I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

"Is there any news regarding the whereabouts of Da Yuan Shuang?"

After watching the divided soul enter the Dark Crow Secret Realm, the Purple Blood Demon Lord seemed to have thought of something and asked aloud.

As soon as these words fell.

The expressions of the Demon Cloud Cult leaders, including the Multi-Eyed Cult Leader, changed slightly. Their search for Da Yuan Shuang's whereabouts in the Lesser Spirit Realm, in conjunction with Ancestor Lu of the Earth Spirit Kingdom, was a secret matter within the cult and had been carried out in secret... They had never reported it to the Purple Blood Demon Lord.

Now that this demon knows about this, it's definitely not good news for them.

"Reporting to the Demon Lord... Da Yuanshuang has been missing in the Earth Spirit Kingdom and the Holy Spirit Kingdom for nearly sixty years. It will likely take some more time to find her..."

The multi-eyed cult leader, steeling himself, stepped forward and replied.

Instead of explaining why he had concealed this secret, he reported on the progress of the Demon Cloud Sect in handling the matter.

"It's not unusual in history for cultivators from the Spirit Realm to unexpectedly arrive in my Ancient Demon Realm."

Upon hearing this, a hint of satisfaction flashed in the eyes of the Purple Blood Demon Lord. He glanced coldly at the cultivators of the Demon Cloud Sect, nodded slightly, and said this sentence indifferently.

The implication of these words as a warning is quite clear.

But the multi-eyed cult leader secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A warning is better than punishment. It means that he is still useful to the Purple Blood Demon Lord and has not reached the point of being discarded after use.

"If there is any information about Da Yuanshuang and that male cultivator... I will personally report to the Demon Lord." The Multi-Eyed Sect Leader made a firm guarantee.

"After finding this woman, I will not treat you unfairly."

The Purple Blood Demon Lord smiled.

Unlike the Multi-Eyed Cult Leader, he wasn't coveting the secrets behind Da Yuan Shuang's accidental entry into the Lesser Spirit Realm. As the Great Demon Lord, it wouldn't be difficult for him to cross realms to the Lesser Spirit Realm if he wanted to…

However, since Da Yuanshuang is a top genius of the Ten Spirit Races in the Spirit Realm, she can also be used as a consumable to help him glimpse the secrets of the Yin Raven Tower.

……

At the same time that the Purple Blood Demon Lord entered the Dark Crow Secret Realm.

On the other side, Wei Tu, who had left the Dark Raven Tower using the [Boundary Stone], also emerged from the spatial passage and returned to Lou Boyang's cave.

However, this time, Wei Tu did not leave the cave in a hurry. Instead, he directly "occupied" Lou Boyang's cave and went to the secluded meditation room to enter into deep meditation.

The fact that this cave was not discovered by outside cultivators after three round trips is enough to prove its secrecy.

The only risk is whether Lou Boyang will return to the Lesser Spirit Realm. But without the [Boundary-Severing Stone], Wei Tu figured that it would be difficult for Lou Boyang to find another way to enter the Ancient Demon Realm and reach the "Six Kingdoms of Zezhong" in a short period of time.

Moreover, aside from seeking revenge against him, he didn't think Lou Boyang had any reason to absolutely return to the Little Spirit Realm.

"Furthermore, based on the timeline—Lou Boyang, who accumulated enough resources for a breakthrough during the upheaval in Dingyuan Immortal City, is most likely hiding somewhere in the Spirit Realm, waiting for an opportunity to advance to the Integration Realm..."

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

Take ten thousand steps back.

Even though Lou Boyang has now successfully broken through to the Integration Realm, as a newly promoted Integration Realm cultivator, he cannot risk returning to the Ancient Demon Realm before his strength is stable...

Of course, for safety reasons, Wei Tu will only stay in Lou Boyang's cave for a short period of time, and will not stay there for an extended period of time.

"Once you... master the Seven Mystic Demonic Bodies, you can leave this place and head to the Holy Spirit Kingdom..."

Wei Tu thought to himself.

Once fully mastered, the Seven Wonders Demon Body can match the speed of a fully-fledged cultivator in terms of speed.

At that point, he could easily use the borders of the six kingdoms of Zezhong to travel directly to the Holy Spirit Kingdom. There would be no need to risk using the "cross-border teleportation arrays" between countries anymore.

