Chapter 266: This Small Matter

He was referring to Tong Mingshan, and everyone's gaze naturally followed, turning towards Tong Mingshan.

Tong Mingshan was unsure and asked, "My Divine Flame?"

Wu Jinliang said, "Yes, the Divine Flame you absorbed, the one I asked you to show earlier."

"This…" Tong Mingshan looked around at everyone, seeing that they all wanted to see it, including Shi Chun. Alright then, he activated his fire-attribute cultivation technique, drew out the Scarlet Flame from his fire essence, and as he spread his palm, a ball of flame immediately appeared. It was deep red and vibrant, exuding a formidable aura, clearly not comparable to ordinary flames.

Shi Chun, Xu Anchao, and the others watched with glowing eyes. Zhou Wuxian, who had come for the meeting, was no exception; he looked at Xu Anchao with some shock and asked, "Is this the Divine Flame?"

Xu Anchao nodded and replied, "It should be the Divine Scarlet Flame."

Zhou Wuxian's eyes were full of envy.

Wu Jinliang pointed at the Scarlet Flame in Tong Mingshan's palm and asked, "Brother Zhou, if this Divine Flame is paraded around the Iron Forest, will it be enough to lure away the people from Red Cloud Fortress?"

Zhou Wuxian couldn't help but scratch his head, his expression a little strange. "It's enough to lure them away, but I'm worried it might provoke a relentless pursuit for robbery."

Pursuit? Shi Chun glanced at Xu Anchao and the others, who were deep in thought. To be honest, he didn't take this level of pursuit seriously; he had often been pursued in the land of exile before.

He gestured to Tong Mingshan, indicating that the Divine Flame could be put away.

Wu Jinliang suddenly chuckled and said, "Weren't we pursued right after we came in?"

At this reminder, those who were pondering suddenly realized how Shi Chun and this fellow had evaded the assassins' pursuit before, and that they could simply do the same now.

Xu Anchao's decisive courage immediately surfaced. He promptly told Tong Mingshan, "Brother Tong, you must participate in this risky venture. Yu Mu will personally escort you."

Tong Mingshan looked at Shi Chun, who then told Wu Jinliang, "Jinliang, you participate in the escort as well."

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "Alright, I'll guarantee his absolute safety."

With his treasure armor and gourd, honestly, if it weren't for the many cultivators at the Grand Martial Attainment realm here, and the rumors of many magical artifacts, he would truly dare to swagger around.

However, the Four-Cauldron Sect contingent didn't think much of him. A cultivator at the Lesser Martial Attainment realm, daring to guarantee someone's absolute safety here?

They had long realized that this big fellow was just someone who stood on the sidelines, adding fuel to the fire.

After that, it was a matter of acting swiftly. As long as the bait was strong enough, it would actually be quite simple.

Guided by Zhou Wuxian, Wu Jinliang and Yu Mu personally escorted Tong Mingshan into the Iron Forest at the foot of the mountain.

As they watched them leave, Chu Jingting occasionally exchanged glances with Chen Wuji and others beside him. Some recent events were slowly making them feel puzzled.

First, there was the relationship between the leader and the Four-Cauldron Sect. What did it mean to cooperate yet also kill each other's leaders? Was it just because of Feng Yaoyang's arrogant remarks? And the Four-Cauldron Sect would actually yield the Divine Flame to Tong Mingshan.

Furthermore, it now appeared that the Four-Cauldron Sect had an undercover agent among the participants from Red Cloud Fortress. Judging by the situation, it seemed they had agents in more than just one sect.

If there happened to be one undercover agent, it would be understandable, but having agents in multiple sects was far from simple. One must remember that selecting candidates from each sect to enter the Divine Flame Domain was an extremely competitive process, not something anyone could enter just by wishing, and certainly not easily manipulated.

The interactions between the leader and the Four-Cauldron Sect felt incredibly mysterious to Chu Jingting and his group; they couldn't understand or fathom them.

