ISWI Chapter 681-682

Chapter 681: Heartless and Unfeeling!

Atop the Holy Son Peak.

Ye Chen slowly emerged from his cave residence. Seeing the crowd of female disciples gathered outside, a faint smile curved his lips. With a casual wave of his hand, he distributed one bottle of Dao Charm Pill to each disciple. The gesture sparked delighted cheers; several girls even tugged at his sleeves, trying to pull him away for some private time.

Ye Chen's mouth quirked in amusement. During his breakthrough, he had directly opened the Dragon-Subduing Yellow Spring Diagram. Torrents of Yellow Springs water cascaded over him like a waterfall. Combined with the unique nature of his current physique, his cultivation speed had been absurdly fast. A quick glance around told him Luo Bingling had not yet emerged from seclusion.

Senior An and Elder Lin were also in closed-door cultivation, preparing to break through to the Mahayana Realm. As for An Yuyi, she had already reached the Unity stage. Simply put, the female cultivators around him had advanced at terrifying speed—thanks to his relentless, no-expense-spared resource investment. Unlike him, they didn't need to pursue absolute perfection in every step.

Now, the ordinary female disciples on the peak no longer held much interest for Ye Chen. After sending a small gift to Mo Yuzhu, he waved everyone away. Then he sought out Lu Jing.

Under his repeated, forceful "guidance" and resource pouring, Lu Jing had already reached the Nascent Soul Realm. A realm she had once dared not even dream of. So now, Lu Jing had completely stopped cultivating. Every day, she happily tended flowers, grew spiritual plants, and had even cleared a pasture on the neighboring peak to raise a few spirit beasts. Her culinary skills had reached the pinnacle of mastery.

The moment she saw Ye Chen emerge, Lu Jing's face lit up with joy.

"Young Master, you've come out of seclusion? I'll prepare a meal for you right away…"

For Lu Jing, the greatest happiness was being able to fill Young Master's stomach whenever he returned to visit her. She didn't mind that he always spent time at Elder An's or Elder Lin's places. After all, she was merely a little maidservant.

Without Ye Chen's support, she would probably have spent her entire life struggling to reach Foundation Establishment at best—perhaps ending up as a concubine to some minor clan's Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could she ever have enjoyed her current life and status?

Her resources surpassed those of the core holy land disciples. Whenever she left Holy Son Peak, holy land disciples would bow respectfully to her.

But Ye Chen frowned as he looked at her.

"The last time I left, you were already in seclusion, breaking through to Nascent Soul. I've been gone so long, and you're still only at early Nascent Soul?"

He had always shown Lu Jing a certain amount of favoritism. She cultivated an immortal scripture, consumed top-grade pills, and bathed in countless precious spirit liquids.

Lu Jing immediately lowered her head in embarrassment.

Without another word, Ye Chen simply picked her up and carried her into the cave residence. This lazy maidservant needed some serious motivation… to help her grow and blossom properly.

Three days later.

The other four maidservants—Lin Ke'er, Sun Ruoxin, Caidie, and Yun Qianyue—who had gone to other peaks to listen to lectures and cultivate diligently, finally returned in high spirits.

"This time when we go into seclusion, we'll finally break through to Nascent Soul!"

"Yeah! Catching up to Lu Jing is just a matter of time now."

"Relying only on the Holy Son's infusion won't get you anywhere. The immortal path still requires your own determination!"

"Lu Jing will be surpassed by us sooner or later!"

All four women brimmed with confidence. But the moment they saw Lu Jing—her face glowing with health, aura surging like a boiling cauldron—their eyes widened in disbelief.

"Lu Jing… how are you already at mid Nascent Soul?!"

Lu Jing shyly lowered her head.

"Young Master had just left… During the time he was… motivating me, I broke through. He even took me to two special pools for more 'motivation'—something about star water, Yellow Springs water, that sort of thing. And Young Master left a lot of… things with me. He said he'll come back in a month to check whether I've fully refined them."

"Now that he's already at the second heaven of Mahayana, his physical body is unbelievably powerful. The things he left behind are terrifying—packed with immense essence. It's extremely difficult to refine. So… I'll have to seclude myself for the next month. By then, I'll probably reach peak Nascent Soul…

"Young Master will definitely push me to continue and break through to Deity Transformation... Sigh… I really hate closed-door cultivation…"

The four women froze, expressions rigid. They felt as though the sky itself had collapsed on them…

After the "motivation" session concluded, Ye Chen was in an excellent mood. He went to find the Holy Master for a chat. To his surprise, the Holy Master had quietly broken through as well—now a king at the third heaven of Mahayana.

Feng Baiyu looked at Ye Chen and gave a satisfied nod.

"Your cultivation speed is quite impressive, but there's no need to rush just because those ancient fossils are awakening. Once you reach the fourth heaven and your cave heaven forms the law of time, you'll be able to control the flow of time inside it and accelerate your own cultivation. While cave heaven can't be used for breakthroughs, it can save an enormous amount of time on foundational training. Foundation is what matters most. Don't chase speed blindly."

