After Wei Xiuwen reached Foundation Establishment, just like Wei Yan before him, he kept things low-key to avoid being recruited by sects. He didn't announce it to his friends, nor did he host a celebration. Instead, he chose to keep it secret.
Apart from the direct descendants of the Mei Clan who witnessed the phenomena of his breakthrough, and Wei Tu and Wei Yan, no one else knew about Wei Xiuwen's Foundation Establishment.
The Mei Clan also took this matter extremely seriously, strictly forbidding any of their core members from spreading the news.
The Mei Clan of Xia Ya had originally had two Foundation Establishment cultivators. But due to the war between orthodox and demonic factions, one had fallen. Now, Wei Xiuwen had become the new pillar of hope for the clan.
If that weren't the case, Wei Xiuwen wouldn't have accepted the risk of being called "unfilial" just to stay with the Mei Clan as a son-in-law and help protect them.
Even so—
Though there wasn't a public celebration for his Foundation Establishment, Wei Tu and Mei Yuanfeng's family held a private gathering to congratulate Wei Xiuwen's success.
After the banquet ended—
Wei Tu didn't rush off to the Jiu Yun Merchant Guild to request an invitation to their next underground auction. Instead, he returned to his cave-dwelling to continue secluded cultivation.
This time, however, his seclusion wasn't for cultivation.
It was to study the crafting methods of two upper-tier second-rank talismans—Water Thunder Talisman and Wood Thunder Talisman.
Under normal circumstances—
Upper-tier second-rank talismans could only be crafted by talisman masters at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
This was because the talisman master's cultivation realm was directly tied to their success rate.
Why? Because the purity of the spiritual power required to draw such talismans could only be achieved by cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment realm or higher.
But Wei Tu was different.
Thanks to his Yuan Gravity Law Seal, which purified his spiritual power, the purity of his mana was no less than that of someone at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
That gave him a real shot at crafting upper-tier second-rank talismans.
According to Wei Tu's estimates, the Water Thunder Talisman and Wood Thunder Talisman were about as powerful as a full-powered strike from a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If he could craft either one successfully, it would greatly expand his arsenal of attacks at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Time passed swiftly.
Before long, a full year had gone by.
On the desk inside his cultivation chamber lay two pale blue talismans, inscribed with intricate runes.
"Finally succeeded in crafting the Wood Thunder Talisman. Even though the success rate was less than fifty percent, it's still a great start." Wei Tu's face lit up with joy. He picked up one of the Wood Thunder Talismans between two fingers and carefully studied the runes on this upper-tier second-rank talisman.
This talisman looked like a sheet of jade-green paper. As the talisman's spiritual power circulated, the faint sound of thunder rumbled from within, sending chills down the spine.
"As long as my opponent isn't too troublesome, I can finish the fight with the Ice Jiao Sword and this Wood Thunder Talisman. No need to bring out the Demon Buddha Bell…" Wei Tu thought to himself.
The Ice Jiao Sword, when used in tandem with the Yuan Gravity Law Seal, was his go-to lethal move. Two cultivators on Qingzhu Mountain had already fallen to it.
The Demon Buddha Bell, on the other hand, was a severely damaged magic treasure. It was his last-resort trump card and not something he planned to use lightly.
First, because activating the Demon Buddha Bell consumed too much spiritual power. With his current mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, just one use would drain over half of his mana.
Second, the bell was a demonic magic treasure, originating from Si Qing's hands and linked to the Heavenly Maiden Sect.
If he used it and failed to kill all witnesses—once the secret got out, the consequences would be disastrous.
After all, Si Qing had entered the Cloud Ze Secret Realm searching for the Southern Flower Sect's divine treasure—the Heaven-Mending Bowl.
If people learned that Wei Tu possessed the Demon Buddha Bell, they might assume he also had the Heaven-Mending Bowl.
At that point, the enemies he would attract wouldn't just be at the Foundation Establishment stage—they'd be Golden Core cultivators.
…
A few days later—
Wei Tu disguised himself and suppressed his cultivation to the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. He showed up at a market town not far from the Mei Clan of Xia Ya.
He entered a shop with a sign reading "Baibao Pavilion."
"Stop right there, Daoist friend! The third floor is only for Foundation Establishment seniors." As Wei Tu headed straight for the third floor, ignoring the restrictions, a shop attendant behind him hurried forward in alarm.
"Daoist friend, if you run into a Foundation Establishment senior up there, they won't kill you… but they might teach you a harsh lesson." The attendant warned.
Just as his voice fell—
Wei Tu, already on the stairs, paused and stopped climbing.
Seeing that Wei Tu had listened to his warning, the attendant let out a breath of relief. "Daoist friend, if you need any pills or magical tools, you can tell me. I'll assist you…"
Over the years of working as an attendant in Baibao Pavilion, he'd seen hundreds of Qi Refinement cultivators like Wei Tu mistakenly try to head to the third floor.
Of course, not all were mistakes. Some were trying to "network" with Foundation Establishment seniors in hopes of gaining benefits.
To the attendant, Wei Tu was probably another one of those hopefuls. But after his warning, Wei Tu seemed to have realized the risk and backed off.
However—
The attendant quickly realized he was wrong.
Because the shopkeeper, "Manager Fan," came down from the third floor and, upon seeing Wei Tu, respectfully cupped his hands and greeted him as "Daoist friend" instead of scolding him or kicking him out.
