Chapter 381: True Man Qingluan was seriously injured again!

Lu Changsheng was unaware of the events concerning his son at White Tiger Mountain.

He was still in the process of breaking through to the ninth layer of the Hundred Refinement Treasure Body Art.

“Boom, boom, boom—”

Inside Changsheng Hall, Lu Changsheng sat motionless, his entire being like a flawless immortal jade, radiant and shimmering with precious light.

His internal organs vibrated constantly, clanging like metal. His breathing sounded like rolling thunder, stirring up terrifying energy around him, like surging waves crashing against the shore.

His flesh, bones, and internal organs were all undergoing a transformation, a complete metamorphosis, shattering and being reborn.

After an unknown amount of time, the light around Lu Changsheng gradually receded.

Vitality no longer flowed through his body. His breathing was weak, and his heart, blood, and internal organs seemed to have stopped functioning.

This was the moment when his flesh, organs, and bones reached their limit, poised to gain new life from death and complete the final transformation!

Just like that, Lu Changsheng sat motionless, like a piece of withered wood, his breathing ceased.

His originally translucent skin withered and became lifeless at a visible speed.

Time passed little by little.

Lu Changsheng seemed to have entered Nirvana, his physical body decaying and weakening.

But just as his vitality completely died out and reached its end, in that instant, his entire being was like vegetation that had endured harsh winter snows, bursting forth with new life!

“Thump!”

Lu Changsheng’s heart began to beat.

The faint heartbeat grew louder and stronger, gradually becoming powerful and resonant, like the drumming of gods and demons.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—”

At this moment, his vital energy and blood also began to recover, surging and flowing along with the sound of his heart.

His bright red blood, shimmering with a crystal-clear luster, surged and roared through his limbs and body like great rivers, flushing through his flesh, meridians, bones, and internal organs.

After an unknown period, Lu Changsheng completed his transformation and opened his eyes.

His body was pure and flawless, like immortal gold and jade, sacred and radiant, without the slightest blemish.

“So this is third-level body refinement…”

Lu Changsheng felt the surging divine power throughout his body and murmured to himself.

The transition from the eighth to the ninth layer of the Hundred Refinement Treasure Body Art was a qualitative change.

At this moment, his physical body was on a completely different level than before.

If he were to encounter a False Core True Person like the Old Ancestor Xu again, he wouldn’t need the Nine Treasures Ruyi Bone; a single punch would be enough to kill them.

He could even try to directly withstand the opponent’s magic treasures with his bare hands if they attacked him.

As for spirit artifacts or magic treasure embryos, he could just smash them directly!

Because his physical body was the most powerful humanoid weapon, comparable to a magic treasure!

“However, this ninth layer of the Hundred Refinement Treasure Body Art is much harder than I imagined. I’ll have to tell Ping’an to be more careful when the time comes.”

Lu Changsheng thought about the process of his breakthrough earlier.

His Hundred Refinement Treasure Body Art had reached the peak of the eighth layer a long time ago.

He had just been accumulating his foundation, waiting until his physical body could advance no further before attempting to break through to the ninth layer.

But even so, he felt the process was extremely dangerous; a single mistake could lead to failure.

If he failed the breakthrough, although it wouldn’t result in death, his physical body would be damaged, and his vital energy would be severely depleted.

“I wonder if I can put up a fight against her now…”

Lu Changsheng clenched his fist, causing the space around it to slightly distort and collapse, thinking of his ‘female knight’, True Person Caiyun Yun Wanshang.

Among all the cultivators he had encountered so far, the strongest was this True Person Caiyun.

He had been completely powerless against her.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Changsheng came to a conclusion.

Unless he launched a sneak attack when she was completely unprepared.

Otherwise, he would absolutely not be a match for this True Person Caiyun.

Because she had appeared beside him silently and bound his divine sense and magic power with a raise of her hand, such strength was simply not something an ordinary Core Formation True Person possessed.

At least a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, or even a late-stage Core Formation cultivator!

“Only by enduring hardship can one rise above others. What is this little bit of suffering?”

Lu Changsheng didn’t dwell too much on Yun Wanshang’s matter.

He was just ‘ridden’, that’s all.

Although it was a bit depressing, it wasn’t a big deal.

