The Undying Divine Wings and a Surprising Proposal

Purple radiance burst forth in an instant as the Undying Divine Wings unfurled behind Xiao Chen. The wings were crystalline as fine jade, nearly translucent, yet they pulsed with immense power. These were no mere wings for flight and aerial combat — at the peak of the Eighth Heaven, the Undying Divine Wings had become a terrifying weapon in their own right, rivaling divine swords in sharpness.

Of course, they were entirely formed of energy, able to manifest and withdraw at will.

With a light sweep of the wings, Xiao Chen flashed like a bolt of purple lightning into the courtyard, then transformed into a stream of violet light that dove into the forest ahead before circling back. Everything was perfect. Mastering the Undying Divine Wings had elevated his speed to an unimaginable level. From now on, the sky was truly the limit; he would never be confined to the ground in battle again. With these wings, those flying spellmasters and spiritists would lose their only advantage — he would become their bane.

Standing by the well, he drew up bucket after bucket of water to rinse his body. Without question, Xiao Chen's mood was buoyant.

The food in the room had long since gone cold. He had not left the house for three days, and the kitchen staff had come and gone several times without disturbing him, quietly setting down the meals and leaving — the unspoken rule of any cultivation sect.

Even though he ate cold food, it tasted like nectar and ambrosia. This was a satisfaction born from the heart: half a year of bitter effort had finally borne fruit. This phase of cultivation was complete and perfect.

The three skeletons seemed to sense his joy and walked in from the other room, their jaws clacking as if offering congratulations.

It had been a long time since he had seen the snow-white beast and the Little Defiant Dragon. Xiao Chen stepped out with a light heart and headed toward the rear mountain.

Yan Qingcheng sat in a patch of fragrant grass, misty vapors swirling around her. Melodious birdsong wove through the flowering trees nearby. Everything was serene. The peerless beauty was immersed in a perfect scene — a vivid and harmonious tableau.

Xiao Chen watched quietly for a while, unwilling to break the painting. He passed through the area and continued onward. Only when he was far away did Yan Qingcheng open her beautiful eyes, glance after him, then close them again.

Beyond a stretch of waterfalls and flowing springs came the sound of gongfu. The Little Defiant Dragon was at it again, sparring near the dragon lair. Xiao Chen noticed with surprise that its speed seemed to have increased further, and its combat techniques had become richer. Still, it mostly relied on brute force to overwhelm.

After spending so much time with it, Xiao Chen had come to understand that the Little Defiant Dragon was not naturally reckless. Rather, it deliberately fought with inferior strength, pushing its body to the breaking point, hoping to awaken the hidden potential within its dragon physique. As for combat techniques, it had a remarkable talent. Though it rarely used them, those skills grew more refined every day. And as the winged dragon couple had said, it seemed to grasp some legendary ancient dragon battle arts — each fight displayed techniques of profound subtlety.

Today, the young winged dragon's father was training with the Little Defiant Dragon in human form. He struck with measured force, hitting every inch of the small black dragon's body, allowing dragon energy to penetrate through. Blood had already seeped from beneath its scales, but the injuries were not fatal.

The Little Defiant Dragon seemed thoroughly satisfied with this kind of combat. It executed a series of moves Xiao Chen had never seen before, leaving afterimages in its wake. The fighting style was bizarre yet brutally effective. Though it could not hope to harm the winged dragon father, it still displayed extraordinary skill.

Xiao Chen could see some of the logic: these battle arts were truly suited for dragons. The Little Defiant Dragon seemed to be repaying the winged dragon couple for the months of personal training. Though the little creature appeared aloof, its heart was perceptive — it knew what to do and what not to do.

The young winged dragon watching from the side pretended to scowl, but the excited gleam in its eyes betrayed its changing mood.

When the bout ended, the Little Defiant Dragon dragged its wounded body over to the young dragon and actually extended a claw toward its forehead.

