The Rogue Cultivator Alliance had a total of seventeen True Lords. Of these, nine had come from the Jing Kingdom.

True Lord Che—full name Che Gongwei—was one of those nine True Lords from Jing.

He was a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, well known within the Rogue Cultivator Alliance for his generosity, support of juniors, and upright reputation—a respected elder among rogue cultivators.

In addition—

Che Gongwei was also a Tier Three Talisman Master.

So, after hearing Li Daoyuan’s words, Wei Tu more or less understood why Che Gongwei would be willing to help him.

Birds of a feather flock together.

True Lord Che was the head of the Alliance’s talisman cultivators. If he could recruit a high-grade Tier Two Talisman Master like Wei Tu under his wing, his influence within the Alliance would grow significantly.

“Many thanks, Daoist Li.” Wei Tu acted as though he hadn’t realized, putting on a grateful expression as he pulled a pouch of spirit stones from his sleeve and pressed it into Li Daoyuan’s hand.

—Having someone to rely on was better than being alone. Aligning himself with True Lord Che was certainly a good move.

Especially now, with trouble looming.

“Leave it to me,” Li Daoyuan said with a cheerful smile as he accepted the spirit stone pouch, patting his chest in assurance.

...

One month later.

After Wei Tu clearly expressed his intention to side with True Lord Che, the investigation Zuo Kui had initiated against him was promptly closed.

Wei Tu’s Wind-Cleaving Eagle was formally confirmed by the Beastmaster Sect as having been seized from a demonic cultivator and not stolen from a sect disciple.

There was no issue regarding its origin.

“Over two hundred years ago, the Blood God Sect launched a surprise attack on our sect and stole a large number of spirit beasts. That time, we lost twelve Wind-Cleaving Eagles,” Zuo Kui explained during a follow-up visit with Wei Tu.

“Five of those were Earth-grade bloodlines. The other seven were Xuan-grade.”

“After that battle, although we still had dozens of Wind-Cleaving Eagles left, their bloodlines were inferior. It would take at least a thousand years of selective breeding to produce new Mysterious or Earth-grade lines…”

Hearing this, Wei Tu raised a brow, already guessing Zuo Kui’s intention.

“What exactly are you trying to say, Daoist Zuo?”

“According to my observation,” Zuo Kui said, “the Wind-Cleaving Eagle you possess appears to be of Earth-grade bloodline. On behalf of the Beastmaster Sect, I have a small request. We’d like your Wind-Cleaving Eagle to come to our sect—to leave a breeding line.”

Zuo Kui made the request plainly.

“Unfortunately, that eagle is one of my key battle assets. If your sect takes it away, I’d be left more vulnerable on the battlefield…” Wei Tu shook his head, tactfully refusing.

Even as he declined, doubts were already forming in his heart. He clearly remembered the Wind-Cleaving Eagle’s bloodline being assessed as Xuan-grade—why did the Beastmaster Sect now view it as Earth-grade?

In the world of spirit beasts, bloodline equaled potential. A one-tier difference between Mysterious and Earth-grade could mean a huge gulf in growth potential.

A Xuan-grade Wind-Cleaving Eagle would be essentially capped at the late second rank in cultivation.

“Could it be…” Wei Tu recalled how, over a decade ago, after the eagle broke through to mid-Foundation Establishment, a strange blood-colored vertical mark had appeared between its brows.

Before he could think deeper, Zuo Kui quickly continued, “If you don’t want the Wind-Cleaving Eagle to leave your side, our sect can also arrange for someone to come to Cicada Cry Cliff, to facilitate the breeding process there…”

A compromise.

Zuo Kui figured Wei Tu would agree.

After all, the Beastmaster Sect—one of the great righteous sects—had already shown goodwill by agreeing to such terms. If Wei Tu still refused, it would be hard not to interpret that as disrespect.

“I’ve only got three years left at Cicada Cry Cliff before I complete my conscription. If something were to happen to the eagle in that time…” Wei Tu hesitated, face troubled.

But unlike before, this reply wasn’t a refusal—it was a conditional acceptance.

The hidden implication was clear—if the Beastmaster Sect was willing to offer appropriate terms, he’d agree.

For example, guaranteeing that during the next three years, if he were to “lose” the Wind-Cleaving Eagle, he’d still be kept safe—no encounters with powerful foes or deadly traps.

The higher the bloodline of a spirit beast, the harder it was to produce pure offspring.

