In the far north, amidst howling winds, a magnificent palace stands atop the ice plains. Its exterior is crystal clear, seemingly constructed from blocks of ice, and it has stood firm for thousands of years, hence the name Ice Palace.
"The Ice Palace truly lives up to its name. Located in this frigid northern land, it feels completely warm inside!" Wu Heng stepped out of the room, but it wasn't as cold as he had imagined, and he couldn't help but admire it.
Outside, several women from the Ice Palace passed by, and they were all quite curious when they saw Wu Heng, their big, dark eyes darting around him. The Ice Palace rarely invited men in as guests, especially such a handsome young man.
"Sisters, have you heard? This young master will be marrying the Holy Maiden in three days!"
"No way, the Holy Maiden is too proud to be interested in this kid. Although he is handsome and has delicate features, his cultivation level is only at the mortal level. It should be just a rumor."
"It's true, I heard the Palace Master and the elders discussing this with my own eyes," a woman whispered when she saw that her sisters didn't believe her.
"Let's go somewhere else to discuss this, and not let that young master hear us. If he really wants to marry the Holy Maiden, we can't afford to offend him!" Several Ice Palace disciples quietly slipped away.
Although the women were whispering, Wu Heng heard them clearly and couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile. "Rumor has it that the women of the Ice Palace are all extraordinary and otherworldly, untouched by worldly concerns. So this is just gossip..."
I had planned to explore the Ice Palace properly, but I discovered that the news of my impending marriage to the Holy Maiden had caused quite a stir. It seems I'd better stay indoors and avoid the limelight for now!
"The Great Dao begins with the Source, which transforms into Heaven and Earth and all things. All things in Heaven and Earth are the essence, which permeates the bones and muscles, and guides the body and mind..."
Inside the room, Wu Heng sat cross-legged on the bed, his hands forming hand seals, practicing the Wu family's introductory secret technique. Over the decades, he had memorized this technique perfectly, and strands of vital energy flowed through his body's meridians, his body surrounded by a pale white glow.
Wu Heng entered the martial arts world at the age of six and has been cultivating for more than ten years, but he is still practicing the most basic introductory mental cultivation method... This is because he has been unable to break through the mortal realm for ten years, and he can only ever practice the lowest level introductory mental cultivation method.
Rain or shine, for ten years amidst countless opinions, Wu Heng persisted in cultivating the chain. No matter how others criticized him, he never gave up on the path of martial arts cultivation.
Suddenly, light erupted from the house like a volcanic eruption, the golden light so intense it hurt the eyes, and the divine light penetrated directly outside, dazzling as if illuminating the entire world. A powerful divine force surged out of the house, sweeping across the entire ice palace, causing the earth to tremble slightly.
"I wonder which great figure in the Ice Palace is about to break through, that they could cause such a terrifying fluctuation of divine power!" Almost everyone in the Ice Palace sensed this powerful divine power at the same time and was greatly shocked.
"It's actually the divine power emanating from Wu Heng's residence! It seems the Xuanbing Divine Body is indeed powerful; even a breakthrough to the mortal realm can resonate with heaven and earth!" Zi Tong sensed this divine power and disappeared from the palace in the next moment.
"Is her divine body about to break through?" Even the Ice Palace Master, Leng Shuangyue, was startled by this divine light. Her skin was like solidified cream, her arms like lotus roots, her hair was thick and lustrous, and her lips and teeth were like cherry blossoms. She looked to be no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, exuding mature charm.
She was dressed in a white silk dress, her figure graceful and alluring, her beauty breathtaking. In the blink of an eye, Leng Shuangyue was already standing in front of Wu Heng's residence.
"Palace Master," Zi Tong arrived almost simultaneously, bowing slightly to Leng Shuangyue.
"Elder Zitong, there's no need to be so polite. We're of the same generation!" Leng Shuangyue said with a slight smile.
Zi Tong, clad in a dazzling purple dress, was breathtakingly beautiful, standing alongside Leng Shuangyue as a pair of unparalleled beauties. She didn't stand on ceremony, focusing her attention on the changes inside the house. Someone inside was currently undergoing a breakthrough and couldn't be disturbed, so neither of them entered the house.
Inside the room, bathed in golden light, Wu Heng sat cross-legged on the bed, his body enveloped in holy light. This was a sign that a cultivator was about to break through. The essence formed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged from all directions, converging on Wu Heng's dantian, the place where a cultivator's essence condenses.
However, just as Wu Heng was about to break through, another mysterious and vast divine power within his body scattered all the spiritual energy that had gathered from all directions. The dazzling light vanished instantly, and the house returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.
"Sigh..." Leng Shuangyue sighed softly, her eyes filled with regret, "It seems that the Xuanbing Divine Body has truly been sealed by heaven and earth, and will never be able to break through to the mortal realm."
Zi Tong also felt deeply sorry for Wu Heng. His divine body was a rare sight, appearing only once every 100,000 years, yet it was sealed by heaven and earth, making his fate extremely difficult!
Leng Shuangyue looked back and saw that everyone from the elders of the Ice Palace to the disciples of various departments had gathered around her. She sighed again and said, "Everyone, please disperse."
"Alas, I never imagined that this strange phenomenon was actually a farce caused by the Xuanbing Divine Body."
"However, the divine body is truly powerful. Wu Heng was merely a cultivator at the second level of the mortal realm, yet his breakthrough caused a change in the heavens and earth!"
