I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

however.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when...

A faint black light suddenly emerged from the spiritual barrier surrounding the stone Buddha statue and flew to him at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

At the same time, a fast-paced and familiar old voice also emanated from within the black light.

"Since Fellow Daoist Lin is an ancient demon, why would he need to join forces with Ancestor Tianhe? If I'm not mistaken, Fellow Daoist Lin is currently being forced by Ancestor Tianhe to enter this Treasure Sun God Tower first?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu, who was startled by the sudden scene, immediately withdrew his magical powers that he had prepared to fight back, and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the black light that seemed to be the 'soul split' of the Flame Spirit King.

Cooperation? The thought filled him with secret joy.

Double agents, in an alliance where mutual distrust is rampant and betrayal is possible at any moment, naturally have more opportunities to "play both sides" and seize the initiative.

Furthermore, the fact that Flame Spirit King was able to infiltrate this 'splittered soul' into the spirit restriction of the Treasure Sun Divine Tower also means that his understanding of this 'Treasure Sun Divine Tower' far exceeds his imagination... In terms of geographical advantage, it is even more troublesome than he and Ancestor Heavenly Crane had anticipated.

"Fellow Daoist Yanling, do you mean... to make me betray Fellow Daoist Tianhe and join you?" Wei Tu's eyes flickered slightly as he tentatively asked.

"Heh! Your Excellency is the Great Demon Lord, a powerhouse comparable to myself. In this matter, I dare not say that I will switch allegiance to you."

"However, since Fellow Daoist Lin was forced by Ancestor Tianhe to enter this 'Treasured Sun Divine Tower' first... As Ancestor Tianhe's enemy, it is not difficult for me to choose to win you over." The Flame Spirit King's split soul, which resembled black light, chuckled.

"Furthermore, Fellow Daoist Lin should already be aware of how troublesome and formidable Ancestor Tianhe is. Forming an alliance with him to kill me is a minor matter... but afterwards, Fellow Daoist Lin alone will likely find it difficult to contend with Ancestor Tianhe and secure a chance of survival within this Treasure Sun Divine Tower..."

"At this moment, my attempt to win over Fellow Daoist Lin is not to force him to stand on my side, but to ensure that he can take timely action against Ancestor Tianhe when necessary. That would be beneficial for both Fellow Daoist Lin and me."

"In exchange, I will also inform Fellow Daoist Lin of all the information about the Treasure Sun Divine Pagoda."

The Flame Spirit King's divided soul, resembling a black light, patiently and persuasively explained.

But at this point...

Before Wei Tu could give his consent.

At this moment, the restrictions outside the main hall began to flash with spiritual light, and the auras of Jiao Changyi, Tianhe Ancestor, and the Bald-browed Elder gradually emerged within the main hall...

Clearly, these three had already determined that the first level of the Bao Ri Divine Pagoda was safe, which is why they entered without any delay.

Upon seeing this, Wei Tu's actions immediately replaced his answer. With a slight glance, he swept his sleeve and gathered the black light-like 'Flame Spirit King's Divided Soul' into his sleeve, concealing its existence with his own aura.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Lin has already given his answer. Hehe, within this Treasure Sun Divine Tower, we ancient demons are more likely to trust each other than these spiritual cultivators..." The split soul, resembling a black light, chuckled and uttered this nonsensical sentence.

These words startled Wei Tu.

He had many speculations about the Flame Spirit King, but he never thought that he was actually a spiritual cultivator possessed by an ancient demon. After all, with the knowledge and experience of an ancient demon, it shouldn't be difficult for him to learn a thing or two about how to return to the ancient demon realm, just like An Liangcai. It shouldn't be so difficult that he would have to beg other spiritual cultivators for help at the Flying Cloud Gathering.

"Are you lying to me, or are you telling the truth?"

Wei Tu pondered to himself, secretly becoming curious about the true identity of the Flame Spirit King.

However, in the next instant, the Heavenly Crane Ancestor and the others who were just outside the tower had already entered the hall through the 'gap in the restriction', forcing him to temporarily abandon his idea of ​​asking questions and probing the identity of the Flame Spirit King.

Admittedly, communicating with divine sense wouldn't be discovered by Ancestor Tianhe and the others, but Wei Tu didn't believe that the Flame Spirit King's divided soul would obediently reveal this secret.

It is highly likely that this was also intended to mislead him.

Perhaps, it's even possible that they secretly harbor the intention to uncover his true identity.

There's no other reason than that 'Great Demon Lords' are extremely rare in the Ancient Demon Realm, so there's no such thing as being unknown.

