“Spiritual sense mark?”
Wei Tu raised his brows at the question, flipping his palm to reveal a vermilion talisman.
He then pressed the talisman onto his robe.
In an instant, the vermilion talisman vanished into the fabric, its markings completely concealed.
“Seven-Colored Phantom Moth blood, combined with a Seal Spirit Talisman, produces this effect. When you reached to receive the talisman I handed over, that’s when I planted the mark on you.”
Wei Tu explained casually.
Back in the depths of the Blood Slaughter Sea, in order to destroy the gray light wisp that had escaped from the “Sword-Wielding Daoist Scroll,” he’d detonated three second-tier Seven-Colored Phantom Moths.
Afterward, he collected their remains and refined them into spiritual ink for talisman crafting.
To his surprise, he discovered that by using the Phantom Moth remains with a Seal Spirit Talisman, the resulting talisman gained partial invisibility and could evade spiritual detection.
So, when Bai Zhi escaped from Xieshan Ridge, he decisively commanded the hidden Phantom Moth to plant this mark on her.“Seven-Colored Phantom Moth?” Bai Zhi’s eyes widened in shock, but then her expression calmed with understanding. “So it was a newly developed technique using those moth corpses. No wonder I fell into that trap—guess I can’t complain.”
Back during their journey across the Flame Crystal Desert, she had seen the Demon Lord Gui Luo encounter one such moth herself.
But she never expected Wei Tu would be so extravagant—actually using second-tier moth corpses as ink to draw talismans.
“Even if I hadn’t used this secret method, Bai daoyou, you really think you could’ve escaped me in the Great Void Realm?”
Wei Tu cut her off with a scoff, his face showing clear disdain.
The mark he left with that specialized Seal Spirit Talisman was just a backup plan—it wasn’t his only method of pursuit.
If Bai Zhi had spotted the mark early and tried to run, he would’ve triggered the Great Void Realm’s formations and killed her before she got far.
As he thought this, he rubbed a blue crystal orb about the size of an egg from within his sleeve.
This was something he had found in Jia Tianlong’s storage pouch.
Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t recognize it and would assume it was just some trinket. But with the jade slip left behind by Immortal Master Shentu, Wei Tu immediately recognized it as a “Great Void Stone.”
With this stone, a cultivator could teleport out from anywhere within the Great Void Realm’s outer boundary.
Wei Tu guessed that two years ago, Jia Tianlong had used this stone to fake his death in the Blood Slaughter Sea and leave the Great Void Realm—only to return later and ambush Wei Tu at the valley’s entrance.
Thanks to this Great Void Stone, even if Bai Zhi had discovered the mark, he could’ve teleported out ahead of her and intercepted her escape.
“Alright, Bai daoyou, it’s time for you to share the demonic art you promised.”
Wei Tu’s tone grew colder.
Though demonic arts often pursued rapid gains and sacrificed long-term potential, that didn’t mean they were all useless.
In battle, demonic cultivators frequently outmatched righteous ones at the same level.
He still remembered how the Jia Clan’s two late Foundation Establishment cultivators used the Blood Ignition Technique during the Yunze Secret Realm battle to turn the tide and kill two cultivators from the Zhao Clan.
“Since I made the promise, I’ll keep it,” Bai Zhi nodded slightly and gestured for an empty jade slip.
Using the last of her golden core’s power, she imprinted the technique into the jade slip.
“‘Beast Refinement Essence Augmentation Method,’” Wei Tu muttered as he read it, his gaze flashing.
This demonic art was used to refine the essence of spirit beasts to bolster one’s own cultivation.
Naturally, it could also be used on other cultivators.
He didn’t even need to think—this method definitely had long-term drawbacks. If it really allowed one to so easily enhance their cultivation, the righteous path would've been wiped out long ago by the demonic sects.
Still, it was free. And for now, that was good enough.
Ordinarily, this technique wouldn’t be worth much.
But in desperate situations—where rapid power gains mattered more than consequences—it could be a lifesaver.
After getting the secret art.
Wei Tu began asking Bai Zhi about the Heavenly Maiden Sect and the other five demonic sects’ deployment when they attacked Zheng Kingdom, as well as important figures within the demonic path territory.
Though these matters were secret, they didn’t touch Bai Zhi’s core interests. After hesitating briefly, she answered one by one.
“About a hundred years ago, your sect sent Si Qing into the Cloud Ze Secret Realm… what exactly was the Nanhua Sect’s legacy treasure she was searching for?”
After a while of questioning, Wei Tu finally asked the core reason behind ambushing Bai Zhi on this trip.
The Nanhua Sect's legacy treasure—Heaven-Mending Bowl!
Ever since he snatched it from Si Qing, Wei Tu had never been able to uncover what the bowl actually did.
