I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

Chapter 434: Trading Spiritual Treasures, Breaking Through Body Refinement

Time had come.Wei Tu didn’t linger in the cave dwelling. After meeting up at an inn with Ancestor Yu, Old Ghost Cai, and Hu Yantu, the four of them headed straight to the trade gathering’s location.

The gathering was held in a hidden spot—deep within the lowest level of Abyssal Marsh Immortal City, inside a grand hall.

Once inside, Wei Tu copied the others, watching how Ancestor Yu and the rest transformed their Flying Immortal Alliance tokens into silver masks engraved with the characters for "Xuan Snake," then put one over his face.

To his surprise, the silver mask didn’t just block divine sense probing—it also altered a person’s aura.

But after a bit of fiddling, Wei Tu found it a little disappointing.

The function was decent, but its strength was lacking. For trade meetings like this, it worked fine. But if used in real combat or assassination, it wasn’t enough.

Any Nascent Soul opponent with stronger divine sense could pierce through the mask’s concealment barrier with ease.

That said, if used by a Golden Core cultivator, this mask would be the perfect tool for assassinations.

Only… Nascent Soul cultivators could already crush Golden Core opponents with little effort. Adding a mask like this was unnecessary—more of a flourish than any practical gain.

Before long, the four of them stepped into the hall’s inner chamber.

In an instant, Wei Tu saw the largest gathering of Nascent Soul cultivators he had ever witnessed in his life.

Over thirty tables and chairs had been arranged across the room. Most of them were already taken.

Men and women of various ages were seated. Although some emitted Golden Core auras, over ninety percent of the attendees were Nascent Soul elders.

"Only those in mid-stage Nascent Soul or above are allowed to bring guests in."

Ancestor Yu leaned close and spoke softly to Wei Tu, explaining why a few Golden Core cultivators were in attendance.

"And that’s also how we distinguish those at early-stage versus mid-stage Nascent Soul," she added.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu shifted his gaze to the seats where Golden Core cultivators were present.

Sure enough, the Nascent Soul cultivators beside them all radiated imposing auras—like vast mountains or deep seas—making them hard to look at directly.

"Those two women must be Gong Shulan and Hu Shan." Wei Tu looked toward the center of the hall, behind the hunchbacked elder.

That old man looked exactly the same as two years ago, having made no effort to disguise or change his appearance.

That alone showed how confident he was in his own strength.

'I wonder if the Old Corpse Demon is among the Golden Core cultivators here.'

Wei Tu glanced over the crowd of Golden Core cultivators, thinking to himself.

Unlike that hunchbacked Nascent Soul powerhouse, Golden Core cultivators were far more cautious at this kind of gathering. They wouldn’t risk exposing their true identity so easily.

If not for the hunchback’s distinctive and eye-catching features, Wei Tu wouldn’t have recognized Gong Shulan and Hu Shan either.

Though the layout of the seating didn’t divide guests into “VIP” or “standard” areas like in regular auctions, there was still a subtle hierarchy in how the seats were arranged.

Those like Wei Tu and Ancestor Yu—early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators with less influence—were naturally placed in the outer corners and less prominent areas.

But Wei Tu didn’t mind. In fact, he preferred not to draw too much attention at this trade gathering.

This kind of arrangement was exactly what he wanted.

About half an hour later, all the seats in the inner hall were filled with Nascent Soul cultivators.

Just like at the pavilion earlier, the host of the gathering—Tan Mengzhu—suddenly appeared on the stage in the blink of an eye.

"For many old friends here, our Flying Immortal Alliance’s secret market gathering is nothing new. But for those who’ve recently joined, I imagine this is your first time attending one of these events."

"So, as always, I’ll explain the rules of our trade gathering."

"There are three rules in total."

"1. All treasures at the gathering go to the highest bidder. But if I, the alliance leader, take interest in an item, I reserve the right to make the first trade."

"Of course, when I exercise that right, I won’t cheat anyone. I’ll do my best to meet the seller’s expectations."

"I ask for everyone’s understanding on this. After all, gathering all of you here for this trade event took considerable effort."

Tan Mengzhu gave a warm chuckle as he spoke.

Right away, the room grew noticeably livelier. The earlier tension and silence softened.

Wei Tu had already heard about this priority rule before joining the Flying Immortal Alliance. He wasn’t surprised by it at all.

In fact, considering Tan Mengzhu was a mid-to-late stage Nascent Soul expert, it wasn’t likely that anything at the gathering would even catch his attention.

There might not even be one such case in several trade gatherings.

