Wei Tu did not object to Wei Xiuwen’s choice.

In a person’s life, there are many paths to choose from. Choosing the path of survival is easy, but choosing a path that might lead to death is hard.

To secretly cross into Kang Kingdom was, without doubt, a brighter road than hiding within the Mei Clan and silently watching over it.

Wei Tu had always worried that Wei Xiuwen would turn into another Li Xingye—someone who abandoned his family for the sake of his future and ended up dragging his entire clan into ruin.

—Right now, the Mei Clan was Wei Xiuwen’s other family.

Now, Wei Tu no longer had that concern.

…

After receiving Wei Xiuwen’s definitive answer,

Wei Tu didn’t linger long in Cuiping Valley. He brought the Tao siblings and headed straight for Hanshan.

In the past, Wei Tu wouldn’t have dared to go directly and openly to an “enemy’s” stronghold—especially a family stronghold belonging to a Golden Core power.

But things were different now.

He was the disciple of a Golden Core True Lord, an important member of the Loose Immortal Alliance.

With a quasi-Nascent Soul force behind him—

It was the Hanshan Tao Clan that should fear him, not the other way around.

Seven days later.

Southern border of Zheng Kingdom, Hanshan, Tao Clan.

Upon learning that his son and daughter had returned safely, the Tao Clan elder, Tao Shisheng, personally came out to greet them and prepared a banquet to entertain Wei Tu—this well-known Rank Two talisman master from the loose cultivator world.

During their conversation, Wei Tu casually mentioned his identity as a member of the Loose Immortal Alliance.

Upon hearing that he was a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator,

Tao Shisheng and his wife’s attitude toward Wei Tu changed drastically. Their previous subtle arrogance as family cultivators instantly turned into humility.

“This is a top-grade spirit wine brewed by my mother. I hope Senior Wei will enjoy it.” Tao Ya stepped out from her boudoir, her cheeks slightly flushed. With composed elegance, she poured a full cup of wine for Wei Tu.

On the journey back, the siblings had harbored some fear toward Wei Tu, worried that he might kill them for their possessions.

But once Wei Tu safely delivered them to Hanshan, that sliver of fear and dissatisfaction vanished like smoke.

In its place was genuine gratitude.

After all, Wei Tu wasn’t an old acquaintance of the Hanshan Tao Clan. That he would lend a helping hand along the road was already more than they could’ve hoped for.

“Many thanks, Miss Tao.”

Wei Tu offered polite thanks, raised his sleeve to cover the cup, and used a spell to drain the wine—without ever tasting it directly.

Though the chance of the Tao Clan poisoning him was low, he wasn’t someone who acted carelessly. A little precaution was always wise.

—Better safe than sorry.

Wei Tu’s discreet gesture went unnoticed by everyone present. After all, in terms of cultivation, he was already at the top among those seated.

Once the wine had gone around three times and the dishes five rounds,

Wei Tu’s lips moved slightly as he used voice transmission to speak to Tao Shisheng about serious matters.

“When I rescued your son and daughter, I had a conversation with Shang Ming. From his mouth, I learned that your wife’s third brother is a cultivator guarding Chishui Pass—Nie Wenjing.”

“Is this true?”

Wei Tu’s tone was serious as he asked.

With his wording, he subtly covered for the Tao siblings, shifting the blame for revealing this family secret onto Shang Ming instead of saying they had spilled it to save themselves.

“Fellow Daoist Wei, what exactly are you implying?” Tao Shisheng froze for a moment at the question, but he quickly recovered and didn’t panic.

Having ties with Nie Wenjing wasn’t exactly public knowledge, but for the Hanshan Tao Clan, it wasn’t a fatal secret either.

Besides, anyone with eyes could see—Wei Tu had personally escorted the Tao siblings back to Hanshan. Clearly, he bore goodwill toward the Tao Clan and wasn’t like Shang Ming, that kind of cultivator who used threats and violence.

From that alone, there was no need to be nervous.

Moreover, families like the Hanshan Tao Clan—who had personal connections with cultivators stationed at foreign border posts—weren’t rare in Zheng Kingdom.

The smaller the social circle, the more likely you were to have familial ties everywhere.

“My son and daughter have both reached Foundation Establishment,” Wei Tu added with deeper meaning, “but given how chaotic the cultivation world in Zheng Kingdom is now, I haven’t made this public.”

“What? Fellow Daoist Wei’s children are already Foundation Establishment cultivators?” Tao Shisheng was stunned.

As far as he knew, Wei Tu only had two children—Wei Yan and Wei Xiuwen. And now, both of them had successfully established their Foundations?

A father and two Foundation Establishment children—

Not only would this be a great tale in the cultivation world, it also clearly reflected Wei Tu’s own strength as a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Ordinary cultivators at Foundation Establishment didn’t have the ability to raise even one descendant to that level, let alone two.

The Wei siblings might have decent aptitude, but in the cultivation world, there were plenty with even better talent—and most of them had perished at the Foundation Establishment stage, leaving behind nothing but bones.

