Several thousand Spirits flew past at low altitude. As they passed, both the slowly falling golden fire lotuses in the sky and the flames that flowed out from the cracks in the ground were cleaned out.

Zhou Yuan stood in the air as he gazed at the fire-gathering stage at the group’s center. The burning golden flame within had grown bigger and hotter. The total number of golden fire lotuses gathered had already gone beyond ten thousand.

With regards to this collection speed, Zhou Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

However, he soon directed his gaze behind him where Wang Chen, not daring to come too close, was closely following them with a group of about one thousand Spirits from the Fire Pavilion.

Iciness flitted across Zhou Yuan’s eyes. He knew that Wang Chen was watching their every movement. He did not know why but he had a faint feeling that something was wrong.

Zhou Yuan suddenly asked, “Qiushui, how long has it been since we entered the Heaven Flame Cauldron?”

Yi Qiushui immediately replied, “It’s been nearly a day.”

Zhou Yuan lightly tapped his fingers in the air as he slowly said, “By this time, even if they have many members, the Fire Pavilion should be fully equipped with scarlet copper umbrellas, right?”

Yi Qiushui nodded. “Should be.”

“Then why have we yet to see any signs of the Fire Pavilion’s main force?” Zhou Yuan’s eyes flashed in thought.

Yi Qiushui was taken aback as a look of unease flitted across her eyes. Indeed, shouldn’t the Fire Pavilion come to wipe them out the moment they were fully equipped? Why had there been no activity even till now besides sending a thousand members to observe them?

What was Lu Xiao planning?

Zhou Yuan’s eyes flickered in thought. Moments later, he decisively said, “No matter what Lu Xiao’s plans are, we’ll first devour Wang Chen’s group!”

This group kept buzzing about before his eyes—it would be a shame if he did not devour them.

Yi Qiushui raised her eyebrows. “But Wang Chen is being very cautious and has been maintaining a certain distance from us. Once we show any signs of attacking, he will immediately withdraw before returning to follow us once we stop.”

Zhou Yuan softly chuckled. “Then we’ll cut off their retreat and give them no opportunity to run.”

“How?” Yi Qiushui’s long eyelashes blinked.

Zhou Yuan grinned. “Have you realized that some members are missing from our group?”

Yi Qiushui was startled by these words. She looked over, and sure enough, she discovered that several hundred Spirits had vanished from the main group. Her heart shook as she said, “You intentionally spent more time than usual on the mountains along the way to hide some of our members?”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “I hid a few dozen on each mountain. Wang Chen can’t possibly know because he’s too far away. Hence, he’s likely still unaware that he’s already been surrounded.”

Joy emerged in Yi Qiushui’s eyes as she pursed her lips into a smile. “Pavilion master is so cunning.”

Once they cut off the escape routes of Wang Chen’s group, a thousand plus members would easily be devoured by the Wind Pavilion. This would cut some of the Fire Pavilion’s power.

Zhou Yuan chuckled. Soon after, he waved his hand, and the several thousand advancing Spirits came to a stop. He turned around and shot towards Wang Chen’s group, Spirit power whizzing out and rippling the space around him.

Several thousand Spirits quickly followed, creating an alarmingly imposing sight.

Wang Chen’s side immediately sensed their movement.

“Humph, fools, do you really believe I’ll send myself to your doorstep?”

Wang Chen chuckled icily as he commanded without hesitation, “Retreat!”

Over a thousand Spirits instantly began backing away, clearly not intending to fight the Wind Pavilion. Their mission was to keep an eye on the Wind Pavilion and not engage in a fight.

One party advanced while the other retreated, but a certain distance was ultimately maintained. The former found it very difficult to approach.

Wang Chen could not help but laugh as he mockingly looked towards Zhou Yuan chasing them. He felt the exhilaration of a cat toying with a mouse. Zhou Yuan’s reputation had been rapidly rising among the four pavilions recently, and he was already no less influential than the other three pavilion masters. But so what? All Zhou Yuan can do now is eat my dust.

Bzz!

While he was laughing, however, Spirit power suddenly exploded in front of him. Layers of invisible barriers formed, obstructing their path.

Wang Chen’s laughing came to an abrupt halt as he stared in horror at the several hundred figures rising before him. “How can this be? When did they arrive behind us?

“Quick! Blast apart the Spirit barriers!” he roared.

Over a thousand Spirits attacked at the same time, and blasts of Spirit power bombarded the Spirit barriers. The barriers rippled violently but ultimately refused to be broken for a brief moment.

