"Guangyuan Yu family?"
Hearing this, both Master Du Long and Master He Di were secretly surprised. They hadn't expected Wei Tu's connections to be so vast.
He was even in contact with a Nascent Soul family from Chu Kingdom.
Before coming, the two of them had already investigated some of Wei Tu's background. They knew that Wei Tu had deep ties with the three factions of the Kang Kingdom: the Condensing Moon Palace, the Mirror Water Pavilion, and the Ancient Sword Mountain.
However, they hadn't expected Wei Tu's network to have crossed national borders.
Such a connection, aside from a few long-established Nascent Soul cultivators, no one else in the Golden Core realm could compare with Wei Tu.
"No wonder he's a Third-Stage Alchemist," both of them thought.
At the same time, Master Du Long and Master He Di understood that when Wei Tu mentioned this, he was also signaling to them that he wasn't necessarily bound to Ying Ding Tribe.
Without Ying Ding Tribe, other powers would likely enthusiastically welcome a newly ascended Nascent Soul cultivator with Third-Stage Alchemy expertise.
After all, considering Wei Tu's lifespan, ensuring the high-level pill needs of a sect for over a thousand years was no challenge for him.
Such value couldn't be matched by an ordinary newly ascended Nascent Soul cultivator.
"Rest assured, Daoist Wei, once you become a Divine Master of our sect, your position will be equal to ours, and even the Sacred Crystal of the Falling Sun Spring will be shared with us all."
Master Du Long immediately expressed this, solemnly speaking.
The matter of status was trivial; after all, they had no authority over cultivators of the same realm.
What really mattered was the allocation of the Sacred Crystal.
The Sacred Crystal was the most valuable possession of the Divine Masters of the three great tribes in the Kang region.
This item was the only resource in the grasslands capable of significantly enhancing a Nascent Soul cultivator's realm.
One piece could reduce a Nascent Soul cultivator's years of arduous cultivation by decades.
"The Sacred Crystal?" Upon hearing Master Du Long's explanation of this item, Wei Tu couldn't help but show some surprise.
Although his knowledge was still limited to the Golden Core realm, thanks to the jade slip of Master Shen Tu, he had some understanding of resources in the Nascent Soul realm.
Most Nascent Soul factions, such as the Fire Essence Gate established by Master Shen Tu, had resources that were top-tier for Golden Core cultivators, but were of no use to Nascent Soul ancestors.
In other words, Nascent Soul ancestors of these sects were no different from solitary cultivators.
The only difference was that they had a faction to help with small matters.
However, apart from these sects, a few Nascent Soul sects had internal resources that could actually benefit cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage...
For example, the Shengya Mountain of Xiao Kingdom, Tianyi Sect, and the five Demon Dao sects.
These types of sects were large Nascent Soul sects, and some of them had produced Transformation Realm masters.
Wei Tu had not expected that the seemingly "weak" Kang region's three tribes would also possess high-level resources that could benefit Nascent Soul cultivators, just like these major Nascent Soul sects.
"It seems that joining Ying Ding Tribe was indeed the right choice," Wei Tu thought to himself.
The Sacred Crystal was undoubtedly an unexpected gain for him.
"Furthermore, although our cultivation is not very high, only at the peak of early Nascent Soul, we can still offer some guidance to you, Daoist Wei. It's not difficult."
Master He Di added.
"Both of you are only at the early Nascent Soul stage?" Wei Tu was greatly surprised upon hearing this.
Earlier, he had assumed that one of the three—Master Du Long, Master He Di, or Master Dong Lai—had attained the mid-Nascent Soul realm.
He never imagined that all three were only at the early Nascent Soul stage.
At this point, Wei Tu suddenly understood why the five Demon Dao factions treated the mid-Nascent Soul solitary cultivator, Master Jiu Li, with such great respect.
From this, he could infer that mid- and late-Nascent Soul cultivators in the Great Cang cultivation world were far fewer than he had imagined when he was in the Zheng Kingdom.
Upon hearing Wei Tu's words, Master Du Long and Master He Di didn't get angry. They exchanged a glance and both smiled bitterly.
"Daoist Wei, you don't know. In Kang Kingdom, or even in the Great Cang cultivation world, our realm is considered quite high."
"This is only possible because of the Sacred Crystal. We rely on this resource to enhance our cultivation."
"The Nascent Soul ancestors of the two mountains and one palace are in a much worse position than us. They don't have Nascent Soul resources. For them, reaching the great success of the early Nascent Soul realm is already very impressive."
As Master Du Long and Master He Di continued explaining, Wei Tu finally understood just how difficult it was to progress in the early Nascent Soul realm.
The stages of minor success, major success, and peak—each of these three small stages required hundreds of years for a Nascent Soul ancestor to pass through.
