novelraw Chapter 104 : The Immortal Realm Is a Greater Chessboard
Chapter 104 : The Immortal Realm Is a Greater Chessboard
Chapter 104: The Immortal Realm Is a Greater Chessboard
Inside the great hall, the candlelight flickered, illuminating Yao Yue’s breathtaking face—a beauty that could topple kingdoms—yet at this moment, it was shrouded in an unprecedented frost of solemnity.
Her vermilion lips parted slightly, and every word that slipped from them carried a chill from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, enough to cloud the Dao heart of any cultivator who once dreamed of the Immortal Realm.
“President Chu, what do you think the Immortal Realm is? A paradise of endless spiritual energy and treasures scattered at your feet—a realm of boundless freedom and bliss?”
A faintly mocking smile curved Yao Yue’s lips, tinged with the weary bitterness of one who had seen through the vanity of the world.
“Completely wrong!”
“The Immortal Realm is nothing more than a larger arena of fame and fortune—one ruled by stricter laws and an even more rigid hierarchy!”
She extended a slender jade finger and traced lightly through the air, as though sketching an invisible nine-tiered celestial platform.
“The vast Celestial Domain has long been divided among nine supreme beings who have existed since the dawn of time—what you and I in the mortal world call… the Nine Immortal Emperors.”
“They are not merciful sages who save the world. They are the ones who hold every cultivation resource in the Immortal Realm firmly within their grasp—the true rulers!”
“And we, cultivators of the mortal realm, no matter if we are peerless prodigies or ordinary mediocrities—after exhausting our lives and transcending countless tribulations, even if we are lucky enough to ascend, do you know what identity awaits us?”
Yao Yue paused slightly. Her bewitching eyes locked onto Chu Feng as she enunciated each word slowly:
“It is to serve the Immortal Emperors!”
The hand holding Chu Feng’s teacup froze mid-air. An intrigued smile played on his lips as he motioned for her to continue.
“That’s right—serve!”
There was a trace of suppressed hatred in Yao Yue’s tone.
“That so-called ascension pool that receives the ascending cultivators—it is merely a place that screens our roots, techniques, and fortune, to determine our usefulness before assigning us to the various Heavenly Courts and Celestial Palaces under the Nine Immortal Emperors—to toil for them!”
“What you think of as cultivation—it is merely homework assigned by the Emperors! What you think of as tempering and experience—it is merely the trials they have set! What you think of as slaying demons and eradicating evil—it is merely fulfilling decrees from the Celestial Palace!”
“Everything we do is merely to help those nine exalted Emperors seize the supreme resource known as ‘fortune’!”
“If you perform well, you may earn the Emperor’s favor—receive promotions, titles, and rise from a mere celestial soldier to become a Profound Immortal or a Golden Immortal, ruling a corner of the Celestial Domain.”
“But if your aptitude is mediocre—or you lose your value—do you know what becomes of you?”
A flicker of deep fear flashed in Yao Yue’s eyes.
“At best, your celestial title is stripped away, you are cast into reincarnation, your memories erased, forced to start anew.”
“At worst, you will be thrown into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Realms, where your soul will be annihilated and your essence transformed into pure energy to fuel the Immortal Realm’s operation!”
If any cultivator from the Eastern Wasteland were to hear such words, the Dao they had pursued all their lives would crumble in an instant.
They had spent their lifespan and risked everything to ascend—only to leap from one mortal sea of suffering into another, even stricter prison of the heavens?
Yet after Chu Feng listened, the expression on his face only grew stranger.
Not only was there no trace of shock or despair—instead, his eyes shone ever brighter, like twin stars in the night sky. His gaze was that of a starving gourmet beholding an imperial feast beyond imagination.
“Marvelous! Simply marvelous!”
Chu Feng slapped his thigh, leapt to his feet, and began pacing back and forth in excitement, muttering to himself.
“Market monopoly… class solidification… performance evaluation… bottom-rank elimination… This is nothing less than a perfectly mature business model!”
“Rules are good—because where there are rules, there are loopholes to exploit!”
“Monopoly? Even better! A monopoly means there’s massive potential for disruption—and untold commercial value!”
He suddenly halted, his eyes blazing as he fixed them on the utterly dumbfounded Yao Yue. Even this demonic enchantress felt her heart skip a beat under his gaze.
“Pavilion Master Yao Yue—no, Partner Yao Yue!”
His form of address had changed.
“What you described is not a cage of despair—it’s an untapped blue ocean market, brimming with infinite potential and value just waiting for us to explore!”
“Just think about it!”
