Chapter 323: Refusal

The group from Forgetful Valley was closely monitoring the reactions of Shi Chun and his companions with their spiritual eyes.

Jin Hao, who had an ugly knife scar on his face and was responsible for keeping watch, suddenly spoke up to warn, "This is bad, the Extreme Fire Sect's people are here."

Upon hearing this, Wu Shanshan, who had no ears, and Lin Yuefang, who had no nose, both turned their heads to look in the directed location. They saw a group of newly arrived people in the night sky. Under the starlight, a closer look with spiritual eyes revealed their origin by their attire, not to mention they had long paid attention to the disciples of the top-ranked major sects.

What confirmed it even more was the number of people: a bustling team of over a hundred. Among all the participating sects, only three had such a large contingent, making it hard to mistake them.

Yin Tianlu, the leader of the Extreme Fire Sect, had a powerful gaze. His eyes swept across the scene, and with a wave of his hand, someone immediately went to find people from other nearby sects to question, needing to clarify the situation on site.

Given the status of the Extreme Fire Sect, disciples from smaller sects naturally had to show respect for minor matters. Soon, someone came to report the current situation.

Black Tiger, standing behind Yin Tianlu, had a robust build. His eyes gleamed as he listened to the situation report, appearing very low-key, hidden behind others.

In reality, he was the true protagonist of the Extreme Fire Sect's expedition. Because he possessed a top-secret ability to find divine fire, which could not be revealed, the capable Yin Tianlu was put forward by the Extreme Fire Sect as a cover.

Wu Shanshan, who had been closely watching them, glanced again at Shi Chun's side. She said in a deep voice, "This is troublesome. The Extreme Fire Sect came all this way to the forbidden area, likely also for Shi Chun and his group's method of finding divine fire."

Besides this possibility, they couldn't think of any other.

Lin Yuefang asked, "What should we do?"

Wu Shanshan thought for a moment and said, "It might not be a bad thing. We have a friendly relationship with Shi Chun, having exchanged artifacts for divine fire, so we can talk to him. Before, he had the Summer Dao Mountain Sect as a partner; if we had approached them for cooperation, they might not have thought much of us, and the Summer Dao Mountain Sect might not even have looked at us properly. Now, with pressure from the Extreme Fire Sect, the situation will certainly be different. Among these sects, under the current circumstances, there probably aren't many who would dare to cooperate with Shi Chun and his group without fearing the Extreme Fire Sect."

Lin Yuefang agreed approvingly, "That's right. The rumors about the Summer Dao Mountain Sect suffering great losses are probably true. As we've followed them, it's clear that the Summer Dao Mountain Sect's forces have been reduced by almost half, while the Extreme Fire Sect has a formidable force of a hundred people. This is precisely our chance to take advantage of the situation."

There was no room for hesitation. With a direction and strategy in mind, the three immediately put their plan into action. After briefly instructing their other disciples, the three, without taking anyone else, left their group and flew directly towards Shi Chun.

The Summer Dao Mountain Sect's group was not idle either. Seeing someone approaching, one of them immediately stopped them from a distance.

After both sides communicated and learned that they were Shi Chun's acquaintances, Gu Lianni naturally flashed to the top of the mountain, bringing her two junior disciples with her to disturb Shi Chun and Zhen'er's private moment.

"Someone's looking for you..." Gu Lianni grumbled as she explained the situation, challenging Shi Chun with a look of disdain. Her expression seemed to convey, "How could you take advantage of such a simple-minded girl?"

Shi Chun remained unfazed. He still kept one hand on Zhen'er's soft waist to show intimacy, as he had already given Zhen'er most of the instructions she needed.

Of course, to make Zhen'er compliant, he had instructed her in the name of 'love', and Zhen'er, having been coaxed, seemed to remember everything firmly.

What else could the Forgetful Valley be looking for? Anyone could guess it. Like all the other pestering sects, under the rumors, they were certainly after the divine fire.

The possibility of exchanging for the artifacts back was non-existent. If they genuinely wanted to make an exchange, they wouldn't have been following them all this time. They weren't blind here; they had already noticed.

He wanted to see what the Forgetful Valley was up to, so he let the Summer Dao Mountain Sect release the three women to come over.

Upon landing, all three women subconsciously scrutinized Zhen'er at first glance, wanting to see what kind of beauty she was, who could make Shi Chun lose all sense of propriety and behave improperly in public.

A close look confirmed she was indeed beautiful. Even they had to admit she had a unique charm. However, deep down, they felt she might not be as beautiful as they themselves were when their appearances were intact.

Since they were already here, they certainly had to inquire. After Wu Shanshan composed herself, she smiled and asked, looking at Zhen'er, "Brother Chun, forgive my directness, but who is this?"

Shi Chun refused to answer. It was one thing for everyone to see, but another for him to admit it himself. He didn't want to proclaim to the world that Zhen'er was his woman. He directly changed the subject, saying, "Talk about your business. Are you here to get your artifacts back?"

Seeing this, Wu Jinliang also flew down.

Wu Shanshan didn't want to waste time with pleasantries, knowing that once the Extreme Fire Sect understood the detailed situation, things could get out of control at any moment. Therefore, she went straight to the point, saying, "The Extreme Fire Sect's forces have arrived. I don't need to tell you who they're here for, do I?"

As she spoke, she gestured towards the shadowy figures of the Extreme Fire Sect in the distance.

She didn't need to say it; Gu Lianni's group had already noticed.

However, mentally, Gu Lianni didn't pay much attention to the Extreme Fire Sect. This was the gap between the second and fourth ranked sects in the artifact forging world.

In fact, the Summer Dao Mountain Sect used to be the top sect in the artifact forging world. However, after Situ Gu emerged from the Refined Heaven Sect, his sudden rise forcefully elevated the Refined Heaven Sect to another level, forcing the Summer Dao Mountain Sect to be content with second place.