Without a thousand years of accumulation, it's almost impossible for ordinary Nascent Soul ancestors to break through their realms and reach the mid-Nascent Soul stage.
And to break through quickly, aside from finding the right high-level resources, there's no other way.
But with the barren state of the Great Cang cultivation world, finding untapped cultivation resources is often harder than reaching the sky.
"I've heard that deep in the Blood Slaughter Sea, the cultivation world there has many resources for Nascent Soul cultivation. Unfortunately, the ocean is vast, and it's hard to find anything," Master Du Long sighed.
As former prodigies, they weren't ones to sit idly by, but unfortunately, all their efforts had ultimately come to nothing.
Thus, over time, they became trapped within their own factions, waiting for their lifespan to dwindle as elderly Nascent Soul cultivators.
"Let's stop talking about this."
Master He Di signaled to Master Du Long to change the topic. He didn't want Wei Tu, who had just become a Divine Master in Ying Ding Tribe, to start thinking about leaving to search for new opportunities in other places.
This wasn't being overly sensitive; since ancient times, many newly ascended Nascent Soul cultivators had abandoned their sects and families, seeking their fortune elsewhere in search of breakthrough opportunities.
When Wei Tu saw Master He Di signaling, he smiled and shook his head. He didn't comment on the matter.
Right now, his lifespan was still short, and he wasn't in a rush to travel around looking for opportunities.
Additionally, compared to Master Du Long and the others, who only had the Sacred Crystal to help increase their cultivation, he also had the "Golden Toad Qi" secret technique, which could help him absorb the energy of the sun to make up for the lack of resources.
Wei Tu estimated that a few hundred years from now, when his "Late Bloomer" fate would transform his body into something akin to the "Heavenly Toad," his cultivation speed in the Nascent Soul realm would likely increase by several times.
At that point, whether he searched for overseas cultivation resources would no longer matter to him.
"Daoist Wei, now that you've condensed your Nascent Soul, do you plan to hold a grand ceremony for your breakthrough?"
Just before leaving, Master Du Long suddenly asked this.
"If so, we can have Yuan Jie prepare everything in advance," he added.
"A Nascent Soul ceremony?" Wei Tu paused for a moment upon hearing this.
Since stepping onto the immortal path, he had always preferred to act low-key. He hadn't held any celebrations for either his Foundation Establishment or his Golden Core breakthrough.
After reaching the Nascent Soul realm, he had planned to continue this trend and not hold a ceremony for his Nascent Soul breakthrough.
But now... it wasn't a good time to refuse.
Firstly, holding a Nascent Soul ceremony was not only important for him, but it also had great significance for Ying Ding Tribe.
It was a perfect opportunity for Ying Ding Tribe to announce him as the Fourth Divine Master. Rejecting it too much would not look good.
Secondly, he had offended the Earth Sword Mountain because of the matter with the Yao Chongshan couple, and now was a good chance to test the stance of Earth Sword Mountain.
If Earth Sword Mountain didn't come to celebrate, it would mean they were turning into enemies. He could prepare for this early.
"Besides, a Nascent Soul ceremony is also a good opportunity to gather wealth. Even though the resources gained may have limited use for Nascent Soul cultivators, they are excellent for Golden Core cultivators."
Wei Tu thought to himself.
He hadn't forgotten that he still had a son and a daughter.
With the gifts from such a ceremony, Wei Yan and Wei Bao would undoubtedly save themselves a hundred years of effort.
"That's what I hope for," Wei Tu smiled slightly and agreed.
"Then the ceremony will be held in two years, and Yuan Jie will personally take care of it."
Upon hearing this, Master Du Long immediately showed a happy expression. After pondering for a moment, he said, "This is excellent."
After all, Wei Tu's agreement to hold the Nascent Soul ceremony in Ying Ding Tribe showed that he had now established a sense of belonging to them.
With this ceremony, Ying Ding Tribe would undoubtedly rise as the strongest force in Kang Kingdom, standing proudly above both the Shooting Sun Sect and the Feng Wu Sect.
...
With Wei Tu's agreement to hold the Nascent Soul ceremony, Ying Ding Tribe no longer tried to hide the news of his breakthrough.
The news of his breakthrough spread from the Right Virtuous King's manor and quickly swept through the entire Hu Jie Immortal City and the rest of Kang Kingdom.
"He's become a Nascent Soul?" In Hu Jie Immortal City, Wei Tu's junior sister, Su Bing'er, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
She still remembered when she and Wei Tu went to Honghe Mountain to visit Master Che Gongwei.
At that time, her cultivation had been ahead of Wei Tu's, just one step away from breaking through to the Golden Core.
But now, more than 200 years later, Wei Tu had surpassed her by an entire realm and reached the Nascent Soul stage.
It's important to note that she's not just any ordinary Golden Core cultivator, but a spiritual body cultivator with outstanding talent!
