The curse that came from Shen Yunqiu's cave residence echoed across Yuping Mountain, where Mirror Water Pavilion stood, and lingered for a long time.
So whether it was the Golden Core elders in the council hall, Ning Xuefeng who was supposedly in seclusion to break through, or even the low-level disciples elsewhere—all of them heard it.
"What's wrong with Elder Shen?"
The low-level disciples were puzzled, unable to understand why Shen Yunqiu would utter such shocking words.
But the high-ranking members of Mirror Water Pavilion understood. This was Shen Yunqiu resenting them for not rescuing her in time, allowing her to be ambushed and die within her own residence.
—If she hadn't died, there was no way she would've uttered such a curse against Mirror Water Pavilion.
"One wrong step, and everything that follows is wrong."
Ning Xuefeng sighed. With a wave of her sleeve, she left her cave and flew toward Shen Yunqiu's residence.
Now that Shen Yunqiu was dead, her objective was complete. There was no need to keep hiding in her own cave behind an excuse.
By the time Ning Xuefeng arrived, the other Golden Core elders of Mirror Water Pavilion had already gathered. They all bowed slightly in greeting to their Pavilion Master.
"Open!" Ning Xuefeng didn't hesitate. She pulled out the Pavilion Master's token from her sleeve and tossed it onto the barrier formation of Shen Yunqiu's residence.
In less than a moment, the barrier dissolved.
Immediately, Ning Xuefeng led the way in and flew straight toward the sealed chamber where Shen Yunqiu had been cultivating.
But—
The moment they entered the cave, the scene before them made everyone's pupils contract. They all gasped.
Just as they had suspected, Shen Yunqiu had indeed died inside her own cave.
But what they didn't expect was how tragic her death was.
She hadn't died from a normal Dao collapse. Her essence had been completely drained by someone. What remained was a withered corpse, like an old hag.
"Wait? This aura…"
While inspecting the body, Ning Xuefeng suddenly sensed a familiar aura with her divine sense. Her brow furrowed, and her heart sank.
This aura was one she knew very well. In fact, no Pavilion Master of Mirror Water Pavilion across generations could forget it.
After all, this item had always been kept by the Pavilion Masters through the ages.
Unfortunately, it had been lost during her master's tenure, the previous Pavilion Master.
And her own name, in part, had originated from this item.
"The soul essence of the Moonshadow Snow Phoenix!"
A flash of cold light passed through Ning Xuefeng's eyes.
She never imagined that Shen Yunqiu had been hiding Mirror Water Pavilion's lost treasure this entire time.
And worse, it had slipped from her grasp because of one wrong decision.
"Mirror Water Pavilion will have no more Nascent Soul cultivators…"
Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine as she recalled Shen Yunqiu's curse uttered just moments before death.
Had that curse already started to take effect?
If she had arrived just a little earlier, perhaps she could have reclaimed the lost treasure and used it to break through into the Nascent Soul Realm.
…
At the same time—
Bai Zhi, who had escaped from Shen Yunqiu's cave, used the hidden spiritual vein portal to return to Cao Mi's residence.
"Mission complete. I succeeded in the possession and killed Shen Yunqiu, that major threat to Fellow Daoist Wei."
Following the blood radiance of the formation, Bai Zhi shrank her form and returned into the green array disk. She glanced at Wei Tu, a hint of gratitude in her eyes.
This time, without Wei Tu's "Armor of Primordial Silver," she wouldn't have even gotten close to Shen Yunqiu's sea of consciousness. After all, that woman had already begun forming her Nascent Soul spirit body. Her strength far exceeded what Bai Zhi had expected.
After speaking, Bai Zhi didn't say more. As previously agreed, she opened her mouth and spat out a pure-white phoenix soul essence no more than an inch long.
This wasn't a pure true spirit essence. It was the core of the soul that had fused between Shen Yunqiu and the Moonshadow Snow Phoenix.
After all, Shen Yunqiu had possessed the true spirit soul essence for several hundred years. She had already refined it into her body, though it had yet to be fully assimilated.
But that didn't matter.
Next moment—
That inch-long phoenix soul essence flew out from the green array disk. It began drawing upon the essence power from the blood radiance that had stripped Shen Yunqiu's Dao body.
In just a few breaths, it swelled in size, growing to nearly ten feet, and shot toward the true spirit flesh inside the Body Reshaping Soul Return Array, aiming to complete the array's final step—rebirth into a new body!
But at that moment, Cao Mi, Palace Master of Moon Condensation Palace, who had been preparing all along, made her move.
She pulled out a flower basket magic treasure and gently shook it toward the true spirit soul essence. With almost no effort, she captured it inside the basket.
Once trapped, the soul essence shrank back down to its inch-long size. Restless and frantic, it slammed against the flower basket repeatedly, trying desperately to escape.
In truth, the principle behind the Body Reshaping Soul Return Array was to awaken a sliver of the Moonshadow Snow Phoenix's primal nature. Only then would it voluntarily detach from Shen Yunqiu and enter the array to be reborn.
Otherwise, relying on the formation alone wouldn't be enough to strip the true spirit essence from Shen Yunqiu.
Now that the primal nature had been awakened, how could the Moonshadow Snow Phoenix's soul essence just submit willingly?
But Cao Mi wasn't worried. The corners of her mouth lifted into a faint smile. A glow like moonlight shimmered around her right hand as she pressed two fingers against the flower basket treasure.
In an instant, the true spirit essence inside froze into a statue of frosty moon-ice, completely still.
"If not for Fellow Daoist Wei lending a hand this time, I would never have gained this opportunity to form a Nascent Soul."
"As promised, here is the Mortal Shedding Pill and true spirit flesh I agreed to give Fellow Daoist Wei."
Cao Mi didn't delay. Now that everything was settled, she produced the rewards she'd promised Wei Tu and passed them to him with a wave of spiritual power.
The Mortal Shedding Pill was inside a pill vial. The true spirit flesh was stored in an ornate brocade box.
With a sweep of his sleeve, Wei Tu drew both items to himself. Then, using his divine sense and his deep alchemy expertise, he carefully examined them.
After all, one of these treasures concerned his son Wei Xiuwen's path, and the other his own. He couldn't afford to be careless.
"Palace Master Cao is truly a woman of her word."
After checking everything, and seeing that both treasures matched their agreement without any tricks, a smile appeared on Wei Tu's face as he gave her his praise.
Then, he flipped his palm and tossed over his Talisman Heart Tablet to Cao Mi. "I'll redeem this item in one hundred years."
"Redeem it in one hundred years?"
Hearing that, Cao Mi showed a hint of surprise.
Just now, she had given him the Mortal Shedding Pill first, without requiring a trade, meaning she hadn't demanded the Talisman Heart Tablet as collateral. She trusted Wei Tu's integrity.
She hadn't expected him to still offer it afterward to keep his word from several days ago and ensure she didn't suffer any loss.
This action made Cao Mi feel a little more warmth toward Wei Tu, softening some of her previous annoyance over his sudden price hike during negotiations.
"Right… in one hundred years, if I succeed, I'll be a Nascent Soul cultivator. Offering this treasure now is probably his way of earning my favor."
Cao Mi thought it over for a moment and understood.
In her mind, Wei Tu had only hesitated to bind himself with a soul oath requiring him to marry her as a 'Nascent Soul Dao companion' to avoid complications.
But trying to win her favor was a different story.
The first was being forced into a transaction.
The second was love freely given.
'After all, who could resist the benefits of a Nascent Soul Dao companion?' Cao Mi mused silently.
'But what a pity... from now on, the gap between us will be insurmountable.' A touch of pity flickered in Cao Mi's eyes.
She didn't believe that a "Nascent Soul remnant possessing another body" like Wei Tu had any real chance of forming a true Nascent Soul again.
