Chapter 173: The Hundred Horses Pagoda is locked, and Shu Shu sees the light of day again!

Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Magic Treasure: Hundred Horse Floating Pagoda Lock!

The reward has been distributed to the System Space; the host can view it at any time.

The golden light stopped at the ‘Magic Treasure’ column.

Immediately, a black chain with countless shadows emerged from the large turntable, accompanied by a System prompt.

“Magic Treasure?”

Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow, looking at the reward he had drawn.

In the past, if he had drawn a Magic Treasure, he would have thought it was pretty good.

But now, with the nine treasures jade ruyi, the Black Dragon Magic Pearl, and a Magic Treasure embryo, the speed of his Hundred Refinements Treasure Body Technique had already reached its limit.

He no longer felt anything special about Magic Treasures.

After all, with his Foundation Establishment Cultivation, he couldn’t activate Magic Treasures.

Besides using them for Cultivating the Hundred Refinements Treasure Body Technique, they had no other use; they were utterly useless.

“However, you can never have too many Magic Treasures.”

“Once I reach the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, I should be able to activate Magic Treasures with the help of the xuan yuan pearl.”

“Moreover, Magic Treasures can also be given to the children.”

“If any of my children can master the ‘Hundred Refinements Treasure Body Technique,’ I can fully integrate the Magic Treasures into their bodies to aid their Cultivation.”

“Not only will it allow them to improve quickly, but it also counts as my own improvement—one Magic Treasure, double the gain.”

Lu Changsheng exhaled lightly, muttering to himself.

He planned to integrate a Magic Treasure for whichever child could master the Hundred Refinements Treasure Body Technique in the future.

Anyway, after the child Cultivated, the effects would be added to him.

The only problem now was that the children were still young, and he wasn’t comfortable passing on a genuine-grade Cultivation Technique.

Furthermore, genuine-grade Cultivation Techniques were not that easy to master.

He had taught Lu Miaoge the exquisite-grade Chen Star Water Star Sword Art hand-in-hand for more than half a month before she even initially grasped it.

This genuine-grade Hundred Refinements Treasure Body Technique was many times more difficult.

During the Cultivation process, if one was not careful, problems could arise, causing self-injury.

Therefore, he had to be cautious and careful.

“Alas, if Cultivation Techniques could also be directly imparted to these children, that would be great.”

Lu Changsheng sighed in his heart, lamenting.

Relying on his own Cultivation of the ‘Soul Scattering Needle’ from the Red Phoenix True Scripture earlier made him deeply realize how wonderful it was for the System to directly impart Cultivation Techniques.

Otherwise, relying on self-study and comprehension, even if he understood the principles and theories, Cultivating it was another matter entirely.

Without dwelling on it further, Lu Changsheng looked towards the System Space.

He checked the Magic Treasure he had just drawn.

Magic Treasure: Hundred Horse Floating Pagoda Lock.

Grade: High Grade Magic Treasure.

Description: Immortal Master Yingui found hundreds of Yao Beast warhorses that had endured a hundred battles, tormented them by all means, causing them to die with sky-high resentment and their souls unrestrained, refining them into Yin Horses. Finally, he condensed a hundred Yin Horses into the Floating Pagoda Chains, which became the ‘Hundred Horse Floating Pagoda Lock.’ When facing an enemy, the hundred horses rampage, and under their impact, mountains collapse and the earth sinks, causing one’s body and soul to scatter.

“High Grade Magic Treasure!”

“It seems to be a Demonic Path Magic Treasure.”

“Although the refining process for these Demonic Path Magic Treasures is quite cruel, their effects and power are generally good.”

“However, looking at this description, the effect is indeed impressive: when facing an enemy, the Magic Treasure is unleashed, a hundred Yin Horses charge wildly, mountains collapse and the earth sinks, causing one’s body and soul to scatter.”

Lu Changsheng nodded slightly, looking at the description of the Magic Treasure’s effect.

However, after a quick glance, he felt it was just so-so and didn’t look at it further.

He left the Magic Treasure in the System Space.

He planned to take out the Magic Treasure when needed in the future.

“I wonder how much my Cultivation has improved with a Fourth Grade Spiritual Root compared to before.”

After finishing the draw, Lu Changsheng felt rather listless, thinking about his newly promoted Fourth Grade Spiritual Root.

