Immortality Starts With Investment

Inside the Nine Transformations Heavenly Furnace, Ye Chen, seated cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes. His expression remained calm, yet endless saintly might flowed within his pupils. This was the proof that he had transcended the mundane and achieved sainthood.

"Finally a Saint…"

His voice was flat, carrying almost no emotion. The process of becoming a saint had been so straightforward it surprised even him. First, he used the Chaos Golden Radiance Method to condense his Dao Self, fused it with the Chaos Destiny Stone, achieved transcendence, and reversed the severing of the Great Dao, then merged the Dao Self back into his true self…

Everything had proceeded with flawless smoothness. Not a single danger had arisen along the way. It had unfolded exactly as it should.

Of course, the combination of a supreme technique, supreme treasures, and the amplification of the Nine Transformations Heavenly Furnace had caused his combat power to skyrocket after the breakthrough.

In simple terms, the current Ye Chen felt confident he could slap his pre-saint self to death with a casual palm. The improvement was just that absurd.

Moreover, deep within his origin, a seed-like object slowly rotated, radiating a strange and peculiar power. The seed appeared extraordinary.

Yet no matter how much Qi Ye Chen poured into it or how he tried to stimulate it with his origin energy, the seed showed no reaction whatsoever.

This must be the Seed of Fate mentioned in the Chaos Destiny Stone's description—the symbol of transcendence, of seizing control over one's own destiny.

Ye Chen studied it for a long while but could discern nothing more. In the end, he simply waved a hand and stopped looking. Rising leisurely, he noticed that Luo Bingling and Lu Jing had already been waiting for him.

Admiration filled Luo Bingling's eyes. Beside her, Lu Jing—who had stepped into the Unity realm—wore an expression of pure delight mixed with pleading.

Ever since reaching Unity, Luo Bingling had stopped giving her even a moment's rest. Twenty-four hours of cultivation every single day, without fail.

Lu Jing felt utterly hopeless. She had even begun reminiscing fondly about the days back at the Holy Son Peak of the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land. Though she had seen Young Master far less frequently there, at least no one had forced her to cultivate nonstop. Only when the Holy Son returned would he helplessly look at her, press her down, and help her improve her cultivation.

Seeing the pitiful look in Lu Jing's eyes, Ye Chen couldn't help but chuckle. A sweep of his divine sense confirmed that no one from the Heavenly Emperor Hall was disturbing him. Yan Qingcheng was likely still in seclusion.

With that, Ye Chen felt no hurry to leave. He descended onto the floating peak and gave a light pat. At once, Luo Bingling and Lu Jing obediently placed both hands on the jade stone.

Inside the jade, the Holy Spirit glared furiously at the three blurred figures beyond the shell and clenched her tiny fists.

Once I am born, every single one of you is dead!

…

Meanwhile, in the outside world, a new piece of information spread through the entire cultivation realm at lightning speed.

The Heavenly Emperor's heir, Ye Chen, was not the true Heir. The genuine Heir of this generation in the Heavenly Emperor Hall was the only Chaos Body of the current era— the very female cultivator who had emerged from the Immortal Path together with Ye Chen. Her name was Yan Qingcheng.

The moment the news broke, the cultivation world was shaken to its core.

Ye Chen—a fake heir? How could that possibly be? He possessed Heavy Pupils, a Supreme Heart, and was suspected to have an Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo. He also cultivated the Heavenly Emperor Scripture. The legendary Heavenly Emperor Sword and Heavenly Emperor War Chariot were both in his hands.

Under such circumstances, even if the Heavenly Emperor himself appeared, he would hardly dare claim to be more legitimate or better suited to inherit the legacy than Ye Chen. So on what grounds did a mere Chaos Body dare to call herself the true Heir?

A Chaos Body was certainly exceptional—comparable to an Immortal Body. But how could it compare to Ye Chen? This had to be fake news.

The outside world refused to believe it. Yet soon enough, several major powers on friendly terms with the Heavenly Emperor Hall stepped forward to confirm the claim. The true Heir of this generation was indeed Yan Qingcheng. Ye Chen had merely been a smokescreen deployed by the Heavenly Emperor Hall.

Now the cultivation world was truly stunned. With so many great experts vouching for it, the information could only be true. Yet countless cultivators quickly pieced together their own version of events using their own logic. It must have been Ye Chen who voluntarily relinquished the position of true Heavenly Emperor heir to that Chaos Body female cultivator.

While the title of true Heavenly Emperor heir was precious, Ye Chen had already given away unique, once-in-an-era treasures like the Nirvana Sacred Liquid and the Heavenly Will Dao-Entrust Jade for the sake of a woman. How could he possibly be stingy about something as minor as the title of true Heir? He had even willingly damaged his own reputation, allowing himself to be called a fake and a decoy.

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Everyone could only sigh: Ye Chen had truly gone mad for a woman. Now he was even handing over inheritances—simply absurd!

Nevertheless—even if Ye Chen had stepped aside of his own accord—most people still regarded only him as the real Heavenly Emperor heir.

As for that Chaos Body? She was impressive, sure—but she still needed time to grow. At best, she was merely the woman of the Heavenly Emperor's heir!

…

Inside the Heavenly Emperor Hall, the golden-robed elder fumed, his beard trembling and veins bulging on his forehead. From up close, one could almost hear the faint popping of blood vessels in his skull. His rage was unmistakable.

The rumors spreading through the outside world had, of course, been deliberately released on his orders. Now that his daughter had officially emerged as the true Heir, the title of Heavenly Emperor's heir naturally had to return to its rightful owner.

Ye Chen should revert to being nothing more than "Ye the Fourth." Yet after he had dragged so many allied powers into publicly confirming the truth, the cultivation world stubbornly insisted that Ye Chen had voluntarily stepped aside… Even worse, most people didn't care who the Heavenly Emperor Hall officially designated as Heir. They only acknowledged Ye Chen.

