Chapter 76: Is it you who has a problem, or is it me?

【Due to your innate talent and the proficiency of your mental cultivation method which you know by heart, "Facing the Heavens" (Shushan Mental Method) has successfully broken through to the first realm.】

【Every time you undergo Reincarnation, you will be reincarnated anew according to your current cultivation level.】

【Combat Power Assessment: With your current strength, you are fully capable of condensing True Qi into your body and projecting your Qi sense; you can dominate the martial arts world of the Dajing Dynasty just like an ordinary martial arts master.】

【Current Realm: Qi Refining Stage Initial Level. (It is estimated that you can break through to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining Period after one night of autonomous dormant cultivation).】

【Because you are practicing using a secret Qi Refining entry method lost ten thousand years ago, you will be a cut above current cultivators and be able to master exotic divine abilities more quickly.】

【However... the Body Refining entry method you once pioneered has caused the number of cultivators in the human world to increase drastically.】

Gu Jiangming only now observed the information prompts given to him by 【Mie Changsheng】.

And as he simply sensed the changes in his own body, the first thing was his physical strength, which had clearly increased significantly; it seemed that a palm strike thrown out casually could form a wave of Qi, and snapping a tree in two was simply not a problem.

To be honest, his previous body had many sub-health symptoms, but after the Qi entered his body, that stream of Qi in his circulation washed away many of the ailments within Gu Jiangming's body.

The difference manifested between a sub-healthy body and a healthy one was very intuitive; even his eyesight seemed to have returned to its clearest state, and looking at anything felt like watching an ultra-high-definition image.

Furthermore, the pale complexion caused by long-term lack of exercise and hiding at home to work also gained a hint of healthy ruddiness, and the impurities in his pores seemed to have been thoroughly purged by that stream of Qi.

Even his skin texture had become better.

His whole person felt refreshed, and while his spirit and energy were abundant, Gu Jiangming's appearance had evolved significantly as a result, gaining a touch of the temperament of an elegant scholar with a Daoist bone.

No wonder it is said that cultivators are all fair-skinned and beautiful; this is just from Qi Refining, which can transform a mortal shell to this extent, let alone higher and more profound realms.

So, the problem that needs to be solved now...

Gu Jiangming set his gaze upon Long Xi.

While Gu Jiangming was meditating and circulating his mental method, Long Xi had actually been looking around the whole time, just like a curious baby.

According to the rules of the gods, a Dragon Princess like Long Xi should not be able to leave the South Sea, but now this set of rules seemed to have dissipated on the spot.

And Gu Jiangming had to explain it clearly.

The relationship between a god and a Believer.

That was absolutely not some relationship between a husband and a wife.

Besides... if Jiu Jiu were to find out about this situation, then what would happen?

Gu Jiangming could not help but want to hold his head in his hands.

He absolutely could not let such a thing happen.

"Princess Long Xi." Gu Jiangming looked straight at the Long Xi before him, placing his hands on her shoulders, wanting to make the wandering Dragon Princess look at him seriously.

【So smooth—】

Smooth your big head.

Gu Jiangming really couldn't help but want to curse in his heart at the information that 【Mie Changsheng】 popped up this time.

You make me look so pathetic like this.

Gu Jiangming directly took his hands off Long Xi's shoulders.

"Are you listening to me?" Gu Jiangming asked very seriously.

"I am." Listening to Gu Jiangming's words, Long Xi's gaze slowly rested on Gu Jiangming.

The two suddenly locked eyes.

This was the first time Gu Jiangming had seen Long Xi's appearance clearly; her cheeks were flushed like fresh lychees, and her flower-like face was like a lotus in the water. Just by looking with the naked eye, one could feel that her skin was excellent and very supple.

What was even more exaggerated were Long Xi's exquisite features; this was entirely the golden ratio, just like the best face pinched in an online game, and one couldn't see the slightest flaw at all.

Moreover, compared to the images inside 【Mie Changsheng】, where the camera would often flash and one couldn't see the full picture,

now Long Xi was standing in front of him in three dimensions.

Just this alone was already the standard for a peerless beauty, but what was truly memorable was the tear mole under the corner of Long Xi's eye.

It added a touch of charm to her.

Yet she was not the type of charming and seductive character; on the contrary, she was incomparably innocent, even pure enough to be described by the word 'pure white'.

Such a personality paired with such an appearance—this contrast made Gu Jiangming's eyes dodge a little.

This dragon is so pretty.

I am so pathetic.

However, Gu Jiangming braced himself and said expressionlessly, "Princess, I think it is necessary for us to properly understand this relationship of husband and wife."

"Ah?" Long Xi was stunned for a moment.

"It's just... the friendship between you and me should not be a relationship like husband and wife." Gu Jiangming continued to explain, and he began to break down the composition of this relationship for Long Xi.

