Immortality Starts With Investment

A majestic Saint’s aura forced countless heads to bow.

Dugu Sheng, ecstatic moments ago, watched the Dugu Wooden Sword slip away, eyes wide. He didn’t dare speak. Only one Saint existed in the Sword Sect. The intervener was obvious.

Looking up, it was indeed the ancestor. His face was full of disbelief. He hadn’t coerced—Gu Yunyun willingly offered the sword to settle her debt. She was just leaving the sect! Why did the ancestor stop it? Was he less than Gu Yunyun?

Ye Chen frowned. Meddling old man…

High above, the Sword Sect ancestor, eyes like sword light, descended.

The elders bowed. ”Greetings, Ancestor!”

Ignoring them, he looked solemnly at Gu Yunyun. ”Yunyun, Dugu Yue saw you as her final disciple, passing all her knowledge to you. At her end, she was overjoyed to have you. To her, you were far more important than that failure Dugu Sheng!

”If Dugu Yue knew you’d sever ties with the Sword Sect for him, she’d be heartbroken. No more talk of leaving! The Sword Sect isn’t the Dugu clan’s—it belongs to all its members. As for the Dugu Wooden Sword, the ancestor didn’t leave it to the sect, so it’s not ours. The fourth Holy Son retrieved and gifted it to you. It’s yours. No one can take it. I declare to all: anyone claiming the Dugu Wooden Sword is the sect’s will face my purge…”

The ancestor’s voice, sage-like, echoed through Sword Valley.

With a flick, the wooden sword flew back, hovering before Gu Yunyun. She was slightly stunned…

The Sword Sect members were dumbfounded. What was wrong with their ancestor? Siding with reason over family? Wasn’t he a staunch family faction supporter? This fairness felt… unfamiliar.

They didn’t understand. But Ye Chen did. He instantly guessed the reason. Damn, I shouldn’t have given that old man ginseng fruits…

Dugu Sheng couldn’t accept it. The Dugu Wooden Sword was within reach, yet the ancestor stopped him. Despite the ancestor’s presence, he couldn’t hold back, shouting, ”Ancestor, the Dugu Wooden Sword is my clan’s legacy! Why can’t I take it? As for Gu Yunyun, let her leave if she wants! Plenty others can take her place!

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”I’m a sword Dao prodigy, at the peak of swordsmanship, a Second Heaven Mahayana Holy Master. Am I less important than Gu Yunyun? If you insist on keeping her and denying me the sword, I’ll leave the Sword Sect, change my name, and cut all ties with the Dugu clan!”

Dugu Sheng’s hands trembled with rage. Returning to the Sword Sect, he felt betrayed by all. He threatened to leave.

The ancestor glanced at him faintly. ”Then change your surname. The Sword Sect doesn’t keep outsiders. Leave today.”

Dugu Sheng’s face froze, staring in disbelief. The elders were dumbfounded. Dugu Sheng was young, with vast potential. With the Immortal Path open, he could surpass the ancestor, maybe reaching Saint King or Great Saint.

Such a prodigy was a sect’s pillar. Even holy lands cherished them. Especially the Sword Sect. With the ancestor nearing his end, without a new Saint, the sect would decline further. Yet, for Gu Yunyun, he told Dugu Sheng to change his name? Was the ancestor possessed by a heavenly demon?

Amid the uproar, the ancestor ignored the stunned Dugu Sheng, addressing the puzzled Gu Yunyun. ”Though you’re not yet Mahayana, I’ll pass you the final chapter of the Dugu Sword Scripture: Dugu Nine Swords! It’s the only thing our ancestor left us after becoming an immortal, the pinnacle of human sword Dao…

”Sadly, I heard in the Immortal Realm, he felt he’d peaked in swordsmanship, abandoned his sword, and created the Chaos-Reversing Eight Forms, surpassing immortal scriptures. But that’s just legend—true or not, who knows? Otherwise, our Sword Sect might’ve risen further!”

The ancestor tossed out a jade slip, shocking everyone again. The Dugu Nine Swords was the sect’s core technique! Only Dugu bloodline members at Mahayana could study it. Now, he granted it to Gu Yunyun. This was too absurd. Was the ancestor truly possessed?

Gu Yunyun was bewildered, hesitation in her eyes. She feared no malice. But the ancestor’s enthusiasm left her at a loss.

Ye Chen, listening, raised a brow. He’d heard of the Chaos-Reversing Eight Forms. A technique beyond immortal scriptures, its power unimaginable.

Dugu Bubai, a powerhouse before the Heavenly Emperor’s era, hadn’t returned after becoming an immortal but was said to shine in the Immortal Realm. After the Heavenly Emperor destroyed the Jianmu Tree, the realms lost contact, and news ceased.

The Eight Forms aside, this Dugu ancestor was dead-set on keeping his master. And he was. The longer one lived, the less they accepted death. The ancestor saw clearly: Ye Chen’s ginseng fruits weren’t for his Saint status.

The Heavenly Evolution Holy Land lacked no Saints. Ye Chen gave it for Gu Yunyun’s sake. And his casual gifting of ginseng fruits? The Heavenly Emperor must’ve hidden the ginseng fruit tree, now in Ye Chen’s hands. For lifespan extension, he needed Ye Chen. But if Gu Yunyun left, would an ever-stronger Ye Chen, who might surpass him, care? Thus, Gu Yunyun had to stay.

Seeing Ye Chen’s reluctance and Gu Yunyun’s hesitation, the ancestor doubled down. ”Every thousand years, Sword Valley gathers a Dugu Sword Qi Origin. Refining it advances your sword intent, aiding mastery of the Dugu Nine Swords. The next gathering is just over a year away. I declare: no contest needed. The spot is yours, Yunyun.”

His words sparked another uproar.

Dugu Sheng’s face turned green. Wasn’t that spot promised to him a century ago?