I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

Indeed! Since this cultivator doesn't have a suitable 'fusion spirit beast' to help him go to the 'Hundred Spirit Demon Realm', his background and status are naturally not very high among demon lords of the same level.

"I don't need 12,000 mid-grade magic crystals."

"As long as Fellow Daoist Xu agrees to my other conditions, that will suffice."

After a moment, Wei Tu, who had been coerced and threatened by Xu Shan, finally gave in and took a deep breath before saying this.

The words fell.

Xu Shan, whose face was tense, then smiled slightly.

Although he didn't know why this mere 'spiritual cultivation' would be so fatal to Wei Tu, since there was already the guarantee of the Heavenly Demon Oath, he had no reason to pursue the matter further.

In any case, these are all 'minor matters' at the level of a Demon Lord.

There's no need to worry about it too much.

"By the way! I only said I would inform him of information about that spiritual cultivator and not harm him, but I didn't guarantee that I wouldn't follow and investigate him or harm those around him..."

A moment later, after they had sworn an oath to the Heavenly Demon and informed Wei Tu of the relevant information, Xu Shan, who had suddenly thought of this place, couldn't help but have his eyes flicker a few times.

……

After seeing Xu Shan off politely.

Wei Tu did not return to his cave. After leaving some protective measures for the neighboring Bloodwing Mo, he mingled into the crowd and left this temporary immortal city, heading towards the place Xu Shan had mentioned, the place where Fu Zhizhou was suspected to be.

What a coincidence.

Xu Shan did not obtain the information about Fu Zhizhou from other people, but rather from an unintentional encounter with Fu Zhizhou two hundred years ago when he was traveling in the Shengguang Realm.

Therefore, he paid close attention when he saw the bounty he had posted in the black market.

After observing him several times, and noticing that his aura resembled that of a 'Demon Lord,' they connected him with the newly emerged 'Demon Lord Kou' within the Radiant Realm.

After all, the Demon Lords of the entire Shengguang Realm are all the same people, all of whom are well-known and have their own names.

It's highly unlikely that a 'strange demon lord' will appear...

Of course, before Wei Tu 'proves himself', all of this was just Xu Shan's speculation.

Xu Shan confirmed this conjecture only after Wei Tu decided to meet with him.

Therefore, Wei Tu was quite surprised when he heard this reason, because it could be considered that he had been directly tricked by Xu Shan...

This gives a glimpse into the cunning of the ancient demon.

However, this is also a good thing for him.

At least, it proves that his 'disguise' was not seen through, but that some 'clues' were noticed by people like Xu Shan during the operation.

"They've caught up."

Half a day later, Wei Tu, far from the Immortal City, noticed a faint tail growing behind him and a cold smile flashed across his mind.

Just as he had expected, Xu Shan's greed was insatiable.

It was not satisfied with merely obtaining a 'fusion spirit beast'.

Seeing how much he valued Fu Zhizhou, given his personality, he certainly wouldn't sit idly by and watch another 'benefit' slip away.

"Wait a little longer, the distance isn't far enough yet."

Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, seemingly unaware, and continued to fly slowly forward.

"Although this Alchemist Kou is an alchemist, his spiritual sense shouldn't be sharp enough to surpass mine, a mid-stage Demon Lord... He shouldn't be able to detect that I'm secretly following him..."

In the distance, Xu Shan, who was following behind Wei Tu, was also having second thoughts. He was not as determined as Wei Tu had imagined.

Previously, his plan was simply to get to the place where Fu Zhizhou had been before Wei Tu, and then investigate and search for Fu Zhizhou's whereabouts in advance...

However, he did not expect that Wei Tu would act so quickly, setting off immediately after seeing him off.

This was clearly not enough time for him to search for Fu Zhizhou's whereabouts...

After all, based on the information he provided, it was highly likely that the search would take years, or even decades, to find nothing.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

If he had known earlier that Wei Tu valued that spiritual cultivator so much, he should have concealed this information, captured the cultivator first, and then negotiated with him.

But after thinking about this, Xu Shan secretly shook his head, thinking that this was not very realistic.

Provide intelligence for negotiation and then negotiate after the arrest...

These two are not entirely the same.

The latter shows a tendency to become an enemy.

He only realized later that capturing 'Fu Zhizhou' would be more valuable... but if he hadn't known this, his previous actions would have been wiser.

"This demon truly deserves to die! Could it be that he thinks that because he signed the Heavenly Demon Oath with me, that the fused spirit beast already belongs to me in the future... so he just ignores that spirit beast and is unwilling to even protect it..." After a moment, Xu Shan suppressed his blaming thoughts and cursed Wei Tu in his heart.

