Wei Tu never imagined that despite Su Bing'er having reached the Golden Core, she would be forcibly taken by Qi Chengchu in the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and turned into this wretched state.
She no longer resembled a human, nor a ghost.
"Where is Che Gongwei? Could it be that Che Gongwei and Qi Chengchu are still on the same side? Or has Che Gongwei been deceived by Qi Chengchu?"
Wei Tu's heart suddenly grew cold.
Since joining the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, he had always liked his master, Che Gongwei. Otherwise, he wouldn't have warned him before sneaking into Kang Kingdom. But now, the truth forced him to reconsider his teacher.
"Let's not judge hastily! With Qi Chengchu's scheming, methods, and strength, along with the help of Hu Shan, it's not impossible for him to deceive Che Gongwei and abduct Su Bing'er."
Thinking about his own situation, Wei Tu didn't rashly conclude that Che Gongwei had betrayed him and Su Bing'er, leading them to this disastrous state.
After all, fifty years ago, he had already been on guard against Qi Chengchu and Hu Shan.
This time, however, he had been caught off-guard.
As for Che Gongwei, he had always been close to Qi Chengchu. Without any defense, how could he not be manipulated by Qi Chengchu and Hu Shan?
Two peak True Lords who had spent fifty years plotting—if they failed, it would be laughable.
...
After Qi Chengchu arrived with Su Bing'er, they immediately made their way toward the Black Blood Marsh, a perilous borderland between Kang Kingdom and Zheng Kingdom.
The Black Blood Marsh was an inhospitable area.
In theory, a Golden Core cultivator could cross it.
However, to block demonic cultivators, the Seven Nations Alliance had set up many traps, making the area passable only for top-tier Golden Core cultivators.
But with Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu, both peak Golden Core cultivators, clearing the way, and Wei Tu's group also being Golden Core cultivators, they faced no significant danger along the way and traveled safely.
Along the journey, Wei Tu took the opportunity to observe Su Bing'er's condition and spoke with Bai Zhi, discussing their plans.
Hu Shan was a high-ranking disciple of the Soul-Capturing Sect with deep knowledge of the Soul Path. If Wei Tu wasn't careful, communicating with Bai Zhi could potentially expose them.
"Su Bing'er is key to the Soul-Capturing Sect's Five Elements Infant technique. She should not be dead yet, but under a higher-level soul-binding talisman. Her actions and consciousness are completely controlled by Hu Shan, making her a puppet."
"As long as we kill Hu Shan and break the talisman, she can be revived."
Bai Zhi spoke softly.
After talking about Su Bing'er, Bai Zhi shifted the conversation to Wei Tu, speaking with a tone full of concern: "Going to Great Void with Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu, Wei Tu, you won't just face them. There's also the Gui Luo Demon Lord and others guarding Great Void."
"Fighting for an opportunity in Great Void is like trying to take food from the tiger's mouth. You don't understand the horror of the Gui Luo Demon Lord."
Mentioning the Gui Luo Demon Lord clearly made Bai Zhi nervous. After all, she had been harmed by him before Wei Tu rescued her.
Wei Tu didn't think Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu were stronger than Bai Zhi, but Gui Luo was an entirely different matter.
"Which Nascent Soul incarnation does the Gui Luo Demon Lord belong to?" Wei Tu asked, his curiosity piqued.
Bai Zhi hesitated before answering, "His strength is not the greatest among demonic Nascent Soul cultivators. Compared to the true top cultivators of the Five Sects, he falls short. But he has mastered a Buddhist technique—'Mind Connection'."
"Even if he hasn't fully mastered it, if a cultivator knows his real name, Gui Luo can use it as a conduit to perform his technique."
"I didn't tell you earlier, Wei Tu, not to keep secrets from you. But if you're not proficient in the Soul Path and think about his name while in the Gui Luo Demon Lord's detection range, he will immediately notice. It would be a disaster."
Wei Tu took this in, understanding the severity. If he hadn't strengthened his own Soul Path cultivation, he might have unwittingly given himself away.
"But," Bai Zhi continued after a pause, "now that you've cultivated the Upper Evolution Secret Scripture, although it's a fragment, it's still a divine method. You should be able to resist the Gui Luo Demon Lord's Mind Connection now."
Mind Connection? Upper Evolution Secret Scripture?
Hearing this, Wei Tu understood the meaning behind Bai Zhi's words.
More than fifty years ago, when Wei Tu left the Great Void Realm, his spiritual consciousness had surged to the level comparable to the late-stage Golden Core due to devouring the Ghost Infant. However, at that time, his spiritual consciousness was scattered, like floating weeds, without any foundation.
