Immortality Starts With Investment [XIANXIA LITRPG]

"Su Yuxuan probably won't fight tomorrow, so it'll be the final match," Ye Chen mused, raising an eyebrow. "Northern Emperor's inheritance? Who's that?"

He pondered briefly but drew a blank. Time was a merciless eraser. In his past life, even the greatest figures faded from memory decades after death, their legacies gradually erased.

In the cultivation world, with its endless stream of prodigies, even once-dazzling True Immortals could be forgotten, their dao titles lost to history. A Northern Emperor who never reached the Great Ascension Realm? Hardly worth noting.

Ye Chen shrugged it off. With his Immortal Scripture, True Dragon Treasure Technique, Supreme Heart, Heavy Pupil, and countless other assets, any one of them could crush this so-called Northern Emperor's legacy. No need to dwell on it.

The system's cooldown had ended today, allowing him to gift again, but he planned to wait. Tomorrow, after defeating Champion King, he'd first gift the Nether King's Gall to Su Yuxuan to boost her aptitude. A higher aptitude would increase her multiplier, and a week later, gifting the imperial aura infusion slot would maximize his returns.

As he schemed, his transmission talisman buzzed. Glancing at it, Ye Chen's brow furrowed. In a flash, he vanished, reappearing outside the Wang residence.

Su Yuxuan, barely conscious, was propped up by a soul force, unable to stand. Ye Chen scooped her frail, curvaceous form into his arms, noting her deathly pale lips and her aura, so faint it was almost gone. Frowning deeply, he carried her swiftly back to his courtyard, shutting the door before speaking. "What happened?"

Su Yuxuan managed a bitter smile. "Champion King wanted me as his concubine, but I'm yours, Senior Brother—how could I agree? He tried to take me by force. I couldn't match him, so I detonated my Golden Core and fled."

Ye Chen's frown deepened, his gaze dropping to her dantian—empty, her vital essence nearly drained. A glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

Su Yuxuan's trembling hand grasped his, her voice weak. "Even as a demonic cultivator, I know loyalty. I'm yours, Senior Brother, and always will be. Detonating my core nearly exhausted my lifeforce—I've got half a year at most—but I don't regret it. To see you one last time, to be by your side, I'm content. Don't grieve or seek revenge. Just bury me in the Boundless Demon Sect's ruins, where the other shore flowers bloom—I love them. Visit me sometimes, remember a girl who loved you and died for you, and I'll rest in peace."

Her heartfelt speech left Ye Chen silent. Died for me? The words felt oddly familiar, like a rehearsed script.

Ye Chen brushed aside the theatrics, his voice firm. "Is there a way to save you?"

Su Yuxuan shook her head with a bitter smile, but before she could respond, a translucent figure materialized beside her. Manjusaka's voice was cold. "There is. The Boundless Demon Sect has a secret technique to seize another's Golden Core and refine it for one's own use. If you extract Li Feihuang's core and refine it, Yuxuan could recover seventy percent of her strength. Her immortal path might even continue."

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Ye Chen's eyes widened at Manjusaka's appearance.

You actually have a core-plundering technique? Truly an old demonic cultivator.

He pressed, "Senior, would any core work?"

Manjusaka sneered. "A Golden Core is the root of cultivation. You think any random one will do? Yuxuan's core detonation damaged her foundation. A mismatched core, even a ninth-grade one, would degrade to third or fourth grade after refining—a tainted core at best. She'd survive, but her immortal path would be severed. Better dead than that.

"Li Feihuang, with her phoenix blood and Moon Phoenix Body, has a peak ninth-grade core. As a female cultivator, her core could yield a sixth-grade one for Yuxuan. The phoenix blood could restore her foundation, even leaving room for future growth."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. Handing over Li Feihuang's core was out of the question. She might be overconfident, but she wasn't evil—certainly not deserving of that fate. Besides, Ye Chen had a better option, a core of higher quality than Li Feihuang's.

Why dig out someone else's when I can use my own?

Seeing his silence, Manjusaka scoffed. "I knew men were unreliable. Yuxuan's dying, and you won't even fetch a core for her. You call that love?"

Ye Chen's mouth twitched. That's at least eight thousand years of venom packed into one jab.

Su Yuxuan, eyes red, shook her head. "Master, stop. Li Feihuang's a Great Chu princess, noble and stunning—I pale in comparison. Don't pressure Senior Brother. I'm happy just to be by his side before I go. Senior Brother, can you take me back to the Misty Sect to watch the sunset from the main peak? I miss those days… they're my lost…"

Despite her words, Su Yuxuan wasn't truly worried. If cores could be plundered, survival was assured—it was just a matter of quality. Targeting Li Feihuang's core was half a playful jab at Ye Chen, not jealousy over him gifting her the phoenix blood or crossing realms to help her claim the throne. Definitely not.

…

Ye Chen's mouth twitched. Is Su Yuxuan using my old playbook against me? And that nonsense about missing the Misty Sect—you smashed their ancestral hall before leaving. What are you nostalgic for?

He chuckled, leaning down to say something to her, but Su Yuxuan's face grew even paler, and she fainted in his arms.

Manjusaka's voice dripped with scorn. "For years, I've told Yuxuan you're no good, but she wouldn't listen. She thought you were devoted, the one who loved her most. She didn't get it—your special constitution just means you don't need those things you gave her."

"Hand Yuxuan over," she continued. "I'll take her away, find the best Golden Core, and rebuild her immortal path."

Ye Chen shook his head, gazing tenderly at Su Yuxuan before turning to Manjusaka. "Senior, Li Feihuang's core isn't suitable. But how could I let my junior sister die or lose her path? Use my Golden Core instead."

At his words, Su Yuxuan's eyes snapped open, only to flutter shut again, feigning unconsciousness. Manjusaka froze, stunned. Is he serious?

She'd always assumed Ye Chen's gifts—his eyes, his heart—came from a regenerative constitution, common enough in the cultivation world's myriad physiques. But a Golden Core? Once gone, it was gone. Even she'd never heard of anyone regrowing one. Plundering another's core crippled one's strength, all but ending their immortal path. Was he for real?

Skeptical, she pressed, "Li Feihuang's a woman—her core aligns better with Yuxuan, maximizing compatibility and minimizing damage."

Ye Chen grinned. "Mine's better. It'll more than make up for the gender difference."

Manjusaka blinked, unconvinced. Both were ninth-grade cores, and Li Feihuang's was forged with phoenix blood. How could his be superior?

But then her soul form trembled violently. Before her, Ye Chen summoned his Golden Core, and a blinding five-colored divine light erupted, dazzling enough to blind anyone who looked.

…