"Please show some self-respect, Madam."
"Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."
Wei Tu's brows furrowed slightly, his face turning cold. He didn't lose his temper immediately, but instead gave her a fair warning first.
After all, with his status as a Nascent Soul cultivator, he could have any female cultivator he wanted. Why would he bother with someone like Tian Qiuyun?
Being with her would only degrade his standing and reputation.
"Alchemist Wei, why be so cold? It's just that you haven't yet tasted how good I can be… Once you've tried, you'll understand how gentle and sweet I truly am."
Tian Qiuyun swayed her hips and boldly sat down on Wei Tu's lap. Smiling seductively, she gently ran her hand across his chest, completely ignoring the cold look on his face.
Back in the day, some of the old fogeys from Ancient Sword Mountain had said similar things to her. But it didn't take long before they'd change their tone and end up sharing a bed with her.
Tian Qiuyun didn't believe Wei Tu was truly immune to desire. In her eyes, he would eventually fall into the same category.
Right now, the only thing restraining him was that fragile bond of friendship with Situ You.
"Alchemist Wei, your face is so cold." Tian Qiuyun pouted playfully, her movements growing even bolder as her soft, boneless hand reached for his cheek.
She was confident that her charm and tenderness would melt the ice in his heart.
But—
Just as her hand was halfway there—
A powerful wave of spiritual force suddenly surged from Wei Tu's body. Without any warning, it blasted Tian Qiuyun straight off him, sending her crashing into the stone wall of the cave.
Puhwah!
The moment she hit the ground, her throat convulsed and she coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining her white gauze gown crimson.
That splash of red added a pitiful touch to her once-alluring image.
But right now, Tian Qiuyun had no more desire to seduce Wei Tu. Her face was full of fear as she stared at him from a distance and cried out in shock, "Late-stage Golden Core? Your cultivation is actually late-stage Golden Core?"
There's a saying—status should match status.
As the wife of two direct-line elders, Tian Qiuyun's cultivation wasn't low either. She had already reached the Golden Core stage.
And decades ago, after benefiting from Wei Tu's pills, she'd advanced even further, reaching the mid-Golden Core stage.
It was this level of cultivation that gave her the confidence to plot and pull Wei Tu into her scheme today.
Without it, no matter how seductive she acted, it would've been useless. With a huge gap in strength, she wouldn't even have the chance to get close. Just one binding spell from him would've left her powerless.
But no matter how she calculated, she never imagined that Wei Tu's true cultivation wasn't merely "late-stage Golden Core" like she and Situ You had assumed, but far ahead—at the peak of the Golden Core stage.
Only someone at that level could injure her—a fellow Golden Core cultivator—instantly.
"A late-stage Golden Core not even 400 years old…"
Suddenly, Tian Qiuyun recalled Wei Tu's age. The moment that hit her, her shock and fear only grew.
She knew very well what a late-stage Golden Core cultivator under 400 years old meant.
It meant that Wei Tu had a high chance of stepping into the Nascent Soul realm within his lifetime—far beyond the potential of an average Golden Core cultivator.
Four hundred years was usually more than enough time for a late-stage Golden Core cultivator to accumulate the opportunity needed to break through.
'No wonder… he's not interested in me at all…'
Tian Qiuyun suddenly understood everything.
Clearly, in the eyes of someone like Wei Tu—who had real hopes of reaching the Nascent Soul stage—she, a mere mid-Golden Core woman, was no different from a common mortal woman.
"So what if I am?"
Wei Tu narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice cold.
Just now, he'd deliberately revealed his cultivation to intimidate Tian Qiuyun. So at this moment, he didn't bother denying her words.
With his true strength at the Nascent Soul stage, letting others think he was merely at the peak of Golden Core wouldn't affect him much.
"It was I who failed to recognize greatness and offended Alchemist Wei… This was all my fault..."
The moment she received confirmation, Tian Qiuyun softened her tone right away. She no longer dared to talk back.
She understood now. With such strength, Wei Tu didn't need to care at all about Situ You's feelings. The gap between them was just too wide.
In other words, even if she had succeeded today and tried to use it to threaten Wei Tu, it would've done her no good.
Given that, she figured it was better to yield quickly and maybe gain some mercy.
"As long as you understand."
Wei Tu's tense expression eased slightly. He waved his hand, signaling for Tian Qiuyun to leave.
Right now, he still needed something from Situ You, so it wasn't the time to deal with her too harshly.
Still, he figured that after the blow just now, she'd behave herself for at least a while.
As for whether she'd try to take revenge someday, he didn't care. With her abilities, even after a few hundred years, she probably wouldn't be able to threaten him.
Cases like Ancestor Chishe being ambushed and killed by a Golden Core cultivator were rare exceptions in the cultivation world.
"Thank you, Alchemist Wei."
Tian Qiuyun felt like she'd just been granted a royal pardon. Her face lit up with gratitude as she bowed to Wei Tu, then quickly opened the door and fled the room.
"Who knows if Brother Situ marrying this woman will bring fortune or disaster..."
Wei Tu shook his head with a sigh as he watched her disappear.
But he hadn't even sighed for long when he noticed that Tian Qiuyun had left her clothing behind in the room during her hasty escape.
Clearly, she'd been too flustered to gather everything.
"Could come in handy later."
Wei Tu's gaze flickered. With a wave of his sleeve, he swept the clothes into his storage pouch.
Those garments still carried her aura. If she ever turned on him in the future, he could use the lingering scent to lock onto her from miles away and hunt her down.
…
Thanks to Tian Qiuyun's deliberate cover-up, Situ You didn't notice anything strange between her and Wei Tu when he returned the next day after handling official business.
"Alchemist Wei, here's the intel I found in the sect on Yao Chongshan and his wife..."
Inside the guest hall, after sharing food and drink, Situ You took a green jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Wei Tu.
"That said, while I managed to gather the information, I have no idea when the Yao couple will actually leave Earth Sword Mountain."
He added this point carefully.
Most cultivators, unless they had a need to travel, would stay hidden away cultivating within their sect, never stepping out.
Besides, Ancient Sword Mountain and Earth Sword Mountain had only just stopped fighting. Earth Sword Mountain cultivators, unless necessary, usually wouldn't leave their sect alone.
In other words, if Wei Tu wanted to find the right time to strike, he might have to wait a few years—or even ten or hundred years.
"Don't worry, Brother Situ. I've got the patience."
Wei Tu accepted the green jade slip and swept it with his divine sense. He smiled.
Different strength meant different timing.
To Situ You, Wei Tu was trying to assassinate the Yao couple with "late-stage Golden Core" strength, so naturally, the right moment would be hard to find.
But in truth, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator hunting two juniors.
With that kind of power, picking the right moment from the details in the jade slip wouldn't be hard at all.
"With a fine disciple like you, Master Che will rest easy even in the afterlife."
Hearing that, Situ You couldn't help but give him a heartfelt compliment.