Immortality Starts With Investment

The holy spirit gestating within the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade resisted the idea of leaving with Ye Chen. Reluctance and deep unease filled her. She feared he had taken the sacred liquid only as a starting point and harbored far greater designs. He was no good person. Perhaps, like the previous two holy spirits, he planned to drain her origin entirely.

Yet the jade also knew it could no longer remain in this small world that had nurtured her. So many outsiders had discovered the place. Peace was shattered forever. Everyone would covet her. If she stayed, premature emergence under relentless pressure was inevitable, and not far off.

Compared to that fate, departing with Ye Chen seemed the lesser evil. He remained unaware that her consciousness had awakened, granting her influence over heaven and earth and the ability to wield certain powers. One day, she might seize an opportunity to escape. Then she could seek another hidden sanctuary and continue gestating in peace. Though cracked and no longer capable of perfect maturation—her shell might rupture any day—the later that happened, the better.

With these thoughts, the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade finally yielded. But when she realized Ye Chen intended to place her inside his cave heaven, disgust warred with sudden wild joy. A mere third-heaven cultivator—his cave heaven likely lacked even time laws. What use could it possibly be? How much spiritual charm could it hold? He dared call that a good place?

Entering it would undoubtedly slow her gestation and diminish the outcome, far inferior to her original small world. Still, disdain aside, this presented a golden opportunity.

She understood well the critical importance of a cave heaven to a cultivator: the very foundation of their existence, cultivation, and advancement. Since he did not know her will had awakened, placing her inside his cave heaven was perfect.

At the right moment, she could destroy the cave heaven from within. Once destroyed, his cultivation would plummet straight to the Second Heaven. Then, without even needing to emerge, she could suppress him effortlessly with the power her will commanded.

At this thought, all resistance vanished. She steeled herself to endure the thin spiritual qi for now. When the time ripened, she would strike from inside the cave heaven and slay this utterly shameless human. Afterward, she would flee far away, find another supreme location, and begin a new gestational journey.

Perfection might elude her, but if she could hold until emerging at the eighth-heaven realm, even Quasi-Immortals might prove no match. She would still reign invincible in this world. Then she would slaughter every intruder who had entered this small world today, leaving not one alive. Thus would she vent the hatred burning in her heart.

Brimming with astonishing resentment, the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade offered no resistance to Ye Chen’s guiding force. She allowed her body to drift willingly into his cave heaven. She planned, the moment she entered, to map the full extent of his cave heaven and locate its core. In time, she would deliver a fatal blow. Let him learn the grave consequences of stealing her Nirvana Sacred Liquid today.

Ye Chen, seeing the jade cooperate so readily, felt quite pleased. As it floated past him, he couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke it again, praising aloud, ”This stone truly understands human nature!”

Killing intent surged within the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade as she inwardly cursed: Keep your filthy hands off me! You’re the one who understands human nature—your whole family are stones…

And so, under the watchful eyes of all, Ye Chen ushered the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade into his cave heaven. This sparked another wave of envious glares. Yet no one dared act; they could only covet in silence. Some quasi-saints of the myriad races even retreated further, terrified Ye Chen might seize the excuse to pick a fight and kill them.

Watching these quasi-saints shrink back in fear, Ye Chen shook his head in disappointment.

No backbone at all—how could they ever ascend to immortality?

Trash!

With no fresh origin volunteering itself, he lost interest in them. Seeing Lan Nuo nearly finished toying with her opponents, a smile touched his lips. Once she wrapped up her performance, he would present the sacred liquid. With a shift of his mind, he immersed his divine sense into the cave heaven. He intended to find the finest spot to settle the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade.

…

Once the portal behind her closed slowly and she fully entered Ye Chen’s cave heaven, the holy spirit—who had steeled herself to endure a barren, spirit-thin space—widened her eyes in stunned disbelief.

A torrential flood of spiritual qi surged toward her body like a raging river. No—it wasn’t the qi moving on its own. Her unworthy shell, like parched earth barren for countless ages, was frantically devouring the surrounding spiritual qi.

This left the holy spirit utterly shocked.

What was going on?

When she sensed the unique nature of the spiritual qi in this cave heaven, her astonishment deepened. This was no ordinary spiritual qi. It was primal chaos spiritual qi!

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Of a grade far superior to common spiritual qi—the kind that existed only at the very birth of a nascent world. As the world expanded and living beings emerged, chaos spiritual qi would gradually deplete, leaving only ordinary spiritual qi behind.

Though her consciousness had only just awakened, the holy spirit had been nurtured by the heavens themselves and favored by the Great Dao. She innately understood the fundamentals of all things in existence without need for study—knowledge etched into the depths of her bloodline.

How could Ye Chen’s cave heaven contain chaos spiritual qi?

Her gaze shot toward the distant firmament in overwhelming shock. There was a golden crystal stone blazed like a miniature sun. Floating amid the heavens, it ceaselessly poured forth streams of chaos spiritual qi.

”A Chaos Spiritual Qi Sacred Origin Crystal! He actually possesses a Chaos Spiritual Qi Sacred Origin Crystal in his cave heaven! Every nascent world forms only one at its birth—and it must be refined immediately, or it will naturally dissipate… This human actually has one! This is inconceivable.”

