Chapter 542: Accepting the Duel, Shengya Mountain’s Dilemma
Hearing Wei Tu’s domineering words toward Shengya Mountain, Divine Master Du Long was not surprised at all.
Now that Situ Yang had already provoked him right at his doorstep, if Wei Tu did not respond, he would become the laughingstock of the entire Great Cang cultivation world.
Even just for the sake of reputation, Wei Tu had to accept Situ Yang’s challenge.
On the contrary—
Divine Master Du Long even felt that Wei Tu was being extremely restrained.
—Handling things by the rules of the righteous path.
After all, he knew that Wei Tu truly had the strength to erase Situ Yang, this newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator.
“This old man will set out at once and go personally to Shengya Mountain to negotiate this matter with them.”
Divine Master Du Long nodded as he spoke.
Then, after chatting casually with Wei Tu for a while, he cupped his fists, took his leave, and departed.
“Times have really changed.”
Inside the Divine Master’s residence, Wei Tu watched Du Long’s departing figure and murmured to himself.
Back then, because he had offended both Liu Yu Daoist and Ji Yifeng, two mid-stage Nascent Soul experts, Divine Master Du Long had openly and secretly pressured him, nearly expelling him from the Ying Ding Tribe.
Now, he was about to provoke the massive Shengya Mountain.
Yet this time, Du Long not only said nothing against him, but was even willing to handle the matter personally and run this errand on his behalf.
One had to know—during this time, he had not brought the Ying Ding Tribe much tangible benefit.
The only difference…
Was the change in his strength over these hundred-plus years.
He now possessed the kind of power that even a giant Nascent Soul sect like Shengya Mountain had to dread.
…
After Du Long left, Wei Tu began to deal with the accumulated talisman messages in his cave residence from the years he had spent at the Myriad Yin Sect.
Among them, aside from letters from Hu Yantu of the Chu Kingdom and the Yu Family Ancestor, the rest were from members of the Righteous Society.
The letters from Hu Yantu and the Yu Family Ancestor contained no urgent matters, only follow-up reports regarding the extermination of the Shangliang Cai clan.
As for the Righteous Society—
They were from Kou Hongying, Fu Zhizhou, and Cao Mi.
Kou Hongying’s letter was simple, asking him questions about cultivating the “Reversing Spirit Blood Exchange Art.”
Cao Mi asked when he would once again join her to explore the overseas cultivation world. With his current mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, he no longer feared Lüqiu Jinyuan’s threat.
“About to break through to Nascent Soul.”
Wei Tu opened Fu Zhizhou’s letter and saw this line at the very beginning.
His brows lifted slightly, and his heart warmed with some relief.
Breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm had always been a deeply private matter. For Fu Zhizhou to share this with him showed an unshakable trust.
“Yes, it has been over 50 years.”
Wei Tu calculated the time in his heart.
From the day he returned from the overseas cultivation world and “lent” Fu Zhizhou the Soul-Devouring Wood until now, more than 50 years had passed.
The Soul-Devouring Wood was one of the three wondrous woods of the cultivation world, alongside the Soul-Nurturing Wood and the Soul-Cutting Wood.
In those years, Ancestor Scorpio rose step by step and reached his current realm and position precisely because of this wondrous wood.
At the time of parting, Fu Zhizhou had already reached late Golden Core stage.
Now, with the Soul-Devouring Wood allowing him to accumulate enough at the Golden Core stage, it was natural for him to be on the verge of breaking through to Nascent Soul.
“Ghost-Faced Pill? So Fourth Brother, like Yuan Jie, has also acquired a substitute pill for the Nascent Infant Pill.”
Holding the letter, Wei Tu read further. Soon, he saw Fu Zhizhou listing the spiritual materials he had gathered to prepare for his breakthrough.
“Don’t rush it just yet.”
“Wait until you reach the overseas cultivation world. Then pick the right moment to break through there.”
Wei Tu thought for a moment and picked up a brush to write a reply.
