Elder Kuzhu had made comprehensive derivations before coming here. He was aware of both the general direction and some details, but he had not expected the Red-haired Ancestor to be such a coward.

In his memory, the Red-haired Ancestor had dared to ambush Wei Bagong even when he knew of Elder Kuzhu's presence and that his Primordial Spirit was being remotely controlled by Wei Bagong.

Such recklessness, the "do or die" spirit, was in line with the character of Sect Hierarchs of their kind.

Now, he dared not to confront Shi Feiyang, which greatly displeased Elder Kuzhu.

However, Elder Kuzhu also knew that the Red-haired Ancestor could not defeat Shi Feiyang, after all, with centuries of Cultivation, the Red-haired Ancestor was not a fool.

Fortunately, in the plan he had laid out, the Red-haired Ancestor was only an initiator, just someone to lead the charge.

He sneered at the Red-haired Ancestor and said, "When has it ever been someone else's turn to seek revenge for me? Eventually, I will have to take action myself. Before coming here, I had already twisted Yin Yang and turned chaos to order, fully prepared.

It's merely that I learned you had been robbed of the mountain treasure and used you as a pawn to cross the river in advance. If you dare not provoke him, just hide in this cave. But the great calamity of heaven and earth is coming soon, let's see how long you can hide!"

The Red-haired Ancestor had originally been in retreat. Rushing out upon hearing of Elder Kuzhu's arrival, he was still unaware that his Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace had been stolen.

He summoned his disciples and after thorough interrogation, confirmed the incident, and was furious.

His temperament was somewhat similar to that of the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, treating his disciples with a paternal indulgence and caring a lot about face, susceptible to influence, and quite temperamental.

The Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace, too, was a treasure he had acquired from his predecessors, nurtured over many years, with infinite uses, which he normally kept for himself.

It was because Hong Changbao and others said they wanted to perform Alchemy during his retreat that the Red-haired Ancestor had taken out the Divine Fire Furnace for their use.

Speaking of which, the Red-haired Ancestor really doted on these disciples to the extreme, even casually letting them use the critical Heavenly Demon Blood Transformation Divine Saber.

Of course, the Red-haired Ancestor was overconfident, believing that all treasures were connected to his heart, and regardless of distance, he could summon them back in a thought, and that outsiders absolutely could not seize them.

He then silently operated his Mysterious Skill and started casting to summon the Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace, but as one might expect, no matter how he cast, the treasure furnace did not respond at all.

This left the Red-haired Ancestor both shocked and furious, angered at his disciples' reckless actions, and infuriated that Shi Feiyang did not give him face...

He knew that he was no match for Shi Feiyang, and in front of Elder Kuzhu, a former senior, saying some placating words was still bearable. But Shi Feiyang shouldn't have openly slighted him and forcefully stolen his Magical Treasure!

He carefully asked Hong Changbao, Yao Kaijiang, Xin Chenzi, and other disciples to confirm whether it was indeed Shi Feiyang who had taken it.

After all, the furnace had just been lost in a cave, and they still didn't know who had taken it, it was Elder Kuzhu who said it was Shi Feiyang.

Coincidentally, it was Sui Yin's turn to be unlucky. He stepped forward at this moment, recounting his visit to Baiyang Mountain and conveying the message on behalf of Shi Feiyang.

Sui Yin omitted the part about the Red-haired Ancestor facing annihilation, yet even so, it put the Red-haired Ancestor in an awkward position.

The Red-haired Ancestor was already stubborn and self-opinionated. Listening to this, Hong Changbao and Yao Kaijiang immediately burst out cursing, "What is Shi Feiyang? He dares to rob our mountain treasure! Master, you always tell us to stay within these vast mountains and not stir up trouble. Now that we have been bullied to our doorstep, how can you bear it?"

They hadn't seen how the Red-haired Ancestor had previously spoken about Shi Feiyang to Elder Kuzhu.

