"That's right—we ran into a one-eyed giant bear on the way, and it had to be at least mid-Foundation Establishment in strength. The thing was savagely vicious, absolutely nightmarish. It sent even Duanmu Yu flying with a single swat, and the rest of us were worse off still—most of the group got taken alive. I only scraped through because I had the sense to bolt into the dense forest. And just when I thought I'd earned a moment's relief, I ended up like this." Fei Yangnian's face was a mask of dejection.

"You're saying Duanmu Yu is dead?" Wei Zhao's brow arched slightly. Duanmu Yu had left a fairly strong impression on him, and not an unkind one; it would be a genuine pity if she had perished like that.

"That much, surely not. She hasn't shown herself since the bear batted her away. My guess is she's certainly wounded, but not so badly as to be fatal—she is, after all, one of the few and far between powerhouses at the Foundation Establishment realm." Fei Yangnian shook his head.

"That's a relief, then." Wei Zhao nodded.

"Ah, if only I hadn't let myself be seduced by some foolish notion and chosen to go with Duanmu Yu back then. If I'd just honestly followed Senior Lin, even the worst outcome wouldn't have been as bad as this..." Fei Yangnian sighed, regret written all over his face.

"Heh, you flatter yourself." Wei Zhao gave a short laugh and shook his head. "You merely came across a mid-Foundation Establishment one-eyed giant bear. My own path met with the Ancient Goumang King and a scarlet-scaled serpent right from the start—both late-Foundation Establishment spirit beasts of considerable power. After that came more beasts of every shape and size than I could count, and then a brain-eating worm of unfathomable strength, invincible within the Foundation Establishment realm if my judgment holds. Do you really think traveling with me would have ended well for you?"

"That ferocious?!" Fei Yangnian was struck dumb. Set beside the things Wei Zhao described, that one-eyed giant bear was a perfect little darling—an utter nobody.

"Otherwise, would you be seeing me here?" Wei Zhao shot back with a curl of his lip.

"Er... I suppose not." Fei Yangnian gave a sheepish laugh. He reflected that if even Wei Zhao had sunk to such straits, those who had followed him must be beyond saving. Small thanks that he had chosen Duanmu Yu's route instead—by comparison it had been the easy setting. Had he truly gone with Wei Zhao, that would have been a nightmare in the truest sense.

While the two were speaking, the green tendrils around Fei Yangnian had bound him ever tighter. One among them was especially thick, its needle-sharp spines oozing a dark-green sap, and it was making ready to drive itself into his body.

At the sight, Fei Yangnian nearly wet himself and cried out in a hurry: "Senior Lin, save me!"

Before the words had died away, Wei Zhao had already struck. A blast of Five Elements killing qi, carrying a low dragon's roar, met that tendril head-on, and the tendril snapped clean through on impact. Fei Yangnian had scraped past another disaster.

Yet before he could draw a breath of relief, the mass of other green tendrils around them went berserk, like a hornet's nest stirred up, all of them launching a frenzied assault. And what made Fei Yangnian want to weep was that their target from first to last was him alone. Wei Zhao, standing right before him, was not touched at all—as though he had been taken for pure air, as though in the senses of the twin-blossom man-eater, Wei Zhao simply did not exist.

"What in the world is going on?!" Fei Yangnian was on the verge of tears. With his meager strength, how could he withstand such a frenzied assault from so many tendrils? And he was bound tight as a dumpling besides—forget striking back, he did not even have the chance to dodge.

Wei Zhao, of course, would not stand by and let him die. At once several blasts of Five Elements killing qi flew out and severed the green tendrils binding Fei Yangnian. That could not resolve his predicament entirely, but at least it gave him a fighting chance to save himself.

Fei Yangnian seized it like a drowning man clutching the last straw. Ignoring the wounds still lingering in his body, he began with all his might to dodge and weave, taking as few blows as he could. As for striking back—that was sheer fantasy to him, not worth a moment's thought.

Human potential is boundless. In that moment, the strength Fei Yangnian displayed far surpassed his own cultivation. Unfortunately, even so it could only prolong his struggle. If this kept up, he would still meet his end in exhaustion.

"Senior Lin, save me!" Fei Yangnian could only plead again, face bitter. What choice had he? He had to beg—otherwise he would die.

This time, however, Wei Zhao paid him no heed, only stood aside in thought, watching the show. Now Fei Yangnian truly did weep. Were he not so busy dodging, he would have dropped to his knees before Wei Zhao on the spot.

In mere moments, Fei Yangnian had taken four or five blows. Each time, luck had spared him a vital spot, but even so his flesh was split and his wounds were severe; a few more blows and he would truly be finished.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao had not wholly abandoned him. Just as Fei Yangnian was about to give out, Wei Zhao suddenly unleashed the Frenzied Fire Fist.

A wave of terrifying heat surged forward. Fei Yangnian's eyes lit up at the sight. He had no notion how this twin-blossom man-eater had come by its powers, but one thing was certain: flame was the natural bane of grass and wood.

Then Fei Yangnian realized that Wei Zhao's Frenzied Fire Fist was coming straight for his own face. He yelped in alarm: "Wrong! Wrong! Senior Lin, don't aim at me!"

Wei Zhao ignored him. The Frenzied Fire Fist slammed straight into Fei Yangnian, while the green tendrils that had been attacking him so savagely withdrew far to one side. Plainly, they were indeed afraid of fire.

It was a good while before Fei Yangnian finally caught his breath. He spat out a mouthful of black smoke, his whole body a scorched, bedraggled mess, and staggered to his feet. The instant he saw Wei Zhao, he hurried to shrink backward, terrified that Wei Zhao might hit him again.

The twin-blossom man-eater had not taken his life, and now he was to die at Wei Zhao's hands instead—what an injustice that would be!

"What are you hiding for?" Wei Zhao glanced at him, half amused.

"Huh?" Fei Yangnian did not catch on at once. He had been ready to fall to his knees and beg. In his present state, if Wei Zhao wanted his life it was the work of a flick of a finger—no, not even that. Wei Zhao had only to keep watching with folded arms, and he was already a dead man.

"Still don't understand? Look around you." Wei Zhao offered a hint.

Fei Yangnian was utterly baffled. At those words he glanced behind him without thinking—and then suddenly froze, for he saw that the green tendrils which had been attacking him so savagely a moment ago now hung motionless, showing not the slightest intent to attack.

"This... how can this be?" Beyond delight, Fei Yangnian's face showed mostly astonishment. He truly could not make sense of what was happening. (To be continued.)