I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

Chapter 483: Cao Mi Joins, the Path of Demons

The existence of Righteous Society, while a secret, wasn’t a high-level one. It couldn't stay hidden from anyone truly determined to find out.Wei Tu never intended to keep it from Cao Mi anyway.

Emotionally, he trusted Fu Zhizhou and Kou Hongying far more than he trusted Cao Mi. But if he thought in terms of benefits, then allying with Cao Mi clearly brought him more.

After all, besides Cao Mi, it was nearly impossible for him to find another female cultivator willing and able to co-control the Yin-Yang Demon Corpse with him.

She wasn’t like the Wei siblings.

She was someone who truly held value to him.

Also, when it came to the Guixu Sea Immortal Cultivation Realm, it was hard to bypass Cao Mi. Just this alone was reason enough for her to join Righteous Society and cooperate with him on a deeper level.

Sharing a secret, in some sense, was already forming an alliance.

Not to mention, during those thirty-plus years they spent traveling to and from the Guixu Sea together, a foundation of trust had already been built between them.

When Wei Tu finished speaking, Kou Hongying fell silent in thought.

Fu Zhizhou’s expression shifted slightly, showing that he was considering it deeply too.

Neither of them answered right away.

After all, Cao Mi was essentially a stranger to both of them. They had no connection with her.

Even though they could tell from Wei Tu’s tone that she was trustworthy, and didn’t doubt his judgment...

She was still a Nascent Soul cultivator!

With Wei Tu, they could still lean on old bonds and joke casually.

But with Cao Mi?

They would definitely feel restrained.

Seeing the looks on their faces, Wei Tu more or less guessed what they were thinking.

Still, he didn’t try to persuade them.

They had to come to terms with it on their own.

He wasn’t rebuilding Righteous Society just for the sake of family legacy, like Kou Hongying had thought before. And it wasn’t simply nostalgia, helping out Fu Zhizhou and Kou Hongying out of kindness...

His goal was to turn Righteous Society into a solid support system on his Nascent Soul path.

Not just some charity work.

And for Righteous Society to evolve, it needed fresh blood. Like Cao Mi.

Back then, Righteous Society had disbanded when Wei Fei dropped out.

The same applied today.

Without a major opportunity, neither Fu Zhizhou nor Kou Hongying could keep up with him anymore.

So if Righteous Society wanted to last, emotion alone wouldn’t be enough to hold it together.

Only someone like Cao Mi, bringing new energy into the group, could shift Righteous Society from an emotional bond into an alliance based on shared interests.

If Fu Zhizhou and Kou Hongying couldn’t accept her joining...

Wei Tu would still lend the Soul-Devouring Wood to Fu Zhizhou, to help him reach Nascent Soul.

And he’d still look after Kou Hongying.

But from then on, Righteous Society would become what it was over two hundred years ago when it disbanded—just an empty name.

...

"I agree to Palace Master Cao joining," Fu Zhizhou finally said after a long silence, taking a deep breath and breaking the deadlock.

He knew that having Cao Mi join might make things more awkward between him and Kou Hongying, but he also saw the benefits of adding a new Nascent Soul cultivator to Righteous Society.

Not to mention, Cao Mi was now the head of a major sect like Moon Condensation Palace.

Without Wei Tu, someone like him forming an alliance with her on equal footing would be unthinkable.

As for not knowing her well...

Back then, when he formed an alliance with Kou Liang, Wei Fei, and Wei Tu, they weren’t that close either. It only happened because they had once stood together at the yamen to resist Prefect He. A common enemy had brought them together.

"Besides, Third Brother and Cao Mi’s relationship doesn’t seem that simple. From what the outside world says, they’re basically like dao companions already," Fu Zhizhou thought to himself.

He might firmly refuse to let outsiders join Righteous Society, but there was no way he’d reject a “sister-in-law.”

"Then... I agree too," Kou Hongying said after a pause.

Unlike Fu Zhizhou, her heart wasn’t fully behind it. She instinctively felt resistance to the idea of Cao Mi joining.

But while her emotions rejected it, reason told her this—if they didn’t want Righteous Society to become just a shrine to old memories, then letting someone like Cao Mi join was absolutely necessary.

So she had to agree.

"Letting Cao Mi join Righteous Society doesn’t just benefit Uncle Wei and the group. It also helps protect Mirror Water Pavilion," she thought.

She didn’t really care about whether Master Hongjing or Ning Xuefeng lived or died. But as the future Pavilion Master of Mirror Water Pavilion, she didn’t want to be the one to destroy the sect’s foundation.

Seeing both Fu Zhizhou and Kou Hongying agree, Wei Tu gave a small nod and didn’t say anything more.

He took out a talisman letter from his sleeve, opened the array barrier, and sent it off.

A moment later—

A sharp gust of wind sounded in the air. A palace-robed woman with a slender waist and elegant features landed gracefully outside the door.

"Greetings, Palace Master Cao," Fu Zhizhou and Kou Hongying stood stiffly and gave her a bow when she knocked and entered.

"I’m older than both Fellow Daoist Fu and Pavilion Master Kou. Just call me Senior Sister. No need to call me Palace Master or be so formal," Cao Mi said with a smile after returning their greeting.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, she couldn’t help feeling some slight superiority over these two Golden Core cultivators.

But out of respect for Wei Tu, she stayed patient and gave them proper courtesy.

After speaking, Cao Mi walked to the empty seat by the table and sat down beside Wei Tu.

Seeing this, Fu Zhizhou’s eyes narrowed. He muttered to himself, "As expected," and all doubts in his heart disappeared.

At that moment, Wei Tu nodded to Cao Mi and started the next part of the discussion.

