"So the Qiu family… could really produce someone who reached the Nascent Soul realm, becoming a lofty Nascent Soul ancestor."
Qiu Buchen stared at the skeletal remains of Venerable Master Shen Tu before him. Instead of feeling fear, a sudden surge of heroic spirit rose in his heart—a firm belief in his long and arduous cultivation path.
Ever since he stepped onto the path of immortality and learned he had a superior spiritual root, Qiu Buchen had quietly set his sights on the Nascent Soul realm, the highest realm within a sect.
It was a distant goal he'd never told anyone about, afraid it would draw ridicule from his peers. After all, for those with superior spiritual roots, the limit was typically the Golden Core realm. Only those born with spiritual constitutions stood a good chance of breaking past the Golden Core into the Nascent Soul stage.
—Compared to rogue cultivators, the inner sect valued talent even more. Talent wasn't just about cultivation level; it was an invisible hierarchy.
"My ancestor was a Nascent Soul cultivator…"
Qiu Buchen muttered blankly, dazed. He could feel a faint blood connection stirring, and his right hand unconsciously reached toward the skeletal remains of Venerable Master Shen Tu.
Meanwhile, watching this unfold, Wei Tu wasn't surprised at all.
Bloodline inheritance wasn't just a matter of life continuing; it was also about recognizing one's identity. A hero's son would aspire to heroism himself. If Venerable Master Shen Tu, the ancestor, had reached the Nascent Soul stage, what about his descendant, Qiu Buchen?
The path ahead had already been blazed a thousand years ago by Venerable Master Shen Tu. With such a brilliant legacy, if Qiu Buchen had the heart, he would naturally strive to restore his ancestor's glory.
Of course, this sense of identity wouldn't change Qiu Buchen's current predicament of scarce resources. He was still no different from any poor cultivator. But with this sense of belonging, his resolve would undoubtedly strengthen.
That was one of Wei Tu's goals in returning Venerable Master Shen Tu's remains.
Having come this far on his own journey, Wei Tu knew well what it meant for a cultivator to have a belief that kept them going. Without the support of his "Late Bloomer" destiny, he would've peaked at Foundation Establishment, even if he stepped onto the immortal path at all.
—The "Late Bloomer" destiny hadn't directly improved his aptitude much. It was only by the Golden Core stage that his talent barely reached the level of a superior spiritual root.
Today, the opportunities Wei Tu had gained in his cultivation far exceeded what the Golden Purple Destiny had granted him. But without that destiny as a foundation, he clearly wouldn't have obtained anything that followed.
"Hm?"
"Something's odd with the remains."
Just as Wei Tu was quietly satisfied with having helped his junior, he noticed a faint flash of blood-red light flicker within Venerable Master Shen Tu's skeleton. The flash happened precisely when Qiu Buchen's hand touched the bones.
"A hidden safeguard from Venerable Master Shen Tu?" Wei Tu frowned slightly, thinking silently.
His instincts told him this blood light wasn't a threat to Qiu Buchen, but rather an opportunity. After all, he'd already borne the brunt of Venerable Master Shen Tu's attempt at Nascent Soul possession a century ago.
As the blood light faded, Qiu Buchen, kneeling on the ground, suddenly clutched his head and began wailing in agony, as if suffering unbearable pain. The torment lasted a full half day before it subsided.
"It's my ancestor's techniques and divine abilities…"
When he finally caught his breath, Qiu Buchen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and explained to Wei Tu.
Wei Tu immediately understood. The flash of blood light had been Venerable Master Shen Tu transmitting his legacy through bloodline to Qiu Buchen.
It was common knowledge that spirit beasts were born with innate knowledge, awakening their bloodline to inherit their ancestors' abilities and grow stronger step by step. But that didn't mean bloodline transmission was unique to beasts.
High-level human cultivators could also, through special means, embed their techniques and divine abilities into their bloodline for their descendants to inherit. It was just like how heavenly beasts could transform into humanoid forms and cultivate as humans.
Venerable Master Shen Tu's remains, as the corpse of a Nascent Soul cultivator, still contained considerable spiritual energy even after his death. Setting up a secret bloodline transmission was hardly a challenge.
"These are the techniques and divine abilities passed down from my ancestor," Qiu Buchen said, taking out several blank jade slips. He used his spiritual sense to imprint what he had just received and then presented them to Wei Tu.
This was his way of repaying a kindness.
Although Wei Tu hadn't asked for these techniques, Qiu Buchen understood very well that he owed everything he'd just gained to Wei Tu's help. Without Wei Tu, he wouldn't have even seen Venerable Master Shen Tu's remains, let alone inherited any legacy. He might not have ever set foot in an immortal sect at all.
"You've done well," Wei Tu said with a nod, a hint of approval flickering in his eyes.
In truth, he wasn't especially interested in Venerable Master Shen Tu's techniques, since he had already obtained most of them back in the underground palace. Wei Tu casually swept his spiritual sense through the jade slips before preparing to store them in his sleeve.
"Koi Dragon Yin Blade?" he muttered. Wei Tu's eyes sharpened as he noticed a divine ability he hadn't seen before among the slips.
He remembered that the jade slips Venerable Master Shen Tu had left behind in the underground palace hadn't mentioned this technique at all.
After reading a few lines, the casual look on Wei Tu's face was replaced by solemn interest. This "Koi Dragon Yin Blade" was a powerful soul-attack technique—a high-level soul art.
