Immortality Starts With Investment

On the flying boat heading toward Green Cloud Sect, Lu Jing and Lin Ke’er’s faces were flushed with excitement as they looked at Ye Chen, their eyes filled with surprise and joy.

While they had been waiting in the courtyard, they overheard the servants say that Ye Chen had given his Green Cloud Token to an outsider, angering the patriarch. The consequences would undoubtedly be severe. Both women were startled at the time.

Lin Ke’er even considered running away, severing all ties with Ye Chen. But to their surprise, after only a short while, Ye Chen had become the direct disciple of a Peak Master in Green Cloud Sect. What a sudden and unbelievable turn of events.

Although the two women didn’t fully understand the value of being a Peak Master’s direct disciple, they were clear about how rare it was to have a master in the Foundation Establishment late stage. Thus, Lin Ke’er, who had hesitated earlier, immediately climbed aboard the flying boat without a second thought. She willingly became Ye Chen’s maid.

The flying boat soon arrived at Green Cloud Sect. It made a brief stop at the mountain gate, where the gate elder saw the red-robed Gu Yunyun with a cold expression and quickly bowed, ”Greetings, Elder Gu!”

Gu Yunyun nodded slightly. ”Have someone from the Internal Affairs Hall come to the Sword Peak later to handle the registration. I’ve taken on a disciple.”

Upon hearing this, the gate elder was taken aback. Gu Yunyun was actually accepting a disciple?

Gu Yunyun had always been indifferent to anything outside of swordsmanship. She had never taken in any apprentices, not even those with extraordinary spiritual roots. Now, for her to take in a disciple, how remarkable must this person be?

The gate elder didn’t dare delay and quickly agreed.

Gu Yunyun didn’t say much more. After the array opened, she steered the flying boat directly into the mountain gates.

Ye Chen, sitting upright on the flying boat, couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. He had heard that when entering the sect, one would have to handle the registration themselves. But after becoming a direct disciple, things had changed. Now, the Internal Affairs Hall came to take care of the procedures for him. The status of a Peak Master’s direct disciple was far more esteemed than Ye Chen had imagined.

Within Green Cloud Sect, the air was filled with ethereal energy. The mountains were like swords, and various spirit cranes and magical creatures flew gracefully through the skies, creating the atmosphere of a paradise for immortals. Even the spirit Qi was denser here than outside the sect. This left Ye Chen, Lu Jing, and Lin Ke’er in awe, their eyes wide open at the sight.

Soon, the flying boat landed on one of the mountain peaks.

”Here is Sword Peak. You will be the only disciple of Sword Peak. This is my cave residence. If you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation, you may come here to seek guidance from me. Your talent is poor, but since you insist on cultivating immortality, I will still grant you the status of a direct disciple. Whether you can maintain that status, or even break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, will depend on you.”

After storing the flying boat, Gu Yunyun looked at Ye Chen with indifferent eyes. To her, this sudden direct disciple wasn’t something to be happy about.

Firstly, she only cared about the sword path; she had no interest in anything else and had never even considered taking on disciples.

Secondly, Ye Chen’s talent was abysmal. A third-grade spiritual root. If you grabbed ten random loose cultivators from the roadside, five of them would be stronger than Ye Chen.

Finally, it was the women beside Ye Chen. He was bringing maidservants into Green Cloud Sect. Clearly, he wasn’t someone who sought harsh cultivation.

Poor talent combined with a lack of effort, indulging in pleasures instead. It was a recipe for failure. Thus, Gu Yunyun had no expectations for Ye Chen. She simply planned to give him the title of direct disciple and let him fend for himself. She figured it wouldn’t be long before Ye Chen left on his own.

As for Ye Chen, he did feel the coldness of his master’s attitude. But he didn’t care in the slightest. With the simp system, he could make even an iceberg warm up to him, let alone a cold, stunningly beautiful master with a figure like that.

He figured, ”Let me see if I can turn you into a puddle of warmth, and then we’ll be fine.” So Ye Chen didn’t feel anxious at all.

Gu Yunyun nodded. ”Soon, someone from the Internal Affairs Hall will come to register your identity and introduce you to everything in the sect. I’ll leave now.”

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With that, Gu Yunyun walked off, her movements graceful and composed.

Ye Chen quickly bowed and watched his aloof master leave. As he observed her retreating figure, Ye Chen made another discovery. Her waist was unbelievably slender. From behind, he could clearly see the contours of her figure.

Lu Jing also had a stunning figure, but she couldn’t compare to that level. No wonder his master had a hundred times the feedback. Just her figure alone was probably half of that multiplier. But it seemed that his master really didn’t care much for him. She just left him here, barely bothering to say more than a few words.

Fortunately, the Internal Affairs Hall arrived quickly. A flying boat descended in front of Ye Chen and the two girls. Dozens of elders from the Internal Affairs Hall stepped off. Among them was even an elderly man with white hair and beard.

