Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

“Well, boy, we meet again,” the old man raised his head and grinned.

His beard was long, reaching his chest, tangled and filthy, while his hair hung down in disarray, giving him the look of a vagabond. His face was almost completely obscured, leaving only his piercing eyes visible through the gaps in his hair.

Those eyes were like those of a hawk, sharp and cutting, as though they could slice straight through your heart with a single glance.

You wouldn’t even dare to meet his gaze.

The old man was bound against the rocky wall, thick black Xuan-iron chains engraved with dragon patterns and Dao marks coiled tightly around him. Spells cast on the chains caused them to emit a faint black glow.

Soul-sealing nails pierced his collarbone, thighs, and near his heart, pinning him firmly in place. Below him was a complex and esoteric formation, radiating a sinister aura.

In stark contrast, the other “prisoners” in the area were subjected to far less severe restraints. They were either locked in cages or bound by ordinary chains, as though anything more would be a waste of resources.

It was clear that whoever had sealed this old man here had been absolutely terrified of him escaping.

Just how powerful was this old man? If he was so dangerous that they worried about him breaking free, why not simply kill him? Why leave him alive and risk future complications?

Xu Ming stepped forward, cupped his hands respectfully, and bowed. “Junior greets Senior.”

The old man scrutinized Xu Ming closely. “Not bad, not bad. I didn’t get a good look at you last time, but now that I do, I have to say—you’re quite the promising seedling. Dual cultivation of martial arts and Dao, brave and bold… but you won’t go far, and frankly, you’re foolish.”

Watching the flow of spiritual energy and martial qi within Xu Ming, the old man quickly reached a conclusion.

Such a condition was difficult to resolve. Unless Xu Ming encountered someone with the rare Luo Shen Physique, and even then, healing would come with stringent conditions. It wasn’t as simple as just finding a Luo Shen Physique to resolve the conflict between his martial qi and spiritual energy.

But in the old man’s view, it didn’t really matter.

It wasn’t that solving the problem wasn’t important; rather, the old man felt it wasn’t worth bothering about.

At worst, Xu Ming could abandon the path of the martial artist entirely and focus solely on sword cultivation. That wasn’t such a bad path either.

The only pity was that Xu Ming had wasted so much effort, only to end up with nothing more than the strong physique of a martial artist.

To be fair, his gains weren’t entirely negligible. He had reached the Heroic Soul stage as a martial artist, and his physical resilience far surpassed that of ordinary sword cultivators or spirit cultivators.

Still, for the old man, expending so much effort just to gain a martial artist’s body was hardly worth it.

If Xu Ming had focused solely on sword cultivation from the start, his accomplishments now would likely be far greater.

That was why the old man called him “foolish.”

In cultivation, a single misstep could lead to lifelong regret. Wasting so much energy only to pick up a single apple along the way—what else could that be but foolishness?

Xu Ming, of course, understood what the old man meant by “foolish.”

He chose not to argue, as he could see the reasoning behind the old man’s words.

If he didn’t have his “cheat,” pursuing both martial and sword cultivation would indeed have been foolish.

But he did have a cheat.

By walking the martial path, he could acquire many resources through his cheat.

If he only pursued the sword path, he would be limited to the resources available to sword cultivators alone.

Moreover, many of the rewards from his cheat were related to martial cultivation. If he didn’t pursue this path, wouldn’t it all go to waste? Not to mention, without his dual cultivation of body and Dao, he would have died long ago and wouldn’t be standing here now. ℞ÄNO͍฿Εş

“Which sect are you from?” the old man asked.

“Senior, I’m from the Wu Kingdom,” Xu Ming replied respectfully.

“The Wu Kingdom?” The old man frowned in confusion, pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked the other prisoners, “What kind of backwater place is this Wu Kingdom?”

“Never heard of it~,” the alluring woman answered.

“Maybe it’s some newly established dynasty?” a burly man suggested.

“Definitely not within the last thousand years,” yawned a scrawny man who looked like a monkey. “When I got locked up here, I’d never heard of a Wu Kingdom.”

“Speaking of which, how long have we been locked up here?”

“I’ve been here for 500 years!”

“You still remember? I’ve long lost count.”

“Hey, woman, shouldn’t you call me senior? Come on, let me see your chest, and maybe I’ll forgive your disrespect.”

“Pah!” The alluring woman spat. “If you chop off your little thing and toss it over here, I’ll show you my chest!”

“Shut up if you don’t know anything,” the old man’s voice cut through the chatter like a blade.

The raucous cave fell silent instantly.

“I’ve been locked up here for nearly three thousand years and have never heard of any Wu Kingdom,” the old man shook his head. “But to produce someone like you, it seems your Wu Kingdom’s fortunes aren’t too bad.”

Xu Ming cupped his hands in gratitude. “Senior flatters me.”

“And you, little girl?” The old man turned his sharp gaze to Xu Xue’nuo. “Innate Sword Bone, and at such a young age, you’ve already forged your sword bone into your natal flying sword and even comprehended the Sword Domain. Girl, even in my era, you’d be a rare genius.”

Xu Ming also looked at Xu Xue’nuo, curious to know which sect she hailed from.

“Thank you for the praise, Senior. I come from the Qingyan Sword Sect. I imagine Senior hasn’t heard of it,” Xu Xue’nuo replied with a polite bow, holding her sword.

“Indeed, I haven’t. The only sect I know of is the Wanjian Sect,” the old man said, shaking his head as a trace of nostalgia flashed through his eyes. “I wonder if that old coot is still alive.”

“May I ask why all of you are imprisoned here?” Xu Ming asked, unable to suppress his curiosity about this place.

“Hahaha, lost a fight and got captured, that’s all!” The old man laughed heartily, his voice carrying a hint of unrestrained boldness.

“Three thousand years ago, the Holy Lords of the Four Sacred Lands and the Sect Masters of the Five Great Sects joined forces to besiege me. In the end, I couldn’t win, so they locked me up here.

They used these Immortal-Binding Chains to restrain my limbs.

They set up this Yin-Yang Formation to seal my spiritual power.

And they drove these Soul-Nailing Pins into me to trap my soul.”

Xu Ming: “…”

The old man chuckled again. “Boy, I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering—just what kind of heinous villain would provoke the combined wrath of the Four Sacred Lands and the Five Great Sects, right?”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!