Long Aotian: “……”
Hearing the words of the man in the tattered robe, Long Aotian found himself at a loss for words.
Long Aotian had always held himself in high regard, and even with his burns, he thought that this man in the tattered robe would recognize him.
But he miscalculated.
Long Aotian felt a surge of anger within him.
If it had been the old him hearing such words, he might have exploded in rage.
But now, every part of Long Aotian’s body was in pain, and he didn’t want to endure even a second longer.
So he quickly suppressed his anger, looked at the man in the tattered robe, and said, “I am Long Aotian.”
The man in the tattered robe: “……”
Upon hearing Long Aotian’s rough voice, which was a result of his burns, a flicker of surprise crossed the man’s eyes.
He hadn’t expected Long Aotian to end up in such a miserable state.
“Do you have spirit stones and elixirs? I need to borrow some spirit stones and elixirs from you.” Long Aotian spoke directly.
The man in the tattered robe: “……”
Upon hearing Long Aotian mention borrowing spirit stones and elixirs, the man suddenly fell silent.
“Do you have spirit stones and elixirs?” Seeing the man in the tattered robe remain silent, Long Aotian spoke again.
The man in the tattered robe: “…… No.”
Long Aotian: “……”
Hearing the man say he had none, anger flickered in Long Aotian’s eyes.
He simply did not believe the man’s words; the former Long Aotian had also lived in this thatched hut.
Having lived with the man in the tattered robe for quite some time, Long Aotian knew him well.
The man in the tattered robe was very good at saving spirit stones; he had always had a small amount of savings.
In this situation, Long Aotian could not believe that the man had no spirit stones.
“Give them to me.” Long Aotian wanted to exert the pressure of the Foundation Building stage.
In the past, although Long Aotian’s foundation was unstable, it had been easy for him to release the pressure of the Foundation Building stage.
But now… it was different.
Now, Long Aotian’s body was riddled with burns, and the pressure of the Foundation Building stage was clearly a significant force.
As Long Aotian just began to use the scarce spiritual energy within him to release the pressure of the Foundation Building stage, he felt a sharp pain in his skin.
His skin instantly ruptured, and blood began to flow.
The pressure of the Foundation Building stage that Long Aotian had released halfway suddenly shrank back due to the pain.
Seeing Long Aotian in such a state, the man in the tattered robe couldn’t help but smirk with a hint of mockery.
He never expected Long Aotian to be so weak now. The man in the tattered robe curved his lips into a sarcastic smile as he looked at Long Aotian, “Long Aotian, the great dragon, I never thought I would see you like this.”
Long Aotian: “……”
Hearing the man’s words, a flicker of disbelief crossed Long Aotian’s eyes. He never imagined he would hear such things from him. Wasn’t he supposed to be his subordinate?
Indeed, the man in the tattered robe was Long Aotian’s subordinate. In the original storyline, he had always been Long Aotian’s underling. However, unlike now, in the original plot, after being taken in by Long Aotian, the man in the tattered robe was initially unwilling and had tried to challenge Long Aotian a few times. It was only after being subdued by Long Aotian that he became utterly loyal.
But now, things were different. The storyline had changed. Long Aotian had gone from being extraordinarily talented to becoming a waste. Although he had broken through to the Foundation Building stage, he was now at the peak of Foundation Building yet lacked even the combat power of someone in the mid Foundation Building stage, let alone challenge someone of a higher level.
Moreover, due to the loss of his golden finger and treasures, Long Aotian was essentially left with nothing. Naturally selfish, he didn’t hesitate to borrow spirit stones from the man in the tattered robe.
Initially, the man in the tattered robe didn’t want to lend them, but he was swayed by Long Aotian’s promise of future profits and ended up lending him three hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
And of course, the selfish Long Aotian had yet to return those spirit stones. The man in the麻衣 had urged Long Aotian several times to repay him, but each time, Long Aotian, now at the Foundation Building stage, managed to brush him off.
If the man in the tattered robe had truly respected Long Aotian, he might have been more lenient about the unpaid spirit stones. But he never truly believed in him.
In this situation, Long Aotian had the audacity to ask the man in the tattered robe for more spirit stones.
Looking at the weakened Long Aotian, who bore the marks of burns, the man in the tattered robe couldn’t help but sneer. Even a clay figurine has its temper, let alone an ordinary person.
In the past, the man in the tattered robe couldn’t defeat Long Aotian and had to yield. But now…
He had also reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage, and with his current strength, he was confident he could handle a heavily injured Long Aotian with little combat power.
With that thought, the man in the tattered robe charged directly at Long Aotian.
Mai Yinan was a body cultivator, and his greatest strength lay in his physical power.
At this moment, Long Aotian was in a rush to borrow spirit stones to heal his injuries, so he hadn’t absorbed much spiritual energy, leaving his dantian and meridians feeling empty. Coupled with the intense pain coursing through his body, Long Aotian was somewhat slow to react when Mai Yinan threw a punch at him. It wasn’t until Mai Yinan had thoroughly beaten him that Long Aotian remained in a daze, overwhelmed by the pain.
