Chapter 140: The Awakened Pill Immortal, and the “Assets” of Emotion

Consciousness, like an anchor sinking into the deep sea, slowly surfaced from a boundless, chaotic darkness.

At first, indistinct noise reached his ears, like clamor heard through a thick layer of water. Then, a familiar scent carrying a hint of cool orchid fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose.

Chu Feng struggled to open his eyes.

The scene before him gradually focused from blurry patches of light into a familiar, breathtakingly beautiful face tinged with fatigue and worry.

It was Murong Xue.

She was sitting by the bed. Those usually cool eyes were now filled with bloodshot veins, and her chin was a bit sharper, clearly showing that she had not rested well for several days.

Seeing him wake up, she first froze. Then, in those autumn-water-like eyes, a trace of irrepressible joy burst forth, only to be forcibly suppressed as she returned to her usual cold composure.

“ You’re awake. ”

Her voice carried a hint of hoarseness.

Chu Feng felt as though his entire body had been trampled by ten thousand demonic beasts, every inch of bone groaning in protest.

He tried to move his fingers, but even that brought tearing pain.

The aftereffects of forcibly refining a divine spark were far more severe than he had imagined.

He tugged at the corners of his mouth, wanting to show his signature smile of having everything under control, but it only pulled at the wounds on his face, making him bare his teeth in pain.

“ Chief Risk Control Officer… ”

His voice was as dry as sandpaper rubbing together,

“ It seems this S-level project… my personal fixed assets suffered quite a bit of impairment this time. ”

That single sentence instantly wiped away the concern Murong Xue had just mustered.

She shot him an annoyed glare and brought a jade cup filled with warm water to his lips:

“ You’re almost dead and you’re still thinking about your assets! Drink! ”

Chu Feng drank greedily with her help. His parched throat finally felt a bit better.

He glanced around and realized he was lying in the Ascension Group headquarters, inside his familiar, extravagantly furnished CEO office.

“ How long was I out? ”

“ Three days and three nights. ”

Murong Xue’s voice remained cool.

“ If you hadn’t woken up, I was already preparing to activate the ‘CEO Accidental Death Emergency Plan’ and discuss the group’s equity inheritance issues. ”

Instead of getting angry, Chu Feng laughed when he heard this:

“ Not bad. You’ve improved. Looks like you really took my risk management training to heart. ”

Murong Xue was so irritated that her chest rose and fell. Just as she was about to retort, a violent fluctuation of spiritual power suddenly erupted from the quiet chamber next door!

“ Boom! ”

A powerful and supremely pure aura of the Dao of Alchemy erupted like a volcano, shooting straight into the sky!

Above the entire Qingyun Sect, spiritual energy was instantly stirred into a massive vortex. Dragon-and-phoenix harmony and the worship of a hundred herbs faintly manifested as illusory images in the sky.

A refreshing pill fragrance instantly spread across the entire mountain. All disciples who smelled it felt refreshed and invigorated, and even the bottlenecks in their cultivation showed signs of loosening!

“ This is… someone forming a Golden Core? ”

Shock appeared on Murong Xue’s face.

“ And a Golden Core of extremely high quality! This aura… it’s Junior Sister Leng! ”

As soon as her words fell, the stone door of the quiet chamber creaked open.

A figure bathed in billowing pill fragrance and radiant spiritual light slowly walked out.

Still a plain white dress. Still snow-white hair.

But the current Leng Yanran was completely different from before.

Her skin, illuminated by spiritual radiance, was lustrous like jade, as though no longer of mortal flesh.

Between her brows, the deathly aura left behind from burning her origin had already vanished, replaced by a transcendent, otherworldly, dust-free immortal grace.

Her eyes were like the purest crystals, reflecting the most fundamental alchemical laws of heaven and earth.

Golden Core Stage!

Moreover, it was a supreme alchemical Golden Core forged after awakening the Pill God Bloodline and using the entire Divine Kingdom’s origin as nourishment!

She walked step by step to Chu Feng’s bedside. Looking at his pale face, ripples of complex, indescribable emotion surfaced in those moon-cool eyes.

A thousand words ultimately condensed into just two.

“ Thank you. ”

The voice was still cool, yet carried a faint, uncontrollable tremor.

Chu Feng looked at her, at that head of still snow-white hair. The abacus in his heart named “costs and returns” was thrown completely into disarray for the first time.

He had saved her, from a business logic standpoint, to preserve the group’s core technical asset.

For that, he had risked his life, packaged the entire Divine Kingdom, and ultimately turned himself into a “non-performing asset,” but successfully enabled an exponential reassessment and appreciation of the CPO’s “asset value.”

From the group’s perspective, this deal was a huge win.

But…

Looking at that white hair, Chu Feng clearly realized for the first time that some things could not be quantified, could not be entered onto a balance sheet.

It was a kind of liability called “emotion.”

He slowly extended his hand, wanting to touch that white hair, but in the end it only paused midair and turned into a helpless bitter smile.

“ You burned your origin for the group and nearly died. I tried to save you and almost ruined myself. ”

Chu Feng’s voice, rarely, carried a trace of sincere gentleness.

“ On the group’s books, you saved the group, I saved you. Our ‘creditor–debtor’ relationship is settled. ”

He paused, fixing his gaze straight into Leng Yanran’s eyes, and said word by word:

“ But now, I, Chu Feng personally, owe you once. ”

Leng Yanran’s body trembled slightly. A glimmer of moisture flashed through those crystal-like eyes.

Beside them, Murong Xue watched the scene with a complicated look. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she only silently turned her head away.

The atmosphere in the office became subtly delicate.

Just then—

“ Bang! ”

The office door was slammed open. Wu Hao tumbled and scrambled inside, his face filled with unprecedented panic and terror.

“ N-not good! President! ”

Wu Hao gasped for breath, his voice completely off-key:

“ Something big has happened! ”

Chu Feng frowned:

“ Did the sky fall? Speak slowly. ”

“ It’s even worse than the sky falling! ”

Wu Hao said with a miserable face,

“ We just received the highest-level encrypted intelligence from Pavilion Lord Yao Yue… that old bald donkey from Nirvana Zen Monastery searched the Black Wind Mountain Range for three days and three nights, almost turning the ground upside down, and still couldn’t find any trace of the Ten Thousand Souls Cavern. ”

“ He… he’s gone mad! ”

“ He actually used secret channels to report this matter… to the true overlord of the mortal world— ”

“ The Falling Sun Sacred Sect! ”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep