Because of that, she understood even more just how absurd Qi Chengchu's "array-formed Nascent Soul" was.
"To break through to Nascent Soul, the Mortal Shedding Pill and a sentient artifact aren't strictly necessary, but without the help of either, relying solely on the power of a formation... the chances are too slim."
Bai Zhi spoke with a serious tone.
Years ago, she had explored the Great Void Realm alongside Demon Lord Gui Luo and Ancestor Ningyan precisely to search for sentient artifacts left behind after the fall of the Stone Demon Sect, with the goal of aiding her own Nascent Soul breakthrough.
She didn't believe a mere rogue cultivator like Qi Chengchu could possibly possess a Mortal Shedding Pill or a sentient artifact.
If he had them, he wouldn't have waited until now to make the breakthrough.
Bai Zhi had known this rogue cultivator from the Jing Kingdom for quite some time and was well aware that he'd reached the peak of the Golden Core Realm over a hundred years ago.
"Unless... he formed a false Nascent Soul," Bai Zhi proposed a possibility.
"False Nascent Soul?"
Wei Tu pondered silently. That did seem likely.
This time, Qi Chengchu's breakthrough had come too suddenly.
From the time he and Bao Siyan left the Rogue Cultivator Alliance to now, when the Alliance arrived in the Kāng Kingdom, only about ten years had passed.
But if it was a false Nascent Soul, then the timeline made more sense.
"Was it a mistake that ruined his path—or is there something deeper behind it?" Wei Tu wondered.
A false Nascent Soul cultivator was just like a false Core cultivator. It sounded good, but in reality, what they had condensed was just a defective soul or a broken core. Both were failures on the cultivation path.
If Qi Chengchu really did form a false Nascent Soul, it meant his cultivation up to the Nascent Soul threshold was all for nothing. He'd have no future progress.
"Would he really do all that just for the Rogue Cultivator Alliance?"
Wei Tu thought from another perspective—if he were Qi Chengchu, he absolutely wouldn't go that far.
To sacrifice such a great future just for a faction?
"Fellow Daoist Wei…"
"A Nascent Soul can not only be formed through self-condensation, but also via secret methods—like fusing someone else's Nascent Soul."
"In the demonic path, there used to be a sect called the Soul-Capturing Sect. Its cultivators practiced the method of 'borrowing from others,' capturing and refining other cultivators' foundations… Their sect patriarch was notorious for refining and fusing the Nascent Souls of several Nascent Soul patriarchs, turning them into foreign souls within himself."
"The same applies to false Nascent Souls. In fact, fusing someone else's false Nascent Soul is even easier than using a true one."
Bai Zhi warned him.
Refining others' Nascent Souls for personal gain was an act that defied the natural order and wasn't accepted by the righteous path.
But in Qi Chengchu's case… if he possessed such a secret art, Wei Tu didn't believe he would resist using it.
Just like when he annihilated the Huang Clan of Heshan—
There had been no grudge between them and Qi Chengchu before that.
Wei Tu wouldn't hesitate to judge Qi Chengchu with the worst intentions.
"Still, no matter what…"
"Qi Chengchu breaking through to Nascent Soul and leading the Rogue Cultivator Alliance to the Kāng Kingdom is good news for me."
With the Alliance's arrival,
He, a Golden Core True Lord of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, at least now had some public support.
He was no longer all alone.
Before, even though he had left the Rogue Cultivator Alliance in secret, it hadn't been betrayal. In fact, he had honored their past bond by leaving Che Gongwei a secret message, warning that changes were coming in the Zheng Kingdom.
In that regard,
The Alliance's timely retreat from the Zheng Kingdom to the Kāng Kingdom owed much to him.
"I wonder where the Rogue Cultivator Alliance is setting up in the Kāng Kingdom?"
Wei Tu thought for a moment, then sent Wei Xiuwen out to gather information.
…
Wei Xiuwen quickly returned with a message.
The letter detailed the Rogue Cultivator Alliance's current situation.
After arriving in the Kāng Kingdom, the Alliance negotiated with the sects of "Two Mountains and One Palace," and in the end, Ancient Sword Mountain agreed to receive them.
Ancient Sword Mountain carved out a piece of spiritual land called Golden Long Valley within its territory and temporarily lent it to the Rogue Cultivator Alliance as their base.
Golden Long Valley was a third-rank spiritual land, conveniently located at the northern gateway of Ancient Sword Mountain's territory—right between Ancient Sword Mountain and Earth Sword Mountain.
Wei Tu, having lived in the Kāng Kingdom for some time, was already familiar with the feud between Ancient Sword Mountain and Earth Sword Mountain.
Five thousand years ago, only Ancient Sword Mountain existed in the Kāng Kingdom.
But due to certain reasons, a patriarch defected from Ancient Sword Mountain with his disciples and formed a new sect, naming it Earth Sword Mountain.
Since then, the two sects had been locked in fierce rivalry, openly and in secret.
It wasn't hard for Wei Tu to understand Ancient Sword Mountain's motive in stationing the Rogue Cultivator Alliance in Golden Long Valley—obviously, they wanted to use the Alliance to suppress their long-standing rival, Earth Sword Mountain.
After confirming the Alliance's position,
Wei Tu didn't rush to visit them. Instead, he wrote a letter to his master, Che Gongwei, to gauge the Alliance's current stance toward him.
People's hearts were hard to predict.
Everyone viewed things differently.
Wei Tu still felt there was friendship between him and the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, but others within the Alliance might not see it that way.
—Running off in a crisis without considering the faction? That was a grave taboo in any organization.
Of course, Wei Tu had no intention of being treated the same as before. He simply wanted to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.
