So, going with Hu Shan and "Qi Chengchu" into the Great Void Realm didn't really scare Wei Tu. In fact, if the timing was right, he could even trap and kill the two of them in that secret realm.
Just like he had once done with Bai Zhi.
"Fellow Daoist Wei must've realized by now—both the She Ri and Feng Wu Tribes want you dead. They're trying to cut off the rise of a Grand Priest from the Ying Ding Tribe…"
Seeing Wei Tu waver slightly, Hu Shan Fairy spoke in a soft, coaxing tone.
"What you said isn't wrong. I am indeed in deep trouble," Wei Tu replied with a cold snort, not backing down, "But aren't you two also in danger? Once I'm dead, it's unlikely either of you will make it out of these plains alive!"
After being turned away by the She Ri and Feng Wu Tribes, he could clearly see through their scheme.
Nothing more than trying to kill with a borrowed blade—letting Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu do the dirty work and eliminate him, the seed capable of strengthening the Ying Ding Tribe.
Killing the genius of a rival faction—every major force did this kind of thing.
But the three great tribes were still nominally allies, not openly hostile. After letting the blade kill, the She Ri and Feng Wu Tribes wouldn't just walk away and ignore it. They'd also deal with the blade itself to maintain a show of unity.
A simple excuse like "the rescue came too late" could shift all the blame.
Wei Tu didn't believe Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu could escape unscathed from the hands of the Divine Masters of the Feng Wu Tribe.
Clearly, Hu Shan saw the danger too. That's why she chose negotiation over pursuit.
In short—
Both sides were afraid.
If they killed him, and the two didn't have a way to escape a Divine Master's wrath, it would be a dead-end.
So, once he calmed down, Wei Tu identified two viable options.
First, stall Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu until the Ying Ding Tribe got the news and came to rescue him.
Second, negotiate with them, ensure his own safety and freedom, then use the Great Void Stone to escape inside the Great Void Realm.
However—
He didn't have much hope for the first option.
Not because he doubted the Ying Ding Tribe.
But because since the two tribes had already decided to stand by and watch, they'd surely clamp down on the news and prevent word of the chase from reaching the Ying Ding Tribe.
They wouldn't let an "enemy seed" get away.
In other words, he could only count on spies from the Ying Ding Tribe planted in the other two tribes to pass the message.
That would be far too slow.
…
After some careful thought, Wei Tu pinned his hopes more on negotiating with Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu.
That path at least gave him some control.
Besides, negotiating was also a way to buy time.
Both strategies could be pursued simultaneously.
"Taking you two into the Great Void Realm isn't out of the question. But how can I trust you?" Wei Tu asked bluntly, throwing the burden of proof onto them.
Resolving the life-and-death threat was the only premise for any cooperation with them.
Otherwise, all he could do was stall for time and wait for rescue.
"We're both willing to swear a soul oath to ensure we won't attack Fellow Daoist Wei during this time," Hu Shan Fairy answered right away.
"You must know how important soul oaths are to us cultivators hoping to reach the Nascent Soul Realm."
To break through to Nascent Soul, one must face a heavenly tribulation. Cultivators who had violated a soul oath would face divine punishment and a far harsher tribulation.
—Even realms beyond Nascent Soul were affected by soul oaths.
Both Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu were currently at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, and they were willing to make soul oaths. That was about as sincere as they could be.
"Soul oath?" Wei Tu hesitated, as if weighing whether to accept.
That was already the biggest price they could offer. There was no way they'd let him hold a threat over them beyond that.
Time passed slowly.
After a full quarter of an hour, Wei Tu still hadn't responded.
Hu Shan could tell he was trying to stall. She chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist Wei, the Divine Senses of Nascent Soul cultivators can cover entire tribes. No one would dare stick their neck out at such a time."
"The longer you stall, the worse it may get for you. These two tribes won't let a potential threat walk away. If someone shows up pretending to be your enemy, don't blame me for not warning you."
With that, she stopped talking.
Wei Tu didn't respond directly.
He said, "If I were to go to the Great Void Realm with the two of you, it's not entirely out of the question. But with two against one, I'd be at too much of a disadvantage."
"I need to find someone to support me!"
"Otherwise, I'd rather go down fighting than agree to this."
Hearing this, Hu Shan didn't reject the idea outright. She exchanged a glance with Qi Chengchu, and the two gave a subtle nod.
A soul oath and a backup ally—those two conditions combined were enough to dispel Wei Tu's doubts about entering the Great Void Realm.
Without them, if they were in his shoes, they probably wouldn't agree either.
The road ahead meant death, and so did the road behind.
Rather than waiting to die, he might as well drag them down with him. Right in front of the two great tribes, he'd take them to the grave.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, who is it you wish to bring along as your ally?" Hu Shan Fairy asked.
Wei Tu stood his ground and, after a brief moment of thought, lightly spoke three words: "Qi Chengchu."
