Immortality Starts With Investment

The old quasi-immortal's voice fell. He turned back and gave the crowd one final glance. "Today, I shall use my life to summon our ancestor… I only hope that once you reach the Immortal Realm, you will not let my sacrifice go to waste. May the Yao family remain an eternal and undying clan in the Immortal Realm…"

Boom—The moment his final words faded, the old quasi-immortal exploded violently. A bloody mist filled the air, dyeing the entire grand formation crimson.

In the next instant, the blood-colored grand formation shot into the sky. Instead of breaking out of the hall, countless beams of bloody divine light surged into the void and churned violently, slamming against the fabric of space again and again as if trying to communicate with something beyond.

At this moment, whether it was the Yao family's Divine Son, the clan leader, or the few great saint realm elders present, all of them watched with eyes full of anticipation, fully focused.

Every cultivator who had reached their current realm in the cultivation world possessed outstanding talent. If they could ascend to the Immortal Realm and cultivate in a superior environment, their chances of achieving immortality would be extremely high.

Once their ancestor from the Immortal Realm descended, they would finally have a real Immortal Path. How could they not feel excited?

As the blood-red light continued to hammer deep into the void, faint cracks began to appear. A profound and ancient aura accompanied by a majestic voice drifted through: "I never expected that after a million years, the Yao family in the cultivation world has not yet declined… Leave the rest to me!"

The next moment, a violent crashing sound rang out. It was as if some terrifying existence from another world was furiously smashing against the barrier, desperately trying to force its way in…

Everyone present was overcome with wild joy, even forgetting the old quasi-immortal who had just sacrificed himself. They had truly made contact with their ancestor.

Crossing realms was never simple. Their formation had only served to let the ancestor sense their summons. What came next was for the ancestor himself to exert his power from the Immortal Realm and widen that tiny crack.

Judging from the intensity of the disturbance, it would not take long for him to descend. The ancestor's arrival would be their greatest opportunity to achieve immortality.

The Yao family's Divine Son was ecstatic. So was everyone else. No cultivator could resist the allure of immortality.

Amid his joy, the Divine Son noticed Yao Xi's gaze. His smile instantly froze, and a trace of guilt flickered in his heart. Over the years, he could clearly feel that Yao Xi had genuinely treated him as an elder brother. But what was a sister compared to the chance of becoming an immortal?

The Divine Son turned his head away and stopped looking at Yao Xi. He simply waited in silence for the immortal venerable's descent.

Meanwhile, Yao Xi had already recovered from her despair. Her mind replayed the countless memories she shared with her junior brother. From the very beginning, she had treated him like a frivolous young master and deliberately took advantage of him to obtain cultivation resources.

To the later days when she realized his sincerity and began to approach him of her own accord. Then to the time when she had given him her whole heart, yet he would walk past her door a hundred times without entering, driving her so mad that she even considered forcing herself on Ye Chen.

Later, she had even taken a different approach and begun to suspect that her junior brother had strange preferences… Until finally, he had poured everything he had into teaching her, and she had gotten what she wished for.

The official publication holds this chapter, but the copy shown here was made without the author's consent.

Everything had been so blissful. Now that she was about to perish, she felt she had few regrets. The only pity was that she could no longer use her Origin Spirit Body to help her junior brother awaken his Divine Ability. And her only worry was that her junior brother would feel heartbroken and grieve once he learned of her death.

Yao Xi now understood that the Yao family had deliberately kept her from meeting her junior brother in order to let their feelings fade. At this moment, she actually hoped that her junior brother had truly grown distant toward her because they rarely saw each other, or even forgotten her entirely. That way, if she died, he would not be too devastated.

Outside the Yao family estate.

Yao Gu, a peak-stage Unity realm cultivator, lounged in a reclining chair with a pleased expression as he chatted with an elder beside him. A group of younger Yao family members surrounded them.

"Elder Gu, did you really fight the Heavenly Emperor's heir back then?"

"That's impossible. The Heavenly Emperor's heir is almost at the quasi-immortal realm now, while Elder Gu is only at peak Unity. You two aren't even in the same league."

"Elder Gu, I heard you went looking for women together with the Heavenly Emperor's heir?"

"Are you and the Heavenly Emperor's heir really that close?"

Now an elder of the clan, Yao Gu smiled at the questions from the younger generation. "The current Heavenly Emperor's heir is indeed very strong… But back then, he wasn't much stronger than me. I fought him once, and the battle ended in a draw!"

"After that, we got to know each other through fighting. Later, when the Heavenly Desire Divine Maiden chose her Protector, the Heavenly Emperor's heir and I went together. The Heavenly Desire Divine Maiden looked at me a few more times at first, but I'm not interested in women. As for the Heavenly Emperor's heir's personality… You all know what he's like. For the sake of our brotherhood, I stepped back and helped him become the Divine Maiden's Protector…"

Yao Gu spoke calmly, as if recounting an ordinary part of his past.

The younger Yao family members, however, were deeply shocked. The Heavenly Emperor's heir was an extraordinary figure. For their Elder Gu to have once been evenly matched with such a person—even if only for a period of time—meant the rumors circulating outside were true.

The Heavenly Emperor's heir had not been particularly powerful in the beginning. It was only later that he revealed his astonishing talent and was discovered by a Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land, after which he soared to the heavens.

No one found the matter of the Heavenly Desire Divine Maiden surprising. After all, most renowned female cultivators in the current cultivation world were Dao companions of the Heavenly Emperor's heir.

The younger generation of the Yao family held the Heavenly Emperor's heir in great awe.

Especially since their own Divine Maiden was one of his Dao companions. This connection made them feel as if they too shared a relationship with him, as if they were his juniors. It filled them with pride.

The elder beside Yao Gu chuckled inwardly upon hearing this. After so many years, Yao Gu still loved to bring up that old "draw" with the Heavenly Emperor's heir.

As the one who had served as Yao Gu's Protector at the time, he knew the truth better than anyone. However, with so many juniors present, he chose to remain silent.

"Yao Xi said she was going back to the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land. Why hasn't she left yet? I wanted to go with her and take a few recording stones to capture some footage. That would be solid proof of the five-five draw back then!"

Yao Gu spoke with a hint of regret, treating that event as the highlight of his life.

The elder beside him smiled and replied, "There seems to be some clan matter that requires Yao Xi's attention, but it should be finished soon… After all, our Yao family isn't qualified to compete for immortality. With Yao Xi here, we have some favor to leverage. We might be able to secure a spot in the Immortal Realm for the Divine Son. Bringing Yao Xi back to become our Divine Maiden back then was indeed the wisest decision."

Yao Gu nodded in agreement. Indeed, back then, Ye Chen had not yet amounted to much. He had only just begun to show his edge and was even inferior to the Son of Heavenly Intent.

But now? Even the Son of Heavenly Intent's fiancée belonged to Ye Chen. Legends like Alkaid, the Exiled Immortal, and the Celestial Prince had all suffered defeat at the hands of the Heavenly Emperor's heir.

As the two continued reminiscing about the past, their eyes suddenly widened as they stared into the void beyond the Yao family estate.

An incomparably terrifying aura descended with a deafening boom. It was the massive shadow of a Kun Peng. Wherever it passed, the void collapsed, the endless earth below cracked open, mountain peaks shattered, and giant trees were pulverized.

This was clearly the Kun Peng Treasure Technique. And the only person in the entire cultivation world capable of cultivating the Kun Peng Treasure Technique to such a terrifying level was none other than the Heavenly Emperor's heir.