In the Sword Trial Competition, although cultivators were allowed to bring spirit beasts into the battle, their cultivation could not exceed third rank.
Without the help of the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, a third-rank beast, in Fairy Baohua's eyes, Wei Tu's strength combined with his talismans was only slightly above that of an average Golden Core cultivator.
He qualified to enter, but didn't have the strength to earn a high ranking in the competition.
Whether he participated or not, either choice was reasonable.
"Fairy Baohua, do you know which fellow cultivators from Ying Ding Tribe are planning to join the competition this time?"
Wei Tu's thoughts stirred as he asked.
The Sword Trial Competition was still eighteen years away. During this time, every contestant would be doing everything they could to boost their strength.
Talismans and pills.
Both were shortcuts to power.
In terms of alchemy, although Wei Tu was still a second-rank alchemist and hadn't reached the third rank, he still had some leftover Blood Tempering Pills that the Mountain-Crushing Bear didn't consume.
—These Blood Tempering Pills could enhance the strength of a contestant's spirit pet.
"As of now, the known participants include Fellow Daoist Yuan Jie, Master Yuan Ping, and Daoist Wolfslayer," Fairy Baohua replied.
As if worried Wei Tu wouldn't recognize the names "Yuan Ping" and "Wolfslayer," she gave a brief introduction.
"Master Yuan Ping is the last disciple of Immortal Master He Di and highly valued by him. Daoist Wolfslayer is a vassal of the Right Virtuous Prince's estate, quite powerful. A few years ago, he single-handedly wiped out the Earth Banner of the Sand Bandit Society… He's currently over three hundred eighty years old, just under the age limit for the Sacred Spring Conference."
"He wiped out the Earth Banner?" Wei Tu was a bit surprised.
The Sand Bandit Society had risen over the past few decades as a Golden Core-level faction.
It had five elemental banners, each led by someone with Golden Core-level strength or backing.
For Daoist Wolfslayer to have eliminated the Earth Banner meant his combat power was at least mid-Golden Core level.
"Seems like, to get a good rank in the Sword Trial Competition, I'd need to reach mid-Golden Core stage at minimum," Wei Tu thought.
Although he had strong life-saving abilities, without using his trump cards, he was only around the mid-Golden Core level.
In other words, even if he joined and didn't hold back, he still might not place well in the competition.
Thinking of this, Wei Tu no longer felt regret about declining to participate.
He only needed to become a third-rank alchemist.
Then, once he set up his furnace and refined third-rank pills, the "rewards" of the competition would pale in comparison.
"What brings Fellow Daoist Wei to the royal court this time?" After finishing their talk about the Sword Trial Competition, Fairy Baohua glanced at Wei Tu with a hint of curiosity.
Over the past twenty-plus years, Wei Tu had only come to the royal court for important matters. Lesser errands were handled by Wei Yan or Yan Yu.
Hearing her question, Wei Tu thought for a moment, then shared his intention to trade for Chiyang Ginseng through the Wufu Merchant Guild.
"You and Priest Yu seem quite close," Fairy Baohua chuckled, recalling how well the two got along back at Windwave Islet.
"We do get along well," Wei Tu admitted.
Yu Tong knew how to deal with people. When he had used Wei Tu's identity to seek refuge, he hadn't forgotten to send a thank-you gift.
Such things, over time, naturally led to friendship.
On the other hand, someone who didn't understand boundaries would drift apart from even the closest friends.
…
Before long—
Having said goodbye to Fairy Baohua, Wei Tu arrived at the Wufu Merchant Guild's residence in Hujie Immortal City.
It was a seven-story tower, with the words "Wufu Merchant Guild" written in bold script on a plaque. The building shimmered with gold and jewels. Even the carpets were made from the hides of valuable second-rank spirit beasts.
"Priest Wei." Yu Tong had a connection to the token he gave to Wei Tu, and sensing it, came out personally to welcome him with a smile.
"Priest Yu, long time no see."
Wei Tu cupped his hands in greeting.
After a few polite exchanges, Yu Tong extended an arm and invited Wei Tu into a private room inside the building.
Once seated—
Wei Tu got to the point.
"I'm here today to gather the herbs needed to refine Dingyang Pills. However, one key ingredient—Chiyang Ginseng—is scarce in Ying Ding Tribe." Wei Tu reached out and handed Yu Tong the details on the herb.
"Leave it to me." After reading the information, Yu Tong saw that this was an easy task and patted his chest with confidence.
"In addition to the Chiyang Ginseng…"
"I'd also like you to help me purchase a Vajra Fruit, sourced from the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple."
Wei Tu paused slightly as he spoke, watching Yu Tong's expression closely.
His physical cultivation was one of his biggest secrets.
It was a trump card he kept hidden.
So far, apart from the incident decades ago when he had to clear his name before the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and killed Liu Moqun at Che Gongwei's place, he had never shown anyone his body cultivation level.
Yu Tong might be the first.
—Vajra Fruit, as a third-rank body refinement treasure, was typically only used by third-rank body cultivators to enhance their strength.
