"What a great opportunity! Risking my life to kill him was worth it."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Wei Tu's lips.
The Iceheart Spirit Dew was Yu Wencheng's chance to become a Dao cultivator. For someone in the same realm like Wei Tu, it was just as important.
For this, he wouldn't mind losing his body cultivation for a few years. Even losing it for dozens of years would be worth it.
After all, treasures that increased the chance of reaching the Nascent Soul realm were incredibly rare.
Over the past hundred years, it might have looked like he easily acquired the Spirit-Awakened Item and the Nascent Transformation Pill, two key items for breaking through. But in truth, it had been far from easy.
The Spirit-Awakened Item came from the Stone Demon Sect's hidden vault. If he hadn't narrowly survived being possessed by Master Shentu, and escaped from threats like Demon Lord Gui Luo, Fox Mountain, and Qi Chengchu, he would've never gotten his hands on it.
As for the Nascent Transformation Pill, although it was partly luck, without true strength, he wouldn't have been able to storm the Mingwang Sect and claim it.
Next, Wei Tu continued the soul search on Yu Wencheng.
This time, his focus was on two specific techniques: The Supreme Augmentation Scripture and Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes.
The Supreme Augmentation Scripture was a soul cultivation method originating from the Mourning God. Decades ago, Wei Tu had obtained fragments of it from the soul shard within Wei Xian'er's puppet pendant.
Back then, he'd already guessed that the Three Great Tribes might have also collected this soul art from similar shards of the Mourning God's soul.
As for Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes, that was something he caught glimpses of during the soul search when he accessed Yu Wencheng's battle memories. It was a secret technique of the She Ri Tribe.
It was through this spirit eye that Yu Wencheng sensed his pursuit in advance and saw through his mid-stage Golden Core cultivation.
Unfortunately for Yu Wencheng, his skill was shallow. He failed to detect Wei Tu's profound body cultivation.
Otherwise, Wei Tu's pursuit would've ended in failure.
Soon, Wei Tu found Yu Wencheng's memories related to The Supreme Augmentation Scripture.
As expected, a copy of this soul path manual was indeed stored in the library of Divine Master Jin Xia.
However, due to Jin Xia's philosophy—"mastering many arts is inferior to excelling in one"—Yu Wencheng was never allowed to study that soul art.
Generally speaking, soul cultivation methods were far more difficult than body or qi cultivation techniques. Few cultivators had a talent for the soul path.
Wei Tu didn't feel disappointed.
If Yu Wencheng had truly studied The Supreme Augmentation Scripture, using the Soul Restraining Talisman to bind his soul wouldn't have been so easy.
Let alone attempting a soul search.
This memory search was merely to confirm Wei Tu's past suspicion.
With that done, he forcibly extracted the memories of the Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes technique from Yu Wencheng's soul.
Half a day later, Yu Wencheng's soul began to disintegrate under Wei Tu's hand. Meanwhile, an empty jade slip in his other hand was filling with dense lines of text.
With a thud, Yu Wencheng collapsed. His soul dispersed on its own in unconsciousness, and he died.
No one knew that over thirty years ago, one of the top three prodigies of the She Ri Tribe from the Sunset City Sword Trial Competition had just met such a pitiful end.
"Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes? This technique shares some similarities with the Golden Toad Qi from the Stone Demon Sect."
Wei Tu studied the essence of the technique, deep in thought.
Golden Toad Qi was a profound secret art he obtained from the Nascent Soul cave of the Stone Demon Tower.
It wasn't a combat or defensive skill, but rather an advanced breathing method imitating the ancient true spirit, the Heavenly Steel Golden Toad.
Unlike other true spirits that needed spiritual qi from the cultivation world, the Heavenly Steel Golden Toad cultivated by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, allowing it to roam freely through worlds.
The She Ri Tribe's Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes also relied on refining sun essence into its source power—just like the toad's practice.
"Ordinary people can't even bear to look directly at the sun, let alone refine its essence into their eyes. Yu Wencheng's memories showed he refined a special She Ri Tribe pill called Solid Flame Pill. That was the foundation for his cultivation of the technique."
Wei Tu considered this carefully. He made up his mind—once he returned to the Kang Kingdom, he would find a way to seize the recipe for the Solid Flame Pill, or acquire the pills themselves.
That pill might not only help him cultivate Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes, but could also aid his training of the Golden Toad Qi from the Stone Demon Sect.
…
Afterward, Wei Tu opened Yu Wencheng's storage pouch and checked its contents. Then he ordered Bai Zhi to prepare for their departure to Little Cold Mountain.
"Little Cold Mountain? Fellow Daoist Wei, your injuries haven't fully healed yet. Why not rest and recover first, then go later?" Bai Zhi couldn't help but try to dissuade him.
If she were in his place, she wouldn't dare leave the safety of the island while still injured.
Hearing this, Wei Tu patiently explained the Iceheart Spirit Dew's function at Little Cold Mountain and said,
"Yu Wencheng is dead. His life tablet in the She Ri Tribe won't break right away because of the distance. But if we wait too long and they get suspicious, I'll lose my chance at the Iceheart Spirit Dew."
Life tablets and soul lamps in the cultivation world weren't as mystical as legends claimed. They didn't instantly shatter or go dark upon a cultivator's death.
Such items did exist, but their cost was far too high for most powers to afford.
They had limitations—shelf life, and range of detection.
And the distance between White Phoenix Immortal City and the She Ri Tribe in the Kang Kingdom was simply too great. Far beyond the sensing range of Yu Wencheng's life tablet.
