I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

Time flies.

Twenty years later.

Within the secret space, Wei Tu, who sat cross-legged in his cave dwelling, motionless like a statue, suddenly shone with spiritual light, and faint blue Dao patterns resembling ripples appeared on his body.

The "Refined Void Nascent Soul," suspended in the air and half-sitting atop Wei Tu's head, also sensed something and raised its chubby little hand, grabbing forward with a sudden thud.

In an instant, a light blue magic chain about an inch thick was grabbed from the void by the "Refining Void Dharma Infant". However, it only paused slightly in the air before struggling out of the "Refining Void Dharma Infant"'s small hand with great intelligence and arrogance, as if it wanted to return to the "original path".

At this moment, at the end of the pale blue magic chain, deep within the broken "void," a terrifying suction force was emanating. A strong wind swept through, causing the cave to tremble continuously, and sounds like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart constantly emanated from within.

However, seeing this scene, the "Refining Void Nascent Soul" did not care at all and did not seem to be in a hurry. It turned its head and looked at a small mountain of spirit crystals piled in the corner of the cave. It opened its mouth slightly and sucked hard at it.

In an instant, the small mountain of spirit crystals turned to ash. The enormous spiritual power was refined into the "Refining Void Nascent Soul," causing its lower abdomen to bulge slightly, and its little face to become a bit plumper in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, facing the struggling "pale blue magic chains", the "Refined Void Nascent Soul" finally moved, its left hand forming a strange hand seal, and its right hand quickly stretching forward.

Just moments ago, the "pale blue magic chain" that had struggled out of its little hand was instantly grabbed back into its palm, and its "end" connected to the depths of the void was also abruptly broken off with a huge explosion.

At the same moment, similar to the "light blue magic chains," blue, red, yellow, and golden magic chains also appeared on the body of the Nascent Soul cultivator.

It snaked out from the surface of the infant's body, forming a larger and thicker "chain", like a python, and coiled around the "pale blue chain", as if it wanted to swallow it.

All of this seemed to take a long time, but in reality, it only took less than half a breath.

Gazing at the "Law of Water" struggling violently within the "Chain of Laws," Wei Tu, resembling a statue, slowly opened his eyes at that moment, a hint of excitement appearing on his face.

"Finally... we've reached the final step!"

He muttered to himself, his expression excited.

Comprehension of the laws only yields an "understanding" of them. To truly master the "laws" and achieve the "unity of body and Dao" in the Integration Realm, one must intercept the true laws from the natural world and refine them into one's body.

However, compared to the "simple" way he obtained the Dark Law from the "Demon Ancestor's Holy Blood," the "Five Elements Law," which possesses five lower-level laws, is inevitably much more complicated.

He repeated this step five times without getting tired!

"...Okay, it's ready to be refined into your body."

Half a month later, gazing at the five-colored magic chains that had been melted into one and were shimmering with multicolored light, Wei Tu took a deep breath and controlled the Void Refining Nascent Soul floating above his head, slowly absorbing it into his body.

Instantly, a sharp, intense pain erupted within Wei Tu's Void Refining Nascent Soul body.

This is pain at the level of the soul.

It is far more painful than physical pain.

However, all of this was worthwhile, because it represented the "engraving" of the Five Elements Law on his soul and his "Dharma Infant" at the source level... From then on, the Five Elements Law was equivalent to a part of the source within his body.

"Only then can one be considered to have merged with the Dao... only then can one be considered a Nascent Soul of the Integration Realm!"

After the pain subsided, Wei Tu saw a five-colored ring representing the "Five Elements Law" appear between the eyebrows of his "Refined Void Nascent Soul". Finally, a look of excitement appeared on Wei Tu's face.

Even so, as early as two hundred years ago, he had already broken through the "seventh-order body refinement" and become a de facto Nascent Soul powerhouse.

But compared to body cultivators, the "fusion" realm of spiritual cultivators is the true mainstream, and it is what he pursued at the beginning after embarking on the path of immortality.

Secondly, mastering the "Five Elements Law" and advancing to a combined-body power through this law would also mean that he has hope of returning to the spirit world.

No matter how good the Ancient Demon Realm was, it was not a place for him, a "spiritual cultivator," to stay for long.

the last point.

Even if one advances to the "Fusion" stage, there is a chance to gain control of the "Earth Emperor Pearl" from Fairy Xuanling.

With the "Earth Emperor Pearl," a spatial treasure, he was able to truly establish himself in the Integration Realm and face cultivators below the Mahayana Realm without fear.

"It's just a pity that the Venerable King Palace Secret Realm is too far away from the Primordial Demon Source Realm. Otherwise, if we could obtain the 'Earth Emperor Pearl' at this moment... it would be another life-saving weapon."

