I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

However, although the black-haired man's face was grim upon hearing Wei Tu's words, he was not frightened by Wei Tu's current behavior.

After the Ghost Claw's sneak attack failed, he let out a low roar, and the demonic energy on his body began to surge rapidly, condensing into large patches of eerie tattoos on his skin.

At the same moment, his physical body also rapidly expanded, transforming into a demonic form hundreds of feet in size, with four arms, three eyes, and a single horn on its head.

However, what is strange is that, from the waist down, only the left foot of this demon is solid; the rest is merely a 'phantom' formed by dense demonic energy.

Even the physical body was pitifully thin, with not a single bit of 'extra flesh,' just a dark blue skin stuck to the skeleton.

The changes are not over yet.

Immediately afterwards—the black-haired man's lips moved slightly as he chanted an obscure incantation. His four demonic arms, thin as skin and bones, with claws resembling those of a monstrous beast, began to rapidly form hand seals, so fast that even the afterimages were not clearly visible.

The next moment, several black runes, as dazzling as the sun, shot out from his mouth.

At the same time, the black-haired man stopped the hand seals he was making with his four arms, and with a ruthless look on his face, he grabbed hard at the man's chest.

With a loud rip, his withered skin hanging on his chest was torn apart by sharp claws, revealing an unusually empty cavity without any internal organs.

Several drops of extremely thick, jet-black blood instantly seeped from the withered skin, hovering in mid-air. With a soft shout from the demon, they merged with the black runes that shot out from its mouth.

In an instant, one became ten, ten became a hundred, a hundred became a thousand, and countless black runes rapidly rose up around him, like a 'spell', condensing together to form a giant black net that pounced directly on Wei Tu, who had instantly appeared behind him.

All of this seemed to take a long time, but in reality, less than half a breath had passed since Wei Tu defeated 'Ghost Claw' with his seventh-level physical body.

Therefore, at the same moment that Wei Tu used the rules and domain of the 'Five Elements Law' to bind and suppress this demon, the 'black net' condensed by the black-haired man with his essence blood and magic spells also condensed at that instant, and the two collided fiercely.

After a violent explosion.

Although Wei Tu's rule domain was still sharp and continued to press down on the black-haired man, its speed suddenly slowed down a lot at this moment.

The colorful 'Five Elements Laws' seemed to be stained with ink, gaining a heavier feel.

Even Wei Tu himself felt that the space around him suddenly became a bit 'viscous' at this moment.

Seeing this, the black-haired man, whose demonic body was swelling, finally revealed a hint of smugness and relief. He made a hand seal, returning to his previous appearance. After coughing up a mouthful of blood with a pale face, he prepared to escape with a surge of demonic energy.

Having used the fusion technique twice, he had exhausted his accumulation of thousands of years, leaving his demonic body extremely weak.

If he were to continue fighting, given the terrifying power of Wei Tu's seventh-tier Dharma Body, he could probably suppress him with ease.

“This ‘Ten Thousand Forbidden Spell’ should be able to trap him for ten breaths… That ten breaths should be enough for me to escape.” After giving Wei Tu a venomous look, the black-haired man did not hesitate for a moment. He bit his fingertip and began to use the Blood Escape Technique to escape.

But the next moment.

He stared in disbelief at the other 'Weitu' that had suddenly appeared before him, as if he had seen a ghost.

"The Ten Thousand Forbidden Curses... it clearly didn't fail, so how did he escape?" The black-haired man wondered inwardly as he turned and fled.

"Could it be, could it be..."

A moment later, his mind raced and he realized why the other Wei Tu had appeared there. His face turned extremely ugly, and he cursed inwardly, "Insidious."

Unlike ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, seventh-tier Body Refiners have the ability to regenerate their physical bodies. Even without cultivating any "second Nascent Soul" techniques, they can create another "clone" in a short time and then use it to fight enemies with their divine sense.

This 'clone' is far weaker than the true body that possesses the 'True Spirit Immortal Bone', but... at this moment, it is more than capable of hunting down this 'ancient demon remnant' whose strength has been greatly diminished and which has been suppressed for 110,000 years.

He must have foreseen that this was the limit of his ability to turn the tide, which is why he left this clone behind as a backup plan...

