Chapter 5153 — As If It Were Yesterday

Granted, Wei Zhao's strength was not to be underestimated, but this was merely a primordial spirit he had projected over—not his true body. With the current strength of the mundane world's Center, they were hardly powerless against him; after all, on paper alone, Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming were already more than enough to handle it.

A day later, Lan Xiaoru received a reply from the "true body," Luan Xiaofu, and after reading it she grew all the more alarmed: "Just what is this Wei Zhao? The true body is handling him personally, and even I am not allowed to interfere?"

If it had merely been a matter of being told not to interfere, that would have been one thing—but the crucial point was that the letter said this Wei Zhao must not be opposed at all, and moreover that nothing must be allowed to happen to him. Otherwise, Dr. Li would be under tremendous pressure. Wei Zhao was a key figure upon whom the entire grand scheme hinged; for the time being, he absolutely could not die.

Luan Xiaofu's letter also said that if the opportunity arose, it would be best to find some way to win him over. Even if he could not truly be brought into the fold, then at least on the surface, with feigned affection, they must for the time being maintain good relations with Wei Zhao. Under no circumstances were they to recklessly provoke a conflict, still less allow any conflict to escalate. This was a death order; the slightest violation would be severely punished!

Reading the letter left Lan Xiaoru drenched in cold sweat. Thank goodness she had not acted on her own initiative and done something foolish before; otherwise she would have stirred up an enormous disaster. Compared with the main battlefield on Dr. Li's side, this Primordial Plan she was now directing was utterly insignificant. If she truly ruined Dr. Li's great undertaking, a thousand deaths would not atone for it.

However, the "true body," Luan Xiaofu, had not revealed Wei Zhao's true identity in the letter. The matter was of grave importance, and given Lan Xiaoru's current standing, she did not yet have the authority to know such classified information. So even as Lan Xiaoru was shocked, she could not help feeling somewhat baffled.

But since Luan Xiaofu had said as much, she naturally had no choice but to comply. She immediately passed the higher-ups' instructions down the line, and in particular saw to it that they were relayed to Dr. Glasses at the first opportunity. True, the original plan had merely been to use Big Feng as a "mole" to string Wei Zhao along, but a general in the field need not obey the sovereign's every command. If something unexpected should happen, Dr. Glasses might well change tactics on the spot; after all, he now genuinely had the strength to do so.

The Relay Archipelago. As day followed day, whether it was those newly admitted quasi-disciples or the veteran trial disciples who had long since been skilled at the Foundation Establishment stage, everyone cultivated diligently—only the former did so in order to remain, while the latter did so for the Primordial Trial.

Watching the tense atmosphere of everyone's daily, painstaking cultivation, Wei Zhao felt as though he had returned to the days when he first arrived at North Island. It had been the same back then; scene after scene, matter after matter, all still vivid before his eyes, and thinking back on it, he felt a certain nostalgia.

Of course, given Wei Zhao's present circumstances, he had no need to undertake routine cultivation like the others. He was merely a primordial spirit projected over; until he found a way to return to the Golden Core stage, no amount of cultivation would do any good. Better, then, to seize the opportunity to familiarize himself with the various abilities of his primordial spirit form.

By contrast, Qiu Lingshan and the others—though Wei Zhao had given them an absolute sufficiency of Foundation Establishment Golden Cores—could not have their strength raised directly. And because their power had not been won through their own diligent cultivation, their foundational depths were somewhat lacking, so their progress in breaking through was not as rapid as one might have imagined.

There was no helping it. Ordinary people, upon reaching the peak of the Heaven Rank's Great Perfection, would immediately begin to break through the barrier, whereas these people had already been at the peak of Heaven Rank's Great Perfection three years earlier, and had remained stuck at that realm ever since without the slightest advance. Coupled with insufficient foundation, their difficulty in assailing Foundation Establishment was now far greater than that of ordinary cultivators.

Fortunately, where foundation was lacking, golden cores could make up the difference. Add to that the dense spiritual energy of the Relay Archipelago, and in terms of external conditions alone these people were already uniquely favored. Moreover, among them there was no lack of those with excellent aptitude. Though it seemed not all would break through smoothly, a handful were already nearing the critical threshold. Surely good news would come before long.

Meanwhile, Dr. Glasses' operations on his side continued to advance, though after the promising start with Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming, their progress over the past month had not been great—at least, far worse than anticipated.

After all, they had to act in secret, and to avoid drawing others' attention and tipping their hand, these people did not dare be too conspicuous. From identifying potential targets worth developing, to gradually drawing closer step by step, to finally making a formal approach—every step along the way had to be taken with the utmost caution. A single slip, and the whole matter would be exposed, which would be disastrous.

"A whole month gone by and we've only won over two people—that's far too slow. Mysterious Man in Black, aren't we being a bit overly cautious?" Big Feng grumbled, feigning complaint.

"The stakes are enormous; no amount of caution is excessive. Be patient." Dr. Glasses was, by nature, the one most eager to achieve something, yet this time he was surprisingly patient. In truth, it was mainly because Lan Xiaoru had given him special instructions the last time he went out to report on their progress. Since Wei Zhao absolutely must not be provoked, this sort of poaching was all the more in need of leaving no flaws exposed. Otherwise, even if the one being poached was not Wei Zhao's man, it could very well develop into a head-on confrontation with Wei Zhao—and that would run counter to their original purpose.

"But at this rate, it'll be the year of the monkey before our ranks truly swell. We'd have been better off grabbing lone operators out there like before. If the higher-ups ask, I'm afraid it'll be a bit hard to explain," Big Feng said, somewhat puzzled.

"It's fine. Times have changed. Operating in this place is far harder than out there, and that was anticipated long ago. The higher-ups won't blame us. Besides, our Center has yet to truly reveal its strength; winning people over with a few smooth words is no easy task. Let's take it slowly," Dr. Glasses said with a sigh.

Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming were special cases—crippled men, and in their utter despair, naturally easy to win over. But the other Primordial Alliance disciples were different. Even if they harbored resentment toward the Primordial Alliance, they were not so easily recruited. Unless the persuader sent to them was on very close terms with them, it would be hard to talk them around.