Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

...

「Seven days later.」

Alchemist Wang’s funeral was held as scheduled.

A mournful dirge played.

Wei Tu pushed open the door and was greeted by the sight of two acquaintances: Hu Yao and Tong Peipei.

He could understand Hu Yao being there.

Before Alchemist Wang found his new flame, Gong Shulan, he had been a regular client of Hu Yao’s.

After spending so many years together, it was inevitable that feelings would develop.

But he didn’t understand why Tong Peipei was present.

As far as he knew, Tong Peipei was a homebody who rarely left her residence.

Otherwise, that incident where Talisman Master Maoo scammed her would never have happened.

It was unlikely she’d had much interaction with Alchemist Wang.

"Fellow Daoist Tong has taken a liking to this courtyard on Lark Street. She thinks it’s a good deal and plans to move in."

Hu Yao, ever perceptive, guessed Wei Tu’s confusion and offered an explanation.

—She knew about the minor grievances between Wei Tu and Tong Peipei.

"Moving in here?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu understood.

After Alchemist Wang’s death, although Liuu Yun could make a killing by selling off his estate, without his subsequent income, renting a Cave Mansion in the Marketplace would be far too extravagant.

Finding a more affordable Cave Mansion to rent was the logical course of action.

And with Liuu Yun gone...

Wei Tu would be the sole renter in the Lark Street courtyard, making it one of the top three most cost-effective Cave Mansions in the entire Marketplace.

It was perfectly reasonable for Tong Peipei to move in.

’But when did those two get so close...?’

Wei Tu felt a little vexed.

He knew, of course, that Hu Yao and Tong Peipei’s budding friendship was certainly related to Hu Yao’s Talisman Paper business.

Still, seeing his "business partner," Hu Yao, so easily snatched away by a peer like Tong Peipei left a bad taste in his mouth.

’Forget it. After the incident with Che Chulong, I intentionally distanced myself from Hu Yao. With her intelligence, she must have noticed...’

’Her seeking out Tong Peipei is related to that, too.’

Wei Tu sighed inwardly.

He then glanced at the monetary gifts left by the other funeral guests, considered his own relationship with Alchemist Wang, and took out twenty grains of Spiritual Sand from his robes as a condolence gift.

...

「Half an hour later.」

Under Liuu Yun’s direction, Alchemist Wang’s funeral service concluded perfectly.

Next, Liuu Yun brought out all of Alchemist Wang’s belongings from the house, placed them on a table, and began the auction.

Alchemist Wang’s estate wasn’t large.

There were only a few bottles of Basic Elixirs, a damaged Tier One Pill Furnace, and a Heart-Calming Jade used to quiet the mind during Alchemy.

The sound of bidding rose and fell.

The few bottles of Basic Elixirs were bought up one by one by the Independent Cultivators from the Shantytown.

The Heart-Calming Jade was snatched up by Hu Yao for the high price of five Spirit Stones.

The Tier One Pill Cauldron, however, had no takers.

None of the Independent Cultivators were willing to bid on it.

Liuu Yun was not surprised. She moved on to auctioning the Pill Master’s Inheritance.

"One hundred Spirit Stones."

Just then, a clear female voice suddenly rang out from the crowd, directly raising Liuu Yun’s starting price of "seventy-five Spirit Stones" to one hundred.

As her voice fell,

all the cultivators turned to look at the Female Cultivator who had spoken.

"Who is this Female Cultivator?"

Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, shooting a questioning look at Hu Yao.

Ninety-nine percent of Alchemist Wang’s social circle consisted of Independent Cultivators from the Shantytown.

Therefore, he recognized over eighty percent of the Independent Cultivators present.

And even those he didn’t know personally looked familiar.

But this Female Cultivator was the sole exception; he had no memory of ever seeing her before.

Hu Yao stared intently at the woman’s face before sending a voice transmission to Wei Tu. "Her name is Chu Yinn. She’s one of Geng Wen’s subordinates."

"Geng Wen?"

Wei Tu’s eyes narrowed at the name.

He hadn’t forgotten the Tribulation Cultivator incident from four years ago, nor "Yuchi Yu," who had lived in the same courtyard two years prior.

All of these things...

were connected to Geng Wen.

’Could it be... that Alchemist Wang’s death is also connected to him?’

Wei Tu wondered.

Although it was perfectly normal for Geng Wen, a Pill Master himself, to send a subordinate to acquire Alchemist Wang’s Pill Master Inheritance...

But—

Geng Wen’s connection to the Tribulation Cultivators...

couldn’t help but make him suspicious.

At this thought, Wei Tu shifted his feet slightly, moved closer to Chu Yinn, and used his "Xiangluo Nose" to take a faint sniff of her scent.

