Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Four days ago, in Xu Ming’s courtyard, Mo Zhuer took out a box.

When the box was opened, it revealed a heart. The heart was pitch-black, as though it had been soaked in ink for millennia and then coated in a thick layer of oil.

Yet, the heart appeared to be beating, emanating an ominous aura.

“What is this thing?” Wu Yanhan asked, visibly displeased by the object.

“Is this… a demon heart?” Wang Xuan frowned deeply.

“Exactly. This is a demon heart. Elder Wang Xuan, you truly are well-informed,” Mo Zhuer nodded. “This particular heart was discovered by the previous leader of the Black Lotus Sect during a chance encounter in the Desolate Demon Abyss. Judging by its grade, it should be the heart of a Demon King.”

“What’s the purpose of this heart? Can it alone allow Xia He to reach the Ascension Realm?” Wu Yanhan questioned. “If that’s the case, then wouldn’t everyone just go to the Abyss to hunt demons for their hearts?”

Xu Ming, listening to their conversation, felt completely lost. To be honest, he didn’t really understand what demons were.

“That’s certainly not possible,” Mo Zhuer shook her head. “If it were just an ordinary demon, its heart would be useless. Even a Demon King’s heart wouldn’t suffice. If it were that simple, every time a Demon King was slain, humanity would gain an Ascension Realm cultivator. Things are never that easy. However, this particular heart is different.”

“This heart serves as a crucial medium—it’s the foundation of everything.”

Mo Zhuer took a sip of tea before continuing, “To be honest, I don’t fully understand what transpired either. But the Black Lotus Sect leader has indeed established some mysterious collaboration with Xia He.

Every demon possesses a unique ability. Through the current sect leader’s experiments, it was discovered that this particular demon’s heart holds the power to convert fortune and absorb blood essence. Elder Wang Xuan should be well aware of what I’m referring to.

For every cultivator, their cultivation realm is like a series of city gates. A cultivator’s goal is to use various methods to surpass these gates, thereby witnessing the scenery beyond.

Some find the key to the gate, some dig tunnels to sneak under it, some fly over it, and others use brute force to break it down.

The majority of cultivators follow the first method: discovering their Dao heart, solidifying their path, and waiting for the right opportunity to open the gate. But what Xia He intends to do is the last method—forcefully breaking through the gate.

This heart is the battering ram.

The fortune of the Tianxuan Sect, along with the blood essence and fortune of its guests and disciples after death, will act as the soldiers wielding this battering ram!

Xia He’s task during the Zixia Ceremony is to summon the guardian spirit of Tianxuan Sect. He will then extract the guardian spirit’s heart and replace it with this black heart!

Since the Tianxuan Sect’s guardian spirit controls the sect’s fortune, by manipulating this black heart, Xia He will gain control over the guardian spirit.

Following this, Xia He will consume the original heart of the guardian spirit, establishing some kind of bond between them. With this bond, he can use fortune and blood essence to forcefully break through the gate blocking his Ascension Realm.

Additionally, during this process, Xia He can command the Tianxuan Sect’s defensive formations to kill anyone in his way. Combine that with the sect’s numerous Peak Masters, Elders, and Hall Masters supporting Xia He—who, as far as I know, account for over half of the sect’s leadership—and the situation becomes an inescapable trap.

Their forces far surpass ours.”

“If there were no way to break this situation, you wouldn’t be sitting here, wasting time telling us all of this,” Wu Yanhan interrupted impatiently, glaring at Mo Zhuer.

Wu Yanhan had never thought highly of Mo Zhuer, and her dislike deepened as Mo Zhuer continued to toy with them instead of getting to the point.

“Your Highness, please remain calm. I am merely laying out the prerequisites,” Mo Zhuer said with a calm smile, appearing completely at ease. “As you said, there is no such thing as an unbreakable deadlock in this world—only solutions that have yet to be discovered.” Ṙ𝓪Ɲ∅ВÊș

“For example, we could just destroy this heart right now. If we do that, Xia He’s plan won’t be executable, right?” Wu Yanhan stared straight at Mo Zhuer.

Mo Zhuer sought the fortune of Tianxuan Sect, which was why she was negotiating with them. But if Wu Yanhan destroyed the heart, Xia He’s plan would fail, and Mo Zhuer wouldn’t get the sect’s fortune either.

