Chapter 521: Exhausted All Benevolence, Fourth-Tier Taisui
"Ancestor, this…"
Inside Shendu Island, a group of Zhao clan cultivators were accompanying Zhao Yu’e in receiving Situ Yang. When they saw the strange phenomenon in the heavens and earth, they were instantly startled.
None of them had expected that, right after Ancestor Zhao Yu’e had announced her judgment, the imprisoned Zhao Qingluo would suddenly attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm from her peak Golden Core stage.
"This woman, Elder Zhao underestimated her," Situ Yang said sincerely.
At first, when he heard Zhao Qingluo had chosen the path of cultivation and abandoned Wei Tu, deep in his heart he looked down on her. He thought this woman didn’t understand the meaning of ‘a hidden dragon in the abyss’ and had foolishly thrown away the chance to marry an extraordinary man who could change her fate.
But now, seeing Zhao Qingluo burn her bridges and dare to risk her life to assault the Nascent Soul Realm, his view of her could not help but change.
Those who face death unflinchingly are always worthy of praise.
Yes, in Situ Yang’s eyes, Zhao Qingluo attempting Nascent Soul now was nothing less than seeking her own death.
No superior spiritual body.
No spiritual treasure for forming an infant.
To attempt forming a Nascent Soul like this… her chances of success were clear to anyone. The likelihood was enormous that she would die and her dao would be extinguished.
But another’s tragedy could be his fortune.
Originally, Situ Yang was still uncertain whether Wei Tu would come to Shengya Mountain because of Zhao Qingluo’s punishment. But now he had no such worry.
—Once Zhao Qingluo died, as long as Wei Tu still remembered the slightest bit of old affection, it would be impossible for him not to come to Shengya Mountain looking for him.
"As for offending Wei Tu…"
Situ Yang shook his head.
At the start, he hadn’t really wanted to lean on background or bully Wei Tu and his kin. His so-called “handling things fairly” with Zhao Qingluo had only been a means to make her write a letter and lure Wei Tu here.
But now, things had gone this far. He had no need to be afraid.
After all, Wei Tu was only a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator. He couldn’t overturn the heavens.
…
But unlike Situ Yang’s relaxed demeanor, Zhao Yu’e’s face was shifting between gloom and uncertainty.
Imprisoning Zhao Qingluo to lure Wei Tu over, and Zhao Qingluo dying to lure Wei Tu over—these were worlds apart.
In the first case, Wei Tu would resent her for not helping a member of his own clan and instead siding with an outsider like Situ Yang. At most, it would cause a falling-out, not necessarily life-and-death enmity.
And for the clan, having one more estranged Nascent Soul cultivator wasn’t a major loss.
But in the second case—
The Shengya Zhao clan would undoubtedly become the culprit that forced Zhao Qingluo to her death.
The vengeance of a Nascent Soul ancestor… Situ Yang and the lineage of Shengya Mountain’s sect master might not fear it. But for the Zhao clan itself, it would be unbearable.
"This damned girl is forcing me," Zhao Yu’e’s expression turned cold, her loathing for Zhao Qingluo deepening further.
Before, although she was disappointed that Zhao Qingluo hadn’t managed to seize Wei Tu as a fine son-in-law, she still admired her somewhat, seeing her diligent cultivation through the years.
That impression had only recently soured…
When Zhao Qingluo refused to distinguish priority, openly defying her order and unwilling to write a letter to Wei Tu, admiration had turned into disdain.
After all, was writing one letter really that hard?
It wasn’t as though she was demanding Zhao Qingluo’s death. It was just a formality.
For two hundred years, the Shengya Zhao clan had invested countless resources to cultivate Zhao Qingluo, this lesser-branch cultivator of mediocre talent.
Were those resources worth less than a single unimportant letter?
Of course, Zhao Yu’e also knew that from Zhao Qingluo’s perspective, she hadn’t done much wrong.
But mistakes are judged differently depending on who makes them.
Her tolerance for Zhao Qingluo was very limited.
A lesser-branch descendant of poor potential had no right to choose wrongly between family duty and personal feeling.
That misjudgment was the true reason she sentenced Zhao Qingluo to three hundred years of imprisonment.
Not because of Situ Yang’s pressure.
Only, Zhao Yu’e hadn’t expected Zhao Qingluo’s counterattack would come so quickly.
If Zhao Qingluo died…
Then everything would be completely different.
Outwardly, the Shengya Zhao clan would be seen as betraying a friend and turning him into an enemy, ensuring that Wei Tu, this Nascent Soul ancestor, would hate them deeply as a sworn enemy.
Internally, they would be nailed with the accusation that ‘the main branch, to curry favor with outsiders, forced a lesser-branch Golden Core cultivator to her death.’
Once such a charge was fixed, the day when main and lesser branches grew estranged would not be far off.
That was something no clan, anywhere, could afford to ignore.
…
"Elder Situ is right, this old woman did underestimate Zhao Qingluo."
"This woman is not cowardly at all, but extremely bold. She wants to use this chance, to leverage our main branch and break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. She’s throwing herself into the game."
After a moment, Zhao Yu’e let out a cold chuckle, answering Situ Yang’s earlier words.
As soon as she spoke, Situ Yang froze slightly.
He understood the first half of her words.
