Immortality Starts With Investment

Seeing the Dream Dragon Clan’s Great Emperor finally bow his head, the Celestial Prince found the sight far more pleasing. Only then did he speak amid the sea of awed gazes.

”Have you located the Heavenly Emperor Hall yet? Since this generation has two Heavenly Emperor heirs, send them both on their way together.”

One of the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan Saints lowered his head and reported respectfully.

”Celestial Prince, we have not yet pinpointed the Heavenly Emperor Hall’s location. But we are very close. We have already discovered faint traces within the starry void!”

The Celestial Prince showed no anger. He merely nodded in understanding.

The Saint let out a quiet breath of relief. Only now did they recall—the Celestial Prince had always been ruthless toward outsiders, yet surprisingly lenient with his own people.

After a moment of thought, the Celestial Prince’s lips curved into a faint smile.

”How can I set out without a maidservant at my side? I have heard that the Heavenly Emperor’s heir holds the Peacock Clan’s Yan Ruyu in extremely high regard?”

A clansman immediately replied.

”Indeed so! The Heavenly Emperor’s heir once spared the Little Peacock King because of Yan Ruyu. Later, when he visited the Myriad Races Immortal City, he frequently went to the Peacock Clan’s residence. It was there that he became acquainted with Yan Wenwen and formed a true Dao companion bond with her!”

The Celestial Prince waved a hand with faint disdain.

”Only a woman of pure and unblemished virtue is qualified to serve as my maidservant. Then let it be Yan Ruyu. Next, I will first head to the Immortal Path and take Yan Ruyu as my maidservant. Once I obtain the location of the Heavenly Emperor Hall, I can bring her along—let Ye Chen have a good look…

”Or perhaps the Heavenly Emperor’s heir will come rushing to stop me himself? After all, hasn’t this generation’s Heir been rumored to be utterly infatuated with women? Anyone who dares touch a woman he desires must die, no?

”Spread the word that I intend to enter the Immortal Path and claim Yan Ruyu as my maidservant.”

By the time he finished speaking, a playful smile lingered on the Celestial Prince’s face. He rose gracefully into the air.

The Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan powerhouses immediately nodded. They summoned a magnificent, jewel-adorned flying ship—a supreme Extreme Dao weapon. Even after suffering the Heavenly Emperor’s purge, the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan—once the supreme imperial lineage—still possessed astonishing foundations.

Once the Celestial Prince and the assembled powerhouses boarded, the ship’s prow turned forward and tore straight into the void, vanishing without a trace…

…

In the cultivation world, news traveled at terrifying speed. By the very next day, word of the Celestial Prince’s awakening had spread to every corner.

Along with it came the announcement: the Celestial Prince intended to enter the Immortal Path, take the number-one beauty of the myriad races—Yan Ruyu—as his maidservant, and then proceed to the Heavenly Emperor Hall to suppress both of its Heirs.

Though it was only a strand of the Celestial Prince’s divine will—not his true body—the entire cultivation world was still shaken to its core.

At present, the cultivation world acknowledged four supreme figures as the most likely contenders for the path to immortality.

The first was the former Heavenly Emperor’s heir, Ye Chen. His talent needed no elaboration; his battle record spoke for itself.

The second was the Eight-Crowned King of the Dao One Holy Land. His historical achievements were few but legendary—he had seized eight strands of immortal qi in succession, earning curses from many who accused him of ”occupying the latrine without doing the deed”… Yet rumors claimed his true strength had already approached the level of a True Immortal.

Then there was the elusive banished immortal, whose real identity remained shrouded in mystery to this day. But according to reports, he had reached the Great Emperor realm in a mere hundred years.

And finally, the Celestial Prince himself. A million years ago, he had contended with the Heavenly Emperor. After a narrow defeat, he sealed himself away for a million years, cultivating the extraordinary method left behind by the Undying Celestial Emperor.

Many outsiders scoffed at the decision, calling him mad—why waste so much time when he could have ascended earlier?

But none could deny: a million years of seclusion would surely yield unimaginable gains. He was undeniably a formidable contender for immortal qi.

