"Not dead?" The Grand Protector was somewhat surprised. This mid-Earth-Rank expert before him truly commanded his respect—whether in the force of his moves or his capacity to endure injury, he was more than a notch above others of the same rank.

But the more this was so, the more murderous the Grand Protector's heart grew. Once this man matured, he would surely bear a grudge and come seeking revenge. Between mid-Earth-Rank and early Heaven-Rank there seemed to be several tiers yet, but Wei Zhao was such a young mid-Earth-Rank—who could guarantee he would not reach Heaven-Rank within a few years?

Once Wei Zhao set foot in Heaven-Rank, the Grand Protector's advantage would vanish entirely. And if Wei Zhao could still fight above his level, then the Grand Protector's life would sooner or later be taken.

So, to keep that from coming to pass, the Grand Protector resolved to root out the weed entirely—no matter what, Wei Zhao had to die.

Sun Jingyan watched Wei Zhao collapse in a wretched heap, and it felt as though a great hammer had struck her heart. Anguish—and regret!

She truly regretted it. She should never have come here, should never have probed her parents' secrets, and above all should never have brought Wei Zhao along.

He had risked his life to protect her. How was she ever to repay him?

Yet Sun Jingyan knew: with Wei Zhao dead, she would be next... Never mind. If she could not repay him in this life, then in the next she would surely make it up to him... In the next life, she would be his entirely—his lover, wholly and completely.

Tears welled crystalline in Sun Jingyan's eyes. She looked at Wei Zhao, barely breathing on the ground, and could do nothing at all.

"Of course I'm not dead!" Wei Zhao spat out a mouthful of clotted blood. "Old thing, what sect are you from? Let me die knowing the truth, so I can come find you for revenge in my next life!"

"What, trying to pump me for information?" The Grand Protector was taken aback. He had not expected Wei Zhao to ask such a question on the verge of death.

"Naturally. Otherwise I'd die with my eyes open." Wei Zhao was purely playing for time; his internal injuries were too grave, and he was seizing every moment to recover.

"Sorry, but you'll have to die with your eyes open." Even now, the Grand Protector could not speak plainly of the power behind him. Though on a certain level it was no great secret, some things were understood without being said.

"Fine, then I won't ask. But this thing you're after—what exactly is it? What is it used for?" Wei Zhao changed tack.

"Oh? You don't know?" The Grand Protector was even more startled. He had not expected Wei Zhao's questions to grow stranger one after another.

"Would I ask if I knew?" Wei Zhao shot back.

"If you don't know, then how did you know about this place? And who sent you here?" the Grand Protector asked, puzzled.

He had assumed Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan must know what that great treasure was and what it was for. To his surprise, they did not? They said a dying man's words were kindly—and now, even a fool like Wei Zhao must know his end was near. He might be hanging on by a breath, but it was only a matter of time.

So Wei Zhao truly did not know what that thing was for?

"We have a map. We came following the map," Wei Zhao said flatly.

"So that's it. A map—where did it come from?" A sharp light flashed across the Grand Protector's eyes. Not knowing was better. The true purpose of this great treasure—the fewer who knew it, the better!

Originally he had thought these two before him might be connected to the two people he had been sent to find. The reason he had kept Sun Jingyan alive was also fear that word of the treasure would spread. He had wanted those masters to investigate what relation Sun Jingyan bore to the two they sought, and how many people knew of the treasure.

But now it seemed there was no need. Since these two knew nothing, they could die! Once they were dead, the secret of the treasure would not leak out.

"First tell me—what is inside that box?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Bargaining with me?" The Grand Protector gave a cold laugh. "In that case, say no more. Go die!"

With that, the Grand Protector raised the soft whip in his right hand once more. Powerful azure true qi surged around the whip, and the next instant it lashed out, sweeping straight for Wei Zhao's head!

Wei Zhao's heart jolted. If that whip smashed his skull, not even the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art could repair him. Alarmed and aghast, he rolled instinctively to the side, a picture of utter wretchedness...

But the soft whip seemed to have eyes of its own, sweeping after him along the very direction in which he rolled!

Just as the whip was about to strike Wei Zhao, Sun Jingyan squeezed her eyes shut—then heard a great clang, the sound of two weapons colliding!

A length of black iron staff blocked the soft whip. Whip and staff met, releasing a tremendous burst of energy; red and azure true qi exploded violently where they crossed, and the force of the blast sent Wei Zhao flying several meters away.

Yet what struck Wei Zhao was only the aftershock of the two true qi colliding, and it hardly hurt him. Rather, the push of that aftershock carried him clear of the center of the collision.

"I gave the map—what are you going to do about it?" An old man in ragged clothes, hair disheveled, stood where Wei Zhao had lain, a black dark-iron staff in his hand, majestic and imposing, watching the Grand Protector with a cold smile. The aura about him was stronger than the Grand Protector's, not weaker!

"Master!" Wei Zhao, surviving his brush with death, saw the old man who had saved his life at the crucial moment, and could not help but cry out the word.

"Li'er, take Yue'er and hide, quick! Leave this one to your master!" This old man was the same eccentric Heaven-Rank fellow Wei Zhao had met after the Ice Palace trial. He had never expected to run into him here—and at the most critical moment of all.

Relief washed over Wei Zhao, yet at the same time a faint worry stirred. His bargain of a master might possess the strength of a peak late-Heaven-Rank, but his mind seemed none too sound. What if he traded a few blows and then ran off again?

Then he and Sun Jingyan would be in danger once more!

Hearing the eccentric Heaven-Rank fellow address Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan, a flicker of doubt crossed the Grand Protector's eyes. Li'er? Yue'er? Weren't those the names of those two? Was this old thing having another fit of madness—or were these two young ones before him those very same people from years ago, come in disguise?

The Grand Protector glared at the fierce-browed, glaring Heaven-Rank eccentric before him, grinding his teeth in fury. (To be continued) RQ

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