Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

In the courtyard, silkworm cocoons lay scattered, unraveling into strands of silk that drifted down from the air, covering the ground like spiderwebs woven from snow.

At the very center of these silk threads, a pair of massive wings tightly enveloped Shengsheng.

Judging from the shape of the wings, Xu Ming was reminded of the Western dragons he had seen in films in his past life.

As the wings slowly unfolded, a tall woman appeared before Wu Yanhan and Xu Ming.

Compared to the ten-year-old girl she had once been, Shengsheng's body had now fully matured, transforming into a young woman of eighteen or nineteen years old.

Her tall, graceful figure was in no way inferior to Wu Yanhan and the others.

The clothes on Shengsheng's body had completely dissolved, leaving her standing with her long, slender legs pressed together.

On her thighs, Daoist inscriptions were etched.

These inscriptions, resembling winding purple vines, spread ceaselessly across her skin, exuding an eerie yet captivating beauty.

Two black dragon horns had sprouted from her head.

Her fair, delicate skin stood in stark contrast to her black wings.

Her hands had taken the shape of claws, almost indistinguishable from dragon talons.

Behind her, a dragon tail swayed continuously.

Taking in Shengsheng's transformed appearance, Xu Ming took a deep breath, gripping his immortal sword 'Hongxiu' tightly.

She was a half-dragon, half-human creature!

Yet, there was nothing grotesque about her. On the contrary, at this moment, Shengsheng was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her face, still in perfect harmony with human aesthetics, rivaled the beauty of any woman in the world.

Her aura was like that of a queen—she stood there like a black rose, enchanting yet perilous.

Her claws, wings, and tail only added to the overwhelming sense of power emanating from her.

Shengsheng parted her lips, revealing sharp fangs akin to those of a vampire, as black smoke seeped from her mouth.

"Shengsheng…"

Wu Yanhan gazed at her with deep concern.

But in that very instant, Shengsheng's pale foot slammed onto the ground with force, causing the earth beneath her to collapse.

In a flash, her dragon claws were already upon Wu Yanhan.

Clang!

Xu Ming stepped in front of Wu Yanhan, his sword clashing against Shengsheng's dragon claws, sending sparks flying.

The sheer impact made Xu Ming's brows furrow.

At this moment, he was already a warrior at the Golden Body Realm.

Yet, to his astonishment, he realized that his strength in this realm was utterly insufficient against Shengsheng's claws.

It felt as though, in the very next moment, his Golden Body would be completely shattered by her.

Xu Ming unleashed a surge of sword energy, flicking his blade upward.

An invisible slash of sword qi sent Shengsheng flying.

However, Shengsheng spread her hands wide and tore through the sword qi with ease.

"Roar—!"

She let out a dragon's roar, and her fair skin was quickly overtaken by black scales.

In less than a breath's time, it was as if she had donned a full suit of black dragon-scale armor, glistening ominously under the sunlight.

Every inch of her body was now clad in this dark, gleaming armor.

The next moment, she lunged at Xu Ming once more.

Xu Ming struck her with a powerful punch—only to find that his fist felt like it had slammed into solid steel.

There was no impact, no damage.

The dragon-scale armor on Shengsheng's body had absorbed most of his strength.

"Open the formation! Get everyone from the Princess's Manor out!"

Xu Ming shouted to Wu Yanhan before charging back into the fight.

But Wu Yanhan didn't even need his reminder—she already knew exactly what she had to do.

She crushed a jade pendant that she had kept close to her body.

As the powder from the pendant dispersed into the air, the great formation surrounding the Princess's Manor (Prince Qin's Manor) reacted, instantly deactivating.

At the same time, a series of chimes rang out across the estate.

The servants of the manor froze for a moment, but they all understood the significance of the bell's toll.

Everyone fled the Princess's Manor as if escaping a great calamity, terrified that if they were even a moment too slow, they would lose their lives.

Inside the Imperial Palace

Within the palace, Emperor Wu suddenly sensed something and lifted his head.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

Xiao Fei, who was attending him, noticed his furrowed brows and asked with concern.

Just as her words fell, Wei Xun stumbled into the palace, practically rolling in his haste.

"Your Majesty! Terrible news!"

"I already know," Emperor Wu said in a deep voice.

The formation protecting the Princess's Manor—which was also the Prince Qin's Manor—was an extension of the grand formation of the Imperial Palace.

If anything unusual happened at the Princess's Manor, the palace formation would also react, allowing the emperor to immediately sense the disturbance.

The primary reason for this setup, of course, was to ensure Wu Yanhan's safety.

