Chapter 501: Breaking the Nascent Soul Limit, Wuchang Seal, Take Me as Your Master
"Liu Yu Daoist!"
Wei Tu had only fought this demon once, but he couldn’t be more familiar with him.
It was precisely because of the “Yin-Yang Demon Corpse” in Liu Yu Daoist’s hands that he had, back in the Nascent Soul stage, gained the initial capital to face powerful enemies and then grow step by step.
Decades passed without Liu Yu Daoist making a move. Wei Tu had almost forgotten the old grudge. He never expected that all along, Liu Yu Daoist had been carefully laying out a trap, planning to strike from the shadows.
The scheme was tightly linked, and if Liu Yu Daoist and Divine Master Jin Xia hadn’t miscalculated two unexpected factors, Wei Tu might not have noticed at all.
First, neither of them expected that his cultivation had already reached the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, allowing him to save Tao Zhongjing, who was on the brink of death.
Second, though they guessed he had mastered the secret eye technique “Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes,” they had no idea he also possessed the treasure Ghost-Eyed Demon Spider.
If not for that, he would have fallen into their snare today.
'But the key part of this scheme should be on Yuan Jie,' Wei Tu sighed. 'I just don’t know if he can resist the temptation.'
People change.
Some hold fast to their hearts, others do not.
When Yuan Jie was a young and promising talent, he vowed to reform and befriended cultivators like Wei Tu, who had newly joined the Ying Ding Tribe.
But once he became the Right Virtuous King, his mindset shifted from reform to conservatism, and he began rejecting “foreign cultivators” like Wei Tu.
The mutual trust they once had as allied cultivators disappeared.
Even so, at this moment, if they set aside their private rift, they could still be considered friends.
But if Yuan Jie chose to betray the Ying Ding Tribe and betray him now, there would be no friendship left between them.
…
What would he choose?
Right now, not only Wei Tu but also Yuwen Liangu was waiting for Yuan Jie’s reply.
A mere Golden Core True Lord might not be able to contribute much to a scheme against a Nascent Soul ancestor.
But Yuan Jie was different.
Under the four Divine Masters of the Ying Ding Tribe, he was the most powerful man, trusted deeply by senior Divine Masters Du Long and He Di.
If he betrayed the Ying Ding Tribe, killing Wei Tu would no longer be a far-off dream for the She Ri Tribe.
'Once Wei Tu dies, and the Ying Ding Tribe falls into civil strife from Yuan Jie’s betrayal, their strength will be history,' Yuwen Liangu thought with a faint smile.
Unlike Liu Yu Daoist, who targeted only Wei Tu, the She Ri Tribe wanted both Wei Tu and Yuan Jie dead.
Two birds with one stone.
To them, Yuan Jie was just a pawn to be discarded after use.
Time passed slowly.
One breath. Two breaths.
After more than a dozen breaths, Yuan Jie finally spoke from the throne.
His words were slightly different from what Yuwen Liangu expected, but still exactly what she had been waiting for.
"Yuan will cooperate with Liu Yu Daoist."
Yuan Jie’s face was solemn as he spoke slowly.
"But before we work together, I need to see Liu Yu Daoist’s sincerity," he added.
"Sincerity?" Yuwen Liangu wasn’t surprised. Everyone knew that bargaining with a tiger rarely ended well—especially when the tiger was a notorious old demon from the demonic path with a poor reputation.
Without heavy benefits, someone of Yuan Jie’s high position wouldn’t risk betraying his own Divine Masters.
"Half a month from now, I will return to see the Right Virtuous King."
Yuwen Liangu rose, bowed respectfully, then touched her brow with two fingers. Her body flashed with light and once again transformed into Qian Yue Sanren before leaving the Right Virtuous King’s residence.
Wei Tu didn’t care about her departure. He shook his head, gave Yuan Jie a deep look, then flicked his sleeve and returned to his own Divine Master’s mansion.
After being deceived by Fu Zhizhou before, Wei Tu didn’t rush to judge Yuan Jie’s words.
He decided to give Yuan Jie one more chance.
After all, besides outright betrayal, there was also the possibility Yuan Jie was pretending to cooperate.
