Wei Zhao glanced around, his expression one of complete indifference. "It's not so bad. You needn't worry about it."

He meant it. He was now a genuine Xuan Ascension stage primordial spirit—not even the One Step to Heaven Formation could hold him, so this nameless formation before him certainly had no hope of doing so. After all, the One Step to Heaven Formation had been laid by the hand of a legendary Great Emperor himself; whatever this thing's origins, they could hardly compare.

"How could I not worry…" Duanmu Yu gave a bitter smile, though on second thought, even a terror like the Nine Infants had been tamed by Wei Zhao in the River of Divine Consciousness—perhaps this really was nothing more than a trifle to him. That thought calmed her considerably.

"Never mind that. Since we've nothing better to do, why don't we do something?" Wei Zhao suddenly suggested.

During their talk just now, he had already carefully probed the formation trapping the two of them. It was not much different from the One Step to Heaven Formation—a rather troublesome formation, but with his strength he could still get out without difficulty. With a bit more effort he could even tear the formation out by the roots; but doing so would amount to a complete falling-out with the Yeling Sect, and judging by Duanmu Yu's attitude, she probably did not wish to go that far. Otherwise she would not be sitting here so obediently doing nothing—she had even deliberately kept the Spirit Perception Grass unused.

"Do something?" Seeing Wei Zhao's gaze fixed straight on her, even Duanmu Yu felt a jolt in her heart. For all her manly bearing, she was still a girl, after all. Especially in a situation like this—one man and one woman alone in a room—anyone would let their thoughts wander…

"It's rare that I come to see you, so I was thinking of taking the chance to help you break through to the Golden Core stage. While I'm at it, I'll refine the Spirit Perception Grass for you as well—consider it a small gift. By the way, why is your face so red?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled. He had spent some time with Duanmu Yu, and this tomboy of a girl rarely blushed.

"Uh…" Duanmu Yu broke out in a sweat of embarrassment. Her mind had involuntarily conjured up that scene in the Mirror World—her clothes in disarray, held in Wei Zhao's arms. At the time she had acted utterly unabashed, but looking back on it now she could not help feeling awkward, especially on an occasion like this.

Just then, the iron door suddenly opened. A young man with a somewhat dark complexion stood outside. There was no need for Duanmu Yu to remind him—one glance was enough for Wei Zhao to remember: this was that Qiu Mingchong.

"The sect master and the elders sent me to ask: has Senior Sister decided, after all these days of consideration?" So he said, but Qiu Mingchong's eyes were fixed on Wei Zhao.

"I'm not handing it over." Duanmu Yu's answer was simple and direct.

Qiu Mingchong was not surprised in the least. He came every few days to ask the same question, and by now he was quite used to it. This time, however, he did not turn and leave; instead he went on, "Very well. But those above have also instructed me to raise another matter. Senior Sister, you said before that you only had half a stalk of Spirit Perception Grass—so the other half is most likely on Wei Zhao. Since he has come to our Yeling Sect this time, we hope it may be returned to its rightful owner."

"Returned to its rightful owner?" Wei Zhao was not surprised that they had designs on him, but "returned to its rightful owner"—what sort of phrase was that?

"Indeed. Since ancient times, Spirit Perception Grass has been a heaven-sent treasure of our Yeling Sect; only our sect's ancient records contain any clear account of it. So to say it is returned to its rightful owner—is there anything wrong with that?" Qiu Mingchong said.

Wei Zhao was dumbstruck for a good while. To parade such a shameless argument so brazenly—was that really appropriate?

Just because your ancient records mention Spirit Perception Grass, all the Spirit Perception Grass under heaven belongs to your house alone? What kind of absurd logic was that?

Beside him, Duanmu Yu pressed a hand to her forehead, her face reddening. Even within their own sect, such talk would at most be told as a joke. To actually bring it out to browbeat Wei Zhao—did they have no shame at all?

"The sect master has said that the Yeling Sect and the Northern Island Cangwu Sect have always enjoyed good relations, and he does not wish this matter to harm the friendship between the two sects. So as long as you hand over the Spirit Perception Grass, nothing more will come of it, and we will naturally entertain and thank you properly," Qiu Mingchong added.

"This…" Wei Zhao thought it over, then summed up, "The grounds you've given for handing it over leave much to be desired, but I think I grasp the general idea. My current situation amounts to being held for ransom—only by handing over the Spirit Perception Grass can I redeem myself. Is that the meaning of it?"

Duanmu Yu nearly burst out laughing, while Qiu Mingchong's expression turned rather ugly. Still, he nodded. "You jest, sir. But broadly speaking, your understanding is not wrong. I trust you are a sensible, clever man—am I right?"

"Of course I'm sensible. Unfortunately, the half stalk of Spirit Perception Grass you want isn't with me at all—I gave it to Bing Wushuang. If you want it, you'd best go to the Snow Sword Sect and look for him. It's not far from here, after all." Wei Zhao said offhandedly.

"What?" Qiu Mingchong was startled, plainly disbelieving. "How could something as important as Spirit Perception Grass be given to an unrelated outsider? Surely you jest, sir."

He had only learned through private channels that Wei Zhao had obtained Spirit Perception Grass and that Duanmu Yu had been given half; as for the details, he was in fact ignorant. He had simply assumed that Wei Zhao kept the other half for himself—the two had been thick as thieves during the Taigu Trial, a fine pair of lovebirds, and after stumbling upon Spirit Perception Grass by chance, splitting it evenly between them was entirely logical.

Unfortunately for him, Qiu Mingchong did not know that the most important part of Spirit Perception Grass was not the grass itself, but the enormous Spirit Perception Grass root. Nor was he the only one ignorant of this—even the Yeling Sect's senior leadership knew nothing of it. After all, their ancient records contained no account of any such thing.

Otherwise, Qiu Mingchong would certainly have demanded the Spirit Perception Grass root, and would never have fixed his eyes on a mere half stalk of the grass.

"Are you and I well acquainted?" Wei Zhao asked.

"N-no… not really…" Qiu Mingchong was taken aback, utterly baffled.

"Since we're not acquainted, why would I joke with you?" Wei Zhao retorted bluntly. Qiu Mingchong's face went through a series of colors, and then he heard Wei Zhao continue, "I'll say it once more: the Spirit Perception Grass went to Bing Wushuang. Believe it or don't—that's up to you." (To be continued.)