The moment the intent to kill took hold, the Heartless Ice Force burst forth from his body. Bing Wushuang had always been a man who acted cleanly and decisively—so long as Wei Zhao did not step in to stop him, Fei Yangnian would never live to see the sun rise.

With a thud, Fei Yangnian dropped to his knees on the spot, frightened out of his wits, and scrambled to beg for mercy: "Martial Uncle, I have revered Senior Lin from the bottom of my heart for a very long time now. For the sake of the errands I once ran and the tasks I once did for Senior Lin, I beg you, Martial Uncle, to recommend me—let me join Senior Lin's ranks as well. I will brave fire and water, I will scatter my brains and smear my liver!"

The words rang out with the weight of stone striking earth. Fei Yangnian was no fool; if he did not swear his loyalty at once, he would be paying a visit to the King of Hell. He had already styled himself Wei Zhao's underling a moment ago to gild his own face, so this business gave him not the slightest psychological hurdle—on the contrary, he could not have wished for it more.

Bing Wushuang looked to Wei Zhao. Wei Zhao thought it over; he did not much mind taking on one more lackey. But he could not trust Fei Yangnian's character, so he casually produced a Gu poison and tossed it to him. "Swallow it."

Fei Yangnian caught it and, without a single question, swallowed it down without the slightest hesitation. He knew perfectly well it was nothing good, but at a moment like this he could not afford even a flicker of hesitation. Whatever the poison was, so long as he did not betray Wei Zhao, it would not cost him his life anytime soon.

Fei Yangnian had thus passed his trial smoothly. But Bing Wushuang's gaze next fell upon Duanmu Yu. He could not have cared less whether she was the senior disciple of the Ye Ling Sect—if she was not one of their own, then she died.

Duanmu Yu was startled on the spot. She could feel the killing intent radiating from Bing Wushuang with perfect clarity, and against him her own strength offered no means of self-preservation whatsoever. She hastened to assure him: "Rest easy, both of you. I will not go around talking."

Bing Wushuang turned to consult Wei Zhao. To his mind such a promise was so much empty wind; the least trustworthy thing in the world was a vow made with nothing but a bare mouth. Whether Duanmu Yu lived or died had nothing to do with how she swore her oaths—it rested with Wei Zhao.

"It's fine. Let her be." Wei Zhao waved a hand after a moment's thought. His earlier experiences had left him with a rather good impression of Duanmu Yu. She was a woman, true, but her character was bold and forthright, with something of a tomboy about her. And the very fact that she had stepped forward to save Fei Yangnian, a man she hardly knew, showed plainly that she was a person of honor. Given her character, she would not go around talking.

Frankly speaking, in Wei Zhao's eyes Duanmu Yu was far more reliable than Fei Yangnian. Even Fei Yangnian, reduced to a lackey by the Gu poison, might not prove as dependable as this outsider Duanmu Yu.

Only then did Duanmu Yu breathe a sigh of relief. She cast Wei Zhao a look of complicated feeling, and the more she sensed how unfathomable this man was, the more, for no clear reason, she found herself trusting him a little more. Trust, after all, was mutual: when someone trusts you, you naturally come to feel a corresponding trust for that person.

Next, Bing Wushuang's gaze shifted to the water lily clone. This time, though, he had no need to ask—Wei Zhao volunteered, "Leave it alone. That thing is a spirit beast I just subdued."

"A spirit beast?" Bing Wushuang paused. A moment later his expression abruptly changed. "Don't tell me it was the mastermind behind those plants?"

He had come all this way following Xue Jianming, and Xue Jianming had tasted the bitterness of those plants—naturally Bing Wushuang had as well. The peril of it still left him shaken with lingering fear even now.

"Indeed. Allow me to introduce it—this is none other than the Water Lily Guardian of this place." Wei Zhao smiled faintly.

"Its true form is a water lily? That is truly a rare thing." Bing Wushuang's reaction was identical to Xue Jianming's before him.

"Your strength, and that of the human expert from before, is not bad at all. But it was only because I did not truly strike that you escaped disaster—otherwise you would never have lived this long." The Water Lily Guardian spoke with contempt written across its face.

This was, in fact, the plain truth. Unless Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming could break through the mirror-and-water illusion as Wei Zhao had and find its true body, and at the same time possess some means like the jade pendant's space to confine that body and strip its Still Waters of their effect, no number of Golden Core consummation experts would have made the slightest difference.

Bing Wushuang was half convinced, half doubtful, yet in his heart his respect for Wei Zhao only deepened. Setting all else aside, the Water Lily Guardian's power was beyond dispute. That Wei Zhao could tame even such a spirit beast and make it docile was a feat of skill unmatched by anyone.

"Then I shall be on my way." Bing Wushuang exchanged a word with Wei Zhao and made at once to leave.

"Wait. Take Fei Yangnian with you. It is not convenient for him to follow me, and he happens to be one of your Xue Jian Sect's people—with you, no one will grow suspicious." Wei Zhao gave the order.

"Very well." Bing Wushuang nodded, glanced at Fei Yangnian, and said, "Keep close. If you lose me, do not blame me."

"Yes, yes, I will keep close for certain." Fei Yangnian said hurriedly. Since Wei Zhao had spoken, he would cling to Bing Wushuang for dear life—otherwise, if he were truly left behind alone, how could he ever hope to leave this danger-ridden hellhole alive?

Bing Wushuang departed at once with Fei Yangnian. Now only Wei Zhao, Duanmu Yu, and the water lily clone remained. Duanmu Yu asked, "What do you plan to do next? Keep looking for Leng Leng and the others, or head straight for the River of Divine Consciousness?"

"The River of Divine Consciousness. They are heading that way in any case, so it will be easier to find them once we are there." Wei Zhao paused, then added, "But you will have to wait while I recover a little first."

"Recover from what?" Duanmu Yu did not understand at once.

Wei Zhao said nothing. He simply drew the water lily clone into the jade pendant's space, then gave a bitter smile. "I am injured."

"Injured? When?" Duanmu Yu was startled. Ever since they had left the Water Lily Guardian's lair, she had been at Wei Zhao's side the whole time. Apart from that effortless seizure of the Primeval Giant Lizard's spirit origin just now, she had not seen him lift a finger.

"Just now." As he spoke, Wei Zhao had already settled cross-legged, and a thing appeared in his hand—the very water bead he had obtained earlier from the river child, a treasure meant specifically for healing the spirit origin.

Duanmu Yu was utterly bewildered. Wei Zhao had clearly handled the Primeval Giant Lizard with ease, and from beginning to end it had been a single stroke, with the beast showing not the slightest power of resistance. How could he be injured?

"Want to know?" Wei Zhao, leaning on the water bead to heal his spirit origin, looked up at her.

"Mm." Duanmu Yu nodded. The technique Wei Zhao had just displayed was, to her, nothing short of earth-shaking and ghost-weeping, the like of which she had never seen nor heard. Even the old Nascent Soul monsters of the Ancient Little Jianghu had never pulled off such a feat. Anyone at all would be burning with curiosity—and for a woman of her abundant curiosity, it was sheer unbearable itch. (To be continued.)