I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

Chapter 435: Artifact Refining Success, Power Greatly Enhanced

The Firecloud Shield was both offensive and defensive.Once refined, even if Wei Tu couldn’t dominate at early-stage Nascent Soul, he could still match some veteran Nascent Soul cultivators with ease.

After all, a cultivator’s strength depended heavily on their magical items.

A powerful artifact often became the deciding factor in battles between cultivators of the same realm.

As he thought, Wei Tu turned his gaze toward the cultivator who had sent him a voice transmission.

The man was a plump old fellow in a Daoist robe, hiding among the crowd. Like Wei Tu, he wore a silver mask formed from a Flying Immortal Alliance token, hiding his real face.

But unlike others, he didn’t bother concealing his aura. He openly showed his cultivation—peak early-stage Nascent Soul.

Sensing Wei Tu’s glance, the fat old Daoist smiled and sent a voice transmission back. "Since you mean it, I’ll take the job. Once the trade meet ends, let’s have Alliance Leader Tan witness the deal between us."

His tone held a trace of excitement. Clearly, he hadn’t expected to land a rewarding job just by attending this Flying Immortal Alliance gathering.

After all, he only had to spend a bit of time and effort to earn a raw spirit treasure embryo. It was pure profit.

Wei Tu didn’t think he was losing out either.

The Golden Rock Spirit Sword was something he’d taken from Yao Chongshan after killing him. It cost him nothing.

Plus, Tier Four artifact refiners were rare. Without this trade meet, he probably wouldn’t have found one in even 100 or 200 years. The Golden Rock Spirit Sword and Firecloud Shield would have just sat useless in his storage.

In short—

Wei Tu felt this craftsman was worth the price.

Just like how other cultivators were happy to pay him handsomely for pill refinement.

Once the deal was made, Wei Tu swept his sleeve and took the jade box from the table, stepped down from the auction platform, and returned to his seat to rest with eyes closed.

Then, other cultivators took turns on stage to trade for what they needed.

Among them was Gong Shulan, whom Wei Tu had been watching closely. She came up once to trade for a natural treasure called "Black Gold Bamboo."

Black Gold Bamboo was a specialty of the Wushan Kingdom. High-grade stalks were rare, but many Nascent Soul cultivators present still had some.

So it didn’t take long before Gong Shulan completed her trade easily.

Time passed.

After roughly half a day, with no more cultivators stepping up, the previously hidden Alliance Leader Tan suddenly appeared again, announcing the official end of the secret trade meet.

But before the crowd dispersed, Alliance Leader Tan handed each cultivator a jade slip.

Inside were over 100 kinds of rare natural treasures. Each one was precious and hard to find in the world.

"As long as any of you can find the top-grade items listed here, I’ll exchange them with treasures of equal value—and I’ll even grant the provider one reasonable request…"

"Of course, as for the second- and third-grade items, as long as the quantity is high enough, I wouldn’t rule out granting a request for those either," Tan said with a smile.

As soon as he finished, all the cultivators—except for a few veterans and those who had attended the last trade meet—lit up with excitement. They eagerly checked the jade slip, as if trying to burn every treasure name into memory.

As a newcomer to the Flying Immortal Alliance, Wei Tu was no exception. He knew better than to act out of line in such a serious setting.

After a short wait, the fat old Daoist gave him a nudge. Wei Tu then followed him as if just remembering something, going together to meet Alliance Leader Tan and explain their deal.

"Daoist friends, it’s my honor to witness this exchange," Tan said warmly, readily agreeing to serve as their witness.

Ancestor Yu, Old Ghost Cai, and Hu Yantu—who had accompanied Wei Tu—saw that he had other business and sensibly said their farewells. They agreed to meet again in half a year to leave Wushan Kingdom together and return to Chu Kingdom.

[…]

Wei Tu wasn’t worried that Alliance Leader Tan would ruin his reputation over a small profit like this.

After handing over the Golden Rock Spirit Sword and Firecloud Shield embryos to Tan, he left the trade meet feeling at ease, just waiting for the good news that the artifact had been successfully refined.

After leaving, Wei Tu didn’t wander around Abyssal Marsh Immortal City. He avoided busy streets and went straight back to his rented cave dwelling to focus on cultivation.

He knew that with so many Nascent Soul cultivators in the city now, Abyssal Marsh Immortal City had become a hotbed of trouble.

If he drew too much attention, there was a real chance he’d bring disaster upon himself.

For example, Ancestor Tianxie. That fiend was notorious in demonic circles for hunting down newly-advanced Nascent Soul cultivators and stealing their nascent souls.

Besides that, Wei Tu also planned to use this time to refine the two boxes of "True Spirit Flesh" he had obtained at the trade meet.

His current body cultivation had already reached the peak of Tier Three and couldn't advance any further. But due to the unique nature of the Dao Immortal Source Scripture, any body-refining materials he refined would be stored inside him in the form of “Immortal Source.” This slowly increased his origin power.