Wei Tu's meaning was clear: act fast and finish the job.
The value of the Iceheart Spirit Dew to the She Ri Tribe went without saying. If he stayed on the island too long and the tribe in the Kang Kingdom guessed that Yu Wencheng had died… then they would definitely tighten control and seal off Little Cold Mountain.
By then, trying to seize the Iceheart Spirit Dew would cost far more effort and risk than it would today.
"Besides, I just can't use my body cultivation right now. My mid-stage Golden Core qi cultivation is still intact. Honestly, I've been overconfident in my body cultivation lately."
Wei Tu paused and said thoughtfully.
When he killed the three from Qingming Sect and Liu Kun of Mingwang Sect, he relied entirely on his body cultivation. That had given him the illusion that he could crush the entire Golden Core realm with just that.
In other words, because his body cultivation had improved so fast and had such overwhelming power, he had grown careless. A bit reckless.
If this had been earlier—
When he ambushed Yu Wencheng, he would've first prepared the fourth-grade talisman he took from Jia Tianlong. Then he could've killed him from range, like flying a kite, rather than charging in close with just his body, giving himself no chance to react and getting struck by Nascent Soul finger force.
"Fellow Daoist Wei makes a good point." Bai Zhi nodded in agreement.
Danger was always relative.
Wei Tu wasn't at his peak anymore, but his strength was still more than enough to deal with unexpected trouble.
…
Little Cold Mountain sat in Cao Prefecture of the Xiao Kingdom. It was a spiritual property under Lougao Sect.
It had become a hidden treasure site for the She Ri Tribe, and there was a story behind that.
Roughly 1,000 years ago, when Divine Master Jin Xia was still in the Golden Core stage, he had traveled through the Xiao Kingdom searching for a path to the Nascent Soul stage. By chance, he came to Little Cold Mountain in Cao Prefecture.
At the time, the mountain was officially just a second-grade spirit land known for its cold-attributed spirit items.
But on a whim, Jin Xia used his Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes to glance beneath the mountain and spotted an icy pool glowing with spiritual light. Clearly no ordinary thing.
So he tricked the Lougao Sect cultivators and bought the land deed for cheap. He then built a cave residence and began secretly excavating the ice pool below the mountain to uncover its secrets.
Once he started digging, Jin Xia realized he'd struck it rich. He'd stumbled across the cultivation world's rare treasure—Iceheart Spirit Dew.
Thanks to that pool, he laid a solid foundation for his Nascent Soul breakthrough, returned to the tribe, became a Divine Master, and rose to lead the She Ri Tribe.
Yu Wencheng had been selected as his successor.
So 7 years ago, Jin Xia gave him access to the pool, allowing him to soak in the dew and build a path to Dao.
One month later.
Wei Tu rode the Wind Cleaving Eagle and arrived at the foot of Lougao Sect's mountain, in the nearby market town—Hanyu Market.
Lougao Sect was ranked among the top 5 major sects in Cao Prefecture. Its strength was similar to that of Mingwang Sect—technically a quasi-Nascent Soul force, but in decline.
Wei Tu had his reasons for coming to Lougao Sect rather than heading straight to Little Cold Mountain.
According to Yu Wencheng's memories, the She Ri Tribe had assigned 3 Golden Core Elders to guard Little Cold Mountain year-round. They were ordered never to leave unless absolutely necessary.
These 3 were composed of 1 late-stage Golden Core and 2 mid-stage Golden Core cultivators.
With that kind of lineup, plus the natural terrain advantage of the mountain, Wei Tu wouldn't dare face them head-on. Not even at full strength, let alone in his current state.
So, if he wanted the Iceheart Spirit Dew from beneath the mountain, his only chance was through Lougao Sect—by making a big move with the land deed.
After entering Hanyu Market, Wei Tu found a local guide. After getting some detailed intel, he went straight to the market center's Hundred Medicines Pavilion and asked to meet the shopkeeper, Yan Zhenping.
Yan Zhenping wasn't just the shopkeeper—he was also the nephew of Lougao Sect Elder Yan Zezhi.
He had the ability to arrange a meeting with his uncle.
"This old man surnamed Cui is advanced in years and hopes to find a proper sect to spend the rest of his days. I wonder if Shopkeeper Yan would be willing to make an introduction."
Wei Tu bowed with cupped hands and spoke calmly.
"Advanced in years?" Yan Zhenping raised his eyebrows slightly, sizing Wei Tu up.
The man in front of him looked like a middle-aged cultivator with sallow skin, not particularly aged. But after a closer look, he could clearly see Wei Tu's withered blood and depleted essence.
Life fades before death.
That exact condition was the perfect proof that Wei Tu didn't have many years left.
What Yan Zhenping didn't know was that while Wei Tu's blood and essence were indeed damaged, he had the Dao-Founding Immortal Origin Scripture. With that, he could recover quickly. His situation was vastly different from someone who was truly near death.
"I wonder what skills Senior possesses?" Yan Zhenping gestured for a maid to serve tea and asked quietly.
Running out of lifespan was relative. Even a Golden Core cultivator nearing death could survive another dozen years with secret arts.
And if he was truly skilled, he could still offer Lougao Sect significant value.
"My skills are limited. I'm no third-grade alchemist, but I can easily craft most second-grade pills."
Wei Tu said this with quiet pride.
Alchemy was different from other cultivation arts. Even a high-level second-grade alchemist was a welcome guest in any Nascent Soul force—respected and well treated.