I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

But the next moment, as black light emanated from Wei Tu's palm, the "spiritual treasure shield" that he regarded as a guarantee of safety dimmed and quickly shattered in an instant.

All of this happened in just over twenty breaths after he suddenly attacked and killed Wei Tu.

"How is this possible? The Law of Darkness? You are an ancient demon? Impossible, impossible... An ancient demon could not possibly enter the Dinghai Immortal Ruins?" The Feather Dragon Clan cultivator looked at the fleshy palm, which was getting closer and closer to him and was as big as a small mountain. His face was filled with fear, and he retreated in fright.

He was quite knowledgeable and could see that the "black light" that Wei Tu used to destroy and decay his defensive magic treasure was the "Dark Law," a powerful law that only ancient demons could cultivate—a top-tier law in the world.

Unfortunately, after its protective shield was broken, it had nowhere left to retreat!
A sickening cracking sound of bone breaking followed.

A moment later, the once vigorous Feather Dragon Clan cultivator had been reduced to a pile of minced meat, with only a palm-sized remnant of his nascent soul remaining, barely clinging to life.

"Soul Search!" Wei Tu dared not hesitate. He raised his hand and grabbed the void in front of him, taking the cultivator's remaining nascent soul into his palm. Then, he transformed into a red-faced, fanged "Heavenly Ghost" and, in his peak divine soul state, forcibly plundered the memories in the cultivator's mind.

In particular, the "Prince Qing" he mentioned!
The moment the battle began, he knew that he had nowhere left to retreat.

If he were outside, he could still use his "Forging the Immortal Source Scripture" to disguise himself as a dragon-descended cultivator and get close to these feathered dragon cultivators, just like before.

But in the Immortal Ruins of Dinghai, that's impossible.

Firstly, his background cannot be thoroughly investigated.

Secondly, he secretly followed the aura of this group of Feathered Dragon Clan cultivators to this place, which was already a major taboo in the cultivation world.

Not to mention strangers, even other dragon-blooded cultivators are unforgivable.

"Servant Atong... Prince Qing, early stage of the Integration Realm, son of Queen Baoyuan, from the Panjiang Dragon Palace of the Nine Great Tribes, his father is the Panjiang Dragon Marquis under the Dragon Lord, a peak Integration Realm expert..."

Soon, through the soul-searching process, Wei Tu gradually learned the origin of the "Prince Qing" mentioned by the Feathered Dragon Clan cultivator.

He was not a royal cultivator of the Feathered Dragon Clan, but because he successfully broke through to the Integration Realm within ten thousand years, he was automatically promoted from one of the nine major tribes and obtained the title of "Prince".

However, within the Feathered Dragon Clan, this cultivator is a rare "second-generation immortal" who is unmatched by others. As a descendant of the "Dragon Marquis" of the nine major tribes, he is exceptionally talented and receives more attention and enjoys a more prestigious status than ordinary Feathered Dragon Clan royalty.

However... among the group of Feathered Dragon Clan cultivators who entered the Dinghai Immortal Ruins, this cultivator was quite unremarkable.

Besides servants and slaves like Atong.

Like this Xiu, four "princes" and "princesses" from the nine major tribes came this time from the Feathered Dragon Clan.

The rest were either true prodigies within the Feathered Dragon Clan's royal family, or highly regarded blood relatives of that Great Ascension Dragon Lord.

“Princess Wangyuan.” Suddenly, Wei Tu saw a familiar face in A Tong’s memory.

This Feathered Dragon Clan cultivator, known as "Princess Wangyuan," was none other than "Qian Fei," whom he had encountered a hundred years ago in the Three Clans Secret Realm.

However, unlike the disheveled appearance he saw of this woman in the "Three Clans Secret Realm," in A Tong's memory, this woman wore a light gold dragon dress, with a graceful and noble temperament, exuding a powerful aura that was awe-inspiring and unapproachable to outsiders.

Moreover, what is truly astonishing is that, as Prince Qing's "servant," Atong actually believed in his heart that Princess Wangyuan's nobility was even higher than Prince Qing's...

