Baiheng: Tingyun Might Be the Kind of Woman Who'd Become Your Mistress! (5k)

"My benefactor, let's first talk about how to give that Great Extinguisher a complete life." Tingyun smiled gently, but her tone was quite resolute.

"Wow, you're so cruel! I was just thinking of catching Phantylia as a toy, and you actually want to kill it." Chen Li looked at Tingyun in surprise.

"Hmm, if we don't kill Phantylia, are we just going to keep her around for the New Year?" Baiheng, standing next to Chen Li, asked the question that Tingyun was thinking.

"Don't be so imaginative. There are other ways to use the Phantylia."

"For example?" Tingyun wanted to hear what insightful opinions Chen Li had.

"Use your imagination, go all out. Just tell me your requirements, what kind of Miraculous Item you want me to forge is what I need to consider," Chen Li said.

"You want to forge a Miraculous Item for me?" Tingyun was flattered.

"It's chargeable."

"Then this young lady is also delighted, but I wonder what price she should pay?"

"You're very rich, aren't you?" Chen Li asked.

"He is quite wealthy."

"You like rare and exotic treasures, right?"

"Yes, my benefactor is interested in these things."

"From now on, you're my meal ticket! I want you to provide for me!"

"That's it?" Tingyun was somewhat surprised.

"That's it. As payment, I'll craft the magical item you've been waiting for."

"Deal. By the way, what are your requirements for the food, benefactor?" Tingyun nodded confidently.

It's just a simple meal.

"Anything is fine."

"Anything is fine" often means nothing is fine... Hmm, how about this, my benefactor, what's the food you've been most satisfied with lately?

"Although both Nihility and Abundance taste good, if I had to pick the most delicious, it would have to be Voracity," Chen Li said after thinking for a moment.

"Voracity, do you mean items related to the Path of Voracity? My benefactor. You are quite picky, but I am quite wealthy, and I can afford to provide these meals." Tingyun revealed a confident smile.

While it's a bit strange that he eats items Path, it's normal for geniuses to have some quirks.

"No, I meant the Devouring Star God," Chen Li corrected.

"..." Tingyun's smile froze on her face.

Chapter 218 Baiheng: Tingyun might be the woman who can become your mistress! (5k)

"I told you, don't put so much pressure on yourself. I'm very easy to feed. As long as it's something rare, I can even eat a clod of dirt. Besides, I don't care about the appearance or size of my food, as long as it strengthens me." Chen Li was comforting the little fox who was frightened by him.

Ultimately, he was terrified of himself, so of course he had to comfort him.

"My benefactor has truly frightened this humble woman. If that is the case, I will do everything in my power to provide you with enough rare and precious food," Tingyun said with a sigh of relief.

After hearing about the effects of the Gourmet Cells Miraculous Item that Chen Li described, Tingyun felt that Chen Li's needs were quite compatible with her profession.

Tingyun travels extensively throughout the year, and with her gentle personality and talent, she has connected trade delegations from sixteen worlds, and even renewed a reciprocal agreement with the Interastral Peace Corporation. Under her strong promotion, the Xianzhou natives's trade festival, "Sea Market," has become a renowned grand event across the starry seas.

Because he travels frequently for work, Tingyun has actually managed to acquire quite a few rare and precious items.

If you don't care about the condition, then it's even easier to get it.

"It's not that you'll go bankrupt. Compared to you, the Xianzhou Alliance should be the first to go bankrupt. Your strength is still weak. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of Miracles you can create with the rare Miraculous Item you possess, and what kind of surprises you can bring me."

"I will certainly not fail in my duty. If my benefactor does not mind, I have some rare treasures at home that you may take."

"Really? Come to think of it, I've always thought you had a lot of weird little things at home. It would be great if you could let me take whatever I want," Chen Li said happily.

"???" Tingyun listened to Chen Li's words, as if Chen Li had already been to her home.

Is it just my imagination?

"Speaking of which, you probably don't know where I am, do you? Here." Chen Li said, pulling down the curtain behind him, and then a familiar scene came into Tingyun's view.

The familiar decorations, the familiar scenery—it was none other than his own home.

"???"

