Chapter 3491 — The Quirks of Bingtang's Temperament (Part 2)

"How did that elder of the Ice Palace... get there?" Wei Zhao asked after a moment's thought.

"Back then the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had not yet grown so thin. Later she went to Cloud Terrace Island—it seems the Ice Ancestor of those days came back and carried her off. As for the particulars, I am not too clear myself; it is only a legend..." Bingtang said.

"So the Ice Ancestor has already reached a realm of the sublime? Able to carry people straight to Cloud Terrace Island?" Wei Zhao was somewhat astonished. Landing on Cloud Terrace Island was, if not a thousand difficulties and ten thousand hardships, at least something requiring so many inheritors to open the way at once—the difficulty of that went without saying.

Yet the Ice Ancestor alone could travel directly between Cloud Terrace Island and the mundane world—truly a formidable person! If... wait! Back then, in Zhang Lifeng's ancient tomb, Wei Zhao had discovered that the replica divine artifact, the Shennong Cauldron, had been taken away. Could it be that Zhang Lifeng had come back in person to retrieve it?

If his wife, the Ice Ancestor, could manage such a thing, then surely the even mightier Zhang Lifeng would have no trouble at all!

Which meant Zhang Lifeng's strength... had reached a realm Wei Zhao dared not even imagine!

"The Ice Ancestor's realm of strength must surely be formidable, but whether she can go directly to Cloud Terrace Island, I do not know. Perhaps the Snow Ancestor of Snow Valley and Master Zhang Lifeng traveled back together—who can say? Maybe Master Zhang Lifeng also has several inheritor wives, just like you, and comes and goes the same way!" What Bingtang said at first really did sound plausible enough; but that last sentence nearly made Wei Zhao keel over.

Sometimes the things Bingtang suddenly blurted out left Wei Zhao not knowing whether to laugh or cry! If you called it jealousy, that was not quite it either—there was none of that resentful tone when she said such things; it felt rather like ordinary conversation, and Wei Zhao truly could not grasp her temperament.

"All right, I will go back and test it. But I have vast quantities of energy stones, which should serve as a substitute. When the time comes, she can use energy stones to..., that should work too, shouldn't it?" What Wei Zhao actually had in mind was to raise Wang Xinyan's strength directly. Only the resources on his side were inexhaustible—as much as was needed, that much there was—and he was not afraid of Wang Xinyan's sponge-like constitution!

Even if she shed some every day, Wei Zhao had more than enough to replenish her.

"Mm, then hurry back. The Heaven-rank trial may be right before our eyes," Bingtang said. "When the time comes, we shall meet again at the trial!"

"Good. Once I have refined the remaining Great Return Pills, I will take my leave of Aunt Qing!" Wei Zhao had noticed that Bingtang never dragged her feet about anything. Even though she had been happy with Wei Zhao today, she would not cling; she simply sent him off to attend to proper business.

"Husband Wei Zhao, you are leaving again!" It was Feng Xiaoxiao, by contrast, who was somewhat reluctant to part.

"Mm, I will look in on Aunt Qing and Yubing, and then be off," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

Wei Zhao finished refining the remaining pills, and Bingtang and Feng Xiaoxiao accompanied him to see Aunt Qing.

"Tangtang, you and Wei Zhao—are you an item now?" Aunt Qing asked teasingly at the sight of Bingtang.

"Mm..." Bingtang was not much embarrassed; she merely nodded. "Aunt Qing, did you not always say he was good? But... I have found that he truly is rather good!"

"Yes. That you can be together with Wei Zhao gladdens my heart," Aunt Qing said with satisfaction. "This counts as a fine home for you."

"Aunt Qing, I have not yet had time to tell you—my inheritance... succeeded. And at the very moment of success, I advanced to the peak of the late Heaven rank, the great consummation of strength. Xiaoxiao and I are going together to the Heaven-rank trial... and as for the Ice Palace..." What Bingtang worried about was that with both her and Feng Xiaoxiao gone, the Ice Palace would face a gap—with no expert to hold the seat, it would be bullied by other sects.

"Aunt Qing will hold the seat here," Aunt Qing said with a smile. "My strength may not be high, but I will defend the Ice Palace to the death..."

"By the way, Bingtang, does your Ice Palace still have the materials for refining Qi-Gathering Pills?" Wei Zhao asked suddenly, after some thought.

Aunt Qing was now at the peak of the mid Heaven rank—one minor stage higher than when Wei Zhao had first met her. Now she was only four Qi-Gathering Pills away from the realm of great consummation.

"You mean to refine pills for Aunt Qing, and help her break through to the realm of great consummation in one stroke?" Bingtang was briefly taken aback, then instantly understood Wei Zhao's meaning!

"Exactly. Other sects I can leave alone, but the Ice Palace I cannot. You and Xiaoxiao are both leaving, and my friends Yubing and Zhao Qiwu are still here—these people must not come to harm," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

"But if Aunt Qing takes a Qi-Gathering Pill, she may well have no hope of ever advancing to the Heavenly Dao in this life..." Bingtang hesitated.

"Palace Master Bing, that I am able to guard the Ice Palace is already the greatest wish of my life. Breakthrough to the Heavenly Dao or not—I have never even dreamt of it. So long as I can break through to the realm of great consummation and my life is endlessly prolonged, I can guard this Ice Palace for a good long while!" Aunt Qing said, wholly unconcerned.

"Bingtang, actually, taking a Qi-Gathering Pill does not necessarily make breaking through to the Heavenly Dao impossible!" Wei Zhao waved a hand. "Before, when you and I were not close, I did not go into detail. But now—you, Xiaoxiao, and Aunt Qing alike—are all people I trust. I will hide nothing from you!"

"Oh?" Bingtang raised her head and looked at Wei Zhao.

"Actually, I do not know whether you are aware that I am Zhang Lifeng's inheritor. In his ancient tomb I obtained his alchemy secret manual—which makes me, in a sense, his... disciple. Moreover, in the tomb I discovered a method he left behind by which one may advance to the Heavenly Dao through the consumption of pills..." Wei Zhao spoke up because Feng Xiaoxiao and Bingtang were the people closest to him, and Aunt Qing he had long since regarded as an elder of his own family—she had always done her utmost to help him. So he concealed nothing from them. "He left behind a method for refining a pill called the Heavenly Dao Golden Pill..."

"The Heavenly Dao Golden Pill? You mean that by taking this Heavenly Dao Golden Pill, one can advance to the Heavenly Dao?" Bingtang was instantly stunned, somewhat astonished. She had never heard of such a wondrous thing—though then again, before she had seen Wei Zhao refine pills, she had not known there was any such thing as an automatic Shennong Cauldron either!

"That should be so, but I have not yet obtained the pill formula. After I return this time, I intend to go to the ancient tomb and see whether I can get it," Wei Zhao said. "My going to Cloud Terrace Island is for another purpose; as for breaking through to the Heavenly Dao, that is a minor matter."