I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

However, refining a high-quality seventh-grade pill like the 'Yinzhi Pill' is quite a challenge for Wei Tu.

To date, the highest grade of pills he has successfully refined is only 'low-grade seventh rank'.

Fortunately, the 'Yinzhi Pill' is a high-grade pill that emphasizes spiritual herbs over technique. The difficulty of refining this pill is not too difficult among the seventh-grade high-quality spiritual pills. As long as one becomes a seventh-grade mid-level alchemist, one has a fairly good chance of successfully refining this pill.

Therefore, before actually starting to refine elixirs, it was inevitable for Wei Tu to continue his "advanced studies" in the path of alchemy for a period of time.

He didn't want to easily squander the two hard-won 'Yinlingzhi Horses' in his hands.

And so it is.

During the twenty years he spent in Shengguang Realm, besides being busy searching for the whereabouts of Fu Zhizhou and Luqiu Qingfeng, he also took the opportunity to spread his reputation as a 'seventh-level alchemist' and take on some 'private alchemy jobs'.

It's a pity that twenty years is too short a time; very few ancient demons actually sought him out to refine seventh-grade pills.

"However, with my mastery of the 'Five Elements Laws,' even though I am only a low-grade seventh-rank alchemist, my control over spiritual power and medicinal properties is no weaker than any mid-grade or high-grade seventh-rank alchemist..."

Inside the alchemy room, Wei Tu glanced at the cauldron in front of him, which was brimming with demonic energy and nurturing a demonic core, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

He hesitated, but decided that after accepting two more tasks to refine seventh-grade pills, he would begin to try refining the 'Yinzhi Pill'.

After all, the mark of becoming a 'seventh-grade mid-level alchemist' is to refine a seventh-grade mid-level pill.

In the Demon Lord's realm, where both spiritual herbs and demonic medicines are equally scarce... generally speaking, unless someone finds the spiritual herbs themselves and refines a mid-grade seventh-rank pill, no one else would risk letting a low-grade seventh-rank alchemist like him refine them...

however--

Just as he continued to manipulate the alchemy incantation to nurture the demonic pills in the furnace.

In just a few short months, more than ten invitations bearing the mark of the Demon Lord and requesting him to refine pills suddenly appeared one after another at the entrance of his cave.

This sudden turn of events left Wei Tu completely taken aback.

It should be noted that in the twenty years he has been in the Sheng Guang Realm, he has only received four alchemy commissions from demon lords of the same rank.

This was already thanks to his growing fame in the 'Primordial Demon Source Realm'.

"...Is it the breakthrough phenomenon of the Bloodwinged Mo?" Wei Tu looked up and glanced at the astonishing phenomenon in the adjacent cave. He immediately understood the matter.

During this period, only this matter could attract these dozen or so demon lords to come and visit under this pretext.

His talk of alchemy is most likely just a pretext.

It was just a way to get closer to him.

“However, while a spirit beast at the Integration Realm is quite tempting, it shouldn’t be enough to attract so many Demon Lords to come together…” Wei Tu frowned, vaguely sensing that something was amiss.

After all, no matter how much one covets a fused spirit beast, it's impossible for them to directly reach out to a demon lord of the same rank over such a 'small matter'.

At this moment, under the cover of the cave's array, the Bloodwing Mo's breakthrough phenomenon did not reveal anything related to the 'True Spirit of Heaven and Earth'.

These demon lords seemed to be simply attracted by an ordinary 'fused spirit beast'.

"Thinking too much is pointless..."

Wei Tu shook his head, reached out and grabbed at the void in front of him, directly bringing back the visiting cards from the entrance of the cave, and began to read the contents of each one.

At the same time, he compared the names of the demon lords in these visiting cards with the relevant information he had obtained in the Radiant Realm.

Right now.

A demon lord named 'Xu Shan' caught his attention.

"Does this demon know where Fourth Brother is?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, a cold glint in his eyes.

Unlike the invitations from other demon lords, this demon's invitation, besides stating the corresponding 'alchemy commission,' also seemingly unintentionally mentioned at the end that he intended to use Fu Zhizhou's information as payment for the alchemy.

But know...

It's true that he was searching for information about Fu Zhizhou, but this was also being done secretly in the black market.

On the surface, whether it's searching for information about Fu Zhizhou, or about Island Master Ye and Luqiu Qingfeng, none of it concerns him, a seventh-level alchemist and a body-refining ancient demon.

It is obvious that this Demon Lord named 'Xu Shan' has conducted a very thorough investigation into him in secret!