——Manager Fan was known for being haughty, only treating people with equal cultivation respectfully.
The moment he heard that—
The attendant silently stepped aside and stopped speaking to Wei Tu.
"I wonder which sect or clan Daoist friend hails from. Forgive me for saying this, but you look rather unfamiliar to me," Manager Fan asked politely after bowing.
She was quite familiar with the cultivators in the surrounding regions. Even if she didn't know them personally, she would at least recognize their faces.
But Wei Tu—she had no impression of him at all. He was completely unfamiliar.
"The situation is unstable right now. For itinerant cultivators like me, it's difficult to even get near the Baibao Pavilion of the Jiu Yun Merchant Guild without some disguise," Wei Tu replied vaguely.
He wasn't sure if the three great orthodox sects had realized he'd left the Heshan Huang Clan and issued a conscription order for him.
So, to avoid any such trouble when walking through public places like market towns, he made sure to conceal his identity and change his appearance.
After hearing this, Manager Fan immediately understood. Wei Tu was one of those wandering cultivators trying to avoid conscription into the front lines.
"This isn't a place to talk. Please follow me upstairs to a private booth, Daoist Wei," she said, stepping aside with a respectful gesture.
Once inside the booth, Wei Tu didn't hesitate. He removed his disguise and revealed his true appearance.
—The Jiu Yun Merchant Guild only issued invitations to their underground auction to cultivators with verifiable identities.
That old eccentric Jia who had appeared at the last auction had been an exception to the rule.
So if Wei Tu wanted an invitation to the next auction, showing his real face was absolutely necessary.
Besides, he had only hidden his identity to avoid the conscription orders from the three sects—not to deceive the Jiu Yun Merchant Guild.
"So it's Talisman Master Wei," Manager Fan said in surprise when she saw his true face, even though this was their first time meeting.
While the upper echelons of the Zheng Kingdom's cultivation world didn't know Wei Tu well, among Foundation Establishment cultivators, his name was quite well-known.
A few years ago, when seven Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Heshan Huang Clan perished in the Cloud Ze Secret Realm and only Wei Tu survived, the news had spread rapidly throughout the Zheng Kingdom.
A mere mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator surviving such a perilous trial—against overwhelming odds and stronger cultivators—was not something that could be brushed off as "luck."
Wei Tu wasn't surprised that Manager Fan recognized him. He nodded slightly and got straight to the point.
"I've come seeking an invitation to your underground auction."
"The underground auction invitation?" Manager Fan chuckled. "With your reputation, Talisman Master Wei, you certainly qualify for one."
"However… with the current changes in the cultivation world, we've had to increase the secrecy of the auction…" she added with a hesitant look.
Wei Tu wasn't surprised by that.
All trade relies on stable order.
Now that the demonic path had invaded and disrupted the old balance in the Zheng Kingdom, it was only natural that underground auctions like the Jiu Yun Merchant Guild's would be affected.
"If Manager Fan says I qualify, then please tell me how I can attend." Wei Tu thought for a moment, then pulled out a pouch of spirit stones and offered it to her.
Times had changed.
In peaceful years, it was the Jiu Yun Merchant Guild begging for independent Foundation Establishment cultivators to participate in their auctions. But now, the supply-demand dynamic had flipped.
Those cultivators—like himself—needed ways to offload the loot and treasures they didn't need, so they could buy pills, magical tools, talismans, and other items to boost their strength and improve their odds of survival.
Spirit stones were now the least valuable resource for cultivators.
"An invitation to the underground auction costs two hundred spirit stones," Manager Fan said with a smile.
"Of course, if Daoist Wei is willing to become a patron of our Jiu Yun Merchant Guild…"
"Then you won't need to pay for the invitation."
"In fact, we'll even provide you with a stipend."
She added the last part with a knowing look.
"A patron? Surely Manager Fan is aware that I'm currently serving as a patron for the Heshan Huang Clan," Wei Tu said coldly.
It had been four years since he left them, and he didn't know what kind of rumors had spread outside. This was a deliberate test—to gauge what Manager Fan knew and possibly gather some intel.
"Please don't misunderstand, Daoist Wei. What I mean by 'patron' is simply this—if you're willing to regularly supply our guild with some talismans…" she explained quickly.
Trying to poach the patrons of another clan or sect was considered dishonorable in the cultivation world.
Wei Tu's suspicion was justified.
His expression softened slightly, and he nodded. "If it's just providing talismans on a regular basis, then I can agree to that arrangement."
After leaving the Heshan Huang Clan—
Without the Golden Moon Cliff's exchange gathering every eight years, he'd been troubled by the lack of a steady outlet for selling his talismans.
Now, with the Jiu Yun Merchant Guild inviting him to be a patron and offering to buy his talismans, that problem was solved.
"This is your invitation to next year's underground auction. Please keep it safe, Daoist Wei," Manager Fan said, promptly taking out a gilded invitation from her storage pouch and handing it to him with both hands.
"As for second-rank talismans…"
"We'll take however many mid-tier and upper-tier talismans you have. The Jiu Yun Merchant Guild is willing to purchase them all."
"As for lower-tier talismans, we'll select them based on quality."
With that, Manager Fan began negotiating terms for future talisman transactions with Wei Tu.