Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

Wei Tu sighed inwardly.

...

A short while later.

Wei Tu arrived at the Marketplace and found a brokerage with a good reputation, then walked inside.

"The Danqiu Mountain Cave Mansions are divided into four grades and three tiers."

"The four grades are A, B, C, and D."

"The three tiers are upper, middle, and lower."

"The grade is related to the proximity to the Spirit Veins—the closer to the Spirit Veins, the higher the grade. The tier, on the other hand, is related to the size, scale, and decor of the Cave Mansion..." the brokerage clerk explained.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu nodded.

He had been at Danqiu Mountain for ten years and had learned about the differences between the grades and tiers of the Marketplace Cave Mansions during that time.

When he first settled in Danqiu Mountain, the cheapest Cave Mansion Steward Liu had mentioned—one Spirit Stone for three years—was precisely a Lower Grade D Cave Mansion.

In terms of Spiritual Qi, these Cave Mansions weren’t much different from the Shantytown, as both were located at the fringes of the Spirit Veins.

However, they were a significant improvement over the Shantytown in terms of safety and living environment.

After a moment, Wei Tu assessed his finances, chose a Lower Grade C Cave Mansion, paid the Spirit Stones, and received the key.

A Lower Grade C Cave Mansion was a courtyard shared by four people, with one Cultivation Room inside that contained a Qi Gathering Array, which the four residents would use in rotation.

The privacy was very poor.

However, only Level C Cave Mansions and above had a Qi Gathering Array. An Upper Grade D Cave Mansion, for example, might be a private, standalone courtyard, but it wouldn’t have a Cultivation Room equipped with one.

...

The Lower Grade C Cave Mansion Wei Tu chose was on Lark Street, a relatively remote alley within Danqiu Mountain.

Opening the courtyard gate, Wei Tu walked inside.

’Not bad. Much better than the filth and chaos of the Shantytown.’

Entering the courtyard, Wei Tu surveyed the scenery and felt a sense of satisfaction.

Compared to the Shantytown, the air on Lark Street was fresh, and the ground was clean.

The living environment was an upgrade of several levels.

’There are five rooms in the courtyard. Besides the Cultivation Room and my own, there are three others.’

’Of these three rooms, one is locked and covered in dust, so it must be unoccupied. I wonder who lives in the other two?’

This thought occurred to Wei Tu as he unlocked his own door.

He entered the room, put down the cloth bag he was carrying, and then took out a few Talismans from his sleeve, planning to pay a visit to his new neighbors.

However, before he could get up and open the door, he heard the soft patter of footsteps on the wooden corridor outside, followed by a few deep coughs.

"Immortal Master Wuk?" Wei Tu pushed the door open and was astonished to see an old man in a green robe outside, who looked similar to the Immortal Master Wuk from his memory.

He never would have expected to meet Immortal Master Wuk again in this small courtyard on Lark Street.

Immortal Master Wuk was, in a sense, the first Cultivator he had ever met in this life.

If it hadn’t been for Immortal Master Wuk’s decisive battle with the Cultivator from the Chisong Jia Family, he would never have had the chance to obtain the Immortal Secrets from Xie Yuanshan and begin his Cultivation at Danqiu Mountain.

"Are you the new Cultivator who moved in, Fellow Daoist?"

Immortal Master Wuk didn’t recognize Wei Tu. He sized him up for a moment and asked.

Wei Tu nodded.

Then, the two exchanged names.

At that moment, Immortal Master Wuk explained why he had come looking for Wei Tu. He sighed and said,

"I have great need of the Cultivation Room in the courtyard for the next six months. Could your turn for Cultivation perhaps wait until after that? Would that be acceptable?"

"Fellow Daoist Yuchi has already agreed to this."

As he spoke, Immortal Master Wuk hesitated for a moment, then pulled a Spirit Stone from his waist and placed it on the table in Wei Tu’s room.

"Since Fellow Daoist Wuk is the one asking, I accept."

Seeing the Spirit Stone as compensation, Wei Tu smiled and agreed.

He had only recently broken through to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, and it would be difficult for his Cultivation to advance much in the next few years anyway. Not using the Cultivation Room for six months wouldn’t have a major impact on him.

Besides, according to Kou Hongying, it was best for him to switch to the Little Spring and Autumn Technique during his Qi Cultivation to form an Earth and Wood Attribute Spirit Body.

But as of now, he didn’t have a copy of the Little Spring and Autumn Technique.

After a brief exchange, Immortal Master Wuk took his leave.

’It seems the rumors from back then were true. Immortal Master Wuk really did have an arm severed by that Immortal Master Jia.’ Wei Tu mused.

