I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

If it had been any other newly-advanced Nascent Soul cultivator charging at him so recklessly, he might have hesitated, wondering what kind of powerful divine ability or magic weapon they had hidden.

But with Wei Tu, there was no need for such caution.

As an old acquaintance, he didn’t know every last detail of Wei Tu’s background, but he could guess seven or eight parts of it—enough to be confident.

The Ying Ding Tribe, though a powerful force in the Kang Kingdom, only had a higher number of Nascent Soul cultivators. They had no top-tier experts.

Old Ghost Cai was sure that even against Divine Master Du Long, he could fight to a standstill. Facing this “junior” Wei Tu, there was even less to worry about.

If he fled without fighting, all his preparations to ambush Wei Tu would go to waste. Worse, once Wei Tu returned to the Ying Ding Tribe, the name of Old Ghost Cai and the Shangliang Cai Clan would plummet straight into the mud.

For a cultivator who made a living from ambushes, if he didn’t even have that much courage, there was no point risking an encirclement in the first place.

"Almost there!" As Wei Tu closed in, Cai sneered inwardly. Without making a sound, he flicked his finger, and a thin streak of blood-red light shot from his sleeve straight toward Wei Tu.

Right after, Cai swung his sleeve and retreated, turning into a wisp of black smoke. It looked like he intended a “strike once, then retreat whole” approach.

The drifting black smoke seemed slow, but in truth, it moved at nearly mid Nascent Soul escape speed, quickly widening the gap between them.

"Got him!" Half a breath later, when Cai saw Wei Tu neither dodge nor block, but instead take the blood-red streak head-on, joy instantly lit up his face.

But before the smile could fully form, horror replaced it.

That “sure kill” thin blood-red light was caught between Wei Tu’s fingers with a casual pinch. It froze in place, unable to move at all, as if it were nothing more than a toy in his hand.

"Impossible! You caught the Witch Blood Needle barehanded?"

Cai’s face paled. Shocked, he spun and fled as fast as possible in the opposite direction.

Now he felt lucky he had kept his distance early. With the kind of power Wei Tu had just shown, even with ten lives he couldn’t hold out.

'No wonder this kid didn’t team up with Hu Yantu. With strength like this, never mind dealing with me alone—he could handle me and Old Woman Yu together.'

A cold sweat pricked Cai’s back.

He made up his mind: once he got back to the Shangliang Cai Clan, he would tell the main family to pack up their valuables and find another spiritual land to hide from disaster.

But just as he thought that, a blue-robed figure suddenly appeared ahead in the clouds, staring at him with a cold expression.

That figure formed a hand seal, a ghostly shadow lingering faintly behind him, and in a single burst shot straight toward Cai. In the blink of an eye, he was within ten zhang.

"Impossible! You’re just newly advanced to Nascent Soul—you can’t have such speed!"

Panicked, Cai raised a protective shield and activated his defensive magic weapon.

But before he could even finish the motion, a bloody hole appeared in his chest and abdomen. His Nascent Soul was already in Wei Tu’s grasp, squeezed tightly in his palm.

"Don’t kill me! Fellow Daoist Wei, I was just momentarily blinded by greed. For the sake of our past friendship, spare me!"

The tiny face of Cai’s Nascent Soul twisted in terror.

Nascent Soul cultivators could project their Nascent Soul from the body as a powerful trump card, but that clearly didn’t apply here.

Cai could clearly feel the terrifying strength in Wei Tu’s grip. With one squeeze, he’d be completely annihilated—body, soul, and Dao.

"Same early Nascent Soul stage, Old Ghost Cai—but the opponents you and I have faced are worlds apart."

Wei Tu ignored Old Ghost Cai’s plea. He spoke with a note of reflection.

After all, Old Ghost Cai was by far the easiest Nascent Soul opponent he’d ever taken down.

Just a few moves, and it was over.

Yes, his own power had grown greatly, but Old Ghost Cai’s weak strength was also a factor. If this body had been controlled by Lüqiu Jinyuan, the fight would have been many times harder.

With that thought, Wei Tu placed his hand on Old Ghost Cai’s head and began a forced soul search.

Soon, he saw Old Ghost Cai’s earlier conversation with Old Ancestor Yu of the Yu Clan and Hu Yantu.

