Right after Wei Tu finished warning Chu Huan—

The battle erupted.

As the highest cultivation realm among them, Zuo Kui took the lead. With a single motion, he summoned two silver curved-blade magical weapons, hurling them straight at the first carriage.

At the same time, Wei Tu and the other two each unleashed their own magical weapons.

In an instant, azure light, black mist, golden glow—various magical weapon auras lit up above the group of demonic cultivators.

“Enemy attack!” Upon seeing the magical weapons roaring toward them, this group of demonic cultivators fell into panic. Many Qi Refinement Realm cultivators screamed and scattered like birds and beasts, using their escape techniques to flee on the spot.

However, under the assault of Foundation Establishment Realm magical weapons, these low-level demonic cultivators had no power to fight back. The lights of the hovering magical weapons flashed—

Heads rolled one after another.

It was a one-sided slaughter.

In less than two breaths’ time—

Among the several dozen demonic cultivators, aside from over twenty who had banded together to resist the magical weapon onslaught with formations, the rest who tried to flee were all killed by Wei Tu and the others’ magical weapons.

At this point, Zuo Kui’s two curved-blade magical weapons finally blasted a hole in the defense barrier of the first carriage.

Inside the carriage—

The thin, tall demonic cultivator and the man in black robes appeared—just as Wei Tu had seen earlier through the Seven-Colored Phantom Moth.

“What? The ones in the carriage were fake? Just Qi Refinement Realm?”

Zuo Kui’s face filled with shock. He seemed genuinely surprised by the bait-and-switch strategy employed by these demonic cultivators.

After all, that strike just now had been one of his full-powered blows—it had consumed quite a bit of his spiritual power.

“Where are the two Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators?” Zuo Kui and Li Daoyuan exchanged glances, wariness flickering in their eyes as they scanned their surroundings.

Chu Huan, remembering Wei Tu’s warning, had noticed that during the commotion just now, the fourth demonic cultivator on the left had suddenly vanished.

Seeing this, Chu Huan’s heart skipped a beat. She shifted closer to Wei Tu’s position.

Just then—

A black flying zombie suddenly burst from beneath Zuo Kui’s feet, claws shrouded in gray mist stabbing viciously toward Zuo Kui’s back.

“Zuo Daoist, watch out!” Li Daoyuan quickly called out a warning.

But—

It was too late.

This black flying zombie was not only frighteningly fast, but its strength was also overwhelming. The defensive aura formed by Zuo Kui’s spiritual power and several talismans was instantly shredded by its claws.

In the blink of an eye, the zombie closed in on Zuo Kui’s back—

It was less than half a foot away from piercing his body.

Yet—

No one noticed that Zuo Kui’s expression remained calm. Not the slightest hint of panic showed on his face. In fact, a slight smile even curled at the corner of his lips.

As if—

The ambush by the black zombie was entirely within his expectations.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Several beastly howls suddenly erupted from Zuo Kui’s body. His robe ripped apart behind him as two muscular, yellow-furred arms burst out.

These arms resembled those of a giant ape—shimmering gold, muscles knotted with power.

With a stretch—

The ape arms grabbed the black flying zombie’s wrists, locking into a struggle.

After a few exchanges—

The flying zombie, now sluggish, had one arm torn off by the ape limbs. Then, with a sharp motion, Zuo Kui slammed it over his shoulder and smashed it into the ground.

As the dust settled—

Wei Tu and the others looked over.

They saw the black zombie embedded deep into the earth, sunk several zhang below the surface, its body riddled with fine cracks like broken porcelain. Black, foul-smelling pus oozed slowly from its wounds.

“That’s the Beast Transformation Art from the Beastmaster Sect. I didn’t expect Zuo Daoist to have mastered this secret technique. So the opening just now was intentional.”

Li Daoyuan, seeing Zuo Kui unharmed, breathed a long sigh of relief and spoke.

Among the four in the ambush party—

Zuo Kui was the only one at the late Foundation Establishment Realm.

If Zuo Kui had died, the remaining three of them would have stood no chance against the two demonic Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“Cultivators of the Demonfiend Sect all raise a fiend corpse to use in battle. Now that this one is half-crippled, the rest of the fight just got a lot easier.” Chu Huan said, elated.