In simple terms, Wu Yanhan considered flipping the table instead of negotiating further. And with Mo Zhuer now here in this courtyard, facing all of them—especially with Wang Xuan, a powerful Immortal Realm cultivator, present—there was no way Mo Zhuer could escape.

Mo Zhuer smiled brilliantly. “Your Highness, your words are quite intimidating. But, don’t you think others have already considered what you’ve just suggested? This heart has already been enchanted. Should it encounter danger, it will tear through space and automatically seek out Xia He.”

Wu Yanhan was left speechless.

Mo Zhuer calmly closed the box and placed the heart back into her storage pouch. “So, there’s no point in thinking of alternative solutions. The only viable option is to work with me.

Today, I will deliver this heart to Xia He, but I will inject certain elements into it. These elements will play a crucial role in breaking the deadlock.

Additionally, there’s another key piece—Xia Donghua.”

“Him?” Xu Ming asked, surprised.

“That’s right,” Mo Zhuer replied in a charming tone, her eyes narrowing with a playful glint.

Wu Yanhan noticed Mo Zhuer’s demeanor toward Xu Ming and felt slightly uncomfortable. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this cunning woman might genuinely be interested in Xu Ming.

“Although Xia Donghua is someone that Young Master Xu could easily crush with one hand, don’t forget: the Zixia Grand Ceremony has another significant purpose—to select the future Holy Son and Holy Daughter of Tianxuan Sect.

Xia Donghua is one of the candidates, and Xia He has already set the stage to ensure that Xia Donghua becomes the Holy Son.

The selected Holy Son or Holy Daughter will receive formal acknowledgment from the Tianxuan Sect’s guardian spirit. This acknowledgment involves transferring a portion of the sect’s fortune to the chosen candidate.

Xia He plans to strike at the moment when the guardian spirit acknowledges Xia Donghua. At that time, the guardian spirit will be distributing its fortune and will enter a weakened state, making it easier to ambush.

Moreover, once Xia Donghua is acknowledged, he will officially become the Holy Son and will serve as a medium for the Tianxuan Sect’s defensive formations.

If, at that moment, we kill Xia Donghua, the fortune granted to him by the guardian spirit will be redirected back to the guardian spirit.

This sudden influx of fortune might momentarily awaken the guardian spirit from its otherwise chaotic state.

Additionally, Xia Donghua’s death will destabilize the sect’s formations, causing a backlash to Xia He himself.

At that point, we strike—not to kill Xia He but to seize the Tianxuan Mirror!

Once we acquire the mirror, we can release Xu Cang and the other elders imprisoned within it.

The balance of power will shift entirely in our favor!”

—

At Baiquan (Hundred Springs) Plain.

Xu Ming stood, watching Xia Donghua charge toward him, the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk.

This was the moment Xu Ming had been waiting for.

He knew that once he appeared injured, Xia Donghua would be unable to resist the urge to attack him.

This was only natural.

Ever since Xu Ming had kicked Xia Donghua away with a single strike, he had become Xia Donghua’s inner demon. The hatred Xia Donghua bore for him was boundless. Xu Ming knew Xia Donghua would stop at nothing to kill him first!

Just as Xia Donghua was only twenty meters away from Xu Ming, Xia He’s pupils suddenly shrank, and he shouted at his son, “Donghua! Fall back!”

But it was too late.

The spiritual energy around Xu Ming surged wildly, erupting in an overwhelming force.

The outpouring spiritual energy transformed into a violent tornado, and within it, sword energy sliced through the air, cutting into everyone’s skin.

On Baiquan Plain, everyone bore wounds of varying severity from Xu Ming’s sword energy.

A deep hum echoed through the sky—”Weng… Weng… Weng…”

The sound of the Great Dao resonated, and it came from none other than Xu Ming.

Sensing danger, Xia Donghua instinctively tried to retreat.

Although he didn’t understand how Xu Ming had not only survived his father’s attack but now exuded such a terrifying aura, he knew one thing with certainty: if he didn’t flee now, he would die!

However, it was already too late.

A long sword pierced through the spiritual tornado, cutting through the storm of energy.

Xia Donghua caught a glimpse of a sword shadow flashing before him.

When he turned around, Xu Ming, holding a long sword, was already standing behind him.

There was no blood on Xu Ming’s sword, but Xia Donghua clutched his neck tightly.

“You… you…”

The next moment, Xia Donghua felt the world spinning.

His head fell to the ground.

