Using the Ming Province King's army?
Seeking revenge?
Outside the tent, after listening to everything, Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, a sharp killing intent flickering within them.
He knew full well that the "Defense Officer Wei" Miao Dashi mentioned could be no one else but himself.
In the entire city, there was only one person holding the title of "Western Gate Defense Officer" with the surname Wei—him.
He hadn't expected the downfall of the Li family to have any connection with the Ming Province King. And merely because he had refused to save the Li family, he had now become Li Xingye's sworn enemy.
"The Ming Province King's involvement must have been to use the Li family as leverage to drag me into their scheme—to force me, the Defense Officer of the Western Gate, to open the gates for the rebels."
With a single thought, Wei Tu understood the reasoning behind it. After all, his only official position was guarding the Western Gate, so there was no other reason for the Ming Province King to target him.
"But the Ming Province King, Li Xingye, and Miao Dashi are truly delusional. Without an Immortal Master or Xiantian martial artist supporting them, where do they get the confidence to plot such things?"
Wei Tu silently mourned their ignorance.
In terms of strategy, Li Xingye and Miao Dashi were not lacking. Unfortunately, in this world, supernatural power dictated fate. Their schemes would not only fail but would lead them to their own demise.
Now that they had become enemies, Wei Tu would not hold back. He reached for the throwing knives tucked at his waist and, with a flick of his wrist, sent them flying toward the rebel guards outside the tent.
A few dull thuds followed.
The guards outside collapsed silently.
Wei Tu stepped into the tent, his eyes scanning the Ming Province King. Before the man could react, Wei Tu struck without hesitation, swiftly eliminating the so-called "grassroots hero" who had risen amidst the chaos.
With the Ming Province King dead, Li Xingye and Miao Dashi, who had initially wanted to call for reinforcements, abruptly swallowed their words.
The king was dead.
No matter how they pleaded, they wouldn't be spared.
Wei Tu had little interest in Miao Dashi. With a flick of his wrist, a throwing knife embedded itself into Miao Dashi's forehead, silencing him forever.
His gaze then shifted to Li Xingye, who had collapsed under the table, his body trembling in fear, a damp stain spreading beneath him.
"I had originally planned to spare you since the Li family has no heirs left. But I never expected you to plot against me," Wei Tu sighed, shaking his head.
With those words, he ended Li Xingye's life.
Had it not been for Miao Dashi's earlier words, he might have shown some leniency, at least for the sake of their past acquaintance.
But now, with Li Xingye bearing a grudge against him, Wei Tu saw no reason to let him live.
Li Xingye wasn't a threat to him, but his family could be.
Without further delay, Wei Tu strode out of the tent, leaving the scene without a second glance, continuing swiftly toward the Western Gate of the city.
From the moment he overheard Li Xingye and the Ming Province King's conspiracy to the time he executed them, not even half a tea's time had passed.
…
Everything proceeded smoothly.
Before dawn, Wei Tu successfully infiltrated the city and found Wei Fei, hiding him in the underground cellar of the abandoned private residence he had purchased years ago.
The two remained in hiding, waiting for the right moment to escape.
"It seems the imperial forces have lost this battle," Wei Tu remarked two days later, hearing the chaotic sounds of battle outside the cellar.
He shook his head and sighed.
He had never cared about whether the court or the rebel kings won.
Back in the valley battle, he had slain at least forty to fifty elite enemy soldiers—more than enough to repay the court for the years of salary they had given him as an eighth-rank military officer.
However, with the rebel victory, the city would inevitably fall into chaos, something he had hoped to avoid.
Four days later.
After ensuring that the city's turmoil had somewhat subsided, Wei Tu and Wei Fei emerged from their hiding place under the cover of night and stealthily made their way out of the city.
Along the way, they witnessed the devastation within the city—rotting corpses piled up in the streets, buildings burned to the ground, and from within some homes, the sounds of women being violated by the rebel soldiers echoed through the night.
"Corrupt officials are bad, but these so-called righteous rebels are no better," Wei Fei remarked bitterly.
Even so, Wei Fei knew better than to let sympathy cloud his judgment. He didn't recklessly storm into houses to fight the rebels—his survival mattered more.
Once outside the city, Wei Tu and Wei Fei galloped toward Xiaoyi Prefecture's Qingliang Post Station, where they planned to reunite with Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang.
…
Five days later.
At Qingliang Post Station.
The four sworn brothers were finally reunited.
"This time, after interrogating Xie Yuanshan and his grandson, we finally uncovered some secrets about the Immortal Masters…"
Fu Zhizhou met Wei Tu's gaze, nodding with a satisfied smile.
