I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

"This place is actually the 'Primordial Demon Origin Realm' of the Ancient Demon Realm?"

Several days later, Wei Tu emerged from the "Black Mist Swamp" and, upon seeing the geographical manual he had obtained, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

The Ancient Demon Realm is different from the Spirit Realm; it is not just a single "large interface".

Besides the "Primordial Demon Source Realm," whose area is comparable to the four continents of the Spirit Realm, there are also five "Minor Realms" surrounding the "Primordial Demon Source Realm," forming a protective ring.

These five minor realms are not truly small or inferior realms like the human realm. They are only smaller and less expansive in area than the spirit realm and the primordial demon source realm. At the level of origin, they are comparable to these two major realms.

The so-called "minor realm" is only relative to the Primordial Demon Source Realm. It's just a name.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that these "Five Minor Realms" were invaded by ancient demons. In terms of status, they cannot compare to the birthplace and place of prosperity of ancient demons - the Origin Realm of the Primordial Demon!
Wei Tu was astonished because the "Primordial Demon Source Realm" was located far from the "Spirit Realm" and was quite remote. Under normal circumstances, ancient demons would choose to invade the Spirit Realm from the "Purple Chen Realm," one of the "Five Minor Realms" that was close to the Spirit Realm.

In his opinion, neither the spatial teleportation of the [Boundary Stone] nor the "spatial node" of the Holy Spirit Kingdom's Wangxian Capital could traverse such a vast distance.

“Strange! But not incomprehensible.” Wei Tu’s eyes flickered, feeling that the reason was inseparable from the “Seven Treasures Demon Ancestor” of the Dark Raven Tower.

Without a doubt, the "Black Mist Swamp" that contains the "Shadow Raven Secret Realm" is no ordinary spiritual land that can be found anywhere in the ancient demon realm.

"Furthermore, the local customs are quite different from what I expected."

Wei Tu shifted his gaze from the animal-skin book in his hand and looked out through the "stone house" in front of him, which could be described as a humble abode.

Standing outside the house was a group of low-level demonic cultivators with human bodies and lizard heads, and flesh-colored wings covered by a membrane. They all had their heads bowed, in a prostration posture, trembling with fear.

Beyond these low-level orcish demon cultivators lies an endless plain, dotted with a scattering of giant stone houses that appear wild and monotonous.

Near the giant stone house lived various "tribes" that were similar to, yet not quite the same as, these lizard-headed demon cultivators. They all appeared to be uncivilized, living like animals that drank blood.

This "scenery" was vastly different from the "Six Kingdoms of the Swamp." The moment Wei Tu stepped out of the Black Mist Swamp, he thought he had arrived in another world.

Only after seeing that these orcish demon cultivators possessed traces of ancient demonic blood did they realize, in a daze, that they had not gone to the wrong place.

"Although I did not experience the great war between the two realms hundreds of thousands of years ago, I did kill some ancient demons at the border between the two realms... and I know some of the customs of the ancient demon realm."

"In the eyes of these ancient demons, low-level demon cultivators are not considered to be of the same race as them. They won't exploit them too much in terms of resources, but in terms of cultural enjoyment... they will deliberately create differences to indicate a difference in status..."

"Apart from those 'innate ancient demons,' all powerful ancient demons are similar to us spiritual cultivators, differing only in their spiritual energy and demonic energy. However, low-level demon cultivators are more like monsters or demonic creatures, belonging to a different era in terms of culture..."

Granny Tu's aged voice immediately rang in Wei Tu's ears.

An old house where a treasure.

In terms of strength, Wei Tu had long surpassed Granny Tu, and even against her at her peak, he was capable of putting up a fight.

However, in terms of knowledge, Wei Tu, who is only over three thousand years old, is naturally far inferior to this ten-thousand-year-old monster.

So—not long after leaving the Black Mist Swamp, Wei Tu, as if "knowing how to use people well," took the initiative to ask Granny Tu for advice and offered some reminders on certain matters.

