Faced with this coercion, Gong Shixi said little, only that he could not make the decision alone.
After returning to his own people, Gong Shixi explained the situation to his two right-hand men. Both were junior sect brothers, and they were also the other two members of the Thousand Rocks Sect whom Shi Chun's right-eye ability had revealed to possess demonic essence.
The plain-looking one was named Zhou Wudao, and the one with long, narrow eyes was named Xun Lishan.
After hearing him out, Zhou Wudao could not help cursing under his breath. "Shi Chun is pushing us too far. If he pushes us into a corner, we'll just refuse. At worst, we won't play that trick of luring the tiger away from its mountain. What can he do to us? Would he dare expose who we really are?"
Xun Lishan hesitated. "He is pushing us somewhat, but with our old methods, we either had to search ourselves or get information and steal from someone else. Not only were the losses and risks high, it wasn't nearly this efficient. Splitting it three ways may not feel as good as keeping everything, but in practice, our efficiency should improve considerably. Shi Chun isn't wrong about that. Having Summer Path Mountain out in front would indeed spare us plenty of trouble. All told, there are advantages and disadvantages."
Gong Shixi said, "What worries me is how we'll explain this to our superiors once we get out."
At that, Zhou Wudao and Xun Lishan both fell silent. For an ordinary Artifact Refining sect, the choice before them would unquestionably have been preferable, allowing them to obtain as much divine fire as possible.
But for them, if three parties split the spoils equally while two branches competed, who would ultimately take first place?
Shi