Chapter 3241 — The True Qi Ring

But oddly enough, the moment his true qi bomb was released, there was not a whisper of sound—his own true qi bomb had simply vanished!

Still, the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder had later said he held a hidden ace, though he never told Wei Zhao just what that ace was. Could it be—as the Sinister Ancestor said—this fine treasure? Was this his ace?

At that thought, Wei Zhao's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Sinister Ancestor, what fine treasure is it?"

"This thing is called a true qi ring!" With that, the Sinister Ancestor reached out, twisted a rather unremarkable black ring off the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder's finger, and held it up for Wei Zhao to see. "This thing can absorb an enemy's true qi attacks and store them inside the ring! Then, when you want to release it, you can turn the true qi within into a single move and unleash it—and its force will be a bit stronger still than when it was absorbed!"

"Ah!" Wei Zhao stared at the ring before him in shock. No wonder! His true qi bomb from a moment ago had evidently been absorbed by this thing, and then, with a casual point of the Black Horse Association's Grand Elder's finger, that true qi had been released again and struck him!

No wonder it was so fierce! Even with him dodging and shielding himself with true qi, it had blown a hole through half his shoulder! Its force was even greater than when he himself had released it!

Still, this was a fine thing indeed. At a critical moment against an enemy, it could not only save your life but also borrow force to strike force—truly a rare treasure!

Of course, though Wei Zhao thought it a fine thing, he had no thought of claiming it for himself. After all, the three before him were all top-tier experts, and they counted as his saviors besides, on good terms with him—Wei Zhao could not bring himself to take what others loved.

But what Wei Zhao had not expected was that the Bloody Garment Ancestor, after taking the true qi ring, handed it straight to him. "Take this thing. Our Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect dislikes owing others too many favors! That business last time with Dongfang Yinxing and the Pure Yin Heavenly Venerable already left us owing you one favor, and with this one, that makes two—so let us repay you one of them first, shall we?"

The tone was inquiring, but how would Wei Zhao dare refuse? Never mind that this was a stroke of tremendous fortune—even if they had handed him a piece of junk and called the favor repaid, Wei Zhao would not have minded!

After all, either way, the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect had twice been helping him. Even had they not told him they had a mission of their own and simply let him owe them two favors, that would have been perfectly normal—much less their speaking honestly as they did.

So Wei Zhao, surprised and delighted, took the true qi ring and said, "This thing... isn't it a bit too precious?"

This was no mere courtesy—it was plain truth. Wei Zhao did not believe the favor he had done them could be worth a Heaven Rank divine weapon of this caliber. Though the weapon seemed merely auxiliary in nature, its value could hardly be underestimated!

Back when he had made his exchange with Snow Valley, one could already see just how priceless a single Heaven Rank divine weapon was—so Wei Zhao had no wish to take advantage of the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect.

"Since it is a favor, then there is no need to weigh the value of the thing; a favor has no price." The Bloody Garment Ancestor waved a hand. "Then it is settled?"

"This..." Wei Zhao mused for a moment, then made a decision. From the space of his jade pendant he took out the Gale Lightning Boots and set them before the Bloody Garment Ancestor. "Bloody Garment Ancestor, I cannot in good conscience take such a great advantage for nothing. These are a pair of Gale Lightning Boots—I trust they are no strangers to you, for they are the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect's own. I now return them to their rightful owner!"

Truth be told, the Gale Lightning Boots were fine things too, but they had after all been seized from the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect, and Wei Zhao did not know how to use them. Keeping them was useless, and there was no way he could ask the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect how they worked!

The things were theirs to begin with—how could Wei Zhao bring himself to ask them how to use them? Would that not be a slap in their faces? To rob someone of their property and then ask them how to use it—that was a bit much!

Especially since Wei Zhao had since grown rather friendly with the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect, it was all the harder to ask. Now, here was a fitting chance to return them, and Wei Zhao would not feel he owed the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect too great a debt because of it.

But what Wei Zhao had not expected at all was that the Yellow Springs Ancestor, after a glance at the Gale Lightning Boots, said, "Oh, these things? Since they are your spoils of war, then they are yours. Sinister, copy down a set of the usage incantation for Mr. Wei Zhao!"

"Ah?" Wei Zhao was utterly dumbstruck. This... were the people of the Bloody Garment Yellow Springs Sect truly so kind? Or were they simply too loyal to old ties? To think they would not even take back what was theirs! Why did Wei Zhao feel as though he were dreaming, so unreal did it seem?

Seeing Wei Zhao's stunned look, the Sinister Ancestor was at a loss for words himself. The two Ancestors did not much understand the ways of the world—this was a bit too blunt, was it not? This was plainly favoritism toward Wei Zhao. How could Wei Zhao not read things into it?

Yet the Sinister Ancestor was a smooth man after all, and he soon found a reason to explain. "Mr. Wei Zhao, do not read too much into it. The ancient stratum is simply like this: you go to kill someone, fail, and get killed instead—then the things on their person naturally belong to the victor. Such is the rule of the ancient stratum, and we have no grounds to demand them back. That would be unjust!"

In truth, the rule the Sinister Ancestor spoke of was real enough, but those who truly observed it were the ordinary ancient sects. The powerful ones did not abide by it—they would still seek revenge.

But there was no need to tell Wei Zhao all that, so the Sinister Ancestor offered only this explanation, meaning for Wei Zhao to take it as a matter of course.

"So that is how it is..." Wei Zhao nodded. "Then I shall respectfully comply. Be that as it may, I must still thank you all."

"We help each other, that is all!" The Sinister Ancestor waved a hand. The usage incantation for the Gale Lightning Boots had already been written down—the thing was hardly complicated, only a few lines.

Wei Zhao took it and glanced it over, only then discovering how simple the Gale Lightning Boots were to use. He nodded and tucked it away carefully. But then, thinking of the true qi ring, he grew puzzled again and quickly asked, "By the way, three Ancestors, how am I to use my true qi ring?"