He’d just consider it giving the mother of his future child some ‘pregnancy luck’ in advance.

When his strength improved, he, Lu, would tell her that his Yin-Yang Qi was not something easily taken; only the mother of his child could use it.

Lu Changsheng cast a cleaning spell on himself, straightened his robe a little, and walked out of his cave abode.

“It seems this Heavenly Origin Treasure King Lotus will have to be used later…”

Seeing the Heavenly Origin Treasure King Lotus in the Spirit Eye Spring, Lu Changsheng thought to himself.

He had previously planned to pick the Heavenly Origin Treasure King Lotus when he reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and use it as his second dantian to cultivate the Yin-Yang Core Formation Method.

But the origin of this Heavenly Origin Treasure King Lotus was not clean.

If he used it now, it would be difficult to explain if Yun Wanshang noticed it.

Although she didn’t bear him ill will.

But it’s always wise to be cautious of others!

He couldn’t unconditionally trust her just because they had a relationship, like he did with Xiao Xiyue.

“However, now that my body refinement has broken through to the third level, I can also make a trip to the Myriad Beast Mountain Range…”

Lu Changsheng looked at the Heavenly Origin Treasure King Lotus before him and mused inwardly.

His trip to the Myriad Beast Mountain Range wasn’t to hunt demon kings, refine Blood Soul Spiritual Light, or awaken the Taiyi Soul Body.

Instead, he planned to go to the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, intercept the origins of a few spirit veins, and bring them back to nourish his cave abode’s spirit vein.

While cultivating the spirit vein to the third level might be difficult, there was hope of cultivating it to the peak of the second level.

In that case, with the Core condensed by the ‘Yin-Yang Core Formation Method’, Jade Lake Mountain’s high-grade second-level spirit vein, supplemented by the Spirit Eye Spring, Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus, and spirit gathering arrays, it would be enough for him to attempt Core Formation!

“When things with Yun Wanshang are more or less settled, I can have Zixiao come with me.”

“With my current strength, going to the Myriad Beast Mountain Range and only looking for second-level spirit veins shouldn’t be too dangerous…”

Lu Changsheng pondered, planning to go with Ling Zixiao later.

Because someone would be needed to guard him during the process of intercepting the spirit veins.

And Ling Zixiao was proficient in array formations, making her very reliable for this kind of task.

When Lu Changsheng walked out of the Sumeru Cave Abode and arrived at the Lu Family Manor, he only then realized that his breakthrough had taken half a year.

Not long after he entered seclusion, the incident with Lu Ping’an at White Tiger Mountain occurred.

“Since the ceremony is already prepared, then let’s just send out the invitations,”

Lu Changsheng said directly upon hearing this, not minding that Lu Ping’an’s cultivation level had been exposed.

Even without this incident, he had planned to hold a Foundation Establishment ceremony for Lu Ping’an within the next two years.

Afterwards, Lu Changsheng asked if there were any other matters in the family.

Lu Miaoyun said there were no major issues in the family, but there was news from Azure Luan Immortal City that True Person Azure Luan was seriously injured again.

“Injured again?”

Lu Changsheng was a bit speechless.

He had heard the news of True Person Azure Luan being seriously injured three or four times already.

And each time, it turned out to be false news.

“This time, the news is likely true.”

“Because there are rumors that a False Core True Person in Azure Luan Immortal City was killed, and True Person Azure Luan did not show up.”

“Afterwards, some forces, in order to test the truth, ambushed and killed several Foundation Establishment cultivators from Azure Luan Immortal City, and True Person Azure Luan still did not appear to suppress the situation.”

“Now the public order of the entire Azure Luan Immortal City has also been affected, causing widespread panic, and many cultivators are leaving the city.”

Lu Miaoyun spoke out, saying this.

“A False Core True Person and several Foundation Establishment cultivators killed…”

Lu Changsheng was a little surprised to hear this.

Such casualties were quite severe, amounting to a blatant provocation!

Back then, when a False Core Old Ancestor of the Beast Taming Xu Family died, the Old Ancestor Xu directly went to the Five Elements Wang Family to assert dominance.

Now that such a situation had occurred in Azure Luan Immortal City, True Person Azure Luan had consistently failed to appear and calm the people, which was clearly problematic.

