I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

Upon hearing this, both the two saints of the Yang family and Xie Liao, the Heavenly Rat King, had slight changes in their expressions.

Even though they knew that half a year ago, they had been forced to wait here under the pressure of Wei Tu's Mahayana aura, and that the outcome would probably be difficult to be optimistic... it was still extremely hard for them to accept when they actually heard Wei Tu say these words.

You must understand that although they are currently humble and subservient in front of Wei Tu, once they leave the 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm,' they are revered as powerful beings at the Integration Stage and giants of their respective regions.

How could they easily accept becoming slaves?

However, in an instant, after thinking of the terrible threat of death, the three accepted their fate. As if struck by a heavy blow, they lowered their heads, lifted their robes and knelt down, and in front of everyone, they dispersed their protective shields, completely opened their sea of ​​consciousness, and showed their submission.

However, at this very moment...

Just as Wei Tu was about to place the 'soul imprint' on the three of them, a voice suddenly timidly rang in his mind, causing a hint of surprise to appear in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Xie is indeed clever." Wei Tu's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked up at Xie Liao, the Heavenly Rat King, who, like the two saints of the Yang family, was bowing his head in submission without showing any sign of abnormality. He couldn't help but admire him.

“Senior Wei is kind and magnanimous, not someone who enjoys cruelty and killing. The fact that he forced us to submit and gave us hope of survival is enough to prove this point. After all, what can we, as junior cultivators, do to help Senior Wei besides cheering him on?”

"However... Xie and the others have trespassed into Senior Wei's secluded cultivation place, which is a heinous crime that must be punished. If Senior Wei's reputation is ruined because of forgiving this minor matter, and the seniors and major forces in the cultivation world will look down on Senior Wei from now on... then I will be willing to die a hundred times."

Seeing that Wei Tu was willing to talk to him, Tian Shu Wang Xie Liao was immediately overjoyed and began to lavish praise on Wei Tu.

Although Wei Tu wasn't particularly fond of these flatteries, after listening to them, his gaze towards the Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao became somewhat more peaceful.

He was no longer as aggressive and cold-eyed as before.

"Flattery is good, but if the information about the 'Eight Fierce Sea Clan' that Fellow Daoist Xie has provided does not satisfy me..." Wei Tu smiled coldly, using these words to directly warn this cultivator.

That's right! Just now, it was precisely because the Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao suddenly mentioned that he possessed important information about the 'Eight Fierce Sea Clan', and because this matter was discussed in secret rather than openly begging for mercy... that he suddenly stopped and did not immediately plant the 'soul imprint' on this cultivator, but instead began to communicate with this cultivator through divine sense.

After all, he and the Heavenly Crane Ancestor of the 'Eight Fierce Sea Clan' were old enemies.

He had the blood feud of the Bloodwing Demon killing his father, the betrayal he suffered at the 'Sun God Tower', and the conspiracy between the Bloodwing Demon and the Mist Demon clan... Each and every one of these was a blood feud that could only be settled with blood for blood!
However—although he has now reached the Mahayana stage, the Heavenly Crane Ancestor is not without a background. Among the 'Eight Fiends' to which he belongs, there are still two Mahayana immortals in the world.

This is something we must be wary of.

"Of course," King Xie Liao of the Heavenly Rat quickly agreed, not daring to utter a single word of dissent on this matter.

After speaking, he organized his thoughts and slowly began to recount the information he had gathered in the waters near the Eight Fiends Sea Clan.

"Ancient demons causing chaos? Intending to take advantage of the departure of the Eight Fiends Sea Clan's Mahayana cultivators to attack 'Flying Cloud Island'? To sacrifice 'Flying Cloud Island' in blood?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise on his face.

But then, without hesitation, he snorted and grabbed at the void in front of him with his right hand, forcefully pulling out an ancient demon remnant soul from the storage artifact of the Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao, which was enough to prove the truth of his words.

