Eighth Heaven, Undying Wings

The dragon’s nest was built into the face of a cliff, dozens of meters above the ground. It was vast and spacious, more than large enough for the graceful dragon couple to stretch out even when they transformed into their full Winged Dragon forms.

The stone walls of the cave had been polished smooth. Though deep and expansive, it was not dim in the slightest; the depths were as bright as day. Numerous pearls were embedded in the ceiling, providing ample light.

What convinced Xiao Chen that the Winged Dragon race had a penchant for collecting treasures was the pile of gold coins and jewels ahead, stacked like a small mountain, dazzling to the point of blinding.

Xiao Chen stood dumbfounded, hardly daring to believe it. Such an incredible hoard of treasure was simply staggering. No wonder Liu Mu and the others had said there were always those who dreamed of becoming legendary dragon slayers. A single dragon’s nest was a treasure trove. If one had the strength to slay a Winged Dragon, they could obtain wealth that would last many lifetimes.

“See? This greedy villain’s eyes went straight to it. I told you I wasn’t lying. He bullied me and wanted to steal our treasure!” The little Winged Dragon spoke with a childish lisp, clearly still very young.

Xiao Chen was speechless looking at this little creature lodging a false complaint. Was this what they called early maturity? Keke, the little dragon kings, and this little Winged Dragon all possessed uncommon intelligence.

“Little one, don’t lie, or you’ll get fat and turn into a fluffy ball.”

“Who’s little? You’re not as tall as me!” The three-meter-long little Winged Dragon walked over, standing tall and proud, looking down at Xiao Chen. “You’re a bad guy. You bullied me…”

Here we go again… Seeing it could speak human language, Xiao Chen felt amused but couldn’t laugh.

“What do you think of our proposal?” The little Winged Dragon’s father spoke again, his tone serious but not hostile.

“That legendary ancient dragon battle technique? I’ve never heard of it. Besides, that little defiant dragon is far too aloof. Even if it had such a secret art, it wouldn’t necessarily listen to me and pass it on to your child. Though it gets along with me well enough, you must understand it is an exceedingly proud little defiant dragon.”

As he said this, Xiao Chen’s mind began to race. His shock at the dragon’s treasure subsided, and he started thinking about the little defiant dragon. That dragon had actually caught the attention of this Winged Dragon couple—it was becoming more remarkable by the day.

“It doesn’t matter whether it works or not. Just do your best. Otherwise, bullying our child and trying to steal our treasure is a grave offense. Whether or not you are a guest of the Undying Sect, we would have no choice but to attack you. Remember, we guard this place for the Undying Sect out of gratitude to their ancestors. Even occasional bloodshed is not a problem.” The little Winged Dragon’s mother spoke.

Though her words were severe, Xiao Chen caught a trace of a hidden smile on their faces. Clearly, they had no murderous intent; rather, they seemed pleased that their scheme had succeeded.

He sighed inwardly. Even without today’s incident, these two Winged Dragons probably would have sought him out. They had likely been planning this for a while.

“Alright, I’ll do my best. Whether it succeeds or not is out of my hands.”

“Then we thank you. Hmm, we know you are trying to cultivate the Undying Wings. Perhaps we can offer you some guidance.” The little Winged Dragon’s father said with a smile.

“How do you know?”

“How could we not pay attention to someone who returned from Dragon Island?”

“Can you help me complete the Undying Wings?”

“We can offer some pointers. We have also studied the sacred scriptures of the Undying Sect.” The mother’s smile was warm and refreshing.

“You studied them too?” Xiao Chen was astonished. Dragons studying human sacred arts was truly a stunning thought.

“Due to our different physiques, we only studied them for reference. To master the Undying Wings, several years of hard work are necessary. It is a gradual process that cannot be rushed through sheer power alone. One must slowly open the acupoints connected to the divine wings…”

Through the dragon couple’s explanation, Xiao Chen’s understanding of the Undying Wings deepened. The human body contains countless meridians and acupoints, but not all are known to mortals. The commonly known acupoints are the major ones. The dozens of “Flying Heaven Acupoints” required to cultivate the Undying Wings had never been heard of before.

The Undying Sect’s sacred scripture was extremely terse, only stating that one must open the mysterious Flying Heaven Acupoints near the spine to generate the Undying Wings, without detailing exactly how many there were.

