I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

however.

That's when.

Suddenly, the talisman at his waist trembled violently, and the runes formed by the demonic light flickered incessantly.

"Young Master Cai has been attacked—" Wei Tu opened his eyes, glanced down at the information conveyed by the talisman, and his expression changed slightly.

This time, he went into seclusion at the Stone Prison branch to break through his cultivation. Although he could use the secret space here to conceal the progress of his breakthrough, it also brought him some hidden dangers.

For example, "enemy attack"!
— Tianyuan Holy City is an orderly place. Under the control of the Demon God and the Demon Ancestor, no one dares to act recklessly.

However, things were quite different in the remote "Stone Prison Branch".

Here, he need not fear that demon gods or demon ancestors could see that he is breaking through the "fusion" realm of spiritual cultivation, but precisely because of this... he also loses the "protection" of these demon gods and demon ancestors and can only face danger alone!

Of course, he didn't think the latter was very likely. After all, he hadn't been in "Tianyuan Holy City" for long, and apart from showing his face at the Demon Lord's Grand Ceremony, he had been following a "stay-at-home" strategy. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have offended any major enemies.

At least, there's competition in business.

In his view, it was unlikely to escalate into a life-or-death struggle, completely tearing each other apart.

Therefore, he did not refuse Cai Xiaozhu's offer to escort the magic potion from "Tianyuan Holy City" and deliver it to him for alchemy.

This matter is urgent—collecting seventh-tier magic potions is difficult, and it's impossible to gather them all at once. Within the Kui Dou Merchant Guild, besides Master Cai, who is qualified to escort them, the remaining ancient demons are either not close to him or lack the qualifications to handle "seventh-tier magic potions"...

"At this moment, I am at the critical juncture of my breakthrough. To strike during the 'Reversal of the Dao Body' would be safe... but it would also easily reveal my spiritual cultivation level..."

Wei Tu's gaze turned slightly cold as he pondered the origins of the ancient demon who attacked Cai Xiaozhu. How could it have been so adept at targeting his vital points, striking just as he had taken the "Five Essence Pill" and the "Infant Shaping Pill"?

Leaving aside the danger of exposing his spiritual cultivation level, simply making a move here and wasting his precious "breakthrough time" would have endless consequences.

It's fine for a day or two.

If it lasts for months or even years, he'll be stuck in a rut.

"Fortunately—"

"I was prepared for this."

A cold glint flashed across Wei Tu's face as he swiftly crushed a pale blue talisman in his hand.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, the stone door of the secluded cultivation room broke open, revealing a teleportation array platform that shimmered with spatial fluctuations and covered an area of ​​half an acre.

He understood the principle of having three burrows.

While he was in seclusion at the "Stone Prison Branch" cultivating, he also painstakingly spent time and energy building an ultra-long-distance teleportation array leading to other "spatial secret realms".

If the situation changes.

The "Secret Realm of Space" at the other end of the teleportation array will be where he will undertake his subsequent breakthrough missions.

The cost of this ultra-long-distance teleportation array is not enormous, since it is not a cross-continental teleportation array, but only a teleportation from the "Stone Prison Secret Realm" to another "Space Secret Realm" not far from here.

—The area surrounding Tianyuan Holy City is not lacking in "spatial secret realms" that are independent of the outside world, similar to the "Stone Prison Secret Realm".

With the vast network of connections of the Demon Lord Kui Dou, it would not be difficult for him to rent a similar "secret space" in advance from other Demon Lords to prevent unforeseen circumstances from occurring.

……

The moment Wei Tu left using the teleportation array.

Not far from the "Stone Prison Branch," in a secluded valley, a portly old man who was sitting cross-legged slowly opened his eyes and stared at the message conveyed by the pale blue talisman in front of him.

"He's almost finished refining a seventh-tier demonic core?"

A look of surprise and excitement flashed in the eyes of the portly old man.

However, if outsiders were to witness this scene, no matter who they are, they would be greatly alarmed.

The reason is simple: the light blue talisman contains two messages. The first one is not the message that Wei Tu is about to complete the "seventh-order magic pill," but rather the news of Cai Xiaozhu's attack...

However, this fat old man, or rather, the "Demon Lord of the Dipper," cared more about the former.

After a short while, the Demon Lord of the Dipper finally came to his senses, staring with a slightly cold expression at the first message in the pale blue talisman.

"How dare you lay a hand on my descendants?"

A strong killing intent flashed across his face. He raised his hand and shattered the "concealment barrier" set up in front of him. Like a flash of a demonic shadow, he quickly flew away from the valley and headed to the place where the talisman had mentioned.

"not good!"