After finding the exact same testimony from the 'remnant soul of the ancient demon' that matched the information given by the Heavenly Rat King, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

With a great war between the two realms imminent, he wouldn't be too surprised by such an ancient demon causing trouble.

As for 'Flying Cloud Island'—although it is the 'core island' of the sea area under the rule of the Eight Fiends Sea Clan, it is too far away from the four continents of the Spirit Realm and belongs to a remote area.

It's only natural that such a place would attract the attention of ancient demons who already coveted the spirit realm.

However, what surprised him, or rather, what he had to pay attention to, was...

In the memories of this 'remnant soul of an ancient demon,' the ancient demon who attacked Flying Cloud Island this time was actually the demon ancestor he was familiar with...

They were the main force that truly took action against Feiyun Island.

Only with the involvement of such a powerful demon ancestor could there be a chance to completely destroy the 'Flying Cloud Island' of the Eight Fiends Sea Clan.

“Ah Da…” Wei Tu’s eyes flickered as he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

The ancient demon captured by the Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao had an ordinary background and identity, merely a 'demon general' who had been hiding in the spirit world for many years... but the information he knew was enough to make him turn his attention back to the demon ancestor who had possessed 'A Da' that he had encountered a thousand years ago in the 'Dragon Refining Ancient Palace'.

This demon ancestor's origins are mysterious, and no one knows his true 'name', but he is the only demon ancestor known to this remnant soul of the demon general, who has been lurking in the spirit world for many years.

Of course, this "uniqueness" is undoubtedly questionable.

At least, the 'Thousand Cloud Demon Ancestor' who had previously been hiding on the Flame Spirit King was someone this Demon Commander was unaware of.

However, unlike Demon Ancestors like Thousand Clouds Demon Ancestor and Weeping River Demon Ancestor, who were relatively 'unaffiliated cultivators', he was a Demon Ancestor who was genuinely from the ancient Demon God Clan, a defeated remnant of the war between the two realms...

The reason he was so certain that this demon was related to the demon ancestor who had possessed "A-Da" that he had encountered in the "Dragon Refining Ancient Palace" was because—thousands of years ago, this demon had already instructed his "Demon Commander" and other ancient demons lurking in the spirit world to secretly search for ancient ruins related to the "True Dragon Clan".

It's important to understand that Demon Ancestors are already few in number, and those who can infiltrate the Spirit Realm and dedicate themselves to searching for ancient ruins related to the True Dragon Clan are even rarer...

Aside from the fact that this demon is 'A-Da', Wei Tu could hardly think of any other possibility at this point.

Even if it isn't him, he's probably still inextricably linked to that 'A-Da'.

"However, having just reached the Mahayana stage... with my strength, I'm afraid it would be difficult to face such a veteran Demon Ancestor..." Wei Tu pondered to himself.

In addition, he also sensed a conspiracy in this intelligence report.

It is true that Flying Cloud Island was the place where Gu Moyi made his move.

However, it wasn't to the point that a mere demon general knew about it beforehand, and it was "coincidentally" captured by the Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao.

"However, this Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao brought up this information in hopes of gaining a chance to live... Could it be that he really thinks I am a demonic cultivator, related to the ancient demons? Does he want me to get a share of the spoils?" Suddenly, Wei Tu thought of this and felt a strange feeling in his heart.

However, the possibility of him disguising himself as an ancient demon could indeed allow him to gain some advantage from this great battle.

His thoughts and ideas are not necessarily wrong.

"This intelligence is indeed of some use to me. Very well... I'll punish you by making you guard the Snow Infant Clan for a thousand years. After that, this matter can be put behind us."

Wei Tu pondered for a moment before uttering these words.

At this point, without waiting for Xie Liao, the Heavenly Rat King, to agree or not, he sharpened his gaze and planted soul imprints in the seas of consciousness of Xie Liao and the 'Two Saints of the Sheep Family'. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he threw them all to the Snow Infant Clan Chief standing to the side.

