I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

"Interesting! Interesting! Fellow Daoist Lin, a spiritual cultivator from the Zi Chen Realm, is now being ostracized by these three..."

The next moment, seeing Jiao Changyi and the bald-browed old man being invited by the Heavenly Crane Ancestor to enter the Flame Spirit King's divided soul in the Bloodwing Mo's mouth, he mocked Wei Tu in a sarcastic tone.

However, Wei Tu remained calm upon hearing this and directly inquired about the perilous challenges beyond the second level of the 'Precious Sun Divine Tower'.

Since he was only sending a clone, he wasn't too worried about his life and safety.

"Very well, judging from the current situation, it is certain that Fellow Daoist Lin will find it difficult to gain the trust of Ancestor Tianhe and the other two."

"Fellow Daoists, there's no need to waste your mana on the second and third levels. Just enter the incantation I'm passing on to you at the exit of the right-hand passage... and you'll be transported to the teleportation chamber to the fourth level where I am... thus preserving some of your strength." The Flame Spirit King's split soul, resembling a black light, revealed this top-secret information with a faint smile.

"What? It leads directly to the fourth floor?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu was shocked.

This time, he had no doubt that what the Heavenly Crane Ancestor said—that the Flame Spirit King planned to use this 'secret realm' to ambush and kill all their enemies.

The 'geographical advantage' of this secret realm is far beyond what the four of them can compare to.

However, this time he did not disobey the Flame Spirit King's divided soul's 'kind advice'—at this moment, becoming this cultivator's 'puppet' was safer than becoming the 'scapegoat' for the three Heavenly Crane Ancestors.

In any case, he had already tested the Flame Spirit King quite thoroughly in his choice of the passageway.

Therefore—after learning the incantation he had mentioned for opening the restrictions near the passage, he once again used his escape technique and, with lightning speed, quickly fled towards the exit of the passage.

Half an hour later, just as he was about to reach the exit of the passage, he quickly formed hand seals and cast more than a dozen spells near the 'seven-colored crystal wall'-shaped barrier at the exit.

The next instant, the seven-colored crystal wall emitted an extremely strong suction force, and he did not resist at all, but followed this attraction and entered the 'crystal wall'.

And in that instant, it vanished from the spot.

"Oh no! That guy surnamed Kou has escaped."

Behind them, Jiao Changyi and the other two, who were also hiding in the mouth of the Bloodwinged Demon, changed their expressions drastically upon seeing this scene.

What surprised them was not that Wei Tu had escaped, but how Wei Tu knew that the barrier at the exit of the tunnel contained this hidden mechanism.

There are only two possible explanations for this.

The first possibility is that Wei Tu had visited the 'Baori Divine Pagoda' and had some knowledge of it.

The second possibility is that Wei Tu, who was previously their ally, has now joined forces with the 'Flame Spirit King'.

Regardless of which possibility it is, the situation is extremely unfavorable for them.

"The restrictions here seem to be a perfect whole, but that's only the appearance. You can find some differences in the details... and this is probably the key to Kou Mozun's teleportation away from this place."

"If we want to break through it, it might take a month or so... But the difficult thing is how to teleport away like Demon Lord Kou..." The bald-browed old man's eyes flashed with purple light as he observed the 'Seven-Colored Crystal Wall' with his spiritual eyes, muttering to himself.

Breaking through a forbidden formation and utilizing it are two completely different things in terms of difficulty.

The latter is several times that of the former.

Even if he were a master of formations, it would be difficult for him to teleport away directly using the 'forbidden formation' here in a short time, like Wei Tu did.

"The treasure is good, but it needs to be within my reach... Fellow Daoists, I will not keep you company any longer."

After a moment of gloom, Ancestor Tianhe finally made up his mind and said.

"We are the same." Upon hearing this, Jiao Changyi and the bald-browed old man exchanged a glance and quickly expressed their agreement.

Without the help of Ancestor Tianhe, the two of them combined would hardly be a match for King Yanling. Now... they have Wei Tu, another 'Great Demon Lord,' as an enemy out of nowhere.
Staying any longer would be a death sentence.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to follow the example of Ancestor Tianhe and temporarily leave this place to seek a better opportunity later.

