Immortality Starts With Investment

The Enlightenment Tea Tree was profoundly mysterious. Cultivating beneath it had conjured vague images in An Miaoli’s mind—scenes of an ancient battlefield and moments of standing in the depths of the starry sky, revered by billions of beings.

The visions were few but grand in scale. Most strikingly, an immortal scripture had surfaced in her consciousness, causing her serene, immortal-like face to grow even more solemn.

Could she truly have a past life? But if she recalled it, would she still be herself? Would she still cherish An Yuyi as she did now? Would she willingly ”detoxify” Ye Chen, knowing full well he wasn’t poisoned?

A natural resistance to her past life welled up within her. She wanted only her present self, not some former existence. With that resolve, An Miaoli swiftly flew beyond the tree’s range, exhaling in relief as the mystical sensation faded.

Ye Chen followed, his expression serious as he stood by her side, eyes filled with concern. An Miaoli held nothing back from him. After all, Ye Chen had shared the existence of the Enlightenment Tea Tree—a treasure that could spark wars among Holy Lands—without hesitation. What reason did she have to conceal anything?

After hearing the details, Ye Chen frowned. ”Was it really a past life?”

An Miaoli shook her head. ”I’m not sure.” As she spoke, she projected the blurry images from her mind for Ye Chen to see. He studied them, his brows furrowing deeper.

The scenes were almost entirely of battlefields strewn with corpses, some belonging to creatures as vast as stars. He even glimpsed a Kun Peng, its wing half-torn, its form nearly identical to the one he’d seen in the system’s Kun Peng combat experience—likely the very beast that earned the Vicious Ten their renown. But to think such a creature had its wing ripped apart? What kind of battlefield could host such carnage? Only someone on the level of the Heavenly Emperor could wield such power.

Was An Miaoli’s past life so formidable as to participate in such a terrifying war? Ye Chen was stunned. Learning that an immortal scripture had also appeared in her mind piqued his curiosity further. He asked its name, hoping it might offer clues.

An Miaoli’s candor was astonishing. She answered directly, ”The scripture is called the Seven Extremes Heavenly Scripture.” With that, her jade finger gently touched Ye Chen’s forehead, and a vast, majestic scripture flooded his mind.

Seven Extremes Heavenly Scripture! The text promised that cultivating it would forge the Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden Body, a physique capable of shaking past and present, suppressing myriad immortals, and sweeping through foreign realms.

Beyond the scripture itself, there was only this single description. Yet its simplicity carried an audacious arrogance. Suppressing myriad immortals? The claim was almost absurdly bold.

Ye Chen doubted even the Heavenly Emperor’s scripture would dare make such a boast. While immortal scriptures were powerful, their efficacy depended on the cultivator. To claim dominance over all immortals and realms was outrageously grandiose.

The author’s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Among female immortals, few were renowned, and Ye Chen had no recollection of any called ”Seven Extremes.” The cultivation world’s history was vast, with countless true immortals, many unknown to him. But the truly exceptional ones typically left their names etched in legend, making this anomaly puzzling.

Scanning the scripture’s text, though unfamiliar, Ye Chen’s extensive experience with immortal scriptures suggested it was legitimate. It didn’t seem to carry the eerie effects of something like the Supreme Scripture.

”Senior An, do you want to awaken your past-life memories?” Ye Chen asked, his tone thoughtful. The Immortal Exquisite might be useful in An Miaoli’s situation, and Ye Chen was curious—did past lives truly exist in this world? If so, who could An Miaoli have been?

An Miaoli shook her head without hesitation. ”No.”

Ye Chen was taken aback. She didn’t want to? Awakening past-life memories could be a shortcut to soaring success. In the many male-oriented novels he’d read in his past life, protagonists often unlocked their past lives and skyrocketed to greatness—an exhilarating prospect. If it were him, he’d likely be willing. So her refusal puzzled him.

An Miaoli’s expression was resolute. ”If I were a true immortal in my past life, would I still be myself after awakening those memories? I’ve only lived for fifty-odd years. If that immortal’s experiences span tens of thousands of years—or more—when those memories merge with mine, my past would be like a stream swept away by a flood. My will would inevitably be tainted by those memories. I might no longer cherish what I have now. To me, the past is irrelevant. Staying true to myself and living in the present is what matters most.”

Her decisiveness struck Ye Chen with clarity. Indeed, a person’s will is shaped by their experiences. Gaining a past life’s memories would be akin to becoming someone else—replaced by that former self. Though he was curious about the formidable Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden Body and its potential return rate, and wondered how high An Miaoli’s multiplier could climb if she awakened her past life, he valued her as she was. The candid, clear-conscienced An Miaoli was irreplaceable. A higher return rate was tempting, but some people were one-of-a-kind, and losing them would be a regret without remedy. So, let the past life remain dormant.

”In that case, Senior, you’d best avoid cultivating this scripture and stick to the Eternal Cosmos Sutra,” Ye Chen advised. Though he hadn’t detected any issues with the Seven Extremes Heavenly Scripture, if An Miaoli wanted to sever ties with her past life, it was safer to avoid anything connected to it. The cultivation world was filled with strange forces—one misstep could ensnare her.

An Miaoli nodded firmly. She even cast a spell, decisively erasing all memories of the Seven Extremes Heavenly Scripture and the associated visions from her mind, leaving not a trace of the text. Her resolve left Ye Chen in awe. Most people, faced with a potential path to immortality, wouldn’t abandon it so readily. An Miaoli’s strength of will was truly remarkable.

Since she was resolute, Ye Chen supported her fully. After a moment’s thought, he said, ”I’ll find a top-grade treasure to protect your true self, to prevent any subtle influence from past-life memories. The Enlightenment Tea Tree is too extraordinary, so you should avoid cultivating beneath it. Drinking its tea will suffice.”

An Miaoli gave a faint nod, her brows furrowing as she glanced at the tree, unwilling to approach it again. Then, she turned to Ye Chen with a soft voice. ”Why don’t you come to my Clear Conscience Peak, Fellow Daoist Ye? There’s a spring there—not a spiritual one, but a hot spring.”

Ye Chen’s face lit up with a smile, and he nodded eagerly. A hot spring sounded perfect. Now that they were away from the Enlightenment Tea Tree’s influence, his enthusiasm had returned. Naturally, he was eager to experience it.