"Second one."
After a brief consideration, Wei Tu chose Hu Yao's second proposal.
As a talisman master, his main goal in supporting Hu Yao to replace the charm shop vendors was to secure a supply of cheap talisman paper. There was no need to take a stake in the business, which would only add unnecessary complications.
As long as he could obtain inexpensive talisman paper, he could continuously produce and sell talismans, turning them into profit.
Moreover, avoiding a stake in the business meant he wouldn't need to participate in its operations, sparing him the hassle.
Most talisman masters refrained from entering the talisman paper business—not because they failed to see its profitability, but because the earnings from selling talismans far exceeded the small-scale profits of selling talisman paper.
They simply had no time to spare on such an endeavor.
Talisman paper sales only yielded meager earnings in comparison.
Hu Yao nodded at Wei Tu's decision, unsurprised. She then retrieved a contract, written in black ink on white paper, and handed it to him to sign.
Two days later, Hu Yao paid a visit, returning the two "Huang Hua Pills" to Wei Tu.
"No poison?"
"Did I overthink this?"
After seeing Hu Yao off, Wei Tu stared at the two Huang Hua Pills, his brows furrowing slightly.
A few days later, he deliberately tossed the pill bottle into the trash pile outside his house, leaving it in a conspicuous spot.
"Just as expected, something's fishy."
When the marketplace sweepers came to clean up Yunque Street a few days later, Wei Tu picked up the discarded pill bottle, sniffing it carefully.
"Heavenly Fragrance Silk Technique (56/100): Train seven times daily, mastery in five years."
The last time he killed the rogue cultivator Zhuo Yan, aside from obtaining a silver hairpin magical artifact and three spirit stones, he also acquired this technique, which specialized in detecting the scents of cultivators.
This technique wasn't particularly profound—aside from enhancing his sense of smell to cultivate the "Silk Fragrance Nose," it offered little practical benefit.
"In a little while, I'll find an excuse to move and sublease the place. I might not be able to handle this situation, but I can at least avoid it."
Wei Tu mused and finalized his plan.
Although there had never been a recorded case of someone being murdered inside their own residence in Danqiu Mountain's market district, he had no desire to live in constant fear.
Time flew by.
Half a year later.
Hu Yao's talisman paper business was finally discovered by Che Chulong and the other charm shop vendors. Their dispute escalated, leading to disruptions in the inner market gatherings.
That night, after the inner market closed, Wei Tu spotted Hu Yao entering a Class B, Mid-tier cave dwelling.
Two days later, when he saw her again, her aura was feeble, her complexion deathly pale, and she bore multiple bruises across her body.
As a friend, Wei Tu refrained from asking about her business at that cave dwelling. He simply left behind a few "Tranquility Talismans" and departed quietly.
Another half a year passed.
It was time for another market gathering in the shantytown.
When Wei Tu arrived at the inner market, he noticed that among the usual crowd, Che Chulong was nowhere to be seen.
Suppressing his curiosity, he inquired about it after the gathering.
That's when he learned that Che Chulong had poisoned himself to death two months ago.
After receiving this news, a faint sense of dread toward Hu Yao crept into Wei Tu's mind, prompting him to intentionally distance himself from her.
"Daoist Pei, where is Daoist Yuchi? I haven't seen her for over half a month."
Inside the small courtyard of Yunque Street, Wei Tu pushed open his door and glanced at the dust-covered brass lock on Yuchi Yu's door, his brows furrowing in surprise.
After a year in Yunque Street, his financial situation was no longer as dire as before. He had spare funds and was considering moving to a better cave dwelling.
Before leaving, he wanted to check on Yuchi Yu's whereabouts.
"She moved out half a month ago."
Pei Xianshi responded casually.
"She moved half a month ago?"
Wei Tu was surprised—he couldn't understand Yuchi Yu's intentions.
"Strange, Daoist Yuchi used to love these violets she grew in her flowerbed. Why would she leave without taking them?"
Pei Xianshi remarked as he pulled Wei Tu aside to chat.
"Violets?"
Wei Tu was puzzled. He stepped toward the flowerbed and noticed that the entire cluster of violets had long since withered. Only a few remained barely hanging on.
That's when he suddenly realized something.
The "Yuchi Yu" who had been living in Yunque Street for the past year might not have been the real one.
The one he had interacted with was likely an imposter.
Pei Xianshi had deliberately mentioned the violets now, after "Yuchi Yu" had left, as a subtle hint.
With his Heavenly Fragrance Silk Technique, Wei Tu had already sensed something off about Yuchi Yu before. A veteran cultivator like Pei Xianshi, who was at the later stages of Qi Refinement, would certainly have noticed it as well.
Now that the person had left and the danger was gone, he had finally dared to speak up.
Realizing this, Wei Tu's mind raced. He smiled and said, "Daoist Pei, I just made a sale of talismans and earned some spare spirit stones. How about I treat you to a drink at Jingyun Pavilion?"
—If Yuchi Yu had truly left, there was no longer a need for him to move.
As far as he knew, Pei Xianshi had long since given up on healing his injuries and was now simply looking for a smart disciple to pass on his legacy.