Having experienced the Celestial Rain Meteorite Assembly, Shi Chun, with his current series of actions, appeared increasingly unfathomable in their eyes.

Seeing that the individuals had disappeared into the Iron Forest, Xu Anchao turned and called out to everyone, "Let's go, we need to hide first."

Shi Chun also waved, signaling the people from Bright Mountain Sect.

The group quickly concealed themselves.

Following Zhou Wuxian's guidance, the three, including Wu Jinliang, discreetly avoided Red Cloud Fortress's grid-like surveillance points.

Not long after they began their stealthy advance, seeing that Yu Mu still wanted to go deeper, Wu Jinliang stopped him, saying, "Alright, this is good enough. It'll suffice; no need to be too serious about it."

He casually pointed to a larger cave on the nearby metal mountain, "Alright, this is the spot."

Yu Mu wanted to urge him to be more cautious, but Wu Jinliang had already walked into the cave. Crucially, Tong Mingshan also followed without hesitation, so Yu Mu had no choice but to go along with the majority.

Once inside the cave, Wu Jinliang flipped his hand, pulled out his large saber, rested it on his shoulder, and nodded to Tong Mingshan, "Let's begin."

Tong Mingshan immediately turned his palm and displayed the crimson Divine Flame, instantly illuminating the entire cave as if it had been painted with a layer of red.

Wu Jinliang urged, "Make it bigger, it's not conspicuous enough. Even bigger, yes, yes, yes, just like it was when you first acquired it."

Tong Mingshan did manage to expand the flame's form to that size, but its color was somewhat lighter, because "absorbing the Divine Flame" did not mean fully integrating the flame itself into the body, but rather absorbing and fusing with certain special substances within it.

"Alright, let's start then." Wu Jinliang chuckled as he finished speaking. His large saber lifted from his shoulder, and with a clang, he struck the metal cave wall.

*Boom*, the unprepared duo's eardrums throbbed painfully from the impact.

Caught off guard, Yu Mu exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

Wu Jinliang had no time for questions. He grabbed his saber and began wildly hacking at the cave wall. The clanging and booming sounds were so intense that it made their feet tingle.

The booming sounds shook the surroundings, and even the tips of the iron trees outside seemed to vibrate in response.

Zhou Wuxian, who was stealthily moving through the Iron Forest, was startled. He quickly hid under a tree and looked back, wondering what was happening.

Even Shi Chun and the others, hiding in the distance, heard the clanging sounds.

Within the Iron Forest, people constantly emerged to higher ground to locate the source of the sound, and some even directly ascended into the air on their Wind Scales to get a better view.

After a flurry of random strikes, Wu Jinliang waved to Tong Mingshan, signaling it was time to leave. He then dragged his saber along the ground and walked out of the cave first.

As Tong Mingshan emerged from the cave mouth, holding the flame, he saw figures soaring towards them from all directions. They landed nearby, watching. Each person wore dark red clothing, similar to Zhou Wuxian's, and their eyes were filled with suspicion and surprise. Most of them were fixated on the flame in his hand.

A bald man, who was the leader of Red Cloud Fortress named Qian Qie, landed quickly. Upon seeing the crimson flame, his face immediately showed excitement. However, when he saw Wu Jinliang dragging his large saber and carrying a big gourd on his back, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Reputation precedes a man, like a shadow follows a tree. He hadn't expected to encounter this big fellow.

Yu Mu, the last to emerge, looked around and was startled. Indeed, his fears had come true.

Before he could fully grasp the situation, Wu Jinliang, who had already pulled out his Wind Scale and was activating it, swept him along into the air. At the same time, Wu Jinliang cursed loudly, "What are you staring at? Are you waiting for them to come and steal it?"

Yu Mu was left speechless by the scolding but knew that Wu Jinliang was deliberately cursing for the benefit of the onlookers.