"That old bastard is indeed protecting that guy surnamed Kou."

In the distance, the Golden Cloud Demon Lord, who was spying on the Stone Prison branch using a "secret technique," saw this scene and his face immediately darkened.

"It doesn't matter whether the Demon Lord of Kui Dou is here or not, it won't affect our grand plan."

"At most, it will only reduce the gap between them somewhat. At least, that Demon Lord Kou is still in seclusion and hasn't intervened to rescue Cai Qing in time..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man with a bare upper body and fish gills on his face emerged from the void. He smiled and looked towards the direction where the Stone Prison branch was located.

"Fellow Daoist Night Fish." Upon hearing this, Demon Lord Golden Cloud nodded in agreement, withdrew his gaze, and bowed to the fish-gill man.

This demon was the helper he specifically invited to deal with the "New Kui Dou Merchant Guild".

Although he was a rogue cultivator and had not built up any power, he, like him, harbored considerable hatred for the Demon Lord of the Dipper.

"Now, let's see if the Thirteen Thieves of Jingyuan dare to disrespect this old man Kui Dou..."

The Demon Lord Jin Yun stroked his beard and smiled slightly.

"The second of the Thirteen Thieves of the Abyss has a deep friendship with me. With him around, this meticulously planned 'accidental robbery' can serve as a prelude to targeting the Demon Lord of the Dipper..."

"Then Cai Qing will probably not survive either."

Night Fish Demon Lord remained calm, with a hint of arrogance on his face, as if his relationship with the "Thirteen Thirteen Thieves of the Abyss" was something he could boast about.

The same is true.

Although the Thirteen Thieves of Jingyuan are not the top among the tribulation cultivators near Tianyuan Holy City, their "number" and "scale" are enough to make them a force to be reckoned with for most Demon Lords.

In particular, the first and second leaders of the "Thirteen Thieves" are rare demon lords among cultivators.

Having a deep friendship with them is equivalent to having an invisible "strong support" from a demon lord-level force. After all, demon lord forces on the righteous path are not as daring to attack other forces at will and not afraid of retaliation as the Thirteen Thirst of the Abyss.

"Once Cai Qing dies, even if Demon Lord Kou and Demon Lord Kui Dou have a deep friendship... he will probably have to secretly wonder if Demon Lord Kui Dou will hold a grudge against him for losing his beloved daughter, after all, Cai Qing 'died' while delivering the demon potion..."

"That would be the perfect opportunity for you and me to sow discord between them."

"...While it's not certain we can invite this Demon Lord Kou to the Golden Cloud Chamber of Commerce, as long as he doesn't ally with Demon Lord Kui Dou, it will be the greatest benefit for both of us."

……

Wei Tu, who had already moved to another hidden "space secret realm" for seclusion using an ultra-long-distance teleportation array, was unaware that Cai Xiaozhu's attack had reached such a dangerous situation.

Of course, even knowing this, he would find it difficult to give up the "breakthrough opportunity" he had finally found and go to rescue him.

He calmed his mind and focused on comprehending the Five Elements principles.

Perhaps because he had comprehended the "Wood Domain" at the very beginning of his breakthrough to the Void Refinement stage, the first of the Five Elements laws that Wei Tu comprehended was the "Wood Law".

However, by the time he fully internalized the laws of wood... five years had already passed.

With the added interference of the "Wood Law," his speed in comprehending the other Five Elements Laws noticeably slowed down.

White paper is easy to paint on.

However, trying to work on stained paper is far more complicated than before.

"Only sixty-five years in total... that's still too tight..." Wei Tu felt the pressure increase and dared not pause for a moment. He gritted his teeth and continued to comprehend the text.

And this time.

News from the outside world finally reached him.

“Cai Qing is carefree…”

Upon seeing these four words, Wei Tu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although his relationship with this woman was merely a conflict of interest and they didn't have any deep connection, they were still acquaintances... In addition, he had received some favors from her, so he naturally didn't want her to "die tragically" after this attack.

The fact that he was able to remain calm and untroubled proves that this was just a minor setback, far less serious than he had imagined.

"The second law—the law of fire..."

In the seventeenth year, following the "Law of Wood," Wei Tu successfully comprehended the "Law of Fire."

Same as before.

The difficulty increased even further.

And this was achieved by comprehending the principles of the "Five Elements" in sequence, which reduced the difficulty to some extent.

"It took me twelve years longer than to comprehend the laws of wood."

"But... if this continues, sixty-five years may not be enough..."

Wei Tu opened his eyes, glanced at the high-grade fire spirit crystal in his hand that had been shattered into dust, and felt a slight headache coming on.