"With my disguise skills, I'm unlikely to be seen through and have my identity revealed... So, there's no question of being exposed..."

"So, how did this demon guess that I and the person who collected information about my fourth brother are the same person? It's rare for a demon lord at the mid-stage to have such ability."

Wei Tu stroked his chin, developing a strong interest in this demon lord named 'Xu Shan'.

Even if what this demon said was false and he didn't know Fu Zhizhou's whereabouts, just getting the reason why he saw through Fu Zhizhou's 'identity' from him was already a very valuable thing for him.

It's just a pity that this demon's cultivation level is not low, and he is also unfamiliar with the Sheng Guang Realm... Otherwise, directly killing this demon and searching his soul for information would save more time.

……

a few days later.

Upon receiving Wei Tu's reply, Xu Shan personally visited Wei Tu's cave to pay his respects.

Wei Tu also got to see this famous Demon Lord in the Sheng Guang Realm firsthand.

He was thin and looked to be in his thirties. In terms of appearance, he was more like a young and promising spiritual cultivator than an ancient demon with a more domineering and cruel temperament.

After being welcomed into the cave's living room by Wei Tu, the demon went straight to the point and stated his purpose.

As expected, it was pretty much what Wei Tu had guessed.

His intention was to find the Bloodwinged Demon, who was breaking through to the Integration Realm, rather than to have him, a seventh-level alchemist, refine pills.

"To be honest, Alchemist Kou, besides coming here to refine pills, my more important purpose is for your spirit beast that is currently breaking through to the Integration Realm... If Alchemist Kou is willing to give me that spirit beast that is breaking through to the Integration Realm, I am willing to buy it for 12,000 mid-grade magic crystals..."

"Twelve thousand mid-grade magic crystals, that's 20% higher than the market price."

Xu Shan, sitting in the second seat, took a sip of his spiritual tea and then casually uttered this sentence.

“I might give up ordinary spirit beasts, but not this one… This beast is my personal bodyguard and knows my background well. If I give it up, wouldn’t that make my secrets known to everyone?”

Wei Tu calmly glanced at Xu Shan and used this excuse to deflect the question.

That statement is impeccable.

No cultivator would sell a spirit slave who knows their secrets for money.

At this point, Xu Shan was also somewhat speechless.

However, since he had used the crucial information of 'Fu Zhizhou' to force Wei Tu to meet with him, he would not be easily defeated by just a few words at this moment.

"Although I don't know why Master Kou is looking for that spiritual cultivator's whereabouts, I do know a thing or two about it. If Master Kou is willing to lend me this beast for a period of time after it breaks through its barrier."

"I will inform you of the spiritual cultivator's whereabouts after I have used him. Otherwise... with my connections and methods, it probably won't take long to capture him."

Xu Shan snorted coldly, no longer wasting time pretending with Wei Tu, and directly used these words to threaten Wei Tu.

See this scene.

Wei Tu's eyes flashed slightly, and then his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

"It's not impossible to get Kou to back down on this matter. However, Fellow Daoist Xu must also tell Kou why you are so persistent with my spirit beast?" Wei Tu took a deep breath and asked.

As soon as these words fell.

Xu Shan was slightly surprised.

But soon, as if he had thought of something, a look of relief appeared on his face.

"Indeed, Fellow Daoist Kou has only been in my Sheng Guang Realm for a short time, so he naturally knows nothing about the 'Hundred Spirits Demon Realm'."

Xu Shan spoke without any reservations.

Just now, Wei Tu's concern for Fu Zhizhou's intelligence made him believe that he had grasped Wei Tu's weakness.

Therefore, at this moment, they would not feel any resistance to providing such trivial information.

"The Hundred Spirits Demon Realm?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu was slightly taken aback. He had never heard of this matter before, even though he was in the Sheng Guang Realm.

It should be noted that although he has only been in the Sheng Guang Realm for a total of twenty years, he is extremely familiar with the people and geography of the Sheng Guang Realm.

However, he had never heard anyone mention this so-called 'Hundred Spirits Demon Realm' from beginning to end.

"This Hundred Spirits Demon Realm is a secret among us native demon lords. Apart from our closest relatives and friends, we certainly wouldn't tell ordinary people. It's normal that Master Kou doesn't know..."

"Legend has it that this Hundred Spirits Demon Realm was created by the combined efforts of those powerful demon cultivators who once occupied this realm... This realm was initially called the 'Pseudo-Immortal Realm' by those powerful demon cultivators, in order to be compared with the legendary 'Immortal Realm'."

"But after our ancient demons invaded, those powerful spiritual cultivators either died or perished, and this 'Hundred Spirit Demon Realm' was reduced to a broken fragment."

