Chapter 434: I Missed You So Much

The people from Jihuo Sect thought they had misheard. Su Qiao asked, "Does Mingshan Sect not know about the revised competition rules?"

The reporter was startled. "This disciple does not know."

Su Qiao waved his hand. "Go and investigate."

"Yes," the reporter replied, accepting the order before leaving.

The matter was easy to investigate; asking someone from Lihuo Sect would reveal everything.

At Yanbao Sect’s temporary lodging, Li Hongjiu, the so-called leader, was undergoing questioning behind closed doors by high-ranking officials from his sect. He slowly revealed details about matters inconvenient for others to relay, concerning the changes within the Heart of Earth Pagoda.

The upheaval at the Heart of Earth Pagoda shocked the high-ranking officials of Yanbao Sect and drew their close attention. They questioned him in great detail, for how could they not be concerned that the terrifying forbidden entity which had exerted pressure over the Divine Fire Domain for countless years was now gone?

If there had been enough time, they would have personally gone to investigate.

Just then, another disciple came to report that Tong Mingshan, the leader of Mingshan Sect, had signed up for the competition.

They immediately asked Li Hongjiu if he knew how much divine fire Tong Mingshan had absorbed. Li Hongjiu spread his hands, genuinely unsure despite having spent some time with him.

"Let's go, let's take a walk over to Shudao Mountain," said Sect Leader Qu Wuming, calling two people to leave with him.

As he walked past Li Hongjiu, he paused and turned back, telling him, "Things are as they are. There's no need to keep pursuing whether Shi Chun tricked you. You're not a three-year-old child; feign ignorance when you should. Since you've interacted, you might as well go and show some concern again."

Li Hongjiu was startled. *Me? Deal with him?*

Qu Wuming, however, did not give his disciple a chance to ask further questions, leaving immediately after speaking.

Seeing that Li Hongjiu hadn't reacted, a kind elder lingered for a moment and explained, "Hongjiu, the fewer people who know about the demise of the terrifying entity in the Divine Fire Domain's forbidden area, the better. For those participating in the next conference, knowing this information will give them an advantage. Also, there might be many ancient treasures in that place. You're a smart person; you should find a way to persuade Shi Chun to control the spread of this information, understand?"

Li Hongjiu was not foolish; he immediately understood his master's meaning and nodded with a wry smile.

The elder smiled slightly, patted his shoulder, and left.

Li Hongjiu slowly walked out of the hall, looked left and right, and, seeing no elders present, pulled out his wine gourd and took several gulps. In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly and walk out.

It was better to arrive at the right moment than early. Luo Yan and his group from Liantian Sect, who had arrived at the temporary Shudao Mountain station, stopped and turned back, waiting, for they had seen Su Qiao and his group from Jihuo Sect approaching.

When they arrived, before Luo Yan could speak, Su Qiao eyed their group curiously and instead asked, "I heard Elder Situ is quite close with Shi Chun's group. How come Elder Situ isn't here?"

Luo Yan replied, "Does Elder Situ need to give an account to your Jihuo Sect regarding whom he meets?"

Su Qiao waved his hand. "You take my words too seriously. I just found it strange. Elder Situ, who is devoted to artifact refining, is rarely rumored to be close to women, yet he brought a woman back from Shi Chun. By the way, who is the woman he brought back from Shi Chun?"

Let alone him, even the people from Liantian Sect were puzzled by this. With events unfolding quickly, they hadn't had time to ask and were currently waiting for Situ Gu to give them an explanation.

Luo Yan smiled without answering, instead pointing his chin towards the mountain road.

Everyone turned their heads to look, and saw Qu Wuming and his group from Yanbao Sect arriving.

Well, nothing needed to be said. Everyone's intentions were implicitly understood.

After the three factions met, disregarding any others who might arrive later, they went directly inside after the Shudao Mountain disciple who went to inform them returned and invited them in. They found Gu Yanduo.

