I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

Half a day later.

After discussing the Flying Cloud Gathering and receiving some 'promises' from Zi Chi Jun for his future path, Wei Tu bid farewell and left Zi Chi Jun's cave, returning to the main urban area of ​​Immortal Dragon City located beneath the Dragon Pillar.

However—he did not rush back to the seventh-grade mid-level cave dwelling that the Great Princess had given him. Instead, he flashed away and headed straight for a huge pavilion marked with the words 'Hundred Things Pavilion', which could be considered a landmark building in Immortal Dragon City.

As the name suggests, the Hundred Things Pavilion is a special institution dedicated to connecting the princes and princesses of the Feathered Dragon Clan with their cultivation.

It can be said to handle everything.

As long as the princes and princesses' requests are not excessive, the managers of the Hundred Affairs Pavilion can do them for free after assessing their difficulty and deducting a certain amount from their clan affairs quota.

However, for the princes and princesses of the Feathered Dragon Clan, the most important function of the Hundred Affairs Pavilion is to receive their own 'annual stipend' issued by the clan every hundred years.

Wei Tu's trip was also to collect his annual salary from the Feathered Dragon Clan.

This is the real deal; it's the most readily available fusion cultivation resource he can obtain within the Feathered Dragon Clan.

"Hmm... Lin Tianqi, disciple of Zi Chi Jun, receive the second tier of Golden Essence Pills..."

A short while later, the manager of the Feathered Dragon Clan in charge of the 'Pills' section of the Hundred Affairs Pavilion, upon learning of what this stranger Wei Tu had done, first let out a soft 'Eh,' and then his face immediately showed a deep look of surprise.

There's no other reason than that—among the entire Feather Dragon Clan's younger generation, there are no more than two hands' worth of Feather Dragon Clan cultivators who are qualified to receive the second-tier 'Golden Essence Pill' like Wei Tu!
Wei Tu was a complete stranger within the Feathered Dragon Clan.

Even the most legendary and rebellious descendant of the dragon lineage in the last thousand years—the 'Princess Wangyuan'—was already quite famous in Immortal Dragon City before she was granted the title of Princess.

Unlike Wei Tu, who seemed to spring from a crack in a rock and remained unknown.

Moreover, and most importantly, the 'Golden Essence Pill' that Wei Tu received was not the 'third tier' of the lowest tier that ordinary princes and princesses received, but the 'second tier' of the 'Golden Essence Pill' that was only below Prince Yin and the Grand Princess!
This tiny difference is an insurmountable chasm for many ordinary princes and princesses, a chasm they can never cross in their lifetime.

A strange dragon-born cultivator, who had just arrived in Immortal Dragon City, was being treated with such courtesy... It was hard for the managers of these 'Hundred Affairs Pavilion' not to be surprised.

Because, beyond this unusual action, what it represents and signifies is something that cannot be ignored by all cultivators: the highest evaluation of a Nascent Soul cultivator in this world—the potential for Mahayana cultivation!
"This cultivation will surely lead to something extraordinary in the future!"

The manager of the 'Pill Area' not only handed Wei Tu the 'Golden Essence Pill' he had obtained, but also took Wei Tu's appearance and identity as important information and memorized them deeply.

He would not leak this information as a traitor within the clan, but as a fellow clansman, he also knew the principle of "being near the water tower, one gets the moon first"... Therefore, in that instant, he had already figured out how to enable his clan relatives to contact and get close to Wei Tu through normal means, so that they could rise to prominence.

The manager of the elixir section is not an isolated case.

After walking through all the districts of the Hundred Things Pavilion and collecting his various 'annual stipends' over the past century, Wei Tu naturally noticed the subtle emotional changes in the managers after they learned of his identity.

First came bewilderment and surprise, followed by various attempts at 'closeness' in an attempt to befriend them.

“This is the advantage of having a Mahayana Immortal as your backer. Once you know the difference in skill, no one will be deliberately jealous…” Wei Tu’s eyes flickered slightly as he calmly pondered to himself.

