Chapter 275: A Group of Fools

The escaping flame instantly appeared chaotic, as if buffeted by the wind, or like a stumbling drunkard. It expanded fiercely, then rapidly collapsed, before seeming to burst into a rain of flowers, releasing countless fragmented blue specks of starlight.

The unleashed power instantly dissipated. Shi Chun, with his toes touching the ground, intended to charge forward again to pursue and capture it, but he ran into the fragmented blue light. His expression changed dramatically as he felt a complete shift in the atmosphere around him, as if something was trying to drain all life force.

He instinctively activated his Bath Demon technique to its maximum defensive capacity.

Immediately, his vision blurred, as if a mirror had appeared, and then he felt completely unable to move, his skin icy cold to the touch.

When he tried to move again, he found he still could, but the space he could move in was extremely limited and narrow. What he saw, combined with what his body felt, startled him; only then did he realize he was frozen in ice.

Furthermore, he was encased in a thick layer of ice. When he tried to break it open with his powers, he couldn't; the immense thickness of the ice was clear.

Not just him, but An Wuzhi and Chu Jing-tang, who were close behind, had also met the same fate. They were happy to see their chief catch up to the divine flame and strike it apart with a palm, but after crashing into the fragmented blue starlight, their joy vanished. Both were frozen solid and couldn't move.

What the three of them couldn't see was that a massive iceberg suddenly materialized out of nowhere on the high ridge where they stood, instantly trapping them.

Although the iceberg was enormous, it was distinctly different from others. It was entirely crystal clear, like glass, and their faint shadows could be seen vaguely from the outside.

An Wuzhi was relatively fine; a faint fiery aura protected him. He quickly became soaked as his clothes absorbed moisture, and he gradually started to regain some movement. Unable to break open the iceberg with his spells, he began melting his way outwards.

Chu Jing-tang also struggled, but his desperate efforts were futile. He couldn't even move a finger, and the cold was instantly bone-chilling. The sensation made him secretly groan in agony, feeling he might die there, and the thought alone seemed unjust.

Shi Chun, who had a circle of space around him, was protected by a hazy green aura, which kept the frozen space at bay.

Because of this small space, Shi Chun, unable to dislodge the iceberg, immediately launched sudden, short-range inch-force strikes. When the hazy green aura on his body rapidly impacted the obstruction, it produced an explosive force in the opposite direction, similar to the effect of the Demonic Blade.

Boom, boom, boom! He immediately struck repeatedly, causing explosive sounds. Soon, cracks appeared on the iceberg.

The silver-blue flame, now shrunk to only about a foot tall, immediately escaped rapidly through the ice layer. Once out of the ice, it floated into the air, drifting down the mountain. Its speed in the void was noticeably much slower.

It was even slower than before. After enduring the 'Demon-Dispersing Hand' attack, the power it contained within had significantly diminished.

After it landed in the thicker snow and ice halfway down the mountain, its light flashed, and its travel speed increased again.

Rumble! The iceberg collapsed into a pile. Large and small ice chunks slid down the slope, as if chasing the escaping divine flame.

Boom! Ice chunks flew everywhere as Shi Chun blasted open a hole and burst out. His gaze swept around, locking onto the direction of the silver-blue flame's escape. Suddenly, he looked up again and saw the abrupt cracks in the ice layer above growing larger with creaking sounds.

He immediately dashed out. Just as he rode his Windscale to fly into the air, he saw the tall iceberg collapse with a roar, raising a towering mist of ice and causing the earth to tremble.

Shi Chun glanced back, but didn't concern himself with Chu Jing-tang and the others. He knew that such a thing couldn't trap An Wuzhi, who practiced fire-attribute techniques. What he needed to do now was to keep a close eye on the escaping silver-blue flame. After finally weakening it to the point of having little resistance, how could he let it escape again?

Not long after he pursued on his Windscale, the collapsed iceberg exploded open again. An Wuzhi burst out, using his powers to vaporize the moisture off himself.

Looking at the chief riding away on his Windscale, and then at the ice chunks that had filled the high slope after the collapse, he couldn't help but be secretly astonished, realizing that the chief truly possessed incredible powers, unsure how he had broken free from the ice.

He had just thought he'd have to wait to be rescued, but unexpectedly, the chief had emerged before him and was already pursuing the divine flame.

He knew clearly that if Shi Chun hadn't reduced the iceberg's size, he wouldn't have gotten out so quickly.

He also wanted to pursue the divine flame, but it was impossible for him to abandon someone to die. If he did that, he wouldn't be able to report back to Shi Chun and the others later, and would he even be given the divine flame?

His gaze swept around, locating Chu Jing-tang's approximate position within the crystal-clear ice. He immediately started blasting with punches and palms, quickly shattering the ice, and soon pulled Chu Jing-tang out.

After all, with his cultivation, he wouldn't freeze to death in a short time, but it was enough to give Chu Jing-tang a hard time. After emerging, he was still trembling, with his full beard covered in ice shards.

An Wuzhi grabbed his wrist and transferred a burst of warm fiery energy to him. Then he let him go and ran, saying, "Brother Chu, you might as well rest for a bit."

