Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

But now—

Upon seeing the Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman that Wei Tu had given them, any lingering dissatisfaction in their hearts vanished into thin air.

In fact, the Qir Family cultivators were now wondering, ’Why didn’t Wei Tu come sooner? Why didn’t he set things right earlier?’

A single Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman would not have been a big deal back when the Qir Family was at its peak.

At most, it would have been considered a precious item.

However, times had changed. The current Xuanhou Qir Family had no spare resources to purchase a Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman to deter its enemies.

Furthermore,

the significance of Wei Tu openly gifting them a Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman was extraordinary for the Xuanhou Qir Family. It was like a debt of rebirth.

This act of gifting the talisman—

First, it demonstrated that Wei Tu’s mastery of the Talisman Dao had reached the level of a Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman Master. It also implied that his cultivation would soon break through to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, as only the pure magical power comparable to a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator could create a Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman.

Second, it showed how much Wei Tu valued his concubine, Qir Feng. Although he hadn’t explicitly stated he would protect the Xuanhou Qir Family, in the eyes of outsiders, this act served as a clear sign of his patronage.

The cultivators of the Qir Family understood just how great a favor the protection of a Tier Two Upper-Grade Talisman Master truly was.

"Thank you, Elder Wei, for the talisman." Seeing this, Qir Changgu was thrilled. He accepted the talisman with both hands, his face filled with gratitude.

"You are too generous, Elder Wei, but my Qir Family cannot let you suffer a loss. Here are five hundred Spirit Stones. I hope you will accept them." Qir Changgu knew how to handle people. Gritting his teeth, he took out a large portion of the Spirit Stones Wei Tu had just used to buy the Cold Crystal Flower and offered them back.

Wei Tu did not accept all the Spirit Stones offered in return. He took only half before handing the Spirit Stone Bag back to Qir Changgu.

—If he had accepted all the Spirit Stones, his gift of the talisman would have looked like he was coercing the Qir Family into buying it.

Accepting only half the payment was just right.

This time, he had gifted the talisman to salvage his reputation in the outside world—to frame the killing of Qir Changdao as an act of helping Qir Feng take revenge and set things right, rather than a "murder for treasure."

Of course, the cultivators of the outside world would never know that the Qir Family’s forbidden land concealed a treasure like the Ten Thousand Spirits Demon Infant.

After all, the former Clan Leader had only told his youngest daughter, Qir Feng, about this foundation of the Qir Family’s existence. Outsiders had no way of knowing.

And he hadn’t stolen the treasure; Qir Feng, the Clan Leader’s daughter, had presented it to him.

—In terms of ownership, while the Ten Thousand Spirits Demon Infant was a Qir Family treasure, after the deaths of the Qir Ancestor and Clan Leader, it belonged to Qir Feng.

Members of the concubine lineages were practically outsiders to the family, no match for a true direct lineage descendant like Qir Feng.

...

After settling matters with the Qir Family, Wei Tu had no reason to remain in the Qir Family Territory. He bid a simple farewell to Qir Changgu and the other Qir Family cultivators, then left Celestial Frost Ridge.

However, Wei Tu and Kou Hongying did not part ways at Celestial Frost Ridge. Instead, they continued to travel together toward Hongyan Mountain Marketplace.

As the saying goes: return kindness with kindness.

Hongyan Mountain Marketplace was located on the front lines of the Battle of Righteous and Demons, and the journey there was not without risk.

Wei Tu felt it would be improper to only accept the favor of Kou Hongying’s company without continuing to travel with her and escorting her for a part of the way.

This was the principle of mutual aid.

However—

just as the two were halfway there, the Sky-Splitting Carving on lookout duty flew back from ahead, letting out several sharp cries.

"The Sky-Splitting Carving is saying there’s a demon cultivator army ahead and that we need to retreat, fast!" As its master, Wei Tu’s mind was linked with the Sky-Splitting Carving’s, and he instantly understood its message.

"What? A demon cultivator army?" Kou Hongying’s face paled in shock at the news.

Hongyan Mountain Marketplace was her assigned post. If the marketplace fell, she would inevitably be held responsible.

However, Kou Hongying understood priorities. She didn’t foolishly remain where she was or run ahead to scout. Instead, she and Wei Tu used an Earth Escape Talisman to make a swift retreat.

Once they reached a safe area, Wei Tu used a Secret Skill to project the Sky-Splitting Carving’s memories.

—This Secret Skill was called the Light Splitting Projection Technique. He had obtained it from the Qiyue Zhao Family. The last time, in the Secret Realm, the Zhao Family’s Flame-Winged Finch had used this very skill while he was pursuing Si Qing and the Jia Family cultivators.

