Immortality Starts With Investment

”The Heavenly Evolution Holy Land has dispatched one Great Saint and two Saint Kings to guard the Heavenly Emperor’s heir! As for that Feng Baiyu—though he enjoyed great renown among the previous generation’s prodigies—he remains merely at the King realm. No need to concern ourselves with him. And the Heavenly Desire Sect? A mere second-rate power with only one Saint in the entire sect. They likely lack even the courage to interfere.

”Once everyone arrives, we will immediately deploy the ultimate killing formation to seal this entire domain. We strike the Heavenly Emperor’s heir down at once, giving neither the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land nor its allies any chance to provide aid. In the Central Continent, the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land remains ever vigilant. Here in the Great Yan Continent, however, they have relaxed their guard. This is the perfect moment to act.”

The Great Saint from the Devouring lineage spoke with unshakable confidence.

Though this assassination attempt was spearheaded by the Devouring lineage, the powerful experts gathered here hailed from various major forces. Within their respective sects and clans, they had tirelessly spread the narrative of the Heavenly Emperor’s heir as an existential threat.

In doing so, they had drawn in hostile powers willing to send their strongest. They themselves merely served as the bridge, the matchmakers. This time, two Great Saints had come—including himself.

Five Saint Kings. Seven Saints. Such a lineup could sweep across the cultivation world with impunity. Once fully assembled, they would unleash a supreme divine array to lock down the heavens and earth, shattering the Heavenly Desire Sect’s mountain gate formation. Even if the Heavenly Emperor’s heir truly possessed a Sacred Spiritual Root and could slay across realms, he would die without question.

A terrifying killing intent slowly descended.

In a distant, hidden corner, the Alkaid Holy Son—his body suffused with divine radiance—gazed calmly toward the Heavenly Desire Sect. He had personally orchestrated this assault against Ye Chen. He was utterly confident in his own future. He feared no one—not even the Seven-Crowned Kings, the Heavenly Princes, or the Exiled Immortals. Yet if he could eliminate such rivals ahead of time, why not?

It was far better to dispose of them effortlessly than to risk a deadly battle. Ye Chen carried countless secrets. Should he personally slay him, the rewards would be boundless.

After a moment of hesitation, however, the Alkaid Holy Son chose not to approach. He merely watched from afar, hoping to witness Ye Chen’s fall with his own eyes.

…

In the blink of an eye, a week passed. The experts from various powers, all drawn here for the Heavenly Emperor’s heir, had finally assembled. Just as they began silently laying down their killing array in the void, preparing to seal the Heavenly Desire Sect without a sound, the once-clear sky above the sect suddenly darkened.

Dark clouds gathered in an instant. Heavenly punishment converged. Silver lightning coiled like ancient dragons, flickering in and out of the roiling thunderheads. The scope of the tribulation clouds was immense, their might boundless. Even Great Saints felt a palpable killing intent.

Never before had any of them witnessed a tribulation of such terrifying power. Yet they understood immediately. It could only be the Heavenly Emperor’s heir breaking through. Only a supreme prodigy like him could summon such a horrifying thunder tribulation upon advancement. Without hesitation, the hidden experts retreated swiftly.

In the cultivation world, no one dared disturb another’s tribulation. Not out of moral superiority, but because interference invited lightning to strike them as well—and with amplified force. Thus, they withdrew without delay.

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Yet deep in their hearts, shock rippled through them all. The Heavenly Emperor’s heir had risen to prominence in less than a century. In such a short span, he was already on the verge of breaking through to the Fourth Heaven of Mahayana—achieving Half-Saint.

This monstrous pace of advancement truly lent credence to the rumors of a Sacred Spiritual Root. As for why it was not quite as absurdly fast as the legends claimed, they speculated that the Heavenly Emperor’s heir perhaps prioritized strengthening his combat power over hastily climbing realms. Thus the slight delay.

In any case, Ye Chen’s tribulation only deepened the gravity on the faces of the gathered powerhouses. For the sake of their nephews, juniors, and disciples vying for Immortal Qi, for the sake of their own clans and sects soaring to new heights in their wake, the Heavenly Emperor’s heir had to die!

”Boom…”

A terrifying bolt of lightning tore through the dim sky, illuminating the heavens and earth as though a rift had opened in reality itself. A destructive aura flooded the entire domain. Every eye widened in shock.

Fan Qinghe stood together with her master and grandmaster—three voluptuous, breathtakingly beautiful women whose presence would normally draw every gaze. Yet at this moment, no one spared them a glance. All attention was fixed upon the tribulation above. Each thunderbolt carried enough power to slay a Half-Saint outright.

Nevertheless, the lone figure within the storm remained utterly calm, standing unshaken as he basked in the baptism of lightning. Everyone could not help but marvel at the sheer resilience of his fleshly body.

Soon, astonishment deepened. The one undergoing tribulation was not merely tempering his body with the thunder, refining himself. He was multitasking—summoning two weapons and beginning to refine them even amid the chaos.

Due to the interference of the tribulation, the sight remained somewhat unclear. Yet it was possible to make out what appeared to be a small cauldron and a banner. The small cauldron was easy to recognize. But what sort of weapon was the banner?

A soul-refining banner seemed unlikely—the Heavenly Emperor’s heir walked the upright path and showed no sign of practicing malevolent arts. It must be some other hidden trump card.

The onlookers committed the image to memory, preparing themselves for the future.

Seven full days passed.

The intensity of the thunder was staggering. The sheer number of bolts was equally shocking. Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine tribulations in total, each one stronger than the last. By the end, even Great Saints felt their bones go numb.

The greater one’s talent, the more numerous and ferocious the thunder. This tribulation had surely reached the absolute limit. For anyone else—even a peak Half-Saint—crossing such a storm right after breaking through to the Fourth Heaven would have meant death countless times over. Yet the Heavenly Emperor’s heir stood quietly at the center, accepting the cleansing without the slightest ripple of disturbance.

The faces of the hidden experts grew increasingly grave, their killing intent thickening. Even the distant Alkaid Holy Son narrowed his eyes, retreating another stretch with a thoughtful expression.

…

When the final bolt of thunder finally dissipated, no one relaxed. Given the unparalleled talent the Heavenly Emperor’s heir had displayed, one more tribulation remained. The infamous Imprint Tribulation—the mark of prodigies. It summoned the lingering imprint of an ancient supreme genius left behind in the heavenly tribulation.

The stronger one was, the more terrifying the ancient prodigy encountered. And in his previous King realm breakthrough, the Heavenly Emperor’s heir had already reached a level unprecedented in history. Thus, the living imprint he faced this time would surely be among the most supreme ancient prodigies.

Speculation stirred among the crowd.

”Could it be the Heavenly Emperor himself?”

”The Nine Great Venerables who created the Nine Secrets are also possible!”

”The Western Queen Mother cannot be ruled out.”

”From the myriad races, it could be supreme ancient existences like the Undying Celestial Emperor, the Stone Emperor, and so on…”

Complex emotions swirled in every heart as they guessed. These figures represented the pinnacle of both human and myriad race history—true apex existences. Even after vanishing for countless ages, their legends had not faded in the slightest. To speculate that one of their imprints might appear already placed Ye Chen’s talent on the same scale as theirs. Some of the bolder ones even believed the talent he had shown surpassed those legends.

Yet even with such expectations, when the living imprint battlefield slowly coalesced deep within the tribulation clouds, every eye widened in disbelief. Shock and incredulity filled their gazes.

Far away, the Alkaid Holy Son’s expression darkened to an extreme. He retreated even farther!