"Go on." Wei Tu shook his head with a smile, opening the spirit beast pouch and letting the Wind-Cleaving Eagle out.

This time, the reason he was willing to stay in the Beastmaster Sect and allow the Wind-Cleaving Eagle to breed wasn't just to fulfill the three-year agreement from before.

It was also for the sake of the Wind-Cleaving Eagle itself.

Back in the Great Void Realm, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle’s Profound Nether Yin Fire had helped him a great deal.

And ever since the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had been paired by Nan Zi using beast taming techniques, it had become addicted to the experience and had been pestering him ever since, begging to see Nan Zi again…

—After all these years together, this Wind-Cleaving Eagle was no longer the rebellious beast it had been when Wei Tu first entered the Cloud Ze Secret Realm.

The relationship between master and beast was pretty good now.

After being released, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle immediately pounced on the nearest female eagle, engaging in courtship.

Thanks to its cultivation being far higher than these female eagles, it didn’t tire out even after mating with more than a dozen in a row. Instead, it seemed to grow more vigorous with each one.

"Brother Wei’s eagle isn’t bad at all." Nan Zi smiled as she watched the scene unfold.

Decades ago, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle had only been at mid-stage second rank. Now, it had reached the peak of second rank.

This growth speed was astonishing.

It also meant that among Earth-rank bloodline spirit beasts, Wei Tu’s Wind-Cleaving Eagle was top-tier.

"Miss Nan, there’s something I don’t understand." Wei Tu seized the moment to ask, "I once saw the Blood God Son’s Wind-Cleaving Eagle, and I noticed that higher-ranked Wind-Cleaving Eagles all seem to have a blood mark on their foreheads. Does this mark have some special function?"

That blood mark had appeared years ago, after his Wind-Cleaving Eagle advanced to mid-stage second rank by consuming Heavenly Spirit Water.

He had studied that blood mark back then but found nothing.

As for learning that the Blood God Son also had a Wind-Cleaving Eagle, that had been something he picked up accidentally while discussing the Myriad Spirits Demon Infant with Bai Zhi.

"Blood mark?" Nan Zi raised her eyebrows slightly. "That blood mark is the key for the Wind-Cleaving Eagle to use its innate divine ability, Wind-Splitting Escape… What, your eagle has never used this ability before?"

Seeing Wei Tu’s confused expression, Nan Zi suppressed her doubts and explained:

"The difference between Earth-rank and Mysterious-rank bloodlines in spirit beasts isn’t just about cultivation potential. It also lies in innate abilities. Normally, spirit beasts with Earth-rank bloodlines will awaken one or more innate divine abilities."

"These innate abilities are no different from the spells we human cultivators use. But unlike humans, spirit beasts gain their abilities through bloodline inheritance, so they’re also called bloodline spells…"

Innate divine abilities?

Wei Tu raised his eyebrows. He was familiar with the concept, but he hadn’t known that the blood mark on the eagle’s forehead was the key to activating Wind-Splitting Escape.

After all, he had never been certain whether his eagle’s bloodline mutation had placed it among Mysterious-rank or Earth-rank.

"However, it’s not necessarily a bad thing if a spirit beast hasn’t awakened a bloodline ability. It could mean that Brother Wei’s Wind-Cleaving Eagle has an even higher-quality bloodline, and its innate ability is still maturing." Nan Zi offered him a reassuring explanation.

She wasn’t wrong.

In the world of cultivation, it wasn’t just human cultivators who were late bloomers—spirit beasts had them too.

Of course, there was another possibility.

The Wind-Cleaving Eagle’s bloodline might be stuck somewhere between Mysterious-rank and Earth-rank, leaving it unable to fully awaken any innate divine abilities.

Unlike Nan Zi, Wei Tu leaned toward the latter.

"These are some of the Beastmaster Sect’s methods for developing innate abilities in spirit beasts. I’ll gift them to you, Brother Wei." After a brief hesitation, Nan Zi took out a green jade slip and handed it to Wei Tu.

The major sects were very protective of not just their techniques and secret arts but also cultivation knowledge like this.

The jade slip she handed over included some of the Beastmaster Sect’s beast taming techniques.

Though it seemed like trivial knowledge, in reality, every bit of it was hard-earned by the sect’s cultivators over countless years of research.

"Thank you, Miss Nan." Wei Tu accepted the jade slip and thanked her politely.

He didn’t hold back either—he opened the jade slip right there in front of Nan Zi and started reading its contents.

The jade slip listed seventeen methods to stimulate a spirit beast’s development of innate abilities.

These included feeding special pills, targeted training, and using bloodline secret techniques, among others.

After reading through it, Wei Tu pondered for a moment and identified three methods that suited his Wind-Cleaving Eagle.

First, feeding it the second-rank Quenching Blood Pill to temporarily refine its bloodline concentration, thus encouraging the emergence of its innate ability.

Second, killing another Wind-Cleaving Eagle of the same rank to use its essence blood to strengthen his own eagle’s bloodline.

Third, forcing the eagle into a life-or-death crisis to stimulate its potential, compelling it to unleash its innate ability.

