"Since that's the case, this place really is worth developing properly." Wei Zhao glanced back at Wu Chengtian and the others, who were bustling about with tremendous energy, then surveyed his surroundings and nodded in deep satisfaction.

According to what Xin Yijie had said, once the Primordial Passage closed, this place would be essentially cut off from the Primordial Small Jianghu; yet so long as spirit jade was used to keep the teleportation array activated, one could come and go freely to and from the secular world. It was simply the perfect choice for a base of operations. Settling the unconscious Gu Mengyao and the other women here would not only keep them safe beyond all worry, but would also let them be nourished by spiritual energy—two benefits for the price of one, as it were.

Having settled the matter in his mind, Wei Zhao's next task was to scout the archipelago's environment thoroughly. Though it looked harmless enough on the surface, if he intended to develop this place into a base and stronghold, he would have to investigate every possible threat in the surrounding area beforehand—at the very least, he had to know exactly what he was dealing with.

After greeting Qiu Lingshan and the others, Wei Zhao began rowing around the islands. He was not alone, however—Leng Leng had followed along this time as well.

"How are you getting along with them?" Wei Zhao asked as he rowed.

"Not bad." Leng Leng nodded. With her keep-others-at-arm's-length temperament, she actually found it quite hard to get along smoothly with other people; even if she took the initiative to fit into Wei Zhao's little circle, it was no easy matter. After all, her origins lay in the Primordial Small Jianghu, which was far, far removed from the secular world—it would actually be easier for her to get along with Huo Yudie and Huang Xiaotao and the others from Yunjie Island.

Still, Leng Leng was merely cold-natured by disposition; she was by no means one of those off-putting sorts who put on airs of superiority. So Qiu Lingshan and the rest were quite warm toward her—so warm, in fact, that she felt almost overwhelmed by the favor. And they were all guileless, straightforward girls with no schemes or calculation about them. Given time, even if they were not as close as sisters, their relationship could hardly be bad.

"They're all simple souls, easy to get along with." Wei Zhao smiled. He could tell Leng Leng was a little ill at ease. In truth, anyone who wasn't the instantly-friendly type would feel awkward in her position—but she would get used to it in time.

"Um..." Leng Leng hesitated, then asked in a small voice, "Just how many confidantes do you have, exactly?"

"Uh... I've really never counted. Besides the ones here in the secular world, there are more on Yunjie Island..." Wei Zhao could not help but sweat. Ten fingers definitely would not be enough to count them all; even adding his toes, it would be a stretch. Even in the cultivation world, which followed the old ways, a winner in life with as many confidantes as he had was truly a rare sight.

"..." Leng Leng was dumbstruck for a good while. Just today alone she had already seen more than a dozen, and that wasn't even all of them? She stared, tongue-tied. "You're not bragging, are you?"

"What's there to brag about in a thing like this?" Wei Zhao's old face flushed red.

"Men brag about this kind of thing all the time. The more confidantes you have, the stronger you're proven to be—that's perfectly normal in the Primordial Small Jianghu." Leng Leng paused, then muttered with a strange expression, "But even bragging, no one has as many as you. You really are unprecedented."

Wei Zhao sweated again. Other men might treat this as capital to show off, but to him it felt like a heavy debt—every one of them was a debt of the heart. Could he ever repay them all in this lifetime?

He had expected Leng Leng to be at least a little angry, but instead the girl's lips suddenly curved upward. "Still, it's just as well. At least it proves I didn't pick the wrong man—otherwise, could all those girls really be blind?"

Wei Zhao was instantly defeated by her formidable logic. True, all those girls being blind was an infinitesimally small probability—but did she really not feel even a trace of jealousy?

"You're not angry?" Wei Zhao asked cautiously.

"Why should I be angry?" Leng Leng looked genuinely puzzled. Powerful men naturally drew women's favor; for a figure like Wei Zhao to have many confidantes was only to be expected in the Primordial Small Jianghu. Was there any reason to be angry?

"Well..." Wei Zhao was stumped on the spot, choked for a long moment with no idea what to say. He could only change the subject. "By the way, after your training in the secular world is over, will you go back to the Primordial Small Jianghu?"

"No. Right after the secular-world training comes the Primordial Trial. Only after the trial ends do we return to the Primordial Small Jianghu," Leng Leng said, shaking her head.

"This Primordial Trial you mention—isn't it in the Primordial Small Jianghu?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.

"It is, and it isn't," said Leng Leng.

"What's that supposed to mean? That sounds rather cryptic." Wei Zhao was utterly bewildered.

"Actually, I'm not too clear on it myself. In any case, the only way to reach that place is through a teleportation array. No other method can get you there, and no one has ever truly been able to discover its location. The only connection between the Primordial Small Jianghu and that place is a one-way teleportation array—it seems you can only teleport from that place to the Primordial Small Jianghu," Leng Leng explained.

"A one-way teleportation array? So you can't teleport from the Primordial Small Jianghu to that trial ground at all—then how do you even take part in the Primordial Trial?" Wei Zhao grew even more confused.

"In the past, the Primordial Trial was held somewhere else, but this time we've run into a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. We can teleport there directly from this transit point, and after the trial ends, teleport back to the Primordial Small Jianghu from there. That must be how the Primordial Alliance has arranged it," Leng Leng said.

"There's a teleportation array here that goes to that place?" Wei Zhao was startled. But this transit point clearly had only two teleportation arrays—one connecting to the secular world, one to the Primordial Small Jianghu. He hadn't seen a third one before. Could it be on one of the other islets?

"Seems so. I'm not too clear on the details myself, but one thing I'm certain of: there is no third teleportation array on these islets," Leng Leng said, shaking her head.

"Then that's strange indeed." Wei Zhao frowned.

"That's not for us to worry about. Uncle-Master Xin will surely explain when the time comes," Leng Leng said indifferently, though a flicker of irrepressible excitement showed in her eyes. According to the Primordial Alliance, this chance at the Primordial Trial was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity; any cultivator with even a shred of ambition would find it hard to contain their excitement at such a chance—and naturally, she was no exception.

Wei Zhao clicked his tongue in wonder as he listened, but just as Leng Leng said, Xin Yijie would naturally reveal the answer when the time came. There was no need to dig to the bottom of it right now. (To be continued.)