However, unlike Yuan Jie, Master Du Long, and the others, Su Bing'er didn't overthink the news of Wei Tu's Nascent Soul success. Aside from the initial shock, she was mostly filled with joy.
"Now that Senior Brother Wei has successfully condensed his Nascent Soul, revenge for our master's great grudge is finally within reach."
Su Bing'er gazed at Cloud Lark Residence, silently thinking to herself.
At this moment, she had completely given up on the idea of becoming Wei Tu's Dao partner. After all, when they were both in the Golden Core stage, she was already ahead of him. Now, with a major difference in realms, it was even more out of the question.
"If only I had known the true nature of Senior Brother Wei back then, not trusting Mu Die's biased opinions and believing him to be a smiling tiger… maybe things would have turned out differently..." Su Bing'er sighed deeply.
After all, the few decades of cultivation at Honghe Mountain had been the time when the gap between her and Wei Tu was the smallest.
"Master... has become Nascent Soul?"
When the Tao family's cultivators at Wei Clan's Pill and Talisman Workshop heard the news, they were overjoyed. Among them, Tao Zhongjing, who had been Wei Tu's disciple for decades, was the most excited.
Tao Zhongjing hadn't expected that one day, he would become a Nascent Soul disciple.
Even though he was only a registered disciple, this status immediately elevated his standing by several levels.
Moreover, unlike other Nascent Soul ancestors who took in many disciples, Wei Tu only had him as his newly accepted disciple.
"Master, the Tao family won't treat you poorly!"
Tao Zhongjing recalled the time, decades ago, when Tao Fangde, sitting in the workshop's backyard, passed away. He silently thought to himself.
At that time, Tao Fangde had gifted the "Golden Core quota" to Tao Ping'er. Although Tao Zhongjing had no complaints, he couldn't help but feel that the old family senior's decision was a bit shortsighted.
Now, looking back, he realized he had been too young and didn't see things as clearly as Tao Fangde.
"To give a peach for a plum, that's the way it should be."
When Wei Tu took him as a registered disciple just before condensing his Nascent Soul, his intentions were clear.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Moon Condensation Palace.
"What? Wei Tu has successfully condensed his Nascent Soul? And he did it before me?"
The leader of Moon Condensation Palace, Cao Mi, stared in disbelief at the gilded invitation to the Nascent Soul ceremony in her hand.
She had thought that she would be the one to reach Nascent Soul first. Back then, she believed that Wei Tu, who might never reach Nascent Soul, would be stuck in the Golden Core stage for life.
But now, she realized she had been mistaken.
Looking back, when Wei Tu had refused to agree to become her Dao partner after she reached Nascent Soul, it wasn't because he feared she would go back on her word—it was because he himself had the potential to break through to Nascent Soul. Naturally, he had no interest in her so-called "Nascent Soul Dao partner" to help him advance.
"Indeed! If he didn't have the potential to break through to Nascent Soul, how could he have remained unmoved when he saw the Snow Phoenix's soul essence…" Cao Mi smiled bitterly.
At this point, she still had some chance of breaking through to Nascent Soul, but compared to Wei Tu, who had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, her chances seemed distant.
Even if she broke through, she would be the lowest-tier Nascent Soul cultivator. How could she compare to Wei Tu, who was a "young Nascent Soul" at under 400 years old?
Wei Tu and she were like the difference between the mud and the clouds.
Unfortunately, she was the mud, while Wei Tu was the promising cloud.
If it hadn't been for Shen Yunqiu, she doubted she would have ever had such close contact with a genius like Wei Tu.
"I missed my chance!" Cao Mi sighed inwardly. If only she had insisted on becoming Wei Tu's "Nascent Soul Dao partner" during the soul oath, her situation today would have been completely different.
With Wei Tu as her Nascent Soul Dao partner, her breakthrough would have been far more certain.
However, just as Cao Mi was lamenting, she suddenly sensed the spiritual energy in her cave dwelling surging like a tidal wave, rushing toward a newly rising spiritual vortex outside.
"What is this spiritual vortex's aura?"
"Is it Wei Xiuwen?"
Cao Mi paused, stunned.
She hadn't expected that after Wei Tu reached Nascent Soul, his son, Wei Xiuwen, was also on the verge of successfully breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
"One son, one daughter, both achieving Golden Core."
"The Wei family is about to rise!"
Cao Mi murmured softly.
Even though she knew that Wei Xiuwen's success in breaking through to the Golden Core was largely thanks to the "Mortal Shedding Pill" she had lent him, it didn't change the fact that he was about to become a Golden Core true lord.
After all, without a solid foundation, even with the Mortal Shedding Pill's assistance, it would have been impossible to "refine the Jade Liquid and return to the Golden Core" and achieve the Golden Core realm.