By any normal judgment, the latter possibility was far more likely—but if that were so, the specific channel behind it was deeply worth pondering.

After all, this place was far too well hidden; perhaps even someone like Yu Hou, an official steward of Great Snake Island, knew nothing of it. A single accident leading Ling Tianyou and his master to stumble in was one thing, but if such accidents were happening to different people at the same time—the very thought sent a chill down the spine.

Given Wei Zhao's temperament, having deduced that something suspicious lay behind this, he would naturally find a way to get to the bottom of it. He halted where he was and quietly watched. At this distance he could perceive every move and gesture of the people ahead with perfect clarity, while they could not sense him at all—unless one of them was also a Primordial Spirit entity at the Profound Ascension stage.

There were four newcomers in all. Their strength was neither outstanding nor particularly weak among the cultivators who came to Great Snake Island for trials: one at the early Golden Core stage, one at the peak of Foundation Establishment perfection, and two at the summit of late Foundation Establishment.

Such a lineup would have been more than ample for the ordinary trials elsewhere in the Taigu Small Jianghu, but on Great Snake Island it was merely adequate—barely adequate at that.

Even Ling Tianyou and his master walked on thin ice here, and these people ahead were no exception. If they ran into a vicious spirit beast like an armored serpent, their whole group would be wiped out—there would be no escape.

Yet what surprised Wei Zhao was that these four, ordinary in strength as they were, did not even appear to be on the same side. To be precise, they ought to have been on the same side—only at this moment they were caught up in internal strife.

The four had split into two factions: the early Golden Core cultivator with the two at the summit of late Foundation Establishment made one group, and the remaining one at Foundation Establishment perfection made the other. The two sides now faced each other, tensions razor-taut.

"Chu Tianlu, I bet you never thought this day would come, did you?" one of the late Foundation Establishment experts said with a cold laugh, taking the lead. By the look of it, he was the core of the three-man group—even the early Golden Core expert stood with hands clasped behind him, every inch the attendant.

"Why?" The young man named Chu Tianlu wore an expression of shock and fury. Clearly he had never imagined falling into such a predicament so abruptly. In his eyes the three opposite him were no mortal enemies at all; even if there had been the occasional friction over the years, it was nowhere near a matter of life and death—after all, all three of them were of the same clan and lineage!

In particular, this Chu Tianliang standing across from him was bound to him by extremely close blood ties—they were true first cousins, both of them legitimate grandsons of the Gu family head, and they had grown up playing together, once on very good terms. Only in recent years had they drifted apart. How could it have come to this?

"Why?" Chu Tianliang laughed at the question, his face full of mockery. "My dear cousin, do you truly not know why? I remember you were always a sharp one as a child—every time Grandfather examined us juniors, you were the one who won the praise. And now, reduced to this state, you can still ask such an idiotic question? Where has that clever brain of yours gone?"

Chu Tianlu fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "The Spirit-Consciousness Fruit?"

Men die for wealth as birds die for food—killing for treasure had always been the norm in the world of cultivation. Especially when something as rare as the Spirit-Consciousness Fruit, a treasure of near-legendary status, was at stake, it was entirely normal even for blood brothers to turn on one another, let alone him and Chu Tianliang, who were not brothers at all but merely cousins separated by a layer of blood.

"Speaking of which, we really ought to thank you properly. If you hadn't taken it into your head to jump down here on a whim, we'd never have found this excellent spot—let alone the Spirit-Consciousness Fruit." Chu Tianliang and the other two exchanged smiles. This cave was so well concealed that even Wei Zhao would have struggled to find it with normal spirit-sense scanning, let alone people like them.

At these words Wei Zhao's heart stirred slightly, and his attention settled on Chu Tianlu. On a whim...

If it had been like last time, when Ling Tianyou and the others were hunted to the point of having no way out by the armored serpent, that would have been one thing—but what normal person would take it into his head to jump into the sea? Just what kind of creature was this Chu Tianlu?

"But we haven't even caught a glimpse of the Spirit-Consciousness Fruit yet. Isn't it a bit early to turn on me now?" Chu Tianlu countered. He was no fool; had the fruit actually appeared, he would certainly have been on his guard against them. But that Chu Tianliang could hardly wait to make his move at this very moment—that genuinely took him by surprise.

"Heh, my dear cousin, to ask such a question you must be naive beyond all measure. Is there something wrong with your head?" Chu Tianliang's mockery continued, his face brimming with the superiority of intellect crushing intellect. He sneered, "If we find the Spirit-Consciousness Fruit, then of course I'd turn on you—but even without it, hasn't our relationship long since destined us to be implacable foes?"

"I don't understand." Chu Tianlu shook his head frankly. Searching his conscience, he had always treated his younger cousin Chu Tianliang quite well from childhood on. Even if these past two years, differing views had made them grow somewhat cold and distant, that was still far from enmity. How had it become implacable?

"Hmph, you truly are dull beyond belief. Very well—in light of the bit of care you showed me when we were young, I shall be merciful and let you die with some understanding. Here's a hint: the Ye Ling Sect, Duanmu Yu." Chu Tianliang gave a cold snort.

Duanmu Yu? Wei Zhao was startled at the name. He had assumed this was just another commonplace slaughter of one by another—for a natural treasure like the Spirit-Consciousness Fruit, countless such killings played out every day on Cloud Terrace Island and in the Taigu Small Jianghu alike. He had never imagined that Duanmu Yu would be involved here!

"What do you mean by that?" Chu Tianlu still seemed utterly at a loss.

"Hah, do you truly not know, or are you pretending not to? The Gu family will soon be joined in marriage with the Ye Ling Sect! That old monster at the Nascent Soul stage in the Ye Ling Sect hasn't recovered from his grave injuries—everyone knows he can't hold on much longer—and Grandfather happens to be a newly advanced Nascent Soul monster. Our Gu family's strength and foundations are nowhere near comparable to those traditional sects; if we can't find someone to lean on soon, then Grandfather, newly advanced Nascent Soul monster though he is, won't just fail to lead the Gu family to glory—he may well bring utter ruin down on us. After all, our Gu family has no shortage of enemies, and they will never sit by and watch us rise. Meanwhile, the Ye Ling Sect is in urgent need of a new Nascent Soul monster to hold the fort. Add to that the cordial friendship that has always existed between us—one side willing, the other eager—and the marriage is inevitable!" Chu Tianliang explained.

None of this was any secret; Chu Tianlu naturally knew it too, but he still asked, "So what?" (To be continued.)