"Vajra Fruit? Priest Wei, you want this fruit…?" Yu Tong asked instinctively upon hearing the request.
But midway through his words, he suddenly realized something and shut his mouth in time.
The foundation of one's cultivation was usually a private matter. Even close friends rarely questioned it, let alone someone he had only met twice.
"The Xiao Kingdom is far away. Although the Wufu Merchant Guild does have some business ties there, I'm just a guest elder in the guild, without any real authority…"
Compared to the Chiyang Ginseng, Yu Tong was clearly less confident about obtaining the Vajra Fruit. He furrowed his brow, looking troubled.
However, just as Wei Tu thought Yu Tong might refuse, the latter suddenly changed his tone and said:
"But if it's for Priest Wei, I can give it a try. I just can't guarantee it'll succeed."
So that was a classic bait-and-switch?
Wei Tu raised his brow slightly, then smiled and placed a pouch of spirit stones on the table.
"Besides that, I'd also like Priest Yu to help me find information on someone. Her name is Zhao Qingluo… she's from the Zhao Clan of Shengya Mountain in the Xiao Kingdom…"
Shengya Mountain?
Hearing the name of that power, Yu Tong's expression turned more serious. Shengya Mountain was the strongest immortal sect in the Xiao Kingdom, with more Nascent Soul cultivators than one could count on both hands.
And Wei Tu… had a connection to them?
"Thank you, Priest Yu." Wei Tu smiled, offering no further explanation.
Mentioning Zhao Qingluo served two purposes.
First, he wanted to use the Wufu Merchant Guild's network to look into her whereabouts in the distant Xiao Kingdom.
That was his main intention.
Second, by bringing up Shengya Mountain, he also wanted to remind Yu Tong subtly—to keep the Vajra Fruit matter a secret.
"Of course, absolutely."
Yu Tong's tone became even more respectful.
At this point, he could no longer read Wei Tu clearly.
Not only did he have a third-rank spirit pet, but he also seemed to possess third-rank body refinement cultivation and connections to Shengya Mountain.
Any one of those three things could elevate Wei Tu to a high status within the Golden Core realm.
All three together? That was truly frightening.
…
A month and a half later.
The Chiyang Ginseng that Yu Tong promised had arrived at the Fen Shan Tribe, transported via the Wufu Merchant Guild's trade routes.
There were five stalks in total, each of exceptional quality and reasonably priced.
With that, all the ingredients needed for the Dingyang Pill were ready.
Wei Tu didn't hesitate. After cleansing and preparing himself, he began the process of refining the pill in the alchemy chamber.
This session wasn't just about refining a spiritual pill for the Mountain-Crushing Bear to purify its bloodline—it was also a chance for Wei Tu to break through to third-rank alchemist.
—Unlike talisman crafting, alchemy required large amounts of spiritual herbs. It was extremely difficult to improve one's skills quickly without them.
Only through tireless grinding could one progress.
Among the four great cultivation arts—alchemy, formations, crafting, and talismans—this order of difficulty wasn't arbitrary.
Alchemy was the hardest, followed by formations, then crafting. Talisman-making was the simplest.
Even blank third-rank talisman papers were easier to obtain than the numerous spiritual herbs needed for a third-rank pill.
Ten days later—
Wei Tu failed.
That entire batch resulted in three pills, all duds.
But he didn't rush into another attempt. Instead, he took time to analyze what had gone wrong.
After carefully reviewing all the possible factors—
Two months later, he tried again.
This time, he succeeded.
Though, only one of the pills was low-grade and barely usable. The other two were still waste.
"This one will be sold to the Wufu Merchant Guild." Wei Tu stuffed the pill into a bottle and casually tossed it into his storage pouch.
Low-grade pills contained too much pill toxin.
And the Mountain-Crushing Bear didn't have his "Yuan Gravity Law Seal" to expel pill toxins from its body. So, Wei Tu always avoided feeding it low-quality pills.
Next came the third and fourth batches.
The success rate of the Dingyang Pill improved. In the fourth batch, one of the pills even reached high-grade.
By the fifth batch—
All three pills were successful. One was mid-grade, and the other two were high-grade.
Wei Tu wasn't surprised by this result.
Even back when he was refining second-rank mid-grade pills, he had produced top-quality pills before.
His alchemy skills were already nearing second-rank high-grade level.
That first failed batch was largely due to unfamiliarity with the Dingyang Pill's recipe.
…
Ten years passed.
The Sword Trial Competition was approaching.
Only eight years remained.
When the cultivators of the Cangkun Alliance heard that Wei Tu could refine second-rank high-grade pills, many came to Fen Shan Tribe to request his services.
Most of them were after the Dingyang Pill. A few came for other special concoctions.
For instance, one such visitor was none other than the vassal of the Right Virtuous Prince's estate—Daoist Wolfslayer—whom Fairy Baohua had mentioned before.