"They say stories don't happen without coincidences, perhaps this is fate's guidance. Back when I kidnapped the Tai Bu Division, I simply teleported to your home, Tingyun, and through that, I established a relationship with the higher-ups of the Xianzhou. Then, in your courtyard, I made some unspeakable arrangements with Jing Yuan..."

"Stop! My benefactor! You don't need to explain any further. If you take a fancy to any item in my home, just take it." Chen Li's explanation made Tingyun tremble with fear.

No, my benefactor, what have you been doing all day?

It's either "committing a crime" or on the path to "committing a crime".

Are you really not the Masked Fool?

"Oh. I was originally going to tell you some interesting stories about Tingyun Jing Yuan, like how Jing Yuan was..."

"My benefactor, let's talk about something related to the Miraculous Item," Tingyun said with a smile.

Although Tingyun really wanted to hear gossip, the gossip Chen Li told her was all deadly.

It's always about amusing anecdotes involving General Xianzhou Luofu...

Why don't you tell me some interesting stories about the Aeon?

Just give me a quick death.

"Oh, Miraculous Item... Speaking of which, when did you return to the Xianzhou?" Chen Li asked.

"Establishing business partnerships with unfamiliar worlds is not something that can be done overnight; it takes time, perhaps three to five days, or perhaps ten days to half a month."

"I see... Then you can continue with your own pace. Phantylia would only attempt to steal your identity when it's in a secluded and deserted place, which would inevitably be when the merchant caravan is returning... The most crucial thing is for you to decide what kind of Miraculous Item you want to create. I have already told you everything you will encounter in the future, and the choice of where your destiny leads is now in your hands."

As Chen Li spoke, he strolled around Tingyun's house, taking a bite of anything that caught his eye.

Whenever she saw her precious pet "die" in Chen Li's mouth, Tingyun's eyes would involuntarily reveal a trace of heartache.

However, Tingyun looked surprised when she saw how the objects recovered after being bitten.

"My benefactor's teeth are truly remarkable, and his ability to restore objects is astonishing," Tingyun said, his eyes shining even brighter.

Although it was somewhat out of place, after seeing Chen Li's abilities, Tingyun did have a lot of ideas for making quick money flash through her mind.

"This ability to restore objects has its limits; it needs to be used before the object breaks. So it's difficult to make money from it," Chen Li said, seemingly understanding Tingyun's thoughts.

Chen Li had previously wanted to create a Miraculous Item imbued with the Power of Eternity, capable of restoring the overly high-end food he had consumed.

It was later discovered that it didn't have to be so complicated; simply possessing Crystal with the "eternity" attribute could solve 80% of the problem.

If we strengthen this Power of Eternity with Starstones, we can solve 99% of the problems.

"However, having good teeth can indeed make money."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Seeing that Chen Li seemed quite interested, Tingyun didn't want to spoil the fun.

Foxians are eloquent, Tingyun is one of the best among them, so she naturally followed Chen Li's lead and asked further questions.

"A few days ago, as a deposit and gift for crafting this Miraculous Item, General Jing Yuan of Xianzhou Luofu presented me with a piece of Divine Body Amber," Chen Li said.

"Divine Body Amber? That's truly a rare treasure. The people in the company are very careful about items related to [Preservation]. I heard that the company acquired a piece of Divine Body Amber shaped like the Amber King a couple of days ago. They claim it's a reward from the Amber King for recognizing the work of the Interastral Peace Corporation. But I think it was probably purchased from a collector. I wonder how much it cost. I really want to see such a rare treasure in person..." A look of longing appeared in Tingyun's eyes at the opportune moment.

Tingyun was genuinely interested in this topic and also wanted to delve deeper into it.

Being well-informed is an essential quality for a businessman like Tingyun.

Otherwise, Tingyun would not have been able to build such a large merchant group.

"Oh, that thing? I sold it."

However, Chen Taili did not expect that the people of Interastral Peace Corporation would be so ruthless as to even deceive him.

"Ah, my benefactor actually possesses such a carving technique? Truly amazing..." Tingyun's eyes revealed admiration.

"Then guess how I carved it?" Chen Li asked with a smile, biting into the tempting, lustrous meteorite displayed in Tingyun's home.