Just now, during his conversation with Immortal Master Wuk, he had noticed the old man’s right arm. Although it was well hidden, he had still discovered the defect.

It was a prosthetic.

「Several days later.」

Wei Tu brought gifts and paid a formal visit to his neighbors.

Immortal Master Wuk thanked him but offered no gift in return.

Wei Tu didn’t mind. Inside Immortal Master Wuk’s room, he saw piles of empty Pill Bottles and dregs left over from brewing medicinal herbs.

He guessed that Immortal Master Wuk had likely spent his entire fortune trying to heal his injuries.

Otherwise, with his Late-Stage Qi Cultivation, he should be living somewhere much better than Lark Street.

His other neighbor, the "Fellow Daoist Yuchi" whom Immortal Master Wuk had mentioned, was much more courteous. Not only did she return the gift, but she also invited Wei Tu to her room the next day for tea.

The tea was Spirit Tea.

Its flavor and Spiritual Qi were only slightly inferior to the one tael of Spirit Tea that Kou Hongying had given him.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, if you wish to purchase Elixirs in the future, you can come to me. I am acquainted with Alchemist Geng, the second disciple of Alchemist Shu," Yuchi Yu said with a gentle smile.

"Alchemist Geng?" Hearing this, Wei Tu was inwardly stunned. He hadn’t expected his new neighbor, Yuchi Yu, to have a connection with Geng Wen.

"If the need arises, I will certainly seek out Fellow Daoist Yuchi. I just hope you can give me a discount..." Wei Tu glanced at the beautiful, mature Female Cultivator before him, suppressed his shock and suspicion, and spoke with a calm expression.

"Then it’s settled."

Yuchi Yu broke into a captivating smile.

"Take care, Fellow Daoist Wei." Yuchi Yu swayed her hips as she saw Wei Tu to the door. At the doorway, she deliberately leaned close and lightly scratched his arm.

’Is she... trying to test me?’

’To see if I know that Geng Wen is the mastermind behind Ying Bing?’

’Or is this just a normal interaction? After all, a Pill Master’s network is usually terrifyingly extensive. It wouldn’t be surprising for Yuchi Yu to know Geng Wen, right? It’s within the realm of reason?’

Back in his room, Wei Tu carefully mulled over Yuchi Yu’s every word and action, making his deductions.

’I can’t afford to be complacent about this...’

With this in mind, Wei Tu didn’t hesitate.

A few days later, he took some Spirit Stones to Yuchi Yu’s room and asked her to help him purchase two Yellow Flower Pills from Geng Wen.

The Yellow Flower Pill was a common Elixir used to advance one’s Cultivation during the Middle-Stage Qi Cultivation.

Each one cost three Spirit Stones.

「The next day.」

Yuchi Yu came to his door and delivered the two Yellow Flower Pills into his hands.

’I wonder if this Yellow Flower Pill... has been poisoned by Geng Wen or Yuchi Yu?’

Wei Tu swirled the Pill Bottle in his hand, his expression gradually darkening.

He thought for a moment, then got up, locked his door, and headed for the Shantytown.

...

At Hu Yao’s residence, Wei Tu sat down, placed the Pill Bottle containing the Yellow Flower Pills on the table, and spoke in a grave voice, "Fellow Daoist Hu, you are well-acquainted with Alchemist Wang. I wonder if you could ask him... to help me test this bottle of Elixirs and see if they are Poison Pills?"

As far as he knew, Alchemist Wang was a frequent customer of Hu Yao’s, and the two had known each other for a long time.

"This matter..."

Hearing Wei Tu’s words, Hu Yao’s expression immediately became alarmed, a look of fear appearing on her face.

The last time, in the letter Fu Zhizhou had brought to Wei Tu, she was the one who had identified the mastermind behind Ying Bing—Geng Wen!

Now that Wei Tu was asking her to test a "Poison Pill," a moment’s thought was all it took for her to guess that this matter was related to Geng Wen.

And Geng Wen—

was precisely someone she could not afford to offend.

"This matter... I will do it."

After pausing for a few breaths, Hu Yao looked at Wei Tu intently and said through gritted teeth.

—She was not the kind of person who didn’t know how to repay a favor.

Besides, it was only a matter of testing whether an Elixir was a Poison Pill.

"This is the newly made Tier One Talisman Paper."

Next, Hu Yao opened a seven-foot-long box, took out a stack of Talisman Paper from inside, and handed it to Wei Tu.

"Regarding your share of the profits, Fellow Daoist Wei, I have two ideas. The first is to calculate it based on profit and loss and give you a corresponding non-voting share."

"The second is... I could provide you with a certain amount of Tier One Talisman Paper for free at regular intervals..."

"What are your thoughts, Fellow Daoist Wei?"