Fortunately, he had learned of the Spirit Consciousness Grass from Duanmu Yu's lips in the nick of time—it was no exaggeration to call it timely help sent in the snow. Wei Zhao looked at her and asked: "Are there many people who know about the Spirit Consciousness Grass?"

"Very few. The Spirit Consciousness Grass is a secret passed down by word of mouth within my sect—it isn't even recorded in the surviving fragments of the ancient texts concerning this Primordial Trial Ground. Apart from me, I doubt a single other trial disciple knows of it." Duanmu Yu paused there, then said with a teasing lilt: "And now you know it too. Asking about it so suddenly—you're not getting any crooked ideas, are you?"

"Crooked ideas?" Wei Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then caught on and laughed: "You mean silencing me to keep the secret. Do I look like that kind of person?"

Duanmu Yu smiled brightly. She knew perfectly well that Wei Zhao was not that kind of person—otherwise she would never have spoken up of her own accord.

"So by that reckoning, the existence of the Spirit Consciousness Grass is known only to you and me. A matter this important—why did you tell me?" Wei Zhao could not help but wonder aloud. With a rare treasure of heaven and earth like the Spirit Consciousness Grass, deceit and deadly rivalry among cultivators was the norm, and his relationship with Duanmu Yu was hardly at the level of sharing all secrets. What on earth was this woman thinking?

"No particular reason. It just came to me on a whim." A rare hint of mischief crept onto Duanmu Yu's face.

"Uh…" Wei Zhao was momentarily speechless with embarrassment. He had not realized that beyond her tough-girl exterior, this woman had such a playful side. Women truly were changeable creatures.

"To be precise, you could call it a return of a favor for a favor. I think you're a decent partner-in-arms—trustworthy and true to your word, not the sort to turn greedy and kill for treasure when the time comes." Only then did Duanmu Yu explain in earnest.

This was no mere whim on her part, but a decision reached after deep deliberation. This Primordial Trial Ground was a den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers—first the Water Lily Guardian, then the Brain-Eating Worm Envoy, then the Primordial Giant Lizard, each one an existence all but impossible to overcome, and more importantly, there was still a lord who stood above them all. The mere thought of it made the heart tremble with dread.

And the Spirit Consciousness Grass was an exceedingly rare and precious treasure of heaven and earth. Who knew what terrifying spirit beasts they might encounter along the way? The perils involved could be guessed at even with one's toes. Harvesting the Spirit Consciousness Grass would be no easy feat by any stretch, so Duanmu Yu had to find a reliable partner no matter what—and Wei Zhao was a ready-made candidate of the finest caliber.

"There aren't many people who could kill you. Why not find a partner weaker than yourself? Then you'd have no worries on that account." Wei Zhao said with a smile. This was plain truth: for all that Duanmu Yu was only at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, the Ye Ling Sect martial arts she commanded were wondrous beyond measure. If she truly set her mind to fleeing for her life, even consummate Golden Core experts like Xue Jianming and Bing Wushuang might not necessarily be able to take her life—let alone anyone else.

"Then I might as well not find one at all." Duanmu Yu shot him a glare. Her own strength was barely enough to protect herself; against some terrifying spirit beast she might well struggle even to do that. If she then took on a partner weaker than herself, would she not simply be inviting trouble?

"Heh, fair enough. How about this—once we find the Spirit Consciousness Grass, we split it half and half. Agreed?" Wei Zhao proposed.

"No problem." Duanmu Yu had no objection whatsoever. Though the information about the Spirit Consciousness Grass had come from her, she did not know its exact location—she was not even certain it truly existed. Besides, when trouble came, it would surely fall mainly to Wei Zhao to bear the brunt. Taking half was no bad bargain.

"In that case, let's get moving." Wei Zhao at once took the lead and headed forward, though a faint misgiving stirred in his heart. Xue Jianming had hurried off in this same direction just moments ago. That everyone's destination lay at the River of Divine Consciousness was hardly strange, but somehow he could not shake the feeling that matters were not so simple.

The two of them had not been far from the River of Divine Consciousness to begin with, and with Wei Zhao able to summon his Water Lily clone to point the way, they avoided many a pointless detour that others, able only to grope their way by map, would have suffered. In but half a day, Wei Zhao and Duanmu Yu arrived at the legendary River of Divine Consciousness.

At the sight before them, both were struck dumb, and for a long while neither could utter a word.

In their prior imaginings, since the River of Divine Consciousness lay deep in the mountains and dense forests, it could not be very large—at most an ordinary little brook threading through the woods. They had never expected that this was not the case at all.

The River of Divine Consciousness that met their eyes could be described in but eight words: vast and mighty, of majestic grandeur.

A thin mist shrouded the river's surface, and the far bank was lost to sight. Even Wei Zhao's divine consciousness could not probe across it. Even allowing for the interference of that strange mist upon divine consciousness, this at least proved that the River of Divine Consciousness was several li wide at the least.

"No one has ever been to this place." Wei Zhao examined the surrounding banks carefully and found no trace left by any human cultivator. It seemed that even if others had reached the River of Divine Consciousness, they were certainly not in this stretch, but somewhere farther along.

"Mm, but…" Duanmu Yu paused, puzzled: "They all say the River of Divine Consciousness can temper one's divine consciousness, yet I can't sense anything different about this river at all."

For this Primordial Trial, nearly everyone had come for the sake of the River of Divine Consciousness, yet no one knew what marvel lay within it or how exactly one was to temper divine consciousness there. Everything could only be figured out on the spot after arriving.

"Perhaps it's the work of the river water?" Wei Zhao thought it over, then dabbed a bit of river water with his hand. Not only did he bring it carefully to his nose to sniff, he even went so far as to touch it to his tongue. It was a rather risky move—after all, no one knew what trick might lurk in the River of Divine Consciousness. What if the water held a deadly poison?

But Wei Zhao dared to make such a reckless attempt precisely because he possessed a Primordial Spirit body and held the Holy Water Pearl in his grasp. Yet the result of his test left him momentarily speechless: this water was nothing but ordinary river water, without the slightest peculiarity.

Had he been an ordinary cultivator, it would have been no wonder he could not perceive its marvel. But he was Wei Zhao—and moreover a Primordial Spirit body, the most sensitive of all to divine consciousness energy. If this river water truly possessed the power to temper divine consciousness, how could he possibly fail to sense even a trace of it?