Chu Feng’s voice carried a hypnotic charisma.
“If ascension means joining their sects and obeying orders, then why can’t we recruit them before they ascend—bring them under our banner in advance?”
“We can establish a business alliance called the ‘Immortal Realm Ascension Planning and Venture Investment Group!’”
“We provide comprehensive ‘pre-ascension training’ for all cultivators preparing to ascend!”
“For example, ‘Detailed Analysis of the Nine Great Heavenly Courts of the Immortal Realm’, ‘Thirty-Six Stratagems for Rapidly Gaining Merit’, ‘Survival Laws in the Immortal Realm: The Path of Promotion from Heavenly Soldier to Golden Immortal’!”
“We can even provide a ‘recommendation service’! If one feels dissatisfied under Immortal Emperor A’s command, no matter!”
“We can help you switch over to Immortal Emperor B’s Heavenly Court, and we merely take a small commission from the process!”
“We can even act as ‘venture investors’! If we find some ascendant to be a dragon among men, we will place our bet on him!”
“Once he stands out in the Immortal Realm, we will gain a hundredfold, even a thousandfold return!”
“Such a lucrative business — isn’t it far more profitable than selling scraps of secret information here?”
As Chu Feng spoke, his expression grew increasingly animated, as if he could already see his grand commercial empire breaking through the mortal dust, sweeping across the Immortal Realm, and turning all Nine Immortal Emperors into his franchise partners.
Yao Yue was utterly dumbfounded.
Her alluring red lips parted slightly as she stared blankly at the man before her — his eloquence unending, every word both bizarre and yet strangely brilliant.
She had intended to use the cruelty of the Immortal Realm to intimidate him — even to control him.
But instead… he actually wanted to go to the Immortal Realm to recommend talents for those Immortal Emperors and place bets on behalf of others?!
What kind of divine-sea consciousness did this man possess?
Did he not understand what the words “Nine Immortal Emperors” represented — the highest, most untouchable authority beneath Heaven’s Dao?
He, a mere mortal cultivator yet to ascend, actually dared to dream of prying at the eternal chessboard that supported the entire Immortal Realm?
This was no longer just audacity — it was madness! Utter, absolute madness!
“You… are you serious?”
Yao Yue’s voice came out a little hoarse.
“Of course I’m serious!”
Chu Feng looked entirely matter-of-fact.
“The foundation of business lies in having the right ‘connections’. The chasm between the mortal and immortal worlds — that itself is the greatest connection, and thus the greatest opportunity!”
He stepped toward Yao Yue, extending his hand, a confident smile upon his face — one that no one could possibly resist.
“So, what do you say, Pavilion Master Yao Yue? I, Chu Feng, President of the Ascension Group, now formally invite you, Yao Yue, Pavilion Master of the Thousand Illusions Pavilion, to serve as the Chief Intelligence Officer (CIO) of our new chamber of commerce!”
“You provide the connections, I design the strategy — together, we’ll earn the spirit stones of immortals and share the fortune of the Immortal Emperors!”
“Such a grand venture — isn’t it far more exhilarating than being trapped here in this small corner of the Eastern Wasteland?”
Yao Yue looked at the hand Chu Feng had extended, at those eyes that seemed able to pierce through all things, burning with boundless ambition.
For the first time in her life, her heart fluttered like a startled fawn.
It felt as though she was facing not a man, but a bottomless vortex — one that could swallow heaven and earth whole, reshaping all creation.
Dangerous beyond measure — yet filled with a deadly allure.
After a long silence, she let out a soft sigh and reached out her delicate jade-like hand, clasping Chu Feng’s lightly.
“Very well… President Chu, this little woman accepts.”
Her gaze regained its charm, yet within those rippling eyes, a faint, blazing spark had appeared — one even she herself had not noticed.
“However, before you dream of grand designs in the Immortal Realm, you must first overcome the tribulation of the Heavenheart Holy Land.”
With a flick of her wrist, an ancient jade slip appeared in her palm, which she handed to Chu Feng.
“This shall serve as my advance token of sincerity.”
“Within lies the greatest secret of the Saint Lord of Heavenheart Holy Land — one that could shatter his Dao heart and leave him utterly disgraced.”
Yao Yue leaned closer to Chu Feng’s ear, her breath fragrant, her voice low and solemn.
“But President Chu must remember — knowing such a secret and being able to wield it as a weapon are two entirely different matters.”
“Sometimes, a trump card capable of killing others, if one’s cultivation is insufficient to control it, may instead become the blade that ends one’s own life the moment it is unsheathed.”