He was also the Tao clan's only Golden Core True Lord.
Wei Tu hadn't expected that Tao Chongzhou, who had vanished without a trace for decades, would end up dead in the Black Blood Marsh.
After all, a Golden Core True Lord wasn't like a Foundation Establishment cultivator—there were plenty of choices available.
Surrendering to demonic cultivators or fleeing to some remote region to avoid conflict were both viable options.
There was no need to risk crossing the Black Blood Marsh and die because of it.
'Other than top-tier Golden Core cultivators, it's nearly impossible for anyone else to cross the Black Blood Marsh. That's what Tao Chongzhou told me himself. There's no reason… he would've entered it alone…'
Wei Tu pondered in silence.
"Take me there. I want to see the corpse myself," he said, wanting to confirm it personally.
Although his guess was most likely right, he couldn't assume it was Tao Chongzhou without seeing the body with his own eyes.
Besides, he had ties with the Tao clan.
It was also his duty to help the Tao family of Han Mountain collect the remains of their Golden Core ancestor, Tao Chongzhou.
A moment later.
Bai Zhi led Wei Tu to the spot where she had discovered the Golden Core corpse.
"It really is Tao Chongzhou," Wei Tu said as he approached and sensed the lingering aura on the remains.
"He's been dead for over two years. There are injuries on him. Some were caused by the beasts and poisonous fog of the Black Blood Marsh, but others clearly came from magical weapons."
"Looks like Tao Chongzhou was ambushed by fellow cultivators and ended up dying in the marsh."
Wei Tu guessed at the cause of death.
However, he didn't open Tao Chongzhou's storage pouch to check if it held any clues about the attacker.
He carved a coffin out of wood, placed the bones inside, then continued on his journey.
If it had been a stranger, Wei Tu might've helped himself to some loot.
But he had old ties with the Tao family.
They'd not only honored the agreement during his illegal crossing but had also worked hard for him once he arrived in Kang Kingdom. Tao Fangde and the others had supported him multiple times.
There was no reason to be greedy now and rob his friend's remains.
Besides—
Wei Tu didn't believe there was anything in Tao Chongzhou's pouch that could tempt him.
At the end of the day, the Tao clan was just a typical Golden Core family. Their ancestor Tao Chongzhou wasn't much different from a Golden Core rogue cultivator.
...
One month later.
Wei Tu finally arrived in Kang Kingdom.
He didn't rest. He immediately went to the Ying Ding Tribe to inquire about the safety of the Fen Shan Tribe and the Wei family.
Luckily, since he had only been away from Kang Kingdom for a short time, his reputation still lingered in the Ying Ding Tribe. As a result, neither the Fen Shan Tribe nor the Wei family had experienced any major upheavals.
Everything was peaceful and calm.
"If there's any threat, I suppose there is one."
"After the High Priest left, Grand Mage Yuan Xian tried to use a spirit contract to demand compensation from the Fen Shan Tribe for his losses. But Yuan Jie showed up in time and stopped him..."
"Yuan Jie represented the High Priest and paid Yuan Xian thirty thousand spirit stones in compensation."
Inside Flameburn Mountain, Yan Yu reported to Wei Tu everything that had happened during his absence.
"Yuan Xian?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow slightly at the name.
Over fifty years ago, when he first came to the Fen Shan Tribe as High Priest, he had made a bet with Yuan Xian—to see whether a dying spirit plant could be revived.
That plant was supposedly a withered branch from a rare tree known as the Thunder Spirit Tree.
Wei Tu hadn't planned to honor that bet. His plan was to wait until the time limit ran out, then pay Yuan Xian thirty thousand spirit stones and quietly keep the withered branch for himself.
But he hadn't expected Yuan Xian to show up at the Fen Shan Tribe the moment he heard Wei Tu was in trouble, demanding compensation.
"Taking advantage of someone's misfortune is despicable, sure, but I never had any real friendship with Yuan Xian. Him doing this is still understandable."
Wei Tu didn't take it to heart.
What he did regret, though, was that because of this, he now owed Yuan Jie a favor.
"But then again, favors go both ways. Last time, when Yuan Jie executed the Second Prince, he ended up owing me a favor too."
Wei Tu shook his head.
Yuan Jie was a young genius from the Ying Ding Tribe and a strong contender to become the Right Wise King.
Having a good relationship with him was definitely helpful for Wei Tu's cultivation journey in the tribe.
Afterward, Wei Tu asked about the whereabouts of Wei Yan and his sister.
When he arrived at the Fen Shan Tribe earlier, he hadn't found them near Flameburn Mountain.
If he hadn't already confirmed that the tribe hadn't been attacked, he might've thought the siblings had been kidnapped.
"It was Fairy Kou. Fairy Kou from Mirror Water Pavilion came to our tribe as soon as she learned the High Priest was in danger. She took Wei Xiuwen and his sister with her."
Yan Yu quickly explained.
"Hongying?"
Wei Tu felt a warmth rise in his chest at the name.
Condensation Moon Palace and Ying Ding Tribe were separated by thousands of miles. For Kou Hongying to rush over immediately after hearing the news and personally take his younger relatives away to safety—that kind of concern was priceless.
...
Now that he knew the Fen Shan Tribe and the Wei family were safe, Wei Tu remembered the remains of Tao Chongzhou in his storage pouch and set off for the Zha Ma Tribe, where the Tao family had taken refuge.
"What?!"
"News of the ancestor?!"
The Tao clan cultivators all gathered with excited expressions when they heard the news.
Over the years, although they had been protected by Wei Tu and hadn't faced any major threats, having protection from an outsider was different from having their own clan ancestor to rely on.
With Ancestor Tao Chongzhou still alive, they could either continue to establish a Golden Core family within Kang Kingdom, or fall back—like the Wei family—and rely on the protection of a High Priest to fully integrate into the Ying Ding Tribe.
But after the initial excitement passed…
Everyone began to calm down again.
Because this time, they still hadn't seen Tao Chongzhou himself.
That meant he could still be in Zheng Kingdom… or worse…
"No, that's not possible." The Tao family cultivators tried to suppress that thought, unwilling to consider the worst-case scenario.
"Senior Wei, how is our ancestor? Please, just speak plainly."
Tao Fangde stepped forward and cupped his hands in a respectful bow.
His instincts told him the news wasn't going to be good. Otherwise, Wei Tu wouldn't have asked him to gather all the core members of the Tao family first.
"Fellow Daoist Tao has fallen."
Wei Tu let out a soft sigh.
With a flick of his sleeve, a roughly made coffin appeared on the ground beside him.
"After escaping from the two fox-faced women, I returned to Kang Kingdom. In the Black Blood Marsh, I accidentally stumbled upon Fellow Daoist Tao's remains..."
He spoke slowly and calmly.
As he spoke, he took out Tao Chongzhou's storage pouch from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
"The ancestor is dead?"
"He's fallen?"
Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, the news still hit the Tao family cultivators hard. Grief swept across their faces.
Unlike the ordinary branches of the Han Mountain Tao family, the ones who had risked smuggling themselves into Kang Kingdom were either the elites or direct descendants.
So their relationship with Tao Chongzhou wasn't just ancestor and clansmen—they were close blood relatives.
"Ya'er, you open the storage pouch on behalf of the Tao family."
Tao Fangde gave the order.
He looked toward a young girl in white robes standing among the Tao family crowd.