Cao Mi's injuries werenât healed yet. Without using her Nascent Soul, her current combat power was only at the early Golden Core level.
So after some thought, Wei Tu also suppressed his cultivation to the Golden Core stage, deciding to keep a low profile.
He took out his old first-tier flying boat, the "Huangyan Boat," called for Cao Mi, and together they left the deserted island.
During the trip, the two of them also divided up Master Hong Jingâs belongings evenlyâfifty-fifty.
Among all of Master Hong Jingâs possessions, the only truly valuable items were two fourth-tier, lower-grade magic artifacts he had used during combat.
One was a jade hook that could reflect attacks and serve both offensive and defensive purposes.
The other was a treasure mirror that released a binding mystic light.
Since Wei Tu already had the Yuan Gravity Light, he didnât need another artifact of the same type, so he naturally chose the jade hook.
Cao Mi didnât raise any objections to his choice.
First, the two artifacts were about equal in value. No matter which one she got, she wouldnât be at a loss.
With the Heavenly Moon Wheel for offense, she was better suited to take the mirror with its binding abilities, which would enhance her combat options at the Nascent Soul stage.
Second, in their fight to kill Master Hong Jing, Wei Tu had done most of the work.
Without him, she wouldnât have been in any position to talk about dividing loot. She wouldâve been lucky just to stay alive.
So even if Wei Tu had taken both artifacts, Cao Mi wouldnât have thought his actions were wrong or unfair.
...
One thing at a time.
Wei Tu's most pressing matter now was to get the Condensing Soul Pill from YuÄnjĆ«n Island and advance to the fourth stage of body refinement.
Only then, with his strength greatly improved, could he think about helping Moon Condensation Palace and possibly rescuing Ancestor Luo, who had "likely" fallen into the hands of the Yin Ghost Sect.
Cao Mi clearly understood the stakes. She didnât hesitate and chose to side with Wei Tu, following his lead.
After all, given her current strength, no matter how much she schemed, she wouldnât be able to contribute much to the rescue.
Besides, grabbing the Condensing Soul Pill was already the first goal they had agreed on while still in the Great Cang Immortal Realm.
Now, she was simply sticking to their original plan.
As for the route to YuÄnjĆ«n Island, Wei Tu had already searched Master Hong Jingâs soul and found the general direction. But the exact location wasnât clear.
So while steering the flying boat, he deliberately chose a relatively large spirit island along the way, intending to gather some intel there before continuing.
"Junior Sister Cao is stunning, but⊠being with me like this will probably attract some trouble," Wei Tu said before landing, glancing at her face and propping his chin thoughtfully.
Although her looks werenât as breathtaking as Fu LinglongâsâLiao Prefectureâs top beautyâCao Mi was still elegant and beautiful, with a cold charm.
That kind of face, paired with her cool aura, was bound to draw attention from lecherous cultivators.
"Looks?" Cao Mi blinked, confused at first.
After all, sheâd always shown her bare face and had never stirred up trouble because of it.
But in just a moment, she realized the situation had changed.
She was no longer the lofty palace master of Moon Condensation Palace, but a nobody in the overseas cultivation world.
Here, with no backing and low cultivation, beauty was a liability.
With this face, even if she wanted to stay low-key, it wouldnât be easy.
"Thank you, Daoist Brother Wei, for the reminder."
Cao Mi was practical. After thanking Wei Tu, she immediately cast a disguise spell, turning herself into a plain-looking woman with freckles.
Seeing this, Wei Tu nodded in approval, then waved his sleeve and brought the flying boat down.
The island they were headed for was called Qingbie Island.
It was a small spirit island, classified as a second-tier island in the overseas cultivation world.
It belonged to a quasi-Nascent Soul powerâthe Chen family of Meishan Islandâwho had taken control of the island over three hundred years ago.
At first, the population here was mixed. But after three centuries of growth, most of the mortals and cultivators on the island were now members of the Chen clan.
Wei Tu gathered all this information within half a day of arriving.
