After finishing his conversation with the elder surnamed Yu, Wei Tu accepted a jade-green formation disk from his hand. He turned into a streak of light and flew into the cultivation cave residence located at the core of Wind-Raging Island.
"A young powerhouse like Priest Wei appeared in the Fen Shan Tribe? Looks like that tribe will soon become a major clan," muttered the elder Yu as he glanced at the tightly shut stone door of the cave, envy flashing across his face.
Unlike himself, who had only formed a Golden Core at an old age, Wei Tu was young and full of potential. He would definitely be courted by the royal court of the Ying Ding Tribe, and his tribe, the Fen Shan Tribe, would also gain favor and resources.
It was a classic winner-takes-all scenario.
"No rush to leave just yet. I'll wait until Wei Tu and his spirit beast come out from seclusion. If some major power tries to win him over, I might be able to ride his coattails," Yu Tong calculated inwardly.
A spirit beast and its master, both at the Golden Core stage—such a setup was rare in any power.
With the boost in strength from a spirit beast, Wei Tu's status would naturally rise. That alone would significantly raise his influence.
When that time came, some royal court faction might get wind of it and come here to recruit Wei Tu, offering him an olive branch.
Yu Tong could then follow the momentum and climb the ladder.
—Inside the royal court, there weren't just the official powers like the Left Virtuous King, Right Virtuous King, and various Divine Masters. There were also unofficial, private factions.
Joining these private factions didn't conflict with being an official cultivator.
Yu Tong didn't know if Wei Tu had joined any official faction, but even if not, having private factions show up would still be an opportunity for him.
It offered a broader selection and better terms than he could get on his own.
…
Inside the cave residence at Wind-Raging Island, Wei Tu activated all kinds of formations, then slapped his spirit beast pouch, releasing the Wind-Cleaving Eagle.
"Screech! Screech!" The Wind-Cleaving Eagle circled excitedly around the cave. It was clearly pleased with this new residence.
The whole cave was filled with wind spiritual energy, perfectly attuned to it.
"It's time to prepare for your breakthrough to Tier Three."
Wei Tu signaled the Wind-Cleaving Eagle to settle down and conveyed his message through divine sense.
Unlike human cultivators, spirit beasts didn't rely on taking pills to break through. Their cultivation was more about attuning to nature and advancing when the time was right.
Because of this, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle hadn't felt much urgency to break through. It didn't even realize that Wei Tu had brought it here precisely for that purpose.
But after sensing Wei Tu's intent, the great demon quickly got into the right mindset.
Its eyes flashed with gratitude as it looked at Wei Tu, then flapped its wings and landed on a futon.
Compared to the Blood Demon Elder, Wei Tu—its "new master"—didn't make it fight all the time. He even occasionally brought it to Nan Zi's place for breeding.
And now, he was helping it break through to Tier Three.
The Wind-Cleaving Eagle had fully acknowledged Wei Tu as its keeper.
Beneath the futon was the core of the spiritual gathering formation within the cave.
Once the eagle landed, a surge of wind spiritual energy surged toward its demon core through its body.
With a sharp screech, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle's blood mark between its brows opened, and it began frantically devouring the wind spiritual energy.
At the same time, a round, dark cyan demon core emerged from its mouth and began to glow under the power of its demon energy.
The process of a spirit beast breaking through to Tier Three was largely instinctive and much faster than it would be for a human cultivator.
In just over a month, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle's essence, energy, and spirit had all peaked under the flood of wind spiritual power.
Wei Tu, who had been waiting nearby, seized the moment and tossed the purified third-tier Immortal Spirit Dew to the Wind-Cleaving Eagle.
This wasn't the eagle's first time consuming Immortal Spirit Dew.
It guided its demon energy to catch the dew, opened its beak to draw out a single drop, and swallowed it cautiously, refining it within.
Just as Bai Zhi had predicted, after consuming this third-tier Immortal Spirit Dew, the bottleneck that had trapped the Wind-Cleaving Eagle for years finally began to loosen.
Streams of demonic aura leaked from its dark cyan demon core, which became the focal point drawing in massive amounts of surrounding spiritual energy.
"The Myriad Spirits Demon Infant is a failed Core Formation Pill. Once the Wind-Cleaving Eagle breaks through to Tier Three, it can try taking the actual demon infant body…"
"At that point, the eagle's cultivation progress might even surpass mine," Wei Tu thought expectantly.
If everything went smoothly, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle might become his greatest protector at the Golden Core stage.
"Of course, there's a downside. Once it reaches Tier Three, breaking into Tier Four will be almost impossible."
Wei Tu shook his head.
After all, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had advanced from early Tier Two to peak Tier Two by unnatural means. The Immortal Spirit Dew had greatly raised the potential and upper limit of this Xuan-grade bloodline avian beast.
But Tier Three would be the end of the road for it.
"That's why I have to cultivate the Mountain-Crushing Bear too."
Wei Tu sighed.
Compared to the bear, his bond with the Wind-Cleaving Eagle ran deeper. It was his old battle companion.
…
A few months passed.
The Wind-Cleaving Eagle's breakthrough to Tier Three reached the latter stages.
One day, dark clouds suddenly gathered above Wind-Raging Island. Lightning danced through the sky. The entire heavens seemed to shift.
