As the Blood Crane Pill slid down his throat, Wei Tu's calm spiritual power began to bubble and churn, growing fiercer by the moment. At the same time, his perfectly round Golden Core inside his dantian started spinning faster, crazily pulling in the surrounding spiritual energy.
Half a day later, he finally sensed the barrier blocking his path to the next realm. But in the blink of an eye, the solid barrier stopped the surge of his spiritual power. The Golden Core's spinning slowed.
"Still not enough!" Wei Tu steadied his mind and grabbed another Blood Crane Pill from the bottle. In an instant, his power roared again like crashing waves, hammering the barrier with a thunderous rumble.
Days passed. The barrier grew thinner, but Wei Tu's body took some hidden injuries along the way. After all, it had been less than forty years since he broke through to mid-Golden Core. This attempt at advancement was a bit rushed, not a natural progression. But for him, these minor wounds weren't a problem. Activating the Dao-Forging Immortal Source Scripture, he easily healed them.
Meanwhile, the toxins from the breakthrough pills were flushed out of his body by the Iceheart Spirit Dew soaking his flesh. With the help of the Iceheart Spirit Dew and Blood Crane Pills, and his powerful body's ability to recover quickly, Wei Tu's cultivation was skyrocketing without leaving any hidden dangers behind.
A single day of his training was worth years of effort for others. Half a month flew by. Wei Tu's accumulated spiritual power reached a tipping point—one small push, and he would reach a whole new realm.
Crack! A faint sound rang out. The barrier shattered. His Golden Core inside his dantian broke free of all restraints, sweeping up spiritual power and expanding nearly half again in size. At the same time, his life-bound magic treasure, the Thunder Spirit Ruler, grew stronger, advancing from mid-grade third rank to high-grade third rank.
"Once again, my body cultivation and energy cultivation are equal—they've both reached late Golden Core!" Wei Tu circulated his techniques and felt his power surging far beyond before, his vitality almost endless.
Though the Divine Wood Origin Technique was not as high-level as the Dao-Forging Immortal Source Scripture, and couldn't let him leap multiple realms at once, it was still one of the top energy cultivation arts in the Grand Blue cultivation world.
"With just two more years, I'll finish cleansing my body completely." Wei Tu looked around at the Iceheart Spirit Dew pool, noticing the concentration had dropped sharply. The Iceheart Spirit Dew in Little Cold Mountain wasn't infinite—it had accumulated over hundreds and thousands of years.
According to the She Ri Tribe's plan, every three hundred years, once the pool had enough Iceheart Spirit Dew, they would send a tribe prodigy to bathe here and lay the foundation for their path to Dao. Luckily, there hadn't been many prodigies in the past hundred years; they only sent Yu Wencheng this time. Otherwise, even knowing Little Cold Mountain's secret, Wei Tu might have missed this chance.
"The condensation rate of Iceheart Spirit Dew is slowing. Next time there's enough for one person will probably be five hundred years from now." Wei Tu sighed in regret. He had some Golden Core friends who could have used it.
Thinking of those friends, his thoughts went to Wei Yan, far away in the Kang Kingdom. If his estimates were right, Wei Yan should be about to enter closed-door cultivation to break through to the Golden Core realm.
…
Kang Kingdom, Mirror Water Pavilion. Sect Affairs Hall.
"Wei Yan wants to borrow our sect's third-rank spirit land for closed-door cultivation to break through to Golden Core?" When the Mirror Water Pavilion's Golden Core elders heard Kou Hongying's proposal, they exchanged astonished glances.
They still remembered that it had been less than a hundred years since Wei Tu himself reached Golden Core. And now, his daughter Wei Yan was already on the verge of breaking through?
How could so little time have passed?
They all knew the talent of Wei Yan and her brother. For Wei Yan to be ready for Golden Core, it had to be because of her father's help. Even their own children couldn't dream of resources like this.
"Double mastery of pills and talismans, both third-rank—Wei Tu's talent isn't in his spiritual roots but in his comprehension! What a shame we didn't take him into the sect earlier…" many of the elders secretly sighed. Tying Wei Tu to them would have been like tying themselves to a golden goose.
But compared to them, Qin Yuling felt the deepest regret. She had gotten to know Wei Tu during their time in the Cloud Ze Secret Realm and even contracted the dual cultivation artifact, the Twin Chime Jade, with him. But because of her own poor decisions afterward, not only did Wei Tu avoid her, but her own disciple, Kou Hongying, held a bit of resentment toward her too.
"It's all Shen Yunqiu's fault!" Qin Yuling's eyes turned cold as she looked at Shen Yunqiu, the stunningly beautiful and icy woman in a pale gold dress sitting beside Sect Leader Ning Xuefeng.
It was Shen Yunqiu who had tampered with the Mortal Shedding Pill a century ago, damaging Qin Yuling's Golden Core and causing a thirty-year memory loss. If not for that, she wouldn't have become suspicious, tested Wei Tu, and scared him away. If she'd progressed normally without losing her memory, she could have either killed him to seize his secret gains from the Cloud Ze or befriended him for mutual benefit. She wouldn't be stuck in this awkward position now.
"Wei Yan is an outsider, not a disciple of Mirror Water Pavilion. What right does she have to use our sect's spirit land?" As Qin Yuling seethed, Shen Yunqiu seemed to sense her glare. A cold smile curled on her lips as she spoke up.
Her words dropped like a stone into a pond, stirring up a storm. The elders of Mirror Water Pavilion were surprised—no one expected Shen Yunqiu to object. They all knew who Wei Tu was. Lending Wei Yan a cave to break through was a trivial favor, yet it could earn Wei Tu's gratitude—a bargain for Mirror Water Pavilion.
