Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

"Fourth, Wuyun Tower hid a cache of Spirit Stones on Tonghu Mountain."

As the four points were laid out, the breathing of Wei Tu and Weii Fei, who had just arrived at Qingliang Posthouse, grew heavier.

Just from hearing these revelations, they could already feel it—the mysterious Cultivation Realm was finally lifting a corner of its veil for them.

As he spoke, Fu Zhizhou handed a piece of paper to Wei Tu.

"Danqiu Mountain Marketplace... one of the gathering places for the Independent Cultivators of Zheng Country..."

"Spirit Root, Innate Martial Artist..."

"Realm divisions: Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core..."

Wei Tu studied the paper, carefully pondering the meaning of its contents.

Although it contained only common knowledge about the Cultivation Realm, he was utterly captivated as he read.

The mere mention of a Golden Core cultivator living for a thousand years was enough to leave him stunned.

After all, the so-called civilization from his past life had only lasted for a few short millennia.

That a single cultivator’s lifespan could rival that of an entire civilization...

It was truly hard to imagine.

’If I became a Golden Core True Monarch with a lifespan of a thousand years, just how powerful would my "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart be then?’

Wei Tu’s heart filled with anticipation.

After finishing the paper, Wei Tu passed it to Weii Fei and began to consider their next move.

According to the paper.

An Innate Martial Artist was equivalent to a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer. Once they condensed a Spirit Body, they would become a "Qi Cultivator" and gain the same ability to manipulate Spiritual Power.

After condensing a Spirit Body, an Innate Martial Artist could directly bypass the minor bottleneck between the Qi Cultivation Third and Fourth Layers, advancing straight to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.

They had failed to cultivate any Immortal Skills before reaching the Innate Realm because their Spiritual Energy Sensitivity was too poor; they only possessed a Lower-Grade Spirit Root.

Everyone possessed a Spirit Root.

The difference lay in quality: ninety-nine percent of people only had a Lower-Grade Spirit Root. A tiny fraction possessed a Middle-Grade Spirit Root or Upper-Grade Spirit Root, and even fewer had the legendary Top-Grade Spirit Root or an Innate Treasure Body.

Spirit Roots also varied by elemental affinity.

Weii Fei, for instance, had struggled to cultivate the Five Elements Spirit Body because his Spirit Root had poor sensitivity to Earth Spiritual Power.

Now, whether they wanted to condense a Thick Earth Body or travel to the Danqiu Mountain Marketplace, they couldn’t take a single step without Spirit Stones.

The cache of Spirit Stones that Wuyun Tower had stored on Tonghu Mountain was limited—just over a hundred—barely enough for one of them to condense a Spirit Body.

The question of how to divide them...

...became a major problem.

"We relied on you two, Third Brother and Fourth Brother, to capture Xie Yuanshan and escape the battlefield. Second Brother and I won’t take any of these Spirit Stones."

Kou Liang was the first to declare his stance.

He knew his own limits. If Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou, the two Innate Martial Artists, hadn’t gotten him off the battlefield, his strength alone would have seen him dead in the valley of the Immortal Masters’ showdown ten days prior.

Hearing this, Weii Fei nodded, indicating he had no objection.

He had hoarded the Blood Food Pills last time, refusing to yield an inch.

This time, he wouldn’t be such a hypocrite as to expect Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou to give him a share of the Spirit Stones.

"Then we’ll split these Spirit Stones evenly between the two of us," Wei Tu said, looking at Fu Zhizhou.

"Alright." Fu Zhizhou hesitated for a moment before nodding.

He had wanted to offer his share of the Spirit Stones to Wei Tu, but after a moment of thought, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

Spirit Stones were hard to come by.

If he gave them to Wei Tu, he might lose his own chance to walk the Immortal Path.

"However, if possible, I hope you, Third Brother and Fourth Brother, can buy some Spirit Testing Talismans to test the aptitude of our family members..."

After Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou had made their decision, Kou Liang spoke up, hesitating for a moment.

Over a month ago, he had believed his poor aptitude was only temporary. He thought that once he embarked on the Immortal Path, his talent wouldn’t necessarily be any worse than Wei Tu’s or Fu Zhizhou’s.

But now that he knew the true secrets of the immortals, he immediately abandoned the idea of pursuing the Immortal Path for himself, instead pinning his hopes on his descendants.

"Of course," Wei Tu nodded in agreement.

