Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

"Mother, what’s wrong?" Just then, Madam Zhuu’s two children rushed over. When they saw their mother trembling and unable to move, they asked anxiously.

Of the two children, the boy was slightly older, around fifteen or sixteen, while the girl was younger, around thirteen or fourteen. She was a budding young beauty who bore a striking resemblance to Madam Zhuu.

Having gathered information on the Zhuu Family for so long, Wei Tu knew the names of Madam Zhuu’s two children.

The boy’s name was Zhuu Peilin.

The girl’s name was Zhuu Yunxiu.

After asking a few questions, Madam Zhuu’s children were able to roughly guess the reason for her miserable state, even though she couldn’t speak—overpowered by Wei Tu’s Guardian Map Divine Sense, she was suffering from the backlash of her own Charm Technique.

Zhuu Peilin looked up, glanced cautiously at Wei Tu, then quickly looked away, not daring to say more.

Over the past few years, the fact that Jiao Qizhi had tyrannized his mother, Madam Zhuu, had long since drained all the courage from his heart.

In contrast, Zhuu Yunxiu, having come of age later and not yet been beaten down by reality, still had her courage. In a soft, delicate voice, she performed a curtsy to Wei Tu and began to plead for her mother. "If my mother has offended you in any way, Elder, I beg you to forgive her. You are a person of the Righteous Dao. A small punishment will suffice. That way, my mother will have learned her lesson, and you will not have lost your dignity. Moreover, you will earn a reputation for magnanimity."

Her words were tactful and fitting.

Hearing this, Wei Tu nodded slightly. He withdrew the pressure he had placed upon Madam Zhuu, and the icy expression on his face gradually thawed.

Freed from Wei Tu’s pressure, Madam Zhuu, who was drenched in a cold sweat, could finally move again. She collapsed weakly to the ground, clutching her ample chest and gasping for breath.

Just then, the after-effects of her Charm Technique’s backlash became apparent.

A trickle of crimson blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

"Elder Zhou, it was I who had presumptuous thoughts and offended you," Madam Zhuu said, gasping for breath, her eyes filled with fear. "But my children are innocent. You can abandon me... here in this wasteland... but please, Elder Zhou... agree to my previous request. Take my two children... to the Zheng Country."

"Mother!"

"Mother!"

Zhuu Peilin and Zhuu Yunxiu rushed to support Madam Zhuu. Upon hearing her words, their eyes reddened and they began to weep.

"Don’t worry about me."

"Quick, go beg Elder Zhou."

Madam Zhuu shoved the brother and sister away, her voice sharp.

Standing to the side, Wei Tu felt a headache coming on as he watched the scene of the devoted mother and her filial children. Logically, abandoning the three of them would be perfectly normal. After all, her identity "conflicted" with his as someone on good terms with Immortal Master Wuk and his disciple, and she had just gravely offended him...

’In the end, I’m still too soft-hearted.’

Wei Tu sighed softly.

After stepping into the Cultivation Realm and being ground down by the years, he had gradually transformed into a proper Cultivator.

Cold, ruthless, cautious, and suspicious.

He had lost the "Heroic Qi" he once possessed as a Martial Artist.

’If Master were still alive, he would probably approve of this decision.’ At that thought, the image of Shan Wuju’s smiling face surfaced in Wei Tu’s mind.

Compared to him, his master Shan Wuju was a true Martial Artist.

He charged the lowest rent in Sanyuan Town, and if the townspeople suffered from disasters or illness, he would promptly lend a hand without asking for anything in return.

Next, Wei Tu looked at Madam Zhuu, his expression cold and his voice devoid of emotion. "This time, on account of your daughter’s plea, I will spare your life. If there is a next time, I will show no mercy."

As his words fell, Madam Zhuu breathed a sigh of relief.

She asked tentatively, "Then... the agreement Elder Zhou made with me earlier, is it still valid?"

"It is." Wei Tu’s tone was cold.

Their current location was already near the border of the Zheng Country. Just a few hundred more miles ahead lay their destination.

Protecting Madam Zhuu and her children was a casual matter for him. Before Madam Zhuu had taken out the "Celestial Spirit Water," he hadn’t bothered much with them tailing him either.

Now, he had gained an extra portion of "Celestial Spirit Water."

It was a net gain for him.

...

「One month later.」

「The mortal city of Jinliang, Zheng Country.」

Wei Tu concealed his aura and walked to a nearby wall. After observing Madam Zhuu and her children in the courtyard for a few moments with his Guardian Map Divine Sense, he extended his right hand.

A moment later, a transparent moth flapped its wings and descended from the sky, landing on Wei Tu’s right palm.

The Zhuu mother and children would never have guessed that "Elder Zhou," who had parted ways with them at the border more than ten days ago, had once again come to their side, separated from them by only a single wall.

Nor would they have ever expected that the three of them had been monitored by Wei Tu in a special way for so many days.

’Not bad. They haven’t developed any resentment toward me. And they haven’t discovered my other identity.’ After viewing the memories of the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth, a relieved smile appeared on Wei Tu’s face.

He and the Zhuu Family were not such bitter enemies.

If he were truly forced to eradicate them root and stem, to slaughter them all, he couldn’t bring himself to be so ruthless, especially not to a widow and her orphans.

Therefore, after parting with Madam Zhuu and her children at the border, he had secretly used the Seven-Colored Illusion Moth to monitor their every move, to see if they harbored any resentment towards him.