It was during this brief moment that Zhou Yuan and his army of several thousand Spirits caught up.

Cold sweat appeared on Wang Chen’s forehead.

“Deputy pavilion master Wang Chen, it seems that you were still too careless.” Zhou Yuan displayed a slight smile.

He wasted no time as he extended his hand and gave a slight wave.

“Destroy him!”

Rumble!

Several thousand blasts of Spirit power rushed out, blasting towards Wang Chen’s group like a flood. With such an absolute advantage, there was no need for any smart tactics. They could easily steamroll Wang Chen’s group with sheer power.

Wang Chen’s scalp turned numb as he sensed the approaching flood, and he hurriedly ordered the group to fight back.

Boom!

The Spirit power of both parties collided, resulting in a loud boom.

Amidst the noise, the thousand Spirits on Wang Chen’s side screamed miserably. Their Spirits rapidly began to fade, turning into beams of light that shot into the sky and were sent out of the Heaven Flame Cauldron through its protective mechanism.

After several waves of attacks, only a few dozen Spirits remained. They looked exceptionally miserable.

Wang Chen tightly gritted his teeth with a gloomy expression.

“Don’t be too happy Zhou Yuan. You’ll be crying when the Fire Pavilion’s main force arrives!”

Zhou Yuan was unfazed. He stared at Wang Chen for a long time before he suddenly said, “You’re not just here to tail us, right? Lu Xiao intentionally sent you guys here to make us think that the Fire Pavilion will be coming after us soon. Is this a plan to keep me here?”

Wang Chen’s pupils shrank slightly.

Zhou Yuan’s eyes narrowed. “What is Lu Xiao scheming?”

Wang Chen merely let out an icy chuckle and did not reply.

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment before he slowly said, “Your Fire Pavilion joined forces with the Mountain Pavilion to eliminate the Forest Pavilion? After the Forest Pavilion is dealt with, you guys will then turn your sights towards the Wind Pavilion, right?”

Wang Chen’s heart shook as astonishment surfaced in his eyes.

Zhou Yuan immediately understood everything as his expression turned grave. He never imagined that Lu Xiao would be so cautious. Even against the much weaker Wind Pavilion, instead of attacking directly, Lu Xiao had chosen to join forces with the Mountain Pavilion to first finish off the Forest Pavilion.

Once the Forest Pavilion was eliminated, the united forces of the Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion would have the absolute advantage. Zhou Yuan would not be able to make a comeback no matter what trump cards he had.

After losing in their previous bout, Lu Xiao had become so prudent. He was basically a composed old dog.

He had sent Wang Chen to keep an eye on the Wind Pavilion in hopes of stalling them. After all, anyone would believe that the Fire Pavilion’s main force would soon arrive with this scouting group constantly watching their movements. Who could have expected Lu Xiao to have instead given up on attacking the Wind Pavilion first so that he could direct his attention to the Forest Pavilion?

Grave expressions emerged on the faces of Yi Qiushui, Ye Bingling and the others. They also understood that once the Forest Pavilion was eliminated, it would be impossible for the Wind Pavilion to resist the combined might of the Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion.

Upon realizing that Zhou Yuan had seen through their plan, Wang Chen let out a mocking laugh. “Zhou Yuan, you’ve underestimated pavilion master Lu Xiao. Only defeat awaits you once our Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion finishes off the Forest Pavilion!”

Zhou Yuan’s expression was unmoved. Invisible Spirit fire gathered in his palm before being sent forth with a flick. The Spirit fire quickly enveloped Wang Chan and the remaining few dozen Spirits.

As Spirit fire burned, the Spirits of Wang Chen and the others rapidly faded.

“Zhou Yuan, your Wind Pavilion will lose for sure!” howled Wang Chen.

A split second later, his Spirit turned into a beam of fiery light as it dashed into the sky and disappeared.

Zhou Yuan’s expression was indifferent as his gaze swivelled around. Several thousand Wind Pavilion members stared at him, awaiting his command. He showed no hesitation as he waved his hand and roared, “Stop the collecting of Heavenly Sun Fire.

“We will immediately rush to rescue the Forest Pavilion and eliminate both the Fire and Mountain Pavilions!”

As his voice rang out, his Spirit had already shot off, several thousand Spirits closely following behind him.

Outside the Heaven Flame Cauldron, countless gazes were watching these developments in surprise. It seemed that Zhou Yuan had finally realized the Fire Pavilion’s intentions. What happened next was definitely going to be the climax.