Hu Yantu’s tip had been true: Old Ghost Cai and Old Ancestor Yu had planned to attack him.

Only, after Hu Yantu left, Old Ancestor Yu seemed to have reconsidered and declined Old Ghost Cai’s invitation.

'Actions matter more than intentions. Old Ancestor Yu didn’t warn me, but she refused to take part—that makes her someone worth dealing with.'

Putting aside personal gain, Wei Tu now thought more highly of her than of Hu Yantu.

After all, Old Ghost Cai’s friendship with Old Ancestor Yu and Hu Yantu spanned hundreds—nearly a thousand—years. Without such ties, Old Ghost Cai would never have brought them in on this scheme.

Wei Tu didn’t believe Hu Yantu’s warning was out of some noble “justice” against bandits.

At their level, the line between righteous and demonic paths hardly mattered—everyone had their own dirty tricks.

Even he had tricked the Tuoshan Demon King before, reaping his soul to use as a curse ghost.

Keeping close but guarded—that was the right way.

Of course, Wei Tu wouldn’t cut Hu Yantu off entirely. He just wouldn’t share any core secrets with people like him.

Similar to when he had soul-searched Master Hongjing, Wei Tu had the strength to kill Old Ghost Cai, but no means to stop his Nascent Soul from self-detonating.

Half a day later, under Wei Tu’s soul search, Old Ghost Cai’s Nascent Soul completed self-dissolution.

‘If I get the chance, I should obtain some Blue-Faced Flood Dragon poison. That might stop captured cultivators from destroying their Nascent Souls,’ Wei Tu thought as he refined the Wu Blood Needle.

From what he knew so far, only two methods could prevent such self-destruction— Soul Capturing Talismans and Blue-Faced Flood Dragon poison.

The first, he had already asked Gong Shulan about. The talisman’s crafting method was a secret never taught outside the Soul Capturing Sect, so he’d given up on that.

The second, however, he had some hope of getting.

Within the Xiao Kingdom, quite a few Nascent Soul sects had acquired Blue-Faced Flood Dragon poison left behind after one died years ago.

Before long, after checking his spoils and erasing all traces of the battle, Wei Tu flew straight toward the location of the Yu family of Guangyuan in Chu Kingdom.

As the saying goes—when cutting weeds, remove the roots.

However, the Shangliang Cai Clan’s roots were far too deep to pull out completely.

As a Nascent Soul power, their direct and collateral bloodlines together numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

In demonic territory, with his strength, clearing them out would only take a casual order. But here in righteous lands, that wasn’t the case.

Some righteous sects really did care about the lives of low-level cultivators.

And Wei Tu himself had no desire to commit such a huge slaughter just because of one Old Ghost Cai, branding himself as a “demonic cultivator” that everyone wanted dead.

So his approach was simple and efficient—silence the two people who knew the truth: Yu family’s old ancestor and Hu Yantu.

“Old Ghost Cai tried to rob and kill me, but failed. He died in battle. This matter… I must thank the two of you, Brother Hu and Friend Yu.”

Several days later at the Yu family of Guangyuan, Wei Tu sat with Hu Yantu and the Yu family’s old ancestor. He gave them each a glance, cupped his hands, and thanked them.

“We helped you?”

At his words, both Hu Yantu and the old ancestor’s brows twitched. They felt there was another meaning hidden there—as if he was calculating them into his plans.

But thinking of his ability to easily kill Old Ghost Cai, neither dared press the matter.

They knew their own situations well.

Hu Yantu was fine—he had warned Wei Tu, so he wasn’t too worried.

The old ancestor, however, was different. She was deeply worried that Wei Tu would come for her later.

After all, knowing and not reporting was, in a sense, aiding the enemy. In the eyes of someone petty, that could be an unforgivable grudge.

“If it weren’t for Brother Hu’s warning, I wouldn’t have known Old Ghost Cai intended to ambush me. That allowed me to prepare. And if not for Friend Yu’s refusal of Old Ghost Cai’s invitation, it would’ve been hard for me alone to handle both of them together.”

Wei Tu smiled faintly as he explained.

It sounded reasonable enough, but in Hu Yantu and the old ancestor’s ears, it wasn’t so simple.

They both knew that with Wei Tu’s strength, even without their “help,” he would probably have avoided danger.