Just like the old Huang family of Heshanâ
Large cultivation families ran like miniature societies, with shops and all kinds of low-level craftsmen, fully self-sufficient.
But since Qingbie Island wasnât the Chen familyâs core territory, it was still open to outsiders.
"Qiyan Island? So that wasteland is called Qiyan Island."
In the market district on Qingbie Island, inside a general store, Wei Tu held a sea chart and stared at a small yellow dot in the southwest corner, muttering to himself.
The "Qiyan Island" he mentioned was the same deserted island that housed the spatial tunnelâa midway point connecting two major cultivation realms.
After getting the chart, he couldnât wait to figure out where he currently was and match it to the location and name of the deserted island.
Just as heâd expected, in the eyes of the overseas cultivators, Qiyan Island was just another barren, spiritual energyâlacking rock. It was no different from the countless other uninhabited islands scattered across the sea.
"But⊠why arenât YuÄnjĆ«n Island and WĂ ngxÄ« Island on this chart?"
Wei Tu furrowed his brow, lost in thought.
He didnât believe that Master Hong Jingâs soul had the power to deceive him with fake information.
The more likely explanation was that YuÄnjĆ«n Island and WĂ ngxÄ« Island were simply beyond the scope of this map.
Master Hong Jing had said it himselfâYuÄnjĆ«n Island was the capital of the Eastern Hua Demon Kingdom.
Based on that detail, Wei Tu believed there was little chance that Master Hong Jing had lied.
Wei Tu closed the sea chart in his hand, walked to the counter, and asked, "Shopkeeper, do you have a chart that covers a wider area? Hmm⊠a complete map of the Red Algae Sea Region?"
"A complete map of the Red Algae Sea Region?"
The shopkeeper looked surprised and gave Wei Tu a quick glance. "Fellow Daoist, a full map of the Red Algae Sea Region isnât something a small store like mine would carry. Even the main family might not have one."
He sounded surprised but didnât overthink it. Wei Tu looked young, so he assumed he was just a rookie whoâd just stepped into the cultivation world. Though rare, people like Wei Tu did show up every now and then.
Wei Tu wasnât shocked by that answer. As someone who had clawed his way up from the bottom, heâd encountered this kind of situation back when he had a low cultivation.
Just like in the Great Cang Immortal Realm, low-level cultivators had no access or opportunity to understand the full scope of their world. It was a kind of information cocoon deliberately created by higher-level cultivators to keep the weak in the dark.
Take the Zunwang Palace secret realm, for instance. If he hadnât "stumbled upon" the Dragon Glaze Pearl, he probably wouldnât have known about such a high-level secret realm until he reached the late Nascent Soul stageâif he even made it that far.
Still, he didnât leave the store right away. After a short pause, he became intrigued by the words "main family."
He figured that the "main family" the shopkeeper mentioned referred to the core lineage of the Meishan Chen Clan.
What stood out was that the shopkeeper said the main family might not have the full mapâbut not that they definitely didnât. That left room for possibility.
While not having the chart wouldnât completely stop him in his tracks, getting it would definitely be helpful for future plans.
The Meishan Chen Clan, being a Golden Core family, had a decent chance of getting access to common knowledge at the Nascent Soul level of the cultivation world.
Still, it was obvious that a full regional sea chart would be considered a precious item by the Chen Clanâsomething they wouldnât just hand over to outsiders.
Of course, if Wei Tu revealed his true cultivation level, it wouldnât be too hard to get the map from them.
But here was the problemâ
He and Cao Mi had just arrived in the overseas cultivation world. Cao Mi was seriously injured. In this situation, they couldnât afford to draw too much attention.
Just as Wei Tu was considering his next move, a rough voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"Old Man An, your cultivationâs already crippled. Why are you still holding onto that third-tier sea beast demon core? You might as well sell it to me and get yourself some spirit stones to spend."
"I hear your grandsonâs at the late Qi Refinement stage and about to hit Foundation Establishment. No Foundation Establishment Pill? Letâs see how he breaks through."