"However, it would be too difficult to break through the Integration Realm and reach a higher level in a short period of time with just this 'Golden Essence Pill'."

Half a day later, Wei Tu returned to his cave in Immortal Dragon City. In his secluded cultivation room, he gently shook the pill bottle and poured out a golden pill the size of a jujube. After examining it for a moment, a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

This is not because the Golden Essence Pill is weak or of low grade.

As a rare seventh-grade low-level pill in the cultivation world, it is a breakthrough pill that can greatly increase the cultivation level, and even countless Nascent Soul cultivators would only find one such pill in a thousand years.

Given his status and treatment, he would receive one such grain every hundred years.

In other words, at the beginning, by simply following this methodical cultivation, he could break through to the next realm ten times faster than ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators!
In addition, with the supply of various other resources within the Feathered Dragon Clan, this speed can be increased by one or two times, reaching a terrifying cultivation speed that is unimaginable to the Nascent Soul stage experts of smaller clans.

but--

His goal was not to advance to the Integration Stage through years of cultivation, but to become one of the few Mahayana Immortals in the cultivation world!
In comparison, the second-tier 'Golden Elixir' would inevitably be insufficient for him.

If he could advance to the late stage of the Integration Realm within ten thousand years based solely on this item, it would already be considered extremely fortunate.

The realm of Mahayana Buddhism...

It's almost out of reach.

He wouldn't mind if he didn't return to the human realm; he could take it one step at a time, since he had the 'Golden Purple Destiny' to rely on.

But now, within the human realm, he still has the 'remnant souls' of Wei Yan and Kou Hongying as something to worry about.

It absolutely cannot be too slow.

While he wouldn't be so eager as to risk his life for this matter, it's also impossible for him to simply shut himself away and cultivate in seclusion as if nothing had happened.

"The three tiers of elixirs correspond to the differences in status between princes and princesses. The Golden Essence Elixir is only the second tier; the highest tier is... the 'Phoenix Elixir,' which can be taken by Prince Yin and the Grand Princess..."

"But this elixir is beyond my reach. This elixir is specifically provided to... those who, like Prince Yin and the Great Princess, are qualified to become the next Great Ascension Dragon Lord's direct descendants..."

"Qualifications are no longer the only criterion. Identity and lineage have also become more or less the criteria for judging the high-ranking members of the Feathered Dragon Clan."

Wei Tu narrowed his eyes and began to seriously consider how he should proceed on his path of fusion.

Just as Zi Chi Jun said.

Even for outsiders, the Feathered Dragon Clan has an 'upper limit'.

Their so-called magnanimity is not genuine; it's merely because, as one of the three dominant clans, their ancestor's cultivation level is as high as the Tribulation Transcending stage... so they have no fear of being subjugated by mere Mahayana cultivators from other clans...

Therefore, Zi Chi Jun began to consider how to advance his career by forming a 'marriage' with the lineage of the Mahayana Dragon Lord.

same.

He also faced this 'predicament' within the Feathered Dragon Clan.

He could take the 'Golden Elixir' from the second tier of his annual salary. But if he were to be so greedy as to compete with Prince Yin and the Grand Princess for the Dragon Lord's position and try to snatch the 'Phoenix Elixir' from the first tier... he would be courting disaster.

Moreover, even for princes like Prince Yin and the Great Princess, breaking through to the 'Great Ascension Realm' is extremely difficult.

Only by obtaining the position of Dragon King can he be confident of breaking through to the Mahayana realm by relying on the foundation of the Feathered Dragon Clan.

Therefore, following the established path would almost certainly lead to certain death for him, and for any second-generation member of the Feathered Dragon Clan.

This is the cruelty of the realm of immortality; in a sense, it is fair to everyone.

"Therefore—if I want to have a chance to break through to the Mahayana realm within ten thousand years, I absolutely cannot easily give up these opportunities that I have now grasped..."

