I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

Chapter 485: Child-Mother Binding Talisman, Vajra Relic

"First thing?" Wei Tu raised an eyebrow and gave a mocking smile.A cold light flashed in his eyes. He pointed forward with two fingers. The Koi Dragon Yin Blade hovering above Ji Zhang’s head dropped instantly, slicing through his dantian and straight out the other side.

Puwa~

The sudden strike caught Ji Zhang completely off guard. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered back several steps, staring at Wei Tu in shock, as if he couldn’t believe that this newly-advanced Nascent Soul cultivator had really dared to attack him without hesitation.

Especially since he had just offered to team up against Fu Linglong.

"My Nascent Soul…" Ji Zhang checked his body. When he saw that his fake infant had been slashed, half-destroyed, rage exploded on his face.

Reactivating a false Nascent Soul was already extremely difficult.

Now, with the core cut through and his foundation ruined, unless some massive miracle came along, he would never step on the path of Nascent Soul again.

To a cultivator, having one’s path destroyed was no less than a father’s murder. In fact, to him, it was worse.

But facing Wei Tu…

Ji Zhang didn’t even have the will to fight.

Decades ago, during the Nascent Soul Ceremony, he’d been struck from afar by Wei Tu and completely lost his confidence.

Now, with Wei Tu right in front of him, how could he—a mere fake infant patriarch—possibly challenge him?

It would be like an egg smashing into a rock.

"If you kill me, my father will avenge me." Ji Zhang’s expression turned dark and bitter. He gritted his teeth and spat the words.

As he spoke, he retreated again, clearly ready to flee using blood escape.

But then Wei Tu’s next words stunned him.

"Who said I was going to kill you?"

Wei Tu lifted his gaze and said calmly.

"What?"

"You’re not killing me? Then why…"

Ji Zhang was dumbfounded. Just now, Wei Tu had attacked like an enemy, clearly trying to force a complete break between them. Ji Zhang had been ready to fall out for good.

Now, he was suddenly changing his tone?

"With your father around, how could I dare kill you so casually?" Wei Tu gave a light laugh and explained.

Hearing that, Ji Zhang’s tense expression loosened slightly, as if he was ready to reconcile.

But inside, Ji Zhang was seething with hatred. After taking a blow for no reason, how could he not loathe Wei Tu to the bone?

Still, with Wei Tu holding absolute power over his life now, he had no choice but to swallow it.

‘Once Fu Linglong is dealt with, I’ll make you pay for this!’ Ji Zhang silently swore.

But just after swearing, he suddenly felt his spiritual power was being sealed. When he tried to circulate it, it was like sinking a stone into the ocean—no response at all.

"What is this…"

Ji Zhang’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at Wei Tu. How could he not realize that this had been Wei Tu’s real trick when he slashed him?

And the goal wasn’t to kill him, but to trap him here in Ying Ding tribe—forever.

That way, even if his father found out and tried to avenge him, there’d be no justification.

"Looks like Ji Zhang has figured it out."

"I don’t dare kill you because of your father’s power. But keeping you imprisoned here in Ying Ding tribe—that I can do. And to you, that’s no different from death."

With that, Wei Tu raised his sleeve, and a jet-black talisman flew out, landing on Ji Zhang’s forehead.

Moments later, as the Spirit-Sealing Talisman activated, Ji Zhang’s spiritual power and soul were sealed. He was no different from a mortal now.

"Wei Tu, I had no deep hatred with you. Was this really necessary?" Ji Zhang growled with frustration.

In his mind, the only real conflicts between them were the rescue of Fu Linglong and the pursuit of Sun Chixin. Both times, Wei Tu had come out on top. It didn’t seem like there was enough bad blood to justify this.

As for Wei Tu making a move on Fu Linglong in front of him…

Now that Fu Linglong had become his mortal enemy, that wasn’t even worth mentioning anymore.

