Chapter 375: Cannot Go Empty-Handed

Shi Chun and his group, stopped before a unique mountain range, were still waiting there.

Shi Chun hadn't completely delegated the duty of a scout; he was still personally lying on a mountaintop observing. The light in this eerie place was poor, so his special right eye ability was naturally the best guarantee for early warning.

Xu Anchang and You Mu witnessed all this. Regardless of their previous opinions of Shi Chun after their two treasures were swallowed, they were now convinced.

It was clear that this person was in charge of the Bright Mountain Sect, yet he personally undertook the scouting duty without any pretense. They couldn't help but be impressed. It was no wonder his group had remained unharmed until now; with such a responsible leader, the others naturally dared not slack off.

However, the current location made them very uneasy. Although they had never been here before, the ghostly terrain of the mountains allowed them to roughly guess their whereabouts.

Some things, even if unseen, were still heard of.

They didn't know what Shi Chun was up to, and they could tell he was no longer bothering to hide his true intentions from them. Now that his strength was exposed, his words and actions lacked the previous politeness towards them.

Damn it, he turned hostile a bit too quickly; now he was directly bossing them around.

Then again, if he dared to forcibly swallow their treasures, what else wouldn't he dare to do?

Still, they somewhat failed to understand why, since their superiors had dispatched such capable personnel, they hadn't been informed beforehand. If they had followed his lead earlier, wouldn't everything have been simpler, avoiding any complications?

However, the superiors secretly keeping a trick up their sleeve didn't seem so hard to understand.

They finally understood why there was someone with exceptional artifact refining talent within the Bright Mountain Sect.

They had begun to suspect the cause of Feng Yaoyang's death, the pre-determined champion of the Four Cauldron Sect, right after he entered the Divine Fire Domain. Could Shi Chun, with his formidable strength, have merely stood by and watched outsiders kill Feng Yaoyang?

They also understood why Shi Chun and others, not from the artifact refining world, could get in. Considering the rumors about the individuals who helped Shi Chun's group enter, they vaguely felt they were touching upon a secret, which made them tremble upon closer thought.

Shi Chun, observing his surroundings while waiting, also felt as if days were years. He kept muttering to himself, "Why isn't she back yet?"

He worried that Zhen'er's communication might not go smoothly and that forces from the major sects would arrive.

Fortunately, the feeling of days being years was only his perception; Zhen'er didn't waste any time. She soon descended from the sky, landed beside him, and happily called out, "Chun Tian."

At this intimate address, Chu Jingdang and the others merely exchanged instinctive glances. They couldn't bring themselves to use such a term.

Wu Jinliang grinned, knowing by Zhen'er's joyful expression that the matter was settled.

Shi Chun didn't say anything in public. He took Zhen'er's hand and pulled her aside to talk privately.

Wu Jinliang was not polite either; he immediately stood up and followed them.

The others, however, felt awkward. It was clear that Shi Chun wanted a private conversation, and their relationships weren't as close as Wu Jinliang's.

Once they were alone, Shi Chun immediately held Zhen'er's hands and asked with extreme tenderness, "How was it? Can Grandpa and the others accept me?"

Zhen'er's smile remained unchanged as she nodded repeatedly. "They agreed. It's fine, there won't be any misunderstandings. We can go over now."

Shi Chun didn't care if her grandfather would change his mind, as he had no intention of meeting them anyway. He immediately and eagerly told Wu Jinliang, who was nearby, "Gather everyone, let's go!"

"Alright!" Wu Jinliang readily agreed and quickly darted back to the group.

Meanwhile, Zhen'er looked at Shi Chun with eyes full of tenderness and sweet affection. Unable to control her emotions, she spontaneously embraced and kissed him.

She had heard that after a formal proposal, a couple would no longer just be in a romantic relationship but would have an official status.

Consequently, when the group arrived, they witnessed this unsightly scene. Wu Jinliang couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth, thinking, "They actually dared to openly smooch! This is too much!"

