Chapter 174: Increase revenue and reduce expenditure, Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Sutra!

Three months later.

Hongye Valley Market, within the Immortal Cave area.

Lu Changsheng circulated the ‘Seven Luminaries Great Freedom Sword Scripture’, with seven Sword Qi coiling around his body, ethereal and sharp, fluctuating unstably, causing his robes to flutter wildly.

As Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi continuously swept in, the Sword Qi around his body became even sharper, forming a powerful Spiritual Pressure.

“Boom!”

With a rumbling sound from within his body, the Spiritual Pressure gradually dissipated.

“Three years and seven months, Foundation Establishment Second Layer.”

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes, a faint smile gracing the corner of his lips.

He then used his Divine Sense to inspect his condition after the Breakthrough.

His Dantian Qi Sea had expanded once again, capable of holding more liquid magic power.

His Divine Sense also had a small improvement with the Breakthrough of his cultivation.

However, due to the Purple Mansion Pill, his Divine Sense had already increased to one hundred and fifty zhang, and this Breakthrough only increased it by about seven or eight zhang.

“I wonder when I’ll be able to draw an Alchemy skill through the System.”

“Otherwise, if this continues, the Medicinal Pills of the Qi Refinement Stage will be almost useless to me, with minimal effect.”

Lu Changsheng glanced at the empty Qi Gathering Pill bottle beside him and let out a light breath.

In large markets like Qingyun Town, with big shops like Qingyun Chamber of Commerce and Dan Ding Pavilion, if one was willing to spend money, they could still buy some Medicinal Pills that increase Foundation Establishment cultivation.

But in markets like Hongye Valley, it was difficult.

Even the supply of Medicinal Pills that increase Late Stage Qi Refinement cultivation was limited.

Otherwise, with the Seven Luminaries Heart Lamp refining Medicinal Pill toxins and burning magic power, his Cultivate speed could be twice as fast.

Without much thought, after slightly calming his magic power, Lu Changsheng flicked a ‘Cleanse Art’ at himself.

He cleaned up the slight dirt and dust brought by the cultivation Breakthrough and marrow cleansing, feeling refreshed as he walked out of the cultivation room.

“Congratulations, Lu Lang, on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer!”

In the living room, Xiao Xiyue looked at Lu Changsheng, her beautiful face revealing a gentle smile.

Nine months of pregnancy had caused her lower abdomen to swell high.

But this did not diminish her beauty.

Instead, it added a touch of plumpness and roundness of a young married woman to her entire being.

Her icy, jade-like skin and pure, sacred face gradually exuded a moving maternal charm over time.

Turning her original coldness into a gentle beauty.

Every gesture revealed a sacred and pure beauty.

“It’s just a minor Breakthrough.”

“If not for this little one, Xiao Xiyue, you would be close to breaking through as well.”

Lu Changsheng looked at Xiao Xiyue in front of him and said gently.

“Even without this little one, I wouldn’t have broken through to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer so quickly.”

Xiao Xiyue touched her lower abdomen and said softly.

Although she and Lu Changsheng Dual Cultivation, her cultivation progressed rapidly.

But after each Dual Cultivation, she had to spend time consolidating her cultivation Foundation.

Unlike Lu Changsheng, who had the Seven Luminaries Heart Lamp constantly burning magic power and refining his Foundation.

Moreover, besides Cultivate, she also had to set aside time each day to Cultivate magical arts and Divine Ability.

So, she was quite surprised by Lu Changsheng’s rapid Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer.

After all, in her daily interactions with Lu Changsheng, she knew that Lu Changsheng only spent two or three hours a day on Cultivate.

Lu Changsheng’s methods when facing the two Foundation Establishment Robber Cultivators previously made her instinctively believe that Lu Changsheng had spent a lot of time Cultivating Divine Ability and magical arts.

Otherwise, how could he possess such Divine Ability methods?

Having to accompany his wives and daughters, Cultivate Divine Ability and magical arts, and also divide his attention to Talismans.

Under these circumstances, his cultivation still progressed so quickly, naturally surprised her.

However, she did not ask further, knowing that Lu Changsheng held a great secret, possessing some rare Spiritual Body, or even a Dao Body.

Otherwise, a Nine-Rank Spiritual Root could never have such Cultivate speed.

“You’ve worked hard, Xiao Xiyue.”

Lu Changsheng sat beside her and said gently.

His palm gently stroked Xiao Xiyue’s swollen, fair, and soft belly.

“It’s not hard. For me, this is also a form of cultivation, a kind of experience.”

Xiao Xiyue gently shook her head and said.

After becoming pregnant, she clearly realized that her state of mind had changed.