And once his origin grew, the difficulty of breaking through to Tier Four in body cultivation would drop accordingly.

That was the dominant trait of the Dao Immortal Source Scripture, a high-tier body cultivation technique.

A few months later, once both boxes of True Spirit Flesh were fully refined, Wei Tu flipped his palm and glanced at his Flying Immortal Alliance token. Seeing a new message, he left his cave dwelling and flew toward the same pavilion he had first visited when arriving in Abyssal Marsh Immortal City.

Half an hour later, Wei Tu walked out of the pavilion, gently stroking a small red dragon-patterned bowl in his hand. A faint smile appeared on his face.

This red dragon-patterned bowl was the Firecloud Shield crafted by the fat old Daoist for him.

Under the Daoist’s refinement, the Firecloud Shield had not only transformed into a complete artifact but also gained a new ability—it could now bind enemy cultivators, combining both offense and defense.

"This old Daoist is a solid craftsman," Wei Tu thought silently.

After all, if the Firecloud Shield embryo had ended up in someone else’s hands, just refining it properly without cutting corners would’ve been good enough. No one would go the extra mile to add inscriptions or new effects.

To most people, if there’s no profit, there’s loss. That was the common mindset.

"A shame I didn’t get the chance to truly befriend this man."

Wei Tu sighed, shook his head, and casually tucked the Firecloud Shield into his sleeve.

[…]

Two months later.

The six-month mark arrived.

As agreed, Wei Tu headed to the meeting place and set off with Ancestor Yu, Old Ghost Cai, and Hu Yantu to return to Chu Kingdom.

The journey was peaceful.

It didn’t take long for the four of them to reach the border of Chu Kingdom.

Along the way, Old Ghost Cai took his leave and went back alone to the Shangliang Cai Clan.

Wei Tu, meanwhile, continued with Ancestor Yu and Hu Yantu to the Yu Family ancestral grounds.

He hadn’t forgotten that his concubine Yan Xiaolan was still staying with the Guangyuan Yu Clan.

After returning to the clan, Wei Tu finally asked Ancestor Yu about the exact value of the Huoxia Flower. Once he got a definite answer, he paid off that favor with 30,000 spirit stones.

Thinking of the “favor debt,” Wei Tu summoned Yu Gongshou and the other two, asking if they were interested in having him refine pills for them.

Back when they had escorted him back to Kang Kingdom, he had gifted each of them a pill refinement contract in hopes of winning them over, promising they could use the contract to request his alchemy services one day.

Now that they knew Wei Tu had successfully reached Nascent Soul, they naturally weren’t going to waste such a precious favor.

So the three of them all shook their heads, politely declining his offer to refine pills now.

Wei Tu wasn’t surprised. He shook his head and sighed, then reminded them to keep the contracts safe. If they ever needed him, they could use the contract to find him.

As long as he had the means, Wei Tu wouldn’t easily go back on his word and damage his reputation.

Upon hearing that, the three of them beamed with joy, thanking him profusely.

All three couldn’t help but feel lucky for their decision back then.

Now, those pill contracts in their hands were practically heirlooms for the Guangyuan Yu Clan.

As long as the clan didn’t face some catastrophe, with Wei Tu’s character, the chances of him stepping in to help were very high.

That much was easy to imagine.

[…]

With everything wrapped up, Wei Tu didn’t linger at the Guangyuan Yu Clan. After bidding farewell, he left Chu Kingdom with Yan Xiaolan and returned to Kang Kingdom.

As for his departure—

Just like last time, Wei Tu only informed Qiu Bucheng and didn’t tell his master Nan Zi.

Back then, it was because Nan Zi was too scheming. Telling her would have done more harm than good.

This time, it was simply because he didn’t want any more entanglement with her.

Unlike his other confidantes, Nan Zi was too self-centered and opportunistic.

Wei Tu knew very well that if they stayed too close, she would soon start using his name to gain benefits for herself.

So distancing himself was something he had no choice but to do.

Of course—

It wasn’t like Wei Tu had never looked after her.

Years ago, when he had first come to Chu Kingdom, he had hinted to Hu Yantu to give Nan Zi a bit of support. After all, Hu Yantu was an elder of the Beastmaster Sect.

And doing that had cost Wei Tu some personal favors.

"If Master finds out, she’ll probably be disappointed. After all, she always held affection for Immortal Master Wei…" Qiu Bucheng said with a wry smile.

With Wei Tu and Nan Zi having their falling out, Qiu Bucheng—caught in the middle—was in the most awkward position.

It was a tough spot.

After all, one had granted him Immortal Fate, the other had guided him. Both were great benefactors on his cultivation path.

"If I had known, I wouldn’t have joined the Beastmaster Sect back then," Qiu Bucheng thought with some regret.

After all, with his superior spiritual roots, he had choices when picking a sect.