Granny Tu, who was eager to help Xue Qiongyu, would not refuse. After a moment's thought, she readily agreed.

In her eyes, she was also a "dowry" that Xue Qiongyu brought with her when she married Wei Tu.

"Moreover, unlike spiritual cultivators, these ancient demons have no interest in building markets or immortal cities. Or rather, due to the difference in their cultivation levels and status, resulting in 'vast lands and sparse populations,' there's no need for them to build markets and immortal cities on a grand scale like spiritual cultivators..."

Wei Tu rubbed his temples and stated the conclusions he had drawn after reading these animal hide books.

He was not surprised by the cultural blockade imposed on the ancient demons.

When they first embarked on the path of immortality, Danqiu Mountain Market deliberately divided the area into "shantytowns" and "market districts" to distinguish between low-level and high-level Qi Refining cultivators.

If there are so many "oddities" at the Qi Refining stage, one can only imagine how strict the hierarchy is for demonic cultivators.

but--

The problems that arose from this appearance could not be ignored by him.

He was unable to find a nearby market or immortal city to cultivate as an ancient demon and prepare to break through to the Integration Realm.

Simply put, the realm structure of these demonic cultivators and ancient demons within the "Primordial Demon Source Realm" is already in a state of severe imbalance.

There are countless low-level demonic cultivators, as well as a large number of high-level ancient demons whose numbers are comparable to those of the Spirit Realm... but the middle level is very few.

If there are one hundred Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation cultivators in the Spirit Realm, then there are only ten, or even fewer, in the Ancient Demon Realm.

Those powerful "Demon Generals" whose realm is above the Nascent Soul stage are almost entirely due to the historical accumulation of the Ancient Demon Realm, which is why they have such a considerable number.

Or rather, in terms of the realm structure, this group of ancient demons suffers from a serious "generational gap"!
It was precisely for this reason that after Wei Tu had read through all the ancient texts of this small tribe, he only saw two "super-large immortal cities" built by ancient demons in the "Primordial Demon Origin Realm".

There wasn't a single small market town or small fairy city nestled between the tribes and the fairy city.

This undoubtedly gave him a major headache.

Because these two immortal cities are located at the northern and southern ends of the "Primordial Demon Origin Realm," respectively, and are more than tens of millions of miles away from where he is...

If he wanted to escape, even with his speed at the Integration Realm, it would take him at least a hundred years.

Of course, similar to when he was in the Dark Serpent Clan, the powerful ancient demons nearby should have "ultra-long teleportation arrays" leading to these two immortal cities... However, here he was far less convenient than when he was in the Dark Serpent Clan.

In terms of identity, he can disguise himself as an ancient demon.

However... in terms of environment, the ancient demons don't have the same "mutual help" and kindness as those dragon-born tribes; deceit and backstabbing are the norm.

"A hundred years is not a long time. Compared to the risks of dealing with unfamiliar ancient demons... flying there myself is much safer..."

Upon hearing this, Granny Tu secretly sighed, "Wei Tu is too young," and immediately offered some advice.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu did not refute it; he nodded in agreement.

Indeed, considering the time concept of a Nascent Soul cultivator, nearly a hundred years of travel time is not a long time, after all, it is almost equivalent to crossing a large interface.

It is only because he is so "young" in age that this hundred years seems to be a long time.

Even without Granny Tu's advice, for safety's sake, he would have chosen to fly there himself rather than deal with unfamiliar ancient demons like the Purple Blood Demon Lord, and "borrow a route."

After all, he is not the same person he used to be.

Having broken through to the "seventh-order body refinement" within a thousand years, one can be considered to have overcome the most difficult hurdle in the cultivation method of life. In the subsequent cultivation, there is no need to keep up as closely as before.

……

of course.

When it came to getting on the road, Wei Tu did not act rashly.

