Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

"Go catch a few wild beasts and test things out," Wei Tu instructed the Sky-Splitting Carving.

Alchemist Shu's inheritance was right here; it wasn't going anywhere. There was no need for him to be too hasty.

Testing with beasts and acting with caution was the proper course of action.

While the Sky-Splitting Carving was out catching the beasts, Wei Tu went around and collected the Talisman Array traps he had set before the fight.

Although his decision to ambush and kill Alchemist Shu had been impromptu, Wei Tu hadn't dared to let his guard down for a single moment during the process.

'Just as I expected, Alchemist Shu laced his own corpse and Storage Bag with deadly poison.' Wei Tu's expression darkened as he watched the beasts brought by the Sky-Splitting Carving drop dead one by one upon approaching Alchemist Shu's body and Storage Bag.

He couldn't estimate how potent the poison Alchemist Shu had used before death was, or whether it could significantly affect a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator like himself.

After all, when Alchemist Shu had fled Cloud Crane Mountain, the handful of brown powder he'd scattered had bypassed the Magical Power Shields of the Huang Family Cultivators, poisoning all of them.

"Water Gathering Skill!" Wei Tu called out, using the Water Magic to summon water and dilute the poison on Alchemist Shu's Storage Bag.

After the poison was sufficiently diluted, Wei Tu tested it with a few more beasts. Seeing them remain alive and well, he finally swallowed an Antitoxic Pill and walked over to Alchemist Shu's Storage Bag.

'There's still some poison, but this amount is nothing to fear.' Wei Tu could feel the poison on Alchemist Shu's Storage Bag eroding the Magical Power protecting his palm.

But the poison was so weak it would take at least ten to fifteen days to corrode through to his Daoist Body.

Wei Tu erased the Divine Sense Mark on Alchemist Shu's Storage Bag and opened it.

A smile crept onto Wei Tu's lips as he inspected the spoils within the Storage Bag, his mood improving immensely.

In all his years of Cultivation, the value of the items in Alchemist Shu's Storage Bag was second only to that of the Treasure-Bearing Lady, Si Qing, far surpassing any other Cultivator he had slain.

The Spirit Stones alone were worth over ten thousand.

Moreover, aside from over a thousand Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, the rest were all Upper-Grade and Middle-Grade Spirit Stones.

Besides the two Top-Grade Tier Two Magical Artifacts Alchemist Shu had used—the Emerald Cloud Needle and the Black Banner Flag—his Storage Bag also contained two other High-Quality, Upper-Grade Magical Artifacts.

They were in no way inferior to Si Qing's small blood-colored sword and Turtle Shell Shield.

But the most valuable Spiritual Objects in the Storage Bag were the many bottles of Tier Two Elixirs Alchemist Shu had stored in the Elixir Medicine Area.

"It's just a shame I don't dare to take any of these elixirs," Wei Tu sighed.

He was sure Alchemist Shu wouldn't have poisoned every single one of these Tier Two Elixirs.

But if he was unlucky enough to swallow a poisoned one, there would be nothing he could do, no matter how powerful he was.

Wei Tu would rather spend more Spirit Stones to buy elixirs with a clear provenance than risk taking those he'd looted from Alchemist Shu.

So, in a way, these incredibly valuable Tier Two Elixirs were worthless to Wei Tu.

'But where are the Green Flame Pills Shopkeeper Fann mentioned?' Wei Tu wondered, confused after reading the labels on the bottles.

According to Shopkeeper Fann, Alchemist Shu had produced three Green Flame Pills in a single batch. Besides the one he took for himself, the other two were offered as rewards in the plan to destroy the Huang Family.

Yet now, Wei Tu couldn't find a single trace of the Green Flame Pills in Alchemist Shu's Storage Bag.

'Shopkeeper Fann must have been lying to me. Green Flame Pills aren't that easy to refine. Getting even one is difficult, let alone three in a single batch.' Wei Tu shook his head inwardly.

If Alchemist Shu's skill in the Alchemy Dao was truly that high, the Hee Mountain Huang Family likely wouldn't have discarded him after using him. They might have even offered him a Core Formation Opportunity to help him reach the next realm.

An Alchemist capable of producing three Green Flame Pills in a single batch would be a hot commodity anywhere.

'Huh, a letter?' After checking the Elixir Medicine Area in the Storage Bag, Wei Tu's gaze shifted to the Miscellaneous Area. There, among a pile of sundries, he quickly spotted a sealed letter.

'Alchemist Shu's last will?'

Wei Tu took out the letter and paused for a moment when he saw the title on the envelope.

This was the first time he had ever seen a Cultivator write his own will before dying.

But then he remembered Alchemist Shu didn't have much time left to live, and it made sense.

Wei Tu opened the letter and began to read.

The will was five pages long.

The first three pages were Alchemist Shu reminiscing about his life.

Like most Independent Cultivators, Alchemist Shu had stumbled upon an Immortal Skill in the mortal world and set foot on the Immortal Path.

But unlike most Independent Cultivators, while working as an Assassin, Alchemist Shu had stumbled into an Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion. He seized an Opportunity there that completely changed his fate.

In the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion, Alchemist Shu had not only acquired the Inheritance of a Tier Three Alchemist but had also obtained the Upper-Grade Magical Artifact, the Five Elements Ring, along with other Inheritance Treasures.

With these assets, Alchemist Shu got a head start on other Independent Cultivators and, step by step, reached the Peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He was just one step away from undergoing Immortal Transformation and becoming a Golden Core True Monarch.

