61: Chapter 61 It's only reasonable to repay a life-saving debt with boundless gratitude!

At the Peak of the Red Flame Mountain, heat waves rolled.

The atmosphere became somewhat stiff for a moment.

Lu Chen toyed with the crystal-clear [Earth Core Fire Lotus Essence] in his hand, his fingers rotating it flexibly.

He glanced at Jiang Yifei, who was still slumped on the ground, then looked at the two girls watching him, and cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

"Well, let's be reasonable here."

Lu Chen's tone was sincere.

"The situation was critical just now; that beast almost sent you to the afterlife physically."

"It was I who stepped in to save your little lives, and incidentally, I had to help clean your clothes to maintain your reputation as girls, right?"

Ji Linger nodded repeatedly, her twin tails swaying with her movements.

"Senior is right! Senior's life-saving grace is like being born anew!"

Nangong Ziyi's beautiful eyes also flickered as she folded her hands in front of her and bowed slightly.

"Senior's great kindness will be remembered by Ziyi. Let alone cleaning clothes, even if Senior wanted other forms of repayment, it would only be right."

Lu Chen ignored the latter half of her sentence and pointed at the Fire Lotus Essence in his hand.

"Since everyone is being so reasonable, then it's only fair that this life-saving grace be repaid with interest, right?"

"I'm a practical man; I don't need much. This Fire Lotus Essence that you found first will serve as my fee for stepping in. I'll take it, no problem, right?"

"Of course, no problem!"

Ji Linger answered first, her large eyes sparkling.

"Giving it to us would just be a waste of a heavenly treasure!"

Nangong Ziyi also nodded vigorously. "Senior, please take it. If Senior likes fire-attribute Spirit Medicine, my Nangong Family still has..."

"No!!"

A roar abruptly interrupted the scene of dividing the spoils.

Jiang Yifei struggled to climb up from the ground, clutching his chest, with dried blood still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"That is the Heaven And Earth Treasure Ziyi needs for her Breakthrough to the Xiantai Realm!"

"To get this Fire Lotus Essence, I even burned my lifeblood essence and almost died in that beast's mouth!"

"We found this first! Senior's cultivation is heavenly; this thing is useless to you. We can give you other things as a reward for stepping in!!"

This wasn't just a matter of Spirit Medicine.

This was Jiang Yifei's last bit of dignity in this three-person team, the culmination of all the effort he had spent to please his fiancée!

If even this was gone, what was the point of his trip?

Lu Chen's brow twitched slightly, but before he could speak,

Nangong Ziyi's face instantly turned cold.

She turned around and looked at the wretched Jiang Yifei, her eyes showing not a hint of pity.

"Jiang Yifei, shut up!"

Nangong Ziyi scolded, her voice cold and clear.

"Do you not understand the rules? If Senior Emperor Yun hadn't stepped in, we would have already been buried in the beast's belly, our lives gone."

"Or we would have used our Family's life-saving trump cards and been pathetically sent back to the clan! What use would Spirit Medicine be then?"

Her words made Jiang Yifei's face turn pale.

Jiang Yifei was stunned.

He gaped, looking at his beloved fiancée in disbelief.

I'm fighting for you! I burned my essence just so you could Breakthrough to Xiantai!

And now, for a man you just met, you're turning around and scolding me for having no manners?

"Ziyi, I..."

"I'm doing this all for you..."

"I don't need it!"

Nangong Ziyi interrupted decisively!

Pfft—!

Jiang Yifei felt a tightness in his chest, and a mouthful of blood surged up his throat again, but he forced himself to swallow it back down.

He froze on the spot, his face deathly pale.

Is this the legendary 'simp' who meets a miserable end?

Lu Chen stood to the side, watching Jiang Yifei's miserable appearance, and clicked his tongue.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Too tragic.

Truly too tragic.

This is the fate of a 'Boiling Sheep'.

"Alright, alright."

Lu Chen sighed. After all, although this kid was a show-off, he was essentially a devoted lover.

"Don't make me look like a bully picking on a kid."

Lu Chen's Divine Sense entered his System space and rummaged around in a corner for a while.

He had to have this Fire Lotus Essence; after all, it concerned his fifteen-centimeter dignity.

"Found it."

Lu Chen saw a ghostly blue flame in the System warehouse.

It seemed like something he had casually grabbed in some Forbidden Ground a hundred years ago. Because he disliked the 'gloomy' color, he had left it to gather dust in a corner.

"Hey, what's-your-name, Jiang Xiaofei, right?"

Lu Chen called out.

Jiang Yifei looked up. Although his name wasn't Jiang Xiaofei, he knew he was being addressed.

"I don't like owing favors. Since I took your herb, I have to give some compensation."

As Lu Chen spoke, he gave a casual toss.

The ghostly blue flame traced a parabola and drifted lightly toward the three of them.

"This junk is useless to me and just takes up space, so take it as compensation."

Nangong Ziyi subconsciously reached out to catch it.

The moment it touched her hand.

A terrifying chill and heat wave erupted simultaneously!

It was a deep blue flame, constantly churning, yet its core held a profound chill from the Nine Nether.

