Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter 189

“Perhaps you three should stop right there.”

A middle-aged man stood in front of Xu Ming and his companions.

The man was dressed in a loose robe, its deep V-neck revealing his chest and abs.

Perhaps he thought he looked dashing in this attire.

His gaze swept over Mo Zhuer, who was standing beside Xu Ming, and immediately froze.

“It’s said that the Holy Maiden of the Black Lotus Sect is as beautiful as a celestial being. Seeing you today, it’s clear the rumors are true. I’ve seen countless women, but compared to you, they’re all mere powder and rouge.”

The man, Cui Renwang, licked his lips as if parched, his eyes radiating an unmistakable intent.

Looking at the man blocking her path, Mo Zhuer felt a wave of disgust.

As much as Xu Ming occasionally tormented her with candle drips or made her roast meat, compared to this man, Xu Ming seemed infinitely better.

At the very least, Xu Ming’s gaze never carried that kind of beastly intrusion.

“Are you the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect?” Xu Ming asked.

Judging from the pressure emanating from this man, Xu Ming estimated he was in the Nascent Soul stage. According to Mo Zhuer, the current Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect was indeed at this level.

“That’s correct.”

Cui Renwang clasped his hands and greeted Xu Ming respectfully.

“I am Cui Renwang, Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect. It’s an honor to meet the Prince Consort. The rumors of your striking looks are not exaggerated.”

“What business does Sect Master Cui have with us?” Xu Ming asked knowingly.

“Oh, nothing much. I just wish to invite you two to my Hehuan Sect for some drinks and to extend my hospitality. Otherwise, people might think we don’t know how to treat our guests.” Cui Renwang said with a smile.

“Sect Master Cui is too kind, but we’re in a hurry. Maybe next time.” Xu Ming replied.

“Don’t say ‘next time.’ Who knows when that will be? This time is perfect.”

As soon as Cui Renwang finished speaking, the disciples of the Hehuan Sect surrounding Xu Ming took another step closer.

Xu Ming scanned his surroundings and said, “So it seems Sect Master intends to forcefully extend your hospitality. If word of this gets out, it won’t reflect well on you.”

Cui Renwang chuckled. “True, it wouldn’t look good. But tonight, who’s going to know? No one will hear of this.”

Xu Ming sneered. “The Hehuan Sect truly has a unique way of showing hospitality.”

Cui Renwang stroked his chin and replied, “Hospitality is what we pride ourselves on.”

“Is that so?”

Before Cui Renwang could react, Xu Ming appeared before him in an instant, delivering a powerful kick.

Even though Cui Renwang was in the Nascent Soul stage, his physical toughness was far inferior to Xu Ming’s.

Caught off guard, he was sent flying by the kick, crashing to the ground and raising a cloud of dust several meters high.

“Let’s go!” Xu Ming shouted to Mo Zhuer.

Mo Zhuer snapped out of her daze and followed Xu Ming as they broke through the encirclement.

But just as they moved, a black cloud in the night sky transformed into a massive hand, reaching down to grab them.

Frowning, Mo Zhuer flicked her sleeve, summoning a wind dragon that tore the black hand apart.

“Junior Sister, long time no see.”

A man stepped forward on the black cloud, followed by an old servant.

“Heh.” Mo Zhuer let out a cold laugh.

“I was wondering why the Hehuan Sect would bother causing me trouble. So, this was all Senior Brother’s idea.”

“Ah, don’t say that,” the man, Ji Wuming, said, shaking his head.

“I had no idea what was happening. I just arrived, you know.”

“Attacking me as soon as you arrived? Senior Brother, you’re really impatient,” Mo Zhuer said, her eyes narrowing with a faint smile.

“Did I attack you just now, Junior Sister? My apologies, my apologies. I must have mistaken you for someone else. In fact, I was just trying to help you,” Ji Wuming clasped his hands in apology with a smile.

Mo Zhuer said nothing more but secretly whispered to Xu Ming, “This man is one of the Holy Sons of the Black Lotus Sect, Ji Wuming.”

Hearing this name, Xu Ming’s brow twitched. He couldn’t help but wonder if Ji Wuming had a brother named Ji Wubing (literally: ‘Ji Without Sickness’).

“Prince Consort, you’re rather rude. I invited you to be a guest, but you responded with a kick. Is this how the top scholar of Wu Kingdom behaves?”

Cui Renwang flew over, dusting himself off.

“Over here!”

Xu Ming wasted no words, pulling Mo Zhuer and heading in another direction to break out.

“Go after them! Whoever captures those two will be rewarded with a hundred top-grade spirit stones. The Prince Consort will be given to the female disciples as a cauldron, and the male disciples will get a chance to enjoy Mo Zhuer!”

