Chapter 268: Bad Situation

The elders, however, found it difficult to say anything. Those involved hadn't actually violated any rules; they were merely exploiting loopholes.

What kind of loopholes? Before entering, the Divine Fire Alliance rules, issued by Artifact Cloud Valley, stated that this was a grand event for artifact refiners. All participants, as artifact refiners, were expected to avoid reckless behavior upon entering the Divine Fire Domain and to compete fairly based on their individual skills.

This wasn't just written this way for the current session; it had likely been the same in previous ones. It was the expected protocol. They couldn't openly declare that once inside the Divine Fire Domain, artifact refiners were expected to kill each other and seize whatever they could from the victors.

Although that was the reality, it couldn't be expressed that way. On the surface, there always had to be a few seemingly solemn, pleasant, and respectable words.

Both those who wrote it and those who read it knew it was false. They scoffed at it behind the scenes, yet it still had to be written.

As for the outcome, it was never investigated. Those who dared to kill and plunder were mostly powerful major sects who preyed on the weak. And those qualified to enforce the rules were also these same major sects.

For example, the elders sent to oversee this place all belonged to top-ranking sects.

So everyone clearly understood that the real rules involved one set of behaviors on the surface and another behind the scenes.

But no one could tear off this veil of pretense in front of the ten elders overseeing the event. To truly violate the rules in front of them would be to publicly disgrace them.

Two consecutive groups of assassins had chased their targets to this point and then fled. The ten elders really wanted to ask those assassins what was going on: if they had the ability to overpower their targets, how could they consistently let them escape to this location?

What was more, this large individual not only exploited loopholes but also had the nerve to ask the elders to uphold justice. From the elders' perspective, it was like saying, "If you can play the game, play; if not, get out. Who invited you to act like this?"

Crucially, they even managed to acquire divine fire, which made the ten elders even more disgusted.

However, their displeasure was useless. The other party wasn't a small sect that could be easily bullied; anyone allowed in as an exception clearly had influential backing.

One elder said gravely, "We didn't witness any preceding events or consequences. This is merely your side of the story."

"Alas!" Wu Jinliang sighed, looking up at the sky, wearing an expression that seemed to lament heaven's blindness.

You Mu, who was beside him, remained silent throughout. Earlier, when Wu Jinliang asked the ten elders to intervene, he had wanted to pull Wu Jinliang's sleeve, hoping to tell him not to stir up trouble and that exploiting loopholes and then being so brazen was inappropriate.

In any case, he felt a bit unsettled by what was said. Now, seeing this fellow again feigning resentment over injustice, he was truly afraid of causing trouble.

Fortunately, Wu Jinliang bowed and cupped his hands to the ten elders. Then, turning to Tong Mingshan, he said, "Let's go find a place to absorb the divine fire."

They didn't go anywhere else. Under the watchful eyes of the ten elders, they returned to Lao Changtai's location, where there was already a freshly dug cave.

Seeing Tong Mingshan return carrying the divine fire again, Lao Changtai asked curiously, "Brother Wu, what's going on?"

"Don't ask, it's annoying," Wu Jinliang shook his head, not yet revealing the details.

Seeing his demeanor, You Mu likewise didn't inform his companions.

Anyway, once inside the cave, Tong Mingshan immediately put away the fire he was holding and asked from within, "When are we leaving?"

He was quite eager, keen on getting the divine fire from the Iron Forest. The people from Red Cloud Fort had already been lured away, and knowing that the divine fire in the Iron Forest had been collected, they probably wouldn't return to waste precious time.

Of course, he also knew that the next divine fire might not necessarily be his. But people are always a bit greedy; who wouldn't want more the better? Going there meant there was still a chance.

Wu Jinliang motioned with his hand, signaling him to be patient. Then, turning to You Mu, he said, "We need to prevent people from Red Cloud Fort from ambushing us nearby. Send the recognition signal to our contacts over there. Only if there's no response will it be safe for us to leave."

You Mu was somewhat surprised. This fellow, though seemingly bold, was quite meticulous. He handled things back and forth in a very organized manner, seeming less reckless than You Mu had thought.

Since what he said made sense, You Mu immediately nodded and went to carry out the task.