Elder Kuzhu stood leaning on a green bamboo cane, looking on with a cold smirk, silent, watching the Red-haired Ancestor.

The Red-haired Ancestor's hair was naturally red, but now his face had turned red as well.

He held his breath for a long time, thinking of a strategy, and finally waved his hand to silence his disciples and grand-disciples, "Although the other party is rude, we should still offer civility before resorting to force. You go to Baiyang Mountain now, find that surnamed Shi, and demand the return of the Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace. If this matter gets resolved, it will disperse like clouds. Otherwise, I will not rest!"

Hong Changbao, Yao Kaijiang, and a few others immediately wanted to leave, but were stopped by the Red-haired Ancestor.

He selected Xin Chenzi, Mei Luzi, Tang Shi, and Qiao Shou—four disciples once under the Green Robe Ancestor—to go and retrieve the furnace from Shi Feiyang.

The four had previously experienced Shi Feiyang and Ni Fangxian sweeping Bai Man Mountain and all had psychological shadows regarding Shi Feiyang.

They flew out, heading toward Baiyang Mountain but didn't fly at full speed, instead discussing along the way: What should they do about this situation?

Mei Luzi, who entered the Sect last and was the most loyal-hearted, said, "That surnamed Shi has a deep hatred of annihilation with us. Master told us to first offer civility then resort to force, so we should just do as Master instructed. When we get there, let's first talk politely and negotiate. If he's extremely unreasonable, we'll return and inform Master."

Tang Shi, with a low voice, said, "The Red-haired Ancestor is clearly using us as pawns!"

Seeing that his fellow disciples remained silent, Mei Luzi felt perplexed and hurriedly asked what was going on.

Tang Shi explained to him: "The Red-haired Ancestor clearly fears Shi Longwang. The Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace was left in his own disciple's hands, yet he didn't use it at all and only sent us..."

He didn't finish his sentence, and Mei Luzi didn't understand, asking, "So what? We have our master's protection. In all these years since we joined, we haven't done much for master. Now is the time to contribute."

Qiao Shou said sarcastically: "Over the years, haven't we gathered resources for them, helped them breed snakes and refine treasures? Doesn't that count as contributing?"

Mei Luzi's momentum faltered, "I meant we haven't done much for master..."

Tang Shi continued patiently, "If we can retrieve the Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace this time, it would indeed be a great achievement. Even if we achieve nothing, it wouldn't be considered a fault. But can we really retrieve it? Let alone us, even our former master could not retrieve it.

And if we don't retrieve it, it would be considered a fault, and we would have to be punished. It's clearly his own disciple who lost the treasure furnace, yet he can push more blame onto us."

"How is that possible?" Mei Luzi couldn't believe it.

Xin Chenzi suddenly said leisurely: "You joined the Dao late and don't know the temperament of the three ancestors of the Southern Border. The Red-haired Ancestor is most stubborn and self-righteous. Whenever there's a mistake, it's always someone else's fault. Tang Shi is right, if we can't retrieve the Divine Fire Furnace, most likely he will vent his anger on us.

Moreover, there's Elder Kuzhu. I know that old bastard has a grudge against Shi Longwang, and his visit this time surely isn't well-intentioned. Likely, he wants to drag Red-haired along to seek revenge on Shi Longwang. Red-haired also knows this but dares not himself, so he uses us to take the blame, which leaves him some room to maneuver."

Tang Shi said: "What I worry most about is that once we arrive at Baiyang Mountain, a bloody battle ensues, causing heavy casualties, and then he finds an excuse to punish us in front of Elder Kuzhu. You and Hong Changbao are as close as brothers; he will surely plead for you, but the rest of us might even lose our lives."

Mei Luzi still didn't fully believe it, and Qiao Shou proposed: "Why don't we just leave? With our abilities, where can't we cultivate?"

Tang Shi turned to look at him and asked, "Have you cultivated the Six Yin God Transformation Great Technique?"