This gave her new insights and understanding of the Supreme Emotion Severing Art.

She believed that this was also the bustling Mortal World, a myriad of life, a form of cultivation, an experience.

Lu Changsheng’s mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this.

He thought to himself that this Supreme Emotion Severing Art truly made people think of Cultivate at all times, no matter what they were doing.

After chatting with Xiao Xiyue for a while, Lu Changsheng said that he was returning to Qingzhu Mountain.

Although Xiao Xiyue was pregnant, he spent more time and energy here.

But he couldn’t just leave Qingzhu Mountain and Ruyi County unattended.

He would still return once every one or two months to handle trivial matters, care for his wives and children, and make babies.

Currently, the total number of his children had reached one hundred and forty-six.

Upon returning to Qingzhu Mountain, Lu Changsheng routinely inquired about the cultivation progress of his children and Bai Ling.

His son, Lu Xianzhi, was still at the Lianqi Third Layer due to the Bottleneck of the Middle Stage Qi Refinement.

Lu Changsheng did not give him a Breakthrough Pill.

He let him slowly break through through grinding.

After all, taking a Breakthrough Pill at this stage would inevitably have a certain impact on his future.

Although a Nine-Rank Spiritual Root basically has no future potential, in Lu Changsheng’s opinion, if he can break through on his own, he should try to do so, and there’s no rush for the time being.

Lu Quanzhen had also broken through to the Lianqi Third Layer.

His daughters, Lu Ruyi and Lu Yun, were at the Lianqi Second Layer.

As for Bai Ling, she had already broken through to the Lianqi Fourth Layer.

She was estimated to break through to the Lianqi Fifth Layer in a while.

This speed made Lu Changsheng click his tongue in wonder.

In just three years, Lu Changsheng had not given her any Medicinal Pills, yet she cultivated to the Lianqi Fourth Layer and was about to break through to the Lianqi Fifth Layer.

This speed was completely comparable to Xiao Xiyue’s back then, and even surpassed her.

Subsequently, Lu Changsheng also inquired about the situation of his other children.

His fifth child with a Spiritual Root was also twelve years old and had started to Cultivate.

But he had not yet completed the Qi Introduction into the Body.

“Starting next year, the number of my children who can Cultivate will also see a small surge.”

Lu Changsheng spent a day inquiring about all his children.

He knew that in the next four years, he would have fifteen children with Spiritual Roots embarking on the path of Immortality.

This was thanks to his frantic sowing when he first arrived at Nine Dragon Market.

In just five years, he had sixty children.

On average, one child per month.

If it weren’t for the persuasion of the Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and others, who advised him to pay attention to his body and exercise some restraint, that number might have been even higher.

“Nine Dragons Market.”

Lu Changsheng recalled his days in Nine Dragon Market, buying maids from Baiyu Tower.

“I feel like it’s time to pick some more maids.”

He couldn’t help but ponder in his heart.

Among his current wives and maids, except for Lu Miaoge who only had one child, and Lu Miaohuan who had two, all the others had at least three or four.

Several of the concubines had even had five or six children.

In Lu Changsheng’s opinion, this number was almost enough.

Although the bought maids had no human rights.

But one couldn’t completely treat them as breeding machines.

By putting himself in their shoes, these concubines would be devoted to him.

Otherwise, when the children grew up and saw their mothers in such a state, they would feel uncomfortable.

“If I want to cut expenses, I naturally have to increase income, which means increasing the number of maids.”

“Moreover, I am now wealthy, and I can go to Baiyu Tower to purchase a few Medium Grade Spiritual Root, or even High Grade Spiritual Root maids.”

Lu Changsheng pondered slightly in his heart, deciding to visit Baiyu Tower in Nine Dragon Market when he had time later.

It wasn’t just about increasing income and cutting expenses.

All of his current maids were Low Grade Spiritual Root.

This had a certain impact on the Spiritual Root talent of the children they bore.

Now that conditions had improved, he also needed to further improve in terms of eugenics.

After all, the higher the Spiritual Root of both parents, the better the Spiritual Root of the child born.

After staying in Qingzhu Mountain for ten days, Lu Changsheng prepared to return to Hongye Valley Market.

“Boom!”

Just then, a relatively concentrated cultivation surged into Lu Changsheng’s body out of thin air.

He immediately knew that his son, Lu Xianzhi, had broken through the Bottleneck of the Middle Stage Qi Refinement.

He had entered the Lianqi Fourth Layer.

“Lianqi Fourth Layer, if we don’t count the quality of spiritual power and magic power, it’s roughly one percent of my current cultivation.”

“It’s equivalent to saving me a month and a half of arduous cultivation.”

