Chapter 4678 — What Is Your True Strength

Unless Huo Yudie were to fall on hard times, or her master Liu Ziqi were to lose all power and influence, what reason would she possibly have to throw in her lot with Yi Xiaotian?

He had no intention of giving up Yao Jiali. When that girl turned wanton, she was far more spirited than those so-called jade maidens—and besides, their two families had been friends for generations. His coveting of Huo Yudie was nothing but a bit of idle fantasy. The crucial thing right now was to keep Yao Jiali well pleased, for only thus could he reap greater benefits and advantages...

"Let's go," Huo Yudie said with a nod to Wei Zhao, and the two of them immediately retraced their steps along the way they had come, parting company with Yao Jiali and the others.

"Junior Sister Yudie..." Ren Zhongyuan called out, sullen and bitter, but the other party did not so much as turn her head, only waving a hand carelessly.

Watching Huo Yudie leave, and with a potential rival in love walking at her side no less, Ren Zhongyuan was seized by a sudden urge to chase after them. He would not give the two of them a chance to be alone together—he and Huo Yudie, one man and one woman, that was a scene that had only ever appeared in his dreams!

Yet in the end Ren Zhongyuan could not bring himself to take that step. Once Huo Yudie went back, he could still pursue her later, but the Everlasting Root—miss this chance and it would never come again. Casting one deep look at Huo Yudie's retreating figure, Ren Zhongyuan gritted his teeth, turned, and followed in the footsteps of Yao Jiali and the other man.

The Everlasting Root—this time he absolutely had to obtain the Everlasting Root. Once he did, he need only part with a tiny fragment, and Huo Yudie would come throwing herself into his arms!

Thus the two sides went their separate ways. Wei Zhao and Huo Yudie walked on for a good half hour, until Wei Zhao's spiritual sense could no longer lock onto those three, and only then did they finally catch their breath.

"So they knew nothing about the Thunder Mystery Vine. I had thought they were our rivals," Wei Zhao said suddenly, his tone flat.

"This concerns something as vital as the Thunder Mystery Vine—why should we tell them? Would that not be courting trouble for ourselves? Those few are no easy marks. If they truly found the Thunder Mystery Vine, there is no guaranteeing they would not harbor thoughts they ought not have, and then I would have to fight the many alone," Huo Yudie said with a shake of her head.

"Heh, that may not be so certain. At the very least, that Ren Zhongyuan would still help you," Wei Zhao said with a smile, though inwardly he grew ever more convinced: this time, for the sake of the Thunder Mystery Vine, Huo Yudie was very likely counting on his Five Elements constitution!

Otherwise—Ren Zhongyuan and the other two were all at Nascent Soul Great Perfection, and they were all disciples of the Eastern Continent Academy who knew one another inside out. Even if she and Yao Jiali did not get along, so long as it was merely a matter of cooperation, there should be no great problem, or at least nothing so unreliable as what Huo Yudie herself had described.

Wei Zhao, by contrast, was only a peak expert of the early Nascent Soul stage, and there was no particular friendship between them. By any measure, those three were the better fit for a team—the one difference being his Five Elements constitution!

Still, just what the connection was between the Five Elements constitution and the Thunder Mystery Vine—that was a question that needed clarifying. Wei Zhao did not intend to ask now, of course; when the time came for it to be of use, the other party would speak of it herself. To wag his tongue now would bring only harm and no benefit.

Huo Yudie was silent for a moment. Turning her head to glance at Wei Zhao, she shifted the subject: "Your strength seems to be quite formidable, doesn't it?"

"Oh? I'm nothing but a peak early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Before experts like you at Nascent Soul Great Perfection, could that be called formidable?" Wei Zhao said with a wry curl of his lips.

"For many geniuses who can challenge opponents above their level, surface strength counts for nothing at all. I believe you are one of that kind," Huo Yudie said with a faint smile. She paused, then added, "Thank you for earlier."

"Heh, it was nothing," Wei Zhao said, waving a hand indifferently.

Earlier, when dealing with the false-man vines, he had lent aid amid the chaos without leaving a trace. Ren Zhongyuan and the others might not have noticed, but with so many instances, Huo Yudie must certainly have sensed it!

Otherwise she would have been far too dull—and in that case Wei Zhao really would have had to reconsider this partnership. To join forces with such a dull girl in search of the Thunder Mystery Vine could well cost a life.

"May I ask, out of curiosity—just what is your true strength? As partners, I think we ought to get this matter clear first, lest something go wrong when we act," Huo Yudie said, her gaze burning into Wei Zhao.

"As you see it," Wei Zhao said with a noncommittal shrug. Of course he would not reveal his true strength to a stranger he had only just met, and there was no need for him to lie either—at least his current cultivation was indeed at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, beyond all doubt.

"I mean your true strength. That false-man vine—even we few could not come away unscathed, yet you alone were unhurt. To say you are merely peak early-stage Nascent Soul—I absolutely will not believe it," Huo Yudie said with a firm shake of her head.

"Heh, I'm merely rather skilled in movement techniques and martial arts. It couldn't hit me, so naturally I wasn't hurt," Wei Zhao said with an unconcerned smile, and with that he offered no further explanation, shutting his mouth tight.

Huo Yudie looked deeply at Wei Zhao, then tactfully refrained from pressing further. Now was not the time to dig to the very bottom of things; since the other party was unwilling to come clean, it was enough to keep it in mind.

As the two talked, they had already followed the path they had taken before back to a fork in the road. Huo Yudie took a map from her pack and compared it, then gave Wei Zhao a confirming nod: "Yes, it's this way."

With that she took the lead and walked on ahead. It was a little unseemly, perhaps, to let a girl take the risk of leading the way, but who had told Wei Zhao not to know the route? Such matters Huo Yudie would not tell him in advance; after what had happened before, Wei Zhao had come to seem somewhat unfathomable in her eyes, and she meant to keep a card or two in reserve.

The sky gradually darkened, and the road ahead began to grow somewhat difficult to traverse. Add to that three hours of ceaseless travel, and both Huo Yudie and Wei Zhao were more or less weary.

With their strength, they could have walked on however long it took without concern; the crux was that in this place every step had to be taken with caution and vigilance. Faced with the monotonous desert scenery, their minds had to remain on high alert at all times—the false-man vine before had been only a minor warning, and who knew what dreadful things they might encounter next?

Under such pervasive mental pressure, even a Nascent Soul Great Perfection expert would find it hard to endure over time.

Yet neither showed any inclination to stop and rest; they merely slowed their pace. In a desert like this it was hard to find any rare treasures—only at the oases marked on the map would there be anything to gain! R1152