Since the Spider Heart Sect had arrived, it stood to reason that the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild wouldn’t pass up a chance to claim a share.

After all, compared to the Spider Heart Sect, the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild’s headquarters on Yuangjun Island was clearly closer to the ruins of Flying Serpent Island.

Thinking this, Wei Tu patiently waited for the cultivators from the merchant guild to arrive.

Sure enough—just as he expected.

A year later, when the ruins of Flying Serpent Island were about to open, Nangong Zhe from the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild arrived, accompanied by a handsome male cultivator with a strangely feminine aura.

"Too bad it’s not Shen Xiu," Wei Tu sighed inwardly the moment he saw the man’s face, then dismissed the idea of teaming up with the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild to eliminate Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master.

Although he’d never met Shen Xiu back when he was still with the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild, he remembered Shen Xiu’s appearance very clearly.

This handsome cultivator… judging by what Wei Tu knew, he was likely the newly recruited guest elder "Wu Fang," brought into the guild a few years after Wei Tu had left.

Wu Fang had a female name but a male body. He was a Nascent Soul rogue cultivator with quite the reputation around Yuangjun Island.

In terms of combat strength, while Wu Fang wasn’t as powerful as long-established Nascent Soul elites, he was still stronger than most veteran Nascent Soul cultivators at the early stage.

If he joined forces with Wu Fang, plus Nangong Zhe, Wei Tu could be sure that once Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master entered the ruins, they’d be walking into a near-death trap.

But all of this hinged on one thing—Wu Fang’s loyalty to the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild. If he turned traitor, everything would fall apart.

And in that regard, Wei Tu clearly wasn’t very confident.

Considering Lüqiu Jinyuan’s devious nature, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he had planted a spy inside the guild.

Simply put, in Wei Tu’s view, the increase in combat power from teaming up with the guild didn’t outweigh the massive risk of exposing their plan.

After all, with just him and Cao Mi, they already had enough strength to handle Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master.

If Shen Xiu and Nangong Zhe had come, then Wei Tu wouldn’t mind reducing the risk and pocketing an extra benefit.

But now? There was no need.

Teaming up might even leak their intel.

…

Two more months passed.

Just like everyone expected, a spiritual energy tide began to stir inside the ruins of Flying Serpent Island.

In no time at all, the many spatial rifts connecting the ruins to the rest of the immortal cultivation world started shifting. They slowly opened wider, and from within, pure spiritual energy began to leak out, little by little.

Two days later, those spatial rifts—once like floating blades in the sky—had expanded to about ten feet wide, large enough for a person to pass through.

Seeing this, the nearby Nascent Soul cultivators didn’t hesitate. With a flash of their escape lights, they flew into the rifts and vanished from sight.

Wei Tu and Cao Mi were, of course, among them.

However, unlike a stable spatial tunnel, these rift-based passages worked more like random teleportation arrays.

Every cultivator who entered would appear at a random location inside the ruins.

Wei Tu already knew this clearly before heading to Flying Serpent Island.

So, when he entered and didn’t see Cao Mi around, he wasn’t surprised at all.

"This is the ruins?" Wei Tu steadied himself in mid-air and immediately released his divine sense, scanning the area he had landed in.

He seemed to be near the edge of a cliff. The surroundings were barren and rocky.

But on the cliff wall, a few high-grade spiritual herbs were growing, releasing a faint fragrance.

Soon, Wei Tu noticed something odd.

His divine sense could only stretch about 30 miles here. Compared to the hundreds of miles he could cover outside, this was a huge difference. It felt like his divine sense had been suppressed to the level of a Golden Core cultivator.

'This restriction on divine sense… the intel on spiritual ruins didn’t mention this.'

'Could this be a special trait of the Flying Serpent Island ruins?' Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

Among ruins, the spiritual ruins held the highest value.

And special spiritual ruins like this were often worth several times—or even dozens of times—more than regular ones.

That’s because they usually contained rarer and more valuable spiritual items, and those items often caused the environmental changes inside the ruins.

Normally, areas like this were immediately seized by late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. Early-stage cultivators like him rarely got a chance.

In other words, just by coming here with Cao Mi, he had already scored a lucky break.

'Still, top priority right now is to regroup with Cao Mi. After we deal with Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master, then we can explore this treasure trove.'

Wei Tu thought to himself.

With divine sense suppressed like this, he didn’t believe the other Nascent Soul cultivators would easily find the rare spiritual item causing the change in the environment.

After all, spiritual items at this level had, more or less, developed a bit of sentience. They weren’t just dead objects waiting to be picked or harvested by cultivators.

What’s more, if this treasure was really that easy to obtain, then it was better to avoid trouble altogether. Especially since there were no fewer than 20 mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who had entered the ruins of Flying Serpent Island this time.

