Chapter 335: Sworn Unity

This was one of the reasons Shi Chun hesitated. He was figuring out how to let Zhen'er go alone, as he had previously promised to help her escape by lifting the restrictions.

"Uh..." Wu Jinliang was a bit choked up. How dared he go to the old monster's lair? He asked suspiciously, "Even you have to figure out how to negotiate with the guards to get in. How could they possibly let us in?"

Zhen'er: "There's one way we could try."

Wu Jinliang naturally asked, "What method?"

Zhen'er: "A marriage proposal."

"What?"

"Huh?"

Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun simultaneously made strange sounds.

Then Wu Jinliang asked again, "A marriage proposal? What kind of proposal?"

Zhen'er looked at Shi Chun with expectation in her eyes. "Propose to the Tower Master, and marry me."

The two brothers seemed to understand that this matter might involve Shi Chun. Wu Jinliang turned to Shi Chun, pointed at him, and asked, "Is he going to propose?"

Shi Chun thought this was nonsense and also asked, "Who is the Tower Master?"

As both asked simultaneously, Zhen'er unhesitatingly chose to answer Shi Chun's question first: "The Old Man in the tower."

Seeing the two brothers looking confused, she explained, "The tower has nine levels, and each level has a guardian imprisoned. They were all very powerful fire spirits back then. Before humans came, they didn't have names. After being imprisoned in the tower, 'Chen' named them one through nine. 'One' is the Old Man, and also the most powerful being inside the tower.

"After I transformed into human form, the Old Man appeared and met me. During our conversation, he spoke about matters between men and women in the outside world. We heard about all this from 'Su'. We heard that when men and women are together outside, there's a custom of marriage. Before a woman leaves with a man, the man has to go to the woman's family to propose.

"The Old Man was also very curious about that custom and wanted to witness it. He told me that if I ever met a man who liked me, the Geocentric Tower could be considered my maternal home, and I could bring him back to propose, so he could see what a marriage proposal was like."

She stopped speaking there.

It was already difficult for her to say so many words in one breath, and it was at least much smoother than when she first started speaking, though there was still a hint of thoughtful revelation in her speech.

The two brothers stared at her blankly, waiting for her to continue.

Seeing that she was truly finished, Wu Jinliang asked, "And then?"

Zhen'er looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Wu Jinliang immediately rephrased his question, "No, what happens after the proposal? Didn't the Old Man say anything about what to do next?"

Zhen'er shook her head, "No. He stopped there and left, without saying anything else."

"..." The two brothers were speechless.

Wu Jinliang swallowed hard. He asked again, "Zhen'er, what's the Old Man's temperament like...?" He then rephrased, "Has he ever killed outsiders who trespassed?"

Zhen'er nodded, "He killed many a long time ago. Later, the people who came in weren't that powerful, so he didn't need to act; others handled it."

Wu Jinliang asked again, "Is your relationship with the Old Man good?"

Zhen'er slightly shook her head, "He rarely appears. We haven't had much direct contact and have barely spoken. The marriage proposal matter was the most he's ever spoken to me."

Wu Jinliang's cheek twitched. He then asked, "What about your relationship with the other eight Old Men?"

Zhen'er: "We don't have much of a relationship; we rarely interact. 'Chen' and his group imprisoned them. I have a good relationship with 'Su', so they don't like me. But the Old Man is alright. After 'Su' died, they made things difficult for me, but the Old Man said to let it go, and they released me."

"Alright, that's pretty good, heh heh heh heh." Wu Jinliang started chuckling again. First, he chuckled as he looked at the dumbfounded Shi Chun, then he looked up at the night sky and continued to chuckle endlessly.

Shi Chun's expression as he looked at Zhen'er was quite something. If this woman didn't lack ancestors, he would truly want to thank her eighteen generations of ancestors. Could this proposal really be made? Is this a proposal a person can actually make?

What would happen after the proposal? What would happen after they had their fun watching?

The problem was that once he went, he wouldn't even have a chance to back out. There would be no chance of escape whatsoever. This wasn't a proposal; this was running to his death.

No, the key was how this woman could even suggest it.

He really wanted to ask, "Why didn't you ask Situ Gu to propose back then?" However, on second thought, the Old Man's suggestion for a proposal was made after Zhen'er had taken human form, and Situ Gu couldn't possibly propose to a non-human form, a ball of fire.

He swallowed the words he was about to say. Anyway, going for the proposal was impossible. How could he propose when there was no chance of survival?

This wasn't an adventure; this was suicide. If he could trick Zhen'er into going into the tower to get the item, fine. Otherwise, he'd rather not seek this fortune. In any case, he certainly wasn't going.

Having made up his mind, he changed the subject, saying, "Don't speak too soon. We've just escaped; let's wait until we're stable."

Wu Jinliang chuckled twice. Knowing Shi Chun's predicament, he didn't insist on seeking fortune this time.

So the three of them emerged from their secluded spot again, drawing backward glances from others. Zhen'er had put on women's clothes, and Shi Chun had put on Zhen'er's clothes. Given how long they had taken to change, Chu Jingting stroked his bushy beard and couldn't help but chuckle.

The others from Mingshan Sect also smiled meaningfully. Only Zhu Xiangxin pretended not to understand, maintaining a calm expression, as women, after all, should appear reserved.

