Unlike the Soul-Hooking Hand, the Primal-Spirit Devouring could take one's opponent directly as its own nourishment—not only would it not drain one's divine-consciousness energy, it could even increase it substantially. That was the root of the Nine Infants' tireless delight in it.

Wei Zhao, however, was not accustomed to such a method. For one thing, his instincts told him it was too damaging to human nature, carrying the feel of an untamed beast; for another, he felt the hidden perils were far too great.

Methods that came too quickly always came with no small hidden dangers.

The Nine Infants, by virtue of its nine heads, could recklessly devour all manner of primal spirits—but if Wei Zhao dared to do so, it might not be long before he suffered a splitting of his psyche, or in the worst case, the collapse of his very primal spirit.

Seen through the lens of conspiracy, the Nine Infants' willingness to so readily divulge the core secret of Primal-Spirit Devouring might well have been an attempt to land Wei Zhao in trouble; if he proved as unable to resist the temptation of rapid cultivation as the Nine Infants did, he would likely find himself bled dry in short order.

So unless utterly unavoidable, Wei Zhao truly did not wish to use Primal-Spirit Devouring against anyone. Steady progress and solid, step-by-step consolidation were the proper path.

Without Primal-Spirit Devouring, the Soul-Hooking Hand became Wei Zhao's only offensive primal-spirit technique for the time being, its importance beyond question. What he had to do now was to explore and refine it further, to further enhance its power—after all, having come to this ancient small martial world, he would face not merely Golden Core late-stage cultivators like Xue Jianming, but inevitably the Nascent Soul elders of every faction.

If the Soul-Hooking Hand were ever to become a true trump card, it had to be capable of dealing with Nascent Soul elders at the very least!

Wei Zhao and the others began their cultivation in orderly fashion. Meanwhile, Chen Dongcheng, vice sect master of the Cangwu Sect of the Northern Island, was not idle: after emerging from the Ascending Heaven Cliff, he left Xin Yi'an behind and headed straight for the mountaintop.

For all disciples, the mountaintop was an absolute forbidden zone. Even the sect's higher-ups, including the sect master himself, had to report in advance if they wished to ascend—for this ground belonged to one man alone: the Grand Elder Chen Jiu.

Chen Dongcheng, however, was not among those people. He was the sole exception in the entire Cangwu Sect of the Northern Island, for he was Chen Jiu's great-grandson.

There was nothing lavish atop Azure Cloud Mountain—only a single simple wooden hut. At this moment an old man sat cross-legged upon a rock beside it, and with each breath he drew and released, the clouds and mist around him surged fast or slow, shifting ceaselessly into wondrous patterns that overawed all who beheld them.

"Ancestor," Chen Dongcheng said, coming to a respectful halt behind Chen Jiu.

After a moment, Chen Jiu ceased his breathing exercises and slowly opened his eyes. "How did it go?"

"As you instructed. Your grandson has confined Wei Zhao and all those he brought with him upon the Ascending Heaven Cliff—they never suspected a thing from first to last. Their vigilance truly is pitiful." A mocking curve tugged at the corner of Chen Dongcheng's mouth.

"Good. A little dullness is all to the good. After all, he is the legendary Grand-Uncle of the Ancient Age. If he were to make trouble before verification, it would be a nuisance one way or another." Chen Jiu nodded slightly.

"Do we truly need to verify it?" Chen Dongcheng asked, his tone laden with meaning.

"What do you think?" Chen Jiu smiled, his gaze carrying a measure of appraisal as it fell upon Chen Dongcheng.

"We must investigate—and not merely investigate, but do so with great fanfare!" Chen Dongcheng said after a moment's thought.

"Oh? If the verification confirms it to be true, then with the sect gaining a Grand-Uncle of the Ancient Age of such supreme seniority, would that not be tantamount to gaining an emperor over us all? Do you begrudge this old man his peace?" Chen Jiu said with a half-smile.

"No—precisely because it is done with great fanfare, the outcome is already foreordained. In your grandson's view, rather than handle this matter quietly, it would be better to stir up a mighty uproar, and once the moment is ripe, deliver the final verdict. Only thus can people be truly convinced." Chen Dongcheng spoke with the confidence of one who held the whole board in his hand.

"Heh. Public opinion exists to be manipulated. When it comes to the art of steering men's hearts, I doubt anyone in the entire Cangwu Sect of the Northern Island is your match—it was no wasted effort raising you to the post of vice sect master." Chen Jiu nodded in satisfaction.

"Your grandson's talent is poor; even exhausting the family's resources, I could barely claw my way to mid-stage Golden Core. With such strength alone I could never uphold the great enterprise of our Chen family, so I could only take the oblique path and devote more thought to other matters, hoping not to disappoint the Ancestor's high expectations," Chen Dongcheng said modestly.

"Indeed. In this cultivation world, strength is ultimately the king's road. It is only a pity that our Chen family has withered in talent over several generations, never producing a single descendant of outstanding gift—so all the burden must rest upon your shoulders. Where strength falls short, statecraft must make up the difference. So, Dongcheng, you must hold on for me, hold on until a new heir appears in our Chen family!" Chen Jiu said with a sigh.

The withering of talent was not the plight of the Chen family alone; it was the common predicament of the entire Cangwu Sect of the Northern Island—indeed, of the whole Northern Island. Otherwise, men like Lie Yingzu would never have become the sect's senior disciple.

By contrast, the other islands—the Middle Island above all—teemed with talent, astonishing geniuses sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain. Name any one of them, and they would put the entire new generation of the Northern Island to shame. At this rate, the Northern Island's day of decline was not far off.

"Your grandson shall not fail the Ancestor's trust." Chen Dongcheng's eyes were utterly resolute. What rested upon his shoulders was not personal honor or disgrace, but the fate of the entire Chen family of the Northern Island—and for that, he would stop at nothing.

"By the way, speaking of heirs—Dongcheng, you are already a vice sect master of high station and great authority, yet you have but one son and two daughters, and none of them of any notable quality. That will not do! You must lose no time in seeking out a few more female disciples of outstanding aptitude. Remember: under present circumstances, offspring matter more than anything!" Chen Jiu admonished.

Were he not so advanced in years, he would have seen to such matters himself. It was only a pity that even though his formidable Nascent Soul cultivation kept his vital energies abundant, his capacity to father children had long since dried up entirely.

Fertility was one of the very few crucial capacities that cultivators could not touch. Were it otherwise, the powerful cultivators of the Cloud-Tier Island and the ancient small martial world alike would long ago have scattered offspring across the world—with lifespans stretching thousands of years, they would have had time enough to birth an entire sect… (To be continued.)