Daoist Wolfslayer had the look of a classic Daoist. He wore a lotus crown and a robe adorned with the Bagua. A few wispy strands of beard hung from his chin, lending him a refined and otherworldly air.
"Alchemist Wei's skills in pill refinement, this humble Daoist fully believes in. I've come to Fen Shan Tribe this time to request your help refining a particular pill."
He stroked his beard and pulled out a bone slip shaped like an arm bone from his sleeve, handing it to Wei Tu.
Bone slip?
Wei Tu looked surprised.
Compared to jade slips, bone slips were rare. Aside from use in demonic sect legacies, they were mostly used by early spiritual priests and ritual masters.
But Daoist Wolfslayer was a cultivator of the Immortal Dao...
Wei Tu took the bone slip and examined it closely.
Inside it was recorded a pill recipe called the "Xiao Jing Pill."
Its function was to consume the essence of the Dao body to temporarily boost cultivation.
Seeing this, Wei Tu immediately understood—Daoist Wolfslayer wanted to use this pill to burst out with power during the Sword Trial Competition and snatch a good ranking.
As a craftsman, as long as things stayed peaceful, he had a steady stream of spirit stone income.
So he had no interest in the competition.
But it was different for Daoist Wolfslayer. The Sacred Spring Gathering might be the only major opportunity he'd get in the next hundred years.
"The Xiao Jing Pill is a third-rank pill. Wei lacks the skill and cannot refine it yet…" Wei Tu returned the bone slip, politely declining.
His alchemy level at present wasn't enough to reliably craft third-rank pills.
Attempting the Xiao Jing Pill would be overreaching.
And if he failed, not only would he lose his fee, but he might even make an enemy out of Daoist Wolfslayer.
"Alchemist Wei need not worry. I've prepared four sets of ingredients. As long as one batch succeeds, that's enough." Daoist Wolfslayer spoke heartily.
Hearing this,
Wei Tu frowned, but still didn't agree.
"With your capabilities, wouldn't it be better to visit Qian the Alchemist at Dingshan Market instead?" Wei Tu asked cautiously.
Dingshan Market, under the Ancient Sword Mountain sect, was the closest major market to Ying Ding Tribe. For a Golden Core cultivator, it was at most a ten-day journey.
And the Qian alchemist he mentioned was a seasoned third-rank alchemist based in Dingshan Market.
Being in the trade, Wei Tu had long been familiar with that name.
So he couldn't help wondering—why would Daoist Wolfslayer come to him, a second-rank alchemist, instead of going to Qian?
He was worried this was a setup.
Even though he hadn't personally dealt with such things before, he had lived long enough to have heard many stories.
"Ah, Alchemist Wei doesn't know. Years ago I offended a core disciple of Ancient Sword Mountain. Since then, I've been hunted nonstop… If not for that, I wouldn't have ended up here at Ying Ding Tribe as a guest cultivator for the Right Virtuous Prince." Daoist Wolfslayer sighed heavily.
Wei Tu remained skeptical.
"How about this: if you successfully refine more than three pills, I'll only take three. The rest are yours."
Daoist Wolfslayer offered a generous deal.
That got Wei Tu interested.
If he failed, there'd be no penalty. If he succeeded, he'd get to keep any extra Xiao Jing Pills. He'd never met a client this generous before.
Plus, Wei Tu was curious about the Xiao Jing Pill recipe.
After all, that pill could be quite useful in future battles.
"In that case, I'll accept and try refining it." Wei Tu took a sip of tea and agreed.
"Much appreciated, Alchemist Wei."
Daoist Wolfslayer was overjoyed and thanked him sincerely.
A few days later—
Wei Tu finished studying the pill recipe. He had Yan Yu, his assistant, light the furnace flames, and began his first attempt at refining the Xiao Jing Pill.
As expected—
The first batch failed.
Then the second batch failed too.
Wei Tu noticed that the smile on Daoist Wolfslayer's face started to stiffen. There was even a faint glint of menace in his eyes.
When Wei Tu opened the furnace for the third attempt, Daoist Wolfslayer even looked like he wanted to intervene, but pulled back at the last second.
Fortunately, the third batch produced one pill, which eased the tension.
However—
When the fourth batch came out,
Daoist Wolfslayer's face darkened again.
Like the third batch, this one only yielded one successful pill.
"Two Xiao Jing Pills. I did my best." Wei Tu let out a breath.
He made a hand seal, drawing out the translucent white pill from the furnace and, with a wave of spiritual power, sent it floating toward Daoist Wolfslayer.
But unexpectedly—
Daoist Wolfslayer's next words caught Wei Tu off guard.
"Alchemist Wei, I'm still one pill short."
Holding a green pill bottle, Daoist Wolfslayer's face turned slightly cold.
As his words fell, his aura suddenly changed. He stared at Wei Tu like a lone wolf, fierce and hostile.
"One pill short?"
Wei Tu's expression shifted at the words.
Sure enough—just as he'd suspected earlier—Daoist Wolfslayer might have come to cause trouble under the guise of commissioning alchemy.