Wei Tu wasn't interested in Pei Xianshi's wealth. What he truly lacked was the experience that Pei Xianshi had accumulated while traveling through the cultivation world.
"Jingyun Pavilion?"
Upon hearing these three words, Pei Xianshi's eyes immediately lit up. His throat bobbed as he swallowed a few times.
Ever since he was seriously injured, this late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator had been struggling to afford medical treatment. He had fallen from grace, forced to move out of his Class B, Upper-tier cave dwelling and settle in a small courtyard on Yunque Street.
A high-class immortal tavern like Jingyun Pavilion was a place he hadn't set foot in for years.
A month passed.
Wei Tu and Pei Xianshi gradually became more familiar, often visiting each other.
Since Pei Xianshi had long abandoned any hope for his own cultivation path, he frankly allowed Wei Tu to use the courtyard's cultivation room freely, without regard for his own schedule.
In return, Wei Tu gifted him some leftover spirit tea that he hadn't finished drinking.
After several exchanges, the two became close friends despite the age difference.
However, throughout their interactions, Wei Tu never mentioned the battle in the valley—how he had taken the opportunity to flee and left Pei Xianshi behind.
The thought of switching to the Lesser Spring and Autumn Art never left his mind.
Once he had enough funds, he went to the Gongfa Pavilion in the market district and purchased this rather obscure earth-wood attribute cultivation technique.
This cost him a full 20 spirit stones.
In reality, Wei Tu had already heard of a few rogue cultivators possessing copies of the technique during previous market gatherings.
However, for the sake of his future cultivation path and safety, he still chose to purchase directly from the Tai Xuan Sect's official Gongfa Pavilion.
"The key to condensing the Earth-Wood Spirit Body in the Lesser Spring and Autumn Art lies in the plant-based spiritual seed."
"By using this spiritual seed as a medium, earth nourishes wood, allowing one to condense the Earth-Wood Spirit Body..."
Wei Tu carefully read through the manual.
The introduction of Lesser Spring and Autumn Art stated that the higher the quality of the spiritual seed, the greater the potential of the Earth-Wood Spirit Body.
The manual also listed the five most common superior spiritual seeds used in Qi Refinement cultivation.
"Geomagnetic Wood Seed."
Wei Tu immediately set his sights on this superior spiritual seed.
Compared to the other four, the Geomagnetic Wood Seed was the easiest to acquire and had moderate growth potential—neither too weak nor too extravagant.
He never harbored extravagant hopes for his own cultivation fortune. After all, he had wasted over twenty years in the mundane world before entering the cultivation realm.
"Daoist Wei, you have a letter."
At that moment, Pei Xianshi's voice came from outside the cultivation chamber.
Wei Tu opened the door, took the letter from Pei Xianshi's hands, and thanked him.
Communication between the mortal world and Danqiu Mountain was impossible. Letters could only be delivered through acquaintances traveling between locations.
However, Danqiu Mountain and Baishi Lake Market—the two major trading hubs—did have a functional messaging system.
There were three letters, sent by Kou Liang and his two children.
Wei Tu first opened Kou Liang's letter.
At the start, Kou Liang exchanged some casual pleasantries with him.
After that, he couldn't help but boast about his daughter's cultivation progress.
Over the past year, Kou Hongying had advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refinement and successfully ascended from an outer disciple to an inner disciple of Mirror Water Pavilion.
Her treatment and status had improved significantly.
At the end of the letter, Kou Liang briefly mentioned Fu Lin, saying that he would personally assist Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou in taking care of this eldest son of the Fu family.
After reading the letter, Wei Tu shook his head.
From the way Kou Liang phrased things, Wei Tu could tell that he had misunderstood his intentions regarding Fu Lin.
He didn't expect much from his nephew at all.
However, he had no plans to correct Kou Liang's assumption.
With Kou Liang's resources and abilities, at most, he would provide some living assistance to Fu Lin rather than divert significant cultivation resources.
After all, the Kou family barely had enough resources for themselves.
As long as it was merely daily care, there was no need for Wei Tu to step in.
Next, he opened the letters from his two children.
Both letters contained similar greetings, with updates about small household matters.
The main difference lay in Wei Yan's letter.
She wrote that a month ago, she had broken through to the Xiantian Realm and was now facing a crucial decision about her cultivation path.
She hoped that her father could offer some guidance so she could avoid unnecessary detours.
After reading the letter, Wei Tu pondered for a moment.
Then, he compiled his insights on talisman crafting into a manuscript and enclosed it with his reply.
Additionally, he included the techniques for Water Heart Talisman, Tranquility Talisman, and Thorn Cage Talisman.
Wei Tu enclosed the Water Heart Talisman, Tranquility Talisman, and Thorn Cage Talisman techniques with his response.
The Water Heart Talisman and Tranquility Talisman were fundamental talismans found in Introduction to Talisman Dao.
The Thorn Cage Talisman, however, was a first-rank talisman technique he had obtained from trading with Tong Peipei.
These three talismans aligned well with Wei Yan's water-wood spiritual root.
Wei Tu hoped that, if possible, Wei Yan would follow in his footsteps and pursue the path of a Talisman Master.
