Chapter 4698 — The Primeval Battlefield

The two of them finished off every last pastry Wei Zhao had produced. When they were done, Huo Yudie wiped the corner of her mouth, still craving more, and just then Wei Zhao suddenly spoke again: "Want some more?"

"Huh? You've got more?" Huo Yudie was startled yet again, sizing Wei Zhao up and down as though he were some kind of monster. What on earth were these things made of? They were traveling far from home, and he clearly wasn't carrying so much as a bag—how could he possibly have so many pastries stashed away on his person?

"I do. If you want to eat, I've got enough to fill you up, guaranteed," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

.{m}

"Uh... better not..." Huo Yudie hesitated, then could only shake her head. Eating was just a habit for her, a way to satisfy a craving; there was no need to stuff herself. A girl who ate that much in front of others would be laughed at—and for some reason, she especially did not want to be laughed at by this fellow Wei Zhao.

"Oh, suit yourself then." Wei Zhao put the food away without a care, and Huo Yudie felt a fresh wave of frustration. Why was he always like this? The moment she said she didn't want something, he dropped it immediately—couldn't he have asked one more time? Didn't he know a girl was supposed to be a little reserved?

What on earth was wrong with this girl? Seeing Huo Yudie stalk off with the look of someone nursing a silent grudge, Wei Zhao could only shake his head helplessly. Women were hard to understand to begin with, and this one changed moods by the moment—harder still.

Still, Wei Zhao had no need to understand her. He was with Huo Yudie purely for the sake of the Thunder Mystic Vine; so long as that fundamental goal was not hindered, the girl could do as she pleased.

The two set off again, but they had traveled less than two hours when the scene far ahead abruptly changed. That stretch of land stood in stark contrast to the desolation all around it—lush and verdant, like a paradise fallen to earth.

"An oasis?!" Wei Zhao's spirits soared at once. Anyone who had walked for two days through an unbroken, monotonous wasteland would be overjoyed to suddenly come upon a rare oasis.

For an ordinary person, encountering such a verdant oasis amid the desert was nothing short of grasping at a lifesaving straw.

For a cultivator like Wei Zhao it was not quite so dramatic, but his mood still brightened instantly; even from a distance, he could not help feeling refreshed in body and mind.

Huo Yudie's reaction was far more direct than Wei Zhao's. With a thrilled cry, she immediately dashed toward the oasis at full speed. After two whole days in the desert, sitting and lying on the sand, she was covered in dust and thoroughly miserable; the one thing she wanted most right now was to find a clear spring and have a proper bath.

Wei Zhao did not try to stop her. Running off like that was a little dangerous, but with him watching from behind, it was hardly a problem. His divine sense had already swept ahead of her, and any danger would be detected well in advance.

The two quickly drew near this rare oasis. Huo Yudie was just about to charge in impatiently when she suddenly halted a hundred zhang away, frowning at what lay ahead.

"Why are there so many people?" Wei Zhao stopped beside her in some surprise. From a distance nothing had been visible, but now that they were close, it was plain that within this not-exactly-large oasis there were several dozen people gathered—and they were all clustered in one place rather than spreading out, as if they were holding some sort of gathering.

"This... what do we do?" Huo Yudie turned to look at Wei Zhao nervously. She had, without quite knowing when it began, unconsciously come to regard him as her pillar of support.

"Could they all be here for the Thunder Mystic Vine too?" Wei Zhao glanced at her and said. Everyone appearing here was naturally a participant in this trial, and there was only one thing that could draw them together like this: rare heavenly treasures—and not ordinary ones at that. Only something as rare as the Thunder Mystic Vine could stir up such a commotion.

"I don't think so!" Huo Yudie thought it over and said, "This primeval battlefield ruin is known to the world, yes, but information about the Thunder Mystic Vine has always been kept secret—only a very few people know of it. Unless someone deliberately spread the word with ulterior motives, it's impossible for so many to gather here. If it really did become common gossip, the West Island higher-ups would definitely take action."

"Mm, that makes sense." Wei Zhao nodded. The existence of the Thunder Mystic Vine was a rare strategic resource for the whole of West Island; a few insiders knowing of it was one thing, but if word truly spread until everyone knew, West Island would inevitably sink into chaos. Ning Shanghe might well issue a direct kill order, and by then not a single trial participant who knew the news would likely survive. When the core interests of all West Island were at stake, no mercy could be afforded.

"We may have taken the shortest route, but we did lose a day at the start, so these people probably came here from other directions. Don't worry—we're still a long way from the Thunder Mystic Vine," Huo Yudie reassured him.

"That's good, then." Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned toward the front. "But something must have happened over there, or so many people couldn't have gathered. We'd better be careful."

"Mm." Huo Yudie's expression was likewise grave. An oasis would naturally draw people to stop and rest, but for so many to gather for no apparent reason meant this was certainly no small matter. Even if it had nothing to do with the Thunder Mystic Vine, they could not afford to be careless.

"This is the only way through, isn't it?" Wei Zhao asked.

"That's right. Our destination lies beyond the Ten-Thousand-Year Grand Canyon, and this oasis is the only entrance to the Grand Canyon from this side," Huo Yudie said with a nod.

"Then we've no choice. Let's go—just be careful." With that, Wei Zhao took the lead and walked on ahead. Strange happenings might mean something sinister afoot, but as he had said before, a trial of this level posed no real difficulty for him; at most it came down to good luck or bad.

As for danger—if even someone of his strength could not handle it, then the other trial participants would long since have died out.

Huo Yudie followed cautiously behind Wei Zhao, but there was no nervousness in her heart—rather, a sense of security that quite intoxicated her. This stubborn old stick might often fail to appreciate a woman's feelings, but she had to admit that at least he gave one the impression of being utterly dependable.

The two entered the oasis on their guard. The moment they stepped beneath the shade of the trees, a coolness like a splash of cold water to the face rushed over them, soothing them from head to toe. The weariness of the journey was wiped away in an instant, and body and mind alike relaxed of their own accord.

"I didn't expect the spiritual energy here to be so rich," Wei Zhao muttered in some surprise. (The school beauty is temporarily on a two-chapter schedule, and Qiang Shao will also switch to two chapters. Restored at the end of next month.) (To be continued...) I752