In other words, once he masters this escape technique, he will have gained control over the Lesser Spirit Realm, just like Lou Boyang, who will regard this place as his other backyard.

Unless the Demon Lord who controls the Lesser Spirit Realm personally intervenes to hunt them down...

Wei Tu anticipated that his presence would not attract the attention of the local demon lord, since he was far less dazzling than Da Yuanshuang and did not possess any treasures that the demon lord would covet.

"However, before cultivating the Seven Wonders Demon Body, the most urgent task is to break through to a higher realm..."

Wei Tu took a deep breath and flipped his palm to retrieve the Snow Heart Fruit he had seized inside the "Lingyan Heavenly Palace".

The power of supernatural abilities and secret techniques is inseparable from the most fundamental realm.

Cultivation realm is the most important factor in a cultivator's strength.

The rest of the supernatural powers and secret techniques are merely supplementary.

Once he breaks through his physical cultivation level, refining the Seven Wonders Demon Body will be much easier.

Previously, he was a newly promoted sixth-level body cultivator in the first stage of body refinement. However, the "Snow Heart Fruit" is different. As a rare sixth-level high-grade body refinement medicine, it is very likely that it will allow him to break through to the middle stage of the sixth level in one fell swoop.

After swallowing the Snow Heart Fruit, Wei Tu circulated his internal energy and blood, using his "True Spirit Immortal Bone" to absorb the fruit's spiritual power. At the same time, he also took out another treasure he had obtained in the "Spirit Evolution Heavenly Palace"—the "True Refining Immortal Technique".

Refining the Snow Heart Fruit is a long process.

During this time, one should not focus on cultivating the "Seven Wonders Demon Body," but it is more than enough to comprehend and understand the secret technique of "True Refining Immortals."

Several months later.

Wei Tu gradually came to understand the essence of the secret technique "True Secrets of Immortal Refining".

This secret technique can increase a cultivator's physical strength by several times, but its foundation still relies on the cultivator's powerful physique.

Or rather, it is a product of the deep integration of the two immortal paths of "body refinement" and "qi refinement" for those who cultivate both body and spirit.

Cultivators who cultivate both body and magic will inevitably have a much stronger total amount of magic power than cultivators of the same level... but often, this advantage is not obvious.

Many practitioners who cultivate both physical and spiritual cultivation basically follow separate paths, walking parallel lines.

With the addition of the "True Techniques of Immortal Refinement," a cultivator's physical refinement level can become a major aid to their immortal cultivation level.

However, opening up a grotto-heaven is quite difficult for cultivators.

According to this method...

Body cultivators at the mid- or late-stage of the sixth rank can attempt to create a "grotto-heaven" within their bodies, similar to a dantian, to contain their magical power.

However... the fact that this cultivator was able to open up a grotto-heaven already shows that he was quite lucky and powerful.

The second cave is difficult for most body cultivators who are not at the peak of the sixth rank to successfully open.

This is normal, after all, it was obtained by improving the cultivation method of the immortal realm, and it has an amplification of several times that of the original magic power. If this "grotto heaven" were easy to open, it would go against the common sense of the cultivation world.

However, there's always a way out.

The Seven Treasures Demon Ancestor spent another ten thousand years researching and developing several "elixir formulas" based on this secret technique, in order to reduce the difficulty of opening up cave heavens and increase the number of cave heavens that can be opened up.

However, the spiritual herbs required for these "elixir recipes" were almost unheard of and unseen by Wei Tu, a sixth-level alchemist.

There are one or two recognizable medicinal herbs among them...

It is also an extremely rare and precious natural treasure in the spirit world.

“It’s also possible that these spiritual herbs are not scarce in the Ancient Demon Realm…” Wei Tu rubbed his temples, feeling quite a headache.

This time, if it weren't for the threat posed by the powerful being Tianyan Shangren, he wouldn't want to enter the Ancient Demon Realm again.

"Don't be greedy! Being able to open up two grotto-heavens within the Void Refining Realm and double the magical power... is already an unimaginable stroke of luck and great fortune for ordinary people..."

Wei Tu suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind.

……

The opportunity has arrived.

The process of Wei Tu advancing from the initial stage of the sixth rank, "minor success," to the initial stage of the sixth rank, "peak," was not complicated.

Under the immense medicinal power of the Snow Heart Fruit, his breakthrough came naturally, and he reached this realm in just eight years.

"The medicine still has a third of its potency left, which is enough for me to break through to the mid-stage of the sixth level of body refinement in one go."

