The Spirit Binding Talisman not only confined her spiritual power but also restricted some of her physical strength.
During the pursuit, Su Bing'er had already been severely injured by Liu Moqun. Earlier, Liu Moqun had broken her spiritual barrier, dealing her a heavy blow. At this point, she was left with no energy to get up again.
However, Wei Tu wasn't concerned with that.
What he was focused on were the words "Spirit Binding."
Years ago, after learning that Qi Chengchu had advanced to the Nascent Soul realm, Wei Tu had discussed with Bai Zhi the matter of the "Fake Infant," during which Bai Zhi had mentioned a sect called the "Spirit Binding Sect."
Spirit Binding Talisman, Spirit Binding Sect.
Wei Tu felt that the two might be related.
He called upon Bai Zhi and inquired about it.
"What? The Spirit Binding Talisman? The Spirit Binding Sect is resurfacing in the cultivation world?" Bai Zhi said, her face filled with shock.
"Why is Daoist Bai reacting so strongly?" Wei Tu asked, puzzled.
Bai Zhi, after all, had been a top-tier Golden Core cultivator from the Heavenly Maiden Sect, one of the strongest figures in the grand world of cultivation, second only to Nascent Soul cultivators. She held a high and esteemed position.
She wouldn't normally lose composure just because she heard about the "Spirit Binding Sect."
"Daoist Wei does not know," Bai Zhi explained. "The Spirit Binding Sect is even more devilish than our Demonic Path sects, it can be considered a true evil path."
"In the Demonic Path, it's also a sect everyone would try to destroy!"
Evil path?
Wei Tu's expression grew serious.
The Demonic Path, though it involved practices like sucking out bones and refining souls, was still relatively softer compared to the evil path, almost like a lamb in comparison.
The evil path was the true "evil" of the cultivation world. When the righteous and demonic factions discovered it, they would surely eliminate it.
The Demonic Path, though ruthless, followed a certain code. Killing was for cultivation and would not reduce the entire land to a dead zone.
But the evil path was different.
It was the domain of mindless madmen who would kill indiscriminately, destroying everything to further their cultivation.
Ancient texts recorded that many of the desolate and death-ridden places in the Great Cang cultivation world and other cultivation realms were the handiwork of the evil path.
"The Spirit Binding Sect, which had been thoroughly eradicated thousands of years ago by the Five Sects and their allies, how could it suddenly resurface?" Bai Zhi murmured to herself.
"Daoist Bai, do you know how to remove the Spirit Binding Talisman?" Wei Tu asked, his brows furrowing as he looked at the black talisman on Su Bing'er's forehead.
While talking to Bai Zhi, he had also tried to remove the "Spirit Binding Talisman" on Su Bing'er.
But during his attempts, he realized that this talisman had somehow merged with Su Bing'er's soul in a strange way.
If he forcefully destroyed the talisman, Su Bing'er's soul would suffer irreversible damage.
"The Spirit Binding Talisman is difficult to remove. There are usually two methods. First, members of the Spirit Binding Sect can remove it with a spell. Second, high-level cultivators can wear it down with great spiritual power."
Bai Zhi replied.
"With my cultivation level, how long would it take to wear down the Spirit Binding Talisman in her body?" Wei Tu asked.
This time, Su Bing'er came because of him.
Though she suffered this heavy injury, it was her own doing.
But now that she was alive and had shown remorse, he didn't feel right about handing her over to Che Gongwei.
If it wouldn't take too long, he would lend her a small hand.
"Three to five months at most," Bai Zhi mused.
Hearing this, Wei Tu sighed in relief. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to play the role of the "villain."
"Senior Wei, you can put me down now," Su Bing'er, still lying in his arms, gently reminded him, her face slightly flushed.
...
Wei Tu and Bai Zhi, as well as Su Bing'er's conversation, took no more than a moment.
After gently setting Su Bing'er down, Wei Tu's gaze returned to Liu Moqun, who was standing at a distance, still facing him.
"Daoist Liu, Su Sister came to the 'Ying Ding Tribe' to assist me with transporting a spiritual artifact. There must be no mistake. Please spare Su Sister," Wei Tu said as he flipped his palm and revealed the large priest's token engraved with "Cang Kun Divine Cauldron."
He spoke with a meaningful tone.
Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to confront Liu Moqun, fully antagonizing the Spirit Binding Sect.
—Without a mortal enmity, even if the Spirit Binding Sect was easier to destroy, it wasn't worth risking his life to provoke them by crossing into the Demonic Path territory to hunt him down in the Kang Kingdom's Fen Mountain area.
