"Most people only realize it after they've been here long enough for the poisoning symptoms to show. Someone who can spot it at a glance the way you did, Brother Lin—that's rare indeed. Your perception is truly unmatched!" Ling Tianyou said with heartfelt admiration.

That was no empty flattery. Wei Zhao's senses had always been outstanding, and now that he had become a Primordial Spirit entity, they were sharper by more than a notch. Any slight abnormality around him was instantly detected with perfect clarity.

"You flatter me," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.

"So how dangerous is this snake-taint?" Bing Wushuang asked.

"Dangerous isn't really the right word for it. Once the symptoms of chronic poisoning appear, all you have to do is leave Great Snake Island as soon as possible and they'll resolve on their own," Ling Tianyou said.

"And if one keeps staying here?" Bing Wushuang pressed.

"The symptoms will grow worse and worse, and past a certain point you're done for. There's no antidote of any kind for snake-taint—you can only let it heal itself while the symptoms are still mild. Some people in the past refused to believe it, and every one of them became a sacrifice to Great Snake Island. All of them serve as warnings," Ling Tianyou said with a sigh.

"That said, if the odds of finding a Spirit-Consciousness Fruit are so slim, why bring us in here at all?" Wei Zhao changed tack. He had spent thirty thousand spirit jades on this, and though such a sum meant little to a man of his means, it was hardly something to be tossed into the water for nothing.

Still, if they truly found a Spirit-Consciousness Fruit, then never mind thirty thousand spirit jades—even a hundred thousand would be absolutely worth it to Wei Zhao. After all, the same fruit meant something entirely different to him than to others. How could an expert at the Profound Ascension stage advancing one level compare to a Foundation Establishment expert advancing one level? The two were not remotely the same.

Ling Tianyou smiled bitterly at the question. He had planned everything out nicely, intending to use this trip to repay Wei Zhao a favor—who could have guessed things would turn out like this, with Wei Zhao pulling out thirty thousand spirit jades on the spot to buy an entry qualification!

Now if they failed to find a Spirit-Consciousness Fruit on this trip, then forget about repaying any favor—in a sense he had actually done Wei Zhao wrong, letting him waste thirty thousand spirit jades for nothing at all. Where was the justice in that?

But what was done was done, and saying more now was too late. Ling Tianyou could only say, "Brother Lin, Spirit-Consciousness Fruits really are hard to find. My master and I tried countless methods before with no success—but it's not as though we came away completely empty-handed."

"I'm all ears." Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang both perked up.

"My master and I never found a Spirit-Consciousness Fruit, but after pouring so much thought and effort into Great Snake Island, we've actually been able to rule out the vast majority of places. There's only one place we've never entered." Ling Tianyou lowered his voice.

"Process of elimination? You mean if a Spirit-Consciousness Fruit really exists here, that place is the most likely candidate—is that what you're saying?" Wei Zhao's eyes lit up.

"Exactly. Of course, that's only my own wishful speculation. How good the chances really are is hard to say—there's a very good chance we'll get there and find nothing but a vain hope." Ling Tianyou deliberately administered a dose of caution to Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang.

"Understood." Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang nodded in unison. Neither was the sort to have water where their brains should be; toward rare heavenly treasures like the Spirit-Consciousness Fruit, they had always held the attitude of counting themselves lucky to obtain one and accepting it as fate if they did not—they would never force the matter.

"Then... shall I take you there?" Ling Tianyou glanced behind him. Even as he spoke, Wei Yidao and the others had already begun filing in. For something like this, the fewer people the better, of course—once there were too many eyes and ears, and given how much attention the three of them had just drawn, it would be trouble if anyone with ill intentions followed.

The three immediately set off at a rapid pace along the winding goat path. This place was riddled with danger; anyone else would never dare move so fast. But their group not only had a guide as familiar with the terrain as Ling Tianyou, but more crucially had Wei Zhao and Bing Wushuang—two formidable figures who ranked among the very top of the entire Taigu minor jianghu. A little danger was nothing to worry about.

But soon enough, Wei Zhao began to feel that something was off.

"What is it?" Seeing Wei Zhao's steps suddenly slow, Ling Tianyou and Bing Wushuang both started.

"Don't you two feel something strange?" Wei Zhao asked.

The two exchanged a glance, then shook their heads in unison. "No."

Both were top-tier prodigies, their perception far keener than ordinary people's. Ling Tianyou aside—his peak late Foundation Establishment rank was indeed a bit low—Bing Wushuang was now a peak early Nascent Soul expert. If there were really any danger here, it was impossible that he would fail to sense even a hint of it.

But it was Wei Zhao who had spoken, and if there was something their senses could not detect but Wei Zhao's could, that was hardly strange.

"I have the feeling of a needle pricking my back." Wei Zhao looked around. His spiritual sense told him clearly that there were no other cultivators within several li, nor any sign of spirit beasts about, yet the feeling of being watched by some presence was very strong. Wei Zhao's intuition had never been wrong, and now that he was a proper Profound Ascension Primordial Spirit, it was all the more so.

"Then what do we do?" Ling Tianyou asked, without a trace of doubt. After all, the other man's strength far exceeded his own, and Wei Zhao was not one to make baseless claims or play mysterious tricks for effect.

"Smoke it out and kill it." That was Bing Wushuang's attitude, and his usual style besides—simple and clean.

"No need for now. This thing is no ordinary creature, and reverse-tracking it to pin down its location won't be easy. Besides, I can tell it isn't fixed on the three of us specifically. Judging by how extremely diffuse its spiritual sense is, it may well be that every cultivator who enters Great Snake Island for the trial is its target. Let's watch and wait for now—once it makes a move, it'll show its fox tail sooner or later," Wei Zhao said.

"Fine." Ling Tianyou had no objections to begin with, and though Bing Wushuang advocated killing it at the first opportunity, since Wei Zhao had spoken thus, he naturally would not defy him—the key point being that he lacked the ability to do otherwise.

The three pressed on, a few degrees of pressure now inexplicably weighing on them. Whoever or whatever the other party was, the fact that it could fix its gaze on a Nascent Soul old monster like Bing Wushuang without his noticing was proof enough of its unfathomable depth. Had Wei Zhao not been standing beside them, the two of them would still be as oblivious as everyone else.

"Brother Lin, what do you think this thing might be, and what it's after? You don't suppose it's been holed up on Great Snake Island all this time plotting something big?" Ling Tianyou had held it in for a long while before he could not help asking. At the thought that such a thing was hidden on Great Snake Island, cold sweat broke out on his back and lingering dread filled him.