Chapter 618
Sending off Zheng Wenlong and seeing his helpless expression, Long Chen was also a bit speechless .
Perhaps this brother of his would be incredibly depressed now . As soon as Long Chen had stated that number, Zheng Wenlong’s excited expression seemed like it had been struck by a hammer . That marvelous change was truly indescribable .
However, Zheng Wenlong had said that one million middle grade spirit stones were absolutely impossible . Even he didn’t have the authority to get such a sum from the Huayun Sect .
As soon as he returned, he would gather one hundred thousand middle grade spirit stones for Long Chen, but the rest would have to be gathered slowly . Hopefully, he could quickly announce the auctions for the Meridian Opening Spirit Cliff Trees and get a large sum quickly . Then he could send Long Chen some more money .
Zheng Wenlong had told Long Chen that he had given the Huayun Sect quite a few resources, and those resources would bring in a great deal of money in the future .
But the future was the future . From a business standpoint, the Huayun Sect had already given Long Chen an advance payment on several years’ worth of profit .
For example, the Bone Tempering Pills had once been monopolized by the Pill Tower . But now that Long Chen had given the Huayun Sect the pill formula, they had taken up thirty percent of that market .
Although it was only thirty percent, when compared to how large the world was, it was practically an oceanic sum of money . But that money wouldn’t be received immediately . It was something that would come in over the years .
So the Huayun Sect had already been very generous to give him an advance payment of several years’ worth of profit, but Long Chen’s requirements had already far surpa.s.sed that amount . So Zheng Wenlong had had to vouch for him, asking for more resources from the Huayun Sect for Long Chen .
Right now, Zheng Wenlong’s businesses were growing larger and larger, but he found that he himself was growing poorer and poorer . Furthermore, the immense amount of debt he owed made him speechless .
However, businessmen all enjoyed his kind of heart-pounding kind of gambling . So, to Zheng Wenlong, this was also extremely exciting .
After sending off Zheng Wenlong, Long Chen took a trip to Guo Ran’s seclusion room . Guo Ran was completely focused on smelting the Treasure item’s fragments .
There was a huge furnace on the forging table that was currently at work . Long Chen couldn’t help being startled . This forging table’s origins were truly too terrifying . It was even able to smelt Treasure cla.s.s material .
Crack… crack…
Long Chen turned in the direction of a certain sound . He saw that at the bottom of the forging table, there was a formation with dozens of middle grade spirit stones . Their originally crystalline bodies shattered and burst apart, becoming a pile of trash .
Once those middle grade spirit stones shattered, the furnace’s flame began to weaken . Guo Ran hastily threw in a new batch of spirit stones .
As for the old spirit stones, he threw them in the trash . Long Chen saw that his trash can was already filled with the bodies of over a hundred middle grade spirit stone .
Forger was truly a money-burning profession . A plate-sized fragment had required over a hundred middle grade spirit stones to smelt .
What Long Chen didn’t know was that this result was only because of the ancient forging table . Otherwise, even if all the Xuantian Supermonastery’s Forging Masters gathered, they wouldn’t even be able to smelt this plate-sized fragment . It could be said that Guo Ran’s forging table was an extremely heaven-defying treasure . It was simply that Long Chen and Guo Ran were still unaware of that .
Long Chen might not know how heaven-defying this forging table was, but he knew that forging items cost a heaven-defying amount of money .
Guo Ran was completely focused on smelting the material . He had already entered a special state, a state where he had no emotions, a state where he had no self . The only thing in his eyes was that material .
Seeing that there was no way he could help, Long Chen hastily left the room . He carefully closed the door and ordered that no one was to disturb Guo Ran .
When he returned to his residence, he saw Meng Qi chattering with Little Snow . Seeing Long Chen arrive, Meng Qi turned slightly red and stood up .
“Is there any activity from Wan-er?” asked Long Chen .
“No . But the fluctuations coming from the room are becoming more and more stable . Refining that Dao Rune Fruit should only be a matter of time . ” Meng Qi smiled .
“Then that’s good . Meng Qi, just wait for me to obtain another fruit . Then you can also quickly become a Celestial,” comforted Long Chen, holding her hands .
Meng Qi smiled and teased, “What, you think I’ll get jealous?”
“No, no, definitely not . I just feel sorry toward you,” said Long Chen hastily .
“Long Chen, there’s nothing for you to feel sorry about . You’ve already put in enough for us . We’re all aware of it . We’re all cultivators, not mortal women . On the path of cultivation, there are countless trials and tribulations . We have to cherish each person by our side, right?” said Meng Qi gently .
“If you put it like that, I’ll feel a bit upset inside . It’s like you feel very bewildered and helpless toward the future,” said Long Chen .
“This isn’t being bewildered or helpless but a kind of att.i.tude . The fact that we could meet and stay together is a kind of destiny . I don’t want to wait until that destiny is over to feel regret . All I hope is for us all to be together . I… I don’t want to experience what happened last time again . ”
Saying that last line, Meng Qi sobbed . She hugged Long Chen, crying into his chest .