"..." Seeing Chen Li talking about alloys so often, Tingyun had a flash of inspiration.

Tingyun suddenly didn't really want to know about this anymore.

"You seem to be right. Come on, tell me..." Chen Li urged.

"My benefactor, please don't do this..." Tingyun's voice was a mixture of reluctance and welcome.

Tingyun felt that the image of the Divine Body Amber, which had been enshrined by the Interastral Peace Corporation and which he had admired for a long time, was gradually shattering before his eyes.

Don't do that!

"Tingyun, don't be so timid. Knowing more secrets will be very helpful for your future business. If you don't make money, who will support me?"

"I think it's better for me not to know some things," Tingyun said tactfully.

Although Tingyun felt it was too late to say these things now.

Because I already know many incredible secrets.

"By the way, speaking of which, I should also get you a lucky charm," Chen Li said to himself.

"Bringing wealth?" Tingyun's attention was instantly drawn to these two words.

"This is also the ability I gained after consuming the divine body of the Devouring Star God —attraction. Whether it has a physical form or not, it can be attracted to my mouth. Therefore, it can naturally also attract wealth, which is commonly known as attracting wealth," Chen Li said.

This idea was provided to Chen Li by the Great Herta.

Because the Great Herta said that the abilities of each Aeon are not as simple as they sound.

You think the Hunt is just about chasing after people and hacking them down? No, it also involves the law of cause and effect!

You think Abundance can only heal and manipulate flesh and blood? No, it can heal any injury, whether it's human or not!

The power of Nihility is not just about consuming objects; it can even eliminate one's own sense of existence.

Regarding the Devouring Star God, the Great Herta once proposed a hypothesis: What If Louis Fleming, the founder of the Interastral Peace Corporation, had gotten close to the Devouring Star God, he might have been able to use this opportunity to absorb the wealth and gold of the entire universe.

Voracity is also related to greed.

Therefore, the Great Herta also suggested that Chen Li might be able to use the Miracle Crystal as a medium to absorb the "Miracles " of the entire Honkai: Star Rail world.

But after trying, it undoubtedly failed.

After Chen Li acquires the Aeon traits through the God of Gluttony, the traits will belong to Chen Li. The strength of these traits will determine how strong Chen Li is. However, Chen Li's current true strength is still "just a little bit" weaker than that of the Aeon.

In short, the future looks promising.

And this future is not far off.

However, Chen Li felt that even if Chen Li reached the level of the Devouring Star God, it would be very difficult to do such a thing.

Perhaps... Chen Li needs to surpass the Devouring Star God.

"My benefactor, how should the auspicious item you mentioned be forged?" Tingyun had to admit that she was tempted.

"This kind of thing isn't Miraculous Item, so it's very simple. You just need to find something with the qualities of wealth."

"Wealth traits?" Tingyun tilted her head.

"The Devouring Star God's absorption is indiscriminate, so it may attract anything. Therefore, you need to find an item with a particularly outstanding quality to bear this power in order to absorb specific items."

"Would gold work?"

"Yes, but not enough. You need a symbol of wealth to serve as its vehicle."

Like the founder of Interastral Peace Corporation, Louis Fleming was synonymous with wealth.

"Then..." Upon hearing Chen Li's words, Tingyun's gaze involuntarily lingered on Chen Li's crown.

"You've got your eye on this? You have good taste. This special kind of gold is synonymous with nobility and can also bring wealth, but I have a more important use for it, so I can't lend it to you."

"I understand." Tingyun nodded.

Chen Li's crown was clearly a symbol of some kind of inheritance, Tingyun felt that even having such thoughts was a kind of blasphemy.

"Right? Whether you have money or not is a worldly matter, but whether you're handsome or not is a lifelong matter. Look how handsome this crown is!" Chen Li felt that he had found a like-minded person when he saw that Tingyun agreed with his ideas.

If you put the Interastral Peace Corporation's Credits into the Honkai world, they're trash, not even worth a piece of waste paper.

But this crown on his head will look very noble no matter which world he goes to!

"... My benefactor, let's talk about the Miraculous Item object instead." Tingyun felt that his benefactor's focus was unusually peculiar.