Otherwise, he would very likely have had both 'good things'.

That way, I won't have any regrets now.

……

Half a day later.

When they arrived at a desolate and spiritless place in the Shengguang Realm.

The satellite finally came to a stop ahead.

But the next moment, its escape light suddenly changed, and like lightning, it rushed straight backward.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, how much longer will you continue to follow me, Kou?"

At the same moment, these words also rang in Xu Shan's ears.

"This..." Upon hearing this, Xu Shan, who was about to retreat hastily, suddenly changed his expression, realizing that he was in a dilemma.

But soon, as if he had thought of something, his expression quickly calmed down, and he became composed.

There's no other reason than our strength.

As an ancient demon at the mid-stage of Demon Lord level, he was a cut above Wei Tu in terms of cultivation level.

Previously, the only reason for wanting to withdraw was because of feeling guilty and the habitual thinking of not wanting to offend the alchemist... that's why the idea of ​​withdrawing came to mind.

However, after thinking about how he had already coerced Wei Tu and forcibly seized the 'fused spirit beast', this thought was naturally abandoned.

Second.

It is also related to the 'Oath of the Heavenly Demon' that was previously made.

This oath, besides requiring Wei Tu to hand over the 'fused spirit beast,' also stipulated that both sides must form an alliance of 'attack and defense,' and must not harbor any intention to harm either side.

This request was one that he had made initially.

The reason is simply to prevent Wei Tu, a seventh-level alchemist, from seeking revenge in the future.

Now, this 'additional requirement' is undoubtedly a powerful tool to restrain Wei Tu from taking action.

as predicted!

Even though Wei Tu's words just now carried a questioning tone, he withdrew his sharp aura the moment he approached him... leaving only an extremely gloomy expression.

"When did Master Kou discover me?" Xu Shan asked with a natural expression and a faint smile.

"Indeed, fellow Daoist is an alchemist, and in terms of spiritual sense, he is much stronger than a Demon Lord of the same level. Discovering me is no problem for him..."

"However, while following Master Kou Dan was unreasonable, it wasn't a major mistake."

Xu Shan pondered for a moment, then tried to justify himself.

however--

That's when.

Just now, Wei Tu, who had just withdrawn his fierce aura, suddenly made a move!

His right hand reached forward and, in that instant, transformed into a massive, blood-red hand, tens of feet in size, which swiftly grasped at Xu Shan, who was suspended in mid-air.

This change is truly astonishing!
The two were only a hundred feet apart at that moment. With Wei Tu's sudden attack, Xu Shanlian, who was too close to react, was caught in the palm of the blood-red giant hand.

And this is far from over.

As Xu Shan was shocked and enraged, preparing to retaliate, a massive black net radiating surging demonic energy descended from the void, tightly enveloping him.

"This mere [Ten Thousand Forbidden Spell] is nothing more than a means to imprison spiritual cultivators. How dare you display it before me?"

Xu Shan, who was suppressed by the crimson hand formed by Wei Tu's 'Giant Golden Body', saw this scene and his fearful expression turned into a cold smile.

"Indeed, he's just a junior who recently broke through to the Demon Lord realm. Even if he's an alchemist, he doesn't have many good demonic treasures..." Xu Shanyu said disdainfully, his demonic body trembled slightly, and he was about to fly away from Wei Tu's hand.

But the next moment, something happened that caught him completely off guard.

This [Ten Thousand Forbidden Spell], which was nothing more than an ordinary spell in his eyes, actually imprisoned the magic power within his body at this moment.

"No, this is not the Forbidden Spell!"

In an instant, Xu Shan, who was desperately mobilizing his internal demonic power to resist this enormous binding force, saw the dazzling Buddhist light emanating from within the seemingly demonic [Ten Thousand Forbidden Demon Curse].

This Buddha light was majestic and vast, supreme and holy. Although there were not many of them, it seemed to possess unparalleled power.

"The power of Mahayana? No! This is even more terrifying than the power of Mahayana..." Xu Shan was filled with doubt and uncertainty. If he were alone here, he might still have a chance to fight against the Buddhist light contained in the [Ten Thousand Forbidden Demon Curse]. But the key issue is that he is now facing Wei Tu, a 'Body Refining Demon Lord'.

At the same time, he suddenly realized that Wei Tu's actions just now violated the 'Oath of the Heavenly Demon'...

However, there was no sign whatsoever of the backlash from the Heavenly Demon Oath on him.

"Who are you? Who are you?"

In an instant, Xu Shan understood why Wei Tu dared to be coerced into making the Heavenly Demon Oath.

