A few light-years from the Bain Asteroid Belt, Chen Qing stood outside, watching a ship approach in the distance. He couldn't help smiling.
Twenty years had passed since their last gathering. Now, he had completely mastered the essence of both the Water and Thunder Laws!
The situation in the Cuilang Star Sector had begun to stabilize over the past few years. Chen Qing had stopped comprehending the laws and turned his attention to creating secret techniques instead.
With everyone busy cultivating, the Fire Phoenix Organization had been itching for a fight and provoking people everywhere. In the process, it had acquired quite a few businesses, though its reputation had taken a beating.
But they didn't care. If anything, they were rather pleased with themselves. It was good for Pinghai Company, too. When they finally cast their net, the fish would be bigger and there'd be less resistance!
"What brings you two here at a time like this?"
When Jiang Fang and Yao Rao appeared, Chen Qing went over and gave them both a tight hug.
"Ever since Panxi returned to Drip Water Planet, he hasn't made a move for a while!"
Jiang Fang tidied her hair as she looked at Chen Qing, ignoring his question. "How confident are you? If it's not enough, we can put it off a little longer!"
Chen Qing opened his mouth. He wanted to send the two women back to wait for the result, but then realized that probably wasn't going to happen. The fact that they'd come meant everything.
Besides, it was only Panxi. The deeper his comprehension of the laws grew, the faster Green Lotus absorbed its origin energy. His seventh level as a Domain Lord would just about suffice.
"Piece of cake. When have we men ever been inadequate?"
Jiang Fang rolled her eyes. Yao Rao, on the other hand, rested her small hand against Chen Qing's chest. "I don't believe you, young man!"
Looking at Yao Rao's strikingly sculpted face and bright, limpid eyes, an inexplicable heat surged in his heart.
"Today, I'll show you what your man is capable of!"
After months of unrestrained passion, even their little Universe-level man had finally been tamed. Cultivating was both a blessing and a curse: he was in great shape, and he recovered quickly.
They stopped because word had come from Red Rock some time ago that Panxi had set off. He hadn't shown any signs of changing course, and he was most likely headed back to the Bain Asteroid Belt!
By Chen Qing's calculations, if Panxi was returning here, he should be arriving about now. After waiting so long, Chen Qing had instead grown calm.
"You two stay in my World Ring for now. I'll handle everything."
Neither woman objected this time. Yao Rao gently stroked Chen Qing's face.
"Be careful. We have plenty of time. I don't believe you don't have a way to get out of there, so don't be stubborn and insist on fighting to the death!"
Chen Qing grinned. "I don't even know what you mean by stubborn..."
"After all these decades, you still think we don't know you?" Jiang Fang cut him off without mercy. "Who else would dig in their heels over that and refuse to admit defeat?"
How could he admit defeat over that? Chen Qing grumbled to himself. You have no idea how valuable Panxi is. And I can't let anyone find out about his situation, either. How hard do you think this is for me?
He could only say that to himself. Otherwise, they'd have a whole string of questions. Once the two women entered the ring, Chen Qing stowed away all his belongings.
Using his Domain to mask his aura, he quietly waited at the edge of the defense system around Asteroid 82.
Behind him was the asteroid recorded in the original story. That was the advantage of knowing the future—even the Virtual Universe couldn't be this accurate!
Chen Qing had asked Spirit Butterfly to calculate it. From this distance, Panxi couldn't emerge from the Dark Universe behind him.
After waiting for over ten days, Panxi's ship finally appeared in space. It was a deep-purple, sword-shaped E9-class ship, though Babata had unfortunately taken it apart.
As soon as Panxi approached, Chen Qing's hazy Domain engulfed the ship. Its immense pressure was no weaker than a World Lord's.
"Domain Lord, seventh level?" Panxi stared at the probe in confusion for a second. Then his eyes lit up. "There must be treasure!"
"Hahaha, what a lucky find! Kid, I don't know who you are, but I really ought to thank you."
Chen Qing ignored Panxi as he stood impatiently outside the ship. He'd been worried Panxi might not come out.
"Quake Seal!"