"However, this 'Hundred Spirits Demon Realm' is a higher realm that resides on the origin of the Radiant Realm. No matter how dilapidated it is, the treasures accumulated over time are still considerable..."

"However, because those powerful demonic cultivators perished at the hands of us ancient demons, their remaining remnants and restrictions are particularly hostile to us ancient demons. Therefore, if we ancient demons want to enter this place, we can only possess the bodies of demonic cultivators..."

"However, the level of spiritual cultivation also has a significant impact on the strength of us ancient demons. Only spiritual cultivators at the Integration level... can allow us to unleash our full potential."

Xu Shan smiled faintly and explained the origin of the 'Hundred Spirits Demon Realm' to Wei Tu, word by word.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu immediately understood why so many Demon Lords had sent their invitations after the Bloodwing Demon's breakthrough phenomenon appeared.

Like Xu Shan, these native demon lords were also determined to obtain the 'Hundred Spirits Demon Realm'!
Therefore, the 'fused spirit slaves', which are quite rare in the Sheng Guang Realm and even in other realms, naturally became highly sought-after by them.

However, he never expected that the seemingly ordinary 'Shengguang Realm' secretly harbored the 'Hundred Spirits Demon Realm,' a place considered a top-tier opportunity for spiritual cultivators.

However, this is normal.

Demonic energy and spiritual energy are inherently opposing and fundamental forces. No matter how much it is 'demonicized,' it is impossible to completely transform it into another 'Primordial Demonic Source Realm'.

How could a former 'spiritual cultivation realm' like Shengguang Realm not have left behind some secret realms and treasure lands that are of great benefit to spiritual cultivation?

Previously, the reason he wanted to go to the 'Original Demon Realm' was because the spiritual materials and herbs in the Ancient Demon Realm were much easier to obtain than those in the Spirit Realm.

Now that he has reached the realm of 'Demon Lord', it is not difficult for him to obtain information about opportunities similar to those in this 'Hundred Spirits Demon Realm' once he has settled in any place for a long time.

"I can give up this fused spirit beast, but Fellow Daoist Xu must also give me the information about that spiritual cultivator, as well as the information about this 'Hundred Spirit Demon Realm'..."

"Moreover, the price for this sale is exactly as Fellow Daoist Xu said, twelve thousand mid-grade magic crystals!"

At this moment, Wei Tu's eyes gleamed, and he suddenly uttered this greedy statement.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Xu, could you please tell me how I, Kou, revealed my identity in the black market..."

"If Fellow Daoist Xu agrees to these three things, I, Kou, am willing to swear an oath to the Heavenly Demons to make this deal happen and will never break my promise!"

Wei Tu's expression turned solemn.

Upon hearing this, Xu Shan was taken aback, as the transaction process seemed to have been far too easy.

But soon, upon seeing the greed on Wei Tu's face and hearing his demands, he realized what was happening and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He forgot that Wei Tu was different from him; he was a rare seventh-rank alchemist among the Demon Lords!

For such alchemists, cultivating another 'fused spirit beast' would not seem to be a difficult task.

It would probably take far less than this many mid-grade magic crystals to cultivate a new, one-time 'combined spirit beast'!
"But... the oath of the Heavenly Demon..."

Xu Shan frowned. Twelve thousand mid-grade magic crystals were already most of his fortune. If possible, he would prefer to exploit Wei Tu's weakness and force him to hand over the 'fused spirit beast'.

However, compared to this, it would be more secure for them to make a 'Heavenly Demon Oath' together.

"Heh! The spiritual cultivator that Alchemist Kou was searching for must be quite important to him..."

"I, Xu, will not beat around the bush. Apart from the twelve thousand mid-grade magic crystals, I can agree to all three conditions proposed by Alchemist Kou, and I am willing to swear the Heavenly Demon Oath with Alchemist Kou... to keep the agreement."

Xu Shan's expression turned cold, and he spoke bluntly in an unquestionable tone.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, are you planning to seize it by force?"

“Kou is not without support.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu's expression immediately turned cold. He flipped his hand and took out the 'favor token' given to him by the Demon Lord Kui Dou, which allowed him to directly seek favors from the Demon Lord Hei Yu.

only--

Upon seeing the token, Xu Shan's expression flashed with fear and he hesitated somewhat, but he did not back down in the process of 'coercion'.

"This cultivator, like myself, is a 'rogue cultivator,' without any powerful backer!" Upon seeing this, Wei Tu's face showed a hint of anger, but deep down he was delighted. (End of Chapter)