"Who is this?" Wei Tu noticed a girl in a yellow dress standing not far behind Wei Changshou. The yellow-dressed girl was sneaking glances at him, looking a little timid and curious.
"This is Ping'er," Wei Changshou quickly replied.
Hearing this, Wei Tu raised his eyebrows slightly. He had already guessed what kind of relationship there was between the yellow-dressed girl and Wei Changshou. Then Wei Tu looked at Wei Xiuwen, signaling for him to explain.
The Wei family could now be considered an immortal clan. As the patriarch, Wei Tu didn't meddle too much in his descendants' marriages, but he still needed to check the background of their spouses, so nothing harmful to the family slipped in.
"Ping'er is a member of the Han Mountain Tao family, sent to the Mirror Water Pavilion to become a disciple a few years ago," Wei Xiuwen answered simply.
Just like how the Beastmaster Sect took in Qiu Buchen, sects like the Mirror Water Pavilion preferred to accept migrant cultivators from Zheng Kingdom. Plus, because of the close ties between Mirror Water Pavilion and Wei Tu, over the decades, it wasn't uncommon for female cultivators from the Tao family to join Mirror Water Pavilion. Tao Ping'er was the result of this special situation.
"So, she's from the Tao family..." Wei Tu nodded slightly, his gaze passing over Tao Ping'er. He didn't act too warm, nor did he reject her. With his experience, how could he not see what the Han Mountain Tao family was aiming for? But the Tao family's conduct was decent, their upper ranks knew what they were doing, and they were under his influence.
So, instead of letting Wei Changshou choose some unknown female cultivator as a Dao companion in the future, it was better to pick someone like Tao Ping'er now, whose roots were well known. A good Dao companion could help you, but most people were just ordinary.
"Father, why are you alone? Where's Sister Xian'er?" Wei Yan sensed the awkward atmosphere and changed the subject. She still remembered that in his last letter, Wei Tu said he'd bring Wei Xian'er with him to Xiao Kingdom to visit Uncle Wei. But she had watched the eagle for a long time and didn't see Wei Xian'er anywhere.
"The timing just didn't work out. When I went to the Zha Ma Tribe, Xian'er was in seclusion," Wei Tu shook his head and explained.
Because of the Dao-Forging Immortal Origin Sutra, his trip had been delayed by four years. During that time, Wei Xian'er happened to reach a crucial point in her breakthrough to late Foundation Establishment. By coincidence, that's why Wei Tu was now heading alone to Xiao Kingdom, not bringing Wei Xian'er along.
"This is probably for the best. It's your first time going to a new place in Xiao Kingdom, bringing Sister Xian'er might be inconvenient," Wei Yan said with a smile.
Although Kang Kingdom and Xiao Kingdom kept up normal business exchanges, it didn't mean the journey was safe. On long trade routes, there were always bandits and cultivator robbers—especially for cross-border trade.
Each trip like this meant trading goods worth at least hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, sometimes even over a million. If Wei Tu traveled alone, even if he ran into trouble, with his Golden Core cultivation he could get away safely. But if he brought someone extra, it wouldn't be so easy.
When it came to her father's safety, Wei Yan was practical.
"That's true," Wei Tu nodded without arguing.
…
Wei Tu hadn't come to the Moon Condensation Palace region just to visit Wei Yan and her brother after a long absence. He also wanted to trade some Golden Core breakthrough materials with the Mirror Water Pavilion or Moon Condensation Palace for a Mortal Shedding Pill.
First, over a decade ago, Wei Yan had already broken through to late Foundation Establishment. With his help, she'd be able to reach Foundation Establishment peak within twenty or thirty years at most and start preparing to form her Golden Core. Twenty or thirty years might sound like a long time, but it passed in a blink. If he got delayed on the way, he might miss her best chance to break through.
Second, the journey was dangerous and unpredictable. Traveling in the cultivation world wasn't just a stroll in the countryside—there was always a good chance of danger. Wei Tu figured that, with his cultivation, as long as he didn't meet a Nascent Soul powerhouse, he could escape easily. But there's always a chance things could go wrong.
Better to be prepared in advance than to regret it later.
Wei Tu went to talk with Kou Hongying about this.
