Snatching Talent

The position of Sect Leader sounded nice, but it definitely came with a mountain of daily tasks. He couldn't even be bothered to manage his own Myriad Realm Apartment, so what mood did he have to run an immortal sect?

He was very interested in resources, though.

The more, the better, brother.

"I don't plan to take on a master for now," Ye Chuan said.

Lu Taixu nodded.

"The Holy Son doesn't need to take a master."

"I also don't intend to stay in Taiyi Immortal Sect forever."

"That's fine."

Lu Taixu replied very straightforwardly. "The Holy Son can come and go freely from the sect. No matter how long you leave, your status won't change."

Ye Chuan glanced at him.

This sect leader really knew how to handle people.

Just as Ye Chuan was about to ask more questions, a sword cry suddenly rang out from the sky!

The sword cry had been far away at first, but in the blink of an eye, it tore through the clouds and arrived above Green Hill Town!

A giant cyan immortal sword, ten thousand zhang long, hung across the sky, lighting it up completely!

Hundreds of figures stood atop the sword. The one at the lead was a middle-aged man with black hair and a silver sword mark on his brow.

When Lu Taixu saw the newcomer, his face immediately darkened.

"Gu Changge, what are you doing here?"

The middle-aged man didn't answer.

His gaze swept past Lu Taixu and landed directly on Ye Chuan. His eyes instantly burst with brilliant light.

"Bone age twenty, Golden Immortal realm, talent beyond the limits of immortal evaluation."

"Good, very good—the number one talent in ten thousand ages!"

Gu Changge laughed loudly and stepped down from the sword.

"I am the Sect Leader of Nine Heavens Sword Sect. I sincerely invite you, young friend, to become the sole Holy Son of the Sword Sect."

"If you're willing, the sect's three Imperial Swords are yours to choose from, all sword inheritances will be fully opened to you, and the future leadership of the sect will be yours to command."

Lu Taixu's face turned even darker.

"Gu Changge, this is the recruitment trial of my Taiyi Immortal Sect."

"Ye Chuan is a disciple discovered by my Taiyi Sect first. What does that have to do with your Nine Heavens Sword Sect?"

Gu Changge was blunt. "He hasn't agreed to join Taiyi Immortal Sect yet, so he's not your disciple."

"With talent like his, having it wasted in your Taiyi Sect would be a shame. Only my Nine Heavens Sword Sect can lead him to the true pinnacle of the immortal path."

"You—full of—bullshit!"

The Sword Peak Lord couldn't hold back. "What does your Nine Heavens Sword Sect have besides swords? Young friend Ye hasn't even said he trains with swords."

Gu Changge gave him a dismissive glance.

"A mere Taiyi Golden Immortal like you dares to discuss with me how to nurture a Holy Son?"

The Sword Peak Lord's face flushed red.

Just as he was about to retort, another patch of sky was covered by purple clouds.

Nine pure-blooded Purple Phoenixes pulled a magnificent immortal palace, slowly emerging from the depths of the clouds.

Petals drifted down around the palace. Everywhere it passed, the world's spiritual energy turned into rivers of purple light.

A woman in palace robes sat at the front of the palace.

She looked no older than twenty-something, yet her aura was no weaker than Lu Taixu or Gu Changge.

"The Nine Heavens Sword Sect is too boring—nothing but sword practice and fighting all day. Hardly a place for a young man," the woman said with a light laugh.

"Young friend Ye Chuan, if you're willing to join the Purple Dawn Immortal Palace, I will make you the Young Palace Lord."

"All thirty-six immortal domains, seven ancient secret realms, and every resource in the Purple Dawn Immortal Palace will be at your command."

Her gaze fell on Lan Xiaoke and Hu Li.

"The two young ladies with you may also enter the palace. Each of you will have your own immortal peak, no trials required."

Lan Xiaoke's eyes lit up when she heard that.

"One mountain for each of us?"

The woman in palace robes smiled and nodded.

"That's right."

"Are there things to eat on the mountain?"

"Immortal fruits, divine brews, and spiritual feasts—everything you could want."

Lan Xiaoke immediately leaned in close to Ye Chuan's ear. "This one sounds good too, you know—"

Lu Taixu's eyelids twitched.

He could already tell. If they wanted to keep Ye Chuan, they'd probably have to win over this silver-haired girl first.