Soon, just as the black-haired man had expected, his current strength was indeed far inferior to Wei Tu's 'avatar'. As his figure flashed by, a five-colored light enveloped him... His physical body was immediately immobilized, tightly bound within the Five Elements Laws.

however--

At that moment, something even more unexpected happened to the black-haired man.

Before his eyes, Wei Tu's true form, which had been trapped by his 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Curses', actually swayed slightly in that instant and, like a fish playing in water, smoothly broke free from it.

"The Seven Mysterious Demonic Body? Who are you? How do you know this secret technique of the Demon Ancestor?" The black-haired man stared intently at Wei Tu in front of him, his voice trembling with genuine fear.

He was not afraid of spiritual cultivators. Even the strongest spiritual cultivators, such as the withered and sorrowful monk, could not easily completely erase him, this innate ancient demon. They could only use the rules of heaven and earth in the human world to imprison him and gradually erase his existence from the world.

But... this does not include the ancient demons.

The 'demon body' of an innate ancient demon is an unparalleled tonic for it.

Moreover, his demonic body, after 110,000 years of suppression, has become pitifully weak in terms of 'demonic consciousness,' making it extremely difficult for him to resist the erosion of an ancient demon of the same level.

"So this technique is called the Myriad Forbidden Curse?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu, who had escaped from the Myriad Forbidden Curse and was merging with his clone, had a slight glint in his eyes and a look of interest on his face.

"...However, this ancient demonic technique that only works on spiritual cultivators and binds their magical power...I have never seen it before when I was in the 'Primordial Demon Source Realm'. It seems that this is a rather rare and unique skill."

Wei Tu muttered to himself, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.

As he spoke, he raised his hand and grabbed, and the 'clone' in front of him instantly transformed into a hand, merging back into his body.

However, this is not over.

Under the guidance of his magic power, different 'guardian maps' appeared in other directions of Broken Soul Mountain, each of which transformed into parts of his magic body and returned to his original form.

"So insidious... It seems you are indeed an ancient demon like me." Upon seeing this, the black-haired man's face darkened for a moment before he looked relieved.

At first, he was still in astonishment as to why Wei Tu, a cultivator from the lower realm who ascended a thousand years ago, would become a Nascent Soul cultivator with all his physical bodies at the seventh level in such a short time.

The reason is now clear.

Wei Tu had long been possessed by an ancient demon from the upper realm, which is why we are witnessing these incomprehensible events.

"In that case, why don't you cooperate with me, fellow Daoist? I still possess quite a few profound secret techniques like the 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Demon Curse'... If you cooperate with me, advancing to the Demon Ancestor realm should be a foregone conclusion..."

"Compared to this, although my demonic body is precious, if you advance to the Demon Ancestor realm, the value of this demonic body will be insignificant to you."

The black-haired man said, his mind slightly stirred.

As he spoke, he changed his self-reference from "this humble one" to "An Mou," making him appear more modest.

From Wei Tu's earlier self-talk, he had already discerned Wei Tu's 'poverty' and limited knowledge in the field of secret arts.

This means that he is not one of those "second-generation demons" from the Primordial Demon Source Realm who have close ties with the Demon Ancestors and Demon Gods, but rather a relatively poor and humble cultivator among the ancient demons.

Under these circumstances, besides the value of his innate demonic body, the knowledge in his mind, as an "old demon," also became a tradable asset.

Moreover, compared to the 'lack of faith' in spiritual cultivation, the 'Heavenly Demon Oath' between ancient demons can provide him with greater security.

This is undoubtedly a chance for him to survive!

However, Wei Tu did not agree to the suggestion. Instead, he stared intently at the black-haired man, as if he was thinking about something.

See this scene.

The black-haired man's heart skipped a beat, realizing that even precious secret techniques alone would not be enough to sway Wei Tu.

The fact that all of his physical bodies are at the seventh level is enough to prove that he is "at ease" within the realm of fusion. In other words, although he lacks secret techniques, he is not yet at the point where he would abandon his innate demonic body and cooperate with him for this purpose.

"If you are willing to spare me, I am willing to offer you... a Demon Ancestor-level inheritance opportunity..." After a moment of thought, the black-haired man, his face slightly grim, increased his offer for 'redemption'.

"A legacy opportunity at the level of a Demon Ancestor."

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu's expression softened slightly, and his eyes seemed to show a hint of emotion.

However, at this moment, he did not let the black-haired man continue speaking. Instead, his expression turned cold, and he raised his hand to grab the demon's head, directly beginning the soul search.