As the Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao said, he did not harbor much murderous intent towards these three people, since they had never truly threatened him from the beginning... forcing them to submit was merely to establish his prestige as a Mahayana Immortal.

Once his goal was achieved, whether or not to let him leave became something he didn't care about at all.

"Thank you for your mercy, Senior Wei." At this moment, Xie Liao, the Heavenly Rat King, breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent a telepathic message to thank Wei Tu.

A thousand years is not a long time for him.

Such punishment is utterly insignificant compared to being enslaved, or even losing one's life.

"It's a pity about the two saints of the Yang family..." Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao secretly glanced at the 'two saints of the Yang family' who were still kept in the dark, and felt a secret joy in his heart.

Freedom is something that is relative.

Compared to the two saints of the Yang family, he was already incredibly lucky.

At this moment, Xue Qiongyu, who was standing next to Wei Tu, seemed to have received some kind of promise. She took the 'soul tablet' that controlled the lives of the Yang Family's two saints and the Heavenly Rat King Xie Liao from Wei Tu's hand, nodded slightly, and then gracefully flew to her father, the Xue Ying Clan Chief.

Seeing this scene.

Just as the cultivators were wondering why Wei Tu was doing this, they saw that Wei Tu, who was standing outside the 'turtle belly space', had also disappeared into the sky in an instant, leaving no trace.

"You just left like that?"

"Senior Wei...didn't you just attain enlightenment in the Mahayana stage? Not to mention a Mahayana celebration, why wasn't there even a banquet to celebrate?"

The cultivators were stunned and lost in thought.

In an instant, the surrounding atmosphere fell silent, creating an eerie stillness.

I don't know when it happened.

It might be half a moment, or it might be several moments.

After realizing that Wei Tu had truly left, the Bloodstone Sect Master, the Two Saints of the Yang Family, and others, who had secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally dared to breathe heavily.

However, the more astute individuals had already flown to Xue Qiongyu and the Xueying Clan Chief, showering them with compliments.

From then on, the Snow Infant Clan was protected by the Mahayana Immortal. Even if they could not soar to the heavens like the Mist Ghost Clan, they were no longer a weak race in the Spirit Realm, driven by others and with their fate out of their own hands.

Only the Bloodstone Sect Master, when gazing at the towering 'Dragon-Trapping Tower' in the turtle's belly space, still looked dazed, seemingly not yet recovered from Wei Tu's words, 'not of the same race'.

This is not because he is infatuated.

Rather, he was a Mahayana immortal, whose significance was far too profound.

Since the fall of the Iron-Headed Monk, the human race has endured countless days without the protection of Mahayana immortals... and has suffered countless hidden and overt losses due to the lack of such protection.

Especially the 'Bloodstone Gate' located on the frontier.

It suffered considerable damage.

Countless fellow disciples perished in the repeated attacks by foreign races.

Now that Wei Tu has attained Mahayana enlightenment and the human race in the Spirit Realm is about to prosper... how could he be willing to give up on this matter and completely let go of his resentment towards Wei Tu's words?

"Fairy Qiongyu..."

"Is it really impossible for Senior Wei to return to the human race?"

The Bloodstone Sect Master looked up at Xue Qiongyu, who was exchanging pleasantries and talking with the Snow Infant Clan Chief, and couldn't help but ask.

He is currently Wei Tu's closest person and the one who best represents the will of Wei Tu, this Mahayana immortal.

Only Xue Qiongyu...

Perhaps that can answer his question.

However, before Xue Qiongyu could reply, the Bloodstone Sect Master realized his slip of the tongue—he understood that his words were not a request, but a question to Wei Tu.

Therefore, after shaking his head and giving a wry smile, his gaze instantly hardened, and he transmitted his voice again:

"I hope Fairy Qiongyu will tell Senior Wei."

"If one day the demonic aura of the human race is eradicated... I would like to invite Senior Wei to join our race again with Senior Brother Duan, so that we can restore our old friendship."