Wei Tu didn’t have the confidence to snatch a treasure from that many mid-stage Nascent Soul experts.

Compared to that, killing and looting was easier.

Besides, both Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master had ill intentions toward him. They were enemies, not allies.

More importantly—

The "Ghost-Eyed Demon Spider" in Holy Son Faguang’s possession was extremely valuable to Wei Tu. It was something he had to get at all costs in this ruin.

If that spider could detect his true divine soul, then… maybe it could also help extract the demon soul that had possessed Bai Zhi.

Once he finished thinking it through, Wei Tu didn’t waste a second.

He made a few quick movements to pick the spiritual herbs he had just scanned with his divine sense. Then, he took out a trace of the Yin Corpse’s aura and used it to sense the direction where Cao Mi was.

Yin and Yang Demon Corpses were two halves of a whole. Their ability to sense each other far surpassed the "Twin Ring Jade" he’d worn centuries ago with Qin Yuling.

After about 15 minutes, Wei Tu locked onto a general direction. With a flick of his sleeve, he flew off immediately.

…

Holy Son Faguang had the same plan as Wei Tu.

When he saw that the ruins of Flying Serpent Island turned out to be a special spiritual ruin, he was happy, but he also knew this opportunity wouldn’t come easy.

Now, teaming up with the ancient sect master to take out Wei Tu first was actually more profitable.

It was a low-risk, high-reward move.

Killing other Nascent Soul cultivators might stir up trouble. But Wei Tu—who came from the Southern Yan Sea and had no allies—wouldn’t.

One day later.

Using a sensing artifact, Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master finally regrouped inside the ruins.

"These ruins are huge. You and I don’t have any trace of Wei Tu’s aura. Finding him won’t be easy."

"What’s worse, Nangong Zhe and Wu Fang from the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild are also inside. With them here, we don’t even have the numbers on our side."

The ancient sect master looked hesitant and seemed ready to back out.

Before, he had agreed to enter the ruins and help Holy Son Faguang hunt down Wei Tu because it looked like Wei Tu was alone and easy to target.

But now that the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild was involved, things had clearly become more complicated.

And complications like this could get people killed.

"You don’t need to worry about that. The Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild won’t help Wei Tu," Holy Son Faguang frowned briefly, then replied with full certainty.

However, when the ancient sect master asked why the guild wouldn’t help Wei Tu, Holy Son Faguang didn’t answer directly. He changed the subject.

He said, "With the Ghost-Eyed Demon Spider, even if Wei Tu saw our true faces and figured out we were coming for him, we can still track him down and kill him before he gets a chance to team up with the guild!"

"Even if, worst-case scenario, he does link up with them, we can just cancel the plan. Nothing lost."

Hearing this, the ancient sect master thought it over and found the logic solid. He agreed to join Holy Son Faguang in going after Wei Tu first.

Having worked with Holy Son Faguang for a long time, the ancient sect master knew the man wasn’t reckless. He wouldn’t throw his life away unless he was sure of the outcome. So if he was willing to take the risk, then he definitely had his reasons.

‘Still, how can Holy Son Faguang be so sure the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild won’t help Wei Tu? Is there something I don’t know?’

The ancient sect master’s eyes flickered slightly, disturbed by how deep the Spider Heart Sect’s reach might go.

By all logic, the Spider Heart Sect and the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild were rivals at the same level. There should be no way for one to know what the other’s top brass was thinking.

On the other side—

Holy Son Faguang had clearly noticed the ancient sect master’s hesitation after his explanation. But he was very pleased with that reaction.

Just dropping a tiny piece of vague intel had been enough to shake this powerful cultivator.

It was a great deal.

Quick and clean.

Next, Holy Son Faguang didn’t waste any more time. He slapped his spirit insect pouch and summoned the Ghost-Eyed Demon Spider again. Then, he formed a hand seal and shot a beam of red light into the spider.

A moment later, green threads of blood began to spread in the spider’s pupils, and a faint green spiritual light lit up in its eyes.

After a few breaths, the spider withdrew its glow and looked slightly drained.

Holy Son Faguang calmly extended his right index finger beside the spider’s mouthparts.

Gulp, gulp!

After drinking his blood, the spider flew up and landed on his forehead. Its front legs stabbed right into his brow.

"In the northwest, not far from here," Holy Son Faguang opened his eyes, which now glowed like the spider’s green eyes, and smiled.

With that, his escape light flared, and in a few breaths, he vanished into the distance.

The ancient sect master held back a bit. He didn’t follow right away. Instead, he waited a short while, pretending he had just processed everything. Then he followed.

Just like when he dealt with Ying Ziming.

As soon as he spotted Wei Tu, Holy Son Faguang sped up and cut him off, then summoned the "Mysterious Spider" robe, a mid-grade fourth-tier magical item.