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes and felt this cultivation strength, roughly estimating in his heart.

“If calculated this way, one hundred Lianqi Fourth Layer Cultivators would be enough to compare to one Foundation Establishment.”

“However, the difference in the quality of magic power allows a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to easily slaughter a hundred Middle Stage Qi Refinement Cultivators.”

Lu Changsheng gently shook his head, knowing that it couldn’t be calculated this way.

“However, the Middle Stage Qi Refinement at least gives me some feeling.”

“Like before, when I introduced Qi into my body and broke through to the Lianqi Second Layer and Third Layer, I didn’t feel anything.”

“Now that I’m at the Foundation Establishment cultivation, if I want my children to have a feedback effect on me, they still need to reach the Late Stage Qi Refinement.”

“But to wait for my children to cultivate to the Late Stage Qi Refinement, it will probably take another ten to twenty years.”

Lu Changsheng took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

He felt that the road was long and arduous.

After all, except for Lu Qingshan and his son Lu Qingxuan, who previously had a Fourth Grade Spiritual Root, the Spiritual Roots of his current children were indeed average.

Only two had six-rank Medium Grade Spiritual Roots.

The others were all Low Grade Spiritual Roots.

“But as I suspected, there’s no achievement reward for my child breaking through to the Middle Stage Qi Refinement.”

“Will this cultivation-related achievement reward only trigger again when they break through to Foundation Establishment?”

“If so, that’s too difficult.”

Lu Changsheng shook his head silently when he didn’t hear a System prompt.

Although he had anticipated this, he still had a small expectation.

He wanted to see if his child breaking through to the Middle Stage Qi Refinement would trigger an achievement reward.

“Xianzhi is also fifteen or sixteen years old. Now that he has broken through to the Middle Stage Qi Refinement, he can be sent to Hongye Valley Market for some experience.”

Seeing Lu Xianzhi break through to the Middle Stage Qi Refinement, Lu Changsheng also remembered that this son was no longer young.

He planned to let him go out to broaden his horizons and gain some experience.

After all, flowers don’t grow in a greenhouse.

These children were all the cornerstones of his future.

They would be needed to manage the Family when it was established later.

Even if their Spiritual Roots were average, they still needed to be well-cultivated.

Immediately, Lu Changsheng walked towards Lu Xianzhi’s small courtyard.

“Father, I’ve broken through to the Middle Stage Qi Refinement.”

At this moment, Lu Xianzhi happened to walk out of the small courtyard with a happy face.

Seeing Lu Changsheng, he immediately said joyfully.

“Not bad, much stronger than your Father back then.”

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng did not hesitate to praise him.

“How dare this child compare himself to you, Father.”

“Father, you relied on your own efforts and came step by step.”

“If this child didn’t have the resources and environment provided by you, Father, how could he break through to the Middle Stage Qi Refinement so quickly?”

Lu Xianzhi quickly said.

His Father’s praise, though it made him happy.

However, he was very clear that everything he had now was completely built upon his Father’s shoulders.

Through the teachings of his mother, the school, and his interactions with the Lu Family disciples, he also knew that many of the Lu Family disciples had conditions not as good as his siblings.

His Father used all his cultivation resources to support his children.

Especially since he only had a Nine-Rank Spiritual Root, which held little cultivation value, his Father still chose to treat everyone equally.

Therefore, Lu Xianzhi still held great admiration and respect for his Father.

“Haha, the reason Father works hard is to hope that your paths can be easier, and that you can go further than Father,” Lu Changsheng said, patting his son’s shoulder with a smile upon hearing his words.

He then continued, “Since you have broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, Father plans to take you to the Market to broaden your horizons and gain experience. What do you think?”

“This child will follow Father’s arrangements,” Lu Xianzhi immediately nodded in response.

After so many years on Qingzhu Mountain, he naturally yearned for the Cultivation World and wanted to go out and see it.

“Good, prepare yourself,” Lu Changsheng nodded.

“Tomorrow, you will accompany me to Hongye Valley Market.”

He told Lu Xianzhi to say goodbye to his family and friends.

“Congratulations, Brother Xianzhi.”

“Congratulations to Seventh Brother on breaking through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage.”

The other children in the garden, hearing that Lu Xianzhi had broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage and was going to be taken to Hongye Valley Market by Lu Changsheng, expressed their envy and congratulations.

Lu Miaoyun, Lu Miaohuan, Qu Zhenzhen, and the other concubines, upon hearing this news, all presented gifts and offered encouragement.

After all, as the first child in the Lu Family to break through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, it held a somewhat different significance and was worth celebrating.

