He was definitely doomed. Just condensing the embryonic form of his original runes took three hundred yuan spirit stones.

His realm had only just stabilized, and he couldn’t even count as having reached the first Heavenstage of Foundation Forging. That required condensing his original runes nine times and stacking them against each other before advancing.

Stabilizing one’s realm after breaking through was the easiest part of that realm, and the one that required the least energy. To advance to the first Heavenstage would require several times the energy.

Just that would be nothing, but then he would have to advance to the second Heavenstage, and so on and so on. All this required more and more energy.

Long Chen didn’t dare to imagine how many yuan spirit stones he would need to advance all the way to the twelfth Heavenstage.

Having obtained one billion yuan spirit stones in the Immemorial Path, he had thought that he would be able to advance without worry in the Foundation Forging realm. In fact, he had thought he would have so many leftover yuan spirit stones that he would be able to exchange them for even more resources.

Now he wasn’t at all confident that one billion yuan spirit stones would be enough for him to reach the peak of Foundation Forging.

A rune appeared in Long Chen’s palm. This was his original rune. It was circular, with tiny little ripples inside it. It seemed like a pearl packed with specks of dust, yet also like a cosmos filled with endless stars.

The rune unleashed a gentle light that wasn’t at all berserk. And yet, it caused the space around it to twist, as if the world around it was water. It contained an indescribable rhythm.

“Is this my original rune, or my core rune? Will I be able to use divine abilities through it? Why can’t I sense anything at all?” Long Chen stared blankly at this rune.

Closing his eyes, he tried to sense it. This rune seemed to be in a strange state of slumber, and he was unable to form a resonance with it.

“Although it’s in a dormant state, it’s able to supply me with endless energy, and each one of them is absorbing the outside world’s energy to nourish itself. Now I don’t just have to rely entirely on my four qi seas for energy.”

That was what made Long Chen the most excited. Now, he not only had four qi seas of energy, but he also had 108,000 acupuncture points full of energy.

Putting away his original rune, Long Chen smiled. With these 108,000 acupuncture points, he was filled with confidence.

Leaving his seclusion, he saw that the majority of the Dragonblood Legion was no longer on Crouching Dragon Mountain. After asking around, he heard that they had all gone to the Xuantian Tower in order to comprehend the Xuantian Catalog.

The Xuantian Catalog was normally only opened to Foundation Forging disciples. They only had one chance, and whether or not they could grasp it was up to themselves.

However, because the amount of space was limited, many people had to line up, and so a portion of the Dragonblood Legion remained at home.

Having just advanced to Foundation Forging and consolidated their realm, they needed some time to adapt to their newfound power. It wasn’t advisable to immediately start fighting, so they were quite bored now.

Tang Wan-er was gone to comprehend the Xuantian Catalog. Rank five Celestials didn’t need to line up, so Gu Yang, Song Mingyuan, Li Qi, and Guo Ran had also gone over.

In the tribulation, Guo Ran had lost half his life, but he was an unkillable cockroach. Through some incredible dogshit luck, he had condensed a special original rune.

Through the Forging Pavilion Master’s inspection, he learned it was a very rare forging divine rune. In other words, he had truly gained the qualifications to eventually grow into a forging god capable of forging divine items.

Hearing that, Guo Ran’s tail had immediately stuck up high into the sky. He had just been about to start showing it off when the Forging Pavilion Master tossed him into the Xuantian Catalog. He pointed out which line referred to the Forging Dao and had him comprehend it. It was much more direct than when Long Chen had randomly picked a bunch of lines.

The other disciples had the same treatment. The Elders would point out which line they should comprehend based on their specific talent.

Long Chen had also just consolidated his realm, so he temporarily had some time. He took Meng Qi for a stroll through Treasure Gem Island.

On the way, countless people were toppled over by Meng Qi’s beauty. But then seeing Long Chen, they hastily looked away.

“Long Chen, your infamy in the Xuantian Dao Sect has reached the point that many people are afraid of you.” Meng Qi couldn’t help but feel that it was funny as she watched those disciples immediately flee and hide upon seeing Long Chen. She held his hand as they walked.

In the Xuantian Dao Sect, for a man and woman to hold hands as they walked was a very unbridled kind of conduct. That was because the Xuantian Dao Sect did not permit dual cultivation. That was part of the Dao-principles of the Xuantian Dao Sect.

If a pair were to marry, then their status as disciples would be revoked, and their monthly rations would disappear, making them commoners. Normally, only disciples who had reached the end of their cultivation and had no hope of ever advancing again would marry in the Xuantian Dao Sect and start creating heirs.

Experts in the Xuantian Dao Sect could have countless followers, and there could be some shady relationships, but there definitely wouldn’t be anyone who dared to walk so openly while declaring their relationship.

But Long Chen didn’t care about that. He knew that while Meng Qi was bashful, she also thirsted to be taken care of. This conduct was a kind of proof of his feelings for her.

“That’s because they’re guilty inside. If they didn’t once curse me, then they definitely once slandered me behind my back. Or they’re just jealous. Otherwise, they wouldn’t look at me with such terror,” said Long Chen.

