Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Streams of spiritual light flowed continuously into the five jars.

When the final ray of light entered the jars, they began to tremble. Strange carvings resembling irrigation channels adorned the surface of each jar. The light streams pouring into the jars resembled water filling these channels, gradually filling them to the brim.

However, some jars’ carvings remained incomplete. Others were not only completely filled but also began to glow brighter and brighter.

The carvings on He Qingqing’s jar remained unfilled.

The carvings on Dugu Qiu’s jar were only marginally better, nearly indistinguishable from He Qingqing’s.

Meanwhile, the jars belonging to Qin Qingwan and Chen Yun were not only filled to capacity but radiated dazzling brilliance.

Yet, even these two paled in comparison to Xia Donghua.

The jar bearing the name “Xia Donghua” shone with such overwhelming light that it completely eclipsed the others.

It was as though Xia Donghua was a luminous full moon in a starry night sky, while the other candidates were merely faint stars.

Whether he was genuinely “chosen by the people” or not, no one could say for certain.

What was clear was that Xia Donghua had decisively outshone all his competitors in this election, securing the title of Holy Son.

“Donghua, it seems you have the support of most,” Xia He said with a smile, looking at his son.

“Your son is humbled,” Xia Donghua replied quickly, bowing deeply. “Whether it’s Senior Brother Chen, Junior Sister Qin, Junior Sister He, or Junior Brother Dugu, they are all more outstanding than I am. They are far more qualified to lead the Tianxuan Sect to a new era.”

“Donghua, you’re being too modest,” an elder stepped forward and said.

“Indeed, Donghua, excessive modesty can come off as pride,” said a hall master.

“Since everyone has chosen you, it shows you are the rightful choice. You must shoulder this responsibility well,” a peak lord added.

“Everyone has witnessed your growth, Donghua. No one doubts your ability to be the Holy Son,” another elder chimed in.

Xia He nodded in approval, patting his son on the shoulder. “Exactly. Now that you’ve been chosen, you must bear this responsibility. Do not disappoint us or the disciples of the sect.”

Xia Donghua appeared deeply moved. “Yes, Father! I will give my all for the Tianxuan Sect, sparing no effort! I will not let down the legacy of past sect masters!”

“Good!”

Xia He turned to the crowd and formally announced, “Let everyone bear witness! From today onward, Xia Donghua is the Holy Son of the Tianxuan Sect. I ask that you all support and guide him in the days to come.” ꭆâ𐌽𝘖𝖇ÈŜ

“Congratulations to the Holy Son,” the crowd responded in unison, giving Xia Donghua a round of applause.

Whether Xia Donghua’s ascension as Holy Son was truly the will of the people or whether there were ulterior motives behind it was none of Xu Ming’s concern.

After all, he wasn’t a disciple of the Tianxuan Sect.

“Thank you, elders and fellow cultivators. If I fall short in any way in the future, I hope you will kindly correct me and guide me,” Xia Donghua said, bowing in return.

“Now, come with me,” Xia He said, addressing his son. “Since you’ve been chosen as Holy Son, it’s time to pay respects to the guardian spirit of the Tianxuan Sect.”

There was a gleam of hope in Xia He’s eyes as he looked at his son, as though he had pinned all his expectations on him.

To be honest, the performance put on by this father and son made Xu Ming feel sick.

Like father, like son—these two embodied the word “hypocrisy” to its fullest.

“Yes, Father.”

Xia Donghua followed his father to stand before the guardian spirit of the Tianxuan Sect.

The guardian spirit glanced at Xia He, then at Xia Donghua. Its expression seemed to carry a hint of dullness.

Xu Ming wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but the sect’s guardian spirit seemed… a little slow-witted.

“Logically, shouldn’t a guardian spirit like this have intelligence?” Xu Ming asked Wu Yanhan.

Wu Yanhan gave him a sidelong glance. “Guardian spirits are like people—everyone has a different personality. How do you know it doesn’t have intelligence? Maybe it just doesn’t feel like talking.”

“…” Xu Ming had to admit there was some truth to her words.

To the onlookers, the guardian spirit extended a hand and placed it on Xia Donghua’s head. The three treasures of the Tianxuan Sect vibrated, as if they were acknowledging Xia Donghua as the Holy Son.

At that moment, Xia He suddenly looked up, stretched out his hand, and plunged it directly into the guardian spirit’s chest.

The guardian spirit stared at Xia He in confusion.

The others were equally stunned, unsure of what Xia He was doing.

In the next instant, Xia He pulled out the guardian spirit’s heart.

The heart was a translucent, radiant green.

Green blood began to slowly dribble from the guardian spirit’s mouth.

Then, Xia He took out a box from his storage pouch, opened it, and inside was a black heart.

Without hesitation, Xia He shoved the black heart into the guardian spirit’s chest.

The wound on the guardian spirit’s chest began to heal as it accepted the new heart.@@novelbin@@

“AAAAHHHH!!!”

The guardian spirit, who had once resembled a queen of the forest, opened her arms and screamed toward the sky.

It was as though she was being corrupted.

Her hair and dress gradually turned black, and complex, cryptic inscriptions spread across her previously snow-white skin.

Xia He’s movements had been incredibly fast—everything from start to finish took less than half a breath, executed in one fluid motion.

“Xia He! What exactly are you doing?!”

An elder finally reacted. He slammed his hands on the table and rushed toward Xia He.

Though the elder didn’t understand why Xia He was doing this or what the black heart was, he knew that if this continued, the guardian spirit—and the entire Tianxuan Sect—would be in trouble.

But just as the elder had taken only a few steps, he froze in place.

Looking down, he saw a sword piercing through his body.

“Qingwen! You…!”

Even without turning around, the elder knew who had attacked him, just from the inscriptions on the sword.

He never expected that one of his most trusted junior disciples would betray him and kill him.

Qingwen, the elder’s disciple, slowly approached and coldly spoke, “Uncle Master, times have changed. You old men should step aside.”

With a flick of his wrist, Qingwen reversed the sword and cleaved upward, slicing the elder cleanly in half.

“Kill!”

With Qingwen’s command, the cultivators who had been lying in wait unsheathed their weapons and began attacking the surrounding guests.