Chapter 3901 — Great Difficulty
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Shangguan Lan'er, however, said unhurriedly, "No rush, little junior brother. You don't know yet—lovely and peaceful as Half-Moon Lake looks, Grandpa says the lovelier a thing is in this world, the more dangerous it usually is. One slip, and you'll die here."
"Hm?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. He had always trusted his own senses; here in the outer reaches of the rear mountain he could sense danger everywhere before it struck, and he had avoided a great deal of trouble along the road. Yet here at the lakeshore, he had never once felt the slightest sign of it.
So far, Half-Moon Lake had made only one impression on him: an unexpected stillness.
In the mortal world, such stillness would be a rare pleasure. But in this danger-ridden rear mountain, if one stopped to consider it, it only set the heart strangely on edge.
And yet there were no powerful spirit beasts about, nor even ordinary wild animals. For miles around Half-Moon Lake, the place felt like a pure land cut off from the rear mountain, untouched by the world's strife—and a stillness so complete was, frankly, uncanny.
Still, as Shangguan Lan'er had said, the more abnormal a place, the more likely it was to hide unexpected danger. Some unspeakably terrible spirit beast might well be concealed within Half-Moon Lake—otherwise there was no explaining why not a single spirit beast remained in the vicinity.
"I did my homework properly, you know. In the Rear Mountain Hall's danger rankings, Half-Moon Lake is one of the most dangerous spots in the outer reaches. Countless experts have died here; even Golden Core cultivators don't dare let their guard down. There was once a case of a Golden Core expert perishing here." Shangguan Lan'er nibbled at her fingertip as she spoke.
"A Golden Core expert?" Wei Zhao was startled. He had already sensed that this place was out of the ordinary, but it had never crossed his mind that even Golden Core cultivators could fall prey to it.
Wei Zhao had always been confident in his own strength. Even when he had faced Nan Tianyong, a peak late-stage Foundation Establishment expert, he had never entertained the thought of giving up the fight—and in the end he had laughed last, as he wished.
Yet against a Golden Core cultivator, Wei Zhao could not muster even the notion of resistance, for the gulf in strength between them was simply that of heaven and earth.
If even Golden Core experts met their end here, then Half-Moon Lake was truly beyond what his peak early-stage Foundation Establishment strength could handle.
"In that case, aren't our chances of success vanishingly small?" Wei Zhao frowned.
If it were only himself, so be it—even knowing it was nine parts death to one part life, his refusal to admit defeat would have driven him to try. But now he had Shangguan Lan'er and Little Circle Bear at his side.
Little Circle Bear had no fighting capacity whatsoever, and though Shangguan Lan'er possessed the strength of a peak early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, she looked to have no real combat experience at all. If a crisis truly came, how much of that strength she could bring to bear was anyone's guess.