Chapter 3748 — A Formidable Rival

"True enough. Across the whole of Cloudstep Island, the people who know this secret really are as few as he says—you could count them on one hand. If I hadn't happened to hear of the thing from the mouth of the King of Spirit Beasts all those years ago, even I would have been in the dark."

Ghost Thing explained: "The greatest use of a Star Ink Stone is to help a cultivator achieve a perfect breakthrough into the Golden Core stage. A person who breaks through that way is far stronger than one who gets there by other means. The saying that a Golden Core cultivator is invincible is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Anyone with passable aptitude, aided by this thing, will have no trouble growing into a major figure one day. That's why I told you back then to find a way to buy it."

"So that's how it is!" Wei Zhao could not help but feel a surge of gratitude. "Thank you for the guidance, Senior. If you hadn't warned me, this Star Ink Stone would have slipped right through my fingers."

Though Ghost Thing hadn't spelled everything out, the phrase "perfect breakthrough into the Golden Core stage" was enough for Wei Zhao to work out a few things on his own.

Just as when he had broken through into Foundation Establishment, there had to be many paths to the Golden Core stage, and though none of them would be easy, the one that used a Star Ink Stone was, as expected, surely the most powerful of them all—otherwise it would never deserve the title of a perfect breakthrough.

"Heh heh, if you really are grateful, brat, then find a way to bring me more fresh spirit beast inner cores in the future—the higher the grade the better. I have great use for them." Ghost Thing gave a cackling laugh.

Wasn't this fellow himself an elder of the spirit beast clan? And here he was, telling him to fetch fresh spirit beast inner cores, the higher the grade the better—wasn't that practically encouraging him to go hunt and kill his own kind?

"All right." Wei Zhao was puzzled, but he didn't press the matter. When a suitable opportunity came along, he would simply do as asked.

"By the way, few people know about the Star Ink Stone, but it is, after all, a treasure rarely seen in this world. I don't need to teach you the lesson about how guilt comes from possessing a jade disc, do I? If you want to live a little more peacefully in the days to come, you'd best silence that fellow across from you right now. Otherwise, if he lets the word slip, the trouble will be endless." Having delivered this reminder, Ghost Thing fell silent.

Wei Zhao smiled faintly. Even without Ghost Thing's reminder, he had already intended to do exactly that. After all, if too many people learned of a supreme treasure like the Star Ink Stone, that would be no good thing at all.

And in the blink of an eye during which he had been conversing with Ghost Thing through his spiritual sense, Yu Jiang across from him had already shaken off his greedy frenzy. The man was no common sort, after all; even if his will was not as steady as Wei Zhao's, he would never wallow in it for long, much less truly lose himself.

"All right, you've learned what you wanted to know, so hand over the top-grade Foundation Establishment Breakthrough Pill!" Yu Jiang stared coldly at Wei Zhao.

But Wei Zhao merely smiled at him. "Sorry, I never intended to give it to you. I was lying."

With that, he reached out and put away the top-grade Foundation Establishment Breakthrough Pill in his hand. Coupled with the mocking expression on his face, it was enough to send even a man as deep and calculating as Yu Jiang into a fury that could shake heaven and earth!

"So you're ready to taste a fate worse than death, are you? I'll oblige you!" With that, a savage look flashed across Yu Jiang's face, and killing intent came surging in its wake!

Provoked that easily?

Wei Zhao could not help raising an eyebrow. If his opponent had been the likes of Meng Zhou, then no matter how strong the man was, he wouldn't have needed to take him so seriously—he wouldn't even have needed to play mind games, to scheme at provoking him into showing an opening.

But with this creature before him, he dared not underestimate him in the slightest. Quite apart from the fact that the man's open strength was already greater than his own, the cunning and caution he had displayed earlier made him truly troublesome to deal with. Against an enemy like this, finding an opening would be no easy task!

Don't forget the shallow airs this fellow had put on back at the Hong Merchant Guild. So now—was he genuinely enraged? Or was he simply turning the trick back on him, using the moment to lull him into carelessness?

Wei Zhao had no way to be sure, so all he could do was give it everything he had. Even with all manner of powerful hidden cards in hand, his opponent was, after all, a formidable expert of the mid Foundation Establishment stage. If he grew careless for even a moment, what awaited him next might well be utter and irreversible ruin!

As Yu Jiang closed in swiftly, Wei Zhao did not retreat but advanced, meeting him head-on. With his full power brought to bear, his speed in that instant was even a shade faster than his opponent's!

Yu Jiang was startled at once. Any peak early Foundation Establishment expert in his right mind, facing a mid Foundation Establishment expert like him, would never react this way. Did this fool actually think he could withstand him head-on? The man had no sense of his own limits at all!

He was nothing but a rootless rogue cultivator—where did this idiot get the nerve? Where did he get the audacity?

With a savage grin, Yu Jiang pressed two fingers together to form a sword, and a sharp sword qi, formless yet more potent than any form, extended from the tips of his fingers. It was like a peerless blade first revealing its edge—sand, stone, grass, and tree all around rattled and shook!

Wei Zhao's heart stirred, and only then did he understand that the sword qi his opponent had unleashed earlier had not relied on any divine weapon at all, but purely on the man's own formidable strength. This opponent was truly no small matter.

That earlier sneak-attack sword qi had already been powerful, but this sword the man now held poised at his fingertips, no longer concealing its force as before, would be even more lethal!

Even so, Wei Zhao showed not the slightest intention of retreating. Both unleashed their movement techniques with all their might, and the ten-zhang gap between them shrank to almost nothing in an instant.

A breath later, only a single zhang remained between them. Yu Jiang seemed to have seen through Wei Zhao's intent; the sword qi he had gathered at his fingertips, held in check and unreleased, was now treated as a solid weapon and thrust straight at Wei Zhao's face.

And just as the sword qi was about to pierce his body, with escape seemingly impossible, Wei Zhao twisted his body and, at the very last moment, forcibly changed direction, letting the sword qi graze past his shoulder!

"Hmph, I knew you'd pull that trick. A petty little art—showing off before an expert!"

Yu Jiang sneered, and the sword qi at his fingers shifted in pursuit, ready as ever. Had he not seen through Wei Zhao's intent in advance—a feint to the front, in truth an attempt to slip away—he would have released that sword qi long ago.

In theory, striking head-on from such a short distance, there was almost no chance of missing. But if Wei Zhao had prepared in advance, then given the speed he had displayed, there was still no small chance for him. (To be continued)