Sometimes, the process could leave the beast drained or even crippled.

Wei Tu’s Wind-Cleaving Eagle wasn’t low in cultivation. Producing one or two offspring might be manageable, but producing a line of offspring that met the Beastmaster Sect’s standards? That would demand immense time, effort, and sacrifice.

“To turn crisis into safety… this Wei Tu is not to be underestimated,” Zuo Kui thought as he caught the nuance in Wei Tu’s words. His impression of Wei Tu immediately rose several notches.

At first, he had assumed Wei Tu would ask for wealth or treasure.

But instead, the only thing Wei Tu wanted was a guarantee of safety for his remaining time at Cicada Cry Cliff.

Turning an enemy into an ally—

Zuo Kui had never seen anything quite like this.

And for the Beastmaster Sect, the cost wasn’t even high. It was entirely within their acceptable range.

“In that case, three years from now, the Beastmaster Sect will reach out to you again to discuss the matter of breeding,” Zuo Kui said with a cupped-fist salute and stood to leave.

His words were neither a confirmation nor a refusal.

After all, as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, he couldn’t make final decisions for the Beastmaster Sect’s leadership.

But Zuo Kui believed that it would be hard for the upper ranks of the sect to reject this offer.

Times had changed.

Wei Tu was now considered one of True Lord Che’s trusted people in the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

Even without the Beastmaster Sect’s protection, the Alliance would do everything in its power to ensure Wei Tu’s survival for the remaining three years of his conscription.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

It was now the tenth year of Wei Tu’s conscription to guard Cicada Cry Cliff.

During these final three years, thanks to his alliance with True Lord Che, Wei Tu received special treatment within the cliff garrison. The missions assigned to him were far less dangerous than in previous years.

Because of that, Wei Tu safely made it through the last stretch and lived to see the end of his ten-year term.

“But compared to me, the other cultivators stationed here had it far worse.” After packing up his belongings, Wei Tu stood at the edge of Cicada Cry Cliff, gazing at the rows of cliffside caves, and sighed softly.

The strong grow stronger, the weak remain weak.

Ten years had passed. Of the stronger Foundation Establishment cultivators like Xi Ying and Zuo Kui, nearly none had perished.

They too had faced life-threatening dangers during that time, but their formidable strength had allowed them to overcome them all.

Wei Tu, who had slain a False Core True Lord while still in late Foundation Establishment, was naturally counted among those strong.

Without power, even with protection, he wouldn't have survived.

After all, good luck alone can’t sustain a cultivator.

A weak cultivator might survive a hundred or even a thousand times on luck, but the first true calamity they face—one that isn’t just a scare—could easily become their final doom.

Like Chu Huan’s death—it was a perfect example.

During Wei Tu’s ten-year post at Cicada Cry Cliff, although almost no strong Foundation Establishment cultivators had died, four or five weaker ones had already fallen.

As for the Qi Refinement realm cultivators beneath Foundation Establishment, the casualties were even greater.

Their bodies littered the cliff.

The high mortality rate at the Foundation Establishment level was largely due to the sacrifice of these weaker cultivators like Chu Huan.

“Congratulations, Daoist Wei. Your term is up, and you can finally return to your homeland,” Li Daoyuan and his wife walked out from their cave dwelling, offering Wei Tu a respectful cupped-fist salute, a trace of envy in their eyes.

Unlike Wei Tu, a rogue cultivator from Zheng who had a home to return to, the two of them—as rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators from Jing—had already lost their homeland. Now, with nowhere to go, they could only remain stationed here, continuing to fight against demonic cultivators.

—The three great sects allowed the Beastmaster Sect and Sky Dome City disciples to enter the Zheng heartlands but strictly forbade Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators from Jing from doing the same. Those who violated the order would be executed on the spot.

Qi Refinement rogue cultivators, though large in number, were too weak to pose much threat. The Zheng local forces could easily suppress them.

Golden Core and above cultivators were few, and the Zheng sects had no means to stop them anyway—so rather than trying to block them, they chose not to interfere.

Only the mid-tier Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators—

They were the hardest group to manage.

Numerous, dangerous, yet still within the realm of control.

At present, if Li Daoyuan and his wife wanted to enter the Zheng interior and live peaceful lives, they had only two options:

One—Accumulate an immense number of military merits to exchange for a pass granting access to the Zheng heartlands.