So it was easy for Tao Shisheng to deduce that Wei Yan and Wei Xiuwen’s success in reaching Foundation Establishment was closely tied to their father, Wei Tu.

“Zheng Kingdom is in chaos. In these past decades, the number of fallen sects is too many to count… I once went to Jing Kingdom, and those Golden Core clans that once stood tall—these days, you’d be lucky to find even one still around.”

Wei Tu circled back to his earlier point, making his meaning even clearer.

From the moment he learned from Tao Ya the real reason why Shang Ming pursued them, Wei Tu understood that he and the Hanshan Tao Clan shared aligned interests.

The only difference was—when the Tao Clan made their escape from Zheng Kingdom, would they bring him, this outsider, along?

With those words, Tao Shisheng finally understood Wei Tu’s true intent. A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes as he said, “Fellow Daoist Wei, you’ve saved the lives of my son and daughter. Logically, I ought to agree to this request…”

“But… unlocking the smuggling route into Kang Kingdom—it’s not something my third brother-in-law Nie Wenjing can accomplish alone. He’s just one crucial link in the chain.”

As he spoke, Tao Shisheng wore a helpless expression, as though this decision weighed heavily on him.

In truth, if Wei Tu hadn’t had the Loose Immortal Alliance backing him, the moment he hinted at wanting a share of the smuggling route, the Tao Clan might have killed him to silence him. Forget letting him get involved.

Unfortunately for them, Wei Tu had a powerful backer now.

So what Tao Shisheng was really saying was—if Wei Tu wanted in on the smuggling route, he’d have to pay a price. Offer something of value.

That was the premise of any cooperation.

The Hanshan Tao Clan might fear the Loose Immortal Alliance, but fear alone wasn’t enough to make them abandon their pride.

“I have ample resources and am willing to assist the Tao Clan however I can,” Wei Tu said plainly, without hesitation.

To shrink from great endeavors out of fear, or to risk everything for a trivial matter—

Neither were things a wise man would do.

Whether it was twenty or thirty years, or fifty or sixty, it would take him time to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment and begin preparations to form a Golden Core. During this period, who knew how the situation in Zheng Kingdom might change?

To think of escape only when the danger comes—

Would be far too late.

Resources that couldn’t be converted into power were just fleeting wealth. Wei Tu understood this very clearly.

“Fellow Daoist Wei, you’re a man of swift action. I respect that.” Tao Shisheng’s eyes showed a hint of admiration at Wei Tu’s decisiveness.

When their negotiations first started, he had assumed Wei Tu was trying to take advantage of the Tao Clan—wanting them to help him escape Zheng Kingdom without offering anything in return.

But to his surprise, Wei Tu wasn’t some groveling nobody. He intended to cooperate with the Hanshan Tao Clan as equals to jointly open this smuggling route into Kang Kingdom.

From just this one show of posture—

Tao Shisheng could tell that Wei Tu was someone worth reckoning with.

…

Half a month later.

Wei Tu left the Hanshan Tao Clan alone.

Compared to when he arrived, he now had seven thousand fewer spirit stones, along with a number of Rank Two talismans.

Those missing spirit stones and talismans—

Were Wei Tu’s initial investment into the Tao Clan’s project to establish the smuggling route into Kang Kingdom.

Seven thousand spirit stones—

Sounded like a lot.

But while that amount was significant for an individual, to a large power it was far from game-changing. Not trivial, but not extravagant either.

The Tao Clan agreed to let Wei Tu join for several reasons:

First, to prevent the smuggling operation from leaking out.

Second, out of gratitude for Wei Tu saving their children.

Third, Wei Tu had only asked to smuggle in a small number of people—not even a full handful. For that number of people, exchanging it for his financial backing was a profitable deal.

After leaving the Tao Clan,

Wei Tu thought for a moment, then made a quick trip to the Baishi Lake Marketplace to send a letter to Kou Hongying. Then he headed straight for the Zhao Clan of Xiyue to visit Fu Zhizhou and Wei Fei.

Ten years ago, when he was on his way to Cicada Cry Cliff,

Wei Tu had stopped by the Zhao Clan of Xiyue.

But unfortunately, back then, Fu Zhizhou—like Wei Tu—had received a summoning order from the sect and had gone to the front lines at Greenwater Bay.

Time flew by in a blink.

Now, ten years had passed.

Fu Zhizhou had luckily survived Greenwater Bay and made it back alive, escaping that disaster and becoming a free man.

Of course, his luck was tied to the shorter length of his posting. Fu Zhizhou had only been stationed there for five years—half the time that Wei Tu had served.

Half a month later.

Zhao Clan of Xiyue, Xiyue Mountain.

Wei Tu stood at the entrance of Xiyue Mountain and sent several talisman messages to Zhao Qingluo, one after another. But even after waiting a long while, Zhao Qingluo never came out to greet him.

