Chapter 2948 — Crippling the Dantian

With that, Zhao Qitan stepped up before Wei Zhao and raised his fist to strike — yet the fist went up, and then came down again.

"Qitan, why have you stopped?" Old Master Zhao frowned and demanded.

"Grandfather, if Wei Zhao dies here in the Hidden Zhao family, it would put us at something of a disadvantage!" Zhao Qitan said suddenly.

"A disadvantage? Then what do you mean?" Old Master Zhao eyed Zhao Qitan coldly. "Could everything you said before have been a lie? Is your true aim to let Wei Zhao go?"

Zhao Qitan's heart lurched, but his face betrayed nothing. "How could it be? I only meant that Wei Zhao's position is rather sensitive just now. Even in the ancient circles he has his underlings — for instance, Feng Shipian of the Hidden Feng family and Li Ciba of the Ancient Divine Fist Hall. Both are Heaven-rank experts; if they truly came looking for trouble with the Hidden Zhao family, we could not withstand them! And there is another — Tu Bawang, the young sect leader of the Loess High Sect, who once received Wei Zhao's favor. That man is exactly as his name suggests: overbearing beyond measure, a regular little tyrant. If he learned that Wei Zhao died in the Hidden Zhao family and came seeking vengeance, we would be no match for him!"

"Oh?" Old Master Zhao's frosty calm returned as though a basin of cold water had been poured over his head. He was no fool: he did want to deal with Wei Zhao, but not at the cost of summoning enemies beyond his power to answer.

And there was no lack of sense in Zhao Qitan's words. For an ancient sect to wipe out a hidden family was a light and pleasant affair; Old Master Zhao had to take precautions. "Then what do you propose? Simply let Wei Zhao go?"

"Of course not let him go. I was once his underling and know him well. This poison may be called an ancient marvel, but no one can guarantee Wei Zhao will not find an antidote. So I say we should cripple Wei Zhao, and then release him!" Zhao Qitan said. "Wei Zhao has far too many enemies — not only our Hidden Zhao family. There are the Hidden You family, the Hidden Yu family, the Qianshan Sect, the Golden Bell Sect, and the Mingri Fu Mingri Sect — a single man from any of them could finish Wei Zhao off. Why should we play the villain and take the risk?"

"Cripple him?" Hearing this, the last trace of doubt in Old Master Zhao's heart melted away. He nodded and went on, "And how shall we cripple him?"

"We break his four limbs, then shatter every meridian in his body. That way, even if Wei Zhao finds a way past the poison's limits, he will have no way to circulate his cultivation formulae and train!" Zhao Qitan said.

"Mm, that is a workable plan. Once word spreads that Wei Zhao is crippled and poisoned, there will naturally be those who come to settle scores with him — we of the Hidden Zhao family need not step forward at all." Old Master Zhao nodded. "Good. Since that is so, go and do it!"

In truth, Old Master Zhao would have loved nothing more than to finish Wei Zhao on the spot, but too many people knew of this affair. If Wei Zhao's underlings truly came for vengeance, the Hidden Zhao family could not withstand them; he could only settle for the next best thing. Fortunately, Zhao Qitan's plan was a good one.

"Crippling the meridians alone is not enough — the dantian must go as well!" Zhao Qibing cut in. "Crippled meridians can still be partly repaired with a Great Return Pill. If they are repaired, Wei Zhao may have some uncanny trick for cultivating. Cripple his dantian too, and he will be unable to metabolize any pill at all. Even a Great Return Pill would be wasted on him — he could never recover!"

Zhao Qitan's expression changed! All his scheming had been for the sole purpose of preserving Wei Zhao. He knew Wei Zhao had a way to rapidly heal his injuries, which was why he had proposed crippling the meridians. Of course, he did not know that once all of Wei Zhao's meridians were destroyed, and with no way to circulate his cultivation formulae, recovery would be impossible.

He had merely reasoned out a plan that would protect Wei Zhao to the greatest extent and keep him from dying on the spot — never imagining that Zhao Qibing would add, with such malice, the crippling of the dantian!

Wei Zhao's heart jumped too, and his face turned incomparably grim. Earlier, when he heard Zhao Qitan speak of crippling his meridians, he had known at once that Zhao Qitan had not turned traitor, but was trying to help him out of danger.

And Wei Zhao had also hit upon a way to deal with the poison! His inspiration came from a poison he had once suffered — the Five-Step Power-Scattering Powder. At the time, to counter the rank-dropping damage it inflicted, Wei Zhao had swallowed a Qi-Gathering Pill outright, breaking through the rank limit and neutralizing the powder's toxicity.

Now Wei Zhao could likewise take a Qi-Gathering Pill or the like to break through his rank limit. Once his strength reached the Heaven rank, this ancient marvel of a poison would be useless against him — just as Old Master Zhao himself was now perfectly fine, was he not?

So when Wei Zhao heard Zhao Qitan's words, he breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he escaped this place today, he still had a way to save himself.

He need only take a Great Return Pill first to repair a small portion of his meridians, then take a Qi-Gathering Pill to break through the rank barrier; after that, he could mobilize the true qi within his body to repair his whole damaged body and meridians.

But who would have thought Zhao Qibing would devise yet another vicious stroke — crippling his dantian! Pills dissolve within a cultivator's dantian; if the dantian were destroyed, taking pills would be utterly useless. Wei Zhao could neither take a Great Return Pill to restore part of his meridians nor a Qi-Gathering Pill to break through his rank limit.

"Yes, the dantian as well!" At this point Zhao Qitan had no choice but to agree, and could only say so through gritted teeth.

"Hurry up and hit him, then. You take the arms, I'll take the legs!" Zhao Qibing said, excited and eager.

"Am I not doing this alone?" Zhao Qitan frowned.

"What difference does it make who hits him? Joy shared is joy doubled!" Zhao Qibing was growing impatient. "Are you going to do it or not? If not, I'll go first!"

With that, Zhao Qitan lifted his leg and drove a kick at Wei Zhao's legs!

Wei Zhao simply stood there without dodging, for he knew that even with his Butterfly Microstep lightness skill, without stamina and true qi to sustain it, a clean escape from the Hidden Zhao family was impossible. Besides, the monk may flee but the temple cannot; Old Master Zhao could pursue him all the way to his own villa, and if Wei Zhao were not there, he could even use Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu to threaten him into showing himself.RS

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