In an instant, the robe swelled in the wind, forming a massive, intricate six-pointed formation diagram, several hundred feet wide, right above Wei Tu’s head.

Right after that, the ancient sect master flicked his sleeve, using the "Ten-Thousand Sand Stones" to raise a cloud of dense yellow sand outside the formation.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Wei Tu, caught inside the formation, looked stunned for a moment, as if surprised by the sudden ambush. Then, he came to his senses and prepared to use his escape light to break free.

"Wei Tu, you’re no longer part of the Blood Flood Dragon Merchant Guild anyway. As long as you surrender peacefully and hand over your treasures—and that eye technique—"

"We’ll spare your life," Holy Son Faguang said calmly.

He meant it too.

After all, he wasn’t some soul-extracting, corpse-refining demon cultivator. He didn’t kill for fun.

So if Wei Tu surrendered and handed over everything, he wouldn’t mind gaining another Nascent Soul underling.

In his view, this was already a show of mercy—going easy on Wei Tu.

Of course, part of the reason he was talking so much now wasn’t just to win Wei Tu over. He wanted to distract him so the Xuan Spider Robe could finish forming the trap.

"Eye technique?" Wei Tu instantly realized why Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master had moved against him so quickly.

He hadn’t expected that one casual explanation he’d given about 20 years ago regarding Ying Ziming would cause these two to covet the technique for so long.

The "Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes" technique was indeed a high-level secret among Nascent Soul cultivators, but it wasn’t nearly as powerful as these two imagined.

Back then, he’d spotted their ambush not because of the technique but because of Ancestor Chilong’s late-stage Nascent Soul divine sense.

If the technique were really that amazing, the Ri Bu division alone couldn’t have protected it.

Even in the Great Cang Immortal Cultivation World, Wei Tu knew of more than 10 other eye techniques that were just as powerful.

And in the Gui Xu Sea Immortal Cultivation World, where immortal civilization was even more advanced, techniques like this were far more common.

Still, that didn’t matter now. After a brief thought, Wei Tu immediately shifted his focus back to the danger in front of him.

Even before the two began casting spells, he had already used Ancestor Chilong’s divine sense to spot them. So he had been prepared for the ambush.

But what he hadn’t expected—

Was just how well-prepared and fast Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master were.

Facing this trap—

If he had been an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, he’d have had no way to escape and would’ve died on the spot.

‘That’s probably what happened to Brother Ziming 20 years ago. He must’ve died at their hands just like this.’

A cold gleam flashed in Wei Tu’s eyes.

He and Ying Ziming hadn’t been close, just acquaintances. But if he had the chance, he wouldn’t mind avenging him.

"He’s probably frozen in fear," seeing that Wei Tu hadn’t responded or made a move, the ancient sect master smirked mockingly.

But just as he said that, Wei Tu’s figure suddenly vanished from where he stood, turning into a green blur.

His speed wasn’t any slower than when Ying Ziming had used his blood escape by burning ancestral blood.

In a flash, Wei Tu was already outside the Xuan Spider Robe’s range and about to escape the sand cloud.

"Not bad… but still not enough to escape," the ancient sect master sneered and used the same move again. With a flick of his palm, he tossed out five thumb-sized yellow stones into the sand cloud.

The five stones expanded rapidly in the wind, turning into massive boulders that crashed toward Wei Tu, aiming to block his escape.

At the same time, as the stones descended, blood-red runes on their surfaces began to glow. Thin chains of red light extended from them, linking together to form a trap meant to seal Wei Tu completely inside.

Seeing this—

Holy Son Faguang let out a sigh of relief. ‘It’s over now.’

This move from the ancient sect master was something early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators couldn’t handle. It was nearly impossible to dodge.

Even if someone managed to avoid the "Blood Chain Stones," they couldn’t escape the storm of Ten-Thousand Sand Stones attacks inside the fog.

Twenty years ago, Ying Ziming had been forced back into the Mysterious Spider formation by this very move and had no way out.

But what happened next completely stunned both Holy Son Faguang and the ancient sect master.

"What?"

"How’s that possible?"

The ancient sect master was especially shocked. He couldn’t believe that his proud divine art from the Stone Sect had been blocked so easily by Wei Tu.

Right in front of the incoming "Blood Chain Stones," Wei Tu didn’t dodge or retreat. He remained calm, hovering in the air for a moment, then charged straight into them.

A deafening boom rang out.

The "Blood Chain Stone" in front of Wei Tu was instantly hurled dozens of feet away by a burst of brute force. When it finally stopped, its glow had dimmed and cracks covered its surface.

"Fourth-tier body refinement?" the ancient sect master widened his eyes and blurted out the words in disbelief.

