Chapter 6271 - Becoming Stronger

“Boom…” As a celestial star gate opened above, a corresponding star gate trembled within Long Chen's dantian. Subsequently, the second, third... with each star gate opening, the sea of stars within Long Chen's dantian trembled crazily. However, when the fourth star gate opened, Long Chen stopped, closing all the star gates. “This path should work, but it's still a bit early now,” thought Long Chen. Just now, the sea of stars within him had already reacted. But this cultivation method had a flaw: the star sea of the Nine Heavens corresponded to the star sea within Long Chen, forming a mirror image. The strength between the two was not just a simple transmission but an interaction. When the power of the stars from the Nine Heavens was sent into the dantian, the star power in the dantian also needed to return to the Nine Heavens, forming a cycle. This required Long Chen to act as a medium to endure the conversion of the two forces, but this conversion meant Long Chen had to endure double the pressure. This caused Long Chen’s physical body to reach its limit, and continuing would result in injury. After the earlier ordeal, Long Chen clearly felt that the star power in his dantian had increased somewhat, and this increase was not just in quantity but a qualitative change. Unfortunately, Long Chen's physique couldn't withstand it any longer; if he persisted a bit more, the gains would have been greater. However, Long Chen was not in a hurry. Finding a way to improve was already a great gain; he needed to be steady, knowing that haste makes waste. When Long Chen awoke from his secluded meditation, three days had passed. Meng Qi and Xiao Yun had been patrolling around, afraid that someone might disturb Long Chen. When Long Chen woke up and met Meng Qi's eyes, he was about to say something, but Xiao Yun looked at Long Chen and then at Meng Qi: “Sister Meng Qi, Brother Long Chen, don’t you think I'm a bit redundant here?” Long Chen was immediately embarrassed; this girl seemed to have grown up. He quickly took Xiao Yun's hand and laughed: “How could you be? Xiao Yun is my best, most well-behaved, and most obedient little sister...” Just as Long Chen was thinking of some excuse to send Xiao Yun away for a while so he could talk to Meng Qi, Xiao Yun smiled and said: “That's good, Sister Meng Qi and I have a lot to talk to you about!” Xiao Yun's words made Long Chen speechless. Meng Qi had a smile on her pretty face; how could she not see through Long Chen's little schemes? Atop a mountain peak, Xiao Yun chirped on for a whole day as if she had endless things to say. Finally, she got tired and fell asleep in Long Chen's arms. Long Chen and Meng Qi leaned against each other, watching the river winding through a forest sea, with sunlight like scattered gold flickering on the water. Long Chen slowly turned to look at Meng Qi, the divine light from the water reflecting off her jade-like cheeks, and in her bright eyes, it seemed as if starlight shimmered. This kind of starlight, Long Chen had also seen in Xiao He'er's eyes. Looking at Meng Qi's beautiful face, the whole world seemed to become dreamy, as if looking at her could make one forget all the troubles in the world and block out all the ugliness. From the first moment Long Chen saw Meng Qi, he felt his world become brighter because of her. With Meng Qi by his side, Long Chen feared no difficulty. In the past, he always brought a sense of security to others, but with Meng Qi, it was the opposite. With her by his side, he felt at peace. Looking at her pretty face and smelling her hair, Long Chen's face was full of a satisfied smile. Meng Qi looked into the distance, seemingly lost in thought, not even noticing when Xiao Yun fell asleep. Finally, she realized Long Chen was looking at her. She turned to him, smiled, and touching foreheads together, she softly said, “I missed you so much!” Hearing Meng Qi’s emotional words, Long Chen was a bit excited and was about to make a move, but Meng Qi put her jade hand to her cherry lips, gesturing towards Xiao Yun, playfully moving her eyebrows. The meaning was obvious: don’t make any moves or it would be awkward if Xiao Yun wakes up. Long Chen could only awkwardly smile; Meng Qi cupped Long Chen’s face, gave a gentle kiss, and said, “Let’s part when Xiao Yun wakes up!” Long Chen was shocked: “Why should we part?” Meng Qi looked at Long Chen, her voice gentle: “You carry too much on your shoulders. I cannot share your burdens, but I cannot hold you back either. Now, Xiao Yun has obtained the Vermilion Bird inheritance. We won’t be in too much danger together. I plan to go with Xiao Yun to find the other sisters and Dragon Blood Warriors. I believe the sisters have also entered. If they encounter danger, we can support each other. Strength in numbers, united, we can seize more opportunities and kill more outer world demons. This way, you can explore the entire Heavenly Domain Battlefield with peace of mind. I believe when you step into the Heavenly Domain Battlefield, you are the protagonist of this battlefield, and you need to fulfill your mission.” Hearing Meng Qi's words, Long Chen felt a sting in his nose, almost crying. Meng Qi was always thinking of him, as if in her world, there was only Long Chen. Long Chen had many things he wanted to say to Meng Qi. He wanted to ask how she had been all these years and wanted to tell her how he had gotten through. He wanted to accompany Meng Qi, this woman who silently supported him at all times. Long Chen felt heartache for Meng Qi, but she was right; the Heavenly Domain Battlefield concerned the future of the Nine Heavens world. And the future of the Nine Heavens world was the future of Long Chen and others. When the nest is upset no egg is left intact. Even if not for others, for the people around him, Long Chen must bear his burden. Holding Meng Qi’s jade hand, Long Chen couldn’t speak for a long time. Meng Qi looked at Long Chen, her beautiful eyes full of heartache. Long Chen’s burden was too heavy, but unfortunately, no one could share it with him. All she could do was this. Soon Xiao Yun woke up, and upon learning they were to part with Long Chen, the girl cried, holding Long Chen’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go. However, after Meng Qi said something to her, Xiao Yun stopped crying, though her little face was full of reluctance. Long Chen held Xiao Yun in his arms, gently comforting her: “Don’t worry, in the Heavenly Domain Battlefield, we will definitely meet again.” Xiao Yun eventually transformed into the Cloud-Chasing Heaven Swallowing Sparrow, wings trembling, tearing through the void, taking Meng Qi away in an instant. Meng Qi didn’t even dare to say goodbye to Long Chen, afraid she would cry, which would only make Long Chen more upset. As Meng Qi and Xiao Yun left, Long Chen felt a pang of sadness. From the mortal world to the celestial world, from first meeting Meng Qi to now, he didn’t know how much stronger he had become. Yet, even as strong as he was, he still felt like a puppet under the whip of fate, a drifting duckweed, without even the time to reminisce with the woman he loved. That feeling of helplessness was profound; he seemed to have changed and yet remained unchanged. “I am still not strong enough now, but soon, the pinnacle of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands is within sight. I need to become stronger,” Long Chen clenched his fist, his eyes filled with determination. After enduring all these years, victory was now in sight. With Meng Qi's unwavering support, how could he complain? “Whoosh” Long Chen's Kunpeng wings spread out behind him, his figure soaring into the sky, disappearing in an instant.