Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

For Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivators, once their lifespan surpasses the "age of double armors," they begin to age rapidly, making it difficult to maintain a youthful appearance.

Unless they consumed a Youthful Appearance Pill in their youth.

Most Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivators, on the other hand, typically succeed in their Foundation Establishment after the "age of double armors."

Achieving Foundation Establishment within a hundred years.

This was basically an exclusive feat of the Golden Core Families and the Three Immortal Sects.

At this moment, when Yu Kui Master saw that Wei Tu, a Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivator, still maintained the appearance of a young man, he was naturally filled with astonishment and doubt.

"I was merely fortunate. I have a niece who joined the Jingshui Pavilion as a disciple... she acquired a Foundation Establishment Pill for me, so I was able to achieve Foundation Establishment before... I turned one hundred."

Wei Tu explained simply.

"A Foundation Establishment Master from Jingshui Pavilion?" Hearing Wei Tu's words, the way Yu Kui Master looked at him changed instantly. The warmth on his face grew even more intense.

Achieving Foundation Establishment before one hundred meant great personal potential.

Having a niece in the Jingshui Pavilion who was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator meant he had a considerable background.

Either of these two points was enough to make him look at Wei Tu in a new light.

The two chatted pleasantly for a moment.

Yu Kui Master also helped Wei Tu set up his stall for selling Talismans.

"Why aren't the other two Fellow Daoists here?" After waiting a moment, Wei Tu noticed that only he and Yu Kui Master had set up stalls in the pavilion; the other two Tributors from the Hee Mountain Huang Family had not appeared.

"Artifact Master Xia has probably run off to see the Second Miss. I heard she left that fellow from the Zheng Family a few years ago and is single now..."

As he said this, Yu Kui Master stroked his salt-and-pepper beard and gave Wei Tu a suggestive look.

"Talisman Master Wei, you're young and much better looking than that mutt Xia the Dog. You'd surely win the Second Miss's favor."

"Why don't... you give it a try too, Talisman Master Wei?"

he coaxed.

Currently, the Hee Mountain Huang Family had a total of sixteen Foundation Establishment Masters. Aside from the four of them, the Tributors, the rest were all Huang Family Members.

Although the Hee Mountain Huang Family didn't prohibit marriage between clan members beyond five generations of separation, those who could achieve Foundation Establishment were generally not far removed from the Direct Lineage by blood.

Therefore, the few of them, the Tributors, were the most likely candidates to become Dao Companions with Huang Caiyu.

Wei Tu immediately shook his head and refused.

What Yu Kui Master didn't know was that three years ago, this young Talisman Master had already caught the eye of the Hee Mountain Huang Family. The Third Elder, Huang Changkong, had even mentioned the idea of matching him with Huang Caiyu.

If he had truly wanted to marry Huang Caiyu, he would have taken advantage of his favorable position and succeeded three years ago.

"What about Fellow Daoist Si?"

Wei Tu asked, curious.

Si Qing was the only female Tributor in the Sacrificial Hall. It was impossible that she, like Artifact Master Xia, had gone off to curry favor with Huang Caiyu.

"Fellow Daoist Si is an Array Master, and among the Foundation Establishment Masters of the Hee Mountain Huang Family... the majority are also Array Masters..."

"Therefore, Fellow Daoist Si never comes to Golden Moon Cliff to set up a stall during the exchange meetings, to avoid conflict with the Huang Family."

Yu Kui Master explained with a chuckle.

Wei Tu was surprised to hear this. He couldn't understand why the Hee Mountain Huang Family, famous for its Arrays, would recruit an Array Master as a Tributor.

It seemed completely redundant.

'Perhaps there are reasons for this that I don't know,' Wei Tu mused.

Wei Tu didn't press Yu Kui Master about this peculiar situation. He pushed the stray thoughts to the back of his mind, walked to the side of his stall, and began to wait patiently for customers.

The Earth and Wood type Talismans were all very practical.

The Talismans at Wei Tu's stall sold out quickly. This included the three Tier Two Lower Grade "Stone-Breaking Talismans," which were bought by several Foundation Establishment Families to be used as clan-guarding Treasures.

After the transactions, Wei Tu's empty Storage Bag was full once again.