"Good! It's good to hear your words, fellow Daoists. After we leave this forbidden land, I will join you two in attacking the Hundred Sects Ruins and take you to the Spirit Realm... Once we reach the Spirit Realm, with my elder brother's abilities, seizing the Treasure Sun Divine Tower should not be difficult..."

"At that time, we can also share a piece of the pie with you two fellow Daoists." Ancestor Tianhe's expression softened, and after taking a deep look at the 'Seven-Colored Crystal Wall' in front of him, he said coldly.

Previously, he did not want to seek help from the other 'Eight Fiends' of the Eight Fiends Sea Clan because the Flame Spirit King's strength was limited; even with the opportunity to ascend to the Great Ascension stage, he could only satisfy the needs of one person...

But now, the situation has changed...

Opportunities have become dangerous and numerous.

Therefore, we must adapt to the times and find other methods.

After speaking, Ancestor Tianhe said no more and immediately manipulated the Bloodwing Mo's corpse to return along the original route.

only--

A quarter of an hour later.

When he returned to the first floor of the Treasure Sun Divine Tower, he discovered that the 'restriction gap' that had previously existed for entering and exiting the 'Treasure Sun Divine Tower' had disappeared without him noticing.

The power of this complete restriction was so great that even someone like him, a half-step Mahayana cultivator, could hardly shake it in the slightest.

"A dead end... has already appeared."

Upon witnessing this scene, the Heavenly Crane Ancestor lost his composure, as if his mind had been injured. He stumbled backward half a step, and at the same time, his face turned extremely ugly.

Throughout his cultivation journey, he has encountered countless life-or-death crises, but... after reaching the half-step Mahayana realm, such encounters became extremely rare, almost unheard of.

Although the current predicament is far from being a life-threatening crisis, the Flame Spirit King's control and calculation of the overall situation is enough to make his heart sink and make it difficult to see any hope of survival.

Because at this moment, he was no longer the 'hunter,' but the 'prey' being targeted by the hunter.

If Flame Spirit King, like him, were to leave the Treasure Sun Divine Tower and the Chaotic Forbidden Land and summon other reinforcements, then his life would immediately be on the verge of extinction.

And this is the one thing he has no doubt about.

Wei Tu suddenly teleported away...

The sudden closure of the first level of the Bao Ri Divine Pagoda's restrictive gate...

No matter how you look at it, it's clear that the Flame Spirit King had tampered with things here.

"Fellow Daoist Jiao, Fellow Daoist Su... the three of us now only have one path left: find the Flame Spirit King and kill this fiend... otherwise, if we wait any longer, in a few years or even decades, it will surely be our death anniversary!"

Ancestor Tianhe said with a cold look in his eyes.

At this moment, he finally had the ruthless determination to explore the 'Treasure Sun Divine Tower' no matter what.

“We understand this point. Only by following Fellow Daoist Tianhe can we have a chance of survival. However, we hope that Fellow Daoist Tianhe will not treat us the same way he treated Demon Lord Kou... Otherwise, if we fight amongst ourselves again, the three of us will truly have no way out.”

Upon hearing this, the bald-browed old man, who had finished exchanging views with Jiao Changyi, frowned slightly for a moment before speaking to Ancestor Tianhe.

However, upon hearing this, Ancestor Tianhe was not angry. He nodded solemnly, which was considered his agreement.

Previously, he, Wei Tu, Jiao Changyi, and the bald-browed old man claimed to be allies... but in reality, they all harbored ulterior motives and planned to turn against each other after killing the Flame Spirit King.

But now, it's different.

They really need to consider their chances of survival.

In situations where it is not absolutely necessary, mutual assistance is the only way to break the deadlock.

……

the other side.

Wei Tu, who had been teleported away from the 'Seven-Colored Crystal Wall', was also leisurely taking in the dark, pitch-black room that had appeared before him.

The material of its walls seems to be the same as that of the passageways on both sides of the first floor of the 'Bao Ri Divine Pagoda', as thick as black iron.

Deep within the walls, there are the same indestructible restrictions as those inside the passageway.

"Could this be the inside of the passageway? The other side?" Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, this question arising in his mind.

Thinking of this, he did not hesitate. After a slight flash of green light in his palm, he immediately used the 'Hun'e Evil Eye' to peer outside the wall of the dark room.