"This time, I didn’t just invite Junior Sister Cao here to join Righteous Society. I also want her to serve as a witness."

"A witness?"

Hearing this, all three—Cao Mi, Fu Zhizhou, and Kou Hongying—were puzzled. They had no idea what Wei Tu was planning.

Their gazes focused on him.

The next moment, Wei Tu reached into his sleeve and pulled out a piece of spirit wood about two feet long and as thick as an arm, with a translucent body covered in purple patterns.

"That’s the piece of spirit wood from Lüqiu Jinyuan’s body?" Cao Mi instantly recognized where it came from.

After all, this was the only trophy she and Wei Tu had taken from Lüqiu Jinyuan during that encounter in the Dead Sea secret realm.

"That’s right. This is the same piece of spirit wood you saw a few months ago, Junior Sister Cao," Wei Tu confirmed her suspicion with a nod.

Then he stopped keeping them in suspense and directly revealed its name and purpose.

"It’s actually the Soul-Devouring Wood?"

As the head of Moon Condensation Palace, Cao Mi had definitely heard of the Soul-Devouring Wood.

She just hadn’t expected that the seemingly ordinary piece of purple-patterned spirit wood was actually one of the legendary three divine soulwoods, alongside the Soul-Cleaving Wood and Soul-Nourishing Wood.

And she had handed it over to Wei Tu without a second thought just months ago.

'I misjudged it! But still, that Soul-Devouring Wood rightfully belongs to Brother Wei,' she thought.

Even though she felt a tinge of regret, she quickly adjusted her attitude and felt no resentment toward Wei Tu.

After all, she was a righteous path cultivator. Even if she had kept the Soul-Devouring Wood, it wouldn’t have been of much use to her. It would’ve just sat unused in her storage pouch.

She had just broken into the Nascent Soul stage, with plenty of potential ahead. There was no need for her to rush into cultivating demonic techniques.

'Is Brother Wei planning to…'

Her mind turned rapidly, and she immediately guessed Wei Tu’s intention. Her eyes shifted to Fu Zhizhou.

Right now, among the four of them, only Fu Zhizhou was from the demonic path.

'If Fu Zhizhou becomes a Nascent Soul cultivator, then Righteous Society might actually have value after all,' she thought.

Her reason for joining Righteous Society was simple—

She just wanted to establish a deep tie with Wei Tu.

She knew cultivators like Wei Tu—loyal, principled, with great potential and incredible combat power—were one in a million at the Nascent Soul stage.

Now with the Soul-Devouring Wood, Fu Zhizhou might not compare to Wei Tu, but at least he had a shot at a promising future.

Wei Tu gave a slight nod, confirming Cao Mi’s assumption.

He then turned to Fu Zhizhou and began explaining the advantages—and drawbacks—of cultivating with the Soul-Devouring Wood.

"From then on, transcending heavenly tribulations will be nearly impossible. But with your strength, Fourth Brother, surviving the Nascent Soul tribulation shouldn’t be a problem," Wei Tu said seriously.

He didn’t say anything further, but the implication was clear.

Divine Transformation was a realm Fu Zhizhou likely wouldn’t reach in his lifetime.

So the long-term danger didn’t really matter to him.

"I understand that," Fu Zhizhou replied with a bright smile and a nod, completely unconcerned.

Thanks to the Blood Puppet Rebirth Technique, he had perfectly absorbed Old Freak Canglan’s cultivation. Not long ago, he had successfully reached the late stage of Golden Core.

But he knew full well that his cultivation path had almost hit a dead end.

He had advanced too fast, taken too many shortcuts.

It was nearly impossible for him to surpass the realm Old Freak Canglan had reached in life.

But now, with the Soul-Devouring Wood, breaking that ceiling didn’t seem impossible anymore.

To put it plainly, just being able to advance from Golden Core to Nascent Soul already made him ecstatic. How could he dare dream of reaching Divine Transformation?

But at that moment, none of them—Wei Tu, Cao Mi, or Fu Zhizhou—noticed Kou Hongying’s expression.

In that instant, her face was a mix of emotions.

'So I’m actually the second one to fall behind.'

She looked despondent as that thought surfaced.

The gap was too stark.

When they all began their immortal path, she was clearly the most talented among Righteous Society’s members.

Now, even though her accomplishments already exceeded over 90% of all cultivators with mid-grade spiritual roots in history, within Righteous Society, she had become the second one to fall behind, after Wei Fei.

'Maybe Uncle Wei…'

A sliver of hope stirred in her heart.

She secretly wished that after giving such a big opportunity to Fu Zhizhou, Wei Tu might also give her something similar—maybe even something like the Soul-Devouring Wood.

But in the end, she was disappointed.

After Fu Zhizhou signed the spiritual contract to “borrow” the Soul-Devouring Wood, Wei Tu never took out any other spiritual items from his storage pouch.

And with that, the Righteous Society meeting came to an end.

'Well… the Soul-Devouring Wood is already something incredibly rare. Uncle Wei was lucky just to get one. How could he possibly have another opportunity of equal value…'

Kou Hongying pushed the thought away with a soft sigh.

'Still… Nascent Soul… Even without Uncle Wei’s help, I will reach it.'

After the meeting, Kou Hongying returned to Mirror Water Pavilion. She looked up, fixing her gaze on the cave dwelling at the back mountain where Ning Xuefeng was in seclusion. A look of steely determination slowly returned to her face.

"If the righteous path can’t get me there, maybe demonic cultivation can."

"After all, the word ‘demon’ means breaking convention."

A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes. She flicked her sleeve and instantly appeared at Mirror Water Pavilion’s library tower.

Then she began rummaging through the techniques collected by generations of pavilion masters.