I am a Late Bloomer in the Immortal World

Chapter 482: At Eighteen Back Then, Our Brotherhood Still Holds

As Wei Tu had expected, the timing was about right.Twenty days after the letter was sent, Fu Zhizhou arrived at Moon Condensation Palace from Ying Ding tribe.

A few days later—

Wei Tu, Fu Zhizhou, and Kou Hongying—the last three cultivators left from the Righteous Society Brotherhood—met in a private room at a tavern in Yushan Market.

Fu Zhizhou wore a bamboo hat, looking like some old man in a straw raincoat. After sitting down for a moment, he looked at Wei Tu and Kou Hongying, his throat moved slightly, then his trembling hand pulled out a slim booklet and placed it on the Eight Immortals Table.

The booklet was ordinary, yellowed all over, like an old mundane register.

But the cover bore three large characters: Jinlan Pu—Brotherhood Register.

"Back then, after eldest brother died, second brother was too unsettled in temperament. So Hongying handed the Jinlan Register to me for safekeeping," Fu Zhizhou said slowly.

"Now that we’re all back together in Righteous Society again, Hongying, you can finally write your name in the Jinlan Register."

"Jinlan Register?" Wei Tu was surprised. He hadn’t expected that the register they used for their sworn brotherhood over four hundred years ago had been kept by Fu Zhizhou this whole time.

But after thinking for a second, it made sense.

Even though his bond with Kou Hongying now was much deeper than hers with Fu Zhizhou, back when she first joined Righteous Society, Fu Zhizhou was the one she was closest to—besides her father, Kou Liang.

It was simple.

At the time, she’d inherited the relationship between her father and Fu Zhizhou. Wei Tu, on the other hand, hadn’t been as close to Kou Liang.

That’s why, after Kou Liang died, the register that had been held by the eldest brother was handed over to Fu Zhizhou.

"Yes, Uncle Fu." Kou Hongying didn’t hesitate. She took the Jinlan Register and added her name and the date she joined, right after the line that read: "Fu Zhizhou, age eighteen..."

Now, as Kou Liang’s daughter, she’d already spent more time with Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou than she ever had with her father, who died young. She fully qualified to put her name in that register.

After she finished writing, she closed the booklet and glanced at Fu Zhizhou again.

Among the three of them still alive from Righteous Society, Fu Zhizhou had changed the most.

He’d gone from being the youngest to looking like the oldest.

Gone was the vigor of his youth.

Meanwhile, Wei Tu—the oldest of them—still looked exactly the same. Time hadn’t taken anything from his face.

He looked just like he had four hundred years ago.

'I wonder if in another four hundred years, I’ll end up like Uncle Fu. Maybe not even four hundred—three hundred might do it,' Kou Hongying thought with a quiet sigh.

She still had four hundred years of life left, which sounded long. But compared to the lifespan of a Nascent Soul cultivator, it was nothing.

It was easy to imagine: by the time she aged into bones and dust, Wei Tu would still look the same, untouched by time.

"From now on, Third Brother will keep the Jinlan Register," Fu Zhizhou said after she’d finished writing. He gave it a gentle push, sliding it across to Wei Tu.

Wei Tu didn’t object. He nodded slightly and tucked the register carefully into his storage pouch.

Next—

Fu Zhizhou and Kou Hongying waited for Wei Tu, now the “Righteous Society boss,” to speak. They expected him to go over old rules or set new ones.

"Righteous Society matters will follow the old ways," Wei Tu said simply, not adding anything extra.

Then he began sharing, in order, what he had experienced and achieved in cultivation over the past hundred years.

As he spoke, he naturally brought up the Guixu Sea Immortal Cultivation Realm and the matter of the "spirit crystals."

Hearing such strange and distant tales, both Fu Zhizhou and Kou Hongying were shaken. Their hearts couldn’t settle for a long while.

But neither interrupted. They just listened quietly until Wei Tu finished.

After nearly half an hour, Wei Tu finally wrapped up his stories of the Guixu Sea Immortal Cultivation Realm.

"The Guixu Sea… that’s where Uncle Wei went with Palace Master Cao and Old Ancestor Hongjing?" Kou Hongying quickly pieced it together. She figured that the place where Master Hongjing died was likely that overseas cultivation realm.

"That’s right. He died on Qiyan Island in the Guixu Sea. But… he wasn’t killed by any enemy. He was killed by me and Junior Sister Cao working together," Wei Tu said with a calm expression. He didn’t hide the real cause of Master Hongjing’s death.

These two in front of him—Kou Hongying and Fu Zhizhou—were people he trusted. There was no need to keep secrets from them.

As the words landed, Fu Zhizhou’s face stayed calm.

But Kou Hongying, who now served as acting Pavilion Master of Mirror Water Pavilion, looked stunned. She didn’t know what to say.

After all, killing someone from one’s own sect—even in demonic sects—was rare.

And she herself had been raised by Mirror Water Pavilion for so many years...

"Uncle Wei must’ve had a reason to do this!" Kou Hongying quickly spoke up. She didn’t question Wei Tu’s actions.

After hundreds of years together, she knew what kind of person Wei Tu was. He would never attack an ally to snatch their wealth.

Besides, even if Wei Tu had wanted to, convincing Cao Mi wouldn’t have been easy.

Anyone who’d reached the Nascent Soul stage would understand—if one part falls, the rest follows.

Wei Tu gave a faint, appreciative look when he heard her say that. Then he explained why he and Cao Mi had worked together to kill Master Hongjing.

After hearing the reason, Kou Hongying nodded slightly and said no more.

In the end, she had no real connection to Master Hongjing. They were strangers.

Whether he lived or died had little to do with her.

What she couldn’t easily let go of was her attachment to Mirror Water Pavilion.

Then—

Kou Hongying and Fu Zhizhou started asking Wei Tu more details about the Guixu Sea Immortal Cultivation Realm.

With their intelligence, it wasn’t hard to figure out why Wei Tu had brought it up now.

Clearly, he wanted to share this opportunity with them, so they could grow stronger too.

The three of them talked and asked questions back and forth.

It was half a day later before they moved on from the topic.

"The secrets of the overseas cultivation world were something only you and Palace Master Cao knew. Now that you’ve told us, what about her side…?" Fu Zhizhou hesitated, then asked.

Even though he had sensed from Wei Tu’s tone that things might not be so simple between him and Cao Mi, such secrets weren’t something you just casually told others.

Wei Tu trusted them. But would Cao Mi?

"I’ve already cleared it with Junior Sister Cao," Wei Tu said with a shake of his head.

"But… she had one condition. Or rather, a request. And it’s what I want to talk to you two about next."

"A condition?" Fu Zhizhou looked at Kou Hongying. Both of them showed a trace of confusion.

"Her condition… is that she wants to join Righteous Society. She wants to form an alliance with the three of us," Wei Tu said seriously.