Fu Zhizhou heard Wei Tu's response, shook his head, and left without saying more, placing the demon beast meat he was carrying on the table before retreating.
Wei Tu only had two children to support. Even if he helped both reach the Xiantian Realm, it would at most cost him thirty or forty spirit stones.
But Fu Zhizhou was different. With one wife and three concubines, he had many children—three sons and four daughters.
None of them had particularly outstanding talent.
There was simply no way he could afford to support them all.
Half a month later, from Wei Tu's neighboring hut, a surge of spiritual energy radiated outward, signaling the effects of consuming an Earth Essence Pill.
But this time, unlike before, there was a faint pressure contained within the spiritual fluctuations.
"Fourth Brother has reached Qi Refinement Fourth Layer," Wei Tu mused.
He shook his head, suppressing the envy in his heart, then closed his eyes and continued meditating in seclusion. He had no intention of going over to congratulate Fu Zhizhou.
Breaking through to Qi Refinement Fourth Layer required time to stabilize one's cultivation. At this critical juncture, Fu Zhizhou was surely lacking in training time—Wei Tu was not so inconsiderate as to disturb him.
One month later, Wei Tu successfully drew another Rock Shield Talisman.
At this moment, he now possessed two Grade-One Talismans, Rock Shield Talismans, as well as five top-quality Earth Spike Talismans.
"It's time to return to the mundane world," Wei Tu murmured.
He stood up, carefully storing the seven talismans in the sleeves where they would be easiest to retrieve in battle. Then, locking the door of his hut behind him, he stepped away.
As he left, he glanced at Fu Zhizhou's tightly shut wooden door. After a moment's hesitation, he shook his head and chose not to disturb him.
Leaving Danqiu Mountain, Wei Tu rented a Qingcang horse at the foot of the mountain and rode off.
However, mere moments after he had departed, two figures emerged from the thick fog surrounding Danqiu Mountain—a masked woman and a tall, gaunt man.
"This kid really values his mortal family," the masked woman sneered, gazing toward the direction in which Wei Tu had left. "On average, he descends the mountain once every two years."
"Should we make a move now?" the gaunt man asked.
"If we don't act soon, it will be too late! In these past few years at Danqiu Mountain, he has already exchanged for two Earth Essence Pills. If he gets another one, he might step into Qi Refinement Mid Stage."
"Once that happens, dealing with him won't be so easy anymore," the masked woman said coldly.
As she finished speaking, she pulled out a talisman and placed it on her body. In the blink of an eye, her figure turned into a streak of red light, shooting off in Wei Tu's direction.
The gaunt man hesitated no longer and used the same method, immediately following her.
Meanwhile, on the main road leading from Danqiu Mountain to Yulong Prefecture, Wei Tu suddenly tightened his grip on the reins, bringing the Qingcang horse to a stop.
"Just as Hu Yao said," he muttered.
"Someone has indeed set their sights on me."
Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of two streaks of red light swiftly approaching in the distance. A cold smile played at the corner of his lips as he swiftly dismounted.
With a single step, he vanished into the nearby mountain forest.
Finding a patch of muddy ground, he rolled across it, covering himself in filth. Then, he stuck a Concealment Talisman onto himself and immediately rushed back toward Danqiu Mountain.
—These were all escape techniques he had exchanged for at the Inner Market from other cultivators.
"The kid's aura disappeared?" The masked woman reached the spot where Wei Tu had abandoned his horse. She took a deep sniff, her face momentarily puzzled.
"Damn it!"
Suddenly, her expression changed. Horror flickered in her eyes.
"Quick! Hurry back to Danqiu Mountain! That brat realized we were tailing him and lured us away on purpose—"
"Stop him!" she shouted at the gaunt man.
Hearing this, the gaunt man's expression turned grim.
With a slap to his own chest, a series of bone-popping sounds rang out. His thin frame suddenly swelled with bulging muscles, transforming into an imposing, hulking figure.
This transformation took no more than an instant. The moment he finished, he burst forward at several times his previous speed, rushing back toward Danqiu Mountain.
At the same time, the masked woman, following Wei Tu's faint traces, darted into the forest.
"Daoist Wei, there's no need to hide."
"I already know where you are," the masked woman called out with a teasing laugh, standing atop a gnarled tree branch as she scanned her surroundings.
Moments passed.
Yet, no response came from within the forest.
"Did he already run far?" The masked woman frowned slightly and prepared to move.
Just then—
Her instincts screamed danger.
A chill ran down her spine.
At the same time, the sound of a whistling arrow tearing through the air rang out behind her.
"Not good!" Her expression shifted.
With a nimble step, she leapt off the branch, transferring herself onto the tree's trunk.
Swish! Swish!
Two gleaming arrows zipped past her face, narrowly missing her. They struck the ground with a thud.
"Found you."
A sinister grin spread across the masked woman's lips as she turned and lunged toward the source of the attack.
From behind a dense thicket, Wei Tu's figure emerged.
But unseen by all, her sleeve twitched slightly, revealing a slender silver hairpin, flickering with the glow of an embedded restriction spell.
The instant she landed, she let out a sharp cry—"Go!"
The silver hairpin shot from her sleeve, transforming into a streak of silver light, vanishing into the air.
She had no doubt in her mind—Wei Tu was dead.
The hairpin would pierce his skull, splitting it like a ripe watermelon.
However—
The outcome was far from what she expected.
Instead of a fatal impact, the silver hairpin struck something solid in front of Wei Tu.
With a flash of yellow light, a millstone-sized shield materialized before him, blocking the attack entirely.
"A Rock Shield Talisman?" The masked woman's eyes widened in shock.
A Grade-One Earth-attribute defensive talisman, this was a prized treasure among Qi Refinement cultivators.