Even though he had escorted Madam Zhuu and her children to the Zheng Country, doing them a favor, in the eyes of a narrow-minded person, his "favor" could become a "grudge."

Fortunately, although Madam Zhuu was "shrewd," she wasn’t someone who couldn’t distinguish good from bad. She didn’t resent him because of the Charm Skill incident, nor did she harbor any thoughts of revenge.

Otherwise, for the sake of his own future safety, Wei Tu would not have let Madam Zhuu off so easily.

It was true that he was a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. By the time Madam Zhuu and her children grew up and reached Foundation Establishment, he might have already reached the Golden Core Realm and would not fear the threat of mere Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

Even his own children would be able to withstand such a crisis.

But—

An ant can still kill an elephant.

In the Cultivation Realm, anything is possible.

Just like over a hundred years ago, when he made his first fortune.

—with his Middle-Stage Qi Cultivation, he had killed Geng Wen, a Tier One Alchemist at the Great Perfection of Qi Cultivation. From that, he obtained the accumulated wealth of three Late-Stage Qi Cultivation cultivators, allowing him to soar to new heights. Even today, he still reaped the benefits from that battle’s spoils.

This time, Wei Tu had wasted nearly a month on Madam Zhuu and her children.

But Wei Tu believed it was necessary.

If he were to kill wantonly like a Demon Cultivator, he didn’t think his Dao heart could remain as it was.

A Cultivator’s goal is indeed longevity, but if one abandons everything for the sake of it, then one is, at best, merely a... cultivation tool in pursuit of long life.

...

「Three days later.」

Wei Tu returned to Chaning Cliff.

But just as he returned to his Cave Mansion, Wei Tu discovered that the entrance to the adjacent Cave Mansion belonging to Chu Huan was covered in dust. The few Spirit Stones embedded in the Array Stone Disc were emitting a faint light, like the last flicker of a candle, ready to go out at any moment.

’Fellow Daoist Chu didn’t make it back?’ Wei Tu froze for a moment, a bad feeling rising in his heart.

He sent out a Talisman to ask Li Daoyuan.

Li Daoyuan walked out of his Cave Mansion. He glanced at Wei Tu and sighed, "Half a month ago, Fellow Daoist Chu’s recruitment Spirit Contract, which she left with the Immortal Sect, had already gone dim..."

"She must have fallen."

"She died on the way back from the ambush point."

The grief was for a kindred spirit.

Chu Huan, like him, was an Independent Cultivator who had participated in the ambush and joined the Loose Immortal Alliance. This time, her body had perished and her Dao had dissipated on the road back to Chaning Cliff... In her death, Li Daoyuan seemed to see his own eventual fate.

’Fellow Daoist Chu is dead.’

Wei Tu sighed inwardly.

During the ambush, he had helped Chu Huan, increasing her chances of survival, but while he could save her once, he couldn’t save her forever.

Chu Huan was the weakest among the ambush Cultivators in terms of cultivation.

She had no means to deal with Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators of the same level, let alone those of a higher realm.

You can be lucky once, but you can’t be lucky every time.

"Fellow Daoist Wei and Fellow Daoist Chu were old acquaintances. In a moment, I will ask Elder Xi to open Fellow Daoist Chu’s Cave Mansion, so that Fellow Daoist Wei can collect her relics and write a final letter to her family and friends," Li Daoyuan said with a sigh, his face full of sorrow.

The reason he had befriended Wei Tu in the first place was precisely to prepare for a day like this.

When he died in battle, there would still be a fellow Daoist friend to deliver the news of his death.

"This is my duty."

Wei Tu nodded in agreement.

Chu Huan’s daughter was a Cultivator at Jingshui Pavilion.

And at Chaning Cliff, he was the only Cultivator who had a friendly relationship with Chu Huan and also had connections within Jingshui Pavilion.

Therefore, it was most appropriate for him to write the letter informing of Chu Huan’s death.

...

Chu Huan didn’t have many relics.

There were only a few dresses and daily necessities.

They were not of high value.

Nevertheless, Wei Tu collected them into a Storage Bag, waiting for the right opportunity to deliver them to Chu Huan’s daughter.

For Chu Huan’s daughter, however, these things were priceless treasures.

However—

When it came time to write the death notice, Wei Tu picked up his brush but only managed to write two words in the recipient field: ’Chu Qin’.

He didn’t know what to write next.

After pausing for half a day, Wei Tu sighed and finally began to write the death notice.

The letter mostly consisted of the everyday stories Chu Huan used to tell about Chu Qin at Chaning Cliff.

Only at the very end did Wei Tu mention a few details about the ambush.

"Do not let your heart be clouded by hatred."

Wei Tu finished the death notice with this sentence.

...

After sending the death notice, Wei Tu took out the three Jade Scrolls he had obtained from Madam Zhuu. He skipped over the other two scrolls, his gaze falling directly on the one that contained the "Body Refining Secret Skill."

The "Body Refining Secret Skill" recorded in this Jade Scroll was called the "Ninefold Golden Lock Spell." It worked by condensing "Golden Locks" one by one within the meridians, thereby lowering the difficulty of breaking through in Body Refining Cultivation.

"Ninefold Golden Lock Spell."

Wei Tu silently repeated it a few times.

’This Body Refining Secret Skill is remarkably similar to the One Qi Pouch—or perhaps they even share a common origin,’ Wei Tu mused after studying the *Ninefold Golden Lock Spell* for several months.