It now held over a thousand more Spirit Stones.

'It's a shame this exchange meeting is only held once every eight years.'

Wei Tu sighed inwardly, resolving to prepare more Talismans to sell at the next exchange meeting.

This time, over ninety percent of the Cultivators invited to Golden Moon Cliff for the Hee Mountain Huang Family's exchange meeting were Family Cultivators from clans close to the Huangs.

And due to the passing of the Hee Mountain Huang Family's Tier Two Talisman Master eighty years ago, the demand for Talismans among these Family Cultivators was immense.

For the next few decades, at least, this market wouldn't be saturated.

Wei Tu still had profits to make.

...

After packing up his stall cloth, Wei Tu bid farewell to Yu Kui Master and leisurely strolled away from the pavilion occupied by the Sacrificial Hall.

Instead of returning to Cloud Crane Mountain, Wei Tu continued to wander around Golden Moon Cliff, searching for useful Spiritual Materials and resources.

There were many people with stalls at Golden Moon Cliff.

More than a hundred.

Among them, besides the Family Cultivators of the Hee Mountain Huang Family, there were also Foundation Establishment Cultivators from other families.

Wei Tu browsed for a while, purchasing some Demon Beast Hides and Spirit Ink.

"How much for these Pill Furnaces?" As he browsed, Wei Tu's gaze settled on several Tier One Pill Furnaces displayed at a stall.

During the year he had spent mourning for Xinghua,

he hadn't been idle. He had been studying the Tier One Alchemist Inheritance he had obtained from Geng Wen.

Although Tier One Elixirs were of no use to his current Cultivation, this was a good opportunity for him to dabble in the Alchemy Dao.

The scene of Geng Wen killing the Blood Elder Demon with a poison was still vivid in his mind, and he was terrified that someone might poison the Elixirs he consumed...

No matter how powerful one's Divine Techniques or how numerous one's methods, none could stand against a single Poison Pill.

"Talisman Master Wei?" At the stall, someone recognized Wei Tu and greeted him.

Hearing this, Wei Tu looked up and realized that his browsing had led him to "Artifact Master Xia's" stall.

However, the person who greeted him was not the dark and burly middle-aged man known as "Artifact Master Xia," but the Huang Family's Second Miss, Huang Caiyu, who had a stall set up next to his.

Bathed in the moonlight, Huang Caiyu, with her light makeup, looked even more charming and captivating than the first time Wei Tu had seen her.

"Second Miss." Wei Tu returned the courtesy and offered a greeting.

After the greeting, Wei Tu shifted his gaze and continued to ask Artifact Master Xia about the price of the Pill Furnaces.

"Artifact Master Xia, how much are these Tier One Pill Furnaces? Is there one suitable for me?"

Hearing this, Huang Caiyu, who stood nearby, raised her willow-like eyebrows slightly and gave Wei Tu a curious look.

A Tier Two Talisman Master, neglecting his proper business to come and buy a Tier One Pill Furnace.

No matter how she looked at it, she found it abnormal.

If Wei Tu had been stuck as a Tier Two Talisman Master for a long time and then decided to buy a Pill Furnace to study the Alchemy Dao... she could understand that. After all, there's no harm in having too many skills.

But Wei Tu had only obtained the Tier Two Talisman Master Inheritance a few years ago. How could he possibly have the Residual Power to study the Alchemy Dao.

'Playing hard to get. What a clumsy trick.' Huang Caiyu's beautiful eyes glinted. Combined with Wei Tu's earlier "neglect" of her, she made her judgment.

"Talisman Master Wei, the Tier One Middle Grade Purple Cloud Furnace in front of you is priced at two hundred and seventy Spirit Stones. The Cyan Yang Furnace to the left is Tier One Upper Grade, priced at four hundred and fifty Spirit Stones..."

Artifact Master Xia was a bit slow on the uptake and hadn't thought as much as Huang Caiyu. Seeing that Wei Tu intended to buy a Pill Furnace, he immediately began his enthusiastic introduction.

The price of a Pill Furnace was often one to two times more expensive than a Magical Artifact of the same tier.

Making a single Pill Furnace sale.

would make this entire exchange meeting a resounding success for him.