At Cui Renwang’s command, all pretense was dropped, and the Hehuan Sect disciples charged toward Xu Ming and his group.

The female cultivators of the Hehuan Sect had long coveted Xu Ming’s robust blood energy.

“Courting death!”

The Hehuan Sect disciples were hardly a threat. After Xu Ming killed a few with his fists, the rest, fearing for their lives, dared not advance further.

The real problem was Cui Renwang and Mo Zhuer’s Senior Brother, Ji Wuming.

Xu Ming managed to break through the Hehuan Sect’s encirclement, but Cui Renwang and Ji Wuming kept close pursuit, making it impossible for him to shake them off.

“Shengsheng, you go ahead! Fly straight to Xuanyue City!” Xu Ming shouted to Shen Shengsheng.

Shen Shengsheng hugged Xu Ming’s neck tightly, shaking her head.

“Be good,” Xu Ming said, ruffling her hair. “This isn’t running away. It’s going to Xuanyue City to bring reinforcements. Whether I survive or not depends on you!”

Shen Shengsheng looked at Xu Ming seriously.

Reluctant as she was to leave him, the earnest and resolute look in his eyes told her that his life might indeed depend on her.

Clenching her fists, Shen Shengsheng took a deep breath. Black wings burst from her back, tearing through her clothes.

She soared toward Xuanyue City with astonishing speed.

Cui Renwang tried to intercept her, but Xu Ming’s foot appeared in front of his face.

“Boom!”

Cui Renwang raised his arms to block but was sent flying several meters by the kick.

“Do you really think you can hold out until reinforcements from Xuanyue City arrive?” Cui Renwang chuckled. “And why would they even help you?”

“Who knows?” Xu Ming tilted his head, his blood energy surging and enveloping his entire body. Dao runes appeared in his eyes once more.

Xu Ming closed the distance, throwing a punch the size of a sandbag straight at Cui Renwang’s forehead.

Cui Renwang shielded his arms with spiritual energy and forcefully took the blow, though the impact left his palms numb.

Using his other hand as a blade, Cui Renwang struck toward Xu Ming’s waist.

Xu Ming kicked his chest and used the momentum to pull back, narrowly evading the strike.

The wind blade from Cui Renwang’s hand sliced through a small mountain, cutting its peak clean off.

Cui Renwang began chanting a spell. Nine illusory women surrounded Xu Ming, laughing seductively with alluring postures.

But Xu Ming remained unfazed. He leaped into the air, gripping a longsword, and slashed down at Cui Renwang’s head.

Cui Renwang dodged, but the mountain behind him was split in half by Xu Ming’s sword.

“What fearsome sword energy,” Cui Renwang said with admiration.

The power of Xu Ming’s sword energy was far beyond that of an ordinary Cave Mansion stage cultivator.

Cui Renwang couldn’t help but feel puzzled. How could Xu Ming, a mere Cave Mansion satge cultivator, hold his own against a Nascent Soul expert like himself?

Still, Cui Renwang thought to himself, This is as far as Xu Ming will go.

“In the face of absolute power, no matter how much of a genius you are, it’s useless!” Cui Renwang said, pulling out his natal artifact, a jade flute.

As the flute’s melody filled the air, razor-sharp wind blades surged toward Xu Ming.

He punched them apart, but the blades still left several bloody gashes on his fist.

Xu Ming frowned, gripping his Nine Heavens Thunder Sword. Sword energy roared like a tidal wave as he slashed, the surging tide rushing toward Cui Renwang.

The flute’s melody grew more intense, shattering Xu Ming’s sword energy.

Then came the Heaven-Splitting Fist.

Xu Ming’s fist, powerful enough to shake mountains, slammed toward Cui Renwang’s chest.

Cui Renwang raised his flute horizontally, blocking the blow.

Spiritual energy clashed with martial qi, sending both of them flying.

Cui Renwang quickly steadied himself, but Xu Ming was thrown over a hundred meters away. He landed heavily, his chest tight and his throat filled with a metallic taste, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

“With your level of cultivation, lasting ten moves against me is already a rare feat,” Cui Renwang said, marveling at Xu Ming. “If given enough time, I can’t imagine the heights you would reach.”

Xu Ming chuckled. “Then why not let me go?”

Cui Renwang tapped the jade flute in his hand and smirked. “You’re dreaming.”

“Then I guess there’s no other choice.” Xu Ming sneered, his martial qi and spiritual energy surging wildly.

A late-night breeze swept through the air, swirling toward Xu Ming and enveloping him.

Around him, an invisible vortex began to form.

Elsewhere, Mo Zhuer kicked Ji Wuming and his old servant aside, her gaze falling on Xu Ming. Her eyes trembled, and she shouted, “Xu Ming! Are you insane?”

