Leaving Jade Mountain marketplace, Wei Tu followed the address Yu Tong had given him and arrived at a dense forest near the Kang Kingdom border.
Sweeping his divine sense over the area, he saw that on a steep cliff to the south, more than twenty cultivators were already waiting for the flying boat, some sitting, some standing.
Most of these twenty or so cultivators were at mid or late Foundation Establishment, with only a few at Golden Core.
But unlike Golden Core cultivators who traveled alone, these Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered in groups of three or five, bringing along Qi Refinement juniors. It looked a bit like… traveling with the whole family.
'Cultivation is really flourishing in Xiao Kingdom. It's a lot easier to form a core there than in Kang Kingdom,' Wei Tu thought as he glanced around.
Cultivator families that immigrate for the sake of their path are rare in the cultivation world, but not unheard of. The cultivation environment in Xiao Kingdom is much better than the border regions of Kang Kingdom. Of course, after reaching Golden Core, moving to Xiao Kingdom doesn't have many advantages left. In fact, in a backward place like Kang Kingdom, becoming an overlord and grabbing resources is actually easier.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just as Wei Tu was about to land, three streaks of light suddenly shot in from the northwest and stopped about one hundred steps away.
The leader was a one-eyed old man wearing an eye patch, fierce and tough-looking, not someone easy to mess with. Behind him were a young couple who looked like cultivators, whispering to each other and acting very close.
The one-eyed old man looked Wei Tu up and down. He didn't come up to say hello, but took the couple and walked south into the forest.
"That guy isn't easy to deal with. His magic power is deep, and his aura is like an abyss. He's a tough one," said the long-haired young man from the couple as soon as they turned away. His smile faded and a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he licked his lips.
"For this mission, let's avoid him if we can."
The one-eyed old man nodded slightly. He and the long-haired young man were from the same sect, both skilled in secret arts for sensing other cultivators' strength. The young man was especially gifted—he'd refined this art to perfection.
'Those three, just like me, are hiding their true cultivation? And there's a lot of killing intent on them, too…'
At the same time, Wei Tu also used Know Heaven Crossing to sharply sense that these three weren't ordinary.
Their apparent cultivation was one at early Golden Core and two at late Foundation Establishment, but from what Wei Tu could see, both of the young couple were actually real Golden Core cultivators too.
Still, none of the three were that high—just around early to mid Golden Core.
'With Six Desires Sect causing chaos, from Kang Kingdom to Xiao Kingdom, only Canglang Merchant Guild dares do business. Of course the crowd here is a mixed bag,' Wei Tu thought, suppressing his doubts.
He flicked his sleeve and followed the three, settling down near the cliff.
"Yu Wencheng?" After waiting about half a day, Wei Tu spotted a familiar cultivator on the cliff.
Yu Wencheng was the prince from the She Ri Tribe who had taken first place at the Three Tribes Sword Trial twenty-some years ago.
'What's he doing going to Xiao Kingdom?' Wei Tu wondered.
The three big tribes of Kang Ju people in Kang Kingdom were mostly cut off from the rest of the country, hardly interacting with the other sects—let alone the main cultivation hub that was Xiao Kingdom.
"Old Hong, how long until Canglang Merchant Guild's ship gets here?" Yu Wencheng turned to the elderly man beside him, sounding impatient.
This old man, named Old Hong, had been his protector for many years.
"Almost here, Your Highness," Old Hong replied softly.
The others glanced over at once, realizing Yu Wencheng's status was definitely special—he had to be rich or powerful.
…
Several hours passed.
With a huge rush of wind sweeping down from the clouds, the group of cultivators waiting on the cliff finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A few moments later, a massive crimson spirit boat nearly one hundred zhang long descended quickly from the sky and hovered in front of them.
Seeing this, everyone rose into the air, streaked with light, and crowded into the open hatch of the crimson spirit boat.
"Yu Wencheng, She Ri Tribe cultivator."
At the entrance, a steward from Canglang Merchant Guild was checking tickets and verifying identities.
Yu Wencheng strode forward and reported his background first.
Wei Tu didn't pay much attention to Yu Wencheng, focusing most of his attention on the one-eyed old man and the young couple behind him.
"Qingming Sect, Liang Tu."