High-grade soul arts were extremely rare. Up until now, Wei Tu only had "Hidden Spirit Boat Technique," a soul-searching technique he had obtained from Liu Moqun.
The Upper Evolution Secret Scripture Wei Tu had searched from fragments of the soul of the Mourning God was just a partial text. It only covered some soul cultivation methods and didn't mention any secret techniques.
But as luck would have it, his current conditions were a perfect match for cultivating the "Koi Dragon Yin Blade" soul-attack technique.
First, his divine sense had reached the late Golden Core stage. Second, he possessed a dragon-type beast spirit core of third-grade high-quality or above.
Coincidentally, decades ago, Wei Tu had obtained the spirit core of a Tianjiao Dragon Centipede from the Nascent Soul cave in the Stone Demon Tower. The Tianjiao Dragon Centipede happened to be a dragon-type spirit beast.
"A house that accumulates good deeds will surely be blessed," Wei Tu couldn't help but recall this old saying.
If he hadn't brought the Qiu siblings into the sect and returned Venerable Master Shen Tu's remains to Qiu Buchen today, he probably would have missed out on the Koi Dragon Yin Blade.
"Maybe this Koi Dragon Yin Blade soul art originally came from the Stone Demon Sect, passed down to their core disciples… and by chance, Venerable Master Shen Tu obtained it a thousand years ago," Wei Tu guessed silently.
After all, the appearance of both the Koi Dragon Yin Blade and the Tianjiao Dragon Centipede's spirit core was too much of a coincidence. And Venerable Master Shen Tu's greatest opportunity in life had been his adventure in the Great Void Secret Realm.
Holding the jade slip with the new technique, a smile spread across Wei Tu's face. After putting it away, he patiently reminded Qiu Buchen, "Hide everything you gained from the bloodline transmission. Don't share it with other cultivators, unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Not even tell my master…?" Qiu Buchen hesitated.
His master, Nan Zi, had treated him well since he joined her tutelage, almost like her own child.
"That choice is yours to make, not mine," Wei Tu shook his head slightly. He didn't bring up anything Nan Zi had done in the past or try to slander her.
He knew where he stood. Though he had done much for Qiu Buchen, Nan Zi was the one who'd raised and mentored him all these years. To Qiu Buchen, she was closer.
Wei Tu understood that it was natural for Qiu Buchen to trust Nan Zi unconditionally, since his view of her was shaped by years of kindness. Unlike him, who knew Nan Zi as a peer and was well aware of her history.
"The choice is mine?" Qiu Buchen caught the distant tone Wei Tu used when mentioning Nan Zi, completely different from what he had imagined.
He'd always thought Wei Tu and his master shared mutual affection.
"One can know a person's face but not their heart," Qiu Buchen thought to himself, realizing a hard truth.
In terms of their relationship, Nan Zi was undoubtedly closer. But when it came to trust…
Qiu Buchen knew he would choose Wei Tu without hesitation. Wei Tu had nothing to gain from him and had proven his character back when he escorted the siblings into the sect.
"If Wei Immortal Master doesn't favor my master, then what about my sister…" The thought suddenly struck Qiu Buchen, and he felt a headache coming on.
After giving his final instructions, Wei Tu didn't linger in Qiu Buchen's cave. He excused himself and left right away.
This time, he didn't rush back to Kang Kingdom. Instead, he changed his appearance and went to a nearby market town outside the Beastmaster Sect, where he rented a cave residence.
Clearly, Wei Tu planned to stay and train the newly acquired Koi Dragon Yin Blade. Mastering this technique would greatly enhance his combat power.
Moreover, he needed to refine the Tianjiao Dragon Centipede's spirit core soon. If left too long, the core would gradually lose its potency.
But what Wei Tu didn't know was that, even as he prepared to train, danger was already approaching.
Several months later, Fu Linglong, who had left Xiao Kingdom to hunt him down, finally tracked him to the Beastmaster Sect, the last place he had appeared.
Using her identity as a Buddhist nun from Jinglian Convent as cover, Fu Linglong easily entered the sect and met with Nan Zi and Qiu Buchen.
"Fellow Daoist Wei and I are old friends," Fu Linglong lied smoothly. "Years ago, he asked me to find a rare herb for him. I've just obtained it, but now he's traveled by flying boat to Chu Kingdom…"
While spinning her story, Fu Linglong secretly used her "Heart-Reading" divine ability to probe for the truth.
Soon, she learned when Wei Tu had left the Beastmaster Sect and where he might have gone next.
"My apologies for disturbing you, Daoist Nan," Fu Linglong said politely, ready to leave.
But just then, Nan Zi suddenly asked, "Daoist Fu, if it was only a herb, why chase after Wei Immortal Master so persistently?"
Nan Zi's question came from a misunderstanding—she thought Fu Linglong might have fallen for Wei Tu. She had no ulterior motive.
Yet when Fu Linglong heard it, it struck a nerve.
"Why am I chasing him?" Fu Linglong found herself hesitating.
At first, she'd hated Wei Tu, convinced he was Yi Yun in disguise and had tricked her thoroughly. She wanted revenge.
But even then, she hadn't actually acted against him when they parted ways in Haizhou. She knew she'd likely fail if she tried.
So instead, she sought out her superior, Ji Zhang, hoping he would take care of Wei Tu.
And now…
"Maybe I'm just being petty," Fu Linglong admitted to herself, feeling conflicted. After all, she had already bragged in front of Ji Zhang. If she came back empty-handed, it would be a huge embarrassment.