Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

"What? Two Tier Two Demon Beasts, and a whole pack of them?"

Kou Hongying was stunned. Within the range of her Guardian Map Divine Sense, she hadn't detected any sign of a demon beast pack.

Wei Tu was anxious and didn't have time to explain. He took a step forward, grabbed Kou Hongying's hand, and activated the Earth Escape Talisman he was holding, pulling them down into the ground.

A few breaths later.

An enormous black demon wolf, as large as an ox, pounced on the spot where Kou Hongying had just been standing. It twitched its nose, pawed at the ground, and sniffed for a moment. Finding no trace of the Human Race Cultivators it had been tracking, it seemed baffled.

AWOO! AWOO!

The black demon wolf threw its head back and howled. Over twenty more demon wolves appeared behind it, similar in appearance but a size smaller.

At the black demon wolf's command, these smaller demon wolves began searching everywhere for Wei Tu and the others, their howls incessant.

"That was close." Hiding several dozen feet underground, Kou Hongying used her Guardian Map Divine Sense to observe the scene above. She patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

Demon Beasts have formidable Physical Bodies, but their Guardian Map Divine Sense is considerably weaker than that of Human Race Cultivators of the same tier.

Therefore, she could hide here and spy on the wolf pack with her Guardian Map Divine Sense without having to worry about them detecting her.

'If it weren't for Uncle Wei this time, I might not have died, but it would have been a series of perilous close calls...'

Kou Hongying pulled back the hand Wei Tu had just grabbed. She stole a glance at him, a hint of relief in her eyes.

Since her father, Kou Liang, had died, Wei Tu was the only person who could make her feel safe.

"Uncle Wei, how did you sense the beast pack's arrival just now?"

Kou Hongying was puzzled. The Cultivation Technique she practiced was a grade higher than Wei Tu's Little Spring and Autumn Technique. Furthermore, her Cultivation was also higher than his. It made no sense that he had discovered the wolf pack's tracks before she did.

"Smell."

Wei Tu pointed to his nose and explained, "I've practiced the Celestial Fragrance Luo Technique. The Xiangluo Nose it develops enhances one's sense of smell, allowing me to detect scents within a five-li radius."

Unlike Human Race Cultivators, Demon Beasts generally don't conceal their auras. So, upon arriving in the Yaolang Mountain Range, he could easily smell the presence of any nearby Demon Beasts, making him feel like a fish in water.

"The Xiangluo Nose?" Kou Hongying was surprised. She remembered Wei Tu mentioning it when he explained the matter with the Cyan Leaf Snake.

Afterward, she had also tried practicing the Celestial Fragrance Luo Technique, but she couldn't achieve the same miraculous effect of detecting Demon Beast auras like Wei Tu could.

'Could it be that Uncle Wei has a special Constitution?' Kou Hongying guessed to herself.

The Cultivation Realm was full of all sorts of Constitutions. Besides the Treasure Body and Dao Body, which enhanced Cultivation speed, there were also Constitutions that augmented abilities like the sense of smell.

Although such a Constitution was far inferior to a Treasure Body or Dao Body, its usefulness in special situations was not to be underestimated.

Half a day later, Kou Hongying swept the surface with her Guardian Map Divine Sense. Seeing that the wolf pack was gone, she notified Wei Tu, "Uncle Wei, the Tier Two demon wolf and its pack have left now."

"The other Tier Two Demon Beast is still here," Wei Tu said, his expression wary.

"The other one?" Hearing his words, Kou Hongying raised a delicate eyebrow and followed Wei Tu's gaze toward the northwest.

Soon, with her Guardian Map Divine Sense, she spotted a Fiery Fire Ape Demon hiding in the treetops, secretly peering in their direction.

The Fiery Fire Ape Demon was hiding at the very edge of her Guardian Map Divine Sense's range; she would have missed it if she hadn't been concentrating fully.

"But the wolf pack is gone. This lone Fiery Fire Ape Demon is no match for the three of us. We can kill it." Wei Tu assessed the relative strength of both sides and made his judgment.

For three Foundation Establishment cultivators, dealing with a single, lone Tier Two Demon Beast like the Fiery Fire Ape Demon was not a difficult task.

"Alright, we'll listen to Uncle Wei." Kou Hongying looked at the Fiery Fire Ape Demon, a flicker of excitement in her eyes.

Despite having made a name for herself as the "Jade Demoness" in the Yaolang Mountain Range, in all her years she had only ever hunted Tier One Demon Beasts.

Whenever she encountered a Tier Two Demon Beast, she would flee. She had never hunted one before.

This time, if they killed this Fiery Fire Ape Demon, the profits from splitting it three ways would be enough to cover her Cultivation needs for ten years.

...

「A quarter of an hour later.」

The Fiery Fire Ape Demon that had just been spying on Wei Tu's group from the ancient tree was now covered in wounds. It glared down at them on the ground, its killing intent boiling.

On the forest floor, the ground was covered with sharp earthen spikes and shifting sandpits.

Meanwhile, in the sky, a Golden Carving shrieked, periodically diving down at lightning speed to strike at the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's vital points.

"Humans, die!" the Fiery Fire Ape Demon roared, its eyes bloodshot as it stared at the black-clad Martial Artist before it, who was wielding a Bright Silver Long Spear.

It beat its chest with both hands and spat out a dark-brown Demon Pill. Then, drawing on the Demon Pill's immense power, it charged at Fu Zhizhou.

A Demon Beast Inner Core is the very essence of a Demon Beast's being. Like the Golden Core Pills of a Golden Core Realm Cultivator, it is not something to be used lightly.

But when one is unleashed, it often grants power exceeding its tier, enough to change the tide of battle.

The dark-brown Demon Pill flared with brilliant light.

Under the power of the Demon Pill, Fu Zhizhou, who had held a slight advantage moments ago, began to be pushed back steadily. When he thrust his Bright Silver Long Spear at the Demon Pill, he could only diminish its light slightly, doing no fatal harm to the Fiery Fire Ape Demon.

However, just as the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's fan-like hand swiped at Fu Zhizhou, a water curtain silently appeared in front of him.

Kou Hongying hovered in the air, chanting a Magic Spell. Several Water Magic skills materialized around her, each one radiating a frightening power.

"Water Prison Skill!"

"Water Arrow Skill!"

The Magic Skills were cast in an instant!

A pale-blue Prison temporarily trapped the Fiery Fire Ape Demon. Then, hundreds of gleaming water arrows arrived at once, striking its Physical Body.

However, because the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's Physical Body was as hard as a Magical Artifact, these few Magic Skills only left a few superficial scratches on it.

"After I kill this black-clad Martial Artist, I'll come deal with you, you little wench!"

The Fiery Fire Ape Demon roared, using the power of its Demon Pill to shatter the layers of magical obstructions and charge toward Fu Zhizhou once more.

But at that moment, a chilling sword gleam shot down from the sky, heading straight for the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's brow.

"A mere Magical Artifact..."

A trace of disdain appeared in the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's eyes. It had already knocked aside more than one such Magic Sword.

But—

The next moment, a bloody hole appeared between its brows.

Blood gushed from the wound, unstoppable.

Then, with a THUD, the Fiery Fire Ape Demon collapsed, an expression of disbelief still on its face.

If it had been on guard against that Magic Sword beforehand, it might have been able to dodge it.