The one-eyed old man stated his sect and name.
"Qingming Sect, Liang Yijiang and Gu Xianglan," the young couple said, arms linked, as they stepped up to the steward with a smile.
Qingming Sect? Wei Tu frowned. He'd never heard of this sect in Kang Kingdom.
But thinking of how those three had hidden their true power, Wei Tu wasn't interested in overthinking it… It was probably a fake name anyway.
Soon, it was Wei Tu's turn for inspection.
At the entrance, Wei Tu sensed a faint spiritual probe from inside the spirit boat pause on him for a few seconds.
"Mount Ding marketplace, rogue cultivator Yi Yun," Wei Tu said, giving a false identity.
He'd stirred up plenty of trouble and wouldn't use his real name when traveling.
With Yu Tong as his guarantor, the steward just glanced at the ticket and let Wei Tu through.
…
The Ascending Cloud Flying Boat had three classes of cabins.
Ordinary cabin, guest cabin, and luxury suite.
Wei Tu bought an internal low-price ticket, so he could only stay in an ordinary cabin.
He was happy with that.
First, the journey was short. No need to waste money for unnecessary comforts.
Luxury suites and guest cabins only offered a bit more space, a denser spiritual atmosphere, and some extra services.
Second, the cross-border trade route was risky, so staying low-key was safer.
He was disguised as a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Walking to the cabin window, Wei Tu formed a hand seal. The area near the window instantly showed the outside scenery from the flying boat.
But since the room was low-grade, what Wei Tu saw was just a corner view from below the deck of the Ascending Cloud Flying Boat.
If he wanted to see more, he would have to upgrade his cabin.
Soon, the Ascending Cloud Flying Boat took off.
The view outside the room changed quickly, shifting from forest to blue sky and clouds.
"In about one month, we'll reach Xiao Kingdom. I can just sit and cultivate in peace."
Wei Tu sat cross-legged, flipped his hand, and took out a deep blue spirit stone, slowly absorbing its power.
Although the spiritual energy in the regular cabin wasn't as strong as in the guest or luxury suites, he had plenty of spirit stones, so that wasn't a problem.
But after just two days, Wei Tu heard the constant, flirtatious sounds coming from the neighboring cabin.
There was a brothel service inside the flying boat for guests to relieve their worries during the journey.
After all, not every cultivator had a bright future or felt like meditating in their room.
Wei Tu summoned Bai Zhi and told her to lay a soundproof formation in his room.
With the formation up, the room quickly became quiet again.
Two days later, the flying boat reached the Kang Kingdom border for routine inspection by border cultivators.
All the passengers were subject to inspection and had to be checked by border officers.
Led by the boat steward, nearly one hundred passengers left their cabins and lined up on the deck for inspection.
Wei Tu noticed that Yu Wencheng and the three with the one-eyed old man didn't appear on the deck.
"Fellow Daoists, soon the border cultivators will be here for inspection. If you have any contraband items on you, hand them over now…"
The middle-aged steward spoke in a serious tone.
Then, using his magic, he sent a jade slip to each passenger.
On the jade slip was a list of banned items.
Wei Tu took a look.
Most of the banned items were demonic tools or certain rare spirit herbs.
"Demonic tools?"
Wei Tu mused. He'd killed quite a few demonic cultivators, and had at least ten or so top-grade demonic artifacts in his possession.
But he wasn't too worried about the inspection.
The border cultivators used spirit beasts to sniff out contraband, not a rough, hands-on search.
This method worked for semi-sealed storage bags, but for his fully sealed storage ring, it posed no threat at all.
Wei Tu looked at the other cultivators nearby.
Many looked nervous, not as calm as he was.
After all, Kang Kingdom bordered the demon sect territory, so any half-decent cultivator probably carried at least one or two nice demonic tools.
—Happiness Pillows from Hehuan Sect, Blood Gathering Bowls from Blood God Sect, and other special artifacts were very popular in Kang Kingdom.
"As for guests in the luxury suites, our Canglang Merchant Guild will fully protect your belongings…"
Suddenly, the steward spoke up again.
Many cultivators reacted. They understood the unspoken meaning: luxury suite guests had certain privileges and could avoid border inspection.