A partnership of mutual need.
While waiting for Che Gongwei's reply, Wei Tu didn't sit idle. He began studying the tier-three alchemist inheritance he'd acquired after slaying Alchemist Shu.
Of the Four Cultivation Arts—pill, formation, talisman, and artifact—pill and formation were the most vital to cultivators. Even if one couldn't master them, one couldn't afford to be ignorant.
Right now, the external environment was stable, and his own cultivation wouldn't progress quickly for a while. It was the perfect time to master another cultivation craft.
Beyond that, Wei Tu also had a practical reason for delving into pill dao.
At the Golden Core Realm, tier-three pills that advanced cultivation were nearly impossible to find.
—Tier-three pills were considered strategic resources by major sects and forbidden from public sale.
Basically, aside from making them yourself or finding one at auction, there was no other way.
Of course, Wei Tu didn't expect to succeed instantly.
His current study of pill dao was mainly aimed at refining Blood Tempering Pills for the Riftwing Carving, helping it awaken its innate divine ability and further enhance its bloodline.
Also, the Blood Tempering Pill was beneficial for the young Mountain-Crushing Bear as well.
The Blood Tempering Pill was a tier-two pill.
Buying it repeatedly would cost too much and risk exposing his secrets.
"Rise!"
Half a month later, Wei Tu formed a hand seal, halting the Inborn True Fire sprayed out by the Flame Manipulation Art, and looked toward the pill furnace with anticipation.
The pill furnace had three legs and two handles, wrapped in a ring of crimson spiritual flames. The furnace walls glimmered with spiritual light.
It was the same half-used tier-one furnace he had bought a hundred years ago at the Golden Moon Cliff exchange meeting hosted by the Huang Clan of Heshan.
In fact, Alchemist Shu's storage bag contained two suitable tier-two high-grade pill furnaces.
But with Wei Tu's current alchemy skills, using too advanced a furnace would only backfire.
A quarter-hour later.
The furnace lid popped open, releasing a surge of fragrant medicine scent.
"Five Fragrance Retaining Pills?" Wei Tu waved a hand, drawing out the pills. When he saw the five azure pills in his palm, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
The Fragrance Retaining Pill was a tier-one mid-grade pill.
It had only one use—adding a lingering fragrance to the cultivator's body.
A favorite among many female cultivators.
Despite its simple function, it was notoriously difficult to refine.
Among tier-one pills, it ranked as one of the harder ones.
If not for the fact that Wei Tu had already reached the Golden Core Realm and possessed strong divine sense, he likely would've failed at his current level of alchemy.
「Fragrance Retaining Pill (17/100): One furnace every five days, full mastery in three months.」
Just like with talisman-making, the moment Wei Tu succeeded in refining the Fragrance Retaining Pill, a line of glowing text appeared within his Golden Purple Destiny.
"Seems like as my cultivation increases, the effectiveness of the Golden Purple Destiny improves too," Wei Tu thought to himself.
A higher cultivation realm gave better results when studying cultivation arts.
But that only brought marginal improvement. It still couldn't compare to the efficiency boost he enjoyed.
"In another three to four years, I should be able to reach tier-two alchemist."
Wei Tu calculated.
Most alchemists could only refine a few pill types. More experienced ones might expand that number slightly, but it remained limited.
So generally, if an alchemist could successfully refine a certain tier-two pill with over fifty percent success rate, they could claim the title of tier-two alchemist.
Wei Tu was confident that within three years, he'd refine a batch of tier-two pills.
After all, unlike regular alchemists, he could "supplement pills with talismans" and use the wealth from selling talismans to rapidly refine pills in large quantities and gain experience.
What took ordinary alchemists dozens or even hundreds of years,
He could shorten to just three or four.
Once he became a tier-two alchemist,
He could begin refining Blood Tempering Pills and boost his two spirit beasts' bloodlines.
…
He spent months refining pills.
Along the way, a few things happened.
Tao Fangde of the Zha Ma Tribe had also heard the news about the Rogue Cultivator Alliance's arrival in the Kāng Kingdom. He wanted Wei Tu to use his Alliance connections to gather information about the main branch of the Tao Clan at Mount Han.
Wei Tu neither agreed nor refused. He only said he'd think about it, as he still wasn't sure how the Rogue Cultivator Alliance currently viewed him.
The Alliance's crossing into the Kāng Kingdom didn't just affect Tao Fangde.
It was like a stone dropped into a still lake, stirring waves everywhere.
Including in the Fen Shan Tribe.
High Priest Mu Feng, somehow, had also learned that Wei Tu was once one of the eighteen Golden Core True Lords of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.
As a result, his attitude toward Wei Tu became noticeably warmer.
Knowing that Wei Tu was now diligently studying pill dao, Mu Feng used a favor to recommend his disciple Yan Yu as Wei Tu's alchemy attendant.
Coincidentally, Wei Tu happened to be short on assistants, and given Mu Feng's recommendation, he couldn't really say no.
Yan Yu's arrival reminded Wei Tu of Huang Chengfu, the young man who used to call him "uncle" back when they were at Cloud Crane Mountain.
Huang Chengfu had once served as his talisman assistant.
After leaving the Huang Clan, Huang Chengfu and his sister had followed him to live under the Mei family's roof.
However, since their kinship was distant and their talents average, Wei Tu had stopped paying them attention after helping them a few times.
"Senior Wei, here are the spirit herbs needed to refine the Calm Heart Pill. I've sorted and labeled each set of ingredients for you."
Yan Yu knocked and entered the alchemy room, placing several herb boxes from a redwood tray onto the table.