Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

Fearing Wei Tu might refuse, Hua Xianlong quickly added, "Senior Brother Wei, now that you’ve reached the Golden Core Realm, I am honored by your achievement. Please accept this Tier Two Magical Robe as a congratulatory gift from me."

"Very well. I will accept this gift from Junior Brother Hua."

After a moment of consideration, Wei Tu reached out, took the gift box from Hua Xianlong, and put it into his Storage Bag.

One doesn’t strike a smiling face, after all.

Besides, Hua Xianlong was still a disciple of True Monarch Che—one of his own junior brothers.

Even though Hua Xianlong had spread rumors about him, it wouldn’t be right for him to bypass True Monarch Che and punish Hua Xianlong himself.

Letting the matter drop was the most appropriate course of action.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I will not disturb you any longer, Senior Brother Wei." Hua Xianlong bowed with his hands clasped and took his leave.

Ostensibly, he and Wei Tu were martial brothers, but in reality, he was nothing more than a junior in Wei Tu’s presence.

The difference in their status was like a celestial chasm.

Having offered his apology, Hua Xianlong dared not disturb Wei Tu any longer.

"Senior Brother Wei, I..." Seeing Hua Xianlong leave, Gao Chen, who stood to the side, suddenly grew flustered.

Wei Tu had accepted Hua Xianlong’s gift.

But he had refused his own.

Gao Chen worried that Wei Tu was putting on a false front.

He could not possibly withstand the machinations of a Golden Core True Monarch.

’Senior Brother Wei?’ Hearing this, Wei Tu couldn’t help but smile, tacitly accepting the title from Gao Chen.

Although he still insisted on calling True Monarch Che "Master" and had not formally switched his allegiance, that didn’t mean the older disciples under the True Monarch could brazenly call him "Junior Brother."

He wasn’t that close with Gao Chen and the others.

For older disciples like Gao Chen, addressing him as "Senior Brother" was also appropriate.

"I have only just achieved my breakthrough. Now that I’ve returned to my Cave Mansion, I need to stabilize my new Realm, so I won’t be able to entertain you, Junior Brother Gao."

Wei Tu smoothly changed his form of address in turn.

Hearing this, Gao Chen felt as if he’d been granted amnesty. He shot Wei Tu a grateful glance, gave a slight bow, and then departed in a hurry.

...

「Back at Lark Residence.」

Wei Tu strode toward the Insect Room, sealing the surrounding area with his Magical Power.

’Just as I thought. A few Seven-Colored Illusion Moths broke free from my control while advancing to Tier Two.’ Before stepping into the Insect Room, Wei Tu suddenly sensed two Tier Two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths lurking near the entrance to his Cave Mansion.

The two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths were transparent and formless, using their Innate Illusion Technique to blend seamlessly with the surrounding scenery.

If not for the fact that he had just broken through to the Golden Core Realm, causing his Divine Sense to surge, and that these two moths still carried his Divine Sense Mark... he feared he would never have noticed their attempt to escape.

With a flick of his sleeve, a tyrannical wave of Core Power erupted from Wei Tu’s body, instantly immobilizing the two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths.

The two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths tried to resist, but under the pressure of Wei Tu’s Divine Sense, they were forced to open their Seas of Consciousness, allowing him to re-implant his Restriction and bring them back under his control.

’Good thing I returned to the Cave Mansion when I did. If I’d been a year or two later, these two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths might have broken through the Array at Lark Residence.’ After placing the two moths into his Spirit Insect Bag, Wei Tu glanced at his Cave Mansion’s Array. He saw signs that the base of the Array had been gnawed on and couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

Ninety-nine percent of Cave Mansion Arrays were difficult to breach from the outside, but easy to destroy from within.

—Though the Seven-Colored Illusion Moths lacked high Spiritual Wisdom, they could still distinguish between Spiritual Materials and common objects.

Next, Wei Tu began searching every inch of every room in Lark Residence for any remaining Tier Two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths, determined to prevent any from escaping.

「An hour later.」

Wei Tu’s Spirit Insect Bag now held six more Tier Two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths.

"SCREECH!" At that moment, the Sky-Splitting Carving flew over, flapping its wings. It dropped three dead Seven-Colored Illusion Moths before Wei Tu as if seeking praise.

’Also Tier Two Spirit Moths?’

Seeing this, Wei Tu’s expression soured, and his brow furrowed deeply.

It had taken him decades to raise just these nine Tier Two Seven-Colored Illusion Moths.

And this accursed beast, the Sky-Splitting Carving, had just ruined a third of them.

However, Wei Tu did not rush to blame the creature. He extracted the Sky-Splitting Carving’s memories from the past few years and instantly understood why it had caught these particular moths.

It turned out that these three Seven-Colored Illusion Moths possessed greater Spiritual Wisdom than the six in his Spirit Insect Bag. They were, in effect, the Insect Kings of the swarm he had raised.

These Insect Kings were also the ones who had nearly damaged the Array at Lark Residence.

If the Sky-Splitting Carving hadn’t intervened in time, all the Seven-Colored Illusion Moths in Lark Residence would have long since escaped.

"You’ve proven your loyalty."

Wei Tu stroked the Sky-Splitting Carving’s head, then took several Spirit Fruits from his Storage Bag and fed them to it.

After eating the Spirit Fruits, the Sky-Splitting Carving let out a few more screeches and gestured, trying to convey the image of Nanzi to Wei Tu.

Wei Tu paid this request no mind, ignoring the Sky-Splitting Carving completely.

By now, with the help of the Immortal Spirit Dew, the Sky-Splitting Carving had already broken through to the Late-Stage Tier Two.

This Cultivation speed far surpassed that of a normal Demon Beast with an Earth-Tier Bloodline.

Therefore, how could Wei Tu possibly dare to bring Nanzi over to mate with his Sky-Splitting Carving?

He was already scrambling for excuses to put it off.

Of course, with Wei Tu’s current Realm, he no longer feared pressure from the Beast Taming Sect.

—A Golden Core True Monarch was powerful enough to deal with the Beast Taming Sect on equal footing.

...

The Spiritual Qi in a Quasi-Tier Three Cave Mansion was no longer sufficient to support the Cultivation of a Golden Core True Monarch.

After packing his belongings at Lark Residence, Wei Tu headed for the new estate that True Monarch Qi had arranged for him on a peak of Red River Mountain.