Besides, even if it weren't Wei Yan, if any passing Foundation Establishment cultivator needed a cave to break through, Mirror Water Pavilion usually wouldn't refuse. Though everyone knew there had been long-standing conflict between Shen Yunqiu and Qin Yuling's line, no one thought Shen Yunqiu would deliberately shift her grudge onto Wei Tu, offending him—a widely connected third-rank alchemist. This move seemed foolish and out of character for Shen Yunqiu.
"Fellow sisters, don't forget Wei Tu was once kidnapped by unknown cultivators," Shen Yunqiu said coldly. "If Wei Yan breaks through in our sect and attracts his enemies, what then?"
Hearing this, the Golden Core elders exchanged uneasy looks and frowned slightly. They knew Wei Tu had enemies, but they doubted any Golden Core-level foes could threaten a Nascent Soul-level sect like Mirror Water Pavilion. They waited for Shen Yunqiu's next words.
"I've heard Wei Tu has been missing in the cultivation world for fourteen years already!" she continued. "There's even a rumor from the Ying Ding Tribe on the prairie saying Alchemist Wei fell and died. Think about it—if Wei Tu were alive, why wouldn't he have his daughter break through in the Ying Ding Tribe, but instead send her to Mirror Water Pavilion?"
Shen Yunqiu's lips curved faintly as she spoke smoothly. Her words sowed doubt in many of the elders' hearts. If Wei Tu was alive, agreeing to let Wei Yan break through here would earn them a favor from a third-rank alchemist. But if he was dead, letting Wei Yan break through might only bring trouble with Wei Tu's enemies. After all, the cultivators who once kidnapped Wei Tu were both peak Golden Core experts—people not to offend lightly.
"Ancestor Shen, that's nonsense! My uncle Wei is alive and well," Kou Hongying retorted immediately. "If he were to die, it would be centuries from now. But I suppose Ancestor Shen won't live to see that day… since you've got less than a hundred years left."
Her words were mocking, biting. Though they were from the same sect, they belonged to different lineages, so seniority depended on cultivation realm. By right, Kou Hongying only needed to call Shen Yunqiu "Senior Sister Shen." Calling her "Ancestor Shen" was a deliberate provocation—yet technically proper since Shen Yunqiu and Kou Hongying's grandmaster had been peers centuries ago.
"My longevity is none of your concern, little girl," Shen Yunqiu replied calmly, lips curling into a faint smile, as if completely unfazed.
Other Golden Core elders watching this exchange couldn't help but speculate—could Shen Yunqiu be about to form a Nascent Soul? This wasn't idle gossip: at over seven hundred years old, her youthful appearance defied common sense. Rumors said she gained a great opportunity in her youth, propelling her to become the top Golden Core elder in Mirror Water Pavilion.
"Fellow sisters, do you side with me or with this girl Kou Hongying? Let's vote by raising hands," Shen Yunqiu said, glancing around with a light smile.
When she finished speaking, except for the elders close to Qin Yuling and Kou Hongying, everyone else raised their hands in agreement with Shen Yunqiu. Refusing Wei Yan's breakthrough request meant offending Wei Tu. But allowing it would offend Shen Yunqiu. Compared to Wei Tu's favor, the risk of displeasing Shen Yunqiu—who might soon form a Nascent Soul—was much greater.
"Senior Sister Shen, you and Wei Tu have no past enmity. Why go out of your way to offend him?" Sect Leader Ning Xuefeng sighed softly, sending a voice transmission to Shen Yunqiu.
She didn't know much about whether Wei Tu was alive, but she guessed he probably was. Otherwise, Kou Hongying wouldn't have been content with just trading a few barbs.
"When elders plant the tree, descendants find shade. But the opposite is true too…" Shen Yunqiu's eyes grew cold. "Sometimes, elders sow disaster for their descendants."
Hearing this, Ning Xuefeng fell silent, unable to persuade Shen Yunqiu further. She knew Qin Yuling's line had wronged Shen Yunqiu centuries ago, sowing the seeds of today's conflict. Shen Yunqiu's revenge, while harsh, was understandable.
"But targeting Wei Tu will leave Mirror Water Pavilion with a mess," Ning Xuefeng thought grimly. She knew Wei Tu wouldn't care about old grudges, only that Shen Yunqiu was personally moving against him today. That fresh enmity would be hard to erase.
Moments later, the high-level meeting ended.
"Kou Hongying, take my sect leader's token and bring Wei Yan to Condensing Moon Palace. She can borrow a cave there to break through," Ning Xuefeng called, handing a gold-etched token to Kou Hongying as the elders were leaving.
"Sect Leader, this…" Kou Hongying's eyes widened with surprise and joy, not expecting such a turn of fortune.
"Shen Yunqiu's words are not Mirror Water Pavilion's stance. But since she made sense, I couldn't argue with her publicly," Ning Xuefeng explained, waving off Kou Hongying's excitement. She patted Kou Hongying lightly on the shoulder and lowered her voice. "Is Shen Yunqiu really about to form a Nascent Soul?"
Kou Hongying fell into thought. In a sect, an old Golden Core's status usually waned, even if they were peak Golden Core. Only a new Golden Core had a rising value to the sect. But if Shen Yunqiu was truly on the verge of forming a Nascent Soul, it explained why even Ning Xuefeng deferred to her now.
"Don't overthink it. Act as if nothing happened," Ning Xuefeng said firmly.
A Nascent Soul cultivator was the backbone of a Nascent Soul-level sect. The fact Shen Yunqiu was about to form a Nascent Soul was a top secret that couldn't leak.
"Understood, Sect Leader," Kou Hongying nodded, burying her swirling thoughts for now.