This failed ambush had not only cost the Demonfiend Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivator his "fiend corpse"—the black flying zombie—but also revealed his position.

That cultivator was none other than the "Senior Yin" Wei Tu had spotted earlier, a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

With that—

After a brief discussion, Wei Tu and the others exchanged glances and began executing their original plan.

Zuo Kui and Li Daoyuan would target the Yin-named demonic cultivator.

Wei Tu and Chu Huan, the weaker two, would go after the other mid-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator.

Though that mid-stage demonic cultivator had yet to show himself, based on their speculation, he was likely hiding among the group of Qi Refinement demonic cultivators.

To avoid any delay—

Wei Tu didn’t hesitate.

He immediately summoned three Ice Jiao Swords and, coordinating with Shadow Thread, began hunting down the mid-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator.

Forced by the magical weapons closing in—

That demonic cultivator finally revealed himself.

He had been disguised among the other demonic cultivators as a long-haired man. Now, he activated a gray bead to temporarily block Wei Tu’s assault.

His eyes darkened with murderous intent as he locked a venomous glare on Wei Tu.

But soon, the sinister expression on that long-haired man’s face turned into terror.

Half a breath earlier, the Shadow Thread that Wei Tu had hidden in the dark suddenly shot forth with a sharp screech. The long-haired man, caught completely off guard, had his left leg cleanly severed.

It wasn’t that Wei Tu hadn’t wanted to end the battle in one blow. It was just that the long-haired man had long since prepared defensive measures while hiding among the Qi Refinement demonic cultivators.

So the Shadow Thread couldn’t deliver a fatal strike.

“Damn it! Do you know how much it’ll cost me to reattach this leg?” The long-haired man, regaining composure from his initial panic, retrieved his severed leg and glared at Wei Tu with venomous eyes, as if he wanted to tear him to pieces.

Then he pulled out three small crimson flags from his robes. With a flick of his sleeve, he thrust them into the ground near the group of demonic cultivators.

Immediately, crimson runes lit up on the flags, and a blood-red cocoon of light formed out of thin air, covering him and the surrounding Qi Refinement cultivators tightly.

At that moment, one of Wei Tu’s Ice Jiao Swords broke away from attacking the gray bead and shot directly toward the crimson light cocoon.

But surprisingly—

When the sword struck the blood cocoon, it didn’t budge in the slightest. No visible damage at all.

“The Flame Demon Banner. A protective treasure from my grandfather. Don’t talk about your talisman sword—even the Beast Transformation Art from the Beastmaster Sect couldn’t leave a scratch on it.” The long-haired man sat cross-legged, bleeding staunched, and sneered.

“Grandfather?” Hearing this, Wei Tu raised an eyebrow. It was clear this man held an unusual position within the Demonfiend Sect.

Most likely, he had a Golden Core elder backing him.

Originally, Wei Tu’s approach had been to avoid offending these second-generation demonic cultivators if possible.

But now, the arrow had been nocked and had to be released.

This mission to ambush the demonic cultivators was a direct order from the Righteous Alliance.

If he failed and returned to Cicada Cry Cliff, there’d be consequences.

Besides, during the earlier fight, he’d already severed the long-haired man’s leg using the Shadow Thread. That man now bore deep hatred toward him.

Letting such a dangerous enemy escape would only bring disaster later.

“This guy suddenly bringing up his grandfather is probably trying to scare me off,” Wei Tu thought to himself.

“But how could I fall for that?”

He sneered inwardly.

Among the Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators at the front lines, which one didn’t have some relation to a Golden Core True Lord? Most were their direct descendants or nephews.

That Yin-named demonic cultivator wasn’t also the disciple of the old devil Yan?

“Daoist Wei, this crimson cocoon is too strong. What should we do now?” Chu Huan hurried over to Wei Tu’s side, clearly anxious.

She had just launched an attack on the crimson cocoon with her magical weapon, and like Wei Tu, hadn’t even left a scratch.

“If we don’t take him out quickly, Zuo Daoist and Li Daoist may not be able to finish their fight anytime soon,” she added.

Even though Zuo Kui and Li Daoyuan had the advantage over the Yin-named demonic cultivator, killing him swiftly was still extremely difficult.

Just like Guan Zhenying and Shen Changfeng in their earlier battle—facing five Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators, they had managed to hold out until Wei Tu arrived for support.

