"Now hide?" Shi Chun looked astonished and surprised, then reminded, "You think we stand a chance of winning, and Gong Shixi thinks we stand a chance too. Judging by the ti outside, there are about twenty days left. If we hide at the exit for twenty days, do you think Gong Shixi would just sit by and watch us hide there without reacting?"
Xu Anzhang hesitated, "There is a group of elders stationed at the exit. Even if Gong Shixi wants to, he's powerless."
Shi Chun, "Staying there ans we are completely passive. Twenty days! A person who could co up with the thod at hand, do you think he wouldn't find a way to strike at us during this period? If I were him, I could co up with several plans to take care of you all."
Xu Anzhang fell silent.
You Mu said sowhat angrily, "Find them and finish them off directly!"
Shi Chun, "We are only guessing. There's no evidence to prove he was behind it. Even if you complain to higher authorities after getting out, it would be useless because you don't have proof, nothing but hearsay. With the presence of the Three Veins Alliance, it ans we can't openly get tough with them.
In other words, we are aware of each other's identities. No one can get tough openly unless they are sure they can cover it up completely. That's also the reason why the other party only dares to push from the shadows.
Of course, we don't have the principle of not retaliating, but the biggest issue now is that the situation has already been set in motion. Even if we kill them now, it wouldn't help. If we need to kill them, that's for later. Right now, we need to find a way to escape this predicant first."
Xu Anzhang picked up the conversation, "What do we do now?"
After pondering for a while, Shi Chun openly said, "Right now, besides escaping, there's no other way. Being continuously followed by these people, we are placed in plain sight, unable to freely act. And the way things are going, the number of people watching us will only increase. We need to shake off the spies first in order to do anything else."
Thinking about it, that indeed is the current priority.
On behalf of the Four Cauldron Sect, Xu Anzhang decided by the shore, "Alright, let's find a way to break free first."
With the decision made here, they also needed to communicate with Shudao Mountain. With more parties involved, collaboration was necessary despite it being cumberso.
Shi Chun then relayed the decision to Gu Lianni. Given the situation, they needed to rely on Shudao Mountain's strength and couldn't just abandon them. Everyone had to be in the sa boat.
Shudao Mountain had also discussed internally, so Gu Lianni agreed, "Exactly, we'll shake them off first. As for what cos after, we'll see how things go. If it really doesn't work, we'll go to the exit and wait for it to open. With our elders there for protection, there shouldn't be any problems."
Thinking of going to the exit? Shi Chun was firmly against the idea of heading to the exit prematurely.
Going early could an danger for his Mingshan Sect, and there might even be a risk of betrayal by Shudao Mountain.
Having experienced too many betrayals and double-crossings in the Land of Exile, such events were quite common there, so he had a predictive sense, or rather experience, about them.
Relying on Elder Jin of Shudao Mountain to withstand the pressure from other sects for them, based on his habits ford in the Land of Exile, he wouldn't even consider such hope.
So things were conceivable to him.
A group being forced to hide by the exit, with that attitude, it would be odd if the elders there didn't figure out what was going on.
Upon asking and learning there's a rapid way to obtain Divine Fire, how many Artifact Refiners could resist such a big temptation? Could Elder Jin alone withstand the desires of the other nine elders, or could one person win against those nine elders?
Once the power to eradicate sects fell into others' hands, he didn't believe those elders would abide by any rules—it would rely be a case of silencing them.
At that ti, if Shudao Mountain didn't want to be annihilated and wanted to protect their interests, they would have to submit. Elder Jin wouldn't fail to weigh the pros and cons.
The excuse Shudao Mountain had for seeking Divine Fire was thin, and the real person to account for was him, Shi Chun. The trick of distracting with broken incense stick, how could it withstand serious scrutiny?
Would he have to reveal his secrets then?
So, given the current situation, he would absolutely not hide at the exit prematurely. If going to the exit, it had to be when ti was almost up, when the elders guarding the exit knew that even if they acquired the secret, there wouldn't be ti to seek Divine Fire anymore, realizing that taking a risk and fighting Shudao Mountain to the death was unnecessary—that was when Shudao Mountain could protect him.
At that ti, if those elders wanted the secret, they would be willing to let him leave with the secrets alive. Once he was out, with external forces involved, it wouldn't be up to those Artifact Refining Sects anymore.
Moreover, with Gong Shixi pulling strings from behind, if he was controlled at the exit, that would make him too passive. So, he definitely couldn't go to the exit prematurely.
Of course, there's no need to argue these points with Gu Lianni and the others for now—they were still partners, and it was unnecessary to say anything about soone potentially betraying him.
Whether one will be betrayed or not does not lie in the hands of others, but rather in the path one decides to take. If you corner yourself, who else would they betray but you? Can you still expect them to share life and death with you?
The priority now was to escape without breaking the trust of the cooperation.
Once the opinions were unified, both sides imdiately summoned their own forces.