The Bright Mountain Sect group, being quite discreet, turned their heads away, though their exchanged glances conveyed unspoken sighs of regret.

They had lived with Shi Chun and his group in the capital of Sheng Shen Province and knew all too well how Shi Chun had pursued Xiang Lan'er. They had personally heard him say things like "the most beautiful woman in the world" and "I'll marry no one but her." Yet, in the blink of an eye, he was embracing another woman.

Shi Chun actually didn't want to act like this in public, but this was the time to use Zhen'er. She had no reservations and was overcome with emotion, so he couldn't pour cold water on her or push her away forcefully, fearing it would complicate things.

In any case, he wouldn't be with this woman for long. When he eventually abandoned her and left, everyone would understand that his pretense was for their collective good.

With this thought, he no longer had any qualms. After embracing Zhen'er and giving her a satisfying response, he tried to gently push her away, reminding her, "Let's go."

Zhen'er, obediently humming in agreement, took his hand and ascended into the sky with him, the two of them leading the way.

Those following behind grew increasingly fearful as they went, seeing more and more signs that they were headed for that terrifying place. If not for their trust in Shi Chun, they would have stopped long ago.

As the group flew until the frozen lake surface was faintly visible, Shi Chun, who had already inquired about the environment of the Earth Core Pagoda from Zhen'er, suddenly pulled her down to the ground again.

Everyone landed, but Shi Chun again took Zhen'er aside for a private word.

Once away from the others, Zhen'er was curious why they had stopped again when they were so close. She blinked and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shi Chun said, "I just remembered something. A marriage proposal requires a ceremony; you can't go empty-handed."

Wu Jinliang, who had approached them, immediately broke into a wide grin upon hearing this.

Zhen'er, seemingly understanding, mumbled, "A ceremony?"

Shi Chun willingly explained, "It means preparing a betrothal gift to show the man's sincerity."

Zhen'er smiled, "No need. I know your sincerity."

Shi Chun quickly waved his hand, "No, no, no. This is a necessary process. You absolutely cannot go empty-handed. You must prepare a gift. Going empty-handed doesn't count as a proposal."

"Is that so?" Zhen'er tilted her head in thought, then looked around, somewhat worried about whether they could gather anything. She asked, "What kind of gift should we prepare?"

Shi Chun smiled, "Any kind of gift will do, as long as it expresses my sincere feelings. So, you go ahead and wait for me in the pagoda. Once I have the gift ready, I'll come over to formally propose. We can't be casual about this."

Zhen'er immediately hummed and nodded. She was very satisfied and happy with Shi Chun's commitment to not being casual, and she stepped back right away, saying, "I'll wait for you."

Shi Chun, however, quickly reached out and held her arm, saying with concern, "While I'm preparing the gift, if those people pursue us, we might have to evade them, which could delay our arrival. Remember to ask Grandpa and the others to wait a bit."

Zhen'er instinctively glanced towards the frozen lake, then immediately turned back and assured him, "Don't worry. Anyone who causes trouble here, Ninth Master will kill them without Grandpa needing to lift a finger."

Although this was within Shi Chun's expectations—that this distance shouldn't be beyond the reach of such high-level masters, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to approach without Zhen'er going ahead to greet them—he still confirmed, "Really?"

Zhen'er nodded, "Really."

She looked as if it couldn't be any more real.

Consequently, both Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang broke into wide smiles, looking as if they had eaten bee droppings, utterly delighted.

"This makes things easy," Shi Chun said, immediately letting go of Zhen'er and waving his hand, "Go on, go on. Wait for me."

Zhen'er, humming in acknowledgment, left reluctantly.

Once her figure disappeared into the distance, Wu Jinliang sidled up to Shi Chun and whispered, flattering him, "Boss, your honey trap is truly unparalleled!"

Shi Chun put his hands behind his back and said, "We still need to appear as if we're preparing a gift. We can't treat them like they're deaf and blind."

Wu Jinliang immediately thumped his chest. "I'll make it! Don't you trust my craftsmanship? Just tell me what you want, and I'll guarantee it'll be done perfectly."

