I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

"Wei Tu is chasing me?"

As Wei Tu closed in, Liu Yu Daoist also sensed the aura of his rapid approach.

He wasn’t surprised. After all, anyone who could reach the Nascent Soul stage had to be ruthless to some degree—few were indecisive.

"Since you abandoned your own niece, don’t blame me for showing no mercy," Liu Yu Daoist sneered. Forming a hand seal, he released two black figures from his sleeves. They shot into the ground, heading toward the spot where Wei Tu had stopped moments ago.

Without lingering, Liu Yu Daoist’s expression turned vicious. He struck his own chest with several heavy palm blows.

In the next moment, his escape light was tinged with thick blood shadows, and his speed surged several folds.

One pursued, one fled.

Both used their signature blood escape techniques.

But Liu Yu Daoist was still slower by a margin. Even a hundred years ago, he had struggled to catch up to Wei Tu when Wei Tu was a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator.

Now, how could he possibly escape from someone of equal rank who had grown far stronger?

Half an hour later—

Wei Tu was almost upon him.

He still hadn’t escaped Kang Kingdom’s territory, and his ally Divine Master Jin Xia was likely doomed.

Liu Yu Daoist stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, and clasped his hands in a polite gesture toward Wei Tu. In a negotiating tone, he said, "Fellow Daoist Wei, better to untie knots than make them. We are both Nascent Soul cultivators—if we fight to the death, the outcome will be hard to predict…"

"I’m confident that even if I can’t kill you, I can still ruin your future and leave you gravely injured," he added coldly, his gaze sharp and full of threat.

Wei Tu understood.

This was both an attempt at negotiation and a final ultimatum.

There was a big difference between "bullying the weak" and "fighting someone of the same realm."

In the first case, Liu Yu Daoist would almost certainly win. That’s why he had dared to come to Kang Kingdom, secretly join forces with Divine Master Jin Xia, and plot Wei Tu’s death without worrying about failure.

But in a same-realm fight, things were very different.

One mistake, and either side could die here.

The way of battle was dangerous—if it could be avoided, it should be.

Reaching this realm was not easy for either of them.

In short—life was precious.

Liu Yu Daoist valued his life. He was also urging Wei Tu to value his own, and his path.

But cherishing life didn’t mean avoiding battle.

His words were straightforward: if they fought, he would go all out, and before dying, he would make sure to take someone with him.

"Wei Tu, by now my two refined corpses should have captured Kou Hongying. I ordered them to capture, not kill. But if anything happens to me, I can’t say whether she’ll live."

He added another bargaining chip to the negotiation.

Then, taking out a Heaven’s Nether True Page from his robes, he said sincerely, "I can guarantee that after this, I will never try to take revenge on you. In fact, I’ll even send you a heavy gift as an apology."

After speaking, Liu Yu Daoist stared at Wei Tu’s face, watching his every move closely.

Right now, Wei Tu’s decision would determine whether he lived or died, whether he escaped in disgrace or fought to the death.

It seemed Liu Yu Daoist had completely forgotten the arrogance he’d shown in the valley, when he believed he held Wei Tu’s fate in his hands.

Now, it was Wei Tu holding his fate instead.

The hunter and the hunted had switched places.

…

He had appealed with both soft words and hard threats.

For a brief moment, Wei Tu almost considered agreeing to the terms.

But unfortunately for Liu Yu Daoist, he was Wei Tu.

He had no need to accept.

The so-called two threats held no real weight for him.

"Even if the fish dies, the net won’t necessarily break. Liu Yu, I’d like to see how you plan to drag me down with you."

Wei Tu’s expression was calm as he stirred his blood and activated the Essence-Capturing Blood Seal. Two flood-dragon phantoms, each over ten feet long, formed from the flames of the Firecloud Shield. With a resonant dragon roar, they charged forward.

After a hundred years, with his cultivation greatly advanced, the might of these flood-dragon phantoms was many times what it had been before.

Each one’s power was no less than that of a peak early-stage Nascent Soul expert at full strength.

