"Hmph. Look at you—one mention of Aotian Zhou's name and your legs turn to jelly. With that little spine, how do you expect to ever amount to anything?" Zheng Dongyang sneered.

"But that's Aotian Zhou we're talking about..." Tong Yangxi said with a bitter face. Zheng Dongyang was at least a member of the Zheng family and had some standing to speak when facing Aotian Zhou, but he himself was nothing more than a dog of the Zheng family. To truly set himself against Aotian Zhou would be to guarantee his own death as cannon fodder.

"All right, all right, look at that cowardly look on your face. Did I ever say we'd clash head-on with Aotian Zhou?" Zheng Dongyang said with a curl of his lip.

"No head-on clash? Then how do we deal with the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion? Aotian Zhou and that Wei Zhao seem to be on very good terms—surely he won't just stand by and do nothing?" Tong Yangxi said, puzzled.

"Even if he has a mind to shield the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion, don't forget he's only the acting island lord. That identity may mean unparalleled power and status, but it also means every move he makes must follow the rules. Otherwise not only would his prestige be swept away, even the Central Island Council of Elders wouldn't let him off." A playful curve tugged at the corner of Zheng Dongyang's mouth.

Tong Yangxi's face was full of baffled admiration. It wasn't that he failed to understand the words—but trying to use the Island Lord's Pavilion's own rules to take down Aotian Zhou surely couldn't be that easy, could it?

"There's no need to wear that expression. It's true that pulling it off won't be easy, but with a proper plan it's not impossible. It's just that we have no great patron in official circles at the moment, so for now we must keep a low profile." Zheng Dongyang paused, then continued: "The Island Lord's Pavilion has always decided matters by vote. If we can engineer a voting result unfavorable to the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion, then even Aotian Zhou as island lord cannot override it. Understand?"

"Yes, yes. But our only reliable ally in the Island Lord's Pavilion right now is Wu Che. True, he's the standing vice island lord, but his say still can't compare with Aotian Zhou's, can it?" Tong Yangxi still felt uncertain.

"That's how it is now, but the situation will soon change. Wu Che has already pulled every string to work the higher-ups. He'll get Nantian Jiguang made acting vice island lord, and he'll get me made chief alchemist of the Island Lord's Pavilion. You should know that this position, like those of island lord and vice island lord, carries voting rights on many matters concerning Central Island. That way, the three of us banded together alone will be enough to contend with Aotian Zhou. And if we can find a way to win over one more vice island lord, then even Aotian Zhou won't be able to force his will through for the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion's sake. What do you say?" Zheng Dongyang said with the confidence of one who held all the cards.

"So that's it. Master Zheng is truly brilliant. If this plan succeeds, the day of the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion's utter ruin won't be far off!" Tong Yangxi's eyes lit up as he listened. These past days he had racked his brains over this, losing his appetite for food and drink, and now at last he could breathe easy.

"Heh, just sit tight and watch," Zheng Dongyang said smugly, stroking his beard.

At the Island Lord's Pavilion on Central Island, Tianchan and Wei Shenjin successfully obtained an audience with Aotian Zhou and laid out the situation concerning Wei Zhao.

"To be frank with you both, I've been thinking about this matter myself lately. It is indeed surprising that Young Hero Lin's primordial spirit has been projected for so long without returning. But I have no experience with such things myself, and know very little about them," Aotian Zhou said, shaking his head at the two women.

"Uh..." Tianchan and Wei Shenjin were at a loss for words.

"But don't worry. How about this—I'll summon Nantian Jiguang and ask him. After all, he's the only one with experience in primordial spirit projection. He should know something," Aotian Zhou suggested.

"Very well, then we'll trouble Island Lord Aotian," Tianchan said gratefully. That had in fact been their idea from the start, but Nantian Jiguang was, after all, an adversary. Even if they had gone to ask him rashly, they would have gotten nowhere; with Aotian Zhou speaking on their behalf, nothing could be better.

"Think nothing of it. Young Hero Lin's business is my business," Aotian Zhou said with a smile, and at once ordered someone to summon Nantian Jiguang.

A short while later. Nantian Jiguang came rushing over in a fluster. This was the critical moment when Wu Che was working to secure him the post of acting vice island lord; he could not afford to offend Aotian Zhou under any circumstances, so the moment he heard Aotian Zhou had summoned him, he naturally came at once.

But after hearing Aotian Zhou's question, Nantian Jiguang could not help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. He had assumed it was some great matter concerning his own future and destiny, and had spent the whole way over steeling himself with all sorts of mental preparation; to find that he had been called merely to answer Tianchan and her companion's doubts left him utterly exasperated.

But since Aotian Zhou had asked, he dared not refuse to answer, and could only reply: "In my experience, two months is generally about the limit. As for four months—that is simply far too long. I think it very likely that something has gone wrong."

"What?" Tianchan and Wei Shenjin were startled at the same time.

"A reminder: you had best say only what you are sure of. As for guesses you cannot vouch for, there is no need to bring them out to alarm people. Understood, Vice Director Nantian?" Aotian Zhou said lightly, tapping his finger on the table.

"Uh, yes." Nantian Jiguang nodded hurriedly, breaking into a cold sweat inwardly. He had said it deliberately indeed, with the intent of provoking Tianchan and her companion, never expecting to incur Aotian Zhou's displeasure. It seemed he had best keep to the honest path and not try to be clever.

"Young Hero Lin is no ordinary man. Two months may be the limit for ordinary folk, but it would be no surprise if he could endure four months or even longer. So there is no need for you two to worry too much," Aotian Zhou said in reassurance, then turned to Nantian Jiguang: "Continue."

Having been given that warning, Nantian Jiguang's following words were indeed much more measured: "Although I have experienced it once myself, I am honestly not certain about the situation you describe. Whether an unchanged physical body means the primordial spirit is unharmed—that is truly hard to say. After all, I have never tested it, especially over such a long span of time. I'm afraid there has been no precedent for it in all of history."

Hearing this, Tianchan and Wei Shenjin were both speechless. He might as well not have said anything at all!

"Never mind. You may go back first." Aotian Zhou was helpless as well. It seemed nothing more could be gotten out of Nantian Jiguang, so he could only send the fellow back.

Watching Nantian Jiguang's retreating figure, Wei Shenjin sighed with a bitter expression: "What do we do now?"

"Anything else can be managed, but on this matter even I have no solution. My apologies for disappointing you," Aotian Zhou said, spreading his hands helplessly.

"Island Lord Aotian is too kind. We are already deeply grateful that you were willing to summon Nantian Jiguang on our behalf," Tianchan said, and at this moment she was, strangely enough, remarkably calm. (To be continued.)