Without bothering with pleasantries, Qu Wuming directly asked, "Brother Gu, you must know about Tong Mingshan registering for the artifact refining competition, right? Before other sects arrive, let's not beat around the bush. Be honest and give us the lowdown: how many divine fires did Tong Mingshan actually absorb?"

Gu Yanduo's daughter, Gu Lianni, was right next to him and had just asked about this, so he had the answer. He replied, "You are all intelligent people. Excluding those with more than ten divine fires from the competition—don't you know what that means?"

Luo Yan said, "Then why did Tong Mingshan still register? Brother Gu, competition among our sects, after all, is within our circle, and some things are easy to sort out. But if someone who just casually entered wins the championship, the entire artifact refining world will become a joke in the cultivation world, especially for our top-ranked artifact refining sects; it would be quite embarrassing."

Gu Yanduo pointed to his fellow sect members present. "We are also puzzled by this. The divine fires Tong Mingshan absorbed should be more than ten, unless..."

Su Qiao interrupted, "Unless what? Don't beat around the bush."

Gu Yanduo said, "Unless the absorption failed. It's not impossible that some of the divine fires acquired, which exceeded ten, weren't successfully absorbed and refined during the process. We can't think of any other reason. But how likely is that possibility?"

Luo Yan looked around at everyone. "If that's truly the case, and he happened to absorb ten or nine divine fires, his advantage could still be significant. I only ask you all: who among us is confident they can suppress him? If you are, then consider what I said unsaid."

Everyone present looked at each other.

Seeing that no one revealed their strength, Luo Yan stated seriously, "This matter needs to be resolved by clarifying Tong Mingshan's background before the competition. Then we can find reasons to change the rules targeting him. Once the competition results are out, changing the rules would be a huge joke."

Qu Wuming said straightforwardly, "This is simple to resolve. Let's investigate now. There's no need to wait until the competition to verify eligibility. We should notify registered participants now for verification, and only those who meet the rules should be allowed to register."

"That works," Luo Yan agreed.

Su Qiao added, "It's also considered a change within the rules. There's no need to notify all sect leaders; just inform those on the current list to undergo inspection."

Gu Yanduo, expressionless, remained silent and didn't object, listening quietly.

The existing method of registering first and verifying before the competition was pushed by him and some other sect members. This was to maximize concealment of the quantity of divine fires they acquired, and revealing them only during the competition would minimize overt and covert attacks.

However, in the current situation, he couldn't object and could only silently accept it.

A servant knocked on the door twice from outside. Gong Shaoci, who was accompanying Lan Qiaoyan and her daughter on the terrace, had to apologetically step away again.

Opening the door, Gong Shaoci's gaze swept across, then suddenly stopped. Outside stood a middle-aged man in green robes with a slight smile. He was impeccably dressed, composed in demeanor, with a subtle, restrained noble aura. His appearance bore some resemblance to Gong Shaoci's, but with more authority.

The visitor was none other than his father, Gong Yuanzhi. The servant who had knocked was standing respectfully beside his father.

Gong Shaoci's face gradually blossomed into surprise. "Father, why are you here?"

Gong Yuanzhi countered, "Is Madam Miao here? Please announce my arrival."

"Of course, please wait," Gong Shaoci said, leaving the door open as he quickly entered.

Despite this, Gong Yuanzhi did not intrude without permission, but stood outside the door with his hands behind his back, waiting.

Inside, Lan Qiaoyan and her daughter learned of the distinguished guest and quickly got up to greet him at the door. From afar, Lan Qiaoyan called out, "Brother Yuanzhi, please come in, please come in!"

Gong Yuanzhi cupped his hands in greeting outside the door. "Madam Miao, it's been a long time."

"Uncle Gong," Miao Yilan bowed shyly.

Gong Yuanzhi smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, while also sizing up Miao Yilan from head to toe.

"A rare guest, a distinguished guest," Lan Qiaoyan repeated, extending her hand in invitation again.

Only then did the host and guests enter, and a round of courtesies was inevitable.

Back on the terrace, only Lan Qiaoyan and Gong Yuanzhi were seated. Gong Shaoci and Miao Yilan stood by, ready to pour tea and serve at any moment.