"Achoo!" Chu Jing-tang, having warmed up, sneezed. He glanced around, seeing that the strange suns were about to set, and the distance was gloomy. What was the point of resting by himself in this constantly windy and cold spot? He immediately mustered his spirits and flew off in pursuit…

Lao Chang-tai and two Four Tripod Sect disciples by the cave entrance were still quite leisurely. On their side, the setting sun was still quite high in the sky. Occasionally, they'd take out an ice sheep for a few puffs, observe the exotic scenery, and joke around during their chats. Lao Chang-tai remarked that it would be great if they could just coast like this until it was over and they could leave.

The two Four Tripod Sect disciples verbally agreed, but secretly smirked. Xu An-chang had told them that everyone from the Bright Mountain Sect, except Shi Chun and Wu Jin-liang, would eventually be silenced.

That's right, their Four Tripod Sect intended to find an opportunity to silence these people. Once they outlived their usefulness, they would be eliminated.

There was no other way. It was too unreasonable for the Four Tripod Sect to concede the divine flame to Tong Ming-shan. They weren't their own kind, so none could be left alive, including Tong Ming-shan once he was no longer useful.

"Someone's coming," one of the Four Tripod Sect disciples suddenly alerted.

Just as Lao Chang-tai and the other two turned their heads to look, a person riding a Windscale landed before them. It was none other than Shen Mo-ming from the Bright Mountain Sect.

The three quickly stood up. Lao Chang-tai smiled, "Old Shen, you're here! Any good news?"

Shen Mo-ming said, "You're enjoying yourselves, sunbathing? Hmm, where's the chief?"

Lao Chang-tai replied, "You're not the first to bring news. You ask where the chief is? You'll have to run a bit more. Come in." He led him into the cave, pointing to a simple map Wu Jin-liang had left on the wall. "There's an 'Iron Forest' area here. You can see it from the air when you get close. They're there; you can go find them."

Shen Mo-ming began to study and memorize the landmark terrain on the map.

Just then, a Four Tripod Sect disciple outside the cave shouted again, "They're here! More people are coming! Wow, so many!"

Lao Chang-tai and Shen Mo-ming quickly exited the cave to observe.

They finally arrived. Wu Jin-liang, desperately flying through the air, and Tong Ming-shan, carrying the divine flame, swooped down, landing urgently before the ten elders on the highest peak.

Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief, but they dared not be careless. The mouth of the gourd on his back was already open, in a state of high alert.

There was no other way; too many people were chasing them, a dark mass of over a hundred individuals.

The pursuit had indeed put considerable pressure on him during their escape. The speed of a Windscale carrying one person was faster than carrying two, though it was only a slight difference. But over the course of the chase, the accumulated distance between them was indeed gradually shortening. Fortunately, they had finally arrived.

Moreover, there was the scale of over a hundred people, all equipped with Windscales. What did that mean? A single Windscale could be worth a mansion in the capital. This was too aggressive; if he were caught in it, he estimated that even with his six treasure gourds, he might not be able to hold them off.

But there was nothing they could do; it was because the Summer Dao Mountain sect could refine such flying artifacts themselves.

"It's Wu Jin-liang and Tong Ming-shan again," Lao Chang-tai, observing from behind the slope, clicked his tongue. "Which sect have they provoked this time, to attract so many people?"

"Again?" Shen Mo-ming turned to ask.

Lao Chang-tai immediately gave him a brief explanation of the previous situation.

On the highest peak, the ten elders, seated cross-legged beneath the large pillar, opened their eyes one after another. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw the bowing and scraping Wu Jin-liang and Tong Ming-shan again. The ten venerable elders immediately became displeased. Were these two never going to stop?

Then the ten elders' gazes focused on the divine flame in Tong Ming-shan's hand. Another divine flame?

And it was a divine flame of the exact same color. And it was just Wu Jin-liang and Tong Ming-shan again. And the same scenario played out again, attracting another group of people in pursuit.

How was it that every time, these two were being chased with the divine flame, but where was Shi Chun and the others?

The ten elders weren't foolish; they quickly vaguely perceived the intricacies of the situation. They confirmed that Shi Chun, the top-ranked individual from the Heavenly Rain Meteor Assembly, was indeed up to no good!

After successively looking at the large group of people arriving in the air, Elder Jin Gui-qi of Summer Dao Mountain immediately became displeased, and his expression turned very grim.

He wasn't blind. Although he couldn't recognize every single disciple, he could certainly recognize the attire of Summer Dao Mountain disciples. Coupled with the scale of their numbers, among the sects that had entered, only three artifact-refining sects were qualified to have over a hundred members.

Then the expressions of the other nine elders suddenly became exceptionally amusing. They might not recognize the attire of most artifact-refining sects, but how could they not recognize the disciple attire of the second-largest artifact-refining sect in the world? Was the Bright Mountain Sect targeting Summer Dao Mountain now?

Tang Wei-zong, an elder from the third-ranked Derivation Treasure Sect, suddenly spoke up. "We must remember our own principles: no interference in the competition is allowed. Those who violate this will have their sect barred from the next Divine Flame Alliance. I haven't misspoken about the rules, have I?"

