As if afraid that Wei Tu wouldn’t accept it, Hua Xianlong added, “Senior Brother Wei has formed his Golden Core, and I, as his junior, am honored by it. This second-rank spirit robe is just a small congratulatory gift.”
“Well then, I’ll accept Junior Brother Hua’s gift,” Wei Tu said after some thought, reaching out to take the gift box and storing it in his qi pouch.
It’s not worth making things difficult for someone who’s offering goodwill with a smile.
No matter what, Hua Xianlong was also Master Che Gongwei’s disciple, his own fellow sect brother.
Even if Hua Xianlong had stirred up trouble behind his back, it wasn’t his place to bypass Che Gongwei and punish Hua Xianlong over something like this.
Letting this matter drop was the proper way to handle it.
“Senior Brother, I’ll take my leave now and won’t disturb you further.” Hua Xianlong cupped his hands to Wei Tu in respect before turning to leave.
Though on the surface they were fellow disciples, in truth, he was no more than a junior in front of Wei Tu now.
The gap between their statuses was as wide as a chasm.
Having made his apology, Hua Xianlong dared not linger a moment longer.“Senior Brother Wei, I...” Seeing Hua Xianlong leave, Gao Chen was suddenly at a loss.
Hua Xianlong’s gift had been accepted by Wei Tu.
But his own offering had been rejected.
Gao Chen was worried that Wei Tu was just being polite now but would settle scores in the future.
He couldn’t afford to be at odds with a Golden Core True Lord.
“Senior Brother Wei?” Wei Tu chuckled at his words, silently acknowledging the way Gao Chen addressed him.
Even though he still insisted on calling Che Gongwei “Master” and had not changed his sect, it didn’t mean the older disciples of Che Gongwei could just call him Junior Brother without concern.
He wasn’t that close to Gao Chen and the others.
For them, calling him Senior Brother was appropriate enough.
“I’ve just broken through, and now that I’ve returned to my residence, I need to stabilize my realm. I won’t be entertaining you this time, Senior Brother Gao,” Wei Tu continued, adjusting his tone.
Hearing this, Gao Chen felt as though a weight had lifted off his chest. He gave Wei Tu a grateful look, bowed lightly, and hurried away.
Back at Cloud Lark Residence, Wei Tu quickly made his way toward the insect chamber, sealing off the surrounding area with his qi.
“Sure enough, a few of the Seven-Colored Phantom Moths have broken free from my control during their advancement to second rank.” Before even entering the insect chamber, Wei Tu sensed two of the moths lurking near the entrance to his residence.
These two Seven-Colored Phantom Moths were invisible, using their innate illusion techniques to blend seamlessly with the surroundings.
If not for his recent breakthrough to the Golden Core realm, his enhanced divine sense, and the soul marks he had left on these moths, he wouldn’t have noticed their attempt to escape.
With a flick of his sleeve, a surge of powerful core energy burst forth from Wei Tu, locking the two moths in place.
They struggled at first, but under the pressure of his divine sense, they had no choice but to open their seas of consciousness and let him reapply restrictions, regaining full control over them.
“Good thing I got back in time. Another year or two and the formation protecting Cloud Lark Residence might’ve been broken by these two.” Wei Tu put the two moths into his spirit beast pouch, then glanced at the formation. He noticed signs of gnawing at the array’s foundation and couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Most formations are hard to break from the outside but much easier to sabotage from within.
Though the Seven-Colored Phantom Moths didn’t have great intelligence, they could still tell the difference between spiritual materials and mundane objects.
Next, Wei Tu combed through every room in Cloud Lark Residence, searching every inch for any remaining second-rank moths.
He wasn’t going to let a single one slip away.
Half an hour later, six more second-rank Seven-Colored Phantom Moths were safely tucked into his spirit beast pouch.
“Caw, caw!” At that moment, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle soared over, flapping its wings, proudly dropping three dead Seven-Colored Phantom Moths at Wei Tu’s feet.
“Second-rank moths too?” Wei Tu’s expression darkened as he frowned deeply.
He had spent decades nurturing just nine of these second-rank Seven-Colored Phantom Moths.
And this damned bird had destroyed a third of them.
Still, Wei Tu didn’t rush to punish the Wind-Cleaving Eagle. Instead, he drew out its recent memories and quickly understood why it had attacked those particular moths.
It turned out that those three had higher intelligence than the rest, essentially acting as “insect kings” among the group.
The near collapse of Cloud Lark Residence’s formation was their doing.
If not for the Wind-Cleaving Eagle stepping in, the entire brood of Seven-Colored Phantom Moths would have escaped by now.