In this situation, Lu Xianzhi also seemed to shoulder a sense of responsibility.

Although he was ranked seventh in the Lu Family.

However, Lu Ping’an and others who ranked before him had no Spiritual Roots and were all sent to the Mortal World.

Therefore, he was considered the eldest on Qingzhu Mountain and had a sense of responsibility as an elder brother.

After a small celebration, the next day, Lu Changsheng rode an Iron Feather Eagle, taking his son Lu Xianzhi to Hongye Valley Market.

He first brought Lu Xianzhi to the Lu Family Spirit Talisman Shop to see Lu Miaoge.

Although he planned to arrange Lu Xianzhi at Peace Talisman Hall.

But since he was here, he had to bring him to meet her.

If Lu Changsheng was not around, Lu Xianzhi could come to Lu Miaoge if he had any problems.

Now, in Hongye Valley Market, Lu Miaoge was also someone who had a say.

“Xianzhi, you can come to Auntie’s place more often when you have time,” Lu Miaoge said with a gentle expression.

She was much wealthier than Lu Changsheng’s other wives and concubines, so she gave Lu Xianzhi a Magical Artifact as a gift.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Lu Xianzhi rarely met Lu Miaoge, his aunt, and was not very close to her, feeling a bit restrained.

After receiving the gift, he respectfully bowed.

After a brief chat, Lu Changsheng took Lu Xianzhi to Peace Talisman Hall.

“Peace Talisman Hall, Father, is this our family’s shop?” Lu Xianzhi asked, looking at the shop in front of him.

He knew that besides having a hundred acres of Spiritual Fields on Qingzhu Mountain, his Father also owned a Lingfu Shop and an Immortal Cave in Hongye Valley Market.

The reason why his siblings and he enjoyed such favorable conditions was due to these hundred acres of Spiritual Fields, the shop, and the Immortal Cave.

“That’s right, this is our family’s Lingfu Shop,” Lu Changsheng nodded, “I’m not bringing you here to learn Talismans.”

“Rather, I want you to come here to broaden your horizons and understand the ins and outs of managing a shop and doing business.”

“Aren’t you interested in Puppets? Now that you’ve broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, you can spend some time on that.”

“If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask Father.”

“Once you become a Puppet Master, Father will open a shop for you.”

Lu Changsheng said to his son.

This son was not talented in Talismans, but he had some talent in the Dao of Puppets.

However, since he had just started cultivating, Lu Changsheng did not let him be distracted by Puppets.

Now that he had broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, Lu Changsheng was willing to let him spend some time on this aspect.

After all, the Dao of Puppets was also a relatively important part of his future, and someone needed to inherit it.

“Yes, Father!” Lu Xianzhi said, looking at the four characters ‘Peace Talisman Hall’ and pursing his lips, his eyes revealing determination.

“Boss.”

“Boss.”

As soon as the two entered the shop, the receptionist and the shopkeeper, Gao He, immediately greeted them respectfully.

“Xianzhi, this is your Uncle Gao,” Lu Changsheng introduced to Lu Xianzhi.

“Uncle Gao,” Lu Xianzhi immediately called out.

On the way here, Lu Changsheng had briefly explained the situation of the Lingfu Shop to him.

He knew that this man with a plump face and a somewhat aged appearance was the shopkeeper of this Lingfu Shop.

“Old Gao, this is my son, Lu Xianzhi.”

“I plan to have him work as an apprentice in the shop to broaden his horizons and understand how to manage a shop.”

“Please teach him more during this time; you don’t need to teach him about Talismans.”

Lu Changsheng looked at his old friend Gao He and said.

The two had known each other for over a decade and had been boss and employee for six years.

However, since Lu Changsheng had always been a hands-off boss, and Gao He usually managed the shop without any problems, their private relationship remained quite good.

“Alright, no problem,” Gao He said with a smile, hearing that it was the young master.

It was very common to have one’s children learn in the shop.

As long as Lu Xianzhi was not as unruly as a young master, he naturally would have no objections.

Moreover, having been a shopkeeper for so many years, he also had some discernment and could tell that Lu Xianzhi was not a mischievous person.

After settling Lu Xianzhi, Lu Changsheng left to check on Xiao Xiyue’s situation in the Immortal Cave area.

After all, according to the time, Xiao Xiyue was due to give birth this month.

Thinking that Xiao Xiyue’s child was about to be born, Lu Changsheng inevitably felt a sense of anticipation.

However, after waiting for a month, the child in Xiao Xiyue’s womb did not arrive as expected.

Lu Changsheng was not worried about this situation; instead, he showed a look of surprise.

Because generally, children who are born late are either problematic or naturally extraordinary, possessing excellent Spiritual Root quality.