Wei Tu looked inward and saw that the primordial spiritual liquid within the "True Spirit Immortal Bone" was overflowing, nourishing the "Innate Treasure Talisman" inside, making it shine brightly and dazzlingly. He couldn't help but feel his confidence increase.

Furthermore, thanks to the solid foundation he built over many years through his cultivation and the use of his golden and purple destiny, which is extremely compatible with the "Scripture of Forging the Immortal Source," he does not need to worry about breaking through too quickly and causing instability in his realm.

"If one reaches the mid-stage of the Dharma Body and Dharma Body realms, one can also attempt to master the laws of heaven and earth ahead of time, thus becoming a 'half-step Integration' in reality..."

Wei Tu harbored ambitions.

With this in mind, he did not hesitate. He slept for several days until he was full of energy. Then, he made a hand seal and began his breakthrough according to the method of the "Forging the Immortal Source Scripture".

Time passes slowly.

Two years later.

Inside the secluded meditation room, the mountain of low-grade spirit crystals piled up near the meditation cushions instantly turned to ash and disappeared with a flash of blood-red light from Wei Tu's body.

Wei Tu, seemingly tireless, continued to pour out the spirit crystals from his storage space.

again and again.

When Wei Tu's storage artifact was almost empty of low-grade spirit crystals, his physical body finally began to change.

First came a thunderous explosion, then five-colored mist, formed from blood and qi, surged from his body, flowing in and out of his acupoints and meridians, washing away impurities.

A few breaths later, Wei Tu opened his mouth slightly and a breath of turbid air shot out from his mouth, directly into the stone wall of the cave.

The next moment, the turbid air condensed into crystals, transforming into a fist-sized, top-grade spirit stone that was quite rare in the lower realm.

at the same time.

A phantom image of a tortoise, tens of feet in size, carrying mountains on its back and standing on the sun and moon, appeared behind him.

This was the strange phenomenon that appeared behind Wei Tu more than two hundred years ago when he used the essence and blood of the Taoist priest of Lishan as a "spiritual guide" to break through to the sixth level of body refinement.

However, it is different from this.

The indistinct, blurry image of an immortal on the back of the tortoise separated from the mountain became much clearer at this moment.

Its appearance is exactly the same as Wei Tu's.

But his expression became much more indifferent, as if nothing in the world could catch his eye.

A moment later, the strange phenomenon disappeared as the "Innate Treasure Talisman" within the True Spirit Immortal Bone flashed with spiritual light.

Wei Tu resumed his previous meditative state, his expression becoming calm and serene.

"Mid-stage sixth rank...done!" Several days later, as the True Spirit Immortal Bone gradually turned golden, Wei Tu opened his eyes at this moment, a smile appearing on his face.

This time, although his breakthrough was not the result of years of hard work, the process was not difficult and was even easier than he had imagined.

"However... after breaking through to the mid-stage of the sixth level of body refinement, this technique seems to be somewhat different from before."

Wei Tu frowned slightly, looking at the dense, golden scales, each the size of a copper coin, that sprouted from his body after he circulated the "Immortal Source Scripture of Forging the Dao".

The golden scales were something he had when he practiced the "Demon Armor" of the "Demon Slayer True Skill" in his early years.

However, the "golden scales" at this moment are quite different from the "Demon Armor." They resemble snake scales more.

"Could it be..." Wei Tu suddenly remembered what Jiang Lingzi had told him about the origin of the "Zhu Dao Xian Yuan Jing".

This body-refining technique did not belong to the human race in the Spirit Realm, but was the internal technique of the three dominant clans—the Feathered Dragon Clan. It was passed down to the Spirit Realm by chance and was subsequently acquired by the Stone Demon Sect in the human realm...

Man as his name suggests.

The Feathered Dragon Clan is said to have originated from an ancestor who refined a "true dragon" in ancient times, inheriting dragon blood within his body.

Therefore, most of the cultivation techniques within their clan are dragon-descendant techniques, which emphasize the use of the true dragon blood within their bodies.

“No wonder Jiang Lingzi said that no one in the Spirit Realm except the Feathered Dragon Clan could successfully cultivate the second half of the ‘Forging Dao Immortal Source Scripture’…” Wei Tu’s expression was strange, and he roughly understood that this cultivation method must have been thrown out by the Feathered Dragon Clan to deliberately harm cultivators from other races.