”Where is Elder Gu?”

The elderly man looked at Ye Chen and asked.

Ye Chen bowed. ”Greetings, Elder. My master has gone to rest and asked me to wait here for the Internal Affairs Hall to handle the formalities.”

This was typical of Gu Yunyun’s style. The elderly man wasn’t surprised. Instead, he looked at Ye Chen with interest. Gu Yunyun was proud and focused solely on the sword path. The Sect Master had mentioned her a few times and even recommended a genius with an unusual spiritual root. But Gu Yunyun had still refused to take him in. Now, she suddenly brought back a disciple. That sparked curiosity. What kind of prodigy was this?

”I am Elder Chen from the Internal Affairs Hall, here to register you. Name?”

”Ye Chen.”

”Spiritual root attribute?”

”None, third-grade.”

”Hmm... What?”

Elder Chen froze, his expression one of disbelief.

Normal cultivator’s spiritual root had no attributes. From first-grade to ninth-grade, they followed this range. But there were also special spiritual roots, such as Fire or Water roots, which were more restrictive. Those with such roots could only cultivate related arts and learn spells tied to that attribute.

However, because they specialized in one path, their cultivation speed was faster. Moreover, their spells were generally stronger. The chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment was much higher. Anyone with an attribute spiritual root was considered a genius.

But Ye Chen, brought back personally by Gu Yunyun, only had a third-grade root? How could that be?

Elder Chen was skeptical and immediately instructed the disciples to bring out the spiritual root testing array.

Ye Chen placed his hand on it, watching the three beams of light appear.

Both Elder Chen and the other disciples fell silent. It really was third-grade?

To be honest, a seventh-grade root was considered the bottom tier in Green Cloud Sect. To stand out, you needed at least an eighth-grade root. A ninth-grade root was considered a small genius.

But third-grade? In truth, most of the Green Cloud Sect disciples had never seen one before. After all, the sect didn’t accept those with weak spiritual roots.

Elder Chen’s expression turned complicated as he looked at Ye Chen. ”Are you a relative of Elder Gu?”

Ye Chen knew what he was thinking and didn’t hide the truth. ”An elder with ties to my master helped me, which is why Master agreed to take me in.”

Elder Chen immediately understood. So Ye Chen had entered through connections after all. Such things did happen occasionally in Green Cloud Sect. After all, elders were also human, and sometimes, it was hard to refuse a favor.

However, only one disciple could be chosen as a peak master’s direct disciple. The rest would remain regular disciples of the elders. The primary difference was simply more resources, but no special privileges. For Gu Yunyun to have granted Ye Chen a direct disciple position, it seemed she owed quite a bit to someone.

With his interest fading, Elder Chen instructed the disciples to record Ye Chen’s information and didn’t bother to say another word. Once the registration was complete, Ye Chen received his token.

Only then did Elder Chen speak. ”There are many privileges that come with being a direct disciple of the peak master. For example, every three years, you are eligible for a cultivation slot in the Five Elements Cavern. There are also opportunities in the sect’s secret realms, where direct disciples have a higher chance of being selected.

“Upon reaching the peak of Qi Refining, you will be given a low-grade Foundation Establishment pill. If you win first place in the sect competition, it can be upgraded to a high-grade version. There are many sect facilities that ordinary disciples cannot use freely, but as a direct disciple, there are no such restrictions. And all the medicinal pills provided to you will be of the highest grade. You’ll find all the specific details in the booklet we’ll provide.”

Ye Chen’s eyes lit up as he listened. He couldn’t help but ask, ”Can these slots be given to others?”

Elder Chen paused, stunned by the question.

Give them to others? The Five Elements Cavern could purify and compress one’s spiritual power, washing and strengthening the body with invisible forces. Entering it once would lead to significant improvements in both spiritual power and physical condition. The secret realms were filled with numerous opportunities. Who would give such things away?

Unless….

Elder Chen studied Ye Chen and likely guessed the reason for his question. Ye Chen was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, with a third-grade spiritual root. He must have been concerned about someone taking the opportunities from him.

Though Ye Chen was a ”connection disciple,” Elder Chen still responded seriously, ”The slots belong to you, so you may give them to anyone you wish. But it must be your choice to give them away. If anyone tries to take them, it will be absolutely impossible.

“Our Green Cloud Sect is a righteous sect. While we encourage competition, it must be fair and square. We do not tolerate underhanded tactics, even from other direct disciples. Anyone caught will face severe consequences, including the possibility of having their cultivation sealed and being expelled from the sect. So, you can rest assured.”

Hearing this, Ye Chen smiled with relief. This made Elder Chen shake his head in disbelief. A direct disciple of the peak master, yet one who feared his resources being taken away? It seemed that the weakest direct disciple of Green Cloud Sect had just been born.