Yet these four had either been in slumber or remained in the Ninth Realm. Their realms were so vastly separated that they had never truly crossed paths. No one could say for certain who was strongest.

But now, a mere strand of the Celestial Prince’s divine will had emerged and declared intent to act against the Heavenly Emperor’s heir. This was bound to be a world-shaking battle.

Moreover, he planned to first claim Yan Ruyu as his maidservant. Though the Heavenly Emperor’s heir had never publicly admitted it, everyone in the cultivation world knew how obsessively he coveted Yan Ruyu—enough to spare the Little Peacock King for her sake. For the Celestial Prince to take Yan Ruyu as a maidservant was nothing short of a deliberate attempt to kill the heart along with the body.

Countless cultivators perked up, eager to see who would emerge victorious. Logically, the Celestial Prince had only sent a strand of divine will. Yet word had already spread far and wide: that very strand had casually extinguished a peak Saint King of the Dream Dragon Clan.

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A single strand of divine will possessed such terrifying combat power. Its strength was simply unimaginable. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Emperor’s heir had likely only just broken through to the Saint realm.

Ye Chen undoubtedly possessed the ability to slay across realms—but that was against ordinary prodigies. Against the son of the Celestial Emperor, a being who had slumbered for a million years and now projected even a fragment of his will—if Ye Chen could still suppress him across realms, it would be beyond belief.

Thus, the majority of voices in the cultivation world favored the Celestial Prince. As for the other Heavenly Emperor heir—the Chaos Body—though she was also mentioned, with the Celestial Prince intending to suppress both, few paid her much attention. In this era, a Chaos Body truly seemed… somewhat lacking.

…

In the Heavenly Emperor Hall, the golden-robed elder was still mulling over how best to shower Ye Chen with gifts the moment he emerged from seclusion and then promptly escort him out of the door.

Then the news arrived: the Celestial Prince had awakened. Even more alarming, the Celestial Prince was searching for the Heavenly Emperor Hall’s location and intended to challenge both of this generation’s Heavenly Emperor heirs.

When the elder heard that the Celestial Prince had casually slain a peak Saint King with a mere strand of divine will, his face darkened completely. He had only just begun pushing his daughter forward to replace Ye Chen as the true Heir.

The cultivation world might not yet fully accept her—claiming her strength was insufficient—but he didn’t care. She could slowly build her battle record over time. Yet before they could even start, the Celestial Prince had jumped out of nowhere.

Truly rotten luck of the worst kind. If this had happened a little earlier, when Ye Chen was still publicly recognized as the Heavenly Emperor’s heir, Ye Chen could have handled the fight alone. If it had come a little later, his daughter’s cultivation would have risen further. She could have fought as well.

But it landed at this awkward in-between moment. If his daughter avoided the battle, her legitimacy would be even harder to establish in the eyes of the world.

But sending her to face the Celestial Prince head-on? Absolutely impossible! She had only just broken through to the Saint realm. It would be nothing short of suicide. He absolutely could not let his daughter know about this. Of course, he could take the Heavenly Emperor Hall and flee. But with the Celestial Prince making such a grand spectacle, if the Hall showed no response at all, it would appear utterly cowardly and pathetic.

After a moment of hesitation, the golden-robed elder narrowed his eyes. He decided to go find Ye Chen. Though he had always disliked the boy intensely, he could not lie to himself about Ye Chen’s combat power.

Ye Chen’s current strength already far surpassed his daughter’s. If Ye Chen had succeeded in reversing the Dao and truly become a Saint, his battle power would have soared even higher. He didn’t need to defeat the Celestial Prince’s incarnation outright. If Ye Chen could at least fight him to a draw, it would resolve the immediate crisis. So he would go check whether Ye Chen had achieved sainthood yet. And then… negotiate with him.

The golden-robed elder knew Ye Chen’s temperament well—convincing him to act would not be easy. But in this situation, he had no other choice. No matter what Ye Chen demanded, he would have to agree. He only hoped that during the negotiation, Ye Chen wouldn’t be too greedy. Still, bleeding heavily was inevitable.

