Chapter 3263 — The Game Is Up

"Brother... what do you mean by that? How is Wei Zhao not to be trifled with? Have you been taken in by rumors? I heard them too—that Wei Zhao could kill late-stage peak Heaven Rank experts in a single blow. But those are just rumors, they don't count for anything!" He Dantou had never expected his elder brother to believe such baseless talk too. He almost laughed. "That Wei Zhao was driven back again and again, fleeing before my son, and all he could do was wound him. Nothing serious at all..."

With that, He Dantou recounted the whole affair to Patriarch Xuanchen in detail.

"Dantou, is everything you've said true?" Patriarch Xuanchen was deeply shaken. So Wei Zhao was nothing to fear after all? He did not doubt that his younger brother would lie to him. Though the two brothers had not met in over fifty years, on a matter of such consequence Patriarch Xuanchen was certain He Dantou could not be deceiving him.

"Of course it's true. Wei Zhao only has early-stage peak Heaven Rank strength. He is indeed a little stronger than others at that level—wounding my son proves as much—but it was no grave injury. A single Great Returning Pill would settle the matter entirely," He Dantou said.

"Oh?" Patriarch Xuanchen could not help but fall into thought. Something about this seemed... out of the ordinary. "You say Wei Zhao has gone overseas?"

"Yes, Wei Zhao came here..." And He Dantou told Patriarch Xuanchen everything Wei Zhao had done on this side.

"Wei Zhao... went looking for blue crystal?" Patriarch Xuanchen was slightly startled. He knew well enough what blue crystal was used for—it was a material for artifact refiners! Tagan Long had needed blue crystal to forge the Essence Necklace, only he had never gotten the chance; Wei Zhao had seized his secret manual and his Essence Inner Core first, and then Tagan Long was injured, so the matter had been shelved.

Could it be that Wei Zhao was seeking blue crystal in order to forge the Essence Necklace?

It was no wonder Patriarch Xuanchen thought so. For cultivators, blue crystal had one use and one use only: artifact refining. As for whether Wei Zhao was an artifact refiner, Patriarch Xuanchen did not dwell on it. In his view, if Wei Zhao could produce automatic medicinal cauldrons, perhaps he could refine artifacts automatically as well; and even if he could not, forging an Essence Necklace would be no great feat—with some other special method, he might well manage it.

"Brother, what is it?" He Dantou was briefly puzzled. "That blue crystal is of use to artifact refiners and no one else! I have plenty of the stuff on hand—do you need some, Brother?"

"I have plenty too, I don't need any. I was only wondering whether Wei Zhao had taken up artifact refining..." Patriarch Xuanchen shook his head. "Never mind, let's not dig into that. Wei Zhao may have seemed rather weak on your side, but the several tales circulating here are told in convincing detail—they don't look like fabrications. Let me tell you about them..."

Thereupon Patriarch Xuanchen recounted the legends of Wei Zhao to He Dantou, who clicked his tongue in amazement as he listened, though doubt lingered in his heart. The deaths of those late-stage peak Heaven Rank experts and of the consummate late-stage peak Heaven Rank master were facts. He did not believe Patriarch Xuanchen would have failed to confirm afterward whether those people were truly dead, so dead they surely were. As for how they had died, and whether Wei Zhao had anything to do with it, there was no way to know—but seen in this light, Wei Zhao was a rather uncanny figure indeed!

At that thought, He Dantou nodded and said, "Brother, I understand what you mean. Let the matter of Wei Zhao rest for now. I won't go out of my way to provoke him in the near future; we'll wait until the truth comes out."

"Good. I will set about investigating Wei Zhao carefully. Wait for my word," Patriarch Xuanchen said. He was in truth greatly perplexed himself—what was going on with Wei Zhao? Why did the strength he displayed not match the rumors?

"Very well, Brother. There is one more thing—the Five Luminaries Sect has some connection with the Xuandan Sect, does it not? Could you put in a word for me so I might purchase some first-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons?" He Dantou asked.

"Oh, that matter? No problem at all." Patriarch Xuanchen agreed at once. "Those cauldrons are the work of my son-in-law; they are merely sold under the Xuandan Sect's name. I'll send you ten of them later!"

"Ah... then many thanks, Brother!" He Dantou said delightedly.

"A small matter..." Patriarch Xuanchen shook his head. "Dantou, once I've made the preparations, come and collect them. The two of us brothers should get together..."

"Good!" This time He Dantou agreed without hesitation.

"Yes, and bring your son along. I have never even met my nephew," Patriarch Xuanchen said.

He Dantou and Patriarch Xuanchen ended their conversation, and Patriarch Xuanchen summoned Kang Jingming.

"Father-in-law, you sent for me—is there something you need?" Kang Jingming asked respectfully as he came in.

"It's like this: I want you to investigate Wei Zhao for me—especially those recent battles of his against Heaven Rank experts, the occasions on which he killed Heaven Rank experts in a single blow. Investigate every one of them thoroughly and in full detail!" Patriarch Xuanchen instructed.

"Oh? What is there to investigate about that, Father-in-law? Is there some problem with it?" Kang Jingming was slightly taken aback and asked in some puzzlement.

"Yes, here is how it stands..." And Patriarch Xuanchen told Kang Jingming about the conflict between Wei Zhao and the Overseas Cultivators Association over in Europe.

Kang Jingming's eyes lit up at once! If this were true, it meant Wei Zhao was not nearly as terrifying as the rumors made him out to be. That being so, there was no need for him to fear Wei Zhao any longer. Before, it was the dread that Wei Zhao was invincible that had made him timid, so that even when he suffered losses he dared not make a sound—but now...

At that thought, Kang Jingming nodded hurriedly and agreed, "Very well, Father-in-law, I will set about investigating this matter at once!"

"Good, off you go. If anything puzzles you, report to me at once, and we will discuss and study it together!" Patriarch Xuanchen said.

"I understand!" Having received his orders, Kang Jingming went off excitedly to conduct the investigation.

After Kang Jingming had left, Patriarch Xuanchen sank into thought. The Overseas Cultivators Association—it had never occurred to him that it was his brother's domain. If so, the Five Luminaries Sect's strength was greater than ever before, and it would have a greater voice in that plan of the future!

This time, now that He Dantou had come here, Patriarch Xuanchen intended to discuss that plan with him (Yuren WeChat yuren22; tomorrow will be posted photos of the outer-cultivator girls from the School Beauty mobile game). RS