"I told you—what isn't mine, I won't take." Duanmu Yu's resolve was firmer than his own, and she pointed at the half stalk of divine-consciousness grass lying discarded to one side. "That's the share. That's what we agreed on beforehand, isn't it?"

"But..." Wei Zhao wanted to press the point a little further. After all, by Jiu Youying's account, the effects of the divine-consciousness grass were far inferior to those of the root; even a small cut of the root would have been worth far more than this half stalk.

"No buts. This is how it will be." Duanmu Yu picked up the half stalk of divine-consciousness grass and turned to leave at once, giving Wei Zhao not the slightest opening.

"That woman is truly free and easy about things." Wu Chengtian and the others watched Duanmu Yu's retreating figure and nodded in admiration as one. Granted, if she had truly insisted on taking half, it would have been rather tactless—but to have such a huge divine-consciousness grass root laid out before her and simply decline it, just like that? Anyone else would hardly have been so magnanimous as Duanmu Yu; at the very least, they would have hesitated and weighed the matter carefully.

"Free and easy she certainly is." Wei Zhao could not help but regard Duanmu Yu in a new light once more. Worthy of the Ye Ling Sect's senior disciple—if this breadth of heart and bearing was anything to go by, this woman was absolutely no simple matter.

"Wei Zhao, you should have kept her here. A sister that cool is hard to come by—miss this village and there's no such shop again." Ying Ziyu grinned, her words carrying a double meaning.

Wei Zhao rolled his eyes, ignored her, and addressed the others: "The divine-consciousness grass root holds vast divine-consciousness energy, but that energy cannot be absorbed directly, because it carries with it a natural tempering effect on the divine consciousness. With every fraction you absorb, you must endure unparalleled pain and torment. Only once you endure it will your primordial spirits grow stronger."

"Then shall we start now?" Wu Chengtian and the others said eagerly, raring to try.

"No. Your primordial spirits are still too weak—you simply cannot withstand the impact of that divine-consciousness energy. It will only be safe once you have advanced to the Golden Core stage." Wei Zhao shook his head. The divine-consciousness grass was a true trial even for a Golden Core expert. Still, there should be no great danger—after all, this was precisely where the so-called strongest Golden Core stage came from.

"The Golden Core stage? Doesn't that mean waiting until the cows come home?" The group deflated at once. Apart from Leng Leng, all of them were merely at the early Foundation Establishment stage or its peak, still a hundred and eight thousand li from the Golden Core stage. Even with the Foundation Establishment barrier-breaking pills and foundation-establishment golden pills Wei Zhao had given them, it would be years yet.

Leng Leng, however, was nearly there. She had already reached the great consummation of Foundation Establishment; with her talent, she needed only to consolidate for a while longer. Once her reserves were restored, she could set about assailing the Golden Core stage—the time was not far off.

"No need to fret. That day will come eventually. What you must do is temper your divine consciousness well and be ready before then." As he spoke, Wei Zhao cut small pieces from the divine-consciousness grass root and handed them to everyone. Though they could not use them for the moment, they were for a rainy day—and not only these, but other pills such as the foundation-establishment golden pills, all of which Wei Zhao distributed to each person in advance, lest he one day suddenly return to Cloud-Tier Island.

Everyone put their shares away, and Qiu Lingshan suddenly asked, "Next, are all of us going to the Primordial Little Jianghu?"

"No. We need to leave some people behind here." Wei Zhao shook his head. This too was the most important preparation he had to make before heading to the Primordial Little Jianghu—he needed to allocate his people carefully.

"Who stays? Who goes?" The others exchanged glances. Ever since they had decided to take part in the Primordial Trial, they had been mentally prepared for this; it was simply that no formal decision had yet been made.

"Those bound by family ties should stay behind as far as possible. Granted, going to the Primordial Little Jianghu doesn't mean one can never return, but no one can guarantee how long one might be delayed over there—perhaps a few years, perhaps decades. Even longer is possible, so this must be weighed carefully." Wei Zhao addressed them all.

Silence fell over the group. Many of them were not solitary souls but the hope of entire clans. If they could return in a short time, well and good; but if they could not return for a while, it would amount to being cut off from their clans entirely—and by the time they came back, all might have changed beyond recognition.

And yet, they had agreed to roam the world at Wei Zhao's side. They had already sat out Cloud-Tier Island; now to sit out the Primordial Little Jianghu as well—was that fitting?

Seeing the look on their faces, Wei Zhao laughed. "There's really no need to be so solemn about it. Don't overthink. Those with family ties stay behind. As for the Primordial Little Jianghu, if we find a way to return quickly, you can follow us over then—no harm done. And if it drags on, your staying behind will let you look after matters here in the mortal world. Don't forget, you still have to keep an eye on the Center for me."

At Wei Zhao's words, the group finally relaxed considerably. Indeed, because of the Center's existence, some hands would have to remain in the mortal world to keep watch in any case.

"We have a few days yet. Everyone think it over carefully," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

The days flashed by. The disciples of the Primordial Alliance had returned one after another—though some, of course, could not. But because the spirit beasts of the trial grounds had required human tribute for Jiu Youying, most people had survived. If one spoke of the casualty rate, this was likely the lowest Primordial Trial in history.

Of course, all of this was thanks to Wei Zhao; otherwise the outcome would likely have been the exact opposite—if not total annihilation, then not far short of it. Only no one knew that.

Xue Jianming had returned. After being frightened off by Wei Zhao, he had wandered the trial grounds for a few more days, and had even thought to try his luck again at the River of Divine Consciousness—but he found nothing, and had no choice but to give up in disgrace.

And on the final day, Bing Wushuang made it back in time as well. A great consummation Golden Core expert, yet he arrived in a sorry state, because he had followed the map in search of another one-way teleportation array leading directly to the Primordial Little Jianghu—and had plunged headlong into the poisonous miasma of the Azure Void Valley, nearly dying inside.

Fei Yangnian was the same. He had been following Bing Wushuang all along, and had likewise nearly plunged into the poisonous miasma; fortunately, Bing Wushuang ahead of him had given him ample warning, or he would surely have lost his life.

The sea tide had once more covered the teleportation array. All who ought to return had returned—and those who had not returned by now most likely never would.

Xin Yi'an gathered everyone together. When Bing Wushuang saw Wei Zhao and Duanmu Yu safe and sound, he was stunned on the spot. Like Xue Jianming before him, he had assumed the two of them were doomed beyond any doubt; never had he imagined it was nothing of the sort. (To be continued.)