"Thunder Spirit Tree?" Wei Tu was startled.
He knew a bit about the Thunder Spirit Tree. It was said to be a natural creation, formed from the condensation of pure thunder spiritual energy and wood spiritual energy in a rare type of land.
In the world, there was a type of wood called Thunderstruck Wood, known for countering yin and evil forces. The Thunder Spirit Tree was similar, but in terms of grade, Thunderstruck Wood was far inferior.
The Thunder Spirit Tree was usually ranked at fifth-grade or above.
Such a treasure was something even Divine Transformation realm cultivators would covet.
But Wei Tu really couldn't associate that level of treasure with the withered branch that Great Mage Yuan Xian had handed over.
"Since Great Mage trusts my alchemical skill, then I shall accept this commission and do my best to revive this spiritual plant."
"However, given my current abilities, reviving it won't be quick."
"At the shortest, it may take thirty to forty years, and at the longest, possibly one to two hundred years."
With Bai Zhi's reminder, Wei Tu was indeed tempted to obtain what seemed to be a Thunder Spirit Tree branch. But in his words, he showed no sign of that desire.
What he said seemed like agreement, but in truth was a way to subtly decline.
Normally, reviving a spiritual plant only took a few months or years.
Wei Tu's timeline of several decades or even centuries was clearly a way to push back against Yuan Xian's demand.
Still, in the cultivation world, there were rare cases where near-dead spiritual plants did take decades—or even centuries—to recover.
The higher the grade of the spiritual plant, the more likely that was.
So what Wei Tu said was still reasonable.
"Several decades?" Yuan Xian sneered inwardly. A quick thought told him Wei Tu was playing the ball back to him—using time as an excuse to make him drop the "unreasonable request."
If it was a short-term matter, he could still leverage their shared status under the royal court to force Wei Tu's help.
But with this long timeline, he'd be forced to pay Wei Tu extra compensation.
And that wasn't going to be cheap.
Wei Tu's tactic irked him, but Yuan Xian put on a thoughtful look. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "This spiritual plant is quite precious to me. Since Priest Wei says you're confident you can revive it, I have no reason to object. But… we need to agree on a fixed timeline."
"Also, compensation in case of failure needs to be stated clearly."
Yuan Xian had changed his approach. Not only did he want to pressure Wei Tu for refusing his invitation earlier, he also wanted to squeeze some profit out of Wei Tu's skill.
After speaking, Yuan Xian looked at Wei Tu with a smile.
No matter whether Wei Tu refused or agreed, Yuan Xian wouldn't lose.
"This…" Wei Tu looked surprised, as if he hadn't expected Yuan Xian to trap him like this.
"Great Mage, this matter of reviving the spiritual plant… may we discuss it later? I…" Wei Tu's words turned hesitant, showing signs of retreat.
"Priest Wei, no need to worry. We're both under Divine Master Du Long. Even if the revival fails, I won't blame you. We're one family, after all."
Yuan Xian wasn't letting this go. He quickly reassured Wei Tu, trying to give him the confidence to take the task.
"In that case… very well." Wei Tu sighed and agreed, though he seemed reluctant.
Immediately, Yuan Xian couldn't wait to shove the withered branch into Wei Tu's hands, and also took out documents, writing two spiritual contracts.
The time limit was set at seventy years.
Yuan Xian would pay Wei Tu twelve thousand spirit stones as commission for the revival. But if it failed, Wei Tu would need to compensate thirty thousand spirit stones.
The net gain would be eighteen thousand spirit stones.
Yuan Xian was overjoyed. His gaze toward Wei Tu also became much more pleasant.
As for the so-called withered spiritual plant in his hand, it was nothing more than garbage taking up space in his storage pouch.
He wouldn't be heartbroken to lose it.
Wei Tu, on the side, breathed a quiet sigh of relief after accepting the spiritual contract.
When signing it, he had been worried Yuan Xian would go overboard and demand an excessive penalty.
He hadn't expected the requested compensation to be only thirty thousand spirit stones.
