"Is that really the case?"

Xi Ying’s expression eased slightly when he saw Guan Zhenying pleading for mercy. After a moment of silence, he said, "Since there’s a reason behind it, I won’t punish you—just mark this as one demerit."

Not rewarding merit, but recording a fault instead?

Wei Tu found it strange. He couldn’t tell if Xi Ying looked down on rogue cultivators, had some old grudge against them, or if he had another agenda.

Rewarding and punishing without distinction—whether in the mundane world or the cultivation world—was a huge taboo.

After saying that, Xi Ying entered the council hall and sat at the main seat, ignoring Wei Tu, who was still outside.

"Apologies, Daoist Wei… I didn’t expect that saving us would bring you trouble..." Guan Zhenying looked apologetic and transmitted his voice to Wei Tu.

"Daoist Wei, I’ll try to speak to Senior Xi later and see if I can help clear up his bias against you," Shen Changfeng also added.

Although Shen Changfeng felt some sense of crisis, thinking Wei Tu's sudden interference had diminished his own standing in Guan Zhenying's eyes…

He wasn’t someone who ignored right and wrong.

The trouble Wei Tu caused was, after all, due to saving them both.

If word got out about Xi Ying's treatment, even Shen Changfeng would be seen as an ingrate.

"Thank you, both of you," Wei Tu said politely.

…

Half an hour later.

Wei Tu sat in a secluded corner of the council hall, greeting the other Foundation Establishment cultivators from Cicada Cry Cliff one by one.

Including Wei Tu, there were eleven Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered here.

Excluding Xi Ying, Guan Zhenying, Shen Changfeng, and himself, seven others remained.

Among them, two were from the Beastmaster Sect, one was from Azure Bamboo Mountain, and the remaining four were all rogue cultivators.

That meant—

Including Wei Tu, nearly half of the Foundation Establishment cultivators at Cicada Cry Cliff were rogue cultivators.

During the meeting—

What surprised Wei Tu a bit was that Xi Ying, despite being a False Core True Lord, showed no arrogance when addressing the four rogue cultivators sitting near Wei Tu. He treated them no differently than he treated sect cultivators like Guan Zhenying.

"Ahem! Looks like Daoist Wei has noticed something strange. You’re probably wondering why Xi Ying doesn’t dare act high and mighty around the four of us, huh?"

An elderly man in a gray robe seated closest to Wei Tu smiled and glanced at him, initiating conversation.

Their seats were the most secluded, so even idle chat wouldn’t be overheard or interrupted.

"Is there a story behind this?" Wei Tu raised a brow and showed a look of curiosity.

"Oh, there’s definitely something behind it." The old man squinted slightly, looking extremely mysterious.

Wei Tu responded by handing him a pouch of spirit stones. "Please, enlighten me, Daoist Li."

When the man had entered earlier, he had followed etiquette and introduced himself. Wei Tu already knew the man's full name.

This gray-robed elder was surnamed Li, given name Daoyuan, and wasn't weak in standing within Cicada Cry Cliff. He and the red-robed woman beside him—Geng Qian—were known to be cultivation partners.

After accepting the pouch, Li Daoyuan stroked his gray beard, coughed twice, and began to explain.

"Us rogue cultivators aren’t like sect cultivators—we don’t have anyone to rely on. Even the lowest-ranking sect member has access to a Golden Core True Lord or two they can plead with..."

"So, naturally, Xi Ying doesn’t dare offend them. If these people get upset, the Loose Immortal Alliance might just strip him of his 'Immortal Sect Envoy' position and give it to someone else."

"Daoist Wei, don’t underestimate that position. Being Immortal Sect Envoy at Cicada Cry Cliff for twenty or thirty years means collecting massive amounts of war merit. By then, Xi Ying might get another shot at forming a Core."

"Him scolding you and changing your merit into a fault? That’s just him trying to steal credit for himself."

"After all, we rogue cultivators have no say in how the battle reports are written. With no backing, you wouldn’t even know if your achievements were erased..."

Li Daoyuan spoke slowly.

Wei Tu’s expression turned contemplative.

He’d heard of the Loose Immortal Alliance.

After the Beastmaster Sect and Sky Dome City withdrew from Zheng Kingdom, the three major Immortal sects here formed a temporary organization—the Loose Immortal Alliance.

They were responsible for overseeing everything on the righteous-versus-demonic battlefield.

Xi Ying’s position as Immortal Sect Envoy wasn’t granted solely by Sky Dome City—it was appointed by the Loose Immortal Alliance.

Still, even if the Alliance outranked individual sects, if the sect disciples under him stirred trouble, it’d be hard for the Alliance to suppress them.

That explained why, as Li Daoyuan said, Xi Ying didn't dare offend sect cultivators.

In other words—

Compared to someone like Guan Zhenying, he held far less political value.

"Daoist Li, do you have any solutions for this?" Wei Tu asked.

He could tell from Li Daoyuan’s words that there was a deeper meaning.

"I won’t keep you guessing." Li Daoyuan gave a slight nod. "The reason we four aren't bullied by Xi Ying is simple—"

"We joined the Loose Immortal Alliance!"