That’s why he’d dared to linger in Ying Ding tribe for so long without avoiding Wei Tu.

But now, Wei Tu was treating him like a sworn enemy that had to be crushed.

He truly couldn’t understand it.

…

Wei Tu didn’t feel any need to explain Ji Zhang’s confusion.

He wasn’t dumb enough to reveal that it was him who had manipulated Fu Linglong back then. It was because of him that she went from love to hate, destroying Ji Zhang’s Dao heart and making him fail his breakthrough.

So really, he was Ji Zhang’s true mortal enemy.

Not Fu Linglong.

‘Whether Ji Zhang was bluffing or really confident, locking him up in Ying Ding tribe means that even if his father finds out… with him as a hostage, I’ll still have the upper hand.’

Wei Tu’s eyes flashed as he calculated.

Even though he now had the Nine Secrets of Longevity and was cultivating both body and magic, making him able to fight a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, that didn’t mean he had no fear of Ji Yifeng.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was delusional like Ji Zhang, hoping to turn enemies into friends with Ji Yifeng either.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have destroyed Ji Zhang’s path with that strike just now.

Keeping Ji Zhang alive served one purpose—using him as bait to trap Ji Yifeng in the future.

In short—

Ji Zhang was more valuable alive than dead.

"But before that, better to search his soul—just to be safe." Wei Tu waved his sleeve and knocked Ji Zhang out, then pressed a palm to the top of his head.

Ji Zhang’s explanation for staying in Ying Ding tribe sounded plausible. But Wei Tu didn’t believe it was really that simple.

He judged others by himself.

And Wei Tu wouldn’t risk being killed by a Nascent Soul elder just to get revenge.

In his view, this former Sect Master of the Six Desires Sect, Ji Zhang, wasn’t someone reckless or impulsive.

A false infant was different from a true one.

This time, soul-searching Ji Zhang would be a lot easier for Wei Tu.

After just a quarter of an hour, he got the real reason from Ji Zhang’s mind for why he was lurking in the Ying Ding tribe.

Just as he suspected, Ji Zhang never truly intended to team up and fight Fu Linglong with him. That excuse had only been made up on the spot after being caught, a tactic to fool him.

His real objective was to follow Hidden Gate’s order to retrieve a rare treasure called the “Vajra Relic” from within the Ying Ding tribe.

"Child-Mother Heart Talisman!"

As he dug deeper, Wei Tu’s face darkened slightly.

As a fourth-rank talisman master, he naturally recognized the infamous talisman’s name.

This talisman, like the “Heaven’s Nether True Page,” was an ancient treasure—rare and dwindling with each use.

Its sole purpose was to allow a cultivator holding the child talisman to relay messages to one bearing the mother talisman.

It was far more powerful than something like a soul lantern.

Even across tens of thousands of miles, it would still work.

Fortunately, Wei Tu had acted in time. While chatting with Ji Zhang earlier, he’d already sealed his spiritual power without him noticing.

So, the fact that Ji Zhang was now imprisoned hadn’t yet been transmitted through the talisman.

However, if Ji Zhang were to die, the talisman would activate passively and notify Ji Yifeng of his death.

That was Ji Zhang’s ace!

"But what does Ji Zhang want with the Vajra Relic?"

Wei Tu temporarily pushed aside his unease and started thinking about why Hidden Gate wanted the Vajra Relic.

He had already heard of relics when he was still in the mortal world. These were the remains of highly virtuous monks after they passed.

The Vajra Relic was even rarer and more precious—formed only after the passing of a Buddhist cultivator at or above the Golden Core Realm.

This time, Ji Zhang had come to Ying Ding tribe to find a Vajra Relic that had formed after a Nascent Soul monk from the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple passed away a thousand years ago.

According to Hidden Gate’s intel, that relic had been gifted a millennium ago by the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple to a Golden Core cultivator named Jie Gong.