According to the plan, once she and Wei Tu took down the mid-stage Foundation Establishment long-haired cultivator, the four of them would join forces to eliminate the last one—the Yin-named cultivator.

But who would’ve thought this long-haired man would suddenly use the Flame Demon Banner—

Like a tortoise shell, it had left her and Wei Tu without a point of attack.

“How about we call Li Daoist over to help us take care of him first?” Chu Huan looked toward the other battlefield and suggested.

“Not yet.”

Wei Tu shook his head.

Right now, Zuo Kui and Li Daoyuan working together had just barely suppressed the Yin-named cultivator.

If they changed the plan and gave that enemy a breather, who knew what would happen next?

Wei Tu still remembered that scene more than ten years ago when the Jia Clan cultivator used the Blood Ignition Technique.

When it came to strange and deadly tactics, demonic cultivators were far more dangerous than righteous ones.

Hearing this, Chu Huan, although uneasy, chose to trust Wei Tu. She didn’t call Li Daoyuan over.

“May I ask who your grandfather is?” After some thought, Wei Tu turned his gaze to the long-haired man inside the crimson cocoon and asked.

The long-haired man looked at Wei Tu in surprise, not sure why he was suddenly asking this.

But since he’d brought up his grandfather to begin with to intimidate Wei Tu, he didn’t mind saying the name now.

“My grandfather is the Golden Core True Lord Lü Xiuxian of the Demonfiend Sect. I am his direct grandson, Lü Yuanli,” the long-haired man said.

After stating his background, he tried to win Wei Tu over with a casual tone. “As long as you switch sides now and join the Demonfiend Sect, I, Lü, swear not to hold a grudge about what happened earlier. I’ll even have my grandfather teach you supreme demonic techniques and make you my junior apprentice brother.”

“Jing Kingdom has already fallen. The immortal cultivation world of Zheng Kingdom won’t last long either. Join the demonic path—only then will you have a future,” he said earnestly.

“Golden Core True Lord Lü Xiuxian…”

Wei Tu silently memorized the name.

Then, he retracted his spiritual sense, formed a hand seal, and summoned a five-colored copper ring.

This wasn’t just any item.

It was the Five Elements Ring—a high-grade magical weapon he had obtained from Alchemist Shu.

Unlike other magical weapons, the Five Elements Ring had the unique ability to immobilize enemies.

Back when he fought Alchemist Shu, this Five Elements Ring had given Wei Tu a lot of trouble. If not for his many techniques, that single magical weapon would have put him in a tight spot.

“Go!” Wei Tu uttered the command.

The Five Elements Ring burst forth in brilliant light, charging directly at Lü Yuanli’s Flame Demon Banner.

Under the glow of the five-colored light, the blood-red cocoon conjured by the Flame Demon Banner trembled faintly.

At that moment, a flash of green shot through the air and pierced straight into the cocoon—stabbing directly into Lü Yuanli’s forehead.

“You… you tricked me. You’re not just mid-stage Foundation Establ—” Lü Yuanli’s lips turned black, and before he could finish his sentence, he collapsed and dissolved into a puddle of dark blood.

Chu Huan, standing nearby, was stunned.

She couldn’t understand how the crimson cocoon that had just seemed unbreakable was suddenly shattered so easily by Wei Tu’s strike.

Wei Tu raised a hand, and the Emerald Cloud Needle flew back into his sleeve and disappeared.

The Emerald Cloud Needle was a supreme-grade magical weapon he had seized from Alchemist Shu—deadly and laced with venom.

This time, if Lü Yuanli hadn’t underestimated his strength, thinking Wei Tu was only mid-stage Foundation Establishment with limited means and not worth wasting more spiritual power to fully empower the Flame Demon Banner—

This sneak attack would not have succeeded so easily.

Late-stage Foundation Establishment spiritual power, paired with the supreme-grade Emerald Cloud Needle and high-grade Five Elements Ring—

That combo?

Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would struggle to survive it, let alone a mid-stage cultivator like Lü Yuanli.

And now that Lü Yuanli was dead, the Flame Demon Banner was no longer able to resist the pull of the Five Elements Ring.

With a flash of light, the three crimson flags he had planted in the ground were sucked into the ring.

