Back at the inn in Falling Sun City—
While sorting through his gains, Wei Tu pondered the offhand comment made by the Sand Bandit Society leader.
"Was Yuan Ping colluding with them, or was the Sand Bandit Society actually being secretly backed by Divine Master He Di?"
He was deeply puzzled.
—After all, Yuan Ping was Divine Master He Di's last disciple.
The orthodox sects, unlike the demonic ones, needed a "black glove" to handle matters they couldn't afford to expose.
The Sand Bandit Society fit the black glove role perfectly.
The fact that they still hadn't been wiped out by the three tribes wasn't something Wei Tu believed was a coincidence.
"This doesn't concern me directly. No need to overthink it." Wei Tu reined in his thoughts and shook his head.
Even though Divine Master He Di and Divine Master Du Long were on bad terms, there was no reason for him to target someone as insignificant as Wei Tu. Barring unforeseen circumstances, there wouldn't be much interaction between Wei Tu and the Sand Bandit Society in the future.
The Sacred Spring Conference was a grand event held once every two hundred years by the three tribes, attended by more than ninety percent of all High Priests and Grand Mages.
Where there are people, there is business.
The Wufu Merchant Guild, the largest guild across all three tribes, had already set up in Falling Sun City before the Sacred Spring Conference even began. They were hosting large-scale auctions one after another, selling all kinds of rare treasures.
Using these auctions as a platform, Wei Tu purchased quite a few third-rank spirit beast hides and various spiritual herbs.
At the same time, he also placed a bounty for the final main ingredient required to refine the "Purple Candle Pill" — Earth Essence Ganoderma — in the Wufu Merchant Guild's Spirit Herb Bounty Section, hoping a cultivator might have it to trade.
The Purple Candle Pill was a top-grade third-rank pill. If he could gather all the ingredients, it would easily shave decades off his cultivation journey.
Unfortunately—
Even as both the Sword Trial Competition and the Sacred Spring Conference officially began, no one had taken the Earth Essence Ganoderma bounty.
—
In Falling Sun City's plaza—
The Sword Trial Competition commenced as scheduled.
Wei Tu and High Priest Ti Ya left the inn together and followed the crowd to watch the event.
Each of the three tribes had sent six young Golden Core cultivators, totaling eighteen participants.
Once seated in the Ying Ding Tribe's section, Wei Tu glanced at the front and scanned the cultivators preparing to compete.
From the Ying Ding Tribe, he recognized Yuan Jie and Fairy Baohua from the Cangkun Alliance, Divine Master He Di's disciple Yuan Ping, and "Yue Qian," who was on the recommendation list.
The remaining two he hadn't seen before within the Ying Ding Tribe.
But what stood out immediately was that these two seemed to be twin brothers. They had identical features—refined, pale, and delicate.
"They should be disciples of Divine Master Donglai. Donglai resides in Falling Sun City and isn't usually within the Ying Ding Tribe."
High Priest Ti Ya leaned toward Wei Tu and offered the explanation.
Like Wei Tu, he didn't recognize the sudden appearance of the twin brothers within the Ying Ding Tribe.
"Probably," Wei Tu nodded in agreement.
Donglai was the last of the three Divine Masters under the Ying Ding Tribe.
He was also the most low-key among them.
As soon as Wei Tu was seated—
Yuan Jie and Fairy Baohua naturally approached him to greet him.
This scene didn't go unnoticed—many of the Ying Ding Tribe's priests and mages glanced over at Wei Tu with raised brows.
But when they saw that it was Yuan Jie and Fairy Baohua coming over to greet him, their expressions shifted to ones of understanding, even approval.
After all, Wei Tu was one of the rare few within the Ying Ding Tribe who held dual identities as a third-rank alchemist and a third-rank talisman master.
Even though Wolfslayer's extortion incident had caused some damage to Wei Tu's reputation—leading many to view him as a pushover who feared conflict—
…but at the same time, the successful refinement of the Essence Purging Pill also made one thing clear to the other cultivators—Wei Tu was now a third-rank alchemist, capable of refining third-rank pills.
As one reputation waned, another rose. Wei Tu's standing within the Ying Ding Tribe only grew stronger.
After all, few cultivators had the strength of Wolfslayer and dared to blackmail a Golden Core True Lord.
And wasn't it precisely because Wolfslayer offended Wei Tu that the Right Virtuous King's estate had driven him away?
Even the Right Virtuous King was eager to curry favor. How could the other factions afford to look down on Wei Tu?
After a few brief words—
Yuan Jie took out a jade slip and handed it to Wei Tu. "This contains the information on all the contestants from the three tribes. It might come in handy later, Fellow Daoist Wei."
"Thanks, Fellow Daoist Yuan." Wei Tu accepted the jade slip and stood to express his gratitude.
He understood what Yuan Jie was getting at.
Once the Sword Trial Competition began, each match would have gambling houses setting odds. Based on the results, you could win or lose depending on your bets.
Among the cultivators from the three tribes present, very few would pass up such an entertaining opportunity to turn a small bet into a big payout.
With this detailed dossier outlining each contestant's strength, if Wei Tu ever chose to gamble, his chances of winning would naturally improve.
Wei Tu had no interest in gambling. With his ability to earn money, he didn't need to resort to such crooked means.
But he was curious about the background of the contestants from the other two tribes.
Besides the rogue cultivators, all those participating in the competition were young Golden Core cultivators from their respective tribes. They not only had potential, but held significant status as well.
He might encounter some of them again in the future.
"Corpse Master?" Wei Tu skimmed the jade slip and noticed that one of the participants from the Feng Wu Tribe used that name. He couldn't help but frown slightly.
What kind of young cultivator would call themselves "Old Freak"? Wasn't that ridiculous?
But then he reconsidered. The title might have been adopted back during his Foundation Establishment stage.
Perhaps, like Yu Tong, he had formed his core at an advanced age and simply kept using the same alias.
Wei Tu looked deeper into Corpse Master's background. It was clearly noted in the jade slip: formerly a rogue cultivator from the Zheng Kingdom, known to practice secret corpse path arts.
"Never heard of him in Zheng." Wei Tu thought carefully but shook his head.
Still, he didn't find it suspicious. He couldn't possibly know every single rogue cultivator from the Zheng Kingdom.
Next—
Wei Tu browsed through the rest of the participants.
Two others, like Corpse Master, had strange names as well, calling themselves something "Elder" or "Wanderer."
With names like these in the mix, "Corpse Master" almost sounded normal by comparison.
Meanwhile—
Over in the Feng Wu Tribe's section—
"Third Brother?" An old man in a straw raincoat turned toward Wei Tu's direction as if sensing something. A complicated expression flickered in his eyes.
"It's been nearly a hundred years since we parted ways on Mount Xiyue. Who would've thought we'd meet again here in Falling Sun City…"
He let out a quiet sigh.
"Unfortunately, now's still not the time."
His gaze steeled. Dark red twisted markings spread across his aged face once more, adding a sinister, forbidding aura.
Just then, a beautiful woman in a black dress sitting beside him glanced at him and gave a charming smile. "Fellow Daoist Corpse Master, as long as you place in the top three, I promise to deliver the Fusion Spirit Flower to you, no matter what. I won't go back on my word."