For a cultivator with an inferior spiritual root to successfully reach Foundation Establishment, they had three options:
One, possess great fortune and opportunities.
Two, develop a unique skill.
Three, risk their life on the battlefield—like Fu Zhizhou, who became a hired blade.
Once his letter was complete, Wei Tu headed to the Treasure Pavilion in the market district to purchase a Geomagnetic Wood Seed and officially begin cultivating Lesser Spring and Autumn Art.
Half a month later.
With the aid of the spirit-gathering formation in the cultivation chamber, Wei Tu finally reached the introductory level of Lesser Spring and Autumn Art and began refining his Earth-Wood Spirit Body.
「Lesser Spring and Autumn Art – Geomagnetic Spirit Body (1/100): Three training sessions per day, completion in fifteen years.」
When this new entry appeared in his Golden-Purple Fate Record, Wei Tu's expression froze in shock.
"Fifteen years?!"
He hadn't expected that switching cultivation techniques would require such a long process.
From his inquiries, most cultivators who switched techniques completed the transformation within a few years.
"Could it be…"
"There's some hidden mystery behind this?"
Wei Tu sat down cross-legged and began circulating his spiritual power according to Lesser Spring and Autumn Art, carefully observing the unusual reaction from his Golden-Purple Fate Record.
Before long, he noticed something unusual.
With each cycle of his cultivation, his Golden-Purple Fate Record briefly flickered, releasing a wisp of faint golden energy that flowed into his Geomagnetic Wood Seed stored in his dantian.
After a few cycles, Wei Tu inspected the Geomagnetic Wood Seed again.
Its surface glowed with an ethereal light, and a faint, mysterious pattern briefly emerged before disappearing.
"So my 'Late Bloomer' fate has this kind of effect?"
"Could it be that because this seed is becoming part of my 'innate foundation,' my Fate Record is actively modifying it?"
After his initial shock, Wei Tu was overjoyed.
His intuition told him that this Geomagnetic Wood Seed might become the key to surpassing mid-grade and even high-grade spiritual root cultivators.
Just as Wei Tu planned to seclude himself in cultivation until his spirit body transformation was complete, he was unexpectedly interrupted half a month later by a visitor.
Wei Fei had arrived.
Seeing Pei Xianshi at the entrance of Yunque Street's courtyard, Wei Fei's eyes widened in surprise.
During the battle at the valley, Wei Fei hadn't been selected by the Provincial Governor's Office to participate, but afterward, he had learned about Pei Xianshi's appearance from Wei Tu, Kou Liang, and Fu Zhizhou.
Now, standing before him was a man who looked exactly like the Pei Xianshi they had described.
Moreover, they both shared the same surname, Pei…
Wei Tu noticed Wei Fei's brief loss of composure, furrowed his brows slightly, and pulled him into his own room to explain.
Having known Wei Fei for many years, Wei Tu was well aware that among their group of four brothers, Wei Fei had the worst ability to conceal his emotions.
"What a damn coincidence."
Wei Fei clicked his tongue, feeling a strange sense of irony.
More than a decade ago, Pei Xianshi had nearly gotten the four of them killed.
Yet, ten years later, Wei Tu somehow ended up living under the same roof as Pei Xianshi, even becoming close friends.
After clearing things up, Wei Tu brought Wei Fei back outside, and the three of them continued their conversation.
However, the atmosphere had shifted.
The previous ease between them had disappeared.
Wei Tu immediately understood—the experienced Pei Xianshi had begun to suspect him.
Sensing the tension, Wei Tu let out a small cough, feeling slightly embarrassed, and decided to come clean about the past.
Back then, when he had led Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang in fleeing from the valley, the decision had been understandable. Their absence hadn't significantly impacted the battle's outcome…
But after the battle, Pei Xianshi had lost an arm to the Jia Clan cultivator, suffering grievous injuries.
In Pei Xianshi's presence, Wei Tu naturally found it difficult to justify his actions.
"It's a trivial matter."
Pei Xianshi chuckled, shaking his head as he waved a hand dismissively, indicating that he had long since let it go.
"Drink. Let's drink."
Feeling a pang in his heart, Wei Tu reluctantly spent some of his savings and invited Pei Xianshi for a feast at Jingyun Pavilion.
A few days later.
Wei Fei wore a strange expression as he looked at Wei Tu and said,
"Third Brother, I hope you won't get mad when I tell you this."
"What is it?"
Wei Tu was taken aback, feeling slightly puzzled.
"It's just that…"
Wei Fei scratched his head awkwardly before continuing,
"Pei Xianshi said he wants to take me as a disciple and pass on his legacy…"
"But he also said that before he does, I have to promise not to reveal his inheritance to you."
As soon as he said this, Wei Tu fell into stunned silence.
Back in the mortal world, he had always suspected that Wei Fei possessed some kind of unique affinity for cultivation.
After all, both of the cultivation techniques they had acquired in their youth were found by Wei Fei.
Meanwhile, he, Kou Liang, and Fu Zhizhou had spent over twenty years searching without success.
But he hadn't expected that Wei Fei's current stroke of fortune would be tied directly to him.