"So she was promoted from a concubine of the Dragon Marquis... No wonder A-Tong was so respectful." As Wei Tu delved deeper into the memories of the soul search, he suddenly realized and gradually understood.

If we say that Prince Qing became a "prince" of the Feather Dragon Clan, it was largely due to the assistance of his father, Marquis Panjiang Dragon, and the "Panjiang Dragon Palace".

So, Princess Wangyuan... Among the nine tribes of the Feather Dragon Clan, there are countless female cultivators from other branches. Her advancement to the rank of "Princess" of the Feather Dragon Clan was basically entirely due to her own efforts.

The quality is significantly lower!

"Fortunately, this woman comes from a commoner family and doesn't have any formidable power behind her. She was also delayed for a while because of her breakthrough to the Integration Realm. Otherwise, given how much I offended her in the Three Races Secret Realm, she would most likely have hunted me down to the ends of the earth..." A sense of relief flashed through Wei Tu's mind.

Unbeknownst to him, Qian Fei had already dispatched the Hidden Dragon Guards to hunt him down, but he had managed to avoid the disaster thanks to his usual "caution."

This was not a favor from the enemy, but rather the result of his character honed over many years and his formidable strength!
After reviewing the information that A-Tong knew about "Prince Qing" and other Feathered Dragon Clan cultivators who had entered Dinghai Immortal Ruins, Wei Tu then turned his attention to the "dry well" in the distance.

That was the place where Prince Qing, the master of Atong, was exploring this underwater palace.

After A-Tong fought with him, Prince Qing did not react at all and flew out of the dry well.

However, A-Tong didn't know much about the dry well, only that it was an opportunity that Prince Qing had planned long before entering the Dinghai Immortal Ruins.

Prince Qing only instructed A'tong to guard the well opening and prevent other cultivators of his clan from entering.

This task is actually not difficult.

The other members of the Feathered Dragon Clan, seeing that one of their own had gotten there first, would naturally give Prince Qing some face...

Wei Tu, being an outsider, was the only exception.

"To go in or not to go in..." Wei Tu stared intently at the wellhead, pondering the decision.

He was well aware that if he ignored the existence of "Prince Qing" and left, once Ci Xiu came out of the dry well and found that Atong had disappeared... the consequences would be endless.

Once these Feathered Dragon Clan cultivators are on guard, it will be virtually impossible for him to profit from this place.

However, unlike the servant A-Tong, Prince Qing is a true early-stage Nascent Soul expert. Among the princes and princesses, although he is not outstanding or exceptional, he would generally be considered among the top two or even the best among the younger generation of other major clans in the Spirit Realm.

It was not something he could easily deal with.

“Not advancing means giving up this opportunity at Dinghai Immortal Ruins…” Wei Tu’s expression changed. He lacked confidence in facing a powerful expert at the early stage of the Integration Realm head-on.

The Snow Infant Clan's incident was an exception—and it wasn't a direct confrontation, but rather a focused escape. He anticipated that the group of Nascent Soul stage experts would underestimate him, and he gave them enough time to escape using the [Boundary-Severing Stone].

However, this time the move was quite different.

He knew perfectly well that he had to kill this cultivator head-on. Only in this way could he completely eliminate any future troubles.

“With the [Boundary-Severing Stone] and the Seven Wonders Demon Body escape technique, even if I am no match for them… I should be able to escape smoothly. Moreover, this place is the Dinghai Immortal Ruins, where the Integration Realm will be suppressed to the peak of the Refinement Void Realm… and I cultivate both Dharma and Body, which gives me a great advantage over ordinary cultivators…” After a moment of careful consideration, Wei Tu finally made up his mind.

However, he did not rush into it. Instead, he first pointed with his fingers and used his life cultivation technique to "plunder" the aura and magic power from A-Tong.

Immediately afterwards, he flicked his sleeve, and his face changed rapidly, becoming another "A Tong" in the world in an instant.

Seeing this, A-Tong's remaining nascent soul, trapped by Wei Tu's restrictions, couldn't help but show a look of horror, muttering to himself, "Ancient Demon, truly an Ancient Demon. Such a refined possession technique... very few people besides Ancient Demons know it..."

