If it had truly come to blows, even if Wei Zhao could have beaten his opponent, provoking the Central Island Elders' Council afterward and forcing the top-rank clans and sects to intervene in person would have left him in a situation he could never have escaped whole. Thinking back on it now still brought a cold sweat to his skin.

To be sure, Shangguan Tianhua and Ning Shangling would likely have stepped in when the time came, but Oda Zhou had helped him sidestep this tribulation ahead of time, and Wei Zhao knew he must hold that debt in his heart.

The two went on drinking and chatting, and Wei Zhao suddenly recalled Nan Tian Jiguang, who had appeared together with the others a moment ago, and at once remembered a certain matter—one he had been turning over in his mind for a long while.

"Island Lord Oda, do you happen to know of a way to reach the mortal world?" Wei Zhao asked, a note of hope in his voice.

"The mortal world?" Oda Zhou was briefly startled. Then he remembered that Oda Ba had said Wei Zhao came from the mortal world. He thought it over and said, "I know little enough about that, but I do know that the great alchemist Zhang Liju must have a way. There are other paths, to be sure, but they are surely all held in the hands of the top-rank clans. Unfortunately my Oda clan has never touched on such matters, so my information is truly limited."

"That I know as well. What I am asking is whether there is another way to reach the mortal world. I recall that Nan Tian Jiguang, as a guide-envoy, was able to go to the mortal world—only I do not know what method he used exactly." Wei Zhao's eyes were full of expectation.

The thought had taken root in his mind long ago. From what he knew, when Nan Tian Jiguang descended upon the mortal world, his strength had likely been no more than the Nascent Soul stage. If Nan Tian Jiguang could manage it, there was no reason he himself could not.

Only before, his strength had been too low, and after reaching the Nascent Soul stage he had never had the chance to come to the Central Island, until now, when he had become a fine hand of the early Mystic Ascension stage and could finally return. He had meant to seek out Tian Xingdao and ask him plainly, but now that Tian Xingdao was absent, asking Oda Zhou would serve just as well.

"Guide-envoy?" Oda Zhou was taken aback, then nodded. "That is right—there is indeed such a method for descending to the mortal world. It is no secret in the Island Lord's Pavilion. One need only reach the Nascent Soul stage, and with your present strength at the early Mystic Ascension stage it would be nothing at all. But this method cannot accomplish a true transmission; it can only project your primordial spirit there for a time."

"Mm, I know." Wei Zhao nodded. The first time he had seen Nan Tian Jiguang, he had known at a glance that it was only a primordial spirit body. Otherwise, if travel back and forth were truly so easy, Cloud Step Island and the mortal world would never be so cut off from each other.

"The key to this method lies in one's spiritual sense. Those with a powerful spiritual sense find projection more difficult, but they can remain longer; conversely, those with a weaker spiritual sense, even if they project successfully, can stay at most a few days. And the strength of the projected primordial spirit body depends on the spiritual sense as well—it is bound to be greatly diminished. You may be at the Mystic Ascension stage now, but the strength that arrives there might not even match a Heaven-Rank perfection. It varies from person to person," Oda Zhou explained.

"None of that matters. I simply want to go back and see the mortal world. How long I can stay, how much strength I retain—none of it matters." Excitement was plain on Wei Zhao's face. From the very first day he came to Cloud Step Island, returning to the mortal world had been the greatest problem set before him. Though this time only his primordial spirit could return, even that was enough to satisfy him.

"In that case, it happens I can help you. This method is held by the Island Lord's Pavilion, and I am the one who speaks for it now—a small matter," Oda Zhou said with a nod.

"Many thanks, Island Lord Oda!" Wei Zhao was overjoyed. He had assumed that even if this were not as troublesome as a true transmission, it would certainly not be easy, and that he would have to pay no small price. He had never expected Oda Zhou to agree so readily.

Of course, this was only because he had found his way to Oda Zhou. Otherwise, accomplishing this would still have been extremely difficult. After all, the Central Island Lord's Pavilion would not lightly help an outsider project a primordial spirit into the mortal world, and now Tian Xingdao was absent. Were it not for Oda Zhou, he would not have had a single person worth speaking to—to say nothing of having fallen out with Wu Miao, the permanent vice island lord.

"I will give the order for preparations at once. It may take a few days. Go back and wait for word," Oda Zhou said.

"Very well." Wei Zhao nodded emphatically.

Coming out from the Island Lord's Pavilion, Wei Zhao was in a state of extreme excitement and agitation. Even the whole walk back to the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion could not calm him. The first words out of his mouth upon returning were: "Tianchan, Xueli—I am going back to the mortal world!"

"What?!" Tianchan and Xueli were both stunned. Everyone who came out from the mortal world carried some measure of this fixation, more or less. Even those who did not have it at first would gradually develop it. It was only that they might not be as weighed down by it as Wei Zhao, nor hold to it so fiercely.

"You heard right. I said I can go back to the mortal world—only this time I can project only my primordial spirit there, not a true transmission." Wei Zhao was elated.

"Primordial spirit projection?" The two women did not quite follow at first.

"Just as when Nan Tian Jiguang went to the mortal world—what we saw was not him in person, but only the primordial spirit body he projected there. I will not be able to stay long, and the strength of the spirit body will be greatly diminished, but no matter what, after so long away from the mortal world, at last I can go back and see it." Wei Zhao was rubbing his hands together, scarcely able to contain himself.

"That's wonderful!" Tianchan and Xueli were excited as well, and could not help but ask hopefully, "Can we go too?"

"According to Island Lord Oda, one need only be at the Nascent Soul stage. With my present strength I can raise the two of you directly to Nascent Soul perfection. If I speak to him, there should be no problem." Wei Zhao nodded. Since Oda Zhou meant to do him this favor, one person or three would make little difference; he would surely agree.

"Truly?" The two women rejoiced—but then immediately found themselves in a dilemma. "But what about the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion? Business grows better by the day. How can we set our minds at ease if we are not watching over it ourselves? This is a crucial time for us to keep growing stronger—surely we cannot just abandon it?"

"That..." Wei Zhao was stumped as well. In his excitement he had clean forgotten the situation at the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion. Even with Tianchan and Xueli both pitching in, they were hard pressed enough; if the two of them—its very backbone—were to leave, the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion, for all its fine prospects, would collapse in an instant. Would all their work until now have been for nothing?