Immortality Starts With Investment

They even wondered whether that punch had already pierced through the entire cultivation world and reached the immortal realm or some other minor world.

Who could possibly block such a punch? Only a true immortal, perhaps? Was the Heavenly Emperor's heir truly only at the Great Emperor realm? Or was he hiding his cultivation and pretending to be weak?

Everyone felt awe, amazement, and deep doubt about their own understanding of the world. It took them a long while to remember Lotus Emperor.

All eyes turned toward where he had been. There, even the void no longer existed. The area had turned into a barren wasteland, primitive and terrifying.

Yet within that desolation, a faint strand of newborn power was struggling to surge. It was extremely weak and difficult.

The other quasi-immortals were astonished. The reincarnation force within the Heavenly Emperor's heir's punch was utterly despair-inducing, suppressing almost all forms of recovery power.

Yet Lotus Emperor could still resurrect. Even though the recovery was so feeble that it would be nearly useless in battle and could be snuffed out with a casual wave of the hand, it still left everyone shocked. They could not help but sigh that he truly deserved to be called the holy spirit born from an immortal root—his vitality was simply terrifying.

…

On Ye Chen's side, he savored the feeling of that last punch for a long time before he finally regained his composure. After breaking through to the Great Emperor realm, his strength had surged dramatically. Without even needing to activate his physique, his Heavenly Emperor Fist alone was now enough to clash head-on with immortal artifacts.

If he erupted with full power, Ye Chen truly felt he might be able to pierce through this entire world. Piercing all the way to the immortal realm would probably be difficult, since the gap between a great world and minor worlds was enormous. But reaching other minor worlds should not pose much of a problem.

After letting his thoughts wander for a moment, Ye Chen turned his gaze toward the slowly recovering Lotus Emperor. Due to the suppression of the true meaning of reincarnation, the other party's recovery was very slow.

Ye Chen had a fairly good impression of Lotus Emperor and did not rush to extinguish him. If the other party could willingly hand over the Chaos Azure Lotus seed later, Ye Chen would not mind letting him go.

Lotus Emperor could be spared. Celestial Prince, however, definitely could not.

Ye Chen turned his head. With his black hair dancing wildly, he looked at the Celestial Prince with a cold smile.

…

Celestial Prince's body trembled slightly. This was the first time since their encounter that Ye Chen had truly looked at him directly. He had felt nothing but humiliation the entire time.

Yet Celestial Prince almost wished Ye Chen would continue ignoring him. The immortal tower above his head had stopped rotating. It no longer drew in starlight and instead focused entirely on protecting him. The heavenly fire had also ceased transforming. His Undying Immortal Body was fully awakened, ready for battle.

After witnessing that last punch, Celestial Prince no longer had any will to fight left. Only regret filled his heart. He even regretted emerging from seclusion so early. It would have been better to wait until the struggle for the immortal path was over and Ye Chen had left this world before coming out.

Although he could no longer become an immortal, he could still rule supreme in the cultivation world and restore the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan to greatness once more. That would have fulfilled his father's last wish.

At this moment, Celestial Prince only wanted to leave. He wanted to hide back in the ancestral land and never emerge again unless Ye Chen and the Eight-Crowned King ended up severely injuring each other in the future.

"Heavenly Emperor's heir, what I did earlier may have been a bit impulsive… But on the immortal path, there is no right or wrong!

"Now, I am willing to withdraw from the struggle for immortality and offer compensation. The foundation of my Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan is immense. Whatever you need, feel free to ask."

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Freewebnovel. Support the author by reading it there.

With the immortal tower fully defending and the immortal light shielding him, the Celestial Prince felt a bit more secure and spoke earnestly. He did not want to fight anymore.

Ye Chen laughed upon hearing those words.

"First of all, I am not the Heavenly Emperor's heir. Yan Qingcheng is."

Ye Chen spoke calmly, clarifying his relationship with the Heavenly Emperor. Since he would soon be leaving this cultivation world, he could not let the misunderstanding continue.

The moment Ye Chen spoke, both Celestial Prince and the distant onlookers twitched at the corners of their mouths.

You wield the Heavenly Emperor Fist even more fiercely than the Heavenly Emperor himself. If you are not the Heavenly Emperor's heir, then who is?

Celestial Prince wanted to retort the most. After all, no one understood the Heavenly Emperor better than he did.