At the same time, the spiritual energy over the surface of the Red Water River surged like a tide toward the spiritual land of Wind-Raging Island, forming a massive vortex of energy.
With a crisp eagle cry, waves of dense demonic energy seeped out from within the cave residence, coalescing into the phantom of a giant golden eagle several zhang in size. It spread its wings and let out a high-pitched cry.
All the spirit beasts in the surrounding region sensed the phenomenon and grew restless, trembling in fear.
"Demonic energy manifesting form?"
"Priest Wei's spirit beast is about to break through to Tier Three?"
Yu Tong was startled as he witnessed the scene.
Demonic energy manifesting form was a basic innate skill of Earth-tier spirit beasts. It enhanced their control over spiritual energy and functioned similarly to divine sense.
At this moment, it signified that Wei Tu's spirit beast had already set foot into the realm of Tier Three great demons.
"A master and his spirit beast both at Golden Core. Priest Wei's luck is something to envy."
Yu Tong felt a surge of jealousy.
He suspected that Wei Tu's spirit beast might even be younger than he was.
"With a phenomenon like this, it won't be long before the major forces of the royal court start arriving." A natural optimist, Yu Tong quickly shifted from envy to anticipation of the arriving powers.
Just as he predicted—
Two days later, as the Wind-Cleaving Eagle's aura of breakthrough continued to rise, representatives from various major powers began arriving at Wind-Raging Island, waiting for Wei Tu to emerge from seclusion.
"Manager Zheng from the Wanfu Merchant Guild, the head steward from the Left Virtuous King's household, the second prince of the Right Virtuous King…"
"Fairy Baohua of the Cangkun Alliance…"
Yu Tong stood to the side, recognizing the figures from one major faction after another.
The Left and Right Virtuous Kings went without saying.
The Wanfu Merchant Guild and Cangkun Alliance—these two giants were only second to the royal court and the Divine Masters in terms of power.
The Wanfu Merchant Guild's business reached across every region. Not only did it operate in the Ying Ding Tribe, but it also had dealings in the She Ri and Feng Wu Tribes, the other two great clans.
The three royal courts all maintained cooperative ties with the Wanfu Merchant Guild.
In terms of influence, the Cangkun Alliance might not rival the merchant guild, but within the Ying Ding Tribe, it was one of the very top powers.
The reason was simple: the Cangkun Alliance gathered almost all of the young elites of the Ying Ding Tribe.
And those young elites? Nearly all were connected to the tribe's upper echelon.
In other words, they were all tied by blood or marriage.
"I wonder which faction Priest Wei will join?"
Yu Tong grew curious.
…
Another half month passed.
The breakthrough phenomenon over Wind-Raging Island finally began to fade.
"Breakthrough successful. Earth-tier great demon."
Inside the cave, Wei Tu, who was sitting nearby, glanced at the Wind-Cleaving Eagle and smiled.
At this point, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle looked very different from before.
Previously, its entire body gleamed with golden light like a true golden eagle. Now, its feathers had shifted to a darker cyan hue, almost identical to the color of its demon core.
"I wonder what the Wind-Cleaving Eagle described in the Beastmaster Sect's records looks like at Tier Three?"
Wei Tu couldn't quite tell if the change was due to a mutation in the bloodline or some kind of reversion to an ancestral form.
"Let's test its escape speed."
Once the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had finished adjusting its state, Wei Tu gave it a command to use its innate divine ability—Wind Rift Escape.
With a whoosh, the eagle vanished from where it stood and reappeared thirty zhang away in the blink of an eye. Its escape speed was terrifying.
"Comparable to the late Golden Core stage! And it consumes far less energy than when I use escape techniques."
Wei Tu was overjoyed at the sight.
Though he could also unleash similar escape speed, it wasn't sustainable. The energy cost was too high, useful only for short bursts.
But the Wind-Cleaving Eagle's Wind Rift Escape was different. It was practically instinctual and required little spiritual energy to perform.
Escape speed.
Every cultivator knew just how vital it was.
When facing stronger enemies, as long as your escape speed was fast enough, even if you couldn't win, you didn't have to die.
It was the most fundamental life-saving tool for any cultivator.
"We can go now."
Wei Tu waved to the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, and the eagle obediently slipped back into the spirit beast pouch at his waist without any resistance.
Seeing this, Wei Tu let out a breath of relief.
The beast-controlling token he held could suppress the Wind-Cleaving Eagle's soul to some extent, but that influence weakened once it reached Tier Three.
Had the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, like it had after reaching Tier Two in the Cloud Ze Secret Realm, resisted him now, he would've had to go through a whole round of subduing again.
As for the soul contract—
A soul contract required splitting one's own soul. Spirit beasts that signed such contracts would have part of their soul missing. Breaking through to a new realm afterward was extremely difficult.
So most cultivators preferred using beast-controlling tokens to bind spirit beasts rather than forming strict soul contracts.
That was also why some spirit beasts turned on their masters in the cultivation world.
Next—
Wei Tu swept his sleeve and opened the stone door of the cave.
But—
Just as he stepped out, he paused in surprise.
"Why are there so many people outside?" Wei Tu looked at the crowd of cultivators before him, raising a brow, his expression puzzled.
He had only recently arrived in the Ying Ding Tribe.
He had no idea that even within the factions… there were more factions.