Panyang Mountain, located two hundred miles west of Qingyu Gate, within the vast Duyuan Swamp, was a famous and spiritually rich mountain in the region.
After receiving Fu Linglong's talisman, Wei Tu didnât hesitate. He told Yu Gongshou and the others to wait patiently in place while he quickly flew toward Panyang Mountain under the pretext of retreating for closed-door cultivation, as they had agreed.
Two days later.
Wei Tu arrived at Panyang Mountain and met with Fu Linglong, who had been waiting there.
They met in a small pavilion.
Outside the pavilion, a third-tier hidden formation was set up to block divine perception.
"Who would have thought that today, Miss Fu and I would be joining forces?"
A greenish light stopped outside the pavilion, revealing a black-skinned man with a smiling face.
After landing, the man waved his sleeve and revealed his true appearance. His features were ordinary, though his facial contours were somewhat sharp.
This man was none other than Wei Tu, who had arrived as agreed.
"Miss Fu, I'm curious⊠What exactly does Ji Zhang want from the Fu siblings?" Wei Tu sat down, glancing at Fu Linglong who was sitting opposite him, wearing a conical hat. He asked with a tone of curiosity.
When he fought against Ji Zhang before, he had guessed that Ji Zhangâs intentions for following the Fu siblings werenât simple, that he was after something. However, he still didnât know what Ji Zhang was really after.
It could be anything: secret realm opportunities, breakthrough elixirs, or something else.
There were many possibilities.
However, Wei Tu could guess one thing: Ji Zhangâs goal was most likely related to Nascent Soul opportunities.
After all, Ji Zhang was at a critical point where he was about to break through to Nascent Soul.
At this point, only a Nascent Soul opportunity could justify him abandoning the favorable environment provided by Tianyi Sect and traveling all the way to Chu Kingdom.
"Wei Tu, do you really want to know?"
Fu Linglong didnât immediately answer him. She curled her lips in a mocking smile, her expression filled with disdain.
"Master Wei, once you know about this, there will be no turning back. Youâll become Ji Zhangâs lifelong enemy," she said with a hint of warning.
"Ji Zhang has his father, Ji Yifeng, behind him," she added.
Hearing this, Wei Tu didnât show any sign of fear. His expression remained calm, as indifferent as it had been when he first arrived.
Having been in the cultivation world for so long, even if Wei Tu was internally cautious, his self-cultivation allowed him to mask his emotions completely.
"Miss Fu underestimates me. If I were afraid of Ji Zhang, I would have asked for his Instant Transmission Array more than ten days ago," Wei Tu said lightly with a smile, his expression relaxed.
Touching Ji Zhangâs bottom line didnât mean touching his father Ji Yifengâs. As long as Wei Tu kept his distance, Ji Yifeng was unlikely to pursue him.
Even if he did, Wei Tu could always retreat to the Yingding region and wait until he broke through to Nascent Soul before reemerging.
As for this time, trying to seize Ji Zhangâs Nascent Soul opportunityâŠ
He wasnât going to make a big deal of it!
As long as he kept everything confidential, replicating the success from the Ming Wang Gate and Xiaohan Mountain wouldnât be hard.
Besides, they were still in the scheming phase. If things became too dangerous, he could always back out. After all, he wasnât afraid of offending Fu Linglong.
Fu Linglong didnât know that Wei Tu had thoughts of backing out. Upon hearing his words, she nodded slightly and then revealed Ji Zhangâs real intentions.
"Ji Zhang pretended to help me, but in reality, he wants to cultivate with me, steal my Buddhist heartâs power, and use it to help him pass the Qiling tribulation in his Nascent Soul breakthrough!"
Fu Linglong spoke slowly.
Her tone was calm, but Wei Tu could still hear the slight tremor in her voice, clearly indicating that she still cared about the relationship.
However, it was Ji Zhangâs betrayal that had completely filled Fu Linglongâs heart with hatred.
"So thatâs what this is about," Wei Tu said, his face showing deep disappointment.
Unlike Ji Zhang, Wei Tu already had a "spiritual tool" that could easily help him pass the Qiling tribulation, so he had no need to covet Ji Zhangâs Nascent Soul opportunity.
Fu Linglongâs Buddhist heart power was useless to him!
"This item⊠Iâm not interested. Iâll take my leave now," Wei Tu said, standing up and giving a polite bow, intending to leave.
If it were another treasure, he might have been interested in seizing it. But since Ji Zhangâs goal was to cultivate with Fu Linglong⊠That wasnât something he wanted to get involved in!
The right to cultivate with her was in Fu Linglongâs hands. Whether she agreed or not, who had the power to interfere?
After all, behind Fu Linglong stood the powerful Nascent Soul force of Jinglian Monastery.
If Fu Linglong didnât want to cultivate with Ji Zhang, she could simply refuse, and even if Ji Zhang had a powerful background, heâd have to accept the rejection.
"When I said this to Master Wei earlier, I meant that once you know, thereâs no turning back," Fu Linglong said, her lips moving softly as she spoke.
"What do you mean by that?"
Wei Tu paused, his brow furrowing as he turned to look at Fu Linglong, sitting on the stone bench.
At that moment, he began to sense something was off.
