Chapter 4517 — Sudden Disappearance
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Finally back on solid ground, Wei Zhao let out a long breath of foul air. The helplessness that had wrapped around him in the water melted away entirely, and his confidence and self-assurance returned in full force.
What struck Wei Zhao as rather strange was that although this place was the Southern Isle, there was no thick miasma fog shrouding it at all, nor any trace of a miasma layer overhead. It was fresh and natural, like some hidden paradise untouched by the world.
"Senior, why is there no miasma here? Could this be the season when the miasma disperses?" Wei Zhao asked in surprise. He had not noticed it while in the water and had only realized it after coming ashore. He had already prepared to use his true qi to ward off the miasma, only to find there was none at all.
"That is not it. Although many places in the Southern Continent are shrouded in miasma year-round, there are just as many places without any miasma. It is simply that most of them lie deep inland and in the gathering grounds of the spirit beast clan, where human cultivators from outside cannot enter—so none of them know about it," Old Ghost explained.
"I see." Wei Zhao nodded in sudden understanding, thinking to himself that the Southern Continent truly was a mysterious land of the spirit beast clan. The outside world knew pitifully little about it. Even those human cultivators in the Southern Sea waters, close as they were, mostly understood the Southern Continent only at the level of hearsay passed along by passersby. Those who truly knew the inside story were likely few and far between.
While carefully observing his surroundings, Wei Zhao finally had a chance to tend to the injuries within his body. This time, in fleeing the Xishan Old Sect's pursuit, he had unexpectedly escaped into the inland of the Southern Continent. He would have to think carefully about where to go from here.
Yet before he could even catch his breath properly, the jade pendant's warning chime suddenly rang out sharp and urgent once more. At the same moment, a mass of black mist burst with a bang from the mirror-flat surface of the lake, and the familiar cackling, grating laugh instantly turned Wei Zhao's expression grim—the Xishan Old Sect had actually chased him all the way here!
"You've got some nerve, boy—daring to dive into a torrent whirlpool like that? Truly unexpected. So there was something hidden inside after all. But did you think that would let you escape this sect's grasp? What a wild fantasy, what a fool's delusion!" The Xishan Old Sect floated there in midair, unable to hide the smug satisfaction on his face.
By any reasonable measure, for a devil cultivator tyrant on par with a Mountain-Opening stage existence to spend so much time and effort hunting down a mere Golden Core cultivator like Wei Zhao, there was nothing to be smug about. Yet at this moment the Xishan Old Sect genuinely felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
If he had been frightened off by the torrent whirlpool just now, then Wei Zhao would have escaped his control completely, and he would have had to slink back empty-handed and alone—now that would have been truly laughable.
But as things stood now, the Xishan Old Sect had gritted his teeth and chased him through. All of Wei Zhao's previous efforts had turned to bubbles, and his fate had long since been sealed in advance: he would inevitably be refined into a puppet by the Xishan Old Sect. Whether he could become a trump-card puppet would depend on luck.
Of course, even if he could become a trump-card puppet, that could hardly be called good fortune for Wei Zhao, because either way the outcome was the same—his consciousness would be wiped away completely by the Xishan Old Sect, and from then on there would be no Wei Zhao left in this world.