As the Origin Core's secret patterns lit up, an enormous amount of energy was consumed. Panxi's projection, just beginning to rise, was forced back down, and he was firmly pinned in the void.
"How is this possible? What the hell is that?"
As Panxi wailed in disbelief, vine after vine appeared around him.
"Worry-Forget."
Chen Qing stirred his Origin Core. An illusory force passed through Panxi's armor and flowed around his Internal World, trapping it.
He glanced at the drooping vines and flowers and felt a wave of relief. He had chosen correctly.
No matter how ordinary a plant was, once it reached the World Lord level and developed an Internal World, it would leave behind its primitive instincts and gain a consciousness of its own. The only question was how strong that consciousness would be.
He had thought of this idea while discussing illusions with Hong last time. As long as they caught their target off guard at the start and kept the plants from sensing any danger from their host, making them forget a few things wouldn't be difficult.
Worry-Forget was the result of his work over the past few years. He'd been playing with blades so much that he'd almost forgotten he was a Spirit Reader!
Panxi's willpower was fairly strong, though, and Chen Qing didn't dare waste time. Countless illusory tendrils wrapped around Panxi. The surrounding space rippled slightly, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished from the universe.
"All right, now that we're in my world, you're no longer needed!"
Chen Qing looked at his Origin Core. Countless tendrils had already annihilated Panxi's soul, and countless objects tumbled out of the shattered world.
With a thought, a silver, token-like object caught his eye. He sensed the cold water inside it.
Chen Qing took a deep breath, released the two women, and threw them over his shoulders without a word.
"Today, nobody gets to say a thing. We're going all the way to the end. Whoever gives in first is a puppy. Hahaha!"
Two months later, in an office in the Cuilang Star Empire Building, Jiang Fang and Yao Rao sat quietly behind Chen Qing. Whenever their eyes met his, a trace of shyness flickered in theirs.
"Fourth, is there any special significance to this ring you gave us? Second Brother's feeling uneasy."
Hong and Thor took the rings, puzzled. Thor glanced at the two strange-looking women behind them, then leaned toward Chen Qing and asked in a furtive voice:
"Good stuff!"
Chen Qing had been beaming lately, and the smile never left his face. "Locke Divine Water. Each of you gets a hundred cubic kilometers. You can look up what it does in the Virtual Universe."
He leaned back, ready to enjoy their reactions.
"Holy crap, it sells for 8.9 million Hunyuan per cubic kilometer at auction! It's a top-grade treasure for cultivating plants, and you can absorb it directly, too!"
Chen Qing laughed. His persistence had finally paid off. Unfortunately, Hong's state of mind was too strong; his expression vanished in an instant.
Seeing the two men about to refuse, Chen Qing quickly added:
"Don't even think about turning it down. I split it into six portions, and Third Brother has one too. Of course, I kept a bigger share. I transferred 100,000 Hunyuan to each of you as well. It wouldn't be easy to sell too much of this stuff all at once."
"Most importantly, you need to strengthen your plant lifeforms. Safety comes first. And don't skimp on anything else you need to prepare!"
Chen Qing hadn't been idle over the past few days. After sorting through Panxi's belongings, he'd gained 22 Hunyuan Units.
Using his three-star account at the Cosmic Galaxy Bank, he'd sold two cubic kilometers. The price was a little lower than expected, but he still got 16.8 million Hunyuan.
Unfortunately, even with money, he couldn't buy much of value. Either nothing was in stock, or it simply wasn't for sale. In the end, he had prepared nine E9-class ships, six sets of top-grade fifth-tier equipment,
and, lastly, three Cloud-Touching Vine seedlings, Muya Crystals, Lanke Fruits, and the like. After they acknowledged him as their master, he cultivated them all in his Origin Core. As for things like Star-Eating Grass, the Virtual Universe had very little information on them!
Then there were the secret techniques. He couldn't do anything about space-time techniques for now, but he'd spent around 5,000 Hunyuan on techniques for the other six lower laws! Aside from the five million he'd given the two women, he'd barely spent a fraction of what he had.
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