"Of course. The Kangju people live on the grasslands—impoverished and far less wealthy than cultivation sects," Wei Tu thought to himself.
The Kangju people were used to using spiritual techniques rather than artifacts or talismans. While that was linked to the unique spiritual cultivation they practiced, another reason was simply that they were too poor.
Having a magic artifact was better than bare hands.
Still, Wei Tu also understood that Yuan Xian asking for such a modest penalty was partly because he feared Wei Tu would completely refuse.
Eighteen thousand spirit stones wasn't much or little, but it was enough to net him a tidy gain.
…
After leaving Hu Jie Immortal City—
On the way, Mu Feng stopped Wei Tu and sighed softly. "This whole situation with Yuan Xian… was caused by me. If Priest Wei can't revive that spiritual plant, I'm willing to cover the compensation of eighteen thousand spirit stones on your behalf."
Though Mu Feng was an elder cultivator, breaking through in cultivation and nurturing disciples both cost a lot of spirit stones.
He didn't have many spare stones on hand.
A few years ago, after giving up the seventh floor of the Pagoda Tower and moving to a less ideal cultivation spot—
He even sold many belongings to pave the way for his closed-door disciple, Yan Yu.
At this point, being willing to pay Wei Tu's eighteen thousand spirit stones had taken Mu Feng a long time to decide. It wasn't easy for him to come up with the money.
"Great High Priest Mu Feng, there's no need to worry. I, Wei, have my own way." Wei Tu smiled and politely declined the offer.
Your own way?
Hearing that, Mu Feng wasn't sure whether Wei Tu was truly confident or just didn't want to take an old man's spirit stones.
Still, just from this alone—
Mu Feng gained a bit more insight into Wei Tu's character.
After all, he had offered. Most people in Wei Tu's shoes would've accepted the spirit stones without hesitation. They wouldn't refuse again and again.
"With Yan Yu at his side, I can rest easy, even if I pass away," Mu Feng thought to himself.
Back at Yanfen Mountain.
Inside the seventh floor of the Pagoda Tower.
Wei Tu took out a golden token and gently traced the carved emblem of the "Cangkun Divine Cauldron" on its surface, a look of relief showing on his face.
"With this Grand High Priest Token of the Fen Shan Tribe, as long as I stay within Ying Ding Tribe's sphere of influence, Qi Chengchu won't dare make a move against me," Wei Tu thought.
The Grand High Priest Token contained a spiritual detection art cast by Divine Master Du Long. As long as he crushed the token, reinforcements from the Ying Ding Tribe would arrive at the Fen Shan Tribe immediately to aid him.
Forget someone like Qi Chengchu, even a true Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't dare come to the Three Tribes to provoke them.
Each of the Three Tribes held power above that of the "Two Mountains and One Palace" sects. If not for those sects having alliances with foreign cultivators and mutual support among other states, Kang Kingdom would've long become a land belonging solely to the Kangju people.
"Fellow Daoist Bai, now can you explain how to revive this Thunder Spirit Tree branch?"
Wei Tu sat cross-legged and placed the withered branch on a darkwood desk.
Voice transmission among cultivators wasn't secure; high-level cultivators or those with powerful divine sense could eavesdrop.
So typically, to stay safe, Bai Zhi avoided transmitting messages to him when Golden Core cultivators were nearby.
Only after returning to the Fen Shan Tribe, when Yuan Xian and Mu Feng were no longer around, did Wei Tu finally ask Bai Zhi how to revive the Thunder Spirit Tree branch.
"I don't know any alchemical method to heal spiritual plants. But if we use a formation, I have a seventy percent chance of reviving this Thunder Spirit Tree branch..."
Bai Zhi's spiritual form floated out from Wei Tu's sleeve. She smiled gently and spoke.
"A formation?" Wei Tu raised his brows.
"That means we'll need to wait until the array flags commissioned from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance are finished before we can attempt it."
