A few days later.
Under the arrangement between Wei Tu and Zhao Huamin, Fu Linglong finally agreed. She offered 70,000 spirit stones to hire Zhao Huamin as the intermediary and handed over another 100,000 spirit stones as an apology gift for the Tianyi Jiao Clan.
Golden Core cultivators typically had around 100,000 spirit stones to their name. After subtracting fixed assets, they usually only had 30,000 to 40,000 liquid spirit stones.
For this negotiation alone, the Fu siblings had put forward 170,000 spirit stones. It was a massive loss.
But considering the risks of offending the Tianyi Jiao Clan, this amount wasn't even much. It was arguably too little.
Even though Fu Linglong was a Buddhist maiden from Jinglian Convent and Tianyi Jiao Clan couldn't touch her directly, it wouldn't be hard for them to target Fu Dalu through clan pressure.
After receiving the spirit stones, Zhao Huamin fulfilled her role. She went to Tianyi Sect to speak on behalf of the Fu siblings.
With the return of the storage pouch, an apology gift, and the involvement of the Shengya Zhao Clan as a mediator, the Tianyi Jiao Clan didn't make things difficult. They agreed to settle the matter peacefully.
In the end, while the Fu siblings and Jinglian Convent weren't as powerful as the Tianyi Jiao Clan, Jiao Zihua was just a regular core member. He didn't represent the entire clan. They wouldn't waste their resources going after the Fu siblings just for him.
From the Fu siblings' perspective, the entire conflict had been a misunderstanding, sparked by Sun Chixin's sudden disappearance.
With their goal accomplished, Fu Linglong and Wei Tu—still disguised as "Cui Wang"—left Shengya Mountain and returned to Peach Immortal City.
On the road, Wei Tu said farewell to Fu Linglong, telling her he planned to travel around the Xiao Kingdom for a while. After that, he would end his time abroad and return to the Kang Kingdom.
"The Fu Clan still has a lot of spirit herbs lying around, not yet refined. Alchemist Wei, are you really not staying longer?"
"I can raise your rate by 30% every time you open a furnace!"
Fu Linglong tried her best to keep him.
Losing 170,000 spirit stones had drained most of her and her brother Fu Dalu's wealth.
Without Wei Tu helping to "launder" their funds through alchemy, it was hard to say when they'd recover those losses.
"I have urgent matters elsewhere and shouldn't stay in Peach Immortal City. Miss Fu, no need to persuade me further."
Wei Tu declined firmly.
Even though he had used the fake identity "Cui Wang," staying involved with the Tianyi Jiao Clan and the Fu siblings still carried the risk of exposing his role as the one pulling the strings.
That was something he couldn't ignore.
Besides, he had already taken a huge profit from the Fu siblings. It was time to stop.
"I see." Fu Linglong didn't try to press him further. She nodded and accepted his farewell.
Things were different now.
With Shengya Zhao Clan backing Wei Tu, she didn't dare try the soft coercion her brother Fu Dalu had used on him years ago.
"Goodbye, Alchemist Wei. May we meet again someday."
Fu Linglong smiled faintly and watched as Wei Tu flew off into the distance.
But—
Once he was gone, the smile on Fu Linglong's face vanished. A cold glint surfaced in her eyes.
This time, Wei Tu and Zhao Huamin had clearly teamed up to make the Fu Clan bleed. Even if she were clueless, she could still sense something was off.
However, with Wei Tu's current backing and the fact that they were still in Haizhou, she didn't dare confront him or dig deeper—for now.
"Now that Wei Tu's gone and I'm on my own, it's the perfect chance to visit Tianyi Sect and contact big brother."
Fu Linglong narrowed her eyes.
She planned to use Ji Zhang to dig deeper into Wei Tu's true background.
She hated being played.
But as if bad luck weren't bad enough—
When she reached Tianyi Sect, she found out that Ji Zhang was still under internal investigation. Not only had he lost his status as the sect master's personal disciple, but even his visitation rights were tightly restricted.
Taking a risk with her identity, Fu Linglong made up a reason and, as the successor of Jinglian Convent, requested a private meeting with Ji Zhang.
"Wei Tu?"