In Wu Du, there were far too many people who wanted her dead.

Emperor Wu rose from his seat and walked out of the imperial study.

Floating into the air, he was surrounded by the grand fortune of the empire—golden dragons of destiny coiled around him, constantly circling his body.

His eyes turned a brilliant shade of gold as he looked toward the Princess's Manor.

Within his gaze, he saw Xu Ming and his daughter locked in battle with some sort of black entity.

The reason he called it a "black entity" was because he couldn't clearly discern its form at all.

Its entire body was shrouded in thick, impenetrable black mist, completely obscuring his vision.

Only cultivators at the Immortal Realm were usually capable of such a feat—where their very presence distorted perception.

At best, he could confirm its existence, but he could not make out its true appearance.

However, the strange thing was that this black entity wasn't overwhelmingly powerful.

On the contrary, its entire aura radiated the primal savagery of a beast.

When had his daughter started harboring such a creature in her estate?

And more importantly—why did neither Xu Ming nor his daughter seem intent on killing it?

If anything, they appeared to be holding back, more focused on protecting it than destroying it.

At that moment, the royal palace's honored guardians gathered before Emperor Wu.

"Your Majesty, shall we proceed to the Princess's Manor?"

The guardians had no idea what was happening, but the commotion was loud enough that their first instinct was to report to the emperor and await orders.

After a long moment of contemplation, Emperor Wu shook his head.

"Let it be. Wait for now. If anything happens, I will intervene personally."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

The guardians withdrew, while Emperor Wu continued his silent observation.

He wanted to see for himself—just what exactly was happening in his daughter's estate?

Back at the Princess's Manor

"Boom!"

Xu Ming was struck hard by Shengsheng's tail, sent hurtling through the air before crashing into a building, reducing it to rubble.

From within the wreckage, Xu Ming crawled out, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Roar!"

Shengsheng lifted her head and spewed a jet of black flames.

Xu Ming slashed his sword, scattering the dark fire with a wave of sword energy.

With his Hongxiu sword in hand, he soared into the sky and slashed downward once more.

But he held back.

There was no way he could ever bring himself to truly harm Shengsheng.

Yet Shengsheng didn't care about any of that.

While Xu Ming and Wu Yanhan were restraining themselves against her, Shengsheng's primal instincts demanded the exact opposite—she sought only to kill them as swiftly and ruthlessly as possible.

With a moment's lapse in judgment, Xu Ming was struck by Shengsheng's claw, slammed into the ground with immense force, creating a crater ten meters wide.

"Shengsheng! Wake up!"

Wu Yanhan threw a punch, sending Shengsheng flying several meters away.

"Roar!"

Shengsheng, having completely lost all reason, let out another furious roar and struck with her claw!

Wu Yanhan took the blow head-on, then retaliated with another punch.

With her cultivation level, if she truly wanted to kill Shengsheng, it wouldn't be easy—but it was still possible.

Yet Wu Yanhan could never bring herself to do so.

And there was one unshakable truth about martial artists—a martial artist's fists must never waver.

The difference between a decisive strike and a hesitant one was absolute.

If a martial artist hesitated, they wouldn't even be able to unleash seventy percent of their usual strength.

But both Wu Yanhan and Xu Ming were holding back.

Neither of them wanted to hurt Shengsheng.

However, Shengsheng's strength was anything but ordinary—after her evolution, she had become an incredibly difficult opponent.

As a result, both Xu Ming and Wu Yanhan were struggling to keep up.

Their original plan was to wear Shengsheng down, little by little, exhausting her until she was too weak to resist, and then capture her.

But the spiritual energy within Shengsheng's body was seemingly endless—like a bottomless well, constantly replenishing itself.

At this rate, they would tire out long before she did.

"We need to knock Shengsheng out first," Xu Ming said to Wu Yanhan.

If this dragged on any longer, it would never end.

He couldn't afford to hold back anymore.

Xu Ming activated Blood Frenzy, his entire body now enveloped in thick, surging blood energy.

He didn't use the Immortal Sword Hongxiu—he was afraid that in this state, he might accidentally severely injure Shengsheng.

Instead, his figure blurred into countless afterimages as he launched a relentless flurry of strikes against her.

Shengsheng let out an irritated growl, feeling as if Xu Ming was nothing more than a pesky fly buzzing around her.

In a mere few seconds, Xu Ming had landed over a hundred punches.

Yet, his brows furrowed.

His fists still hadn't fully healed, and their strength had been cut in half.

Seizing an opportunity, Shengsheng lashed out with a powerful kick, sending Xu Ming flying.