With a heavy heart, the elder arrived outside Ye Chen’s seclusion chamber. His divine sense touched the transmission talisman arrayed outside. Then he stood silently, waiting.

…

Inside the cave heaven, though Ye Chen sensed the transmission talisman outside the chamber light up, he remained unmoved. He first finished what he was doing. Only then did he lift Luo Bingling—eyes rolled back in exhaustion—from the starry pool and gently pass her into the tender, still-energetic care of Lu Jing.

With that done, he rose gracefully, cast a Cleansing Talisman over himself, and stepped out of the cave heaven with leisurely calm. He had assumed it was Yan Qingcheng who had come. But when he activated the transmission talisman, it was the golden-robed elder’s voice that came through. The elder informed him that if his breakthrough was complete, there was something he wished to discuss.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. This old man had always looked at him like he was some yellow-haired lecher. And now he was coming to find him behind Yan Qingcheng’s back.

Definitely nothing good.

Still, Ye Chen was unperturbed. He let the elder wait outside for half a day longer. Only then did he raise a hand and remotely open the door of the seclusion chamber.

The elder did not rush in. He entered with his usual measured pace. Perhaps because he had come to ask a favor, he even raised his hand and said politely, ”Pardon the intrusion.”

Looking at Ye Chen, the elder raised an eyebrow. The golden hair that had once marked Ye Chen had vanished completely after breaking through to Saint.

Seeing Ye Chen with black hair now, the elder actually found him much more pleasing to the eye. Then he sensed Ye Chen’s aura—and raised his brow again. He could discern almost nothing.

Normally, when a cultivator first broke through, they could not fully control their suddenly surging power. Their aura would leak outward, making their realm easy to read. Yet Ye Chen’s aura was perfectly contained, flawless, and watertight—impossible to gauge.

Still, beneath that calm surface, the elder could faintly sense the terrifying physical power coiled within. Clearly, Ye Chen had broken through to Saint some time ago and had already mastered it completely.

A trace of emotion stirred in the elder’s heart. Without any Dao-Entrust Treasure, Ye Chen had relied solely on his own strength to reverse the Dao and achieve sainthood—and so swiftly at that. This talent truly was monstrous.

But according to the rumors, the Celestial Prince was already nearing the Immortal Path. He would likely soon locate the Heavenly Emperor Hall and arrive here.

The elder had no patience for further pleasantries. He spoke directly, laying out the current situation.

”Qingcheng has only recently broken through. Her aura is not yet stable, and she has not had time to refine the Origin Pool. She most likely cannot contend with the Celestial Prince’s strand of divine will incarnation. But the Heavenly Emperor Hall cannot simply flee without a fight.

”Therefore, Ye Chen—your talent is extraordinary, your battle power unrivaled. If possible, I would like to ask you to step forward and hold back the Celestial Prince… I do not ask you to defeat him, nor to slay this incarnation of his. Merely to stall him and—if possible—fight him to a draw!

”If you have any requests, any conditions, feel free to name them… As long as the Heavenly Emperor Hall can fulfill them, we will. For example, that immortal artifact fragment can still be given to you. I will also grant you half of the Origin Pool…

”And in the future, when you break through to Saint King and need materials to condense your Heavenly Heart Imprint, the Heavenly Emperor Hall will do everything in our power to help you search for them. While I cannot guarantee a Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal, I assure you the items will be of the highest quality!

”In short—as long as you are willing to act—everything can be negotiated. There is nothing that cannot be discussed!”

The golden-robed elder spoke earnestly.

Ye Chen, having heard the full story, raised an eyebrow.

The Celestial Prince had actually sent a strand of divine will out ahead of time? And he was heading to the Immortal Path to take Yan Ruyu as his maidservant? This guy really was courting death, wasn’t he?

Ye Chen had gone to such lengths for the number-one beauty of the myriad races: he had spared the Little Peacock King’s life for her sake, and even let Yan Wenwen—an older woman—take advantage of him.

After investing so much, he still didn’t even know what Yan Ruyu’s ”multiplier” would be. And now this Celestial Prince wanted to cut in line? He was courting death!!

Ye Chen’s expression immediately darkened. He stood up…