ISWI Chapter 1207-1208 (Patreon)

Chapter 1207: The Strange Long Wu!

"Ye Chen, hurry up!"

Xie Linyuan grew impatient as Ye Chen moved at an unhurried pace, still in the mood to admire the architectural styles and decorations of Heavenly Secrets Immortal City.

Since entering the Immortal Realm, Ye Chen had not visited many places. The history of the Immortal Realm far surpassed that of the cultivation world, and its expanse was vastly greater. Each major continent possessed its own distinct architectural style.

Ye Chen's curiosity toward novel things ranked second only to his interest in female cultivators, and he found the sights quite entertaining.

Urged now, he suppressed the impulse to slap the other man and frowned. "What are you so anxious about?"

For immortals, lifespan stretched far too long. There was simply no need to contest the space of a single day or night. Yet Xie Linyuan was truly urgent and could not help speaking. "Senior Long Wu is carrying a child and has already waited three days for you. She must be especially anxious. Can you not move a little faster, Ye Chen? Once we have finished meeting Senior Long Wu, I will personally accompany you on a stroll through the city."

Ye Chen listened and regarded Xie Linyuan with a peculiar expression. He began to suspect that this fellow might secretly be in love with Long Wu. Why else would he act so much like a fawning dog?

In particular, Xie Linyuan had still not mentioned the matter of the Nine Heavens Clear Radiance Realm Moon, yet he kept Long Wu constantly on his lips. At this moment, he looked ready to carry Ye Chen on his back. Would this boy later even try to push him forward? That would not do. Ye Chen disliked having others present when he was busy.

Under the successive urgings, Ye Chen lost interest in idle wandering. He quickened his pace and followed Xie Linyuan into the immortal pavilion. The pavilion had already been cleared; no one dared approach. Though Long Wu was not an Immortal King, everyone knew she would certainly become one, and no ordinary Immortal King at that.

Many speculated that once the Seven Extremes Heavenly Maiden truly returned, her combat strength might reach the level the Heavenly Emperor had possessed in his day. No one wished to be remembered with hatred by such an existence. Under these circumstances, Long Wu's status was simply unimaginable.

Xie Linyuan led Ye Chen without obstruction to the top of the pavilion. "Senior, I have brought Ye Chen."

Long Wu, clad entirely in white, had long since sensed Ye Chen's arrival. She regarded him calmly and completely ignored Xie Linyuan. Xie Linyuan felt no dissatisfaction. Instead, he experienced a sense of satisfaction at having helped the goddess.

Ye Chen frowned slightly. "For what purpose have you sought me out?"

In a certain sense, the two of them were enemies. Although the child was living well outside, Long Wu, in effect, held a token of immunity from death. Unless the day came when Ye Chen could bring the child back, even if he gained sufficient strength, he would be unable to strike her down with full force.

Long Wu paid no heed to Xie Linyuan's presence and spoke directly. "The embryo in my belly is developing ever faster and is nearly formed. The origin essence, laws, and many other energies she absorbs from within me grow ever greater, and the harm they cause me grows steadily worse. After all this time, have you thought of a solution?

"I have lost all patience and can no longer tolerate this situation continuing to spread. If you cannot give me an account, I will first kill you, then kill Huo Linglong, afterward destroy the Jade Pool Immortal Sect, and finally do everything in my power to extinguish the embryo in my belly."

Xie Linyuan's eyes widened at once. Had the goddess been driven to the point of striking the child? That would not do. Even in the Immortal Realm, such an act damaged the body, severely injured one's origin, and could even leave flaws in one's physique. Many pregnant female immortals who suffered attacks during gestation rarely lived long afterward and found further breakthroughs difficult for precisely this reason.

Xie Linyuan gazed anxiously at Ye Chen, hoping he would show some sense of responsibility and not disappoint the goddess further. Ye Chen's expression, however, turned somewhat strange. He paid little attention to Long Wu's threats; he had heard them before. He was simply curious. Previously, Long Wu had called the child a bastard at every turn. Why had her wording changed this time?

Moreover, the blatant and obvious disgust that had once been ready to overflow was now almost undetectable. What was going on? What new scheme did this woman harbor? After all, the people of the Immortal Realm were full of schemes. Even surrender involved endless pulling and countless conspiracies.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes and pondered for a long while, yet still could not grasp what Long Wu truly meant. His bottom line remained absolute: Senior An must never be fused. Thus, he shook his head. "I am sorry. I have not yet thought of a method."

Long Wu's killing intent surged at once. Her black hair danced wildly as she stood like a battle immortal descending upon the world. Terrifying Immortal Monarch's aura flooded the entire Heavenly Secrets Hall. "Then what of the vast origin I have lost? If this is your attitude, there is nothing left to discuss!"