Wei Tu blinked at the voice, then spread out his divine sense and scanned the street. He quickly locked onto the elderly man called "Old Man An" and understood what was going on.
Apparently, Old Man An had suffered some injury that knocked his cultivation from Golden Core down to Foundation Establishment. Now, he was being pushed around by some familiar faces trying to strong-arm him into selling his things.
Normally, this kind of drama wasnât something Wei Tu would care about. But this time was different.
He happened to need a Golden Core-level guide.
Even so, Wei Tu didnât rush to step in. Instead, he pretended to be browsing other wares in the shop while keeping a close eye on what was happening outside.
...
Out in the streetâ
Faced with the aggressive demands of several old acquaintances, Old Man An stood his ground without budging.
He gave a few cold laughs and snapped back, "I still have a few minor connections with the main family. Normally, I donât rely on them. They wonât waste resources just to help me recover my cultivation."
"But if you lot try to snatch my demon core by force, theyâd have every reason to intervene and support me. Getting justice for me wouldnât be a problem."
"And while theyâre at it, they could pocket a few spirit stones for their trouble."
That shut them up fast.
The men threatening him exchanged awkward glances and fell silent. They werenât stupidâthey knew what Old Man An said was probably true.
After all, who wouldnât take an easy win with fame and profit both?
"Get lost!"
Seeing them cowed, Old Man An relaxed a little. Then his expression turned icy as he said those two words slowly and clearly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the men scattered like frightened birds, fleeing the street in a panic.
"That was close. Good thing they didnât know Iâm not actually on good terms with those Chen bastards."
Old Man An returned home, shut the courtyard gate behind him, then leaned against the doorframe. A bitter smile crept onto his face as he sighed to himself.
What heâd said earlier wasnât wrong, but he knew that if he really went to the "friends" he had on Meishan Island for help, theyâd probably just mock him instead.
As for sharing profits...
A few Foundation Establishment cultivatorsâ worth of spirit stones wasnât even worth a Golden Core True Lordâs attention.
Worst-case scenario, those thugs were still members of the Chen family and had blood ties to the main branch on Meishan Island. Why would they face serious punishment?
Luckily, those guys lacked insight. A little bluff was enough to scare them offâfor now.
"But things canât go on like this," he muttered. "Those guys might not dare make another move, but if someone from the main bloodline shows up..."
"And to be fair, they werenât wrong. Jiuyuan really is reaching the point where he needs to advance to Foundation Establishment."
Old Man An furrowed his brow.
He could scare off a few collateral family Foundation Establishment cultivators by name-dropping Golden Core elders, but that wouldnât work against someone from the main bloodline.
After all, âan innocent man gets blamed just for carrying treasure.â
Even though the sea beast demon core in his hands wasnât incredibly valuable, it was still enough to make a core-lineage Foundation Establishment cultivator come knocking.
Just as Old Man An was pondering how to sell the demon core without attracting greedy eyes, a calm and gentle male voice drifted into his ears.
"Looks like youâre not as confident as you made yourself out to be on the street just now."
"Who? Whoâs there?!"
His expression changed instantly. Alert and wary, Old Man An scanned the courtyard.
Though this place couldnât compare to the cave residences he used to live in at his peak, the formations here were still above second-tier. They were more than enough to keep out ordinary Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core cultivators.
At the very least, no ordinary Golden Core could speak to him like that without being noticed.
As he looked around, his hand quietly moved to the storage pouch on his waist.
"No need to panic, Fellow Daoist An. I'm just a passing guest. I mean you no harm."
"Besides, even if you wanted to do something to me, with your current strength, you'd stand no chance."
The gentle voice came again. But this time, it wasnât just a voice.
In a previously empty corner of the courtyard, a green-robed man appeared silently. He stood with a faint smile on his face, calmly watching the stunned Old Man An.
"You?" Old Man An recognized Wei Tu immediately.
