Chapter 2722 — You Go Back First

Wang Xinyan stood to one side, faintly embarrassed. None of this had truly had anything to do with her, yet in the end it might make Wei Zhao like her all the more. That left her both glad and tangled inside, unsure how she would face the pressure and conflict from the Xuandan Sect in the days to come.

"Xinyan, I never imagined Uncle Wang had connections this formidable!" Wei Zhao said with a sigh. "This Heaven-Origin Barrier-Breaking Fruit really is a treasure!"

For some time now Wei Zhao had been stuck at the barrier before breaking through to the late Earth Rank, forever lacking the spark to push him over. The last time he fought Little One, the battle had ended with the white leader before he could show much of anything—yet Wei Zhao did not regret it. That fight had been far too perilous; he would not gamble his life away for the sake of a breakthrough.

Lately, too, the speed of his cultivation with Wang Xinyan in his arms each day had been dwindling, for the true qi within him had filled to the brim and reached its peak. Without a breakthrough, there would be essentially no further progress.

Wei Zhao had been fretting over how to find that spark when, unexpectedly, Kang Xiaofeng returned bearing just the thing—the Heaven-Origin Barrier-Breaking Fruit!

Wei Zhao had heard much of such wondrous heavenly treasures. Taking pills to raise one's strength and break through barriers was one path, but consuming heavenly treasures could do the same—and that was precisely why the scions of great houses and disciples of the ancient sects could cultivate so swiftly. With resources this fine, how could their ascent be anything but fast?

The Heaven-Origin Barrier-Breaking Fruit was a treasure of that very kind, a specialty of the Snow Valley. Wei Zhao's guess had been right, though not every disciple of the ancient sects and noble houses could partake of heavenly treasures—and the yield of this fruit was small, so those fortunate enough to taste it were few.

Wei Zhao owed this to Mother Tang. Had it not been for her, he could never have obtained such a prize from the Snow Valley's hands!

"Leader, you've been stuck at the peak of mid Earth Rank for ages, haven't you? This time you can break through, right?" Kang Xiaofeng was excited as well. Wei Zhao had been able to annihilate early Heaven Rank experts in an instant while at the peak of mid Earth Rank—so once he reached late Earth Rank, might he not slay mid Heaven Rank experts just as easily? He could hardly wait!

The stronger Wei Zhao grew, the safer they, his followers, would feel—and the less they would be bullied!

"Yes. I'll take it tonight." Wei Zhao pondered a moment, then decided to consume the Heaven-Origin Barrier-Breaking Fruit now. After all, it worked only on experts below the Heaven Rank and could not be used to break through into the Heaven Rank itself—meaning it was of use to him only in breaking through to late Earth Rank and to the peak of late Earth Rank. With only those two levels left to him, keeping it served little purpose.

The Xuandan Sect's trial drew nearer by the day, and if Wei Zhao wished to enter it with greater strength, then he had only to swallow this fruit and compete at late Earth Rank. As for the barrier between late Earth Rank and the peak of late Earth Rank, he would seek another spark for that—better than being stuck as he was.

"As for the other heavenly treasures, some are for eating and some for refining pills, but none are as precious as these. Leader, use them as you see fit—plenty of them I can't even identify." Kang Xiaofeng gestured toward the trunk of the car.

Mother Tang had stuffed all of it into his hands in one go, and she had not explained what most of it did—could not have, in truth. She simply grabbed whatever looked good and hauled it back, and as for what the things were called or what they were for, she was no cultivator and no alchemist; even when the disciples told her, she could not tell them apart or remember them.

"All right." Wei Zhao looked over the other treasures in the car—and there, astonishingly, were the ingredients for refining the Ice-Heart Jade-Bone Pill, which left him thoroughly startled. Whom had Kang Xiaofeng bought these herbs from? The more he looked, the more it seemed the man had looted the storehouse of some great ancient sect or cultivators' guild.

Otherwise, these things were far too precious—could they really be bought with mere money? And so much of it all at once?

Had Wei Zhao not known that Kang Xiaofeng was no cultivator at all and had no strength to speak of, he might truly have believed it. But now he knew he was overthinking; if Kang Xiaofeng really had gone robbing, he likely would not have come back alive!

Of course, Wei Zhao was overlooking Mother Tang's part in it. In truth, this was Kang Xiaofeng robbing the ancient sect of the Snow Valley—only with Mother Tang as his accomplice, and a barefaced robbery at that, leaving the Snow Valley to swallow a mute loss and dare not breathe a word!

"Arrow-Brand Bro, go take the Heaven-Origin Barrier-Breaking Fruit!" Shen Yushu said to Wei Zhao.

"Oh? Why are you shooing me off?" Wei Zhao blinked and looked at Shen Yushu.

"It's not that—it's just that earlier Sister Xinyan had Xiaofen pass a few words to her father, and her father wrote back and had Kang Xiaofeng bring it. It's rather private, so it's best you're not looking over our shoulders," Shen Yushu said.

"Oh, fine then, I'll go." Wei Zhao nodded, not particularly suspicious. He did wonder why Wang Xinyan had not simply called and had instead sent word through others, but since Shen Yushu had put it that way, he naturally would not eavesdrop.

Wei Zhao took the Heaven-Origin Barrier-Breaking Fruit and went into his room, leaving only Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, Wang Xinyan, and Kang Xiaofeng outside the villa.

"How is Sister Yunyun? Did you tell her about Tang Yuqi?" Gu Mengyao asked urgently, lowering her voice.

"Sister-in-law Tang Zhi is well. All these heavenly treasures were given to me by Mother Tang—she's a force to be reckoned with in the Snow Valley; anything fine that comes before her gets split half and half on sight!" Kang Xiaofeng said. "And after we arrived..."

Kang Xiaofeng faithfully recounted to the three of them his trip to the Snow Valley, his conversation with the Grand Elder, and what he had said to Tang Zhi. Only at the end did he add: "Time was too tight—I never got the chance to bring up Tang Yuqi. But Sister-in-law Tang Zhi promised she would call you in a few days; that matter can be discussed over the phone."

"That will do." Gu Mengyao nodded. From his account she could well imagine how brief Kang Xiaofeng's meeting with Tang Zhi in the Snow Valley had been—with the Grand Elder intervening, there was much he had not been able to say.

"There was simply no way around it. These matters, we cannot speak of them with Mother Tang either..." Kang Xiaofeng spread his hands somewhat helplessly. "These things can only be told to Tang Zhi face to face, but our time together was so short..."