Her words were utterly resolute. Xie Linyuan, merely a Golden Immortal, was blasted away by her aura. He paid no heed to his injuries and instead grew so anxious he wished to pace in circles. If the two could not reach an agreement, would the goddess truly strike the child? That would not do. The harm to her body would be far too severe.

He looked toward Ye Chen, and his heart clenched. Ye Chen stood motionless in place. How could a mere Profound Immortal withstand the might of an Immortal Monarch?

Clearly, Long Wu had shown restraint. Such differential treatment left him dejected, yet he still endured the ache in his heart and immediately sent a voice transmission to Ye Chen, urging him to soften his stance and avoid further inflaming the conflict or angering the goddess. Anger during pregnancy was bad for the child.

Ye Chen, whom Long Wu had deliberately spared, felt puzzled. Upon hearing Xie Linyuan's transmission and seeing the fellow's expression, the corner of his mouth twitched. It is my child. Why are you so agitated?

He felt no worry for the child. Even an Immortal King could not erase it; a bout of anger meant nothing. Yet as he regarded the somewhat strange Long Wu, he pondered her motives. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a thought flashed through his mind. Had Long Wu come this time seeking child support? No, seeking compensation?

At that realization, he probed carefully. "There is temporarily no solution for the child, but since I have caused you such great trouble, I can offer some temporary compensation."

Long Wu's expression remained calm, yet her aura withdrew considerably. She spoke in a cool voice. "What you gave last time was insufficient. The pills are extremely difficult to refine. Even the finest alchemist of the Heaven Immortal Sect managed to produce only three. That is far from enough to make up for my losses, still less when the embryo continues to grow larger. This time it must be at least double."

Ye Chen fell silent. Damn. This Long Wu had truly come for child support. Yet the pressure was easy to resolve. The Jianmu was so vast that losing a little tree sap meant nothing. Directly handing over Jianmu sap without any return, however, would be a pure loss. The pills Long Wu mentioned had clearly been refined from Jianmu sap.

Thus he spoke. "Jianmu sap is precious, and I do not have much left. Yet for the sake of the child, I am willing to endure the pain. I have two conditions. First, allow me to examine the child and confirm that it is truly unharmed and growing healthily. Second, give me the pill formula you used."

Long Wu frowned slightly at his words. The second request mattered little; it was merely a single formula. But the first? She disliked anyone touching or probing her. Yet sensing the embryo's agitation and attachment upon seeing Ye Chen, she hesitated.

Chapter 1208: Working Together in Unity!

"Very well, but only once."

After a moment's thought, Long Wu spoke calmly. At present, she wished only to advance to Immortal King. Once she reached that realm, she would no longer fear any Heavenly Emperor imprint. She could seize Ye Chen directly and force him to hand over An Miaoli, then return the little thing in her belly to An Miaoli before striking An Miaoli dead and sending her into reincarnation. Ye Chen would have to die as well for defiling her incarnation.

Though deep in her heart a strange notion occasionally arose that the child was innocent, Long Wu understood clearly that she was merely being influenced. Since no solution existed at the moment, she would achieve Immortal King as quickly as possible. Once she became an Immortal King, everything could be resolved with ease.

"This is the formula for the Nine Revolutions Enlightenment Pill. Yet throughout the entire Immortal Realm, few can refine it. It is a nine-revolutions divine pill."

Long Wu raised her hand and flicked out a jade slip. She felt no deep curiosity about why Ye Chen wanted the formula. She knew he intended to refine it himself, yet that was simply impossible. A nine-revolutions divine pill required the highest attainments in the dao of alchemy. The alchemy of the Immortal Realm lagged far behind that of the Other Domain. Since its birth, no Immortal King who had ascended through the dao of alchemy had ever appeared.

The three divine pills she had obtained earlier had required a journey to the Alchemy Tower, the foremost alchemy power of the Immortal Realm, where she had requested the services of its top alchemist and the Immortal Realm's foremost master of the dao of alchemy, Ancient Sea Immortal Monarch. Even then, the success rate had remained extremely low. The furnace had been opened three times, failed twice, and succeeded once, yielding only three pills.

In the Other Domain, by contrast, existences had achieved Immortal King through the dao of alchemy and had even created divine techniques such as the Lesser Alchemy Art to transmit to their disciples, elevating foreign alchemy to the absolute peak long ago.

Ye Chen raised his hand to receive the slip. His divine sense swept across it, and a smile appeared. The efficacy of the Nine Revolutions Enlightenment Pill was terrifyingly strong. It could directly assist in comprehending the Great Dao; a single pill could save a thousand years of bitter effort.

Once he reached the Immortal Monarch realm, the pill would prove useful. Yet the difficulty of refinement was far too high. His own alchemy was merely at the ninth-grade level of the cultivation world and far from sufficient. He would indeed have to attempt improvement afterward.