"What brings a busy man like you, Brother Yuanzhi, here?" Lan Qiaoyan opened with a smile.

Gong Yuanzhi waved his hand, looking abashed. "Madam Miao herself came for the children's matter, so as a host, I should have come much earlier. Previously, I couldn't free myself due to business. Now that the conference is almost over, I absolutely had to come personally to apologize. I hope Madam Miao will forgive me."

Lan Qiaoyan smiled sweetly and said, "Brother Yuanzhi, you speak too highly. Here in Jambudvipa, Ding Yi is also considered a host. My daughter and I are just here to watch the excitement; it's not worth you setting aside important matters to make this trip."

Although she said this, the smile spreading on her face showed she was very satisfied. The man's family showing importance naturally made her happy.

Gong Yuanzhi didn't engage in further polite banter. He looked at the Divine Fire Spirit Gate in the night sky. "How is it? Is the excitement good to watch?"

Lan Qiaoyan replied, "I am dull-witted and don't quite understand, nor do I gamble, so I find no thrill. I've heard it only gets interesting during the formal artifact refining competition. Honestly, if Shi Chun weren't participating, my daughter and I truly might not have come."

In front of smart people, there was no need to feign ignorance. It was better to be straightforward to avoid misunderstandings.

Gong Yuanzhi smiled and said, "Oh."

Gong Shaoci slightly leaned forward and said, "Father, that Shi Chun might have some trouble. The artifact refining world might make a move against him..."

Gong Yuanzhi slightly raised his hand to interrupt him. "I heard. Don't worry, someone has intervened, so the artifact refining world can't touch him for now."

That one sentence declared the extent of his information-gathering ability, also, to some extent, demonstrating his power.

Everyone present was stunned. Lan Qiaoyan naturally asked, "Could it be you, Brother Yuanzhi, who made a move?"

"Oh, come on," Gong Yuanzhi quickly waved his hand in denial. "How could I have such influence to stir up the artifact refining world at this time? It was that person from the Star-Gazing Pavilion who made the move."

"Mu Lanjin?" Lan Qiaoyan was surprised. Seeing him nod in acknowledgment, she became even more astonished. "Even if it's him, for the artifact refining world, this isn't a matter of simply 'giving face,' is it?"

Gong Yuanzhi smiled. "Who can understand the affairs of the Star-Gazing Pavilion? I don't know what trick they pulled, but the artifact refining world indeed showed that person respect this time. It's said that person is currently in the Cloud Artifact Valley."

Lan Qiaoyan murmured suspiciously to herself, "How could Mu Lanjin personally help Shi Chun..."

Outside the Mingshan Sect's temporary lodging, another distinguished guest arrived: Li Hongjiu, swaying slightly with the smell of alcohol.

Upon being informed, Shi Chun's reaction was somewhat exaggerated. While running quickly, he even lost a shoe. To Li Hongjiu's astonished wide eyes, Shi Chun lunged over, giving him a solid bear hug and loudly wailing into his ear, "Brother Jiu, we finally meet again! I've missed you so much!"

The group of people in the courtyard stared blankly at the scene.

Besides Young Master Nan and others, the Mingshan Sect group recalled the nauseating scene where the two embracing men called each other brothers in the Divine Fire Domain. They didn't expect their Big Boss to be so deeply in character, maintaining it even outside, which gave them goosebumps.

Only Wu Jinliang was grinning widely.

A group of people passing by on the road saw this and turned back in surprise as they walked, staring.

Li Hongjiu also realized many outsiders were watching and immediately felt uncomfortable all over. He only wanted to deal with Shi Chun privately and didn't want outsiders to misunderstand how good their relationship was, especially after hearing that this brat might be linked to the demonic path. He was even more reluctant, fearing he might be dragged into trouble.

However, it was precisely because Shi Chun saw many people outside that he spontaneously elevated the level of brotherly passion for their reunion, wanting to show it to outsiders and let everyone know that Li Hongjiu was his brother. He was just about to look for this guy, and now he had delivered himself to the door.