Atong realized that Wei Tu's disguise posed a fatal threat to his master, "Prince Qing".

Unfortunately, he was already at the mercy of the Emperor. If Wei Tu hadn't worried that killing him would alert Prince Qing, he probably would have died the moment the soul search ended.

……

This "dry well," like the other buildings in the underwater palace, is incredibly large. Although it is called a "well," the area around its opening is comparable to that of a small lake.

Looking down from the wellhead, there's nothing particularly remarkable about the view.

However, the moment Wei Tu made up his mind and truly flew to the bottom of the well, after a dizzying spin, he found himself in another world.

The scene here is dark and gloomy, with many huge stone pillars standing all around. On the ground, there are some "cold water" that are waist-deep, with a chilling aura. Under the cold wind, the water ripples and turns a deep blue color.

"Is this a dungeon?" Wei Tu looked into the distance and, after surveying the surrounding area with his divine sense, roughly understood what kind of place this was.

In his eyes, the enormous and numerous stone pillars were merely stone prison railings with their bases submerged in water.

Inside these stone prisons, one can clearly see only fragments of white bones, corroded by the azure "cold water." Remnants of dragon's might remain on them, containing astonishing spiritual pressure.

But, right now.

A sudden gust of cold wind interrupted Wei Tu's gaze as he surveyed the area.

Standing in the cold wind was none other than the "Prince Qing" from A Tong's memories. His eyes were deep, and he wore a dark blue dragon robe, coldly staring at Wei Tu's face.

"Didn't I order you to guard the well? Why did you disobey orders and go down into the well on your own?" Prince Qing asked coldly.

"Reporting to Master, several princes and princesses seem to have noticed this place and have sent servants to negotiate, wanting to share the opportunities here..." Wei Tu carefully replied, following his prepared statement.

These words did not arouse Prince Qing's suspicion. He nodded slightly, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, and said indifferently, "Tell them that I have already seized all the opportunities here, and am only staying here temporarily for cultivation. If they are not at ease, they can pay a sum of spirit crystals before entering..."

After speaking, Prince Qing flicked his sleeves, preparing to turn and leave, returning to his cultivation place in this dungeon.

But in that very instant...

Wei Tu, who had just been bowing his head and looking submissive, suddenly moved. His right hand formed a claw and fiercely grabbed at Prince Qing's dantian.

At the same time, a cold, gleaming magic sword imbued with the soul of a dragon appeared behind him. With a dragon's roar, the sword flashed and pierced towards Prince Qing's brow.

"You're not Atong?" In that instant, Prince Qing also realized what was going on. However, even though he sensed something was wrong, it was still extremely difficult for him to take action to defend himself.

"Stab" sound.

Wei Tu tore through Prince Qing's robe with his right claw, leaving a serious injury in his dantian.

His [Frosty Dragon Sword] also achieved its purpose. Although it failed to pierce the cultivator's spiritual platform, in the cultivator's hasty response, it still managed to scrape off a lot of flesh from the cultivator's face, and even part of the skull was cut off by the sword's sharpness.

However, just as he was about to take a step further and directly attack the nascent soul within the cultivator's dantian, Prince Qing finally "reacted," raising his hand to scatter several talismans to deal with the situation. At the same time, he made a hand seal, transforming into a flying rainbow and retreating thousands of steps backward.

"Who are you?"

The bloodied and severely wounded Prince Qing was furious. He raised his hand and summoned a crimson trident that shone with spiritual light. As he controlled it to slash at Wei Tu, he also shouted a question.

"pity."

Upon seeing this, Wei Tu muttered to himself, "What a pity."

Just now, if he had used the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Ring, a heaven-reaching spiritual treasure, he might have killed Prince Qing in one fell swoop, instead of having to fight again as we are now.

However, even if he were given another chance, he would not use the [Five Elements Demon-Slaying Ring].

This is not because he has lost his mind, but because he knows what to do and what not to do.

The Five Elements Demon-Slaying Ring is Fairy Xuanling's prized spiritual treasure, renowned throughout the Spirit Realm. If he were to use this treasure to kill Prince Qing, that would be one thing, but if he failed, it would leave the human race with… endless disaster.

