Immortality Starts With Investment

Ever since the Immortal Path opened, the vast majority of the myriad races’ cultivators from the Northern Domain had migrated to the Central Continent and settled in the Myriad Races Immortal City.

None of them planned to return. After all, the Northern Domain had always been a cold, barren land. With the Age of Dharma’s End approaching, it would become even less suitable for cultivation. They all longed to reestablish roots in the Central Continent.

Thus, the Northern Domain had fallen into profound silence. But today, the entire region trembled. Because word had spread from the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan, the Celestial Prince had awakened.

In ancient times, the Undying Celestial Emperor had stood as the supreme sovereign of the myriad races, suppressing the entire cultivation world and ruling over all. The Celestial Prince, too, had been a legendary figure of his generation.

Heavenly Spiritual Root, True Phoenix Body, and True Immortal bloodline—he had been nearly invincible among the myriad races. Later, he suffered a regrettable defeat at the hands of the Heavenly Emperor and sealed himself within the divine source. Now, after a million years, his return would surely be even more domineering.

The myriad races that had long remained loyal to the Undying Celestial Phoenix lineage received the news with fervent excitement and hurried toward the clan’s ancestral lands. They wished to pay respects to the Celestial Prince.

Atop the sacred mountain of the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan, a peak-Saint cultivator knelt before the divine source, cradling a fist-sized crystal in both hands.

”Greetings, Old Ancestor. Please allow your divine will to descend…”

The cultivator spoke softly, his heart filled with reluctance. He was the most gifted prodigy of the current generation in the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan—surpassing even Feng Youhuang by a narrow margin.

That was precisely why the clan had been reluctant to send him to his death against the Heavenly Emperor’s heir. They had even bestowed upon him their sole remaining Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal, so that he could achieve a perfect breakthrough to Saint King.

Yet now the Celestial Prince had suddenly demanded to emerge and required the crystal. What could he do? He could only yield it. If he had known, he would have entered seclusion much earlier.

Once the prodigy offered up the Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal, the divine source trembled faintly. The crystal flew from his hands on its own.

In the next instant, a strand of divine will descended and poured into the crystal. A terrifying aura instantly erupted. The originally translucent Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal began to surge with five-colored divine light.

Within the boundless radiance, a figure slowly took shape—impossible to look upon directly, impossible to discern clearly.

Moments later, the divine light contracted and transformed into a wheel of five colors that settled behind the figure’s head.

The man had snow-white hair. His features were handsome and domineering, his eyes gleaming with golden light—imposing even without anger. Coupled with the continuously rotating five-colored divine wheel behind his head, he appeared no different from a true deity descended to the mortal realm.

The prodigy, still kneeling there and wondering whether the Celestial Prince would return the crystal after using it, now felt his entire body trembling uncontrollably. A deep, instinctive fear and awe rose from the bottom of his heart.

He was already a peak Saint. Yet merely facing a single strand of the Celestial Prince’s divine will left him utterly overwhelmed. If the Old Ancestor’s true body were to emerge, how terrifying would that be?

…

The Celestial Prince closed his eyes and quietly sensed the power flowing through the strand of his divine will. Then he shook his head lightly.

”The Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal may serve as the primary material for forging a top-tier Heavenly Heart Imprint, and it can indeed bear a quasi-immortal’s will—but in the end, it cannot truly be called an immortal material…

”It is not even capable of perfectly containing a single thread of my divine sense. At most, I can wield seventy percent of my power. Any more, and cracks will appear across the crystal, severely diminishing its effectiveness!”

At this point, the Celestial Prince smiled and glanced toward the kneeling prodigy before him.

”But you need not worry. Even though the Heavenly Emperor’s heir has already reversed the severing of the Great Dao and become a Saint, seventy percent of my divine will is more than sufficient. This single strand of mine—at seventy percent strength—can sweep aside every enemy beneath the rank of Great Saint!

”And if I unleash its full power without regard for the damage to the crystal… even a Great Saint can be killed and tested! So rest easy. I will return very soon. Once I do, you may use the Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal to break through.”

Hearing this, the prodigy below hurriedly bowed even deeper in respect. The Celestial Prince had lived for a million years—he would never speak empty words. Seventy percent of a single strand of divine will could sweep away all beneath the Great Saint. Killing the Heavenly Emperor’s heir would be effortless. He should not have to wait long before the Celestial Prince returned the crystal. Soon, he would break through to Saint King!

Around him, the ancestors of the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan and the various allied races stepped forward one after another. They all bowed deeply toward the Celestial Prince. The clansmen behind them followed suit.

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Though many of these elders were advanced in years—some already on the verge of passing, with only a handful of years left—the Celestial Prince hailed from the era of the Heavenly Emperor a million years ago. More than that, he was the son of the Celestial Emperor himself. He was fully worthy of their deepest respect.

”Greetings, Celestial Prince. With your awakening, the myriad races shall rise to greatness once more! We will restore the glory of the divine dynasty—it is our bounden duty! It is time to summon all the great human powers and renegotiate the division of the cultivation world…”

Voices rose in excited discussion. The Celestial Prince’s emergence filled them with boundless confidence. He merely smiled faintly, calm and composed. Whether in status or standing, he was entitled to such reverence.

Yet he paid no attention to those who bowed. Instead, his narrowed eyes settled on the only two figures present who had not lowered their heads. One was an old man whose aura was terrifying—imperial might rolled off him with every breath, faintly influencing the very laws of this heaven and earth.

The other was a man in his prime: tall and robust, his blood qi surging like a dragon, heavenly favor cascading around him in streams of flowing light. Clearly, he had already condensed a Heavenly Heart Imprint and reached the Saint King realm.

The Celestial Prince did not care who bowed today. But he very much cared about those who refused to.

