"What?" Bing Wushuang failed to grasp his meaning for a moment; he was still caught up in the lingering dread of having narrowly escaped disaster.

"I'm asking, how does that half stalk of divine-consciousness grass work for you?" Wei Zhao repeated.

"I..." Bing Wushuang did not hesitate much, and answered straight out: "I haven't used it yet. It's yours. A mistake demands a price—I can understand that."

"For me?" Wei Zhao laughed at this, then shook his head. "You misunderstand. I brought up the divine-consciousness grass not because I need it, but because I want you to use it up sooner rather than later."

"Why?" Bing Wushuang was stunned.

"Because the tempering effect of this thing on one's divine consciousness is at its best during the Golden Core stage. Once you become a Yuan Ying expert, the value of divine-consciousness grass will plunge dramatically." There was a knowing depth in Wei Zhao's words.

"Yuan Ying stage?" Bing Wushuang blanked for an instant, then grasped it at once. He was no fool, and he could taste the deeper meaning in Wei Zhao's words. In an instant his eyes glittered with disbelief: "Are you saying you can make me condense a Yuan Ying?"

Though he was already an expert at the great perfection of the Golden Core, only the final step away from the Yuan Ying stage, even so he would never dare hope to condense a Yuan Ying in so short a time—that was utterly unrealistic. Otherwise the number of Yuan Ying old monsters across the whole of the Primordial Little Jianghu would not be so pitifully small.

"Of course." As he spoke, Wei Zhao casually tossed him a pill. In this place visibility was so poor that a few meters away one could see nothing at all, and even divine consciousness was blocked; even if Xue Jianming were following behind, he would see nothing.

Bing Wushuang caught the pill and examined it closely. Once he made out its appearance and quality, he froze on the spot as though struck dumb; only when he heard footsteps approaching from behind did he snap back to himself, and hastily pressed his wild joy down into his heart.

An Infant-Condensing Golden Pill! What Wei Zhao had tossed him was in fact an Infant-Condensing Golden Pill! And what mattered more, it was of the rarest top-grade quality!

In this Primordial Little Jianghu, even an ordinary Golden Condensation Pill was already a top-tier pill that could not be bought on the open market at all—only those with special connections and special channels could get their hands on one. As for the Infant-Condensing Golden Pill, most people had never even heard of such a thing; even someone of Bing Wushuang's standing had caught only a scrap of rumor about it, and had never laid eyes on one.

Search the whole Snow Sword Sect from top to bottom, and likely not a single Infant-Condensing Golden Pill could be found; as for a top-grade one, there would not be one in all the Primordial Little Jianghu.

He had never imagined it. After learning that he had stood by and let a man die, Wei Zhao had not punished him—instead he had given him such a top-grade Infant-Condensing Golden Pill. Bing Wushuang was now shocked into complete speechlessness; the look he turned on Wei Zhao held not the slightest defiance anymore, but had become utter awe.

Before today, Bing Wushuang had acknowledged that Wei Zhao was unfathomably deep, yet in his heart he had still nursed a measure of pride—at least in his own eyes, he and Wei Zhao were figures of the same tier, and it was only ill fortune that had placed him under another's thumb.

But now, this single top-grade Infant-Condensing Golden Pill had at last made him see reality. Not to mention himself—search the whole Primordial Little Jianghu and one could not find a single being to stand on equal footing with Wei Zhao. Wei Zhao's origins must surely tower above the entire Primordial Alliance. Of that there was no doubt!

One could only look up to him; one could not turn away from him. Bing Wushuang silently warned himself thus. He was an exceedingly practical and clever man, and a clever man would naturally not make the same mistake twice.

"Remember, wait until you've used up the divine-consciousness grass before you attempt to break through to Yuan Ying. Even though it is the same breakthrough, an ordinary expert at the great perfection of the Golden Core and the strongest such expert are worlds apart," Wei Zhao reminded him.

"I understand." Bing Wushuang nodded.

More than half a day later, the party at last reached the foot of the mountain without mishap. Here stood a temporary relay station set up specifically by the Primordial Alliance. Apart from making periodic trips up to the summit to inspect the teleportation array, the staff were also charged with feeding the flying spiritual beasts of the various sects, kept ready for people to ride.

"Brother Lin, for a great kindness one does not speak thanks. I, Ling Tianyou, owe you a life. Till we meet again." Ling Tianyou led several disciples of the Thousand Blades Sect in taking leave of Wei Zhao. Though Wei Zhao was the grand-uncle-master of the Cangwu Sect of North Island, Ling Tianyou still meant to address him as an equal; as the peerless prodigy the Thousand Blades Sect had never before produced, Ling Tianyou had the confidence to stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone.

"Till we meet again." Wei Zhao nodded. Then, glancing at Xue Jianming, who was stirring restlessly not far off, he warned: "It seems, Brother Ling, you had best be careful on the road."

Though he feared the mad retaliation of the Thousand Blades Sect, from where Xue Jianming stood, having already hunted the man once, there was no need to keep hiding it. Better to come at him again openly and squarely: so long as the threat of Ling Tianyou was nipped in the bud, the vengeance of the rest of the Thousand Blades Sect was nothing to fear—after all, the sect had no Yuan Ying old monster to hold the fort at present, while he, Xue Jianming, was a genuine expert at the great perfection of the Golden Core!

"Brother Lin need not trouble yourself. If I, Ling Tianyou, could be killed so easily, how could I bear the weight of reviving the Thousand Blades Sect?" Ling Tianyou smiled with utmost confidence, then at once urged his flying spiritual beast into the air. Earlier, at the Primordial Trial Grounds, matters had come upon him too suddenly, which was why he had been so bedraggled; now that he was back in the Primordial Little Jianghu, even against an expert at the great perfection of the Golden Core, taking his life would not be so easy.

Sure enough, after Ling Tianyou departed, Xue Jianming soon abandoned the rest of the Snow Sword Sect and set off alone. His intent was plain for all to see.

None of this, however, was any concern of Wei Zhao's. For the time being he had no plans to deal with Xue Jianming; as for Ling Tianyou, the two shared no bond of friendship at all, and he would certainly not spend his effort on such an outsider.

"I must be going too." Duanmu Yu came to take her leave as well, and after a moment's hesitation said: "If you ever come to Middle Island, you can look me up at the Ye Ling Sect."

"I will." Wei Zhao nodded. He had gotten along rather well with this tomboyish woman; after all, they were comrades in life and death.

Ling Tianyou had gone, Duanmu Yu had gone, and next it was Leng Leng's turn. However close she had grown to Wei Zhao, she was in the end still one of the Snow Sword Sect, and could not follow him to the Cangwu Sect of North Island.

"Will Leng Leng be all right, going back alone like this?" Qiu Lingshan and the others could not help worrying. Leng Leng had once been branded a traitor disciple of the Snow Sword Sect, and there was still Xue Jianming as her enemy—they had already come to blows back at the Primordial Trial Grounds, and it was hard to say whether he would try again once she returned to the sect.