According to Xie Yuanshan’s testimony, the Danqiu Mountain Marketplace sold a basic Immortal Talisman called a "Spirit Testing Talisman," which could be used to detect a mortal’s aptitude for Cultivation.

These Spirit Testing Talismans weren’t expensive, either; one Spirit Stone could buy three of them.

Weii Fei had no children.

Kou Liang had two sons and three daughters.

In other words, he and Fu Zhizhou would only need to spend about two extra Spirit Stones to test Kou Liang’s entire family.

Wei Tu wasn’t so stingy as to begrudge a single Spirit Stone.

...

「Half a month later.」

Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou went to a cave on Tonghu Mountain, retrieved the Spirit Stones hidden by Wuyun Tower, and divided them evenly.

On the way to Xiaoyi Prefecture, they happened to overhear a piece of news from some retreating Official Soldiers.

During the great battle in the valley that day, Immortal Master Wu had an arm severed by Immortal Master Jia and had fled in utter defeat.

The more than thirty Military Officers who had remained in the valley to assist were surrounded and annihilated by the Xiaoo Mountain King’s army. All of them died horribly.

Hearing this, Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou exchanged a look, sighing inwardly with relief. If they hadn’t made their decision when they did, even as Innate Martial Artists, they would likely be corpses in that valley now.

...

「Several months later.」

Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou arrived at Danqiu Mountain in Luonan Dao. They walked to the thick fog at the mountain’s base, then circulated their Innate True Qi, focusing it in their eyes.

Soon, the thick fog at the base of the mountain dissipated before their eyes, revealing a small path leading up the mountain.

But—

The scene before them completely subverted their expectations.

The verdant mountain peaks were dotted with several Immortal Family residences built on white jade foundations with beams of gold and wood, looking exactly like the legendary Immortal cave mansions described in ancient texts.

However, as Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou’s gazes shifted from the peak to the path below, they saw piles of manure heaped everywhere in the large fields beside the road.

It was impossible to tell if the manure was from humans or livestock.

Looking further, they saw a large shantytown a hundred paces away.

Outside the shacks, several voluptuous and beautiful Female Cultivators sat by a small stream, beating laundry with wooden clubs.

When the Female Cultivators noticed the two men looking at them, one chuckled. "You two Fellow Daoists new here? Looking for some fun?"

As she spoke, the lead woman stretched languidly, deliberately accentuating her full bust and slender waist.

At the same time, she tilted her head, exposing the pale, delicate skin of her neck.

Her words landed, utterly shattering Wei Tu’s idealized image of the Cultivation Realm. He never expected to run into a "Secret Prostitute" on his very first day in the Danqiu Mountain Marketplace.

"Alright, I’ll stop teasing you."

"Since it’s your first time, go register with Steward Liu first. After you’re settled, you can come back and give us girls some business."

The Female Cultivator who had just stretched walked over. With a smirk, she looked Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou up and down and said,

"What are you gaping at? Follow me." The Female Cultivator glanced at them, then led the way with a sway of her hips.

Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou exchanged a helpless glance and decided to follow the Female Cultivator to this so-called "Steward Liu."

Their only source of information about the Cultivation Realm was Xie Yuanshan, so they knew very little about the specifics of Danqiu Mountain.

Danqiu Mountain only permitted Cultivators or Innate Martial Artists to enter.

Xie Yuanshan had once entered Danqiu Mountain as the "Servant" of a Qi Cultivator, but that was over thirty years ago.

After more than three decades, Xie Yuanshan’s memories had faded; there was no way he could have given Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou a detailed account of Danqiu Mountain.

Along the way, Wei Tu learned the Female Cultivator’s name.

The Female Cultivator’s name was Hu Yao. She had been in the Danqiu Mountain Marketplace for forty or fifty years and was at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer.

A level higher than the two of them.

After passing the shantytown, the Female Cultivator led Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou to a clean street. She stopped in front of a pavilion with a three-word plaque that read "Supreme Profound Mountain."

Seeing the plaque, Wei Tu couldn’t help but relax. From what he understood, the Supreme Profound Mountain was the Immortal Sect that ruled the Danqiu Mountain Marketplace.

Hu Yao must not have had any ill intentions in bringing them here; she was just being genuinely helpful and showing them the way.

’It seems I can’t judge a person’s character based on their profession in the future,’ Wei Tu thought to himself.