He then collected records about the "Primordial Demon Source Realm" from several nearby tribes to verify his thoughts before setting off. He chose the nearest "super-large immortal city"—Tianyuan Holy City—and sped off in that direction with a flash of light.

While on the road.

Wei Tu wasted no time; he devoted most of his attention to studying the refining method of the "Five Essence Pill".

The "Five Essence Pill" also belongs to the Daoist alchemy category. It is difficult for alchemists who are not of the sixth rank or above and who have been immersed in this Dao for a long time to successfully refine it.

In the hundreds of years from obtaining the "Divine Ape Grass" to breaking through to the "Seventh-Order Body Refinement" stage...

Because of his numerous fortuitous encounters, his breakthrough speed was astonishing. However, as a result, he inevitably lagged behind in the improvement of "immortal arts" such as talismanic arts and alchemy.

My progress in talismanic arts is not difficult; I have a near-seventh-tier sea beast from the Dinghai Immortal Ruins to practice with.

But... alchemy can only be achieved through persistent, painstaking effort.

Firstly, there is the scarcity of high-grade spiritual herbs. Secondly, the refining experience for different spiritual pills is difficult to replicate directly.

He only had one "Divine Ape Grass," so he couldn't possibly waste this precious plant so easily.

Therefore—

More than twenty years later, on his way to the "Heavenly Abyss Holy City", he saw that the caravans and crowds heading to the city were gradually becoming denser and larger. He took the opportunity to volunteer and joined a merchant guild called "Kuidou Merchant Guild" as an alchemist, becoming an external alchemist of the guild.

The reason Wei Tu was hired as an external alchemist was not because he was being modest, but because his skills in refining demonic energy "elixirs" were inevitably far inferior to those of a spiritual alchemist...

Both the principles and techniques of alchemy need to be relearned.

But correspondingly, this is also an excellent opportunity to hone his alchemy skills.

"Master Kou..."

"These are some newly collected spiritual herbs; they should be enough to refine several bottles of 'Spirit Shaping Pills'..."

Inside the cabin of a flying boat that resembled black jade, Wei Tu, who was sitting cross-legged near the alchemy furnace, refining pills by performing hand seals, frowned slightly upon hearing these words, a hint of displeasure showing on his face.

He looked up and saw a beautiful young female cultivator in front of him, with a smile on her lips, a slender waist, and wearing a gorgeous palace dress.

"Is Miss Cai bullying me? In the ten years since I joined the Kui Dou Merchant Guild, I have been the one who refined 80% of the elixirs that this slave cultivator has consumed!"

Wei Tu flicked his sleeves and said with dissatisfaction.

That's right! The "Spirit Shaping Pill" that this woman mentioned is not the demonic alchemy he has been studying in recent years, but a "spirit pill" specifically for spiritual cultivators to take. Its effect is to allow spiritual cultivators who are servants to quickly break through their realms and make their flesh more delicious and crisp.

—The Kui Dou Merchant Guild, in addition to dealing in elixirs, also engaged in the slave trade of "spiritual cultivation".

This business is quite common in the ancient demon realm. Almost every large merchant guild will include this business, since spiritual cultivation is considered a rare cultivation resource for ancient demons.

Ironically, the "Blood-Soaked Lands" ruled by the various ancient demons are the place where spiritual cultivation is most abundant.

Transporting these spiritual cultivators from the Bloodshed Land to the "Heavenly Abyss Holy City," where ancient demons gather, is one of the most common and lucrative businesses.

However, Wei Tu's "refusal" at this moment was not for the sake of these spiritual practitioners. He was not so benevolent as to show great kindness to these complete strangers.

Instead, if he simply submits, in the social ecosystem of the ancient demons, he will be considered "weak and easily bullied," which will greatly hinder his future cultivation in the Kui Dou Chamber of Commerce and the Primordial Demon Source Realm.

Privately, he not only had no aversion to refining spiritual pills like "Spirit Shaping Pills," but was quite happy to do so. After all, the original purpose of learning demonic alchemy was to gain a broader understanding of alchemy and improve his skills in "spiritual pill" alchemy.