"Besides these, there should be one more way, and that is to break through to the next realm," Wei Tu thought to himself.

A cultivator’s potential wasn’t fixed.

Every breakthrough was a process of refining the body and marrow, improving one’s aptitude.

It was the same for spirit beasts.

As long as the Wind-Cleaving Eagle could break through to third rank, its bloodline would naturally be enhanced.

At that point, it wouldn’t just be an Earth-rank bloodline—it would become a true Earth-rank spirit beast.

…

Time passed slowly.

In the blink of an eye, one month had gone by.

Nan Zi looked at the dozen or so female Wind-Cleaving Eagles with their bellies still flat, her face showing a hint of frustration.

Once again, just like the previous two times, she had failed. None of them had conceived.

"Miss Nan, I suspect… my Wind-Cleaving Eagle might have undergone a bloodline mutation," Wei Tu paused for a moment and offered the reminder.

"What, a bloodline mutation?"

Nan Zi wasn’t surprised by his words. Instead, she raised her eyebrows slightly, gave Wei Tu a glance, and complained, "Brother Wei, there’s no need to comfort me just because I failed to breed the Wind-Cleaving Eagle three times…"

"This is clearly because my beast taming techniques aren’t good enough. And besides, Earth-rank bloodline beasts are already difficult to breed. Now that your Wind-Cleaving Eagle has grown even stronger…"

She tried to console herself with these reasons.

Decades had passed. Though her beast taming skills had improved, the Wind-Cleaving Eagle hadn’t stayed the same either—its cultivation had advanced as well.

It had gone from mid-stage second rank to the peak of second rank.

In other words, the difficulty had increased.

So it was understandable that she had failed again.

"Well…" Hearing this, Wei Tu fell silent. He couldn’t exactly tell her that he had been misleading her all these years, so he simply kept quiet.

If she failed to notice the bloodline mutation, that would only imply that her beast taming skills weren’t good enough.

It would mean she lacked the ability to recognize a spirit beast’s potential.

Given the choice between two negatives, Wei Tu decided to let the lie stand.

After all, some cultivators had fragile Dao hearts and couldn’t handle heavy blows.

"Brother Wei, next time we meet, I’ll definitely succeed in breeding your Wind-Cleaving Eagle!" Nan Zi perked up again, patting her chest with a bright smile.

For her, a core disciple of the Beastmaster Sect, failing to breed a spirit beast was a small matter. It wouldn’t affect her status or access to resources at all.

So while she cared about success or failure, she didn’t let these repeated failures weigh on her too much.

"Alright! The Wind-Cleaving Eagle and I will be waiting for Miss Nan’s next breeding attempt," Wei Tu replied with a smile.

Cultivation was all about balancing work and rest.

Letting the Wind-Cleaving Eagle breed like this also helped reduce its savage nature as a high-level beast. He had lost nothing by doing this.

"But next time we meet, it probably won’t be in Zheng Kingdom anymore," Wei Tu sighed quietly.

He had no idea which of the four inland nations the Beastmaster Sect would relocate to in the coming years.

If it wasn’t Kang Kingdom, then meeting Nan Zi again wouldn’t be so easy.

"Farewell, Miss Nan."

Wei Tu waved his hand, called back the exhausted Wind-Cleaving Eagle into his spirit beast pouch, gave a respectful bow, and with a flick of his sleeve, turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the skies above the rear mountains of the Beastmaster Sect.

Back on the ground.

Dressed in purple robes, Nan Zi looked at the equally exhausted flock of female Wind-Cleaving Eagles. She squatted down and gently stroked the head of one closest to her.

"I didn’t notice the bloodline mutation the first two times, but do you really think I can’t see it now?"

Nan Zi let out a sly smile.

She had only pretended not to know so she could set up another future agreement with Wei Tu, giving herself another chance to renew their relationship and strengthen their connection.

"Wei Tu, even if you’ve become a Golden Core True Lord, you still won’t escape my grasp!"

Nan Zi placed her hands on her hips, let out a few snorts, and fully set her sights on Wei Tu as her golden catch.

…

After leaving the Beastmaster Sect.

Wei Tu didn’t leave Zheng Kingdom immediately. Instead, he changed direction mid-flight and headed toward Cuiping Valley, where the Mei Clan of Xiaya Cliff was staying.

Cuiping Valley was a first-rank spiritual land owned by the Huo Clan of Changling.

After the Mei Clan lost their Foundation Establishment cultivator, their in-laws, the Huo Clan of Changling, had leased this place to them.

Decades had passed, and out of fear of the major sects’ draft decree, the Mei Clan—even with Wei Xiuwen, their newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator—didn’t dare move back to their old clan territory and draw attention.

This time, Wei Tu had come to Cuiping Valley with the intention of taking Wei Xiuwen with him.

Everyone had their own choices to make.

Originally, Wei Tu had planned to respect Wei Xiuwen’s decision to stay in Zheng Kingdom and continue protecting the Mei Clan of Xiaya Cliff, where he had married into.

That was why, when he left Zheng Kingdom with Bao Siyan, he hadn’t brought Wei Xiuwen along.