"Husband and wife are meant to accompany each other for a lifetime, and they must live together, and even get married and have children."

"The relationship between a god and a Believer is not such a complicated one. The relationship between you and me is relatively simple; it is more akin to complementing each other and helping one another."

Long Xi fell into thought, "Can't a god and a Believer accompany each other for a lifetime?"

Gu Jiangming thought for a moment, "It seems they can."

"Can't they live together?" Long Xi asked again.

"That's not impossible either." Gu Jiangming nodded.

"Then can't a god marry their Believer and have children?" Long Xi thought again and said.

"Of course that won't do. Things like marriage and having children require mutual consent." Gu Jiangming finally felt he had room to refute, and he prepared to properly educate her on this common sense.

"Have you ever seen any god marry their Believer and have children? Besides, marriage and having children require feelings. Do you know what feelings are?" Gu Jiangming continued, "Feelings are the kind where you feel very happy even if you are stuck together every day, and you are unwilling for the other party you accompany for a lifetime to be hurt, and you can't bear for them to die."

"Then I have feelings for you." Long Xi said after a little thought, "I feel very happy staying by your side, and I also can't bear for you to die. I want you to stay with me forever."

No.

Is it you who has a problem, or is it me?

Why can you use this kind of logic to kill a debate so cleanly?

And that feeling of yours is clearly treating me like your favorite toy; can that be called feelings?

"That is not affection," Gu Jiangming reiterated, "Affection is something like... when I cry, you also feel sad; when you are sad, I also feel distressed; when you are happy, I also feel joyful. It is a form of empathy."

"The affection you have for me is the pity of a deity for a Believer. You are reluctant to let go, so it is not the kind of affection I am talking about."

Long Xi nodded thoughtfully, then added, "I don't understand."

Gu Jiangming's vision went black.

Oh, the incredibly arrogant dragon from ten thousand years ago!

Then, as I unleash this move, how will you respond, Your Excellency!

"Then would you be willing to marry me and have children?" Gu Jiangming pondered for a moment, walked a few steps, and said.

With a dragon's personality, how could she possibly agree to such a request? This time, he held the winning hand; he simply couldn't lose.

The advantage is truly with me.

"In the relationship between a husband and wife, marriage and having children are unavoidable. As long as that cannot be done, it is not a marital relationship."

"So our relationship is just the camaraderie between a deity and a Believer."

Saying this, Gu Jiangming heavily emphasized the latter part of his sentence.

Gu Jiangming had always felt that there was an extremely dense barrier between dragons and humans.

The dragons in myths and stories mostly look down on mortals; not only do they look down on them, but their words are also full of disdain.

After all, in the mythological system, humans are the most basic of creatures.

Placed before these ancient deities, what is the difference between a cultivator of the Human Race and a beggar in the secular world?

Meanwhile, Long Xi's thinking had completely veered into a magical train of thought, because Gu Jiangming had been emphasizing what the relationship between a husband and wife is like, and what affection is like.

She was also looking for similar examples to illustrate her own point of view.

Thereby proving that she had not wronged Gu Jiangming in the slightest.

More importantly, she actually had no concept of marriage and having children at all. Isn't that just a matter of having a few more children together?

"I am willing," Long Xi thought for a moment and said, "Marriage and having children, isn't that just giving birth to many babies? When the time comes, if I give birth to a few babies, they can also keep me company."

Damn.

Gu Jiangming felt his brain had been burned away.

No.

It had been eaten by Long Xi.

He reached out to touch his own head, somewhat unable to understand what on earth Long Xi was thinking.

This creature is a deity.

And also a fool.

And a beautiful fool at that.

"Anyway, we are not in a marital relationship," Gu Jiangming clarified again. He did not want to continue debating this relationship with Long Xi; the other party could always find some very strange angles to refute him.

Moreover, Gu Jiangming did not want to go along with Long Xi's rhetoric and be half-persuaded.

That would be pure scum behavior.

To take advantage of a fool who doesn't even know what affection is—that is something worse than a beast.

Things that need to be made clear must be made clear.

But when Long Xi heard Gu Jiangming's obviously heavier tone, her mood suddenly dropped.

"Do... do you not like being with me?"

"I will return the Taicang Sword to you."

Hearing Long Xi's pitiful tone, Gu Jiangming's originally firm stance slowly softened.

After all, the look of Long Xi's mood dropping was something one could see directly.

It was a visibly apparent sense of loneliness and grievance.

Thinking that this was a testament to a friendship that had spanned ten thousand years, a reunion after ten thousand years, yet he was still here acting self-righteously and "scolding" her.

Perhaps even before Long Xi came, she might have been full of anticipation for this meeting.

Sigh.

Fine, fine.

I am afraid of you.

You really are the bane of my, Gu Jiangming's, existence.

Invisible coquetry is quite lethal.

And she just happens to be a dragon.