Shi Chun cast a sidelong glance, wanting to speak but holding back. He wanted to say, "Your craftsmanship is fine for fooling around, but if someone really scrutinizes it, would it be presentable?"

If he hadn't seen the world, some things would have been acceptable, and having anything would have been good. But after gaining experience, he had become a bit pickier.

However, on second thought, it was just for show, not an actual betrothal gift. So he immediately agreed, "Make whatever you think is good. Just remember to make some noise."

"Easy," Wu Jinliang said, thumping his chest again. "How about I sculpt a stone statue of you two, 'Birds Flying Wing-to-Wing'? It sounds nice, looks good, and makes a statement."

Shi Chun was speechless for a moment, then finally turned his head and walked away, saying, "Whatever, thanks for your trouble."

Wu Jinliang chuckled and followed him, unable to hide his eagerness to get to work. "No trouble, no trouble at all. The Boss has sacrificed his looks and reputation, so what's a little effort from me..."

As a group of figures flew across the sky to the edge of the ghostly mountain range, Zuo Zisheng, who was vigilantly scanning his surroundings, suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

Not only him, but Yin Tianlu also cast a spell and shouted at Wu Shanshan, who was leading the way, "Stop!"

Figures in front and behind landed one by one on a mountain, their distant gazes filled with surprise and doubt.

Again, even if they hadn't seen it, they had heard of it. Just by the terrain, everyone realized where they were, and most truly dared not advance further.

Li Hongjiu, now in different clothes, gazed out with a hint of investigative desire, but after looking back at her accompanying sect members, a thoughtful expression crossed her face.

After beckoning Wu Shanshan closer, Yin Tianlu asked doubtfully, "Are you sure Shi Chun and your group went ahead?"

Wu Shanshan gritted her teeth and asserted, "Absolutely, definitely!"

Gu Lianni said in a deep voice, "Do you know where that is ahead?"

Wu Shanshan looked back at the mountains ahead and hesitated, "But they really did go forward. I don't know why they aren't afraid."

This answer and situation left everyone exchanging glances, unsure whether to continue following or not.

"Following them this whole way, their route doesn't seem to have presented any major problems," Zuo Zisheng, after a moment of thought, said aloud to the group. Then he asked, "Which sect or faction is willing to be the vanguard?"

A moment later, seeing that no one responded, he added, "Those who dare to go first will be greatly commended and, after gaining benefits, will receive two extra Divine Fires. My Heaven Forging Sect guarantees it!"

However, after waiting for a while, there was still no response.

Since that was the case, Zuo Zisheng's gaze swept back and forth before directly locking onto Gong Shixi at the edge of the crowd.

The latter's heart sank when he saw this.

And as expected, what he feared came to pass. Zuo Zisheng loudly declared, "Brother Gong, this opportunity goes to your Thousand Rocks Sect. Your Thousand Rocks Sect will be the vanguard. Does any other faction have an objection?"

Gong Shixi's face was instantly filled with disbelief, his eyes widening. All the disciples of the Thousand Rocks Sect felt their hair stand on end.

"We'll follow Brother Zuo's lead," Yin Tianlu was the first to respond, though he didn't know how the Thousand Rocks Sect had offended Zuo Zisheng.

Gu Lianni said indifferently, "No objection."

Guang Haoyou glanced at his uncle, who had no objection, and also said loudly, "That works too."

The outcome was predictable: a chorus of responses from various factions, all willing to give this chance for great merit to the Thousand Rocks Sect...

On the bottom floor of the Earth Core Pagoda, after some communication, the Grandpa with horns on his head indicated he understood and allowed Zhen'er to leave first.

After a long silence, the Grandpa spoke into the void, "If the pursuers really come, what should we do? Help or not help?"

A murmuring voice replied, "We can't just sit by and watch them get killed, can we?"

The Grandpa slowly said, "If we help, given his strength, will he still dare to help the girl break the array right under our noses after he arrives?"