……

Seeing the displeasure on Wei Tu's face.

The smiling "Young Master Cai" suddenly showed a hint of surprise in her eyes.

As Wei Tu had suspected, the reason she assigned this "hard labor" to him was because Wei Tu had only recently joined the Kui Dou Chamber of Commerce, and was rather honest and dull-witted, making him an easy target for bullying.

Unexpectedly, this was just Wei Tu's disguise; he was not as "honest" as she thought.

"Master Kou Dan is a newcomer to the Kui Dou Merchant Guild and lacks experience. Therefore, according to convention, this kind of work should be done by Master Kou Dan, not by other more senior members..."

"If any new members join the Chamber of Commerce, I will assign this task to them and won't trouble Master Kou anymore..."

The young female cultivator suppressed her smile and offered a forced, insincere explanation.

However—this is merely an explanation; the "non-committal" expression on her face also represents her "will," which brooks no resistance from Wei Tu.

There's no other reason than the way Wei Tu addresses her.

"Young Master" is a prestigious title reserved only for the direct descendants of the Demon Lord.

Even though Wei Tu was a sixth-level alchemist with considerable skill in alchemy, he was still as insignificant as dust in front of her, despite being a fellow demon general.

“What you say makes sense.”

"Mr. Kou... is indeed a little lacking in experience."

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu's face showed some resentment, as if he was angry about the suppression by the senior alchemist.

"However, my lord must promise me that once the Chamber of Commerce recruits a new alchemist, the task of refining elixirs will no longer be assigned to me..."

Wei Tu continued 'chattering'.

"I agree to this." Consort Cai smiled faintly, as if she had truly taken Wei Tu's words to heart.

After speaking, she swayed her slender waist and left the cabin where Wei Tu was.

"He's a soft-hearted person! His background seems a bit suspicious, but it appears he doesn't have any powerful backing."

A moment later, Cai Xiaozhu arrived at the "control room" of the flying boat. She took a deep breath, bowed to a large, fat old man with a white face and no beard, and said this sentence.

This man is her biological father.

He is also the ruler of the entire "Kuidou Chamber of Commerce," a powerful demon lord known as the "Kuidou Demon Lord," who is also a well-known figure in the entire "Tianyuan Holy City."

Upon hearing this, the Demon Lord of the Dipper merely nodded slightly, not even bothering to lift his eyes, and waved his hand, dismissing his daughter, "Little Master Cai."

Testing "newcomers" is a common practice in the chamber of commerce.

Not only Wei Tu, but other "ancient demons" of the Kui Dou Chamber of Commerce have all experienced similar "testing" scenarios.

Therefore, after hearing his daughter say that Wei Tu was not acting strangely, he naturally stopped paying attention to the matter.

As for its dubious origin...

This is not something to worry about.

There's no other reason than that the Ancient Demon Realm is far too vast. Besides the "Primordial Demon Source Realm," there are also the "Five Minor Realms." Let alone an Ancient Demon at the Demon Commander level, even a Demon Lord like him is not uncommon among the six realms.

Therefore, in most cases, it's not that cultivators like Wei Tu have suspicious origins, but rather that their Kui Dou Merchant Guild lacks the strength to investigate them one by one.

……

"Time is up."

Meanwhile, inside the airship cabin, Wei Tu also muttered this sentence to himself without any clear beginning or end.

next moment.

Several explosions suddenly rang out from the secluded Guling Mountain, far away in the "Black Mist Swamp".

In that instant, the unconscious Mr. Jingkong died and his life was extinguished.

Although the explosion was a secret, it did not make any noise to the outside world due to the special nature of the Lonely Spirit Mountain.

But soon, a towering man with four arms and wearing iron armor, his face ashen, tore through space and appeared before the mangled corpse of Mr. Jingkong. (End of Chapter)