After pondering for a moment, Wei Tu began to use his divine sense as a sword to write down, stroke by stroke, the 'opportunities' he currently possessed at the first stage of the Integration Realm on the blank jade slip.

soon.

Lines of writing then appeared within the jade slip.

【The Mirage Realm】.

【Yinya Tower - Lingyan Heavenly Palace】.

【The Primordial Demon Source Realm's 'Heavenly Abyss Holy City'】.

[An Liangcai's Daoist Companion - Weeping River Demon Lord].

[Flying Cloud Grand Event, 30% off on treasure purchases...]

"The Primordial Demon Source Realm! I still need to find an opportunity to go to the Primordial Demon Source Realm..." Wei Tu rubbed his temples and thought to himself.

Of these opportunities, all of them are quite good, but the one that is most 'controllable' is going to the Primordial Demon Source Realm.

Within the Primordial Demon Source Realm, he lacked a powerful backer like Zi Chi Jun and an annual stipend that came once every hundred years.

However, thanks to his status as a seventh-level alchemist and the abundance and low prices of 'spiritual herbs' within the Primordial Demon Source Realm, the 'spiritual pill' resources he obtained were, in fact, far more than those he would have obtained as a 'Mahayana disciple' within the Feathered Dragon Clan.

Secondly, no matter what, he will have to return to the 'Ancient Demon Realm' once in a short period of time.

If the delay goes on too long, and Luqiu Qingfeng, who has ascended to the 'Ancient Demon Realm,' encounters any unforeseen danger, he will regret it deeply.

Furthermore, concealing his identity and remaining within the Feathered Dragon Clan was ultimately an uncontrollable 'hidden danger' for him... Even though the possibility of his identity being exposed was extremely slim due to the separation between the two realms, it was still best to avoid it as much as possible...

"The Flying Cloud Gathering... might be a good opportunity to leave. An Liangcai provided... an ancient teleportation array to the 'Ancient Demon Realm.' One of the teleportation arrays seems to be near the sea area occupied by the Eight Fiends Sea Clan..."

Wei Tu stroked his chin, finalizing the plan one by one.

……

With the help of the Purple Dragon Lord.

The plan to travel with the Great Princess to the overseas "Flying Cloud Gathering" will surely succeed.

Seven years later, Wei Tu, who was cultivating in his cave, received a talisman from the Great Princess inviting him to participate in the overseas 'Flying Cloud Gathering'.

"Help Princess Miaohui...go to the Flying Cloud Gathering to purchase some refining materials?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow in surprise after seeing the contents of the talisman.

He had heard of this Princess Miaohui before.

This woman was not among the younger generation like him, but rather an older generation prince or princess of the Feathered Dragon Clan, and also the current Great Ascension Dragon Lord's 'cousin'...

It can be said that this woman was the 'ecological niche' of the current Great Princess ten thousand years ago, and was a well-known 'eldest princess' in the direct line of the Feathered Dragon Clan.

However, according to rumors, this woman was quite indifferent and cold towards other cultivators.

Given her status and level of attainment, she should have no fear of being tempted by the 'requests' or resources offered by the Mahayana immortal, Zi Chi Jun...

"It has nothing to do with me. It's nothing more than petty squabbles within the Feathered Dragon Clan." Wei Tu shook his head, abandoning the thought and not wasting any more time on the matter.

Within the Feathered Dragon Clan, opportunities to achieve the Great Ascension are still scarce. Since he has the ambition to break through to the Great Ascension stage, he will not do as Zi Chi Jun expects—to scheme and curry favor with the high-ranking members of the Feathered Dragon Clan represented by the "Great Princess".

For him, completing the task assigned to him by Zi Chi Jun and avoiding antagonizing the Great Princess was enough.

Whether the Great Princess should marry him was a decision made more by the higher-ups of the Feather Dragon Clan and by Zi Chi Jun than by him, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator.

After replying with a 'yes' message.

