Besides, the requirements for obtaining a "Cursed Ghost" weren't that harsh.
All it needed was the right method to refine the soul of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator or demon beast.
Of course, if he wanted the best effect from the blood escape technique, the ideal source would be the soul of a Nascent Soul-level being.
"Late-stage Golden Core soul, huh…"
Wei Tu's eyes flickered with thought.
Unlike the three border kingdoms—Zheng Kingdom, Jing Kingdom, and Liang Kingdom—the four righteous inland kingdoms had been excessively stripped of resources.
Within those four, aside from the Scarlet Bright Sea bordering the Xiao Kingdom that had some late-stage Golden Core sea beasts, the rest of the region had almost no unclaimed demon beasts at that level.
Simply put, if he wanted to get a late-stage Golden Core demon beast soul, there were only two paths.
1. Head to the Xiao Kingdom and hunt late-stage Golden Core sea beasts in the outer regions of the Scarlet Bright Sea.
2. Go to the demonic path regions—like the Demon Wolf Mountains or other territories under the demonic sects—to hunt or buy demon beast souls of that level.
He gave himself a limit of ten years.
Between the two, the second option clearly had a higher chance of success.
After all, in the demonic sects, there had always been a market for high-grade demon beast souls.
As for the first option, that would rely entirely on luck.
A lone cultivator like him going deep into the outer sea of the Scarlet Bright Sea would basically be flying blind, like a headless fly.
'Shame that Yao Chongshan died too early.'
This thought popped into Wei Tu's mind.
He still couldn't bring himself to deliberately use humans as ingredients just to train a secret technique.
But if he came across an opportunity naturally, he didn't mind using it.
…
Half a month later.
After handling internal affairs in the Talisman Division, Wei Tu packed up and once again secretly crossed into the Zheng Kingdom.
Not long after, now disguised as a yellow-faced burly man, Wei Tu arrived at the outer edge of the Demon Wolf Mountains—specifically, the Yuquan Mountain marketplace.
It wasn't like 300 years ago anymore.
These days, Yuquan Mountain marketplace wasn't jointly managed by Qingzhu Mountain, Mirror Water Pavilion, and Great Voidan Sect. Instead, it had been handed over to a Golden Core demonic sect called "Xuanxue Sect" by the five demonic sects.
Naturally, the status of the marketplace had dropped too.
It was now just an average market among many in the Zheng Kingdom.
"Looks like the old rumors were true. The Heavenly Demons of the Demon Wolf Mountains have long joined forces with the five demonic sects."
As Wei Tu landed in the market, he swept the area with his divine sense. Seeing that most of the flying demon beasts around were masterless, he silently thought to himself.
Back when the demonic path invaded the three border kingdoms—
At the same time, demon beasts from the Demon Wolf Mountains caused chaos, launching major attacks on nearby righteous sects. The righteous cultivators were caught on both fronts, eventually losing those territories and falling back to the four inland kingdoms.
At that time, there were already rumors that the Heavenly Demons in the Demon Wolf Mountains had allied with the five major demonic sects and jointly sparked this catastrophe.
Back then, Wei Tu had only been at the Golden Core stage and didn't understand such higher-level schemes.
But looking at the current state of Yuquan Mountain marketplace, he could pretty much confirm those old rumors were at least 90% true.
'If that's the case… then hunting late-stage Golden Core demon beasts in the Demon Wolf Mountains might not be realistic after all.'
Wei Tu rubbed his chin.
Though late-stage Golden Core demon beasts couldn't take human form like Heavenly Demons, their intelligence was far beyond that of Qi Refinement or Foundation Establishment beasts.
Most likely, they would band together just like human cultivators. They might even become subordinates to the Heavenly Demons.
Of course, if that were all—
Wei Tu wouldn't be too afraid.
What he was really worried about was that if he did manage to kill one of those demon beasts, the pursuers coming after him wouldn't just be the Heavenly Demons. They might also include the Nascent Soul cultivators allied with them.
At that point, while he might not be completely trapped, the odds of getting away would drop sharply.
And for the sake of a single "Cursed Ghost," Wei Tu wasn't ready to risk it all.
"Now there's only one option left—buying the soul of a late-stage Golden Core demon beast through official channels."
Wei Tu stopped walking and looked up at a shop with a "Blood Moon Pavilion" sign.
Blood Moon Pavilion was a business run by the Blood God Sect's officer corps. Within the demonic path territories, it ranked among the top three.