He immediately closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, with his five centers facing the sky, circulating the Seven Luminaries Great Freedom Sword Scripture.

“Hoo!”

After Cultivating for an hour, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of stale Qi.

Through his recent Cultivation, he could clearly perceive that his Cultivation speed had increased.

It had increased by about 30% compared to before.

Although it was only 30%, this effect was already quite good.

It could significantly speed up his Cultivation.

Moreover, the quality of a Spiritual Root, besides Cultivation speed, had another important effect: it made it easier to Break through Bottlenecks.

“However, a Fourth Grade Spiritual Root only offers some help for minor Bottlenecks.”

“For my current situation, it won’t have any significant effect on the future Core Formation Bottleneck.”

“If I could raise my Spiritual Root to a Heavenly Spiritual Root before Core Formation, then there would be no Bottleneck for Breaking through to Core Formation.”

Lu Changsheng thought to himself.

He couldn’t help but look forward to another stroke of luck, giving birth to a Heavenly Spiritual Root offspring someday.

That way, his Spiritual Root would be perfected in one go, without having to slowly grind like this.

Shaking his head, he dispelled his unrealistic fantasies, and Lu Changsheng walked out of the quiet room.

After chatting with Xiao Xiyue for a while, he left the Immortal Cave and came to the Lu Family Spirit Talisman Shop.

“Daddy.”

As soon as he arrived on the third floor, Lu Qingzhu, who was quietly reading a book by herself, saw Lu Changsheng and obediently called out.

“Xiao Zhu’er, where’s your mother?”

Lu Changsheng saw that only his daughter was there, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he asked.

This daughter was six years old, and her appearance was becoming increasingly adorable.

Her sculpted face still had some baby fat, making it plump and irresistible to pinch.

“Mommy is drawing Talismans in her room.”

Lu Qingzhu said in a childish voice.

Lu Changsheng heard this and guessed that either a customer had placed a custom order or a certain Talisman was needed.

He didn’t disturb Lu Miaoge, but went and sat next to his daughter, asking, “Xiao Zhu’er, what are you looking at?”

“Daddy, look.”

Lu Qingzhu handed the picture book she was holding to Lu Changsheng.

This was a recorded picture book.

Inside was a forest with various Spirit Beasts living and playing in it.

Since it was for young children’s enlightenment, these Spirit Beasts were all relatively gentle and cute.

There were no ferocious or terrifying Yao Beasts.

“Xiao Zhu’er, do you know what this is?”

Lu Changsheng pointed to a purple parrot and asked.

Lu Qingzhu shook her head with a blank expression.

Then her bright, clear eyes stared blankly at Lu Changsheng, waiting for him to introduce it.

Lu Changsheng chuckled, looking at his daughter’s expression.

He ruffled her little head, which had two bun hairstyles, and said, “This is a Purple Jade Parrot, it understands human speech and can even talk…”

As he spoke, Lu Changsheng tapped the Purple Jade Parrot in the jade book.

“Hello.”

Immediately, the parrot let out a clear greeting.

“Oh, hello!”

Lu Qingzhu said with a blank and adorable expression.

“Xiao Zhu’er, if you like it, Daddy will buy one for you.”

Lu Changsheng said to his daughter, who looked so adorable.

This Purple Jade Parrot was just a Low Grade Yao Beast, a type of ornamental Yao Beast. Many Cultivators tamed them as pets and kept them at Lu. They were also sold in the Hongye Valley Market.

“Oh, Daddy, this one.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingzhu’s small hand flipped forward two pages in the picture book, pointing to a white-furred hamster for Lu Changsheng to see.

“Xiao Zhu’er, you like this kind?”

Lu Changsheng was stunned by her words.

He hadn’t expected his daughter not to like the talking Purple Jade Parrot.

Instead, she liked such a white-furred hamster.

However, this white-furred hamster was indeed quite cute.

It was pure white, fluffy, and endearingly clumsy; it was normal for a child to like it.

“Eh.”

At this moment, he remembered that he had a golden hamster in his Spirit Beast Bag that looked similar.

It was the Earth Spirit Rat he had obtained from Meng Yibai.

Since this Earth Spirit Rat was stolen goods, he had kept it in his Spirit Beast Bag all this time.

He would just throw a few Spirit Feeding Pills into the Spirit Beast Bag every now and then to feed it.