This state improved five years ago when he obtained a fragment of the Upper Evolution Secret Scripture from the shattered soul fragment of the Sorrowful God.
He truly integrated his spiritual consciousness into his own power, rather than letting it remain as it was—floating and insubstantial.
Like a bubble that once existed, now reduced to a small puddle of water, the latter was much more solid, far beyond what the former could compare to.
Only now did he have the foundation to resist the Mind Connection technique of the Gui Luo Demon Lord.
"I'll teach you a defensive soul technique, Wei Tu. This technique may not be profound, but it will still be useful in defending against the Mind Connection technique."
Bai Zhi thought for a moment and then spoke.
Had it been in the past, she would never have been so considerate toward Wei Tu, as she had been surviving only because of him.
However, after he gave her a chance to live when they were in peril outside Zhen Wu Immortal City, her mindset had shifted.
Now, she viewed Wei Tu more as a collaborator!
"Once you have mastered this technique, Wei Tu, I'll tell you the real identity of the Gui Luo Demon Lord..." she added.
After speaking, Bai Zhi's lips moved slightly, and she began teaching Wei Tu a soul technique called the Lotus Embrace Technique.
As Bai Zhi said, the Lotus Embrace Technique was indeed not particularly profound.
Compared to the eloquence of the Upper Evolution Secret Scripture and the Hidden Spirit Boat Technique, this Lotus Embrace Technique seemed more like child's scribbles. The difference was not small.
The only advantage was that Lotus Embrace Technique was a complete text, not a fragment.
"While cultivating the Lotus Embrace Technique, use the Holy Spring Water to enhance your body cultivation," she instructed.
Wei Tu made his decision.
Unlike Qi cultivation, which required sitting and breathing, body cultivation and martial arts were similar. There were also dynamic movements in the process of cultivation.
Thus, as Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu led the way through the Black Blood Marsh, Wei Tu did not slack off. He began a methodical training, gradually enhancing his strength and improving his chances in the event of a critical confrontation.
In other words, he would do what he could and leave the rest to fate.
Wei Tu did not believe that he would always fail under the schemes of Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu.
In the beginning, he had only been a humble servant leading a horse.
...
On the seventh day after Wei Tu and the others entered the Black Blood Marsh, far off in the distant Golden Long Valley, a symbol of light shot straight into the sky.
Then, a thunderous boom rang out, shaking the valley inside and outside.
The low-ranking cultivators of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance were struck by the impact. Their blood surged, and their magical power was thrown into disarray.
Some cultivators with unstable foundations turned pale, and a bit of blood trickled from their mouths.
"What's going on?"
"Has the enemy invaded the Rogue Cultivator Alliance?"
The cultivators were shocked and looked up to the sky, trying to figure out the source of the tremendous noise.
At that moment, the sky was filled with swirling thunderclouds, and golden light flickered as talismans formed a giant symbol dragon tens of feet in size. The dragon roared and swiped its claws, flying straight toward the center of Golden Long Valley.
The pressure it emitted was already nearing the level of a top-tier Golden Core cultivator.
"Who is it?" The Golden Core True Lords of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance appeared instantly, floating in the air, their faces full of astonishment as they watched the unfolding scene.
"It's Che Daoist's power and talismans!"
A keen-eyed Golden Core True Lord immediately recognized the origin of the giant talisman dragon.
"Che Daoist? Why would Che Daoist attack Golden Long Valley? Is he attacking himself?"
The cultivators were puzzled.
Then, with the movement of the talisman dragon, the cultivators understood the reason—someone had used a formation to trap Che Gongwei forcibly in his own cave.
Roar! Roar!
The golden talisman dragon howled to the sky, its claws pressing directly against the dark red formation's light barrier. At the same time, spiritual talismans shot from the claws, exploding in a series at the barrier's nodes.
The power of the talismans and the formation collided.
The immense shockwave struck the surrounding area, almost flattening the buildings in Golden Long Valley.
"Break!" Sitting cross-legged with a youthful face despite his old age, Che Gongwei suddenly opened his eyes. He exhaled, taking out a treasure that resembled a mountain, and threw it toward the formation's node where the talisman dragon's claw had pressed.
As the treasure flew through the air, it expanded, turning into a giant mountain over one hundred feet tall, with the character "符" (Talisman) etched into the dark gray peak.
The two forces collided, their combined might.
The dark red formation's light barrier finally couldn't hold up, breaking apart into scattered light points and disappearing.
