Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

Wei Tu sighed inwardly.

'If this Purple Cloud Fruit could be transplanted, it wouldn't be hard to cultivate a new Foundation Establishment Family over a few hundred years.'

After picking the Spirit Fruit, Wei Tu applied several Concealing Breath Talismans to himself, then carefully snuck toward the central area of the Dragon Bone Forest.

Compared to Tier Two Spiritual Objects like the Dragon Bone Flower and Earth Dragon Flesh, the Purple Cloud Fruit paled in comparison.

'A member of the Supreme Profound Sect?'

Halfway there, Wei Tu learned from the Sky-Splitting Carving that a few hundred meters ahead, a cultivator wearing a Daoist Robe was in a standoff with two others.

Of all the powers participating in the Yunze Secret Realm, only cultivators from the Supreme Profound Sect wore Daoist robes. Therefore, it wasn't hard for Wei Tu to identify the robed cultivator in the standoff as one of their members.

'Ordinary cultivators wouldn't dare confront someone from the Supreme Profound Sect unless there was a treasure involved.'

Wei Tu thought for a moment and didn't rush forward. He first hid nearby, then took out the Swordsman Puppet, placed it on the Sky-Splitting Carving's back, and used Earth Escape to burrow into the ground.

After breaking through to Tier Two, the Sky-Splitting Carving's wingspan was nearly ten feet long, more than enough to conceal the Swordsman Puppet.

Once Wei Tu was underground.

About ten minutes later.

A resounding eagle cry echoed from the skies above the Dragon Bone Forest. Simultaneously, an overwhelming presence, nearly that of a Tier Three Demon Beast, descended upon the forest's core.

"What? A top-tier Tier Two eagle Demon Beast? It's about to break through to the Core Formation Realm?"

"Quick, retreat!"

The three cultivators in the standoff mistook the Sky-Splitting Carving for a Great Demon guarding the Spiritual Object. They immediately fled through the air, not daring to linger for a second, terrified of drawing its ire.

Avian Demon Beasts were one of the hardest types to face.

Although Foundation Establishment Cultivators could fly, their abilities paled in comparison to an aerial sovereign like an eagle Demon Beast.

'It's her?' Hiding nearby, Wei Tu recognized the Supreme Profound Sect cultivator fleeing the core of the Dragon Bone Forest. It was the very same Female Cultivator Guan he had met in the Danqiu Mountain Marketplace.

More than twenty years ago, when he and Kou Hongying brought two Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, it was this Female Cultivator Guan who had handled the exchange for him.

As for the other two cultivators, Wei Tu took a quick glance and recognized them as members of the Qingzhu Mountain Sect.

Once the three had fled into the distance, Wei Tu immediately emerged from underground and headed to the site of the standoff.

The standoff had taken place atop a field of skeletal remains. In the center grew two red, velvety flowers. A faint layer of Blood Qi shrouded them, swaying in the breeze without dispersing.

'Two Dragon Bone Flowers? No wonder the three of them were in a standoff.' Wei Tu recognized the two red, velvety flowers at a glance. His face lit up with joy as he directed the Sky-Splitting Carving to go and pick them.

Near the two Dragon Bone Flowers, he used his Xiangluo Nose to sense a Demon Beast lurking underground.

This very Demon Beast was the reason Female Cultivator Guan and the two Qingzhu Mountain cultivators had been in a standoff for so long without claiming the Spiritual Object.

Deterred by the Sky-Splitting Carving's presence, the hidden Demon Beast didn't dare make a move. It could only watch helplessly as the Sky-Splitting Carving plucked the two Dragon Bone Flowers.

As Wei Tu retreated from where the Dragon Bone Flowers grew, he heard the Demon Beast's furious roars, followed by the sound of splintering wood as it crashed through the surrounding trees.

Wei Tu continued his treasure hunt in the Dragon Bone Forest, encountering several more groups of cultivators from other powers along the way.

He even ran into a few Huang Family Cultivators.

However, Wei Tu didn't rashly go up to acknowledge them. Instead, he kept his distance and continued on his own.