"Alliance Leader Qi is an old acquaintance of mine," Wei Tu said sincerely. "He's a man of justice. With his help, the journey into the Great Void Realm would pose no threat to me."
As soon as the words left his mouth—
The disguised Qi Chengchu's expression froze. He himself was right there, chasing after Wei Tu. Where would he find time to bring in a decoy to act as Wei Tu's ally?
"Qi Chengchu is not acceptable."
Hu Shan Fairy rejected it on his behalf.
Hearing that, and seeing the two's reactions, Wei Tu instantly understood. The male cultivator beside Hu Shan Fairy was, in all likelihood, none other than the Alliance Leader of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, Qi Chengchu.
His suspicion wasn't without basis.
First, the fact that he had entered the Great Void Realm was still known to only a handful of cultivators in the Kang Kingdom.
Essentially, only the Rogue Cultivator Alliance True Lords were aware of it.
Second, peak Golden Core Realm cultivators weren't as common as regular Golden Core cultivators. In the entire Kang Kingdom, there were no more than twenty peak Golden Core cultivators.
Third, fifty years ago, Su Bing'er was snatched by Liu Moqun with uncanny precision. There had always been suspicions about that.
Qi Chengchu just so happened to be the one Wei Tu had once suspected of leaking that information.
And finally—
According to what Bai Zhi had once said, the Soul-Capturing Sect had prior experience refining others' Nascent Souls.
All the signs pointed in one direction. Wei Tu had no choice but to suspect that the man beside Hu Shan Fairy was the same Qi Chengchu he had once met.
As for whether calling him out would alert the snake—
Wei Tu wasn't worried.
Right now, those two snakes, Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu, had already bared their fangs and were hunting him down. Why should he care about alerting them anymore?
No need to expose them outright. It was enough to maintain a semblance of civility.
"If Qi Chengchu won't do… I also have a good relationship with Master Qu Bei of the Ying Ding Tribe…" Wei Tu offered another name.
"Absolutely not!"
This time, it was Qi Chengchu himself who spoke, immediately and forcefully rejecting the suggestion. "Too much delay will lead to complications. We don't have the time or patience to play games with you, Fellow Daoist Wei. At most, you can bring that Heavenly Corpse fellow. No one else."
"Fellow Daoist Wei, the way things stand, you should be the one asking us for help, not the other way around."
Hu Shan Fairy took over smoothly and smiled. "The two of us could simply walk away. We'd only be giving up the opportunity inside the Great Void Realm. But you, Fellow Daoist Wei—when you leave the Feng Wu Tribe's territory, do be extra careful… you wouldn't want to get hunted down again."
With those words said—
Wei Tu could no longer keep a calm expression. His face darkened, flickering with uncertainty.
Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu weren't fools. Any strategy he could think of, they could see through as well.
And right now, they had some control over the situation.
"Fine! Then you two swear the soul oath first," Wei Tu narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly.
With intelligence on the Great Void Realm in hand, he didn't believe he couldn't turn that place into a death trap for both Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu.
Between two evils, choose the lesser.
For him, staying in the Feng Wu Tribe was far more dangerous than heading into the Great Void Realm.
"I, Hu Shan, and Li Huacheng, swear a soul oath: while exploring the Great Void Realm with Wei Tu, we will not harm him. Should we break this vow, our cultivation will forever stagnate."
Hu Shan and "Qi Chengchu" immediately made their soul oaths.
As for the alias used by Qi Chengchu—
Wei Tu didn't bother arguing. A soul oath couldn't be faked so easily. Just using a false name wasn't enough to deceive the heavenly way.
If it were that easy, every sect would've told their disciples to prepare alternate names to cheat the heavens.
Wei Tu corrected their oath wording, asking them to revise "during the exploration of the Great Void Realm" to "on the way to and during the exploration of the Great Void Realm."
He wanted it more specific.
At the same time, Wei Tu added another condition: besides not harming him themselves, Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu also couldn't instruct anyone else to attack him or Heavenly Corpse.
These demands—
Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu didn't argue. They agreed to every one.
"We've sworn our oaths. Now it's your turn, Fellow Daoist Wei. You must not hide anything about the Great Void Realm. You'll tell us everything, in full detail," Hu Shan said with a soft chuckle.
To that—
Wei Tu refused.
And his reasoning was solid. If he told them everything now, and they went back on their word, wouldn't he be left with nothing to hold over them?
"First, I don't know whether the two of you might have ways to circumvent the soul oath. Second, your cultivation is higher than mine. I'm right under your noses—how could I possibly abandon you two and run?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu exchanged a glance and nodded.
They had full confidence in their own strength. They didn't believe that a Wei Tu, without the protection of his tribe, could escape from the palms of their hands.
"There are a total of seven demonic checkpoints in the Great Void Realm. At each one, you must tell the two of us every hidden detail—no omissions whatsoever," Hu Shan Fairy said.
She stepped back slightly, offering a reasonable condition, and requested Wei Tu to swear a soul oath.
Hearing this, Wei Tu nodded in agreement without further objection and began reciting the corresponding oath.