If the Flame Spirit King's 'true form' is indeed a renowned Demon Lord, it wouldn't be difficult for him to guess whether his identity is real or fake based on just a few words.

This is quite different from the difficulty of deceiving a spiritual cultivator like the Heavenly Crane Ancestor.

Therefore, for him, conversations with this man should be minimized to avoid making mistakes.

In any case, given Xiu's mindset, it's impossible for him to tell him the whole truth about crucial information.

……

Half an hour later.

Jiao Changyi, Tianhe Laozu, and the Bald-browed Elder, who arrived a step later, also carefully inspected the inside and outside of the main hall, just as Wei Tu had done before.

However, unlike Wei Tu, the three spiritual cultivators had never been to the Black Mist Swamp of the 'Primordial Demon Source Realm', so they knew nothing about the Dark Raven Tower and were unaware of the secret connection between the 'Precious Sun Divine Tower' and the 'Dark Raven Tower'.

"Fellow Daoist Kou, it's still my fault for scouting the way this time." Ancestor Tianhe stared intently at Wei Tu, a cold glint in his eyes as he spoke.

Since they had already deeply offended Wei Tu outside the tower, and were forced to break their oath due to Wei Tu's scheming...

Once inside the Bao Ri Divine Tower, he will act with the mindset of 'use Wei Tu to death if he can't'.

Even though this would create a new enemy and might force Wei Tu and Yan Ling Wang to form an alliance, compared to the dangers within this mysterious secret realm, the former is still worth the risk.

Moreover, the current situation is quite different from when the three forces first joined forces.

After exiting the secret realm of 'Bao Ri Divine Tower'.

The main conflict is no longer just about the 'Flame Spirit King' alone, but also includes the opportunities within the 'Treasure Sun Divine Tower'...

Under such circumstances, the already fragile alliance could not possibly be unbreakable.

By making Wei Tu his enemy, and then joining forces with Jiao Changyi and the bald-browed old man, forcing these two to have "no way out" due to their enmity with Wei Tu, he could only be forced to side with him... This became his optimal solution at the moment.

And regarding this point.

Jiao Changyi and the bald-browed old man were well aware of this.

After seeing Ancestor Tianhe speak, the two immediately stared intently at Wei Tu, forcing him to make a choice.

“Take the left passage! Just be careful of the Dark Mist Moths inside… These strange insects are extraordinary. Although they may not be able to kill these spiritual cultivators, it won’t be difficult to damage their possessions…” At this moment, the Flame Spirit King’s split soul, which resembled black light, spoke up to warn Wei Tu.

These words immediately surprised Wei Tu.

It should be noted that at this moment, he was using his magic power to bind the Flame Spirit King's divided soul, so it was impossible for him to know the content of his conversation with Ancestor Tianhe and others!
"There should still be other fragments of this cultivator's soul lurking here... communicating with each other using a method similar to a 'second nascent soul'?"

In a flash of thought, Wei Tu made this judgment.

This also secretly coincides with the information provided by Ancestor Tianhe decades ago regarding the Flame Spirit King.

The two clones that he revealed, which were suspected to be other 'Combined Five Kings', had the same realm as his 'original body'.

This incredible technique of creating clones is naturally not so simple as to be controlled by ordinary divine sense. It is most likely similar to the 'Second Nascent Soul' method circulating in the cultivation world, which involves communication through a more advanced form of thought.

This kind of mental communication is far broader than the 'divine sense range' of a cultivator, and is also less bound by magical power or restrictions.

Of course, this often comes at a price, easily leading to cultivators losing sight of their primary and secondary roles, and the second Nascent Soul usurping power or rebelling...

For this reason, even though Wei Tu had obtained the method of refining the 'Second Nascent Soul' from the Scorpion Ancestor when he was in the human realm, he never dared to try it easily.

It is very different from the 'blood demon soul split'.

The Blood Demon's split soul, while similar to a 'second Nascent Soul' and possessing its wonders, is not the same as a 'second Nascent Soul'...

Because the 'blood demons' they raise are born from the furnace, their control is more like a 'secret technique' rather than creating another 'naval infant,' so their harm is far less than the former.

……

"The left-hand passageway?"

Wei Tu withdrew his distracting thoughts, pondered for a moment, then flicked his sleeves and headed directly towards the right-hand passageway.

In terms of the situation, he and Flame Spirit King were indeed natural allies, and before dealing with Ancestor Heavenly Crane... their relationship seemed unbreakable.

However, this is based on the premise that Flame Spirit King knows nothing about the 'Sun God Tower' and cannot rely on other "external forces" to fight the enemy.

