The two groups officially joined forces. They did not linger, nor did they bother choosing a particular direction. Since they had no idea where any Divine Fire might be, they simply picked a heading and went straight ahead.
There was little point searching the immediate area. Tens of thousands of people had just scattered from here; any Divine Fire would already have been discovered, leaving none for them.
Still, they did not let it pass unchecked. They spread out and combed through the terrain along the way.
The two newly combined groups were not particularly friendly, but neither was there any conflict.
They were not friendly because they barely knew each other. There was no conflict because Demonic Path members made up most of the Four Cauldron Sect's party, while Shi Chun could keep the Bright Mountain Sect's group under control. Their greatest source of friction had also been suppressed for the moment: Feng Yaoyang, whose "skills fell short," could no longer put on airs.
Xu Anchang and Shi Chun naturally fell to the rear of the group to talk in low voices.
Once they were alone, Shi Chun immediately asked about a detail. "What happened? Why did you get here so late?"
"Ah." Xu Anchang sighed. "What else? It was that Senior Brother Feng, of course. Getting him to agree to meet you at all was an accomplishment. By the way, is that Sect Master on your side really as capable as you say?"
"What do you mean, 'as capable as we say'?" Shi Chun replied. "Can words make someone capable? He was an elite of the Hundred Refinements Sect to begin with. I don't understand Artifact Refining, but I know he has an exceptional talent for it."
Xu Anchang sounded puzzled. "If he was an elite disciple with