“Fellow Daoist Wei, Qingluo is currently in seclusion for cultivation. If there's anything you need, just speak with me directly…” Zhao Tinghai flew out from Xiyue Mountain, offered a formal salute to Wei Tu, and said calmly.

“Clan Leader Zhao.” Wei Tu returned the salute immediately.

He noticed that Zhao Tinghai was holding the talisman slips he had just sent out.

“I came to see Princess Qingluo only to catch up a little.”

Wei Tu casually brushed the matter off.

This visit to the Zhao Clan of Xiyue wasn’t just to meet with Fu Zhizhou and Wei Fei—it was also to return the Minor Shift Talisman Zhao Qingluo had given him.

After all, the Minor Shift Talisman was far too valuable.

Now that he had one gifted by Master Che, it wasn’t appropriate to keep the one from Zhao Qingluo.

—That talisman was also a life-saving treasure meant for Zhao Qingluo. If something happened to her because he kept it, he’d regret it for life.

But in front of Zhao Qingluo’s father, it didn’t seem proper to openly say he was still carrying the protective talisman the Zhao Clan had prepared for their proud genius.

“No need to catch up.”

Zhao Tinghai hovered in the clouds, looking down at Wei Tu from above. His tone was distant and cold as he said, “Ten years ago, after you left, Qingluo went into closed-door seclusion to form her Golden Core. Two years ago, the phenomenon of core formation already began to manifest. Soon, she will be a Golden Core True Lord.”

“From now on, the two of you are simply strangers.”

Over thirty years ago, before the opening of the Cloud Ze Secret Realm, he had once considered matching Wei Tu and Zhao Qingluo—hoping to win over this gifted talisman master through marriage and bring him into the Zhao Clan of Xiyue.

Ten years ago, when Wei Tu left their clan, he had asked Zhao Qingluo to see him off. It was not just to help her resolve her emotional knot before her Divine Sense Barrier but also a second attempt at pairing them.

But now, times had changed.

Soon, Zhao Qingluo would become the Golden Core ancestor of the Zhao Clan of Xiyue. While Wei Tu… was merely in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, still far from Golden Core.

Perhaps he’d never even reach it in his lifetime.

The gap between their statuses was far too large.

He could no longer allow anything to happen between Wei Tu and Zhao Qingluo.

Because as the clan leader, he knew—if Zhao Qingluo, the future Golden Core matriarch, were to be emotionally entangled, it could spell disaster for the entire Zhao Clan.

“Strangers?” Wei Tu froze slightly at the words.

He hadn’t expected that one day, he would actually find himself in the same cliché position as a protagonist from some storybook romance.

But unlike in those stories, Wei Tu didn’t feel anger or resentment—only a sigh at the unpredictability of life, and in his heart, perhaps a small sense of relief.

After all, he never had real feelings for Zhao Qingluo. What he did have… was a lingering guilt.

Back then, he had refused Zhao Qingluo’s kindness inside the stone hall. Now that the Zhao Clan was turning him away, it was only fair.

“Princess Qingluo… already began forming her core ten years ago?” Wei Tu belatedly realized, with a trace of surprise.

Ten years ago, although Zhao Qingluo had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, he had thought she would take a few more years to stabilize her cultivation before attempting core formation.

He hadn’t expected her to go into seclusion right after he left.

Fortunately, though her core formation had been somewhat rushed, the results were good. Since the core phenomenon had already appeared, it wouldn’t be long before she stepped into the Golden Core realm.

Zhao Tinghai noticed the concern on Wei Tu’s face, and his mood subtly softened. Deep down, he even felt a tinge of guilt—for driving Wei Tu away without speaking to Zhao Qingluo beforehand. This whole exchange was mostly driven by his own personal motives.

“If one day… Fellow Daoist Wei does manage to form a core, then perhaps…” Zhao Tinghai hesitated, trying to phrase it delicately.

But before he could finish, he laughed at himself and stopped.

To a rogue cultivator, forming a Golden Core was like reaching for the heavens.

He had basically just set an impossible condition.

And even if, in a far-off future, Wei Tu really did reach the Golden Core stage—by then, would Wei Tu still be the same person as he was today?

Core formation marked a massive divide.

The difference in standing between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was far greater than between Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment.

Wei Tu already didn’t have strong feelings for Zhao Qingluo. Once he formed his core, how likely would he be to “lower himself” and seek to rekindle ties with the Zhao Clan?

Just thinking about it made the whole idea seem ridiculous.

Wei Tu didn’t know Zhao Tinghai’s inner thoughts.

But he didn’t feel Zhao Tinghai’s decision—to treat him as a stranger to Zhao Qingluo—was out of line.

He had a daughter too.

If one day, Fu Lin were to abandon Fairy Leng and then try to reunite with Wei Yan, as a father, he wouldn’t be able to accept it either.

Putting himself in Zhao Tinghai’s shoes, he didn’t think the man had done anything wrong.

Zhao Tinghai was simply using his own way to protect his daughter, Zhao Qingluo.