Alerted by the words, Qian Qie quickly pulled out his Wind Scale and shouted, "What are you standing around for? Chase them!"

Someone loudly reminded him, "Senior Brother, those should be Shi Chun's people."

Qian Qie angrily retorted, "Here, who cares if they're Shi Chun's people or not!"

With only three opponents, they couldn't be let go. He was the first to ride his Wind Scale in pursuit, and the one already hovering in the air on a Wind Scale quickly followed.

The remaining individuals quickly gathered and shared a few Wind Scales to follow in pursuit.

Yu Mu, looking back, saw that they were being hotly pursued. He said in a low voice to Wu Jinliang, "Next time, make a plan before acting!"

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "It's just a small matter, handled easily. What's there to plan?"

Yu Mu's face was grim. "At least give a heads-up beforehand, wouldn't you?"

Wu Jinliang made a sound of surprise. "Didn't I say 'let's begin'? I think I said it twice, didn't I? Wasn't that clear enough?"

Yu Mu was instantly speechless, his brows furrowed.

The Bright Mountain Sect and Four-Cauldron Sect groups, hidden from view, looked up at the sky. As they watched the pursuers depart, they also counted their numbers.

"That's right, twenty people in total, they've all left," Shi Chun said to Xu Anchao beside him, withdrawing his gaze.

Xu Anchao, however, looked surprised. "They just went in and already lured them away? That quickly?"

Shi Chun, conversely, found it strange. "Quick? Everything was prepared. It's just a matter of going in and luring them out. What else would we wait for?"

While his words were true, Xu Anchao still felt that something was missing, making him a little uneasy.

The figures had already vanished into the distant sky. Xu Anchao openly stepped out and issued a command to everyone, "Hurry up! Search in pairs. If you find anything, signal with rapid tapping sounds. Begin!"

He led his people, soaring into the Iron Forest first.

Shi Chun jumped to the mountaintop to watch them leave, feeling that it was a futile effort. If twenty people couldn't find it after searching for so long, how could a dozen people here find it?

If it were that simple, then only a few people wouldn't be successful in each Divine Flame Covenant.

Of course, with him present, it was different. Without some assurance, he wouldn't have bothered with Tong Mingshan, An Wuzhi, and Zhu Xiangxin before coming in.

He took out his Wind Scale and said, "You all go down and search. Watch my movements in the air. If I land, converge on my position."

Chu Jingting and the others didn't understand his intention but obeyed, flying down.

As Shi Chun flew directly above the Iron Forest on his Wind Scale, his right eye's special ability was already activated. He scanned from above, observing as he flew.

When Xu Anchao and the others searching on the ground looked up and saw him, they paid no mind and continued to search diligently, both inside and outside the caves.

Chu Jingting and the others, moving through the metal mountain forest, occasionally looked up at Shi Chun in the sky.

An area of about ten li (a few miles) was simply too small given the speed of the Wind Scale.

Before long, Shi Chun had circled several times. Suddenly, he halted in mid-air, his gaze fixed on the area diagonally below him.

The metal world below appeared as a slightly whitish ethereal image through his right eye's special ability. Within this white ethereal image diagonally below, there seemed to be a dense white mass. Crucially, it was moving; there were signs of slight swaying.

Flying too high caused the background of the illusory world to overlap, somewhat affecting clarity. He couldn't help but lower his flight altitude and finally confirmed that there was indeed a vibrant white shadow below, quietly dormant deep within the metal ground.

Shi Chun surveyed his surroundings to ascertain his bearings, memorized the terrain below, and then flew away. After circling the area several times in the air to observe the distribution of personnel, he found an empty spot close to the target location and devoid of any Four-Cauldron Sect presence, where he landed.

Soon after, Chu Jingting and the others, who had spread out to search, all converged on his position.

In front of them, Shi Chun took out a half-burned stick of incense, which appeared to have been lit before, and lit it again. The rising smoke twisted into strange and stiff motions.