This was only the beginning; it was far from the end.
Of course, Wei Tu would also take precautions and wouldn’t place any trust in Yuan Jie until the matter was settled.
And with Liu Yu Daoist involved, he wasn’t confident he could turn the situation around right now.
The best response was to wait quietly, not tear the plan apart in haste.
So, whether in reason or sentiment, he would give Yuan Jie a chance to “change his mind.”
…
Back at his mansion, Wei Tu didn’t hesitate.
He secretly sent talisman messages to Wei Yan and his family, instructing them not to leave the Divine Master’s mansion for the next 40 years and to focus on cultivating at home.
Though 40 years was long, it wasn’t unusual for a Golden Core cultivator to be in seclusion that long.
"Trust no one except me."
His voice was heavy with warning.
This time, Yuwen Liangu’s disguise technique was extremely advanced. Even he wouldn’t have spotted it without the Ghost-Eyed Demon Spider.
He guessed it was likely a high-grade disguise artifact lent by Liu Yu Daoist rather than her own cultivated disguise skill—otherwise, no matter how good, it would be hard to fool a Nascent Soul ancestor like him.
"Including me—if I don’t have this jade as proof, don’t trust it."
After a moment’s thought, Wei Tu took several fine jades from his storage bag, broke each into two halves, and handed the matching pieces to Wei Yan and the others.
“Matching the Tiger Tallies” — this method of verifying identity might be old-fashioned, but it worked. With this extra safeguard, even if Yuwen Liangu was clever, she would still slip up and be exposed.
When Wei Tu finished speaking, Wei Yan and the others, though puzzled about what could be so serious that a Nascent Soul ancestor like him treated it with such caution, didn’t hesitate. Out of trust for Wei Tu, they followed his instructions without asking why.
"Junior Sister Su, you stay."
As Wei Yan and the rest withdrew, Wei Tu thought for a moment, then called out to Su Bing’er, who had been about to leave with them.
"Senior Brother Wei?"
She stopped at once, a bit puzzled, and looked at him.
A hundred years ago, after she had volunteered to repay him for saving her life by offering herself as a concubine, Wei Tu had deliberately kept his distance from her. For them to remain alone in the same room today was a first.
Of course, Su Bing’er knew this wasn’t about man-woman matters. She gave a slight bow, then asked why he wanted her to stay behind alone.
"This matter concerns Yuan Jie, and you… have always been close to Baohua. If you suddenly go into seclusion, she might grow suspicious."
Wei Tu explained.
Among his close ones in the Ying Ding Tribe, aside from the Wei family descendants, there were only Tao Zhongjing and Su Bing’er—both “outsiders.”
This meeting was beyond Tao Zhongjing’s qualifications, and since he was directly involved in the “Yuan Jie betrayal affair,” he shouldn’t take part anyway.
So, the only outsider here was Su Bing’er.
But that alone wasn’t why Wei Tu had kept her back.
The Wei clan descendants, thanks to him, had little entanglement with the Ying Ding Tribe. Even if they all went into seclusion together, it might raise eyebrows, but it wouldn’t ruin his plans.
Su Bing’er was different. Her ties to Yuan Jie’s queen, “Fairy Baohua,” were too deep.
They were as close as sisters, sharing everything.
Wei Tu didn’t believe Su Bing’er would betray him or spill secrets, but with Yuan Jie and Fairy Baohua’s abilities, prying out some hidden truth from her wouldn’t be hard.
He couldn’t leave that to chance.
"Yuan Jie?" Su Bing’er’s heart jolted. She could hardly believe it.
She had never known of any grudge between Wei Tu and Yuan Jie. She’d always thought they were close friends. After all, they’d both declared publicly that they were sworn brothers.
Now, even though Wei Tu hadn’t spelled out the details, she was sharp enough to see it—these “friends” had turned against each other.
"A hundred years ago, I needed the formula for Solid Flame Pill, but Yuan Jie made every excuse not to give it to me…"
Wei Tu spoke of the past, telling her the truth: their friendship was never as deep as it looked.