Wu Jinliang then instructed Lao Changtai and two Four Tripod Sect disciples to stand guard. He himself popped a pill into his mouth and sat cross-legged to recover.

Using his Wind Scale technique to escape at full power earlier had consumed a lot of spiritual energy. If he truly had to flee over a long distance, he certainly wouldn't be able to bear it and would eventually be caught. At this moment, he needed to quickly recover the spiritual energy he had expended.

In the Iron Forest, a Four Tripod Sect disciple, piloting a Wind Scale, descended from the sky and reported to Xu Anchang, "Senior Brother, I was searching from the air just now and found something strange. The people from Mingshan Sect seem to be gone, and Shi Chun is gone too."

"Gone? How could they be gone?" Xu Anchang didn't believe it. He also piloted a Wind Scale, taking the disciple with him into the air and began circling to search. However, upon seeing numerous holes in the ground, he probably had a good idea of what was happening.

An area of about ten miles in radius was quickly circled several times under the speed of the Wind Scale. Indeed, they didn't see any sign of the Mingshan Sect members.

Afterwards, he didn't give it much thought. After landing, he instructed, "Alright, they won't run away unless they find the divine fire. If they're not visible on the surface, they must have gone into the caves to search. You continue searching as well, and if you find a cave, go deep inside to look."

His sectmate asked, "What if they found the divine fire and didn't tell us?"

Xu Anchang shook his head. "You're overthinking it. Even if they find the divine fire, it's for them. Shi Chun and I have a mutual understanding; would he really bother to hide it?"

Upon hearing this, his sectmate gave an awkward smile, thinking he had indeed overthought it, and quickly resumed his search.

Inside the cave, after being summoned, the scattered search party, including Shi Chun, had gathered along the route Hao Ji had found.

Perhaps due to his auspicious name, Hao Ji, acting as a scout, was the first to return with news of the divine fire's traces. He was also the one who discovered the target in this underground maze of the Iron Forest.

A group of people cautiously gathered at the mouth of a hole. All their lights were extinguished, yet white light emanated from the hole.

Six people knelt on one knee around the hole, taking turns to lie on the ground and peer into the fist-sized opening below.

They saw a white flame, an indescribable white, which, with its ethereal form, exuded nobility. Like a candle flame, it floated atop a metal pillar. The area around the pillar was empty. On the cave walls enclosing the empty space, there were naturally flowing patterns and holes. Below the pillar, it was pitch black, like an abyss, seemingly bottomless.

From all directions, dreamlike, fragmented, starlight-like substances drifted in wisps towards the white flame, or were absorbed by it.

Within the white flame, there seemed to be a mouth, opening and closing as if breathing. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a mouth, but an eye—a vertical eye, slightly opening and closing.

Shi Chun tried to ask in a low voice, "Why does it have an eye now?"

After speaking, he peered again while still prone, fearing he might disturb it. Seeing no reaction, he relaxed.

Chu Jingting replied in a low voice, "That should be a spirit eye. All things with spirit must first open their apertures, first grow an eye to observe. Only then will they transform based on what they see and think. This divine fire is already between opening its aperture and transforming."

Shi Chun asked, "Without the Four Tripod Sect's help, can we take it?"

Chu Jingting said in a low voice, "Boss, the destructive power of divine fire is terrifying; otherwise, it wouldn't be called divine fire. Anyone who has absorbed divine fire possesses power in the outside world as if wielding a divine artifact, making them extremely lethal to ordinary cultivators. Those two from the Four Tripod Sect who cultivated fire-attribute techniques were burned so badly; people who haven't practiced fire-attribute techniques can't even touch it, especially those of us with low cultivation levels."

Amidst the white light emanating from the hole, Hao Ji and Chen Wuji also nodded repeatedly.

An Wuzhi said, "It's fine, Zhu Xiangxin and I will go."

That he could say this indicated he acknowledged Chu Jingting's statement.

Shi Chun was slightly worried. "Can you two manage?"

Zhu Xiangxin said, "It hasn't transformed yet, so its power should be limited. We should be able to do it together."

An Wuzhi nodded in agreement.