The flags Wei Tu had asked the Rogue Cultivator Alliance to make were originally for the "Mystic Nether Spirit Offering Array", but the flags themselves were just blank third-rank artifacts made by artifact refiners.
The actual array patterns would have to be inscribed by Bai Zhi, a third-rank formation master, herself.
"That's right. Once the array flags are ready, we can use the formation to revive this branch."
Bai Zhi nodded.
"It's your fault, Daoist Wei. You crushed my storage pouch so heartlessly. Otherwise, I had a few suitable array flags inside," Bai Zhi huffed, slightly annoyed.
At this—
Wei Tu didn't respond. He gave Bai Zhi a cold look, and the recently pouting Bai Zhi immediately turned pale and didn't dare say another word.
…
Crafting third-rank array flags wasn't something that could be done overnight. At the very least, it would take several months, possibly a year or more.
Wei Tu refocused on improving his alchemical skills, hoping to successfully refine second-rank Blood Tempering Pills soon to boost his spirit beasts' power.
One month later—
Wei Tu opened the furnace and, for the first time, produced a batch of second-rank low-grade pills: Return Essence Pills.
Three months later—
Wei Tu began attempting to refine Blood Tempering Pills. The first batch failed, but the following batches had promising results, with a twenty percent pill formation rate.
Wei Tu handed several high-quality Blood Tempering Pills to Wei Yan, asking her to feed them to the Mountain-Crushing Bear cub at appropriate intervals.
The Mountain-Crushing Bear cub was a top-grade spirit pet he had high hopes for. It would be crucial in the future.
Naturally, he couldn't let this trump card be exposed to others.
In addition to the Mountain-Crushing Bear, Wei Yan was also responsible for nurturing the Seven-Colored Phantom Moth using "Immortal Spirit Dew."
One son, one daughter—each with their responsibilities.
Wei Xiuwen handled external matters.
Wei Yan took care of all internal affairs.
That way, Wei Tu could save time and focus on what really mattered.
After all, whether it was gathering intelligence or raising spirit beasts, if he had to do it all himself, it would be a massive waste of effort.
"Father, I've tested it. Given the Mountain-Crushing Bear's current condition, it can take one Blood Tempering Pill every ten days without suffering adverse effects."
Wei Yan entered the Pagoda Tower and reported to Wei Tu about the bear cub.
"What's the bear's temperament? Did it resist when you fed it?"
Wei Tu asked.
Blood Tempering Pills refined a beast's bloodline, but they also brought tremendous pain to the beast.
In recent months, when feeding them to the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, the only reason it hadn't lashed out was that its spiritual intelligence was developed enough to understand the pill's benefits.
Otherwise, it would've lost control and attacked its handler.
"The Mountain-Crushing Bear has been raised by me since it was little. It's very affectionate and didn't resist much."
Wei Yan thought for a moment and replied.
Hearing that, Wei Tu nodded slightly, a trace of satisfaction flashing across his face.
He possessed a complete Core Formation opportunity. As long as nothing went wrong, Wei Yan would likely be the next Golden Core cultivator of the Wei family.
The bear's bond with Wei Yan meant it would also be loyal to her, not just to him. That increased its trustworthiness significantly.
"Right, Father. Sister Hongying also sent a letter a few days ago."
"You were in closed-door cultivation, so I didn't disturb you."
At this point, Wei Yan took out a letter and handed it to Wei Tu.
"A letter from Hongying?"
Wei Tu seemed unsurprised. He took the envelope, removed the restriction, and began to read.
The contents were brief.
Aside from sending regards and updating Wei Tu on her situation, Kou Hongying wrote only one key thing: she was about to enter closed-door cultivation to form her Golden Core.
"Two hundred years of cultivation, and now she's finally stepping into the realm of Golden Core immortals."
Wei Tu sighed in his heart.
Only Golden Core cultivators were truly considered to have entered the gate of cultivation.
At this moment, besides feeling happy for Kou Hongying, he also recalled her elder brother, Kou Liang—the one who had once sworn brotherhood with him at Xuanhe Tower.