"We've finally made it through..." Duanmu Yu let out a long breath of relief. But before she could even finish exhaling, Xue Jianming, who had already fled to the shore ahead of her, turned back without the slightest warning and lashed out with a kick—so sudden that she had no time to react. It caught her square in the chest.

There was no time to make any corrective move. Duanmu Yu and Wei Zhao on her back both froze in place, then in the next instant were swallowed by the massive wave surging up behind them, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"Heh heh. A fine pair of lovers—rest in peace." A sinister curve hung at the corner of Xue Jianming's mouth. He had been thinking about how to deal with the two of them ever since a moment ago. Duanmu Yu he did not take seriously, but Wei Zhao was his number-one enemy. Ordinarily he could do nothing about Wei Zhao, but now a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had been handed to him on a platter—how could he possibly let it pass?

The only thing was that the earlier scene of Wei Zhao transforming into an azure dragon had been truly astonishing—so much so that even knowing full well Wei Zhao was now utterly weakened, Xue Jianming still did not dare act rashly. If Wei Zhao had some life-preserving trick still hidden up his sleeve, and the deed were exposed, that would be a real mess.

Never forget that the Center had strictly forbidden them from provoking Wei Zhao. Dealing with the likes of Leng Leng and those around him was already crossing the line—that had been his and Dr. Glasses' own impromptu decision. If word got out that they had made a move against Wei Zhao, even Dr. Glasses could not bear the monumental consequences!

Having just gone through the Center's key cultivation program, Xue Jianming understood the terror of the Center far more deeply than the likes of Bing Wushuang. If in the past he had still carried a measure of superiority as a lofty figure of the Primordial Alliance, then now he had completely snuffed out that notion. To defy an order was treason; to betray the Center was to court death!

But now it was all fine. Wei Zhao and Duanmu Yu had both been swept into the River of Divine Consciousness by the giant wave. No matter how many tricks he had, the outcome needed no spelling out—certain death, beyond any doubt!

And not just the two of them—even Xue Jianming himself had been terrified in that instant when he was submerged. His soul had nearly fled his body; that horrifying experience, in which it felt as though even his spirit would be sucked away, would be a nightmare he would never wish to recall for the rest of his life.

"This river is seriously cursed!" Xue Jianming muttered with lingering fear, though he did not take it too much to heart. Whatever the River of Divine Consciousness was, it no longer concerned him. Wei Zhao and Duanmu Yu had vanished from this world completely, without a soul the wiser—and most importantly, he had gotten his hands on the Divine Consciousness Grass he had dreamed of!

As he gleefully examined the Divine Consciousness Grass in his hand, Xue Jianming suddenly felt a chill run through his body and gave an involuntary shiver. At the same time his head swam for a moment, though it quickly returned to normal. He frowned in puzzlement. "Don't tell me I've caught a cold? A little dunking in the water does this to me? This river really is cursed beyond belief."

He was a cultivator at the Gold Core great-circle stage, for heaven's sake—normally immune to all ailments. By all reason, no matter how he exerted himself, a trifling cold or minor illness should never befall him; even injury could only come from being struck by another. What on earth was going on here?!

He carefully examined himself from head to toe and found nothing abnormal, so he set his mind at ease and went back to eagerly studying the Divine Consciousness Grass he had just obtained. Little did he know that, without his noticing, a tiny, imperceptible pinprick had appeared in his mind—and within that pinprick, a minuscule white worm lay quietly coiled.

Xue Jianming was completely unaware of this. With a smug, cold laugh he glanced back at the spot where Wei Zhao and Duanmu Yu had fallen into the water, and was about to put away the Divine Consciousness Grass and leave. This place was fraught with danger; not a place to linger.

"Leaving just like that? That doesn't seem quite appropriate." Bing Wushuang's figure flashed into being along with the words—and Fei Yangnian, who should have been following him, was nowhere to be seen.

"You've been following me this whole time?" Xue Jianming started in alarm and immediately went on guard as though facing a mortal foe. He was no fool. Last time, running into Bing Wushuang while dealing with Leng Leng could be written off—he could勉强 pass it off as coincidence. But afterward, when he had clearly escaped using Traceless Snowstep, Bing Wushuang had still been able to lead the Primordial Giant Lizard to find him. And now he had suddenly appeared before him again. If all of this was still coincidence, then hell had frozen over!

"Compared to the grand deeds you've been up to, are my little doings worth mentioning?" Bing Wushuang said without expression.

"When did you get here?" Xue Jianming asked hastily. He had to confirm whether the other party knew about his killing of Wei Zhao—this was a matter of life and death!

"Just now." Bing Wushuang's answer made him breathe a sigh of relief—but the very next instant plunged his heart into the depths: "Right when you kicked Wei Zhao and Duanmu Yu down."

"Bullshit! I only kicked Duanmu Yu!" Xue Jianming hastened to clarify.

"Yes. Unfortunately, Wei Zhao was on her back when you kicked her. I saw it perfectly clearly. No amount of quibbling will change anything," Bing Wushuang said with an inscrutable expression.

"You..." Xue Jianming was choked speechless for a moment. No matter how he calculated, he could never have guessed that this heaven-sent kick of his would be witnessed firsthand by Bing Wushuang!

If it had been anyone else, it would not matter—with his strength he could simply silence them forever. But this was Bing Wushuang, a fellow Gold Core great-circle cultivator in no way inferior to himself—and crucially, also a member of the Center like himself. If this matter were reported up the chain, the mere thought of the consequences sent a chill through his heart!

In his desperation, Xue Jianming's eyes darted about, and he suddenly blurted out: "I've got it! You're one of Wei Zhao's people!"

"What did you say?" Bing Wushuang's eyes flickered.

"You're one of Wei Zhao's people!" Xue Jianming repeated with a cold laugh. A moment ago it had been nothing but a wild guess born of desperation, but now, seeing Bing Wushuang's reaction, he was suddenly certain of it. Yes—this man was Wei Zhao's. Only that could explain all those earlier occurrences that defied reason.

"Go on." Bing Wushuang was not flustered or furious; instead, he adopted a posture of attentive listening.

"Heh heh, I've figured it all out. The Center headquarters' key cultivation program had only one slot—and that slot was me. Otherwise, even if Dr. Glasses hadn't told me, I would surely have heard some rumor from those researchers. But there was not a whisper of it, which means from beginning to end I was the only one," Xue Jianming deduced confidently.

"So what if that's true?" Bing Wushuang countered.

"Since you were not part of the key cultivation program, then your advance from late Gold Core to Gold Core great-circle in a mere month and a half must have something fishy behind it. Looking across the entire mundane world, the only one with the ability to pull that off appears to be a single person—Wei Zhao!" Xue Jianming grew more certain with every word. To be continued.