Qiao Shou didn't understand why he suddenly asked this: "Yes, weren't you the one who helped me find that Red Phosphorus Python?"

"As long as you cultivate that Six Yin God Transformation Great Technique, your Primordial Spirit will be restrained by the Heavenly Demon Blood Transformation Divine Saber. Even if you flee thousands of miles away, as long as he sincerely wishes to kill you, by releasing the Demon Blade, it can automatically fly to you and slay you, destroying both your body and soul!"

"Ah?" Both Qiao Shou and Mei Luzi were stunned, while only Xin Chenzi seemed to have known already, showing no change of expression.

It turned out that the Red-haired Ancestor had a unique Divine Skill. From the beginning, involving collecting vast quantities of insects, snakes, and centipedes, selecting the most formidable, daily refining them with spells, and feeding them with blood.

After three years and six months, they would be burnt to ashes, mixed with Spirit Talisms, swallowed into the stomach, then using Daoist techniques to restore them and combine them with one's own Primordial Spirit.

Once refined, this entity was somewhat equivalent to a Daoist Nascent Soul, just easier to develop, resembling the Lifebound Divine Demon of the Demon Cult, and could be released to kill people like a Flying Sword or Magical Treasure.

All disciples of the Red-haired Ancestor had cultivated this skill. Mei Luzi and Qiao Shou had also refined it after switching to the Red Hair Sect, but only Xin Chenzi and Tang Shi knew the advantages and disadvantages and had not cultivated it.

Mei Luzi still didn't want to believe that the Red-haired Ancestor could be such a person, so obstinate and ruthless.

As they were approaching Baiyang Mountain, Tang Shi asked Xin Chenzi, "What should we decide?"

Xin Chenzi sighed, "Diplomacy first, then force."

"Once diplomacy has failed, if he still refuses to return the treasure furnace, do we really need to resort to force?"

"We only handle the diplomacy," Xin Chenzi said. "For the force, we will ask the Red-haired Ancestor to come once we are back."

"I'm afraid that won't work." Tang Shi said. "If we don't strike a single blow or cast a single spell and just return like that, we will definitely be heavily punished."

Qiao Shou suddenly said: "Why don't we have a nice talk with Shi Longwang?"

Mei Luzi objected: "He annihilated our Bai Man Mountain years ago and killed so many of our brothers. What do we have to talk about with him?"

"Then you go and fight him!" Qiao Shou pointed towards the distant Baiyang Mountain. "We three will handle the diplomacy; you handle the force, how about that?"

Mei Luzi fell silent. Although his mana had greatly improved over the years, he also knew that he was no match for Shi Feiyang.

In his eyes, his eldest senior brother, Xin Chenzi, now had mana that was not inferior to their former master, the Green Robe Ancestor, and Tang Shi was only slightly less powerful than Xin Chenzi. If the two of them teamed up, there was still some hope. Regrettably, these two, both referred to their enemy as "Shi Longwang," fearing him profoundly, and simply were not reliable.

In the end, they couldn't reach a consensus. Upon reaching the foot of Baiyang Mountain and arriving at the mouth of the valley, the petty soldiers on the city tower, seeing them descend from the sky and recognizing them as beings akin to immortals, were somewhat panicked.

Xin Chenzi didn't want to speak, and Tang Shi spoke instead: "Please go in and report that the disciples of the Red-haired Ancestor wish to meet Master Shi."

Before the petty officer could respond, a sword light flew out from inside, landing and transforming into a young man in black clothes, who was Qiu Yuan.

Qiu Yuan said: "My master is already aware of your purpose here. He told me to inform you that the Red-haired Ancestor doesn't truly care about you. This time sending you is purely to test the waters. You will either die here or go back and die at Tian Mountain. As for the Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace, my master has already bestowed it upon me. Not just you, even if the Red-haired Ancestor himself comes to ask for it, he can absolutely not take it back. This is all I have to say. If you want to live, you better make your own decisions quickly!"

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