Immortality Starts With Investment

But Ye Chen’s smile flickered only briefly. He quickly schooled his features. Exiting the majestic Divine Silkworm Clan outpost, he fell silent and quickened his pace toward the Heavenly Demon Clan’s grounds.

Behind him, Luo Bingling’s face soured with evident displeasure. Why did Ye Chen pour so much into Yao Yuezhi? If her own cave heaven had shattered, would he value her just as dearly?

Yao Yuekong, meanwhile, brimmed with joy laced by guilt. The joy stemmed, of course, from securing the Qiankun Cauldron—his sister was saved. Even if she couldn’t reclaim her former glory, at least ascending to the Saint realm lay within reach for her future.

The guilt arose from Ye Chen’s extravagant outlay. Twenty high-grade Extreme Dao Weapons, plus a supreme one like the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod. Even great clans might balk at mustering such a hoard.

In one fell swoop, Ye Chen’s Heavenly Emperor treasury had likely run bone-dry. He clenched his jaw in resolve, vowing to tell his parents the full extent of Ye Chen’s sacrifice upon return. They had to compensate him with every ounce of their power.

...

In short order, the pair returned to the Heavenly Demon Clan’s outpost. Yao Yuekong’s parents had taken Yao Yuezhi to meet the ancestors. He asked Ye Chen and Luo Bingling to wait a moment. Then he dashed off to find his parents and share the glad tidings.

On Yao Yuezhi’s end, she shared her parents’ profound disappointment. They had pleaded with several ancestors, but to no avail. A shattered core demanded creation spirit liquid for remaking. Yet that elixir had vanished from the world, leaving only the Qiankun Cauldron. In the end, all roads circled back to it. Given the Divine Silkworm Clan’s reverence for the cauldron, even the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod might not pry it loose.

In the courtyard, Yao Yuezhi let out a wry chuckle. She readied herself to console her downcast parents. But at that moment, Yao Yuekong burst in, his face alight with uncontained excitement. ”Sister, your cave heaven’s saved. Brother-in-law—our brother-in-law really swapped for the Qiankun Cauldron!”

His words landed like thunder, widening the eyes of all three present. He truly obtained it?

”Did he use the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod in trade? Ye Chen actually parted with a supreme Extreme Dao Weapon for our daughter?”

Yao Yuezhi’s parents gasped in awe.

Yao Yuekong nodded, then shook his head, his expression turning grave.

”Ye Chen first offered twenty high-grade Extreme Dao Weapons! But that Divine Silkworm Clan patriarch has eyes like a hawk—he guessed a core had shattered... and leveraged it to force Ye Chen to add the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod!”

The revelation drew even Yao Yuezhi’s pale lips agape in a sharp intake of breath. A single supreme Extreme Dao Weapon was already stunned. Twenty high-grade ones on top? Did she truly rank so high in Ye Chen’s heart?

Tears of emotion welled in Yao Yuezhi’s eyes, joy blooming thick and fast. Her parents’ faces, too, twisted in complicated wonder. They had once quietly disdained Ye Chen for his surplus of women, but now not a shred of that lingered. They even understood him now. After all, a man so powerful and prosperous—having a few women around him only made sense. For their daughter to catch his eye? That was sheer fortune.

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...

”Sister, you go ahead first. Ye Chen’s waiting for you in the hall. I’ll chat with Mom and Dad.”

Yao Yuekong ushered Yao Yuezhi away before turning to his parents to discuss compensating Ye Chen. Her parents nodded in agreement. Ye Chen’s generosity had stunned them. Though they couldn’t fully repay him, they had to give it their all.

”Ye Chen’s just entered the Third Heaven and newly formed his cave heaven—he’ll need plenty of spirit plants to bolster its foundation. And spirit beasts, too. Our clan controls some rare ones in the Northern Domain...

