Immortality Starts With Investment

And so Ye Chen began his seclusion. Over on Celestial Prince's side, the figure within the divine source fell silent once more, offering no further words.

The Undying Celestial Phoenix clan also quieted down. They issued no threats or harsh words. After all, the loss was already suffered—empty bravado would only invite ridicule. They would wait for the Celestial Prince's true emergence.

In the ninth realm of the Immortal Path, the Eight-Crowned King caught wind of Ye Chen's battle against the Celestial Prince's incarnation. A flicker of anticipation and battle intent appeared in his eyes.

Somewhere else in the ninth realm, within a cave heaven's lotus pond, a figure sat calmly amid the Chaos Azure Lotus. Upon hearing the report from his subordinate Holy Spirit, he showed no reaction at all. He simply continued waiting in quiet patience for the day of his own birth.

In the eighth realm of the Immortal Path, a man whose body seemed to shimmer with immortal qi stood aloof. Though he displayed no overt arrogance, an innate sense of superiority radiated from his very bones. When news of Ye Chen reached him, his brows furrowed slightly. He raised a hand and formed a seal, as though divining something. His frown deepened.

In the seventh realm, Alkaid stood amid a boundless void, chaos qi flowing around him—yet an unmistakable sense of imperfection lingered. Upon learning that Ye Chen had slain the Celestial Prince's incarnation, a dazed look passed through his eyes. His fist clenched instinctively, then slowly relaxed. He still needed vast amounts of origin to advance further.

Without the status of the Devouring lineage's true Heir, both the difficulty and speed of acquiring that power had increased dramatically. In the past, he often hadn't even needed to act himself—the Devouring lineage's powerhouses would deliver mature great medicines straight to him. Now, all of that was gone. Fortunately, the Alkaid Holy Land still supported him from the shadows.

"Ye Chen… the next time we meet, I'll give you a real surprise."

The Alkaid Saint murmured to himself. Then he closed his eyes.

In short, Ye Chen had become the hottest topic in the cultivation world. He was the insurmountable threshold for anyone who aspired to contend for immortality.

Friend or foe, all were forced to marvel at his monstrous talent. Only Dantai Xuan remained otherwise occupied. Both of her consciousnesses—and her physical body outside—continued to tremble without cease.

…

In the blink of an eye, two and a half years passed. The battle between Ye Chen and the Celestial Prince was still a topic cultivators loved to discuss. Yet amid all the chatter, everyone understood one thing clearly.

When Celestial Prince's true body finally emerged, an earth-shaking rematch was inevitable. The previous clash had merely been an appetizer. And in the final confrontation, the advantage clearly lay with the Celestial Prince.

Everyone knew he had already reached Quasi-Immortal before sealing himself away for so many years—his cultivation must now stand at its absolute peak.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen—the Heavenly Emperor's heir—remained only at the early Saint realm. No one knew whether Ye Chen could reach Quasi-Immortal by the time the Celestial Prince appeared. If he couldn't, his odds looked grim. It might seem unfair.

But such was reality. While the outside world buzzed with speculation, a terrifying commotion erupted inside Ye Chen's cave heaven. The boundless Origin Sea was stirred into motion, spiraling around a central point.

Vast beyond measure, like a starry river in motion, the entire sea now revolved in unison—an awe-inspiring spectacle. At the very center stood the Star God Origin-Gathering Cauldron. Endless cosmic origin energy poured into it without resistance. After an unknown stretch of time, divine light rose from within the cauldron.

A figure slowly stood up inside. The intensely compressed saintly might exploded outward from him in all directions.

Below, Luo Bingling—who had already reached the peak of half-Saint—tilted her head back in shock, eyes filled with disbelief and reverence. How long had it been since her husband broke through to the Saint realm? And now, in the blink of an eye, he had reached the peak? This speed was downright terrifying!

For an ordinary cultivator, two and a half years wouldn't even be enough to progress through the Qi Refining stage. Most shocking of all was the sheer power of the saintly aura radiating from Ye Chen. This was no ordinary Saint.

Luo Bingling had seen plenty of peak Saint Kings in her time. Not one of them could compare to Ye Chen at this moment. It was simply too frightening.

Lu Jing was roused as well and slowly awakened. She had now reached the peak of the Unity realm and was ready to attempt the Mahayana stage. Her gentle, water-like eyes lifted toward the god-like figure above the Origin Sea. A soft smile curved her lips.

Lately, Luo Bingling had been explaining the key points of breaking through to Mahayana quite often. Though her tone remained as domineering as ever, her attitude had noticeably softened. Clearly, Lu Jing's life-saving favor had left its mark.

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At this moment, both women gazed upward in a mix of awe and pride.

Inside the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade, the Holy Spirit trembled violently as it sensed Ye Chen's aura.

That human male cultivator was growing more and more terrifying. For the first time, the Holy Spirit seriously doubted whether she could defeat him once she emerged. When she glanced at the two women beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree—their faces filled with infatuated adoration—she despaired and squeezed her eyes shut. From their expressions alone, she knew her purity wouldn't last much longer.

High above, the corners of Ye Chen's mouth lifted into a satisfied smile. Reaching the peak of the Saint realm had taken a little longer than expected. Mainly because he had absorbed far more origin energy than anticipated.