After waiting for several more days in his cave, Wei Tu saw the Great Princess Qian Ying'er, whom he hadn't seen for nearly a hundred years, arrive at the entrance of his cave with light makeup and a magnificent dress.

"Did you dress up deliberately?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, and in a moment of thought, he understood the woman's 'vicious' intentions.

A princess who intends to vie for the throne is naturally not the kind of innocent, naive girl raised in the deep palace who knows nothing about the world.

She knows how to use her beauty to gain leverage.

If this woman truly valued him and was willing to marry him, she would have already agreed a hundred years ago when Zi Chi Jun 'tested' her... There's no need for her to dress up for him now.

The deliberate dressing up at this moment was nothing more than a little trick to lure him into a trap and then subdue him.

Imagine—how could a 'remnant of the Purple Palace Realm' like him, living in constant fear and like a stray dog, not feel a strong liking for a beautiful and noble princess of the Feathered Dragon Clan, and even develop some unrealistic expectations?

"I, Lin, have met the Great Princess."

With this in mind, Wei Tu calmly opened the cave door with a wave of his sleeve, bowed, and welcomed the Great Princess inside.

"Fellow Daoist Lin." Qian Ying'er chuckled and used her magic to help Wei Tu, who was bowing in greeting, to his feet.

"It has been a century since we last met. Inviting Fellow Daoist Lin to the Flying Cloud Gathering overseas is somewhat abrupt. However, among all the people around me, only Fellow Daoist Lin is qualified to accompany me to the Flying Cloud Gathering."

Qian Ying'er spoke calmly, but her expression revealed a hint of appreciation.

It seemed that it was solely due to Wei Tu's qualifications, without any emotional factors involved.

"You flatter me, Your Highness."

"It is my good fortune to be able to travel with the Great Princess."

Wei Tu bowed and echoed.

However, these calm and measured words immediately made Qian Ying'er frown. She could vaguely sense Wei Tu's 'distancing' from his words.

"As expected! Such a cultivator who has experienced life and death is incomparable to those wealthy idlers in the clan... Did my attempt to be clever backfire and offend him?" Qian Ying'er thought to herself that she was in trouble, realizing that her cleverness had backfired.

But before she could make amends...

The next moment, Wei Tu's other words once again disrupted her state of mind.

"However, it's quite a coincidence. I recently traveled overseas and had planned to attend the overseas Flying Cloud Festival..."

Wei Tu took the opportunity to mention that Pei Hong had promised him the chance to purchase treasures at a 30% discount at the Flying Cloud Gathering.

And this was something that had been discussed with Zi Chi Jun beforehand.

Such a well-known fact can be concealed for a time, but not forever.

"what?"

"Did Fellow Daoist Lin originally intend to attend the Flying Cloud Gathering?"

Qian Ying'er was completely taken aback by the counterattack, and her face turned slightly ugly.

Because it feels like she's offering herself up and even throwing herself at Wei Tu.

While she did invite Wei Tu with the intention of winning him over, this was still different from the former.

"Perhaps it's just a coincidence."

Qian Ying'er shook her head, suppressing the slight 'doubt' that had arisen in her heart regarding this matter.

Princess Miaohui was her aunt. Although she had a good relationship with Zichijun, Zichijun was a dignified Mahayana immortal. How could he resort to such despicable means to deliberately target her?

Moreover, if it really was a matchmaking effort by higher-ups, she had no reason to blame Wei Tu.

After all, Wei Tu is probably just as unaware of this as she is.

"Furthermore—whether it succeeds or not depends on me. Any attempt to bring them together is just 'making connections'!"

"These people don't have the power to designate this matter!"

"His 'matchmaking' might not be a bad opportunity for me to win over Lin Tianqi and take him as my servant..."

The Great Princess sneered inwardly. With her strength, realm, and temperament, how could she possibly fall in love with someone who was "ordinary" and whose talent was only comparable to hers?

In her eyes, Wei Tu was merely an assistant in her future struggle for the Dragon King's throne!
He's not yet at the level to become her Daoist partner! (End of Chapter)