The price of targeting a Golden Core cultivator while traveling to a foreign land, especially one from a Nascent Soul force, is not small.
Liu Moqun quickly understood the implication behind Wei Tu's words.
What Wei Tu meant was that he would only ensure Su Bing'er's safety on the way to the Ying Ding Tribe, but as for her return to Golden Long Valley, that was no longer his concern.
If Liu Moqun insisted on ambushing her,
Then… Wei Tu would crush the high priest's token and summon a Nascent Soul expert from the Ying Ding Tribe.
"Fine, fine, fine!" Liu Moqun repeated three times, his sharp gaze sweeping over Wei Tu and Su Bing'er's faces. He flicked his sleeve and quickly vanished from the battlefield.
"The mountains and rivers will meet again!"
"Daoist Wei, we will meet again."
Liu Moqun spat his final words as he disappeared.
"Senior Wei, I'm sorry, I've caused you trouble," Su Bing'er said, her face filled with guilt.
Although Liu Moqun's ambush on her was heavily tied to Wei Tu, it was Wei Tu who had created the opportunity for Liu Moqun to attack her.
However, the truth was that, even without Wei Tu, she likely would not have escaped this calamity.
On the contrary, it was because of her that Wei Tu had been dragged into this conflict and forced to bear the burden.
"It's just a small matter," Wei Tu shook his head and ordered the Wind-Cleaving Eagle to leave the area.
At this moment, Bai Zhi, ever perceptive, reminded him, "Daoist Wei, from the tone of this Spirit Binding Sect cultivator, it seems he doesn't plan to let you off easily…"
"I'm aware," Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, a cold smile forming. "But with my status, it's not suitable for me to just eliminate him."
Earlier, he had considered negotiating with Liu Moqun, but now that Liu Moqun had rejected peace, Wei Tu had no intention of submitting weakly.
"So, Daoist Wei, you plan to…?"
"Go to the Yan Fen Mountain for some help," Wei Tu replied succinctly.
"With my methods, I cannot guarantee capturing him, but with High Priest Mu Feng, it should be manageable," he added.
"The prairie is vast, Daoist Wei, how do you plan to find this Spirit Binding Sect cultivator?" Bai Zhi was about to ask when she suddenly recalled her own encounter with Wei Tu.
In that battle, she had perished because of Wei Tu's "divine sense mark."
"How insidious Wei Tu is," Bai Zhi thought, her mind turning to Liu Moqun's plight, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of glee.
Not long ago, she had thought that Wei Tu had no choice but to yield and negotiate.
Unexpectedly, Wei Tu still had something up his sleeve.
...
Less than half a day later, Wei Tu returned to the Yan Fen Mountain.
After temporarily settling Su Bing'er in his cave residence, he left the Futu Tower and went to seek out High Priest Mu Feng.
Getting Mu Feng's assistance wasn't difficult.
Wei Tu only briefly described Liu Moqun as his enemy, and without hesitation, High Priest Mu Feng agreed to join forces with him to eliminate Liu Moqun.
This wasn't because Mu Feng trusted Wei Tu unconditionally.
Rather, High Priest Mu Feng's lifespan was already limited, and in the time remaining, if he could help Wei Tu and the Yan Fen Mountain remove a potential enemy, it would be quite acceptable.
"Know Heaven Crossing!" Wei Tu hovered in the air, silently reciting the name of this top-tier sensing technique, and then extended his divine sense to locate the "Spirit Binding Talisman" he had placed on Liu Moqun.
This Spirit Binding Talisman was something Wei Tu had created by combining the remains of a second-tier Seven-Colored Phantom Moth with his divine sense, essentially a "divine sense mark."
Even Bai Zhi, who was at the peak of the Golden Core stage, hadn't realized that she carried such a mark.
Though Wei Tu was cautious about Liu Moqun's divine sense strength, he didn't believe it would surpass Bai Zhi's peak form by much.
"I found it." Wei Tu opened his eyes and nodded at High Priest Mu Feng. After the gesture, he transformed into a beam of light and flew off immediately.
"His speed?" High Priest Mu Feng, who was following behind, was astonished when he saw Wei Tu's speed, which rivaled that of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
At first, like Liu Moqun, High Priest Mu Feng had assumed Wei Tu was merely a normal early-stage Golden Core cultivator.
But he hadn't expected Wei Tu's speed to be so extraordinary.