Wei Tu glanced at the still dim and lifeless Earth Dao Seal on his wrist and shook his head.

It was at this very moment that he expressed his feelings.

In the blink of an eye, dark clouds suddenly gathered above the secret realm, accompanied by lightning and thunder.

The "Heavenly Tribulation of Integration" may be late, but it is coming!
……

"Thunder rumbles... Could it be that Fellow Daoist Kou has already refined a seventh-tier demonic pill?"

Outside the secret realm, inside a thatched hut.

A young man in a scholar's robe, who was reading a book, was slightly delighted when he sensed the earth-shattering commotion within the secret realm. He looked up and gazed in the direction of the secret realm.

He is the owner of this "secret space" that Wei Tu rented - "Qi Ying Demon Lord".

Decades ago, after learning that Wei Tu had moved from the "Stone Prison Secret Realm" to his place to cultivate pills in seclusion, he also stationed himself outside the secret realm to temporarily act as a protector.

There's no other reason than that, as a powerful Demon Lord, he knew all too well what a "seventh-tier alchemist" who was on good terms with him meant.

And coincidentally, Wei Tu was personally recognized by the Demon Lord Kui Dou as having the potential to break through to the seventh-level alchemist...

However, even the Demon Lord Qi Ying never anticipated that the day when Wei Tu would become a seventh-level alchemist would come so quickly.

According to his estimate, it would be considered fast for Wei Tu to advance to the seventh-level alchemist within a thousand years.

But I never thought...

"It took less than a hundred years..."

Demon Lord Qi Ying took a deep breath, and his gaze toward the secret realm held a hint of shock.

Of course, this only refers to the time Wei Tu spent in seclusion in the secret realm. If we add the time he spent studying alchemy at the Kui Dou Chamber of Commerce, it would be at least two hundred years.

However, even with this extra time, Wei Tu's achievements are still dazzling and hard to believe. After all, in the eyes of the Demon Lord, there is almost no difference between one hundred years and two hundred years.

"No wonder, no wonder that old man Kui Dou was so fond of this Fellow Daoist Kou... Even though his daughter was captured, he deliberately kept it a secret from her to prevent it from disturbing his concentration on alchemy..."

Qi Ying, the Demon Lord, had a slight glint in his eyes as he muttered to himself.

Decades ago, the message "Cai Qing Wu You" that Wei Tu obtained in the secret realm was sent out by him personally.

Meanwhile, he, on the outside, knew that this was merely a "false message" conveyed by a demon lord using him as a mouthpiece, since he wasn't blocked from receiving information by the secret realm...

At that time, he was still wondering about the choice of the Demon Lord of the Dipper.

Even if one is in a hurry to refine elixirs, there is no need to risk the death of one's daughter by spreading this false information.

Even if Wei Tu is a newly promoted Demon Lord, he is still a formidable force in the face of the Thirteen Bandits of Jingyuan.

He, too, was not invited by the Demon Lord of the Dipper to provide assistance, but instead remained outside this secret realm, serving as Wei Tu's protector...

Now it seems--

The choice made by the Demon Lord of the Dipper was not wrong.

If it were him, he would probably make the same choice.

Offspring can be born again, but if Wei Tu suffers any damage, one will deeply regret it.

This means that the Demon Lord's "path to enlightenment" and "financial prospects" have been cut off.

"This boy should not be underestimated."

"It has not been in vain that I have stayed here to protect the road for so long."

Qi Ying Demon Lord withdrew his gaze, and deep in his heart, he couldn't help but feel grateful to Kui Dou Demon Lord for giving him this opportunity to help Wei Tu protect the Dao.

……

He is protected by "seventh-order body refinement".

The Heavenly Tribulation of Integration, which is extremely difficult for ordinary cultivators, was quite easy for Wei Tu.

He even boldly removed his magical shield, using the power of the tribulation lightning to temper his body.

However, compared to the significant "improvement" in body refinement after completing the Heavenly Tribulation of Nascent Soul and Void Refinement, the Heavenly Tribulation of Body Integration is undoubtedly somewhat weak... It only stabilizes the "seventh-order body refinement" realm that Wei Tu broke through more than two hundred years ago, and the increase in cultivation is negligible.

"After merging with the Dao... my strength increased dramatically, and my resistance to heavenly tribulations also increased significantly..."

As the clouds of calamity dissipated, Wei Tu swung his arm, shattering his tattered robe, and then belatedly pondered.

The difference between tribulation lightning and ordinary lightning lies in the fact that it contains "divine might".

Therefore, using this method to train the body will naturally provide great benefits at lower levels.

And upon reaching the realm of fusion...

The cultivator has already mastered the "laws," obtained a portion of the power of heavenly authority, and achieved "unity of body and Dao." Naturally, the benefits gained from tempering the physical body through this process will be greatly reduced.

