Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

It was only after taking a hit from Wei Tu's Ice Flood Dragon Sword and then finding it difficult to pinpoint his location that they began to consider retreating.

After all, if they delayed any longer, they wouldn't have it so easy once reinforcements from Chaning Cliff arrived.

"Retreat!" The Blood God Sect Demon Cultivator didn't hesitate. Seeing the unfavorable situation, he immediately gave the order to retreat.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

In less than a breath, the five Demon Cultivators retreated from the valley instantly and without the slightest hesitation.

Wei Tu, who had been hiding nearby, saw this and didn't give chase. He waited until the Demon Cultivators were far from the valley before revealing himself.

During his time as a Military Officer in the Mortal World, Wei Tu never thought he was cut out to be a general and didn't learn much about military formations. However, he did pick up a few things about the art of war.

This valley was less than ten li from Chaning Cliff. The moment he saw the Demon Cultivators, he had deduced they wouldn't linger here for long.

He just had to put on a show of force. To save their own skins, the Demon Cultivators would surely retreat immediately rather than risk their lives to continue their assault on Guan Zhenying and her companion.

A Demon Cultivator's life is still a life.

While Demon Cultivators might be more casual about life and death than Righteous Cultivators, that didn't mean they were all fools.

"I am Guan Zhenying. Thank you for saving our lives, Fellow Daoist." After Wei Tu appeared, Guan Zhenying sized him up. Seeing he was a Cultivator she didn't recognize, her tone became much more courteous.

"I also thank you for saving our lives, Fellow Daoist." Shen Changfeng was just now recovering from the shock of the battle. He retrieved his Sun Wheel Magical Artifact and quickly offered his thanks to Wei Tu.

"Surely Fairy Guan recognizes me?" Wei Tu smiled, and with a flick of his sleeve, removed his disguise to reveal his true face.

"It's you, Fellow Daoist Wei?" Upon seeing Wei Tu's face, Guan Zhenying thought for a moment before the memories quickly surfaced.

Over the years, not many Independent Cultivators had come to the Supreme Profound Sect on Danqiu Mountain to trade for Foundation Establishment Pills.

Of course, that alone wouldn't have left such a strong impression of Wei Tu on her.

It was mainly because after the Yunze Secret Realm ended, Wei Tu, as the sole survivor of the Hee Mountain Huang Family, had been rather conspicuous.

After all that, her impression of Wei Tu was, to say the least, profound.

"So it's Talisman Master Wei." Although Shen Changfeng didn't know who Wei Tu was, he understood his identity after Guan Zhenying sent him a quick voice transmission.

'So he's just an Independent Cultivator.' Shen Changfeng inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

'If Wei Tu had been a Sect Cultivator, I would have had to pay a hefty price to repay this life-saving debt. But for a mere Independent Cultivator, I'm not about to be a fool and do that.'

Wei Tu was unaware of Shen Changfeng's thoughts. His purpose in saving the two was to create an opening for himself at Chaning Cliff, not out of some genuine devotion to the Righteous Dao. Therefore, he wasn't particularly concerned with demanding repayment for his favor.

On the surface, however, Wei Tu felt that Guan Zhenying was easier to get along with. He turned his gaze to her and revealed his identity as one of Chaning Cliff's Defending Cultivators.

"I was rushing from the interior to the front lines when I happened upon you two trapped here, so I intervened."

"However, I'm not familiar with Chaning Cliff. What I said earlier was just a bluff to deceive the Demon Cultivators."

"I was wondering if Fairy Guan would be willing to be my guide and lead me to Chaning Cliff?"

Wei Tu said, cupping his hands in a salute.

On the surface, his words were a request for directions to Chaning Cliff. In reality, he was asking her to help him smooth things over and establish a foothold there.

For a Cultivator of the Supreme Profound Sect like Guan Zhenying, this was a trivial matter.

"You're too kind, Fellow Daoist Wei. As it happens, I am also one of Chaning Cliff's Defending Cultivators. Guiding you there is my duty," Guan Zhenying replied with a smile.

In truth, however, a bitter feeling was slowly welling up inside her.

Over sixty years ago, Wei Tu was merely a Qi Cultivation Ninth-Layer Cultivator, while she was already at the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Realm.

Now, sixty years later, not only was her Cultivation on par with his, but he had also saved her life in passing.

Back then, she hadn't paid him the slightest attention, seeing him as just another Independent Cultivator. She had spent the entire time talking only with Kou Hongying, a fellow Disciple of an Immortal Sect.

"Alright, Junior Sister Guan, let's not linger. We should leave now and get back to Chaning Cliff as soon as possible. Who knows if that pack of Demon Cultivators will double back," Shen Changfeng suddenly interjected, cutting off their conversation.

From their conversation, Shen Changfeng faintly sensed a threat.

This wasn't just him being paranoid.

He knew his own situation all too well.

Compared to the elites of the Immortal Sects, an Independent Cultivator like Wei Tu was naturally far inferior. But the fact that he could rise above other Independent Cultivators and possessed a unique skill made him far more appealing than an ordinary Sect Disciple like himself.

"Senior Brother Shen is right." Guan Zhenying didn't overthink it and nodded. With that said, the three of them immediately set off for Chaning Cliff.

...

「A quarter of an hour later.」

The Array at Chaning Cliff opened, allowing Wei Tu, Guan Zhenying, and Shen Changfeng to enter.

'It's truly easy to defend and difficult to attack. No wonder the Immortal Sects chose this as a stronghold.' Wei Tu thought to himself as he observed the terrain of Chaning Cliff.

