I Share a Lifespan with the Dragon-Proud Protagonist

After transmigrating, Tao Xu looks at the clear spring, the barren acre of land, and the supreme inheritance in his pocket dimension, and feels not the slightest bit happy.

This is a world where the strong rule and the weak are prey. He's weak and frail, and possessing a treasure is a crime. How many days can he survive? Besides, there's no food in his pocket dimension, and he's about to starve to death!

With no other choice, he gives up half his lifespan to forcibly bind himself to a good person, begging him for protection.

Xiao Zhen was harmed by an evil cultivator, drastically shortening his lifespan. Though a fortuitous encounter let him master a divine technique and become the master of the famed Jiutian Sect, he is only on the verge of turning twenty, and has barely a year left to live.

When he follows the directions into a strange secret realm, he finds no miraculous medicine to extend his life. Instead, a frail young man wants to form a life-sharing pact with him.

"I only have twenty years to live. Are you sure?"

"D-don't even think of backing out! You already agreed!"

Someone actually wants to share a short life with him. Xiao Zhen sighs and nods. "Fine."

After that...

"Big Brother is the best! The strongest! The most perfect!"

Tao Xu gazes at him with stars in his eyes.

"No, A Xu is the best."

Xiao Zhen pats his head.

Xiao Zhen thought this would be a story about two short-lived people. He never expected that he and his A Xu would journey together along the martial path, leaving the mortal martial world for a much broader one, transcending the ordinary and becoming saints, reaching the summit, and ultimately striving for immortality.

A few things to know before starting:

1. A super-long, high-martial-arts fantasy progression story with a starting-point feel, where the couple are bound together for life. No splitting them up or switching the top and bottom. Please don't read if that's not for you, and no unsolicited writing advice.

2. The society in this story follows the law of the strong, where the weak are prey. I'll do my best to make the couple's immediate surroundings warm and comforting, but society as a whole is terrible, with many idiots. It's far worse than a feudal society.

3. Martial artists and alchemists follow the same cultivation stages:

Houtian (Human): Qi Condensation (natural lifespan of 120 years), Meridian Opening (natural lifespan of 120 years);

Xiantian (Yellow): Mortal Shedding (natural lifespan of 200 years), Dao Palace (natural lifespan of 500 years);

Martial King (Black): Core Forging (natural lifespan of 800 years), Spirit Nurturing (natural lifespan of 1,000 years);

Martial Emperor (Earth): Samsara (natural lifespan of 5,000 years);

Martial Venerable (Heaven): Divine Communion (one tribulation every 10,000 years; surviving the tribulation grants another 10,000 years. In theory, one's lifespan can match that of heaven and earth);

Above Martial Venerable is Martial God, divided into the Immortal and Transcendent stages.

4. Pocket dimension ranks:

Human rank: One ordinary acre of spirit farmland; the spirit spring has no special effects.

Yellow rank: One ordinary acre of spirit farmland; the spring produces one drop of Imperial Nectar each month, which can revive the withered branches of dead medicinal herbs, making them easier to grow.

Black rank: Adds one acre of spirit farmland where one day equals one year, but accelerating time requires a large amount of spirit stones; the spring produces ten drops of Imperial Nectar each month.

Earth rank: The spirit farmland evolves into a medicinal garden, and spirit stones can be used to accelerate time throughout; the medicinal power of the spring's Imperial Nectar increases.

Heaven rank: Becomes a small world of its own.

5. Pill ranks:

They correspond to the martial cultivation stages, with pills divided into Heaven, Earth, Black, Yellow, and Human ranks. Pill quality is divided into low, middle, high, and supreme grades.

Theme: Fight fate alongside a like-minded partner. Never give in, never give up.