Being relegated to second place had a significant impact. For certain matters or benefits, even for recruiting talented individuals, people would always prioritize the top-ranked sect.

Under various influences concerning resource distribution, their strength gradually waxed and waned. Thus, in every aspect, "second" truly became a concrete second. Consequently, Summer Dao Mountain disciples always liked to reminisce about the old days. "The Extreme Fire Sect arrived?" Shi Chun hadn't actually noticed. He looked, but couldn't see clearly due to the distance, so he subconsciously looked at Gu Lianni for confirmation.

Gu Lianni nodded slightly but couldn't help but say with a hint of sarcasm, "Seeing you two being lovey-dovey, I didn't want to disturb you."

Hence, she had no intention of informing him.

Having cooperated for so long, Shi Chun wouldn't take a couple of sarcastic remarks seriously. He was just slightly surprised that this woman would disparage her own partner in front of outsiders. He glanced at Gu Lianni, then his gaze returned to Wu Shanshan's face, "Thank you for your concern, now tell me about your business."

The three leaders of Forgetful Valley exchanged glances. Wu Shanshan went straight to the point, saying, "The Extreme Fire Sect has arrived with formidable momentum, and our artifacts are still in your possession. We also don't want anything to happen to you. Therefore, we are willing to cooperate fully with both your sects to overcome this crisis."

"Such a good thing?" Shi Chun was naturally pleased.

Zhen'er, nestled close to him, tilted her head slightly, trying to understand the meaning of their conversation.

Before Shi Chun could speak, Gu Lianni let out a cold laugh and sarcastically taunted Shi Chun, "Who is this, rushing to help you? Is she another one of your old flames?"

The faces of the three Forgetful Valley members instantly turned grim. Wu Shanshan said in a deep voice, "Miss Gu, please show some respect!"

Given their background, it was an ancestral precept and a strict sect rule for Forgetful Valley members to avoid romantic attachments. Gu Lianni's words were nothing short of an insult to them.

Hearing this, Gu Lianni scoffed, "So, you're saying you have no desires or demands, and you're just here to help for free?"

Wu Shanshan pursed her lips. "We are all discerning people; there's no need to beat around the bush. Doing so is insulting. Confronting the Extreme Fire Sect is too dangerous, and we can't account to our fellow disciples if we help for free. Since it's cooperation, naturally, profits will be shared. After the divine fire is found, my Forgetful Valley will also take a share."

Gu Lianni scoffed and flatly refused, "We appreciate the offer, but it's not necessary. Please leave."

Wu Shanshan had to remind her, "The Summer Dao Mountain Sect has suffered great losses, and the Extreme Fire Sect has a large, formidable force. Once the Extreme Fire Sect makes a call to arms, I'm afraid those lurking sects nearby won't be able to stay put. To put it bluntly, there probably aren't many sects willing to risk sharing honor and disgrace with you at this time."

Seeing that the other party wasn't getting the hint, Gu Lianni's refusal this time was rather impolite. "What is Forgetful Valley, to pretend to discuss cooperation in front of my Summer Dao Mountain Sect? Get lost!"

She didn't know about Forgetful Valley's hidden demonic identity, so she genuinely looked down on a mere Forgetful Valley.

The faces of the three Forgetful Valley leaders instantly became unsightly. In some of their eyes, gloom even flickered, looking at Gu Lianni as if she were already dead.

Wu Jinliang grinned widely nearby. Everyone listening had their own interpretation, each feeling his grin was directed in their favor.

Wu Shanshan immediately looked at Shi Chun, wanting to ask for his opinion. Unexpectedly, Gu Lianni said impolitely, "It's useless to look at him. I'm in charge here. If you don't leave now, don't blame me for being impolite!"

With words exchanged to this extent, the three women from Forgetful Valley could only flash away, essentially returning in defeat.

Shi Chun was about to reach out to call them back, but Gu Lianni glared at him with a cold stare as she shook her head. She said coldly, "What, are you going to slap my face in public?"

She had just declared that she was in charge here.

Shi Chun was speechless for a moment and had to lower his hand. Not wanting to act on his own, he first tried to persuade her, with a wry smile, "It's not that serious, is it? Someone actively sought us out to cooperate. Isn't that a good thing? With cooperation, we can negotiate terms. Kicking them out without even talking is completely unnecessary."

Pang Hou raised an eyebrow and said, "Brother Chun, they're here for our divine fire. They've made it clear themselves. Surely you understand that, don't you?"

Yuan Yao also hummed in agreement.

Shi Chun rolled his eyes slightly, feeling that these people were a bit slow to understand, and sighed, "Isn't this perfectly normal? Isn't everyone here for divine fire? Even if they're after our divine fire, we still need to find it first, right? If we happen to find it, we'd prioritize ourselves first, wouldn't we? Not to mention that the clues for finding divine fire are almost all gone. Given the current troublesome situation, do you think we can still smoothly continue our search for divine fire? If they want us to search for divine fire in peace, fine, no problem. At the very least, they should help us deal with this trouble first. If someone is willing to help us fight, the more helpers the better. I wish all sects were our accomplices, at our beck and call. The Forgetful Valley finally came, which just reminded us that we can do this. We don't need to keep running around. At least we have another option to deal with this. If this doesn't work, we can always try another approach. But you, you just kicked them out without a word."

"..." Gu Lianni and the other two simultaneously fell silent. They either pondered deeply, frowned, or were momentarily stunned.

"Hehehehe." Wu Jinliang, with a mischievous grin, watched the movements of the Forgetful Valley group. He tsked and said, "Look, they're also trying a different approach when one doesn't work out. They've gone to the Extreme Fire Sect now. What a mess."