Immortality Starts With Investment

Ye Chen still hadn’t given a clear answer. A trace of hesitation lingered in his heart. After all, no male cultivator had ever entered his cave heaven and walked out alive. Yet if he could truly take control of the Devouring lineage… it didn’t seem like a bad thing at all.

After a moment of internal debate, Ye Chen finally made up his mind. Forget it. This man had already seen far too much he wasn’t supposed to. Even with methods to control him, the risk remained. The safest option was death.

But just as resolve hardened in Ye Chen’s eyes once more, the kneeling Demon-Exterminating Great Saint spoke again: ”I know the Young Lord has an appreciation for beautiful things. Many of our Devouring lineage’s members currently hold high positions across various holy lands. If there is any female cultivator you saw in the Central Continent who caught your interest, simply tell me.

”Many of them—we can arrange with a single word to have them come to you willingly. For those who are harder to move, we can set up a situation, lure them out of their sect, abduct them directly, or even create an opportunity for the Young Lord to play the hero and save the beauty…”

This time, the firmness in Ye Chen’s gaze wavered again. Female cultivators or not didn’t matter much. What truly mattered was the Devouring lineage’s ability to infiltrate every major holy land and stay perfectly informed. When he needed certain intelligence in the future, they could prove extremely useful. Though he still hadn’t fully decided,

The way Ye Chen looked at the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint had noticeably softened. He spoke first: ”Stand up and talk.”

The Demon-Exterminating Great Saint let out a long breath of relief, knowing his last few sentences had hit the mark. But the danger wasn’t over yet. He needed to keep pushing.

Recalling how Ye Chen had acted without restraint back in the Myriad Races Immortal City—openly pursuing the Little Peacock King’s mother and the Divine Silkworm Clan Leader’s wife—And how, just moments ago, he had noticed the flushed, radiant faces of the Heavenly Desire Divine Maiden’s master and grandmaster, both exuding the unmistakable aura of someone recently ”nourished.”

Yet the Divine Maiden herself still carried the pure aura of untouched primordial yin. Clearly, Ye Chen had approached the Divine Maiden solely for the sake of her master and grandmaster… His preferences were obvious.

So the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint frantically racked his brain for famous, mature, taken female cultivators. From his own era of rising to prominence, there had been several beauties renowned across the heavens. He would look into them later—see how well they had aged. If any were still stunning, he could capture them and present them to the Young Lord.

The Dao Companion of the Alkaid Holy Master—he remembered meeting her once; she had been quite beautiful. Then there was the grandmother of the Great Yang Body, the one Ye Chen had killed—she was a Saint King herself, and back in the day, she had been hailed as the Central Continent’s number one female cultivator. The Young Lord held grudges deeply, yet he also favored mature women. The elders of his enemies might stir his interest even more.

With that thought, the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint prepared to start listing them out, ready to ask which one Ye Chen wanted. If the Young Lord wanted all of them… that was fine too. It might be troublesome, and a few hidden agents might be sacrificed, but with enough effort, it could be done. The most important thing was keeping the new Young Lord satisfied.

He was just about to speak—When another terrifying figure crashed into the cave heaven with earth-shaking force. A wave of oppressive saintly might swept through the space, shaking heaven and earth. Both men’s attention snapped toward the newcomer.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Ye Chen frowned, hoping it wasn’t one of his own people. That would complicate things. But when he saw the figure shrouded entirely in black qi, face concealed, he immediately relaxed.

An enemy—perfect.

Ye Chen watched the newcomer with an amused smile.

The Demon-Exterminating Great Saint, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes.

The newly arrived Great Saint didn’t have time to survey the surroundings. After a quick glance at the two men and a brief flash of surprise upon seeing the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint’s true face—he didn’t recognize the man or his faction—he dismissed it.

He assumed this fellow daoist must already have the situation firmly in hand, unafraid of being identified. Still, he couldn’t help frowning: ”Why haven’t you subdued this boy yet?”

Without waiting for an answer, he raised his hand and sent a palm strike wreathed in crackling thunder straight toward Ye Chen. Before Ye Chen could react, the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint exploded upward. Endless saintly power surged forth as he intercepted the attack.

The newcomer’s expression twisted in shock: ”Have you lost your mind? Did the Heavenly Emperor’s heir actually convince you? Kill him now, and everything will belong to both of us! Besides, nothing a Heavenly Emperor’s heir says to a man can be trusted. Heavenly Evolution’s reinforcements have already arrived outside. If we don’t finish this quickly, even the two of us working together might not escape!”

Hearing those words, the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint’s expression turned icy cold. Endless black petals bloomed into existence, surging toward the second Great Saint with murderous intent. A terrifying wave of killing aura shot straight into the sky.

The newcomer’s face changed again as he recognized the distinctive divine art. While frantically summoning endless wind and thunder to defend himself, he cried out in shock: ”One Thought, Flowers Bloom! The supreme technique from the Devouring Heaven Demon Art—you’re from the Devouring lineage?”

The Demon-Exterminating Great Saint ignored him completely. Only the endless petals continued their relentless assault, each one carrying lethal killing intent. As he pressed the attack, he calmly introduced the intruder to Ye Chen: ”This is the Thunderbolt Great Saint, Wen Tailai—early stage Great Saint realm. A mere slight nudge from one of our hidden agents in his holy land was enough. He secretly contacted us and volunteered to join the operation. When you attended the Myriad Races Auction, Young Lord, this man was also present. He is suspected of coveting your treasures!”

Thunderbolt Great Saint Wen Tailai? The one who caused trouble at the auction!

Ye Chen wasn’t particularly concerned about the man’s identity. What disappointed him was the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint’s performance. He had hoped that with a second Great Saint barging in, the old man would finally turn against him. That would have resolved his hesitation once and for all. Yet the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint showed not the slightest sign of betrayal.

Meanwhile, Wen Tailai—his identity exposed—froze in genuine shock. His own disciple had claimed a powerful hidden force was secretly collaborating to assassinate the Heavenly Emperor’s heir. Of course, he hadn’t wanted to miss the chance and had joined without hesitation.

But during contact, he had carefully concealed his identity. He never expected the other side to name him so directly. Clearly, that disciple was already one of the Devouring lineage’s planted agents and had sold him out long ago.

But that wasn’t what terrified him most. What truly shook him to the core was the way the other Great Saint addressed the Heavenly Emperor’s heir. Young Lord? The person the entire world believed to be the Heavenly Emperor’s heir… was actually the Devouring lineage’s successor?

Or rather, this generation’s Heavenly Emperor heir and the true Devouring heir were one and the same person. One man, bearing the inheritance of two supreme orthodoxies.

The background was simply too horrifying. Unprecedented. Most crucially, this entire assassination attempt on Ye Chen had clearly been organized by the Devouring lineage. Yet Ye Chen was their true heir. Which meant the whole operation, from start to finish, had been a trap. And he had walked right into it.

The realization sent a chill through Wen Tailai’s entire body. The man in front of him belonged to Ye Chen. The people outside also belonged to Ye Chen. He could not stay here a moment longer—he had to escape immediately, or he never would. His identity had been exposed; endless trouble would follow.

But no matter. He would spread the news himself: that Ye Chen was the true Devouring heir. Once that information spread, Ye Chen would become the public enemy of the entire cultivation world. Countless major powers who had long disliked him would no longer hold back. No matter how monstrously talented Ye Chen was, he would surely die!

Without hesitation, Wen Tailai unleashed a surge of purifying thunder, annihilating every petal around him. Then his entire body transformed into a streak of lightning. He turned and fled at full speed…