Besides selling spiritual goods, they also dealt in intelligence for high-level cultivators.
Last time, when Wei Tu had gone to the Jing Kingdom to bury Master Shentu's remains, it was through Blood Moon Pavilion that he learned about the Yunyan Merchant Guild auction.
That's how he ended up getting the high-tier soul-searching technique Tomb Shade Scorpion Boat from Liu Moqun.
…
A short while later—
Wei Tu walked into Blood Moon Pavilion, revealed his Golden Core cultivation, and was led by the shopkeeper to a quiet private room inside.
"Fu came this time to gather spiritual materials for my ancestor. I've already prepared everything else. There's only one item I haven't acquired at all…"
Once seated, Wei Tu gave the shopkeeper a brief look, then cut straight to the point without wasting time.
At his current cultivation level, he didn't need to be overly cautious anymore. He could just speak openly.
"What kind of spiritual item?"
The Blood Moon Pavilion shopkeeper was startled the moment Wei Tu mentioned "ancestor" and asked immediately.
He wasn't stupid. He knew that anyone who could call themselves a Golden Core True Lord's ancestor had to be a real Nascent Soul ancestor, not one of those fake "elders" from minor families.
"The soul of a late-stage Golden Core demon beast." Wei Tu lightly tapped the table, his expression calm.
"What? An Earth Demon Soul?"
As soon as he heard that, the shopkeeper's face changed drastically, full of shock.
Now he finally understood why Wei Tu had spent so long gathering spiritual items yet hadn't found this one.
The truth was simple—the Earth Demon Soul was far too rare.
Every Earth Demon Soul represented the death of a high-ranking Earth-grade demon.
And Wei Tu didn't just want any ordinary Earth Demon Soul. He wanted one from a late-stage Golden Core Earth demon.
Under that condition, getting it in a short time was nearly impossible.
"What? Too difficult for your shop?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, his face showing a bit of impatience.
"If Blood Moon Pavilion doesn't have it, then I'll look for another merchant."
As he spoke, Wei Tu rose from his seat as if preparing to leave.
"Please wait, True Lord Fu, wait!" Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly stepped forward to block his path.
At this moment, seeing Wei Tu's assertive stance, he was now fully convinced of his background.
So regardless of whether this deal worked out, the Blood Moon Pavilion shopkeeper didn't want to offend this second-generation cultivator.
"In Blood Moon Pavilion, my clearance is a bit limited. I can't access info on whether we have such high-grade spiritual items in stock. But if you give me some time… at most three days, I'll give you a definite answer."
The shopkeeper patted his chest and made a firm promise.
"Really?" Wei Tu paused and the cold look on his face eased slightly.
But just when the shopkeeper thought Wei Tu would sit back down and continue the discussion, Wei Tu suddenly turned and walked out of the private room.
"In that case, I'll return in three days," he said, flinging his sleeve behind him as he tossed the words over his shoulder.
The shopkeeper was dumbfounded.
After watching Wei Tu leave, the fawning smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a chilling scowl.
"What a joke! If it weren't for his powerful family backing him, could someone with that kind of attitude have ever reached the Golden Core stage? Bah!"
The shopkeeper cursed under his breath.
Wei Tu, a Nascent Soul ancestor, of course saw everything clearly.
But he wasn't angry at all.
Instead, a faint smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. It was like he'd expected this all along.
…
After leaving Blood Moon Pavilion—
Wei Tu didn't linger in Yuquan Mountain marketplace. His light escaped instantly, flying toward the direction of Yunhe Mountain.
Although Earth Demon Souls weren't classified items like third-tier spirit herbs in Liaozhou—which required real-name registration to buy—
Wei Tu knew clearly that without a strong identity, acquiring one of these was far from easy.
In the demonic path's territory, there were plenty of cases of someone having the money to buy but not the life to keep it.
Even though Wei Tu was confident that, with his strength, he wasn't afraid of robbers eyeing his goods, he still didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble while in demonic lands.
So this move was mainly to avoid killing a small fry and having an old monster come after him.
Within the Zheng Kingdom, the only person who could help mask his identity and support his image as a "second-generation immortal" was definitely Ni Shihuang of the Ni family on Crane Mountain.
"My surname is Fu, given name Yulong. I'm the younger brother of Nascent Soul ancestor Fu Dalu."
Half a day later, Wei Tu arrived at the Ni family estate on Crane Mountain. With a bow, he formally declared his identity to the entire household.