Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

The sword light that had pierced the Fiery Fire Ape Demon spun endlessly in mid-air before landing in the hand of Wei Tu, who had emerged from underground.

'It's slightly damaged, but compared to the rewards, this bit of wear is nothing.' Wei Tu glanced at the Ice Flood Dragon Sword, a Talisman Sword, in his hand, a faint smile on his face.

The Fiery Fire Ape Demon's bloodline Level was in the upper-middle range among Tier Two Demon Beasts, and its combat prowess was impressive.

Furthermore, this Fiery Fire Ape Demon's Cultivation was at the Peak of Early-Stage Foundation Establishment. If the three of them hadn't worked together, killing it unscathed would have been no easy feat.

'The reason the Ice Flood Dragon Sword could pierce its defenses and kill the Fiery Fire Ape Demon in one strike wasn't just due to the Talisman Sword's power. It was also thanks to... the help of my Geomagnetic Primordial Light...'

Wei Tu summarized his post-battle experience.

Unlike other Cultivators, when he controlled the Ice Flood Dragon Sword, he used not only his Guardian Map Divine Sense, but also his own Geomagnetic Primordial Light.

When the two were combined,

the strength of his Guardian Map Divine Sense for controlling objects could directly reach the Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment level.

By leveraging this Guardian Map Divine Sense strength, his sneak attack with the Talisman Sword was incredibly powerful, leaving the Fiery Fire Ape Demon with no way to defend itself.

Of course,

the process of slaying the Fiery Fire Ape Demon

also couldn't have succeeded without the help of Kou Hongying and Fu Zhizhou. It was only because they had continuously worn down the Fiery Fire Ape Demon that his sneak attack could be a fatal blow.

'If I could obtain the Primordial Forbidden, the power of my Ice Flood Dragon Sword would increase by a huge margin,' Wei Tu mused.

...

After placing the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's corpse into his Storage Bag, the trio didn't linger. They erased their presence and quickly retreated.

Only after they were more than seven miles from the battle site did the three of them stop to divide the spoils from the Fiery Fire Ape Demon.

"While Uncle Fu and I deserve credit for tying down the Fiery Fire Ape Demon and draining its stamina, the true key to this victory was... Uncle Wei's powerful Talisman Sword..."

Kou Hongying analyzed the battle, attributing the lion's share of the credit for slaying the Fiery Fire Ape Demon to Wei Tu.

This wasn't due to any selfish motives on her part.

It was simply the truth.

Hard work doesn't necessarily equal high merit.

Any Foundation Establishment Cultivator could have distracted the Fiery Fire Ape Demon, but few Same-Tier Cultivators could have used a Talisman Sword to kill it. He was irreplaceable.

Besides, during this battle, she and Fu Zhizhou had used many of Wei Tu's Talismans for free.

Thanks to those Talismans, the two of them had avoided being injured by the Fiery Fire Ape Demon.

Hearing this, Wei Tu nodded in agreement with Kou Hongying's assessment.

An Alliance built on camaraderie alone won't last. The true key to keeping an Alliance from falling apart is a meticulous division of benefits.

This time, although he hadn't fought on the front lines, he had, in fact, contributed the most resources and effort to killing the Fiery Fire Ape Demon.

Taking the largest share of the spoils was only fair.

A quarter of an hour later,

the three had finished dividing the loot.

Wei Tu took the most valuable items: the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's hide and its demon blood.

Kou Hongying took the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's Demon Pill and a portion of its Flesh and Blood.

—The Fiery Fire Ape Demon's Demon Pill was damaged, so its value was greatly diminished, making it less precious than the hide.

Fu Zhizhou, meanwhile, took the rest of the Fiery Fire Ape Demon's Flesh and Blood.

Regarding this distribution,

none of the three had any objections.

"Uncle Fu, your Spirit and Martial Unity was decent back in the Qi Refining Realm, but now in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it's lagging behind. Once we join the Qiyue Zhao Family, you should choose a Tier Two Body Refining Inheritance to practice as a secondary discipline."

"At that time, you'll be able to make the most use of this ape demon's Flesh and Blood."

After they finished dividing the spoils, Kou Hongying glanced at the demon ape's Flesh and Blood that Fu Zhizhou was putting into his Storage Bag and offered her timely advice.

Demon Beast Flesh and Blood might seem less valuable than Demon Beast Hide or a Demon Pill, but if used correctly, the difference in value becomes negligible.

'A Body Refining Technique?' Fu Zhizhou became thoughtful upon hearing this.

Within the Yee Society, Kou Hongying, as a Disciple of an Immortal Sect, was the most knowledgeable of the four of them.

Wei Tu's own cultivation path was smooth, which was not unrelated to Kou Hongying's suggestion years ago that he switch to cultivating the Little Spring and Autumn Technique.

As for himself, because he hadn't listened to Kou Hongying's advice back in the middle of the Qi Refining Realm and had failed to switch his Cultivation Technique, he had gone down the "wrong path."

This had forced him to waste years later on, trying to resolve his bottleneck.

Now, Kou Hongying was offering new advice for his Foundation Establishment path—Fu Zhizhou felt he needed to consider it seriously.

Practicing Body Refining as a secondary discipline

would be expensive, exhausting, and time-consuming.

But it might also be the key to him winning a Core Formation Opportunity from the war between the two Golden Core Families.

...

After dividing the spoils,

the trio rested briefly, then continued on their way to Lihuo Lake.

Lihuo Lake was located deep within the inner perimeter of the Yaolang Mountain Range and was extremely dangerous.

Therefore, even though they encountered other lone Tier Two Demon Beasts similar to the Fiery Fire Ape Demon along the way, they didn't risk attacking, prioritizing their safety.

'Is that the Iron Magnetic Spirit Wood?' Arriving at the shores of Lihuo Lake, Wei Tu saw several towering, dark-black ancient trees.

The appearance of these colossal ancient trees was nearly identical to the "Iron Magnetic Spirit Wood" he had seen in the cultivation technique diagrams; they were exactly the same.

After a moment's thought, he drew a wisp of grayish Geomagnetic Primordial Light from his Dantian and sent it toward the Iron Magnetic Spirit Wood trees.

The finger-sized ball of Geomagnetic Primordial Light was instantly drawn to the Iron Magnetic Spirit Wood as it got close, merging into the trees.

'It seems this really is the Iron Magnetic Spirit Wood. Yu Kui Master didn't lie to me.'

A look of joy appeared on Wei Tu's face.

"Fourth Brother, Hongying, I'll need you to stand guard for me while I harvest this Iron Magnetic Spirit Wood." Wei Tu walked over to the Iron Magnetic Spirit Wood and sent a voice transmission to Kou Hongying and Fu Zhizhou.