I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

"Now that everything is settled, it's time to leave the human realm and return to the spirit realm..."

After testing the supernatural powers of the [Earth Emperor Pearl] artifact spirit, Wei Tu, who was in the secret medicine garden, also felt the urge to leave.

Firstly, he has a 'hundred-year agreement' with Zi Chi Jun, which stipulates that he must return to the Feathered Dragon Clan within one hundred years.

Now, nearly half of the time has passed. The remaining fifty years, though not short, are still a long time. However, his 'route' to return to the spirit world has been changed. Even if this route is not very dangerous, he still needs to leave a lot of room for maneuver to avoid delays and mistakes.

Secondly, it is related to the human race and the spirit descendant.

Although Jiang Lingzi had promised him that he would try his best to deceive the higher-ups of the human race and not leak any information about him within the human realm, the duration of this was still difficult to control.

The earlier you leave, the safer you are.

“However, before leaving, we must return to the Guixu Sea Cultivation Realm…” Wei Tu gazed into the distance, and in addition to some deep-seated nostalgia, he also felt a touch of fear towards the Guixu Sea Cultivation Realm located on the other side of the Crimson Bright Sea.

The reason is simple: the life and death separations in the cultivation world are the easiest to get used to, but also the hardest to accept.

Before returning, the two worlds were separated, and he knew nothing about the life and death of Wei Yan, Kou Hongying, and others.

However, deep down, there was always some expectation, after all, these 'relatives' still had a certain possibility of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, and perhaps they could successfully extend their lives.

But... this return undoubtedly severs that sliver of 'expectation,' making it a fait accompli.

……

Before heading to the Guixu Sea Cultivation Realm.

Wei Tu also didn't forget Su Die and Huang Sha Sanren.

However, this time he did not summon the two of them. He only left some lucky items in the cave behind Huangshamen, then with a wave of his sleeve, he removed the cave's formation and transformed into a streak of azure light, leaving the place in a flash.

As for twenty years ago...

He also left a jade slip with a brief mention of the events that occurred during his trip to the 'Great Yan Cultivation Realm', advising Huangsha Sanren to be cautious and to have multiple escape routes.

Admittedly, he didn't think there was much chance that the human race's higher-ups would retaliate against Su Die and Huang Sha Sanren, but he wasn't a domineering person, and he wouldn't go so far as to deprive them of their right to know about this matter.

After learning the whole story.

Su Die and Huang Sha Sanren are also capable of handling this matter conveniently.

"The choice is up to you two." Wei Tu, who had flown to the clouds, turned his head to look at Su Die and Huang Sha Sanren, who had rushed to the cave in the back mountain after hearing the news. He narrowed his eyes and thought to himself.

With his reminder, as long as Su Die and Huang Sha Sanren can give up their gains and honors within the 'Huang Sha Sect' in time and go into hiding, they will be able to achieve their goals.

Even if there is any unforeseen danger, with the 'trace of cultivation' eliminated in advance, even a powerful cultivator at the Integration stage would find it difficult to accurately locate the two in the vast sea of ​​people.

However, the lust for power is tempting, and wealth is alluring; not everyone has the will to cultivate oneself diligently...

However, at this point, it has nothing to do with Wei Tu anymore. After all, the opportunities he bestowed upon Su Die and Huangsha Sanren were far greater than those of the Huangsha Sect.

His death was due to greed, so it was not a consequence of his own actions.

……

A few months later.

Guixu Sea Cultivation Realm, Yunyang Island.

Looking at this isolated island hidden in the cultivation world, Wei Tu took a deep breath and descended with his escape light. In a flash, he appeared inside the Wei Clan Ancestral Hall.

"As expected, Yan'er has already passed away."

Inside the ancestral hall, Wei Tu stared at the two spirit tablets that stood tall at the very top, a rare look of regret appearing on his face.

These two spirit tablets represent his two children, Wei Xiuwen and Wei Yan, who are the two most senior members of the Wei clan besides him.

The hardships and difficulties of the path to immortality lie precisely in this.

Especially for a cultivator like him, whose 'talent is like a demon' and who can break through realms quickly.

Ordinary people experience the tragedy of "wanting to care for their parents but finding them gone," and he, at this moment, felt the same sorrow.

He wished to help his children ascend to immortality, but... after thousands of years, in the end, the white-haired man outlived the black-haired man.

Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul...

He had supported Wei Yan through all three stages, but unfortunately, the path to 'Nascent Soul' was one that he could no longer assist her with on his own at that time...

His qualifications are far too mediocre.

In addition to Wei Yan, among the newly added memorial tablets on the offering table, there is also Cao Mi, a concubine whom Wei Tu was familiar with and whom he had taken in the Yuan Ying realm.

This woman, due to her short lifespan, had already passed away seven or eight hundred years ago.

"Where's Hongying?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, stared at her for a moment, and then a sliver of hope arose in his heart.

Unlike the Wei family, the Kou family, to which Kou Hongying belongs, has only this woman as their sole heir. If she were to die, given their past relationship, it is highly likely that her spirit tablet would be placed in the Wei family ancestral hall...

