Chapter 4264 — Contested

After all, a pairing like hers and Wei Zhao's—two early-stage Golden Core cultivators whose combined might could rival that of a Nascent Soul expert—was likely one of a kind in all the world, with no other such house to be found. No ordinary Golden Core cultivator could possibly command such heaven-defying means.

"Rival a Nascent Soul expert? That seems a stretch. I'd put it at the peak of the late Golden Core stage, at the very pinnacle of perfection," Wei Zhao said after a moment's thought.

If the infant ginseng truly rivaled a Nascent Soul expert, then the Fury Fire Eight-Trigram Combined Palm the two of them had unleashed together could at most have dealt it a heavy blow—it could never have killed it outright so easily with a single strike.

Even so, this was already quite outrageous. After all, most of those who went to such pains to seek out infant ginseng were Golden Core cultivators, still short one Nascent Soul Condensing Pill as they prepared to condense their Nascent Souls. With strength at the peak of the late Golden Core stage, at the very pinnacle of perfection, coupled with the mist that cut off spiritual sense, it was more than enough to give them considerable grief.

As the two of them were talking, Wei Zhao suddenly noticed that the mist around them was dispersing faster and faster now that he had claimed the infant ginseng for himself. At this rate, it would all clear away in less than half an incense stick's time.

"This is bad—this place is no place to linger. Stay too long and we may draw trouble. We need to leave at once." Suddenly on guard, Wei Zhao made a decisive call, hastily tucking the infant ginseng into his jade pendant while seizing Huang Xiaotao's hand, ready to withdraw.

By now one thing was utterly certain: the mist was the infant ginseng's protective umbrella, and with the infant ginseng dead, the mist was dissipating of its own accord. For Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, now in possession of a priceless treasure, this was hardly good news—because in a sense, the mist had shielded the infant ginseng and, at the same time, shielded the two of them as well.

Now the mist was gone, and the medicinal fragrance of the infant ginseng was so thick. Should any cultivator happen to pass nearby, they would likely be drawn over, and a single glance in this direction would reveal everything. An innocent man is guilty by virtue of the jade he carries—and then trouble would be upon them.

"Mm." Huang Xiaotao nodded again and again, not daring to dawdle. After so many years of trial missions, she was thoroughly clear on such matters, and she followed Wei Zhao at once.

Yet before the two of them had taken more than a few steps, from somewhere far off at an angle above and behind them, there suddenly came a burst of chilling, unearthly laughter. Within a radius of several dozen li, the carrion crows that had gathered were instantly startled into flight, scattering in all directions—a truly hair-raising sight.

Wei Zhao was startled at once, hastily shielding Huang Xiaotao behind him, while secretly regretting in his heart. In the end, the unexpected acquisition of the infant ginseng had made him somewhat carried away. Otherwise, given his usual cautious ways, he would have taken the prize and been gone long ago—why would he still be lingering in this den of trouble with Huang Xiaotao?

Still, aside from being a little overexcited, the mist had not yet fully dispersed at the time. Anyone else would not have been in a hurry to leave either. Wei Zhao's reaction could only be considered normal—at most, he had been a bit careless.

Along with that blood-curdling laughter, a figure abruptly dropped from the sky. Wei Zhao looked up toward the sound, and his heart could not help but clench!

The man had actually descended from a height of several dozen zhang. The gray robes he wore seemed specially made, for as he spread his limbs they billowed out like bat wings, letting him glide through the air, change direction nimbly, and flit swiftly among the dense woods.

"Ah!" Huang Xiaotao cried out in alarm at the sight. At first glance the man looked like an enormous gray-skinned bat. Having just seen the infant ginseng transform into a little golden figure, she thought this too might be no human, but another spirit beast in human form.

Wei Zhao too was secretly astonished—not, of course, over whether the thing was man or beast, but over the fact that the other party had dived straight down from a height of several dozen zhang. Was he not afraid of the layer of miasma overhead? After all, the miasma lay only several dozen zhang high!

Wei Zhao was certain this thing was surely human. But a human cultivator had no reason to be able to ignore miasma. Even if he did not fear poisoning, the miasma's interference with perception was nearly as great as the mist from before—yet within the miasma layer he could clearly sense both Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao. How terrifying must this man's strength be?

There was no time to react. In the blink of an eye, the gray-robed man came whistling down and landed not far before the two of them. Only then did they make out his features—a middle-aged man with an inherently sinister countenance.

His most striking feature was the high, hooked eagle-nose on his face, and a pair of small eyes that gathered light sharply. Along with his wicked, cackling laughter, though he was plainly a human cultivator, standing there before them he made them feel the perilous aura of a wild beast—sending an involuntary chill through them, a tremor in their hearts.

Wei Zhao's heart sank at once—not because of the man's looks, but because of his strength. He could not see through it at all, which meant this was at least a troublesome Nascent Soul figure!

With a powerful foe before them, it was by now impossible to think of fleeing. Never mind the man's formidable strength—from the mere manner of his arrival, one could tell this was surely a speed-type expert. With Huang Xiaotao in tow, Wei Zhao had no chance of escape at all.

And even if he could flee, at such close range Wei Zhao would never dare rashly turn his back on a Nascent Soul expert. That would not only be exceedingly unwise but a cardinal taboo of the jianghu—no different from courting death.

"Haha, it really is the aura of infant ginseng! This trip wasn't wasted after all!" The gray-robed man sniffed the medicinal fragrance filling the air, then fixed his gloomy eyes on Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, baring his teeth in a cackling grin. "Looks like the infant ginseng has fallen into your hands, eh? Heh heh—letting the other ants go die first while you sit back and reap the fisherman's profit. Quite the scheming minds you've got!"

"Who are you?" Wei Zhao's heart sank even further at his words. Since the man could say such a thing, it meant he had already been watching their group before this—only his strength far exceeded theirs, so that neither Wei Zhao himself nor even Chu Bubai had sensed him in the slightest.

At this thought, Wei Zhao could not help but feel a lingering dread, and at the same time he roughly understood part of the matter. The reason this man had waited until now to act was, beyond wanting to reap the spoils, most likely also because of the mist.

Evidently, the gray-robed man before them could not see through the mist that existed to shield the infant ginseng either. Otherwise, he would likely have simply struck and snatched the infant ginseng before the mist dispersed, rather than waiting until now to demand it of the two of them.

After all, the man had just used the speculative word "should," which meant he was not entirely clear on what had happened after everyone entered the mist—especially the matter of Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao joining forces to slay the infant ginseng just now. (Readers on mobile, please cast some recommendation and monthly votes to support Old Yu! ) R1152