Although he hadnât gone into the shop earlier, he had seen Wei Tu standing by the counter from the street.
And a cultivatorâs memory far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
Even a single glance was enoughâhe hadnât forgotten Wei Tuâs face.
'Whereâs that woman in white?' He grew cautious. He remembered there had been an average-looking female Foundation Establishment cultivator standing next to Wei Tu.
If she suddenly showed up and ambushed him, heâd probably die on the spot.
But the next instant, that thought vanished entirely.
The reason was simpleâWei Tu released his Nascent Soul pressure.
Under that oppressive might, how could Old Man An entertain such absurd thoughts? A Nascent Soul cultivator could wipe him out with a flick of the finger.
In fact, along with the panic, a hint of secret joy crept into his heart.
He considered this chance meeting with Wei Tu a rare stroke of luckâa possible turning point for him.
After all, judging by Wei Tuâs demeanor and aura, he didnât seem like a bloodthirsty cultivator from a demonic sect.
"Senior, what are your orders?"
"If there's anything I can do, Iâll gladly oblige!"
Old Man An collected himself and offered a respectful salute, immediately expressing his willingness.
"Iâve come from another sea region. This is my first time in the Red Algae Sea Region, and I urgently need a complete sea chart. If you can provide it, Iâll reward you handsomely."
Wei Tu smiled and said casually.
He understood that the odds of Old Man Anâa fallen Golden Core cultivatorâhaving the full map were low.
Still, as someone in the superior position, it was enough to just ask. Whether or not Old Man An could fulfill the request was secondary.
There was no need to split the taskâfirst looking for leads on the chart, then trying to obtain it.
"Another sea region?" Old Man An was slightly suspicious of Wei Tuâs origins. But since he couldnât figure out why he wanted the map so badly, he didnât dwell on it.
"Senior⊠I must be honest⊠I donât have the full map of this sea region."
Old Man An wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke the truth.
Wei Tu wasnât surprised.
He gave Old Man An a brief glance and said flatly, "You may not have it, but do you have a way to get it? If you do, I donât mind healing your injuries."
That wasnât an empty promise.
Wei Tu had already scanned Old Man Anâs injuries with his divine sense back in the shop.
Though serious, the damage hadnât affected his Golden Core foundation. With his Nascent Soul-level skill, treating it wouldnât be difficult.
If he hadnât been confidentâŠ
Then he wouldnât have approached Old Man An with a fair trade. Heâd have gone straight to using hypnosis or soul-searching to extract the information.
When necessary, he wasnât the type to be soft.
"What? You can heal my injuries?"
Old Man Anâs eyes lit up instantly. If he could return to the Golden Core stage, all the humiliation and troubles he faced now would be nothing.
"But⊠who would have that kind of map?"
He hesitated.
Before, he had only been at the early Golden Core stage. As an outsider in the Meishan Chen Clan, his position had never been high. It was nearly impossible for him to get his hands on such high-level intelligence.
Seeing him deep in thought, Wei Tu didnât press. He stood quietly to the side, waiting patiently.
Compared to hypnosis, fair trade had its advantages.
It let a cultivator think actively, make connections, and pull together useful information on their own.
After all, the memory of an elderly cultivator was vast. Trying to piece together useful clues through soul-searching alone wasnât easy at all.
About half an hour passed.
Finally, Old Man An recalled a possible way to get the Red Algae Sea Regionâs full map.
"Back in the day, I once went out to sea with True Lord Tu Xuan to hunt sea beasts. At the time, he led us deep into the far western sea."
"That area is rarely explored by cultivators from the Luojing Archipelago. But True Lord Tu Xuan found the sea beasts' locations without getting lost⊠I believe he must have a complete map."
Old Man An bowed deeply and spoke with sincere respect.
The Luojing Archipelago was a collective name for several islands like Qiyan Island, Qingbie Island, and Meishan Island.
It covered a smaller area than the Red Algae Sea Region and belonged to it.
Wei Tu had already learned that when he entered Qingbie Island.