"In any case, his divine body is ruined. It is said that this person has not even awakened his Dao Soul, so he will never achieve anything great in his life!"
The disciples of the Ice Palace had differing opinions: some expressed regret, some marveled, and others disdained Wu Heng's divine physique. The Ice Palace's Holy Maiden, Leng Hanshuang, stood proudly among the crowd, like a cold and beautiful rose.
She both hoped that Wu Heng could break through to the mortal realm, yet she also felt some resistance. She hoped that her future husband would not be a useless person, but she was also afraid that if his divine body broke through, it would overshadow her in the future.
The breakthrough failed...
Wu Heng's mindset was calmer than everyone else's, because he had lost count of how many times he had been forced back to his original form by a mysterious force just when he was about to break through.
He lay on the bed expressionlessly, completely unaware that a great upheaval had just occurred in his Ice Palace. Wu Heng closed his eyes, wanting to think of nothing, do nothing, and even moving a finger felt exhausting.
Three days passed in a flash. During that time, apart from Xiaoyu bringing him food, no one disturbed him. Wu Heng sat quietly to the side like an oddball. In fact, this was a common occurrence. Every time he failed to break through, Wu Heng would stay quietly for a while.
At this moment, no one could understand his heart, nor could anyone comprehend the wounds within him. Like a lonely kitten, he alone soothed the wounds that had been mercilessly torn open.
"Young Master Wu, today is your wedding day with the Holy Maiden. I've come to deliver the groom's attire to you!" Xiao Yu said happily as she entered the room carrying the wedding dress.
Upon hearing this, Wu Heng, whose eyes had been vacant, immediately perked up. He had long since become indifferent to matters of cultivation, and seeing that he could marry the holy maiden that everyone dreamed of today, a silly smile appeared on his lips.
"Stop standing there grinning like an idiot, you're practically drooling!" Xiaoyu teased, her pretty face flushed.
"Ahem, come and help me get dressed!" Wu Heng instantly transformed, full of energy and high spirits.
Xiao Yu responded softly, draped the red robe over Wu Heng's body, and combed his long hair, making him appear handsome and refined.
However, on the same day, the entire Wu family compound in Tianyu City was as if struck by a major earthquake, falling into complete silence. Even the servants walking around the Wu family compound were in a daze.
The reason is that Wu Heng, a direct descendant of the Wu family, was ambushed and killed while transporting goods abroad. No one in the entire caravan survived. Wu Shi, the head of the Wu family, was furious when he heard the news. Wu Heng was his only grandson, so how could he remain calm?
"Hmph, good-for-nothings, a whole bunch of good-for-nothings! So many people and they can't even find a child to walk." Wu Shi sat in the living room, shouting angrily, his once handsome brows now etched with the wrinkles of age.
"Patriarch, we have tried our best to find the young master, but we have not found him among the dead in the caravan." A Wu family cultivator knelt before Wu Shi, feeling extremely aggrieved.
"I don't care, I want to see them alive or dead, keep searching!" Wu Shi's authoritative voice, each word like a mountain, made the group of cultivators below tremble.
"Yes!" a cultivator replied, leading the group out of the living room.
An old steward who had served Wu Shi for many years whispered to Wu Shi, "Master, since we haven't found any trace of Young Master Wu Heng among the dead cultivators, perhaps he is still alive!"
"I hope so. Alas, Heng'er has had a pitiful life since he was born. He has never seen his parents. He has a divine body but it was sealed by the heavens, preventing him from cultivating. Now he has been sent to the merchant guild for training, but he has ended up like this." Wu Shi's hair had turned white as he sighed with resentment.
But the next moment, the patriarch of the powerful family's gaze turned extremely sharp. "Investigate for me, find out who dared to harm my grandson's life!"
Those few simple words contained a murderous intent that sent chills down one's spine...
"First bow to heaven and earth, second bow to the parents, husband and wife bow to each other..." While the entire Wu family was living in a daze, Wu Heng was now marrying the Holy Maiden of the Ice Palace...
It must be said that the wedding was extremely simple, with only Leng Shuangyue, Zi Tong, and a few other elders of the Ice Palace present to witness it. This was all at Leng Hanshuang's request; for her, marrying Wu Heng was an immense humiliation, so why would she bother with elaborate decorations and invitations to renowned families and extraordinary individuals from across the continent to attend the wedding?
However, Wu Heng was secretly overjoyed, glancing at the beautiful bride beside him from time to time.
"Now that you two are married, I hope you will support each other through thick and thin and grow old together," Leng Shuangyue said with a slight smile to the newlyweds.
"Mother, we're just acting, why take it so seriously?" Leng Hanshuang shouted, clearly resistant.
Leng Shuangyue laughed and said, "Han Shuang, although you and Wu Heng are only connected because of the Ice Soul Frost Flame, even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness. You should let bygones be bygones!"
"Mother-in-law, I will definitely take good care of Han Shuang from now on, so please don't worry," Wu Heng interjected shamelessly.
"You?" Leng Hanshuang was furious. She glared at Wu Heng with murderous eyes. She didn't expect Wu Heng to be so shameless as to call his own mother "mother" right off the bat.
But Wu Heng seemed completely unfazed, leaving Leng Hanshuang helpless.
Leng Shuangyue couldn't help but smile; this kid was quite slick...