Chapter 248: Unrivaled Ghost Leader, Hundred Refined Body Technique Sixth Layer!

In Hall of Everlasting Life, a warm fragrance filled the air.

On the white jade bed, Lu Changsheng held Ling Zixiao’s soft, curvaceous waist.

Her delicate body, smooth and supple, glowed with a rosy tint, covered in fine beads of sweat that gave her skin an alluring sheen.

“Zixiao, you’ve worked hard these past few days.”

Lu Changsheng lay on his side, his hand gently caressing Ling Zixiao’s snow-white skin as he spoke softly.

Lately, Ling Zixiao had been busy managing the family’s grand formation and teaching the children about Formation Techniques.

As for family matters, Lu Miaoyun often sought Ling Zxiao’s advice, making her extremely busy.

Her hair was disheveled and damp with sweat, clinging to her exquisite face flushed with a captivating red. Her autumn-water eyes brimmed with charm as she replied in a tender voice, “It’s not hard at all. I’d be idle otherwise.”

“But you, Changsheng, not only are you busy all day, but you also have to heal me. It’s delaying your own cultivation.”

Ling Zixiao’s voice trembled slightly.

“It’s not delaying much.”

“Once we get through these busy years and the children can handle things on their own, I’ll be able to focus solely on cultivation.”

Lu Changsheng said softly, his hand still caressing her full, supple form.

Many things only become clear once you’ve done them.

Before establishing the family, he thought he was well-prepared.

But now that the family was newly established, even with Bihu Mountain as a foundation, he found it quite troublesome.

If not for Ling Zixiao, Lu Miaoyun, and others, as wel as support from Qingzhu Mountain, he wouldn’t have been able to manage alone.

“Mm, as long as you know what you’re doing. Changsheng, go keep Xiao Daoyou company.”

Ling Zixiao propped herself up slightly and said softly to Lu Changsheng.

After Xiao Xiyue moved into Hall of Everlasting Life, she naturally understood their relationship.

Even so, she found it hard to imagine how Lu Changsheng had managed to win over Xiao Xiyue, the Moon Palace Fairy.

After all, she had heard a bit about this Xiyue Fairy in recent days.

She was known as the aloof and pure disciple of a Golden Core true person from the Azure Cloud Sect.

Yet this seemingly untouchable fairy not only had a close relationship with Lu Changsheng but had also given birth to a daughter.

This made her curious, and she even wondered what this Xiyue Fairy’s expressions and postures would be like during Dual Cultivation with Lu Changsheng.

“Today, I only want to be with you.”

Lu Changsheng whispered in her ear.

Then, they once again entwined, their bodies intermingling.

Afterward, they gradually drifted off to sleep.

Just then, a system notification sounded in Lu Changsheng’s mind.

[Congratulations, host! Your descendants have reached 10. You’ve earned one chance to draw a prize.]

“Ten? Does this mean the number of grandchildren is the same as before, increasing from ten to twenty, thirty, fifty, and so on?”

“If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean I’ll get a chance to draw a prize every now and then?”

Lu Changsheng’s eyes lit up with joy when he heard this system notification.

Since a year and a half ago, with his approval, the children of the secular Lu Family had gradually started their own families.

Now, over a year later, the third generation of the Lu Family was being born.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the third generation reached twenty, thirty, or even a hundred.

If the system gave out prizes for every few dozen descendants, this efficiency would be much faster than his previous solo efforts.

Looking at Ling Zixiao in his arms, her face pale but beautiful, deeply asleep from exhaustion and breathing evenly, Lu Changsheng thought to himself, “System, draw a prize.”

Instantly, the system’s prize wheel appeared.

A golden light began to rotate.

Soon, the golden light stopped on the ‘Other’ category.

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You’ve obtained the corpse demon: Ghostly Head from the Netherworld!]

[The reward has been sent to your system space. You can check it at any time.]

An image of a head with a fierce expression and disheveled hair appeared along with the system notification.

“Corpse demon? Ghostly Head from the Netherworld?”

“What on earth is this thing?”

Lu Changsheng looked at the reward he had drawn this time with a puzzled expression.

He knew about corpse demons, which were a general term for refined corpses.

Like the Yin Corpse of Xiahou Demon from before, it could also be called a corpse demon.

But he had never heard of a corpse demon that was just a head.

He focused his mind and looked into the system space.

[Corpse Demon: Ghostly Head from the Netherworld]

[Grade: Third-Tier]

[Description: One of the Corpse Demon Sect’s guardian corpse demons. Created by refining a Golden Core cultivator into a living dead. Through various secret methods, when its inner demon invades, the inner demon, True Core, spiritual power, and magical abilities are all refined into the head. Its magical abilities are strange and unpredictable, and it fears neither the sun’s fire nor thunder and lightning.]