Long Aotian looked at Mai Yinan in shock. He never expected that his former subordinate would dare to hit him like this. In that moment, a deep-seated hatred for Mai Yinan welled up within him. He couldn’t believe that this subordinate would go so far as to treat him this way.
“You… you, wait, just you wait,” Long Aotian’s voice was particularly hoarse due to his burns. As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the pain in his body intensify. Mai Yinan, naturally, would not show any mercy to Long Aotian, who had told him to wait and had borrowed money without returning it. He beat Long Aotian again and only stopped after snatching away Long Aotian’s storage bag.
Left behind, Long Aotian lay pitifully at the entrance of the thatched hut, opening his mouth but unable to utter a single word for a long time. Mai Yinan turned and entered the hut, feeling extremely pleased. He had found Long Aotian displeasing for a long time, and now seeing him in such a miserable state brought him immense joy.
He took out Long Aotian’s storage bag, hoping to find something within to compensate for his losses. After all, he had lent Long Aotian quite a few mid-grade spirit stones, which Long Aotian had yet to return. Now that he had Long Aotian’s storage bag, if he could find something valuable inside, it would be a good way to make up for his losses.
However, as soon as he opened the storage bag and began searching for valuable items, Mai Yinan was stunned. There was… absolutely nothing of value inside. The storage bag contained only three pitiful low-grade spirit stones and a few Qi Gathering Pills meant for mortals to advance to the first level of Qi training, along with some worn-out clothes.
Mai Yinan: “…”
Looking at the contents of the storage bag, Mai Yinan felt regret. He truly regretted it. Long Aotian was so poor that it was almost unbearable to look at. Why had he ever believed Long Aotian’s words, trusting that he could lead him to make a fortune?
If Long Aotian was so impoverished himself, how could he possibly take him to earn big money? The thought of this filled Mai Yi Nan with unparalleled regret. In that moment, he felt like the biggest fool.
But now that things have come to this point, there is no chance to start over.
So in this situation, the man in the robe could only curse Long Aotian a hundred times in his heart and try to convince himself not to fall for Long Aotian’s tricks, with no other options available.
While the man in the robe was in pain and regret, Long Aotian, who was locked outside, was not doing any better.
At this moment, Long Aotian was in the most miserable state he had ever been in.
Lying on the ground, barely clinging to life, he looked utterly pathetic.
In fact, he was in a worse situation now than when he was beaten by Shao Yumiao, because back then he still had many spirit stones on him. Those spirit stones could help him recover quickly from his severe injuries.
But now… he had no spirit stones left.
His foundation had already been weakened long ago.
Long Aotian, you must be strong.
My fate is in my own hands, not dictated by heaven.
When heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon a person, it must first torment their will, exhaust their muscles and bones, starve their body, and deprive them of their possessions… Long Aotian silently recited these words in his heart, finally finding a glimmer of strength through his tenacity.
Long Aotian managed to prop himself up and stand again.
He needed to save himself.
Save himself.
He believed he could overcome this difficult time.
Grinding his teeth, Long Aotian continued to move forward.
This time, Long Aotian sought out a delicate beauty from the outer sect.
The reason he chose this delicate beauty again was that Long Aotian clearly knew her background was not as wealthy as the man in the robe.
Yes, the delicate beauty’s background was not as affluent as the man in the robe.
She was a Qi Refining Stage Eight cultivator, and due to her charming appearance, she had quite a few admirers in the outer sect.
If this delicate beauty were to raise a pond full of fish and become a sea king, she would have plenty of spirit stones.
However, the delicate beauty was not a sea king; she was a shy girl who took relationships very seriously and never accepted anything from other men, with her only affection directed towards Long Aotian.
And because cultivation was difficult, the delicate beauty’s talent was only above average, so she didn’t have many spirit stones in her possession.
But at this point, Long Aotian couldn’t care about anything else.
He quickly knocked on the delicate beauty’s door.
Unlike before, when the man in the robe couldn’t recognize Long Aotian, the delicate beauty immediately recognized him as soon as she opened the door, and her heart ached for him.
“Long Aotian, are you okay?” The delicate beauty, who had just opened the door, looked at Long Aotian with a hint of panic, fearing that something terrible had happened to him.
The concern in the delicate beauty’s eyes was so evident that Long Aotian could see it at a glance.
The concern from the delicate little beauty was clearly appreciated by Long Aotian.
Perhaps it was because… Long Aotian had truly received too many disdainful looks lately. After his foundation crumbled, those who once admired and adored him had mostly vanished like smoke, leaving only a few who still lingered.
And this delicate little beauty was one of those few.
So in this exceptionally rare situation, Long Aotian clearly valued her presence.
“I… I’ve sustained serious injuries,” Long Aotian said as he looked at the delicate little beauty, asking, “How many spirit stones do you have left? Can you lend me some? I need them for treatment.”
“What do you mean by lending?” The delicate little beauty’s eyes turned red instantly.