For the sake of mutual benefit, they’d both concealed their history and acted like brothers.
"I won’t say more. Just remember this—be on guard against both Baohua and Yuan Jie. They’re Dao partners. No matter how upright Baohua may seem, for Yuan Jie, she’ll help him."
Wei Tu’s tone was solemn.
Hearing this, Su Bing’er froze, then nodded heavily.
She didn’t fully understand why Wei Tu needed to guard against Yuan Jie and Baohua, but she knew his words made perfect sense.
Putting herself in that position—if she saw Wei Tu heading down a road of no return and couldn’t dissuade him, she would follow him to the end, even to death… or into a world tainted by demonic corruption.
"Bing’er will always follow Senior Brother Wei."
Her voice was firm. She gripped the Cloud Mist Stone Fairy Baohua had given her, still warm against her chest.
…
After sending Su Bing’er away, Wei Tu returned to his cave dwelling and went into seclusion.
In the cultivation world, the strong ruled.
If the gap in strength wasn’t too large, schemes could work. But if the difference was too great, tricks were just a joke to the strong.
If he couldn’t break through to mid Nascent Soul, no matter how he plotted against Liu Yu Daoist, it would be useless.
But if he could, Liu Yu Daoist’s scheme would turn into his death trap instead.
"Eighteen spirit crystals, gone in just ten years. Now, I’ve only got the two Emerald Radiance Pills from my trade with Alliance Master Tan."
In his closed cultivation chamber, Wei Tu took the two deep-green pills from his storage bag. He studied them for a moment, then tilted his head back and swallowed one.
Ten years ago, he had tested the pill’s spiritual quality and medicinal properties using a pill master’s trial methods.
If he hadn’t been absolutely sure, he wouldn’t have dared to swallow it just to boost his cultivation.
The moment the pill entered his body, the Nascent Soul within him opened its eyes.
It parted its lips slightly, and with the force of a whale’s gulp, drew in the medicinal essence spilling from the Emerald Radiance Pill.
Over ten days later, the pill’s energy was completely absorbed. Wei Tu’s Nascent Soul had grown by about half an inch.
"Three inches? That’s nearly the limit of early Nascent Soul." Wei Tu looked inward at his dantian, joy flickering across his face.
Nascent Soul stage realms were far easier to tell apart than other realms. Just by looking at the size of a cultivator’s Nascent Soul, you could guess eight or nine times out of ten.
Early Nascent Soul’s limit was 3 inches.
Mid Nascent Soul’s limit was 6 inches.
Late Nascent Soul’s limit was 1 foot.
Of course, this wasn’t true for every cultivator.
Some could break past these limits before advancing to the next stage.
Right now, Wei Tu could feel it—three inches wasn’t his limit.
‘Is it the fourth stage of body cultivation, and the golden-purple fate pattern, that’s reshaped my body?’ Wei Tu thought.
Body cultivation and qi cultivation weren’t the same path, but that didn’t mean they didn’t influence each other.
Just like in the early days of qi cultivation—if a cultivator’s body was strong, the spiritual qi they could refine each day would be a bit more than someone with a weak body.
Now that he was at the Nascent Soul stage, it was the same.
Otherwise, dual cultivation of body and qi wouldn’t be so highly valued by Nascent Soul cultivators, or even considered a talent more outstanding than a spiritual-body Nascent Soul.
The reason was simple—below Nascent Soul, dual cultivation’s benefits to aptitude were clear, but compared to some rare spiritual treasures, they weren’t that special.
However, once a cultivator reached Nascent Soul, because resources for breaking through to the Spirit Transformation stage were scarce in all major cultivation worlds, the gap between wealthy clans and humble cultivators got smoothed out. At that point, this “commoner’s path” of dual cultivation suddenly became exceptional.
And his fourth-stage body cultivation was also different from the usual.
When he broke through to the fourth stage, the golden-purple fate pattern had subtly reshaped his physique, turning it into a “spiritual body” more suited to his immortal dao techniques.
With all these factors combined, it was no wonder that right now, he could clearly feel he had a chance to break the Nascent Soul limit.
