Zheng Wenlong stared at the wall silently. He was at a huge turning point in his life. What he decided would determine his future.

“Have him wait a bit. I will quickly go to see him,” said Zheng Wenlong finally, seeming to have made his determination.

“Yes.” The attendant left.

Zheng Wenlong slowly stood until he was right in front of the wall. He pressed down on a protrusion on the wall.

The wall slowly opened, revealing a large room. This room had a circular curtain of light constantly revolving.

Zheng Wenlong walked up in front of the curtain of light. He stood there for a long moment before finally reaching out into it.

Fluctuations came from the light, and a figure appeared. Zheng Wenlong respectfully knelt on the ground.

“Disciple Zheng Wenlong greets sect master.”

The figure inside the curtain was an elder sitting cross-legged. He had white hair but a rosy face like a baby. He slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes looked old and a bit turbid. However, they were extremely peaceful, as if he wasn’t the master of a sect, but a kind elder.

This seemingly ordinary elder was the Huayun Sect’s master, one of the top figures of the continent, someone on the same level as Pill Valley’s master. He was the Huayun Sect’s master, Hua Mingxiong.

However, this incredibly powerful figure looked like an ordinary elder and even seemed very friendly.

“Child, have you run into some kind of difficulty?” Hua Mingxiong looked at Zheng Wenlong through the curtain of light encouragingly.

“I’m sorry, sect master. I wish to leave the Huayun Sect.” Zheng Wenlong knelt on the ground, his head to the ground, not daring to look at Hua Mingxiong.

“Oh? Why?” Hua Mingxiong’s voice was still calm.

“I have a friend in trouble. I need to help him, but I don’t want to implicate the sect or its millions and millions of members. Since ancient times, it has always been difficult to choose between loyalty and righteousness. I also have difficulty choosing, but with Long Chen in imminent danger, I have to act regardless. So I hope that you can accept my feelings toward the Huayun Sect. If there is another life, I will definitely become a disciple of the Huayun Sect again and repay your favor.”

Toward the end, Zheng Wenlong’s voice was choked with emotion. The Huayun Sect was his home, and it was also his faith. He truly didn’t want to leave. Deserting the loyal was disloyal, but ignoring a friend in trouble was unjust. Anyone would have difficulty choosing.

The current Zheng Wenlong was not the Zheng Wenlong who Long Chen had met back at the beginning. He was now a large figure with a powerful status. He knew many things that he hadn’t known before, and so he knew just how dangerous Long Chen’s current predicament was.

It was because he knew it that he didn’t want to draw the Huayun Sect into it. He was prepared to help Long Chen on his own. That way, his actions would be unrelated to the Huayun Sect, and he wouldn’t need to worry about implicating the Huayun Sect.

“Child, first of all, you should get up.” Hua Mingxiong smiled faintly.

“Disciple does not have the face to raise his head.” Zheng Wenlong still kept his head to the ground.

“Foolish child, you are a devout follower of the Wealth God, but you still don’t comprehend the true essence of the Huayun Sect. Let me ask you, what is every disciple of the Huayun Sect?”

“A businessman.”

“And what do businessmen exist for?”

“For profit.”

“Then tell me, has your collaboration with Long Chen been profitable?”

“It has.”

“And if you continue your collaboration with Long Chen, will you obtain even more profit?”

“If he lives, the profit will naturally be limitless.”

“Then isn’t that all? Businessmen pursue profit. Helping Long Chen is getting more profit. Why would you need to leave the Huayun Sect for this? Your actions have not infringed on the Huayun Sect’s rules, nor have they gone against our faith. Why would you need to do this?” asked Hua Mingxiong.

“But this time, there’s Pill Valley, the ancient races, the Corrupt path, the ancient family alliance…”

“Forget about them for now. What you need to remember is that you are a businessman, and you must operate your business in good faith. As long as your clients do not break off the collaboration, then as long as there is still profit to be made, you cannot break it off yourself for selfish reasons. That would be a breach of contract and a violation of the doctrines of the Wealth God,” said Hua Mingxiong.

“But…” Zheng Wenlong finally raised his head to look at him.

Hua Mingxiong smiled. “Child, there are no buts. The Business Dao is also one of the Heavenly Daos. We steadily advance by following the Wealth God’s directions and conducting our business honestly. All your misgivings are simply the thoughts of a child. No matter how high your intelligence is, can it surpass a god’s?”

“Disciple wouldn’t dare to compare himself to the Wealth God,” said Zheng Wenlong hastily.

“Then why are you questioning the Wealth God’s intelligence?”

“I wasn’t-... I understand. I know where I was wrong.” Zheng Wenlong was about to quibble when he suddenly came to a realization and became delighted.

