Chapter 583: Movements Across the Realms, Wind Cleaving Eagle Breaks Through—Stage Four Great Demon!

"Only 15 years left."

Back in the Ying Ding Tribe, Wei Tu calculated the opening time of the Zunwang Palace secret realm.

During this period, he planned to shut himself in and cultivate with full focus, aiming to break through as soon as possible to the peak of mid-stage Nascent Soul.

Once he succeeded, by his own estimation, his battle strength would finally reach the level of late-stage Nascent Soul. Then he would have the qualifications to enter the Zunwang Palace secret realm and fight for opportunities alongside the top powerhouses of both righteous and demonic paths.

"15 years is more than enough."

In his secluded chamber, Wei Tu glanced at the pile of spirit crystals before him, stacked like a small mountain. Closing his eyes, he began circulating his cultivation technique, drawing in and expelling breath.

After killing Lüqiu Jinyuan, the spirit crystals he seized from him were already enough to push him to the peak of mid-stage Nascent Soul.

All he lacked was time.

And 15 years was plenty.

…

While Wei Tu secluded himself, the news of Ji Wuyai’s death quickly spread to both Shengya Mountain and the Hehuan Sect.

"Another mid-stage Nascent Soul dead?"

"This time… connected to Wei Tu?"

Lian Shourang, sect master of Shengya Mountain, was utterly shocked.

Even in the great righteous-demonic war a few hundred years ago, only Huyan Peng, a single mid-stage Nascent Soul powerhouse, had fallen.

Now, in just a short span, Ji Yifeng and Ji Wuyai had died one after the other. This was far beyond what he expected.

"If Wei Tu was there, it must have been coincidence."

After his initial surprise, Lian Shourang did not dwell too much. After all, Ji Wuyai had fallen within the borders of the Kang Kingdom, and Wei Tu, a Kang Kingdom cultivator, happening upon him wasn’t strange.

Still, from this report, he sensed the "huge threat" Wei Tu posed to Shengya Mountain.

Wei Tu’s growth was far too fast.

He had actually reached the point of "chasing down" Ji Wuyai.

Lian Shourang’s gaze grew cold. After some thought, he took up his brush and wrote to both Feng Yunqi and Venerable Master Jiuli, issuing a subtle warning in the name of Shengya Mountain: Wei Tu was a public enemy of Shengya Mountain, so they must not grow close or befriend him again.

He didn’t put explicit threats in the letter.

He intended to watch their response first.

If Feng Yunqi and Venerable Master Jiuli ignored the warning and still acted as they pleased, Shengya Mountain would take thunderous measures against them directly—killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.

As for Wei Tu, because of concerns over backlash from soul oaths, Shengya Mountain had tacitly allowed his existence.

But when it came to Feng Yunqi and Venerable Master Jiuli, they had no such concerns.

To Shengya Mountain, there was little difference between an early-stage Nascent Soul and a mid-stage Nascent Soul.

Killing the latter just took a little more effort.

…

Meanwhile, inside a grand hall of the Hehuan Sect, the vice sect master Madam Yin Lian—who had incited Ji Wuyai to go to Kang Kingdom—was being held accountable by the high elders.

Killing a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was easy, but nurturing one loyal to the sect was not.

It required endless resources and time.

Already, the death of the Daoist Liu Yu had severely wounded the sect’s vitality.

Now, with Ji Wuyai gone as well…

If not for Hehuan Sect being one of the Five Great Demonic Sects, with such deep foundations, this blow might already have been enough to destroy them.

Of course, this "accountability" could not truly touch Madam Yin Lian. After all, she was one of the sect’s only two late-stage Nascent Soul powerhouses.

This was merely Sect Master Gongshu Chou using the incident as leverage to suppress her influence and strip some authority from her hands.

"Rest assured. After this Zunwang Palace secret realm ends, I will personally act to eliminate Wei Tu and that disciple of Ancestor Chilong—Daoist Fu!"

Leaning lazily against her sandalwood chair, Madam Yin Lian swept her charming eyes across the gathered cultivators. A playful look flashed on her face as she gave her guarantee.

Like Wei Tu, she was also preparing for the Zunwang Palace secret realm now and could not spare the time to deal with him.

"Zunwang Palace? From your expression, it seems you’re set on obtaining that treasure. But how much intelligence have you actually gathered on it?"

Seeing her like this, Gongshu Chou’s mind stirred. Narrowing his eyes, he probed with his question.

Once, he and Madam Yin Lian had been Dao companions. Though they broke apart over certain matters, their relationship was one of "rivals without rupture." When faced with external enemies, they still maintained a degree of cooperation.