…
After receiving his payment, Wei Tu didn't linger in Moon Condensation Palace. He once again changed his appearance into a dark-skinned man with a yellow face and quietly left.
No one would ever guess that this unremarkable figure had orchestrated the death of a powerful Golden Core cultivator like Shen Yunqiu from within Moon Condensation Palace.
"I'll report back to Ying Ding tribe first. Then I'll look for a chance to give this Mortal Shedding Pill to Xiuwen."
As he passed through Yushan Marketplace, Wei Tu glanced toward the cave residence where Wei Xiuwen and his family were renting. He thought to himself.
Now that Shen Yunqiu was dead, regardless of how disliked she had been by her sectmates, Mirror Water Pavilion's cultivators would still investigate nearby for suspicious individuals.
So, for safety's sake, now wasn't the right time to reveal himself or meet with Wei Xiuwen.
Let alone deliver the Mortal Shedding Pill.
Sure enough, just as Wei Tu had expected—
Before he even left Yushan Marketplace, he noticed several Mirror Water Pavilion Golden Core cultivators working together to lock down the surrounding area, checking every passing cultivator for suspects.
"What a pity! Mirror Water Pavilion couldn't possibly imagine that I have a top-grade escape treasure like an Instant Teleportation Array in hand."
Wei Tu chuckled.
Then, he entered the cave residence he had rented before the operation.
Just like he had done in Hujie Immortal City—
He repeated the same trick. He took out the Instant Teleportation Array and used the pre-set array gate to flee over 100 miles away from Yushan Marketplace, bypassing all the Mirror Water Pavilion checkpoints along the way.
Several days later.
Wei Tu returned to Ying Ding tribe and officially announced he had exited seclusion.
…
Not long after, news of Wei Tu's return spread through Mirror Water Pavilion via secret informants.
After all, during her life, Shen Yunqiu's greatest enemy had been none other than Wei Tu, the lead alchemist of Ying Ding tribe.
"It couldn't be Wei Tu. He's been in seclusion for years. He only met once with Fairy Shuang of Moon Condensation Palace a few days ago…"
Ning Xuefeng was the first to rule out the correct suspect—Wei Tu.
Of course, her reasoning wasn't just that Wei Tu had no opportunity to commit the act. More importantly—
If she were to suspect Wei Tu, that meant she'd first have to question Moon Condensation Palace.
After all, the only cultivator Wei Tu had interacted with recently was Fairy Shuang, whose movements had been a little unusual.
But—
Mirror Water Pavilion could suspect anyone.
Just not Moon Condensation Palace.
Not at a time like this.
It was simple. Mirror Water Pavilion owed Moon Condensation Palace too much.
Even the very Yuping Mountain where Mirror Water Pavilion now resided was a sect asset temporarily lent to them by Moon Condensation Palace.
So, if Mirror Water Pavilion dared suspect Moon Condensation Palace, it would seem like repaying kindness with betrayal.
For someone like Shen Yunqiu, there was no need for Mirror Water Pavilion to offend Moon Condensation Palace.
In fact, even if Moon Condensation Palace was the real culprit, Mirror Water Pavilion would still have to swallow their anger.
Now was not the time to flip the table.
"Reinvestigate the list of suspicious individuals."
Ning Xuefeng rubbed her temples and gave the order.
"Yes, Pavilion Master."
The cultivators of Mirror Water Pavilion all accepted the command.
…
A few days later, in Hujie Immortal City—
At the Wei Clan Pill and Talisman Hall, Wei Tu learned from Kou Hongying the shocking news that Shen Yunqiu was dead.
"What? Shen Yunqiu's dead?"
"Killed in her own cave residence by a sneak attack?"
Wei Tu showed a look of surprise. He shook his head like he couldn't believe it.
"Impossible. No matter how dumb or weak Shen Yunqiu is, there's no way she'd get ambushed and killed inside Mirror Water Pavilion."
He said it seriously.
"Uncle Wei, I saw it with my own eyes. Shen Yunqiu was completely shriveled up, like a dried corpse—someone drained all her essence."