"A record of events from a demonic book?" After a moment, Wei Tu frowned slightly, released the demon's head, narrowed his eyes, and fell into thought.

The Demonic Codex is a method commonly used by ancient demons to erase their own divine and spiritual memories and prevent others from spying on them.

It engraved all its memories onto its soul, and no one except the ancient demon itself could recognize these encrypted 'magic books'.

Like the 'Soul Split of the Netherworld God' he had encountered before, or the Weeping River Demon Lord—who used the 'Demon Book Records' to erase the soul memories of his clone.

Over hundreds of years of interaction, apart from the fact that the divided soul of the Nether God was willing to 'trade' with a secret technique, he had no way of forcibly extracting any memories related to the original 'Weeping River Demon Lord' from its mind using any soul-searching methods.

Now, this black-haired man is exactly the same as the 'Soul Split of the Ghost God' from back then.

The memories in my mind are like a blank sheet of paper; I can't see anything useful at all.

"Although the Demon Ancestor's legacy is precious, before I devoured Wei Tu's soul, I promised Wei Tu... that I would definitely kill you after descending to the mortal realm!"

After a moment of changing expression, Wei Tu took a deep breath, took out a jade box from his sleeve, and began to imbue it with a restriction, assuming a posture to seal the demon.

Of course, in fact, that's what he thought too.

Although the Demon Ancestor's legacy is precious, what this demon spoke of was merely the 'opportunity' to be given to him and to obtain this legacy, not the 'Demon Ancestor's legacy' itself...

The difference between the two is enormous!

According to his understanding, this demon already possessed the strength of a peak Demon Lord before being suppressed by the Nanhua Sect... Since he has not yet obtained the Demon Ancestor's inheritance, it is not hard to imagine that obtaining the Demon Ancestor's inheritance is by no means an easy task.

It is something that can only be hoped for but not achieved.

Furthermore, since this demon has been suppressed in the human realm for 110,000 years, it is uncertain whether the so-called Demon Ancestor's legacy still exists or has been taken by someone.

In addition, the grudge of Bai Zhi's "death by the end of her life" must also be avenged.

What he was saying at that moment was simply to squeeze out as much of the demon's remaining value as possible before seeking revenge.

"The Demon Ancestor's legacy... If you're not tempted, fellow Daoist, I, An, also have..."

At this moment, the black-haired man also realized how little allure his talk of the 'Demon Ancestor's Inheritance' had for Wei Tu.

He paused for a moment, then began to ponder with a serious expression what other 'treasure' he might have that could impress Wei Tu.

"I wonder if you might be interested in my Daoist partner?"

"If she doesn't perish 110,000 years later, based on the opportunities I left behind... she would have a considerable chance of becoming the Demon Ancestor by now."

Suddenly, the black-haired man seemed to remember something, a slight smile appearing on his lips as he spoke to Wei Tu in a seductive tone.

"Taoist companion?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu frowned deeply. After taking a deep look at the black-haired man, he said no more and immediately accelerated the sealing speed of the demonic body.

In his view, this cultivator had most likely run out of tricks and had been reduced to offering up his wife and daughters to win the favor of his enemy.

Moreover, he had absolutely no interest in the ancient demon. He also had no desire to have any further interaction with this demon's 'Daoist partner'.

Even if what the demon said is true, and his Daoist partner ascended to the 'Demon Ancestor' after 110,000 years, he wouldn't have the guts to go up to him and ask for benefits.

At this moment, the black-haired man seemed to have noticed Wei Tu's 'worry' and sneered:

"Does Fellow Daoist think that by mentioning my partner's advancement to Demon Ancestor, I'm sending you to your death?"

“My Daoist partner… had a demonic restriction planted within her body long before she was trained by me. Even though she has broken through to the Demon Ancestor realm and has developed great resistance to this demonic restriction, it can still threaten her life when necessary.”

"Of course, if she breaks through to the Demon Ancestor realm, it will be extremely difficult for you to kill her with your current level... But if you break through to the Demon Ancestor realm in the future, I don't need to elaborate on the function of this Demon Restriction, right?"

As soon as these words fell.

Wei Tu's face finally showed emotion once again.

The value of having control over the life and death of an ancient demon at the Demon Ancestor level is self-evident.

