound of admiration and lightly punched Tong Mingshan on the chest.

Lao Changtai was no exception, patting Tong Mingshan on the back. "You scoundrel, you really got a good deal here. You truly ought to thank the Big Boss properly later."

Speaking of this, Tong Mingshan was particularly moved, as if he didn't know what to say, finally blurting out, "Great kindness needs no words of thanks."

Even now, he still felt as if he were dreaming. He truly hadn't expected that someone expelled from his sect could still have such an opportunity.

He naturally knew whom to thank and understood that the Big Boss had found an excuse to give him this divine flame, ensuring An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin would have nothing to say.

The two Four-Cauldron Sect disciples watching eagerly from the side also had faces full of envy. One asked, "I heard that after absorbing divine flame, one's cultivation level also gets boosted by the power it contains. Is that true?"

Tong Mingshan replied, "What truly improved significantly is my realm; my internal Fire Elemental realm has broken through to High Martial Grand Completion, whereas the increase in cultivation itself wasn't that big."

The other person said with immense envy, "Now that your realm has advanced, increasing your cultivation will be simple. Go back, find a time to seclude yourself, and your cultivation progress will surely be rapid."

Tong Mingshan also happily said, "I hope so. Huh, where's the Big Boss?"

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "The Big Boss is fated to toil. He's found news of another divine flame and has gone to find a second divine flame for you, leaving us here to guard you."

"Ah, there's news of another divine flame already?" Tong Mingshan was very surprised.

Before coming out of seclusion, he had calculated the time, knowing he had only spent half a day absorbing the divine flame. He hadn't expected news so soon. Weren't divine flames supposed to be hard to find?

Wu Jinliang said, "Alright, come with me to find the Big Boss."

He then turned to the other three and said, "Brother Lao, you accompany these two and continue healing here. The main thing is to wait for news from the other three groups. If someone comes to deliver a message, just tell them clearly where we've gone. Once everyone has been informed, you can then come and meet us."

"Alright, leave this to us, you can go without worry," Lao Changtai readily agreed, and so did the other two.

No one was willing to take risks easily, especially with no benefits. It was much safer to hide here, and being near the exit meant they could escape in time if anything unexpected happened.

Having said all that, Wu Jinliang then used the wind scale to take Tong Mingshan directly to their destination...

A colossal metallic world, although covered in a lot of dust, still revealed its true essence beneath the grime through some exposed surfaces.

On this metallic world, a vast metal forest had grown. The trees, big and small, had no leaves, their gnarled, uneven shapes resembling a chaotic dance of demons.

Some trees were toppled, and some branches resembled shed antlers. The ground was riddled with many round, smooth holes; a description like 'pockmarked' wouldn't even begin to cover it.

Shi Chun and the others, secretly observing from the highest peak on the edge of the area, felt an inexplicable, immense shock from the flickering, dim metallic glints.

Due to background interference, Shi Chun's right eye ability couldn't see very far, so he didn't know where the Red Cloud Fortress people were.

The rendezvous signal had already been set up on the highest peak, but the informant hadn't appeared yet. The situation was unclear.

After waiting and waiting, they didn't see the informant, but instead Wu Jinliang and Tong Mingshan arrived.

The two found the people on the mountain, but everyone largely ignored Wu Jinliang. Xu Anchang was the first to eagerly ask Tong Mingshan, "Did you succeed?"

Tong Mingshan nodded, "I succeeded."

Xu Anchang immediately breathed a sigh of relief; the mission from above had a good start.

Wu Jinliang leaned closer to Shi Chun and asked, "Why are you just lying here motionless? What's the situation now?"

Shi Chun replied, "Waiting for someone to meet up, so we can get a clear picture of the situation at Red Cloud Fortress."

Wu Jinliang asked, "Still hasn't come after all this waiting? Should we go in first and scout around?"

Shi Chun nodded towards Xu Anchang, indicating, "Brother Xu wants to be cautious; it's best to make decisions after understanding the situation."

That made sense, so Wu Jinliang kept quiet and also looked towards the metallic world.

It was unclear whether it was a coincidence or if the arrival of Wu Jinliang and Tong Mingshan brought good luck, but before long, figures flickered below the mountain. Someone emerged from the iron forest and soon slipped in front of the group.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man, dressed in dark red clothing. His appearance seemed honest and simple, not like someone from the Demonic Path.

Shi Chun activated his right eye ability to observe the newcomer and was slightly disappointed. There was no demonic flame; it was a waste of his vital energy.

Suddenly seeing so many people, the man was a bit surprised, especially when he saw Wu Jinliang and the others with gourds on their backs; his surprise instantly intensified severalfold.

Xu Anchang asked as soon as they met, "Why are you only just arriving now?"