“Good job being loyal.”
Wei Tu patted the Wind-Cleaving Eagle on its head and pulled out a few spirit fruits from his qi pouch to feed it.
After eating, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle cawed again, flapping its wings and making gestures that resembled Nan Zi.
Wei Tu ignored the request completely.
By now, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had already reached late second rank thanks to the Immortal Spirit Dew.
Its cultivation speed had long surpassed that of normal earth-rank bloodline beasts.
So there was no way Wei Tu would let Nan Zi come over to breed it anymore.
He could barely find excuses fast enough to avoid it.
Of course, with Wei Tu’s current cultivation level, he no longer feared pressure from the Beastmaster Sect.
A Golden Core True Lord was more than qualified to treat them as equals.
The spiritual energy of a quasi-third-rank residence was no longer enough to support a Golden Core True Lord’s cultivation.
After packing up his belongings from Cloud Lark Residence, Wei Tu headed for the residence arranged for him on Red River Mountain Peak by True Lord Qi.
“Greetings to True Lord Wei. I am Du Wenshu.” A woman in colorful robes greeted him as soon as he stepped into the residence.
She stopped and bowed slightly, then introduced herself, “I was originally a maid in Senior Qi’s household. He sent me here to serve as the housekeeper for True Lord Wei’s residence.”
“Of course, if True Lord Wei dislikes being disturbed, you may dismiss me at any time.”
Du Wenshu lowered her head respectfully.
Wei Tu noticed that when she mentioned the word “dismiss,” her tone was no longer as calm.
After all, even a seventh-rank official seeks favor in a prime minister’s household.
The housekeeper of a Golden Core True Lord held considerable influence within the Loose Immortal Alliance.
“It’s fine.” Wei Tu shook his head, agreeing to let Du Wenshu manage the residence.
Not out of pity, but because the residence the Loose Immortal Alliance provided him was far larger than his previous one, and without a housekeeper to clean and organize, it would be too much for him to handle alone.
As for cultivation privacy, he could just open a new secluded chamber in the rear courtyard.
“When Senior Qi sent me here, he also told me that if True Lord Wei arrived, you might visit him when you have time.”
Du Wenshu added.
“Visit Daoist Qi?” Wei Tu’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.
A few days later.
Now settled in his new residence, Wei Tu went next door to visit True Lord Qi.
Guided by a maid, Wei Tu entered a finely decorated pavilion where he finally met Qi Chengchu, whom he hadn’t seen for over ten days.
Before him, there had been seventeen Golden Core True Lords in the Loose Immortal Alliance. But most were at the early stage, with only a few at mid or late stage.
Qi Chengchu was one of the rare late-stage Golden Core cultivators.
Moreover, he was the alliance’s only top-grade third-rank formation master.
A hundred years ago, it was him who personally set up the third-rank spirit formation “Stealing Heaven Transformation Array” in Red River Mountain Market, embedding the five third-rank spirit veins brought from the Jing Kingdom into the mountain.
With the “Stealing Heaven Transformation Array,” Red River Mountain transformed from a minor market in Zheng Kingdom into one of its top trading hubs.
“Daoist Wei, please sit.” Qi Chengchu sat by the window on the second floor. When he saw Wei Tu enter, a faint smile appeared on his face as he gestured politely.
“This is Hundred Flower Spirit Wine, brewed by myself. Daoist Wei, you’re in for a treat.”
Qi Chengchu lifted the wine pot and poured a cup for Wei Tu.
“Thank you, Daoist Qi.” Wei Tu didn’t refuse his goodwill and took a sip.
Now, standing before Qi Chengchu, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, he felt just like Chu Qin must’ve felt decades ago when she stood before his late-stage Foundation Establishment self.
Although they were both in the same major realm, Wei Tu knew well the gap between their strengths.
He usually avoided eating or drinking in unfamiliar places, but today, he had to make an exception.
With Qi Chengchu’s power, if he truly wanted to harm him, he wouldn’t need to go to such lengths.
As the spirit wine entered his belly, Wei Tu immediately felt his qi strengthen slightly, as if he had taken a rare pill.
“This Hundred Flower Spirit Wine must be special. Could it be that Qi Chengchu is not only a formation master but also a spirit brewer?” Wei Tu thought to himself.
Spirit brewers, like alchemists, were niche professions within the myriad arts of cultivation.
Qi Chengchu poured himself a cup, sipped slowly, and then turned serious.
“This time, Daoist Wei, I called you here to ask about something... concerning the Heshan Huang Clan. It relates to the Loose Immortal Alliance’s fate for the next thousand years.”
