Chapter 317: Turn Around

As they continued their relentless pursuit, the sects that had been relentlessly entangled along the way gradually realized something was amiss.

The Qianyanzong contingent, which had been steadily moving towards the exit area, suddenly landed and stopped at a gesture from Gong Shixi.

Facing the scout who delivered the report, Gong Shixi asked with surprise and doubt, "Have they gone towards the 'Wuming Forbidden Land'?"

He had directed all his investigative feelers for divine flame clues towards Shi Chun's group, and his senses in that regard were quite sharp, already indicating that Shi Chun's group was in a predicament.

He had predicted that Shi Chun's group would eventually flee towards the exit area for refuge, which was why he was heading there.

He rushed to the exit for one reason only: once Shi Chun's group reached it, he would find a way to exacerbate their situation and force them into a corner.

Given the divine flame's allure to all parties, he believed it wouldn't be difficult to stir up trouble.

The messenger nodded and said, "The third group reported that their sect, based on the direction Shi Chun's group is heading and the circumstances of their entanglement, believes Shi Chun's group is very likely going to the 'Wuming Forbidden Land'. They probably intend to use the dangers of the forbidden land to shake off their pursuers."

Gong Shixi's already somewhat gloomy face grew increasingly unreadable, and he repeatedly stroked his small mustache.

After repeated deliberation, he concluded that the reported information was likely correct and indeed possible, but it truly exceeded his expectations. He couldn't help but scoff, "No wonder they came in first at the Heavenly Meteor Shower Assembly. They are ruthless enough to forgo an escape route and choose to risk the forbidden land. They must be determined not to stop until they win the championship, and they even want to shake off their pursuers to continue searching for the divine flame."

What he had considered a sure thing had unexpectedly taken such a turn.

He summoned his companions, discussed and confirmed the direction to the 'Wuming Forbidden Land', and immediately ordered a change in their course, heading straight for the Wuming Forbidden Land themselves.

The same principle applied: even if he couldn't win the championship, he absolutely couldn't let Shi Chun's group win. He was determined to eliminate Shi Chun's group, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to account for himself once they left. With so many people watching, what would happen if he didn't stop them? Was he supposed to silence his own people?

Inwardly, he was also annoyed by Shi Chun's character. "Why try so hard?" he thought. "It was originally an uncertain matter; it was normal if no one could win the championship. Even if there were penalties, they would be acceptable. Now you, Shi Chun, have shown your capabilities, turning an uncertain matter into a certain one. What am I supposed to do?"

In the Divine Flame Domain, it was very difficult to be as well-informed as he was. Of course, this was also because he had specific advantages and targeted efforts.

While some major sects weren't as well-informed as he was, they possessed advantages that smaller sects lacked. They could leverage their status and influence to ask smaller sects for help, for example, promising that once they found a quick way to locate the divine flame, they would share one or two with them.

For sects that couldn't find even one divine flame, wasn't this a beacon of hope?

For example, 'Jinmaotang', the fifth-ranked sect in the artifact refining world, did just that. However, compared to Qianyanzong, their information was relatively delayed.

At this moment, a group of people in gray clothing were lying still deep within a chaotic geological formation, camouflaged with cloaks as rocks amidst the dim light of large clusters of phosphosiderite underground.

The leader was a handsome man, both in appearance and physique, but his expression was dull. His name was Mi Liangmeng.

Someone quietly approached from the side, intending to report something, but Mi Liangmeng turned and made a shushing gesture.

After waiting for a while, the person whispered again, "Senior Brother..."

This time, Mi Liangmeng turned and pointed to the person's mouth, his eyes deep, giving the impression that even matters of great importance should be swallowed.

The person looked embarrassed and finally fell completely silent.

After the group lay still for about two more hours, a cluster of amber light finally emerged from an underground cavern opening.

The faint light gradually transformed into a rising mass of amber flames, floating in the complex underground space, coloring the surroundings like withered ginkgo leaves.

The eyes of the Jinmaotang disciples immediately sparkled with anticipation and excitement.

The flames drifted towards a relatively open area within the uneven terrain, where an eighteen-story iron tower stood. In each tower window, a bead could be seen, each differing in color and size.

And each bead was a refined essence of various elemental substances that Jinmaotang had painstakingly collected over the years, such as litharge, gold essence, and ice-soul.

This was also the bait-and-capture method conceived by the previous generation of Jinmaotang members who sought the divine flame, after they coincidentally discovered that the divine flame absorbed source-like substances.

For this purpose, over the past two to three hundred years, Jinmaotang had been discreetly searching for these highly refined substances.

Unfortunately, there were thirty-six types of divine flames, but they had only found eighteen types of source-like substances. Some were simply unobtainable, while for others, they had no idea what they corresponded to. For instance, 'Void Flame' among the divine flames wasn't an adjective but a transparent flame, and there were also 'Wind Flames' and so on.

They would continue searching in the future, but for now, they would naturally use whatever they had found, at least to test if it worked.

The results proved that the efforts of their predecessors were not in vain; they had paved the way for those who followed. This time, the Jinmaotang contingent had already lured and captured six divine flames.

