Immortality Starts With Investment

”Now that my Imperial Dragon Qi is perfected and Ascension Peak is on the right track, it’s time to find Master…” Ye Chen murmured to himself. His master held an exceptionally high place in his heart. Even though he was now surrounded by female cultivators with five hundred times the potential, his master, with a mere two hundred times, no longer seemed as dazzling by comparison.

But a master was a master, not something measurable by mere numbers. The story of the old sect leader, whether true or fabricated, had left an impression on him. Regardless, bringing his master back sooner rather than later was the right move. As for his father’s situation, that needed to be resolved today as well.

Stepping out of the Holy Son Hall, Ye Chen was about to head to Dao Evolution Peak when his brow twitched, and he looked ahead. A figure gracefully approached—it was Mo Yuzhu.

”Holy Son, today is the day we open the peak to recruit new disciples,” she said. ”Seven hundred Holy Land disciples have already arrived. Here is the list. Would you like to personally make the selections, as you did last time?” Mo Yuzhu gazed at Ye Chen’s handsome face, bowing respectfully.

Over the past year, Mo Yuzhu had been thoroughly won over by her Holy Son. The resources provided to disciples at Ascension Peak far exceeded what the outside world imagined.

Moreover, the Holy Son had gifted her treasures multiple times, including ones that could aid in forming a Nascent Soul. With these, she grew increasingly confident in achieving an Immortal Nascent Soul.

As for the rumors that joining Ascension Peak meant sleeping with the Holy Son, they were utter nonsense. The Holy Son was rather aloof with disciples like her, his interactions limited to gifting treasures—nothing more. They might have wished for the ”refinement” of the Holy Son’s attention, but no such opportunity ever arose. Only the female cultivators he brought with him, like An Miaoli and An Yuyi, were privileged to stay by his side.

Sometimes, when Mo Yuzhu came to report, she’d catch glimpses of the maids, their faces radiant with a certain glow, clearly having been ”nurtured.” She’d also seen An Miaoli and An Yuyi emerging from the Holy Son Hall.

An Yuyi’s cheeks were always flushed, sparking speculation, but An Miaoli maintained an air of serene dignity, as if untouched by worldly matters. It left Mo Yuzhu wondering if she was overthinking things.

”Let’s go,” Ye Chen said lightly, gliding toward the mountainside of Ascension Peak. Mo Yuzhu hurriedly followed.

Though her cultivation and perception couldn’t fully grasp it, Mo Yuzhu sensed a subtle shift in her Holy Son’s presence. His aura had grown even more regal, his every gesture carrying the weight of a great figure, like the Holy Lord himself. This only deepened her conviction that she’d made the right choice in joining him.

The Holy Son was no fallen prodigy like Zhong Yong, as the outside world claimed. Quite the opposite—he was destined to rival the First Holy Son and perhaps even vie for the position of Holy Lord.

When Ye Chen arrived at the mountainside of Ascension Peak, he was momentarily stunned by the sight before him. The crowd was a dazzling array of colorfully dressed women, few of whom wore the standard Holy Land disciple robes. Every single one was a female cultivator. It dawned on him that his earlier decision to recruit only female disciples must have sparked rumors in the outside world.

But Ye Chen didn’t care. In the cultivation world, strength was everything. Without it, no one would take you seriously, no matter what you said. But once your power reached its peak, even the most notorious flaws could be reframed as charming quirks.

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History was full of examples—True Immortals who, in their youth, were ruthless or played with the hearts of two Holy Maidens, drawing the scorn of their era’s prodigies. Yet, when they stood at the pinnacle, those flaws became mere anecdotes, even spun into reasonable tales by scholars who found justifications for their every action. So, Ye Chen would do as he pleased, unbothered by gossip. In time, others would naturally polish his reputation for him.

”Greetings, Holy Son!” The female disciples bowed in unison as he appeared, their faces alight with excitement, practically lining up as if ready to introduce themselves one by one with their names and hometowns.

Ye Chen scanned the group, his brow furrowing slightly. The quality of this batch was noticeably lower than the last. Most couldn’t even meet the basic threshold for triggering potential multipliers. Just what kind of rumors had the outside world spread about him? Why were even the most mediocre candidates flocking to Ascension Peak?

After a careful sweep, Ye Chen selected only two. The first was a Foundation Establishment stage disciple who looked like a delicate, pure-hearted loli. He chose her not for her appearance but because she had a potential multiplier of five hundred.

The second was a Golden Core stage cultivator, strikingly beautiful but with an eerie, almost sinister aura. She was a rare Gu cultivator, with a multiplier of three hundred.

With his system, Ye Chen could master any skill without wasting time, so he was curious about unorthodox paths like Gu Dao. They might prove useful in the future—or, at worst, it wouldn’t hurt to have the knowledge. As he saw it: I may not need it, but I can’t afford not to have it.

Seeing that Ye Chen picked only two, the remaining female cultivators were visibly disappointed, whispering among themselves about the Holy Son’s preferences.

Ye Chen paid their thoughts no mind. He instructed Mo Yuzhu to take the two selected disciples up the mountain to arrange their accommodations, then flew straight toward Dao Evolution Peak.

Dao Evolution Peak was one of the forty-nine main peaks of the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land, renowned for its mastery of the art of divination. Its peak master, Elder He, was said to have unmatched skill in this field. Over the past year, Ye Chen had wanted to seek his help, but the elder had been in seclusion. Now that he was finally available, it was the perfect time to ask him to divine the whereabouts of Ye Chen’s father and master.

The Heavenly Evolution Holy Land was vast, with Ascension Peak lying tens of thousands of miles from Dao Evolution Peak. But for Ye Chen, the journey took mere moments. In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he arrived at Dao Evolution Peak and flew directly to its summit. The guardian elder was about to reprimand him but froze upon sensing Ye Chen’s aura, swallowing his words. After learning Ye Chen’s purpose, the elder personally escorted him to the peak’s summit.

The sight that greeted Ye Chen was a sprawling complex of grand palaces, arranged in an intricate pattern resembling a massive yin-yang fish. After the guardian elder announced his arrival, the largest central palace’s doors swung open, and an unfriendly voice called out, ”Come in!”

Ye Chen offered a polite smile of thanks to the elder and strode into the palace. Inside, countless candles blazed, illuminating a floor forged from divine metals, etched with constellations and intricate divine runes that gave the space an otherworldly air, like a vast formation diagram. At its center stood an old man in a cyan Taoist robe, eyeing Ye Chen with clear displeasure.

”You’re that Fourth Holy Son, the one with the Heavy Pupils and the Ten Vicious Treasure Techniques, a prodigy comparable to Hua Yunfei?” the old man asked, his tone sharp.

Ye Chen, aware that he was seeking a favor from a mighty Integration Realm expert, bowed respectfully. ”Greetings, Elder He. I am indeed Ye Chen.”

Elder He gave him a cold glance. ”Another Holy Son who looks down on our Heavenly Evolution Immortal Scripture… A Holy Son of the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land, not cultivating our own scripture, yet coming to beg for a divination. In the entire cultivation world, only our Holy Land’s scripture is scorned by its own disciples! Every Holy Son who’s made a name for themselves out there isn’t a successor of the Heavenly Evolution Ancestor, nor do they practice our scripture. Utterly laughable!”

Ye Chen was speechless.

When did I ever say I looked down on the Heavenly Evolution Immortal Scripture? No one’s even offered it to me…