But the second half—he didn’t understand a single part.
And before he could think further, the situation no longer allowed it.
Right after saying those words, Zhao Yu’e pulled out a jade pill bottle from her sleeve. She used her magic power to send it straight into the sealed chamber where Zhao Qingluo was imprisoned.
"Nascent Transformation Pill?" Situ Yang was shocked.
Under his divine sense, the pill inside that bottle was exactly the same as the one he himself had swallowed a hundred years ago when breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
But what he couldn’t understand was this—things between Zhao Qingluo and the Shengya Zhao clan had already soured to this point. Why would Zhao Yu’e still give Zhao Qingluo such a pill? Was she helping her succeed?
Wouldn’t that be aiding the enemy?
"It’s a defective Nascent Transformation Pill," Zhao Yu’e’s eyes turned cold, and she casually explained away his doubt.
There are three gates to the Nascent Soul Realm: breaking the core, forming the infant, and awakening the spirit.
The first gate, breaking the core, could be passed by any Golden Core cultivator who had reached perfection through normal cultivation.
The next two gates, however, were far more difficult. If one’s accumulation was lacking, the result could only be death and destruction of the dao.
But once a cultivator passed the second gate of forming the infant, then at the third gate, awakening the spirit, their life would already be largely protected.
Even if awakening the spirit failed, they could still be left with a “false infant” body, avoiding death.
Now Zhao Yu’e’s reason for handing Zhao Qingluo this defective Nascent Transformation Pill was exactly this.
—To preserve Zhao Qingluo’s life.
So things wouldn’t spiral into a completely uncontrollable mess.
"The Shengya Zhao clan has done everything possible. Even if Wei Tu asks later, this old woman will have no shame in her heart."
After saying this, Zhao Yu’e flicked her sleeve and left, no longer lingering at the chamber door.
…
At the same time, far away.
Wei Tu, who had already left the Kang Kingdom and entered the heart of demonic territory—the Demonic Sea, suddenly felt something. He turned back, glancing south.
"In just a little while, we’ll reach Poison Demon Island. Is it really as prosperous as you say, Old Demon Zhuo?"
"They even have Fourth-Tier Taisui Stone for sale?"
Wei Tu frowned, casting a doubtful glance toward a small island over ten li away.
Under his divine sense, this little island contained nothing but some wild deer and rabbits. There were hardly any other living things. It didn’t look like a spiritual island at all.
It looked more like a barren rock.
As for the Fourth-Tier Taisui Stone—
That was a treasure Wei Tu urgently needed. It could strengthen his essence and energy, allowing him to meet the threshold to cultivate the Essence Vitality Seal.
Once he succeeded in practicing this art, with only a mid-Nascent Soul cultivation, he could raise his combat power to the level of late Nascent Soul.
After all, the Nine Secrets of Vitality were explosive high-grade secret techniques meant for late Nascent Soul cultivators.
Beyond boosting his strength, perfecting the Essence Vitality Seal was also something pressing before him.
According to Ancestor Chilong’s estimate, if Wei Tu wanted to shatter the limit of mid Nascent Soul and advance to late Nascent Soul—just like when he broke through early stage limits—he had to meet two conditions.
1. Cultivate the Essence Vitality Seal to perfection.
2. Advance his body refinement to Fourth-Tier mid stage.
Only when both were fulfilled could he use his explosive secret art to push his power high enough to break past the mid-Nascent Soul barrier.
So he had to prepare in advance.
After arriving in demonic territory, apart from heading toward the Wan Yin Sect, he also began gathering Fourth-Tier body-refining treasures and rare materials that could greatly boost his bodily essence.
"This Poison Demon Island is not what it looks like on the surface. Inside, it’s protected by a quasi-Fifth-Tier formation."
"With your current realm, if you could see it, that would actually be stranger."
Ancestor Chilong, hidden in Wei Tu’s sleeve, narrowed his eyes and casually conjured a jade slip, handing it over.
"A quasi-Fifth-Tier formation?" Wei Tu was a little surprised. From what he knew, even the guardian formations of many Nascent Soul sects only reached quasi-Fifth-Tier level.
In other words, the force behind Poison Demon Island could very well be on the same level as a Nascent Soul sect.
Thinking further was pointless. Wei Tu accepted the jade slip and quickly scanned its contents. From this, he learned the origin of the island’s great formation.
It turned out Poison Demon Island was not originally a high-level marketplace of demonic territory. It had first been the secluded cultivation site of a late Nascent Soul cultivator named Poison Demon Elder.
The way he gathered resources was similar to Tan, the leader of the Flying Immortal Alliance. He would widely send out invitations and barter with cultivators.
Gradually, over time, Poison Demon Island became a famous high-level market in the Demonic Sea.
And as for the Fourth-Tier Taisui flesh that Wei Tu sought, according to Ancestor Chilong’s memory, it was the signature treasure of a shop there called Wansheng Pavilion.
"Demonic cultivators often use people as ingredients in their pill-making. If they lack essence, they just kill more cultivators. That’s why this treasure has gone unused all these years."
"It’s perfectly suited for you."
Ancestor Chilong smiled faintly as he said this.
By now, it wasn’t long before he could return to the Wan Yin Sect. Naturally, his mood was far better than when he had been stuck in righteous territory.