Back when he was still at the Foundation Establishment stage, he thought that once he reached Golden Core, he would be able to activate the artifact and unravel its secrets.
But reality didn’t go the way he thought.
After reaching Golden Core, he had tried many times to refine the Heaven-Mending Bowl, yet without exception, the spiritual power he channeled into it vanished without a trace—no reaction whatsoever.
“Heaven-Mending Bowl? You obtained the Heaven-Mending Bowl?”
Bai Zhi didn’t fall into his trap. But upon hearing Wei Tu mention “the Nanhua Sect’s legacy treasure,” her expression lit up with joy.
But then, she remembered her current situation—trapped in Wei Tu’s hands—and quickly suppressed her excitement, regaining her composure.
“So that treasure is called the Heaven-Mending Bowl?” Wei Tu acted surprised, feigning ignorance.
Seeing Wei Tu’s reaction, Bai Zhi felt some suspicion—unsure if Wei Tu truly had the Nanhua Sect’s Heaven-Mending Bowl.
“He’s trying to trick me,” Bai Zhi concluded inwardly.
From her repeated losses to Wei Tu during this battle, she had learned her lesson. At this point, she wouldn’t trust his words so easily and believed he didn’t have the Heaven-Mending Bowl.
“What secret could this Heaven-Mending Bowl hold that made your sect go to such lengths—first infiltrating the Huang Clan, then ordering the Jia Clan’s cultivators to follow Si Qing’s commands...”
“Even the Foundation Establishment spirit material in the Cloud Ze Secret Realm couldn’t distract Si Qing and the Jia Clan cultivators from their goal.”
Wei Tu continued to probe.
Hearing him go on, Bai Zhi more or less guessed his real intention. A plan began to form in her mind.
“I wouldn’t know about that. These were decisions made by the higher-ups and involve Nascent Soul patriarchs. How could someone like me have the qualifications to be involved?” Bai Zhi sneered inwardly but kept her tone calm as she declined.
She didn’t believe for a second that revealing the secret of the Heaven-Mending Bowl would spare her life.
Rather than confess and get killed, she would much rather use this knowledge to leverage a chance at survival.
“Of course, if Fellow Daoist Wei is willing to swear a Heart Demon Oath, once I return to the Heavenly Maiden Sect, I will do my utmost to inquire about this matter for you.”
She raised her right hand as if to make a vow and offered this deal to Wei Tu.
“So Fellow Daoist Bai refuses to talk.” Wei Tu’s face darkened.
He glanced at the Wind-Cleaving Eagle.
“Caw!” The Wind-Cleaving Eagle let out a sharp cry and activated the Profound Nether Yin Fire, beginning to burn Bai Zhi’s spirit soul.
However, something unexpected happened.
This time, Bai Zhi didn’t scream in agony like before. Her spirit soul sat cross-legged inside her Golden Core, eyes shut tightly, enduring the chilling pain of repeated soul freezing without uttering a word.
“Fellow Daoist Wei, I was born and raised in the demonic path. This kind of brutal punishment—I’ve already experienced worse. The pain from demonic cultivation methods far surpasses this.”
After a while, Bai Zhi’s spirit soul opened its eyes. She gave Wei Tu a glance and spoke in a flat tone.
Clearly, her earlier cries of mercy under the Profound Nether Yin Fire had just been a ruse to extract information from Wei Tu during conversation.
Now that she understood his goal and felt she had a chance to survive, there was no way she’d open her mouth so easily and waste her bargaining chip.
“Fellow Daoist Bai is clever. I admire that.” Wei Tu nodded slightly, praising her.
He continued, “The Soul-Searching Technique is usually harmful when used on someone of the same cultivation stage. But surely there must be secret arts in this world that can bypass that.”
“Also...”
“There’s the spiritual poison from the Great Void Realm.”
“I remember—it can force a cultivator’s realm to drop. That same poison should work on the spirit soul too.”
Wei Tu’s voice was calm.
When it came to dealing with Bai Zhi, he now had two options.
First, search for a higher-grade soul-searching secret art capable of being used on someone of the same level.
Second, use the Seven-Star Begonia spiritual poison to suppress Bai Zhi’s realm. Once she dropped back to Foundation Establishment, he could then safely soul-search her.
But the first method was hard to find.
As for the second... if Bai Zhi got poisoned, and he soul-searched her afterward, there was still the risk of being contaminated by the Seven-Star Begonia poison himself.
Bai Zhi’s spirit soul said nothing. She remained silent, showing no sign of giving in.
Seeing this, Wei Tu didn’t say another word.
He pulled out a pill bottle, then sealed Bai Zhi’s Golden Core inside it and etched several layers of restrictions on the surface of the bottle.
