Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

After all, the Ten Thousand Spirits Demon Infant was a Treasure that originated from the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect.

To put it another way,

Even if the Immortal Spirit Dew only had this kind of effect on those below the Golden Core Realm, this alone would make the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect’s power incomparable to what it is today.

’There are three possibilities.’

’First, the Ten Thousand Spirits Demon Infant is also a rare item within the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, and is difficult to refine.’

’Second, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect is aware of the Ten Thousand Spirits Demon Infant’s drawbacks, and thus has chosen not to use it.’

’Third, an overabundance of power at the Foundation Establishment Level would not be in the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect’s best interest. That’s why they haven’t used the Immortal Spirit Dew to create too many Foundation Establishment combatants.’

Wei Tu analyzed each possibility.

Limited by his own cultivation level and the information available to him, Wei Tu believed that all three scenarios were quite possible.

’Still, no matter how I analyze it, I can’t just abandon the Immortal Spirit Dew,’ Wei Tu thought, shaking his head.

It was foolish to give up on a great advantage because of a potential risk.

Without the help of the Immortal Spirit Dew, the Sky-Splitting Carving would eventually be unable to keep up with his own power, and he would be forced to abandon it.

This was an entirely predictable outcome.

...

「Two months later.」

Wei Tu emerged from his seclusion.

Just as he had anticipated, his Body Refining Cultivation had improved significantly with the help of the Ninefold Golden Lock Technique. He had broken through from Middle-Stage Tier Two Minor Success all the way to Middle-Stage Tier Two Great Success.

Although his rate of advancement was slower than the Sky-Splitting Carving’s, he was still making steady progress.

He had already surpassed most cultivators of the same rank.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, during your last battle with the Demon Cultivator Xing Sen, did you release an eagle-type Spirit Beast at the Foundation Establishment Realm?"

"For the past six months, Zuo Kui has likely been investigating you over this matter. He’s only holding back from a full-blown, open investigation because he’s wary of the connections you have. Instead, he’s looking into it secretly."

Wei Tu had barely emerged from his seclusion when Li Daoyuan found him and delivered this unfavorable news.

"Zuo Kui is investigating me in secret?" Wei Tu frowned, his expression sinking.

After all, no one would be happy about being secretly investigated.

Furthermore, the origin of his Sky-Splitting Carving wasn’t exactly "clean"—the Blood Elder Demon had most likely acquired it through murder and Treasure Stealing.

As for whether the cultivator killed by the Blood Elder Demon was from the Beast Taming Sect, that was impossible to know.

"How does Zuo Kui know I have a Sky-Splitting Carving?" Wei Tu looked at Li Daoyuan, his face full of confusion.

At this point, he didn’t mind revealing the Sky-Splitting Carving’s true name to Li Daoyuan. After all, a cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect was already secretly investigating him.

The Sky-Splitting Carving was a part of Wei Tu’s power.

However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Wei Tu never used the Sky-Splitting Carving in front of Zuo Kui or any other cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect.

Besides—

The last time he killed Xing Sen, there were no other cultivators from Chaning Cliff around.

So, when Wei Tu heard Li Daoyuan reveal this secret, he was utterly bewildered.

"I am not sure about that either," Li Daoyuan said, shaking his head.

"But I do have a guess." Just as Wei Tu thought the mystery was unsolvable, Li Daoyuan suddenly spoke up again.

"And what is that?"

Wei Tu’s interest was piqued.

He led Li Daoyuan into his Cave Mansion and poured him a cup of Spirit Tea.

Li Daoyuan took a sip of the Spirit Tea to wet his throat before speaking. "Fellow Daoist Wei, your killing of Xing Sen was, by all rights, done in secret. No one should know... that you possess a Spirit Beast from the Beast Taming Sect..."

Although Wei Tu had not specified that his Sky-Splitting Carving came from the Beast Taming Sect, Li Daoyuan, as a Jing Country Independent Cultivator, had seen plenty of similar situations.

In the Jing Country Cultivation World of the past, it was a common occurrence for Independent Cultivators to be investigated and even hunted down by the Beast Taming Sect for possessing one of their Spirit Beasts.

"But just because the Righteous Cultivators don’t know doesn’t mean the Demonic Cultivators are also in the dark," Li Daoyuan mused. "According to what I know, several Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Blood God Sect also possess Sky-Splitting Carvings, just like you."

"This time, it’s highly probable that Demon Cultivators spread the news about you having a Sky-Splitting Carving."