“Heshan Huang Clan?” Wei Tu frowned slightly at these words, unsure of Qi Chengchu’s intent or the Loose Immortal Alliance’s aim.
Ever since he killed Alchemist Shu, he hadn’t paid much attention to the Heshan Huang Clan.
“What exactly does Daoist Qi want to know?” Wei Tu gathered his thoughts and asked.
“There’s a formation from the Huang Clan.” Qi Chengchu paused, then said, “When you served as a guest elder for the Huang Clan, did you ever hear of a third-rank formation called the ‘Twelve Locks of Heavenly Time’?”
Wei Tu shook his head and replied, “Back then, I was focused solely on cultivating. I didn’t interact much with the clan members, so… I’ve never heard of such a formation.”
Qi Chengchu watched Wei Tu’s expression closely as he spoke. Seeing no sign of deception, he sighed softly, “If that formation really exists, our Loose Immortal Alliance might be able to produce a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“At that point, we’d no longer have to suffer under the five great sects.”
“What do you mean by that?” Wei Tu was intrigued.
He didn’t believe that a single third-rank formation could create a Nascent Soul cultivator.
If that were possible, the Heshan Huang Clan would have long dominated Zheng Kingdom’s cultivation world.
Qi Chengchu smiled confidently, “Daoist Wei, you’ve been with the Loose Immortal Alliance long enough to know that this ‘Stealing Heaven Transformation Array’ was set up by me. The marvel of this array lies not only in its ability to lock spirit veins and siphon heaven and earth spiritual energy but also in how it aids cultivation...”
“If I could obtain the ‘Twelve Locks of Heavenly Time’ formation, I could elevate the ‘Stealing Heaven Transformation Array’ to another level...”
“By then, even without a Nascent Soul Pill or a spirit item of enlightenment, one could harness the power of heaven and earth to break through to the Nascent Soul realm...”
Breaking through to Nascent Soul using a formation?
If Qi Chengchu weren’t a top-grade third-rank formation master, Wei Tu would’ve thought he was dreaming. After all, in all the records he’d read, no one had ever used a formation to achieve the Nascent Soul realm.
“Nascent Soul is hard to reach, but could this formation help one break through to Golden Core?” Wei Tu changed tack and asked.
“It can.”
Qi Chengchu gave a definite answer.
“Three hundred seventy years ago, I relied on the ‘Stealing Heaven Transformation Array’ to break through to the Golden Core and condense my core.”
“However, back then the array only played a supporting role. To ensure success, I still took a Mortal Shedding Pill before forming my core.”
Qi Chengchu sighed.
He had once wanted to skip the pill and test the true power of the array... but in the end, he feared death and took the Mortal Shedding Pill early.
Hearing this, Wei Tu’s desire for the ‘Stealing Heaven Transformation Array’ lessened considerably. After all, this formation was just one of Qi Chengchu’s experiments—no one had ever truly succeeded using it alone.
He wasn’t some formation fanatic. He had no need to covet it.
“I’ve had my eye on the Heshan Huang Clan for decades. Over thirty years ago, their Golden Core Ancestor Huang Xinglie was severely wounded in battle and is now recuperating in the clan...”
“I hear he’s nearing the end of his lifespan because of that injury.”
Qi Chengchu returned to the topic of the Heshan Huang Clan.
“So Daoist Qi means to...” Wei Tu roughly understood what Qi Chengchu was planning.
Qi Chengchu wanted to take advantage of the Huang Clan’s decline to seize their clan’s inheritance and, through it, enhance his own third-rank formation, the ‘Stealing Heaven Transformation Array.’
This kind of thing was sinister, not something a righteous sect would do.
But Wei Tu didn’t care.
If the leader of a major force was truly righteous, that force would be close to ruin.
Sure, a sect or clan could rise and thrive without resorting to such shady tactics, but that kind of success was extremely rare.
“You used to serve the Heshan Huang Clan. There must be someone there you’re familiar with...”
“I invited you here not only to ask about the ‘Twelve Locks of Heavenly Time’ formation and to inform you of this major strategy of our Loose Immortal Alliance...”
“But also to see if you could use your connections to help make it happen.”
Qi Chengchu spoke bluntly.
Wei Tu didn’t fully trust this explanation.
He asked at the right moment, “Why didn’t Daoist Qi bring this up before I broke through? Why wait until now to ask me to do this?”
“Is there some other reason?”
Wei Tu’s tone turned serious.
“You overthink!” Qi Chengchu laughed heartily. “I had my sights on the Heshan Huang Clan even before you started your secluded cultivation. But the real decision to move against them only came after Huang Xinglie’s injury. That’s not contradictory.”