Beyond voicing her worries, Tian Chan's letter also touched on the recent state of the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion. Wei Zhao frowned to himself as he read, yet in the present circumstances there was nothing he could do. A clever housewife cannot cook without rice—without an adequate supply of high-grade elixirs, it was inevitable that business would gradually be stolen away by the famous Medicine Sect, which now had the seventh-rank alchemist Zheng Dongyang personally presiding over it.

From the very start, Wei Zhao had allowed only three months for the projected spirit-yuan. According to the Southern Heavenly Aurora, three months was essentially the limit for such a projection, and so the high-grade elixirs he had prepared in advance were only enough to sustain him for three months. He had never expected that, thanks to the unexpected boon of the Star-Ink Charcoal, he could hold out safely until now. That the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion should find itself struggling to keep going was, then, only to be expected.

But matters had come to this, and the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion could only rely on Tian Chan and the others to keep shoring it up. Though it seemed Wei Zhao had nothing to do here in the secular world for the moment, an Ancient Alliance had cropped up, and the Ancient Trials would soon follow. Whenever the chance came, Wei Zhao would have to investigate it himself. Compared with that, the Pavilion's difficulties were a small matter indeed.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion was merely in a difficult position. With the solid reputation it had built over the past few years as a foundation, the worst it faced was some shrinkage in business, not the desperate straits of shutting its doors. And with a patron like Ota Zhou watching over it, the Medicine Sect could at most resort to some petty, underhanded tricks in the dark; it could never strike at the Pavilion's foundations. The Heavenly Elixir Pavilion stood as steady as Mount Tai.

As usual, this was a letter to be answered. After reading it, Wei Zhao immediately wrote back to Tian Chan and the others. Besides briefly describing his own situation to set their minds at ease, he raised another matter in the letter: he asked them to collect the cultivation methods of the various sects of Cloud Terrace Island.

This was by no means a mere whim; in truth, Wei Zhao had long harbored the idea. Back when he had used the Azure Cloud Serene Heart Formula to subdue Xin Yi'an, he had already been sighing that he should have collected more sect methods while he had the chance.

They did not need to be profound or exquisite—only the entry-level methods of the various sects on Cloud Terrace Island would do. With those in hand, he would be more than the martial grand-uncle of the Cangwu Sect of North Island; he trusted that wherever he went among the Ancient Sects, he would be enshrined as a martial grand-uncle. Especially if he were to have further dealings with the Ancient Alliance in the future—these sect methods would be the finest calling cards.

Of course, relying solely on the abilities of Tian Chan and her companions, gathering the cultivation methods of every sect on Cloud Terrace Island on a large scale would be no easy task. After all, these were the closely guarded secrets of each sect; even the most basic entry-level methods were never made public. There were only two ways to get them: either bribe disciples within those sects, or buy them outright from the black market at a high price.

Commanding the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion, that veritable money-making engine, Tian Chan and the others had no lack of spirit jade. So long as a sect's method appeared on the black market, obtaining it should not prove difficult. The difficulty lay with those tight-lipped sects of Cloud Terrace Island—if a method was not even to be found on the black market, then matters became troublesome.

Yet Wei Zhao had still written as he did, believing that Tian Chan and the others would surely accomplish this for him. Even if the black market yielded nothing for the moment, they could always think of other means. Of course, he had only said that the more sect methods the better; he had not insisted that they obtain every last one. If some truly could not be had, it did not matter.

The reply was sent off quickly. Before delivering the letter, the other party had said they would come to the Mystery Investigation Bureau in three days to collect it. As for how they knew the Bureau's address, there was no need to inquire—the Bureau's external secrecy was hardly airtight. Practically every cultivation force knew the location of its headquarters, so the Center would naturally have no trouble finding it.

After that, Wei Zhao returned to his former quiet life. Apart from exploring and practicing some practical divine-sense techniques on his own, his remaining concern was the situation of Qiu Lingshan and the others.

After months of dedicated cultivation, aided by the rich spiritual qi of their surroundings and the top-grade Foundation Establishment golden elixirs Wei Zhao had provided, the group—though the difficulty of their breakthrough far exceeded that of ordinary people—had one after another reached the threshold, with only the final step of Foundation Establishment left before them.

Yet to the vast majority, that final step was as hard as scaling the heavens. Many people, even given a lifetime, never managed to take it. What it demanded was not only innate talent and aptitude, but, more importantly, perseverance and resolve. Without the will to burn one's boats, Foundation Establishment was fated to remain a distant, unattainable luxury for them.

Wei Zhao understood all this perfectly well, but there was nothing he could do—only wait, and wait for the moment when they came to their awakening.

On another front, Dr. Glasses' curiosity about Wei Zhao only grew deeper. Especially after he had sent the letter off, his mind itched unbearably; nearly every waking moment he was speculating—just who on earth was this Wei Zhao?!

Unfortunately, Lan Xiaoru's strict orders from above forbade him to open Wei Zhao's letters, much less to probe into Wei Zhao himself. A single misstep, after all, could cost him not merely his prospects but perhaps his very life.

Even so, he could tell from the cautious attitude those above adopted toward Wei Zhao that Wei Zhao's true identity must belong to someone of extraordinary standing. If he could find a way to uncover it, there might be great opportunity in it—provided, of course, that it was done without the slightest notice. Should word leak out, he would be in serious trouble.

Just as Dr. Glasses was hesitating and twitching with indecision, Xue Jianming arrived uninvited and, with a fawning smile, probed, "Chief, that key-cultivation program you mentioned to me last time—has it been approved up top yet?"

"Heh, you're an impatient one," Dr. Glasses said with a mocking shake of his head. "A key-cultivation slot means vast amounts of resources; the quota is exceedingly precious and scarce. Few in the entire Center ever receive such treatment. Every aspect must be weighed and balanced, and your worth for key cultivation confirmed first. How many days has it been since you raised it? You think approval comes that easily?"

"Yes, yes, your subordinate was merely eager to earn merit, hoping to raise his strength quickly so as to win over the Ancient Alliance for our Center a day sooner," Xue Jianming said, brazenly thick-skinned.

Dr. Glasses glanced at him, privately marveling at just how utterly shameless this fellow was, and could not help but smile. "There's no need to rush this. I still carry some weight in the Center. So long as you perform well, this key-cultivation slot will be yours for the taking. Just wait patiently." (To be continued.)