"Wei Tu?" Liu Moqun frowned deeply the moment he saw Wei Tu arrive, muttering inwardly that things had taken a turn for the worse.
Even though his cultivation was higher than Wei Tu's, they were both at the Golden Core stage. With Wei Tu protecting Su Bing'er, Liu Moqun wasn't confident he could take her by force.
He intensified his assault while barking a harsh warning, "Fellow Daoist Wei, don't stick your nose into other people's business. You might bring disaster upon yourself!"
As he spoke, Liu Moqun slapped his storage pouch and summoned a trident-shaped artifact. After muttering a short chant, the trident shot out strands of glimmering blue crystal threads that rapidly flew toward Su Bing'er.
The crystal threads twisted in midair, forming a massive net several zhang wide that began to enclose the space around her.
Wei Tu wasn't surprised that Liu Moqun recognized him. If it were him, he'd also investigate Su Bing'er's contacts before making a move.
"Go!" Wei Tu ignored the threat and swept his sleeve, releasing five Ice Jiao Swords to intercept the incoming net.
At the same time, he silently activated the Cloud Piercing Needle, hiding it within the dazzling sword light, aiming to sneak attack Liu Moqun as he channeled his spell.
Wei Tu remained cautious against Liu Moqun. He suspected the man might have powerful backing and knew he lacked the certainty to kill him, so he avoided using any trump cards and stuck to conventional techniques.
Truth be told, had Su Bing'er not been carrying the artifact for him, and he happened to encounter this scene, he might not have intervened at all.
After all, Liu Moqun was clearly targeting her.
If he rashly got involved, there was indeed a risk of drawing fire to himself.
The five Ice Jiao Swords clearly weren't a match for the blue crystal net. Under its pressure, they fell back repeatedly and were nearly overwhelmed.
But they bought time.
With the delay, Su Bing'er narrowly escaped the closing net and flew to Wei Tu's side, temporarily saving her life.
Meanwhile, the Cloud Piercing Needle struck toward Liu Moqun's back.
But Liu Moqun seemed to have anticipated it. His expression remained calm as he unleashed a burst of chilling spiritual sense and shouted, "Freeze!" Instantly, the hairpin froze midair, just short of striking true.
Then he flicked his spiritual energy, blasting the Cloud Piercing Needle away.
"A formidable Golden Core mid-stage opponent," Wei Tu muttered as he recalled the hairpin, his gaze growing serious as he stared across the several dozen zhang between them.
Just as he suspected—Liu Moqun wasn't someone to be underestimated. If his spiritual sense hadn't been as tenacious as a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, the hairpin might've been erased by Liu Moqun's counterattack.
"Liu Moqun probably inherited high-level soul-path techniques. That 'Hidden Spirit Boat Technique' must be one of his soul arts," Wei Tu speculated silently.
His own spiritual sense was abnormally strong only because he'd devoured the "ghost infant" left behind by Venerable Master Shentu. Liu Moqun couldn't have had that kind of luck.
Most likely, he cultivated his spiritual sense the hard way.
Across from him, Liu Moqun also regarded Wei Tu with growing wariness.
He had thought Wei Tu was just a typical early Golden Core cultivator. Only after clashing did he realize that Wei Tu had been hiding his true strength.
His spiritual sense wasn't weaker than his own.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, I'm only after Su Bing'er. If you're willing to hand her over, I… Liu Moqun, am willing to offer appropriate compensation," Liu Moqun said in a negotiating tone.
From what he knew, both Wei Tu and Su Bing'er had joined Che Gongwei's sect as outsiders. Their relationship wasn't particularly close—just ordinary senior and junior disciples.
Wei Tu had no real reason to risk everything for Su Bing'er.
So why not just throw money at the problem? That was better than fighting an unknown Golden Core cultivator.
He even considered—
If this worked, it might be a good chance to recruit Wei Tu, which would be another gain after capturing Su Bing'er.
But before Wei Tu could respond—
Behind him, Su Bing'er's face suddenly changed. Terror flashed in her eyes as she backed away several steps, then grit her teeth and turned to flee.
Back then, Wei Tu hadn't stepped in to save Mu Die.
Today, the chances of him saving her seemed just as slim.
"A chance!" Liu Moqun's eyes lit up with delight.
Without Wei Tu's protection, Su Bing'er—now spent and wounded—was no match for even one strike.
He hadn't expected his ploy to sow discord to work so easily.
As for Wei Tu.
He hadn't anticipated Su Bing'er would flee from his side so suddenly.
Of course, he didn't know Su Bing'er had long held deep distrust toward Wei Tu.
"Fool. Seeking death," Liu Moqun sneered inwardly and immediately activated his secret art.
A flash of blood-colored light burst from his body and turned into a shadowy blur that shot toward Su Bing'er.
In just half a breath, Liu Moqun caught up.
This time, Wei Tu deliberately hesitated and didn't stop him.
He could see that Liu Moqun intended to capture Su Bing'er alive.
That meant she wouldn't be killed right away.
So even if he was a moment late, there would still be time to save her.
Wei Tu was waiting.
Waiting for Su Bing'er to exhaust all her life-saving cards. Only then would he step in.
Otherwise, not even immortals could save someone who wanted to die.
Of course—
If Su Bing'er ended up seriously injured or even killed in the process.
Wei Tu wouldn't be bothered.
Yes, Liu Moqun's attack on Su Bing'er was partly his fault—he had carelessly given Liu Moqun the opportunity.
But just now, he had done everything possible to rescue her.
