Immortality Starts With Investment

”Who is this? Does he not know this is the sixth realm? To charge in so recklessly, unleashing his aura without the slightest restraint!”

The Celestial Prince had been watching Yan Ruyu with genuine interest. His vast experience allowed him to see that she was pursuing some kind of bloodline breakthrough—and had already taken the first step.

Being interrupted by the distant surge of power left him displeased. An aura of silent authority radiated from him. The intruder was still too far away to be seen clearly. Only the unrestrained aura could be felt.

Several Saint Kings at the Celestial Prince’s side immediately rose and sped toward the source to intercept the newcomer—and to apologize on their master’s behalf.

The Celestial Prince, however, paid it little mind. He turned back to Yan Ruyu, a courteous and humble smile on his face.

”Come and serve as my maidservant. This is your only chance to escape this world!”

But in the next instant, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Before him, Yan Ruyu’s figure was slowly turning illusory. Shrouded in seven-colored divine light, she gazed at the Celestial Prince with cool detachment. She showed no anger at his words, merely speaking softly.

”I broke through three days ago. This realm is already expelling me. If the Celestial Prince wishes to fight, come find me in the seventh realm. At that time, I will seal my cultivation down to Saint King.”

The Celestial Prince’s expression instantly tightened. He narrowed his eyes, then let out a laugh born of sheer anger. Were the female cultivators of this era all so arrogant?

In ancient times, the position of his maidservant had been highly coveted. Not only prodigies of the myriad races, but even holy maidens from great human sects had vied for it.

Yet Yao Yuezhi had refused and secretly consorted with the Heavenly Emperor’s heir. And now this Yan Ruyu actually wanted to fight him—and even offered to seal her cultivation.

In all his long years, the Celestial Prince had never been humiliated like this.

”Yan Ruyu, you have successfully piqued my interest…”

Yan Ruyu said nothing more. She simply looked at him calmly. Then her figure completely faded and vanished from the spot. It was not an escape by movement technique—she had been directly removed from the realm.

The Celestial Prince made no attempt to stop her. He could sense that this was the will of the realm itself, just as a True Immortal could not be prevented from leaving the cultivation world.

”A mere Great Saint. If I don’t mind damaging the Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal, I can still suppress her with a single hand. Come. Follow me to the seventh—”

The smile remained on the Celestial Prince’s face, but fury burned in his heart. He turned to issue orders to his subordinates.

The words died halfway. He realized his men had not yet returned. And then he sensed something was wrong. His subordinates… might never be coming back.

He immediately looked into the distance. The aura that should have been intercepted had come to a sudden, explosive halt.

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…

On Ye Chen’s side, he had activated his maximum speed. Upon entering the sixth realm, he followed the lingering traces left by the Celestial Prince and his group, racing forward with overwhelming momentum. His Heavy Pupils remained active, scanning constantly.

Finally, he locked onto their location. Through his Heavy Pupils’ distant gaze, several figures appeared in his vision. The one with the five-colored divine wheel hovering above his head and silver-white hair was unmistakably the Celestial Prince. And facing him stood a woman enveloped in seven-colored divine light, her form dreamlike and ethereal.

Though nothing was clearly visible, an instinctive feeling rose unbidden in Ye Chen’s mind.

Beauty. He wanted to see more clearly.

At that moment, a system prompt sounded in his mind.

”Target meeting gifting criteria detected…”

”Yan Ruyu: 7,500 times!”

Ye Chen’s eyes lit up instantly.

Yan Ruyu’s multiplier was this high? Higher than even the Chaos Body. Apart from that, an 8,000-times Holy Spirit still slumbering and gestating in his cave heaven, every other woman by his side had started with a far lower initial multiplier than the Chaos Body. Lan Nuo, Yao Yuezhi—all of them had been raised to their current levels by him later on.

Could Yan Ruyu truly surpass the Chaos Body in talent? Ye Chen found that unlikely. Even with her ancestral blood and innate Seven-Colored Divine Feathers rivaling her progenitor, she should at best be on par with the Chaos Body.

So either she had advanced even further in aptitude, or her beauty had reached such an extreme peak that it pushed her multiplier beyond the Chaos Body’s. The second possibility made Ye Chen’s anticipation burn hotter. If her appearance alone could surpass the Chaos Body in multiplier, just how breathtaking must Yan Ruyu truly be?

Ye Chen said nothing more. He simply accelerated again. He wanted to see her with his own eyes. And while he was at it, suppress the Celestial Prince. Win Yan Ruyu’s favor—and see if there was any chance to receive a gift from her.

But in the very next moment, three powerful auras came rushing straight toward him. All three exuded an overwhelming presence: two mid-stage Saint Kings and one late-stage Saint King. Phoenix flames burned fiercely around each of them, radiating terrifying might.

”Who are you, daring to approach the Celestial Prince—”

The late-stage Saint King in the center bellowed in fury even as he raised his hand, condensing a blazing fire phoenix that hurtled toward Ye Chen, intent on refining him on the spot. But the moment he clearly saw who was coming, the rest of his words caught in his throat. Terror flooded his face.

It was the Heavenly Emperor’s heir! The Heavenly Emperor’s heir had actually come here! How dare he? Did he not know the Celestial Prince was present?

Shock and panic filled the trio’s hearts, disbelief etched across their features. Though Ye Chen’s displayed cultivation was only early Saint—far below their Saint King realms—They remained utterly convinced that in front of the Celestial Prince, Ye Chen amounted to nothing.

Yet they also knew full well: That was the Celestial Prince. Not them. No record had ever spread of Ye Chen slaying a Saint King. But if they clashed with him now, they might very well become the first.

Without hesitation, the three slammed to a halt mid-flight. They spun around at once, preparing to flee back the way they had come while calling out to summon the Celestial Prince.

Too late.

Facing the oncoming fire phoenix, Ye Chen didn’t even bother to blink. He charged straight into it. The terrifying divine flames couldn’t singe a single hair on his head. The fire phoenix exploded apart in a violent burst.

Ye Chen’s gaze then shifted to the three who had already begun fleeing in the opposite direction. A flicker of chaotic qi passed through his eyes. The three still in mid-escape simply vanished—as though the Great Dao itself had erased them.

No sound, no explosion, not even a ripple. They dissolved into nothingness without a trace. Ye Chen’s expression remained utterly calm. Back when he was at the peak of Half-Saint, though he hadn’t killed any Saint Kings, doing so probably wouldn’t have been difficult.

Now, having severed the Dao with the Chaos Golden Radiance Technique and achieved sainthood through the Chaos Destiny Stone, his combat power had risen to an unimaginable degree. For Saint Kings to be unable to withstand a single glance from his Heavy Pupils was perfectly normal.

After annihilating the three, Ye Chen’s speed didn’t falter in the slightest. As he passed through the spot where they had perished, he even reached out casually, seized their origins in one grasp, and refined them in an instant.

But just as he drew closer and closer to the Celestial Prince and Yan Ruyu, Ye Chen’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

Yan Ruyu was disappearing. Not dying—leaving…

No way. He had rushed all this way with such effort, and before he could even say a word, she was gone? Celestial Prince, what the hell are you good for? You couldn’t even stop her?