This time, they had faced a life-and-death crisis, falling from the ranks of imperial officials to fugitives on the run. The shift in their fate was nothing short of dramatic.
But after obtaining secrets of the Immortal Masters, these hardships became bearable.
Before Wei Tu and the others could even ask, Fu Zhizhou took the initiative and revealed the results of his interrogation of Xie Yuanshan.
"There are four key discoveries."
"First, Xie Yuanshan possesses a complete copy of the Five Yuan Spirit Body manual."
"Second, Xie Yuanshan has been to Danqiu Mountain and has some knowledge of it. I have written down the details and will share them with you all shortly."
"Third, regarding the true cause behind the Guangyuan Prefecture Uprising, Xie Yuanshan disclosed that it was a power struggle between the Chisong Jia Clan and the Qiyue Zhao Clan over mortal authority."
"These two families are among Zheng Kingdom's Seven Great Immortal Clans, and the Qiyue Zhao Clan happens to be the royal family of Zheng Kingdom itself."
"The Xie family's ancestors once served as vassals to the Chisong Jia Clan, and the establishment of Martial Luck Pavilion was meant to provide secular power for the Jia Clan."
"Fourth, Martial Luck Pavilion has hidden away a stash of spirit stones in Tonghu Mountain."
After Fu Zhizhou finished speaking, both Wei Tu and Wei Fei, who had only just arrived at Qingliang Post, found their breathing slightly heated.
Just from these revelations alone, they could already feel as if a corner of the mystical Immortal world had finally been unveiled before them.
As he spoke, Fu Zhizhou handed a sheet of paper to Wei Tu.
"Danqiu Mountain Marketplace… one of Zheng Kingdom's gathering places for rogue cultivators…"
"Spiritual roots, Xiantian martial artists…"
"Realm classifications: Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core…"
Wei Tu carefully examined the contents on the paper, pondering over their implications.
Although these notes only contained basic knowledge of the Immortal world, they still captivated him entirely.
Just the fact that Golden Core cultivators could live for a thousand years left him utterly astonished.
After all, even in his previous life, civilizations lasted only a few thousand years at best—yet an individual cultivator could potentially rival an entire civilization in longevity.
It was beyond comprehension.
"If I reach the Golden Core stage and gain a thousand-year lifespan, what kind of power would my 'Late Bloomer' destiny hold by then?"
Wei Tu secretly looked forward to it.
Once he finished reading, he passed the paper to Wei Fei and began contemplating their next course of action.
According to the information, a Xiantian martial artist was roughly equivalent to a Qi Refinement second-layer cultivator. The moment one condensed a spiritual body, they would become a Qi Refinement practitioner and gain access to mystical techniques.
Upon condensing a spiritual body, Xiantian martial artists could skip the bottleneck of the third layer and directly advance to Qi Refinement fourth-layer cultivators.
The reason they had all failed to cultivate Immortal techniques previously was due to their poor spiritual affinity—their spiritual roots were classified as low-grade.
But in truth, everyone possessed spiritual roots.
The difference lay in quality—ninety-nine percent of people had low-grade spiritual roots, while only a select few were born with mid-grade, high-grade, or even the legendary supreme-grade spiritual roots and innate spirit bodies.
Spiritual roots also had elemental affinities.
For example, Wei Fei's previous difficulty in cultivating the Five Yuan Spirit Body manual was due to his poor affinity with earth spiritual energy.
Regardless of whether they chose to continue cultivating the Earth Yuan Body or head to Danqiu Mountain Marketplace, without spirit stones, they would not be able to progress at all.
The spirit stones hidden in Tonghu Mountain were limited, with only around one hundred pieces, barely enough for one person to condense a spiritual body.
The question now was—how should they divide them?
"This time, it was you and Fourth Brother who captured Xie Yuanshan and helped us escape the battlefield. Second Brother and I won't take any of the spirit stones," Kou Liang stated firmly.
He understood his own limitations. If not for Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou, he would have died in the Immortal Master battle at the valley ten days ago.
Hearing this, Wei Fei nodded without objection.
Last time, when it came to the Blood Food Pellet, he had refused to share and stood his ground.
This time, he wasn't shameless enough to demand a portion of the spirit stones from Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou.
"In that case, we will split the spirit stones between the two of us," Wei Tu proposed, looking at Fu Zhizhou.
"Alright."
Fu Zhizhou hesitated for a moment before nodding.
—He had initially considered offering his share to Wei Tu, but after thinking it through, he decided against it.
Spirit stones were invaluable.
If he gave his share to Wei Tu, he might never get another chance to step onto the Immortal path himself.
