"Spirit jade is not something found only in the Ancient Little Jianghu," Wei Zhao said with an unfathomable smile, neither confirming nor denying.

Xin Yijie could not help drawing a sharp breath at these words. Wei Zhao had meant Cloud Terrace Island, but to his ears it naturally became proof that the secular world too possessed spirit jade mines—a miracle unheard of since the dawn of time! That a secular world with spiritual energy so thin could still nurture spirit jade mines!

It was a good while before Xin Yijie recovered from his astonishment. "Since Grand-Uncle-Master is so generous," he said gratefully, "this disciple would be most ungrateful to decline."

?"Think nothing of it. I have plenty of the stuff," Wei Zhao said with an offhand laugh, nearly making Xin Yijie stumble again. The look he turned on Wei Zhao grew ever more reverent. Wealth, after all, was in a sense a manifestation of strength. A moment ago this man had casually handed out three top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, and now he had casually produced a pile of spirit jade—who would have thought this Grand-Uncle-Master was a god of wealth as well!

Suppressing his shock, Xin Yijie waited until Wei Zhao and the others had taken their places in the teleportation formation, then promptly activated it. The world blurred before their eyes, and the scenery changed in an instant.

"This is?" Wei Zhao had assumed the way station would still lie deep in the Shennongjia Mountains, but to his surprise it was a small island. Apart from a few similar islets nearby, there was nothing on every side but vast empty sea, without a single landmark—no way at all to tell where they were.

One thing, however, was certain: this place could not possibly be the secular world, for the spiritual energy here was quite dense—far beyond anything the secular world could offer.

"This is the Ancient Sea Region, the way station between the secular world and the Ancient Little Jianghu. Pray look, Grand-Uncle-Master—that teleportation formation opposite is the Ancient Passage connecting to the Ancient Little Jianghu," Xin Yijie explained.

Wei Zhao looked where he indicated. Sure enough, a similar formation stood not far off across the water. "You mean to have them attempt Foundation Establishment here?" he asked.

"Indeed. The spiritual energy here is about as dense as in the Ancient Little Jianghu. If these quasi-disciples are of solid enough aptitude, it will be enough for them to attempt Foundation Establishment," Xin Yijie said with a nod.

"I wonder. If there were no time limit, letting them cultivate here for a few decades would be no problem. But there are only ten and a half months. To attempt Foundation Establishment on nothing but this ambient spiritual energy—easier said than done, surely?" Wei Zhao shook his head. In his view, unless these secular-world cultivators were given pills such as Foundation Establishment Pills, their chances of success were vanishingly small.

"Ambient spiritual energy alone is indeed not enough. But scattered across these islets are several dozen spirit eyes, where the spiritual energy is at least tens of times denser than normal. Let them cultivate beside a spirit eye for ten and a half months—if they still cannot achieve Foundation Establishment, then one can only say they were never fated to join the Ancient Alliance," Xin Yijie said with a faint smile.

"Spirit eyes?" Wei Zhao was taken aback.

"Just so. Pray follow me, Grand-Uncle-Master." Xin Yijie at once led the way. Several small wooden boats were moored at the island's edge; flimsy things, to be sure, but with only a few li between the islets, they were more than enough to ferry back and forth.

The senior brothers in charge and the quasi-disciples from the Ancient sects who had come through earlier were now nowhere to be seen—clearly they had gone to find spirit eyes of their own. Led by Xin Yijie, Wei Zhao and his party soon found one on a nearby islet.

It was right on the beach, at first glance nothing but an unremarkable little sand dune. But the moment one drew near, the air fairly brimmed with spiritual energy, so dense that even Wei Zhao could not help clicking his tongue in wonder. The conditions here were a match even for the cultivation caves of Cloud Terrace Island.

"Really? The spiritual energy here is so abundant—it makes you feel clear through and through. It's wonderful!" Never in her life had Qiu Lingshan experienced such dense spiritual energy. Had Xin Yijie and the others not been present, she would have loved nothing more than to wallow in the sand on the spot—it would have felt heavenly from head to toe.

Even Leng Leng, who had come along, wore a look of pure enjoyment. Spirit eyes like this were scarce even in the Ancient Little Jianghu, and disciples sent out to temper themselves in the secular world were as a rule not permitted to stay and monopolize them absent special circumstances. Otherwise, most people would never be willing to waste their time in the secular world—they would spend the whole year guarding such a place and cultivating, and the quasi-disciples of the secular world would never get a look in.

"This islet has been allotted to my Cangwu Sect of North Island for our exclusive use. This old man has had a look—there is another spring eye on the other side. Grand-Uncle-Master may take the two young ladies over to see it," Xin Yijie said, ever considerate.

Wei Zhao nodded and at once took Qiu Lingshan and Leng Leng around to the other side. Sure enough, it was just the same as the one before.

"This place is really lovely—islands, beaches, and spirit eyes brimming with energy. It feels like a holiday," Qiu Lingshan said, stretching luxuriously as she buried herself in the sand with complete disregard for appearances.

Leng Leng, on the other hand, had sat down cross-legged on the spot and begun to meditate. Clearly she meant to make the most of this rare opportunity to cultivate in earnest—her attitude was far more proper than Qiu Lingshan's.

Wei Zhao could not help laughing at the sight. Still, it was hardly surprising that Qiu Lingshan was so languid. She was not like Leng Leng, whose every ounce of strength had been won through her own diligent cultivation—sitting in meditation had become second nature to her. Qiu Lingshan's strength, at the great perfection of the Heaven Grade, had been given to her outright by Wei Zhao; rushing about in the post of deputy director of the Mysterious Investigation Bureau was the life she was used to.

"The Ancient Alliance business is all settled anyway. Why not just take some leave altogether? It's not often we get to spend a holiday together," Wei Zhao suggested with a smile.

"Yes, yes!" Qiu Lingshan agreed at once, then asked, "But what about everyone else?"

"You really are a silly girl—straightforward to a fault," Wei Zhao said with a speechless shake of his head. She clearly wanted him all to herself, and though Leng Leng was now one extra, that was still far better than a whole crowd crammed together. Yet her first thought had been for the others. He hardly knew whether to call her innocent and honest, or simply scatterbrained.

"Isn't that right, though?" Qiu Lingshan looked baffled, then after a moment clapped a hand to her head. "Oh, right! If Wu Chengtian and the others came too, there'd be no one to look after Mengyao and the rest!"

Wei Zhao was utterly lost for words, but her remark did remind him of something. He nodded repeatedly. "True enough. Since the spiritual energy here is so abundant, it would surely do Mengyao and the others good as well. Why not bring them all here to convalesce? Who knows—there might even be an unexpected bonus in it!" (To be continued.)