The "treasure" he mentioned was the spiritual treasure hidden deep within the Zunwang Palace secret realm.

The last time the realm opened, he and Madam Yin Lian had considered joining forces to break its restrictions and seize it. Unfortunately, they failed.

Now, seeing Madam Yin Lian’s confidence, Gongshu Chou judged that she must have found a way to break the restrictions.

"Hehe."

Madam Yin Lian only answered with a smile, not elaborating further.

…

Time slipped by.

Three years later, on Beiyuan Island, Madam Jin and her daughter also learned through outside information channels about the appearance of Daoist Fu and the tragic death of Ji Wuyai.

"Sutai, if nothing unexpected happens, this time your father and your husband should both enter the Zunwang Palace secret realm."

Inside a cave dwelling on Beiyuan Island, Madam Jin, dressed in a splendid red robe, stepped out from the void and landed before Wang Sutai, who was cultivating in seclusion. Her voice was soft.

Her aura was steady, her mana fluctuations astonishing. She no longer bore any trace of the heavy injuries from when she had first arrived at Beiyuan Island. Clearly, over the past decades, her wounds had fully healed.

"Husband?"

Hearing this, Wang Sutai was startled for a moment, then quickly recalled the blue-robed man in the Golden Ghost Palanquin. His face was ordinary, yet his bearing was far from common.

Though the two had not known each other long, Wei Tu’s image was deeply imprinted in her mind. After all, he was her husband, the man who had shared skin-to-skin closeness with her, and in their darkest moment, he had saved both her and her mother.

"Mother, what do you mean?"

Wang Sutai asked curiously.

"When the Zunwang Palace opens, you will go find your husband, I will find mine. And besides, the opportunity your grandfather left for me—it is time for me to claim it."

Madam Jin patted Wang Sutai’s head with a smile.

Secret realms were not only places where treasures were hidden but also where treasures were born.

A thousand years ago, the Golden Ghost King, once a giant of the demonic path, had left her not only the Golden Ghost Bone Palanquin as dowry, but also enough opportunities to break through to late-stage Nascent Soul.

Now, it was finally time for her to reap them.

…

The years flowed, the seasons turned.

After several more springs and autumns, one day, above the Ying Ding Tribe, a massive spiritual vortex suddenly rose into the sky.

"The Wind Cleaving Eagle has broken through?"

In his secluded chamber, Wei Tu opened his eyes and looked toward the direction of the spirit beast chamber.

Inside, the Wind Cleaving Eagle raised its neck and let out a long cry, its wings—several zhang wide—vibrating with power. Its demonic energy had condensed almost into substance, radiating a terrifying great demon’s might.

Blood light flowed across its body as if it were in the midst of transformation.

Wei Tu hadn’t expected that during his seclusion, the Wind Cleaving Eagle would be the first to break through ahead of him.

But this was natural. Over twenty years ago, when he had replaced its bloodline, the Wind Cleaving Eagle had already been at the edge of breakthrough, only a half step away.

"Breaking through shouldn’t be hard for it."

Wei Tu swept it briefly with his divine sense, then closed his eyes again, resuming his meditation.

After surviving the life-and-death blood exchange, the Wind Cleaving Eagle’s bloodline and body had both risen to the Nascent Soul level. Its step into stage four was simply a natural progression, requiring no further intervention from him.

Moreover, when leaving Yuanjun Island, Wei Tu had already purchased from Alchemist Le Dan a Demon Infant Pill using spirit crystals and gifted it to the Wind Cleaving Eagle.

The Demon Infant Pill was the specialized version of the Foundation Pill that demonic beasts needed to form their Nascent Soul.

For beasts, due to their physical and bloodline advantages, their chance of forming Nascent Soul was higher than humans. Now, with this pill, the Wind Cleaving Eagle’s success was absolutely guaranteed.

But—

Wei Tu’s indifference did not mean the cultivators of the Ying Ding Tribe were indifferent.

When they felt the terrifying pressure of a near stage four great demon coming from Wei Tu’s Divine Master Mansion, they were first terrified, then overjoyed.

Their joy surpassed even the birth of a new Divine Master among them.

Stage four demonic beasts, unless of extremely special races, generally lived far longer than Nascent Soul cultivators.

In other words, under normal circumstances—

Wei Tu would die, but the eagle would still live.

Now that the Wind Cleaving Eagle had advanced to stage four great demon, it had every chance of becoming the future guardian holy beast of the Ying Ding Tribe.