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 surpassed 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 this kind of heart-pounding 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 class 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 stones.

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 attitude. 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 embarrassment.

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, blushing. 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 relationship… 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 god. 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 god. 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.

“...”