There was a protective formation around the outskirts of Shengya Mountain, blocking message talismans. Wei Tu found a gatekeeping disciple at the mountain's base, mentioned Zhao Qingluo's name, and asked him to pass along the message.
"Zhao Qingluo? Sounds like a girl's name. Master Fang, what's your business with Zhao Qingluo?" Fu Dalü asked curiously. He had an odd sense of crisis in his heart. Even though he knew Wei Tu was just a fish raised in his sister Fu Linglong's pond, the thought of Wei Tu leaving behind Liao Prefecture's number one beauty for someone else was something he couldn't accept.
In his mind, he and Fu Linglong had already considered Wei Tu to be their family's property.
"Her surname is Zhao? Oh, right, it's the Shengya Zhao Clan—you must be looking for a cultivator from the Shengya Zhao Clan…" Fu Dalü suddenly realized. The Shengya Zhao Clan was a powerful family within Shengya Mountain, a Nascent Soul family, their strength rivaling even Peach Immortal City's Jinglian Convent.
With the power of Shengya Mountain backing them, the Zhao Clan could pull far more strings than Jinglian Convent. In Xiao Kingdom, they were a force no one wanted to mess with. Even a Nascent Soul ancestor would have to show them some respect. So, it made perfect sense for Wei Tu to come here on official business and immediately seek out someone from the Zhao Clan.
"Sharp as ever, Fu Gongzi." Wei Tu nodded, not denying it. The Qiyue Zhao Clan might just be a branch family, but it still counted as part of the Shengya Zhao Clan. Especially Zhao Qingluo—now that she'd returned to her roots as a Golden Core cultivator, her status in the Zhao Clan was higher than most of the main branch.
What Fu Dalü said about Zhao Qingluo being a Shengya Zhao Clan cultivator was perfectly accurate.
After waiting for almost half an hour, the gatekeeping disciple returned to his post. "Sorry, Daoist Wei, the steward of Shendu Island isn't around. With my status, it's hard to pass a message to the Golden Core elders on Shendu Island."
The disciple spoke apologetically, then resumed his cold, aloof posture at the gate.
Seeing this, Fu Dalü tugged at Wei Tu's sleeve and pulled him aside. "Master Fang, why are you so clueless? When you ask a gatekeeping disciple to pass a message, you don't even offer a bribe?"
Fu Dalü looked down on Wei Tu's way of handling things, thinking he had no understanding of human nature. No wonder he'd been so tough in Peach Immortal City and butted heads directly with him. If Fu Dalü hadn't been clever, Wei Tu would've already fallen out with him and never made it out of Peach Immortal City.
"My mistake," Wei Tu replied with a self-deprecating smile, not caring much. Just now, seeing how polite and well-mannered the disciple was, he thought Shengya Mountain's customs were different, so he hadn't bothered with any bribery. Who would've thought—even in a place like this, there'd still be "filth beneath the surface."
"I'll help you this time," Fu Dalü sighed, shaking his head as if annoyed by Wei Tu's lack of guile. He took out a bag of spirit stones from his robe and handed it to the distant disciple. He couldn't help but think—if he hadn't come along, Wei Tu probably would've stumbled into all kinds of trouble on this trip.
With the help of the spirit stones, the gatekeeping disciple finally did something useful and brought a middle-aged female cultivator in a blue dress to the base of the mountain.
"Are you Alchemist Wei?" The blue-dressed female cultivator was in the Golden Core realm. She didn't carry the arrogance of a big-sect disciple, and when she saw Wei Tu, her attitude was very polite. Of course, this was largely due to Wei Tu's strength and skills in alchemy. If it had been any ordinary cultivator, she'd never be so nice.
In her eyes, Wei Tu's talent might not equal Shengya Mountain's heir-apparents, but he was on par with a personally taught disciple of a major peak—a true genius. Someone worth the Zhao Clan's effort to win over.
"I am," Wei Tu said, nodding.
"I am Zhao Huamin, same clan as Zhao Qingluo. Right now, Qingluo isn't able to meet outside guests, so I'll be hosting Alchemist Wei instead," the blue-dressed woman said with a courteous smile.
"Does Wei Tu really know the Shengya Zhao Clan?" Fu Dalü was surprised. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with his own eyes was another. At first, he'd thought going to Shengya Mountain was just an excuse Wei Tu used to trick them. Now he was determined—when they got back to Peach Immortal City, he'd have to treat Wei Tu with even more respect, no more careless offense. Shengya Mountain was not to be messed with!
"Not available to meet outside guests?" Wei Tu tried to guess Zhao Huamin's meaning. After all, the word "outside guest" stung a bit. His relationship with Zhao Qingluo wasn't so simple that it could be summed up by "outside guest."
"Thank you for your trouble, Immortal Lady," he said after thinking it over, bowing respectfully. From Zhao Huamin's behavior, he could tell the Zhao Clan's attitude toward his visit was ambiguous—not cold, not overly close, just polite. That matched his expectations. In the end, his connection with Zhao Qingluo wasn't enough for the Zhao Clan to turn hostile. But with his current strength and status, he was someone any Nascent Soul power would be happy to win over. The Zhao Clan wouldn't be so stupid as to push him away.