Before they set out, Shi Chun called Xu Anzhang and Youu Mu aside to give instructions, "Since you are unfamiliar faces to the other sects, it's better not to stay with us. After we lead away these trackers, you should not show yourselves. Instead, arrange soone to do sothing, contact your undercover agents in the sects, and have them spread rumors about the Qianyan Sect. Tell them to say that the Qianyan Sect also knows a quick thod to find the Divine Fire, and that the Mingshan Sect's thod to rapidly find the Divine Fire originated from them, claiming they too have acquired much Divine Fire."
There were two purposes. First, to let Gong Shixi know that we knew who was behind spreading the rumors. It was a warning to him that pushing us into a corner would also expose their identities leaving them nowhere to run, thereby forcing them to restrain themselves later to avoid exerting more force.
Second, to teach him a lesson. Once the rumor is out, if he wants to prove his innocence, he must let people investigate whether the source of his cultivation has fused with Divine Fire. They have Demon Essence inside them, and their ability to disguise it won't withstand such scrutiny. If they dare not let others inspect, they can't explain themselves clearly.
This way, their influence could be suppressed, preventing them from easily collaborating with other forces to target us. Once the exit opens, I really want to see if he dares to leave easily from the exit, to see if he is afraid. If the elders at the exit decide to detain them for verification, that would be interesting."
Xu and Youu were terrified upon hearing this.
Youu Mu quickly objected, "Isn't that inappropriate? What if he retaliates against us? We both have Demon Essence in us, wouldn't that trap us too?"
Shi Chun had never intended for them to have a chance to pass through the exit again and advised, "Is retaliation necessary? The elders at the exit know we are working together. With what Gong Shixi is pulling, do you expect that if the Mingshan Sect is inspected, the Four Cauldron Sect would be exempted?"
Their faces drastically changed at this, and Xu Anzhang burst out swearing, "The Three Sects compete without revealing secrets to outsiders. Gong Shixi that bastard is breaking the rules, he's playing with fire!"
Shi Chun pressed his hands down in a calming gesture, "Don't worry, I wouldn't sabotage myself. We'll have asures in place to get you out when the ti cos. Such a trick probably won't even prevent him from leaving. Once the exit opens, they can't check everyone individually and there's not enough ti, so slipping out should not be too difficult. We're just scaring him a bit to restrain his actions so that he doesn't act recklessly from the shadows."
Reassured by his words, the two of them finally cald down and went off to hide.
Before long, the forces from both sides assembled and took off.
The other sect mbers who had been closely monitoring them also took off swiftly. So were chasing from a distance, while others flew beside from afar.
After they had departed, Xu Anzhang and others who were hiding deep in the gully finally showed themselves.
The task of notifying the undercover agents to spread the rumors was delegated to their subordinates, and Xu Anzhang along with a few others continued to follow from behind.
After flying for a while, the Mingshan Sect and Shudao Mountain group stopped again and sent people back to directly use force as a threat – anyone who followed would be killed!
However, to pose a real threat, they needed the ability to kill, but everyone had Wind Scales; who feared whom? It was nothing more than a ga of chasing and escaping, and with so many people, they were curious to see how many could be killed.
Still, it was greed that clouded their minds, and under the instigation of certain individuals, they all waited.
They themselves did not dare to engage in battle with the Shudao Mountain group, waiting instead for those major sects to start a fight with Shudao Mountain. Once the battle comnced, they wouldn't dare attack a group of people. For a few injured or escaping individuals, wouldn't they dare to act? Once these individuals fell into their hands, to pry information about the Secret Technique of finding Divine Fire thinking about it filled them with anticipation.
They knew very well that only if they followed relentlessly, clinging on firmly, would those major sects find the Shudao Mountain group quickly and witness the scenario they were eagerly anticipating. If they let the Shudao Mountain group escape or disappear, that chance would be lost.
Ultimately, it was the instigation by those people that worked well.
Normal approaches had all been tried; did they think they could find the Divine Fire before the end? The current situation in their hearts was clear – most sects were destined not to find it. This might be the only chance for them to ever find the Divine Fire – to take it or not?
Even the threat of death could not disperse these sticky troublemakers. After several rounds of chasing and expulsion proving ineffective, the Mingshan Sect and Shudao Mountain group truly realized they could not shake them off; they were stuck to them, and trouble had firmly tied them down. If this continued, they could only wait for bigger problems to arise.
Given this situation, they did not dare to let anyone be on their own. It could be imagined that once soone was alone, a mobbing would ensue.
Currently, their group's size had been clearly perceived by the various sects during the tracking, and it would be difficult even to stealthily reduce their numbers along the way.
anwhile, the encounters with other sects continued to grow, with an increasing number of entangled troops.
Even Xu Anzhang and others following behind were sweating coldly for Shi Chun and the others, acknowledging that Gong Shixi's manipulations were indeed sinister and ruthless. They wondered from which sect such a ruthless person had been sent.
Facing the continuously increasing pressure, after enduring for a while, Gu Lianni, who often glanced around in the air, also felt overwheld and flew beside Shi Chun, speaking loudly, "This can't go on, we can't shake them off. We need to change direction towards the exit soon, the longer we delay, the more troubleso it gets!"
Before entering the Divine Fire Domain, she had never imagined that she and Shudao Mountain could be in a situation where they might be mobbed by various sects.
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