Wei Tu, calm as ever, stored both the Five Elements Ring and the Flame Demon Banner into his storage pouch.

The whole process flowed seamlessly, finished in the span of a single breath.

Not only was Chu Huan completely stunned—

Even the Qi Refinement demonic cultivators who had been hiding behind the crimson cocoon were paralyzed with fear by Wei Tu’s devastating strike.

Of course, there were still a few who reacted quickly.

The thin, tall demonic cultivator Wei Tu had noticed earlier snatched Lü Yuanli’s storage pouch the moment he died and tried to flee.

But—

The gap in cultivation was just too wide.

One of the Ice Jiao Swords still circling from earlier let out a piercing screech as it sliced through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the fleeing cultivator’s head was separated from his shoulders.

Just like before, Wei Tu didn’t bother consulting Chu Huan. He reached out and took Lü Yuanli’s storage pouch for himself.

In the immortal cultivation world, there was a rule—

The more you contribute, the more you earn.

During the battle against Lü Yuanli, Chu Huan had contributed very little.

Naturally, there was no reason she’d receive a share of the loot.

Of course—

Chu Huan had no complaints about Wei Tu claiming all the spoils.

At this point, in her heart, she already regarded Wei Tu’s strength as equivalent to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

So rather than objecting, she was more in awe of him—she wouldn’t dare to overstep her place.

Even most late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t have killed a mid-stage one as swiftly as Wei Tu had.

“Could it be a gift from True Lord Qin?” Chu Huan wondered silently, thinking about the green needle strike Wei Tu had used.

Only a treasure bestowed by a Golden Core True Lord could explain such a sudden and powerful attack.

After all, no one would imagine Wei Tu had killed a false core cultivator and inherited four hundred years of accumulated resources and knowledge.

“Daoist Chu, still spacing out? Come help me take care of these remaining demonic cultivators.” Wei Tu called out, snapping Chu Huan from her daze.

“Yes, Daoist Wei!” she quickly responded, summoning her magical weapon to join him in eliminating the remaining Qi Refinement demonic cultivators.

Without Lü Yuanli’s support, these low-level cultivators were completely helpless.

The only trouble was that they scattered in all directions trying to save their own lives, forcing Wei Tu and Chu Huan to hunt them down one by one.

After a quarter of an hour—

The fleeing demonic cultivators had all been slain.

Then, Wei Tu and Chu Huan turned their gaze to the other battlefield a few li away.

The Yin-named demonic cultivator wasn’t foolish.

After realizing Lü Yuanli was dead, he immediately tried to escape.

But Zuo Kui and Li Daoyuan had blocked his path, forcing him to fight while retreating.

That was exactly why Wei Tu hadn’t allowed Chu Huan to go call Li Daoyuan for backup earlier.

If Zuo Kui lost Li Daoyuan’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to stop the Yin-named demonic cultivator from fleeing.

Now, with Wei Tu and Chu Huan joining in—

Four against one.

The Yin-named cultivator was overwhelmed, barely keeping up with the combined attacks of Zuo Kui and Li Daoyuan.

After dozens of exchanges—

He finally showed a weakness.

Zuo Kui seized the moment.

The two ape arms sprouting from his back lunged forward and grabbed the Yin-named cultivator by the head—

Then tore his body into four bloody pieces.

With that, the ambush mission carried out by Wei Tu and the other three was a complete success—with not a single casualty.

There had been close calls during the battle, but in the end, everyone made it through safely.

“I didn’t contribute much to the killing of the Yin-named demonic cultivator, so I won’t take a share of the loot from his storage pouch,” Wei Tu said, voluntarily stepping back and giving up his claim on that portion of the spoils.

After all, he had already gained a great deal from taking Lü Yuanli’s storage pouch. If he continued pushing for a share of the Yin-named cultivator’s possessions, it would surely make Zuo Kui and the others resent him.

Hearing this—

Zuo Kui and Li Daoyuan exchanged satisfied looks. In their eyes, Wei Tu was someone worth befriending.

First, they now recognized Wei Tu’s strength after what they’d witnessed in battle.

Second, he wasn’t greedy and knew how to keep things fair when dividing spoils.

Especially that second point—

It was rare.

Among rogue cultivators, few had the sense of propriety and generosity that Wei Tu showed.