Only then did he finally understand why the "Five Elements Law" was a superior law that could be ranked alongside the "Dark Law".

The sheer difficulty of comprehending it within a "fixed time" is comparable to the "Dark Laws," a powerful law that is rarely comprehended even among the ancient demons.

To know--

Before comprehending the "Five Elements Laws," he had made near-perfect preparations in terms of "foundation of magical power" and breakthrough elixirs.

There is still a considerable risk of failure.

"Now I understand the value of the body."

Wei Tu sighed inwardly.

In terms of foundation, he is no less than any Dao Body, and in terms of strength at the same level, he far surpasses those Dao Bodies.

However, on the path of cultivation, these Dao bodies are far more relaxed and adaptable than his "mortal body," essentially equivalent to lying in a "comfort zone."

"Although, at this moment, my golden and purple destiny... has also changed..."

Wei Tu could easily see through his inner vision that the Golden Purple Destiny was shining brightly, and the strands of "life force" contained within it were constantly flowing into his physical body.

With the blessing of these "life forces"—

In fact, his understanding of the "Five Elements Principle" is accelerating.

However, in a longitudinal comparison, the speed at which he comprehended the "Five Elements Law" was constantly slowing down.

in short.

The improvement in aptitude cannot keep up with the increasing difficulty of comprehending the Five Elements Law!

This can be considered a "limitation" of one's destiny.

At the beginning, he will find it difficult to compete with the "prodigies" on the same track, but with the help of his destiny, he will get faster and faster until he takes the lead...

However, there is one prerequisite: sufficient time.

Unfortunately, at this moment, breaking through to the Integration Realm, the "Reversal of the Dao Body" has a certain time limit. In this respect, he is naturally no match for those who possess the "Innate Dao Body".

"Fortunately, I am not one of those people who lack resources and can only rely on their aptitude to break through... Originally, I wanted to save this resource for later, but now I think it's time."

Wei Tu took a deep breath and slapped his forehead.

The next moment, his "Refined Void Nascent Soul" flew out from his dantian and arrived above his head. His hands formed a hand seal, his mouth was slightly open, and he began to exhale "spiritual energy" in the shape of small milky white fish.

Not bad!

These milky white fish were none other than the ten immortal fish he had caught in the "Dragon Refining Ancient Hall" of Dinghai Immortal Ruins.

Celestial energy is an extraordinary existence for cultivators.

Moreover, the "immortal energy" within the Dragon Refining Ancient Hall is different from the "immortal energy" refined by Mahayana cultivators themselves; it belongs to "original immortal energy"... which has infinite wonderful uses for building a cultivator's foundation.

Before he entered the Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle to fish for immortal energy, the Great Princess "Qian Ying'er" had told him via telepathy that the primordial immortal energy within the Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle had the wonder of building an unparalleled immortal foundation.

This so-called "supreme immortal foundation"...

Ultimately, it is about helping cultivators reshape their "Dharma Body," transforming it into a "vessel" more suitable for comprehending the laws.

This "vessel" is neither an "acquired Dao body" nor an "innate Dao body." Unlike the Dao body, it does not have a comfort zone only when comprehending fixed laws.

It was called "half-immortal body" by the three major hegemonic clans!
It is modeled after the immortal body of a Mahayana immortal.

Although... it is still far inferior, possessing only the wondrous qualities of a Mahayana immortal's body.

However, for cultivators who have achieved the Integration Realm, it is already the "supreme immortal foundation" before breaking through to the Mahayana Realm.

"From this perspective, the ten immortal energies have the same effect as my 'life force,' only the effect is more pronounced... more like a potent medicine!"

Wei Tu's eyes flickered slightly. He raised his hand and grabbed the ten milky white immortal energies, which quickly gathered in his palm, merging and devouring each other.

After a short while, the fish grew scales and whiskers under its lips, condensing its ten tails into "one tail." Then, it let out a dragon's roar, transformed into a dragon, and burrowed into his spine.

Bone produces marrow, and marrow produces blood.

The spine is equivalent to the "central structure" of a cultivator's physical body.

The instant the celestial energy entered, Wei Tu sensed that his comprehension of the "Five Elements Laws" had suddenly accelerated to a new level.

What used to confuse him greatly suddenly became a profound and easily understood principle...

Ten years later.

Wei Tu successfully comprehended the Law of Earth.

Fifteen years later...

The rules of gold also became Wei Tu's possession.

Currently, of the Five Elements Laws, only the "Law of Water" remains. At this point, there are still 23 years left until Wei Tu obtains the 65 years he has gained from "Reversing the Dao Body"!
This amount of time was undoubtedly enough for him.

"The breakthrough hinges on this!" (End of Chapter)