CHAPTER 407: 223, I AM WILLING TO AGREE TO THE MARRIAGE, BUT THERE ARE TWO CONDITIONS.

They had killed a True Man and a True Monarch from the Silver Ring Zhai.

Within the Immeasurable Sect, Xu Xing had earned considerable merit.

Therefore, whether it was Gu Chengbin or Yan Luanqing, they knew they should not be too forceful with Xu Xing regarding marriage. They could only leave it to fate or attempt to entice him, lest they alienate the other cultivators in the Sect.

This time, Yan Luanqing had come personally, intending to lay out the benefits and drawbacks in a final attempt...

"I heard Sect Leader Senior Brother say that Golden Rainbow Martial Uncle married in order to cultivate an ancient dual cultivation method..."

"Can this method help Golden Rainbow Martial Uncle’s cultivation break through to the mid-stage Nascent Soul?"

After listening to Yan Luanqing’s words, Xu Xing remained silent for a moment. He didn’t respond directly but instead inquired about this matter.

Just for cultivation.

Just for a dual cultivation method.

The Immeasurable Sect and Yan Luanqing shouldn’t be so desperate as to "force" him to agree to the marriage. There must be another reason behind this.

Normally, it takes a Nascent Soul cultivator a thousand years to advance a small realm, from the early-stage Nascent Soul to the mid-stage Nascent Soul.

Yan Luanqing is now over 1,300 years old, and it has been over 400 years since she achieved the Nascent Soul stage. Thus, at this moment, she should be in the early-stage Nascent Soul.

This was to be expected.

"Yes, you guessed correctly."

Yan Luanqing nodded, her expression unchanged, not surprised in the least.

Over the past month or so, she had interacted with Xu Xing several times and knew that this member of the Younger Generation possessed extraordinary strategic thinking.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to so easily outmaneuver Xi Yunling and Wu Yue to achieve meritorious deeds in one fell swoop.

"Is it for the future of the Immeasurable Sect?" Xu Xing asked again.

A set of Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects takes the Immeasurable Sect 700 years to gather completely, yet they casually handed them over to Kang Han, a cultivator of mediocre talent...

One can infer the whole from a single part.

Clearly, it was to appease Venerable Anze Saint.

To prevent this Nascent Soul Ancestor, who was on the verge of passing away, from doing something foolish for the sake of his family’s lineage.

Every Nascent Soul Ancestor is like a walking nuclear bomb.

It’s manageable for large sects with Nascent Soul Saint Monarchs to keep them in check; they don’t worry about an irrational Nascent Soul Daoist Lord on the brink of death, as they can easily suppress them.

However, for small sects like the Immeasurable Sect, the Nascent Soul Ancestors within the Sect are already their strongest combatants. If one were to act irrationally, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"You are very smart," Yan Luanqing praised Xu Xing. "Five hundred years ago, before I achieved Nascent Formation, the Immeasurable Sect, besides Ze Sheng Ancestor, had another Nascent Soul cultivator, Venerable Wanxia."

"Venerable Wanxia achieved Nascent Formation more than 2,000 years ago and was far from the end of her lifespan."

"But she was unwilling to remain in mediocrity, merely guarding the Sect. So, 500 years ago, after leaving a letter, she departed from the Sect and has not been heard from since..."

"With Venerable Wanxia’s departure, only Ze Sheng Ancestor remained. That... was the darkest period for the Immeasurable Sect. A large number of our fellow sect members were ambushed and killed by outside forces. Several sects that had been on good terms with the Immeasurable Sect closed their mountain gates, watching as others fought, hoping to snatch a piece of the spoils from the Immeasurable Sect."

"Fortunately, several decades later, I successfully achieved Nascent Formation, putting an end to all those disputes."

Hearing these words, Xu Xing finally understood why the internal environment of the Immeasurable Sect was so much better than that of other small sects.

A clear and honest administration.

Very few who were idle or incompetent.

After that painful period, the high-level members of the weakened Immeasurable Sect ultimately chose to make concessions to the middle and bottom-level cultivators.

This granted the middle and bottom-level cultivators a degree of choice, fostering greater trust and loyalty towards the Sect.

There weren’t many sects that gave bottom-level cultivators the power of choice.

Once a cultivator joined a sect, the relationship between the cultivator and the sect became one of personal dependence.

From then on, the sect held the power of life and death over the cultivator, without needing to consult the cultivator’s own opinion. For even a ’small mistake,’ the Sect had the authority to execute a cultivator by beating.

After Xu Xing joined the Immeasurable Sect and its Golden Rainbow Valley Branch, there were certain dangers. However, Yan Xiling had clearly explained to him the consequences of a marital alliance, as well as the difference in treatment for those considered ’one of their own’ versus those who were not.

The choice was his; it wasn’t as if the Sect would abandon or discriminate against its middle and lower-level cultivators without reason.

Although Venerable Wanxia’s departure was somewhat inconsiderate towards the Immeasurable Sect—after all, the Sect had painstakingly supported her cultivation until she became a lofty Nascent Soul Daoist Lord, yet she abandoned the Sect for her own selfish pursuit of the Immortal Path—from Xu Xing’s perspective, Venerable Wanxia was a good person.

Do not urge others to be kind if you do not know their suffering.

Without Venerable Wanxia, the Immeasurable Sect would probably not treat him with the attitude it showed today.

They wouldn’t be so accommodating.

Dual cultivation methods that benefit both parties could also be transformed into techniques that drain one partner to empower the other...

It merely required a small alteration in the cultivation method’s circulation route.

"How many more years can Ze Sheng Ancestor hold on?"

After a moment of silence, Xu Xing raised his head, looked directly into Yan Luanqing’s eyes, and asked this question.

He was now at the Dao Pill Fourth Stage, already in the mid-stage.

According to the Fate Deduction, he would successfully achieve Nascent Formation in another sixty to seventy years.

And in reality, the time he spent was often much shorter than in the simulations.

"Why do you ask about Ze Sheng Ancestor’s lifespan? Hmm... well, it isn’t exactly a secret, and you are also a high-level member of Our Sect..."

As Xu Xing stared at her, Yan Luanqing’s gaze flickered away instinctively, and she took half a step back. Only after the slight flush on her face subsided to its normal color did she finally reply.

Although she was over 1,300 years old, ninety percent of her life since birth had been dedicated to cultivation. Even though she had witnessed the world’s vicissitudes, her mental fortitude might not necessarily surpass that of an ordinary old man, long-experienced in worldly affairs and weathered by life’s storms.