Soon, the Sky-Splitting Carving projected an illusory scene.

The first thing to appear before Wei Tu and Kou Hongying were dozens of demon cultivators hovering in mid-air. They were split into two factions: one group wore blood-red robes and had fierce auras, while the other consisted of charming, graceful, and beautiful female cultivators.

These dozens of demon cultivators summoned their respective magical artifacts and bombarded a pale-green light shield on the ground below—the very defense array of Hongyan Mountain Marketplace.

Under the assault of the magical artifacts, the light shield wavered precariously. Faint cracks had even begun to appear in some places, as if it would shatter at any moment.

Seeing this, Kou Hongying, who had just been terrified, inwardly thought, ’How lucky,’ relieved that her delay had prevented her from rushing back to Hongyan Mountain Marketplace immediately.

If she had been off by a few days, she likely would have faced the threat of death alongside her fellow sect members stationed at Hongyan Mountain Marketplace.

"The Blood God Sect’s Blood God Child, and the Celestial Maiden Sect’s Demoness Ni?" Kou Hongying couldn’t help but exclaim when she saw the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators leading the factions.

The Blood God Child and Demoness Ni were the leading figures of the Demon Dao’s younger generation to have emerged during the Battle of Righteous and Demons in the last decade.

In terms of both strength and potential, these two were the elites of their respective sects.

"The Blood God Child? Demoness Ni?" Wei Tu’s expression also grew serious upon hearing this.

He had made a point of gathering intelligence on the front lines of the Righteous Demon Battlefield over the past few years, so he was well aware of how formidable these two demon cultivators were.

"The situation is urgent. This junior will take her leave now."

After watching, Kou Hongying’s expression turned grave. She gave Wei Tu a formal curtsy, transformed into an escape light, and shot off toward a neighboring marketplace to call for reinforcements.

’I hope Hongying can survive this battle,’ Wei Tu sighed to himself, watching Kou Hongying’s retreating figure.

...

「Meanwhile, outside Hongyan Mountain Marketplace.」

"Interesting! To think that someone here in Zheng Country also possesses a Tier Two Sky-Splitting Carving like me." The Blood God Child raised a hand, and a black dot instantly appeared in the pale blue sky.

The black dot grew larger and larger, gradually taking the form of a hawk-like demon beast.

If Wei Tu had been present, he would have recognized at a glance that this hawk-like demon beast looked almost identical to his Sky-Splitting Carving. The only difference was a vertical, blood-red mark between the brows on the head of the Sky-Splitting Carving perched on the Blood God Child’s shoulder.

"Oh? Someone else in Zheng Country possesses a Sky-Splitting Carving, just like Fellow Daoist Xuee?"

At that, the nearby Celestial Maiden Sect cultivator, Ni Shihuang—the one Kou Hongying had called Demoness Ni—showed a flicker of interest. She looked at the Blood God Child with curiosity, awaiting his reply.

Ni Shihuang knew that the Blood God Child’s "Tier Two Sky-Splitting Carving" came from the Blood God Sect’s "Beast-Stealing Plan" against the Jing Country Beast Taming Sect two hundred years ago.

At that time, the Blood God Sect had caught the Beast Taming Sect off guard and stolen a large number of their spirit beasts. Among them were a total of twelve Sky-Splitting Carvings.

Of these twelve Sky-Splitting Carvings, seven had Profound-Tier bloodlines, and five had Earth-Tier bloodlines.

—The Sky-Splitting Carving on the Blood God Child’s shoulder was one of those five with Earth-Tier bloodlines.

Hearing her question, the Blood God Child glanced back at Ni Shihuang. As he looked at the demoness from the Celestial Maiden Sect, a hint of admiration flickered in his eyes, but he concealed it well.

The Celestial Maiden Sect was known for producing beautiful female cultivators, but even among her sect sisters, Ni Shihuang did not simply blend in.

On the contrary, they were like leaves to her flower, serving only to accentuate her beauty.

Hovering in the air, Ni Shihuang wore a pink palace gown. Her face was as lovely as a flower, her lips the color of vermilion. Yet, her attire did not make her seem seductive; instead, she exuded an air of cold aloofness.

"I do not know. It’s possible he acquired his Sky-Splitting Carving from the Beast Taming Sect," the Blood God Child said, shaking his head.

Besides the Beast Taming Sect, he recalled that a hundred years ago, a younger clan brother who raised Sky-Splitting Carvings had betrayed the Blood God Sect and fled with one that had a Profound-Tier bloodline.

However, he didn’t believe the Sky-Splitting Carving he had just seen was the one lost by the Blood God Sect.

Things couldn’t be that coincidental.