Meng Qi had a gentle and tactful temperament . She rarely expressed her own emotions like this . Now, after spending all this time with Long Chen, she finally unburdened her heart .
“I’m sorry . I’ve made you worry . ” Long Chen hugged Meng Qi, filled with shame . During the time they had thought he had died, Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er had spent all day crying for him . He truly had made things hard on them .
“Long Chen, promise me, even if we have to die, we’ll die together . I don’t want to part . That kind of pain is too terrifying . ” Meng Qi clenched Long Chen as if she was afraid he would fly away .
“Alright, I’ll listen to you . ”
Long Chen knew that at this time, no matter what promises he made, no matter how he tried to explain himself, it would all be useless . The only thing he could say was the truth .
As expected, as soon as he said this, Meng Qi became delighted, and an extremely moving smile appeared on her face . It was like a flower blooming out of the water, still dotted with droplets, beautiful beyond compare .
“Meng Qi, you really are beautiful . ” Long Chen couldn’t help but praise her .
Meng Qi blushed slightly, appearing even more beautiful . She gently said, “It seems that after all this time, other than that time on Sunset Mountain outside the capital, you’ve never praised me like this . ”
“This isn’t praise but the truth . In my heart, you are like a grand immortal who has descended into the world of mortals . Each time I’m in front of you, I feel ashamed of my own inferiority . It’s like just talking to you is a blasphemy,” sighed Long Chen .
“Dislikable . This glib mouth of yours is how you tricked the other sisters . ” Meng Qi rubbed her hand against his face as if she were shaving him of his embarra.s.sment .
Being touched by Meng Qi’s hand made Long Chen feel extremely warm, and he couldn’t help giving her hand a kiss .
It was like Meng Qi was given an electric shock and she hastily took back her hand, blus.h.i.+ng . Even her ears were red now .
“This is your punishment for talking nonsense . ” Long Chen laughed .
“You… I didn’t say anything wrong . This is exactly how you tricked the other sisters . ” Meng Qi lowered her head, not daring to look at Long Chen .
“Definitely not . Chu Yao was someone who was in a similar situation as me . As for Tang Wan-er, our relations.h.i.+p… hehe, how should I put it? It should be a quarrelsome but loving couple . In truth, I also want to talk properly to her, but I always feel like that’s so boring . I rather like Wan-er’s explosive rage . ” Long Chen laughed .
“Each time, you always anger Wan-er so much . In truth, Wan-er is a very gentle woman,” sighed Meng Qi .
“Gentle? It seems this word doesn’t have the slightest relation to Wan-er . How come in all our time together, I never noticed such a thing?”
“Isn’t it because you always intentionally tease her? Using her words, you are a typical case of a child who will go rip up the roof tiles if you aren’t given a beating every day,” said Meng Qi .
“I’m actually this amazing? Even I didn’t know that!”
“You! You should treat Wan-er better . Although she likes to be fierce, she really does love you,” advised Meng Qi .
“Do you love me?” Long Chen suddenly smiled naughtily .
“I don’t . You’re too wicked,” said Meng Qi in a huff .
“Why?”
“Hmph, because you’re too fickle . All you like to do is mess around with other women . What’s the use in loving you?” said Meng Qi .
Hearing that, Long Chen went silent .
Seeing Long Chen like that, Meng Qi thought he had gotten angry and she held Long Chen’s hand . “Long Chen, I was just joking . Don’t get angry . ”
“I’m not such a petty person . In truth, I really do have some problems in that regard . I…”
Meng Qi covered his mouth, cutting him off . “Long Chen, you don’t need to explain yourself . Since we’ve chosen to be with you, none of us have any thoughts of trying to occupy all of you . When Wan-er interrogated you that day, it wasn’t because she was jealous . It’s just that you have a natural wildness that seems to want to fight against heaven and earth .
“That kind of wildness poses a fatal attraction for women . Despite clearly knowing its very dangerous, we can’t help investigating . But then most fatal of all, Long Chen, you care so deeply . You take responsibility for each person you like .
“Whether it is your female confidants or your hot-blooded brothers, you are willing to risk your life for them . That’s also why we will all have no complaints or regrets to stay by your side . But do you know? You aren’t a G.o.d . You are just a human . All those emotions have become a heavy burden on you .
“When Ye Zhiqiu and Lu Fang-er fell, I saw how pained you were . At that moment, I knew I would never be able to leave you . However, I also don’t want to see you suffer that kind of grief again, because we will also feel extremely pained . That’s why we don’t want you to get more lovers .
“It’s not that we’ll get jealous, but that we’re afraid of you being in pain again . Let me say it again: you are not a G.o.d . You can’t guarantee that no one by your side will fall again . The fewer of us there are, the less chance of one of us falling . Then there will be less chance of you having to go through that pain again . Long Chen, do you understand?” Meng Qi gently caressed Long Chen’s face .
“I understand . ” Long Chen nodded . It seemed she had given this a great deal of thought .
“Good . Then tell me, just how many girls did you mess around with this time?” Meng Qi suddenly changed tunes and stared deeply into Long Chen’s eyes .
“ . . . ”