Even a Qi Refinement Late Stage cultivator would need at least three full-power strikes to break through its protection.
And she—at Qi Refinement Fifth Layer—would need ten or more attacks to shatter it.
"Didn't expect Wei Tu to be able to draw a Grade-One Talisman... Seems he's been hiding his true strength."
The masked woman's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Her initial intent to kill Wei Tu had now changed. Instead of killing him outright, she wanted to capture him alive and force him to create talismans for her, using his skills to finance her path to ascension.
However, just as she was considering how to break through the defensive shield, a surge of earthen energy erupted beneath her feet, shooting up toward her.
"Top-Grade Earth Spike Talisman?"
The masked woman leapt into the air, dodging effortlessly. She glanced down at the ten-foot-high spikes that had suddenly sprouted from the ground, her face filled with disdain.
She had already learned from Danqiu Mountain that Wei Tu carried top-grade Earth Spike Talismans as his last line of defense.
Since she had been prepared for this, he wouldn't be able to harm her so easily.
But—
The next moment, her expression changed dramatically.
A look of horror appeared in her eyes as she realized that the moment she leaped into the air, dozens of sharp earth spikes erupted across a ten-zhang radius beneath her.
Cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm could not sustain flight—they could only make short leaps. True flight was a privilege reserved for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"NO—!"
A shrill scream echoed through the forest.
Panic spread across the masked woman's face as she saw herself plummeting straight toward a dense field of gleaming, deadly spikes.
Rip—
The earthen spikes pierced through her robes and flesh, impaling her body and pinning her firmly to the ground.
"Daoist Wei! Spare me!"
"I... I'm willing to serve you! I will be your servant, your concubine!"
"I also have several hundred spirit stones hidden elsewhere! If you let me live, I will give them all to you!"
Blood dripped from her torn robes, her aura weakening rapidly. Gritting her teeth, she gazed at Wei Tu, who stood a few hundred steps away, and begged for her life.
"Be your concubine?"
"Several hundred spirit stones?"
Wei Tu furrowed his brow, completely unmoved.
While the woman was indeed somewhat attractive, she was nowhere near the level of Hu Yao, let alone the stunning Miss Gong whom he had encountered before.
For something he could solve with just a few grains of spirit sand, there was no need to raise a snake in his own sleeve and leave an enemy alive.
As for her so-called spirit stones...
Wei Tu scoffed.
If she truly had several hundred spirit stones, she would have long since secluded herself in training, focusing on breaking through realms rather than risking her life as a rogue cultivator bandit.
With that thought, Wei Tu no longer hesitated.
Muttering an incantation, he activated the Earth Spike Talisman, and the spikes pierced straight through the woman's forehead.
Her skull burst apart.
She was dead beyond doubt.
Wei Tu approached the corpse, retrieving the silver hairpin artifact she had used in battle and tucking it into his sash.
Next, he searched her belongings.
After a short while, he found three and a half spirit stones and a small, tanned demon beast hide.
The hide was covered in text.
"Heavenly Fragrance Silk Technique?"
Flipping through it, Wei Tu quickly skimmed the contents. It turned out to be a common rogue cultivator technique used to track prey by scent.
Seeing that it was nothing particularly valuable, he simply stuffed it into his robe.
Moments later—
The yellow energy shield in front of him flickered and dispersed, reverting back into a dimly glowing talisman.
"It still has one more use left."
Wei Tu assessed his losses.
This battle had cost him three top-grade Earth Spike Talismans and half of a Rock Shield Talisman.
A significant loss.
Overall, he had expended over thirty spirit stones worth of talismans in this fight.
"Still... with this silver hairpin artifact, I've at least broken even," he murmured, weighing the silver hairpin in his hand.
Although the artifact was about sixty percent new and only a low-grade First Rank treasure, it was still valued at twenty to thirty spirit stones.
Of course, if he were to purchase a brand-new First Rank artifact, he would need at least fifty to sixty spirit stones.
In that sense—
He had made a profit.
But he had another bigger problem.
"The gaunt man is still out there. He must have gone to wait for me at Danqiu Mountain's entrance."
Wei Tu rubbed his chin, pondering his next move.
The masked woman and the gaunt man had split up, disrupting his original plan to deal with them together.
If he returned to Danqiu Mountain, he would inevitably run into the gaunt man.
With his Rock Shield Talisman, he wasn't too afraid—after all, if the masked woman couldn't break through the talisman's defense, neither could her companion.
If necessary, he could fight while retreating, escaping into Danqiu Mountain's Inner Market where the enforcement team would take care of the problem.
However—
That would expose his true level of talisman mastery.
Back in the shantytown, he had already encountered jealous rivals such as Mao the Talisman Master, who had secretly instigated Tong Peipei to cause trouble for him.
At the First Rank Talisman Master level, any rival who bore him ill intentions could easily crush him with their superior resources.
On the other hand—
If he chose to hunt down the gaunt man alone, he was uncertain of victory.
He only had two Earth Spike Talismans left—not enough to guarantee success.
"Relocating my family... heading toward Baishi Lake Marketplace... seeking out Brother Kou Liang to buy me another Earth Essence Pill..."
"Then closing myself off in training at Baishi Lake, breaking through to Qi Refinement Mid Stage before returning to Danqiu Mountain..."
Wei Tu deliberated, ultimately choosing the safer route.
The world of cultivation was filled with hidden dangers.
He couldn't kill every rogue cultivator who might target him.
Strengthening himself first—before dealing with old enemies—was the true path.
He was just one Earth Essence Pill away from Qi Refinement Fourth Layer.
At Danqiu Mountain, exchanging for an Earth Essence Pill would draw attention, but at Baishi Lake Marketplace, there would be no such concerns.