"Ze Sheng Ancestor's Lifespan... is probably less than one hundred years..."

She gave a somewhat vague figure.

"Less than a hundred years..."

Xu Xing frowned.

This number wasn't precise, and he didn't think Yan Luanqing was trying to guard against him. If she really wanted to, she could have just casually made up a number, which would have been more obvious.

The exact remaining Lifespan of a Dao Lord approaching their passing away couldn't be determined.

Some stubborn Dao Lords, clinging to their last breath and unwilling to pass away, refusing for their souls to return to heaven, could even live for several hundred more years.

Of course, for those Dao Lords unwilling to pass away naturally, every moment they lived was a kind of torment.

Perhaps after persisting for a few decades, their minds would become muddled, with only their final obsession remaining undissipated.

"I agree to the marriage."

"However... I have two conditions..."

Xu Xing hesitated for a moment before making his decision.

Things had reached this point. Refusing Yan Luanqing... although by common sense, the Immeasurable Sect wouldn't discipline him for it, he decided not to take that risk. Agreeing to marry Yan Luanqing carried its own dangers, but also opportunities.

"Conditions?"

Upon hearing the first half of Xu Xing's words, Yan Luanqing's tense face relaxed slightly. But when she heard the second half of the sentence, a hint of displeasure instantly appeared in her eyes.

She was, after all, marrying down to him. The Dual Cultivation method wasn't just beneficial to her; it was even more so for Xu Xing, a Cultivator whose Cultivation was lower than hers.

"What... conditions?" Yan Luanqing asked, taking a deep breath.

After all, she was the one in the wrong first. 'Chang Kun' had explicitly refused several times, yet she still came to his door to question him. Even if it was a fair conversation and she hadn't overtly forced him, her status as a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord was undeniable. Even if she verbally claimed not to be coercive, in reality, it was already a form of pressure. It merely made things look better on the surface.

"Forty years. I need forty years... Only after forty years can I become your spouse and proceed with Dual Cultivation..." Xu Xing hesitated for a moment, then tentatively proposed his first condition.

Another forty years. Given his foundation, talent, and opportunities, forty years should be enough time for him to form his Nascent Soul. The Dao Pill Realm involved nine revolutions. Unlike the Returning Core Realm, which required various Spiritual Objects and medicinal Pills for assistance, it only needed diligent cultivation. In the Dao Pill Realm, his talent could be fully utilized, and his progress wouldn't be hindered by a lack of Resources. According to his predictions, the time he would need to reach Dao Pill Peak would be ten or even twenty years faster than the time it took him to reach the peak of the Returning Core First Realm.

"Forty years..."

"That can be done." Yan Luanqing's willow-like brows furrowed slightly, but she suppressed her displeasure and nodded her elegant head.

She and the Immeasurable Sect could afford to wait forty years. What she needed was just that single moment of Yin and Yang Complementation. Xu Xing's Cultivation would not provide her with any significant assistance. The difference in Cultivation between True Monarchs and Dao Lords was like that between heaven and earth—a disparity not just in quantity, but also in quality.

"The second condition," Xu Xing stated solemnly. "The set of Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects promised to Kang Han by the Immeasurable Sect must be given to me within these forty years."

With the assistance of a complete set of Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects, combined with his own foundation, he could successfully form his Nascent Soul in one go without needing to search for a Nascent Formation opportunity.

"That's impossible!" Yan Luanqing immediately shook her head. "Kang Han receiving the Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects is the Sect's explanation to Ze Sheng Ancestor!"

As her words fell, just when Xu Xing thought there was no flexibility on this condition, Yan Luanqing sent him a Divine Sense transmission, "After Ze Sheng Ancestor passes away in about a hundred years, this set of Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects will fall into my hands. I can give them to you then. However, we cannot provoke Ze Sheng Ancestor within this century."

Although she had chosen 'Chang Kun' out of necessity and they had no prior feelings for each other, after a night of intimacy, the saying 'one day as husband and wife fosters a hundred days of kindness' held true. This newfound bond was much stronger than her camaraderie with Ze Sheng Ancestor as fellow sect members. It was only natural for her loyalties to lean inwards. This was why she had so unreservedly conveyed such information to him.

Besides, bestowing the Sect's precious Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects upon Kang Han had also caused much resentment throughout the Sect. After all, Kang Han's talent was merely mediocre, whereas Xu Xing's talent ranked first among all the True Monarchs in the Sect. In the eyes of the other Cultivators, it was only right for him to receive the Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects.

"In that case..." Xu Xing chose to take a step back. "I will temporarily forgo that set of Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects. However, I want any extra Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects."

But he was still making a lion's demand.

It was termed 'marrying down,' but from any perspective, he and Yan Luanqing becoming spouses meant he was essentially becoming a live-in son-in-law. Asking for some betrothal gifts... shouldn't be too excessive. If Yan Luanqing and the Immeasurable Sect were unwilling to give him even such a meager betrothal gift, then they truly regarded him as nothing more than a Medicine man to be exploited for his cultivation.

Yan Luanqing's expression was hesitant. She didn't know whether to agree to or refuse Xu Xing's not-so-small demand. She had already refused him once. To refuse a second time... No matter how one looked at it, both she and the Immeasurable Sect would appear to lack sincerity.

"Golden Rainbow Martial Uncle," Xu Xing began, his expression unchanged, his heart not skipping a beat as he spun his lies, words of deception flowing effortlessly from his lips. "I, Chang Mou, am still a member of the Immeasurable Sect. If the time comes when a True Monarch needs to form their Nascent Soul, would I hoard the Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects in my possession and not give them to a fellow sect member?

"In a few hundred more years, I too will reach the Nascent Soul realm. At that time, wouldn't these Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects still be handed over to me?

"These Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects... they are merely a tool for my self-protection."

"Fine, forget it." Xu Xing shook his head and sighed. "It seems there's no place for me in the Immeasurable Sect anymore."

As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the Surging Jade Mansion, putting on an appearance of being utterly disheartened and dejected.