Compared to it, Fairy Xuanling's [Earth Emperor Pearl]... is of relatively low value.

After all, the latter can only deal with ordinary Mahayana cultivators at most.

"If the Daoist partner you speak of has already broken through to the Demon Ancestor realm... then that value is indeed considerable, enough to make me spare your life..."

He narrowed his eyes and nodded.

“Having already broken through to the Demon Ancestor realm…” Upon hearing this premise, the black-haired man’s expression turned cold. He could easily discern the overbearing terms that Wei Tu was implying in this matter.

In short, if his Daoist partner has not broken through to the next realm, then the 'Heavenly Demon Oath' that Wei Tu granted him a free ride will be invalid—not only will he have a hard time surviving, but even his Daoist partner will 'lose' to Wei Tu and be 'taken advantage of' by Wei Tu.

However, now that he has been captured by Wei Tu, he has no way out but to agree to this tyrannical clause.

“An agrees…” After a moment, the black-haired man gritted his teeth and agreed.

"However, after confirming my Daoist partner's cultivation level and mastering the demonic restriction that controls her... when you release me, you must not release her and then kill her, nor must you deliberately imprison her..."

The black-haired man's eyes flickered slightly as he tried to patch up the Heavenly Demon Oath that bound Wei Tu, preventing Wei Tu from playing tricks within it.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu's expression suddenly turned cold.

"Does Fellow Daoist An think I would be so foolish as to let a great enemy go? I might spare your life, but granting you freedom is absolutely out of the question."

Wei Tu said in a cold voice.

Just now, he had planned to continue deceiving the black-haired man with words, but since this demon was so cunning and didn't give him any chance to take advantage of him... then, rather than obtaining the 'treasure' and leaving behind trouble, it would be better to kill this demon as soon as possible.

After speaking, he raised his hand and grabbed forward, immediately and without mercy, using his great magical power to seal the demon inside the jade box in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait... I am willing to stay by your side for the time being and assist you, I only ask that you spare my life..."

Soon, the voice of the black-haired man came from inside the jade box. Once again, in order to survive, he lowered his demands.

“Unless I escape on my own, you must not kill me for any reason. Of course, in return, I will do my best to assist you…”

"That's what the black-haired man said."

He was betting that Wei Tu wouldn't have such smooth sailing all the time.

"Furthermore, if I use that demonic restriction and disturb her, given our relationship, she will surely save me from this sea of ​​suffering..." the black-haired man thought to himself.

This time, his offering of his wife Wei Tu appears to be a betrayal of his Daoist partner. But isn't this also a way to seek help from his Daoist partner?

"Okay!" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

He knew that this should be the bare minimum that the demon was willing to swear an oath for; if he tried to 'force' it further, no matter how much the demon pleaded, it would never agree.

If his demands were lowered even further, the only option left would be for him to kill him.

However, for him, agreeing to the demon's request this time was not just for the demon's claim of 'offering a wife,' but for another purpose...

"With this demon's assistance, we'll have a better chance of defeating Fairy Xuanling," Wei Tu thought to himself, his eyes flashing slightly.

His innate demonic body was a necessary preparation before entering the secret realm of the Venerable King's Palace... With this indestructible demonic body, coupled with the [Longevity Immortal Lamp] and the Mahayana power of the Purple Dragon Lord, he could remain unchanged and adapt to any situation within the Venerable King's Palace.

However, in terms of combat experience at the Mahayana level...

This demonic soul is undoubtedly a crucial link.

Before he was suppressed, although he was not at the level of a Demon Ancestor, he was still a rare Great Demon Lord in the 'Primordial Demon Source Realm' and should have had a certain amount of knowledge to deal with the Great Ascension of Spiritual Cultivation.

"I wonder who Fellow Daoist An is referring to as his Daoist partner?"

After they swore an oath to the Heavenly Demons, Wei Tu raised a question at the opportune moment.

He had spent a considerable amount of time in the 'Primordial Demon Source Realm' and was quite familiar with the reputations of the various demon ancestors within the Ancient Demon Realm... He could tell at a glance whether a demon had a Daoist partner there.

"My Daoist partner... has the Daoist name Qihe..."

Upon hearing this, the black-haired man hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and revealed his Daoist partner's Daoist name and surname.

"The Weeping River Demon Lord..."

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu could no longer maintain his composure, and a look of astonishment immediately appeared on his face. (End of this chapter)