Presently, the mass of flames drifted around the iron tower, circled it a few times before coming to a stop. Then, a wisp of pale yellow mist began to drift from the ordinary-looking, waxy-yellow litharge within the tower and was absorbed into the flames.

It was at this moment that the array mechanism within the iron tower was triggered. To protect the highly refined substances, the eighteen tower windows suddenly closed simultaneously, and the Core Locking Array was activated at the same time. A bowl-shaped ripple of illusory waves appeared and then vanished.

The amber flames immediately sensed danger and quickly flashed away. However, they hit the sealing illusory wave ripples, were blocked by an invisible force, and could not escape, beginning to strike wildly.

Mi Liangmeng and his companions, throwing off their camouflage cloaks, flashed forward. Amidst a series of thuds, they captured the seventh divine flame of their journey.

The Jinmaotang disciples cheered.

After gaining control of the divine flame, Mi Liangmeng turned to the junior disciple who had wanted to speak earlier and asked, "What is it?"

The junior disciple then stepped forward and said, "We have found the whereabouts of Shi Chun and his group."

Mi Liangmeng replied simply and directly, "Put away the artifacts and go find them."

He handed the divine flame to another junior disciple, saying, "You stay here and absorb this divine flame."

He had already absorbed one similar divine flame; in total, he had absorbed four divine flames.

Under the envious gazes of the others, the disciple who received the divine flame repeatedly bowed in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Senior Brother, thank you, Senior Brother."

"Leave two people to guard him," Mi Liangmeng instructed, "the rest follow me."

Mi Liangmeng left after giving his instructions, maintaining his calm and dull demeanor from beginning to end, showing no reaction even after acquiring the divine flame...

Gong Shixi was not the only one who predicted Shi Chun would head towards the exit area. However, not everyone's information was as up-to-date as Gong Shixi's. Some people also rushed there, hoping for a chance to get a share.

Consequently, the Refining Heaven Sect disciples scattered around the exit area noticed something unusual. The Divine Flame Domain's exit was nowhere near opening, so why were some sect members gradually returning? Had they given up on finding the divine flame? This was very abnormal.

Zuo Zisheng, who was stationed there, naturally wanted to clarify the situation. Given the status and strength of the largest sect, and since it wasn't a secret, those found did not conceal the circumstances.

It was only then that Zuo Zisheng belatedly realized that his Refining Heaven Sect had become embroiled in a rumor.

He only replied that someone was spreading rumors. There was no need to explain further; if explanations worked, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.

What puzzled him was that despite sending out so many people to inquire about Shi Chun's group's whereabouts among numerous sects, not a single person had brought back information about the rumor.

After meeting with a few of their own leaders and discussing the situation, Zuo Zisheng said with a gloomy look, "Either we have spies from other sects within the Refining Heaven Sect, or there are other sects' moles within the Shudao Mountain."

All of them understood his meaning. Yan Ketao asked curiously, "What is the purpose of spreading this rumor? It doesn't feel like something orchestrated by those aiming for the divine flame. Is it revenge because negotiations with Shi Chun's group broke down?"

Zuo Zisheng said, "That's not important anymore. We have leverage over Shi Chun's group. Once they arrive, they will have no choice but to hand over the secret. Once we get the secret, we'll immediately leave and search for our divine flame. Whether they're willing to share it with others is their business; we don't need to worry about it."

Yan Ketao nodded and smiled, "Brother Zuo, maybe it's not a bad thing. Normally, if we cooperated with Shi Chun's group and found the divine flame, we'd have to share it. If he gets trapped here by others, we can't be blamed. We'll take the secret method and enjoy the divine flame exclusively. It's possible we'll get all the benefits, both inside and out."

This referred to the divine flame found there and the championship rewards outside.

Indeed, all of them exchanged knowing smiles after hearing this.

However, beautiful dreams are easily broken. Soon, two Refining Heaven Sect disciples arrived from afar to report.

The commotion caused by Shi Chun's group being entangled by a large number of people had grown too large, and the scattered Refining Heaven Sect personnel had also learned of it.

"Wuming Forbidden Land?" several of them murmured in bewilderment almost simultaneously.

The arrivals said, "Yes, other sects have made this judgment. We assessed the situation and their direction and came to the same conclusion: Shi Chun's group is likely trying to use the dangerous environment of the 'Wuming Forbidden Land' to repel their pursuers."

"Those bastards," Zuo Zisheng couldn't help but curse, "Even in this situation, they still want to keep everything to themselves."

Like Gong Shixi, they also believed Shi Chun's group wanted to shake off trouble and continue searching for the divine flame.

His trusted junior disciple said, "Senior Brother, at this rate, I'm afraid they might play with fire and perish in the forbidden land. That place is too dangerous. If they fall into the hands of others, we won't have any leverage to threaten other sects. Other sects certainly won't let them easily fall into someone else's hands again, and then our efforts these past few days will have been for nothing."

"Let's go, let's go!" Zuo Zisheng waved impatiently. "I hope they aren't captured that easily, and I hope it's still not too late. Quickly gather our people and head over there. Just leave two here to meet up with those returning."