At best, their actions were icing on the cake, not life-saving aid.

“What does Fellow Daoist Wei mean?” the old ancestor asked, gathering her courage.

She didn’t think he’d come as an enemy. If he had, he wouldn’t be this open about it.

“The Shangliang Cai Clan must be destroyed.”

Wei Tu smiled lightly and spoke the words.

At that, both the old ancestor and Hu Yantu’s hearts trembled. The Cai Clan was no weaker than their own Nascent Soul forces.

When the rabbit dies, the fox grieves—but Hu Yantu’s face soon brightened.

He understood perfectly: the Cai Clan’s fall would be a huge boon for the Beastmaster Sect, which was currently sharing a fourth-rank spirit land with the Yu family.

And clearly, Wei Tu had no intention of taking the Cai Clan’s holdings for himself.

If he did, he wouldn’t have come alone—he’d have brought the many Divine Masters of the Ying Ding Tribe.

He cared more for personal benefit.

As Hu Yantu expected, Wei Tu then made his proposal for dividing the Cai Clan’s assets.

“Of the Cai Clan’s spiritual resources, I want 70%. The remaining 20% goes to the Beastmaster Sect, and 10% to the Yu family of Guangyuan. In return, both of you must kill the Cai Clan’s direct bloodline.

“Once the power is taken over, you two know better than I how to remove the roots.”

His tone was calm.

Three parties dividing the spoils, with one taking 70% and the dirty work left to the others—at any other time, Hu Yantu and the old ancestor would have erupted. But now, neither dared raise their voice or voice an objection.

They didn’t want to be the next Old Ghost Cai.

“However, as someone from another country, it wouldn’t be proper for me to directly own spirit lands or mines here.

“I can let you convert those assets into spiritual items for me. The Beastmaster Sect will have priority to buy.”

Wei Tu smiled faintly as he added this.

Hu Yantu’s face lit up instantly. This was the kind of friend worth keeping.

In forces like the Cai Clan, the most valuable possessions weren’t spiritual items but the high-grade spirit lands and mines they controlled.

With those, money would keep flowing forever.

Compared to such fixed assets, loose wealth was nothing.

“I understand,” the old ancestor finally sighed and nodded heavily.

Unlike the Beastmaster Sect, which was an outside power—

The Yu family of Guangyuan and the Cai family of Shangliang were both native Nascent Soul clans of Chu Kingdom. They had been family friends for generations, even sealing marriage alliances for many years. You could say their bloodlines were already intertwined.

Now, asking her to stain her hands with Cai family blood was something she was far from willing to do.

But at this moment, she didn’t have much choice left.

She had abandoned Old Ghost Cai and left, yet hadn’t passed the news of the ambush to Wei Tu. On the surface, that seemed like offending neither side, but in truth, she had offended both.

Now she was no different from someone completely alone.

Even if she begged other cultivators to help resolve the Cai Clan’s crisis, the Cai Clan cultivators wouldn’t see it as goodwill. They would only hate her for causing their patriarch’s death.

They might even hate her more than they hated Wei Tu.

“In the matter of taking over the Cai Clan’s holdings, I won’t show myself. But if anyone else tries to get ideas about their resources, me stepping in once or twice isn’t impossible,” Wei Tu said, nodding in satisfaction when both Hu Yantu and the Yu family’s old ancestor agreed.

“This matter—leave it to me,” Hu Yantu said with a grin, patting his chest as if ready to take on the whole job.

…

Swallowing the Cai Clan’s resources wasn’t something done overnight. Wei Tu didn’t stay long in Chu Kingdom. After telling Qiu Buchen to keep an eye on the matter, he flew toward Kang Kingdom.

It’s worth noting—after over a hundred years of cultivation, Qiu Buchen, a top-grade spirit root cultivator, had broken through to the Golden Core stage more than ten years ago, becoming one of the Beastmaster Sect’s rare Golden Core True Lords.

Because Qiu Buchen had reached this realm, Wei Tu felt confident entrusting him to watch over the Cai Clan’s assets, making sure the Beastmaster Sect and the Yu family wouldn’t embezzle too much.

Of course, before leaving, Wei Tu also took all the Beastmaster Sect’s stock of fourth-rank beast hides and fourth-rank spirit blood.