"They want to use this to stir up trouble."

Li Daoyuan said, enunciating each word.

Wei Tu fell silent upon hearing this.

In the eyes of the Demonic Cultivators, he might be an insignificant pawn, but conspiracies and schemes were never reserved exclusively for the powerful.

An accumulation of small changes can lead to a fundamental one.

The discontent among lower-level cultivators could also influence the decisions of the higher-ups.

And right now, the tensions between the Jing Country cultivators and the Zheng Country cultivators were already at a boiling point.

If the high-level members of the Immortal Sects hadn’t been forcefully keeping the peace, the cultivators from the two countries would have gone to war long ago.

The Jing Country cultivators had been forced to flee to the Zheng Country Cultivation Realm after their own country fell.

Their circumstances were understandable and beyond reproach.

But a single country’s resources are finite; it was impossible to support the cultivators of two nations.

A major reason the Three Immortal Sects of Zheng Country exploited the Independent Cultivators so ruthlessly was that they had to provide a massive amount of "resources" to satisfy the appetites of Jing Country’s two Major Immortal Sects.

They couldn’t cut into their own flesh, so they could only turn their knives on the Independent Cultivators.

Otherwise,

the Jing Country cultivators would cease to be good neighbors helping the Zheng Immortal Sects resist the Demon Dao’s invasion. Instead, they would become "bad neighbors" who might start pillaging the Zheng Country Cultivation Realm at any moment.

’Therefore, the most likely reason the Demon Cultivators are targeting a "minor character" like me is to use many small incidents involving people like me to bring the simmering discontent between the Zheng and Jing cultivators to the surface.’

"I... only have three more years before I can leave Chaning Cliff," Wei Tu said with a bitter smile.

From the bottom of his heart, he wanted no part in this disaster, which could derail his cultivation path.

Ten years of service at Chaning Cliff.

He had already completed seven years; with only three left, he would fulfill the terms of the Recruitment Order.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, such is the fate of Independent Cultivators like us. Some cultivators envy our freedom, but true freedom has always been the sole privilege of the powerful."

"You and I can only drift and be tossed about by the currents of the times," Li Daoyuan said with a sigh.

Just then, Wei Tu noticed a distinct difference in color between Li Daoyuan’s right and left arms.

It was obvious he had lost his left arm during the long years of war and had been forced to get a prosthetic.

Wei Tu sighed in sympathy. He nodded and said, "Although I have some connection to True Monarch Qin, he is a Zheng Country cultivator. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to interfere in the affairs of the Beast Taming Sect..."

"I wonder, does Fellow Daoist Li have a solution?"

Wei Tu didn’t believe that Li Daoyuan had come all this way simply to deliver a warning without having some kind of solution in mind.

From the very beginning,

Wei Tu hadn’t asked how or through what channels Li Daoyuan had learned that a Beast Taming Sect cultivator named Zuo Kui was secretly investigating him.

Because Wei Tu believed Li Daoyuan’s visit had been sanctioned by the Loose Immortal Alliance.

He and Li Daoyuan were merely acquaintances.

Logically, Li Daoyuan would not risk offending Zuo Kui just to secretly pass him this information.

Wei Tu had indeed joined the Loose Immortal Alliance.

But compared to Li Daoyuan, Wei Tu was merely a peripheral member and had not yet earned the true trust of the Alliance.

"The Beast Taming Sect’s Supreme Elder... Huyan Peng may have died on the Righteous Demon Battlefield in Jing Country, and the sect’s influence may have waned considerably, but even now, the Beast Taming Sect is not an opponent the Loose Immortal Alliance can afford to face..."

Li Daoyuan understood the implication behind Wei Tu’s words. He silently praised Wei Tu’s cleverness while also laying out the complexities of the situation.

"However, the Beast Taming Sect and the Loose Immortal Alliance are not entirely at odds. The two major influences also cooperate on certain matters."

Li Daoyuan added.

"Then please, enlighten me, Fellow Daoist Li," Wei Tu said, following Li Daoyuan’s lead.

"A Golden Core Elder from the Beast Taming Sect has some friendly relations with our Loose Immortal Alliance’s True Monarch Che."

"This is just a minor conflict."

"To you and me, Fellow Daoist Wei, it’s a huge problem. But to True Monarch Che, it’s a trivial affair."

At this point,

Li Daoyuan revealed his true purpose. "I am willing to help you get an introduction to True Monarch Che, Fellow Daoist Wei."