Chaning Cliff was located near the Yaolang Mountain Range. The cliff itself was a steep formation, a Remaining Vein of the mountain range that jutted up from the earth, soaring over a thousand zhang high to pierce the clouds.

Furthermore, the cliff face was composed of some kind of hard, bluestone Spiritual Material, making it vastly different from the cliffs of the Mortal World.

For even greater durability, the Three Immortal Sects had carved layers of Restrictions into the bluestone of the cliff face.

'Even if a Golden Core Cultivator were to attack, Chaning Cliff wouldn't fall immediately.' Wei Tu felt a little more at ease after seeing the cliff's formidable defenses.

There were no buildings on Chaning Cliff. Instead, adapting to the terrain, numerous caves had been carved down into the cliff face.

As Wei Tu followed Guan Zhenying onto the cliff face, he was stunned for a moment by the sight of the densely packed caves.

"Chaning Cliff currently has about four hundred Qi Cultivators. As for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, including you, Fellow Daoist Wei, there are now eleven of us."

"These Foundation Establishment Cultivators come from various backgrounds. There are Independent Cultivators like yourself, Fellow Daoist Wei, as well as Cultivators from the Three Immortal Sects, Jing Country's Sky Dome City, and the Beast Taming Sect."

Guan Zhenying explained as she led the way.

Hearing this, Wei Tu subconsciously glanced at his Storage Bag. He hadn't forgotten that his Sky-Splitting Carving was a Spirit Beast from the Beast Taming Sect.

'From now on, I should use the Sky-Splitting Carving as little as possible in front of others.' Wei Tu thought.

As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. And in the eyes of others, the greater one's abilities, the greater the responsibilities one should be expected to shoulder.

If the other Cultivators at Chaning Cliff found out he possessed a Middle-Stage Tier Two Flying Bird Demon Beast, he would undoubtedly be assigned more dangerous missions in the future.

"That Elder Xi the Demon Cultivators mentioned earlier is our Immortal Sect Envoy here at Chaning Cliff. He has a Fake Pill Cultivation."

"Elder Xi's full name is Xi Ying. He's the highest-ranking Cultivator at Chaning Cliff and comes from Cangqiong City in Jing Country."

Guan Zhenying added.

An Immortal Sect Envoy was the equivalent of a "supervising officer" in a mortal army.

Wei Tu was already aware of this.

As for Cangqiong City, however, Wei Tu didn't know much.

He only knew that Cangqiong City was different from ordinary Sects. It was more of a coalition jointly ruled by five major Cultivation Families and generally didn't recruit disciples from the outside.

"This is the 'Assembly Hall.' If there's an urgent military matter and Elder Xi issues a command, all of us Foundation Establishment Cultivators must gather here immediately." Guan Zhenying led Wei Tu to a larger cave on Chaning Cliff and pointed to the characters carved on a stone tablet by the entrance.

"Your arrival at Chaning Cliff, Fellow Daoist Wei, also qualifies as an urgent military matter for us."

"In a moment, you will be able to meet the other Foundation Establishment Cultivators inside."

Guan Zhenying said.

Just as Guan Zhenying was speaking, a red-faced old man appeared at the entrance to the Assembly Hall.

The red-faced old man wore a stern expression. He eyed Wei Tu, who stood a half-step behind Guan Zhenying, for several moments before shifting his gaze to her. "Is this the Independent Cultivator that you and Fellow Daoist Shen encountered?" he asked.

Hearing this, Wei Tu couldn't help but frown. The red-faced old man was quite polite when addressing Fairy Guan and Fellow Daoist Shen, but his tone became much colder when it came to him.

As an Independent Cultivator, while he hadn't experienced such treatment often, he had certainly heard plenty of stories about it.

Some Cultivators from Immortal Sects tended to be arrogant and looked down on Independent Cultivators, believing that associating with them was beneath their station.

"Yes, Elder Xi."

"Fellow Daoist Wei is... the Independent Cultivator we encountered while on our mission."

Hearing the old man's question, Guan Zhenying quickly performed a curtsy and introduced Wei Tu.

As she said the words "Independent Cultivator," she glanced at Wei Tu apologetically, as if telling him not to take it to heart.

Guan Zhenying was also vexed. 'The Elder Xi I know is usually quite affable. Why is he being so difficult with Wei Tu?'

"I greet Elder Xi."

Wei Tu cupped his hands in salute, his attitude relaxed. He didn't let Xi Ying's arrogance faze him; after all, he had killed a Fake Pill True Monarch before.

"Wei Tu, why didn't you join forces with Fairy Guan and Fellow Daoist Shen to eliminate those Demon Cultivators, instead of just hiding off to the side?"

Xi Ying demanded.

Hearing this, Wei Tu was at a loss for words. It was obvious that Xi Ying was deliberately making things difficult for him.

When he was already outnumbered, it had been difficult enough just to bluff and rescue Guan Zhenying and Shen Changfeng. How could he have had any spare energy to kill the Demon Cultivators?

"Elder Xi, the situation was urgent. It's understandable that Fellow Daoist Wei... may have handled it improperly in the heat of the moment."

Seeing this, Guan Zhenying gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and spoke up on Wei Tu's behalf.

Xi Ying was a Fake Pill True Monarch and the Immortal Sect Envoy. Given her position, she couldn't directly contradict him. She could only go along with his line of questioning and try to mitigate Wei Tu's "Sin."