Of course, in terms of versatile divine abilities and adaptability, the flood-dragon phantoms were no match for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

But right now, they were more than enough to assist Wei Tu in battle as powerful support.

"In an instant his power jumped several levels. What explosive secret art is he using?"

Liu Yu Daoist frowned. He casually summoned an ancient seal-type magic weapon, fending off the flood-dragon phantoms while retreating and analyzing Wei Tu’s technique.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never lose a hundred battles.

In a normal duel, Liu Yu Daoist wouldn’t care to think so much—he’d simply overpower his opponent.

But Wei Tu was different.

Liu Yu Daoist had never faced such a troublesome, unpredictable opponent.

If he wanted to survive, he had to be cautious.

Yet before he could figure out how long Wei Tu’s burst of power would last, the two flood-dragon phantoms were already wearing him down. His magic power consumption was rapid—faster, it seemed, than Wei Tu’s.

If that were the only problem, it wouldn’t be enough to make him panic.

The real problem was that he could already sense Cao Mi, Divine Master Du Long, and the others rapidly approaching.

In less than 20 breaths, they would join Wei Tu in surrounding him.

"I can only… fight with everything I’ve got."

Liu Yu Daoist no longer had the luxury of calm thought, nor the time to keep analyzing Wei Tu’s methods. He had only one goal now—"Escape with my life."

And if escape failed, he would make sure Wei Tu died with him, so he wouldn’t be alone on the road to the underworld.

'Damn it! If only I still had the Yin-Yang Demon Corpses, how could I be in such trouble today?'

Over 400 years ago, he had salvaged those two ten-thousand-year-old Yin Corpses from the secret realm of Zunwang Palace, pouring his life’s savings into refining them.

The Yin-Yang Demon Corpses were his ultimate hidden weapons.

If he had them now, with his acquired Yin-Yang physique, this newly advanced mid-stage Nascent Soul Wei Tu wouldn’t stand a chance.

Nor would he fear Wei Tu joining forces with Cao Mi, Divine Master Du Long, and the others.

But unfortunately, a hundred years ago, Wei Tu had stripped him of many of his trump cards, leaving him with barely half his means.

"Get out of my way!"

Liu Yu Daoist’s composure finally broke. Face twisted in fury, he spat out a wave of demonic flame, blasting back a charging flood-dragon phantom.

Then, slapping the crown of his head, he decisively let his Nascent Soul exit his body to personally confront Wei Tu.

Without the limitation of his physical form, his casting speed and power surged sharply. In the blink of an eye, he unleashed more than a dozen demonic arts, sweeping across the battlefield.

They were still fighting the same opponent, but this subtle change was enough to force Wei Tu to shift from offense to defense, at least for the moment.

And it didn’t end there.

In the next instant—

More than a dozen refined corpses shot out of Liu Yu Daoist’s corpse pouch. They burned their spiritual power without hesitation, charging Wei Tu like a suicide squad and self-destructing one after another.

If it had been just one refined corpse exploding, Wei Tu could have blocked it easily.

But with more than a dozen blowing themselves up… even with his strength, it became troublesome.

And Liu Yu Daoist’s tricks didn’t stop there.

While his Nascent Soul controlled the exploding corpses, his physical body began performing one vicious demonic secret art after another—each one tearing at his own flesh.

Blood, flesh, organs, bones…

Every part of his body became a deadly weapon against Wei Tu.

"Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon—come forth!"

Two breaths later, his Nascent Soul stopped weaving seals. Face grim, he bit down hard and drew a drop of demon-qi-infused blood from between his brows, pressing it into his mangled, skeletal body.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Suddenly, crisp bell chimes rang out from his body.

At the sound, a massive black ghost—tens of zhang tall—crawled out from within him.

This black giant ghost had a pair of curved horns, blood-red eyes on a simian face, and thick, blood-glinting scales covering its body. It looked savage beyond measure, though its expression was strangely blank.

After summoning it, Liu Yu Daoist gave Wei Tu a venomous glare, bit off one of his own fingers, and teleported away with his Nascent Soul.