Barring any accidents, once he resolved the matter with Situ Yang and healed his injuries, he would set out again—back to explore the overseas cultivation world.
This would not be long. At most two or three years.
For a Golden Core True Lord, three years was but a moment. It would not delay Fu Zhizhou much at all.
Compared to breaking through in Great Cang, doing so in the overseas cultivation world had far greater advantages.
First, Nascent Infant Pills were easier to obtain.
Even a Golden Core rogue cultivator like Fu Zhizhou had the chance to purchase one from a merchant guild.
Second, breaking through to Nascent Soul there would not attract too much attention.
The upper limit of cultivation in the Guixu Sea was Divine Transformation realm. Though Nascent Soul Ancestors were formidable, no faction would obstruct a stranger’s breakthrough out of mere suspicion.
Besides these advantages of time and place, there was also a crucial factor—if Fu Zhizhou broke through overseas, his realm in Great Cang would carry a certain concealment and deception.
He could then serve as a hidden “trump card” for the Righteous Society, capable of handling dirty work.
For instance, today, if Wei Tu had truly wanted to kill Situ Yang, he could have asked Fu Zhizhou to act in his stead.
Even if Shengya Mountain suspected, they would never think Wei Tu himself had secretly struck.
Not long after, Wei Tu finished writing the letter. After sealing it with restrictions, he handed it to his stewardess Yan Yu, instructing her to deliver it to the designated drop point.
Naturally, the encryption of the letter was not only the outer restriction. Inside, he also used the special cipher of the Righteous Society, so he had no fear of interception or spying.
…
With mundane matters settled, Wei Tu took out from his storage pouch a dark copper slip and a bottle of pills.
These were not ordinary items. They were the fourth-tier alchemist inheritance and the bottle of Golden Valley Pills he had acquired after killing Master Gu Tong.
However, as an alchemist, Wei Tu would never casually consume unfamiliar pills.
Only after fully studying the pill recipe, understanding the medicinal properties, and ensuring that the Golden Valley Pills were non-toxic would he begin to take them.
“It’s just that this alchemist inheritance leans too far toward the demonic path. Most of it is methods for refining human pills. Only two or three types of pills are of use to me.”
Wei Tu sank his divine sense into the copper slip. Seeing the densely packed demonic pill recipes inside, he sighed softly with regret.
He had thought that after killing Gu Tong, he could continue and secure a proper fourth-tier alchemist inheritance from him.
Unexpectedly, over ninety percent of it was devoted to human pill recipes.
Less than ten percent dealt with herb-based pills.
Still, even though they were “human pills,” the core principles of pill refinement were the same. For his study of the alchemy path, it was still a valuable supplement.
A few days later, Wei Tu had finished studying the pill recipes.
He scraped off some of the pill coating from the Golden Valley Pill in the jade bottle, tested its medicinal effect, and once it was proven sound, he tilted his head back and swallowed the pill, beginning to heal his dharma body.
Time passed quickly.
In just one month, with the help of the Golden Valley Pill, his injuries recovered rapidly—more than half was healed.
As for the remaining injuries, Wei Tu did not waste any more of the Golden Valley Pills.
With his fourth-tier dharma body, he could recover that much on his own.
Compared to a fourth-tier spirit pill…
What he had now in abundance was time.
“Before Situ Yang arrives, I’ll use the Blood Wing Pill as practice and see if I can advance to a fourth-tier alchemist…”
“And I should also study… Qi Chengchu’s ‘Stealing Heaven Transformation Array’…”
Wei Tu set down his short-term cultivation goals.
The Blood Wing Pill was the same fourth-tier spirit pill that You Gongquan had once gone to Poison Demon Island to ask Gu Tong to refine.
After killing You Gongquan, Wei Tu naturally seized the recipe and the necessary spiritual ingredients from his corpse.
Though this was a fourth-tier pill, it was an entry-level inferior-grade pill, not difficult to refine. It was perfect for him to practice with.