Two—Wait until the Rogue Cultivator Alliance grew stronger, and one of its Golden Core cultivators successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, becoming a power equal to the two sects of Jing, and then lead them out of Cicada Cry Cliff.

The first option was nearly impossible.

So, the couple pinned all their hopes on the rise of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

That was one reason why Li Daoyuan was so devoted to the Alliance.

“Daoist Li, Daoist Geng, take care. I’ll be going now.” Wei Tu gave a shallow bow in return.

With that, he swept his sleeves, transformed into a streak of yellow light, and shot into the skies, vanishing in moments.

Meanwhile—

On the cliff face of Cicada Cry Cliff.

Li Daoyuan and his wife stood silently, eyes fixed on the retreating light.

Only after a long time did they let out a quiet sigh.

As for Guan Zhenying and Shen Changfeng, the two men Wei Tu had saved when he first arrived, they didn’t show up to see him off because they had already completed their conscription duties and returned to Tai Xuan Sect a few years prior.

...

Having left Cicada Cry Cliff—

Wei Tu had regained his freedom.

However, he didn’t rush back to the Mei family at Fragrant Cliff to reunite with Wei Yan and Yanyan. Instead, he veered off mid-flight and headed toward the headquarters of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance in Zheng: Honghe Mountain Market.

At present, he had a more important matter to attend to—reporting to True Lord Che and formally joining the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

Honghe Mountain Market was located near the battlefront.

As a result, Wei Tu reached it within just four days of travel from Cicada Cry Cliff.

Upon entering the mountain market—

Wei Tu was immediately struck by its sheer prosperity.

The marketplaces at Danqiu Mountain and Baishi Lake were no small towns, but compared to Honghe Mountain Market, they fell far short.

Honghe Mountain Market was nearly ten times the size of Danqiu Mountain, and seven times that of Baishi Lake.

Unlike other markets, which often had fields of spirit grain and medicinal herbs growing around their perimeters, Honghe Mountain Market had no spirit farmlands from its base to its peak. Instead, layers upon layers of buildings were constructed directly into the mountainside.

Stretching down the slopes—

There were more massive structures sprawling out endlessly.

On the streets, cultivators of all realms bustled in the crowds. In the sky above, both human cultivators and spirit birds flew by constantly.

“Honghe Mountain Market is practically the only true refuge for rogue cultivators of Zheng and Jing in this chaotic era,” Wei Tu thought to himself.

Dozens of years ago, while heading toward Demon Wolf Mountain, he had passed by Honghe Mountain Market.

Back then, it was just a small settlement—only half the size of Danqiu Mountain Market.

So much had changed.

Decades later—

Today, Honghe Mountain Market had practically become the largest marketplace in all of Zheng. It was close to being a full-fledged Immortal City.

Wei Tu had heard that outside the Great Cang cultivation world, in other regions, cultivators lived very differently. Instead of living isolated in caves or deep in the mountains, they lived close together, building full-fledged “Immortal Cities.”

Each Immortal City represented a powerful force.

Sky Dome City in Jing was built by imitating such “Immortal Cities” from other realms.

After arriving at Honghe Mountain Market—

Wei Tu didn’t immediately request an audience with True Lord Che. Instead, he took a detour to visit True Lord Che’s disciple, Gao Chen.

—Ten years ago, when Wei Tu first arrived at Cicada Cry Cliff, it was through Li Daoyuan’s introduction that he met Gao Chen, a False Core True Lord. That meeting was what enabled Wei Tu to join the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

Later on—

In the matter of the Wind-Cleaving Eagle—

It was also Li Daoyuan who reported to Gao Chen, and Gao Chen who, on behalf of his master, coordinated with the Beastmaster Sect to secure Wei Tu’s safety.

True Lord Che was a Golden Core True Lord. With Wei Tu’s current status, meeting him directly wouldn’t be easy.

By protocol, Wei Tu had to first visit Gao Chen, who would then pass word to True Lord Che, giving Wei Tu a chance to be summoned for an audience.

Shortly after, Wei Tu arrived at Gao Chen’s cave dwelling and submitted a formal visitation slip.

About half a day later—

He received a reply from Gao Chen.

...

Zheng Kingdom.

Honghe Mountain Market, inside Gao Chen’s cave dwelling.

Gao Chen had prepared a lavish spiritual banquet and brought out a jar of second-rank spirit tea he’d been saving for years to entertain Wei Tu.

“What? Senior Che wants to take me as a disciple?”

An incense stick’s time later, Wei Tu had just finished speaking with Gao Chen when he asked in astonishment.