Ji Zhang furrowed his brows and repeated the name a few times.
He had no impression of anyone by that name. He had never heard of Wei Tu before.
"Tell me everything you know about him." Ji Zhang spoke after a moment of silence.
"Yes, big brother."
Fu Linglong nodded and began explaining all the events involving Wei Tu over the past few years.
She emphasized the Yi Yun incident, Fu Dalu's conflict with Jiao Zihua on Lingyan Island, and especially her attempt to probe Wei Tu using Mind Connection one year ago.
Especially that last part.
If Wei Tu had been prepared and fed her false information, then that meant… she'd been played from the start.
Even Fu Dalu's clash with Jiao Zihua could've been something Wei Tu had orchestrated on purpose.
"Could it be that Yi Yun was actually Wei Tu? There weren't many Golden Core cultivators aboard the Ascension Boat. It's unlikely two would've hidden their cultivation levels at the same time..."
Ji Zhang made a logical guess after listening carefully.
Wei Tu's strength and low profile overlapped with the "Yi Yun" who had stayed in the standard cabin.
People too close to a situation couldn't see clearly. An outsider like him could.
Fu Linglong had been involved from the beginning, so she saw it all as coincidence. But Ji Zhang didn't think so.
"Still, Third Sister, I advise you to let it go. If he's really as hidden as you suspect… you're probably no match for him. There's no need to get tangled with someone like that."
Ji Zhang spoke calmly.
He never acted on emotion and always weighed risks carefully.
"You're right, big brother... but I just can't let this go..."
Fu Linglong clenched her teeth.
She knew anyone capable of fooling her Mind Connection couldn't be ordinary.
But her personality wasn't the forgiving kind. She always paid back grudges.
"If you really want to deal with Wei Tu… fine. But wait until I'm no longer being watched by the sect."
Ji Zhang let out a quiet sigh.
"Thank you, big brother."
Fu Linglong's face lit up with joy.
With Ji Zhang stepping in, no matter how capable Wei Tu was, he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
…
Elsewhere.
After parting from Fu Linglong, Wei Tu headed to Baifeng Immortal City, near Haizhou.
Baifeng Immortal City was located between the territories of Shengya Mountain and Tianyi Sect. It was Haizhou's largest marketplace and a commercial hub.
Inside, there were merchant guild branches from various kingdoms. They handled the procurement of spiritual materials from the Xiao Kingdom and shipped them abroad through cross-border caravans.
After searching around, Wei Tu soon found the Wufu Merchant Guild's local branch in Baifeng Immortal City.
"Shopkeeper, are there any caravans going to the Kang Kingdom soon?" Wei Tu placed the VIP token gifted by Yu Tong on the counter.
"What? To the Kang Kingdom?" The shopkeeper behind the counter looked surprised.
"Senior, cross-border caravans to the Kang Kingdom stopped operating four years ago..."
The middle-aged shopkeeper picked up the VIP token, studied it for a moment, then explained.
"Stopped four years ago?"
Wei Tu raised his eyebrows slightly.
If he remembered right, his last trip aboard the Ascension Boat had also been four years ago.
After thinking for a moment, he placed a mid-grade spirit stone on the counter to prompt further explanation.
"Word is, four years ago, the Ascension Boat operated by the Canglang Merchant Guild was raided by the Six Desires Sect. Their leader was a direct disciple of Tianyi Sect's sect master..." The shopkeeper's eyes brightened when he saw the spirit stone. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.
"Now, all the raided guilds and sects are pressuring Tianyi Sect to give an explanation. As long as they stay silent, cross-border trade between the Xiao and Kang Kingdoms will remain suspended."
He added one more line.
Wei Tu suddenly understood. So, the trade freeze was the result of merchant guilds trying to pressure Tianyi Sect.
Even though Tianyi Sect was a top-tier sect in the Xiao Kingdom, the merchant guilds involved in cross-border trade weren't weak either. They all held considerable influence.
Without trade routes connecting the two kingdoms, not only would cultivation forces in the Xiao Kingdom suffer, but those in the Kang Kingdom would too.
Pull one thread, and the whole web shakes.
Even with all their power, Tianyi Sect couldn't afford to ignore this kind of pressure.