I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

"This... is the Purple Palace Realm?"

Thirteen years later, Wei Tu, who was sitting cross-legged on the deck of the [Shengtian Demon Ship], opened his eyes and looked at the magnificent scene in the distance, which was full of purple mist and resembled a fairyland palace. A look of interest appeared on his face.

Unlike traveling from the "Black Mist Swamp" to the "Heavenly Abyss Holy City," which required him to fly there himself, he was now qualified to use the city's ultra-long-distance teleportation array without arousing suspicion, having advanced to the Demon Lord realm within the "Heavenly Abyss Holy City."

However… the cost of using such a powerful “interdimensional teleportation array” that can traverse an entire realm is far too high, often costing tens of thousands of mid-grade magic crystals. It is beyond the reach of a minor demon lord like him.

Therefore, he had no choice but to settle for second best and use the "intercontinental teleportation array" within the Holy City to teleport to the continent closest to the "Purple Emperor Realm" within the "Primordial Demon Source Realm".

but.

Rao is so.

This also saved him a lot of time.

In just over ten years, they traveled from the "Primordial Demon Source Realm" to the border between the two realms, which is connected to the "Purple Emperor Realm".

— Liangjie Mountain.

Two Realms Mountain is a special place name within the "Primordial Demon Source Realm," not unique to this place. It is a "spatial magic bridge" created by the demon gods of the ancient demon realm with their great power, connecting the "Primordial Demon Source Realm" and the "Five Minor Realms."

It is precisely because of this "spatial bridge" that the "Five Minor Realms" can be locked up by the "Primordial Demon Source Realm" and continuously demonized, degenerating from a spiritual cultivation realm into... a paradise that can accommodate the cultivation of ancient demons.

"Reporting to Master, that place... is indeed my hometown—the Purple Palace Realm. Legend has it that those misty purple wisps... were formed from golden lotuses that sprang from the earth when immortals from the Upper Realm descended to preach..."

Standing next to Wei Tu, Lin Tianqi felt a pang of sadness upon hearing Wei Tu's words, but it quickly subsided. After carefully considering his words, he slowly introduced the customs and people of the Zi Chen Realm to Wei Tu.

For example, the "one god and two ancestors" who rule this world.

And the twelve spiritual cultivators who were scattered and fleeing from the pursuit of ancient demons...

Wei Tu had already gathered information about these local customs and traditions before leaving "Tianyuan Holy City".

However, coming from Lin Tianqi, this native, it had a unique flavor.

Especially the twelve spiritual communities mentioned by this practitioner!
This cultivator was a member of one of the twelve spiritual cultivation families. However, in the great war eight hundred years ago, the Lin family, one of the twelve families to which this cultivator belonged, was completely destroyed by the ancient demon.

This led to Xiu's fall from a high-ranking direct descendant of the Lin family to a... soul slave who could be tortured and humiliated at will.

"The Twelve Caves were originally formed by seventy-two exiled forces from the Purple Chen Realm. As time passed... they declined to the point where only 'Twelve Caves' remained... Of course, now they can perhaps only be called 'Eleven Caves'..."

"...The name 'Dong Family' is a self-deprecating term used by us spiritual cultivators. We can only hide in a corner like rats, barely clinging to life..."

Speaking of it.

Lin Tianqi seemed to remember something else, and said again:

"The decline of the Twelve Caves family is also related to the 'smuggling route' to the Spirit Realm that the master had inquired about before... Many spiritual cultivators refused to cultivate in the Purple Palace Realm anymore, perhaps out of fear of the 'One God and Two Ancestors,' and were willing to risk their lives to smuggle themselves to the Spirit Realm... So as time went by, the power of my Twelve Caves family became more and more wretched..."

Hear this.

Wei Tu wasn't too surprised.

Cultivators are a group that is extremely adept at seeking benefits and avoiding harm.

Within the Purple Palace Realm, the power of the ancient demons is extremely obvious. Expecting these insignificant "Twelve Cave Families" to resist and rebuild the golden age of spiritual cultivation is simply an impossible task...

Staying here, to put it nicely, is an act of refusing to accept one's fate; to put it bluntly, it's "stubborn resistance"...

Rather than doing that, it would be better to temporarily avoid the Ancient Demon's sharp edge, flee to the Spirit Realm, and return to the Purple Palace Realm once we have the power to launch a counterattack.

This makes it seem like we have a better chance of winning.

"The affairs of the Twelve Caves... are none of my concern. As long as what you said about the 'spiritual cultivation ruins' leading to the spirit world is correct, that's all that matters..."

Wei Tu said in a detached tone.

"That spiritual cultivation ruin is the best smuggling route to the spirit world, according to my family's records... It's unlikely there will be any problems. The only problem is the 'ancient demons' guarding this place... Of course, for Master, these ancient demons are not a problem..."

Lin Tianqi replied respectfully.