But the moment Xu Ming was knocked back, Wu Yanhan's foot came crashing in from the side.

Shengsheng's head slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.

However, she immediately reached out, grabbed Wu Yanhan's ankle, and swung her with terrifying force—hurling her straight into a nearby wall.

Wu Yanhan crashed into it with such force that her body was embedded deep into the stone, unable to break free.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Shengsheng's claws hurtling toward her heart.

Wu Yanhan's expression tensed.

She knew—there was no way she would survive this strike.

But just as the deadly blow was about to land—

Xu Ming stepped in front of her.

Blood splattered into the air.

Shengsheng's right hand pierced straight into Xu Ming's chest.

Xu Ming coughed up blood, his lips tinged red, but he firmly grasped Shengsheng's dragon-scaled wrist.

As her claw sank deep into his chest, Shengsheng's blood-red eyes flickered, trembling ever so slightly.

She stared at Xu Ming in disbelief.

And within her gaze—for the first time, Xu Ming saw a trace of humanity.

With a gentle smile, he looked at Shengsheng and spoke softly:

"Shengsheng… do you remember the Tranquil Heart Mantra I taught you?

'The heart has no form, the lotus blooms in dreams, Zhuangzi dreams of a butterfly…'"

Xu Ming recited the Tranquil Heart Mantra, his voice drifting through the courtyard like a passing breeze.

The strength in Shengsheng's hand began to fade.

The crimson in her eyes started to slowly recede.

"Xu-gege…"

"Roar!"

"Xu-gege…"

"Roar!"

Shengsheng shook her head wildly, as her human nature and beastly instincts battled for control over her body.

"That's right," Xu Ming murmured gently. "I'm your Xu-gege… Shengsheng, I'm sorry… I should have come for you sooner."

Xu Ming smiled at Shengsheng as he took another step forward.

Her hand, still piercing through his chest, trembled.

But Xu Ming didn't resist.

Instead, he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

The warmth of his embrace, the heat of his blood soaking her arm—Shengsheng felt it all.

The last traces of crimson faded from her eyes, no longer wavering.

Her wings and dragon horns slowly disappeared, and her sharp claws reverted to human hands.

Only the black scales on her body remained.

"Xu-gege…" Shengsheng's voice trembled, tears spilling endlessly from her eyes.

"I… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay, Shengsheng," Xu Ming whispered, gently stroking her long hair.

"I never blamed you. Not before, not now, not ever. It's over now."

But in the next moment, his hand slipped from her shoulder.

His eyes fluttered shut.

His body collapsed onto the ground.

"Xu-gege!"

As darkness consumed his vision, the last thing Xu Ming heard was Shengsheng's desperate cry.

Inside the imperial palace, Emperor Wu withdrew his gaze and turned to Wei Xun.

"Send the imperial physicians to the Princess's Manor immediately. Xu Ming is gravely injured."

"Once his condition stabilizes, summon Prince Qin to the palace—I have questions for her."

Although Xu Ming's chest had been completely pierced through, Emperor Wu could sense that his life force had not been severed.

Back in the courtyard, Shengsheng held Xu Ming in her arms, completely at a loss.

Her entire body trembled, overwhelmed by regret.

The crimson hue in her eyes began creeping back in—threatening to consume her reason once more.

"Shengsheng, stay calm."

Wu Yanhan knelt beside them, pressing her palm to Xu Ming's chest, channeling her martial energy to stop the bleeding.

"You didn't pierce his heart. Xu Ming won't die that easily."

She clasped Shengsheng's hands tightly, her voice firm yet soothing.

"None of this is your fault. Leave everything to me, alright?"

Shengsheng stared blankly at Wu Yanhan, then nodded numbly.

"…Okay."

"Good. Now, come with me."

Wu Yanhan swiftly carried Xu Ming into her chambers, with Shengsheng following silently behind.

She handed Shengsheng a set of clothes and quickly fed Xu Ming a Life-Sustaining Pill.

Not long after, the imperial physicians arrived from the palace.

They immediately began treating Xu Ming.

The entire process took an entire day and night before they finally emerged from the room.

At the doorway, the head physician bowed to Wu Yanhan.

"Your Highness."

"How is he?" Wu Yanhan asked, getting straight to the point.

"Lord Xu has been stabilized," the physician reported.

"However, his body was already weak to begin with. Now, after suffering such severe injuries… it will take some time before he regains consciousness."

Wu Yanhan let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"As long as he's safe."

The physician hesitated, then added, "Furthermore… His Majesty has summoned you to the palace.

Both you, and the young lady beside you."