Feng Baiyu felt Ye Chen was progressing far too quickly. That was why he offered the gentle reminder. Some of those ancient existences, now fully revived, were already approaching Quasi-Immortal. But for everyone else, there was truly no need to panic. With control over time acceleration, catching up was still possible. But if the foundation became unstable and limited one's ultimate potential—that would be the real disaster.

Ye Chen nodded, accepting the advice. In truth, he wasn't anxious at all; he was simply progressing at an absurd pace naturally.

"By the way, now that you've broken through to the second heaven and reached the Holy Master realm… Normally, I should step down. But your Eldest Senior Sister has been inside the Immortal Path ever since it opened. She hasn't come out, and we can't contact her.

"The same goes for your Eldest Senior Brother. So handing the position directly to you wouldn't be entirely fair. For now, I'll reluctantly stay on a little longer—until the three of you are all gathered. How does that sound?"

Feng Baiyu brought up the serious matter.

Ye Chen, of course, had no objections. He had zero interest in the position of Holy Master anyway. When the time came to compete, he could simply give it to his Eldest Senior Brother or Eldest Senior Sister and see what kind of spectacle might unfold. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how his Eldest Senior Sister was doing now. Back then, her two-thousand-fold multiplier had left him in awe. These days, though, she seemed almost ordinary by comparison.

Noticing Ye Chen's curiosity, Feng Baiyu let out a soft sigh.

"As for Dantai Xuan… I'm not entirely sure what to say. The Supreme Emotionless Scripture is simply too demonic. When she entered the Immortal Path, she had already broken through to Mahayana. Even then, she carried an air of absolute heartlessness, looking down upon all beings as if they were beneath her. Hua Yunfei was being beaten right beside her, and she didn't even spare him a glance…

You have to understand—when she was little, she used to cling to Hua Yunfei constantly, idolizing him. It's not just her mindset that's changed completely. I feel like her very physique has transformed as well. Her talent has become even more terrifying—there's even a faint trace of an immortal aura about her now. If the Supreme Emotionless Scripture can alter one's physical constitution too… then it's far more frightening than we imagined. Once both mind and body are fully transformed, every trace of who she once was will be completely erased…

"Hua Yunfei tried using an immortal artifact to suppress the change, but clearly, it was futile. You should be careful. If you encounter your Eldest Senior Sister on the Immortal Path and there's any conflict of interest… she might not hesitate to strike you down without mercy."

When it came to Dantai Xuan, even Feng Baiyu couldn't help but sigh at the sheer terror of the Supreme Emotionless Scripture.

Ye Chen, hearing this, slowly furrowed his brows…

Chapter 682: The Monkey Comes Knocking!

Ye Chen had never been particularly close to his Eldest Senior Sister—in fact, they barely had any real connection. Back when he gifted her the war chariot, it hadn't triggered any dramatic reaction either. Still, his Eldest Senior Brother seemed to share a deep sibling bond with her.

For his Eldest Senior Brother's sake, if the opportunity ever arose to obtain the Immortal Exquisite his brother had mentioned, Ye Chen wouldn't mind passing it on to his Eldest Senior Sister. Perhaps it could help her regain some of her former self.

Meanwhile, a faint chill flickered in Feng Baiyu's eyes as he pondered inwardly:

"This Supreme Emotionless Scripture might not even originate from our world—perhaps not even from the Immortal Realm. After all, even I have never heard of it. It could be something transmitted here by a powerful being from the foreign domain through some secret art... In the future, Dantai Xuan may completely cease to be who she was. She could become an entirely different person—a great power from the foreign domain. Should I strike now? Crush her before she fully awakens, nip the threat in the bud?"

But after a moment of consideration, Feng Baiyu shook his head. He had already more or less given up on the idea of resisting the foreign domain. After all, even the Heavenly Emperor was gone. He fought his way out of the Immortal Realm and never returned. For a hundred years afterward, blood rain fell across the heavens. The great powers of the Immortal Realm each harbored their own schemes.

Feng Baiyu even suspected that many of the Descent Faction had already secretly reached agreements with the foreign domain, negotiating shares of future spoils. Without the Heavenly Emperor to suppress them, the Immortal Realm—already inferior in strength—was nothing but scattered sand.

You might fight bravely at the front, only to be stabbed in the back by your own allies. The foreign domain's conquest of the Immortal Realm was merely a matter of time. Whether he killed Dantai Xuan to prevent one more foreign existence from descending would hardly change the grand outcome. There was no point in drawing unnecessary attention. Let it be…

With his own rebirth and re-cultivation, perhaps it was time to start thinking about an escape route for himself as well. The thought drained the lingering good mood Feng Baiyu had felt over Ye Chen's breakthrough. He waved a hand dismissively, ending the conversation.

…

Ye Chen didn't dwell too much on his Eldest Senior Sister either. After confirming that everyone else was still in seclusion, he didn't ignore the pitiful, puppy-eyed maidservants gazing up at him in silent pleading. He distributed a portion of the spirit liquid to each of them and sent them off to cultivate.

Then Ye Chen summoned the phantom of his Dao Cauldron and began his own training. Now, at the second heaven of Mahayana, his next step toward the third heaven was to forge his own cave heaven.

