Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

As a wave of dizziness passed, Xu Ming opened his eyes to find himself standing in an open clearing.

Taking a deep breath, he could immediately sense the dense spiritual energy in the air—far richer than that of the outside world.

There was no doubt about it—this place had to be the legendary Rootless Secret Realm.

Xu Ming scanned his surroundings. He was alone.

Even though he had entered alongside the other nine disciples from the Wu Kingdom, they had all been scattered upon arrival.@@novelbin@@

It seemed the spatial laws of this small world had disrupted their positioning.

Yanhan and the others must have been teleported elsewhere as well.

“Blood Bodhi Fruit…” Xu Ming murmured the name.

According to Elder Wangxuan, restoring Qingwan’s body required two items—the Blood Bodhi Fruit and the Linglong Pearl from the Northern Seas.

Once he traveled to the Northern Seas in the future, he could negotiate with the Dragon Empress there and find a way to obtain it through some kind of exchange.

After all, he had no influence in the Northern Seas, and the entire region was under the Dragon Empress’s dominion. If he tried to steal the pearl, it would be practically impossible.

Worse still, such an act might provoke hostility between the Northern Seas and the Wu Kingdom—something he absolutely couldn’t afford.

So the Linglong Pearl could wait. Right now, the priority was acquiring the Blood Bodhi Fruit—and not just any fruit, but the main fruit of the Bodhi Tree.

As for the Golden Horn Fruit that his so-called father had asked him to bring back…

He’d just grab a few along the way.

To be honest, Xu Ming was a bit worried that if his father ate too many of those, he’d end up overloading himself and literally exploding from the excessive energy.

Xu Ming pulled out a map from his storage pouch.

The map depicted the entire layout of the Rootless Secret Realm, ensuring he wouldn’t have to wander aimlessly.

After all, the Rootless Secret Realm had been explored many times before—its geography was well-documented.

Without hesitation, Xu Ming took off, flying straight toward the location of the Blood Bodhi Fruit.

He wasn’t the only one. No doubt many other cultivators had entered the realm and were also racing toward the same destination.

Whoever arrived first would claim the prize.

If he was too slow, there might be nothing left by the time he got there.

—

Meanwhile, across various parts of the Rootless Secret Realm, waves of demon cultivators had also begun entering.

The first thing they did?

They reached into their storage pouches and pulled out a portrait.

On that portrait was a precise depiction of Xu Ming’s face.

—

As Xu Ming soared above a river, his sharp instincts flared.

Danger!

Suddenly, several flying swords shot up from below, aiming to strike him down.

Xu Ming’s brows furrowed.

With a swift motion, he swept his hand through the air, summoning a sword bestowed upon him by the Wu Emperor.

Its name—Flame Sparrow.

Wu Yanhan had long wanted to gift Xu Ming a proper weapon.

But because he had been preparing for his Heavenly Tribulation, he couldn’t carry too many enchanted artifacts at the time.

It was only after he successfully endured his tribulation that Wu Yanhan was finally able to place Flame Sparrow into his hands.

Although Flame Sparrow wasn’t an immortal-grade weapon, how many people in this world even possessed half-immortal weapons or true immortal artifacts?

The Wu Kingdom’s entire treasury had already been emptied of half-immortal weapons—they had all been granted to warriors who had earned them.

The only way to reclaim those weapons was if their owners perished in battle.

Otherwise, forcibly taking them back just to gift one to Xu Ming would do more harm than good.

The political backlash from the court would be immense.

Xu Ming gripped his sword tightly.

With a single slash, Flame Sparrow erupted into flames, scattering the incoming swords with a burst of fire.

At that moment, a thick, overpowering demonic aura filled the air.

“Heh heh heh…~”

Strange, eerie laughter echoed through the sky.

In the next instant—

A white elephant, a blue lion, and a giant serpent, their towering demon avatars, lunged toward Xu Ming in unison.

When demon cultivators reach the Golden Core Realm, they gain the ability to manifest avatars, which are projections of their true forms.

Upon advancing to the Jade Purity Realm, their bloodlines begin to evolve, transforming them into ancient mythical beasts.

For example, a serpent might evolve into a Ba Snake, or even take a step toward draconic ascension.

—

Against these overconfident demon cultivators, Xu Ming wasted no time.

He swung his sword twice, unleashing two devastating strikes.

He held nothing back—his sword energy directly shattered their demon avatars.

The three demon cultivators spat out blood, their faces contorted with disbelief.

Just moments ago, they had been ecstatic upon spotting Xu Ming, believing this was their golden opportunity.

If they could claim Xu Ming’s head, they could collect the massive bounty issued by End Mountain.

After all, End Mountain had offered a fortune for the deaths of Yang Yang and Xu Ming.

But never—never—did they imagine that Xu Ming would be this terrifying.

Same Dragon Gate Realm, different worlds.

While they were also in the Dragon Gate Realm, their cultivation felt as fragile as paper compared to Xu Ming’s.

—

Sensing imminent danger, the three demon cultivators turned to flee.

But would Xu Ming let them go?

Absolutely not.

His sharp spiritual sense locked onto their exact positions.

With a single sweeping strike, his sword cleaved them in half—body and soul alike.

Their spirits attempted to escape, but Xu Ming preemptively struck, annihilating their very essence, leaving them with no chance of survival.

If you’re going to do something, do it cleanly.

If he left them alive—whether through reincarnation or some other means—they might return for revenge.

It was only a pity that he hadn’t brought any corpse-dissolving powder.

Otherwise, he would’ve scattered their remains to the wind.

—

Xu Ming descended toward their fallen bodies.

Landing lightly on the ground, he immediately began looting their storage pouches.

Anyone who made it into the Rootless Secret Realm was an elite cultivator, nurtured at great cost by their respective sects or kingdoms.

Naturally, they carried valuable treasures.

And sure enough—

Xu Ming uncovered multiple second-grade artifacts, one first-grade artifact, and sixteen high-grade spirit stones, along with an assortment of mid-grade and low-grade spirit stones. 𝘙ÅNỘᛒΕ𝒮

These three weren’t from some minor demon kingdom.

They were wealthy.

But now—all of it belonged to him.

And there would be no consequences.

The laws of the Rootless Secret Realm were separate from the outside world—like an isolated island cut off from the mainland.

Even if their sects wanted to track their killers, they wouldn’t be able to.

—

Xu Ming continued rifling through their belongings when—

“Hmm?”

He let out a quiet murmur of confusion.

His eyes had landed on a scroll.

Unfolding it—

Inside was a detailed portrait of himself.