Chapter 2833 — The Hidden Agent of the Five Luminaries Sect

"Your sister, as a hidden agent of our Five Luminaries Sect—if she were never activated, then naturally she could sit in the position of young sect mistress of the Mystic Elixir Sect for the rest of her life. But now that the agent has been activated, the day of her departure cannot be far off. If you do not shoulder this responsibility, who will?" Patriarch Xuanzhen said, guiding him patiently. "You and your sister are rare talents in both alchemy and martial cultivation. But look at your sister—not only is her strength superb, her skill in alchemy is no less than yours, and she is adept at handling sect affairs! And then look at you?"

"Master, say no more. I understand. I will do my best!" Tianbian's face flushed slightly. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, as though he had made up his mind. "Master, when my sister returns, I will learn from her how to manage the sect's affairs. I will not fail the hopes you and my sister have placed in me!"

"That is the right spirit." Patriarch Xuanzhen nodded, speaking with gratification. "Good. You are a clever one—many principles need only a hint for you to grasp them. I need not say more. Go on back!"

"Master, my sister... there is still no word of her..." Tianbian asked cautiously.

"This is her master's command, and the responsibility she bears. Though I do not wish to send her into danger either, for the sake of the sect's grand design, I have no choice!" Patriarch Xuanzhen rose to his feet, his tone tinged with melancholy. He walked to Tianbian's side and patted his shoulder. "A man must learn to be strong. Even if your sister does not return this time, do not grieve—because from this day forward, you are her!"

"Yes!" Tianbian drew a deep breath and nodded.

The Five Baleful Mountains.

Although Wei Zhao's second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had already reached the realm of Great Perfection, restoring his physical strength and true qi still required a certain amount of time.

"Heaven-Sent Spring Rain—Fifth Form!" Wei Zhao had just recovered enough physical strength and true qi to unleash one Heaven-Sent Spring Rain, and he swiftly circulated the mental formulae and chanted the mnemonic of that technique, calling it forth.

Tianchan felt a warmth suffuse her whole body, and her physical strength and true qi recovered rapidly. She could even sense Wei Zhao behind her sweating like rain. Anxious as she was, there was nothing she could do—she was of no help at all. All she could do was carefully grip the cliff face so that the two of them would not fall, for otherwise everything they had done would be ruined.

Once Tianchan's physical strength and true qi had been replenished, she sprang up swiftly and once more unleashed the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Palm, then drove her hands and feet fiercely against the cliff face! But just as her palms were about to strike the rock, her gaze suddenly sharpened and she let out a cry of alarm!

For at the spot on the cliff where her right palm was about to fall, there jutted a spike of stone—a spike exceptionally sharp!

Had it been an ordinary stone spike, then with Tianchan's strength she could have shattered it with ease. But these Five Baleful Mountains were incomparably hard—even the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Palm could do no more than leave a shallow imprint on the cliff face. One could well imagine the degree of hardness!

So when Tianchan saw the spike, her heart lurched—but by then it was too late to change her angle. She could only steel herself and bring her hand down!

"Squelch..."

The sound was not loud, yet it made Tianchan's heart quiver. The pain racked her whole body with a shudder—her right palm had been pierced clean through by the spike...

Only then did Tianchan let out a groan of agony: "It hurts so much..."

Wei Zhao saw what had happened before his eyes and could not help frowning. He had not expected such rotten luck. He asked hastily, "Tianchan, are you all right?"

"How could I be all right? It hurts so much I could die!" Tianchan cried petulantly. "You sit behind me reaping the benefits while I suffer out in front..."

"Well... I would not exactly call it reaping benefits..." Wei Zhao smiled wryly. After all, he too was rapidly circulating the mental formulae to restore his physical strength and true qi.

"I do not care! Hurry up and heal me, or I will fall—and when we fall, you will be underneath, and I will crush you to death!" Tianchan said.

"Healing you is possible, but you must first pull your hand free and give it to me. If I cannot touch your skin, I cannot channel my physical strength and true qi into you to treat your wound," Wei Zhao said.

Healing was different from Heaven-Sent Spring Rain. Heaven-Sent Spring Rain could transmit physical strength and true qi without contact, but without contact, there was nothing Wei Zhao could do about healing.

"I cannot! If I let go with one hand, I will not be able to hold on to the cliff, and we will both fall," Tianchan said. "Can you not... just find some place and transmit the physical strength and true qi that way?"

"I could, but you would still have to pull your hand free. Otherwise there is a spike embedded in your palm—how am I to treat it? Even if your palm healed, the spike would still be in the middle of it, and pulling it out would wound you again," Wei Zhao said.

"Is that so? Then what if I pull my hand free and grip the spike with my hand instead?" Tianchan asked.

"That would work," Wei Zhao said.

"All right then..." Tianchan gritted her teeth and carefully endured the pain, drawing her palm off the spike. Even for a cultivator, the agony was severe. In her earlier duel with the Five Baleful Dragon, her wounds had been graver still, but she had soon fainted, so in truth Tianchan had not suffered much pain then. Now it was different—she had to endure it fully conscious.

"But... I have nowhere to put my hand?" Wei Zhao looked over Tianchan's body and found no place where he could touch her skin. Moreover, the two of them were bound together by the yellow silk, so Wei Zhao's movements were greatly restricted—reaching for Tianchan's hand was barely possible. And even if he managed to touch it, in this tense posture he could not circulate the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. So Wei Zhao was rather at a loss, not knowing what to do.

"If there is no place, then find one..." Tianchan grew anxious. "Hurry up! It hurts, I cannot hold on much longer. If you do not heal me soon, I will fall!"

"Fine... you leave me no choice..." Wei Zhao said helplessly. He gritted his teeth and stretched both hands toward Tianchan's chest. That was the only place not covered by clothing, and the spot easiest for Wei Zhao to reach.

"Ah, you—even at a time like this you take advantage of me! You pervert!" Tianchan's whole body trembled as Wei Zhao suddenly groped her chest, and she nearly let go and fell. But reason prevailed, and she gripped the cliff face tightly, so she did not fall.