Shock gripped the holy spirit, yet joy quickly followed. Chaos spiritual qi brought immense benefits to all things: accelerating the growth of spiritual plants, advancing spiritual beasts, and vastly increasing cultivators’ cultivation speed.

For a holy spirit, the advantages were equally profound. It could accelerate gestation by at least tenfold compared to ordinary spiritual qi.

Her shell already bore a crack; at most, it could endure another ten thousand years before it could no longer contain the holy spirit within, shattering completely. Emergence would then become inevitable. But if she could cultivate here, absorbing an endless supply of chaos spiritual qi, she might achieve perfect maturation before the shell fully broke.

Had this human truly prepared all this for her? Why else would he allow her to absorb chaos spiritual qi so freely?

The holy spirit could not comprehend it. But her earlier plan—to shatter Ye Chen’s cave heaven and deal him a fatal blow—vanished entirely. Though the human was shameless for stealing her Nirvana Sacred Liquid, his cave heaven was blameless.

She refused to lump the two together. She would focus on gestating properly first. Once she emerged perfectly, she would simply suppress and slay him outright. As a grand being, she should act with magnanimity—no need for underhanded tactics like secretly destroying his cave heaven.

In short, as the holy spirit surveyed Ye Chen’s cave heaven, she found everything to her perfect satisfaction. Her former attachment to the small world that had nurtured her dissolved completely. In high spirits and brimming with delight, she examined her new home.

Yet she dared not release her divine sense to probe freely, fearing Ye Chen might detect her awakened consciousness and expel her. She could only observe with her eyes—and what she saw shocked her further. This place offered more than just chaos spiritual qi.

Countless rare treasures and spiritual plants abounded, elevating the cave heaven’s spiritual charm to an astonishing degree. This would vastly improve her foundation, raising the upper limit of her innate talent during gestation. All of it only deepened her satisfaction with her new home.

As she carefully sensed her surroundings, she vaguely felt that the benefits this cave heaven could provide far exceeded what she currently perceived. But having only just arrived—and with that human surely watching from the shadows—she refrained from deeper exploration.

Still, the holy spirit had already decided in her heart. This human dared house a holy spirit in his cave heaven—clear proof his brain wasn’t functioning properly. She would have to help him.

In the future, if any random riffraff entered and tried to damage his cave heaven, she would absolutely lend her strength to suppress them and protect her new home.

But in the next moment, the holy spirit panicked. A gentle pulling force guided her toward the distance.

What was happening? Had the human regretted his decision? Was he about to eject her?

No—I won’t leave! I refuse! This place was my destined home!

The holy spirit within the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade wanted to struggle and resist, yet she dared not. No matter how foolish this human might be, he would never allow a fully conscious holy spirit to remain in his cave heaven. She absolutely could not let him discover the truth. Otherwise, she would never be allowed back in—not in this lifetime or the next.

Fortunately, the wait was brief. No portal opened to cast her out. Instead, she drew ever closer to the cave heaven’s core. The concentration of chaos spiritual qi thickened, and the spiritual charm grew ever more profound. Relief washed over the holy spirit. Joy quickly followed.

He was simply moving her to an even better spot. This human wasn’t half bad after all. Though he had shamelessly stolen her Nirvana Sacred Liquid, he had truly delivered benefits. Once she emerged perfectly, she would teach him a lesson, force him to offer up the treasures of this cave heaven, and then spare his life.

Soon, as she arrived atop the immortal peak at the very heart of the cave heaven, her thoughts were interrupted. The Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade shell shuddered violently. She quickly suppressed the reaction, terrified the human might notice something amiss.

It wasn’t a lack of composure. The sight before her was simply too staggering. Atop the main peak stood a stellar pool, brimming with starlight essence. Ripples danced across its surface, scattering dazzling stellar radiance.

To the holy spirit that alone was unremarkable. What truly set her heart racing were the immortal roots surrounding the pool. Eleven of them grew there in a perfect ring.

The Enlightenment Tea Tree flourished with lush branches and leaves. The Fusang Divine Tree stretched skyward. The Moon Lunar Immortal Tree scattered a silvery glow. The True Dragon Undying Herb coiled with draconic might. The True Phoenix Undying Herb blazed with rising flames…

Immortal lights of every hue intertwined atop the peak, painting a scene as though a fragment of the immortal realm had been transplanted into the mortal world.

The holy spirit’s excitement stemmed not from their beauty. Each immortal root was unique, bearing its own exclusive laws. Gestating among so many would grant benefits beyond imagination. The mere thought nearly made her tremble with exhilaration.

With the sound of splashing water, the Seven-Colored Nirvana Jade settled into the exact center of the stellar pool. In the holy spirit’s view, this was the finest spot imaginable. Even the discomfort from her crack seemed to ease.

”This is my new home! Every blade of grass, every tree here will belong to me in the future. As for that human—shameless as he is—his contribution has been immense. When I emerge, I’ll make him surrender this cave heaven. Then I’ll take him as a servant and bestow upon him boundless glory…”

The holy spirit was utterly satisfied with her cave heaven.

Yet at that moment Luo Bingling—who had been cultivating beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree and whom the holy spirit had previously overlooked—was startled awake. She opened her eyes and looked over.

Only then did the holy spirit notice her. Her brows furrowed instantly, rage surging in her heart.

How dare this woman be so presumptuous—daring to absorb my chaos spiritual qi in my cave heaven!