If True Person Azure Luan continued not to show up, and this matter was thoroughly confirmed, the flow of people in Azure Luan Immortal City would definitely decline rapidly.

After all, for Azure Luan Immortal City to become a holy land for rogue cultivators, besides its environmental advantages, it was inseparable from the formidable reputation of True Person Azure Luan, the foremost rogue cultivator in Jiang Country!

“Well, it’s hard to confirm the truth of this news, but the public order in Azure Luan Immortal City has indeed become problematic.”

“I heard that rogue cultivators are rampant around Azure Luan Immortal City now, and there have even been armed brawls in the outer city…”

Lu Miaoyun spoke.

Although Azure Luan Immortal City was very far from Jade Lake Mountain and wouldn’t affect this area.

But this kind of thing made people feel like the cultivation world of Jiang Country was about to become turbulent again.

“Is there any news from Feiyu?”

Lu Changsheng thought of his friend who held a position in Azure Luan Immortal City.

He had kept in touch with Li Feiyu over the years, and the latter had always used the Azure Cloud Spirit Ship to help him deliver some spiritual materials.

Now that such an incident had occurred in Azure Luan Immortal City, his friend would likely be affected.

“No.”

Lu Miaoyun shook her head, indicating she had not received any relevant letters from Li Feiyu.

“If something like this really happened in Azure Luan Immortal City, Feiyu wouldn’t dare to mention it in a letter, even if he knew…”

Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression thoughtful.

With such an incident happening in Azure Luan Immortal City, many forces would certainly be paying attention.

Even letters from the immortal city might be intercepted by other forces.

Cultivators like Li Feiyu, who held important positions in Azure Luan Immortal City, were even more likely to be targets of attention.

After pondering for a moment, he wrote a letter, telling Li Feiyu to be more careful and to come back and visit if the immortal city became unstable.

“However, knowing Feiyu’s personality, even if something truly went wrong in Azure Luan Immortal City, he wouldn’t run away immediately…”

Lu Changsheng shook his head, thinking to himself.

He felt that given his good brother’s character, he would probably only consider running away when Azure Luan Immortal City was completely unsalvageable.

Golden Dragon Ridge, Jin Family.

“Although this Lu Ping’an is formidable, as long as the Old Ancestor makes a move, he can definitely be killed.”

“Exactly. Once this Lu Ping’an dies, the Lu family’s ceremony will turn into a funeral, and Lu Changsheng will definitely be heartbroken.”

“Even if we can’t kill Lu Ping’an, crippling him will still disgust the Lu family for decades.”

In the Jin Family’s council hall, several Jin family high-ranking members heard about the Jade Lake Mountain Foundation Establishment ceremony and planned to ambush and kill Lu Ping’an while he was traveling from White Tiger Mountain to Jade Lake Mountain.

After all, what family forces feared most was a lack of successors, with no one to carry on the legacy.

Many family forces suffered from generational gaps, not because they hadn’t produced a Foundation Establishment seed for decades.

But because the seeds died prematurely during their growth.

“That’s not appropriate. If something happens to Lu Ping’an at this time, Jade Lake Mountain will definitely suspect our family.”

“Although we don’t fear their Jade Lake Mountain, the Great Elder is currently breaking through to False Core in the immortal city, so there’s no need to take this risk.”

“As long as the Great Elder successfully breaks through, no matter how capable the Lu couple is, they won’t be a match for our Jin family.”

One of the Jin family high-ranking members shook his head and said.

“That’s right, this Lu Changsheng is not simple. Even his Qi Refining son has a talisman treasure. This Lu Ping’an definitely has life-saving means. If we fail to kill him, it will be very troublesome.”

Another Jin family high-ranking member spoke up.

They had been paying attention to the situation at Jade Lake Mountain over the years.

They strongly suspected that the opportunity Lu Changsheng obtained was not simple, possibly the entire legacy of a Core Formation True Person!

Otherwise, even if Lu Changsheng was a top-tier second-level talisman master, a second-level alchemist, and the family’s puppet business was booming, he couldn’t possibly have so much wealth and treasure!

“Everything waits until the Great Elder breaks through. Moreover, the news about Lu Ping’an and Lu Qingshan has already reached the Beast Taming Xu Family.”