Although he didn't understand why Wei Tu was so obsessed with "smuggling himself into the Spirit Realm," he knew that in this matter, Wei Tu's ancient demon identity made it a thousand times easier than that of a spiritual cultivator. The only difficulty lay in the "natural restrictions" that prevented ancient demons from entering the Spirit Realm.

"Perhaps he was just curious and went to take a look on a whim..." Lin Tianqi thought to himself, not believing that Wei Tu would really risk his life to sneak into the Spirit Realm.

After all, even if he managed to bypass the "natural restrictions" of the spirit world, the powerful beings of the spirit world would not easily let go of Wei Tu, this ancient demon.

While the master and servant were conversing.

The "Shengtian Demon Ship" beneath their feet successfully crossed the Two Realms Mountain leading to the "Zichen Realm" and arrived at a spiritual cultivation realm with a world environment completely different from the "Primordial Demon Source Realm"...

During this time, no ancient demons blocked their way.

This is not because the ancient demons set up checkpoints laxly.

Instead... no one dared to stop them!
The Demon Lord realm is the "Upper Three Realms" at the top of the "Ancient Demon Realm," and it is not something that ordinary ancient demons can afford to offend.

Within the Holy City of Tianyuan, Wei Tu, this "newly crowned Demon Lord," is insignificant. But in the remote region of the "Five Minor Realms," he is a figure second only to the "One God and Two Ancestors"!

In addition, the "Shengtian Demon Ship" he commands is no ordinary spirit ship. What ignorant junior would dare to provoke him, the great tyrant?

but.

Upon arriving at the "Purple Palace Realm," Wei Tu had no intention of exploring it. He increased the speed of his demonic ship and headed towards the "spiritual cultivation ruins" mentioned by Lin Tianqi, following the direction Lin Tianqi had indicated.

Two years later.

He arrived at his destination safely.

This place truly lives up to its name as a "spiritual cultivation site." The ruins formed by the spirit palace and immortal mountain stretch endlessly, with broken and colorful spiritual restrictions everywhere. On the ground, the remains of spiritual cultivators after battles are scattered haphazardly.

However, unlike the "spiritual remains" in the spiritual cultivation caves of Tianyuan Holy City, the spiritual remains here have completely dissipated their spiritual energy, including their storage artifacts, which have also disappeared, leaving only some tattered robes on their bodies.

However, just as Wei Tu was about to retrieve the "Shengtian Demon Ship" and enter this spiritual cultivation ruin, a broken jade plaque hanging in a fairy mountain within the ruin suddenly caught his attention.

"The Nanhua School?"

Wei Tu narrowed his eyes and gazed intently at the plaque.

The name "Nanhua Sect" is not uncommon in the cultivation world. Many small factions use this name.

But... the characters and patterns on this jade plaque seem to be exactly the same as the plaque on the magnificent stone hall he remembered seeing in the "Yunze Secret Realm".

"Could it be that the entire Nanhua Sect ascended to the Zichen Realm, and not the Spirit Realm?"

In Wei Tu's mind, distant memories from when he was still in the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages surfaced.

At that time, he was still searching for the four secret medicinal gardens left behind by the ancient immortal sect, Nanhua Sect. The "Red Dragon Ancestor" who was with him revealed the ancient secret that "Nanhua Sect was appreciated by a noble person in the spirit world and the whole sect ascended to immortality".

Unexpectedly, a thousand years later, he found traces of the Nanhua Sect within the Zichen Realm...

This gave him a sense of the vicissitudes of time, yet also a feeling of the coincidence of fate.

"The Nanhua School?"

Upon hearing Wei Tu inquire about this matter, Lin Tianqi, who was standing to the side, was slightly taken aback, seemingly not understanding why Wei Tu had suddenly become interested in this long-lost sect. However, he still fulfilled his duty as a spirit servant and told him everything he knew about the "Nanhua Sect".

"...This sect was wiped out 110,000 years ago when the Holy Realm invaded the Zichen Realm. The surviving cultivators of the Nanhua Sect, together with other spiritual cultivation forces...lasted for tens of thousands of years and managed to escape to this place, attempting to open a 'spatial node' leading to the Spirit Realm..."

"They succeeded, but they also failed. Upon learning this news, the ancient demons... no! The demon lords joined forces to annihilate this group of cultivators. However, a considerable number of spiritual cultivators escaped to the Spirit Realm... and other parts of the Zi Chen Realm..."

"Today, the Zi family of the Twelve Caves... is a remnant of the Nanhua School..."

Lin Tianqi paused for a moment before replying.

"The Zi family?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu seemed to be deep in thought.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago marked the pivotal moment in the ancient war between the Demon Realm and the Spirit Realm. Two hundred thousand years ago, the Nanhua Sect, considered an "ancient immortal sect" by human cultivators, gained the favor of a noble figure in the Spirit Realm and, after suppressing an ancient demon, received the opportunity for the entire sect to ascend to immortality…

Unfortunately, 110,000 years ago, the Zichen Realm fell and became one of the "Five Minor Realms" of the Ancient Demon Realm. Along with it, the Nanhua Sect, an ancient sect that originated from the human realm, was also destroyed.

