Chapter 302 - 200: Interested in Me
"Fellow Daoist Helian might have been caught up with other important matters and lost track of time, which is why he hasn’t contacted you again..."
After Tong Peipei finished speaking, Wei Tu chose his words carefully and offered a few words of comfort.
"Besides, the Battle of Righteous and Demons has been going on for so long. It’s common for even Golden Core True Monarchs to fall, let alone Foundation Establishment Cultivators... To put it bluntly, it’s possible Fellow Daoist Helian has perished out there."
Wei Tu added.
"How could he have died?" Tong Peipei wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said coldly, "The Unity Jade connecting us is still perfectly fine. That scoundrel must have found a new love and cast me, his old flame, aside."
’Unity Jade?’ Hearing this, Wei Tu thought, ’I’ve come to the right place this time.’
He had sought out Tong Peipei not only to help an old acquaintance but also with the intention of inquiring about Helian Xiong’s whereabouts.
The Unity Jade, like the Shuangming Jade in his possession, was a type of Dual Cultivation Magical Artifact. It not only allowed Dao Companions to share a mental connection but could also be used to remotely sense the other person’s location.
However, the Unity Jade was of a lower grade, only a Tier One Upper-Grade Magical Artifact. Its sensory range was limited to a fifty-mile radius.
Just as Wei Tu was wondering how to ask Tong Peipei to give him the Unity Jade, she spoke up first, offering it to him.
"This old woman has nothing left. I’ve sold off all my other belongings over the years, and this Unity Jade is the only Magical Artifact I have left..." A look of nostalgia appeared on Tong Peipei’s face. She took a Phoenix Pattern Jade Pendant from her sleeve, caressed it a few times, and handed it to Wei Tu.
"Coming to you for help today was an act of desperation, Fellow Daoist Wei. Please see what this Unity Jade is worth and just give me that amount."
As she spoke, a trace of sorrow flashed in her eyes. After all, this Unity Jade had once been a testament to the eternal vows she and Helian Xiong had made to each other.
But alas, she had waited in this shack for over a decade, and Helian Xiong had never come.
Hearing this, Wei Tu’s impression of Tong Peipei improved considerably.
If Tong Peipei had swallowed her pride and directly begged him for aid today, he would have given her some Spirit Stones, but the amount would have been very limited.
A dozen or so Spirit Stones would have been enough to send her on her way.
However, approaching him to sell a Magical Artifact was an entirely different matter.
It was a transaction.
’After losing her hand, she went through a great calamity and learned to be more cautious,’ Wei Tu sighed inwardly, understanding why Tong Peipei was acting with such "care."
"Fellow Daoist Tong, if I take this Unity Jade today, it will put Fellow Daoist Helian in an unfavorable position..."
Wei Tu accepted the Jade Pendant and offered Tong Peipei a kind reminder.
He disdained the idea of deceiving an old acquaintance who was already in her twilight years.
After losing her hand, not only had Tong Peipei’s Qi and Blood declined, but the affair with Helian Xiong had left her mentally and emotionally exhausted. She would not live to the two-hundred-year lifespan of a Qi Refining Realm cultivator.
At most, she had another twenty years.
Tong Peipei would die of old age prematurely.
"Helian Xiong?" Hearing his name, Tong Peipei snorted coldly. "I’d rather Elder Wei tear him limb from limb to resolve the lingering hatred in my heart."
During her decade-plus in the Red River Mountain Marketplace.
For the first few years, she held out hope for Helian Xiong, believing he would come for her.
But as time went on and she sold off her belongings one by one, her feelings for him had long since turned to dead ash.
She even hated the heartless man more than his own enemies did.
Seeing this, Wei Tu nodded and said no more about Helian Xiong.
"A pair of Unity Jades has a market price of five hundred Spirit Stones. Now, Fellow Daoist Tong, you only have one, and it’s been used..."
"Its value is greatly reduced."
Wei Tu stated the Unity Jade’s value, thought for a moment, then took a Spirit Stone Bag from his Storage Bag and handed it to Tong Peipei.
"Here are two hundred Spirit Stones. Consider it me buying your Unity Jade at a high price," he said.
On the market, the Unity Jade in Tong Peipei’s hand wouldn’t even fetch one hundred Spirit Stones.
After all, Unity Jades were sold in pairs. This single piece had no value other than to track Helian Xiong’s whereabouts.
His willingness to offer two hundred Spirit Stones was already a special consideration for his old acquaintance.
"Thank you, Elder Wei." Tong Peipei took the Spirit Stone Bag, her face filled with gratitude, and bowed deeply to Wei Tu.
However, when Tong Peipei looked up, she found that Wei Tu had already vanished from the shack without a trace.
’If I hadn’t pursued Helian Xiong back then, but admired Wei Tu instead...’
’Things would probably be vastly different now.’
At this thought, a wave of bitterness washed over Tong Peipei, and tears streamed down her face.
In her darkest hour, the one who saved her was not the Dao Companion who had made eternal vows with her, but the peer with whom she had developed a grudge in her youth.
’How ironic fate is...’
Tong Peipei sighed.
...
「Back at Yunyan Residence.」
Wei Tu carefully stored the Unity Jade he had gotten from Tong Peipei, saving it for future use.
In the Cultivation Realm, there was a Blood Attraction Secret Technique that could be used to track enemies based on their blood relatives or Essence Blood.
And this very Unity Jade happened to contain a drop of Helian Xiong’s Essence Blood.
’I haven’t mastered the Blood Attraction Secret Technique yet. But True Monarch Che and the other Golden Core True Monarchs of the Loose Immortal Alliance might have it...’