Or perhaps, that's why.

Whether it's a seventh-level body refiner, a fusion cultivator, or the "Demon Lord" of the Ancient Demon Realm, every subsequent advancement to the next realm becomes incredibly difficult.

"Fortunately, both the Law of Darkness and the Law of the Five Elements are high-level laws in the cultivation world... They have the potential to lead to the Mahayana realm... If the laws I comprehended were low-level laws, I would probably find it difficult to even break through to the mid-stage of the Integration Realm..."

Wei Tu had this thought in his mind and pondered it to himself.

Comprehending the "lower-level laws" and making them the "innate laws" of the Integration Realm does not necessarily mean that one cannot break through to a higher realm or become a Mahayana immortal...

However, this path is far more difficult than that of other cultivators who comprehend higher-level laws.

The "laws" that cultivators comprehend in the Integration Realm—in essence, are actually chains of laws that imprison and bind the ever-growing amount of magical power within their bodies.

The human body has an "upper limit".

The principle that one comprehends is to further elevate this "upper limit".

Therefore, the lower the level of the laws one comprehends, the lower the peak of this "upper limit," and the more difficult it is to break through to a higher realm.

This is also the stereotype formed by the cultivator community that "lower-level laws are difficult to break through in the mid-stage of the Integration Realm".

However, cultivators can comprehend more than one law. In addition to the "innate law" initially inscribed into their bodies, they can also comprehend other "acquired laws" to break through their "upper limits"... However, the effect of acquired laws is often less than one-tenth or one-twelfth of that of innate laws.

The difference is essentially equivalent to the huge difference between "innate Dao body" and "acquired Dao body".

"Back then, when Chief Chai reincarnated and began his cultivation again, he might have foreseen that his own limits were difficult to break through, which is why he thought of using the Five Essence Pill to comprehend the 'Five Elements Laws' and break through to a higher limit..."

Wei Tu recalled this past event and thought to himself that such a vicious possession incident might also be 'traceable' in the eyes of a higher-level powerhouse.

“Besides reincarnation and cultivation, high-grade elixirs and ‘incense’ condensed by the power of faith are also ways to break through the upper limit of cultivation. Of course, if you can avoid the latter, then you should avoid it…” Wei Tu shook his head.

The power of incense offerings is often a method used by powerful clans in the spirit world to maintain the "lower limit" of their clan. When using the power of incense offerings to break through realms, under the "distractions" of incense offerings... it is basically very difficult for cultivators to protect their spiritual intelligence and prevent it from being eroded by the power of faith.

These kinds of cultivators are often no longer called cultivators, but rather "incense deities".

Furthermore, the breakthroughs achieved by incense-offering deities are only temporary. While they may break through the upper limit, they can only break through one realm at most... and their path forward is often cut off as a result.

There was a rumor among the human race in the spirit realm that the reason why the last remaining Mahayana "Iron-Headed Monk" was able to survive for so many years surrounded by powerful enemies was largely due to his refining of "incense" and becoming an "incense deity".

"Right now, higher realms are too far away for me, I should focus on what's in front of me..."

Wei Tu took a deep breath, suppressed his distracting thoughts, flicked his sleeves, and flew into the alchemy room of the cave.

This time, he used the excuse of being promoted to "seventh-level alchemist" to deceive the Demon Lord Kui Dou, and went into seclusion in the secret space to break through.

Now that he has reached the Integration Realm, it's time to refine the Demon Lord of the Dipper and stuff it into his hands so he can use it to practice.

If possible, he didn't want to fall out with the Demon Lord of the Dipper over this matter.

Fortunately.

Even before breaking through to the Integration stage, his alchemy skills had already advanced to the "seventh level," and he had experience in refining "Infant Shaping Pills."

Refining a seventh-order magic pill shouldn't take too long.

Time flies, and years pass quickly.

In a blink of an eye.

Four more years have passed.

That year, tribulation clouds gathered again above the secret realm, bringing down a heavenly calamity.

However, this time the target was no longer Wei Tu himself, but the alchemy furnace in front of him.

"The third batch is finally complete!"

Looking at the seventh-order demonic pill that flew out of the dregs from the abandoned alchemy furnace and was radiating billowing demonic energy, Wei Tu finally showed a hint of relief and joy on his face.

"This pill is sufficient to satisfy the Demon Lord Kui Dou."

Wei Tu raised his hand and looked at the seventh-tier demon pill called "Demon Evolution Pill" in his hand, a smile appearing on his lips.

Although this "Demon-Evolving Pill" is only a low-grade seventh-rank demon pill, offering almost no benefit to the Demon Lord Kui Dou's cultivation path, its successful completion proves that he has advanced to a seventh-rank alchemist, justifying the Demon Lord Kui Dou's many years of hard work and investment. (End of Chapter)