Chapter 172: Open Source Economy, Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture

Three months later.

In the Cave Dwelling area of Hongye Valley Marketplace.

Lu Changsheng practiced the “Seven Luminaries Great Freedom Sword Manual,” with seven sword beams swirling around him, sharp and elusive, causing his robe to flutter.

As the Qi continued to gather around him, the sword energy became more intense, forming a powerful spiritual pressure.

“Boom!”

With a loud noise inside him, the spiritual pressure gradually dissipated.

“Three years and seven months, Foundation Establishment Level Two.”

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.

Then, he used his Divine Sense to check his condition after the breakthrough.

His dantian and qi sea expanded again, able to hold more liquid Qi.

His Divine Sense also slightly improved with the breakthrough.

However, due to the Zifu Pill, his Divine Sense had already reached 150 feet, and this breakthrough only increased it by about seven or eight feet.

“I wonder when I can draw an alchemy skill from the system.”

“Otherwise, the pills for the Qi Refinement stage are almost useless to me, with minimal effect.”

Lu Changsheng glanced at the empty bottle of Qi Gathering Pills beside him and sighed lightly.

In a large Market like Qingyun Market Town, with big stores like Qingyun Trading Company and Danding Pavilion, it’s still possible to buy some pills to improve Foundation Establishment if you’re willing to spend money.

But in a Market like Red Leaf Valley, it’s difficult.

Even pills to improve the late Qi Refinement stage are in limited supply.

Otherwise, with the Seven Luminaries Heart Lamp refining pill toxins and burning Qi, his cultivation speed could be twice as fast.

Without thinking much, Lu Changsheng slightly calmed his Qi and cast a “Cleanse” spell on himself.

He cleaned the dirt and dust brought by the breakthrough and the refining of the body, feeling refreshed as he walked out of the practice room.

“Congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishment Level Two, Lu Lang!”

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

Nine months pregnant, her belly was high and bulging.

But this did not detract from her beauty.

Instead, it added a touch of mature plumpness to her.

Her icy skin and jade bones, and her cold, holy face gradually gained a layer of maternal charm over time.

Turning her original coldness into a gentle beauty.

Every gesture exuded a sacred and holy beauty.

“It’s just a small breakthrough.”

“If it weren’t for this little one, Xiyue, you would have almost broken through too.”

Lu Changsheng spoke softly, looking at Xiao Xiyue in front of him.

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

Xiao Xiyue touched her belly and said softly.

Although she and Lu Changsheng practiced Dual Cultivation, advancing rapidly in cultivation.

Every time after Dual Cultivation, she had to spend time consolidating her cultivation base.

Unlike Lu Changsheng, who had the Seven Luminaries Heart Lamp constantly burning Qi and refining the foundation.

Besides cultivation, she also had to take time each day to practice spells and Divine Abilities.

So she was quite surprised at how quickly Lu Changsheng broke through to Foundation Establishment Level Two.

After all, spending time with Lu Changsheng daily, she knew he only spent two or three hours a day on cultivation.

Previously, seeing Lu Changsheng’s methods against two Foundation Establishment tribulation cultivators, she instinctively believed he spent a lot of time practicing Divine Abilities and spells.

Otherwise, how could he have such Divine Abilities?

He had to accompany his wives and children, practice Divine Abilities, and also focus on talisman crafting.

Under these circumstances, his cultivation advanced so quickly, naturally surprising her.

But she didn’t ask much, knowing Lu Changsheng had big secrets, possibly possessing some rare spiritual or Dao body.

Otherwise, with a Ninth-Tier spiritual root, it would be impossible to have such a cultivation speed.

“Thank you for your hard work, Xiyue.”

Lu Changsheng sat beside her, speaking gently.

His hand softly stroked Xiao Xiyue’s bulging, fair, and soft belly.

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

Xiao Xiyue gently shook her head.

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

Giving her new insights and understanding of the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Technique.