Wei Tu was also flabbergasted by the price. The cost of a single Tier One Upper-Grade Pill Furnace was equal to two of his Tier Two Talismans.

But on second thought, he felt the price was reasonable.

He could successfully draw a Tier Two Talisman in a single day, with plenty of time to spare.

An Artifact Refiner, however, was different. Even a Tier Two Refiner like Artifact Master Xia would need over a month to refine a Tier One Upper-Grade Pill Furnace.

One was a disposable consumable.

The other was a durable good.

Of course their prices would be vastly different.

"I only recently achieved Foundation Establishment and don't have much spare money. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Xia could lower the price a bit?"

Wei Tu shamelessly tried to haggle.

He reasoned that, given their shared status as Tributors for the Hee Mountain Huang Family, Artifact Master Xia should give him a discount.

The Tributors of the Sacrificial Hall were supposed to be united, advancing and retreating together. A discount was a small matter.

If Artifact Master Xia gave him a discount on a magical artifact today,

then tomorrow, when he sold Artifact Master Xia a Talisman, he would apply a corresponding discount.

It was a mutual exchange.

Back and forth like this, they would become friends.

But the result was not what Wei Tu expected.

When Artifact Master Xia heard Wei Tu trying to bargain, he shook his head like a pellet drum and flatly refused to lower the price.

Wei Tu was taken aback.

Only then did he understand why Yu Kui Master referred to Artifact Master Xia as "Xia the Dog."

Just this refusal to bargain was enough to show that Artifact Master Xia was not an easy person to get along with.

"So be it. Since Fellow Daoist Xia is unwilling, then I won't bother you any longer."

Wei Tu cupped his fists in a salute and turned to leave.

Refusing to lower the price was Artifact Master Xia's right; he had no grounds to criticize him.

Besides, compared to Artifact Master Xia's high prices, there were other stalls with cheaper Pill Furnaces. There was no need for him to hang himself from this one tree.

Furthermore,

his in-law, Mei Yuanfeng, also had the ability to craft Pill Furnaces. Buying a Pill Furnace from Mei Yuanfeng was also a viable option.

However, in the next moment,

Huang Caiyu blocked Wei Tu's path.

"Talisman Master Wei, since you find Artifact Master Xia's Pill Furnaces too expensive, how about I sell you a cheap one?"

Huang Caiyu said with a smile.

"There are no Pill Furnaces at the Second Miss's stall." Wei Tu stopped, glanced at Huang Caiyu's stall, and shook his head.

"Just wait." Huang Caiyu shot Wei Tu a look with her almond-shaped eyes and sent a voice transmission.

Wei Tu watched from the side.

Unexpectedly, what happened next was not what Wei Tu had imagined.

Huang Caiyu didn't take a Pill Furnace out of her own Storage Bag. Instead, through a combination of coaxing and trickery, she bought the "Cyan Yang Furnace" that Wei Tu had been eyeing from Artifact Master Xia at a low price.

"Second Miss, your actions seem suspiciously like an attempt to divert disaster onto me."

Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly displeased.

Although he wasn't afraid of a Foundation Establishment Master with limited potential like Artifact Master Xia, being unafraid was one thing; he had no desire to attract trouble.

'Could I have been wrong?' Huang Caiyu began to doubt her own charms.

If Wei Tu were interested in her, he should have been overjoyed to accept the "Cyan Yang Furnace," not criticizing her at this moment.

"If the Second Miss continues to cause trouble, I... might have to go see Clan Leader Huang..."

Wei Tu said coldly, directly playing the card of Clan Leader Huang Changshun.

'This Wei Tu is so afraid of trouble that he brought up my father.' Hearing Wei Tu's words, Huang Caiyu complained silently.

She had only wanted to use Wei Tu to carry out a plan of 'Expelling the Wolf to Devour the Tiger' and drive away the relentlessly pestering Artifact Master Xia.

She never expected that Wei Tu wouldn't fall into her trap at all. Instead, he had grabbed hold of her vital spot and turned the tables, threatening her in return.

"It was just a jest."

"Consider... consider it a little joke I played on Talisman Master Wei."

Huang Caiyu gave an embarrassed smile.