As Foundation Establishment Cultivators, he and Xiao Xiyue could naturally detect the general condition of the child, and there were no problems with its vitality.

Therefore, it was highly probable that the child possessed excellent Spiritual Root quality, or even a Spiritual Body.

Just like that, Lu Changsheng quietly awaited the birth of this child.

Before the child was born, seven days later, a faint current of Qi, accompanied by a System prompt, sounded.

“Congratulations to the host! Five of your descendants have completed Qi Induction and stepped onto the Immortal Path, gaining the Bloodline effect: Increased probability of offspring having Spiritual Roots by 5%, and one lottery chance!”

“Hmm? Five? Ke Xin has completed Qi Induction.”

Through this current of Qi and the System prompt, Lu Changsheng knew that his fifth child with a Spiritual Root, Lu Kexin, had completed Qi Induction.

He was not surprised by this.

After all, by his calculations, Lu Kexin should have completed Qi Induction much earlier.

The fact that it was only completed now was slower than Lu Xianzhi and others before her.

He was just a little surprised that five children triggered the achievement lottery.

He had thought it would take ten.

“However, this improvement is good. If it continues like this, won’t most of my future descendants have Spiritual Roots?”

Lu Changsheng looked at the increased probability of offspring having Spiritual Roots and nodded slightly with joy.

After all, children were his Foundation.

“System, lottery,” Lu Changsheng exhaled softly and began the lottery.

A light red virtual lottery disk appeared, then quickly began the draw.

“Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Cultivation Technique ‘Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture’!”

“The reward has been issued to the System space; the host can view it at any time.”

A crystalline jade slip pattern appeared, accompanied by the System prompt.

“Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture?”

“Talisman Dao Legacy?”

Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow when he saw this Cultivation Technique, developing some interest.

The Cultivation World had a hundred arts of cultivation.

Each art was extremely profound and could evolve into a Dao.

Although he possessed a second-tier max-level Talismans skill.

It was merely the skill of simple various Talismans.

There was no profound Talisman Dao Legacy.

Or rather, this kind of profound skill Legacy was not only rare but also had extremely high cultivation thresholds.

In addition to certain requirements for Spiritual Roots, there were also requirements in other aspects.

For example, the Yu Ling Sect, one of the three great Immortal Sects of Jiang Country, on par with Qingyun Sect.

The Sect was famous for ‘Beast Taming’.

However, such a Sect not only looked at Spiritual Root talent but also at the compatibility between people and Spirit Beasts.

In the Immortal Sect assessment, even if you had a Low Grade Spiritual Root, if you had a natural affinity and compatibility with certain Spirit Beasts, you would still be admitted into the Sect.

“I remember that Jiang Country doesn’t have any Sects with Talisman Dao Legacy.”

“However, the neighboring Yue Country has a Sect called ‘Beast Talisman Sect’,” Lu Changsheng thought to himself.

“It is famous for its Talisman Dao, and its core Cultivation Technique, the Beast Talisman Scripture, can combine Yao Beasts and Talismans, with astonishing power.”

The Nanhua Cultivation World was vast, and Jiang Country was just a corner.

Through some notes and travelogues, Lu Changsheng knew that Jiang Country could only be considered a medium-sized country, and there were many other countries outside.

Each country would have different Legacies and Sects.

For example, although Jiang Country had a Beast Taming Sect like the Yu Ling Sect.

Because of Jiang Country’s hegemonic Sect, the Heaven Sword Sect.

When other countries’ Cultivation Worlds mentioned Jiang Country Cultivation World, the first thing they thought of was Sword Cultivators.

Lu Changsheng didn’t think much and looked at the System space to check the Cultivation Technique he had drawn.

“Cultivation Technique: Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture.”

“Grade: Orthodox.”

“Description: The core Cultivation Technique of the Mysterious Talisman Sect, containing ninety-nine special Spirit Runes. By visualizing Talismans to nourish the Spirit, one can achieve success in cultivation, allowing for Void Realm Talismans, refining Talismans into formations, and forging Talisman Soldiers. The great Dao is profound, and its power is endless.”

“This Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture truly lives up to its Orthodox grade; it’s comprehensive enough!” Lu Changsheng looked at the description of the Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture before him, feeling a pleasant surprise.

“System, Legacy!”

Immediately, with a slight movement of his mind, he used the Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture.

Instantly, the cultivation method of the Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture, its related content, all its essentials, and so on, poured into Lu Changsheng’s mind like a divine anointing.

Lu Changsheng stood still, immersing his mind in comprehending this Orthodox-grade Talisman Dao Legacy Cultivation Technique.