She believed this was also part of the world’s chaos and the various facets of life, a form of cultivation and experience.

Hearing this, Lu Changsheng slightly twitched the corner of his mouth.

Thinking to himself, this Supreme Forgetting Emotions Technique always made one think of cultivation no matter what they did.

After chatting with Xiao Xiyue for a while, Lu Changsheng said he would visit Qingzhu Mountain.

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

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

Every one or two months, he still went back to handle trivial matters, check on his wives and children, and sometimes conceive children.

Now, his total number of children had reached 146.

Returning to Qingzhu Mountain, Lu Changsheng routinely checked on his children’s and Bai Ling’s cultivation progress.

His son Lu Xian’er was still at Qi Refinement Level Three, stuck at the mid-stage Qi Refinement bottleneck.

Lu Changsheng didn’t give him a Breaking Stage Pill.

Letting him slowly break through on his own.

After all, using a Breaking Stage Pill at this stage would inevitably affect future progress.

Although a Ninth-Tier spiritual root had almost no potential, Lu Changsheng believed it was better to break through on his own if possible, not rushing the time.

Lu Quanzhen had also broken through to Qi Refinement Level Three.

His daughters Lu Ruyi and Lu Yun were at Qi Refinement Level Two.

As for Bai Ling, she had already reached Qi Refinement Level Four.

She would likely break through to Qi Refinement Level Five soon.

This speed made Lu Changsheng click his tongue.

In just three years, without many pills, she had cultivated to Qi Refinement Level Four, about to reach Level Five.

This speed even surpassed Xiao Xiyue back then.

Then, Lu Changsheng also checked on his other children.

The fifth child with a spiritual root was twelve years old and had started cultivating.

But had not yet completed Qi initiation.

“Starting next year, the number of children I can cultivate will also see a small surge.”

Spending a day, Lu Changsheng checked on all his children.

Knowing that in the next four years, fifteen of his children with spiritual roots would start their immortal path.

This was due to his frenzied sowing at Jiulong Market five years ago.

In just five years, he had sixty children.

Averaging one per month.

If not for the advice of the Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and others to take care of his body and restrain himself a bit, this number would have been higher.

“Jiulong Market.”

Lu Changsheng thought of the days he spent at Jiulong Market, buying maidservants from the White Jade Tower.

“It seems it’s time to buy some more maidservants.”

He thought to himself.

Among his wives and maidservants, only Lu Miaoge had one child, and u Miaohuan had two.

The others had at least three or four.

Several maidservants had five or six children.

Lu Changsheng thought this number was about right.

Although bought maidservants had no human rights.

He couldn’t treat them entirely as breeding machines.

Empathizing with them, these maidservants would be more devoted to him.

Otherwise, seeing their mothers constantly giving birth like machines, the children would also feel uncomfortable.

“To save, naturally, I need to open source and increase the number of maidservants.”

“Besides, I have money now. I can go to the White Jade Tower to buy some Mid-Tier or even High-Tier spiritual root maidservants.”

Lu Changsheng thought slightly, deciding to visit the White Jade Tower in Jiulong Market when he had time.

Not just for saving.

All his current maidservants had low-Tier spiritual roots.

This affected the spiritual root talent of the children they bore.

Now that conditions have improved, improving the quality of offspring should also go a step further.

After all, the higher the parents’ spiritual roots, the better the children’s spiritual roots.

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

“Boom!”

At this moment, a relatively dense cultivation power surged into Lu Changsheng’s body.

He immediately knew it was his son Lu Xian’er breaking through the mid-stage Qi Refinement bottleneck.

Reaching Qi Refinement Level Four.

“Qi Refinement Level Four, if not counting the quality of spiritual and Qi power, is about one percent of my current cultivation.”

“Equivalent to saving me a month and a half of hard cultivation.”

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes, feeling the cultivation strength, roughly estimating.

“With this calculation, a hundred at Qi Refinement Level Four would be comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

“However, due to the difference in the quality of Qi, a Foundation Establishment cultivator can easily slaughter a hundred mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.”