Seeing this, Wei Tu frowned slightly. He gathered light beneath his feet, ready to give chase.

But the black giant ghost instantly shifted, blocking his path.

Its expression was still blank, but its determination to stop Wei Tu was clear at a glance.

Blocked, Wei Tu could only watch as Liu Yu Daoist’s Nascent Soul pulled farther and farther away.

At that speed, only Wei Tu’s physical body could possibly catch up—none of his other means could.

"Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon? That bastard Liu Yu actually cultivated the ‘Evil Art of Nurturing Demons’? Fellow Daoist Wei, this is trouble."

The voice came from Ancestor Chilong, speaking from within the Dragon Glass Pearl hidden in Wei Tu’s sleeve.

The Evil Art of Nurturing Demons, as the name suggested, was a method for raising demonic entities.

Raising ghosts, demons, or other abominations was common enough among demonic cultivators.

But clearly, the ‘Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon’ Liu Yu Daoist had raised was no ordinary thing.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t bring it out at this moment, nor would Ancestor Chilong take it so seriously.

"This Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon already carries traces of true demon qi," Ancestor Chilong added after a pause.

"True demon qi?"

Wei Tu’s brow rose slightly, his expression turning more cautious.

He had expected that an old monster like Liu Yu Daoist wouldn’t be easy to deal with, but he hadn’t thought that even without the Yin-Yang Demon Corpses, the man still had a trump card like this.

True demons weren’t mere magical beasts.

They were a powerful race from the Ancient Demon Realm—an equal-level plane to the Spirit Realm. Like true spirit descendants, they were born with power on par with human cultivators at the Deity Transformation stage.

In other words, the Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon Liu Yu Daoist had unleashed carried a faint shadow of Deity Transformation might.

While far from a true Deity Transformation’s power, for a mere Nascent Soul cultivator like Wei Tu, it was still a huge problem.

"So this is his planned escape route? And his way to seriously injure me before he flees?"

Wei Tu’s mind was perfectly clear—this Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon was most likely Liu Yu Daoist’s final counterattack.

"Just a desperate struggle."

Wei Tu gave a cold smile. With a sweep of his sleeve, the Vitality Blood Seal rose again, his power surging in an instant to the peak of mid-stage Nascent Soul.

"Break!"

Jade-colored scales covered his body as man and weapon became one. In a flash, he appeared at the Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon’s side, his fan-sized fist smashing down hard on its head.

Boom! Boom!

The Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon didn’t budge. Wei Tu’s blows couldn’t so much as dent its body. It pounded its chest with both fists, its eyes flashing with killing light, then tore a curved horn from its own head and swung it like a blade.

A slash of black light ripped through the air and appeared behind Wei Tu.

The moment it manifested, he felt a terrifying force that made his heart clench.

Without even looking, he could hear the space around him trembling and buzzing—this was no attack an ordinary Nascent Soul could take head-on.

Yet his face remained calm, without the slightest trace of panic.

One punch. Two punches. Three punches.

Wei Tu didn’t dodge. He kept himself close to the Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon, hammering the same spot on its head again and again with overwhelming force.

Meanwhile, the demon’s slash was almost upon him.

"Fall back! Wei Tu, with your physique you might survive that strike, but you’ll be badly hurt—and lose your chance to finish Liu Yu Daoist!"

Ancestor Chilong’s voice was urgent.

He knew that if Liu Yu Daoist escaped, they wouldn’t just be facing a wounded foe later—they might be facing one who had advanced to late-stage Nascent Soul.

At that point, the danger would be far beyond what Wei Tu and his remnant soul could handle.

This was life and death, and Ancestor Chilong couldn’t afford carelessness.

But—

Wei Tu ignored him. He kept smashing his fists into the same spot.

One hundred punches.

Two hundred punches.

Perhaps even over a thousand punches—in that split-second blur, Wei Tu had lost count.

But he knew one thing: this demon was going to die.

The next moment—

Just as the black blade light was about to strike his body, the Blood Fiend Ancestor Demon’s solid form suddenly shuddered violently, then shattered with a bang, collapsing back into Liu Yu Daoist’s mangled remains.