Once the loot had been divided—

Zuo Kui turned his attention to the golden ore in the second carriage and furrowed his brow.

“This golden ore is a third-tier spiritual material—Gangjin Stone. It's extremely valuable and can be used to forge magical treasures,” he said. “Leaving it behind like this is such a waste. Truly a shame.”

Gangjin Stone, as a third-tier spiritual material, was incredibly tough. With the magical weapons they currently had, cutting and dividing it into transportable pieces wasn’t easy.

Otherwise, Lü Yuanli and the Yin-named cultivator wouldn’t have resorted to using a mortal carriage to move the massive stone.

“Let’s go.”

After trying several methods and still failing to break apart the Gangjin Stone, Zuo Kui shook his head in frustration and reluctantly gave the order to retreat.

Unlike the journey from Cicada Cry Cliff to the ambush site—

This time, Wei Tu and the others split up to return separately, each taking a different route back to Cicada Cry Cliff.

Killing Lü Yuanli and the Yin-named demonic cultivator was only one dangerous part of this ambush.

The second danger—

Would come during the escape through demonic territory.

The pursuit was inevitable.

Lü Yuanli and the Yin-named cultivator weren’t rogue cultivators—they were from the Demonfiend Sect, and their life tokens were stored there.

Now that the tokens had shattered, the Demonfiend Sect would surely send out pursuit squads to hunt them down.

Fortunately, the sect’s headquarters was some distance away from the ambush site.

Even if a Golden Core True Lord came after them, finding them wouldn’t be easy.

And the reason they split up?

It was the classic principle: don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

…

After Zuo Kui and the others left—

Wei Tu quietly returned to the valley where the ambush had taken place.

He stood before the miniature mountain of Gangjin Stone in the carriage, lost in thought.

Then he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out the Demonic Buddha Bell, a damaged magical treasure, and channeled his spiritual power—

Smashing it down onto the Gangjin Stone.

A deafening boom echoed across the valley.

A deep fissure, several feet wide, split down the middle of the Gangjin Stone.

“It worked! The Demonic Buddha Bell can break it!” Wei Tu’s face lit up.

This massive Gangjin Stone, a third-tier spiritual material, had originally been a birthday tribute from the Yin-named demonic cultivator to the old devil Yan.

If sold—

It would easily fetch over ten thousand spirit stones.

Wei Tu calmly activated the Demonic Buddha Bell again and struck the stone a second time.

With this strike—

The Gangjin Stone shattered completely, breaking into three large chunks and several smaller fragments.

Wei Tu pulled out his storage pouch and carefully loaded the pieces of Gangjin Stone one by one.

But he didn’t hang that pouch from his waist.

Instead, he placed it inside the transparent cloth bag he’d taken from Si Qing—right alongside Lü Yuanli’s storage pouch.

That transparent pouch had been tested by Wei Tu after leaving the Cloud Ze Secret Realm.

It could block the divine sense of Golden Core cultivators.

So, by hiding these “hot goods” in the cloth pouch—

Even if Lü Yuanli’s storage pouch bore a Golden Core tracking mark from his grandfather Lü Xiuxian, Wei Tu had nothing to fear.

…

After leaving the ambush site—

Wei Tu didn’t return to Cicada Cry Cliff right away with the others.

Instead, he activated the True Demonic Refinement Art, changed his appearance, and disguised himself as a demonic cultivator headed for a nearby demonic city.

This was a test.

Wei Tu wanted to see whether ordinary demonic cultivators would be able to detect that he was righteous path, not demonic.

The result?

Quite satisfactory.

With the concealment of demonic aura, many cultivators mistook him for one of their own. They even addressed him as “Daoist friend,” not treating him as an enemy at all.

This included a few Foundation Establishment cultivators as well.

Wei Tu suspected this was due to the combined effect of the True Demonic Refinement Art and the Thousand Faces Phantom Art—

Making it extremely difficult for others to discern that he belonged to the righteous path.

“With this disguise, even if Cicada Cry Cliff falls one day, I won’t be caught off guard,” Wei Tu thought to himself.

After finishing his test—

He made his way back to Cicada Cry Cliff.

But on the road—

He suddenly ran into a cultivator both familiar and unfamiliar.

“Ye Hong?” Wei Tu checked his jade slip to confirm the man’s identity.