Immortality Starts With Investment

After Ye Chen broke through to the Saint King realm, he settled quietly in Senior An’s cave residence to stabilize his cultivation. He paid no attention to the escalating rumors surrounding the Heavenly Position Spiritual Herb.

The elders, however, remained quite concerned. They came daily to ask whether he intended to set out.

Ye Chen stayed unmoved. He would only reply with one calm sentence: ”If it is mine, I gain it by fortune; if not, it is my fate.”

Then he continued to reside peacefully in Senior An’s cave. The detoxification sessions grew less frequent. With Senior An by his side, even just her quiet companionship brought him profound peace.

In this way, two months slipped by in the blink of an eye.

One day, Ye Chen rose leisurely, preparing to bid Senior An farewell.

”Immortal Roots are hard to find. The Chaos Azure Lotus may have already vanished into the river of history… If we cannot locate it, then so be it. In the future, I will not accompany you to the Immortal Realm. That way, no matter how terrifying the Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden may be, she will never reach us.

”If there is still a spot available, please, Fellow Daoist Ye, reserve one for Yuyi. I only hope that before you leave, you can leave behind a bloodline with me… Yet for cultivators, bearing descendants is exceedingly difficult. Perhaps we should prepare in advance.”

Senior An, who had just let down her hair, spoke with a slightly complicated look in her eyes.

Hearing her words, Ye Chen smiled gently. He suspected Senior An might be growing impatient herself. And it was understandable. After so many years of detoxification—seeing yet never truly touching— even a Buddhist saintess would probably long to return to the secular world.

But with his own effort and the system, even if the Chaos Azure Lotus had turned to ash, he was certain it would still be fed back to him. The only question was time.

As for slots to enter the Immortal Realm? That was a trivial matter. Almost everything he gave away through the system returned to him—often multiplied. Even if he gave a mere slot to the least promising Luo Bingling, it would come back as eight thousand slots.

He did not yet know the exact form of the return. But as long as he wished, he could bring the entire Heavenly Evolution Holy Land to the Immortal Realm and lead the whole sect in ascension with ease. There was no real problem.

So Ye Chen reached out tenderly and caressed Senior An’s cheek.

”Senior An need not worry. The Chaos Azure Lotus will be found. Both you and Yuyi will enter the Immortal Realm. As for that Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden—if she does not come, fine. If she dares to show herself, it remains to be seen whose clone will be refined in the end…”

Ye Chen spoke with unshakable confidence. Who said Senior An was merely a remnant soul? Once his strength reached a sufficient height, he could simply refine the Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden’s true body as a clone and feed it back to Senior An to replenish her. In that way, Senior An would become the true self.

Feeling the surging confidence radiating from Ye Chen, a flicker of admiration appeared in An Miaoli’s usually cool phoenix eyes. Who could have imagined that the young man who once gifted her treasures the moment he saw her at the auction would grow into someone standing at the very peak of the Immortal Realm?

Senior An had always been forthright. She looked deeply into Ye Chen’s eyes and spoke first.

”But… what if I want it now?”

Sincerity had always been her deadliest weapon. For the eternally aloof Senior An to speak so openly was, to Ye Chen, an absolute killing blow. He nearly lost control. Yet he remembered what that wisp of Seven Extremes remnant soul had said before it dissipated: if he broke his body before obtaining the Seven Extremes Immortal Body, he would never achieve perfection.

That outcome was something Ye Chen could not accept. He was supremely confident that he would one day ascend to immortality and enjoy eternal life. But whether he could share that longevity with those around him was another question entirely. Life-extension medicines had their limits.

Therefore, he hoped every woman by his side could possess the highest aptitude, so that under his nourishment, they too could attain immortality. Otherwise, living forever alone—watching the people he cherished pass away one after another—would be too cruel for him to bear.

So Ye Chen gently wrapped his arms around An Miaoli and spoke softly.

”In truth… I want it too. But I still hope Senior An can obtain the immortal physique, so that in the future you may enjoy eternal life and stand forever at my side. So please, Senior, wait just a little longer. If, when I break through to Quasi-Immortal, I still cannot obtain the Chaos Azure Lotus, then we will wait no more.”

An Miaoli could feel the depth of Ye Chen’s affection for her. She gently patted his back and murmured, ”All right…”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

After bidding farewell to Senior An, Ye Chen returned to his own peak. He planned to bring Lu Jing back into the Cave Heaven, then set out at once. To his surprise, Lu Jing—who had once begged to enter the Cave Heaven—now refused to go. Instead, Lin Ke’er and the other women suddenly wanted in!

Whether it was Lin Ke’er, Sun Ruoxin, Caidie, or Yun Qianyue, none of them held much weight in Ye Chen’s heart. They had simply been fortunate enough to cross paths with him at the perfect moment. Coupled with his possessive nature as a man, that was the only reason they remained by his side. Without those circumstances, he would likely have forgotten them long ago.

Unlike Lu Jing, these women were too restless and impatient. Ye Chen had no intention of letting the Cave Heaven become overly lively just yet. With a casual wave of his hand, he turned them down.

As for Lu Jing, who stood there with an expression that screamed ”just let me slack off,” Ye Chen had no intention of sparing her. He wanted to see exactly where her limits lay.

Under Lu Jing’s tearful, pleading gaze, he grabbed her and pulled her straight into the Cave Heaven, then flew toward the Cloud Summit Heavenly Palace.

