I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

This time, if Wei Tu hadn't interfered and ruined her cross-realm journey, she wouldn't have suddenly summoned the cross-realm demonic thoughts of the "Toad Demon" halfway through to solve this problem for the sake of 'safety'...

You should know that she originally planned to go to the spirit world alone, just as she had told the Bat King.

"However, this is also a good thing. This demon's spatial abilities are among the best in the ancient demon realm. With his help..." The Weeping River Demon Ancestor was somewhat tempted. He immediately opened his mouth slightly and agreed to fight Wei Tu together with the 'Toad Demon,' and said that he would bring this demon along again in the next interdimensional teleportation.

That's right! Just as Wei Tu thought.

She had been hiding in the spirit world for many years, and her backup plans extended far beyond just the Bat King. However, the Bat King was the most difficult to replace among her many backup plans in the spirit world.

Even without the Bat King, she is still confident that she can return to the Spirit Realm through other 'Blood Altars for Summoning Demons', but this time... will inevitably be delayed for hundreds, even thousands of years.

Fortunately, this time was not something she couldn't afford to waste.

"Man proposes, God disposes. This time, though I, the Demon Ancestor, failed... the difference between immortals and mortals is eternal!"

A chilling glint flashed in the beautiful eyes of the Weeping River Demon Ancestor.

This failure was indeed due to her lack of human strength and the unpredictable timing; she had not anticipated Wei Tu's sudden arrival and intervention.

But in reality...

She is the truly insurmountable mountain that Wei Tu faces.

That true 'heaven'!
Once she crosses over and returns to the 'Spirit Realm', with her abilities and the assistance of the Toad Demon, the mere fusion of beings will be insignificant. After all, this difference in realm is the difference between immortals and mortals, an insurmountable chasm that countless beings in the Spirit Realm can hardly cross in their entire lives.

……

Wei Tu, who had already escaped using the [Boundary-Severing Stone], was unaware of the resentment held by the Weeping River Demon Ancestor and the Toad Demon, as well as the unspoken complaints of the Great Princess and others within the 'Corpse Immortal Ancient Tomb'.

After leaving the 'Corpse Immortal Tomb', he immediately followed Xue Qiongyu's previous advice and went to the 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm' to use the 'Turtle Belly Space' there as his place for seclusion to break through to the Mahayana stage or go even further.

Of course, on his way to this place, he also secretly deciphered the more than a thousand immortal characters inside the 'Blood Jade Thumb Ring' according to the method of deciphering the 'Six Nightmare Immortal Script'.

“No wonder… that Weeping River Demon Ancestor had the Strange Bat King refine the ‘Blood Altar for Demon Summoning’ to help her return to the Spirit Realm through a blood sacrifice…” After deciphering the immortal inscriptions inside the ‘Blood Jade Ring’, Wei Tu gradually understood.

Because, unlike other ancient demons, the Weeping River Demon Ancestor has countless 'Soul Splits of the Netherworld God', and these 'Soul Splits' already exist in the Spirit Realm... There is no need to go through the trouble of using the 'Invitation to Demon Blood Altar' to have cultivators in the Spirit Realm invite his 'Soul Splits' down to the mortal realm.

The key to explaining this mystery is the 'Blood Jade Thumb Ring' that he picked up from the ruins, which remained undamaged despite the power of Mahayana magic.

This item is not some supreme treasure, but rather a flesh and blood artifact crafted by the Weeping River Demon Lord using a portion of his own flesh and blood.

Inside, the "True Scripture of Subduing Flesh" with more than a thousand characters is the real treasure that can allow the "true body" of the Weeping River Demon Ancestor to return to the spirit world with the help of this "flesh and blood artifact"!
“This ‘True Scripture of Subduing Flesh’…is truly an extraordinary treasure…It’s just a pity that the inner wall of this ring only has the ‘method’ for refining this treasure, and there is no specific spiritual incantation to activate this ‘Flesh-Subduing Ring’…” Wei Tu stroked the blood jade ring, feeling a pang of regret.

At the same time, he also had a vague intuition that this "True Scripture of Subduing Flesh" should be one of the fundamental and wonderful methods of the powerful supernatural powers of the Weeping River Demon Ancestor, belonging to the supreme inheritance and supreme ultimate skill.

"It seems that this Weeping River Demon Ancestor also obtained a great opportunity after escaping from the Primordial Demon Source Realm to the Spirit Realm, and was not simply a 'Demon Ancestor' supported by the Wish-Seeking Demon God..."

Wei Tu's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered to himself.

Immediately afterwards, he had a sudden thought and used his divine sense to contact An Liangcai's soul sealed in the jade box, and asked him in detail about the origin of the "True Scripture of Subduing Flesh".

And just as he had expected, An Liangcai was completely unaware of the 'inheritance' possessed by his Daoist partner, and when he heard Wei Tu talk about this technique, he did not immediately connect it to the Weeping River Demon Ancestor himself...