“Not bad, your comprehension is truly good. Remember, no matter what you do, as long as you act within the restrictions of what the Wealth God has commanded, you are following the Wealth God’s directions. If you feel doubt, fear, or misgivings, it’s simply because you lack faith in the Wealth God. We are humans, not gods. And a god’s intelligence isn’t something we can reach. In fact, how do you know that Long Chen’s arrival here isn’t thanks to the Wealth God’s guidance?” said Hua Mingxiong with a thought-provoking light in his eyes.

“I understand. Many thanks for your guidance.” Zheng Wenlong was extremely grateful for this.

“Alright, you can go. As long as you act in accordance with the Wealth God’s directions, you are in the right. No matter what happens as a result, I will be there to support you,” said Hua Mingxiong.

“Yes.”

…

Long Chen sat cross-legged. Eventually, he opened his eyes and stood. “It’s been an incense stick’s worth of time. Since Zheng Wenlong has no time, I’ll take my leave.”

“Uh…” The attendant standing beside him became awkward, not knowing what to say.

“It’s not that I have no time. It’s just that I almost made a grave error during this time.” At this moment, Zheng Wenlong walked in. “You can go. I will talk to him alone.” He sent away the attendant.

Long Chen sat back down. Looking at Zheng Wenlong, he said, “To tell you the truth, I’m very happy that you came.”

“Of course, I came. It was just a matter of how quickly I could get here.” Zheng Wenlong’s old confident smile had returned.

“Thank you.” Long Chen finally smiled.

Zheng Wenlong’s arrival meant that Long Chen hadn’t misjudged him. Although he was a businessman, he was a hot-blooded man inside as well.

“No, you shouldn’t act so courteous with me. It would make us seem like strangers. The regular saying is that talking about money will hurt friendship, but to the Huayun Sect’s disciples, talking about friendship is what will hurt money.”

“It seems I was right to come here. You are prepared to stand together with me?”

“No, I’m not standing with you, but on the side of money. You are my precious client, and I need to protect you. That’s the way to get the most profit,” said Zheng Wenlong solemnly.

Long Chen nodded. Although Zheng Wenlong was acting as a businessman, Long Chen could see his sincere emotions.

He was glad he had such a friend. Zheng Wenlong had never disappointed him, not in the past, and not now.

“I want to know everything that happened in the Eastern Xuan Region while I was gone. Of course, the most important thing is the Xuantian Dao Sect. Does it still exist? And who participated?” Long Chen went straight to the point.

“Here. I’ve already prepared the information for you.” Zheng Wenlong handed Long Chen a stack of papers with various things recorded on it. “The Xuantian Dao Sect’s destruction came too suddenly. The Corrupt path announced that it was done by them, but it’s not so simple as that. You can look through this. This is everything that was gathered by our intelligence network.”

Long Chen flipped through the pages one by one. His expression gradually darkened.

Zheng Wenlong explained, “The Corrupt path constituted the main force, but there were several accomplices. The Heaven Suppressing Magic Sect was only one of them. According to the traces left behind on the battlefield, there were at least five divine items that went against the Xuantian Dao Sect’s divine items. Amongst them was the Corrupt path’s Corrupt God Skull, the Heaven Suppressing Magic Sect’s Violet Gold Soul Devouring Staff, and the ancient races’ Heaven Reaching Divine Drum. As for the other two divine items, because the spatial fluctuations were too intense and their auras were somewhat similar to the Xuantian Tower and the Reincarnation Mirror’s auras, it’s temporarily impossible to determine which divine items they are. A battle involving seven divine items is rare, even on the entire continent. At the very least, such a large scale battle hasn’t occurred since the last dark era.”

Long Chen nodded. He went through all the information listed. This information was based on an analysis of the battlefield where the Xuantian Dao Sect had once been.

It also had the information about various sects and what they had been doing around the time that the Xuantian Dao Sect had been destroyed.

The majority of sects had acted completely normal. But after the Xuantian Dao Sect had been destroyed, the vice alliance master of the eastern branch of the Martial Heaven Alliance went to the Heaven Suppressing Magic Sect, and Pill Valley also became lively during this, with quite a few powers sending experts to communicate with them.

Although these things didn’t directly prove anything, Long Chen could see a grand scheme. The Xuantian Dao Sect’s destruction was the result of many powers working together.

Zheng Wenlong said, “This is all I know. Long Chen, now that you are surrounded by enemies, what are you going to do?”

“This much is enough. At the very least, my head is clearer, and I know a few of my enemies now. As for what I’m going to do, I don’t know yet. I want to figure out whether or not anyone from the Xuantian Dao Sect survived first.”

“Based on the evidence, there were too many divine items at that time, and the chances of the Xuantian Tower escaping are low. However, there are also no signs that it was destroyed. That is why some experts have deduced that the Xuantian Tower might very likely have been forced into the chaotic flow of space. Perhaps it’ll never come back again.”