Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

"A Body Refining Cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Level?" Zhuu Ruishan was utterly shocked at the sight.

For an Ordinary Cultivator, breaking through to Foundation Establishment Cultivation was already incredibly difficult.

Let alone achieving Dharma and Body Dual Cultivation and breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Level in Body Refining.

To get one’s Body Refining Cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Level, one either needed a systematic Body Refining Inheritance or vast quantities of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to temper the body.

The former was almost exclusively the domain of disciples from Major Sects. It was basically impossible for Independent Cultivators to learn a systematic Body Refining Inheritance in the outside world.

The latter, on the other hand, required a person of profound fortune or immense wealth.

Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that could be used for Body Refining were all rare items on the market.

This time, Wei Tu had come to Zhuu’s Medicine Shop to extort Spirit Stones, so without much thought, Zhuu Ruishan pegged Wei Tu as the former.

—A Sect Cultivator who had received a systematic Body Refining Inheritance.

’Forgetting his Sect Token... that has to be a lie. He probably just doesn’t want to reveal his True Identity to avoid unnecessary trouble,’ Zhuu Ruishan mused.

While the identity of a Sect Disciple could grant a Cultivator certain conveniences when roaming the world, it could also be a restriction.

The Sects in the Demonic Realm were far less "harmonious" than those in the Righteous Territory.

The major Demonic Sects all had numerous enemies abroad. Even among their Allies, there were many who harbored deep-seated grudges.

For the sake of their grand plan, and under heavy pressure from the Five Demonic Sects, the Various Demonic Sects could cooperate temporarily to attack the Righteous Sects.

Profit concealed a multitude of conflicts.

But it was merely a cover-up, not a resolution. It was hard to say what underhanded schemes the major Demonic Sects were plotting behind the scenes.

Therefore, in Zhuu Ruishan’s eyes, Wei Tu, a "Dharma and Body Dual Cultivator," was definitely a Demon Sect disciple. Whether he was from the Desolate Mountain Sect, however, was another matter.

It was highly unlikely for independent Demonic Cultivators to produce someone of Wei Tu’s caliber.

—Aside from the Desolate Mountain Sect, other Demonic Sects also had Body Refining Inheritances, but their Cultivation Technique Levels were far inferior.

After thinking it through, Zhuu Ruishan saw the truth but didn’t expose it. He put on a smile, bowed obsequiously, and said with flattery, "So Elder Guu is a top disciple of the Desolate Mountain Sect. I was blind for a moment. I hope Elder Guu won’t take offense."

"Please consider this tray of Spirit Stones as the deposit for Elder Guu’s payment."

"Once Elder Guu drives away Jiao Qizhi, I will not only present you with this ’Celestial Spirit Water’ but will also prepare another gift to thank you."

With a wave of his hand, the Puppet on the left immediately stepped forward and presented the lacquered wooden tray to Wei Tu.

"Celestial Spirit Water" was a type of Spiritual Object that aided a Cultivator’s Core Formation. Although not as difficult to obtain as a Golden Core Spiritual Object, it was still a Treasure rarely found in the outside world.

Therefore, it was impossible for Zhuu Ruishan to give the "Celestial Spirit Water" to Wei Tu as a deposit.

"This handful of Spirit Stones isn’t enough to make me an enemy of a Foundation Establishment Elder from the Profound Charm Sect."

Wei Tu glanced at the Puppet before him. He picked up and weighed the few Spirit Stones on the Redwood tray, then placed them back down, clearly holding out for a better offer.

"This is just the deposit," Zhuu Ruishan reminded him, forcing a smile as he stepped forward.

Zhuu Ruishan was on the verge of a mental breakdown. His plan was to "Expel the Wolf and Devour the Tiger," but this hungry wolf’s massive appetite was more than he could bear.

Thirty-six Upper-Grade Spirit Stones was not a small sum. The entire wealth of many Foundation Establishment Cultivators didn’t even amount to that much.

"Young Master Zhuu, do you take us Demon Cultivators for Righteous Cultivators?" Wei Tu sneered upon hearing this. "There aren’t many Demon Cultivators who are content to keep their word. If you break your promise and don’t give me the ’Celestial Spirit Water’ and other rewards afterward, wouldn’t I have suffered a loss for nothing? All my effort would be for naught."

"You have a point, Elder Guu." Reminded by Wei Tu, Zhuu Ruishan suddenly felt his actions had been inappropriate and quickly apologized.

Thirty-six Upper-Grade Spirit Stones was more than enough as a deposit for driving away Jiao Qizhi.

But Suixing City was currently part of the Demonic Realm. The old rules established by the Righteous Dao no longer applied.

Everything had to be done according to the order of the Demonic Realm.

"I heard the Zhuu Family has a Body Refining Treasure? If the Zhuu Family is willing to offer it as payment, I will agree to help Young Master Zhuu drive away Jiao Qizhi," Wei Tu said after a moment of thought.

"Body Refining Treasure?" Hearing those three words, Zhuu Ruishan finally understood why Wei Tu had come to Zhuu’s Medicine Shop to extort him today.