Of course, everyone knew this privilege just meant the border cultivators would turn a blind eye, not ignore outright smuggling.
If someone was actually smuggling, the border guards wouldn't let it slide.
"I want to upgrade!"
Soon, four or five people stepped out from the line, asking to upgrade their cabins.
"Good! Good! Good!" The steward grinned, saying "good" three times.
The upgrade fee was steep—three thousand spirit stones per person. By custom, he got a twenty percent cut. This time, he'd easily make over a thousand spirit stones.
After the upgraders left, a few stern-looking border cultivators entered the ship and began their inspection.
"Nothing. Next."
The lead border officer had a fist-sized pale gold demon mouse on his shoulder.
The mouse walked up to each storage bag, sniffing lightly. It could tell immediately if the owner was carrying contraband.
"Grab him!"
Soon, the demon mouse stopped in front of a middle-aged cultivator and pointed at the man's storage bag with its paw.
The border officer's face turned cold, and he snorted.
With those words, the middle-aged cultivator's expression changed. He gritted his teeth, summoned his escape light, and tried to flee off the deck.
The next moment—
A headless body hit the deck.
The middle-aged man didn't even last a few seconds, killed on the spot by the border officer.
The demon mouse walked over, picked up the storage bag, and squeaked a few times.
"Just another demon sect scoundrel," the border officer said with disdain.
He flicked his hand, and a burst of magic tore open the storage bag.
In an instant, all sorts of demonic materials spilled out.
"Next!"
The border officers continued their inspection.
Soon, it was Wei Tu's turn.
The gold demon mouse sniffed around Wei Tu, but found nothing wrong.
'Luckily, I switched to the Forging the Dao Immortal Source Scripture before leaving Kang Kingdom,' Wei Tu thought.
If he hadn't changed his cultivation method, he would've had to upgrade his cabin, too.
Half a day later, the border inspection was over.
Besides killing the first demon sect man, the officers confiscated several illegal demonic items and fined the owners thousands of spirit stones each.
The fines were usually no less than the three thousand spirit stones for an upgrade.
…
After crossing the border of both kingdoms, the Canglang Merchant Guild's Ascending Cloud Flying Boat got back on track, speeding through the clouds at a pace rivaling a late-stage Golden Core cultivator's flight, heading for Xiao Kingdom.
Nothing happened along the way.
In the final few days, just as Wei Tu thought his luck was good and there'd be no surprises or bandit attacks from the Six Desires Sect—
Boom!
His room shook violently. The formation lights flickered, growing unstable.
At the same time, a string of muffled booms came from outside.
"The flying boat's core formation was unexpectedly damaged… Fellow Daoists, please don't panic! The array masters will repair the formation right away and keep the boat running…"
Out in the hallway, the merchant guild steward looked anxious, shouting to calm the passengers.
…
Inside his room, Wei Tu was startled at first but quickly regained his composure.
"Bandit attack? Inside and outside working together?"
He frowned deeply.
At this moment, Wei Tu couldn't sense any sign of an outside attack on the Ascending Cloud Flying Boat.
That was why he could sit calmly in his cabin, not rushing to escape.
—Between Kang Kingdom and Zheng Kingdom, the border was either a dead zone for spiritual energy, or a dangerous place like the Black Blood Marsh.
Leaving the flying boat without permission was even more dangerous.
"I'll wait a bit and watch how things play out before making a decision."
With his strength as his support, Wei Tu stayed calm and steady.
Still, Wei Tu didn't just sit and obey the merchant steward's instructions. Once the hallway went quiet, he immediately left his own room, slipped into the next cabin, and waited patiently for news from the Canglang Merchant Guild.
There were too many strange secret techniques in the cultivation world. Wei Tu wasn't so sure that the others couldn't see through his disguise and tell he was hiding his true Golden Core cultivation.
If someone inside the flying boat caused trouble, their first target would probably be a Golden Core cultivator like him.
"Someone's coming."
After a short wait, Wei Tu saw a long-haired male cultivator sneaking up to his cabin door and pulling a magic tool from his sleeve.
This long-haired man looked just like "Liang Yijiang," the male half of the young couple with the one-eyed old man.
"Fellow Daoist Yi, we've been ordered to check if any guests are trying to cause trouble…"
Liang Yijiang cleared his throat and spoke, pretending to be a merchant steward.