Many on the Shudao Mountain side also had smiles playing on their lips. Yuan Yao and Pang Hou, however, immediately turned to look at Gu Lianni. As expected, their martial aunt looked as if her nose was blocked again. The two then exchanged a quiet glance.

Shi Chun didn't rush to meet them. He first flashed to a high point. While his right eye's ability was still active, he looked around and found nothing unusual. Seeing that Shudao Mountain's outer sentries were still in place, he flashed back down.

Everyone had been fleeing for a long time. They indeed needed to rest and recover.

Unbeknownst to them, on a distant hilltop, a pair of dark red, glowing blood-eyes were watching their hiding place. It was Wu Shanshan, who had been using her "Demon Eye" to track them all the way; she had already located her target.

That's right, Shi Chun's right eye ability didn't see the people from Oblivion Valley, but Wu Shanshan's "Demon Eye" had pinpointed their location.

It could only be said that both of their eye abilities had their strengths. Shi Chun's right eye ability had the drawback of not being able to see too far; if colors overlapped too deeply, objects behind dense colors became invisible.

Furthermore, Shudao Mountain had stationed personnel in the outer perimeter. Before their main force arrived, Wu Shanshan didn't even approach the outer sentries there, to avoid alerting them.

After all, in this eerie place, who knew if strange things were lurking? Creating a disturbance would be troublesome.

Therefore, the distance was too great, which resulted in Shi Chun's right eye ability failing to detect them in time.

What Wu Shanshan was worried about at this moment wasn't whether Shi Chun's group would escape. What she was most wary of was two individuals lurking not far behind her own side.

On the way, her Demon Eye had detected two people tracking them, whose origins were unknown.

Fearing to alarm Shi Chun and his group, she hadn't dared to act recklessly along the way. She planned to wait until the main force arrived.

Soon, Lin Yaofang, missing her nose, arrived leading Jin Hao and a group from the Extreme Fire Sect. They quietly took cover near Wu Shanshan and the others.

Lin Yaofang had met them halfway back to bring them. This was mainly because she feared the large contingent from the Extreme Fire Sect might rush in without understanding the situation, making a commotion and scaring away the target.

Not far away, the lurking Xu Anchang and You Mu exchanged glances. You Mu whispered, "It's the Extreme Fire Sect. This is bad; Shi Chun and his group might be resting up ahead."

Previously, the two had wondered why the Oblivion Valley group suddenly stopped here. Now, seeing the formation, they immediately grew suspicious.

Xu Anchang said in a deep voice, "I'll keep an eye on things here. You go around and scout. If they really are there, we must quickly inform Shi Chun and his group."

"Alright." You Mu quickly crouched down and retreated to circle around.

Wu Shanshan's Demon Eye did not detect this. Because she didn't want the Extreme Fire Sect's people to see the abnormality of her eyes, she had already deactivated her Demon Eye in time.

As soon as they met, Yin Tianlu nodded to Wu Shanshan, then asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

Wu Shanshan surveyed the people behind him. Discovering there were so few, she was startled and asked, "Didn't all your people come?"

Yin Tianlu glanced at the number of people from Oblivion Valley. He said calmly, "You're overthinking it. The strange bats were too sudden. Like you, everyone else is here."

Wu Shanshan frowned, saying with some hesitation, "Shudao Mountain and Mingshan Sect combined still have around forty people. We don't have a significant numerical advantage, so it might be difficult to encircle them."

Yin Tianlu naturally knew there was a flaw in their numerical strength. He reassured her, "The Mingshan Sect group is not a concern; the main issue is Shudao Mountain. Before we have absolute certainty, don't rush to act. The strategy is to first surround them, without alarming them if possible. I've already sent word to people from other sects. It won't be too late to act once we have a clear advantage. If they run now, we'll try to stop them. If we succeed, we'll deal with them in one go. If we can't stop them, we'll just keep them entangled until all forces arrive, then it won't be too late to encircle and eliminate them."

To think he even sent word to other sects. Wu Shanshan's eyes flickered slightly. Why did it feel like he wasn't very enthusiastic about seizing the divine fire?

Seeing her reaction, Yin Tianlu added, "Of course, if you have a method that guarantees success, direct action wouldn't be out of the question either."

Wu Shanshan wasn't very interested in seizing the divine fire either; she was just trying her best to put on a show and didn't want to fight to the death. She immediately nodded and said, "In that case, let's proceed as Brother Yin suggested."

Yin Tianlu: "I've already sworn a poisonous oath. What about you?"

Wu Shanshan looked at Jin Hao. Seeing him nod, she immediately swore, "I swear the same oath as Brother Yin!"

"..." Yin Tianlu choked up, but said nothing more.

Wu Shanshan also pointed to where Xu Anchang was lurking. "There are two people hiding over there who have been following us. We don't know who they are, but they're probably also after the divine fire, hoping to pick up a bargain. Just have your people be careful; don't alert them yet. First, quickly surround that area, right at the foot of that mountain." She pointed to the location.

Without further delay, they immediately began their encirclement.

However, because their forces were too few, and knowing that Shudao Mountain had scattered secret sentries in the outer perimeter, a wide-ranging encirclement was not suitable. Under Wu Shanshan's personal guidance, their forces first formed a single line, quietly infiltrated through the gaps between the secret sentries, and then began to surround the core.