Fellow Daoists and even friends killing each other over priceless treasures was a common sight. He wouldn't dare team up with anyone unless he could trust them completely.

Once inside the Yunze Secret Realm, the order of the outside world vanished completely.

And all of this was tacitly approved by the Golden Core Ancestors waiting outside.

As long as they didn't kill members of their own power, killing cultivators from other groups would not lead to any punishment or censure from their superiors.

Every power hoped its members would bring back as many Spiritual Objects from the Yunze Secret Realm as possible.

Of course.

That didn't mean people from the same power were trustworthy.

As long as you left no trace, you could even kill someone from your own power, and the Golden Core Ancestors outside would be none the wiser.

...

「Outside the Yunze Secret Realm.」

Time flew by.

"Fan'er is dead?" A few months later, the Golden Core Ancestor of the Xuefeng Zheng Family suddenly sensed a Soul Token in his Storage Bag shatter. He cried out in anguish and sighed.

The Yunze Secret Realm opened once every two hundred years.

Even before the Chisong Jia Family's involvement, the death rate in the Yunze Secret Realm was close to twenty percent.

Now, with the Chisong Jia Family acting as a wild card, an even higher death rate was to be expected.

The Xuefeng Zheng Family was not the only power whose Soul Tokens had shattered.

In the past few months, members from all the other powers had perished as well.

Whether they were killed by Demon Beasts or murdered by other cultivators was impossible to know.

'The Huang Family... no one has died yet.'

Huang Xinglie looked at the Soul Tokens at his waist, a faint smile touching his lips.

Their Huang Family had explored the Yunze Secret Realm more deeply than anyone else. The records in their Jade Scrolls detailed far more than just seven Spiritual Lands.

The Spiritual Lands the Huang Family members visited were all extremely well-hidden, so they wouldn't get entangled with cultivators from other powers.

However—

Just at that moment.

A Flying Ship approached the Hee Mountain Huang Family's encampment. The man aboard was none other than the Huang Family's Clan Leader, Huang Changshun.

Clan Leader Huang Changshun landed, his face taut. He bowed deeply to Huang Xinglie.

"Ancestor, the Five Demonic Sects have invaded Jing Country! The Immortal Sects have sent an urgent summons, demanding we conscript our clan's Foundation Establishment Cultivators for the front lines."

"What? The Demon Dao is invading?" Huang Xinglie's expression changed instantly, his voice filled with disbelief.

The Yunze Secret Realm was open, meaning the core strength of the Hee Mountain Huang Family was away. For the Demon Dao to invade at this exact moment...

"How many Tributors are still in the clan?"

Huang Xinglie frowned deeply.

For the sake of the family's future, the Huang Family couldn't afford to send too many of its own cultivators to the front lines.

The Tributors would have to make up the numbers.

"Ancestor, only Artifact Master Xia is left," said Clan Leader Huang Changshun.

"Artifact Master Xia?" Huang Xinglie mused for a moment, then gestured to Clan Leader Huang Changshun, signaling his approval to send Artifact Master Xia to the front lines of the war against the Demon Dao.

"Yes, Ancestor."

Clan Leader Huang Changshun nodded in response.

Though Artifact Master Xia was now related to the Huang Family by marriage, compared to the safety of their own blood, an outsider's life was of little consequence.

"Ancestor, there is one more thing I don't understand. More than ten years ago, Wei Tu signed a Spirit Contract with me... to secure his spot in the Yunze Secret Realm..."

"Tributors generally don't need to sign a Spirit Contract."

"Did he already know that the Demon Dao was going to invade? For years now, our Huang Family's secrets have been leaking out time and again..."

"After all, knowledge of the Demon Dao invasion should be limited to the upper echelons of the Three Immortal Sects. He's just an Independent Cultivator... how could he possibly know?"

"I suspect there's a traitor!"

Clan Leader Huang Changshun hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and reported this matter to Huang Xinglie.

There was a traitor in the clan, and not only had he failed to deal with it, he had allowed the suspect to enter the Yunze Secret Realm. It was a grave dereliction of his duty.

"A traitor?"

Huang Xinglie raised an eyebrow.