As for Long Wu's restriction that he might examine the child only once, Ye Chen did not mind. Under the gaze of Xie Linyuan at the side, he raised his hand and placed it upon Long Wu's lower abdomen through her clothing.

Xie Linyuan closed his eyes, unwilling to look directly. They were the true family; what right did he have to feel jealousy?

Long Wu's expression remained icy, clearly enduring her irritability. Ye Chen paid it no attention at all and quietly sensed the thick blood connection. He could also feel the embryo's joy and closeness, and even vaguely perceived certain other information. It seemed the child was truly faring rather well here.

Although Long Wu had not applied Jianmu sap directly and had instead refined it into pills, the child had still benefited. Ye Chen held little personal feeling for the child, yet the affection he bore for An Miaoli extended to it as well. Confirming now that the child was unharmed, he set his mind completely at ease.

Just as he prepared to sense more carefully, a wave of aura erupted from Long Wu's lower abdomen and instantly flung Ye Chen's hand away. She regarded him coldly. "That is enough. I cannot continue to tolerate your delays. This matter must be resolved. If I achieve Immortal King and you still have not found a solution, I will resolve it myself. Yet every one of you will pay a price you cannot accept!"

With those words, Long Wu departed in a roar. She cared nothing for any grand ceremony or trial. She wished only to become an Immortal King, resolve every trouble, fuse every incarnation, and become the new Seven Extremes.

Ye Chen watched her leave after collecting the child support and felt the corner of his mouth twitch. Although the child also benefited, the lack of any return still left him feeling he had suffered a pure loss. He would have to find a way to raise his alchemy skills.

While he pondered, he noticed Xie Linyuan at the side staring in the direction of Long Wu's departure with a dazed expression. Ye Chen's mouth twitched again. Seriously, brother? He had nothing to discuss with a simp. He waved a hand and headed downstairs alone, intending to stroll through Heavenly Secrets Immortal City and see whether any suitable treasures or female cultivators worth gifting might be found.

Xie Linyuan recovered his senses, suppressed the bitterness in his heart, and hurriedly followed. "Ye Chen, I have been to Heavenly Secrets Immortal City many times. Whatever you wish to do, I will take you there!"

He still remembered his earlier promise.

Ye Chen stopped and patted Xie Linyuan's shoulder. "Little Xie, take me to an immortal pavilion that sells pills so I can have a look."

At that form of address, Xie Linyuan grew somewhat displeased. Yet, recalling the identities of Ye Chen and Long Wu, he did not erupt. Once Ye Chen entered the secret realm and witnessed his own great display of power, he would naturally understand that Xie Linyuan was long since different. How presumptuous Ye Chen was today, and how tolerant he himself remained. He only hoped that after Ye Chen understood all this, he would treat the goddess with greater patience.

The Heavenly Secrets Hall was exceptionally lively. Numerous Immortal Kings and Immortal Monarchs had gathered, immortal qi flowing and an imposing atmosphere prevailing. Even the He Clan, the Wang Clan, and many other powers whose stances had once been ambiguous and uncertain were present.

Outsiders had originally worried these forces might deliberately cause trouble, yet none had expected them to cooperate so fully, contributing both wealth and effort. During the discussions, they raised no objections whatsoever. All were willing to offer certain exclusive divine abilities, daos, methods, even immortal scriptures and Immortal King scriptures to establish academies. They were even willing to instruct the future Ten Outstanding Youths personally and voluntarily swore oaths that they would not hold anything back and would teach with full seriousness.

Their display of unity was extraordinary, progressing with unbelievable smoothness and allowing the subsequent trial ceremony to advance with equal fluency. It was set to open formally the following week. All prodigies would be teleported directly into the Chaos Secret Realm at that time.

As for the ranking method, it would of course not rely on killing. After all, this gathering contained nearly the entire essence of the Immortal Realm. If only ten people were allowed to emerge, an entire generation of the Immortal Realm would be severed, and there would be no point in fighting further.

Therefore, scores would be calculated according to the treasures. As long as a cultivator obtained the treasures that had been placed inside or those already present in the secret realm, points would be awarded according to their value. Final rankings would follow the total scores.

Would it be possible for someone with poor strength yet astonishing fortune to luck into the Ten Outstanding? That would not happen. Combat was not forbidden inside the secret realm, and those who obtained treasures could not conceal the fortune pillars above their heads.

In the end, the strong would still claim everything. This approach ensured that not too many would die while also guaranteeing that the top-tier prodigies obtained the most resources and the greatest advancement. It was perfect.

At the Wang Clan's residence, the nine dragons gazed at Wang Xuanji, who had already transformed into the appearance of a male cultivator, their eyes full of expectation. "Xuanji, you are now at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, and the compression of the immortal power within your body has reached ten-thousandfold. You can essentially walk sideways through the realm. Yet you must not grow careless and should still watch for a few individuals."