Chapter 4225 — What's His Background?

To avoid any mishaps, Wei Zhao had specially prepared two custom-made Sea Compasses for Cloud Ladder Island this time, carrying one himself and giving the other to Huang Xiaotao, just in case.

With a compass on hand, it meant that no matter how thick the sea mist grew, there was no need to fear losing their way. And as long as their direction never went wrong, so long as they were careful, they would reach their destination in the end.

That said, a compass was hardly foolproof. Just like the Bermuda Triangle in the mortal realm, certain sea regions around Cloud Ladder Island were said to harbor peculiar meteorite magnetic fields capable of disrupting a compass's bearings. Add sea mist on top of that, and once caught inside, it truly was a nine-in-ten chance of death—whether one had the fortune to come out alive depended solely on heaven's will.

Of course, the route Wei Zhao had chosen had all been personally verified by many others, and did not pass through those legendary devil seas, so there was no need to worry on that count.

Over the following days, Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao spent their time on the vast open sea. Though it was somewhat monotonous and dull, Huang Xiaotao did not find it boring in the least—quite the opposite, she was delighted, for these days were, strictly speaking, her very own world for two with Wei Zhao.

No outsiders to disturb them, nestled close to the one she loved, quietly crossing the endless sea—what a romantic scene countless girls dreamed of!

As for Wei Zhao, though he had never been particularly quick on the uptake about such things, he had to stay constantly alert and keep his eyes fixed on the compass, so he could hardly call it boring either.

The journey passed without alarm or danger. The two encountered no trouble; even when the occasional omen of hidden peril appeared, Wei Zhao quickly noticed and steered around it. Nothing unexpected occurred.

"Just ahead, not far now—this should be the Wei Arc sea region," Wei Zhao said, his eyes suddenly lighting up as he looked ahead and checked the route map in his hand.

"Really?" Huang Xiaotao showed no trace of delight; instead she felt a little regretful and muttered to herself that their time alone together had flown by so quickly.

"That's right. Look, Xiaotao—there are quite a few people and flying spirit beasts up ahead. Only a cultivator settlement like the Wei Arc sea region would draw so many," Wei Zhao said, pointing ahead.

Huang Xiaotao lifted her head and gazed into the distance, and indeed she could make out specks of activity far away. Looking closely, they were flying spirit beasts carrying people. This meant that even if this was not yet the Wei Arc sea region, it was already very close—otherwise, out on the open ocean, it would have been like the past few days, going from dawn to dusk without meeting a single soul.

"Wonderful! Now we can finally find a place to rest our feet," Huang Xiaotao said, her mood brightening.

Though parting from their world for two was a little regrettable, staying perched motionless on the spirit bird's back for days on end, even doing nothing at all, had genuinely left her mentally exhausted. What she wanted most at that moment was to find an inn, soak in a hot bath, and relax—that would be the true supreme enjoyment.

Besides, in her eyes, so long as she could be with Wei Zhao, anywhere was a world for two.

"Mm." Wei Zhao was excited too. After days on end crossing the sea, his nerves stretched taut without a moment's slack—as an early Golden Core expert, his stamina was no issue, but the weariness that had steadily accumulated in his mind was truly hard to bear. He really did need to find a place to rest properly.

As they spoke, the two urged their spirit bird to speed up—but before they had fully entered the Wei Arc sea region, a flying spirit beast suddenly came hurtling toward them, barreling straight ahead.

Wei Zhao's heart lurched, and he could not help cursing himself for celebrating too soon. On the open sea, the greatest troubles besides sea mist were other cultivators. He had let his guard down a little in his momentary joy, and sure enough, someone had set their sights on them at once.

Turning to look at the person on that flying spirit beast's back, he saw a man in a gray-white long robe seated at the center, in the place of honor. Judging by his features, he looked to be only around thirty, though this was clearly not his true age.

Cultivators could keep their looks forever; unless they willed themselves to age or deliberately made their faces weathered, they would remain exactly as they were even after several hundred years, without the slightest change.

Wei Zhao gave the man a casual once-over. He was quite handsome, the sort of idol type that drove girls wild—placed in the mortal realm, he could probably have made a name for himself in the looks-obsessed entertainment industry.

Yet with Wei Zhao's keen perception, he detected beneath that sunny, handsome exterior a very distinct trace of evil—denser even than that of Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou as they were now, enough to make one wary. Clearly, this was no good man.

And at the man's side, leaning close on either hand, were two young and beautiful female companions. Though their looks could not compare with a peerless beauty like Huang Xiaotao, they were still rare specimens of the highest order—and both were dressed most revealingly, with only two tiny strips of cloth covering their crucial parts, leaving the rest of their fair, alluring figures fully exposed. Coupled with their seductive postures and the teasing gestures they made from time to time, it was enough to set the blood racing.

Dressed like that, they could have passed for bar girls in the mortal realm! Wei Zhao pursed his lips in secret disdain. Cloud Ladder Island carried on the ancient customs, and its notions of men and women were very traditional, with great weight placed on propriety between the sexes. Normal women therefore dressed rather conservatively; only a fox spirit like Murong Zhen would deliberately dress so revealingly. These two women before him were, if anything, even more brazen by comparison.

Besides this man and two women, there was also a dour, unsmiling middle-aged man on the back of the opposite flying spirit beast. Judging by his plain attire, he was presumably a servant, seated in front to drive the beast.

Yet of the four on the other side, the one Wei Zhao cared about most was precisely this seemingly ordinary middle-aged man!

The sinister man in the seat of honor was a late Golden Core cultivator—not especially troublesome. As for the two scantily clad women beside him, their strength was negligible, no more than the Foundation Establishment realm. Only this utterly ordinary-looking middle-aged man was someone whose cultivation Wei Zhao could not see through.

Wei Zhao was a flawless-breakthrough expert of the early Golden Core stage, and with his golden finger, he could see through any cultivation level within the Golden Core stage at a glance. Yet he could not see through this middle-aged man's strength, which could only mean one thing: this middle-aged man was certainly a formidable expert at the Nascent Soul stage or above!

Wei Zhao was startled inwardly. To make a powerful Nascent Soul expert willingly serve as a servant—just what was this sinister man's background? (To be continued..) R527