“Although I have never heard of this immortal technique, since it exists in the spirit world, then… perhaps it has some connection with the ‘remnant soul of a true immortal’ that is rumored in the spirit world…” An Liangcai paused before uttering this conjecture.

"A remnant soul of a true immortal?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, secretly surprised.

With his current qualifications, he possesses countless intelligence and knowledge, but he has never heard of any 'remnant soul of a true immortal' in the spirit world.

"Does Fellow Daoist Wei know the reason for the great war between the Spirit Realm and the Ancient Demon Realm?" Seeing Wei Tu's puzzled expression, An Liangcai did not rush to explain, but asked this question in return.

"Is this matter related to the war between the two worlds?"

Wei Tu frowned slightly, looking surprised.

Because the reason for this so-called war between the two realms is something that every cultivator in both the Spirit Realm and the Ancient Demon Realm knows—the ancient demons' extreme thirst for territory and resources.

The reason why the Primordial Demon Source Realm now dominates the 'Five Minor Realms' is also due to this reason.

But now, An Liangcai seems to have another explanation?

"Resources? With Fellow Daoist Wei's abilities, he can still travel to the 'Primordial Demon Source Realm' through the [Boundary-Severing Stone]... Don't those Demon Ancestors and Demon Gods have any other ways to sneak into the Spirit Realm? Why must they provoke this war?"

"What resources in the spirit realm could possibly be worth coveting by a dignified demon god or demon ancestor?"

An Liangcai chuckled and said.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu, who had never given this matter much thought before, finally couldn't help but ponder the reason.

Territorial disputes and conflicts of interest may indeed be a good reason or justification for war in mortal kingdoms, but in the cultivation world... it is somewhat inexplicable.

The reason is simple: the plight of lower-level cultivators cannot be reversed for top-tier powerhouses such as Mahayana Immortals, Tribulation-Crossing Immortals, Ancient Demon Ancestors, and Ancient Demon Gods.

They have no need or reason to provoke a war that is of little benefit to them.

From this point of view.

The ancient demons' extreme thirst for territory and interests seems to be merely a facade.

"Therefore, throughout history, in the great wars between the Spirit Realm and the Primordial Demon Source Realm, there have been very few instances of Tribulation-Transcending Immortals and those major Demon Gods engaging in combat... The so-called wars have mostly been limited to the Mahayana and Demon Ancestor levels..."

"These interdimensional battles were also regarded by us ancient demons who were committed to breaking through to the Demon Ancestor realm as an 'opportunity' to advance to the Demon Ancestor realm... It is far from being a war between two realms."

"But the great war between the two worlds hundreds of thousands of years ago was an exception."

"That time, it was a rare occurrence of a demon god taking action. According to the rumors of us ancient demons, his purpose was to seize the 'remnant soul of a true immortal' that was still alive in the spirit world."

“This remnant soul of a true immortal did not arrive suddenly and descend into the spirit realm. Rather, it is rumored that it escaped from a certain ‘immortal ruin’ in the spirit realm…” An Liangcai slowly uttered this terrifying ancient rumor.

“The secrets hidden in the spirit realm are far more numerous than we can imagine. Of course, these may not mean much to demon gods or those undergoing tribulation... but that ‘remnant soul of a true immortal’ is something they are unwilling to give up so easily…” An Liangcai continued.

As soon as he said this...

Wei Tu subconsciously recalled the 'Corpse Immortal Tomb' and the 'Dinghai Immortal Ruins' he had previously ventured into.

Because the 'Ancient Tomb of the Corpse Immortal' is not only an extremely ancient 'secret realm' for him, but also for the human race who crossed over to this realm and took root in the land of the spirit world back then...

“This ‘True Scripture of Subduing Flesh’ is not something that ordinary Demon Ancestors or Mahayana cultivators can possess… Apart from those extremely mysterious ‘remnant souls of True Immortals’ who could possibly leave behind this inheritance, I, An, can hardly think of any other explanation.” An Liangcai got back to the main topic.

It seems unaware that the "True Scripture of Subduing Flesh" that Wei Tu obtained came from the "remnants" of the Weeping River Demon Ancestor, rather than being obtained by chance from the secret realm as he thought...

However, this also gave Wei Tu an unexpected glimpse into the secrets of the great war between the two worlds back then.

"The great war between the two realms hundreds of thousands of years ago was caused by the 'remnant soul of a true immortal,' which led to the intervention of the Tribulation Transcending and Ancient Demon Gods. So what is the reason for the current 'war between the two realms'? Will it, like the war between the two realms decades ago, once again lead to the intervention of the Tribulation Transcending and Ancient Demon Gods?" Wei Tu thought to himself, seriously considering this matter.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.

The sudden departure of the Mahayana cultivators from the Spirit Realm is due to the impending 'war between the two realms'.

Currently, he benefits from this and need not fear the pursuit of other races... but sooner or later, being in the spirit realm, he will more or less be affected by this major event.

"Let's take it one step at a time. Perhaps, after the great war between these two worlds breaks out, I will have already advanced to the Mahayana stage... becoming one of those sitting at the table during this great war."