Then, he casually found a nearby monkey-type spirit beast and sealed the jade bottle containing Bai Zhi’s Golden Core into the beast’s body.
Next, he gave the monkey beast a command—if anyone got close, it was to self-detonate immediately and destroy the bottle.
—A Golden Core cultivator from a major sect might know secret arts that Wei Tu had never even heard of.
Just like Wei Tai and the others, who could call on Gui Luo, the Demon Lord, the moment the underground palace opened.
So, for safety, Wei Tu didn’t dare keep Bai Zhi’s Golden Core by his side.
This was the best solution for now.
At last, Wei Tu cleaned up the battlefield, erasing all traces of his battle with Bai Zhi.
…
After completing all this—
Wei Tu altered his aura, changed his appearance and outfit, then left the Southern Desolate Wastes, flying toward the Jing Kingdom.
This time, he had two purposes in going to the Jing Kingdom.
First, to fulfill his promise and bury the remains of Master Shentu in his hometown at Dafeng Slope, located in Anyuan City, Chongshan Commandery of the Jing Kingdom.
Second, to search within the Jing Kingdom for a high-grade Golden Core soul-searching technique, and once found, return to the Southern Desolate Wastes to extract Bai Zhi’s memories.
Although Bai Zhi’s offer of a heart demon oath seemed favorable to him, Wei Tu knew well the danger of releasing a tiger back to the mountains.
The artifact was important, but he had patience—he could unravel the mystery in time.
Foundation Establishment stage—Si Qing.
Golden Core stage—Bai Zhi.
Now, both had fallen into his hands.
Even without Bai Zhi, in the future… he could always find another “Bai Zhi” to get his answer.
…
Before entering the Jing Kingdom—
Wei Tu concealed his Golden Core cultivation in Qi Refinement and only revealed his third-rank body refinement realm.
With the concealment of the 《True Demonic Refinement Art》, no one could tell that Wei Tu was a righteous cultivator instead of a true demonic cultivator.
Decades had passed.
The current Jing Kingdom, compared to the days when Wei Tu had defended Cicada Cry Cliff, hadn’t changed much—everywhere was filled with demonic cultivators and “slave cultivators” who had submitted to them.
After making a few inquiries, Wei Tu learned that the Zheng Kingdom had not yet been invaded by the demonic sects and still remained in a peaceful state.
“When I left the Red River Mountain Marketplace, I already had a puppet leave a secret message to Che Gongwei. I wonder now—did Che Gongwei act alone or leave together with the Loose Immortal Alliance?”
As he flew, Wei Tu pondered.
Going alone had its advantages.
Traveling with a group also had its merits.
But for something like smuggling across borders, low profile was better—avoid drawing attention.
Especially when the group was not united in heart.
You can know a person’s face, but not their heart.
The Loose Immortal Alliance was merely a loose coalition. It was too complicated, with seventeen Golden Core cultivators, each with their own agenda and schemes.
At this time, traveling together would multiply the risk many times over.
…
More than one thousand years had passed.
Cultivators might remain youthful, but in the mortal world, everything had long since changed.
Chongshan Commandery of the Jing Kingdom had been renamed “Changshan Commandery” over four hundred years ago, and even its subordinate Anyuan City had undergone changes.
Fortunately, Wei Tu had the map Master Shentu marked on the jade slip. Flying all the way here, he wasn’t misled by the name changes.
“Dafeng Slope, Xia Family.”
After burying Master Shentu’s remains at the ancestral land, Wei Tu began searching the surrounding towns and villages for any living descendants of Master Shentu.
Back then, even after achieving success in the cultivation world, Master Shentu hadn’t forgotten his family and had brought several juniors along the path of cultivation.
But talent among cultivators varied.
Those from the Xia family with poor aptitude were unable to cultivate and were instead arranged by Master Shentu to remain at Dafeng Slope, guarding the ancestral shrine and becoming prominent officials among the mortals.
A thousand years later—
Fire Essence Sect had long since vanished without a trace.
So now, the only ones Wei Tu could find were the mortal descendants Master Shentu had “luckily” left behind.
However—
Wei Tu hadn’t been searching long—
When he found that the burial site’s restriction had been triggered.
“Grave robbers?” Wei Tu raised his brows and flew quickly toward the site to capture the culprit.
He hadn’t expected the security in the current Jing Kingdom to be so poor that a grave only a few days buried had already attracted tomb raiders.
At this moment, Wei Tu was not far from the burial site—just over thirty li away.
In just half a cup of tea’s time—
Wei Tu had already flown to the site.
“Gong Shulan?” Hovering in the sky above the burial mound, just as Wei Tu was about to strike, his divine sense suddenly saw the grave robber's face clearly.
It was an old acquaintance.