"Qi Chengchu!" Che Gongwei's face turned ashen, his eyes fixed on the direction of Qi Chengchu's cave.
Seven years ago, Qi Chengchu had deceived him, tricking him into entering this top-tier, third-level formation, and then imprisoning him ever since.
Fortunately, his efforts paid off. After seven years of painstaking research, he had finally uncovered the flaws in the formation's operation and managed to break it, regaining his freedom.
"Qi Chengchu! Come out!" Che Gongwei channeled his magical power and shouted in a low, furious voice.
He wanted to settle the score with Qi Chengchu.
He wanted to know why this "friend" had imprisoned him!
However—
No matter how much Che Gongwei called, Qi Chengchu's cave remained eerily silent, with no response.
"Damn it! Bing'er!" It was then that Che Gongwei noticed that among the Golden Core True Lords watching from the sidelines, there was no sign of Su Bing'er.
With the memories of the ambush from years ago now coming to the forefront of his mind, Che Gongwei immediately deduced that Qi Chengchu's true aim in imprisoning him was not to harm him, but to capture Su Bing'er.
Years ago, Che Gongwei had suspected the leak of information regarding the "transportation of magical tools," but due to his trust in Qi Chengchu, he had never suspected him.
But now, how could he not suspect Qi Chengchu!
"Daoist Che, what business do you have with Daoist Qi?"
The group of True Lords from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, upon seeing the formation's shield, had already begun to guess what was going on.
However, they were unaware of the ambush and, by their habitual thinking, believed in Qi Chengchu more than in Che Gongwei.
Thus, they were now trying to protect Qi Chengchu, the leader of their alliance, with their words.
After all, Qi Chengchu had only imprisoned Che Gongwei, not killed him.
Perhaps there was some reason behind it.
"Where is Qi Chengchu? I have urgent business with him!" Che Gongwei suppressed his fury and asked coldly.
Having lived a long life, he could already discern their stance from the words of the Golden Core True Lords.
Thus, he chose to ask about Qi Chengchu's whereabouts rather than continue to demand answers from him directly.
As fellow members of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, they couldn't refuse this request.
The True Lords exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond.
They had no ability to track the movements of their leader, Qi Chengchu.
"Find Wei Tu and discuss the strategy together," Che Gongwei felt a chill in his heart as he turned his thoughts to his other Golden Core disciple, Wei Tu.
It had been Wei Tu who had saved Su Bing'er the last time, acting just in time.
In other words, Wei Tu was the last person who would be suspected in the matter of framing Su Bing'er.
Just as Che Gongwei was about to take off and leave Golden Long Valley, one of his Golden Core friends in the Rogue Cultivator Alliance suddenly sent him a message, giving him important information.
This information, coincidentally, was about Wei Tu.
"Ten days ago, in Zhen Wu Immortal City, Wei Tu was pursued and nearly killed by a fox-faced female cultivator and a black-robed male cultivator. Both of them are at the peak of Golden Core."
"Afterward, Wei Tu seems to have reached some sort of agreement with these two and left together, their current whereabouts unknown."
His Golden Core friend explained.
A fox-faced female cultivator? A black-robed male cultivator?
Che Gongwei's eyes narrowed slightly.
Though he didn't know who these two were, the timing of their pursuit of Wei Tu made him think of a possibility.
"There are several Golden Core peak cultivators in Kang Country, and Qi Chengchu just happens to be absent from Golden Long Valley. Could it be... the Great Void Realm?" Che Gongwei's eyes narrowed further.
Though he hadn't had much contact with Wei Tu, Che Gongwei knew that the only thing worth coveting on Wei Tu's person by a Golden Core peak cultivator was the Great Void Realm.
Previously, Qi Chengchu had mentioned more than once that Che Gongwei should pass a message to Wei Tu, inviting him to explore the Great Void Realm together.
However, due to the dangers of the Great Void Realm, Che Gongwei had hesitated to send Wei Tu there, fearing that he might meet a similar fate to Bao Siyuan. So, he had never agreed to Qi Chengchu's request.
Now, it was not hard to imagine that Qi Chengchu, in an attempt to break through his own realm, had allied with outsiders to force Wei Tu into this situation.
After all, years ago, the He Shan Huang Clan, without any prior enmity with Qi Chengchu, had been wiped out by him.
"Good, Qi Chengchu. I regarded you as my closest friend. You've already harmed one of my disciples, and now you go after two of them. How ruthless can you be!"
"I will settle this score with you, Qi Chengchu!"
At this thought, Che Gongwei could no longer contain his fury. He flung his sleeves and charged towards the Black Blood Marsh.