Xiao Chen had previously thought there were only forty or fifty major acupoints. Now he learned it involved eighty-one acupoints in total, collectively called the Flying Heaven Acupoints.

Having a teacher was vastly different from groping in the dark, especially for such a sacred scripture. Even having the cultivation method was not enough; the experience of predecessors was crucial.

The Winged Dragon couple had been with the Undying Sect for nearly a thousand years and knew a great deal. After their explanation, Xiao Chen suddenly understood. Now he knew how to proceed and no longer needed to probe the little Winged Dragon’s energy circulation.

His cultivation was sufficient, and he had already opened nearly half of the Flying Heaven Acupoints. Perhaps within another half a year, he would complete the task. Only then could true Undying Wings be born. Even a single unopened acupoint would prevent the divine wings from manifesting.

Finally, as Xiao Chen was about to leave the dragon’s nest, the couple spoke with great seriousness: “You must not tell anyone about that little dragon. Otherwise, you will bring great disaster upon yourself.”

Xiao Chen nodded in confusion. It seemed the little defiant dragon had many secrets. He had speculated more than once that the proud little black dragon might be an Ancestral Dragon, but he had dismissed it again and again. According to legend, an Ancestral Dragon was born with prominent horns, and even dragon kings were no match for it. The little defiant dragon did not fit that description at all. Xiao Chen could only regard it as a combative war dragon. Perhaps one day it would achieve something no less than a dragon king.

“No! I hate that little rogue. It comes to pester me every day. I won’t learn that so-called ancient battle technique from it!”

As he left the dragon’s nest, Xiao Chen vaguely caught a few words between the Winged Dragon couple and their child, which seemed to involve the word “dragon king.”

Days passed, and Xiao Chen made progress every day.

Ten days after receiving guidance from the Winged Dragon couple, Xiao Chen was immersed in a profound cultivation state. He was practicing his own profound art, which was his foundation and occupied most of his time.

At that moment, he suddenly felt as if he were floating into the clouds. His entire body became ethereal, and his divine consciousness seemed to materialize, on the verge of flying out of his body. A fragrance like orchid or musk emanated from his flesh.

Then, with a thunderous roar in his heart, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck his sea of consciousness. In this quiet meditation, he had made another breakthrough, ascending from the Seventh Heaven of Mortal-Shedding to the Eighth Heaven, rising another level.

His entire body shimmered with precious radiance, as if his physical body had achieved sanctity. A fragrant scent filled the room. At this moment, his eyes were as sharp as blades, and his spirit, energy, and presence had reached a new, previously unattainable peak.

Powerful energy flowed within his radiant flesh, like a rolling river or a surging torrent, making him feel as if he had inexhaustible vitality. And this was not the end. The surging power continued to circulate through his hundred meridians for three days and three nights without stopping, as if tempering his flesh, bringing about a transformation like being reborn.

In the end, every inch of his skin was as crystalline as ancient bronze divine jade, filled with explosive, terrifying power. His physique had improved immensely compared to before. When calm was restored, Xiao Chen was astonished to find that he had reached the peak of the Eighth Heaven of Mortal-Shedding, only a hair’s breadth away from the Ninth Heaven, as if he could break through at any moment.

Breaking through nearly two heavens in one go was an unexpected joy. After all, cultivation became more difficult the further one progressed. Such a near-leap breakthrough was extremely rare.

Xiao Chen knew clearly that all of this was due to the completion of his cultivation method on Dragon Island, which had enabled such progress. This only strengthened his resolve: his cultivation method was the foundation, and he would never change it. If he integrated other techniques, he would distill them into loose techniques like the Undying Seal, turning them into forms rather than introducing them into his origin. As for the Undying Wings, that was a skill rather than a change to his foundational method.

The surprises of this transformation were not over yet. Just as the endless, surging power began to stabilize, waves of scorching heat emanated from his spine. Purple light flickered, and the entire room filled with swirling purple mist, hazy and sparkling.

The newly stabilized peak Eighth Heaven power erupted again, rushing toward all the Flying Heaven Acupoints on his back. Amid the cracking of bones, Xiao Chen’s body trembled repeatedly. Dense beads of sweat appeared on his skin, and soon he was drenched as if by water.

With a final series of crisp sounds from his joints, Xiao Chen’s body quivered, and then a rumbling echoed in his sea of consciousness. In an instant, he felt as if he had ascended into the clouds. He knew that this time, the Undying Wings must have been successfully cultivated!