Having advanced to Foundation Forging, he found that his mental realm had also increased. These people who hid upon seeing him only did so because they were guilty.

Once they arrived on the streets of Treasure Gem Island, they wandered around, looking at the wares on both sides of the street. If the people around them weren’t all high level cultivators, they would think this was the secular world.

Holding hands as they strolled, Meng Qi smiled. She was happy and satisfied with just this. This kind of peaceful ambiance was extremely rare.

“Meng Qi, do you ever think about your family?” asked Long Chen.

“Not really. They probably don’t think about me either.” Meng Qi’s eyes reddened slightly.

Long Chen immediately became embarrassed, having an urge to slap himself in the face. Meng Qi had been taken away by the Wind Spirit Pavilion as a child.

As a little girl, Meng Qi hadn’t wanted to leave. She had cried and begged her parents not to send her away, but all she got was harsh berating. Then she also saw her parents smiling expressions as they received gifts from one of the Wind Spirit Pavilion’s Elders.

At that time, her heart had shattered. And once she joined the Wind Spirit Pavilion, she was treated as a future daughter-in-law by the pavilion master. Her fate was entirely in other people’s hands.

Unable to see any hope, she had thought about killing herself many times. Then when the Wind Spirit Pavilion learned she had a fiancé, they had wanted to kill him. Taking pity on Long Chen since he was innocent, she had personally gone over to break their engagement.

That had completely changed her fate, so now she was very easily satisfied and felt very fortunate. However, the initial attitude her parents had had for her still caused her pain that could not be healed.

Meng Qi was kindhearted, but the way her parents had treated her had deeply wounded her. She was unable to forgive them.

“Sorry…” Long Chen awkwardly apologized.

“Fool, what do you have to be sorry for? I feel very happy to be here with you.” Meng Qi smiled, her eyes full of her deep love.

Looking at Meng Qi’s sincere smile, Long Chen felt even more ashamed. He owed his women far too much, so much that he would never be able to pay it back in his lifetime.

He wanted to promise something, but he suddenly found he couldn’t. There was nothing he could promise right now. He wasn’t even able to solve the mystery of his origins, nor did he even know what enemies he was facing. There was also that voice in his dreams that urgently pressed him on, like a constant stone on his heart making it hard for him to breathe.

“Long Chen, don’t blame yourself. We chose to accompany you on our own. Whether you ascend to the heavens or fall to hell, whether you become a god or devil, we will still accompany you. In truth, Wan-er and I both feel happy. In comparison, I’m sure Xiaoqian, Zhiqiu, and Chu Yao feel the worst. We’re all working hard so we can reunite as soon as possible and fulfill your desire.” Toward the end, Meng Qi’s face became incredibly alluring like peach blossoms in bloom.

Long Chen involuntarily felt a fire ignite in his heart. Looking at Meng Qi, he reached out to grab her waist.

“Don’t, there are too many people here!” Meng Qi jumped, hastily forbidding him.

“How shameless to do such a thing in a public place with so many people. Do you think the Xuantian Dao Sect is your home?” Just at this moment, a long-faced man with a few pockmarks on his face coldly shouted from nearby.

Long Chen was immediately infuriated, while Meng Qi was too embarrassed to look. Long Chen turned to see that the person talking was a disciple from the previous generation. His cultivation base had reached the late Foundation Forging realm, and the Heavenly Dao runes around him had six colors. He was a rank six Celestial.

But his aura was clearly turbulent, showing that he had only just advanced to the sixth rank. He was not yet able to perfectly control his new Heavenly Dao energy.

Long Chen recognized him. He was someone who had once stood behind Gao Xianyang. The reason Long Chen remembered him was because of his face.

Not just anyone was capable of growing such a long face. It was like a brick, so it’d be strange if he didn’t remember it.

However, Long Chen clearly recalled that he had only been a rank five Celestial back then. Now he had advanced.

This brick-faced expert had made quite a few points in the last battle. He spent all those points on undergoing the Heavenly Tower Blessing.

This Heavenly Tower Blessing was similar to the Xuantian Blessing the inner sect disciples had been given when they first joined the inner sect. But it was stronger as this blessing was focused on a single disciple. There was a certain chance that the disciple would be able to condense a new Heavenly Dao rune and advance their Celestial rank.

The cost of undergoing the Heavenly Tower Blessing was extremely terrifying, both for the sect and the disciple. This person had spent ten years of savings to get this opportunity.

And he had actually succeeded, inflating his confidence. Today, he had just been thinking of buying a kind of Heaven Consolidating Pill to stabilize his Heavenly Dao energy, but instead he ended up running into Long Chen and Meng Qi acting all lovey-dovey. He was jealous and envious, and he immediately spouted some vile words.

“What are you looking at? Sluts, fuck off,” sneered the brick-faced man, spitting on the ground.

Meng Qi’s expression changed, not because she was angry, but because she felt something bad was about to happen.

DONG!

Long Chen’s gaze was cold as a drop of his blood landed on his badge. The sound of a bell resounded throughout the Xuantian Dao Sect. He had initiated a life and death challenge.