Chapter 3134 — The Past of Vice President Ouyang

Even Vice President Ouyang ordinarily did not dare provoke the disciples of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect—not because the Cultivators' Guild feared them, but because if Vice President Ouyang did provoke them, the Guild would never stick its neck out for him over such a matter. After all, the Mad Bull Ancestor of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect was on friendly terms with the Guild's Grand Supreme Honorary President...

"Brother Ling, I never imagined that legendary figure was you!" In his younger years, Vice President Ouyang had come off badly at the hands of Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect disciples. When he was young, during a trial sponsored by the Cultivators' Guild, he had also crossed blades with the sect's Pure Yin Heavenly Venerable and suffered a crushing defeat. Had it not been for the presence of an elder of his—the Number Two Supreme Vice President—who kept the Pure Yin Heavenly Venerable from daring to kill him, Vice President Ouyang likely would never have returned alive!

So toward Wei Zhao, who could thwart the disciples of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect, Vice President Ouyang felt the deepest respect, and straightaway changed how he addressed Wei Zhao to "Brother Ling."

"Why are you calling me Brother Ling?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback.

"We are both cultivators, and on the martial path the one who reaches higher is foremost. You call me Brother Ouyang, I call you Brother Ling—that is only proper, for both of us are Heaven-rank masters!" Vice President Ouyang said, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Wei Zhao nodded, not troubling himself over such forms of address, and asked curiously instead, "Brother Ouyang, from the sound of it, you seem to bear a grudge against the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect?"

"Ah, you have it right! To be frank with you, Brother Ling, I once crossed hands with the Pure Yin Heavenly Venerable of the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect during a trial of the Cultivators' Association, and the result was a bitter defeat. Had it not been for an elder of mine on the Supreme Elder Council, whom the Pure Yin Heavenly Venerable dared not touch, I would long since have died with no place to be buried!" Vice President Ouyang said with feeling. "So you see, Brother Ling, you have truly vented a bellyful of grievance on my behalf!"

"A trial of the Cultivators' Guild? What is that?" Wei Zhao asked, slightly startled.

"Oh? You don't even know?" Vice President Ouyang looked at Wei Zhao with some surprise. "It is a trial that every disciple of the ancient tier knows of. You... ah, of course—you are a loose cultivator!"

"Indeed. And what is this trial for?" Wei Zhao asked, curious. After all, every trial was, to a greater or lesser degree, an opportunity for the one who undertook it—quite possibly bringing unforeseen benefits.

Just as with the trial of the Ice Palace and the trial of the Mystic Pill Sect that Wei Zhao had taken part in—it was the same with all of them!

"The site of this trial is called the Ancient Isle!" Vice President Ouyang did not hold anything back, but introduced it directly. "The Ancient Isle is the only discoverable relic left behind by the entire ancient tier. I do not know how the Cultivators' Guild first discovered it, nor how they came to know the way to open it. Entering the trial of the Ancient Isle, one may search its length and breadth to one's heart's content for the rare treasures one needs! It is vast in land and rich in resources, with many precious medicinal herbs and a number of treasures left from the ancient age—whatever you find is yours! Of course, others may snatch it from you, and when you come out, you must pay a fee!"

"Pay a fee? You mean these things can be had simply by buying them with money?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. "Would that not cost an astronomical sum?"

"It is not like that at all!" Vice President Ouyang smiled faintly. "It will not come to an astronomical sum. It is truly very expensive, that much is so, but our Cultivators' Guild is in the business of business, and our aim is to make money. So there are elders specially appointed to appraise the value of what the trial-takers bring out from the Ancient Isle. But the price will certainly never be something outrageous—after all, the Guild's reputation is at stake!"

Wei Zhao nodded, and only then did it sink in: the Cultivators' Guild was an organization that sought wealth, so it was understandable that they would make money through such trials. What puzzled Wei Zhao was where this Ancient Isle had come from.

But plainly Vice President Ouyang did not know that either, and Wei Zhao naturally did not press him, asking only, "Will this trial be starting soon?"

"This trial is held at irregular intervals; there is no fixed time. After all, opening the Ancient Isle requires many conditions—the right timing, the right place, the right people, as they say. It cannot be opened at any time!" Vice President Ouyang said. "In our Cultivators' Guild there are people specially charged with studying the Ancient Isle; they infer the approximate time it may open from certain phenomena of the isle, and then begin organizing trial-takers to sign up!"

"So that is how it is." Wei Zhao nodded and said, "Then are there any restrictions on signing up? May I go as well?"

"Naturally! The condition is that any Heaven-rank master may take part, and Brother Ling already meets that requirement. You need only pay the one-billion-yuan entry fee for the Ancient Isle," Vice President Ouyang said.

"Pff—cough, cough, cough..." Hearing Vice President Ouyang's words, Wei Zhao at once broke into loud coughing. "Brother Ouyang, did I hear that right? One billion? And that is only the entry fee?"

"Uh... you heard right." Vice President Ouyang smiled wryly. "As I said before, the Cultivators' Guild will not quote some outrageous, unacceptable price—but it will certainly not come cheap either."

"Cheap it certainly is not!" Wei Zhao smiled wryly as well, and said with feeling, "One billion—at least for now, I cannot produce it!"

"Ha ha, but with this first-grade automatic medicinal cauldron in hand, I trust this sum will be no problem at all for Brother Ling!" Vice President Ouyang said with a smile. "What, Brother Ling, are you very interested in this trial?"

"From what Brother Ouyang says, there are so many fine things inside—I imagine any cultivator would be interested, no?" Wei Zhao nodded and asked, "Then when was the last time it was held?"

"Twenty-five years ago. By reckoning of time, it should be about due—the Ancient Isle generally opens once every twenty to thirty years!" Vice President Ouyang said.

"Twenty-five years ago? So Brother Ouyang was already a Heaven-rank master then? And now..." Wei Zhao looked at Vice President Ouyang with a rather odd expression and asked in some perplexity. Nor was Wei Zhao to be blamed for finding it strange: if Vice President Ouyang had already been Heaven-rank twenty-five years ago, was he still only at the peak of the early Heaven-rank now? That seemed a little unrealistic, did it not? (To be continued)