"I like it," Gu Jiangming had to bite the bullet and say, "I still like being with you; after all, you are very good to me."

To say that he didn't like it would be too inhumane; that would hurt her heart too much.

However, Gu Jiangming had to properly sort out the matter of affection for Long Xi.

Long Xi, who had been in low spirits just a moment ago, instantly revealed a carefree smile.

That momentary smile was extremely cute.

After Gu Jiangming was stunned for a few seconds, he immediately regained his composure and used his words to cover up his embarrassment, saying with a helpless expression: "Alright, alright, we've chatted enough, and I'm tired. Let's both get some rest."

"The ups and downs experienced these past few days are longer than my entire life."

Not to mention the magnificence within the Reincarnation, just the twists and turns in reality were enough to make Gu Jiangming feel exhausted.

As he spoke, Gu Jiangming took the bedding he used to cushion his wooden bed out of his room and placed it in another side room.

"From now on, you will sleep in this room."

Long Xi nodded and asked again, "Can I not sleep in the same room as you?"

"No," Gu Jiangming refused. He closed the door and deliberately yawned, saying, "I am but a mere mortal, I still cannot stay up late, so I'm going to sleep first. I won't worry about you anymore."

"Whatever you want to say or chat about, let's talk it over properly when the sky turns bright."

Long Xi nodded.

She withdrew the divine sense she had covering the two people outside the courtyard; it seemed that the man and the tiger truly held no hostility toward their Believer.

In that case, there was no need to be on guard against them.

It was just that her own Spirit Qi was being consumed so quickly now; when would she be able to replenish her Spirit Qi again?

If she kept experiencing a shortage of Spirit Qi, she might fall into a long, deep slumber once more.

Long Xi suddenly thought of the strand of Spirit Qi she had absorbed from Gu Jiangming earlier.

But it seemed that strand of Spirit Qi was not always available.

She went into the side room where Gu Jiangming had already made the bed for her and closed her eyes.

She was also afraid that once she closed her eyes, she would never wake up again.

As Long Xi pondered these worries, she found it hard to sleep, yet dragons were clearly the creatures that loved sleeping the most.

But she was a little afraid—afraid that when she woke up from her sleep, she would not be able to find Gu Jiangming.

Half an hour later, following the sound of Gu Jiangming's strong and steady breathing, a strand of Spirit Qi suddenly emerged leisurely from Gu Jiangming's side.

So fragrant.

Long Xi, who had been unable to sleep while lost in thought, sniffed with her petite nose.

She snuck out of bed, walked into Gu Jiangming's room, looked at the sleeping Gu Jiangming, and then quietly climbed onto the bed to lie down beside him.

Sometimes, even Long Xi's Imperial Father could not sway her.

She had very strong opinions and ideas of her own.

Therefore, Long Xi had not taken Gu Jiangming's words from earlier to heart, and even if she had heard them, she had forgotten them completely by now.

She felt the Spirit Qi radiating from Gu Jiangming's entire body, slowly exhaled from every one of his pores and every breath he took.

Long Xi calmly reached out and rested her hand on Gu Jiangming's stomach.

So soft, so comfortable.

Just by breathing in the Spirit Qi that Gu Jiangming exhaled like this, she would not fall asleep and never wake up again.

And Gu Jiangming would not be lost either.

At this moment, Gu Jiangming, who had stayed up for a full day and two nights, had long since fallen into a dreamland, exhausted.

Compared to the lazy nature of the Dragon Race who loved to sleep in, if Gu Jiangming did not go and rest properly to get some sleep, he would truly be at death's door.

Outside the residence, Xu Qingyun was still discussing countermeasures for dealing with Jiu Jiu with the white tiger.

"Tell me... isn't it too quiet inside this courtyard?"

"When we first left, wasn't there the sound of talking?" the white tiger said; he could now hear the sound of Gu Jiangming's deep, sleeping breaths.

But for a long period, there was neither that breathing sound nor the sound of talking, as if someone had artificially controlled their divine sense—it was completely blocked off.

Granted, the white tiger could sense that the young woman in the room had a significant background and possessed a certain level of strength, perhaps not weaker than the background of that Named Great Demon, the Guhuoniao, who belonged to Jiu Jiu.

But such a disparity in strength was still too exaggerated; how many realms would one have to transcend to be able to block another's divine sense to that extent, especially when Xu Qingyun, a Human Race cultivator of this age who had attained the Dao, was also by his side?

It was impossible that even his divine sense could be blocked along with it, right?

Xu Qingyun naturally also sensed that something was amiss, but he did not dwell on it, because Gu Jiangming's steady breathing was right there.

Moreover, compared to the white tiger, what he noticed more was that the Spirit Qi in this place seemed excessively abundant.

His realm, which had not moved for a long time, even showed signs of loosening.

This place was a bit eerie.

(End of chapter)