But at this moment, gripped by fear, he did not dare cause any more trouble. "Then, Fellow Daoist Ye, can we turn hostility into friendship? Cultivation is not just about fighting and killing…"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "You, of course, must die. If I don't kill you, once I enter the immortal realm, won't you slaughter the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land and the Heavenly Emperor Hall the very next day to take revenge?"

Celestial Prince's mouth twitched again. Deep down, that was exactly what he had been thinking. If he could not defeat Ye Chen, could he not at least destroy the forces that supported him?

But right now, he hurriedly shook his head. "I am willing to swear a heavenly oath…"

However, Ye Chen could not be bothered to listen. He threw another punch.

With a generous opponent like Lotus Emperor, Ye Chen was willing to exchange a few more words. But against Celestial Prince, it was simply a waste of time.

The terrifying fist shadow shone brilliantly, as if it had gathered the power and laws of the Heavenly Emperor Sword into a single strike.

Facing this punch, an uncontrollable surge of fear rose in the heart.

At the same time, Celestial Prince pushed his Sacred Spirit Root and Undying Immortal Body to the limit. Endless terrifying power surged forth, driving the immortal tower to its peak and advancing its awakening even further.

Boundless immortal light poured out, blocking Ye Chen's punch.

A earth-shaking boom erupted.

After a long while, the brilliant fist force finally dissipated.

The immortal tower trembled violently but ultimately managed to withstand the blow.

Celestial Prince let out a long breath, his heart filled with relief. It was fortunate that he had chosen an immortal artifact specialized in defense back then. It was also fortunate that he possessed both the immortal physique and the Sacred Spirit Root, which could continuously support him. As long as Ye Chen could not break through the immortal artifact, he would remain undefeated.

Once he returned to the ancestral land, the grand arrays there would support the other immortal artifact of the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan. Then he would no longer need to worry about Ye Chen at all.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow as he looked at the immortal tower, a hint of eagerness flashing in his eyes.

Immortal artifacts were incredibly sturdy and difficult to break. Still, he wanted to test whether his Primordial Chaos Supreme Body at two-thousandths activation, combined with his perfected Heavenly Emperor Fist, could shake it and pierce through.

After a brief hesitation, Ye Chen abandoned the idea. It was possible, but unnecessary. He had an easier method. After all, who didn't have an immortal artifact?

Moreover, inside his inner world lay an immortal artifact said to possess the strongest offensive power in the entire cultivation world.

Facing the Celestial Prince's defensive immortal artifact, Ye Chen was very curious to see which one was more ferocious.

Without hesitation, Ye Chen sank his mind into his inner world. He activated the Armament Secret to mobilize a blood-red blade and slowly drew it out.

…

On Celestial Prince's side, he felt relieved.

While keeping the immortal artifact above his head, he retreated backward and spoke earnestly, "Fellow Daoist Ye Chen, since you cannot kill me, why don't we end this here?

"I am willing to swear a heavenly oath that I will never attack your companions or descendants.

"At the same time, I am also willing to offer many treasures as compensation."

Celestial Prince still feared that Ye Chen might seek revenge after reaching the quasi-immortal or even immortal realm.

Therefore, even though he no longer had to worry about falling right now, he still hoped to resolve the grudge.

Ye Chen listened with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, but he did not reply. Instead, a portal appeared in front of him.

Ye Chen reached one hand into it and slowly pulled.

This scene made Celestial Prince frown.

What was the Heavenly Emperor's heir retrieving?

The onlookers also watched with rapt attention.

The next moment, as Ye Chen withdrew his hand from the portal, a blood-red hilt appeared in everyone's sight.

The immortal artifact's aura leaking from it caused everyone's expressions to change dramatically.

The Heavenly Emperor's heir indeed possessed an immortal artifact as well. Moreover, he truly mastered the Armament Secret, allowing him to support the awakening of an immortal artifact and wield it even at the Great Emperor realm.

Originally, the onlookers had thought Celestial Prince might actually survive this encounter. But now, they no longer believed so.

Celestial Prince himself trembled, his face turning ugly. Yet the moment Ye Chen drew out half of the blade, his expression changed completely. He stared at the blood-red blade body—crafted with the exact same origin and technique as his own immortal tower—pure and flawless, radiating overwhelming killing intent.

His arm shook as he raised it, pointing furiously at Ye Chen. "That is my father's Undying Celestial Blade! You still claim you're not the Heavenly Emperor's heir?!"