Chapter 422: Recognizing the Truth (Happy New Year)

The group from Yanbao Sect had just returned to their lodging after descending the mountain when a disciple quickly ran up to Sect Master Qu Wuming and whispered a few words.

Qu Wuming, who had been walking briskly, stopped short. He turned his head slightly to confirm, "Are there people from Fengluo Cult among those who withdrew from the competition and left the valley?"

Earlier, when he met Qian She at the valley entrance, he heard Qian She mention something about Shi Chun's situation in the Divine Fire Domain, and he found it a bit strange. How did he know the news so quickly?

He wanted to know which artifact forging sect had leaked the information. To curry favor with Qian She, they had even skipped watching this year's grand artifact forging competition. He wanted to make a note of it for future reference.

However, the news he just received somewhat shocked him. The list of departing sects that had been investigated included the name Fengluo Cult.

Before this, he didn't even know what Fengluo Cult was. He only learned of its existence from the message conveyed by Li Hongjiu, who was brought by Guang Haoyou.

Li Hongjiu had also stated frankly beforehand that he might have made another mistake, and that Fengluo Cult might seek an explanation from the sect.

That implied both to let the sect be mentally prepared, and that he understood his disciple's nature too well. It was a subtle way of saying, "I really didn't mean it this time," with a hint of trying to preemptively calm Qu Wuming down.

Qu Wuming also planned to communicate with Fengluo Cult about this. No matter how much he resented his disappointing disciple, he still had to clean up after his precious disciple. He estimated the issue wouldn't be big. Without resorting to bullying with power, as long as enough respect was shown, Fengluo Cult would likely not dare to cause further trouble.

However, there was no rush to communicate now. After all, the exit hadn't closed yet, and there was still a chance the missing Fengluo Cult disciples might emerge. If they eventually came out unharmed, there would be no need to seek out the cult.

Who knew they would uncover such a development? People from Fengluo Cult had actually withdrawn early and left!

The disciple confirmed, "That's right, it's been confirmed that the Fengluo Cult Master personally led his people out. They were the first to leave after the Divine Fire Domain opened, and they left nearly two hours ago."

"Two hours?" Qu Wuming's eyebrows twitched. That meant it was before Qian She came looking.

He stroked his beard, pacing back and forth, lost in thought. He wasn't surprised at all that someone who left might have informed Qian She about the happenings in the Divine Fire Domain. Given Qian She's influence, it wouldn't be hard to achieve, so it wasn't surprising that Qian She knew.

However, thinking about the entanglement between Shi Chun, Li Hongjiu, and Fengluo Cult in the Divine Fire Domain, with Fengluo Cult members having left and Qian She having arrived, was this truly a coincidence?

After pondering the connection for a moment, he suddenly drew a sharp breath. He cast a cold glance at the elders, who were also deep in thought. With a turn, he strode quickly towards the main hall. The elders exchanged glances, and with solemn expressions, also hurried after him.

Once again, they returned to a room and closed the door.

As soon as the hall door closed, Qu Wuming, who had walked to the head seat, turned to face everyone. His expression was grave, and he began angrily, "It's very likely that Qian She didn't just come because he heard something. Instead, Shi Chun probably sent someone to contact him and arrange some escape plan. In short, Li Hongjiu might have been tricked. Shi Chun never intended to escape with our help, which is why Li Hongjiu couldn't contact him."

An elder hesitated, saying, "Sect Master, this doesn't quite make sense. If it was just to send a message to Qian She, any person would do. Why go to such great lengths to involve Li Hongjiu? Furthermore, who can guarantee that Qian She can reverse the Divine Fire Gate of the artifact forging world? Not to mention Shi Chun or Qian She, even if the Qian family head came, they wouldn't be absolutely sure, would they?"

Qu Wuming said in a deep voice, "Don't you understand? Involving Li Hongjiu in this roundabout way wasn't about Li Hongjiu, but about our Yanbao Sect's influence in the artifact forging world. That rascal used the entanglement with Li Hongjiu to mislead us, making us mistakenly believe there was profit to be made. That's why we reluctantly agreed to Qian She's request; otherwise, how could we have agreed? In other words, Shi Chun probably never trusted our Yanbao Sect from the start, didn't believe we could safely bring them out, and therefore feigned weakness to mislead us. I was a bit puzzled earlier as to why Qian She would personally step in. Was he so sure we would agree?"

At these words, many grasped the crucial point and drew sharp breaths.

Someone exclaimed in surprise, "Is that scoundrel really so cunning?"

Another person curled their lips, "No wonder he won first place at that 'Heavenly Rain Meteor Convention'..."

Someone else asked, puzzled, "It's one thing if we were fooled, but what about Lian Tian Sect and Shudao Mountain? Were they also taken in?"

Qu Wuming: "It's no longer important. What matters is the outcome. The outcome represents the possibilities, though I don't know how they achieved it."

An elder asked, "Should we then notify the other parties and halt the decision made on the mountaintop earlier? After all, we haven't officially agreed to Qian She's request yet. There's still time; it wouldn't be breaking our word."

Qu Wuming waved his hand, stating resolutely, "There's no need for that. Qian She has already personally stepped in, putting the Qian family's reputation on the line. All sects have agreed. If our Yanbao Sect alone were to sabotage this, the inside story couldn't be kept secret, and it wouldn't be appropriate. Of course, these are all secondary points. The main thing is that regretting it now is pointless and brings us no benefit. The outcome of regretting would simply be Shi Chun failing to emerge and eventually dying inside, or Shi Chun seeing no one to rescue him and dutifully surrendering before the exit closes, falling into the hands of the major sects. If there are benefits, all sects would share them, or no one would get any. If we don't regret it, there's an additional possibility: we still have the exclusive chance to find Shi Chun."