Although he has effectively "escaped" from humanity, it is out of caution and to be on guard, not out of resentment towards humanity or because he believes that humanity is not a place to stay for long...

That's how it is with large, powerful forces. The possibility of them not engaging in dirty dealings is extremely small.

It's impossible that he only considered himself a human when he received the "legacy" of the Fairy Xuanling.

Given his personality, it's impossible for him to be completely loyal to the human race, but it's also extremely difficult for him to "harm" the human race without any bottom line.

……

Wei Tu did not answer the Prince Qing's question. Instead, he sneered and used the same trick as before. He used the "Seven Wonders Demon Body" to quickly dodge the attack of the trident spiritual treasure, while activating the "Giant Strength Golden Body" and the Dark Law. He instantly moved forward and began a close-range battle with the cultivator.

These two individuals are no ordinary people. One is a powerful being who has been suppressed by the rules of the Immortal Ruins, while the other has refined the "Eighth-Order Dragon Marrow." Both are powerful cultivators who have reached the peak of the Void Refinement stage in terms of both magical power and physical strength.

For a time, it was difficult to determine who was better!
However, as the battle progressed, Prince Qing became increasingly exhausted, after all, the close combat prowess of a body cultivator was undoubtedly the best among those of the same level.

"The Laws of Darkness? Are you an ancient demon?"

Like A Tong, after witnessing Wei Tu unleash the "Dark Laws," Prince Qing had no more doubts about Wei Tu's identity and uttered these words with utter astonishment.

"But your cultivation level is only at the Refinement of Emptiness?"

Prince Qing noticed that Wei Tu's magical power was only at the Refinement of Emptiness level, far inferior to his Condensed Power.

He frowned inwardly, wondering if Wei Tu had some extraordinary background in the Ancient Demon Realm.

The reason is simple: although the Law of Darkness is a high-level law that only ancient demons can comprehend, not every ancient demon can successfully comprehend it.

Wei Tu remained silent, gave a cold laugh, and once again attacked Prince Qing at close range.

Thanks to his previous "assassination attempt," Prince Qing's physical condition was steadily declining. Such physical injuries could not be healed in a short time.

As a high-level body refiner, he would remain at his peak as long as the origin of his "True Spirit Immortal Bone" did not wither.

"A cowardly coward..." Seeing that Wei Tu remained silent, Prince Qing's eyes flashed with cold light. He had no more interest in wasting time with Wei Tu. He pointed his fingers, retrieved his magical treasure, and immediately transformed into a streak of light, rushing straight towards the sky above the dungeon space.

Unlike Wei Tu, he had the help of his own kind in this underwater palace.

As long as we can call in one or two reinforcements, it shouldn't be too difficult to surround and kill Wei Tu.

however--

Just as Prince Qing had escaped from the dungeon space.

At the wellhead, dozens of tiny, dark golden threads of light suddenly appeared, almost imperceptible. They suddenly tore through space, carrying terrifying spiritual pressure, and attacked Prince Qing's physical body from all directions.

"An ambush?" Prince Qing was slightly startled. He had long anticipated that escaping this dry well would not be easy, but he never expected the danger at the wellhead to be so intense.

next moment.

A crisp sound of a protective magic shield shattering suddenly rang in Prince Qing's ears.

At the same time, the fierce aura that Wei Tu brought with him as he flew out of the dungeon space also appeared behind him.

"Not good!" Prince Qing's eyebrows twitched, sensing the approaching danger of death.

He made a snap decision and, disregarding the danger, forcefully activated his combined magical power, unleashing the "Rule Domain" he had mastered.

The next moment, a dragon's roar suddenly resounded within his body. Countless blood-red dragons flew out from his body, as if they were real, to meet Wei Tu, who was about to approach him, and the dozens of tiny dark golden light threads.

"The Law of the True Dragon?" Wei Tu looked up and recognized this powerful law that made the Feathered Dragon Clan famous in the Spirit Realm.

His face remained calm and composed, as if he had anticipated this scene. After all, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Feathered Dragon Clan, and this was one of the highest-level laws that was easiest for him to grasp and comprehend. (End of Chapter)