Lu Changsheng gently shook his head, knowing he couldn’t calculate it that way.

“But mid-stage Qi refinement, at least it gives me some feeling.”

“Like before, Qi initiation, breaking through the second and third levels of Qi refinement, didn’t give me any feeling.”

“Now with my Foundation Establishment, I want the children to give me feedback, it still needs to be Late-Stage Qi refinement.”

“But waiting for the children to cultivate to Late-Stage Qi refinement, it would take about ten to twenty years.”

Lu Changsheng took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

He felt the road ahead was long and arduous.

After all, aside from Lu Qingshan and his previous four-Tier spiritual root son Lu Qingxian, the spiritual roots of his current children were generally average.

Only two had Mid-Tier six-Tier spiritual roots.

The rest were all low-Tier spiritual roots.

“But just as I guessed, the children breaking through mid-stage Qi refinement didn’t trigger an achievement reward.”

“The achievement reward for cultivation, won’t it trigger again until breakthrough to Foundation Establishment?”

“If so, that would be too difficult.”

Seeing no system prompt, Lu Changsheng shook his head secretly.

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

He wanted to see if the children’s breakthrough to mid-stage Qi refinement would trigger an achievement reward.

“Xian Zhi is also fifteen or sixteen years old, now breaking through to mid-stage Qi refinement, he can be placed in Hongye Valley Marketplace for training.”

Seeing Lu Xian’er break through to mid-stage Qi refinement, Lu Changsheng remembered that this son was not young anymore.

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

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

These children were his future pillars.

They would need to manage the family in the future.

Even if their spiritual roots were average, they needed to be well nurtured.

Immediately, Lu Changsheng walked towards Lu Xian’er’s small courtyard.

“Dad, I broke through to mid-stage Qi refinement.”

At this moment, Lu Xian’er walked out of the small courtyard with a happy face.

Seeing Lu Changsheng, he immediately said joyfully.

“Not bad, much stronger than I was back then.”

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng did not hesitate to praise.

“How dare I compare with you, Dad.”

“You achieved it all by your own efforts, step by step.”

“If it weren’t for the resources and environment you provided, I couldn’t break through to mid-stage Qi refinement so quickly.”

Lu Xian’er quickly said.

Although his father’s praise made him happy.

He knew very well that everything he had now was built on his father’s shoulders.

Under the education of his stepmother and contact with other Lu Family children, he knew that many of the Lu Family children were not as privileged as he and his siblings.

His father used all his cultivation resources to support them.

Especially since he only had Ninth-Tier spiritual roots, which had no cultivation value, but his father still treated him equally.

So Lu Xian’er had great admiration and respect for his father.

“Hehe, I worked hard so that your path would be easier and you could go further.”

Hearing his son’s words, Lu Changsheng patted his shoulder with a smile.

He continued, “Since you broke through to mid-stage Qi refinement, I plan to take you to the Market to gain some experience. What do you think?”

“I’ll follow your arrangement, Dad.”

Lu Xian’er immediately nodded in agreement.

Having been on Qingzhu Mountain for so many years, he naturally also longed to see the immortal cultivation world.

“Good, prepare yourself.”

“Tomorrow, come with me to Hongye Valley Marketplace.”

Lu Changsheng nodded.

He let Lu Xian’er say goodbye to his family and friends.

“Congratulations, Brother Xian Zhi.”

“Congratulations, Seventh Brother, on breaking through to mid-stage Qi refinement.”

The other children in the courtyard were full of envy and congratulations upon hearing that Lu Xian’er had broken through to mid-stage Qi refinement and was being taken to Hongye Valley Marketplace by Lu Changsheng.

The concubines like Lu Miaoyun and Lu Miaohuan als gave gifts and encouraged him.

After all, being the first child in the family to break through to mid-stage Qi refinement had a different significance and was worth celebrating.

In this situation, Lu Xian’er also felt a sense of responsibility.