In other words, the absence of this goddess amulet suggests that she may not have died of old age.

Thinking of this, Wei Tu immediately scanned the area around Yunyang Island with his divine sense, using his vast divine sense to search for its surroundings.

Soon, familiar yet unfamiliar faces of cultivators came into his view.

However, only the third-generation 'Wei Changshou' and Ni Shihuang, who had already broken through to the 'Transformation Realm', were still outside; all the other 'old friends' had disappeared.

"There?" Suddenly, Wei Tu seemed to sense something, and his expression changed as he instantly appeared in the underwater cave on Yunyang Island where Ni Shihuang was located.

Inside the cave, in the main hall, stood two enormous, blood-red coffins covered with restrictions.

The 'cultivator' inside the coffin, apart from Wei Yan, who had already been confirmed dead by the Wei Clan Ancestral Hall, was 'Kou Hongying,' whom he clung to the hope that she was still alive in the world.

"Hongying is dead too."

Wei Tu's eyes flashed with golden light, but when he saw the lifeless, cold corpse inside, that last bit of hope vanished completely.

"It was... some kind of method to prolong life, but it failed?"

Wei Tu frowned, and after carefully examining the runes and restrictions engraved on the coffin and the corpse, his anger subsided considerably.

Clearly, the two women were unwilling to die young and came to Ni Shihuang specifically to have her perform a spell.

"Meet the master."

At this moment, Ni Shihuang, who was in the secluded cultivation room, also sensed Wei Tu's presence. Wearing light makeup and a white dress, her expression changed slightly, and she quickly flew out to greet Wei Tu.

"Reporting to Master, Young Master and Fellow Daoist Kou... I have done my best, but it is truly impossible to save their lives. I hope Master will not blame me."

Ni Shihuang naturally sensed Wei Tu's thoughts, and after a moment of surprise, she quickly explained.

"No need. I was prepared for this. It's not your place to blame yourself." Wei Tu waved his hand, sighed, and did not criticize Ni Shihuang too much in this matter.

There are two types of Nascent Souls: those with "Heavenly Lifespan" and those with "Life-Supplementing Lifespan".

The natural lifespan is 1,600 years, while "life-extending" has a specific fixed lifespan. The most powerful can extend their lifespan to over 2,000 years, or even 3,000 years.

For example, the Scorpion Ancestor lived for over four thousand years.

But... you should know that he is already three thousand years old today.

Wei Yan and Kou Hongying may seem to be "second-generation" but in reality, they are not much different from him in age, only in their twenties. After all, the two women were born in the mortal world when the four brothers formed their society.

Even for those exceptionally talented individuals in the demonic path, extending their lives to this day would be quite difficult, let alone for the two women whose aptitude and foundation were originally mediocre.

However, just as Wei Tu was feeling disappointed by this...

Ni Shihuang's next words made him overjoyed.

This woman extended the lives of Wei Yan and Kou Hongying, and this was not the only time she failed.

It began as early as seven hundred years ago, when Cao Mi died.

Four hundred years ago, when the two were about to fail in their attempts to extend their lives, in order to prevent them from completely dying, Ni Shihuang used a demonic secret technique to forcibly refine their remnant souls into the "Soul-Binding Banner," leaving them with a sliver of hope for survival.

“If the young master and Fellow Daoist Kou were just ordinary cultivators, this matter of refining the remnant soul would only be a waste of effort and torture for them... After all, even the remnant soul bound by the Soul-Binding Banner has a lifespan, and at most it will last for five or six hundred years before it completely dissipates.”

"But... with the master around, this painful thing is bound to be somewhat expected."

As she spoke, Ni Shihuang turned and went into the inner room, where she respectfully brought out a black banner that exuded a strong aura of malevolence and death, and handed it to Wei Tu with both hands.

"Unfortunately, it is only a remnant soul."

Wei Tu scanned the Soul-Binding Banner in his hand with his divine sense and frowned when he saw the two remnant souls inside, who were clearly in a dazed and confused state and had lost their intelligence.

Even for a powerful being like him, such a remnant soul would be difficult to repair.

However, this insidious method of preserving 'remnant souls' and violating the laws of Heaven is already the limit that Ni Shihuang, a Nascent Soul cultivator in the human realm, can achieve...

If he had stayed in the human world, he probably could only have achieved this much.

Compared to the complete death of the two women, the possibility of repairing these two remnant souls is extremely slim, but it still leaves some hope, so they are not completely helpless.

“It’s difficult to achieve the fusion now, but… what if we ascend to immortality? What if we become a Mahayana cultivator or even transcend tribulation?” Wei Tu’s heart stirred, and his heart began to pound.

Reversing Yin and Yang to revive the dead is a feat even immortals lack. However… merely repairing a remnant soul seems somewhat possible for Mahayana or Tribulation-Transcending immortals.

"The only difficulty is how to protect these two remnant souls and prevent them from self-destructing..."

Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then seemed to have thought of something. He patted the storage bag at his waist and took out the treasure he had taken from the Corpse Pavilion in the Deadly Land of Corpses—the Soul-Nourishing Wooden Coffin.

This coffin is entirely crafted from 'Soul-Nourishing Wood,' one of the three great soul-type rare woods in the cultivation world, and is covered with numerous restrictions that nourish the soul. It is the supreme treasure used by the Purple-Faced Hermit to nurture his soul.

Without conditions such as the "Corpse Sealing Array," this "Soul-Nourishing Wooden Coffin" would hardly allow the remnant souls of Wei Yan and Kou Hongying to survive for tens of thousands of years. However, it should not be difficult for them to survive the first "Life-Ending Tribulation" within it by chance.

—'Life-Ending Heavenly Tribulation' is a tribulation imposed by the laws of heaven and earth to extend the lifespan of cultivators, and it is not just a tribulation of heaven and earth for cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage.

"The Heavenly Tribulation of Extinction of Life is a tribulation that one encounters only after living ten thousand years. In other words... if one has not broken through to the Mahayana stage within seven thousand years..."

Wei Tu shook his head secretly, no longer considering any other options.

Life has an end.

If he fails to break through to the next realm and find a way to restore the remnants of their souls, then it will naturally be a death sentence for Wei Yan and Kou Hongying...

He doesn't need to be sad about it; after all, "do your best and leave the rest to fate," and as long as he has a clear conscience, that's enough.

……

It took time to extract the remnants of Wei Yan and Kou Hongying's souls from the Soul-Binding Banner and place them in the 'Soul-Nourishing Wooden Coffin' for nurturing.

Wei Tu also took this opportunity to ask Ni Shihuang about the stories of these 'old friends' on Yunyang Island over the past thousand years, as well as... some changes within the Guixu Sea.

The former, as he had expected, was quite bland.

Aside from cultivation, lifespan declines and leaves fall to the roots.

Only Fu Lin, like his biological father Fu Zhizhou, was unwilling to be lonely and went out to make his way in the world.

Unfortunately, several hundred years ago, its soul lamp suddenly went out, and it died at the end of its lifespan.

And the Ruins Sea—

Wei Tu then focused on the Jishan Sect.

Within the Jishan Sect, after Wei Tu and Luqiu Qingfeng left one after another, Venerable Hanyue, who had broken through to the "mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm," quickly stabilized the situation and maintained the reputation of the Jishan Sect, allowing it to continue to maintain its prestige as the number one sect in Guixu Sea.

Among them, the most eye-catching is Wang Sutai. This woman is ruthless in her dealings. Over the past thousand years, she has conquered cities and territories, established a branch of the Jishan Sect, and slaughtered many remnants of the six Xuandao sects, thus earning the title of "First Demon Consort".

Indeed! At this time, the Guixu Sea cultivation world was unaware that Wei Tu had already ascended to immortality, and still greatly feared Wei Tu, this powerful Nascent Soul Venerable who had slaughtered most of the six sects of Xuandao.

The reason why Wang Sutai was known as the First Demonic Consort was largely due to Wei Tu.

"This girl does indeed have her father's style," Wei Tu remarked in admiration.

Half a month later.

After handing over the 'Soul-Nourishing Wooden Coffin' to Ni Shihuang and instructing her to take good care of it, Wei Tu did not linger any longer. He bid farewell to the woman and disappeared towards the Jishan Sect in a flash.

He did not intend to carry the soul-nourishing wooden coffin himself. Although carrying this coffin could break through the shackles of the 'power of heaven and earth' between the two realms,... with the remnant souls of Wei Yan and Kou Hongying, it would be difficult for them to withstand such a vast power of heaven and earth.

The slightest mistake could mean certain death.

As for the [Earth Emperor Pearl], all he obtained was its artifact spirit. The 'alternate space' within it was only good for concealing his whereabouts. However, it was extremely difficult to use it like a spiritual treasure to protect others in the 'ascension passage'.

A month later.

The trip to the Jishan Sect has come to an end.

Having left behind cultivation techniques on Yunyang Island and at the Jishan Sect, and warned Wei Tu that there might be enemies from the upper realm, he decided not to linger in Guixu Sea any longer. With a flick of his sleeve, he began his journey towards the Great Yan Cultivation Realm.

Not bad!

Jiang Lingzi told him that the 'spatial node' leading to the 'Mist Ghost Clan' in the Spirit Realm was located near the Ghost Shadow Palace in the Great Flame Cultivation Realm.

It was for this reason that Ghost Shadow Palace was supported by the Mist Ghost Clan, and several Nascent Soul Venerables appeared one after another.

"Hopefully, this return to the Spirit Realm will go smoothly, without needing to use the [Boundary-Severing Stone]..."

Six months later, in the Great Yan cultivation world, Wei Tu, who had concealed the [Boundary-Severing Stone] in his sleeve, took a deep breath and arrived at the 'spatial node' deep within the earth's veins near the Ghost Shadow Palace, beginning another 'ascension to the Spirit Realm'. (End of Chapter)