He immediately cried poor and hastily demurred, "Those are all just rumors from the outside world. Elder Guu, you mustn’t believe them so easily."

"My Zhuu’s Medicine Shop has been open in Suixing City for a thousand years. All sorts of rumors can spread in that time," he explained.

"If there’s no Body Refining Treasure..." Wei Tu stroked his chin, a hesitant look on his face, and seemed about to stand up and leave.

"I cannot give you the Celestial Spirit Water in advance, Elder Guu, but I guarantee that other treasures from my Zhuu Family’s collection will satisfy you," Zhuu Ruishan said hurriedly, stopping Wei Tu.

"Fine." Wei Tu sat down again and nodded. "In addition to these Upper-Grade Spirit Stones, if you take out Spiritual Objects equivalent to two thousand Spirit Stones in value, I will agree to help the Zhuu Family this one time."

"Furthermore, some Cultivation Techniques and Secret Skills can also be counted towards that value."

"Especially Body Refining Techniques..."

At the end of his sentence, Wei Tu mixed in his true intentions.

This time, he had gone to such great lengths precisely to force the Zhuu Family to hand over the "Hongri Sect’s Body Refining Inheritance."

Of course, even if Madam Zhuu weren’t a descendant of Ye Hong, this reward alone would have made his trip to the Zhuu Family Medicine Shop worthwhile.

"Cultivation Techniques and Secret Skills?" Hearing this, Zhuu Ruishan breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a secret gratitude toward Wei Tu, thinking that perhaps he wasn’t being so exorbitant in his demands after all.

After all, compared to Spiritual Objects, reproducible knowledge like Cultivation Techniques and Secret Skills was undoubtedly "cheaper."

"Please wait a moment, Elder Guu. I must first return home to consult our records," Zhuu Ruishan said with a deep bow.

As a Cultivation Family that had survived for a thousand years, the Zhuu Family’s collection of Cultivation Techniques and Secret Skills was vast and innumerable. He couldn’t possibly remember them all.

...

「Half an hour later.」

Wei Tu once again perceived the conversation between Zhuu Ruishan, the Zhuu Family Ancestor, and Madam Zhuu.

The Zhuu Family Ancestor found Zhuu Ruishan’s bold decision inconceivable, but after hearing it out, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who already had one foot in the grave, could only sigh inwardly and tacitly approve of Zhuu Ruishan’s actions.

Madam Zhuu’s reaction, however, was completely different from the Ancestor’s.

Seeing that a part of Zhuu Ruishan’s plan had already succeeded, and so quickly at that, Madam Zhuu was overjoyed and repeatedly said they were blessed by Heaven.

However, the couple, Zhuu Ruishan and his wife, were struggling with how to gather enough for the "deposit" Wei Tu required.

The Zhuu Family’s Cultivation Techniques and Secret Skills were numerous, but most of them were low-level and completely useless for the Foundation Establishment Realm.

If Wei Tu were one of the Righteous Cultivators, they might have tried to test his thoughts with these, but he was a Demonic Cultivator, and they didn’t dare to provoke him.

And their other Tier Two Techniques and Secret Skills were the very foundation of the Zhuu Family’s existence; they absolutely could not be sold off lightly.

"We’ve already decided on a plan to escape Jing Country and head for Zheng Country. Keeping these Tier Two Techniques and Secret Skills will be useless anyway."

Zhuu Ruishan, ever willing to sell off his inheritance without a second thought, said after a brief moment of reflection.

"Husband, you mustn’t!" Madam Zhuu dissuaded him. "Doing so would expose the Zhuu Family’s true situation and lead to endless trouble in the future."

"The Zhuu Family is already in a weak position between Jiao Qizhi and this Elder Guu. If we hand over our family’s foundation now, Elder Guu will likely look down on us even more," she explained.

"Then what should we do?" Zhuu Ruishan was now at a loss.

In recent years, Jiao Qizhi had not only taken his wife but had also found all sorts of excuses to extort the Zhuu Family’s assets.

Step by step, he was bleeding the Zhuu Family dry.

The Upper-Grade Spirit Stones and Celestial Spirit Water mentioned earlier were, in reality, among the last of the Zhuu Family’s reserves.

The reason they had acted so generously was just a bluff, intended to prevent Wei Tu from grasping the Zhuu Family’s true situation and thus make him more wary.

"These Tier Two Techniques and Secret Skills of the Zhuu Family are all part of our Pharmacist inheritance. If we give them away, it will easily expose our true situation."

"I, however, have a few Cultivation Techniques that my father once gave me. We can give those to Elder Guu," Madam Zhuu said in a low voice.

"I’d forgotten about what you have, my dear." Zhuu Ruishan breathed a sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

After speaking, Madam Zhuu very cautiously took three Jade Scrolls from her Storage Bag and handed them to Zhuu Ruishan.

"Among these three Jade Scrolls, one contains a Body Refining Secret Skill, which is just what that Elder Guu needs."

"When you get to the medicine shop, Husband, you must remember to size up the situation. Don’t satisfy that Elder Guu’s appetite all at once."

"Give him the other two Jade Scrolls first. If that’s not enough, then give him this last one," Madam Zhuu said.