Seeing that both were confident, Shi Chun didn't say anything more. After all, those who practiced fire-attribute techniques surely knew more than him, an outsider, and no one would seek death.

Little did he know, the two didn't have absolute confidence either, since they had never encountered anything of divine fire's caliber before.

But the two didn't want Xu Anchang to get involved because they were unaware of Xu Anchang and Shi Chun's secret arrangement. In their view, if someone from the Four Tripod Sect found this divine fire, would it still be their turn to absorb it?

In fact, their thinking was correct regarding the outcome: even if Xu Anchang allowed their side to have it, he wouldn't give it to them, but to Tong Mingshan.

There were few in the world who cultivated fire-attribute techniques and could resist the temptation of divine fire. It was something that could allow one to transcend social classes; once wielded, it was like having a divine artifact.

As for the Four Tripod Sect, if it weren't for the irresistible deterrence of the demonic path, they truly wouldn't concede.

Shi Chun said, "Alright then, we can't help you, so you'll have to rely on yourselves."

An Wuzhi said, "The problem now is that we don't know where to enter the space below."

That was easily said. Shi Chun naturally wouldn't just watch. He said softly, "There are many openings on the cave walls below; there must be a way. Everyone spread out and help search."

The few immediately tiptoed and moved through the passages, splitting up to explore whenever they encountered a fork, and continued sprinkling small bags of white ash.

As Shi Chun had said, they quickly found the entrance to the large space—not just one, but three.

The divine fire's destructive power was immense. Shi Chun and his three companions dared not approach and could only make way for An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin. The four of them retreated to several of the holes, each peering in through one.

An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin each found an opening and agreed to launch a simultaneous surprise attack from two directions.

Seeing the large space, both pressed themselves against the cave wall, trying to avoid revealing their presence, occasionally peeking into the space. After their gazes met from afar, taking advantage of the moment when the eye within the white light on the pillar closed, they nodded at each other and simultaneously leaped across the abyss, rushing forward.

The eye within the white flame on the pillar suddenly opened. Its gaze was as sharp as a knife. A palpable surge of power erupted almost visibly, causing the very space to ripple, forcefully blocking the two who had already stepped onto the platform.

The swords extended simultaneously from their hands, intended to blind the eye, both halted half a zhang away, trembling as they tried to force their way closer to the eye.

Shi Chun and his three companions, who were secretly watching, saw this situation and inwardly cursed, "This is bad! These two fellows' cultivation isn't enough!"

Just then, the foot-tall white flame erupted. A powerful surge of white flames, as if exploding, blasted towards An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin. The swords in their hands instantly broke through their defenses like candles burning, and both swords melted, dripping.

The two, engulfed by the flames, were greatly alarmed. They quickly circulated their fire-attribute techniques to their utmost to resist, their bodies trembling. They had instantly fallen into a difficult situation.

Shi Chun and his three companions were also startled. Terrifying high temperatures struck first, followed by surging flames that penetrated every crevice, quickly filling all the caves.

Wherever the white flame touched, molten metal dripped everywhere. It was truly terrifying.

Shi Chun and his three companions couldn't possibly have any other thoughts. They immediately turned and fled.

Their evasion speed could indeed outpace the surging flames. However, their path ahead was suddenly blocked by flames pouring in from an unknown source and surging back towards them. The four instantly fell into disarray, frantically turning to flee.

The caves and paths here were sometimes large, sometimes small, sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, with forks everywhere, and one wrong turn often led to a dead end. There was no discernible pattern. The four truly darted into every cave they saw, were blocked by dead ends twice, and after frantically running about, they quickly became completely separated.

As Shi Chun scrambled through, he constantly shot out sandalwood gold illuminators towards the path ahead. Suddenly, a sandalwood gold illuminator bounced back, and the firelight surging from behind illuminated the dead end ahead with chilling clarity.

Shi Chun, having reached the dead end, stretched his arm into a hole and clawed at it twice, but even his magic couldn't tear open a path. Hearing the rumbling sound approaching from behind, he quickly turned around, casting a protective aura to desperately resist the approaching light. However, as soon as his protective aura touched the white flame, it was instantly destroyed, leaving him utterly terrified!