And the kind of treasures that would interest someone like him clearly weren’t anything early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators could covet.

"2. During the trade, no intimidation or coercion is allowed."

"Anyone who violates this rule will face consequences. At best, a warning. At worst, 100 years of cultivation stripped and expulsion from the Flying Immortal Alliance."

"3. After the trade ends… if any fellow Daoist is worried about danger on their way back, simply speak to me. I’ll personally guarantee your safe return to your sect or power."

Tan Mengzhu continued.

Once he finished speaking, the faces of many newly joined Nascent Soul cultivators—and some Golden Core ones—visibly relaxed and looked more expectant.

There was no doubt that the second and third rules were made to protect weaker cultivators like them, ensuring safe trades.

But Wei Tu wasn’t one of those people.

He didn’t believe for a second that Tan Mengzhu had some lofty moral standard. If it was something minor, sure, he might stick to the rules. But if it were a rare treasure? The first person to strike would likely be this very alliance leader.

After all, one of the invited attendees here was none other than Ancestor Tianxie—an infamous demonic cultivator.

…

Once Tan Mengzhu finished listing the rules, an old man in ancient robes, clearly experienced, was the first to step forward and begin his trade.

In these gatherings, those who traded first usually had the upper hand.

That’s because most cultivators at similar levels often needed the same things. The earlier one made a trade, the better the odds of getting what they wanted.

The robed elder didn’t waste time. With a sweep of his sleeve, a black clay jar the size of a human head appeared on the table before him.

The jar glowed with a flickering, five-colored array of seals, and two sealing talismans were pasted across the lid, giving it a very mysterious aura.

Everyone present was curious. Just what kind of spirit creature was sealed in the jar, that it needed such elaborate layers of protection?

Soon, the old man explained.

"This jar holds fire candle demon insects that I captured 100 years ago. These insects are a rare species, ranked 11th on the strange insects list. They feed exclusively on gold and iron, have bodies tougher than steel, and can’t be harmed by even divine weapons."

"Also, they’re one of the essential materials for cultivating the Three-Candle Demon Flame."

"The Three-Candle Demon Flame is considered a very powerful divine ability within the Nascent Soul realm."

After the introduction, the old man shared what he wanted in exchange.

1. Cultivation pills for Nascent Soul cultivators.

2. A thunder-element spirit beast with true spirit bloodline.

3. A fire-element Tier Four spirit material.

"None of these three are easy to come by." Watching this, Wei Tu felt like his eyes had been opened.

For the first time, he had that feeling of a bumpkin walking into the big city.

A lot of the treasures being offered were things he’d never even heard of before.

Not long after, someone successfully made a trade. A cultivator exchanged a fire-element Tier Four material for the jar of fire candle demon insects.

After that, more and more cultivators stepped up to make trades.

Wei Tu noticed that for many of them, the first item they listed was always the same as the old man’s—Nascent Soul-level cultivation pills.

And 99 percent of the cultivators offering trades completely "ignored" this request.

Clearly, cultivation pills in the Nascent Soul realm were top-tier hard currency.

Half a day later…

After more than ten rounds of trading, the excitement noticeably started to die down.

The grade of items being traded also began to drop.

"I happen to have some spare true spirit flesh that I’d like to trade."

At that moment, the pink-dressed female cultivator that Wei Tu had been watching—suspected to be Hu Shan—stepped up. She smiled slightly and placed two jade boxes on the table.

"True spirit flesh?" Hearing that, Wei Tu’s brow lifted and his expression shifted slightly.

These two boxes of true spirit flesh wouldn’t be enough to push him into Tier Four of body refinement, but if he could get them, it would definitely accelerate his breakthrough process.

Plus, unlike the earlier treasures which were far beyond his reach, this one fell within what a newly advanced Nascent Soul like him could realistically afford.

The only question was whether he actually had what Hu Shan was about to ask for in exchange.

"Let’s see first."

Wei Tu kept a neutral expression.

His plan was simple—if he didn’t have the items she wanted, he’d shamelessly try to borrow them from Ancestor Yu, Hu Yantu, or Old Ghost Cai.

Just as Wei Tu came to that decision, Hu Shan announced her desired trade items.

As expected, the first was once again…

1. Cultivation pills for Nascent Soul cultivators.

2. Only then came her true target—the actual spiritual item she really wanted in exchange.

The spiritual item Hu Shan listed was a three-attribute spiritual herb with fire, earth, and water properties.

It didn’t need to be Tier Four—just a high-grade Tier Three would do.