“Xiao Zhu’er, what do you think of this?”

Immediately, Lu Changsheng touched his Spirit Beast Bag and took out the Earth Spirit Rat.

This Earth Spirit Rat was about the same size as the white-furred hamster in the picture book, only palm-sized.

It had golden fur all over, looked harmless, and its appearance was endearingly clumsy and very cute.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak—”

The Earth Spirit Rat had been in the Spirit Beast Bag for over three years without fresh air, and now it finally saw the light of day again, immediately squeaking happily.

“Oh, little mouse.”

Lu Qingzhu looked at the adorable Earth Spirit Rat, her bright, clear eyes instantly widening and sparkling.

Her small head leaned forward slightly, getting closer to look at the Earth Spirit Rat.

“Behave.”

Lu Changsheng held the hamster, rubbing it a few times, and conveyed his thoughts to the Earth Spirit Rat through the Beast Taming Token.

He clearly remembered that this Earth Spirit Rat had considerable intelligence.

It even knew to ask someone to be its godfather.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak.”

The Earth Spirit Rat immediately responded to Lu Changsheng.

It indicated that it was the most obedient and sensible little mouse.

Lu Changsheng believed this.

The reason he dared to take out this Earth Spirit Rat for his daughter to play with was because he had learned about the Earth Spirit Rat’s related information and knew its character.

Although it had Earth Rank Bloodline.

It was timid as a mouse.

Except for escaping, it basically wouldn’t fight.

Its main purpose was treasure hunting.

It had an extremely keen sense of smell for Spirit Medicine, Heaven And Earth Treasure, or Spirit Mines and Spiritual Veins.

One could also let it sniff a certain medicine or Heaven And Earth Treasure, and as long as someone had touched that Spirit Medicine or Heaven And Earth Treasure within a short period, it could smell it out.

In short, it was extremely sensitive to Spiritual Qi and spiritual energy.

“Come, Xiao Zhu’er.”

Lu Changsheng opened his palm, letting his daughter touch the golden hamster.

With him by her side, he wasn’t worried about what the Earth Spirit Rat would do.

If it made any unusual move, he could stop it immediately.

“Oh.”

Lu Qingzhu extended her soft, tender hand and carefully touched the Earth Spirit Rat.

Although this Earth Spirit Rat was only palm-sized, that was relative to an adult’s palm.

For a six-year-old girl, it was still quite big.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak.”

The Earth Spirit Rat was very sensible, realizing that this ‘bad guy’ wanted it to coax the human cub.

Immediately, its small head actively rubbed against Xiao Zhu’er’s small hand.

“Oh, Daddy.”

Xiao Zhu’er was startled, then a little more boldly touched the Earth Spirit Rat, calling out to Lu Changsheng.

“Here, take it.”

Lu Changsheng smiled, handing the Earth Spirit Rat in his hand to his daughter.

“Oh.”

Xiao Zhu’er immediately held the golden hamster with both hands, rubbing it in her arms, a happy smile appearing on her small face.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak.”

The Earth Spirit Rat also cooperated well.

“Xiao Zhu’er, you can feed this to it.”

Lu Changsheng took out a bottle of Spirit Feeding Pills, poured out one, and handed it to his daughter, letting her feed it to the Earth Spirit Rat.

After all, feeding a pet was also a kind of joy.

“Oh.”

Xiao Zhu’er held the Earth Spirit Rat with one hand and fed the Spirit Feeding Pill to it with the other.

Immediately, the small golden hamster bared its two teeth and began gnawing on the Medicinal Pill, happily squeaking.

While in the Spirit Beast Pouch, Lu Changsheng would often forget about it when he was busy, causing it to go hungry every now and then.

This led it to know that it needed to eat the Spirit Feeding Pills sparingly.

Today, with an extra meal, it was naturally very happy.

“Daddy, look.”

After a while, Xiao Zhu’er watched the Earth Spirit Rat hug the Medicinal Pill and gnaw on it by itself, her small mouth opening into an ‘O’ shape in surprise as she called out to Lu Changsheng.

“Xiao Zhu’er, do you like this little rat?”

Lu Changsheng asked his daughter.

If his daughter said she liked it, he would give this Earth Spirit Rat to Xiao Zhu’er.

Anyway, this Earth Spirit Rat was just on him, so it might as well be a playmate for his daughter.