All of this was a scheme to lure him into a trap!
"This demon is easier to deal with than I thought..." Wei Tu glanced at Xu Shan, who was unable to move, and breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the first time he had ever used the [Ten Thousand Forbidden Spell] to fight against a Demon Lord of the same rank.

Of course, this is not due to the power of the [Ten Thousand Forbidden Spell]. Although the [Ten Thousand Forbidden Spell] forged with An Liangcai's demonic body is powerful, it is not yet capable of such divine power...

The ability to instantly suppress Xu Shan to the point of immobility was due to the power of the 'Nanhua Relic' contained within this supernatural ability.

These Buddhist lights were left behind by the Holy Monk Kubei, a celestial being who had transcended tribulation. Even if only a fraction of them remained, they were still beyond the capabilities of an ordinary demon lord.

What's more, he struck first this time...

"The most crucial reason is that this cultivator's cultivation level is too low," Wei Tu shook his head secretly.

Along his journey, the powerful beings he encountered, including the Fusion Realm experts and ancient demon lords, were all monsters like An Liangcai, Qianyun Demon Ancestor, and Tianhe Ancestor, except for the Golden Cloud Demon Lord he faced after breaking through to the Fusion Realm.

Among these people, Xu Shan alone is nothing to worry about.

"It's another entry from the Magic Grimoire..."

However, half a day later, after Wei Tu completely imprisoned Xu Shan and forcibly searched the demon's soul, the smile on his face also came to an abrupt end.

Like the other ancient demons he had dealt with, Xu Shan also erased his own soul memories with the 'Demon Codex Records', leaving only his memories of the last few decades.

This undoubtedly diminishes the value of this demon.

"Fine." Thinking of this, Wei Tu's eyes flashed slightly, and then he mercilessly used the blood-red hand formed by his 'Giant Strength Golden Body' to directly crush the demon's body into a pulp.

His remaining 'remnant soul' received similar treatment to An Liangcai's—it was sealed inside a jade box with a restriction and casually tossed into a storage bag.

However, unlike An Liangcai, he had no intention of taking this demon seriously at all. He left behind a remnant soul of the demon, only thinking that it might come in handy in the future.

And... be wary that this demon might have some kind of backup plan, like a life-saving token, to trick him once.

"However, Xu Shan is quite well-off in terms of wealth." Wei Tu grabbed a large hand and took out several storage artifacts from the demon's body, which had been shattered into a pulp. He forcibly broke them open with his divine sense and examined them.

"It's just very ordinary."

He commented on this.

Inside, apart from two decent seventh-tier low-grade magic treasures, there weren't any other powerful treasures.

However, the amount of magic crystals he acquired was considerable, reaching a staggering 20,000! This was arguably his greatest gain since embarking on his path of cultivation.

In addition, he also collected a complete set of spiritual medicine for refining a seventh-grade low-level elixir, named 'Desolate Candle Pill', which was mentioned in the demon's previous letter of invitation.

However, due to the negotiations a few days ago... the two of them became enemies, so the matter of commissioning the refinement of this pill was put on hold.

And then today, he got off completely at a bargain.

"Cunning is acceptable, but cunning without strength is suicide..."

After the inspection was completed, Wei Tu didn't waste any more time. He sneered, swept up the battlefield with a flick of his sleeve, and then, with another burst of light, continued to disappear into the distance.

It seemed that capturing Xu Shan was just a minor incident for him.

……

a few days later.

In a small, ordinary city called 'Suyun City', Wei Tu stopped his escape light.

This city is the place Xu Shan mentioned, the place where he had seen Fu Zhizhou appear, and the place he believed Fu Zhizhou was most likely to stay.

The Radiant Realm, to a Demon Lord like him, could only be considered a 'small realm,' but to any Nascent Soul or Void Refinement cultivator, it was not.

Therefore, as long as Fu Zhizhou's past haunts are not places he passed through on his way, there is a considerable possibility that he could be found in the vicinity of this city.

It took half a day.

Wei Tu learned about Fu Zhizhou's whereabouts from the cultivators in the city.

"This is... the lame old ghost?"

"Is the portrait you're holding, senior, perhaps a depiction of his appearance when he was young?" A Nascent Soul cultivator looked at Wei Tu with trepidation and whispered.

"The lame old ghost?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu's heart stirred slightly.

Back then, when Fu Zhizhou ascended to the Ancient Demon Realm from the 'spatial rift' of Golden Flame Island, he was only at the Quasi-God Transformation Realm... Therefore, in terms of lifespan, he would not live to be ten thousand years like a God Transformation Realm cultivator.

Even if he later broke through to the Nascent Soul realm, the inevitable aging of his appearance was still difficult to resist.

Do you know where this cultivator is now?

Wei Tu narrowed his eyes and asked again. (End of Chapter)