Immortality Starts With Investment

Ye Chen slipped into an empty courtyard in the Wang residence, casually activating its wards and sitting cross-legged. His blood-spitting wasn’t faked. His pallor, his withered aura—none of it was an act. For a Golden Core cultivator, the core was their foundation. Severing it forcibly was catastrophic.

Yet, despite the toll, Ye Chen’s smile never faded. In his mind, the system’s voice echoed relentlessly.

”Congratulations, Host! Gift successful!”

”Gifted: Five-Colored Law Core!”

”Five-hundredfold feedback in progress…”

”Detected: The gifted item is of extreme importance to the recipient, triggering intense emotional resonance…”

”Critical reward activated!”

”Reward: Chaos Core!”

”Chaos Core: Born of primordial chaos, it allows effortless comprehension, refinement, and fusion of all heavenly laws without limit.”

”Detected: Host’s dantian is vacant. Chaos Core has been directly placed within.”

Critical hit!

Ye Chen could clearly see it—a misty, gray orb shrouded in endless fog now rested in his once-empty dantian. His depleted aura, ravaged by the loss of his five-colored core, surged back, climbing rapidly. His leaking vital essence reversed, restoring at breakneck speed.

As he bonded with the Chaos Core, its terrifying potential dawned on him. Ordinary Great Ascension cultivators, even prodigies, might grasp two or three heavenly laws, but could only house one. A five-colored core aligned with five laws, a nine-colored one with nine—the more laws fused before ascension, the stronger the resulting True Immortal.

His Chaos Core? It aligned with all laws and could contain them without limit. Given time, he could comprehend and fuse every heavenly law into himself. The Chaotic Ancient True Immortal, with seven laws, dominated True Immortals. What would Ye Chen, with boundless laws, achieve upon ascending?

A wild thought struck him: Can I gift heavenly laws? If he could master a law and gift it, he could propel every woman around him to immortality, reaping endless feedback. That’s the ticket to becoming the strongest True Immortal in history, bar none.

He was only Golden Core now, far from the Great Ascension Realm, so the idea was just a fleeting fantasy. Shaking it off, he focused on cultivating, deepening his bond with the Chaos Core. His aura, already restored to its pre-gift peak, kept soaring.

As dawn broke, the first rays painting the sky, the transformation finally settled.

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…

The Chaos Core’s benefits extended far beyond paving the way to immortality. Even now, it amplified Ye Chen’s strength exponentially. He could feel his already monstrous power surging at least tenfold. The core’s terror was beyond comprehension—he couldn’t even gauge his own limits anymore.

Glancing toward his courtyard, Ye Chen mentally tipped his hat to the little demoness and the old granny. Su Yuxuan, true to her demonic nature, always conjured bizarre gifting opportunities. And Manjusaka, despite her man-hating streak and eight-thousand-year-old verbal punches, delivered a five-hundredfold base reward plus a critical hit. Absolute clutch.

He toyed with the idea of helping Manjusaka restore her physical body. As a soul, she already triggered a five-hundredfold return—imagine the multiplier with a flesh-and-blood form. It could skyrocket. He’d have to chat with her later, see if she’d stick with him.

Sure, having her around meant she’d witness everything he did, but during his reunion with Su Yuxuan, her presence hadn’t fazed him. If anything, it… spiced things up.

His spiritual sense pinged—the Wang Clan patriarch was heading toward his courtyard, likely to summon him for the arena. To avoid disturbing Su Yuxuan’s core refinement, Ye Chen glided out, intercepting them.

The patriarch’s eyes reddened upon seeing Ye Chen emerge from Wang Ming’s courtyard. Outrageous! Killing Wang Ming was bad enough, but sneaking into his courtyard at night? Blatant provocation.

If not for needing Ye Chen to expose Champion King’s trump cards—and knowing he couldn’t beat him—the patriarch would’ve snapped. Gritting his teeth, he led the group to the palace.

…

Today, Champion King would take the stage. As a powerhouse who’d clashed with Nascent Soul cultivators, every cultivator in the capital was eager to witness his prowess, hoping to glean insights.

Ye Chen, too, was a hot topic. The Flying Tiger General, a top Great Chu expert, had reached late Golden Core, yet Ye Chen, a mid-Golden Core, flattened him with a single slap. His strength was staggering.

Still, today’s match sparked little anticipation. Most wanted to see Champion King in action and gauge how long a prodigy like Ye Chen could last against him. The real spectacle was tomorrow—Li Feihuang’s Moon Phoenix Body versus Champion King. That was the clash everyone craved.

…

Amid the buzzing discussions, a Great Chu clan elder soared into the sky. His voice, like cascading thunder, reverberated across the capital. The sky arena rose once more, its divine runes flaring as it stabilized.

”Both sides, enter!” the elder commanded.

Atop the palace walls, the Wang Clan patriarch bowed deeply to Ye Chen. ”Fellow Daoist Ye, for Her Highness’s sake, please spare no effort to wound Champion King and expose his trump cards.”

Wang Lun and the others echoed the gesture, their eyes gleaming with expectation. Ye Chen’s lips twitched.

You didn’t say it outright, but you might as well have told me to die—preferably by blowing up my Golden Core. Consumable, huh?

Li Feihuang rose, her phoenix robe shimmering, her crimson hair styled regally, exuding an aura of noble grace. She bowed sincerely to Ye Chen. ”Fellow Daoist Ye, no need for a deathmatch. Just do your best.”

That’s more like it. Ye Chen chuckled, saying nothing, and glided toward the sky arena. Today’s battle would indeed be a fight to the death—but not his. Champion King, who dared covet his woman and forced Su Yuxuan to detonate her core, had to die. No man could tolerate such an affront.

Yet, Champion King hadn’t arrived. The crowd murmured—by rule, absence meant forfeit, but the elder remained silent, waiting patiently.

After a hundred breaths, a terrifying aura erupted from the direction of Champion King’s mansion. A war chariot, wreathed in divine flames and radiating a slaughterous intent so fierce it brought tears to onlookers’ eyes, blazed across the sky.

Atop the chariot stood a towering figure, indomitable as if he could battle the heavens themselves. Champion King had arrived.

The capital fell silent, gripped by awe.

…