Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

Zheng Xian's face went bone-white with terror. He scrambled back, momentarily forgetting to even summon his Defensive Magical Artifact.

"Ah! No! Uncle, save me!"

As he scrambled back, Zheng Xian watched in horror as the needle-shaped Talisman Treasure shot toward him.

But his flying speed was no match for the Talisman Treasure. After fleeing just a few dozen yards, the needle pierced his skull, and his head exploded. He dropped from the sky like a rag doll, tumbling end over end before crashing headfirst into the ground.

"Xiann'er!" Zheng Xian's uncle cried out, watching the scene unfold in stunned horror.

He furiously cursed Guu Xuan for his treachery as he summoned his Magical Artifact, preparing to escape.

At this point, it was obvious to him that Wei Tu's group had sided with Guu Xuan, abandoning him and Zheng Xian to their fate.

However—

The Talisman Treasure's power was far beyond what he could withstand. After just a few exchanges, Zheng Xian's uncle met the same fate as his nephew, his life utterly extinguished.

Watching it all unfold, Wei Tu finally understood why Master Qin had spoken of "sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight."

'Master Qin must have known there was more to Guu Xuan than met the eye, that he possessed an incredibly powerful trump card like that needle-shaped Talisman Treasure. That's why she refused to ally with the two from the Zheng Family to deal with Guu Xuan and split his possessions.'

"Daoist Guu..."

"Daoist Guu, you were grievously injured and contributed the most to eliminating the Flying Fox Demon Spider. It's only right that you receive two of these five stalks of Yellow Essence Grass."

Master Qin said, her timing impeccable.

She then led Wei Tu and Kou Hongying back about half a mile, leaving the area around the five stalks of Yellow Essence Grass to Guu Xuan.

"I hope Fellow Daoist Qin won't be as fickle as those two Cultivators from the Zheng Family."

"Otherwise, my Talisman Treasure is not for show," Guu Xuan said coldly, his eyes glinting as he stared hard at Wei Tu and the others.

'Activating the Talisman Treasure this time consumed at least seventy percent of my Magical Power,' he thought. 'I'm not confident I could take on Wei Tu's group now.'

'Even if I exhausted my remaining strength to kill them, I'd be completely spent and vulnerable afterward.'

「A short while later.」

Under the watchful eyes of Wei Tu and the others,

Guu Xuan used his Magical Power to first stitch his mangled body back together. He then walked over to the Yellow Essence Grass, picked two stalks, and departed.

Once Guu Xuan was long gone, Master Qin finally led Wei Tu and Kou Hongying forward to pick the three remaining stalks of Yellow Essence Grass.

"One for each of us."

Master Qin announced, divvying them up.

'Although I put in the most effort to get the Yellow Essence Grass,' she reasoned, 'there are three stalks, which is just enough for the three of us. There's no need to sow discord in our little group just to claim a larger share for myself.'

'Besides, Wei Tu is the only real outsider here.'

'If I took two of the three stalks, I'd have to give the last one to Wei Tu anyway. And Kou Hongying is my Disciple; it's only right that she gets one too.'

"Guu Xuan is a clever one. He didn't push it. He only took Zheng Xian's Storage Bag and left the two Demon Beast corpses and the uncle's Storage Bag for us."

After they had gathered the Yellow Essence Grass, the three of them began to clean up the battlefield. Kou Hongying picked up the uncle's Storage Bag, clicking her tongue in appreciation as she spoke.

"I only want the Male Spider's Demon Pill and the Female Spider's Corpse Body. You can split the rest amongst yourselves."

Wei Tu proactively made a concession, taking only the moderately valuable Demon Pill from the Male Spider and the Corpse Body of the Female Spider.

'In that fight, just like Guu Xuan, I only used my conventional abilities,' he thought. 'I didn't reveal any of my true trump cards.'

'In other words, I was already lucky to get a stalk of Yellow Essence Grass thanks to Master Qin. There's no need to be greedy over the uncle's Inheritance Treasure and earn their resentment.'

'Besides, the Xuefeng Zheng Family and the Hee Mountain Huang Family are allies. If I take treasure from the Zheng Family and their Golden Core Ancestor finds out after I leave the Yunze Secret Realm... that would be a huge headache.'

'And finally, taking the Male Spider's Demon Pill isn't a loss for me at all. If it contains Lifebound Spider Silk like the female's did, once I perform Sacrificial Refinement on it and combine it with my Primordial Forbidden Light, I'll have another trump card.'

"It's a pleasure working with you, Fellow Daoist Wei." A smile touched Master Qin's lips as she praised him.

The Lifebound Spider Silk of a Flying Fox Demon Spider was precious, but in terms of value, it was equivalent to a Tier Two Middle-Grade Magical Artifact at best.

The Female Spider's Lifebound Spider Silk had been able to grievously wound Guu Xuan only because the spider herself was controlling it. In the hands of a Cultivator, it wouldn't have nearly as much power; its only remaining benefit was the exceptional toughness of the Spiritual Material itself.

After clearing the battlefield, the three of them found a hidden spot and began to meditate to recover their Primordial Qi.

Taking this opportunity, Wei Tu extracted the Lifebound Spider Silk from the Male Spider's Demon Pill, using Sacrificial Refinement to turn it into his own personal Magical Artifact.

「Half a month later.」

The three set off again, heading to the next location of a Core Formation Spiritual Object recorded in the Jade Scroll.

However, this time they came up empty. By the time they arrived, the Core Formation Spiritual Object had long since been taken.

"Wait. Something feels off."

Wei Tu came to a sudden halt, calling out to Master Qin and Kou Hongying in mid-air, his brow deeply furrowed.

"What feels off?" Master Qin raised an eyebrow, summoning her Magical Artifact as she scanned their surroundings with caution.

"It's not an ambush," Wei Tu said, shaking his head.

'With the Sky-Splitting Carving patrolling from above, the odds of us running into an ambush set by other Cultivators are minuscule.'

'The Seven-Colored Illusion Moth was an exception.'

"Then what is it?" Master Qin and Kou Hongying exchanged a bewildered glance.

In the month they had spent together, Master Qin had come to understand Wei Tu's personality. She knew he was a steady man, not one for making baseless claims.