“Miss Mo is right—have you lost your mind?” Cui Renwang said, narrowing his eyes at Xu Ming.

“You actually plan to break through to the Heroic Soul Realm and the Sea Observation Realm simultaneously? Even if you succeed, what then? Do you think just stepping into those realms will let you kill me? And forcing a breakthrough like this will destabilize your foundation, making it impossible for you to ever reach the Nascent Soul stage.”

[T/N: Wasn’t he already at the Heroic Soul Realm?]

“So what?” Xu Ming smiled faintly. “If I’m going to die here, I might as well take a desperate gamble. Otherwise, what future is there? Do you expect me to just sit here and wait for someone to save me?”

As Xu Ming spoke, his martial qi and spiritual energy twisted and intertwined, growing increasingly chaotic.

Cui Renwang could only stand and watch, not daring to step forward. It wasn’t that he wanted to give Xu Ming time to break through for a fair fight, but the energy swirling around Xu Ming had reached such a terrifying level that even Cui Renwang feared getting seriously injured if he approached recklessly.

“Junior Sister seems very concerned about him,” Ji Wuming said with a smile, glancing at Mo Zhuer. “Could it be you’ve fallen for him?”

“Shut up!” Mo Zhuer snapped, raising her flexible sword and thrusting it toward Ji Wuming like a snake. Ji Wuming dodged gracefully.

“Touchy, are we?” Ji Wuming fanned himself lazily. “What’s so special about this man that’s captured your heart?”

Mo Zhuer ignored him, her focus entirely on Xu Ming.

To everyone else, forcing a breakthrough to the Sea Observation and Heroic Soul realms with an unstable foundation would only lead to one outcome: damaging the foundation and ruining the path to greater cultivation.

But Mo Zhuer knew there was an even worse possibility.

Xu Ming’s martial qi and spiritual energy were already at odds, like fire and water. His body was pushed to its limits.

And now, he was attempting to ascend to an even higher level in both his martial and spiritual cultivation. Could his body really endure it?

Even if Xu Ming didn’t explode on the spot, that would already be a stroke of fortune.

It wasn’t that she liked this insufferable man.

But if Xu Ming died, her own situation would only grow worse.

Besides, it would truly be a shame if Xu Ming died.

Though infuriating, men like him were rare in this world.

“Handle your senior brother; don’t worry about me,” Xu Ming said to Mo Zhuer.

“Boom!”

The next moment, a thunderous explosion echoed as martial qi and spiritual energy burst out from Xu Ming’s body, spreading outward and surging into the sky.

Xu Ming exhaled deeply.

He clenched his fists, and for the first time, he felt an overwhelming sense of power coursing through his body.

He could even feel the strength of his soul—so robust that any wandering spirits or ghosts would likely avoid him entirely. Soul-targeting spells would also struggle to affect him.

So this is the Heroic Soul Realm? A soul of unyielding strength.

Xu Ming felt as if his entire being had transformed into solid rock.

Moreover, he noticed a drastic change in his sea of consciousness: what was once a small lake had expanded into a vast ocean. His divine sense, now embodied as a miniature figure, stood at the shore, gazing at the endless waters.

The Sea Observation Realm.

Compared to the Cave Mansion Realm, the most significant improvement was the sheer quality of his spiritual energy.

Xu Ming meticulously examined every change within his body.

Opposite him, Cui Renwang stood frozen, his brows furrowed deeply.

If earlier, Cui Renwang was hesitant to approach Xu Ming due to the chaotic energy emanating from his breakthrough, now it was for an entirely different reason.

The aura radiating from Xu Ming was terrifying, exuding an oppressive force that made Cui Renwang hesitate.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, a chilling thought surfaced in his mind: Could this man actually kill me?

Has there ever been a martial artist who achieved both the Dominant Spirit and Sea Observation Realms simultaneously?

“Want to try?” Xu Ming looked at Cui Renwang and asked calmly.

“Hmm?”

Before Cui Renwang could process what Xu Ming had said, his figure had already appeared in front of him.

“Boom!”

A single kick landed. It was so fast that Cui Renwang only caught a glimpse of a blur before pain erupted throughout his body.

“Crash!”

Cui Renwang was sent flying, crashing into a nearby mountain and shattering a massive boulder.

“This… What the…”

“Master!”

While Ji Wuming stood in disbelief, questioning whether he was dreaming, Xu Ming had already appeared before him.

Xu Ming swung his sword down at Ji Wuming.

Ji Wuming barely dodged to the side.

The strike, originally meant to cleave Cui Renwang in half, instead severed Ji Wuming’s arm cleanly.