Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

The moth was entirely transparent, colorless, and odorless. After falling from Wei Tu's sleeve, it instantly vanished within the private room, leaving no trace.

Then, with a composed expression, Wei Tu left the private room and walked straight out of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Wei Tu had complete confidence in the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth's ability to conceal itself.

Even with his extreme caution back in the day, he had failed to notice the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth tracking him. Shopkeeper Fann's Cultivation was merely Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment; she lacked the power to discover it.

Wei Tu had been navigating the Cultivation Realm for over a century; he wouldn't be naive enough to blindly trust what Shopkeeper Fann had just said.

...

After leaving the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Wei Tu first departed the Marketplace disguised as Liu Ao. A short while later, he changed his disguise to that of a tall, thin man, re-entered the Marketplace, and rented a Cave Mansion near the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

「One month later.」

Wei Tu retrieved the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth from Shopkeeper Fann's private room and used the Light Splitting Projection Technique to extract the memories stored within it.

Soon, a series of images appeared before Wei Tu's eyes.

That day, after Wei Tu had left, a Male Cultivator wearing a cloak emerged from an inner chamber of the private room.

Wei Tu's expression darkened at the sight. After all, no one likes being secretly spied on.

Shortly after the cloaked Male Cultivator sat down, he began to speak with Shopkeeper Fann.

The content of their conversation—and its main subject—was Wei Tu.

"Shopkeeper Fann, inviting Wei Tu to join our plan was far too risky. Even though he has a rift with the Huang Family, Wei Tu is no Independent Cultivator without connections. He won't just blindly follow our orders," the cloaked Male Cultivator said, his voice hoarse.

The cloaked Male Cultivator went on to mention those with close ties to Wei Tu, such as Kou Hongying and Fu Zhizhou.

"A few years ago, Kou Hongying's master, Qin Yuling, successfully achieved Core Formation. She is now a lofty Golden Core True Monarch..."

"If Wei Tu tells Qin Yuling about this, and she grows greedy as well, not only will our plan be unlikely to succeed, but we will also risk our very lives."

Hearing this, Wei Tu frowned slightly. 'Who is this cloaked Male Cultivator?' he wondered. 'How does he know so much about me?'

Fortunately, Shopkeeper Fann's next words resolved Wei Tu's confusion.

"Fellow Daoist Yang, wasn't inviting Wei Tu to join our plan Left Envoy Liu's decision? What does it have to do with me? I was just following orders," Shopkeeper Fann said, displeased.

Yang Image snorted. "At the meeting, Left Envoy Liu only said we *could* invite Wei Tu, not that we *must*," he said, his tone turning hostile. "Since you've acted on your own, if something goes wrong with the plan, it has nothing to do with me!"

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Fann immediately shot back, "So that was your plan all along, Fellow Daoist Yang—to shift the blame. You didn't say a word when I was inviting Wei Tu, but now that it's done, you show up to throw a wrench in things. A fine calculation on your part, indeed."

"Fellow Daoist Fann, please, calm down. That's not what I meant," Yang Image said evasively, seeing that Shopkeeper Fann had seen right through him.

"Alright, I'll shoulder the responsibility with you." Seeing that Shopkeeper Fann was not going to let it go, Yang Image sighed to himself and took the initiative to accept a share of the blame.

"That's more like it." Shopkeeper Fann's expression softened slightly.

Their conversation ended there.

The next scene showed Yang Image leaving the private room.

Wei Tu, watching this scene through the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth, repeated the three words to himself. 'Left Envoy Liu?'

From Shopkeeper Fann and Yang Image's conversation, he could easily deduce that this 'Left Envoy Liu' controlled the Shuyun Alliance and held immense power over its Cultivators.

And Shopkeeper Fann was clearly not just "good friends" with Alchemist Shu as she had claimed; her involvement in the plan to "destroy the Huang Family" was substantial.

Wei Tu patiently continued to watch the memories from the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth.

The Seven-Colored Illusion Moth had been hidden in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion for a month, and the conversation between Yang Image and Shopkeeper Fann was only from the first day.

The memory's images flashed by quickly.

Soon, the memories reached the seventeenth day.

On this day, a disguised Helian Xiong came to Shopkeeper Fann's room to act as a messenger.

From their conversation, Wei Tu heard three words: "Right Envoy Si."

'Right Envoy Si? Could it be Si Qing?' A jolt went through Wei Tu as a suspicion began to form.

'If Si Qing was the 'Right Envoy' that Helian Xiong and the others mentioned, then the collusion between the Celestial Maiden Sect and the Shuyun Alliance was a certainty.'

'And the fact that this so-called 'Left Envoy Liu' had invited me to join the plan by name meant his motives were far more complex than I initially thought.'

'Most likely, he wants to investigate the connection between me and Si Qing's death.'

'However, I don't need to be too concerned. This Left Envoy Liu's interest in me was probably just a spur-of-the-moment decision.'

'If Left Envoy Liu was certain I was connected to Si Qing's death, the attitude of Shopkeeper Fann and the Shuyun Alliance wouldn't be so accommodating. They'd be hunting me across the realm.'

Over the remaining ten-odd days, the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth's memories only showed Shopkeeper Fann's daily routine and some business dealings at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. There were no further conversations between her and any Shuyun Alliance Cultivators.

After returning the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth to his Spirit Beast Bag, Wei Tu mulled it over for a moment but decided against using it to monitor Shopkeeper Fann again; without him nearby to command it, there was a risk of exposure. He canceled his lease on the Cave Mansion and left the Marketplace.

—Without him nearby to command it, the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth had a certain risk of being exposed.

「Several days later」

Wei Tu arrived at a shop controlled by the Huang Family and delivered a secret letter to the Huang Family Cultivator within.

After a brief wait, Wei Tu watched the Huang Family Cultivator hastily take flight, heading in the direction of Cloud Crane Mountain. Once the cultivator was gone, Wei Tu immediately departed for the next Marketplace.

After delivering three such secret letters, Wei Tu did not rush back to the Xiaya Mei Family. Instead, he remained near Cloud Crane Mountain, waiting to see how the situation would unfold.

He had no particular fondness for either the Shuyun Alliance or the Huang Family and had no desire to align with either of them.

His reason for informing the Huang Family was purely because the Shuyun Alliance's plan to "destroy the Huang Family" could potentially affect him as well.

The Shuyun Alliance had two targets: the Hee Mountain Huang Family and him.

'If I don't muddy the waters and use the Hee Mountain Huang Family as a shield to occupy the Shuyun Alliance's attention... I don't have the power to face Left Envoy Liu of the Shuyun Alliance and Celestial Maiden Sect on my own.'

"'Now, we'll see if Huang Changshun is up to the task and can handle this crisis,' Wei Tu thought to himself, gazing in the direction of Cloud Crane Mountain."

...

「Three days after the letter was sent.」

The sounds of a fierce battle erupted from within Cloud Crane Mountain.

"Huang Changshun, you dare ambush me! Once I get away from here, I'll announce the Huang Family's treachery to the entire world!" Alchemist Shu, the Fake Pill True Monarch, shouted as he fought and retreated. He glared at Huang Changshun, who was hot on his heels, his eyes filled with intense hatred.