But feeling the explosive surge in his strength, he felt every extra moment had been worth it. Now that he stood at the peak, the next step was to return to the Heavenly Emperor Hall and secure the finest sealing technique available. Once that was done, he could head back to the Great Yan Continent and officially break through to Saint King.

Right—there was something he had forgotten, wasn't there?

Ye Chen suddenly remembered. His gaze immediately locked onto the Divine Maiden Furnace drifting within the Origin Sea. The pristine, flawless furnace now resembled a goddess in the midst of bathing, stirring involuntary thoughts.

In an instant, Ye Chen realized exactly what he had overlooked. It was his senior sister, who had run into trouble. Thinking of how long she had been trapped inside that furnace, even Ye Chen couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. This was bad. She might have dehydrated completely by now.

Still, a quick sweep of his divine sense revealed her life force remained strong. After all, she was at the peak of half-Saint. At that level, even losing half her body wouldn't be fatal—she could regrow it. Continuous fluid loss wasn't likely to kill her. Even so, he needed to check on her.

Ye Chen waved a hand toward the two women below, signaling them to continue cultivating. Then he drifted gracefully to the side of the Divine Maiden Furnace. He did not immediately lift the lid. Nor did he probe inside with his divine sense to see her current state. Even if she wasn't his senior brother's beloved, she was still his senior sister.

A little courtesy was only proper. So he lightly tapped the furnace wall and transmitted his voice. "Senior Sister Dantai, have you recovered?"

Before any reply could come, the furnace trembled faintly. Then Ye Chen seemed to hear the soft sound of flowing water…

…

Inside Dantai Xuan's sea of consciousness, the two women had ceased fighting. Neither could overcome the other. Even after enduring so much—occasional light tremors and soft, involuntary hums—the Supreme Dantai Xuan maintained her detached, indifferent demeanor. She continued calmly persuading Dantai Xuan's true self to cooperate, promising every conceivable benefit.

This chilled Dantai Xuan to the core. This was what made her opponent truly terrifying: nothing could disturb her thoughts. She remained utterly composed at all times, always making the most rational choice. She was like a cold, emotionless machine. Defeating such a foe felt nearly impossible.

Dantai Xuan's true self refused to listen. She simply counted the days, day after day, waiting anxiously for Ye Chen's arrival. Unbidden images of Ye Chen kept surfacing in her mind—his divine eagle form. He lacked her senior brother's gentle elegance.

Yet he possessed a wild, untamed charisma all his own. His physical body was even more terrifying. During battle, his muscles gleamed like immortal gold forged in fire. And his physique, she recalled, was said to be the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo.

Lost in these thoughts, the influence of her physical body surged again. She couldn't suppress a soft hum, her body swaying slightly. Her eyes glazed over for a long moment. Then, the next instant, a voice echoed through her sea of consciousness. Her gaze instantly cleared. Excitement lit up her face.

The Supreme Dantai Xuan, however, only furrowed her brows slightly. She showed no trace of worry. Instead, she began calculating whether she could persuade Ye Chen.

"Junior Brother, hurry—come help me. I've waited for you far too long…"

While the Supreme pondered, the true self had already begun shouting outward with her voice transmission. Soon, both of them sensed an aura approaching, descending into the Divine Maiden Furnace.

The Supreme Dantai Xuan remained impassive. But the true self flushed crimson. The state of her own body was so mortifying that she could barely stand to look at it herself. Now her junior brother had seen everything—inside and out. She truly had no face left to show anyone.

At the thought, she couldn't hold back another soft hum…

…

"Junior Brother, hurry—come help me…"

A sudden voice rang from inside the Divine Maiden Furnace.

Ye Chen's eyelids lifted slightly. The emotion in that voice was rich and vivid—far more human than before. It no longer sounded like the robotic senior sister he remembered. Had her true consciousness finally recovered? Or perhaps the "AI" had simply evolved, putting on an act to deceive him.

Either way, the matter needed to be resolved. He couldn't just leave Dantai Xuan trapped in the furnace forever—like some bizarre long-term placement game.

Since she had actively invited him, Ye Chen did not hesitate. He lifted one corner of the furnace lid and slipped inside.

The interior of the Divine Maiden Furnace opened into a vast space. Countless dreamlike mists drifted through the air, interwoven with swirling laws of human desire.

Before Ye Chen even opened his eyes, a thick, sweet citrus fragrance filled his nose—permeating the entire interior. He drew a deep breath and opened his eyes.

The sight that greeted him was breathtaking. His senior sister truly lived up to expectations. She was, without question, a terrifying D-rank powerhouse in her own right. But propriety came first.

Ye Chen only looked for a brief moment before closing his eyes, turning away, and finally speaking. "Senior Sister Dantai, have you recovered?"

The instant the question left his lips, Dantai Xuan answered immediately. "Yes… I've recovered completely. Junior Brother Ye, thank you. But please—stop stimulating the Divine Maiden Furnace right now… I feel the laws of human desire have already invaded my origin. If you don't stop, I may never fully purge them. I'll sink into depravity forever…"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. Though the voice sounded the same as before, that faint artificial edge had returned. So the Divine Maiden Furnace hadn't worked after all? In that case, it was better to stop and hand the headache over to his senior brother later.

But the very next moment, another voice came through. "Don't stop—Junior Brother, don't stop. If you do, my power will be seized back immediately. I'll fall into slumber and be completely erased…Hurry… come into my… mm… sea of consciousness… Junior Brother—save me…"