"Please, Alchemist Wei, come with me," Zhao Huamin nodded slightly, turned, and led the way through the mountain gate. Fu Dalü, seeing Wei Tu enter the gate, hesitated for a moment but then followed behind.
They flew for about fifteen minutes.
After crossing several floating mountains, jade bridges, and palace buildings, they finally stopped at a steep peak marked "Shendu Island." Zhao Huamin halted there.
"Earlier, Alchemist Wei, you saw from outside the gate that Shengya Mountain has one main peak and seven floating islands. The main peak represents the sect master's lineage, and the seven floating islands—including Shendu Island—each symbolize a Nascent Soul family in Shengya Mountain."
"Shendu Island is where my Shengya Zhao Clan resides," Zhao Huamin explained. As she spoke, she kept a close eye on Wei Tu, trying to catch his reaction to her words.
"Xiao Kingdom's number one Daoist sect really lives up to its reputation." Wei Tu looked calm, his eyes only showing a bit of appreciation, without any strong emotion. When he first arrived, he'd been shocked by how much this place felt like an immortal paradise, but after a while, he'd gotten used to it. As for the so-called Nascent Soul families, Wei Tu honestly didn't care.
He didn't think his path ended at the Golden Core stage. With the opportunities he'd gotten, reaching Nascent Soul was just a matter of time. With that confidence, how could he be scared or act beneath himself in front of a mere Nascent Soul family?
'This man is really ambitious,' Zhao Huamin thought, giving Wei Tu high marks in her heart. Ambition might not seem as important as resources or talent, but as a high-level cultivator in Shengya Mountain, Zhao Huamin knew: the higher you climbed, the more your ambition decided your ultimate limit. Talent and resources just set the floor. Without ambition, a Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivator would only become a slave to their lifespan, losing all drive to advance.
Of course, Zhao Huamin's judgment was based on knowing that Wei Tu's talent wasn't lacking. Without talent, ambition alone was pointless.
"Please," Zhao Huamin said, lifting off in a flash of light and flying over the jade bridge onto Shendu Island. She told a maid to take care of Fu Dalü separately, then invited Wei Tu into a grand hall on the island.
"Now that it's just us, Alchemist Wei, we can speak openly and honestly." After activating a soundproofing formation, Zhao Huamin smiled.
"Just say whatever you want," Wei Tu nodded, noncommittal.
"I don't know how many secrets about the Zhao Clan Qingluo told you. I'll just speak frankly—if you have questions, stop me anytime," Zhao Huamin said after thinking for a moment. Then she started to explain how Zhao Qingluo had stepped aside for Zhao Clan's main branch daughter, Zhao Zhujun, so she could marry into the Jiao Clan of the Heavenly Will Sect.
"Qingluo was willing to sacrifice her own status for the family. Because of that, our Zhao Clan did not forget her loyalty."
"Today, Qingluo's status as a personal disciple of Shengya Mountain was granted by the ancestor as a reward," Zhao Huamin explained.
In short, Zhao Qingluo's engagement wasn't forced by the clan, but her own choice. And in exchange for her compromise, the Zhao Clan gave her significant rewards. Being a personal disciple of Shengya Mountain meant more resources and higher status.
Before this, Zhao Qingluo was already at Golden Core level, but as someone from a remote, small country, she couldn't compare to the personal disciples of the great Daoist sects in the Vast Blue Immortal Realm.
"I understand," Wei Tu said, nodding. He sighed to himself, thinking about how times had changed. Back then, Zhao Qingluo was the proud genius of the Qiyue Zhao Clan—arrogant, bullying Dan Alchemists, causing trouble in Geng Wen's cave… All the cultivators of Danqiu Mountain were afraid of her.
Now, in the eyes of the Shengya Zhao Clan, she was just a country girl from nowhere, with her status as a personal disciple only granted by the main family. In their view, Zhao Qingluo's rise was entirely thanks to them.
Even so, hearing it still felt unpleasant. Now Wei Tu finally understood why Zhao Huamin had referred to him as an "outside guest." In the eyes of Zhao Huamin—and probably most of the Shengya Zhao Clan—Zhao Qingluo, as a member of a branch family, was also an "outside guest."
Still, Wei Tu could tell that Zhao Huamin's words weren't meant with malice—just straightforward truth, without much politeness.
"There are still forty-five years left until Qingluo's marriage to Jiao Zihua. During these forty-five years, the Shengya Zhao Clan does not want any more trouble!" Zhao Huamin's words were both sincere and cold.
The scandal with the main daughter Zhao Zhujun and Dao Child Situ Yang had already embarrassed the Zhao Clan. They didn't want Zhao Qingluo to become the next Zhao Zhujun and make them a laughingstock again. After all, right now, Zhao Qingluo was already the confirmed fiancée of the Jiao Clan from Heavenly Will Sect.
"So, what does the Zhao Clan want? A real act or a fake one?" Wei Tu narrowed his eyes.
"Of course, just a fake act," Zhao Huamin confirmed. She repeated her meaning: "The Zhao Clan's reputation cannot take another hit because of you and Qingluo."