‘Breaking the Nascent Soul limit won’t instantly give me mid Nascent Soul strength, but it will strengthen my foundation and greatly help me when I try for Spirit Transformation later.’
Thinking this, Wei Tu didn’t rush to attempt a mid Nascent Soul breakthrough. Instead, he tested how far he could push the limits of early Nascent Soul.
Two months later, once all the pill toxins from the first Emerald Radiance Pill had cleared, Wei Tu swallowed the second one.
After taking it, before long, his Nascent Soul began pushing past its “limit,” growing from 3 inches to 3.1, 3.2, then 3.3 inches.
But what made Wei Tu frown deeply was that after breaking the Nascent Soul limit, the barrier to mid Nascent Soul suddenly became stronger.
If before it had been like a single sheet of thin paper, now it was like two.
One step forward, one step back.
It instantly turned into a tough choice.
After thinking a moment, Wei Tu decided to consult Ancestor Chilong.
Right now, he figured the barrier was still within reach. But if it got any thicker, it might take a hundred years—or even several hundred—of grinding cultivation to wear it down.
"You actually broke the Nascent Soul limit while still in early Nascent Soul?" Ancestor Chilong was shocked when he heard.
From what he knew, over ninety percent of dual body-and-qi Nascent Soul cultivators only had hope of breaking the limit after reaching mid Nascent Soul.
But Wei Tu had done it in early stage?
The difference wasn’t heaven and earth, but it was enough to give him an extra ten percent chance when breaking through to Spirit Transformation.
"Becoming a Spirit Transformation cultivator means giving birth to divine nature. And that divine nature comes from breaking mortal conventions, shattering mortal limits—becoming a god!" Ancestor Chilong sighed.
If he had Wei Tu’s fortune, he wouldn’t be just a remnant soul trapped in the Dragon Glaze Pearl now—he’d be a lofty Spirit Transformation sovereign.
What he had lacked was exactly that extra ten or twenty percent chance of breaking through.
"But right now, I feel like I still haven’t touched my true early Nascent Soul limit."
Wei Tu’s face was troubled.
Breaking the limit was great, but if he couldn’t even break into mid Nascent Soul, the joy was hollow.
How to choose—that was the problem.
"Maybe… you could try the Nine Secrets of Vitality." Ancestor Chilong suggested.
"The Nine Secrets of Vitality?" Wei Tu frowned. He had thought of using that technique before asking Ancestor Chilong.
But he hadn’t considered it seriously—because it was just too absurd.
The Nine Secrets of Vitality was a battle burst technique. When activated, your magic power boiled. In that state, casting other spells was already hard—how could you use it for a breakthrough?
Not to mention, the Blood Seal of the Nine Secrets drained your own essence blood. But in immortal dao breakthroughs, essence, qi, and spirit had to merge into one and reach their peak…
"Since I dare suggest it, I have my reason," Ancestor Chilong said with a cold smile when he saw Wei Tu’s expression.
"Who says the Nine Secrets I taught you was the full version? It was a fragment."
"A fragment?" Wei Tu raised a brow, finally understanding that Ancestor Chilong had kept something back. No wonder he’d agreed so easily when teaching it.
"The Nine Secrets has, besides the Blood Seal, the Essence Seal, and the Soul Seal, one more inner seal—called the Wuchang Seal."
"Once you master this inner seal, you can use the Nine Secrets without the boiling-magic problem."
"As for the Blood Seal’s drain on essence blood—you can store your blood in advance, then refine it during the breakthrough to boost your strength."
That was the solution.
"What’s the condition?"
Wei Tu took a deep breath.
He knew Ancestor Chilong wouldn’t offer him the full Nine Secrets for free—there had to be a price.
"Simple. Take me as your master."
Ancestor Chilong gave him a flat glance.
"Take you as my master?"
Wei Tu was stunned—not because the demand was harsh, but because it was so simple.
Three hundred years ago, he had taken Che Gongwei as master just to survive. Now, for the sake of his future, becoming the disciple of this old devil Ancestor Chilong was hardly a problem.
In cultivation, the worthy are teachers.
A late Nascent Soul master taking an early Nascent Soul disciple—more than qualified.