Given Wei Zhao's temperament, now that the mutual goodwill between them was plain, learning that Duanmu Yu was being forced into a marriage alliance with someone else—if he simply stood by and watched without lifting a finger to stop it, he would be wretched beyond measure.

The trouble was that Duanmu Yu's conduct, though it hinted at something, had never been put into words.

Her silence on the matter might itself be her answer. The implication, once parsed, was this: she did hold goodwill toward Wei Zhao, but she had decided to accept her fate...

That being so, even if Wei Zhao wished to intervene, it would be difficult to manage. On what grounds would he stop it? In what capacity would he step in?

Wei Zhao fell into silence. Bing Wushuang took it all in from the side, but this was the sort of thing no bystander could help with. As for Ling Tianyou, he remained oblivious to it all.

Seeing Wei Zhao say nothing for a long while, Ling Tianyou assumed he was a little drunk—the wine he had brought had a long, lingering kick, and first-time drinkers were indeed apt to overdo it. He promptly suggested, "It's getting late. As it happens, there's an inn nearby under my Thousand Blades Sect's ownership. Why don't the two of you come rest a night with me? Tomorrow morning I'll take you somewhere fine—how does that sound?"

"That works." Wei Zhao's mind was not on the matter at all; he had planned to wander about the Middle Island for a while anyway, so whatever the other said was fine by him.

He tossed and turned all night. Early the next morning, Ling Tianyou roused Wei Zhao with a mystifying air—yet he did not speak directly, instead glancing at Bing Wushuang with words hovering on the tip of his tongue.

Taking Wei Zhao to this fine place was his way of repaying a debt. Bing Wushuang was different—there was no tie whatsoever between Ling Tianyou and Bing Wushuang. Not enemies, but not friends either. It put him in an awkward spot.

Anyone else might have taken the hint and tactfully withdrawn, but Bing Wushuang showed not the slightest reaction. With his strength and temperament, the very act of reading another's looks and acting on them was something that simply did not occur to him—unless Wei Zhao said the word.

"Wuqing is one of us. Where I can go, he can go. Of course, if Brother Ling feels bringing two at once is inconvenient, then forget it," Wei Zhao said.

At these words Bing Wushuang said nothing aloud, but the look he cast Wei Zhao warmed. Cold-faced and cold-eyed though he always was, his heart after all was flesh and blood. Ordinary people he held in no regard, but Wei Zhao, their leader, was assuredly important to him.

Ling Tianyou looked troubled at this, but in the end he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine. Then we go together."

The three of them at once mounted a flying spirit beast, and that flight lasted two full days and nights. Their destination was not the Middle Island Wei Zhao had expected, but an isolated islet far to the south—a place whose whereabouts even Bing Wushuang, a native of the Taigu minor jianghu, knew nothing of.

"This fine place of yours is secret enough, but what are we doing here?" Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang exchanged a glance, their eyes full of doubt. With their strength they had no fear of anything, but the place was genuinely mysterious.

"Haha, be patient, both of you. You'll know when we arrive." Ling Tianyou smiled enigmatically.

The islet was not large, but its terrain was extremely long and narrow—viewed from above, it resembled a giant snake with its body half coiled. Ling Tianyou brought the two down at the lowest part, the region of the snake's tail. They were not the only three there; people were arriving in twos and threes from other directions as well. Whether by tacit understanding or by rule, everyone's landing point was the same stretch of open ground.

Once they landed, these people did not act on their own but gathered in their separate groups, seemingly on the highest guard against one another—indeed, bearing open hostility—though no one lightly stirred up trouble.

Wei Zhao scanned the scene. These people were all extremely careful; even companions scarcely spoke to one another. And when they did talk, they first laid down soundproofing formations, so that outsiders could hear nothing of what was said.

Of course, if Wei Zhao truly set his mind to probing, eavesdropping on their conversations would be no hard task. The strongest among them were only at the Golden Core stage, the weaker ones merely Foundation Establishment—though the weakest were still late Foundation Establishment, none below that.

But Ling Tianyou was standing right beside him, so there was no need for such an extra step. Wei Zhao could simply ask.

"You can explain now, can't you? What's really going on here?" Wei Zhao turned and asked.

"With a scene like this, even if I said nothing, Brother Lin and Brother Bing could likely guess the gist of it. We've come here to take part in a hidden trial. This place is one of the most secret islets in all the Taigu minor jianghu—Taishé Island." Ling Tianyou finally explained.

"The legendary Taishé Island?" Wei Zhao was unaffected, but at the name Bing Wushuang started slightly. He had no notion whatsoever of the place itself, yet he had heard of Taishé Island.

"Indeed. They say Taishé Island was formed from the body of an ancient vicious beast, the Taishé, which is why the whole terrain looks like a giant snake from above. Across the entire Taigu minor jianghu, many have heard the name, but those who actually know its location are very few." Ling Tianyou added.

Wei Zhao was about to ask more when a middle-aged man in black approached from the distance, dressed in the typical attire of a steward. Everywhere he passed, the surrounding crowd, contrary to their earlier manner, vied to greet him with ingratiating smiles—clearly a person of no small standing.

"Young Sect Master Ling, we meet again." The black-clad man soon reached the three and spoke first to Ling Tianyou.

"Indeed. Three years apart—I trust you have been well, Steward Yu." Ling Tianyou nodded with a smile.

"These two seem to be first-time visitors. Might I ask their names?" The black-clad man turned to look at Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang.

"Allow me to make the introductions. This is Wei Zhao, martial grand-uncle of the North Island Cangwu Sect, and this is Bing Wushuang of the Snow Sword Sect. I brought them along." Ling Tianyou took it upon himself to introduce them, then gestured to the black-clad man. "This is the steward in sole charge of Taishé Island, Steward Yu Hou. His seniority in the Taigu Alliance ranks among the foremost—few outsiders know of it, that's all."

"A pleasure." Yu Hou gave Wei Zhao and the other a slight nod, showing no particular surprise—which was because both Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang habitually restrained their auras. Otherwise, had he known that Nascent Soul old monsters stood before him, he could never have remained so composed—unless he was one himself.

After the greetings, Yu Hou did not linger in conversation with Ling Tianyou. He continued round to greet the others, and only then did he step into the midst of the crowd and announce in a ringing voice, "Welcome, everyone, to Taishé Island. I personally wish you all the fulfillment of your heart's desires. But the Divine Consciousness Fruit is, after all, a natural treasure rarely seen in this world. Whether you find it depends wholly on your fortune and fate—that I cannot guarantee."