There were indeed cases in the cultivation world of joining a new master despite prior training—

But such instances were extremely rare. Most had only heard of it, very few had witnessed it personally, let alone experienced it themselves.

After all, it was exceedingly rare for a master to treat a disciple not of their blood as their own child.

“I was just as surprised when I first heard,” Gao Chen said with a light chuckle as he stroked his beard. “But once Master explained it to me, I understood why he wanted to take you in.”

“We rogue cultivators aren’t like sect disciples—good disciples are hard to find. You, Daoist Wei, are already capable of crafting upper-grade second-rank talismans at such a young age. That makes you a genius talisman master.”

“Once you reach the Golden Core realm, you’re bound to become a third-rank talisman master…”

“You’d be able to inherit my master’s mantle.”

“Also, according to what I’ve heard, you reached Foundation Establishment before the age of one hundred. That level of talent is no worse than most sect disciples.”

“In terms of aptitude, among rogue cultivators, you definitely stand out.”

At this point, Gao Chen paused briefly.

Then he said:

“Besides that…”

“There’s another reason why Master wants to take you in—and it has to do with internal matters within the Rogue Cultivator Alliance…”

“Internal matters?” Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, waiting for Gao Chen to elaborate.

Gao Chen didn’t keep him guessing and soon laid it all out clearly—

The so-called internal issues were none other than the ongoing tension between rogue cultivators of Jing and those of Zheng.

Although Jing’s rogue cultivators weren’t significantly better off than those of Zheng, their arrival had pushed Zheng cultivators out of resources and territory, making survival harder.

Over time, this regional conflict grew worse.

So, some forward-thinking leaders within the Alliance proposed mending these tensions before they became irreversible.

An insightful strategy was devised—Golden Core cultivators from Zheng would take disciples from Jing, and those from Jing would take in disciples from Zheng.

Doing this wouldn’t just bridge the divide and foster unity, it would also cultivate a new core generation for the Alliance, transforming it from a loose alliance into a true sect-like force.

This proposal quickly gained support among the Golden Core elders. Those with public spirit welcomed it, while those with private ambition saw it as an excellent opportunity to expand their own influence. Naturally, it spread rapidly.

Wei Tu became one of the beneficiaries of this strategy.

Compared to sect disciples, he might seem unremarkable—but among rogue cultivators in the Alliance, Wei Tu, with his unique talents, stood out like a crane among chickens.

In truth—

There was another reason that Gao Chen didn’t mention.

Wei Tu had more connections than most rogue cultivators.

There was Qin Yuling, the Mirror Water Pavilion True Lord who had already broken through to Golden Core.

And Zhao Qingluo, the Zhao clan prodigy currently forming her core.

These ties made Wei Tu an appealing prospect for Golden Core True Lords like True Lord Che who wished to deepen their influence in the Zheng cultivation world.

Because of this, Wei Tu became a “hot commodity” in the eyes of many elders in the Alliance.

“What does Daoist Wei think of all this?” Gao Chen asked after finishing his explanation, turning his gaze to Wei Tu.

From his perspective, this was an incredible opportunity for Wei Tu—a step straight to the heavens.

Sure, an upper-grade second-rank talisman master held high status in the cultivation world.

But compared to becoming a Golden Core True Lord’s personal disciple?

There was no comparison at all.

“This matter…” Wei Tu’s expression shifted, clearly tempted.

Compared to when he first stepped into the cultivation world, his life now held many secrets. Any one of them, if discovered by True Lord Che, could cost him everything.

In his mind, so-called “upright cultivators” with lofty reputations only acted righteous when no major interests were involved. The moment real stakes were on the line, they would abandon that mask without hesitation.

Wasn’t Alchemist Shu once revered throughout Danqiu Mountain?

Yet in the end, didn’t he throw all that away and join the demonic path?

Still, Wei Tu understood perfectly what rejecting True Lord Che’s kindness meant—Even if True Lord Che was generous enough not to take offense, the Beastmaster Sect would surely show less goodwill moving forward. They might not even negotiate with him about the Wind-Cleaving Eagle’s breeding anymore.

That so-called “closed case” could be reopened with a single word.

“If things are truly as Gao Chen said—that True Lord Che wants to take me in only because of the Alliance’s long-term plan—then there’s nothing much to worry about. As long as I stay cautious and keep my secrets safe, I should be fine,” Wei Tu thought silently to himself.