"Well, if not for being a descendant of the Stone Demon Sect, one probably wouldn't ever learn about the treasure known as the Great Void Stone within the Great Void Realm," Wei Tu sneered to himself.
No matter how hard Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu racked their brains, without full knowledge of the Great Void Realm, they would never imagine that such a teleportation treasure existed inside.
Back then, Jia Tianlong's faked death had even fooled the likes of the Demon Lord Gui Luo and other top cultivators.
...
After the negotiation concluded—
Wei Tu turned to seek Heavenly Corpse's opinion.
His earlier exchange with Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu had been done via voice transmission, so the Heavenly Corpse Old Demon hadn't heard any of it.
"This time, I'm already deeply grateful for your help, Fellow Daoist Heavenly Corpse. While the Great Void Realm holds a chance to achieve the Nascent Soul stage, it's extremely dangerous. I hope you'll consider carefully before going in," Wei Tu said sincerely.
On one hand, he hoped the old demon would join him in the Great Void Realm, providing an ally.
On the other hand, he also hoped the old demon would refuse. Wei Tu couldn't guarantee he could keep him safe inside.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, there's no need to worry about me. When it comes to staying alive, I'm not necessarily any worse than a peak Golden Core cultivator. Otherwise... do you really think I'd risk my life to help you just because of that small master-disciple bond with your nephew?"
"Great Void Realm, huh? Didn't think helping you would lead to such a fine opportunity," said the Heavenly Corpse Old Demon with a glint of greed in his eyes. He licked his lips and chuckled softly.
Hearing that, Wei Tu didn't try to dissuade him further. He simply resolved to do his best to help this righteous ally should danger arise.
...
The four of them came to an agreement.
Hu Shan led the way, with Wei Tu and the Heavenly Corpse Old Demon following behind, and Qi Chengchu bringing up the rear. Like a long, winding snake, they slowly headed toward the border between the Kang and Zheng Kingdoms.
This sight stunned the priests and cultivators of the She Ri and Feng Wu Tribes. No one had expected that the four who had just been at each other's throats would suddenly form such an eerie alliance.
"Our two tribes are simply too powerful. Just like how metal and stone cannot merge, but under fierce fire, they can be forged into a weapon," said the Divine Master Jin Xia of the She Ri Tribe as he arrived at the Feng Wu Tribe's camp. Glancing at the two Divine Masters there, he shook his head and sighed.
"What then shall we do?" asked one of the Feng Wu Tribe's Divine Masters, an elder with mottled gray hair.
At this point, Wei Tu had failed to get help and must now be harboring deep hatred toward their two tribes.
Now their mortal enemy was slipping away before their eyes.
Whether it was the She Ri Tribe or the Feng Wu Tribe, both were beginning to feel uneasy.
Wei Tu was simply too young.
"With two peak Golden Core cultivators guarding him, unless we act ourselves, it'll be impossible to succeed," muttered the Divine Master Jin Xia, cursing the gray-haired elder in his mind for pushing him to take the lead. But since the She Ri Tribe had already refused earlier, he couldn't pretend ignorance now.
As soon as this idea was spoken aloud—
The two High Priests of the Feng Wu Tribe fell silent.
If they just stood by and watched, at most it would make the Ying Ding Tribe feel disrespected. They wouldn't go so far as to start a war over an outsider.
But if they used overwhelming force to crush someone weaker, then the fragile balance among the three major tribes would collapse completely.
And when that happened, none of the tribes would fare well.
As rulers, they understood too well: building order is hard, breaking it is easy.
"On the steppe, heroes rise one after another. Wei Tu may not necessarily become a Divine Master," the Divine Master Jin Xia offered himself a graceful exit.
To be fair, what he said wasn't wrong. At present, Wei Tu only had the potential to become a High Priest. But then again, what Golden Core cultivator didn't?
Once he finished speaking—
The two Divine Masters of the Feng Wu Tribe exchanged a look of tacit agreement.
...
After arriving at the border between Zheng and Kang, Hu Shan Fairy stopped her flight.
"Let's wait a bit. Once Fellow Daoist Li arrives with another companion, we'll head out," she said.
Another companion?
Wei Tu was puzzled. Who else could Qi Chengchu, a foreign cultivator, possibly bring to join this plan for the Great Void Realm?
"Someone from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance?" he guessed in his mind.
About half a day passed.
The disguised Qi Chengchu, posing as "Li Huacheng," walked over with a female cultivator wearing a black bamboo hat.
But unlike most female cultivators, this one moved stiffly, like a walking corpse.
"Su Bing'er?" Wei Tu's heart trembled the moment he saw the hat-wearing woman, a hint of disbelief flickering in his eyes.
Though the black bamboo hat had the effect of blocking divine sense, Wei Tu remembered the Fragrance-Nurturing Pill he had once given to Su Bing'er.
Now, the faint feminine fragrance emanating from the woman under the hat was nearly identical to hers.