But even with such a modest requirement, Wei Tu still didn’t have anything like that.

Fortunately, none of the Nascent Soul ancestors present had any interest in this “Golden Core stage” spiritual item, giving Wei Tu a chance to negotiate.

Seeing that, he immediately followed his plan and shamelessly asked Ancestor Yu, Old Ghost Cai, and Hu Yantu if any of them had something suitable.

"This old woman happens to have a fire-haze flower. Fits the requirement perfectly. I'll lend it to you for now," Ancestor Yu said with a smile, taking out a jade box and handing it over.

A Nascent Soul clan like the Yu Family might not have a lot of Tier Four resources, but when it came to Tier Three ones, they had more than enough.

Even compared to most individual Nascent Soul cultivators, they weren’t lacking.

"Thank you, Daoist Yu."

Wei Tu accepted the jade box and gave a quick word of thanks before walking straight up to trade it with Hu Shan.

Apparently, Hu Shan didn’t realize who he was and even thoughtfully explained the type and attribute of the true spirit flesh inside the box.

"True spirit flesh from the descendant of the Chitong Fox!"

Wei Tu made a mental note of the term "Chitong Fox."

He remembered back when Hu Shan and Qi Chengchu escaped from the Void Realm, they had run into Jiuli Shangren. Hu Shan had transformed into a pink-white fox at that time.

It was almost certain that form came from a transformation talisman made using the spirit soul of a Chitong Fox—just like how Liu Moqun once turned into a flying night fiend.

Once the trade with Hu Shan finished, the auction continued as smoothly as before.

Before long, even Old Ghost Cai and Ancestor Yu each took their turn on stage.

Unlike most others, the items they sought weren’t physical treasures but rare life-extending techniques.

However, after a brief exchange of voice transmissions with those below, they both returned to their seats disappointed.

Apparently, the life extension methods they had cultivated were already the best possible for their level.

Back in the audience, Wei Tu sensed the timing was right. After thinking for a moment, he stepped up onto the auction stage.

From his sleeve, he pulled out a jade box and placed it on the table before speaking in a steady voice.

"I have a high-grade Tier Three spiritual sword, a raw spirit treasure embryo. With proper nurturing, it has the potential to be upgraded to Tier Four."

"I'm looking to trade for a top-tier Tier Three body refinement treasure."

"Of course, if any Daoist here happens to be a Tier Four artifact refiner and is willing to refine a magical item for me, this sword can also be taken as payment."

Naturally, the sword Wei Tu offered was none other than the Golden Rock Spirit Sword he’d taken from Yao Chongshan.

He wasn’t a sword cultivator, so in his hands, the sword was no different from any other magical item.

He didn’t have the time, energy, or technique to nurture it to Tier Four.

So instead of letting it collect dust in his storage pouch, why not trade it now for something useful?

That said, Wei Tu didn’t openly show the "Golden Rock Spirit Sword." He just described its traits to the others.

After all, he had no intention of revealing his identity.

"A top-tier Tier Three body refinement treasure?"

Once the words left his mouth, all the cultivators present looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Unlike Golden Core cultivators, Nascent Soul ancestors like them didn’t worry about wasted time or delays from dual cultivation paths.

For them, a few hundred years of cultivation passed in a blink.

The reason they didn’t train in body refinement wasn’t due to inefficiency—it was because top-tier Tier Three body refinement treasures were too rare!

In other words, even if they trained their bodies to the peak of Tier Three, they had no way to break into Tier Four.

That’s why most of them focused on qi cultivation only and avoided dual cultivation entirely.

So while Wei Tu’s Golden Rock Spirit Sword was certainly valuable, it still didn’t match the rarity of a top-tier Tier Three body refinement treasure.

The latter was clearly in higher demand!

Seeing no one respond, Wei Tu quickly adjusted. He added 100,000 spirit stones to sweeten the deal.

Unfortunately, the response was still lukewarm.

Those who did respond were only willing to trade some high-grade Tier Three body refinement items.

But among those few was one cultivator who was more interested in Wei Tu’s second offer.

"Daoist, are you serious?"

"You're saying that if a Tier Four artifact refiner agrees to make a magic item for you, you’ll give them the sword?"

"It's true!" Wei Tu’s eyes lit up and he responded immediately.

At the moment, boosting his strength wasn’t limited to improving his body refinement realm.

Upgrading his weapon’s power was also a valid route.

Conveniently, he had just such an item on hand—a raw spirit treasure embryo from the Stone Demon Tower: the Firecloud Shield!