Immortality Starts With Investment

When Yi Qingwu returned to her cave abode with a cold smirk, she found Ye Chen staring at her, a mix of shock and delight on his face. ”Qingwu, you’re out of seclusion! That’s wonderful. You have no idea how much I’ve accomplished while you were in retreat. If you knew, you’d be thrilled. Most of the disciples and elders of the Heavenly Intention Holy Land have accepted me. There’ll be no obstacles to us becoming dao companions in the future.”

Ye Chen spoke with such conviction that it almost seemed genuine.

Yi Qingwu’s lips curved into a sly smile. ”Are you talking about how you handpicked beautiful female disciples and elders to join my Holy Maiden Peak to build your harem? Or how you read their palms, purified their water sources, and offered ’late-night guidance’? If I stayed in seclusion for another year, would I come out to find myself raising your kids?”

Ye Chen looked at her with mock pain. ”How could you think of me like that? Everything I did was for our future! As for only recruiting female disciples, it’s because I love you so much that I can’t stand another man on Holy Maiden Peak…”

Yi Qingwu laughed, watching Ye Chen spin his tale as if it were the truth. She wasted no more words. Striding forward, endless moonlight coalesced behind her into four ribbons, binding Ye Chen’s limbs and anchoring them to the cave’s ceiling.

Gritting her teeth, she hissed, ”I was in seclusion for just two months, and you couldn’t wait to stir up all this trouble! Looks like you’ve got too much energy. I didn’t satisfy you enough!”

Though Ye Chen’s limbs were bound, he could break free easily. But this wasn’t the time for that. He had to humbly accept his punishment.

Soon, though, Ye Chen started to panic. The fiancée seemed determined to drain him completely this time. This was dangerous. But who could resist loving their fiancée? He could only grit his teeth and endure.

Still, Ye Chen felt a twinge of regret—The fiancée was missing a whip… He’d already given out this week’s gifts. He’d have to wait until next week.

…

After a week of endless torment and suffering, the system’s cooldown finally ended. Ye Chen let out a long breath, his wrist trembling slightly. The moonlight ropes shattered.

Yi Qingwu stretched her slender neck, sneering. ”What, drained already?”

Ye Chen nodded, then shook his head. ”Halfway, maybe… but I suddenly thought of a gift for you, Qingwu.”

With a wave of his hand, a divine whip forged from starlight appeared in his palm. ”This feels perfect for you. You’re about to break through to the Mahayana Realm. This whip suits you perfectly! I’ll seal it with a secret technique so you can wield it like a mortal whip for now. Once you reach the Mahayana Realm, you can easily unseal it!”

Yi Qingwu gazed at the divine whip, a faint smile breaking through. During the previous battle, onlookers had gossiped that Ye Chen was hoarding treasures to give to other female cultivators. Clearly not. Ye Chen just wanted to spend more time with her, revealing his gifts bit by bit.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Knowing he already possessed the Heavenly Emperor Sword and the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod of the Victorious Fighting Ape Clan, Yi Qingwu didn’t hesitate. She grasped the whip, giving it a light flick that cracked through the air. Holding the Star River Divine Whip, she radiated a unique aura…

Ye Chen immediately wanted to be ”punished” by the fiancée again. Raising his hand, he bound his own limbs willingly…

Yi Qingwu froze, glancing at the whip in her hand, then at Ye Chen’s eager, excited expression, utterly baffled. Who knew the Heavenly Emperor’s heir was like this… but…

After a moment’s hesitation, Yi Qingwu tossed the whip aside. Moonlight swirled behind her, binding her own limbs. She didn’t look at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen waited, but nothing happened. Glancing at the fiancée, he was stunned for a moment before breaking into a grin. Compared to wielding a whip, the fiancée seemed to have an even more extraordinary wail. What could he do about it? Spoil her, of course!

As the crisp yet gentle sound of the whip echoed, the system’s notifications rang incessantly in Ye Chen’s mind…

”Congratulations, Host, for successfully gifting!”

”Gift: Low-grade Extreme Dao Weapon: Star River Divine Whip!”

”Four-thousand-fold feedback in progress…”

”Detected: Host’s gifted item…”

”Triggered critical reward.”

”Feedback: Supreme Extreme Dao Weapon: Divine Maiden Cauldron!”

”Feedback: Immortal Artifact: Dao Cauldron!”

Seeing the system’s feedback, Ye Chen’s eyes lit up, his grip tightening slightly. The fiancée was impressive. A buy-one-get-one feedback deal. An immortal artifact was within expectations. But an additional supreme Extreme Dao Weapon? That was a pleasant surprise.

Indeed, high multipliers were king. As expected, the fiancée’s multiplier had risen from 3,500 to 4,000, despite the gift’s purer and more abundant origin. The increase was smaller than last time.

Clearly, the higher it went, the harder it became. Achieving the Acquired Chaos Body would take time. But Ye Chen didn’t mind—he welcomed it. This meant he could keep gifting origin, improving his own physique.

The Acquired Chaos Body was tough to attain, and the great herbs nurtured by the Alkaid Holy Son weren’t limited to the Heavenly Intention Holy Son and the third-generation Star River King Body. There were plenty more.

If Ye Chen encountered any he disliked, he could harvest them. Even Alkaid himself was a great herb in Ye Chen’s eyes. In the future, with the right opportunity, he’d toss him into the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar. The benefits would be substantial.

Next, Ye Chen examined the two treasures from the system. First, the Divine Maiden Cauldron. The name alone sounded dubious. And when Ye Chen saw its details, he was stunned…

It was indeed dubious. This supreme Extreme Dao Weapon specifically countered female cultivators. Once sucked into the cauldron, they were at its mercy.

The Divine Maiden Cauldron wielded the Law of Human Desire. Even the purest Divine Maiden or Holy Maiden would transform inside…

Its reputation was infamous, notorious across history. It was the sect treasure of the long-extinct Human Desire Sect.

Initially, things were fine. But a prodigy of the sect, despairing at his failure to ascend to immortality, went mad, using the cauldron to capture numerous Divine Maidens and Holy Maidens, sparking outrage.

The sect was annihilated by a coalition of forces. The Divine Maiden Cauldron vanished. It reappeared during the Heavenly Emperor era, used by the Emperor to capture pursuing Divine Maidens and Holy Maidens. He didn’t do anything nefarious, merely auctioning them back to their factions.

Still, the major powers were furious, and female cultivators lived in fear. In the end, they united, scheming to destroy the Emperor’s cauldron… making the Divine Maiden Cauldron a thing of legend. And now, it was in Ye Chen’s hands.

Ye Chen felt helpless. He was an upright man—why would he need this? The cauldron’s infamy would ruin his reputation. With his resources, he didn’t need such tactics.

So, Ye Chen resolved firmly. Even if he died, even if he leapt from the highest peak of the Heavenly Intention Holy Land, he’d never use this cauldron—not even once!