At this moment Leader Zhu heard Uncle Zhu — that is, Zhu the Second — say that Wei Zhao's underling had beaten Jin Wudi to death, and he was startled: "What exactly happened?"

Zhu the Second held nothing back, telling Leader Zhu everything that had happened, including some of the news the Pi family had previously put out. Hearing it, Leader Zhu could not help but fall into deep thought: "This Wei Zhao, so formidable? Indeed... the boy is truly no simple matter. It is only that his underling is rather strange. How about I go and sound him out?"

"Absolutely not!" Zhu the Second was startled and hurried to stop him: "Elder Brother, what kind of clan is the hidden Pi family? Though they are a clan of external cultivation, in overall strength they are somewhat stronger than our hidden Zhao family. They have Heaven-rank experts, while our family has none. Since our ancestor went to that place, the Zhao family has heard nothing from him. The old family head has been stuck at the peak of late Earth-rank for many years without advancing, which makes us the weakest of the hidden clans. We must not be the ones to stick our necks out!"

"Yes, Elder Zhu, this matter must be considered at length!" Zhao Qibing did not want Leader Zhu going off to probe Wei Zhao's underling just now either. Was there not the Rain family? Let them go. Zhao Qibing had finally gotten an Earth-rank expert at his side and had not yet had the chance to take him out and show off; if the man were beaten to death by Wei Zhao's underling, that would be a terrible loss!

Zhao Qibing was a man with his own calculations. His ultimate aim was to become the head of the Zhao family, but as things stood he was still far too weak and alone, with no one at his side to lend him strength — which gave him no competitive advantage whatsoever against the Zhao family's legitimate sons!

That was one reason. The second was that if Zhao Qibing wished to become the family head's heir, he had to win the approval of the current old master of the Zhao family. Without the old master's nod, even Zhao Guangyin's approval would be useless!

But the old master had never thought well of this bastard son of his. Of course, that was also because Zhao Qibing had always been a mediocrity who had made no outstanding contribution to the Zhao family. If Zhao Qibing could accomplish something in the mundane world, then winning the old master's recognition and being admitted into the ranks of the Zhao family's core descendants would be no difficult matter!

And now Uncle Zhu was utterly devoted to Zhao Qibing. Zhao Qibing knew how to win people over, often granting his subordinates small favors, so he believed that so long as he worked hard, with Uncle Zhu's help, bringing Leader Zhu over to his side would be no difficult matter either!

"But... little brother, all your strength has been reduced to this..." Leader Zhu looked at Zhu the Second with some regret.

"Elder Zhu, rest assured, I have already sent the Medicine King to seek medicine that can heal Uncle Zhu's injuries!" At this moment Zhao Qibing began to win hearts: "I hear there is a pill called the Meridian-Clearing Pill that can repair the damaged meridians of a cultivator's body. Once he takes it, Uncle Zhu's strength will be restored!"

"Young Master Bing, you are the son of the young family head, and so you are my master as well. From now on, just call me Leader Zhu; there is no need for 'Elder Zhu'!" Leader Zhu nodded to Zhao Qibing and said with gratification: "Young Master Bing is thoughtful. I have heard of the Meridian-Clearing Pill too, but it is an exceedingly rare thing, and incomparably precious. An ordinary person can hardly get hold of one. The old family head may have a few, but he would never give them to common folk like us..."

"Good. Since Elder Zhu puts it that way, I will not stand on ceremony either — a name is only a form of address, after all. I will call you Leader Zhu, and Uncle Zhu here Zhu the Second!" Zhao Qibing nodded, drawing closer to the two Zhu brothers: "Leader Zhu, rest assured, when the chance comes I will ask Grandfather for this pill to heal Zhu the Second's injuries! So long as I make a contribution for the Zhao family here, when Grandfather wishes to reward me, I will raise this matter at the first opportunity!"

"In that case, thank you, Young Master Bing!" Leader Zhu was somewhat moved. Whether or not Zhao Qibing could make good on his words, saying so showed his sincerity, and he felt his little brother would not come to grief following Young Master Bing.

"Thank you, Young Master Bing!" Zhu the Second was moved as well. Zhao Qibing had previously said he would seek out rare treasures to heal his injuries, but he had never spoken of asking the old family head for a top-grade pill like the Meridian-Clearing Pill. If he truly could obtain one, then restoring Zhu the Second's former strength would be no problem at all!

"Haha, what is there to thank me for? You were injured working for me — how could I treat you shabbily?" Zhao Qibing waved his hand: "We will have our revenge on that wretch Wei Zhao sooner or later, but for now there is no harm in biding our time and seeing how things stand!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After Leader Zhu came here and saw Zhu the Second, he did not stay long before rising to leave. He had other tasks to attend to; this visit had been only to look in on Zhu the Second.

In the ancient tomb, Yu Xiaoke placed the last piece of the puzzle in its proper position, and with a crisp click, the stone door's mechanism finally opened! Amid the sounds of the mechanism working, the area around the stone door trembled faintly, and then, after several rumbling booms, all fell silent.

"There. The mechanism should be open now!" Only after Yu Xiaoke had made certain no further sound came from behind the stone door did she speak.

Old Black drew a deep breath and gently pushed at the stone door. It seemed to open slowly without any resistance, and before them appeared a long, narrow passage — not as broad as the passages before, nor with the same smooth stone walls on either side. Here the walls were uneven and rough, everything jarringly out of keeping with what had come before. The workmanship here could only be described as slipshod!

"Why is this place so shabby? Could we have made a mistake?" Elder Rain looked at the scene behind the stone door and could not help but wonder.

"It should not be a mistake. This is definitely not the Death Gate," Yu Xiaoke said with certainty. "The Death Gate connects to the main burial chamber where the coffins are kept, and it is the most important place in the entire ancient tomb. It could not possibly have been built so broken and crude. So this should be nothing more than a passage leading out. Since it is an exit, it has nothing to do with the main burial chamber, and it is only to be expected that it was built more roughly!"

"I see. Then let us be on our way!" Elder Rain nodded. He was already growing impatient, but as he stepped forward, he cast Wei Zhao a glance full of hidden meaning!

After these past few days of cultivation and recovery, Elder Rain's injuries had healed almost completely...

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