Ji Zhang had stayed in the Ying Ding tribe this long to find Jie Gong Dafa Master’s descendants and steal the relic from them.

'A relic like this only has real use for Buddhist cultivators. For others, it at most helps steady the mind. Otherwise, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple wouldn’t have been willing to gift it to an outsider.'

'Now, what’s Hidden Gate trying to do with this thing?'

Wei Tu frowned, feeling confused.

With that question in mind, he performed a second soul search on Ji Zhang’s spirit. But this time, he found no answer in Ji Zhang’s memory.

Just like him, Ji Zhang didn’t know what Hidden Gate’s real plan was. He only intended to finish the mission first, then figure things out.

"Jie Gong…"

Wei Tu muttered under his breath. He planned to inform Divine Master Du Long and the others, then discuss what to do next.

After all, his roots in the Ying Ding tribe were still shallow. He had little chance of finding Jie Gong’s descendants on his own.

Also, sharing this info would build more trust between him and Divine Master Du Long’s group.

If he kept acting alone and staying distant for too long, people like Divine Master Du Long were bound to become suspicious.

And there was another reason.

He also had to let them know about Ji Zhang’s situation.

Once he decided, Wei Tu didn’t hesitate. With a flick of his sleeve, he carried Ji Zhang and flew toward the Divine Master’s Residence where Du Long stayed.

"What?"

"Vajra Relic? Hidden Gate?"

Not long after, inside the Divine Master’s Residence, Divine Master Du Long frowned deeply upon hearing Wei Tu’s explanation. He was clearly puzzled by Hidden Gate’s motives.

"But the fact that Fellow Daoist Wei informed us in time is enough. At least we’re prepared."

Divine Master Du Long stroked his beard, showing a satisfied expression.

After all, this was the first time since Wei Tu’s Nascent Soul breakthrough, decades ago, that he had willingly reached out to them.

If not for this, Du Long would have started to wonder whether Wei Tu was truly from the Ying Ding tribe or actually one of Moon Condensation Palace’s Nascent Soul cultivators.

Based on time alone, Wei Tu had spent far more of his cultivation years inside Moon Condensation Palace than in the Ying Ding tribe.

"It’s only proper," Wei Tu cupped his hands and replied.

Even though he trusted people like Cao Mi far more than Du Long’s group, he hadn’t forgotten that he still held the official title of Divine Master under the Ying Ding tribe.

Of course, that all hinged on one thing—their interests didn’t clash with his own.

"I might have a clue about Jie Gong’s descendants. Finding the Vajra Relic shouldn’t be too hard."

"But… Ji Zhang’s matter won’t be easy. His father Ji Yifeng isn’t someone easy to deal with."

Du Long looked troubled.

He couldn’t help but feel that the people Wei Tu offended just kept getting more and more powerful.

First, he clashed with Ancestor Liuyu, an ancestor of the Hehuan Sect, one of the five great Demonic Dao sects.

Now, Ji Yifeng. His sect, Tianyi Sect, might not match those five in reputation, but Ji Yifeng himself was the sect’s leader—meaning his status actually outranked Ancestor Liuyu’s.

And most importantly…

Both of them were mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Ji Yifeng doesn’t know what happened between me and Ji Zhang. I can guarantee this won’t involve the Ying Ding tribe."

Wei Tu raised his brow slightly. His tone turned a bit cold.

Sure, offending Ji Yifeng was his personal matter and should be handled alone. But Du Long’s attitude was disappointingly indifferent.

Last time, when he got exposed and clashed with Ancestor Liuyu, he took responsibility and accepted the consequences.

But this time, Ji Yifeng hadn’t even shown up yet. As long as he was careful, nothing would happen.

"Before, I already told you, Fellow Daoist Wei—this kind of thing should happen once, not twice. Even if you haven’t offended Ji Yifeng yet, if there’s a next time…"

Du Long sighed, speaking with reluctant helplessness.