His daughter was mostly on Qingzhu Mountain, only occasionally coming to Hongye Valley Market a few times.

There was no risk of her being targeted by Meng Yibai’s False Core elder.

After all, if the other party could really track her through an Earth Spirit Rat, they would have done so long ago.

Moreover, while Earth Spirit Rats were rare, they weren’t so precious that seeing one would make people overthink.

“Daddy, I like it.”

Xiao Zhu’er looked at the Earth Spirit Rat in her hand, then at Lu Changsheng, her clear, bright eyes revealing her fondness.

“In that case, Daddy will give this little rat to Xiao Zhu’er.”

Lu Changsheng said with a smile.

“Oh, thank you, Daddy.”

Xiao Zhu’er’s small face lit up with joy upon hearing this.

Then she put down the hamster in her hand, stood up, and stretched out her two small hands towards Lu Changsheng.

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng picked up his daughter.

“Mwah!”

After being picked up, Xiao Zhu’er immediately gave her Daddy a big kiss on the cheek.

She knew her Daddy loved it most when she kissed his cheek to show affection.

So she also kissed Lu Changsheng to show her affection.

“Hahaha, so well-behaved, mwah.”

Lu Changsheng laughed heartily, then immediately nibbled his daughter’s chubby cheeks twice.

“Changsheng, you’re back.”

“What’s making you so happy?”

At this moment, the door to the Talismans room opened.

Lu Miaoge, in a snow-white dress with a clear and gentle face, walked out.

Seeing the father and daughter so happy, a smile also appeared on her beautiful face as she spoke.

“Hehe, seeing my precious daughter and precious wife naturally makes me happy.”

Lu Changsheng said with a smile.

“You’re a father now, and still so glib.”

Lu Miaoge, hearing this, rolled her beautiful eyes at Lu Changsheng and smiled charmingly.

“Oh, Mommy, ratty.”

At this moment, Xiao Zhu’er, in Lu Changsheng’s arms, pointed at the Earth Spirit Rat that had finished gnawing on the Spirit Feeding Pill nearby, and called out to Lu Miaoge.

“Ratty?”

Lu Miaoge turned her head and immediately saw the Earth Spirit Rat.

She examined it for a few moments, then looked at Lu Changsheng, asking in surprise: “This is… a Soul Search Rat?”

In the Cultivation World, there were many Spirit Beasts with treasure-hunting abilities.

Rats were especially numerous in this regard.

Because their appearances were similar, it was difficult to distinguish them in detail.

Many people collectively referred to these rat-type Spirit Beasts with treasure-hunting Bloodline as Soul Search Rats.

“That’s right, it’s a Soul Search Rat.”

“I saw this Soul Search Rat at a stall before and thought of buying it to search for treasures in the future, but then I realized I don’t really go out much normally.”

“Just now, I saw Xiao Zhu’er liked this kind of hamster, so I’ll let her have it as a playmate.”

Lu Changsheng nodded, not hiding anything.

After all, Spirit Rats with Soul Search Rat Bloodline were very easy to recognize, most of them having golden fur and being palm-sized.

“This is too wasteful! How can you spoil your daughter like this, giving a Soul Search Rat to your daughter as a playmate?”

Lu Miaoge said reproachfully upon hearing this.

Although Soul Search Rats had no combat ability.

But just this treasure-hunting effect made many Family forces flock to them.

Therefore, Spirit Beasts with treasure-hunting abilities were generally quite valuable.

Although she didn’t know how many Spirit Stones Lu Changsheng spent, she still felt it was too wasteful.

“As long as Xiao Zhu’er likes it, that’s enough.”

“When Xiao Zhu’er grows up and starts to Cultivate, maybe she’ll take this Soul Search Rat and find some treasure.”

Lu Changsheng said with a smile.

Qingzhu Mountain had a Spiritual Root testing ceremony every year.

Xiao Zhu’er was tested to have a 7th Grade Spiritual Root at this year’s Spiritual Root testing ceremony.

This made Lu Yuanding and Lu Miaoge breathe a sigh of relief.

They were afraid that this child would not have a Spiritual Root and would have to be sent to the secular world.

Lu Qingshan naturally also had his Spiritual Root Aptitude tested.

But it should be that Qingzhu Mountain’s Spiritual Root testing crystal was too poor, only able to detect Spiritual Roots.

