Chapter 4535 — Superfast Escape

Moreover, back at the spirit beast assembly, every trace of spirit beast aura on Wei Zhao had been fabricated by him, the Ghost Thing. An ordinary spirit beast was unlikely to see through such a trick, but the King of Spirit Beasts was another matter altogether; even if it was merely a puppet king summoned by the Vermilion Bird to hoodwink the crowd, it still had to have some real skill to its name.

This new King of Spirit Beasts had sensed the Ghost Thing's aura, and from there come to suspect that Wei Zhao was one of the Ghost Thing's people—or perhaps even the Ghost Thing himself—and so had suddenly spoken up to extricate Wei Zhao. That was likely the most plausible explanation of all.

As for why the King of Spirit Beasts would do such a thing, that was exactly what the Vermilion Bird and the Azure Dragon feared: this new sovereign was likely unwilling to remain a puppet dancing on others' strings.

Be that as it may, a clean escape was a blessing in itself. Having been frightened so thoroughly, not only did Wei Zhao dare not linger on the South Island, even the Ghost Thing, who had wanted to wander about and take in the sights, was forced to abandon the notion. This time they had been lucky enough to have the King of Spirit Beasts smooth things over, but should it happen again, they would die without ever knowing how.

So the Ghost Thing dared not grow careless. Once they were clear, it began directing Wei Zhao to find a way off the South Island, and Wei Zhao plainly had no objection whatsoever.

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To be sure, the South Island was a natural treasure trove for human cultivators; given the chance to venture here, one would reap no end of unexpected gains—provided one had the strength to match.

By Wei Zhao's current measure, he could still count as a worthy hand in the South Continent seas, but within the South Island itself he amounted to nothing at all. Unless he was prepared to devote himself as feed for the spirit beasts, he had best think as little as possible about rare treasures and heavenly materials—the more he dwelled on them, the faster he would die.

There was only one thing on Wei Zhao's mind now: to get off the South Island as quickly as possible.

But he had entered through the torrential vortex of the Demon Cold Sea, and going back the way he came was impossible, for it was a one-way passage. Even a power like the Old Sect of the Western Mountains could not force its way out against the current, let alone Wei Zhao.

What the Ghost Thing pointed him toward was another exit, one closer to the Weihu Sea, and it was no torrential vortex but a teleportation formation.

Only, to reach that exit formation, Wei Zhao would have to cross at least two major cultivation city districts, and the perils of that could well be imagined.

Thanks to the convening of the spirit beast assembly, passing through the Anluo District was not too great a problem; after all, the Vermilion Bird had already summoned away the stronger spirit beasts here, leaving only feeble creatures of the Golden Core stage or even lower, and generally of no aggressive disposition.

The sole purpose of these feeble spirit beasts' existence was to serve as rations for the powerful ones, so they posed no threat to Wei Zhao. But once he left the Anluo District, his troubles would truly begin.

The spirit beasts he would face next were formidable beings of the Nascent Soul stage and above at the very least. The spirit beast clan was thick with experts; within this single district alone, those comparable to cultivators of the Mystic Ascension stage were not few, and some perilous places were even held by titans of the Mountain-Opening stage. Should Wei Zhao dare set one foot within their territory, he would die beyond any doubt.

Fortunately, with the Ghost Thing's constant guidance, he was able to avoid those he could not afford to provoke. Otherwise, relying on himself alone, even a hundred lives would not have been enough to keep him from suffocating to death here on the South Island.

And not only him—even the Old Sect of the Western Mountains, that giant among demonic cultivators, had struggled on the South Island for a full month and more, stumbling about and circling the gates of hell several times over before finally, battered and bruised, escaping with its life.

Shifting back and forth between the Super Butterfly Microstep and the Super Ultimate Butterfly Microstep, Wei Zhao transformed his whole body into a phantom, darting at breakneck speed through the vast, boundless dense forests of the South Island—and that dash lasted a full month!

The sheer breadth of the South Island's lands and the vastness of its forests were beyond the imagining of anyone who had not set foot there in person. Over that month, apart from the barest minimum of rest, Wei Zhao kept up a high-speed advance from first to last, and when he employed the Super Ultimate Butterfly Microstep his speed was enough to make one's hair stand on end—and even so, he barely managed to traverse two districts.

Naturally, he could not keep to a straight line through the dense forest; rivers, mountain ranges, swamps, and other such terrain all had to be avoided in advance, for by the Ghost Thing's account, every one of these places belonged to some master, and the spirit beasts that could claim them were far beyond what Wei Zhao could afford to provoke.

At the same time, Wei Zhao also had to steer clear of the places shrouded in miasmic fog. True, circulating true qi to protect the body could keep the fog from eroding one's flesh, but the trouble was that the fog greatly impaired one's perception, and in a place like the South Island, once one's senses were limited and one kept blundering about, no number of lives would be enough.

Beyond that, the gathering grounds of the spirit beasts naturally had to be given as wide a berth as possible. If only one or two spirit beasts noticed him, and their strength was not too overwhelming, Wei Zhao's speed might still offer him a slim chance to break away; but if he stirred up a whole pack, then never mind Wei Zhao—even the Old Sect of the Western Mountains would have a hard time fighting its way out...

Breakneck speed, the Ghost Thing's guidance—and beyond these, a third condition of vital importance was required before Wei Zhao could finally escape the South Island in one piece: the spirit beast aura fabricated by the Ghost Thing.

Every spirit beast was acutely sensitive to the aura of human cultivators, a sensitivity that could surpass even the frenzy of a shark scenting blood in the ocean.

Though Wei Zhao was highly skilled at concealing his aura, concealment was not the same as disguise; there was always an unnatural abruptness about it. Humans might not notice, but the spirit beasts, with their exceedingly keen senses, could always detect something amiss. For Wei Zhao to cross two great districts without giving himself away—such a possibility simply did not exist.

In such circumstances, Wei Zhao in the South Island's forests was essentially a lantern parading through the darkness, impossible not to notice. Fortunately, the spirit beast aura fabricated by the Ghost Thing solved this flaw perfectly.

Only with all three of these heaven-sent conditions together could Wei Zhao finally succeed in crossing two great districts. Let him lack any one of them, and he could never have escaped with his life—after all, he did not have the ferocious strength of the Old Sect of the Western Mountains.

If it truly came down to the last resort, the Old Sect of the Western Mountains could still make up for its peril with raw power, but Wei Zhao would meet only one end: to stand helpless and await death. There was no margin for error where he was concerned—one slip, and it was death. (To be continued...)