’It’s similar to the scent Yuchi Yu wore.’

’Is she Yuchi Yu?’

Wei Tu’s mind reeled, and he nearly lost his composure.

He never expected that Yuchi Yu, who had left the Lark Street courtyard two years ago, would return here today.

’Calm down!’

’After testing me, Geng Wen no longer has any killing intent toward me. There’s no need for me to draw his attention again.’

Taking a deep breath, Wei Tu quietly moved away from Chu Yinn and returned to his previous spot.

"One hundred Spirit Stones."

"Alright, this Pill Master’s Inheritance is yours, Fairy."

Liuu Yun’s eyes lit up when she heard the "one hundred Spirit Stones" bid. She seemed surprised that the inheritance left behind by that deadbeat husband of hers was so valuable.

After waiting a few breaths and seeing no other bids, she responded to Chu Yinn with a beaming smile and accepted her offer.

...

The auction ended.

The Independent Cultivators departed one by one.

"Fellow Daoist Liuu, are there any other copies of Fellow Daoist Wang’s Pill Master Inheritance?"

Wei Tu knocked on her door and asked.

In truth, Immortal Skills were not easy to copy verbatim and disseminate.

The reasons why Immortal Skills didn’t circulate widely were not only due to the control of the Immortal Sects but also because of the difficulty of duplication.

For an inheritance like Alchemist Wang’s, there were only two ways to make an exact copy.

One, find a Pill Master of the same Level as the inheritance and have them spend the time to re-inscribe it.

Two, find a Foundation Establishment Master and have them use their powerful Guardian Map Divine Sense to imprint it onto a Jade Scroll.

This was why Chu Yinn, after winning the bid for Alchemist Wang’s Pill Master Inheritance, didn’t warn Liuu Yun not to leak its contents.

Wei Tu had come this time just to try his luck.

Perhaps Liuu Yun still had other parts of Alchemist Wang’s estate, or even a privately inscribed Jade Scroll.

"None." Liuu Yun shook her head directly. "That deadbeat only left this one copy of his Pill Master Inheritance. I don’t have his skills in the Alchemy Dao, so how could I possibly have the ability to copy the contents of a Jade Scroll?"

"But that deadbeat... did have one other Treasure that I didn’t reveal."

Liuu Yun thought for a moment, then said, "He saved up and bought a Tier-Breaking Pill before he died. He was planning to use it to break through to the later layers of Qi Cultivation."

"I was just worried about revealing too much wealth, so I didn’t dare auction off this Tier-Breaking Pill."

"If Fellow Daoist Wei is interested, I’m willing to sell this Tier-Breaking Pill for ninety Spirit Stones."

"Ninety Spirit Stones?" Hearing the price, Wei Tu immediately shook his head. "I am completely broke, with a tight purse. Advancing to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer already consumed years of my savings. How could I have any Residual Power to buy a Tier-Breaking Pill?"

The market price for a Tier-Breaking Pill was around one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty Spirit Stones. Liuu Yun’s offer of ninety was very sincere.

But Wei Tu had no interest in using an Elixir of unknown origin to achieve a breakthrough.

After all, an Elixir was something you ingested.

"What a pity."

Liuu Yun sighed.

She turned and scanned the remaining items in the room that could be sold, but after a long look, she couldn’t find anything suitable.

Just then, she seemed to have an idea. Her eyes lit up as she looked at Wei Tu and said, "Fellow Daoist Wei, I’ve noticed you always keep to yourself and never go looking for any vixens."

"As it happens, my deadbeat husband is gone. And I have this huge dowry on me. Why don’t you be with me? We could build a life together."

As she spoke, Liuu Yun glanced at Wei Tu, suddenly finding her once-detestable neighbor much more pleasing to the eye.

She fiddled with the corner of her robes and sized up Wei Tu’s frame again. She discovered that while he looked lean, the Physique hidden beneath his robes was powerful and well-built—more than a notch sturdier than her late husband, Alchemist Wang.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, what do you think?" Liuu Yun blushed and lowered her head.

"What?"

Wei Tu, who had still been hoping to snag a bargain, nearly staggered and fell when he heard her words. He stared at Liuu Yun, utterly stunned and speechless.

"Fellow Daoist Liuu, you overstep."

Wei Tu’s face turned cold as he rejected her outright.

To be honest, Liuu Yun was not unattractive. Among Female Cultivators, her looks were average, and the mourning clothes she wore at that moment added a certain seductive charm.

Combined with the dowry she brought, any Male Cultivator would be tempted.

—Alchemist Wang’s inheritance meant dozens of years of struggle saved.

But Wei Tu vividly remembered the scene of Liuu Yun plopping onto the ground and tearing open the top of her clothes at him...