Although he was ranked seventh in the family.

The ones ahead of him, like Lu Ping’an, were sent to the secular world because they had no spiritual roots.

So on Qingzhu Mountain, he was the eldest and had some responsibility as an older brother.

After a small celebration, the next day, Lu Changsheng rode the Iron Feather Hawk and took his son Lu Xian’er to Hongye Valley Marketplace.

First, he took Lu Xian’er to the Lu Family’s talisman shop to see Lu Miaoge..

Although he planned to place Lu Xian’er in the Ping’an Talisman Hall.

Since he was here, he had to bring him to meet her.

If anything happened while he was away, Lu Xian’er could come to Lu Miaoge..

Now in Hongye Valley Marketplace, Lu Miaoyun was also a person o influence.

“Xian Zhi, you can visit your aunt’s place more often.”

Lu Miaoge said gently..

Compared to Lu Changsheng’s other wives and concubines, she was much wealthier and gave Lu Xian’er an Artifact as a gift.

“Thank you, Aunt.”

Lu Xian’er wasn’t very familiar with this aunt and felt a bit reserved.

He accepted the gift and respectfully saluted.

After a brief chat, Lu Changsheng took Lu Xian’er to Ping’an Talisman Hall.

“Ping’an Talisman Hall, Dad, is this our family’s shop?”

Looking at the shop in front of him, Lu Xian’er asked.

He knew that apart from having a hundred acres of spiritual fields on Qingzhu Mountain.

His father also had a talisman shop and a Cave Dwelling in Hongye Valley Marketplace.

The reason he and his siblings had such good conditions was due to these spiritual fields, the shop, and the Cave Dwelling.

“Yes, this is our family’s talisman shop.”

Lu Changsheng nodded, “I brought you here not to learn Talisman Making.”

“But to gain experience, understand the management of the shop and the ins and outs of doing business.”

“You are interested in puppetry, right? Now that you’ve broken through to mid-stage Qi refinement, you can spend some time on it.”

“If you have any questions, come and ask me.”

“When you become a puppeteer, I’ll open a shop for you.”

Lu Changsheng said to his son.

This son didn’t have the talent for making talismans, but he had some talent in puppetry.

Since he had just started cultivating, Lu Changsheng didn’t let him get distracted with puppetry.

Now that he had broken through to mid-stage Qi refinement, Lu Changsheng was willing to let him spend some time on it.

After all, puppetry was also an important part of their future, and someone needed to inherit it.

“Yes, Father!”

Hearing this, Lu Xian’er looked at the sign “Ping’an Talisman Hall” and pursed his lips, his eyes showing determination.

“Owner.”

“Owner.”

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

“Xian Zhi, this is your Uncle Gao.”

Lu Changsheng introduced.

“Uncle Gao.”

Lu Xian’er immediately called out.

On the way here, Lu Changsheng had briefly explained the situation of the talisman shop to him.

He knew that this round-faced, somewhat aged man was the shopkeeper.

“Old Gao, this is my son Lu Xian’er.”

“I plan to place him in the shop as an apprentice, to gain experience and understand the management of the shop.”

“Please teach him more about the business, not Talisman Making.”

Lu Changsheng said to his old friend Gao He.

They had known each other for more than ten years and had been boss and employee for six years.

Since Lu Changsheng often left the shop to Gao He, and Gao He managed it well, their personal relationship had remained good.

“Sure, no problem.”

Gao He agreed with a smile when he heard it was the young master.

It was common to place family children in the shop to learn.

As long as Lu Xian’er wasn’t a spoiled brat, Gao He had no objections.

Besides, he had enough experience to see that Lu Xian’er wasn’t a troublemaker.

After settling Lu Xian’er, Lu Changsheng left to check on Xiao Xiyue in the Cave Dwelling 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 couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.

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

Lu Changsheng was not worried but rather delighted.

Because generally, children born late either had problems or were naturally extraordinary with good spiritual roots.