The young winged dragon was clearly extraordinary — able to speak human language at such a tender age. It paused in surprise but lowered its head, or else the Little Defiant Dragon could not have reached.

A point of light shone from the Little Defiant Dragon's claw, flowing like water, seeming to merge into the young dragon's forehead.

Only when the Little Defiant Dragon had limped away did the young dragon seem to snap out of it. It muttered, "That little rascal is actually kind of cute when he doesn't come bother me every day. He just passed me some combat techniques."

The young dragon's father smiled at Xiao Chen. "Many thanks."

"No need to thank me. The Little Defiant Dragon has a mind of its own — I can't control it. I think the reason it taught your child ancient dragon battle arts is that it also felt bad for barging in every day."

"Yes, yes! I'm almost driven crazy by him," the young dragon murmured softly.

Xiao Chen went after the Little Defiant Dragon. As he left, he thought he heard the winged dragon father muttering something about "dragon king." Was he talking about the Little Defiant Dragon? That didn't seem right. Could it be that he wanted his own child to become a dragon king? Now that was a bold idea. But it seemed possible — that young winged dragon was no ordinary creature, able to speak human language at such a young age.

He soon caught up with the severely wounded Little Defiant Dragon. As usual, the little fellow gave him a cool nod, made no further gesture, and continued on.

Back in the stone cave, the Little Defiant Dragon silently bathed its bloodied body in the hot spring, enduring the agony of splitting flesh, then began to gulp down Fire Cloud Fruits to restore its spirit and energy.

Although the walls of several caves were hung with these translucent, ruby-like fruits, and although the Little Defiant Dragon and the snow-white beast ate only a small number each day, after months of consumption, the Fire Cloud Fruits were nearly gone. The walls were left with bare vines.

Perhaps this was another reason the Little Defiant Dragon had progressed so quickly — after every severe injury, these spirit fruits rapidly replenished its body and helped further unlock its physical potential.

At the same time, Xiao Chen noticed other fruit pits in the cave, which looked very much like Amethyst Crystal Pears. He knew the Little Defiant Dragon could not have fetched them on its own — that little creature only knew how to fight and train, never seeking spirit fruits to satisfy its appetite.

Xiao Chen immediately thought of Keke. That little thing was the bane of all heaven-and-earth spiritual treasures. Nothing good in the vicinity could escape its grasp. In a corner of the cave, he even found half a Purple-Gold Ganoderma — wasteful, terribly wasteful, to squander such a rare treasure like this.

Keke had been appearing and disappearing lately. Xiao Chen had not seen it for a long time, but now it seemed he had been swimming in this immortal mountain range like a fish in water.

Xiao Chen waited three full days in the cave before the snow-white beast showed its face. It came back carrying a super-large ginseng, as big as a radish, and tossed it carelessly to the Little Defiant Dragon as if it were a common cabbage.

Keke's fur was glossier than ever, as if carved from divine jade. Its glossy black eyes were even more lively, radiating spiritual essence. Of course, it had also grown a bit plumper. It was clear that it had been feasting on these spirit treasures as ordinary meals. Xiao Chen was dumbfounded — such luxury!

Seeing Xiao Chen arrive, the snow-white beast's expression seemed a bit guilty. Its gaze looked somehow shifty.

"Is there something you're hiding from me?"

It shook its head vigorously, then pushed the radish-sized ginseng over to Xiao Chen, as if offering it to him with a hint of flattery.

"Oh, you're feeling guilty. Come on, out with it. Did you cause some trouble?"

Rarely, the snow-white beast showed a trace of embarrassment. It pointed at the big ginseng and made a series of gestures with its little claws. Though they had grown quite familiar with each other, it still took a long while for Xiao Chen to understand what it meant: the ginseng had been pulled from someone's medicinal garden.

Xiao Chen was speechless. He didn't need to ask further. Knowing Keke's nature, it had definitely been frequenting that garden recently, treating that precious plot of land like its own vegetable patch.

"How many such ginsengs did you pull?"