As for the Stealing Heaven Transformation Array—
Two years ago, when he killed Qi Chengchu, he obtained the array diagram from him.
Because of time constraints, he had never gotten around to studying it.
Now that he had nothing pressing, it was the perfect opportunity to learn some formation techniques.
Formations might not matter much in early cultivation, but the higher one went, the more vital they became.
Before, he had Bai Zhi to rely on, and he didn’t have to worry much.
But now, even if he rescued Bai Zhi, with her Golden Core cultivation, she could not provide much help in formations.
In short, from now on, in the Dao of formations, he had to rely on himself.
—The higher the cultivation, the more one had to be a versatile talent.
…
Half a year later—
Divine Master Du Long returned to the Ying Ding Tribe and brought news to Wei Tu: Shengya Mountain and Situ Yang had agreed to the duel.
“As for your demands, Shengya Mountain has basically accepted. They even said they would provide a Heaven’s Nether True Page at their own expense and establish a spiritual contract… guaranteeing the dispute will be limited to only you and Situ Yang.”
Divine Master Du Long chuckled as he spoke.
“Shengya Mountain truly deserves its name as a renowned righteous sect, the foremost Daoist sect in the righteous path.”
Wei Tu’s eyes showed appreciation as he praised.
Shengya Mountain’s reputation within the righteous lands had always been good.
Otherwise, he would not have chosen to duel Situ Yang openly instead of assassinating him in secret.
“As for the Zhao clan of Shengya, they also expressed gratitude for your understanding. Ancestor Zhao Yu’e said she would do everything to help reconcile Shengya Mountain and you, to prevent things from escalating further.”
Divine Master Du Long thought a moment before adding this.
Hearing this, Wei Tu only nodded without comment.
If he and Zhao Qingluo had not separated…
Then the Zhao clan of Shengya would have been a fine in-law connection for him.
But now that there was no such bond, it was inevitable that he and the Zhao clan would drift apart. There was no need to dwell on it.
Their efforts were only to ensure he didn’t hold grudges against them and seek revenge.
“However, Shengya Mountain does not want the duel to be held in the Ying Ding Tribe.”
At this, Divine Master Du Long’s expression grew heavy, his tone hesitant.
“Then where?”
Wei Tu raised his brow curiously.
Holding the duel in the Ying Ding Tribe would have meant the matter stayed contained, known only to Ying Ding Tribe and Shengya Mountain, without causing a huge stir.
But if held elsewhere, it would be harder to keep quiet.
Still, this suited Wei Tu’s purpose well. His whole point in challenging Shengya Mountain had been to use his victory over Situ Yang to fully spread his reputation.
Reputation might be dangerous for the weak, but for the strong, there was no such fear.
With such fame, he could move in the righteous lands with far greater ease.
“Earth Sword Mountain!”
Divine Master Du Long said gravely.
“Earth Sword Mountain?”
The moment the words fell, Wei Tu’s face also grew serious.
Within the Kang Kingdom, besides the She Ri Tribe and the Feng Wu Tribe, the only other faction with deep enmity toward him was this sword sect, Earth Sword Mountain.
Back then, to avenge his master, he had slain Yao Chongshan and his wife, deeply offending this sect.
Although later, during his Nascent Soul ceremony, Earth Sword Mountain had humbled itself and offered him a congratulatory gift, that did not mean the enmity had vanished.
Now, among the six great powers of the Kang Kingdom, Shengya Mountain had not chosen any other, but had deliberately chosen Earth Sword Mountain, his enemy.
The meaning was clear.
—They were sending a signal of dissatisfaction with him.
Not directly telling Earth Sword Mountain to kill him, but if others picked up on it, Shengya Mountain would hardly interfere.
“Contradictory!”
Wei Tu shook his head and gave his verdict.
The larger the sect, the harder it was for it to have only one will.
Just like how within the Myriad Yin Sect there were both Madam Jin and Duan Changjing as separate factions.
This result, he figured, must have come from Shengya Mountain’s different internal factions negotiating and settling on a decision that each could tolerate.