Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

But clearly, none of the Cultivators present would believe a word the Jia Family cultivator said. They just saw it as baseless nonsense—the desperate gambit of a cornered man.

However, while no one believed the Jia Family cultivator’s words, they did have an effect.

Although the Zhao Family Cultivators said nothing openly, they secretly cast a wary gaze toward Master Qin and her disciple.

The surviving Zhao Family Cultivators were all wounded. This was especially true for Zhao Pengzong, their last remaining Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator. He had lost an arm, his face was deathly pale, and he was gasping for breath.

In contrast, while Master Qin and Kou Hongying were also injured, their wounds weren’t nearly as severe.

A single glance was enough to tell that Master Qin was in far better shape than Zhao Pengzong.

If they killed the two Jia Family Cultivators now, the external conflict would be resolved. It wasn’t unforeseeable that Master Qin, for the sake of the Immortal Transformation Pill, might then turn on the Zhao Family Cultivators.

Wei Tu remained still.

He continued to patiently observe the shifting dynamics on the battlefield.

After a standoff that lasted about half a day, the situation shifted once more.

The dark-faced Jia Family Cultivator seemed to have recovered a good deal of his Magical Power. He summoned a Golden Bell Talisman Treasure and, with all his might, sent it hurtling toward Zhao Pengqi.

The Golden Bell blazed with a brilliant light, swelling in an instant to the size of a house as it bore down on the Zhao Family Cultivators.

However, just as Zhao Pengqi prepared to counter the Golden Bell Talisman Treasure, it suddenly veered and struck another Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator standing beside Zhao Qingluo.

Under the Talisman Treasure’s might, the Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Zhao Family didn’t last long before the Golden Bell Talisman Treasure crushed him into a pulp.

After landing this devastating blow, the Jia Family Cultivator changed targets, going after Zhao Qingluo, the other surviving Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

From the sidelines, Wei Tu saw through the two Jia Family Cultivators’ plan.

Their plan was to first create a crisis of trust between Master Qin and the Zhao Family. Then, they would use swift, powerful attacks to weaken the Zhao Family’s strength, causing a complete rift to form between them and Master Qin.

This was the Jia Family’s Sun Strategy.

By then, even if the two of them were at the End of the Crossbow, Zhao Pengqi and Master Qin wouldn’t dare to act rashly and kill them, for fear of shattering the delicate balance.

CLANG!

Zhao Pengqi snapped to his senses. He hurriedly sent his Double Ring Magical Artifact crashing into the Golden Bell Talisman Treasure, stopping it from falling onto Zhao Qingluo.

Meanwhile, a bright blue light erupted from Zhao Qingluo. A closer look revealed that the blue Spirit Bracelet she wore had projected a tough, protective shield around her.

The Golden Bell Talisman Treasure scraped against the shield, pressing it down several feet until it nearly touched the top of Zhao Qingluo’s head.

But by then, the Golden Bell Talisman Treasure’s power was spent. Or rather, the dark-faced Jia Family Cultivator had no intention of using its remaining power on Zhao Qingluo. With a wave of his hand, the Golden Bell Talisman Treasure reverted to a slip of Talisman Paper and flew back to him.

"Gahahaha!" the dark-faced Jia Family Cultivator cackled. "Zhao Pengqi, you can stop me this time, but you can’t stop me forever! If the two of us fight to the death, we can definitely kill this little descendant of your Zhao Family."

"Let us go, or continue this stalemate. The choice is yours."

As his words faded, Zhao Pengqi’s expression darkened.

With his and Master Qin’s combined strength, killing the two Jia Family Cultivators after this standoff wouldn’t be difficult. The problem was that the Jia Family was venting all their fury on the Zhao Family Cultivators alone.

If things continued this way, even if they succeeded in killing the two Jia Family members, the cost to the Qiyue Zhao Family would be too great.

The Jia and Zhao families did indeed have a blood feud, but he couldn’t just let Master Qin and her disciple swoop in and profit from the Corpse Bodies of his Zhao Family Cultivators.

However—

In the moment Zhao Pengqi was lost in thought, the auras of the two Jia Family Cultivators abruptly changed. Their faces turned crimson, and a sinister Glow flickered in their eyes.

The Golden Bell Talisman Treasure, which had just reverted to Talisman Paper, was unleashed once more. This time, it swelled to an even greater size than before, swiftly batting away Zhao Pengqi’s Double Ring Magical Artifact and Master Qin’s Green Rope Hook.

"Dammit! How do they know a Demon Cultivator’s Blood Burning Skill?" Zhao Pengqi’s face went pale with horror. In over a century of war with the Jia Family, they had never seen them use such a Demonic Divine Technique.

This Blood Burning Skill from the Demon Dao could multiply a caster’s Magical Power several times over in a short period. The price was burning away one’s own Qi and Blood, as well as their lifespan.

After the skill ended, the user had a greater than fifty percent chance of dying a horrific death on the spot.

Besides these costs, the Demonic Divine Technique had another major drawback: an extremely long preparation time. It required at least two to three hours to gradually ignite the Qi and Blood within the body.

Zhao Pengqi cursed himself for not realizing the Jia Family’s true intentions sooner. ’They weren’t just trying to provoke infighting with their Sun Strategy,’ he thought. ’They came here ready to die, intending to take us all down with them!’

Wei Tu, watching from the side, was also caught completely off guard by this move.

The dark-faced Jia Family Cultivator’s earlier taunts hadn’t been to provoke infighting between Zhao Pengqi and Master Qin. It was a feint, a diversion to buy time to prepare the Blood Burning Skill.

’I can’t afford to underestimate any Cultivator in the future,’ Wei Tu thought to himself, taking in the scene.

「On the other side.」

The battle erupted instantly. Empowered by the Blood Burning Skill, the Jia Family Cultivators forced Zhao Pengqi and Master Qin into a steady retreat. At that moment, a flicker of calculation entered Master Qin’s eyes. Seeing that the Jia Family’s primary targets were the Zhao Family Cultivators, she abandoned the fight. An Escape Light formed at her feet, and she immediately fled with Kou Hongying.