Kou Hongying spoke with confidence.
"A dried corpse?" Wei Tu frowned slightly, seeming to believe her a bit more now.
"I even used a Shadow Capture Talisman to record it. You can see it for yourself, Uncle Wei."
Kou Hongying chuckled.
She hadn't expected that such a powerful Golden Core cultivator would die such a pathetic death.
Still, this whole situation was a blessing for her—and for the Wei family too.
If Shen Yunqiu had succeeded in forming a Nascent Soul, the consequences for their line and the entire Wei clan would've been unthinkable.
"Maybe Shen Yunqiu had offended some fellow cultivator before. Could be a Nascent Soul ancestor involved. Otherwise, there's no way someone could pull it off so cleanly before Mirror Water Pavilion even noticed."
Wei Tu muttered thoughtfully, deliberately steering Kou Hongying's thoughts elsewhere.
Not because he didn't trust her—but because Shen Yunqiu's death wasn't just his doing. It also involved Cao Mi, the Palace Master of Moon Condensation Palace.
Telling Kou Hongying the truth would be the same as betraying the soul oath between him and Cao Mi.
Even without that oath, speaking of it wouldn't necessarily help Kou Hongying either.
After all, she was still a cultivator of Mirror Water Pavilion. If she learned that Moon Condensation Palace was involved, she'd be caught in a bind.
One side was her sect. The other was him.
No matter which side she chose, it would be painful.
"Uncle Wei is right. The one who killed Shen Yunqiu might really have been a Nascent Soul ancestor. Otherwise, how would they have known that Red Mirror Master—the one I assigned to watch her—happened to be out of the sect?"
Kou Hongying nodded, showing no suspicion.
"But since you're here, I actually have a favor to ask."
Wei Tu thought for a moment and said.
"What is it?"
Kou Hongying asked reflexively.
"Xiuwen is about to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment. He'll be breaking through to the Golden Core Realm soon. When I went to Xiao Kingdom, I happened to get a Mortal Shedding Pill..."
"Can you take it back to him for me?"
Wei Tu lied smoothly, casually fabricating a perfect explanation.
"What?"
"Another Mortal Shedding Pill?"
Hearing that, Kou Hongying was visibly shaken.
She knew this Uncle Wei wasn't an ordinary person, but planning out a Mortal Shedding Pill for both of his children? That was still beyond anything she had imagined.
Even someone like Ning Xuefeng, with her status as Pavilion Master, probably couldn't make such arrangements for her own children.
The only people that generous, in her memory, were some of the most high-ranking Nascent Soul ancestors.
"Yes, Uncle Wei."
Kou Hongying nodded and accepted the pill without asking further.
She had known Wei Tu for over three hundred years. They understood each other well and didn't pry into private matters.
That was one of the reasons their relationship had stayed unchanged all this time.
After handling that matter, Wei Tu brought up something else.
"Tao Fangde doesn't have much time left. Tao Wenzhi and Tao Ping'er are still in Yushan Marketplace. When you return, check with them—see if they want to come back and say goodbye."
This was one of the main reasons Wei Tu had chosen now to come out of seclusion—not just to clear suspicion but to visit Tao Fangde one last time and bid farewell to his old steward.
Twenty years ago, when Tao Fangde helped him find the spiritual herbs for a Gu Yan Pill, Wei Tu had calculated that the old man had about twenty years left to live.
"Those two?" Kou Hongying was puzzled as to why Wei Tu would mention them specifically.
"I promised Tao Fangde I'd see that someone from the Tao family became a Golden Core True Lord. But… better to keep it in the family," Wei Tu said, shaking his head.
As a father, he was willing to provide resources at critical moments to help his only son, Wei Xiuwen.
But clearly, that same help wasn't going to extend to his daughter-in-law or granddaughter-in-law.
Which meant Tao Fangde's passing would be a rare opportunity for Tao Wenzhi and Tao Ping'er.