Wei Tu fiddled with the 'Blood Jade Ring' in his hand for a moment, then stopped thinking about it and flew towards the location of the 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm' he remembered.

The Stone Cocoon Secret Realm is located at the border between the Snow Infant Clan and the Spirit Realm Human Clan's territory.

It was also the place where Wei Tu and Xue Qiongyu first met.

Back then, because of the 'Nine-Aperture Stone Man' produced in this secret realm, the Bloodstone Sect of the human race and the Snow Infant Clan held competitions among their clan's prodigies within this secret realm...

Now, after thousands of years of vicissitudes, this secret realm has not changed much. However, the cultivators coming and going are different from what Xue Qiongyu said. Not only are there more alien races, but the population is also much denser.

"After all, a thousand years have passed... it's normal for things to have changed..."

Outside the Stone Cocoon Secret Realm, Wei Tu descended with his escape light, looking at the two market-like buildings inside and outside the secret realm, his brows furrowing slightly.

But soon, his expression softened considerably.

His true place of seclusion is the "turtle belly space" of the "Stone Cocoon Secret Realm". As long as there is no one there, it doesn't matter if the outer "Stone Cocoon Secret Realm" is turned into a market.

On the contrary, the existence of these people can also indirectly conceal his whereabouts and cover up the existence of the 'turtle belly space'.

"Hmm... This woman is still alive? And she has even advanced to the Void Refinement Realm?" Suddenly, Wei Tu, who was probing this place with his divine sense, noticed a female cultivator with an extraordinary demeanor in the market of the Stone Cocoon Secret Realm.

His eyes showed surprise, and he was secretly astonished.

This woman's name is Ding Yuyan. She was a Demon Cloud Sect cultivator whom he had casually rescued in the Dark Crow Tower years ago. At that time, he thought that the Black Mist Swamp was a demon's lair... so he felt pity for her and took her back to the Spirit Realm.

Unexpectedly, he settled down in this 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm' and became one of only two Void Refinement cultivators there.

However, he only met Ding Yuyan a few times.

A thousand years have passed, and I have no desire to meet this woman again.

Therefore, after briefly observing it with his divine sense a few times, Wei Tu withdrew his gaze—then his figure appeared in the market in an instant, and began to inquire about the reason for the market's appearance and the movements of the surrounding forces.

The result was roughly the same as his guess.

Located between the Snow Infant Clan and the Human Clan's 'Blood Stone Gate', the 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm' gradually lost its strategic value after its resources were depleted.

Then, perhaps because of him, the Snow Infant Clan, which had lost much of the protection of the Mist Ghost Clan, gradually withdrew its power over the next thousand years after Xue Qiongyu was kidnapped, and gave up the Stone Cocoon Secret Realm.

Strangely, at this time, the human race's 'Bloodstone Gate' did not go any further and directly seize the 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm'. Instead, like the Snow Infant Clan, they also began to shrink their power and retreat as far back as possible into the human race's sphere of influence.

—And Wei Tu was well aware of the reason for the human race's 'Bloodstone Gate' at this moment.

That point in time coincided with the fall of the human race's Mahayana master, 'Iron-Headed Monk.' With no Mahayana masters left in the clan and a generational gap in talent, the Bloodstone Sect naturally couldn't afford to provoke other races too much and cause inconvenience to its own clan.

Therefore, the 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm' located between the two races was abandoned and gradually occupied by small races and independent cultivators who traveled outside the two races.

It has become a historical fact.

"However, the decline of the Snow Infant Clan at this time... seems a bit too tragic..." After reading this information, Wei Tu narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful look on his face.

Previously, the Snow Infant Clan was quite prosperous, a medium-sized strong clan that could rival the Blood Stone Sect of the human race, with several Nascent Soul cultivators within the clan.

However, after a thousand years of changes, not only has its power shrunk, but the high-level cultivators within the clan have also suffered a desolate situation and dwindled significantly during this period...

The outside world speculates that this is related to the revenge of the Mist Demon Clan.

After all, his holy son's fiancée was abducted by a demonic cultivator in full view of everyone.

The Mist Ghost Clan was powerless to deal with this demonic cultivator of unknown origin, so they naturally vented their resentment on the Snow Infant Clan.

"Fortunately, Xue Qiongyu's family members here did not suffer too many losses... otherwise, this would have become my karma." Wei Tu shook his head inwardly.

In the cultivation world, strength reigns supreme.

There is no right or wrong.

If given another chance, he wouldn't mind causing trouble for the Snow Infant Clan again and kidnapping Xue Qiongyu... After all, this involves his blood pact with Xue Qiongyu, so he can't afford to think too much about the consequences.

Back then, inside the 'turtle belly space', if he hadn't been strong, he probably would have been killed by Xue Qiongyu, Ye Ya, and Zhuang Changyou long ago.

If Xue Qiongyu hadn't now become his 'concubine,' he wouldn't have bothered to even glance at such a matter. (End of Chapter)