Chapter 399: No sign of a single person

He was still not out of danger, and it was difficult to avoid responding to these constant inquiries.

Even before his current severe injuries, Li Hongjiu was no match for Wu Jinliang's magical artifact. Now, having been wounded so badly by Wu Jinliang, he would naturally be in even greater danger if they truly became enemies.

This made him think of something else. His gaze returned to Wu Jinliang. This man had learned too many forbidden secrets from him. Should he silence him?

He then glanced at the other Ming Shan Sect members. They had all overheard as well. Should he eliminate them too?

This thought merely crossed his mind and didn't become an obsession, as he wasn't someone who cared much about his reputation.

Despite his inner reservations, he appeared very serious when responding to Shi Chun's inquiry. "As I told Brother Wu earlier, I don't know who injured me. The attacker was on the other side of the void, capable of tearing through space. They must be at least a Grand Perfection Celestial Immortal."

This was precisely what puzzled Shi Chun. Where could such a formidable master exist in this area? He refused to believe it was the old monsters from the Earth Core Pagoda who had attacked.

The reason was obvious: they had already slaughtered a vast number of divine flames within the Earth Core Pagoda. If the old monsters truly still possessed such power, they wouldn't feign ignorance. Even if they showed some tolerance for the sake of the marriage proposal, it wouldn't extend to allowing them to act so recklessly.

He nodded slightly and said, "Brother Jiu, Jinliang has already told me about this. Were both your attacks by the lakeside?"

Li Hongjiu looked towards the lakeside, still with lingering fear. "That's right," he said.

Shi Chun asked curiously, "The lake is just beyond the mountain, and we're currently by the lakeside. We've even been moving around in the lake. Why haven't we encountered the attacks you described?"

Li Hongjiu blinked and said, "Are you suggesting I'm deceiving you?"

Shi Chun did indeed harbor this suspicion — who knew how this smiling tiger of a man had gotten injured — but he didn't press the point. Instead, he continued to question, "Brother Jiu, does that terrifying entity only target you?"

"I can't be that unlucky, can I?" Li Hongjiu countered, then chuckled. "No, I mean, brother, you're still suspicious that I'm deceiving you, aren't you? Let me tell you, it's really no joke; you've seen my current state. Besides, what good would it do me to lie to you?"

Shi Chun mumbled to himself, "It's hard not to be suspicious. A Grand Perfection Celestial Immortal master attacks only you, twice, yet fails to kill you each time. And you, old man, after encountering such a terrifying attack, still dare to come back seeking death. How can you expect me to believe you? Do you even believe yourself?"

Yet, he said something else. "No, no," he quickly replied. "What I meant was, I'd like you, brother, to help us test it again, to see if the attacker will strike once more."

Test it again? Are you kidding?

Even with Li Hongjiu's easygoing nature, he was starting to get agitated now. He quickly stood up. "Listen, brother," he said, "if you want to kill me, just say so. You don't need to do anything; I'll just find a rock and bash my head in, alright?"

Shi Chun quickly grabbed him, trying to soothe him. "Brother Jiu, it's not like that," he said. "You can hide behind us; we'll be in front."

Li Hongjiu shook his head and waved his hand. "It's useless," he said. "You haven't seen how those masters attack. If he wants to attack you, there's no front, back, left, or right; he can attack you from any direction."

Shi Chun asked, "Then how about we surround you from all sides?"

Li Hongjiu was speechless for a moment. "Why do we have to try this?" he asked, puzzled.

Shi Chun replied, "To be honest, brother, we have a major task to accomplish here, and we won't feel at ease without confirming what you've told us."

"A major task?" Li Hongjiu asked, puzzled.

But he didn't get an answer. Shi Chun wouldn't elaborate, only saying that Li Hongjiu would know in due time.

And he actually had no room to refuse; he was not in control of his situation.

He could have tried to resist, but he didn't. He could only endure the discomfort of his injuries and go along with them.

So, in the group, after two people had left, one more joined.

This time, Shi Chun called everyone. Xu and You were dead, so there was no one left to capture divine flames for them. Those who cultivated fire-attribute techniques had to go themselves; everyone was to proceed to the Earth Core Pagoda.

Before that, they naturally had to verify Li Hongjiu's claims.

The outcome was embarrassing for Li Hongjiu.

A group of people rode a Wind Scale, surrounding Li Hongjiu in the middle. They ventured above the ice lake, and nothing unusual happened.

They then landed on the ice and walked, but still no signs of any attack on Li Hongjiu appeared.

Finally, they even broke through the frozen lake surface, and the group protected him as they swam underwater for a distance, yet still nothing unusual happened.

"Move aside, I'll walk by myself!"

Li Hongjiu suddenly yelled, pushing the others aside, and walked out alone, proceeding across the frozen lake. It wasn't that he was agitated; in fact, even he found it strange. He wanted to test what was happening and if it truly only targeted him.

When no one made a move for a long time, he even waved, signaling Shi Chun and the others behind him not to follow too closely.

Shi Chun, who had stopped, sighed and shook his head. "He makes it look so real; this guy can really act," he commented.

Wu Jinliang, standing nearby, chuckled. "You've been acting alongside him for so long, and you're just realizing it now?" he said. "We were practically sick of watching him before. We've never seen such a disciple from a prestigious sect, especially a direct disciple of the sect master."