Wei Tu mused.
’And Master Qin should also possess such a Secret Skill,’ Wei Tu’s eyes glinted as he thought of the Shuangming Jade that Master Qin had left on him.
Back when he left the Yunze Secret Realm, Master Qin had not taken back the Shuangming Jade, instead leaving it on Wei Tu... Her intention was to use the Blood Attraction Secret Technique to track him down in the future.
It was just a pity that Master Qin had miscalculated, not expecting her fellow sect member, Shenn Yunqiu, to swap her Immortal Transformation Pill. This caused her to suffer memory damage during her breakthrough, losing the last thirty years of her memories.
As a result, Wei Tu had narrowly escaped disaster.
...
「After several days of meditation.」
Nanzi, who had agreed to visit five days later, arrived at Yunyan Residence once again.
"I will definitely succeed within a month," Nanzi declared confidently after entering.
"Then I shall look forward to Miss Nan working her magic."
Wei Tu replied with a smile.
Wei Tu also hoped that Nanzi would succeed in breeding the Sky-Splitting Carving this time.
That way, he could avoid having to deal with the Beast Taming Sect again over the Sky-Splitting Carving.
The last time, he had deliberately provoked Nanzi only so that if the breeding failed, he could shift the blame to her, rather than letting the Beast Taming Sect notice the Sky-Splitting Carving’s "Bloodline Mutation."
Nanzi nodded lightly, took an emerald green flute from her sleeve, and, parting her red lips, began to play a series of beautiful melodies.
Sensing the flute’s music, the Sky-Splitting Carving in the courtyard perked up and hastily flew over to a female of its kind, waiting for Nanzi’s Beast Taming Skill to take effect.
Wei Tu didn’t waste this month either. While Nanzi was trying to breed the Sky-Splitting Carving, he stood to the side, multi-tasking by drawing Talismans.
Nanzi was impressed by Wei Tu’s calm and composed demeanor. Through this, she also gained some understanding of the profound depth of his skill in the Talisman Dao.
Time passed.
For the first half of the month, Nanzi remained calm, but as the second half began, a flustered look gradually appeared on her face.
’What’s wrong with this stupid carving? How has it been so long without any success?’
In the final few days, Nanzi grew anxious as she looked at the more than twenty female carvings, all with flat bellies.
A month ago, she had made a solemn vow to Wei Tu and boasted about her capabilities.
Now, a month had passed with no progress in the Sky-Splitting Carving’s breeding, and she felt her face burning with shame.
Thanks to the groundwork Wei Tu had laid earlier, Nanzi didn’t consider the possibility that something was wrong with the Sky-Splitting Carving. Instead, she believed her own Beast Taming Skill was not refined enough, which was why the breeding had yet to succeed.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, it is my own lack of skill. I was unable to complete the breeding of the Sky-Splitting Carving as promised." Nanzi stopped playing her flute, looked at Wei Tu, and spoke with an apologetic expression.
"This is the Nourishing Mushroom Pill I promised you."
As she spoke, Nanzi flipped her palm, revealing a jade bottle. She then used her Magical Power to send it over to Wei Tu’s talisman-making table.
Wei Tu accepted the Pill Bottle, feeling even more certain about the Sky-Splitting Carving’s "Bloodline Mutation."
Without letting anything show on his face, he smiled and said, "Miss Nan, you are still young. To have such skill in the Beast Taming Arts is already remarkable. Perhaps it’s my carving that’s the problem and has difficulty producing offspring."
This time, Nanzi didn’t refute him. She shook her head and said, "It is my Beast Taming Skill that is inadequate. Fellow Daoist Wei need not make excuses for me."
"After three years, the Sky-Splitting Carving’s Primordial Qi should be restored. At that time, I will ask another cultivator from my sect to come and handle the breeding."
Nanzi added.
Hearing this, Wei Tu raised an eyebrow. ’If an experienced cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect were to come, it would be difficult to hide the Sky-Splitting Carving’s secret.’
An idea struck Wei Tu, and he said, "I still have faith in your Beast Taming Skill, Miss Nan. The failure was only due to your youth and lack of experience."
"For the breeding in three years’ time, I would still like to invite you, Miss Nan, rather than any other fellow daoists from your sect."
"Do you really mean that?" Upon hearing this, Nanzi’s dejected expression vanished, replaced by sheer joy.
She had thought that, for the sake of the Sky-Splitting Carving’s health, Wei Tu would no longer "hire" her and would instead find a more experienced cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect.
She never expected Wei Tu to be so decent as to be willing to trust her again.
He was giving her another chance.
This was, after all, her first failed mission. As a Celestial Pride of the Beast Taming Sect, it was imperative for her to wash away this shame.
"I truly mean it!"
Wei Tu nodded, affirming his words.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Wei." Nanzi’s face lit up, and she quickly expressed her thanks.
"This is a Talisman I just drew. I have no use for it, so I’ll give it to you, Miss Nan." Wei Tu smiled and casually handed a Wood Thunder Talisman to her.
A month ago, he and Nanzi had agreed that if she succeeded in the breeding, he would give her a Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman.
Now, Nanzi had failed.
Logically, he didn’t need to give her the Talisman.
However, Wei Tu’s real intention was to build a connection with Nanzi, a Celestial Pride from the Beast Taming Sect, so he didn’t care about the outcome of their bet. Therefore, giving her the Talisman despite her failure was not a contradiction.
’Could it be that this Wei Tu is interested in me?’ Nanzi thought to herself as she accepted the Talisman, her delicate brows arching slightly as she glanced at him.