”The Dream Dragon Clan?” he said lightly, a smile playing on his lips. ”Why do the two of you not bow to me?”

The Dream Dragon Clan’s Great Emperor met his gaze with calm indifference.

”Our Dream Dragon Clan has never fallen under your clan’s jurisdiction. We came today merely to see the son of the ancient Celestial Emperor with our own eyes—to witness what manner of presence an unrivaled prodigy from that era truly possesses!”

The Celestial Prince laughed softly.

”Is looking enough? Why not exchange a few moves? This strand of my divine will can enter the Sixth Realm of the Immortal Path… The powerhouse of your Dream Dragon Clan beside you appears to have perfected his Heavenly Position aura—he has reached the peak. His realm matches this strand of mine perfectly! Come—let me see what level the prodigies of a million years later have attained!”

The moment the Celestial Prince spoke, the Great Emperor narrowed his eyes.

The Dream Dragon Clan had always kept its distance from the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan and refused to submit. But the Celestial Prince had endured a million years of seclusion and emerged even now—he was undoubtedly extraordinary. Even if it was only a strand of divine will, he did not wish to see his own prodigy sent to die. He immediately shook his head.

”There is no need for a spar. The Celestial Prince’s momentum is overwhelming—he is no match.”

Hearing this, a flicker of unwillingness flashed through the Saint King’s eyes.

The corners of the Celestial Prince’s mouth curved upward.

”But I very much wish to test my hand…”

As the words fell, he raised his palm. He grasped at the void.

A colossal hand coalesced in the sky and descended with crushing force, like the firmament itself collapsing toward the Dream Dragon Clan’s Saint King.

By this point, the Saint King no longer held back.

”I, too, wish to see what the Celestial Prince is truly capable of.”

In the next instant, the Dream Dragon Clan’s Saint King erupted with power and charged forward.

The Great Emperor moved to intervene, but the oppressive aura radiating from the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan’s powerhouses pinned him in place…

He could not interfere.

…

Under countless watchful eyes, the peak Saint King of the Dream Dragon Clan transformed into a black dragon stretching ten thousand meters long. Its colossal body swept through the void with terrifying force, shattering the surrounding space into nothingness. The sheer physical power on display left the onlookers in awe.

In any other era, a prodigy like this would have entered the Immortal Path to temper himself and vie for immortal fortune. But in this generation, figures like the Heavenly Emperor’s heir Ye Chen were simply too heaven-defying. Even a Chaos Body seemed somewhat overshadowed.

Too many prodigies had quietly given up. This Dream Dragon Clan Saint King was one of them. Yet even with his dragon form’s earth-shaking might, when that sweeping tail struck the Celestial Prince’s colossal hand, the hand merely trembled slightly. Not a single crack appeared—let alone any sign of shattering.

The Dream Dragon Saint King’s expression changed drastically. He immediately tried to flee. But it was already too late. The giant hand carried an inexplicable restraining power. It seized the ten-thousand-meter dragon body—vast as a mountain range—and clenched it firmly in its grasp.

No matter how desperately the Saint King struggled, he could not break free. As the grip tightened further, the dragon’s scales shattered one after another. Endless streams of azure divine blood poured from between the fingers of the giant hand.

The Saint King writhed in excruciating agony, issuing piercing howls of torment.

Everyone present stared wide-eyed at the scene. Though they had all assumed this Saint King would be no match for the Celestial Prince’s strand of divine will—otherwise, a million years of slumber would have been for nothing—none of them had expected the Celestial Prince to be this overwhelmingly dominant.

A mere strand of divine will could suppress a Saint King with a casual gesture. In the Celestial Prince’s grasp, the Dream Dragon Clan’s peak Saint King seemed no more than a wriggling worm.

The gap was simply too vast.

The Dream Dragon Clan’s Great Emperor watched his prodigy suffer such torment and immediately recognized the profound mystery within the Celestial Prince’s palm. It was refining his clansman at every moment. If this continued, even if the Saint King did not perish outright, he would soon be crippled beyond recovery.

A single strand of divine will was already this terrifying. What of the true body? Perhaps it truly possessed the qualifications to become an immortal.

His brows furrowed tightly. He spoke at once.

”Celestial Prince, we were the ones who overstepped. Please show mercy. Our Dream Dragon Clan possesses a head of the Profound-Headed Immortal Ox. Consuming its flesh greatly benefits the physical body—Even quasi-immortals would gain from it, allowing the body to reach absolute perfection and recover far more swiftly during the heavenly tribulation’s lightning strikes… Our Dream Dragon Clan is also willing to submit to you, Celestial Prince!”

The corners of the Celestial Prince’s mouth curved upward. He gave the Great Emperor a gentle, refined smile.

Just as relief began to flicker across the Great Emperor’s face, the Celestial Prince murmured softly, his voice calm and measured.

”I appreciate the Great Emperor’s generous offer. But I… do not eat beef.”

The words fell.

The giant hand clenched with crushing finality.

A final, agonized wail erupted from the Dream Dragon Saint King. His ten-thousand-meter dragon body exploded in an instant.

Within the Celestial Prince’s palm surged an extremely peculiar force. The Dream Dragon Saint King had no chance to revive. He perished completely.

Silence blanketed the scene.

The Dream Dragon Clan’s Great Emperor’s face twisted into an expression of extreme ugliness. Yet he said nothing.

The Celestial Prince gazed at the aftermath and gave a faint smile.

”I dislike it when everyone bows to me… except for one or two who refuse. It makes me worry—perhaps I’ve done something wrong, or perhaps that person harbors resentment toward me… Young friend, do you have any grievances against me?”

The Dream Dragon Great Emperor’s expression shifted through several shades of emotion. Finally, he lowered his head.

”This junior… greets the Celestial Prince…”