However, this time, after the words were spoken, Wei Tu never heard Wei Fei respond again.
The hand that had been gripped by Wei Tu gradually turned cold and lost its warmth.
"Dad!" Nearby, Wei Xian'er and Wei Ping instantly realized what had happened. The two of them dropped to their knees and looked at Wei Fei's body on the bed, crying bitterly.
Among the two, Wei Xian'er wept the hardest.
Even though she had known when she came that Wei Fei's lifespan was near its end and he wouldn't last long in the mortal world, seeing it with her own eyes still hit her hard.
After all, father and daughter had been separated for over 200 years.
The only one present who didn't seem overwhelmed with grief was Wei Fei's second wife.
But no one blamed her for that. Everyone knew—the middle-aged woman had married Wei Fei back then not out of love, but mostly for the benefits of becoming the wife of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Expecting genuine affection from her was asking too much.
However, after Wei Fei passed, when she went to the kitchen under the excuse of cooking, Wei Tu noticed she had quietly wiped away a couple of tears inside the room.
Clearly, her emotions weren't as calm as she appeared in front of others.
"When someone dies but is still remembered, then they're not truly gone."
"Second Brother, you're still alive."
That night, in the small courtyard of the Wei residence, Wei Tu drank alone, silently offering wine to honor Wei Fei's spirit.
He glanced at the coffin placed in the main hall. With a faint smile, he raised his cup and made a toast into the air.
"Second Brother, they say there's such a thing as reincarnation. I don't know if that's true, but I wonder… if it is, could you wait a while for me at the Yellow Springs? Once the Righteous Society is reunited, then you can go be reborn."
"Maybe, if this Wei kid really does become immortal one day, I could visit the Yellow Springs and let you all bask in some glory—achieve the Dao and ascend together."
"Then again, maybe don't wait for me. I bet Big Brother's already gone. When you see him, remember to tell him—Hong Ying is doing well. She's already a Golden Core True Lord now."
Back when Wei Fei was alive, Wei Tu often didn't know what to say to him. The gap in their cultivation levels was too great. Their conversations always circled back to the mundane, brief decades they'd once shared in the mortal world.
But after Wei Fei's death, Wei Tu realized there were still many things he wanted to talk about.
Maybe it was that Wei Fei's death touched something deep in Wei Tu's heart, just like Xinghua's death had.
He was the first companion on his path to immortality to pass away after many years by his side.
And with Wei Fei gone, there was no longer anyone he could share a heartfelt drink with.
"Second Brother, have a good journey."
Wei Tu stood up, poured three rounds of wine onto the ground, then gave a deep bow to Wei Fei's coffin.
Once the bow was done, the ceremony of offering spirit was considered complete.
With a sweep of his sleeve, Wei Tu put away the wine jug and prepared to return to his room to meditate and regulate his breath.
But just then, Wei Ping, who had been kneeling and mourning in the hall, got up and walked into the courtyard.
"Uncle Wei, my father may be gone, but I still have the guts to drink a cup with you."
Wearing mourning robes, Wei Ping bowed deeply as he spoke.
Wei Tu paused in surprise. He studied Wei Ping for a moment, then nodded and took out the wine set, pouring him a cup.
"Thank you for your favor, Uncle."
Seeing the cup filled, Wei Ping didn't hold back. He lifted the cup and drank it in one go.
"Let's keep drinking!"
Wei Tu smiled and shook his head. With another wave of his sleeve, he brought out several jugs of fine wine. Using his cultivation, he refilled Wei Ping's cup again.
At that moment, Wei Ping daring to drink with him—Wei Tu could naturally read the meaning behind it.
Yet instead of being annoyed, he simply thought to himself, 'Wei Ping doesn't take after his father—he takes after his mother.'
Rather than feeling put off, he appreciated it more.
After all, being entrusted with a child by the parents and the child seeking opportunity on their own were two completely different things.
This kid dared to risk it and had guts. As his uncle, as long as it was within his power, Wei Tu was naturally willing to give a hand.
He was happy to see that with Wei Fei gone, there was still someone to carry on the family line.
So, while they drank, Wei Tu—a third-rank top-grade alchemist—secretly slipped some rare second-rank spirit herbs into the wine.
At first, Wei Ping didn't really notice the medicinal properties. But after a while, once his blood and energy surged inside his body, even a fool would've known there was something special in that drink.
Yet Wei Ping didn't expose him. He pretended not to know. While silently refining the medicinal energy with his cultivation, he played the part of a loyal drinking companion.
Unfortunately, he didn't last long. Wei Ping had barely downed a jug and a half before the wine got to his head and he passed out at the stone table in the courtyard.
A few days later, when Wei Ping finally regained consciousness, he found himself lying indoors. The courtyard outside was completely… empty.
"Mom, where's Uncle Wei?"
Wei Ping rushed to dress and ran outside to ask the middle-aged woman.
"And my sister? Where is she?"
Wei Ping added another sentence.