The group traversed the ice lake until they reached the island in the middle again, still without encountering the so-called terrifying entity.

Having climbed onto the island, Li Hongjiu said nothing more. He found a spot, sat down, and gazed at the stars.

It didn't matter anymore; believe it or not. There was no need to explain, as there were too many questionable points in his own story. He could fully understand others' thoughts; if he were in their shoes, he wouldn't believe his own account. Anyway, these guys still relied on him to get out, so they probably wouldn't kill him over this.

Of course, he himself also harbored deep doubts, pondering what had truly happened with the two previous attacks.

The old monsters in the pagoda knew he had arrived, but they found it strange that Shi Chun and his group still dared to come. Had Shi Chun's group not asked, or had that guy not told them about his experiences?

Some things remained inexplicable no matter how he thought about them. He only felt that outsiders were too complex and that he had too little experience with them. They all fell silent, waiting to see what would happen inside the pagoda.

Shi Chun, who subsequently came ashore on the island, tacitly avoided exposing Li Hongjiu further. He acted as if nothing had happened and nothing had been said, content that Li Hongjiu's supposed terrifying attacker had been proven non-existent.

Zhen'er was waiting on the island. Seeing so many people arrive, she was very happy. She approached Shi Chun and immediately asked, "Are you going to formally propose now?"

Shi Chun naturally embraced her, taking the opportunity to touch her upper body in plain sight. At the same time, he whispered in her ear, "I'm preparing to break the formation for you."

This scene made the group of men sigh. Most turned their heads away, pretending not to see, as it was improper to watch.

Wu Jinliang, meanwhile, brazenly admired the scene, grinning foolishly.

Li Hongjiu, who had glanced away, turned back. He paused, then turned his head back again, thinking he had seen wrong. But he realized he hadn't; Shi Chun was indeed publicly touching a woman. He couldn't help but inwardly praise, "How bold!"

He finally understood the source of the other party's shameless flattery, always addressing him as 'brother'.

Because of this, he also began to properly scrutinize Zhen'er, wondering what sect or faction she belonged to, to have become Shi Chun's woman.

Zhu Xiangxin, being a woman, secretly cursed under her breath. Not at Shi Chun, but at Zhen'er for her shamelessness, thinking, "Someone touches you in public, and you don't even know to hide."

Zhen'er indeed didn't hide; she was already used to being touched. Hearing his words, she looked up, a mix of surprise and delight in her bright eyes. After receiving his confirming gaze, she hummed and nodded repeatedly, then stood on tiptoe and actively kissed his lips; she liked kissing.

After Shi Chun released her, he immediately called Zhu Xiangxin and An Wuzhi over, telling them to enter the pagoda and capture divine flames for themselves to absorb.

This was both a final test during their remaining time and an opportunity for Zhu and An to absorb more divine flames. If they caught divine flames, they were to absorb them right there on the island. He wanted to see if the old monsters could still hold back.

Entering the pagoda to catch divine flames? Zhu and An were still somewhat afraid, but Shi Chun didn't force them. Xu Anchang and You Mu had previously caught divine flames from here and given them to Zhu and An, but now those two had been killed. If Zhu and An dared not take the divine flames from the pagoda themselves, he wouldn't force them; no one would hand them over to them anymore.

After much consideration, and swayed by the allure of the divine flames, the two finally mustered their courage and entered the pagoda.

Li Hongjiu, sitting on a rock and observing, slowly looked up at the sky. The doubt in his heart grew stronger. This place should indeed be the legendary forbidden central area, where countless masters of the artifact forging world were buried. "How dare Shi Chun's group cause such a stir here?" he wondered.

He recalled when he first met Master Jiu. He had tested him with deceptive words, but the other party didn't dare to make a move, which was why he had come to investigate in the first place.

He also thought of Shi Chun's recent mention of a "major task." He lost the will to cultivate and heal his injuries. His curiosity remained, and he even got up and moved closer to Shi Chun and his group.

After a while, Zhu Xiangxin and An Wuzhi, who had entered the pagoda, ran out empty-handed again.

"Leader," An Wuzhi reported, indicating a wasted trip, "there's no divine flame in the pagoda. We didn't see a single trace of fire from top to bottom."

The phrase "ran from top to bottom" surprised Shi Chun. He asked, "You went all the way to the very bottom?"

An Wuzhi nodded. "We searched all the way down," he confirmed.

Shi Chun was surprised and suspicious. "No one stopped you?" he asked.

An Wuzhi replied, "We didn't even see a single person."

Zhu Xiangxin added, "The central pillar hasn't been opened yet. We don't know if they've hidden inside there."

"What the hell, how is that possible?" Shi Chun exclaimed. He rolled up his sleeves, flashed to the entrance, and personally ran in to check.

Zhen'er, in disbelief, also flashed in after him.

The group followed one after another. Li Hongjiu, curious like a child and disregarding his severe injuries, followed, coughing occasionally, directly blending into the crowd. He truly didn't treat himself as an outsider at all.

"Sect Master!" Wu Jinliang, who had run to the entrance, suddenly seemed to remember something and called out to Tong Mingshan, stopping him.

Tong Mingshan, who had stopped, looked at him in confusion.

Wu Jinliang, however, took out a futon-like magical artifact. He immediately cast a spell, conjuring a divine demon form, and vigilantly said, "We'll stay outside and keep watch."