Chapter 126: Entanglements of Emotion

Qi Refinement realm cultivators, once they surpass 120 years of age, rapidly decline, making it difficult to maintain a youthful appearance—unless they had consumed Youth Retaining Pills in their younger years. Moreover, most itinerant cultivators who successfully reach Foundation Establishment do so after 120 years of age. Achieving Foundation Establishment before turning 100 years old was something exclusive to Golden Core clans and the three major immortal sects. At this moment, Master Yu Kui observed Wei Tu, an itinerant cultivator who had achieved Foundation Establishment yet still maintained a youthful appearance. Naturally, he was quite astonished. "I was fortunate," Wei Tu explained simply, "My niece, who is a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Mirror Water Pavilion, helped me obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. That’s how I broke through before turning 100." "A Foundation Establishment cultivator from Mirror Water Pavilion?" Master Yu Kui's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, his enthusiasm growing more apparent. Achieving Foundation Establishment before 100 years old signified significant potential. Having a niece from Mirror Water Pavilion meant strong backing. Either one of these factors alone was enough to make Yu Kui regard Wei Tu in a new light. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while longer. Soon after, Master Yu Kui helped Wei Tu set up his stall for selling talismans. "Why don’t I see the other two fellows?" After a while, Wei Tu noticed that only he and Master Yu Kui had set up stalls at the pavilion, while the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators from Crane Mountain's Huang Clan had yet to appear. "Master Xia Qi has probably run off to Second Miss Huang," Yu Kui said, stroking his white beard before winking at Wei Tu. "I heard that a few years ago, Second Miss Huang divorced her husband from the Zheng Clan. Now she’s single again…" "You’re still young, Wei Talisman Master. You look much better than that old dog Xia Qi. You might just win Second Miss Huang’s favor." "How about giving it a try?" Yu Kui teased. Currently, Crane Mountain's Huang Clan had sixteen Foundation Establishment cultivators. Besides the four guest cultivators like themselves, the rest were all members of the Huang Clan. Although the Huang Clan did not strictly forbid marriages between distant relatives beyond five generations, the reality was that those who had managed to reach Foundation Establishment still shared a close bloodline with the main family. That meant the guest cultivators, like them, had the best chances of marrying Huang Caiyu. Wei Tu immediately shook his head and refused. What Yu Kui didn’t know was that—three years ago, when Wei Tu first arrived at Crane Mountain’s Huang Clan, the Third Elder Huang Changkong had already suggested matching him with Huang Caiyu. If he had been interested, he would have had the best opportunity back then. "And what about Master Si?" Wei Tu changed the subject. Si Qing was the only female guest cultivator in Crane Mountain’s Huang Clan. She wouldn’t have gone after Huang Caiyu like Xia Qi did. "Master Si is a formation master," Yu Kui explained, still smiling, "And among the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Huang Clan… most are also formation masters." "That’s why, during every exchange gathering, Master Si never sets up a stall at Golden Moon Cliff—to avoid unnecessary conflict with the Huang Clan." Wei Tu was a bit surprised. He had never understood why a clan known for its formation mastery would recruit an outsider who was also a formation master as a guest cultivator. It seemed entirely unnecessary. "Perhaps there’s something I don’t know about," Wei Tu mused. Rather than pressing the matter, he let it go. Wei Tu set aside his thoughts and focused on his stall. Earth and wood-based talismans were highly practical, making his selection of talismans sell out quickly. Even the three Tier-2 Lower-Grade "Shattering Stone Talismans" were snatched up by a few Foundation Establishment families, treating them as clan-protecting treasures. After completing the transactions, Wei Tu’s previously depleted spirit stone pouch became full once more, gaining over 1,000 spirit stones in total. "It’s a shame the exchange gathering only happens once every eight years." Wei Tu sighed inwardly. He decided that next time, he would prepare a larger stock of talismans to sell. The cultivators attending the Golden Moon Cliff Exchange Gathering were mostly close allies of Crane Mountain’s Huang Clan. Due to the passing of their last Tier-2 talisman master eighty years ago, many of these affiliated clans had a huge demand for talismans. At least for the next few decades, this market wouldn’t become saturated. Wei Tu could continue profiting from it. After packing up his stall, Wei Tu exchanged farewells with Master Yu Kui and casually strolled around Golden Moon Cliff, searching for useful materials. The number of stalls at the gathering was impressive, with over a hundred vendors present. Among them were not only cultivators from the Huang Clan but also Foundation Establishment cultivators from other clans. After browsing for a while, Wei Tu purchased a batch of beast hides and spirit ink. Then, his attention was drawn to a particular stall displaying a few Tier-1 pill furnaces. "How much for these pill furnaces?" Wei Tu inquired. In the year he had spent mourning Xinghua, he hadn’t wasted time. Instead, he had been studying the Tier-1 alchemy inheritance he obtained from Geng Wen. Although Tier-1 pills were of no use to him now, this was an excellent opportunity to familiarize himself with alchemy. The scene where Geng Wen poisoned Blood Elder Mo had left a lasting impression on him. He had long since developed a deep wariness toward ingesting pills made by others. No matter how strong one’s cultivation was, a single poisoned pill could spell disaster. "Wei Talisman Master?" A familiar voice called out. Wei Tu looked up and found himself at the stall of Xia Qi, one of the guest cultivators of the Huang Clan. Wei Tu raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t expecting Huang Caiyu to interfere in his business negotiations. He had come looking for a pill furnace, yet now he found himself caught in some inexplicable situation. Wei Tu swept his gaze over Huang Caiyu’s stall, confirming that there were no pill furnaces among her wares. "Second Miss, your stall doesn’t seem to be selling pill furnaces." "Just wait." Huang Caiyu shot him a sidelong glance and transmitted a voice message. Wei Tu watched, unconcerned. To his surprise, instead of retrieving a pill furnace from her storage bag, Huang Caiyu sweet-talked and manipulated Xia Qi into selling her the very "Qingyang Furnace" at a discount—the same furnace that Wei Tu had been considering earlier. Watching this unfold, Wei Tu’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Second Miss, this seems like an attempt to shift trouble onto someone else." His voice carried a hint of displeasure. Although he wasn’t afraid of Xia Qi, a low-potential Foundation Establishment cultivator, he wasn’t interested in unnecessary entanglements either. If he accepted the pill furnace from Huang Caiyu, Xia Qi would surely harbor resentment toward him, and he had no intention of creating avoidable conflicts. Huang Caiyu noticed his expression and hesitated. "Did I misjudge him?" She had assumed that Wei Tu had intentions toward her and was playing the long game by pretending to be indifferent. If that were the case, he should be delighted that she helped him secure the Qingyang Furnace at a lower price. Instead, he looked annoyed? "Second Miss, if you keep messing around, I might have to bring this matter to Clan Leader Huang Changshun," Wei Tu said coldly. Hearing this, Huang Caiyu’s face stiffened. Wei Tu’s words struck at her biggest weakness. She had merely wanted to use him as a pawn to get rid of the persistent Xia Qi, yet now she found herself on the defensive. "This was just a joke," she finally said, forcing a smile. "A small trick of mine. Nothing serious." Seeing that she had backed down, Wei Tu gave her one last look and left without another word. Previous Chapter || Next Chapte