"It seems... the great war between the Spirit Realm and the Ancient Demon Realm ended with the Spirit Realm's defeat... The Zichen Realm may have become a casualty of this war... contrary to what the Spirit Realm officials claimed, that it was a draw." Wei Tu's eyes flickered as he pondered.

Battle reports can be deceiving, but battle lines can not.

If it were truly a draw, the Transcending Tribulation Immortals of the Spirit Realm wouldn't have struggled to even guard the spiritual cultivation interface at the doorstep of "Zi Chen Realm".

However, this has little to do with him. At his current level, there is no need for him to think about things so far in the future.

“Now, you are of no use to me.”

"Find your own way out..."

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu glanced at the spiritual cultivation ruins that were now close at hand, pondered for a moment, then with a flick of his sleeve, erased the slave mark and some memories from Lin Tianqi's mind, and said calmly.

"what?"

"Find your own way out?"

In that instant, Lin Tianqi, who was speaking, was so shocked that his jaw dropped, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard and thought he was hallucinating.

However, at this moment, he also truly sensed that the "slave" magic restriction on his forehead had been removed by Wei Tu, this "ancient demon".

"What exactly is this demon's plan?"

"Is it... a bait-and-switch tactic? Deliberately letting me go so you can track down the Twelve Caves? No, that's unlikely. For safety reasons, apart from the cave chief, the Twelve Caves don't know each other's information or whereabouts... After the defeat, my father had already hanged himself. It would be very difficult for my Lin family to find out information about the other eleven Caves..."

"Moreover, this demon originates from Tianyuan Holy City and has no connection with the ancient demons within the Zichen Realm. Furthermore, he is a seventh-tier alchemist among the ancient demons... It's highly unlikely that he would covet the petty gains of conquering the Twelve Caves..."

Lin Tianqi's mind raced, unable to fathom Wei Tu's specific scheme.

This undoubtedly contradicts his future plans.

He was also thinking of gaining Wei Tu's trust, becoming a big shot among the spirit slaves, and then taking the opportunity to rescue his family...

Seeing this, Wei Tu didn't bother to explain. He flicked his sleeve and threw the cultivator out of the Shengtian Demon Ship.

His reason for letting this man go was quite simple.

In short, he was not a bloodthirsty person!

Previously, I bought this cultivation site from Cai Xiaozhu for two reasons: first, to cover up my act of renting a spiritual cultivation cave, and second, to have another guide to the Zichen Realm.

Both goals have now been achieved.

Furthermore, letting this cultivator go poses no threat to him... so there's naturally no need to keep him around any longer.

On the contrary, it is quite a troublesome matter.

Of course, he could also go all the way and take this cultivator to the "Spirit Realm"... However, he was unwilling to be that good guy. He was also responsible for information about the Spirit Cultivator and the Ancient Demon, which even Gong Shulan was unwilling to reveal, let alone this cultivator.

If this cultivator truly went to the spirit realm with him.

Their only fate was to be killed by him.

"This servant...thanks, Master, for freeing me!"

After a moment's thought, Lin Tianqi had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept the outcome. He bowed to Wei Tu and then immediately fled in a direction opposite to the Lingxiu Ruins.

At this moment, the demon generals guarding the spiritual cultivation ruins also vaguely sensed Lin Tianqi's "escape," but due to the distant Shengtian Demon Ship and the demonic pressure released by Wei Tu, they dared not rush forward to chase after him.

"This cultivator is a treacherous spirit that I deliberately let go... In the future, if you encounter this cultivator, and he has not committed any serious crimes, you may consider showing him some mercy..."

The next moment, Wei Tu's telepathic message drifted to their ears, making them glad that they hadn't foolishly gone after him.

"Yes, senior."

The demon generals respectfully accepted the order and watched Lin Tianqi flee into the distance.

At this moment.

Wei Tu wasted no more time. He flicked his sleeves, put away the [Shengtian Demon Ship] under his feet, and flew straight towards the spiritual cultivation ruins sealed by the demonic restriction without any attempt to conceal his presence.

Not bad!

What Lin Tianqi and other spiritual cultivators in the Zichen Realm considered a "forbidden zone" spiritual cultivation site was, for him, the "Demon Lord," merely a place he could go anywhere at will!
Nothing else—

The highest-ranking guard here is only an ancient demon at the Demon Commander level. Their purpose in guarding this place is merely to prevent spiritual cultivators from sneaking in; the ancient demons come here without taking any precautions.

Not to mention him, the infamous Demon Lord!
The "Twelve Spiritual Cultivation Clans," which have been hunted by ancient demons for tens of thousands of years, sounds quite intimidating, but in fact, the highest-ranking "Clan Master" is only at the Void Refining Realm... It is rare for someone to achieve the Integration Realm.

In the eyes of the "One God and Two Ancestors" who ruled this region, it was merely a minor ailment, not worth mentioning. (End of Chapter)