But unlike what he had agreed with Hu Yantu at the trade fair, he offset all of it with the Cai Clan’s seized resources—without paying a single spirit stone.

In a way, Old Ghost Cai’s attempted ambush had turned into an unexpected windfall for Wei Tu.

After returning to Kang Kingdom, Wei Tu didn’t rush back to the Ying Ding Tribe. He first went to the Moon Condensation Palace’s territory to handle a few things.

First, he wanted to see if Cao Mi still had any spirit crystals left that he could borrow, promising to return them later.

Breaking through to mid Nascent Soul was extremely important for both him and the Righteous Society. The earlier he broke through, the better.

Second, he wanted to deliver a letter and some pills from Qiu Buchen to his sister, Qiu Huaisu.

This might seem like making a Nascent Soul patriarch run errands, but for Wei Tu, it was just on the way—no reason to refuse.

It wouldn’t delay him long.

When he asked to borrow spirit crystals, Cao Mi hesitated at first. But once she learned it was to help him break through to mid Nascent Soul, she agreed without hesitation.

After all these years, she only had two spirit crystals left.

Even so, those two crystals would save Wei Tu over ten years of bitter cultivation, so he naturally wasn’t going to complain.

“When we reach the Cultivation World of the Returning Ruins Sea, I’ll return these two crystals double,” Wei Tu promised.

“As long as you remember, Brother Wei,” Cao Mi said with a smile, no longer pushing him to sign a soul contract like she had a century ago. Clearly, her trust in him had grown to a very high level.

‘I just don’t know how Brother Wei managed to advance so quickly after leaving the overseas cultivation world… it’s like his cultivation suddenly shot up,’ she thought, watching him fly away with quiet puzzlement.

She didn’t know that, on his way to Wushan Kingdom, Wei Tu had by chance obtained the complete Nascent Yin of a spirit body Nascent Soul cultivator.

…

After parting with Cao Mi, Wei Tu headed toward the Mirror Water Pavilion.

Years had passed since they last met, and Qiu Huaisu had grown even more beautiful. Slender and graceful, her skin was like snow. The white dress she wore fluttered in the breeze, giving her an air untouched by mortal dust.

“This is a letter from your brother,” Wei Tu said, reining in his gaze and taking a small box from his sleeve, handing it to the young woman who had once admired him deeply.

Inside the box were both the letter and the pills.

“Thank you, Immortal Wei,” Qiu Huaisu said, bowing respectfully as she accepted the box with both hands.

“You can call me Ancestor Wei,” Wei Tu replied after a slight pause, reminding her gently.

He didn’t want such a bright young woman to be trapped by her feelings for him just because of the debt from when he had guided her onto the cultivation path.

Qiu Huaisu said nothing. She bowed once more, then clutched the box to her chest and left.

“Uncle Wei, don’t bother trying to persuade her,” Kou Hongying said as she walked up behind him.

With a soft sigh, she added, “Huaisu is stubborn by nature, and even I can’t change her mind. Back when you first went to Xiao Kingdom, I told her not to overthink things… but years later, she’s still the same. Still, it’s not all bad—it means her Dao heart is firm.”

She shook her head, a faint worry showing in her brows, clearly troubled by her disciple’s unyielding temperament.

Wei Tu nodded slightly and didn’t comment further.

He took a spirit contract from his robe and handed it to Kou Hongying.

“This time, when I went to Wushan Kingdom for the Flying Immortal Alliance trade fair, I used your Yin Chen Stones to exchange with Alliance Leader Tan for two Emerald Radiance Pills.”

“These two Emerald Radiance Pills were originally yours. I’m just borrowing them for now. Once I break through, I’ll return them to you,” Wei Tu said after a pause, giving an explanation.

The reason he signed a lending contract with Kou Hongying instead of Cao Mi wasn’t because he was closer to Cao Mi. It was because Kou Hongying needed this promised contract far more.

This contract meant a path to Nascent Soul.

“Nascent Transformation Pill?” Kou Hongying noticed what Wei Tu had promised on the contract—something he would exchange for in the future.

“Thank you, Uncle Wei.” Any polite refusals died on her lips. She smiled sweetly and accepted the contract seriously.

