I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

Chapter 478: Reuniting the Righteous Society, A Well-Intentioned Lie

“Demonic cultivator?”Wei Tu fell into thought.

This kind of evil item could rapidly boost cultivation. But if he traded it with an unfamiliar demonic cultivator, there was a risk it might backfire and become a threat.

From another perspective, if he were the demonic cultivator and got something like this, he’d do everything possible to keep it secret.

And the fastest way to silence someone? Kill them.

“But if it’s not a stranger…”

Soon, Wei Tu thought of his fourth brother, Fu Zhizhou.

They had shared centuries of friendship and endured countless trials. Fu Zhizhou was definitely someone he could trust with his life.

He was the kind of person worth entrusting life and death to.

If Fu Zhizhou got the Soul-Devouring Wood and broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, then just like the old days, they could fight side by side again. He’d become a reliable pillar of support.

That would be far more worthwhile than trading the item with a stranger for some random resource.

In the cultivation world, sticking together for warmth was always better than going solo.

On this trip to the Guixu Sea, if he hadn’t had Cao Mi with him, even if he could’ve killed Holy Son Faguang and Lüqiu Jinyuan’s incarnation, it would’ve been a whole lot harder doing it alone.

“Human cultivators didn’t come to dominate the cultivation world after the ancient true spirits just because of one or two geniuses. It’s the strength of united generations.”

Wei Tu recalled those words from the ancient books.

He looked up toward where Yuanjun Island lay.

The true spirit clans were powerful, but in the vast Guixu Sea cultivation world, they barely counted for anything.

They were just huddled in a corner.

Two months ago, he and Cao Mi had barely survived a joint attack from Lüqiu Jinyuan’s incarnation. But next time, if more allies stood with him, he refused to believe they’d suffer so badly again.

“Righteous Society…”

Wei Tu clenched his fist, eyes filled with determination.

Kou Liang was dead. Wei Fei was dead. Now, he was the eldest of the four brothers.

It was time to take the lead and rebuild the Righteous Society!

Now that he had the Soul-Devouring Wood, Fu Zhizhou reaching the Nascent Soul Realm shouldn’t be a problem.

By then, with two Nascent Soul cultivators in the Righteous Society, the world would have nowhere they couldn’t go.

…

With the plan to rebuild the Righteous Society set in his mind, Wei Tu used his divine sense to search Wu Fang’s storage pouch again for any other spirit items.

But what he found left him disappointed.

Besides a few of Wu Fang’s personal belongings, there wasn’t a single spirit stone or spirit crystal inside.

“Well, it makes sense. Lüqiu Jinyuan had been burning through his essence while chasing me. All the spirit stones and spirit crystals he had stored up—including what he dug up at the Flying Serpent Island ruins—were probably used to recover his mana.”

“As for magical artifacts, with his innate divine powers, he didn’t need to prepare anything extra. After all, among cultivators of the same level, few could survive that one strike.”

Wei Tu thought it through and felt at ease.

After that, he began discussing how to divide the spoils with Cao Mi.

“When we killed Lüqiu Jinyuan’s incarnation, I didn’t contribute much. Since there’s only that piece of purple-patterned spirit wood in the pouch, it should go to you, Daoist Wei.”

“There’s no need for you to repay me with any spirit crystals either.”

Cao Mi looked at Wei Tu, gently pressed her lips together, and spoke sincerely.

She truly meant what she said.

In the fight against Holy Son Faguang, she had made significant contributions, so she had no guilt about taking his Xuan Spider Robe.

But in the battle with Wu Fang…

She hadn’t done much.

In fact, the moment she saw Wei Tu fall and thought there was no chance to avenge him, she’d briefly considered surviving by surrendering.

In other words… submitting to Lüqiu Jinyuan.

Just this alone already made Cao Mi feel quite guilty toward Wei Tu. At this point, how could she still have the face to claim a share of the spoils from Lüqiu Jinyuan’s incarnation?

“This also follows the rules you and I agreed upon for distribution.”

Cao Mi added.

Seeing that her expression wasn’t faked, Wei Tu nodded slightly, flicked his sleeve, and stored away the Soul-Devouring Wood.

The rule between them was to divide things based on “fairness.” But fairness didn’t mean a rigid fifty-fifty split.

Since this battle had been fought almost entirely by him, he naturally had the right to take all the loot.

This kind of division was the only one that was truly fair to both sides.

“There's no need for you to feel guilty, Junior Sister Cao. If I had a chance to escape back then, I might have submitted to Lüqiu Jinyuan too.”

After putting away the Soul-Devouring Wood, Wei Tu noticed a trace of relief on Cao Mi’s face. He quickly guessed what she was thinking and gave a soft smile as he offered these comforting words.

‘Husband and wife are birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways.’

Not to mention, he and Cao Mi weren’t even husband and wife, just temporary allies.

The fact that she dared to act once on his behalf after his fake death was already commendable.

If he were in her shoes, Wei Tu honestly didn’t think he’d have done any better.

“Thank you, Daoist Wei, for your kind words.”

Cao Mi’s expression stiffened for a moment when she heard this. After all, having someone see through your thoughts was never pleasant.

But when she heard Wei Tu’s next line, her face relaxed into a smile.

“As punishment, I’ve decided not to give you the two spirit crystals I originally planned to. Just consider it your apology gift to me.”

“No wonder… Daoist Wei has such a trail of romantic debts back in Ying Ding Tribe.”

Cao Mi shook her head with a smile and quietly thought to herself.

Before, she had believed Wei Tu had so many confidantes only because he was a talisman master and alchemist, wealthy with a bright future.

But now she realized—it was his character that truly won people over.

…

Half a year later.

Wei Tu and Cao Mi recovered from their injuries and left the Dead Sea secret realm, heading toward the Kang Kingdom.

However, when they reached the border, they didn’t go their separate ways just yet.

Wei Tu followed Cao Mi into the territory of the Moon Condensation Palace.

His goal was simple—to help Cao Mi handle the aftermath of Immortal Master Hongjing’s death.

“Martial Uncle Hongjing… was unfortunately ambushed by a powerful enemy and fell while away.”

Inside the main hall of Mirror Water Pavilion, Cao Mi glanced at Ning Xuefeng seated to the side. Her eyes tightened slightly, then she spoke this lie.

It wasn’t out of sudden goodwill or a noble desire to repay evil with virtue.

Rather, she knew that having the Moon Condensation Palace absorb Mirror Water Pavilion wasn’t a wise move.

After all, the two sects had been allied clans for tens of thousands of years.

Now, if she seized this moment—when Mirror Water Pavilion had no Nascent Soul ancestor left—to take them over, it would severely damage her and the Moon Condensation Palace’s reputation.

Also, Mirror Water Pavilion was a guest sect. The spirit vein resources they currently occupied were technically Moon Condensation Palace’s property—just borrowed for use.

Swallowing up Mirror Water Pavilion wouldn’t gain the palace much. Instead, they’d be burdened with figuring out how to handle Mirror Water Pavilion’s disciples.

And finally—there was Wei Tu.

Cao Mi was fully aware that Wei Tu’s niece, Kou Hongying, was a Golden Core True Lord of Mirror Water Pavilion.