"Taiyi Immortal Sect can also give each of you your own immortal peak," he said quickly.

"Near the Holy Son Peak, there's also a natural immortal lake where you can raise spirit fish. We can build a sacred hot spring whenever you want."

Lan Xiaoke turned back to Lu Taixu.

"Really?"

"Of course it's true."

Gu Changge was a bit speechless.

Here they were, several Immortal Venerables fighting over the number one prodigy in ten thousand ages, and the deciding factor seemed to hinge on whether there were hot springs and good food.

Before the argument could be settled, another roar echoed from the distant sky.

A golden beast tens of thousands of zhang long shattered the clouds, carrying a black palace on its back. A monstrous, tyrannical aura engulfed the sky above Green Hill Town!

A burly man in a gold robe stood before the palace.

His first look went straight to Hu Li.

"A pure-blooded Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox?"

The gold-robed man's eyes lit up, then his gaze shifted to Ye Chuan.

"One number one talent of ten thousand ages, and one pure-blooded Nine-Tailed Fox, both appearing in this little place at the same time."

"I am the Sect Leader of Ten Thousand Beasts Immortal Sect."

"Ye Chuan, if you bring that fox girl and join my sect, I'll make you the Deputy Sect Leader on the spot!"

Hu Li frowned. She clearly didn't like this brute. "I only follow the boss."

"Then that's perfect!"

The golden-robed man laughed loudly. "Follow him—if he joins the Ten Thousand Beasts Immortal Sect, you will naturally be allowed to stay."

Before Ye Chuan could reply, more and more beams of immortal light were already converging from all directions.

The nine-tiered alchemy pagoda of the Danxia Immortal Sect hung in the east, its medicinal fragrance covering tens of thousands of miles. A single whiff could advance the cultivation of an ordinary cultivator!

The star compass of the Tianji Immortal Pavilion appeared in the west, countless star projections revolving around it, turning the entire sky into a chessboard!

There were also the Immortal Dynasty of Longevity, the Xuanhuang Holy Land, and the Primordial Divine Sect.

Almost all the top powers of the Eastern Wasteland had followed the Heavenly Talents Ranking and the celestial anomalies to arrive here.

The ordinary cultivators in Green Mountain Town were completely numb.

In normal times, they might not see these immortal sects for years; occasionally glimpsing an outer sect elder was considered lucky.

But today... sect masters were appearing in droves, one after another, descending from the sky as if they cost nothing.

And every single one of them had only one goal:

To snatch Ye Chuan.

The sect master of Danxia Immortal Sect spoke first.

"Young friend Ye Chuan, if you join the Danxia Immortal Sect, all the immortal pills in the sect will be yours to consume. I, this old man, will personally refine emperor-grade golden pills for you.”

The Pavilion Master of Tianji waved a feather fan. “Pills are ultimately external things.”

“Young friend, if you come to Tianji Pavilion, we will open the Destiny Star Compass for you, to help you deduce the future path to becoming an emperor.”

The old imperial sovereign of the Immortal Dynasty of Longevity was even more direct.

“My dynasty still has nine imperial daughters who are unmarried. Young friend may choose any of them. If you happen to like them all, that can also be negotiated.”

Ye Chuan: “...”

Lan Xiaoke and Hu Li both stared at him.

The old imperial sovereign felt a bit uncomfortable under their gazes and let out a light cough.

“Of course, the marriage is entirely up to your young friend’s wishes.”

“I was just making a casual suggestion.”

The sect master of the Primordial Divine Sect sneered. “A bunch of you, using only material things as temptations. True prodigies value the Great Dao above all else.”

He raised his hand and waved.

An ancient Dao Seed, brimming with boundless chaos energy, appeared in his palm, causing the surrounding void to collapse instantly.

“This is the Primordial Dao Seed.”

“As long as young friend Ye Chuan joins the Primordial Divine Sect, this Dao Seed, which can assist in breaking through to the Immortal King realm, will be your initiation gift.”

Exclamations erupted all around.

The Primordial Dao Seed was one of the most treasured artifacts of the Primordial Divine Sect, said to be nurtured once every tens of millions of years.

Any cultivator who refined it had a great chance of breaking through to the Immortal King level.

Such a treasure, merely as an initiation gift.

Lu Taixu could no longer hold back.

“Enough.”

He took a step forward, releasing his aura completely, causing the entire space to tremble with the force!