Chapter 4053 — Is It Really Wei Zhao?

Meng Zhou's eyes lit up at that. "So it really is Wei Zhao, no doubt about it? That makes sense—this place is so remote that no one would normally come here, and artifact forging is a matter of life and death. Taking on a false identity to stay hidden is perfectly understandable."

While they were talking, Wei Zhao had already gone straight to the Scrap King's secret base below. Right now his mind was entirely fixed on forging, and he had not the faintest inkling of anything strange overhead.

After watching Wei Zhao circle about outside for a good long while and then suddenly duck into a hidden cave, Kang Jingming and the others felt their hearts settle, and they all cried out in excitement, "That settles it—no mistake now! That cave must be where he does his forging!"

"Heh heh, we've caught him in such a glaring flaw—Wei Zhao's done for this time! Let's wait a little longer, and once he's started forging, we'll all strike together! Brother Meng Zhou here is already a Foundation Establishment expert, and with the rest of us on top of that, so many of us ganging up on him at once—I refuse to believe he can still get out alive!" Kang Jingming said with a sinister grin, his face alight with certainty of victory.

Meng Zhou, however, was in no hurry. He signaled Kang Jingming to bring the flying spirit beast down to land, then gave his orders: "No rush. This chance is too rare—we have to make absolutely sure there are no slip-ups. As we discussed before: Murong Zhen and I will keep watch here first. Kang Jingming, you go fetch Dongfang Badao and Zhong Yongliang. There's strength in numbers, and it saves us from him slipping away through some gap again."

"Fine, I'll go call them right now. This time Wei Zhao's asked for death himself—choosing such a narrow cave with no road to heaven above and no door into the earth below. Once the five of us block the entrance, he won't escape even in death!" Kang Jingming answered with a chuckle.

Kang Jingming was just about to lift his foot and leave when Murong Zhen suddenly spoke up: "We could also send word to Yu Jiang and Nantian Guan, and tell them that Wei Zhao is Lin Er! They're not exactly on our side, but they're all Wei Zhao's mortal enemies too. If we happen to slip up, having them come along gives us a second line of insurance."

Kang Jingming and Meng Zhou exchanged a glance and nodded. "Wahahaha, well said! Wei Zhao, today we're going to watch and see just how you die!"

The group set to work at once, each going his own way. When Zhong Yongliang received Kang Jingming's message, he was thrown into a panic. Of everyone involved from start to finish, he was the last to learn of it—he had already been preparing to make his move when these people finally came to inform him. Even if he wanted to warn Wei Zhao now, he no longer had the time or the opportunity.

Seeing Zhong Yongliang with his head lowered, his expression shifting this way and that, Kang Jingming narrowed his eyes and asked suspiciously, "What? You don't want to go?"

"Go! Of course I'll go! With such a fine chance for revenge, how could I not go!" Zhong Yongliang jerked his head up and said.

Though he could not warn Wei Zhao in advance, going was still better than not going—and if it came to the worst, he could always reveal his identity and strike a counterblow!

"Good, then. You go call that old bastard Dongfang Badao now. I'll head to the Heaven Piercer Pavilion first to pass word to Yu Jiang and Nantian Guan, and I'll be right back to take you all over." Kang Jingming gave his instructions, then immediately drove his flying spirit beast up into the sky.

Zhong Yongliang acknowledged him, but his heart could not help but fret secretly for Wei Zhao. He had had little contact with Wei Zhao of late and did not know what his current strength truly was, but the lineup of people preparing to surround and attack him was already no small force.

Though Zhong Yongliang had absolute confidence in Wei Zhao's strength, that confidence held only under the premise of a one-on-one fight. Wei Zhao was, after all, nothing but a newcomer—however strong, there had to be a limit.

While he was still uneasy, Kang Jingming returned from the Heaven Piercer Pavilion and took him and Dongfang Badao to rendezvous with Meng Zhou and Murong Zhen. The whole group was now in place.

"No time to lose—let's move!" As the strongest among them, Meng Zhou unhesitatingly took the lead and entered the cave, with Murong Zhen and the others filing in behind him.

The safer course would be to wait for Yu Jiang, Nantian Guan, and the rest—perhaps even a formidable Golden Core expert like Nantian Ba would show up, and then dealing with Wei Zhao would be absolutely certain.

But after a killing, people always looted the spoils and divided them up, and these men were not truly of one faction after all. If they really waited for Nantian Ba to make his move, then no matter what fine treasures Wei Zhao carried, they would never get their hands on them—they would not even get a sip of the thin soup.

Better to hurry and finish Wei Zhao off together before Yu Jiang and the others arrived. With their combined strength, so long as nothing unexpected happened, they had more than enough to deal with Wei Zhao alone.

And if they could not finish him, there was still Nantian Guan as a fallback.

Just as Meng Zhou and the others stepped into the cave, the Scrap King, who had already begun forging, suddenly changed expression: "Bad news—someone's come in!"

"How do you know?" Wei Zhao could not help but start. The cave was deep and narrow; even with his own senses he could not detect anything at the entrance, and with the Scrap King's meager strength, it should have been even more impossible for him.

"Brother Lin, you don't know this, but when my master dug this cave, it wasn't simply to have a place to stay. Besides the abundant spiritual energy and stable environment, which made it suitable for forging, he also laid arrays all around. Once your divine sense merges with the arrays, you can probe any part of the cave at any time," the Scrap King explained.

Wei Zhao understood then, and asked quickly, "Who are they? How many?"

"Five in all, but as for exactly who they are, I'm not sure either." The Scrap King shook his head, his face full of alarm. "This is terrible. The forging's already begun—it's too late to stop now. The process absolutely cannot be interrupted, and it cannot be disturbed in any way, or all our work will come to nothing and all these precious materials will be wasted!"

"Don't panic yet. Leave these people to me—you just concentrate on the forging." Wei Zhao rose at once, patted the Scrap King's shoulder in reassurance, and headed toward the cave entrance.

He did not know exactly who had come this time, but the arrow was already on the string; no matter how strong the enemy, he could only steel himself and find some way to deal with them! Someone really had come—the jade pendant had begun to warn him...

Meanwhile, Meng Zhou and the others, feeling their way in from the cave entrance, clicked their tongues in wonder the whole way.

From the outside, the cave looked utterly unremarkable at first glance, like any ordinary bear den, but the farther in the group went, the more they felt an air of unfathomable depth. Their eyesight was not enough to fully grasp the mystery, but at least they could tell that profound arrays were hidden all around—work no ordinary person could have accomplished. (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Academy—the novel updates faster and better! R640