"As expected! Uncle Wei still has Golden Core breakthrough materials—five sets, a complete chance for core formation." Kou Hongying was secretly shocked. Back when she was about to break through to Golden Core and urgently needed materials to trade for the Mortal Shedding Pill, Wei Tu had offered her two sets. At the time, she'd guessed he might have more stashed away. Now, it looked like she'd been right all along.
Of course, Kou Hongying didn't feel any resentment toward Wei Tu for that. After all, it was rare to have an elder who'd help at a critical moment in life. She already felt lucky to have Uncle Wei looking out for her. Most of her peers didn't have an elder like that.
"Since Mirror Water Pavilion moved to Kang Kingdom, our sect's reserves have dropped a lot. The number of Mortal Shedding Pills left… shouldn't be many," Kou Hongying shook her head.
She was the most recent person in Mirror Water Pavilion to break through to Golden Core, so she was well aware of their reserves. "Alchemist Yu is getting old. In the next few years, I'm afraid he won't have the energy to keep making Mortal Shedding Pills."
Mortal Shedding Pills were few, but as long as there was a good alchemist around, it was fine. The problem was—
Alchemist Yu, the only top-grade third-rank alchemist in Mirror Water Pavilion who could make Mortal Shedding Pills, didn't have much lifespan left. Refining this kind of special third-rank pill was hard work and took as long as three or four months each time. The Mortal Shedding Pill was just too important. Even if Alchemist Yu was still able to make it, Kou Hongying didn't want Wei Tu to gamble on it this time.
"I can contact the Moon Condensation Palace for you, Uncle Wei," Kou Hongying offered a solution.
"Alright, let's do as you suggest," Wei Tu nodded, accepting Kou Hongying's advice. 'If you listen to advice, you'll never go hungry.' As an intermediary, Kou Hongying still stood to gain a little if she handled the exchange for the Mortal Shedding Pill within Mirror Water Pavilion. But at the Moon Condensation Palace, there was nothing in it for her.
…
While Kou Hongying was working things out, Wei Tu waited patiently in the Jade Mountain marketplace for Yu Tong to arrive. The Moon Condensation Palace sat on the southern border of Kang Kingdom, right by the seaside Xiao Kingdom in the Great Cang cultivation world. So, there were several popular trade routes from the Moon Condensation Palace directly into Xiao Kingdom.
This time, Wei Tu planned to use the Wufu Merchant Guild's route and got his travel permit to Xiao Kingdom from them.
—The Seven Kingdoms Righteous Alliance forbids cultivators from migrating across borders to keep their countries stable.
This rule was relaxed for the big sects but was especially strict for rogue cultivators. After all, cultivators themselves were a kind of invisible wealth for any nation.
A few days later, Yu Tong arrived at the Jade Mountain marketplace and met up with Wei Tu at an inn. After all these years, Yu Tong looked totally different—his face was glowing, he looked prosperous, and there was none of the humility he'd shown back when he'd reached Golden Core late in life and had to beg for support on Wind-Wave Island.
Wei Tu wasn't surprised at all. 'Face is something you earn for yourself.' Compared to the young Golden Core cultivators, people like Yu Tong—who broke through at an old age—knew their worth, were more willing to set aside pride, and were better at dealing with people.
A merchant guild is all about connections, after all. Yu Tong thriving in the Wufu Merchant Guild was only natural.
"The past few years, Wufu hasn't had any caravans heading to Xiao Kingdom, but I got you a ticket from Canglang Merchant Guild," Yu Tong said with a laugh. "If we count the days, the Canglang Guild's next departure should be in about three or four months."
"Canglang Merchant Guild?" Wei Tu was a little surprised. He remembered Yu Tong writing to him a few years ago, saying the Wufu Guild planned to put more effort into cross-border trade with Xiao Kingdom. So how did they suddenly stop?
Still, Wei Tu didn't think Yu Tong would set him up—after all, Yu Tong was from the Yingding Tribe, and betraying him would come at a heavy price.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, why did the Wufu Guild suddenly change plans and stop trading with Xiao Kingdom?" Wei Tu voiced his doubts. 'If something unusual happens, there must be a reason.' He wouldn't just hop on a Canglang Merchant Guild flying boat unless he knew what was going on.