Thanks to the Minor Space Technique, that part posed basically no difficulty. But Ye Chen had an even bolder idea. He wanted to refine his personal small world and use it as the core foundation for his cave heaven.

Naturally, a cave heaven was superior to an ordinary small world. Yet a small world remained an external object—there was always the risk that someday, someone might find a way to seal it or prevent him from accessing it. If he could instead refine it directly into his cave heaven, the hidden dangers would disappear forever.

Moreover, the larger the cave heaven, the stronger its master became. By directly assimilating an entire small world, his combat power would likely skyrocket. It would also bring tremendous long-term benefits to his future cultivation.

For example, once he reached the fourth heaven of Mahayana, the small world itself likely contained considerable fragments of the time law, making it far easier for him to comprehend. Mastering the time law would allow him to control the flow of time within his cave heaven, accelerating his cultivation even further. And when he eventually broke through to higher realms, the cave heaven could be reshaped back into a small world—perhaps with even greater ease.

In short, the path of Ye Chen's future cultivation was almost completely paved. For now, his most important task was simply to raise his realm.

…

For the next full month, Ye Chen cultivated with single-minded focus and a cheerful mood. The main reason was simple: his progress really was absurdly fast. With the Dao Cauldron, the Enlightenment Tea Tree, and his current monstrous physique, his cultivation speed had reached an outrageous level.

Ye Chen estimated that five months at most would be enough to reach mid Mahayana. Another half year, perhaps, to reach the late stage. And then peak. All told, two years should suffice to advance an entire heaven.

Two years to cross one major realm—this kind of speed was practically a joke. Even Ye Chen himself found it ridiculous. For ordinary cultivators, the higher the realm, the slower the progress; breakthroughs often took hundreds or thousands of years without batting an eye. Yet for him, the higher he climbed, the faster he moved.

Reflecting on it carefully, Ye Chen realized the slowest part of his entire journey had actually been the Qi Refining stage. Everything had been turned completely upside down.

But it made perfect sense. Back then, he had possessed nothing—no special physique, no resources, no advantages. His body was the most ordinary mortal one, and his spiritual root was merely third-grade.

Now?

His physique bore the mark of Primordial Chaos itself—unquestionably far ahead of anyone else. Even if it was only one-millionth of its full potential, it was already leagues beyond his former self. Add in various immortal artifacts and immortal roots…

When he thought about it that way, perhaps it wasn't so outrageous after all. Thus, Ye Chen continued his peaceful cultivation without any intention of leaving seclusion. He only stepped out once a week to distribute gifts to the disciples.

In the blink of an eye, another month passed.

While deep in meditation, Ye Chen suddenly sensed a transmission talisman stirring. He slowly withdrew his energy and opened the message. His brow arched slightly. A Mahayana-stage golden-furred monkey had arrived at the sect gate, claiming to bear a message.

A monkey? Golden-furred? At Mahayana?

Ye Chen immediately thought of the Victorious Fighting Ape Clan from among the myriad races.

Could they be here for the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod?

He wasn't particularly surprised. Ever since the Dao Cauldron had drawn Luo Bingling to him, Ye Chen had known the Battle Saint Apes would never remain indifferent to the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod in his possession.

Still, the staff held no special meaning or unique function for him. With the Armament Secret, a staff was no different from any sword, spear, or halberd.

Unlike the Dao Cauldron or the Heaven-Devouring Demon Jar, which possessed irreplaceable abilities, this one was expendable. If the other party wanted it back, they only needed to offer something of equivalent value.

In that way, the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod—once a "non-giftable" item—would be cleanly transformed into a "giftable" supreme Extreme Dao weapon. And Ye Chen would undoubtedly come out ahead.

With that thought, he drifted lightly out of seclusion and headed toward the sect gate. What greeted his eyes was a monkey of modest stature but impressive physical build, its entire body covered in golden fur that gleamed like spears.

Upon seeing Ye Chen and recalling the ruthless reputation he held toward male cultivators, the monkey—despite his usual disdain for humans—clasped his fists in a respectful salute.

"Greetings, heir of the Heavenly Emperor!"

Ye Chen gave a slight nod, signaling him to speak plainly.

The monkey spoke gravely: "The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod in your possession is a sacred relic of our Victorious Fighting Ape Clan. In the great battle between our clan and the Heavenly Emperor long ago, we were slightly defeated, and the staff was lost deep in the starry void. Now that the successor of the Heavenly Emperor has recovered it, our clan is deeply grateful… The Holy Prince has specially sent me here with the hope of retrieving the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod!"

Ye Chen nodded once more. The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod immediately appeared in his hand.

The monkey's eyes instantly blazed with heat.

A supreme Extreme Dao weapon was fundamentally different from ordinary Extreme Dao weapons. Only when its master achieved immortality, imprinting the weapon with the full journey of their cultivation, their insights into the Dao, and their accumulated power, could it undergo the final transformation into a supreme Extreme Dao weapon. And even then, it depended on luck. Some would evolve further into true immortal weapons.

Thus, supreme Extreme Dao weapons were exceedingly rare even among the most ancient immortal families—each one a supreme treasure capable of anchoring an entire clan. Their value was beyond imagination…