But now, things were different. The situation had changed.

—The Heavenly Maiden Sect had already started secretly hunting him down as the top suspect in the murder of Si Qing.

Once the demonic path invaded, their first target would be him, and their second would be Wei Xiuwen, who had married into the Mei Clan.

If they couldn’t find him, they could use the Blood Guidance Secret Art to track him through his son, Wei Xiuwen.

This was something Wei Tu couldn’t afford to ignore.

Besides, Wei Xiuwen was, after all, his flesh and blood with Xinghua.

Back when the danger wasn’t that great, he had allowed Wei Xiuwen to make his own choices and remain in Zheng Kingdom.

But now, if Wei Xiuwen stayed here any longer, if he remained in the Mei Clan of Xiaya Cliff, his only fate would be certain death.

A few days later.

Cuiping Valley, Mei Clan of Xiaya Cliff.

Clan Affairs Hall.

"I thought I’d never see you again in this life," Wei Xiuwen said as he rushed out of seclusion the moment he heard of Wei Tu’s arrival, personally coming to welcome him.

Seeing Wei Tu again, Wei Xiuwen’s face showed a mixture of excitement and sorrow.

Back then, when he chose the Mei Clan of Xiaya Cliff over the Wei Clan, even though his father, Wei Tu, had said nothing, Wei Xiuwen knew in his heart that his father must have been bitterly disappointed in him.

But loyalty and filial piety could not both be fulfilled.

The Mei Clan’s Foundation Establishment cultivators had all passed away, leaving him the only one remaining. If he were to leave, the Mei Clan would be finished.

True, before he formed his Foundation Establishment, many in the Mei Clan had bullied him as an outsider. But on the other hand, Mei Yuanfeng and his daughter Mei Zhen had always protected him.

They had provided him with resources equivalent to those given to direct bloodline members of the clan.

Over a hundred years ago, when he was able to purchase the Ice Profound Soul-Sealing Talisman on his own, it had been thanks to Mei Zhen’s help.

That was a debt he intended to repay.

Following Wei Xiuwen into the hall was an elderly woman, her hair streaked with silver, appearing around forty to fifty years old.

She was carrying a seven- or eight-year-old child in her arms. She walked nervously up to Wei Tu and softly called out, "Father."

"You’ve grown old." Wei Tu looked at the elderly woman in front of him, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes.

This elderly woman was none other than Mei Zhen, Wei Xiuwen’s wife—his daughter-in-law.

More than thirty years ago, when he had last seen Mei Zhen, she had still looked like a young married woman. But decades had passed, and with her still being at the Qi Refinement Realm, she could no longer maintain her youthful appearance and had aged into an old woman.

"Changshou, come and greet your grandfather." Mei Zhen nudged the child in her arms toward Wei Tu, urging him to step forward and greet his grandfather.

"Grandfather," the child, named Changshou, walked to the front of the hall and stared blankly for a moment at Wei Tu, who looked even younger than his own father. After a long pause, he finally called out in a timid voice, "Grandfather."

"Changshou?" Wei Tu frowned slightly.

Changshou together with the Mei surname sounded like Mei Changshou, which sounded the same as 'no longevity' in their language. It was an inauspicious name.

"Father, his surname is Wei, his name is Wei Changshou. It’s a good name," Mei Zhen quickly explained, noticing Wei Tu’s expression and smiling reassuringly.

Originally, she had planned for their first child to take the Mei surname, and the second child to take the Wei surname.

But—

Decades had passed, and things had changed.

The Mei Clan had fallen so far that they relied on Wei Xiuwen, their son-in-law, to hold things together. And Wei Tu had quietly advanced to become a Golden Core True Lord.

No matter how bold she or the Mei Clan might have been, they no longer dared to give her child the Mei surname.

"Wei Changshou?" Wei Tu let out a few chuckles. He scooped the boy into his arms, bounced him a few times, and said, "I never thought I, Wei Tu, would have a grandson."

There was a real difference between a grandson by blood and a grandson by marriage.

When Mei Zhen had told the boy to call him 'Grandfather', Wei Tu had been happy, but his heart had still felt somewhat conflicted.

But now that Mei Zhen had clarified that the boy carried the Wei surname…

His heart was finally filled with pure joy.

"This robe… is this the one your mother sewed?" After holding Wei Changshou for a while, Wei Tu suddenly noticed that the fabric of the child’s clothes looked familiar.

He remembered seeing it before in the Wei Residence in Nanhang City.

"My mother sewed it a hundred years ago," Wei Xiuwen nodded.

"After Changshou was born, I took him to the outer city of Nanhang City to visit Mother’s grave. He knows who made his clothes and always talks about missing his grandmother."

Mei Zhen quickly added, following the conversation.

"How thoughtful," Wei Tu nodded slightly.

From the boy’s name to the visit to Xinghua’s grave, he could guess Mei Zhen’s intentions… It was nothing more than trying to strengthen ties with him, the Golden Core patriarch, to pave the way for her son’s future.

But Wei Tu didn’t mind this at all.

After all, if you didn’t leave good things for your own son and grandson, who else would you give them to?