The snow-white beast thought seriously, then held up one little paw.

"Five?"

Keke turned its paw over, palm down.

"Ten?"

The paw turned again.

Xiao Chen's mouth fell open.

The paw turned again.

Xiao Chen felt dark lines on his forehead. When he saw that it was about to turn again, he quickly stopped it.

"Don't turn anymore. I get it. You really did treat that place like a carrot patch. In your eyes, these rare big ginsengs are no different from radishes."

The snow-white beast blinked its lively eyes, sheepishly scratching its head.

"Besides ginseng, did you touch any other herbs?"

Hesitatingly, Keke fetched some leftover stems, pits, and roots from the corner of the cave. Xiao Chen could only sigh at the variety — ganoderma, Amethyst Crystal Pears, Scorching Sun Dates, Red-Gold Lotuses... His head began to ache.

"Do you really think all of these are just cabbages?"

Robbing the Undying Sect's most important ground — the medicinal garden — was no small crime.

But the snow-white beast showed no fear. Instead, it gestured proudly. After careful clarification, Xiao Chen understood its meaning.

Keke told him it had left no trace. The garden was huge; it pulled one ginseng here, dug another there. As for the fruits, it picked one from this tree and two from that tree, spreading them out.

"So you're clever about it. But do you think the sect wouldn't notice treasures like these? Maybe they won't in the short term, but once they notice, you've caused me trouble again."

The snow-white beast finally stopped looking proud. Dejectedly, it admitted the situation, and then — with no sense of loyalty — pointed at the Little Defiant Dragon.

The proud, cool little dragon also looked abashed. It had indeed consumed no small amount of these spirit treasures. Xiao Chen was utterly without temper. Helplessness.

After further questioning, Xiao Chen alternated between anger and laughter, learning why Keke often disappeared for days at a time. It had been "staying" in the medicinal garden, treating it as its personal paradise.

"It seems we have no choice but to leave the Undying Sect." In truth, even without this incident, Xiao Chen had already considered leaving. Half a year had passed here, the storm over the Dragon Kings had subsided, and he had gained enough. It was time to train in a different environment.

Before leaving, he felt he should return the ancient scripture discovered in the cave to the Undying Sect Leader. After all, he would use the Undying Divine Wings in the future, and it would not do to have people think he had stolen techniques from the Undying Sect. Returning the ancient book openly, he thought, would keep the sect leader from revoking his mastery of the Undying Divine Wings — especially since he had some "friendship" with the so-called Evil King founder. That way, using the wings openly later would not cause issues.

To Xiao Chen's surprise, when he met with the Undying Sect Leader, the old man already knew he was cultivating the Undying Divine Wings. Xiao Chen was quite shocked. Gazing at the ethereal old man, who seemed to dwell in another world, he felt an unfathomable depth.

The Undying Sect Leader did not reprimand him. He took the ancient book and examined it. "This is the ancestor Evil King's true writing, no different from the sect's own treasured scripture. It seems our ancestor once secluded himself in those caves, leaving another copy to await a worthy one, fearing the original might be lost."

Xiao Chen then expressed his desire to leave and explore other parts of the Eternal Continent.

"I told you before, you may leave at any time. Though you are technically still under restriction, in recognition of your discovery of the Evil King's true writing, I grant you early freedom. Moreover, since you have mastered the Undying Divine Wings and learned some of our sect's secret arts, I now appoint you as an external Guardian. You will have no special privileges, but should the Undying Sect ever be endangered, you must render aid. Are you willing?"

Xiao Chen thought to himself: can I really say no, with you putting it like that? But it was only right, since he had practiced the sect's founding scripture. Still, he doubted he would ever need to help. Could anyone destroy the Undying Sect? Even a god would think twice before trying.

Finally, as Xiao Chen was considering how to take his leave, a single remark from the Undying Sect Leader stunned him so much that he spat out the tea he had just drunk.

"Are you willing to take Qingcheng as your wife?"