On the contrary, the Flame Spirit King's understanding of this tower far exceeded his imagination.

Therefore, in terms of specific actions, he could not possibly continue to listen to the Flame Spirit King.

Even if this attempt at 'pretending to be clever' backfires... the 'danger' within the second level of the 'Sun-Preserving Divine Tower' shouldn't pose too much of a problem for a Nascent Soul cultivator like him...

If he is killed here, that is his fate!
"Fellow Daoist Lin is being too reckless. The 'Eight-Tailed Ghost Crab' in the right-hand passage is more than one or two times more dangerous than the one in the left-hand passage."

Upon seeing this, the 'Flame Spirit King's Divided Soul,' which resembled a black light, was slightly taken aback and exclaimed in surprise.

"Since it's dangerous, isn't that exactly what Fellow Daoist Yanling wants?" Wei Tu retorted bluntly.

"So that's what made Fellow Daoist Lin doubt my words and prefer to take the opposite path."

"Let me be frank. I haven't explored this Treasure Sun Divine Tower much. Although my purpose in coming to the Ancient Demon Realm this time is not to explore this place... I have come here by chance, so naturally I want to use your strength to explore a higher place..." The Flame Spirit King's split soul, which resembled black light, chuckled.

And just as these words were spoken.

Wei Tu flew to the right-hand passage and saw the 'Eight-Tailed Demon Crab' that Ci Xiu had mentioned in this narrow passage.

It rose from the ground like a black mist, dense and covering the sky.

At this moment, the grotesque faces on the crab's shell opened one by one, their scarlet eyes terrifying.

Even more terrifying was that the eight needle-like tails behind it swayed slightly before shooting out from the crab's shell, transforming into emerald green needles that shot towards Wei Tu, who had intruded into the area.

However, Wei Tu, upon seeing this scene, showed no sign of panic. He raised his hand and grabbed, and a dozen clusters of dark blue demonic flames condensed around him, transforming into a solid wall of fire that completely enveloped his body.

The next moment, countless emerald green needles shot out from the sky, and when they landed on the wall of fire formed by the dark blue demonic flames, they instantly dissolved like snow melting in spring, unable to withstand the demonic flames in the slightest.

But the terror of the Eight-Tailed Demon Crab is not limited to just this little bit.

The dissipated 'emerald needles' condensed into a new batch of 'eight-tailed ghost crabs' amidst a burst of green light, tirelessly launching another attack on Wei Tu.

Fortunately, thanks to the reminder from the Flame Spirit King's split soul.

Wei Tu had already taken precautions against this. After a slight flash of demonic light on his body, the 'Mysterious Netherworld Fire' within his body condensed again, dissipating most of it.

Less than half of the remaining 'emerald green needles' crackled and shot at his sturdy demonic body, causing some seemingly obvious but instantly healable injuries.

At the same time, Wei Tu's speed also increased significantly, and he began to traverse the dark, long, and narrow passage at an extremely fast pace.

However, Jiao Changyi, Tianhe Laozu, and the Bald-browed Old Man who followed were not so lucky.

Although Wei Tu led the charge, those behind him were attacked in the blink of an eye by layers upon layers of densely packed 'eight-tailed ghost crabs'.

Furthermore, lacking intelligence support, they were unaware that these 'emerald needles' would transform into a new wave of 'eight-tailed ghost crabs'...

So, coincidentally, they all suffered a small, unspeakable loss.

Jiao Changyi, the weakest of the three, even suffered some injuries in this round of attacks.

"Damn it! The eight-tailed ghost crabs here are troublesome, but not invincible... But the problem is, with such a long passage, how much magic power and defensive treasures will we have to waste to reach the second level of the pagoda..."

Jiao Changyi and the bald-browed old man exchanged a glance, their expressions slightly gloomy as they spoke.

Although the two of them possessed some resources and trump cards left by their predecessors in the Zichen Realm, enough to contend with a 'half-step Mahayana' cultivator like Ancestor Tianhe... that was only in a short battle. Under such a prolonged period of attrition, the weaker of them would be the most vulnerable.

Especially after seeing Wei Tu use his own demonic body to fight the enemy in order to 'save' spiritual treasures...

This made me even more fearful.

As the tide recedes, and given enough time, it's not impossible for them for their souls to perish within the 'Precious Sun Divine Pagoda'.

"If you two fellow Daoists don't mind, I can protect you for a while until we encounter the Flame Spirit King..." The Heavenly Crane Ancestor, sitting cross-legged in the mouth of the Bloodwinged Demon, smiled leisurely and extended an invitation to Jiao Changyi and the bald-browed elder. (End of Chapter)