What surprised him, however, was that there was no trace of any formidable sea beast in these waters. The marine life was bizarre and varied, and quite a few species were carnivorous, yet none of them posed any real threat to a cultivator. A single circuit of exploration only hardened Wei Zhao's resolve: this place truly was fit to serve as a base camp!

No sooner had Wei Zhao returned than he gathered Qiu Lingshan and the others together and laid out his plan. The group erupted in cheers on the spot—to them this meant far more than an extra base camp; it meant an extra holiday paradise!

"Boss, if that's the case, then we can't just throw together some shabby little wooden huts. We need to design and plan this properly. I happen to know a few designer friends—I'll go get the blueprints from them." Wu Chengtian could not wait to speak.

"That's right. If seaside cabins won't cut it, then let's go with a few seaside villas so everyone can have a place to stay," Qiu Lingshan and the others chimed in, nodding again and again.

"All right. As it happens, I need to head out myself. We'll go together." Wei Zhao nodded, and he and Wu Chengtian promptly set off and teleported back to the secular world.

"Boss, what business do you have to take care of?" Wu Chengtian could not help asking.

"Going to West Star Mountain Village to see the old man." Wei Zhao smiled. He had spoken with Lin Dongfang on the phone once before, but since he had rarely returned to the secular world, it would be inexcusable not to visit in person. Besides, now that they had decided to build a base camp here, he would have to invite the old man and Aunt Qing over to inspect it.

"Oh, so you're going to see Senior Lin." Wu Chengtian was instantly filled with solemn respect. He had only met Lin Dongfang once, back when He Dantou and the Iron Garment Sect had come making trouble. But that one meeting had left a deep impression. As a Heaven-Rank Great Perfection expert himself, he still had not figured out Lin Dongfang's true strength; the man simply seemed unfathomable—as unfathomable as Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao could not help but laugh at his expression. This was what they meant by distance lending enchantment—a living, breathing case of it. If this fellow spent a bit more time around the old man Wei, he would learn just what sort of creature he really was, and he would certainly not go all solemn and respectful at the mere mention of his name.

"Oh, right—do you know what Er Goudan has been up to lately?" Wei Zhao asked casually.

"Er Goudan?" Wu Chengtian blanked for a moment before realizing Wei Zhao meant Zhou Jiaming. He scratched his head. "Haven't been in touch for quite a while. Last I heard, he said something about going off to take care of a piece of business, and then he couldn't be found. He doesn't use a phone, so calling him doesn't help much either."

"He's not in West Star Mountain Village?" Wei Zhao was taken aback. He had assumed Er Goudan was staying there—after all, Er Goudan needed to drink the spirit spring water to suppress the gu poison, so he could not have left West Star Mountain Village for long. But from the sound of it, he was not there at all?

"No idea." Wu Chengtian shook his head. Er Goudan was one of his bosses too, but the two of them genuinely did not talk much. Apart from the occasional phone call to check in, there was basically no other contact—and he certainly had no idea what Er Goudan was doing.

"Nothing's happened to him, has it?" Wei Zhao frowned, though on second thought, with old man Wei himself holding the fort at West Star Mountain Village, and Er Goudan no pushover in his own right, the odds of anything going wrong were vanishingly small. Either way, one trip to West Star Mountain Village would settle everything.

Once out of the Shennongjia Mountains, Wei Zhao parted ways with Wu Chengtian and went straight to West Star Mountain Village. Standing at the village entrance and gazing at the little mountain hamlet he knew so well, he could not help but be overcome with emotion. In the blink of an eye more than three years had passed. He had changed a great deal; the whole cultivation world had changed a great deal. Yet West Star Mountain Village seemed to have changed not at all—still as tranquil as ever.

"Huh? Aren't you... what's-his-name?" A rustic-accented voice suddenly came from beside him.

Wei Zhao turned at the sound and found none other than the Widow Wang from the village general store, leaning on her window sill cracking sunflower seeds and looking him up and down. She thought for a long while before the name came to her: "Old Lin's little Yi, aren't you? Didn't you go off to the big city to work? Haven't been back in years, have you?"

"Auntie Wang, long time no see. How's the village been these past few years?" Wei Zhao greeted her with a smile.

"What's a little mountain village like ours supposed to be like? A hundred years from now it won't have changed a hair. But you, little Yi—you've changed a lot! Tsk tsk, that outfit you're wearing, all name brands, isn't it? Living in the big city really does make a difference. Not like us bumpkins here in the village!" Widow Wang praised him between cracks of sunflower seeds.

"Not at all. They're just cheap things," Wei Zhao said with an awkward laugh.

"Hey, don't go thinking Auntie Wang's never seen the world. I can tell a name brand at a glance." Widow Wang looked utterly certain, then asked, "You're back to see your grandpa, aren't you? Don't worry, he's fine. It's been a bit chaotic around the village lately, but your family doesn't keep chickens or ducks, so there's no loss to worry about."

"What's been going on in the village?" Wei Zhao was startled.

"Huh? You don't know?" Widow Wang was rather surprised. She had assumed Wei Zhao had rushed back after hearing something had happened in the village and wanted to look in on old Lin. She had not expected him to know nothing at all.

"No, I don't," Wei Zhao said blankly, shaking his head.

"Come, come, come—nothing better to do anyway, so let Auntie Wang fill you in properly." Widow Wang perked right up. Apart from watching television, her daily pleasure was chewing the fat with people to pass the time, but it was always the same few old faces, nothing interesting. Today she finally had a new listener. She lowered her voice conspiratorially: "You don't know this, but it's not just our West Star Mountain Village—the whole area around West Star Mountain isn't peaceful."

Wei Zhao had meant to go straight to see old man Wei, but since Widow Wang had stopped him, he might as well hear what this was all about. He walked over and said, "What do you mean, the village isn't peaceful?"

"Ghosts!" Widow Wang said, determined to startle him with a single word.

"Huh? Ghosts?" Wei Zhao was startled. West Star Mountain Village had always been peaceful—you would not see a single unfamiliar face there all year round. How could there suddenly be ghosts?

"Well..." Widow Wang thought it over and amended herself. "Actually, I can't be sure it's ghosts. Maybe it's monsters."

"..." Wei Zhao was left speechless. He knew at once that Auntie Wang had simply picked up some rumors and was having him on. First ghosts, now monsters—what next, a macaque-faced monk with a thunderbolt mouth? (To be continued.)