“That Third Ancestor of the Xu family didn’t attack the Lu couple back then, but now seeing the situation at Jade Lake Mountain like this, it’s absolutely impossible for him to just watch Jade Lake Mountain grow. He will likely make a move against the Lu family.”

The Jin family head listened to their words, pondered for a long time, and then decided.

Their Jin family was currently at a crucial juncture.

As long as the Great Elder Jin Zan successfully broke through, the family’s stalemate would naturally be resolved, allowing them to advance further!

A month and a half later.

Lu Ping’an’s Foundation Establishment ceremony began.

This ceremony was held at Jade Lake Mountain. As the first Foundation Establishment ceremony for the Lu family’s second generation, it was quite grand and lively.

“Greetings, Young Master Lu!”

“Indeed, a tiger father has no weak sons! Congratulations, Old Ancestor Lu!”

“Old Ancestor Lu is skilled in raising children.”

“May I ask if Young Master Lu is married? My daughter…”

At Jade Cloud Mountain Villa, many Foundation Establishment Old Ancestors came to offer congratulations, looking at Lu Ping’an beside Lu Changsheng and Lu Lanshu, their hearts filled with emotion and envy.

Lu Lanshu, seated in the main seat, watched this scene, seeing her son, feeling as if she was dreaming.

She had waited for this day for too long.

Even though she had known early on that her son had broken through to Foundation Establishment and that the family would hold a ceremony.

But seeing her son being the focus of so many people’s attention at this moment, her eyes still turned red, and she wept with joy.

“Hehe…”

Lu Changsheng brought his son Lu Ping’an and exchanged pleasantries with these Foundation Establishment Old Ancestors.

He stated that his family still adhered to the policy of prioritizing harmony in all matters and asked everyone to rest assured.

As for cooperation and marriage alliances, his Jade Lake Mountain was very willing.

Afterwards, he and Lu Lanshu brought Lu Ping’an outside the villa to exchange simple pleasantries with other Qi Refining cultivators, also allowing these family forces to get to know Lu Ping’an.

“Congratulations, Big Brother, congratulations, Uncle!”

“Congratulations, Cousin Ping’an!”

The Lu family disciples from Jade Lake Mountain and Green Bamboo Mountain were the most excited, offering congratulations to Lu Ping’an one after another.

During this time, many female cultivators from smaller families looked at Lu Ping’an, and then shyly and timidly looked at Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng naturally saw these gazes, but he had no thoughts of taking concubines.

Or rather, these ordinary Qi Refining female cultivators with average spiritual roots no longer caught the eye of Old Ancestor Lu.

As for Lu Ping’an, he didn’t feel anything towards these gazes.

Just like that, the ceremony lasted for three days and ended, and the guests dispersed.

Lu Ping’an and Lu Qingsong returned to White Tiger Mountain to oversee things.

During this period, the Dragon Light Merchant Association and Golden Dragon Ridge made no moves.

The Jin family even sent a gift during the ceremony.

But Lu Changsheng always felt that the Jin family couldn’t have any good intentions and couldn’t just pretend nothing had happened.

“Buzz!”

That day, Lu Changsheng felt something and a jade slip appeared in his hand.

He knew this was Yun Wanshang sending him a message, indicating for him to go and assist her cultivation.

Although Lu Changsheng was quite open-minded about this matter.

But thinking that he, the dignified Old Ancestor Lu, had to proactively offer himself up, be blindfolded, and have his divine sense ‘ridden’, he still felt somewhat stifled.

“Should I struggle a bit during the process?”

Lu Changsheng thought to himself.

He felt that if he went all out, he might be able to break free from the restraint.

And then take advantage of her weakened state…

“Forget it, this is the main plot of the first arc. A normal Core Formation cultivator shouldn’t be this weak…”

Lu Changsheng shook his head.

“Only by enduring hardship can one rise above others!”

“Isn’t this also a form of cultivation, a kind of tempering!”

Lu Changsheng’s thoughts became clear. After telling his family, he went out to meet the appointment.

However, before leaving, he still used the Nine Treasures Ruyi Bone to seal his cultivation to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment level.

Although he wasn’t sure if Yun Wanshang had seen through his cultivation level, it was better to conceal such things if possible.