It did not detect Lu Qingshan’s Geng Metal Body.

Regarding this, Lu Changsheng guessed that, besides the poor Spiritual Root testing crystal, it was also because Lu Qingshan’s Geng Metal Body was still growing and developing.

“Just spoil her then.”

Lu Miaoge smiled and shook her head, no longer saying anything more.

Since her husband gave it to their daughter as a playmate, she, as a mother, naturally couldn’t say no.

Moreover, when Xiao Zhu’er grew up, she might really be able to rely on the Soul Search Rat to find some treasure.

“Mommy.”

Xiao Zhu’er again pointed at the Earth Spirit Rat and called out to her mother.

“Oh, what a cute ratty, Xiao Zhu’er, do you like it?”

Lu Miaoge, seeing this, immediately stepped forward with a gentle smile.

She also picked up this Earth Spirit Rat and examined it for a few moments.

She wanted to see if it was a Gold-Seeking Rat with a mid-tier Bloodline or a Spirit-Seeking Rat with a High Grade Bloodline.

“I like it.”

Xiao Zhu’er said in a childish voice.

“If you like it, then Xiao Zhu’er must take good care of it, okay?”

Lu Miaoge said to her daughter.

“Oh.”

Xiao Zhu’er nodded vigorously.

After chatting with her daughter for a few moments, Lu Miaoge let Lu Changsheng watch her.

She went to deliver the Talismans she had just finished drawing.

Lu Changsheng just watched his daughter hold the little hamster and look at it, handing her a bottle of Spirit Feeding Pills and letting her feed it for fun.

Before long, Lu Miaoge returned.

She looked at her well-behaved and quiet daughter, and chatted idly with Lu Changsheng.

“Changsheng, how familiar are you with the Thunder Fire Talisman now?”

At this moment, Lu Miaoge asked.

“I already have about 40 to 50 percent certainty.”

Lu Changsheng said.

“That fast!”

Lu Miaoge, hearing this, showed surprise and delight on her face.

This Talismans success rate was certainly not low.

After all, a Low Grade Second-Order Talisman had roughly twenty times the profit.

A Talismans success rate of one or two tenths was usually enough to make money.

Of course, this was assuming one didn’t count the accumulated practice over days.

Like Lu Miaoge, who was currently practicing Second-Order Talismans, she only practiced once a day when she was in her best state.

After all, the practice cost of over twenty Spirit Stones was truly heartbreaking.

Even though Lu’s Family Talismans paper was made from their own Jade Spirit Bamboo, at cost price, it was still heartbreaking.

“It’s alright, isn’t it? It’s just a little progress each month.”

Lu Changsheng said with a smile.

“Who can make progress every month?”

Lu Miaoge felt a bit deflated by her husband’s words.

Something like Talismans making was similar to Cultivation.

Many times, it was like encountering a Bottleneck, making it difficult to advance an inch for a lifetime.

If one’s mindset even went wrong, their Talismans Dao might not only fail to progress but even regress.

The Talismans that could originally be drawn would become worse and worse.

“Hehe, well, I am.”

Lu Changsheng said with a smile.

“Yes, yes, yes, my husband is the most amazing.”

Lu Miaoge’s face showed a doting smile.

Then she asked: “Oh, by the way, Changsheng, when are you planning to hold your Second-Order Talisman Master ceremony?”

“In a few months, I suppose. After my Talismans success rate goes up a bit more, and I get familiar with a few other types of Talismans, I’ll notify the Family Head then.”

Lu Changsheng mused slightly.

In his opinion, after holding this ceremony, he would definitely be busy for a while.

Xiao Xiyue was almost four months away from giving birth.

If he notified the Lu Family now, it would take about one or two months for the Lu Family to prepare, send invitations, and hold the ceremony, and the timing might clash.

So he planned to hold this ceremony after Xiao Xiyue had given birth.

Lu Miaoge nodded.

She knew that Talismans Dao was about drawing inferences from one instance to others; once familiar with one type of Talisman, it would be much quicker to pick up other types.

She thought to herself that her husband was truly meticulous in his actions.

Even for holding a ceremony, he had to be fully prepared.

This was also thanks to her husband’s extraordinary talent and rapid progress in the Talismans Dao.

Otherwise, for someone else wanting to do this, it would probably take three to five years, or even longer, of arduous effort.