Seeing that Wei Tu had declined, Tao Fangde gave it some thought and came up with a more appropriate approach.
"The Tao family has been lacking in talismans these past years in the Zha Ma Tribe. If Senior Wei doesn't mind, our family would be willing to purchase some of the talismans you have on hand."
Talismans, unlike pills, were not essential for cultivation, but they were still considered hard currency in the cultivation world. They could be stored for long periods, and even if one bought too many, there was no worry about losing value.
Especially with someone like Wei Tu, an experienced talisman master—his talismans had stable quality and strong power, so there was no concern about future demand.
The only downside was the slow turnover.
It took longer to recover funds.
But for the Tao family, time wasn't an issue when it came to reselling talismans.
Even if they lost some profit, as long as they successfully clung to the thick leg of Wei Tu, it would all be worth it.
"Talismans?" Wei Tu raised his brows, immediately understanding Tao Fangde's intent.
However, this time, he didn't reject the offer again. Purchasing talismans and donating spirit stones were two different things—the former was normal business.
The two began discussing the details of the talisman purchase.
From the conversation, when Tao Fangde learned that Wei Tu still had a batch of third-rank low-grade talismans on hand, he was shocked.
After all, all things considered, it hadn't even been that many years since Wei Tu had broken through to the Golden Core Realm.
"No wonder Senior Wei refused the Tao family's donation. He's confident enough to lease a third-rank spiritual land from the Fen Shan Tribe by himself…"
Tao Fangde silently clicked his tongue.
Realizing this, he hardened his resolve again and drew out another portion of spirit stones from the Tao family's reserves to purchase more talismans from Wei Tu.
This time, he wasn't just trying to curry favor with Wei Tu—he genuinely wanted to arm the Tao family's cultivators with third-rank talismans.
No matter how much wealth one had, without the means to defend it, they were nothing more than a fat lamb awaiting slaughter.
Tao Fangde understood this deeply.
The transaction was quickly finalized.
Representing the Tao family, Tao Fangde spent twenty-three thousand spirit stones to purchase a batch of third-rank and second-rank talismans from Wei Tu.
Of course, Wei Tu didn't sell them at the original price—he gave the Tao family a friendly discount of twenty percent off.
…
After selling off this batch of talismans,
Wei Tu's financial strain eased considerably.
—And he hadn't lied in front of Tao Fangde. In terms of overall assets, among cultivators of the same realm, he was indeed "somewhat well-off."
It was just that the talismans, magic tools, and other spiritual items he owned hadn't yet been liquidated.
He simply didn't have much on hand in terms of ready spirit stones.
However, with the Tao family's twenty-three thousand spirit stones, Wei Tu no longer needed to urgently sell off some of the "ill-gotten goods" he was carrying.
He remained within the Zha Ma Tribe, patiently waiting for Ti Ya the High Priest's reply.
It's worth mentioning—
During this time, Wei Xian'er discussed with Wei Tu and decided to take Ti Ya as her master.
Because of this, the relationship between Wei Tu and Ti Ya the High Priest grew even closer—they were now quite tightly connected.
…
In the blink of an eye, several months passed.
On this day, Wei Tu and Ti Ya the High Priest traveled together toward the Fen Shan Tribe.
Only three or four tribes separated the Fen Shan Tribe and the Zha Ma Tribe—they weren't far apart.
"Mu Feng had taken in a total of four disciples. His eldest, Qi Chen, was once highly regarded and seen as a prime candidate to become the next High Priest, but he died unexpectedly a century ago while out traveling."
"Of the remaining three, aside from the youngest, Yan Yu, who's still quite young, the other two are completely unworthy… if they make trouble, with your strength, you could easily deal with them."
As they journeyed, Ti Ya the High Priest introduced the inner members of the Fen Shan Tribe to Wei Tu.
Without a High Priest, the Fen Shan Tribe struggled to hold onto the third-rank spiritual land "Yan Fen Mountain," and the benefits tied to it within the royal court of the Ying Ding Tribe.
So, they were in urgent need of finding an external "Golden Core cultivator" to temporarily assume the role of High Priest—or even inherit the position outright.
But individual interests and tribal interests didn't always align.
The legacy of a tribe could be enormous.
At this moment, everything Ti Ya the High Priest said was meant as a heads-up to Wei Tu—to be on guard against the potential trouble posed by the successors of Mu Feng's High Priest lineage.
"Yan Yu?" Wei Tu murmured for a moment, committing the name to memory.
Among the Kāng Jū people, aside from those in the three major tribes, most tribal members—be they priests, nobles, or commoners—didn't have surnames.
Only a single given name.
But Yan Yu—just based on her name alone—seemed different from the ordinary Kāng Jū tribespeople.
Wei Tu had heard that the Fen Shan Tribe's former High Priest "Mu Feng" was originally not a Kāng Jū person either—he came from elsewhere.
—The Kāng Kingdom wasn't solely inhabited by Kāng Jū people. There were also the "Cangnan people," whose customs closely resembled those of the Zheng Kingdom.
Or to put it more precisely—aside from the "Kāng Jū people," a unique tribal group, the common folk under the Seven-Nation Righteous Alliance were generally referred to as "Cangnan people."
"Cang" referred to the Great Cang cultivation realm.
"Nan" indicated the four inland nations lying directly south of the Five Demonic Sects and the three border kingdoms.