Black spring water surged forward, consuming Xia Donghua’s body entirely.

“Xu Ming! You’re courting death!” Xia He roared in fury.

But his anger wasn’t because Xu Ming had killed his son.

To Xia He, the death of Xia Donghua was insignificant. As long as Xia He reached the Ascension Realm, he still had plenty of time to have another child. Even if he didn’t, he wasn’t particularly concerned about continuing his bloodline.

What enraged him was the timing. Xia Donghua’s death could potentially trigger undesirable changes in his plans.

Sure enough, what Xia He feared the most happened.

With Xia Donghua’s death, a portion of the fortune bestowed upon him returned to the Tianxuan Sect’s guardian spirit.

As a sliver of awareness returned to the guardian spirit, she realized what the current sect master of Tianxuan Sect, Xia He, had done.

Using the last vestiges of her clarity, the guardian spirit forcibly reversed the sect’s formations, causing the backlash to strike Xia He.

Xia He spat out a mouthful of blood.

But he quickly stabilized himself and once again channeled his spells.

“AAAHHH!!!” The guardian spirit screamed in agony.

The black heart within her chest continued to corrode her sanity.

She looked around Baiquan Plain, seeing the disciples killing one another, the corpses strewn across the ground, and the sect reduced to chaos.

In her eyes, there was a flicker of human sorrow.

Turning her gaze toward Xia He, the guardian spirit’s eyes blazed with fury, as though she wished to devour him whole.

Just as her remaining sanity was about to fade completely, she thrust her hand into her chest, grabbing hold of the black heart with all her strength.

“Not good!”

Xia He rushed forward in panic. He hadn’t expected the guardian spirit’s will to endure to such an extent.

But it was already too late.

“BOOM!”

With a deafening explosion, the guardian spirit self-destructed, unleashing a massive shockwave of spiritual energy that rippled outward like waves on a lake.

“Fool! Do you think destroying yourself will change anything?!”

Xia He coldly stared at the spot where the guardian spirit had been, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The black heart still remained.@@novelbin@@

Spreading his arms wide, Xia He shouted, “It’s over! No one can stop me now! You will all become my elixirs!”

“Is that so?”

A calm voice interrupted him.

Just as Xia He finished speaking, a voice suddenly rang out beside him.

Xia He’s heart tightened, and his first instinct was to shift his body.

A longsword slashed past him, and the sword energy it emitted cleaved a distant mountain peak cleanly in half!

“Xu Ming! How did you reach the Jade Purity Realm?!”

Xia He, now at a distance, stared at Xu Ming in disbelief. But before he could process this, another sword strike from Xu Ming came his way.

Xu Ming’s Grass Script Sword Technique was precise and lethal—each strike executed without any unnecessary movement, perfectly efficient.

Even though Xia He was at the peak of the Immortal Realm, the sheer intensity of Xu Ming’s sword energy forced him to evade rather than block head-on.

Xia He hastily formed an Eight Trigrams Seal, aiming directly at Xu Ming’s head.

This technique was designed specifically to counter sword cultivators. If Xu Ming relied on sword energy, the seal would absorb and reflect it back. If Xu Ming didn’t use sword energy, the seal would hit him directly—severely injuring or even killing him!

But Xu Ming didn’t use sword energy at all.

With his longsword in hand, his movements were as fluid as a painting. Each clever strike of the Grass Script Sword Technique dismantled Xia He’s Eight Trigrams Seal.

In less than a single breath, Xia He’s spell was completely nullified by Xu Ming.

At that moment, Xu Ming finally grasped the deeper meaning of the phrase: Sword techniques, sword energy, and sword intent—all three can reach their pinnacle, none inferior to the others.

After breaking Xia He’s spell, Xu Ming transformed into a streak of white mist and thrust his sword toward Xia He’s heart.

“Clang!”

Xu Ming’s longsword collided with a barrier resembling a turtle shell. The impact unleashed a surge of sword energy and spiritual power, forcing the two apart.

Xu Ming struck again with his sword.

“How dare a mere junior…!”

Being driven into such a state of disarray by a younger opponent, Xia He was utterly furious!

He raised his right hand high, summoning a ferocious avatar from the Tianxuan Sect’s grand formation. The monstrous figure lunged at Xu Ming with overwhelming force.

But at that very moment, Xu Ming suddenly redirected his sword, aiming it straight at the Tianxuan Mirror suspended a hundred meters high in the air!