Immortality Starts With Investment

"In that case, I invite all fellow daoists of the human race to join us in observing the battle from afar and appreciating the grace of these prodigies!"

The myriad races' great power spoke up, gesturing for everyone to keep their distance and watch. Deep down, they remained confident. After all, how could over thirty prodigies lose to one with a depleted cave heaven origin?

The advantage was squarely theirs. As long as the human great powers did not interfere, everything was under control.

Feng Baiyu nodded in response, then turned to Ye Chen with concern, earnestly cautioning him, "If you find yourself outmatched, do not force it—withdraw and concede! Treat this merely as a spar..."

The myriad races' great power immediately shook his head, his tone resolute. "A prodigy must harbor an invincible spirit. Conceding lightly—how then could he forge ahead on the Immortal Path? Youngsters' affairs should be left to the youngsters themselves. They know their own measure. We of the older generation refraining from casual intervention—that is the greatest protection we can offer them!"

The myriad races' great power sought to deny Ye Chen any chance to surrender and be rescued by the elders.

Feng Baiyu's expression turned troubled. After a moment's hesitation, he finally nodded. "Your words hold some truth. From now on, no matter how the battle unfolds, let us both refrain from interfering. Allow them to handle it themselves! If Ye Chen truly falls, we can only sigh that his fortune was lacking—and blame no one else!"

The myriad races' great power smiled at once. "Exactly. Let us ascend to the firmament to observe. The same goes for our myriad races' prodigies. In the cultivation world, a few casualties are perfectly normal!"

With that, both men smiled warmly and soared upward into the heavens. The assembled human great powers followed closely, rising into the sky. The two sides positioned themselves opposite one another, their stances subtle yet deliberate—mutually checking each other, ensuring that any attempt to intervene would be instantly blocked.

From his place in the firmament, Feng Baiyu raised an eyebrow at Ye Chen. He had acted this way deliberately. For he possessed absolute faith in Ye Chen. This was the monstrous genius who, amid heavenly tribulation, had faced the Heavenly Emperor himself—and defeated him head-on!

Though people now often dismissed the Heavenly Emperor with talk of "luck," only those who had witnessed him firsthand could truly grasp that suffocating dominance. To vanquish a Heavenly Emperor of the same realm was genuinely heaven-defying.

...

The commotion here naturally drew countless spectators. Not only myriad races cultivators, who stood at a safe distance whispering excitedly, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Human cultivators were present in great numbers as well. The events of the recent auction had spread like wildfire throughout human territories, igniting massive uproar in many human immortal cities.

Sharp-minded figures like Thunderbolt Great Saint Wen Tailai had detected anomalies early and lingered in Myriad Races Immortal City without departing. Now, they beheld exactly the scene they had anticipated.

Many human cultivators gazed upon the standoff, their expressions complex and conflicted. Though Ye Chen had faced hostility even in the Central Continent, many had still taken pride in him—as a fellow human and a supreme prodigy. But now, attitudes had shifted.

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News from the auction had left numerous human cultivators deeply dissatisfied with Ye Chen's actions, which bordered on "aiding the enemy." They believed the vast resources he had poured into the auction would greatly bolster the myriad races' core strength.

Currently, the cultivation world's focus lay on the Immortal Path. Yet once that road reached its end—when the final true immortal ascended and departed this realm—the contradictions between humans and the myriad races would erupt.

With the Age of Dharma's End approaching, resources already showing signs of exhaustion, how could the myriad races meekly retreat to the barren Northern Domain?

Even the Myriad Races Immortal City could no longer sustain them. They would inevitably covet human territories, seizing resources to endure the coming age of decline. Thus, war between humans and the myriad races was inevitable.

Yet Ye Chen, as a pinnacle human prodigy, had depleted his own cave heaven for a woman of the myriad races. Then, without regard for cost, he had bid on treasures—indirectly funding the enemy. This provoked genuine fury.

The sheer volume of resources he had invested could nurture an entire generation of myriad races' elites, allowing them to advance farther on the path of cultivation. In the future, humanity might pay a grievous price for it.

Because of this, Ye Chen's reputation among humans had plummeted. Should humanity ever weaken, this affair would be dredged up time and again. Ye Chen would be eternally nailed to the pillar of shame in human history.

...

No matter what calculations the onlookers harbored in their hearts, at this moment every gaze converged unerringly on the battle about to unfold. Everyone burned with curiosity: with his cave heaven origin so severely depleted, could the Heavenly Emperor's heir still dominate as he once had—crushing semi-saints across realm boundaries with ease? If not, in his current state, just how many could he withstand?

Ye Chen regarded the crowd with a beaming smile. His Holy Master was still playing the polite host up above, so he could hardly sweep them aside with a single wave of his hand. That would make things awfully awkward.

Thus, ignoring Luo Bingling, he soared into midair and spoke with courteous grace, "Fellow Daoists, who among you would care to offer me some instruction first?"

The words ignited the assembled prodigies like a spark in a powder keg. Battle intent surged from them in torrents.

The Divine Silkworm Clan had long confirmed that the Qiankun Cauldron had been traded to the Heavenly Emperor's heir for the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod. They had even displayed it for all to see.

This thoroughly cemented the fact that Yao Yuezhi's cave heaven reconstruction was entirely Ye Chen's doing. For her cave heaven to reach such terrifying heights, the origin she had absorbed must have been beyond imagination. No matter how strong Ye Chen was, after such a drain, depletion was inevitable. This realization sent the prodigies' confidence soaring.

Moreover, the pre-arranged distribution policy among the myriad races only fanned the flames. The first to strike—and the one to deliver the killing blow—would each claim ten percent of Ye Chen's cave heaven resources exclusively. Twenty percent in total, with priority selection rights. And the first attacker needed only exchange a few blows with Ye Chen alone.

Moments later, Luo Bingling would feign an assault on her own allies. Then the rest could righteously cry foul over Ye Chen's "lack of honor" and swarm him en masse. Such a low-risk, high-reward opportunity—how could it not set every prodigy's blood ablaze?

"I, from the War God Clan, suffered huge losses at the auction. I should go first..."

"My Starwing Clan bears an irreconcilable blood feud with the Heavenly Emperor. Until this vengeance is settled, I cannot call myself a person!"

"No—the Peacock Clan deserves the first strike. That idiot Little Peacock King provoked the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan. We must set an example now."

"The Thunder Governing Clan has the greatest claim! Back then, the Heavenly Emperor struck us with ruthless savagery—inhuman, unforgivable. To this day, our vitality remains crippled..."

In an instant, the prodigies erupted into fierce argument, faces flushed, each desperate to seize the honor of attacking first.

Ye Chen watched this menagerie of bizarrely shaped prodigies as though gazing upon clusters of origin. In excellent spirits, he smiled warmly and said, "Consider who I fought in the past. The Great Yin Body, the Feather Transformation Divine Body, the Holy Prince, Prince Lu Ya, the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan's pinnacle semi-saint... Why them? Because trash doesn't even qualify to stand before me. So why don't you all fight among yourselves first—and let the strongest step forward?"