A dual-cultivator with both Nascent Soul and refined body—he had only ever heard of such a thing, never seen one.

Let alone during a real battle.

His Stone Sect's secret techniques were hard to break, but that was only true for ordinary cultivators. Against a fourth-tier body cultivator, they were clearly useless.

Because cultivators at that level had bodies so strong they didn’t even fear his "Blood Chain Stone" or the "Ten Thousand Stones Fall" of the Ten-Thousand Sand Stones.

"Don’t panic! He hasn’t escaped the formation yet!" Holy Son Faguang barked sharply.

Right after, he flicked his sleeve and released more than ten black spiders, each the size of a fist, blocking the path ahead of Wei Tu as he tried to break through the sand fog.

"Huh? These spider webs?" Wei Tu frowned slightly as he glanced at the dozen or so black spiders spitting webs at him. These webs were filled with spiritual venom and corrosive toxins.

The webs were incredibly tough and sticky. They weren’t as dangerous as the Blood Chain Stones, but if he tried to cut through each one, it would take too long.

And the range of the Xuan Spider Robe’s array also included the outer sand fog. If he didn’t break through the webs fast enough, he’d be pulled into the formation.

"I’ll just have to charge through." Wei Tu hardened his resolve. Golden light swirled around his body as he summoned brute force and charged directly at the incoming webs.

The webs were strong, but under Wei Tu’s reckless assault, they snapped one after another.

Of course, Wei Tu couldn’t avoid damage entirely. His body was corroded by the venom from the spirit spiders.

But with the help of his "First Spirit Bone," the injuries didn’t matter. Under his control, the poisoned flesh withered, fell off, and was quickly replaced by new flesh. He regenerated completely in moments.

Thanks to that, Wei Tu reached the edge of the sand fog within seconds. He was just a few steps from escaping the formation.

"Too late!" Holy Son Faguang smirked and made a hand seal with one hand, triggering a divine sense imprint and detonating the dozen or so black spiders he’d released earlier.

After they exploded, the liquid they left floating in the air suddenly lit up and transformed into a secondary array, merging with the six-pointed formation created by the Xuan Spider Robe.

In an instant, the six-pointed formation turned into a seven-pointed array and trapped Wei Tu once more.

The next moment—

The Xuan Spider Robe fell completely. The seven-pointed formation transformed into solid, translucent walls that tightly bound Wei Tu in place.

Then the crystal walls began to writhe, and colorful spiders poured out, shooting thin silken threads toward Wei Tu all at once.

"Fool! You really thought escaping my sect’s Xuan Spider Robe was that easy?" Holy Son Faguang sneered, clearly pleased with himself.

At first, he just wanted to kill Wei Tu for his treasure and eye technique.

But now, killing Wei Tu gave him a special thrill—like crushing a rising star of the immortal path.

However, just as Holy Son Faguang thought victory was in hand—

Wei Tu, trapped inside the formation, showed no panic at all. Instead, he calmly pulled a red, dragon-patterned bowl from his sleeve and tossed it out.

The bowl flared with red light and turned into a solid shield, blocking wave after wave of incoming spider silk.

"A mid-grade fourth-tier magical item?" Holy Son Faguang raised an eyebrow. He was both surprised and slightly unsettled by Wei Tu’s deep reserves.

Clearly, Wei Tu wasn’t some ordinary rogue cultivator. If he recklessly killed someone like this, it could bring disaster later.

Still, they had come too far now.

There was no room for regret or turning back.

"A mid-grade fourth-tier defensive artifact might hold off the Xuan Spider Robe’s attacks, but Wei Tu is already inside the formation. He has no spiritual support. His power will run dry sooner or later."

With that thought, Holy Son Faguang felt a bit calmer.

Sure, controlling the Xuan Spider Robe consumed a lot of spiritual power, but he and the ancient sect master were two against one. Draining Wei Tu was only a matter of time.

As for whether Wei Tu could break the formation…

That idea never even crossed Holy Son Faguang’s mind.

The Xuan Spider Robe was the Spider Heart Sect’s signature treasure. Its power wasn’t just for show.

If a cultivator at early-stage Nascent Soul got trapped inside, the only outcome was death.

Even most mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t survive. Nine out of ten would die.

The only 10% chance of survival existed for peak mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators—and even that was rare.

"Unless Wei Tu can keep up a peak mid-stage Nascent Soul-level assault, he has no chance of breaking out," Holy Son Faguang smiled confidently.

But just then—

Something unexpected happened.

"Holy Son, a female cultivator at early-stage Nascent Soul is approaching our location," the ancient sect master, who had yet to act, gave a warning.

"What? A female cultivator?" Holy Son Faguang paused, frowning.

"Go drive her off. Be polite. Don’t start a fight."

"With the two of us here, she shouldn’t dare come too close."