She knew full well that without Wei Tu, she never could have gotten her hands on those three Yin Chen Stones. But the path to Nascent Soul was too important. She couldn’t refuse, not if she didn’t want to end up like Ning Xuefeng.

“Uncle Wei, Pavilion Master Ning failed her breakthrough a month ago and passed away,” Kou Hongying said in an even tone, describing something that had almost been inevitable.

“She died in the attempt?” Wei Tu lifted his gaze toward the back mountain and let out a heavy sigh.

She hadn’t been killed by him directly, but her death was still tied to him.

If he hadn’t killed Master Hongjing…

If Kou Hongying, his niece, weren’t a Golden Core True Lord of Mirror Water Pavilion…

Ning Xuefeng wouldn’t have ‘sought death’ like that.

“Forcing the Pavilion Master of Mirror Water Pavilion to her death with a single sentence… back then, I wouldn’t have dared dream of such a thing,” Wei Tu muttered, shaking his head. From his storage bag, he pulled out the same paper money he once burned for Wei Fei and now burned it for Ning Xuefeng in the underworld.

When the paper money burned to ash, the wind scattered it into the forest, adding a faint sorrow to the surrounding scene.

…

After paying respects to Ning Xuefeng, Wei Tu didn’t linger at Mirror Water Pavilion. The next day, he returned to the Ying Ding Tribe and his own Divine Master’s Manor.

He’d only been gone a year and a half, so no one in the tribe had noticed their Divine Master had suddenly vanished and reappeared.

“With these two Emerald Radiance Pills and the spirit crystals I have, fifty years of secluded cultivation should be enough to break through to mid Nascent Soul,” Wei Tu thought, hanging a closed-door cultivation sign at the entrance of his cave and beginning his retreat.

Time passed.

Ten years later, while deep in cultivation, he suddenly sensed a spiritual vortex rising from the direction of the Wei Clan’s pill shop.

The aura felt very familiar.

“Tao Zhongjing?” A sweep of his divine sense confirmed the identity of the person forming a core—it was the same registered disciple he had taken before his own Nascent Soul formation.

He hadn’t expected that over sixty years later, this disciple would now be attempting core formation.

‘The mana isn’t pure—he’s taken too many pills. Judging from the medicinal power, he’s breaking through using Bi Yan Pills…’

Wei Tu frowned slightly, not feeling optimistic about Tao Zhongjing’s chances.

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head, flicked his sleeve, and instantly left his cave, appearing outside Tao Zhongjing’s closed-door chamber.

“Who?” Tao Zhongjing, startled by the presence, tensed immediately.

But when he saw it was Wei Tu, his expression eased. Calling out “Master,” he stepped forward to salute.

“No need for formalities. I came because I sensed your core formation is unstable and at risk of failure, so I wanted to see you,” Wei Tu said, motioning for him to stop bowing.

“Failure…” Tao Zhongjing’s face went pale with fear. He knew the consequences—if you were lucky, you’d be crippled but alive.

“Core formation is hard for others to interfere with. But with my power, I can slow your process and stop it midway, letting you become a False Core cultivator,” Wei Tu offered.

Even though a Nascent Soul patriarch’s power was far above that of a Golden Core True Lord, helping someone directly form a core wasn’t something he could just do at will.

If it were that easy, the world would be full of Golden Core cultivators.

Letting Tao Zhongjing halt his attempt and form a False Core was already a huge concession. It was also delicate, precise work that took time and effort.

“I’m willing to form a False Core,” Tao Zhongjing said, choosing it over the risk of death.

Wei Tu nodded, then extended two fingers, sending several green lights into Tao Zhongjing’s body to temporarily seal his forming core energy.

“Who told you to break through without telling me first?” Wei Tu asked, frowning.

As his registered disciple, Tao Zhongjing’s status wasn’t high, but he absolutely had the right to use the ‘Mortal Shedding Pill’ in the Ying Ding Tribe.

If he had just told Wei Tu and gathered some spirit stones, Wei Tu wouldn’t have minded asking the tribe for that favor.

After all, Tao Zhongjing was his only current disciple and his position wasn’t much different from the senior disciples of other Divine Masters.

On top of that, as a second-rank alchemist, he had some value to cultivate.

Now that he had failed, Wei Tu suspected there might be someone else’s hand in this besides Tao Zhongjing’s own mistakes.