As he expected, he saw the passageway he had just entered from outside the wall, along with a group of eight-tailed ghost crabs climbing on the passageway floor.

However, it seems that because of the 'Void Restriction' within the restriction, the range of his observation is not wide, at most extending to more than three zhang away, and beyond that, it is difficult to see anything else.

After completing this inspection, Wei Tu frowned and turned his gaze to the ancient teleportation array standing in the center of the dark room.

Its entire body appears to be made of bronze, with an octagonal array platform as its base. At the center, a white jade ruler, about the width of a palm and several feet high, is suspended.

On the surface of the ruler are engraved four ancient characters: 壹, 贰, 叁, 肆.

At that moment, the magical light of the teleportation array landed precisely on the character '壹' on the white jade ruler, which perfectly matched the number of floors of the 'Treasure Sun Divine Tower'.

“Demon script? Could it be that Flame Spirit King wasn’t lying, that he was born an ancient demon?” Wei Tu raised an eyebrow and glanced at the several 'high-grade demon crystals' embedded in the base of the ancient teleportation array that activated it.

"Ancient demon? Perhaps. However, an ancient demon capable of breaking through the restrictions here, creating a secret chamber, and setting up an ancient teleportation array must be at least at the Demon Ancestor level..."

"In my opinion, even if this cultivator is an ancient demon, he is at most a demon lord, a demon lord who was lucky enough to obtain the legacy of his predecessor. He doesn't have the ability to open up this secret room in this divine tower and set up this ancient teleportation array..." An Liangcai said casually.

The words fell.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu nodded secretly.

An Liangcai, the 'Great Demon Lord,' became so troublesome after only recovering some of his magic power in the lower realm...

So, if this dark room and ancient teleportation array were indeed set up by the Flame Spirit King, it's impossible for his strength to be only so 'weak'... He still needs to rely on the advantageous location here to have any confidence in dealing with the Heavenly Crane Ancestor.

Even if it wasn't at its peak, and was merely a remnant soul like An Liangcai's, its multiple 'Fusion Grandmaster' bodies were still enough for it to unleash some of the Demon Ancestor's power...

Even if such power couldn't defeat Ancestor Tianhe, it wouldn't be difficult to escape during his pursuit.

"Therefore, although this cultivator is strong, in terms of raw power, he should not be as good as the current Heavenly Crane Ancestor... In other words, as far as I am concerned, I still have a certain ability to resist this cultivator, and I am far from being completely powerless."

After making this judgment, Wei Tu's expression softened, and he felt somewhat at ease.

"But—how should we deal with this Flame Spirit King? Should we fight like the snipe and the clam? This cultivator has won me over, but he's probably planning to have me deal with Ancestor Tianhe... He certainly won't leave me any opportunity to take advantage of this..." Wei Tu pondered for a moment, then continued to discuss specific countermeasures against the Flame Spirit King with An Liangcai using telepathy.

As for going it alone...

His own family knows his own affairs.

What came here was merely the indestructible demonic body controlled by his 'Blood Soul Avatar'. On his body, he only carried the [Boundary-Severing Stone] for escape, the 'Eighth-Rank Remnant Treasure' he had taken from the Purple-Faced Hermit, and some other ordinary spiritual treasures... As for the two great heaven-reaching spiritual treasures, the [Five Elements Demon-Slaying Ring] and the [Longevity Immortal Lamp], he did not take a single one.

After all, at first, this was just a small-scale conflict to 'encircle and annihilate' the Flame Spirit King, and it hadn't reached the point of a life-or-death battle yet, so there was no need to risk everything.

These treasures shouldn't be too difficult to deal with a 'Fusion Stage Cultivator'. Even if they can't handle the situation with ease, they should be able to escape unscathed...

However, it proved inadequate against the 'Flame Spirit King'.

“Fellow Daoist Wei is extremely wary of me, but I don’t know your background or what your trump cards are. How can I formulate a corresponding strategy…” Hearing this, An Liangcai gave a bitter smile, his words tinged with helplessness.

“However, if my remnant soul were to return to my demonic body, even if I couldn’t defeat the Flame Spirit King, it shouldn’t be too difficult to save Fellow Daoist Wei’s life and help you escape from this place…” An Liangcai said again.