Both he and Xiao Xiyue were Foundation Establishment cultivators, so they could detect the child’s condition. There was no issue with vitality.

So, it was highly likely that the child had good spiritual roots or even a spiritual body.

Lu Changsheng waited patiently for the child to speak.

Before the child was born, a weak airflow and a system prompt sounded seven days later.

“Congratulations to the host! Five offspring have completed Qi initiation and begun their immortal journey. Passive effect: offspring spiritual root probability increased by 5%. You have won a lottery chance!”

“Hmm? Five? Ke Xin fully completed Qi initiation.”

Lu Changsheng knew from the airflow and system prompt that his fifth child with a spiritual root, Lu Kexin, had completed Qi initiation.

He wasn’t surprised.

After all, Lu Kexin should have completed Qi initiation by now.

It took longer than Lu Xian’er and the others.

He was slightly surprised that five children triggered the achievement lottery.

He thought it would take ten.

“But this improvement is good. At this rate, my offspring will all have spiritual roots.”

Lu Changsheng nodded happily at the increased probability of offspring having spiritual roots.

After all, the children were his foundation.

“System, start the lottery.”

Lu Changsheng exhaled and began the lottery.

A pale red virtual lottery wheel appeared and quickly started spinning.

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

“The reward has been sent to the system space. The host can check it anytime.”

A crystal jade booklet appeared with the system prompt.

“Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture?”

“Talisman Dao inheritance?”

Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow, showing interest in this technique.

The cultivation world had a hundred arts.

Each art was profound and could evolve into a path.

Though he had a second-level maxed-out talisman skill,

it was merely simple talisman skills.

He didn’t have an advanced talisman Dao inheritance.

Such profound skills are rare and have high training thresholds.

Besides requiring spiritual roots, they have other requirements.

For example, the Spirit Control Sect, a top sect in Jiang Kingdom, known for its beast control.

Such sects not only value spiritual root talent but also the compatibility between people and spirit beasts.

In the immortal sect assessment, even with low-Tier spiritual roots, if you have a natural affinity with certain spirit beasts, you can be admitted.

“I remember Jiang Kingdom has no talisman Dao inheritance sect.”

“But neighboring Yue Kingdom has a sect called ‘Beast Talisman Sect’.”

“Famous for its talisman Dao, its sect-defining technique, Beast Talisman Scripture, can combine monsters and talismans with great power.”

Lu Changsheng thought to himself.

The southern wilderness cultivation world is vast; Jiang Kingdom is just a part.

From some notes and travel journals, Lu Changsheng knew Jiang Kingdom was a medium country; many other countries existed outside.

Each country has different inheritances and sects.

Jiang Kingdom has a beast control sect, Spirit Control Sect.

But due to the dominant sect, Heavenly Sword Sect,

when other countries talk about Jiang Kingdom’s cultivation world, they first think of sword cultivators.

Lu Changsheng didn’t think much more and checked the system space for the technique he drew.

“Technique: Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture”

“Grade: Orthodox”

“Description: The sect-defining technique of Mysterious Talisman Sect, containing 81 special spiritual patterns. Visualize talismans to nourish the spirit. With successful cultivation, you can draw talismans in the void, refine talismans into formations, and forge talisman soldiers. The technique is profound and powerful.”

“Drawing talismans in the void, refining talismans into formations, forging talisman soldiers!”

“Wow, it’s worthy of being an orthodox-Tier technique.”

“It seems this Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture not only includes talisman Dao inheritance but also a foundational cultivation technique.”

Lu Changsheng was pleasantly surprised by the description of the Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture.

The description alone showed the extraordinary nature of the Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture.

“System, inherit!”

He immediately activated the inheritance of the Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture.

Instantly,

the cultivation method, related content, and essentials of the Nine-Nine Mysterious Talisman Scripture flooded into Lu Changsheng’s mind like a divine revelation.

Lu Changsheng stood still, immersing himself in understanding this orthodox-Tier talisman Dao inheritance technique.