The golden-robed elder's blood pressure skyrocketed in an instant. His own immortal artifact fragment had been turned by Ye Chen into a favor gifted to his daughter. His own flesh-and-blood daughter—the legitimate heir of the Heavenly Emperor Hall—had somehow become the one who received charity from the "fake heir" who graciously yielded the position.

What a joke! Everything belonged to the Heavenly Emperor Hall to begin with!

Looking at the current situation, regret bloomed in the elder's heart for the first time. If he had known things would turn out this way, he never would have schemed against Ye Chen back then—never spread those rumors to make Ye Chen play the role of false Heir.

Ye Chen had shouldered the blame perfectly. But he had shouldered it too well. The outside world took it as gospel truth. Now his daughter's position as true Heir lacked legitimacy in the eyes of the world.

And Ye Chen had seized the chance to draw close to her—not only scheming to seize the Heavenly Emperor Hall itself, but to steal his daughter away as well. If Ye Chen actually succeeded, he would lose both daughter and soldiers in one fell swoop.

The more the elder thought about it, the angrier he became; the angrier he became, the more he thought. Glaring at the war chariot parked outside, absorbing starlight, he couldn't hold back—he delivered a vicious kick.

At that exact moment, a voice filled with disappointment came from behind him.

"Father, what are you doing? I know you harbor prejudice against Ye Chen. Even after everything he has done, he still cannot earn your approval. But what wrong has the Western Empress Divine Carriage committed? Why must you treat it this way? Father, you truly…"

The golden-robed elder's mouth twitched. He turned. Who else could it be but Yan Qingcheng, freshly emerged from seclusion? Disappointment filled her beautiful eyes. It was as though she could scarcely believe her own father could behave this way.

The elder immediately forced a smile and righted the war chariot.

"No, no, no—Daughter, you've misunderstood. I simply hadn't seen the Western Empress Divine Carriage up close before and wanted to… test its quality."

He hurriedly changed the subject.

"Daughter, you've already become a Saint. Why not head to the Origin Pool at once and cultivate there? You could reach the peak of Saint in one go. Your aura right now is truly terrifying! In this life, Daughter, you will absolutely ascend to immortality on your own strength."

Though he felt deeply hurt by his daughter's favoritism toward Ye Chen, he was genuinely overjoyed by her current power. The Chaos Body was already monstrous to begin with. Along her path of growth, she had used the absolute best resources and achieved perfect breakthroughs at every step—reaching the utmost limit each time.

Now, having fused the Heavenly Will Dao-Entrust Jade and reversed the severing of the Great Dao to become a Saint, she had only just entered the early Saint realm. Yet her aura already surpassed the vast majority of peak Saints. She could even stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some who had already condensed the Heavenly Heart Imprint and advanced to Saint King.

His daughter was truly outstanding. So he immediately urged her toward the Origin Pool to monopolize its power. As for Ye Chen? That could wait.

But Yan Qingcheng shook her head without hesitation.

"The reason Fellow Daoist Ye has not yet emerged from seclusion is precisely that he gave the Heavenly Will Dao-Entrust Jade to me. With his temperament and talent, he will certainly choose the path of reversing and severing the Great Dao.

"Without a Dao-Entrust Treasure to protect him, the dangers of that path are beyond imagination. Therefore, I must wait until Fellow Daoist Ye emerges! Then we will share the Origin Pool! Father, I know you mean well for me. But I am already a Saint now. I have grown up… Can you not be kinder to my friend? Must you always scheme against him?"

In that moment, Yan Qingcheng spoke the harshest words she had ever directed at her father in her entire life.

And in that same moment, the golden-robed elder felt the sky collapse. His daughter had grown up. She no longer needed him... she was even scolding him now. It hurt. He wanted to cry…

But what she said was the truth. After a long moment of stammering, the elder lowered his head.

"Qingcheng… Father was only worried about you… Father promises there won't be a next time."

Seeing this, Yan Qingcheng's heart softened. She quickly waved her hand.

"Father, I know you have my best interests at heart. But Ye Chen truly is a good person. There's no need to target him like this…"

The golden-robed elder nodded vigorously in agreement. Yet inside, he was roaring with powerless fury.

Drive him out. He must be driven out. The moment Ye Chen emerged from seclusion—no matter what he demanded—give it all to him, then make him scram.

Ye Chen had only spent so little time with his daughter, and already she had become rebellious, talking back to her own father. If she spent even a few more days with him, he feared both father and daughter would be bewitched into turning against each other.

"Very well, Daughter. You've only just broken through. It would be good to enter seclusion again and stabilize your realm! As for Father, I'll go gather information on the Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal. I've already prepared the Chaos Seal Imprint Technique for you. It was created by a Chaos Body True Immortal of a previous generation and is only suitable for Chaos Bodies to cultivate. If you can obtain the Heavenly Heart Immortal Crystal as well, breaking through to Saint King in the future will be effortless… As for Ye Chen… Father admits I may have gone too far. I will definitely give him half of the Origin Pool."

The golden-robed elder laid out his arrangements.

Hearing this, Yan Qingcheng felt a surge of guilt. Her father truly cared for her deeply. The way she had spoken to him just now had been excessive.

"I'm sorry, Father…" she said softly.

The elder gave a comforting smile.

"What apology is needed? You are my daughter. Everything I've worked for in this life has been for you. Now go—stabilize your cultivation in seclusion!"

Once Yan Qingcheng had left, the golden-robed elder gritted his teeth and muttered, "I must drive Ye Chen away before Daughter emerges from seclusion…"

…

At the same time, in the ancestral lands of the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan, something began to stir…

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