Unbeknownst to him, Wei Tu's presence here was merely an avatar, not his true self, nor did he know that his 'demon body' had long been controlled by Wei Tu using 'blood demon evil magic'.

"Escape from here?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, and an idea gradually formed in his mind.

He ignored An Liangcai's persuasive offer of "returning to the demonic body," and with a flick of his sleeve, he began to activate his magic power, restarting the ancient teleportation array in front of him that could directly lead to the fourth level of the "Bao Ri Divine Tower."

After a short rest.

After a dizzying sensation,

Wei Tu then arrived at a place similar to the 'dark room' from before.

It was still a cramped, small, and pitch-black room. In the center was an ancient teleportation array made of bronze and powered by high-grade magic crystals.

However, the difference is that the white jade ruler standing upright at the center of the teleportation array is now pointing to the position of '四' (fourth).

"There are no teleportation arrays for the second and third levels, only for the first and fourth levels?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself.

"However, it's fine if it's not there. It'll make it easier for me to verify my ideas and implement my plan..."

Wei Tu's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at the 'demon body' hidden beneath his robes. At this moment, a small piece of arm bone was clearly missing from its right arm.

"I can sense it! During the spatial turbulence of the teleportation, I arrived at other parts of this pagoda..."

Wei Tu closed his eyes slightly, sensing the 'blood demon soul fragment' hidden within another demonic body.

A moment later, from his second-person perspective, a wall as thick as iron suddenly appeared in his line of sight...

He looked around and soon saw a dark room that resembled the previous one.

However, unlike the others, this dark room is smaller and does not have an ancient teleportation array; it is more like a 'gap' that is not completely covered by the restriction.

"Just as I suspected, the restriction on ethereal space and the limitation on spatial turbulence that bound the teleportation array meant that the arm bone of the immortal demon body could only teleport to places like the dark chambers between the first and fourth floors..."

Wei Tu's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly realized something.

Whether it is a one-way teleportation array or a two-way teleportation array, the 'spatial passage' between teleportation arrays is fixed and difficult to change.

Just now, the 'ancient teleportation array' that Flame Spirit King guided him to was the same, and its 'spatial passage' was also fixed.

The only difference is that the vicinity of this 'spatial passage' is covered by a 'Void-Prohibiting Barrier'.

In general.

The 'Forbidden Void Spirit Forbidden' has absolutely no such divine power.

However, this is the 'Precious Sun Divine Tower', where the power of its 'Void Restriction' law is far more powerful and advanced than the spatial power of ordinary teleportation arrays.

In other words, it is absolutely impossible to tear open a spatial channel and create a 'spatial rift' during teleportation to teleport to other places.

It can only appear in the various "dark chambers" and "gaps" that are blocked by the "Void Restriction" and exist behind the Bao Ri Divine Tower, communicating with each other through the "spatial passage".

This is just a little common knowledge for array masters, not something that others would find difficult to know.

but--

During this time, however, Wei Tu discovered a path to a better life.

"A way to survive by faking death!" Wei Tu was overjoyed. Without changing his expression, he continued to activate the teleportation array in front of him with his magic power, stepped inside, and pretended to investigate it thoroughly.

While the Flame Spirit King's split soul, which was responsible for monitoring from the first and fourth level 'dark chambers,' had noticed this, it did not pay much attention to it.

Firstly, he has a limited number of split souls, and it's impossible for him to waste so many split souls just to keep an eye on Wei Tu.

Secondly, even he would have difficulty detecting, let alone monitoring, the "gap" where Wei Tu's 'demon body arm bone' was hidden.

Even if we take a step back and assume the worst, in this life-or-death situation, most people wouldn't think of or voluntarily 'reduce' their own strength at this moment.

also--

The gaps within the restricted area are easy to enter, but difficult to exit!

Without the strength of a Demon Ancestor, it would be absolutely impossible to break through the 'restriction' of the Treasure Sun Divine Tower, dig through the Xuan Iron Stone Wall inside the passage that is even more solid than a seventh-order spiritual treasure, and then escape through the 'gaps' within these restrictions.

The only two exits are the 'gaps in the restriction' located in the hidden chambers on the first and fourth floors. He has been constantly monitoring these two locations to ensure Wei Tu has no opportunity to cheat. (End of Chapter)