"However, if possible, I hope you two can buy some Spirit Root Testing Talismans to check the qualifications of our family members," Kou Liang added after a brief pause.
Over a month ago, Kou Liang had still believed that his talent was merely lacking temporarily. He had thought that once he set foot on the Immortal path, his aptitude might not necessarily be inferior to Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou.
But now, after learning the truth about Immortal cultivation, he immediately gave up on that dream and instead pinned his hopes on his descendants.
"This is a given," Wei Tu nodded, agreeing readily.
According to Xie Yuanshan's confession, Danqiu Mountain Marketplace had a basic Immortal talisman called a Spirit Root Testing Talisman, which could determine a mortal's aptitude for cultivation.
These talismans were not expensive—one spirit stone could be exchanged for three talismans.
Wei Fei had no offspring.
Kou Liang had two sons and three daughters.
This meant that only two extra spirit stones were needed to test Kou Liang's entire family.
Just one spirit stone—Wei Tu was not stingy to that degree.
Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou arrived at a mountain cave in Tonghu Mountain, where they retrieved the hidden spirit stones of Martial Luck Pavilion and split them equally.
On their way to Xiaoyi Prefecture, they accidentally overheard some news from retreating government troops.
On the day of the battle in the valley, Immortal Master Wu had been defeated, losing an arm to the Jia Clan's Immortal Master, and had fled in disgrace.
The thirty-plus military officers who had remained behind to aid in the battle were completely wiped out by King Xiaoshan's army.
Hearing this, Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou exchanged glances, feeling a lingering sense of fortune.
Had they hesitated back then, even as Xiantian martial artists, they too might have become corpses in the valley.
Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou finally arrived at Danqiu Mountain in Luonan Dao.
Standing at the foot of the mountain, they focused their Xiantian True Qi into their eye meridians, allowing them to see through the thick mist ahead.
Soon, the fog cleared from their vision, revealing a path leading up the mountain.
However—
The scene before them completely overturned their expectations.
The mountaintop was covered in lush greenery, dotted with white jade foundations and golden wooden beams, resembling the legendary immortal abodes described in ancient texts.
Yet when Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou lowered their gaze, what they saw shattered their illusions.
On the side of the path, there were vast fields of farmland, with piles of excrement scattered around.
Some human, some animal—indistinguishable.
A bit further, about a hundred paces away, they saw a slum-like settlement filled with makeshift wooden huts.
Near a small creek, a group of women cultivators were washing clothes, using wooden rods to beat the fabric.
They were fair-skinned, with delicate features, and their figures were well-proportioned.
Noticing Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou staring, one of them let out a soft chuckle.
"Newcomers?" She grinned, her voice teasing. "You two want some fun?"
As she spoke, she stretched lazily, deliberately accentuating her curves—her chest rose, and her slender waist arched slightly.
She then tilted her head, exposing a section of her snow-white neck.
This one sentence completely shattered Wei Tu's expectations of the Immortal world.
He had never imagined that the first thing he would encounter in Danqiu Mountain Marketplace would be an Immortal prostitute offering her services.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore."
"You're new here—go register with Deacon Liu first."
"Once you've settled in, you can come back and take care of our business," the woman smirked.
With that, she stepped closer, looking them up and down, before motioning for them to follow.
"What are you standing around for? Come with me."
The woman swayed her hips, leading the way.
Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou exchanged glances, feeling somewhat helpless.
For now, they decided to follow her and find out what this "Deacon Liu" was all about.
Their knowledge of the Immortal world came only from Xie Yuanshan, and his understanding of Danqiu Mountain was outdated.
—Only cultivators or Xiantian martial artists were allowed to enter Danqiu Mountain.
Decades ago, Xie Yuanshan had entered the marketplace as a servant of a Qi Refinement cultivator, but that was over thirty years ago.
By now, his memories were vague, and he couldn't provide accurate details about the place.
Wei Tu learned the woman's name.
Her name was Hu Yao, and she had been living in Danqiu Mountain Marketplace for over forty years.
She was at the third level of Qi Refinement, a step above them in terms of cultivation.
After passing through the slums, Hu Yao led them to a cleaner, well-maintained street.
She stopped in front of a building with a wooden plaque that read "Tai Xuan Mountain".
Seeing the sign, Wei Tu felt a little relieved.
According to his knowledge, Tai Xuan Mountain was the Immortal sect that controlled Danqiu Mountain Marketplace.
If Hu Yao had brought them here, she likely harbored no ill intentions and was simply being helpful.
"It seems that in the future, I shouldn't judge people based solely on their professions," Wei Tu mused.