Once again dragged back inside, Lu Jing seriously began to question her entire existence. The rejected Lin Ke’er and the others were left equally dumbfounded. Those who wanted to go couldn’t; the one who didn’t want to go was forcibly taken. Truly, character determines destiny…

…

”Are you heading to the Immortal Path now?”

When Feng Baiyu saw Ye Chen arrive, he gave a faint smile and spoke. Almost immediately afterward, streaks of light shot out from deep within the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land. They were all the terrifyingly powerful elders of the holy land, each fully prepared for the journey.

Feng Baiyu looked somewhat helpless, yet he understood their enthusiasm. Turning to Ye Chen, he said, ”The news of the Heavenly Position Spiritual Herb appearing really is too convenient… Normally, a fully matured Heavenly Position Spiritual Herb cannot be hidden. Yet no word of it being found has come from the Sixth Realm. It’s very possible someone is waiting for you there—setting up a killing trap.”

”With your current achievement as a Saint King and the astonishing talent and cultivation speed you’ve displayed, the danger may not be limited to the Immortal Path itself. Bringing several elders along to protect you is perfectly reasonable this time…”

Ye Chen had no objections whatsoever. The elders might have their own motives, but they harbored no ill intent. As for occasionally gifting them treasures as thanks for their protection, that meant nothing to him. Let them have what they wanted.

”In that case, I’ll have to trouble the Holy Master and the elders… However, since that Heavenly Position Spiritual Herb seems to have been left specifically for me, I’m in even less of a hurry. Before heading to the Immortal Path in Central Continent, I plan to make a stop at the Heavenly Intention Holy Land—to see my fiancée.”

Feng Baiyu’s mouth twitched. Even though the Heavenly Position Spiritual Herb situation was suspicious, Ye Chen’s heart was truly vast. He really didn’t care at all?

He had just spent two full months holed up in a female elder’s cave residence within the holy land. The moment he came out, he was off to see another woman. To be so fond of play while possessing such terrifying combat power—it was honestly hard to comprehend.

Unable to hold back, Feng Baiyu asked, ”You’re not planning to visit the Heavenly Desire Sect after the Heavenly Intention Holy Land, are you?”

Ye Chen smiled and shook his head. ”No, not the Heavenly Desire Sect for now…”

He definitely would not go there yet. But he had a feeling that by the time he returned, the timing would be just about right to pay the Heavenly Desire Sect a visit and present some ”gifts.”

…

The elders naturally had no objections. Wherever Ye Chen went, they followed—ready to serve without complaint.

Just as Ye Chen was about to leave the holy land, a clear and pure figure blocked his path. It was Dantai Xuan, the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land, who had only recently returned.

Ye Chen looked at her curiously, unsure why she had come.

Dantai Xuan spoke with a serious expression. ”Junior Brother, the remnants of the Law of Human Desire within my body have mostly dissipated. I’m worried that once it fully disappears, the Supreme remnant soul will counterattack. So from now on, I wish to cultivate inside the Divine Maiden Furnace until I break through to Saint King!”

Ye Chen: ”…”

Hadn’t he already suppressed the Supreme remnant soul? It couldn’t possibly break free in the short term, so what counterattack was she talking about? Could Senior Sister simply be craving the experience of the furnace again?

But that didn’t seem right. She had always appeared so clean and pure—how could she be so fixated on the Divine Maiden Furnace?

Ye Chen therefore assumed she must have her own legitimate reasons. And bringing her along didn’t seem like much trouble. She was already at mid-stage Saint. It probably wouldn’t take even a year before she reached peak Saint and began preparing to break through to Saint King—she would also need the Heavenly Position Spiritual Herb.

Moreover, she could trigger critical hits, and her gratitude seemed to flow endlessly without ever running dry. Under those conditions, having her along meant one more excellent candidate to gift treasures to once the Heavenly Position Spiritual Herb was obtained.

With that in mind, Ye Chen nodded. He proactively summoned the Divine Maiden Furnace. A delighted look crossed Dantai Xuan’s face. Without the slightest hesitation, she leaped inside. Once the lid closed and Ye Chen activated the furnace at full power, he faintly heard a relieved sigh from within…

Along with a transmitted voice: ”Junior Brother, I’m still a little worried… When my cultivation reaches peak Saint, could you please check the Supreme remnant soul’s thoughts for me again?”

The corner of Ye Chen’s mouth twitched. He suspected Dantai Xuan wasn’t truly concerned. But he had no proof. As a fellow disciple, he could hardly refuse such a reasonable request outright. So he reluctantly agreed—though he set a strict limit: one week of probing at most, not a single day more…

…

After placing his senior sister inside the furnace, Ye Chen officially departed from the holy land. He flew straight toward the Heavenly Intention Holy Land. The Heavenly Intention Holy Land was practically his second home.

When Ye Chen arrived, the reception was even grander than what he received at the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land. An ancestor even emerged from seclusion to converse with him personally!

But Ye Chen’s mind was not on these people. After exchanging a few brief pleasantries and excusing himself, he drifted lightly toward his fiancée’s cave residence. Having not seen his righteous fiancée for so long, he missed her dearly.

Most importantly, he was extremely curious whether her demonic body had fully formed yet. He was also greatly looking forward to the experiment of whether her demonic body offering itself would affect his critical hit rewards…