Immortality Starts With Investment Chapter 607: Has Ye Chen Died?

In the Central Continent, the foremost first-tier prodigies had either attained Unity peak and were striving for Mahayana, or they had already exited their seclusion.

According to custom, first-rank prodigies stepping into a fresh major realm would spark brutal rivalries, as holy lands arranged spectacular tournaments for their top talents. Yet this era diverged sharply. They advanced in utter silence, pretending all was normal, hardly showing their faces.

What caused it? The Heavenly Emperor successor of this generation proved overwhelmingly dominant. Single-handedly crushing six rivals was outrageous on its own. But the latest reports stunned even more. The Heavenly Emperor successor not only hit Unity peak, but while ambushed at Unity realm, he slew three Mahayana experts!

This revelation left all this generation's prodigies in utter dismay. Everyone tracked Ye Chen's cultivation progress meticulously. He had lagged a whole major realm behind the first tier. How, in mere years, did he reach Unity peak?

Mahayana marked the final major realm before genuine immortality, far surpassing all previous stages. In lower realms, certain prodigies could slay foes across major realms. But against Mahayana? Merely enduring, much less fleeing, counted as remarkable. Still, Ye Chen battled three and annihilated them! Utterly unbelievable. Blazing-fast progress paired with horrifying battle prowess. Who could possibly rival him? Ye Chen by himself crushed the hopes of his entire generation's geniuses.

Further rumors soon circulated. Serving as protector to a divine maiden, he grew fond of the Heavenly Desire Sect Master and whisked her into his cave abode. After a month and a half of indulgence, he headed back to Heavenly Evolution Holy Land, retreating into seclusion to condense his Immortal Platform and advance to Mahayana!

These tidings rocked the realm of prodigies, intensifying their despair. Ye Chen displayed such heaven-defying might even prior to Mahayana. What terrors would he unleash afterward?

A few conjectured that after succeeding, he could shatter all limits, wielding cross-realm killing power right in Mahayana. While most elite prodigies stayed level-headed, some impulsive ones, empowered by solid Law Qi during their own Mahayana advances, saw it as a new beginning. Perhaps Ye Chen's dominance wouldn't endure.

No matter what, every gaze fixed upon Heavenly Evolution Holy Land in Great Yan Continent, eagerly anticipating updates on Ye Chen's exit and his Mahayana breakthrough.

Back in antiquity, supreme prodigies forged their Immortal Platforms using Immortal Qi. Its superior purity demanded years for completion. Today, Immortal Qi eluded everyone. Law Qi held at most a hundred laws, accelerating the process—spanning just two or three months, or a year tops.

Nevertheless, after a full year, Heavenly Evolution Holy Land stayed hushed, showing no trace of heavenly tribulation. The outer world grew baffled. Why had the Heavenly Emperor successor failed to appear?

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Mahayana breakthroughs by prodigies triggered enormous commotions, particularly for a monster like Ye Chen. His advancement couldn't stay concealed... so why the delay? Did he encounter a cultivation bottleneck? Suffer deviation mid-breakthrough? Meet his end? Was his overwhelming strength provoking heavenly jealousy? Or did the holy body's ancient curse activate, blocking his Immortal Platform?

Myriad prodigies watched Heavenly Evolution Holy Land intently, brimming with expectation for positive developments.

...

"Could this be Immortal Qi?"

Sensing the intangible, scentless energy that captured the essence of heaven and earth, Ye Chen felt a rush of thrill and eagerness course through him. Wasting no time, he assumed the lotus position, embedding the Immortal Qi within his brow center, and commenced forging his Immortal Platform, formally stepping into Mahayana.

…

Across the cultivation realm, observers monitored Ye Chen's activities relentlessly. Year one, year two, year three... still, Ye Chen made no appearance.

Wild guesses proliferated. Had he actually died, or become a waste? Five years post his vanishing, the Immortal Path at last unlocked. An archaic teleportation formation surfaced, opening entry to the Immortal Path. The whole cultivation world erupted in fervor.

Geniuses poured forth in masses. Long-secluded powerhouses finally unveiled themselves—like the Seven-Crown King, preserved in divine essence from another age, alongside scions of lost lineages. Extraordinary constitutions emerged, each radiating fearsome might.

From various races, peak prodigies surfaced too, such as the offspring of the legendary Undying Heavenly Sovereign rising now. Heirs from famed ancient clans, including the Golden Crow Clan, made their debuts.

When the Immortal Path activated, a chilling aura swept through, evoking terror. But the figure all craved most was none other than Ye Chen. Crowds yearned for his coming, hungry to behold his unmatched aura again.

However, as geniuses streamed into the Immortal Path successively, Ye Chen stayed nowhere in sight. Shock rippled across the cultivation world. Those prior whispers—fueled by jealousy and curse-like—hinted at his demise.

His no-show at the Immortal Path's launch appeared to validate dire mishaps. After all, no cultivator could ignore the Immortal Path's vital importance and vast rewards.

Yet Ye Chen was absent. Had calamity truly befallen him? Did his breakthrough collapse? Or, even after triumphing over three Mahayana foes through cunning, suffered backlash that doomed his immortal journey? Maybe, per circulating tales, a top-tier force had slain him in a sneak attack?

Debates swirled around Ye Chen as the cultivation world's obsession. As years ticked by, into the sixth, chatter about him faded. Many erased him from memory. In this brutal realm, innumerous once-brilliant prodigies saw their paths crumble, vanishing like meteors. Ye Chen proved no different.

In the Heavenly Emperor's time, a genius of unmatched gifts, prophesied for true immortality, overpowered the Emperor via avatar alone. Yet a foundation-shattering clash turned him into a broken shell, abandoned by history.

Cultivators boast extended lifespans. Fleeting glories hold no weight. Pinnacle dominators alone earn eternal worship. Save Ye Chen's beloveds, the masses shifted focus to those charging the Immortal Path.

Come the eighth year, Ye Chen lingered only as faded legend. Mentions painted him solely as the one who battled six geniuses before falling. The cultivation world showed no mercy. However brilliant, fallers from the summit gradually dissolve into oblivion.