Now, she had chosen to flee beyond his protection.
…
Seeing Liu Moqun rushing in, Su Bing'er had long been prepared. She crushed the jade talisman in her hand and instantly teleported twenty li away.
"A Minor Shift Talisman?"
"I didn't expect she still had a Minor Shift Talisman on her?"
Liu Moqun was shocked.
After all, the value of a Minor Shift Talisman wasn't low. For an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, having just one would already count as considerable wealth.
"However, I already left a spiritual mark on your body. Unless you remove that, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you won't escape my grasp."
Liu Moqun sneered.
But then he looked back, cautious of Wei Tu. Without dealing with Wei Tu first, capturing Su Bing'er wouldn't be so easy.
However, the moment he saw Wei Tu's light slowing in the distance, trailing behind without urgency, he instantly understood and surged ahead at full speed to resume the chase.
At that moment, it was clear to Liu Moqun—Wei Tu had already given up on protecting his so-called junior sister.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, once I've caught Su Bing'er, I'll reward you well!"
While pursuing her, Liu Moqun threw this statement back in Wei Tu's direction.
Once Liu Moqun left, Wei Tu raised his hand, and the Wind-Cleaving Eagle circling overhead swooped down before him.
Leaping onto the eagle's back, Wei Tu used its keen vision to follow Liu Moqun from a distance.
Su Bing'er's life or death didn't matter much to him.
But the Dingguang Pearl and the set of third-rank formation flags could not be lost.
A distance of twenty li wasn't far for Golden Core cultivators.
Before long, Liu Moqun followed the spiritual mark he had planted and caught up with Su Bing'er.
"Trap!" Liu Moqun descended from the sky, once again using his trident artifact to cast out the blue crystal net, blocking Su Bing'er's path.
The net shrank quickly, forming a lattice that trapped the fleeing Su Bing'er.
"Miss Su, I already told you—there's no escaping my hand," Liu Moqun laughed, crossing the sky to land in front of her.
"If you'd just stayed by your senior brother's side and not played smart, I really might've had trouble catching you."
Liu Moqun stepped forward. His palm glowed with spiritual light as he shattered the talisman barrier around Su Bing'er with a single blow.
With a bang, the shield burst apart. Su Bing'er was flung backward, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.
Without the protection of the talisman barrier, the shrinking net bound Su Bing'er in midair, tightly wrapping around her.
It looked like she'd been trussed in tortoise-shell bindings.
"Foolish girl, playing smart."
Liu Moqun smirked and flipped his hand, revealing a black talisman in his palm.
"This is a Spirit-Binding Talisman. Once it's affixed to you, your spiritual power will be sealed. Even with divine power, you'd be no better than a mortal."
"If you weren't a Profound Wood Spirit Body, you wouldn't even be qualified to suffer this."
Hearing those words, Su Bing'er's almond-shaped eyes were filled with fear and despair. Her pretty face was overtaken by deep regret.
"No… don't…"
Su Bing'er trembled in horror.
She couldn't imagine what kind of torment she'd suffer if she ended up in Liu Moqun's hands.
She couldn't help regretting her choice—if only she hadn't run off just now. Maybe things would've turned out very differently.
After taunting her, Liu Moqun didn't delay. He formed a hand seal and pressed the Spirit-Binding Talisman onto Su Bing'er's forehead, then prepared to leave quickly.
As for the "payment" he had promised Wei Tu.
He had no intention of delivering.
After retrieving the blue crystal net with his trident artifact, Liu Moqun took a step forward to catch the falling, power-sealed Su Bing'er.
But just then—
A gust of fierce wind burst forth.
A golden eagle, over one zhang in size, swooped down from above, suddenly appearing before Liu Moqun and blocking his path.
"A peak second-rank beast?"
Liu Moqun frowned and prepared to strike down the interfering beast.
He was also confused—how had he not noticed this golden eagle before?
But just as he was about to attack, he noticed—
Someone was riding the eagle.
That person was none other than Wei Tu, whom he thought he'd long left behind.
At that moment, Wei Tu had already reached out and caught the falling Su Bing'er. In a flash, he and the golden eagle vanished from Liu Moqun's sight, retreating to a safe distance.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, what's the meaning of this?"
Liu Moqun's face darkened.
He never imagined that Wei Tu hadn't abandoned Su Bing'er, and had even rushed over in time.
What baffled him even more was—how had Wei Tu hidden from his spiritual perception just now?
Of course, Liu Moqun didn't know—Wei Tu was no longer the same as before. His mastery of the Greenwood Concealment Technique had already reached a high level in the past ten years, no worse than Bao Siyuan's.
By combining the concealment technique with his powerful spiritual sense, Wei Tu could now move within Liu Moqun's range without being noticed.
Wei Tu didn't respond to Liu Moqun's question.
He simply looked down at the girl in his arms, his voice cold as he said, "Junior Sister Su, you can get up now."
He had caught Su Bing'er purely to stop her fall—not out of lust or tenderness.
"Senior Brother Wei… I was wrong…" Su Bing'er leaned against him, her face filled with guilt and embarrassment.
She had misjudged Wei Tu's character.
Had she not, she wouldn't have suffered this ordeal—or forced Wei Tu to go through such trouble to save her.
"Junior Sister Su, you can rise now."
Wei Tu's tone remained calm as he gave her another reminder.
Now was not the time for apologies.
"I… I've been struck by a Spirit-Binding Talisman… and I'm injured… I have no strength…"
Su Bing'er's cheeks flushed slightly as she spoke with quiet shame.