"If you hadn't asked, I'd have brought it up myself," Yu Tong replied, pausing for a moment. "The past ten years, there's been a gang of bandits at the Kang Kingdom–Xiao Kingdom border calling themselves the Six Desires Sect. They're strong, and small guilds like ours can't handle them, so Wufu paused all trade with Xiao Kingdom."
Inside the three main tribes and Kang Kingdom, the Wufu Guild was first-class. But in the wider Great Cang cultivation world, Wufu was only medium or small-sized.
"Canglang Merchant Guild is a major guild from Xiao Kingdom and works with us sometimes. Their caravans are strong enough to handle the Six Desires Sect," Yu Tong added.
To be honest, with Wufu Guild's overall power, dealing with a bunch of bandits shouldn't be hard. But the power of the guild and the power of their trade caravans were not the same thing. Bandits came and went, scattered as rogue cultivators, then banded together as thieves—it was nearly impossible to wipe them out for good.
For a guild like Wufu, it just wasn't worth it to fight the Six Desires Sect, so they stopped trade for now.
Wei Tu got the point: going to Xiao Kingdom was a lot more dangerous than before, but for now, the big guilds could still handle it.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, do you have any info on the Six Desires Sect?" Wei Tu thought for a moment, then asked. Cross-border trade was always risky and full of profits, so bandit gangs like the Six Desires Sect popped up all the time. Most of them were wiped out by the big merchant guilds before they ever became a problem.
If you stopped traveling just because of bandits, you'd never leave Kang Kingdom your whole life.
Still, before deciding, Wei Tu wanted to check the details and weigh the risks for himself. If it was too dangerous, he could always wait a few more years.
"You're cautious as always, Brother Wei," Yu Tong praised him, then took out a dossier on the Six Desires Sect he'd already prepared and handed it to Wei Tu.
"Six late-stage Golden Core cultivators…" Wei Tu clicked his tongue in surprise. Just hearing 'six Golden Core cultivators' might not sound like much, about the same as the Cangkun Alliance before. But the truth was, the difference was huge.
In Cangkun Alliance, only Qian Yue had reached late-stage Golden Core. In all of Kang Kingdom, only the largest tribes could gather six late-stage Golden Core cultivators at once.
"Don't worry, Brother Wei. Even though Canglang Guild might not have enough power to match the Six Desires Sect, all their Ascending Cloud Flying Boats are equipped with fourth-rank defensive arrays, so they can fend off the bandits," Yu Tong reassured him.
The difference between big and small guilds wasn't just size or power—it was also in their flying boats and cargo security. The Ascending Cloud Flying Boat was a quasi-fourth-rank flying boat. Building even one required not just money and status, but deep reserves.
To build an Ascending Cloud Flying Boat would take at least one hundred years. That's not something just any merchant guild could afford.
Hearing this, Wei Tu's expression relaxed a bit.
Since Canglang Merchant Guild still dared to keep doing cross-border trade in spite of the danger, it proved they had the confidence and strength to face the threat from Six Desires Sect. After all, if they lost even one Ascending Cloud Flying Boat to bandits, even a big merchant guild like Canglang would suffer badly.
Not to mention the huge losses in cargo and passengers, which would mean paying out an astronomical amount in compensation.
"Then I'll trouble you, Fellow Daoist Yu." Wei Tu cupped his hands in thanks and bought the Canglang Merchant Guild's Ascending Cloud Flying Boat ticket from Yu Tong for a low price of five thousand spirit stones.
…
Not long after buying the ticket, good news also came from Kou Hongying's side.
She'd persuaded Fairy Shuang to help and successfully exchanged for a Mortal Shedding Pill from Moon Condensation Palace, even swearing a heart demon oath to guarantee the matter wouldn't leak out.
For Wei Tu, getting the Mortal Shedding Pill itself wasn't hard. The real challenge was hiding where the pill ended up, so no one with ulterior motives would come looking for it. All the great sects kept strict records of pills like Foundation Establishment Pills and Mortal Shedding Pills—every batch, source, and destination were carefully tracked and almost impossible to fake.
According to Kou Hongying, Fairy Shuang had used her own family connections this time, which allowed her to cover up the destination of this Mortal Shedding Pill from the Moon Condensation Palace.
"Lingguan Yan clan." Wei Tu made a note of Fairy Shuang's family name.
