I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

“The calamity of the past?”

Hearing this, Lu Xuehu’s whole body trembled with excitement. She quickly nodded in reply and said a few words, “It still remains.”

For more than a year now, she had tried every possible way to find cultivators at the early Nascent Soul stage and above, hoping they would back Wansheng Pavilion.

But unfortunately, the results had been poor.

Every cultivator she approached, once they heard it was about opposing Master Gu Tong, immediately shook their heads.

“It’s just… about the reward?”

Lu Xuehu cautiously probed.

Right now, Wansheng Pavilion could no longer take out treasures equal to a fourth-tier Taisui Stone to thank Wei Tu.

“I don’t want Wansheng Pavilion’s reward. I only want the treasures on Gu Tong’s body.”

Wei Tu paused a moment, then gave his answer.

The treasures on his body?

Hearing this, Lu Xuehu’s face turned pale with shock. As a demonic cultivator from the demonic region, she could easily grasp the meaning behind Wei Tu’s words.

His aim wasn’t to mediate and help Wansheng Pavilion retrieve the owed Golden Valley Pills. He wanted to kill and seize treasures directly—take the treasures Gu Tong carried.

But soon, after her shock faded, her heart pounded with excitement.

She could still distinguish the difference between forcing Gu Tong to hand over the Golden Valley Pills through pressure and killing him outright to eliminate future trouble. Between the two choices, which was more beneficial to Wansheng Pavilion was clear.

Thinking this far, Lu Xuehu already guessed why Wei Tu had sought her out.

However, she didn’t spell it out. Instead, she bowed respectfully and asked, “Senior, what would you have Wansheng Pavilion do?”

“Draw Gu Tong out!”

Very quickly, the words she expected sounded in her ears.

“In this matter, Xuehu will surely do her utmost to help Senior achieve it. Only, I ask that you grant Wansheng Pavilion two Golden Valley Pills. Wansheng Pavilion and I will be endlessly grateful.”

Lu Xuehu knelt and bowed as she replied.

“Of course.”

Wei Tu smiled faintly and nodded in agreement.

Although he rarely kept faith when dealing with demonic cultivators, if Lu Xuehu could carry this out properly, he didn’t mind giving her two Golden Valley Pills as payment.

—Unlike the demonic cultivators who invaded the borderlands of the three kingdoms, slaughtering and plundering, the demonic cultivators within the Demon Extreme Sea were not all savage and cruel.

They were simply born in the demonic region, and so were automatically considered “demonic cultivators.”

This was a fundamental difference.

Daughters of noble birth like Lu Xuehu rarely practiced “refining pills from human lives.” They mostly consumed pills made from plants and herbs.

At least, using his Sun-Gazing Golden Eyes, Wei Tu had not seen any aura of other cultivators’ blood essence clinging to her.

Besides, his false identity as “Liu Yu Daoist” could not be exposed widely. Using two Golden Valley Pills to secure Wansheng Pavilion’s loyalty was a worthwhile bargain.

“Thank you, Senior.”

Hearing this, Lu Xuehu’s face lit with joy, and she showered Wei Tu with gratitude.

A few days later—

Wansheng Pavilion began preparing the details of how to lure Gu Tong away from Poison Demon Island.

As Gu Tong’s former friend, Lu Xuehu’s father quickly drew up a step-by-step plan.

…

Several months later—

A piece of news spread into Sun Pei’s cave residence.

“Master Gu Tong went out to gather herbs but was ambushed by a mysterious expert and fell dead on the spot.”

Reading this, Sun Pei’s right hand holding the jade slip trembled, his face filled with fear.

Unlike the righteous path, demonic cultivators often had countless enemies. Rarely did they leave behind blessings for future generations.

Once a demonic expert fell, the weaker ones who had relied on that protection would also face disaster.

Now that his master, Master Gu Tong, had died miserably, as his disciple he would not inherit any fortune. Instead, great misfortune was bound to fall on him.

Thinking of this, Sun Pei’s courage nearly collapsed. He hastily packed up his belongings and fled his cave residence in secret.

Sun Pei would never have guessed that the very early Nascent Soul cultivator he had hosted a few months ago was the one who killed his master, Master Gu Tong.

…

At the same time—

Wei Tu, who had killed Master Gu Tong, was already on the road back to the Kang Kingdom.

Just as he expected, as a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, facing early Nascent Soul cultivators like You Gongquan or Gu Tong was nearly effortless.

In only a few exchanges, the other would die a miserable death without even the chance to escape.

But Wei Tu, with his rich worldly experience, did not take joy in fishing for and killing these early Nascent Soul demonic cultivators in the demonic regions.

He knew very well that if he indulged in this, calamity would soon follow.

The fall of a single newly advanced Nascent Soul might not stir up too much noise.

But the deaths of two, or several, early Nascent Soul cultivators would surely make the five demonic sects investigate thoroughly.

By then, he would likely become the public enemy of the entire demonic path.

‘Know when to stop.’ Those four words are an unshakable truth in every realm.

“Always walking along the river, how can your shoes not get wet? I can’t let myself get addicted to robbery.”

Wei Tu reminded himself.

Doing something when it fell into his lap was fine. But doing it too often would one day sting his own hand.

This time, if not for the complete intelligence provided by Wansheng Pavilion, he would not have acted so rashly.

A few days later—

Wei Tu returned to the Ying Ding Tribe, removed the “In Seclusion” plaque hanging on his cave residence, and went out to meet visitors.

—Taking the Golden Valley Pill to heal his injuries was not urgent.

Right now, clearing suspicion from himself was what mattered most.

At that moment, he also heard from Divine Master Du Long about Zhao Qingluo’s attempt to form an infant and the events that had taken place inside Shengya Mountain.

“A false infant?”

Wei Tu froze, then sighed softly.

His feelings toward Zhao Qingluo were complicated.

The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill no longer needed mention.

After they came to know each other, had it not been for Zhao Qingluo giving him the “Minor Shift Talisman” and asking Zhao clan cultivators to tell him the route to secretly leave the Zheng Kingdom, he would not have had today’s fortune.

After their parting under the moonlight, he had truly developed feelings for Zhao Qingluo. Otherwise, he would not have traveled a thousand miles to Shengya Mountain, prepared to marry her.

But over the years, Wei Tu had already let go of those past matters.

Between them, it was simply that they were not meant to be.

If possible, he still wished Zhao Qingluo could go further on her immortal path.

“Fellow Daoist Du Long, pass my words to Shengya Mountain. This matter with Zhao Qingluo, I do not blame the Zhao clan. My relationship with the Zhao clan remains unchanged.”

“As for Situ Yang’s challenge, I accept it. It will be settled in the Ying Ding Tribe.”

“But I have one condition…”

“That after this battle, Shengya Mountain must not disturb me again. Otherwise… I will not let it go!”

Wei Tu’s voice was cold, each word deliberate.

He understood clearly. His enemy was only Situ Yang, not Shengya Mountain as a whole.

Blaming an entire sect for the actions of one person was a foolish move.

But this did not stop him from using it to his advantage, adding weight to his own bargaining power and spreading his reputation.

Because he knew, Shengya Mountain, as a leader of the righteous path, would not openly strike at him, the “victim,” in front of everyone.

On the contrary, they would to some extent ensure his safety and prevent him from suffering loss.

This was precisely the scruples of the righteous path—something he could exploit.