Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter 229

“These two young ones… are truly remarkable,” A voice emerged from the darkness ahead.

Hearing this voice, Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo both felt their hearts tremble. A suffocating pressure overcame them, and both spat out blood.

Xu Xue’nuo could never have imagined that someone would actually be here.

Who was this person? Could they be the guardian of this mountain peak?

As for Xu Ming, his mind flashed back to the time when he had used his Dao Pattern Eyes to glimpse an old man bound by chains. Could this person be that very same figure?

What realm could this old man possibly be at?

Just a simple sentence from him had caused their spiritual energy and martial qi to surge as if facing an overwhelming enemy.

“These hideous things are truly annoying!”

The old man spoke a second sentence.

And as the second sentence fell, waves of sword energy swept out from the darkness ahead.

These waves of sword energy turned into fierce gales.

When the sword-infused gales swept across Xu Ming, he felt as if thousands upon thousands of blades were slicing through his body inch by inch.

The sword energy even infiltrated his pores, diving into his blood vessels and spirit veins, relentlessly wreaking havoc within.

Xu Ming felt as if his internal organs were about to be shredded by this sword energy.

The excruciating pain made Xu Ming want to scream, but his throat felt as if it were pierced by countless swords. Even taking a deep breath felt like several blades stabbing into his throat.

The sharpness of the sword energy was something Xu Ming had never encountered in his life since being reborn into this world. He did not doubt that even in his future years of cultivation, he might never face sword energy as lethal as this again.

Soon, however, Xu Ming realized he was mistaken.

Because after the sword-energy winds had swept past him and Xu Xue’nuo, they grew even more violent and ferocious!

“Roar!”

“Howl!”

Behind them, the pursuing beasts let out agonized cries.

When Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo turned to look, they saw that the pursuing beasts had been sliced into countless pieces by the sword-energy winds.

Blood and chunks of flesh covered the ground, and dismembered limbs still twitched faintly.

The beast tide that had been overwhelmingly aggressive, threatening to drown Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo in its ferocity, now had no chance at all in front of the old man.

The remaining beasts, sensing the life-threatening danger, immediately halted their pursuit. As if they had encountered the King of Hell, they fled in terror.

The sword-energy winds slowly dissipated. Only then did Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo gradually regain their breath. They were both drenched in sweat, their clothes clinging to their backs, and their hair sticking to their foreheads.

An unhealthy flush lingered on their faces.

The cave returned to its previous tranquility.

Aside from the beast corpses and the blood-soaked ground behind them, it was as if nothing had happened.

The silence of the cave was restored.

Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo exchanged glances.

Even without speaking, they both knew what the other was asking: Should we continue forward, or turn back?

But they quickly realized how foolish this question was.

Turn back? Was there any retreat left?

Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo took a deep breath and simultaneously moved forward into the cave’s depths.

Going back meant certain death; moving forward did not necessarily mean death.

If the figure ahead had wanted to kill them, they would already have perished at the hands of the beasts moments ago.

In fact, one could even say that the person earlier had just saved their lives—a life-saving grace for Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo.

Of course, neither of them believed the figure was benevolent. The rescue likely served his own motives.

As Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo ventured deeper, the spiritual energy in the air grew thinner and thinner, starkly contrasting the density outside.

Other than the change in spiritual energy concentration, the path ahead seemed no different from where they had come before. Yet, there was one distinct difference: voices.

They began to hear voice after voice echoing around them.

“These two little ones seem decent,” a sharp voice rang out, reminiscent of a eunuch’s tone.

“A boy and a girl, a virgin pair. Wait, no, no—this girl’s a virgin, but the boy isn’t. Hehehe…” Another voice sounded, tinged with madness.

“This young man is quite handsome. I like him. Not being a virgin is even better—at least the first time won’t end too quickly,” a sultry voice added.

“This young girl has such tender skin. I wonder how she tastes.” This was followed by the sound of tongue licking and what seemed to be saliva dripping to the ground.

“Now that you mention it, it’s been a while since I’ve had meat myself.”

“The talents of these two brats are truly remarkable. They must be core disciples of one of the Four Sacred Lands or the Five Great Sects. Maybe even a Holy Son and Holy Daughter.”

“Eh? This boy seems to practice both martial arts and cultivation? Such dense martial qi and vigorous blood essence—tsk tsk. My thighs are already wet.”

“You old witch, don’t you see they’re Dao companions? They just shared life and death together. How moving! And here you are, thinking of defiling the boy?”

“So what? I enjoy this kind of situation. Imagine tying up the girl and making her watch as her Dao companion is played with by me—that would be so thrilling! Ah, I can’t take it anymore. It’s been so long since I’ve tasted a man!”

“You vile old witch, you deserve to be imprisoned here.”

“Ha! And what about you, you old dog? Why are you locked up then?”

“But to be honest, these two are incredibly talented for their age. Such sword qi and intent at their age, especially this girl—she’s only at the Dragon Gate realm, yet she’s already attained the Sword Domain. Truly a once-in-a-millennium prodigy.”

In the darkness, one voice after another evaluated Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo, openly discussing them as though they were prey.

The two, however, simply continued forward.

Their hearts were far from calm, but they did not panic. After all, panicking would do no good.

The overwhelming auras surrounding them were terrifying—any one of these beings could crush them to death effortlessly.

Yet the fact that none of them had made a move suggested some form of restraint.

As Xu Ming and Xu Xue’nuo simultaneously took another step forward, the entire cave suddenly lit up.

Looking up, they saw that the walls around them were made of layered rock.

Embedded in these rock walls were countless cages, each imprisoning a person.

At the very front, an old man was bound by chains, hanging alone on the rock wall.

The old man raised his head and let out a sinister chuckle. “Well, well, boy, we meet again.”