From this, he realized the Lingguan Yan clan held quite a bit of influence inside the Moon Condensation Palace.
Maybe it'd be useful in the future.
—Fairy Shuang's real name was Yan Yushuang.
…
After getting the Mortal Shedding Pill, that night Wei Tu called for Wei Yan and gave her the pill.
"Mortal Shedding Pill?" Wei Yan was surprised and happy when she saw the pill bottle. She hadn't expected her old father to already have her next step planned out.
"Two hundred years ago, you took a risk and used a Foundation Consolidation Pill to form your foundation. This Mortal Shedding Pill today… just think of it as your father making it up to you," Wei Tu said quietly.
Wei Yan and Wei Xiuwen had used different methods to reach Foundation Establishment. Wei Yan formed her foundation while he was in the Cloud Ze Secret Realm—she saw the family was in trouble, so she quickly used the Foundation Consolidation Pill and a Demon Subduing Talisman to succeed at forming her foundation at the Mei family of Xiaya Cliff.
Wei Xiuwen, on the other hand, used a Foundation Establishment Pill exchanged by Wei Tu from the Mirror Water Pavilion.
Of course, in terms of value, a Foundation Establishment Pill was nothing compared to a Mortal Shedding Pill.
So, Wei Tu hadn't treated them exactly the same.
But he had his reasons. In his heart, Wei Yan always came before Wei Xiuwen, who'd been a son-in-law at the Mei family.
After all, if the Mei family hadn't declined, who knows if Wei Changshou would still be surnamed Wei or if he'd be a Mei by now?
"I'm giving you the Mortal Shedding Pill, and only the three of us—me, you, and Hongying—know about it," Wei Tu reminded her seriously. "No one else, not even Xiuwen. Don't tell anyone."
He was sure Wei Yan wouldn't make a mistake about something this big, but you could never be too careful.
—Wei Yan was four years older than Wei Xiuwen and had always taken special care of her little brother.
"I understand, Father," Wei Yan nodded.
"But… what if I break through to Golden Core later? How do I explain it to Xiuwen?" Wei Yan bit her lip, looking troubled.
Sure, it made sense not to tell Wei Xiuwen for safety reasons… but it still felt like they were guarding against him, which might cause a rift in the Wei family.
"Xiuwen has been married for years. He'll understand. Don't worry about it," Wei Tu shook his head.
Hearing this, Wei Yan immediately understood what her father meant.
Getting married meant Wei Xiuwen put his own little family first. That's how he'd always acted—refusing to leave with them, staying with the Mei family, and so on.
But she was different. She focused on cultivation, never married or had children, so she was always closer to her father, a different "little family." Or rather, that closeness never changed—Xiuwen getting married had just naturally made him a little more distant from them.
"What if Xiuwen is upset about it?"
Wei Yan hesitated, then asked one more time.
The Mortal Shedding Pill was just too important.
For small matters, Xiuwen always stayed rational and chose to compromise. But this was different—missing this pill could mean Xiuwen would never reach Golden Core in his life. That meant four hundred years of life and a whole new path in cultivation. Because of this, even close family often turned on each other.
"If that's the case, then that's the end of it," Wei Tu said calmly.
Anyone else might have a reason to be angry at him—like Bao Siyan or Mu Die, since his actions hadn't always been perfect. But only his son and daughter didn't have that right. He'd already done more than enough for them.
"Yes, Father." Wei Yan's heart trembled a little.
…
Before leaving Kang Kingdom, Wei Tu gave the Mountain-Crushing Bear to Wei Yan to look after.
After nearly seventy years, the bear was now at the peak of Second Rank, as strong as a late-stage Second Rank demon beast.
But for Wei Tu, that was still not enough for it to be useful. It needed at least one hundred more years to truly be of use to him.
During this weak stage, Wei Tu had no time to care for it himself, so leaving it with his daughter was the best choice.
She'd raised it when it was a cub, after all. The bear was also very close to Wei Yan, nuzzling its fluffy golden head against her arm in the beast room, looking delighted.
"Father, take care on your journey."
A few months later, when Wei Tu got the talisman message from Yu Tong and was about to set out, the whole Wei family, staying temporarily in Jade Mountain marketplace, gathered to see him off.