The middle-aged man said, "I was drilling underground before and was told to search inside the tunnels. I didn't see the rendezvous signal."

Xu Anchang asked, "Did you find it?"

The middle-aged man shook his head, "Not yet."

Shi Chun interjected, "I am Shi Chun. May I ask for your esteemed name, brother?"

The middle-aged man immediately looked at Xu Anchang, his inquiry very clear.

Xu Anchang smiled wryly to himself. 'They already know which sect you're from and they've seen you. If there's any misconduct, whether you conceal your name or not won't matter.'

He immediately nodded slightly in a gesture of approval.

The middle-aged man then replied, "I am Zhou Wuxian. Brother Shi... your name is like thunder to my ears, long-renowned."

Shi Chun scoffed lightly, "Just a minor name, nothing worth mentioning. So it's Brother Zhou, a pleasure to meet you. May I ask, were you certain you saw a divine flame before?"

Zhou Wuxian shook his head and said, "I didn't see it. One of my fellow disciples saw it but didn't get a clear look, only a flash of firelight inside a hole. Everyone rushed there upon hearing, but found nothing, and we've been searching until now."

Shi Chun asked, "Didn't see it clearly? Could it have been a mistake?"

Zhou Wuxian replied, "Unlikely. Brother Shi Chun might not know, but inside those holes, it's pitch black, so any firelight would be very obvious. Also, the holes in this metallic world, you can tell just by looking inside, were likely burned out by high temperatures. And those iron trees were probably molded by high temperatures; you can see metallic drips on the ground. Based on all these signs, it's certain that there's divine flame here!"

Hearing that there was definitely a divine flame, Xu Anchang perked up and asked, "If we sneak in to search, will we be discovered?"

Zhou Wuxian hesitated, seeming unsure how to answer. After thinking for a moment, he explained, "This metallic area is estimated to be about ten *li* in circumference. When we surveyed it from high altitude before, we found signs of massive impact on the ground; it should be where a giant extraterrestrial meteorite crashed. We searched for a long time but couldn't find any trace of the divine flame. After meeting and discussing, twenty people spread out within this ten-*li* area to monitor, planning to wait until nightfall to see, as any firelight would be easier to spot then. Whether you'll be discovered if you sneak in, I can't say for sure."

This was his way of stating the situation and letting them weigh their options.

Shi Chun interjected again, "Is Red Cloud Fortress much stronger than your Four-Cauldron Sect? Didn't you bring any trump card artifacts when you came?"

He didn't believe the Demonic Path would provide no martial support here. Under the circumstances, it was understandable if they couldn't find suitable candidates to enter, but to say the Demonic Path couldn't acquire artifacts was a bit hard to believe.

Their elaborate plan to ambush Feng Yaoyang before was precisely due to this concern. If the assassins hadn't been aiming for Shi Chun, he would have truly wanted to take Feng Yaoyang's Qiankun bag as well at that time.

Xu Anchang replied, "We have artifacts, and they do too. The biggest problem is that our overall strength is far inferior to theirs. Once we act, we have to go all out and we can't let anyone escape; that's the real trouble. It's best at night when it's harder to be seen."

Tong Mingshan and the others listened, somewhat confused, but Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang understood instantly: using demonic arts would expose their Demonic Path identity.

Shi Chun thought for a moment and said, "Alright, night it is then. For now, it's still early for nightfall anyway, and a day here is worth three. Let's not waste time and head to the ice plains first to take a look."

Night was exactly what he wanted. He could use his right eye ability to observe from a high altitude.

Xu Anchang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "My younger brother, do we need to rush this much?"

Not even willing to waste this little bit of time, he truly hadn't expected the person sent from above to be so dedicated and thorough, seeming even more diligent than himself. It seemed there was indeed a reason for the higher-ups to choose this person.

Before Shi Chun could speak, Wu Jinliang suddenly spoke up, "So, the people from Red Cloud Fortress haven't actually seen what the divine flame here looks like, is that right?"

Everyone looked at him in unison. Shi Chun asked, "Jinliang, what do you mean?"

Wu Jinliang raised his chin towards Zhou Wuxian. "You answer me first: is that true?"

Zhou Wuxian again looked at Xu Anchang with an inquiring gaze, and after receiving a nod of agreement, he replied, "Indeed, we haven't seen it; we only saw firelight."

Having received confirmation, Wu Jinliang said, "Chun Tian, since they haven't seen it, that makes things easy. We can create a fake divine flame; as long as we lure them away, this place will be ours to do as we please, won't it?"

Shi Chun rolled his eyes and said, "Faking a divine flame? With your skills, do you think everyone else is blind?"

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "My skills are indeed not up to par, but someone else's are. I say, Sect Master, don't just stare. I can't do it, but you can. Show them your divine flame."