Chapter 1460 — Take Care of Yourself! "What's the matter, old man — is there something wrong with Ice Spirit Town? Don't tell me you know this place?" Wei Zhao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This name is so familiar... I think I've heard it somewhere before?" Frowning, Old man Wei repeated the name Ice Spirit Town once more, then said with a start: "Could it be the location of that very place?"

"What place?" The more Wei Zhao listened, the more confused he became.

"Nothing... I hope I have remembered wrong." Old man Wei shook his head. "You belong to the mortal world, and I don't want you drawn into the struggles of other planes — that is not where you should go, nor where you can go... All I ever hoped was that you would settle your business in Songshan City in peace and then live a quiet life... But it seems now that things have run contrary to my wishes... The hidden clans are still within my power to control; yet from the look of it, in certain respects what you have touched has already gone beyond that sphere..."

"Old man, what on earth are you talking about?" Wei Zhao still had not quite grasped what Old man Wei meant — beyond which bounds, and not beyond which bounds?

"It is simply... some of the circles you are moving in now have slipped beyond my control," the old man said. "Should you ever run into trouble, even I will have no way to help you... But judging from the way things stand, you cannot stop now..."

"What a load of nonsense! I say, old thing, don't you blush saying such things? When have you ever helped me? What did you tell me the last time I got into trouble? Send me home to hide! When have you ever helped me?" Wei Zhao had at last taken in what Old man Wei meant. So the old thing had been posturing all along: the troubles Wei Zhao had run into before were ones the old man's skills could have handled; but now, as the forces behind those troubles rose to the surface, the old thing could no longer be sure of himself and could not keep up the act.

"Er... was I not trying to let you temper yourself through experience?" Old man Wei said with a wry smile. "But should you ever face mortal danger, I could not possibly refrain from acting."

"Heh... I know." Wei Zhao nodded. "Still, a person has to grow up, doesn't he? Since I have already been swept into the vortex of these troubles, I cannot turn away! And if I went on living forever beneath your wing, I would never grow..."

"Well said!" As Old man Wei listened, he seemed to find himself back in his own youth. Yes — who had never met with danger? Hadn't he? And hadn't he fought his way through? True, Wei Zhao's situation was troublesome now, but the lad had a way of doing the unexpected; who knew, he might really carve out a name for himself yet!

"I say, old man, I phoned you because I have serious business to discuss, and here you are rhapsodizing about life," Wei Zhao said helplessly. "Couldn't you save your reflections until I get back?"

"Very well, very well — what is this serious business? Speak, I am listening." Old man Wei set aside his sentiment and asked.

"Last time I went grave-robbing, besides Zhang Liju's medical practice notes and the Heavenly Thunder Pig, I also came away with a Qi Gathering Pill and a notebook of an alchemist's reflections. I forgot to tell you before; there is nothing pressing just now, so I mean to study them." Wei Zhao said.

"What! You laid hands on a Qi Gathering Pill, and an alchemist's notebook of reflections besides?" Old man Wei was so astonished his jaw nearly dropped. "You are not joking with me, are you? True or false?"

"Have I ever lied to you...?" Wei Zhao was somewhat lost for words. "What is there in these things to make such a fuss about?"

"What is there? The Qi Gathering Pill! One pill swallowed, and you gain countless experience — it is an experience pill!" Old man Wei cried out with the exasperation of a man watching iron that refuses to become steel. "Do you have any idea what this means?"

"I do know. But isn't it true that a person may take it only once? And it is best taken at the peak of late Earth Tier strength, so that one breaks straight through to Heaven Tier in a single step." Wei Zhao said. "I am still a long way from Heaven Tier — what is there to get excited about?"

"That is so, though taking it now would still have its effect — it is only a little wasted that way," Old man Wei said. "Of course, the important thing is not the Qi Gathering Pill but that notebook of an alchemist's reflections. Do you have any notion how few alchemists there are these days? Even I am not an alchemist!"

"I know. But cultivating as an alchemist is rather troublesome as well — I was just about to ask you: should I take it up?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Take it up! Why wouldn't you? A piece of good fortune like this is better than pie falling out of the sky. If you can truly become an alchemist, your road ahead will run far smoother, and even when you reach the higher realms you will still have a voice — that is the merit of being an alchemist!" Old man Wei said. "Of course, you would have to be a high-grade alchemist."

"Since you put it that way, then I shall cultivate it." Wei Zhao had been intending to do so in any case; this phone call was mere habit, and a chance to ask Old man Wei whether he saw any objection.

"You lucky lad! Next time you have a moment to come home, bring that notebook of an alchemist's reflections for me to see." Old man Wei began to itch with curiosity.

"That, of course, is no problem." Wei Zhao naturally would not keep things hidden from his own Old man Wei.

"Enough — I will say no more. Be careful in everything. It would be best if no one else knew you possess that notebook of an alchemist's reflections; and before you become an alchemist, do not go about proclaiming that you can refine pills." Old man Wei said. "In a word, caution is never a mistake."

"I understand that." Wei Zhao was not the sort to court attention to begin with, and what Old man Wei said was precisely what Wei Zhao himself had been thinking.

"In these coming days you may see a number of cultivators like yourself come to your place — though I am not altogether certain of it, only it may be so. In any case, let things follow their course; take care of yourself." Having said this, Old man Wei hung up.

"Hello? Wait a moment — what do you mean? What do you mean, more cultivators? What do you mean, not certain?" Wei Zhao wanted to ask, only to find the line already dead...

It left Wei Zhao with no way to press for the whole story, and he was thoroughly vexed. Why did the old thing always insist on speaking only half his piece?

In the coming days, other cultivators might come here, to him? Wei Zhao found it baffling. How could that be? What would other cultivators come here for? It was no fine place at all — utterly remote. Could it be that they were here for the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit?

At the thought, Wei Zhao could not help but raise his guard. Whatever else happened, he was determined to obtain the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit; otherwise, what would become of Feng Xiaoxiao? It seemed that this operation would not necessarily run smoothly — there must still be some unknown factors in play.