Immortality Starts With Investment

”What? Become a guest elder?” Ye Chen’s face showed a hint of surprise as An Yuyi and An Miaoli arrived a few days later, with An Yuyi eagerly extending the invitation.

An Miaoli spoke with her usual cool demeanor. ”If you wish to access the sect’s records, becoming a guest elder of Quiet Wonder Peak is the only way.”

Ye Chen marveled inwardly. Senior An was efficient, handling his request in just a few days. ”Are there any restrictions?” he asked.

An Yuyi chimed in, eager to take credit. ”Normally, a guest elder must swear a Heavenly Dao oath to serve for at least twenty years. But after Auntie vouched for you with the Internal Affairs Hall Master, they waived the time limit. You can leave whenever you want, as long as you swear a Heavenly Dao oath not to reveal Divine Will Sect’s secrets.”

To An Yuyi, her aunt’s efforts—using her status as Grand Elder to guarantee Ye Chen’s position—were clearly for her sake.

An Miaoli added calmly, ”As a guest elder, you won’t have access to sensitive secrets. The stipend is low due to the lack of a time commitment, and you’d need contributions to view cultivation techniques. But the records you’re interested in? You can read those directly. Every five years, you’ll need to complete a sect mission, but as a guest elder of Quiet Wonder Peak, you don’t need to worry much about that.”

Ye Chen smiled at An Miaoli. ”Thank you, Senior An.”

This was a win-win. Joining Divine Will Sect would make gifting and feedback easier. Living in Divine Will City meant waiting for others to visit him or flying out to meet them—far too inconvenient. As a guest elder, he’d be closer to An Miaoli, making things much smoother.

”If you have no objections, let’s go handle the formalities,” An Miaoli said, rising gracefully into the air.

Ye Chen and An Yuyi quickly followed. After more than a year apart, An Yuyi was thrilled to see Ye Chen again. Flying beside him, she chattered nonstop, sharing how she’d formed a ninth-grade Golden Core, mastered the Star Thunder Instant Kill Technique, and initially planned to confront Li Feihuang for revenge after her breakthrough.

But then Li Feihuang’s identity as a Great Chu royal daughter with a Fire Phoenix Spirit Body came to light. Having used phoenix blood to form her core, she’d likely grown even stronger, so An Yuyi had quietly backed off. By the end, her voice carried a hint of grievance.

An Yuyi’s demeanor made Ye Chen chuckle. Compared to before, she was much more endearing now.

Thinking of Li Feihuang’s recent arrogance, Ye Chen couldn’t help but say with a grin, ”Don’t worry. When the chance comes, I’ll help you settle the score.”

An Yuyi’s eyes sparkled at his words. For the past two years, she’d been the one pursuing Ye Chen, while he remained lukewarm toward her. Now, he was offering to stand up for her? Whether it was because of her aunt or some other reason, her joy was uncontainable.

More importantly, if Ye Chen was willing to help her against Li Feihuang, it meant he didn’t favor her rival. An Yuyi had long worried that her aunt wouldn’t be able to compete with Li Feihuang and that Ye Chen might be snatched away. Now, those fears were gone.

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Emboldened, she grabbed Ye Chen’s arm, clinging to it as they flew toward Divine Will Sect.

Ye Chen patted her fluffy head, and the gesture made An Yuyi beam, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

Ahead, An Miaoli observed the scene without much thought. Ye Chen’s actions seemed purely affectionate, likely an extension of his care for her niece.

As for Li Feihuang, An Miaoli had once wondered if there was something between her and Ye Chen when he gifted her the phoenix blood. Now, it seemed otherwise—likely just a transactional exchange.

Leading the way, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curved An Miaoli’s lips. Deep down, though, she felt a twinge of regret. If only Yuyi could let go of Ye Chen…

With An Miaoli’s endorsement, Ye Chen’s appointment as a guest elder was processed swiftly. Since Quiet Wonder Peak was exclusively female, An Miaoli arranged for Ye Chen’s cave mansion to be situated at the peak’s summit to ensure his comfort. Ye Chen had no objections. Discomfort? That wasn’t even a possibility.

However, the news of a male elder joining Quiet Wonder Peak sparked quite a stir in Divine Will Sect. Despite Ye Chen being invited by Grand Elder An Miaoli, the peak’s elders and deacons were initially displeased.

Quiet Wonder Peak had always been a haven for female cultivators, and a male presence felt jarring. But given Ye Chen’s Golden Core cultivation and his status as the champion of the Divine Will Assembly, no one dared voice their complaints openly.

And so, Ye Chen settled into Quiet Wonder Peak. His cave mansion was just a kilometer from An Miaoli and An Yuyi’s, making gift-giving conveniently close.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed.

Seated cross-legged in his cultivation chamber, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes. His gaze had grown deeper, his aura more profound. Over the year, he’d reaped immense benefits, his cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds. He estimated that in just half a year, he could break through to mid-Golden Core.

Advancing a minor realm in a mere year and a half would shock anyone who heard it. At the Golden Core stage, rapid progress was nearly impossible. Most Golden Core cultivators took decades—sometimes thirty to fifty years—to advance a single minor realm, and it only grew harder. The significance of a year and a half was staggering.

Checking the system, Ye Chen saw it was time to trigger another reward. He rose leisurely, ready to give gifts and reap the benefits.

As he walked through Quiet Wonder Peak, he passed almost entirely female cultivators, mostly at the Foundation Establishment stage, with a few Golden Core elders among them. When they saw him, their eyes lit up, and they greeted him warmly, a stark contrast to the resistance he’d faced a year ago.

Ye Chen returned their courtesies with a faint smile. The reason for their change? His generous hand, of course.

Most cultivators needed frequent seclusion to comprehend spells and techniques. As the Grand Elder, An Miaoli was often busy with sect affairs, while An Yuyi, a Golden Core direct disciple, had her share of tasks despite not being an elder. So, when Ye Chen’s system cooldown ended, the two were often absent.

Unwilling to waste his weekly feedback opportunity, Ye Chen would randomly select a lucky female cultivator on Quiet Wonder Peak to gift. Most had modest multipliers—30x to 50x, none reaching 100x—and were mostly Foundation Establishment cultivators, only able to yield Foundation Establishment-level rewards. Still, even small gains were worthwhile.

Ye Chen was lavish with his gifts: the Phoenix Stone, Foundation Establishment Pills, various top-grade magical treasures, and occasionally high-end techniques or pills—some so rare even Divine Will Sect might not have them. The women of Quiet Wonder Peak had never seen such generosity, and their emotional reactions often triggered critical hits.

This filled Ye Chen’s coffers while making the female cultivators’ eyes light up at the sight of him, eagerly lining up to greet him. Resistance? Nonexistent.

Initially, Quiet Wonder Peak’s women had privately grumbled about their male elder, hoping he’d leave to restore their ”pure” female sanctuary. Now? If anyone from another peak dared criticize Ye Chen, they’d face a ferocious backlash from Quiet Wonder Peak’s cultivators.

”Elder Ye has always been a part of Quiet Wonder Peak!” they’d declare. ”Quiet Wonder Peak can’t exist without Elder Ye, just as cultivators can’t live without spirit Qi!”