”I’ve got a rare cave heaven flower in my domain that enhances stability. Once I process it, I’ll gift it to Ye Chen. All in all, I approve of Ye Chen as our son-in-law. We can’t let him think the Heavenly Demon Clan is some glutton that only takes and never gives—we have to hold up our daughter’s honor...

”Mom, Dad, Ye Chen’s really into those cat-eared girls. He kept staring at them the whole way here, and I noticed he favors white fur. How about I head back to the Northern Domain and snag some top ones for him? Like snow foxes?

”Ow, Dad, why’d you hit me?”

The group buzzed with fervent plans to make amends for Ye Chen. On one hand, gratitude drove them. On the other, they didn’t want their daughter owing him too much. Lest she ever feel unable to hold her head high before him.

...

In the grand hall, Luo Bingling stewed in unhappiness, the disparity gnawing at her as she huffed and puffed. She even couldn’t hold back from asking Ye Chen outright. ”Ye Chen, what makes that Yao Yuezhi so special? Why do you value her like this? I’ve followed you for years, given everything, and all you handed me was one big black stick. But Yao Yuezhi? You’ve barely met her a handful of times. Yet you’d sooner give her the world!”

”Back at the Divine Silkworm Clan, that killing intent at the end—it was all an act, wasn’t it? If it hadn’t fooled them, you’d have thrown in the Heavenly Emperor Sword too, just to snag that broken cauldron for her! What gives her the right? Where do I, Luo Bingling, fall short of her? My talent outshines hers, my feet are prettier, I’m taller, my waist packs more power, my figure’s got way more to offer—and as for looks? We’re not even in the same league.”

Luo Bingling truly fumed, ticking off her edges one by one. Ye Chen listened on, his lips curving into a smile. Women were confident creatures, after all. Luo Bingling did edge out Yao Yuezhi in some spots—bigger, broader ones, say. But Yao Yuezhi’s willow waist carried its own allure. Not to mention her feet, which Ye Chen hadn’t glimpsed but imagined as dainty and charming. Each had her charms, in the end.

Still, Ye Chen’s mind wandered not to the woman before him. But to Yao Yuezhi. Because she had already reached the doorway, though she hadn’t stepped in. Hearing this tirade—and the unflattering comparison—it would only deepen her emotion. When he later presented the Qiankun Cauldron, the critical hit would land even harder. With that thought, Ye Chen figured bringing Luo Bingling along had been a stroke of genius after all.

...

And sure enough, Yao Yuezhi soon stepped into the hall, her emerald eyes brimming with unspoken words. Red-rimmed and vulnerable, she stirred the heart to pity. She seemed not to have overheard Luo Bingling’s earlier barbs, gazing at Ye Chen with a mix of overwhelming emotion and quiet self-doubt. ”Brother, I don’t deserve all you’ve sacrificed for me. Let’s go back to the Divine Silkworm Clan together—we can trade those Extreme Dao Weapons back, alright? Ever since I met you, Brother, I’ve lost all desire for immortality and eternal life. I only want to linger in the red dust of the mortal world, by your side...”

Luo Bingling clenched her fists at those sweetly manipulative words, fury bubbling up. But she knew Ye Chen lapped up that sort of thing. Sure enough, he crossed to her and drew Yao Yuezhi into his arms, gently stroking her hair. ”You deserve every beautiful thing the world holds. Anything you desire, if it’s within my power to give!”

Those two simple sentences melted Yao Yuezhi’s resolve, her body going limp against him. Yet once he’d spoken, Ye Chen had no wish to linger on tender intimacies. This gift-bearing errand had dragged on far too long already, leaving him faintly impatient.

”Yuezhi, say no more. Accept the Qiankun Cauldron—I’ve already erased every imprint within it. Go on and refine it as your core.”

With that, Ye Chen extended the cauldron, pale blue as if carved from divine jade. As her gaze fell upon it, Yao Yuezhi bit her lower lip softly, her heart swelling with gratitude and emotion on the verge of spilling over.