An elder beside him said in a deep voice, "There's also the possibility that he exclusively falls into someone else's hands."

Qu Wuming: "Since I've personally come to oversee this, I won't let that happen. As long as Shi Chun doesn't emerge, Qian She will have no choice but to follow through. If he brings up the rules, I will concur. To show impartiality, we will control all those who might secretly harbor Shi Chun and meticulously search them all. At most, only one of the ten major sects could secretly harbor Shi Chun. This means the other eight will agree with my proposal. The remaining one, isolated, won't be able to resist and will have to agree to the search."

At these words, everyone suddenly understood, feeling excited and somewhat eager for action.

Qu Wuming scanned the group and continued, "It's also possible we're overthinking this, but that doesn't hinder our plan. Our plan is both offensive and defensive. Organize personnel to go inside and inform Elder Li and Li Hongjiu of the situation. First, search according to our previous idea; if you can find them and bring them out, that's best. If not, proceed as I just instructed. Furthermore, Shi Chun might have devised an escape plan with Qian She and his people. Whether or not Shi Chun is found, the people Qian She sent inside will be a beacon guiding our search. This is an opportunity, and we must make good use of it!" He pointed to an elder, emphatically delivering the last sentence.

The elder immediately cupped his hands and said, "Sect Master, rest assured, I understand."

But someone still worried, asking, "What if Qian She and his people successfully extract Shi Chun?"

Qu Wuming: "Then the Qian family will have to pay the price for their foolish actions. Every place has its rules. If they reach where they shouldn't, they have no one to blame but themselves for being disgraced. Gu Yanduo's method is good. It has already cut off Shi Chun's chance of claiming the championship. We can also use Qian She's so-called rules to silence him, punish the rule-breakers, and treat everyone equally. Even if the Qian family's princess consort comes, she won't be able to say anything. As for the secret method to find the Divine Fire, even if Shi Chun comes out safely, he'll have to hand it over honestly. If he doesn't hand over the secret method, he won't be able to escape Lihuo Island. For no other reason than he isn't as powerful as us. Because of Shi Chun, the Ten Major Sects suffered significant losses during this trip to the Divine Fire Domain. It wouldn't be excessive for the Ten Major Sects to demand some compensation, would it? After the Ten Major Sects jointly appeal to the Jambudvipa Royal Court, I don't believe the Qian family can contend with the entire artifact forging world in the Royal Court for Shi Chun, and the princess consort wouldn't agree either."

He scanned the group again with his gaze, "No need to worry further, just do as planned."

"Yes," with newfound confidence, everyone readily accepted the order.

Outside Qiyun Valley, Young Master Nan was still waiting with Qian She. The longer they waited, the more Qian She worried about being disgraced.

After calming down, he, who had personally put himself on the line, felt some regret. But outwardly, he maintained a tough demeanor, as grand pronouncements had already been made.

Of course, Young Master Nan kept encouraging him from time to time, offering words of encouragement.

Above the beach, many of the floating soul lotus lamps had already been taken down. As disciples from various sects returned and registered, their respective soul lamps were successively withdrawn.

They needed to be withdrawn. Since they had already emerged, how could their soul lamps remain in others' control?

No one else emerged from the Divine Fire Gate for a long time. After a while, many people on the beach had dispersed. They weren't leaving entirely, but rather didn't want to wait idly. It wouldn't be too late to return when there was some activity.

On the terrace, Lan Qiaoyan and her daughter were still waiting impatiently, simply because there was someone they cared about still in the Divine Fire Domain. Of course, their waiting conditions were much better than most people's; they had comfortable seating and space, accompanied by fine wine and delicious food.

They noticed that Shi Chun's soul lotus lamp, along with those of the Bright Mountain Sect group, remained floating in the air. They hadn't fallen or been removed. What did this mean? It meant that Shi Chun and his group had not yet emerged from the Divine Fire Domain.

The exit had already opened. Why were they lingering inside and not coming out?

Both mother and daughter vaguely realized that things might not be as smooth as they had thought. Shi Chun might have gotten into trouble inside.

However, when they wanted to ask someone, they couldn't find anyone suitable. Most people didn't understand the situation inside Qiyun Valley, and Gong Shaoci, the most suitable person to ask, had been missing for a long time. This was a very rare and unusual situation.

This made them realize even more strongly that something might have gone wrong.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside. Gong Shaoci's voice, knocking and greeting, came through.

Since female guests resided there, he couldn't intrude without permission.

After receiving permission to enter, he opened the door and came in. After heading to the terrace, he wore his usual gentle, pleasant smile, and apologized with cupped hands, "My apologies, Aunt Lan, I was unexpectedly busy with something."

Lan Qiaoyan stood up, gently pointing her index finger towards the remaining soul lotus lamps, and asked, "Has something happened? So many people have come out, there should be news from inside the Divine Fire Domain by now, right?"

Asked about this right away, Gong Shaoci hesitated slightly, unsure how to answer, or if telling them would worry the mother and daughter. He knew a large part of their interest in watching here was because of Shi Chun, and he himself had just been busy with Shi Chun's messy affairs, feeling dizzy from running around, constantly looking for people to pressure the artifact forging sects he could communicate with.

Of course, he had also been pressured by Qian She.

Seeing his reaction, Miao Yilan also slowly stood up, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

Lan Qiaoyan probed, "Has something happened to Shi Chun?"