After speaking, the Bloodstone Sect Master took a deep breath, cupped his hands in farewell, and led the group of sect cultivators, whose faces showed a hint of disappointment, away from the Stone Cocoon Secret Realm.

The ancient faction and the modern faction are two distinct yet interdependent factions within the human race's elite.

The demonic aura he referred to were those ancient cultivators who had almost become 'slaves to longevity'.

Given that Duan Jiu was friends with Wei Tu and had once sheltered Wei Tu... only the enmity of the 'Ancient Cultivation Sect' would make Wei Tu resolutely sever his kinship with the Spirit Realm's human race and declare that he had nothing to do with them.

With his knowledge, these things were not hard to guess.

Of course, he also understood that there was almost no chance that what he was saying at that moment would come true.

The Ancient Cultivation Sect is no weak force.

After the Golden Whale Master attained enlightenment and became a Mahayana practitioner, the 'Ancient Cultivation Sect' was almost synonymous with the high-ranking members of the human race.

Eliminating this 'evil aura' would be tantamount to causing the human elite to commit mass suicide, which is simply impossible.

However, as a human being in a fusion, this was the best he could do... It was better than completely severing his connection with Wei Tu, this promising Mahayana immortal.

……

"Human race of the Spirit Realm..."

Inside the turtle's belly space, Wei Tu, who seemed to have left the 'Stone Cocoon Secret Realm', reappeared in the Dragon Trapping Tower. He stared at the departing Bloodstone Sect Master's back for a moment before secretly shaking his head.

To be honest, aside from the ancient cultivation sects and some of the ancient holy families of the human race, his relationship with some cultivators of the human race in the spirit realm was indeed quite good.

For example, Duan Jiu and Jiang Lingzi.

During this period, they also received some assistance from the Temple of Human Ancestors.

Without the likes of the Golden Whale Venerable and other high-ranking members of the ancient cultivation sects... the human race is indeed a good place for him.

“But—how could such a thing happen? Two tigers cannot share one mountain. To betray another Mahayana practitioner within the clan for the sake of me, a Mahayana practitioner… No one would do such a foolish thing.”

Wei Tu shook his head secretly.

Then, after his eyes flickered for a moment, he put the matter out of his mind for the time being and stopped thinking about it.

The struggle for interests is even more intense than the clash of swords.

The ancient sects could not tolerate him, and it is not necessarily true that the 'modern sects' led by Duan Jiu could also tolerate this Mahayana master.

Previously, Duan Jiu had sheltered him because he was only at the 'Refining Void' stage and a human cultivator with the potential to merge with the main body...

When he breaks away from the cultivation path of 'Dangyang Mountain - Human Ancestor Hall - Integration Realm', the label of 'Ascension Cultivator' will become even more prominent.

In short, he is no longer someone that the current human leadership can trust.

Joining rashly would not only bring trouble upon oneself, but also arouse suspicion from the human race's higher-ups...

"Once Fairy Xuanling is rescued, with her protection, the human race of the Spirit Realm will no longer need me, a newly promoted Mahayana cultivator. Compared to me, she is more suitable to protect the human race of the Spirit Realm..." Wei Tu's eyes flickered as he secretly pondered.

Then—watching the Snow Infant Clan depart, he immediately looked up at a certain spot in the 'turtle belly space,' and at that moment, cupped his hands in a salute and said, 'Fellow Daoist.'

"It seems that Fellow Daoist Wei is not only exceptionally handsome, having broken through to the Mahayana stage in just a few thousand years... but his divine sense is also extraordinary, as he can even perceive my presence."

Soon, in the place where Wei Tu's gaze fell, a disheveled old man with two antlers resembling a deer and wearing a golden robe slowly appeared. He stroked his beard and chuckled softly.

"I don't believe that the news of Mahayana breakthroughs can be kept secret from my fellow cultivators in the Spirit Realm..."

"I never imagined that the person who came would be the Dragon Lord of the Feathered Dragon Clan."

Wei Tu's gaze sharpened slightly, and he spoke with a serious expression. (End of Chapter)