The surrounding space, at the moment this flame appeared, was burned with fine black cracks!

"This is..."

Nangong Ziyi's pupils contracted violently, and her hands holding the flame trembled uncontrollably.

"Ranked nineteenth on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Fire List... [Nine Nether Sea Heart Flame]?!"

And looking at this color and purity, it had clearly grown to the Peak of the Saint Grade!

How was this junk? This was ten or a hundred times more precious than that [Earth Core Fire Lotus Essence]!

For Nangong Ziyi, who possessed the Heavenly Yin Fire God Physique, this could not only help her Breakthrough to Xiantai but even cause her Physique to undergo a qualitative transformation!

"Senior, this is too valuable!"

Nangong Ziyi held the exotic fire, her lips quivering, unable to say a complete sentence for a long time.

"Is this really for us?"

Lu Chen waved his hand indifferently. "I said it's junk. Take it and go; don't bother me."

Nangong Ziyi took a deep breath, solemnly withdrew the exotic fire into her body, and then bowed deeply to Lu Chen, her waist bending ninety degrees.

"Thank you, Senior Emperor Yun, for the treasure! For this kindness and virtue, Ziyi is willing to go through fire and water for Senior!"

Even Ji Linger on the side was dumbfounded, exclaiming, "Senior gives away a Saint Grade exotic fire just like that; this is too extravagant!"

Only Jiang Yifei remained.

He stood blankly on the spot, watching his fiancée cherish the exotic fire and listening to her repeated thanks to Lu Chen.

Wasn't this exotic fire obtained because I insisted on compensation?

Why? Why do you want to thank him?

Jiang Yifei felt his mind go blank.

Just then, the sound of breaking through the air came from the horizon.

The golden wanbao treasure ship broke through the clouds and hovered above the volcanic crater.

Two beautiful figures descended from the sky.

It was precisely Wei Hongyu and Yan Lingji.

Yan Lingji didn't even wait to land; her figure flashed, and she pounced to Lu Chen's side with a gust of fragrant wind.

Her crimson eyes immediately saw the [Earth Core Fire Lotus Essence] in Lu Chen's hand.

As a former emperor grade Alchemist, she naturally knew how much nourishment this thing provided to a Soul body.

"Is this for me?" Yan Lingji's charming eyes were full of mist.

Lu Chen casually stuffed the Fire Lotus Essence into her arms and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Take it and go refine it quickly; I'll be your Protector."

"Don't always say I don't care about you from now on; I specially found this for you."

As long as you absorb it quickly and save my fifteen centimeters, I'll even pluck the stars from the sky for you!

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the emergency mission: The Housekeeper's Essential Need!]

[Mission rewards have been distributed! The punishment mechanism has been lifted!]

[Congratulations to the host for preserving a man's dignity! It can be described as: deeply rooted, standing tall, and reaching for the heavens!]

[Hee hee! I was lying to you, host. Actually, there would have been no punishment even if you didn't complete it! That punishment would make me feel uncomfortable in the future too!]

Hearing that mischievous loli System voice in his head, Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

This System was quite playful and had a wicked sense of humor. Plus, that voice! Back on Earth in his past life, if she called out 'small fry' a few times, she'd probably charm a whole crowd!

"Revered Master is too good to me!"

Yan Lingji held the Fire Lotus Essence. She could feel the surging vitality contained in this Spirit Medicine. This would not only repair her Soul but even make her Divine Soul more solid after reconstruction.

Lu Chen's old face just turned red.

Suddenly, the soft flesh at his waist tightened.

A hand fiercely pinched his waist.

Wei Hongyu stood by his side at some point, her Phoenix eyes, usually shrewd and capable, were now staring at him intently.

She looked at the Fire Lotus Essence in Yan Lingji's arms, then at Nangong Ziyi holding the exotic fire.

Even that little loli Ji Linger was staring blankly at Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen!"

Wei Hongyu gritted her teeth, her voice full of jealousy.

"You give Spirit Medicine to a vixen, and exotic fire to a wild flower by the roadside..."

"I don't care! I want one too!"

She grabbed Lu Chen's collar and pulled him toward her, her elegant and noble face full of grievance.

"Whatever you gave to that busty woman, you must get a share for me too! I want something better!"

"Otherwise, we're not done with this debt!!"

Lu Chen looked at the aggressive rich woman in front of him, then at the group of onlookers around him, especially Jiang Yifei's gaze.

He covered his forehead with a headache.

When there are many women, it really is troublesome.

But how can this be blamed on me?

I'm not a scumbag; I just want to give every girl a home...

Wait, no, I'm just a 'central air conditioner', equally good to every woman!

At first, it wasn't that I liked them or wanted to be responsible for them; I'm just a gentleman who respects women!

He remembered his Revered Master Ling Yuling once saying to him: Is that love? You're either lusting after their bodies or their money! Despicable!

But isn't reality always like this?

Love at first sight is just lust; love over time is just a calculation of pros and cons.

This thing called love starts with looks, gets trapped by talent, stays loyal to the flesh, becomes obsessed with the voice, and finally, breaks over material things and fails against reality.