If Fu Linglong didnât want to cultivate with Ji Zhang, she could have simply rejected him. Why would she go through the trouble of inviting him, an enemy, to Panyang Mountain to conspire?
Clearly, her goal might not just be to refuse to cultivate with Ji Zhang anymore!
"I want revenge. I want to cripple Ji Zhang completely! Make sure he can never break through to the Nascent Soul realm!"
Fu Linglong's face was filled with hatred as she spoke coldly.
"Cripple Ji Zhang..."
Wei Tu was taken aback by what this mad woman had said.
He wasnât afraid of the trouble that might arise if they teamed up to destroy Ji Zhang after all. He had already killed Yuwen Cheng, the number one genius of the She Ri Sect... Ji Zhang wasnât necessarily more important or noble than Yuwen Cheng.
What frightened him was Fu Linglongâs extreme desire for vengeance.
Although Ji Zhang had evil intentions from the beginning, he did save Fu Linglong's life once, so it didnât make sense for her to want to destroy him this much.
But then, Wei Tu thought of how Fu Linglong had previously placed a city-wide bounty on him in Xiantao City, and how she had traveled all the way to chase him.
She had always been narrow-minded, always returning evil for evil.
She treated him that way before.
And now, she was treating Ji Zhang the same way.
As for the so-called life-saving grace...
For Fu Linglong, a "malicious" rescue would probably just add to her hatred.
At this moment, after understanding the full context, Wei Tu quickly realized that Ji Zhang had intentionally put Fu Linglong in danger to "rescue" her.
But the plan had backfired. Fu Linglong had noticed something was wrong, thanks to Wei Tuâs earlier warning.
"If Master Wei doesnât help me, Iâll just let Ji Zhang succeed and break through to Nascent Soul!"
"At that point, Ji Zhang, a newly promoted Nascent Soul, wonât forget the grudge from Master Weiâs blackmail more than ten days ago!"
Fu Linglong continued.
She knew Ji Zhangâs character well. Once Ji Zhang successfully broke through to Nascent Soul, he would surely seek revenge on Wei Tu to settle old scores.
It was simple. Wei Tu posed a significant threat.
If Wei Tu didnât have the potential to break through to Nascent Soul, Ji Zhang might just laugh off their enmity and consider it a funny story for later.
But, unfortunately, Wei Tu had that potential.
If Ji Zhang ignored the matter and allowed Wei Tu to break through to Nascent Soul, the feud would become a source of embarrassment for Ji Zhang in the future.
"Are you threatening me?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tuâs expression turned cold. He appeared beside Fu Linglong in an instant, grabbing her delicate neck with his left hand.
More than ten days ago, Wei Tu had no trouble breaking through the layers of protection set by the Fu siblings and directly capturing Fu Linglong.
Today, with only Fu Linglong alone, capturing her was an easy task.
"Fu Linglong, if I exert just a little more force, youâll die today!" Wei Tu stepped forward, slamming Fu Linglong's body into the pillar of the pavilion, his voice cold.
In the face of threats,
Wei Tu didnât know anything about showing mercy.
When he came to Panyang Mountain, he had already set up the "Instant Transmission Array" with Bai Zhi far away. If anything went wrong, he could escape immediately.
As Wei Tuâs hand tightened,
Fu Linglongâs breathing became more rushed.
However, Fu Linglong did not yield. She smiled faintly and said, "It seems what I said hit the nerve that Master Wei is most afraid of."
"After all, even if Master Wei can avoid a Nascent Soul elderâs pursuit, hiding in the Ying Ding Tribe, youâd still be on edge every day, let alone your friends and relativesâŠ"
Wei Tu didnât reply. He just increased the pressure of his left hand, leaving visible blood marks on her white neck.
Butâ
Unlike others,
Fu Linglong didnât show any fear in the face of death threats. She still wore a faint smile, showing no signs of fear. It was as if she had already accepted her fate.
"If you want to do something, just say it," she said calmly.
Seeing Fu Linglong so hard to deal with, Wei Tu didnât continue to threaten her. He released his left hand and returned to his seat.
This time, he didnât intend to kill Fu Linglong. He just wanted her to understand her position so that he could take the initiative in their negotiation.
Wei Tu knew that Fu Linglong, upon meeting him, would definitely come prepared.
In other words, even if he really wanted to kill her, he wouldnât do it at Panyang Mountain.
Fu Linglong also knew this. She didnât give in when threatened because she understood that he wasnât actually going to kill her.
"Itâs simple! Destroy his Dao heart, make it so he can never break through to the Qiling tribulation again." Fu Linglong, after being freed, took a deep breath and smiled as she said this.
After speaking, Fu Linglong telepathically conveyed the exact details of the operation to Wei Tu.
"What? You want to do that?"
"This... This is too absurd."
Hearing this, Wei Tu couldnât help but exclaim in shock. His face showed astonishment.
Fu Linglongâs plan wasâpretend to agree to Ji Zhangâs proposition, show that she was willing to cultivate with him, but when the time came to actually cultivate, she would find someone else, take her Yin essence, and completely ruin Ji Zhangâs plans. This would destroy his Dao heart.
And the person she chose to help her in this plot was none other than Wei Tu.
"I donât agree!"
Wei Tu shook his head and refused outright.