"I'm sitting quietly in my room, haven't left at all," came a reply from inside.
That voice was Bai Zhi imitating him. Before leaving his cabin, Wei Tu had left Bai Zhi behind in case the merchant guild sent someone to check.
He hadn't expected this move to be so useful now against Liang Yijiang.
"Looks like Liang Yijiang has seen through my disguise," Wei Tu squinted.
"Fellow Daoist Yi, unless there's something urgent, don't leave your room. People might misunderstand."
Liang Yijiang put away his magic tool and stood to the left of the door, like a lookout instead of an attacker.
Liang Yijiang stepping back made Wei Tu set aside any plan to act first. He stayed where he was, observing the situation and analyzing why Liang Yijiang's group was stirring up trouble inside the flying boat.
The real cause of the chaos was obvious—it was Liang Yijiang and his two companions. Otherwise, why would Liang Yijiang suddenly block his door?
'Definitely not good people.'
About fifteen minutes later, when Wei Tu saw Liang Yijiang kill a merchant guild cultivator who came to check, he completely gave up any hope that Liang Yijiang's group had good intentions.
Clearly, Liang Yijiang hadn't attacked him earlier out of mercy or any other reason, but just because he saw Wei Tu's strength and didn't dare act rashly.
"Freeze!" Wei Tu suddenly appeared, holding a Soul Detaining Talisman. Under Liang Yijiang's shocked gaze, he smashed through the man's protective barrier and slapped the talisman on his forehead.
At the same time, Wei Tu used "Blue Trident Net," "Fixing Light Orb," and " Yuan Gravity Light," locking Liang Yijiang down tight with these three binding techniques.
"How is this possible?"
Realizing he lost instantly, Liang Yijiang was shocked, totally unable to believe it.
He couldn't understand how a cultivator of the same realm could defeat him in one move.
What he didn't know was that it wasn't because he was weak, but because a dual cultivator in both spell and body cultivation had absolute dominance in situations like this.
Dual cultivators were unmatched in close combat.
Plus, Wei Tu's cultivation, whether in qi or body, was far beyond Liang Yijiang, who was just an early Golden Core.
If it was a group fight, Liang Yijiang might have performed like a real Golden Core True Lord, but one-on-one, to Wei Tu he was no different than a weak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
After capturing Liang Yijiang, Wei Tu returned to the adjacent room, placed a hand on the man's head, and started soul-searching him using "Hidden Spirit Boat Technique."
"Qingming Sect's Liang clan… mission from the main sect… wiping out Six Desires Sect…"
Soon, Wei Tu found out everything about their background and purpose.
It was the opposite of what he'd expected.
Liang Yijiang and his two companions weren't working with bandits. They had come on board to help their main sect, "Shenjia Sect," wipe out the Six Desires Sect.
They were basically… government troops.
But as major sect cultivators with Golden Core strength, they had little regard for the lives of lower-level cultivators… That was why Wei Tu had mistakenly thought Liang Yijiang wanted to kill him.
"Even though they're righteous cultivators in name, their actions are no different from demonic cultivators. Killing him is nothing," Wei Tu said coldly, not bothered at all.
Even though this was his mistake, Liang Yijiang had blocked his door… Was he supposed to gamble that the man was righteous, not a bandit? Besides, if Liang Yijiang had shown mercy to the merchant guild cultivators, Wei Tu wouldn't have so quickly judged him a bandit and struck first.
From Liang Yijiang's memories, Wei Tu also learned that the three of them were planning to take advantage of the chaos to rob passengers as well.
"The only problem now is what to do next," Wei Tu frowned.
According to the Shenjia Sect's plan, Liang Yijiang's group from Qingming Sect would damage the flying boat's array, then draw out the Six Desires Sect for an ambush.
After that, Shenjia Sect would show up to eliminate the Six Desires Sect bandits blocking trade between Kang Kingdom and Xiao Kingdom.
Now that he'd killed Liang Yijiang, the remaining two from Qingming Sect, Liang Tu and Gu Xianglan, would definitely suspect him.
By then, both Qingming Sect and Shenjia Sect would be his enemies.
"Unless…"
Wei Tu began to think.