'To go from a mere Independent Cultivator to a Tier Two Upper-Grade Alchemist and a Fake Pill True Monarch... It's impossible he did it without some great Opportunity.'

Wei Tu reflected with emotion.

Unlike Sect Cultivators or Family Cultivators, the path for Independent Cultivators was exceptionally difficult. Without an Opportunity, the hurdle of Foundation Establishment alone was enough to bar ninety percent of them from advancing.

And even if the remaining ten percent were lucky enough to become Foundation Establishment Masters, they would end up like Puppet Master Yu, their Cultivation stagnating for a lifetime, trapped in the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Realm...

...

After reading about Alchemist Shu's life, Wei Tu turned to the last two pages of the letter, which contained Alchemist Shu's last testament.

On these two pages, besides arrangements for his assets, Alchemist Shu mostly wrote warnings for his grandson, Shu Zonghe, detailing how he should conduct himself after his death to save their family from disaster.

In the will, Alchemist Shu urged Shu Zonghe to perform good deeds and accumulate merits, warning him not to bully others just because he enjoyed the fruits of his ancestor's labor.

This advice didn't surprise Wei Tu.

Even the worst of men often advise their descendants to be good and not to stray onto the wrong path.

'Shu Zonghe?' Wei Tu repeated the name to himself three times, committing it to memory.

Alchemist Shu had always been a loner. Besides a few apprentices, Wei Tu had never heard that he had any descendants.

Of course, Wei Tu wasn't memorizing Shu Zonghe's name because he planned to eradicate Alchemist Shu's line to prevent future trouble.

His assassination of Alchemist Shu had been covert, and no one knew. There was no need to kill Shu Zonghe; it would be a superfluous act that would only increase his risk of being exposed.

Besides, he wasn't a bloodthirsty person.

He had been forced to kill Alchemist Shu. If he hadn't taken the initiative and struck first, he would have been the one to suffer.

And in the plan to destroy the Huang Family, Alchemist Shu had certainly borne him no goodwill.

"Consider this my way of repaying... that favor you did me with a single sentence at the Underground Auction a few years ago." Wei Tu shook his head, tossed a few Talismans at Alchemist Shu's corpse, and flew away.

As the Talismans landed, Alchemist Shu's corpse erupted in a blazing fire.

After nearly an hour, the fire died down, leaving only a thin layer of ash on the ground.

A gust of wind scattered the ashes, and they vanished without a trace.

...

After Alchemist Shu's death, Wei Tu's life returned to normal.

He didn't go out of his way to find Shopkeeper Fann. Instead, he followed his usual routine, waiting two or three months before going to sell his Talismans.

However, the Cultivator who greeted Wei Tu this time wasn't Shopkeeper Fann, but another Tributor from the Jiuyun Commerce Association.

The Tributor's surname was Wan, and he went by the single given name of Ren.

When Wei Tu inquired about Shopkeeper Fann's whereabouts, Shopkeeper Wan sighed, a look of confusion on his face.

"I don't know what Fellow Daoist Fann was thinking either. This time, she actually volunteered to go to the Righteous Demon Frontline and kill Demon Cultivators."

"According to the Commerce Association's rotation, her turn wasn't for another two people," Shopkeeper Wan said.

The Three Immortal Sects' draft of Cultivators from the various Cultivation Powers in Zheng Country to defend the passes and Marketplaces on the frontlines wasn't a single event. It stipulated that each Major Influence had to dispatch a certain number of people over a set period.

This measure, when implemented internally by the various influences, became a rotation system.

"Perhaps Shopkeeper Fann has something planned for the next decade or so and decided to get her frontline duty out of the way early," Wei Tu said with a laugh.

Shopkeeper Wan might have been confused, but Wei Tu wasn't. Shopkeeper Fann's departure was the very proof that his plan had succeeded.

With Alchemist Shu dead, the collusion between the Shuyun Alliance and the Celestial Maiden Sect was at risk of being exposed. To save their own skins, Shopkeeper Fann and the other Shuyun Alliance Cultivators had no choice but to flee.

...

However, good fortune did not smile upon Wei Tu.

The news of Alchemist Shu's defection from the Hee Mountain Huang Family caused a huge uproar, spreading throughout the entire Cultivation Realm of Zheng Country.

At the same time, it also informed many Cultivators who had been keeping an eye on Wei Tu that he was no longer a Tributor for the Huang Family.

Therefore…

「Three months later.」

The Law Enforcement Team, temporarily formed by the Three Immortal Sects, arrived at the Xiaya Mei Family and issued a Recruitment Order to Wei Tu.

The Recruitment Order commanded Wei Tu to guard Chaning Cliff for ten years.

To leave Chaning Cliff early, he would have to earn three major merits on the frontline.

One major merit was equivalent to the head of a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator.

"Talisman Master Wei, if you had reported to the Immortal Sects sooner, with your skill in the Talisman Dao, you might not have been sent to the frontlines. You could have simply focused on Talisman Painting."

"But... you hid in the Xiaya Mei Family to dodge the war. That is a major taboo for the Immortal Sects!"

The leader of the Law Enforcement Team looked at Wei Tu with a mocking expression.

When Independent Cultivators shirked their duty and avoided the frontlines, it meant more of their Immortal Sect Cultivators would have to die in their place.

From this perspective, Wei Tu and the Immortal Sect Cultivators were on naturally opposing sides.

"I know." Wei Tu glanced at the leader of the Law Enforcement Team, memorizing the man's face, then cupped his hands in a salute and replied.