Wu Jin-liang, who had been on tenterhooks, heard this and his eyes immediately lit up. He realized this elder was truly a good person, very principled, and worthy of his respect.

He immediately stood at the base of the slope and respectfully bowed to the elder.

Little did he know that the elder wasn't principled at all. It was because his sect, as the third-largest, had lost the opportunity to send a hundred people in. Seeing his own sect at a disadvantage, and not wanting to see others prosper, it would be even better if he could level the playing field as much as possible, as that would naturally increase the Derivation Treasure Sect's chances of winning.

Now that he saw the second-ranked Summer Dao Mountain being exploited, he was naturally pleased. Fearing Jin Gui-qi might help, he preemptively shut him up.

"Indeed, those are the rules."

"That's right, everyone must abide by the rules."

"Interferers will be expelled from the next Divine Flame Alliance!"

A group of elders responded very enthusiastically. There was no other way; their thoughts were similar to Elder Tang's: the more one of their strongest competitors faltered, the better.

Elder Jin Gui-qi of Summer Dao Mountain, with a gloomy expression, cast a cold gaze at the group of disciples hovering in the air. A bunch of fools, he really wanted to curse them out.

But those disciples were somewhat dumbfounded by the situation before them. How did they end up here, and what should they do? They couldn't just commit murder and robbery right in front of the ten elders, could they?

Gu Lian-ni, who arrived later, saw the group of people halted motionless in the air and approached, reprimanding, "What are you staring at? Aren't you..."

Then she saw the situation on the highest peak, realizing where this was, and she had actually run out to the exit.

What made her gnash her teeth was that Wu Jin-liang and Tong Ming-shan were right there. And the divine flame in Tong Ming-shan's hand was the one stolen right from under their noses.

If it were anyone else facing this situation, they would undoubtedly leave without a fuss.

But they were different; their sect's elder was sitting right there on the mountaintop.

Gu Lian-ni said, "Follow me down to greet the elders."

She led the way down, landing right next to Wu Jin-liang. This startled Wu Jin-liang, who pulled Tong Ming-shan back a bit.

"I know you, you're Wu Jin-liang. You've got guts, stealing our things right under my nose, Gu Lian-ni! See if you have the nerve to hide here forever and never leave!"

The people from Summer Dao Mountain also descended, creating a swishing sound.

Lao Chang-tai and the others hiding behind the slope felt their hearts leap into their throats.

Wu Jin-liang also started to protest. "We haven't met, have we? And you never acquired this divine flame, did you? We put all our effort into finding it, so it's naturally ours. How does that make us thieves? Even bullying people doesn't go this far, does it?"

"You just wait!" Gu Lian-ni, with a sneer, pointed a warning finger at his nose again. She then turned and bowed to Jin Gui-qi, saying, "Disciple greets the elder!"

"Disciples greet the elder!" The hundred-plus individuals collectively bowed in unison.

In this situation, those with keen eyes felt something was amiss, including Gu Lian-ni. They saw that the other elders were all smiling, seemingly appreciative of them. In contrast, their own elder, Jin Gui-qi, seemed to have a green face, with a fierce glare, looking as if he wanted to devour them alive.

Suddenly, Jin Gui-qi spoke, "You imbeciles, go do what you're supposed to do, get out of here!"

The Summer Dao Mountain disciples were all dumbfounded, including Gu Lian-ni, unsure what was wrong with their elder.

Jin Gui-qi then shouted again, "Go back where you came from, now! Get out!"

The Summer Dao Mountain group was still confused, not knowing where they had gone wrong.

Gu Lian-ni was about to speak, having just cupped her hands to ask, when Jin Gui-qi furiously roared, "Are you deaf? I told you to go back where you came from, can't you hear? Now get out!"

The continuous reprimands caused the expressions of the other nine elders to change dramatically.

Tang Wei-zong, the elder of the Derivation Treasure Sect, said in a deep voice, "Jin Gui-qi, you've gone too far. Do you think the rules are just for show?"

Jin Gui-qi immediately retorted, "It's improper for them to block this place. I told them to get out and do what they're supposed to do. Is that not helping them? If I can't even speak, then can't I also assume that your words are implying or reminding them of something?"

Tang Wei-zong tightened his lips, realizing his words had given the other party an opportunity to covertly provide a hint.

With the words now so obvious, many astute Summer Dao Mountain disciples' expressions changed drastically.

Gu Lian-ni wasn't foolish; she suddenly realized the meaning of the elder's repeated reprimands. She had already found it strange to get the red divine flame from the ice plain. Now, it was as if she had been struck by lightning. She suddenly turned and pointed at Wu Jin-liang, "You..."

Still arguing? Jin Gui-qi, enraged, abruptly interrupted, "Get out!"

Gu Lian-ni flicked her sleeve and shouted to the disciples, "Quickly, go!"

She was the first to ascend into the air, and the group of disciples followed one after another. They quickly vanished, heading back the way they came.

Meanwhile, Wu Jin-liang's face turned green, and his gaze towards Jin Gui-qi carried a chilling murderous intent. Seeing the elder's gaze sweep towards him, he quickly reined it in.