Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

Hu Yao chuckled and explained, "I don’t know what gave Geng Wen the nerve, but he dared to team up with the Blood Elder Demon to ambush and kill Princess Qingluo, trying to steal the Foundation Establishment Pill from Zhao Qingluo..."

"Princess Qingluo?"

"Is she alright?"

Wei Tu played along.

"Zhao Qingluo is fine, of course." Hu Yao shot Wei Tu a sideways glance. "According to the rumors in the Marketplace, a passing Foundation Establishment Elder happened to save her life."

She wasn’t surprised by Wei Tu’s curiosity.

After all, Wei Tu had dealings with both Geng Wen and Zhao Qingluo.

Hearing this, Wei Tu breathed a silent sigh of relief, grateful that events had developed in the most favorable way for him.

Everyone believed that the person who saved Zhao Qingluo was a Foundation Establishment Master, not some minor Qi Cultivation Cultivator.

"Since a Foundation Establishment Master took action, Geng Wen, who tried to ambush Princess Qingluo, must be as good as dead."

"Looks like I can finally get a good night’s sleep," Wei Tu said with a laugh.

"I’ll be taking my leave now." After a bit more small talk, Wei Tu ended the conversation and stood up to go.

Hu Yao saw Wei Tu to the door.

’Strange... why would Fellow Daoist Wei ask about Geng Wen today?’ Hu Yao paused at the door for a moment, her eyes fixed on Wei Tu’s retreating back.

He hadn’t visited in over a decade.

But today, Wei Tu had suddenly shown up at her house to ask about Geng Wen.

And coincidentally, Geng Wen had just "died" out there after trying to ambush Zhao Qingluo...

’I must be overthinking it.’

’It’s just a coincidence.’

Hu Yao thought for a moment, then shook her head.

Wei Tu’s cultivation was only at the Middle-Stage Qi Cultivation. He was a Talisman Master who had been holed up in the Marketplace for years and didn’t have much combat experience.

With his level of strength, he would likely be killed on the spot the moment he ran into the Blood Elder Demon.

There was no way he could have gotten involved in a fight between the Blood Elder Demon, Geng Wen, and Zhao Qingluo.

...

Once he knew he was safe, Wei Tu returned to his small courtyard on Lark Street.

His life returned to its normal rhythm.

His daily routine remained unchanged: he meditated and engaged in Cultivation, practicing Talisman Painting on the side.

Whenever something good happened, he would go to the Jingyun Inn for a Spirit Banquet to reward himself.

Of course, behind the scenes, Wei Tu would also secretly inquire about the Qiyue Zhao Family’s activities.

Since he had the cover of "selling talismans," no one grew suspicious of his inquiries about the Qiyue Zhao Family.

The days passed one by one.

「Three months later.」

Wei Tu revealed his plans to move to a new Cave Mansion to Tong Peipei and Helian Xiong.

The reason he gave was simple: the Spiritual Qi in the Cultivation Room of his Lark Street courtyard was too thin.

His two neighbors were not surprised by his decision and readily accepted it.

Two years ago, Wei Tu had been promoted to a Tier One Middle-Grade Talisman Master.

While a Tier One Middle-Grade Talisman Master couldn’t match the earning power of a Pill Master, Array Master, or Artifact Master of the same rank, they still out-earned the vast majority of Late-Stage Qi Cultivation Cultivators.

On Danqiu Mountain, most Late-Stage Qi Cultivation Cultivators lived in private, standalone Cave Mansions.

It was perfectly normal for a wealthy man like Wei Tu to upgrade to a Cultivation Cave Mansion in a better environment.

Wei Tu moved quickly.

「A few days later.」 He found an Upper Grade C Cave Mansion and moved in.

The Spiritual Qi in an Upper Grade C Cave Mansion was a notch above that on Lark Street, and it was a private, standalone residence.

Not one to let a good resource go to an outsider, he sublet his old rooms on Lark Street to Fu Zhizhou.

"Luoxue Courtyard."

’This name isn’t half bad.’

Wei Tu glanced up at the plaque hanging over the entrance to his Cave Mansion, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, and walked inside.

This time, he had moved not only because of the Spiritual Qi concentration.

The more important reason was that the Lark Street courtyard offered too little privacy.

Things were different now.

After obtaining the Storage Bags of the Blood Elder Demon and Geng Wen, the origins of some of his Spiritual Materials and Cultivation Techniques wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. He wasn’t as "clean" as he used to be.

’Besides that...’

’...there’s also you.’

Wei Tu lifted his robes and released the Sky-Splitting Carving that had been hiding in his sleeve.

The Sky-Splitting Carving was basically his third-greatest prize, after the Foundation Establishment Pill and the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object.

Its combat strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Late-Stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator.

If not for the aid of this Wind-Splitting Carving in snatching Zhao Qingluo’s Storage Bag, the Blood Elder Demon wouldn’t have been able to drive her to the brink of death so easily.

He couldn’t possibly be careless with this Spirit Beast.

After all, if he left the Sky-Splitting Carving in the Yaolang Mountain Range for too long, Wei Tu worried the Beast Taming Token would gradually lose its control over the Wind-Splitting Carving.

Therefore, after three months had passed and he had moved into a private Cave Mansion, the first thing Wei Tu did was bring the Wind-Splitting Carving to Danqiu Mountain.

After emerging from Wei Tu’s robes, the Wind-Splitting Carving spread its wings and soared, circling inside the "Beast House" Wei Tu had prepared especially for it, letting out several sharp cries.

Luoxue Courtyard had a Sound Insulation Array.

So, Wei Tu wasn’t worried about the Wind-Splitting Carving’s cries being heard by outsiders.

’There’s a letter?’

Just then, Wei Tu went to the gatehouse and saw a letter in the postbox.

With a thought, he directed the Wind-Splitting Carving to fetch the letter for him.

’A letter from Hongying?’

Wei Tu took the letter and once again saw the familiar Jingshui Pavilion insignia on the envelope.

’This should be good news for Hongying. I just wonder if she’s truly let go of her obsession...’

After reading the letter, Wei Tu sighed to himself.

In the letter, Kou Hongying mentioned only one thing: the matter of her revenge.

After the funeral, Kou Hongying had posted a task in Jingshui Pavilion to find the Tier One Cyan Leaf Snake that had gravely injured Kou Liang.

The task was posted, and there was soon a breakthrough.

Someone had provided a key piece of information: the Blood Elder Demon, a Demonic Cultivator hiding in Zheng Country, owned a Cyan Leaf Snake.