"The Loose Immortal Alliance is the only organization where rogue cultivators like us can stand equal to sect disciples!"

Li Daoyuan spoke each word with weight.

Loose Immortal Alliance!

Hearing those three words, the confusion in Wei Tu’s heart was suddenly dispelled.

No wonder Xi Ying treated Li Daoyuan and the others so politely and didn’t dare offend them—it was because they had joined the Loose Immortal Alliance.

As for this organization—

Wei Tu had already heard its name countless times over the past few years.

Back when Wei Fei had pooled funds for alchemy, the alchemist they contacted, Master Song, was also a member of the Loose Immortal Alliance.

The Loose Immortal Alliance had seventeen Golden Core True Lords. It wasn’t some small-time loose rogue cultivator alliance like the Shuyun Alliance. It was a true behemoth.

A behemoth capable of going toe-to-toe with the Immortal Sects.

"Still, it can’t be that simple. First Xi Ying targets me, and now Li Daoyuan mentions the Loose Immortal Alliance..."

Wei Tu narrowed his eyes. He was beginning to piece together some ideas about why Xi Ying had made things difficult for him.

Li Daoyuan clearly brought up the Alliance to hint at recruiting him. After all, a Tier-Two High-Grade Talisman Master like him would be treated as an honored guest wherever he went.

Working backwards from this—

If Xi Ying had known he might join the Alliance, he wouldn’t have provoked him at the start and made an enemy out of him.

Wei Tu now suspected that both Xi Ying’s pressure and Li Daoyuan’s current olive branch were two sides of the same play—a well-planned tactic from the Loose Immortal Alliance to recruit him.

It was clever. If he hadn’t been through so much over the years, he might not have seen through it.

"Would Daoist Li be willing to give me an introduction? I come from humble roots and have no way of contacting the Loose Immortal Alliance myself." Wei Tu gave a well-timed bitter smile.

He wasn’t opposed to joining. On the contrary, aligning with the Loose Immortal Alliance now would greatly increase his survival chances.

At the very least, within Cicada Cry Cliff, Xi Ying wouldn’t dare push him into dangerous missions just because he had no backing.

As for the tactics the Alliance used?

Wei Tu didn’t mind.

If a force wanted to grow, sincerity alone wouldn’t get them far—they needed methods.

In fact, the very fact that the Alliance employed such refined tactics meant they had a strong foundation and bright prospects.

"Leave it to me," Li Daoyuan said with a smile.

He didn’t care whether Wei Tu had seen through their ploy. As long as Wei Tu was willing to join, it was a win for them.

As someone who had lived as a rogue cultivator, Li Daoyuan understood better than anyone how hard it was to survive without backing in chaotic times.

Once Wei Tu joined the Alliance, whatever minor grievances existed now would be easily forgotten.

…

After leaving the council hall—

Wei Tu headed to the cave dwelling Xi Ying had assigned him.

To his surprise, Xi Ying hadn’t made trouble for him regarding the accommodation. Besides being located in a slightly more remote area, the facilities were no different from those of the other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The cave residence was built into a cliffside cavern.

After settling in, Wei Tu picked a room and converted it into an insect chamber, where he placed the Seven-Colored Phantom Moths he had with him for raising.

Nurtured by Spiritual Dew, Wei Tu found that his moths seemed to be on the verge of evolving into Tier-Two spirit insects.

That was surprising. The mother of the Seven-Colored Phantom Moths he’d killed before had only been Tier-One.

If they really advanced—

Wei Tu had high hopes. Even at Tier-One, the Seven-Colored Phantom Moths could slip past the spiritual sense of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Once they reached Tier-Two, they might not only gather intelligence but be used to assassinate enemy cultivators.

"Master Shu’s Tier-Two pills—I don’t dare take them myself. But they’re made from the essence of heaven and earth. Letting the moths take them should be fine..."

Standing in the insect chamber, Wei Tu watched dozens of colorful moths fluttering in the air. After a moment of thought, he took out a bottle of Tier-Two pills, diluted them, and fed them to the moths.

To be cautious, Wei Tu didn’t let all the moths take the same batch of pills. He split them into two groups—one to take the pills, and one not to.

This way, even if the pills were laced with poison, half the moths would still survive.

…

Time passed quietly.

In a blink, two years went by.

During this time, Li Daoyuan had visited once to introduce Wei Tu to a False Core True Lord named Gao Chen.

With Gao Chen’s approval, Wei Tu formally joined the Loose Immortal Alliance and became one of their Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After joining, the Alliance didn’t impose many strict conditions. The only request was:

If Alliance members came to purchase talismans from him, he was not to reject them, and he must sell at 70% of market price.

To Wei Tu, this was actually a good deal.

It gave him a new platform to sell his talismans.

—The Jiu Yun Merchant Guild only operated in the interior of Zheng Kingdom. They had no branches on the frontlines.

"Hmm? A message talisman from Daoist Chu?"

That day, Wei Tu had just finished cultivating and was about to feed his Wind-Cleaving Eagle when he noticed a message talisman placed at his cave entrance.

The "Daoist Chu" he referred to was another rogue cultivator stationed at Cicada Cry Cliff.