However, unlike other cultivators, he possesses the destiny of "great talents mature late." Under the influence of this destiny, although he is not a descendant of dragons, he is qualified to cultivate this technique.

Naturally, he could also take this opportunity to unleash some of the power of this dragon-blooded technique.

And there's hardly any discount.

"If we have the chance, we should kill a few dragons, extract their true dragon blood, and refine it into these golden scales." Wei Tu licked his lips, looking very excited.

These distracting thoughts come quickly and go quickly.

At this moment, Wei Tu had not forgotten that in the perilous "Small Spirit Realm," after comprehending the body-refining power of the "mid-stage sixth rank," he immediately turned his attention to cultivating the "Seven Wonders Demon Body," a skill he had long neglected.

It is gratifying.

His thinking was correct. As his body refinement level greatly improved, cultivating this escape technique became twice as effective with half the effort.

One day of hard work at this moment is better than two or three days of cultivation in the Dark Crow Tower.

After all, such powerful escape techniques, regardless of the specific type, are all closely related to magical power and the physical body.

If one's physical body is not up to standard, cultivation will naturally be fraught with difficulties.

Conversely, with significant improvements in physical body and magical power, cultivation will naturally become much less difficult.

……

Time flies.

In the blink of an eye, more than thirty years have passed.

Through day after day of arduous practice, Wei Tu's "Seven Wonders of the Demonic Body" finally reached the "Great Completion" stage.

"His speed is comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator in a short period of time. If he is no match for the Nascent Soul cultivator... he can also escape using the [Boundary-Severing Stone]."

Inside the secluded training room, Wei Tu looked at the several lifelike phantoms that appeared after he performed this technique, and a hint of satisfaction gradually appeared on his face.

"Now, there are only ninety-five years left until the opening of the Immortal Ruins of Dinghai. We can't afford to waste any more time..."

After calculating the time, Wei Tu frowned slightly, feeling a sense of urgency.

Then, without hesitation, he flicked his sleeves and collected all his belongings in the cave. With a flash of light, he fled to the far west of the Earth Spirit Kingdom.

The far west of the Tuling Kingdom, bordering several major powers of the "Six Kingdoms of the Marsh," was the best "transfer station" for him to physically cross over and leave the Tuling Kingdom.

Secondly, having spent so many years in the Tuling Kingdom, he was also most familiar with the far west, bearing the identity of "Evil Scale Venerable".

Of course—this time, due to the Demon Cloud Sect, he should not use his identity as "Venerable Evil Scale" again when traveling to the far west.

However, capturing one or two rogue cultivators of the demonic path with weak connections, like the Evil Scale Venerable, was clearly not a difficult task for him.

A few days later, he transformed into a middle-aged man with tattoos on his face and arrived in the far west.

"A detailed map of the Lesser Spirit World..."

Inside the Hidden God Pavilion, Wei Tu coldly stared at the Hidden God Pavilion manager who had once made a fortune off him, and spoke indifferently.

He has a map of the Lesser Spirit Realm.

However, if we want to know the details, we can only seek to purchase it from large merchant guilds like the Hidden God Pavilion, or ask a powerful expert at the Integration Realm for it.

Detailed maps, regardless of location, are confidential secrets and a valuable resource.

“Fellow Daoist, a detailed map of the Lesser Spirit Realm… my Hidden God Pavilion does have it, but the capital strictly forbids its sale to rogue cultivators…”

The manager of the Hidden God Pavilion shook his head with a wry smile and spread his hands, looking completely helpless.

"One mid-grade spirit crystal." Wei Tu was familiar with the rules here. After frowning, he offered a high price.

"It's not a matter of money..." The shopkeeper of the Hidden God Pavilion tried to look away from the spirit crystal bag in Wei Tu's hand.

He gritted his teeth and explained, "Even I would have difficulty accessing the map of the Lesser Spirit Realm treasured within the pavilion. I only know that the pavilion possesses such a map..."

"However, I can introduce you to a cultivator who possesses a map," the Hidden God Pavilion manager said after a moment's thought.

"An introduction?" Upon hearing this, Wei Tu nodded.

He came to the Hidden God Pavilion manager this time, wanting to buy a detailed map of the Lesser Spirit Realm from this person, because he valued that this cultivator had the Hidden God Pavilion's backing, an amazing network of connections, and was greedy for money.

Now, this cultivator truly did not disappoint him. (End of Chapter)