Even though he hadn't spent much time with Wei Tu or Wei Xian'er, deep down, he already regarded them as family.
Especially Wei Tu...
What Wei Tu had done for him was no less than what a guide from the immortal world did for a mortal—offering a second chance at life.
"Your Uncle Wei left just an hour ago. As for your sister... she's still on Lingyan Island. She just went to report at the clan affairs hall," the middle-aged woman replied.
"Uncle Wei left?"
Hearing that, a wave of disappointment washed over Wei Ping.
In his heart, aside from his parents, Wei Tu was the person he respected the most.
But that disappointment didn't last long. Soon, Wei Ping noticed changes in his own cultivation body. His face lit up with joy again.
At this point, he had not only advanced from early Foundation Establishment to mid-stage, but his newly learned Hundred Veins Blood Tempering Art had already condensed two blood pellets.
In just a few short days, his strength had jumped from the bottom tier of Foundation Establishment to something comparable to the peak of the mid-stage.
He could even rival some weaker late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"Uncle Wei, don't worry! The path my father didn't finish—I'll walk it for him! I won't let him carry regret to the Yellow Springs."
Wei Ping gazed beyond Lingyan Island, silently making the first vow on his cultivation path.
...
An hour earlier, Wei Tu had left the Wei residence. It wasn't because he wanted to be mysterious or avoid seeing Wei Ping again after he sobered up. It was because his divine sense had picked up the arrival of someone familiar just outside the residence.
Beyond Lingyan Island, Wei Tu's light escape technique activated. With Nascent Soul speed, he blocked the path of a fleeing woman in white robes.
The woman in white had a graceful figure and wore a bamboo hat that hid her face. Her aura clearly belonged to a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
"Even if you're powerful, blocking me within Shengya Mountain's sphere of influence isn't exactly wise," she said as she halted in midair, her delicate brows furrowing with displeasure.
"You…" Wei Tu wasn't sure how to address her at this moment. After a pause, he simply used the word "you."
"You came to Lingyan Island this time… I assume you already knew my Second Brother would pass away soon."
Wei Tu hesitated, then spoke.
"Wei Fei was an honored guest elder of the Zhao family. I came here to see him off for the last time—is there a problem with that, Grand Alchemist Wei?" Her voice turned colder.
She had a point. Wei Tu couldn't argue and simply nodded.
"In that case, Grand Alchemist Wei, please step aside and let me through."
The woman in white spoke again.
Wei Tu stayed silent and didn't move.
Seeing that, the woman in white showed no restraint. She reignited her escape light, circled around him, and flew off into the distance.
After a moment, Wei Tu finally reacted. He turned to glance toward her fading silhouette, silently watching her leave Lingyan Island.
The last time they parted under the moonlight, he didn't stop her. This time, it was the same.
After all, even as a Nascent Soul ancestor, he couldn't afford the burden of interfering with someone else's cultivation path.
"I wonder when the end of this immortal path will come."
Wei Tu let out a soft sigh. With a wave of his sleeve, he too left Lingyan Island.
On this path of cultivation, even though he had long outpaced Wei Fei—one was a Nascent Soul ancestor, the other died at Foundation Establishment—the truth was, they were just like people who had walked 90 steps and 50 steps. Neither had reached the end of the immortal path.
And to seek the Dao of immortality meant he could never live as carefree as Wei Fei had.
For instance, today, if he were Wei Fei, he might've already embraced the beauty and claimed her as his own.
...
Wei Tu flew in a direction different from that of the woman in white. His destination this time was Feng Prefecture in the Xiao Kingdom, where Yan Xiaolan was located.
At the Nascent Soul ceremony, Wei Tu had considered visiting Shengya Mountain to ask about the path to Divine Transformation. But with Ancestor Chilong around as an "elder," he already had a decent understanding of that path.
So after his visit to Lingyan Island, his next stop became Feng Prefecture of the Xiao Kingdom.
After all, compared to asking about the elusive, hard-to-reach Divine Transformation path, Yan Xiaolan's life was far more urgent and worth his attention.
The last time they parted, Wei Tu had planted a spiritual poison in Yan Xiaolan with a 100-year limit. But that was only an approximate timeframe—it wasn't exact.
If she triggered it by accident, it might erupt early.
Also, he had left Xiao Kingdom in such a hurry that the safety measures he put in place for Yan Xiaolan were less than ideal.
In other words, the third-rank concealment array shielding her might begin to fail after long-term use.
That alone was enough reason for Wei Tu to depart before the 100-year mark arrived.
...
Elsewhere.
After leaving Lingyan Island, the woman in white stopped on her way back to Shengya Mountain.
She turned to glance behind her. When she saw no light trail chasing after her, her beautiful face revealed a trace of sadness.
"Maybe… we really missed our chance."
She murmured softly, took off her bamboo hat, and tossed it into the sea. Then she activated her light escape technique once more and vanished over the surface of the ocean.