“A corpse demon refined from a Golden Core true person!?”

Lu Changsheng was surprised as he read the description.

As far as he knew, most zombies were creatures of yin and cold, fearing the sun’s fire and thunder and lightning techniques.

But this Ghostly Head from the Netherworld was truly bizarre. Not only was it just a head, but it also didn’t fear the sun’s fire or thunder and lightning.

“Corpse refining is mostly associated with the demonic path. This Ghostly Head from the Netherworld must be an extremely sinister existence even among refined corpses.”

“If I dare to use this thing in public, I might be mistaken for a demonic cultivator.”

“And as far as I know, the more powerful and sinister a corpse demon is, the easier it is to backfire.”

“But since it’s a system product, this Ghostly Head from the Netherworld should have some kind of master recognition effect, right? It shouldn’t turn on its master, should it?”

Lu Changsheng pondered as he looked at the Ghostly Head from the Netherworld in his system space.

From the system’s description, he could roughly guess that this Ghostly Head from the Netherworld was no ordinary item.

While it might not have the full combat power of a Golden Core cultivator, its techniques and abilities should pose some threat to Golden Core true persons.

But the more powerful an item, the more strength was needed to control and master it.

“Forget it, I’ll just leave this thing in the system space for now. I can take it out later when I need it.”

Although Lu Changsheng was curious about the magical abilities and combat power of this ‘Ghostly Head from the Netherworld’,

He felt it wasn’t convenient to bring it out at the moment.

After all, this kind of thing could only be used when he was in danger and wouldn’t be exposed.

Using it under normal circumstances would definitely cause trouble for him.

Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, the five pregnant concubines in Lu Changsheng’s household all gave birth.

Among the five children, two possessed spirit roots, bringing Lu Changsheng’s spirit root offspring to forty-three.

Once all forty-three children grew up and became cultivators, the number of cultivators in his Bihu Mountain Lu Family would be comparable to that of a normal cultivation family.

However, seeing these five children born, Lu Changsheng became increasingly confused about Nangong Mili’s situation.

His concubines, who had become pregnant over a year later, had all given birth.

Yet there was still no sign from the child in her womb.

Counting the time, it had been over two years.

Even for a Golden Core true person’s pregnancy, it shouldn’t take this long, right?

Could she be pregnant for three years and give birth to a Nezha?

If he didn’t know that the system couldn’t be wrong, Lu Changsheng would have thought there was a problem with it.

But because of this, Lu Changsheng became increasingly expectant and curious about the child in Nangong Mili’s womb.

Not long ago, Lu Changsheng’s concubine Xia Zhiyue successfully broke through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining after taking a High-Tier Breaking Stage Pill.

Thinking of Xia Zhiyue’s spirit-nurturing physique, Lu Changsheng naturally paid extra attention to her, hoping her second child would give him a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps because he was now a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Xia Zhiyue’s spirit-nurturing physique made it relatively difficult to conceive, she hadn’t become pregnant yet.

However, speaking of difficulty conceiving, Bai Ling was even harder to impregnate.

This little girl had become Lu Changsheng’s concubine during the wedding at Bihu Mountain.

Over the past half year, Lu Changsheng had shown her no small amount of affection.

But half a year had passed, and even after using the Five Aggregates Cultivation Technique, Bai Ling’s belly showed no signs of pregnancy.

Lu Changsheng suspected it might be due to Bai Ling’s bloodline.

He and Ling Zixiao had examined Bai Ling’s condition before.

She was likely experiencing bloodline atavism or mutation, making her a half-demon or demon race.

In this situation, the probability of the two of them having offspring was very small.

Lu Changsheng wasn’t too concerned about this, deciding to let nature take its course. If she could conceive, great; if not, so be it.

Given Bai Ling’s current talent, she had the potential to reach Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core in the future.

Even with her severely introverted and timid personality, she would still be a significant force for his family in the future.

“Father, the spirit beans on your Golden Potato have fallen off!”

On this day, Lu Ping’an brought Lu Changsheng some good news.

Hearing this, Lu Changsheng immediately left Hall of Everlasting Life and headed to the depths of the herb gardens on Lingcui Cliff.

“Father, when I was making my rounds just now, I saw that all eight spirit beans had fallen off.”

Seeing Lu Changsheng arrive, Lu Ping’an immediately came forward and handed him eight Golden Armored Spirit Beans, each about the size of a thumb.

“Well done.”

Lu Changsheng played with the eight Golden Armored Spirit Beans in his hand, his face showing delight.

After waiting for so many years, he finally waited for the spirit beans to mature.

“Summon!”

He formed a hand seal, injecting spiritual power into one of the spirit beans.

Instantly, the spirit bean rose into the air, transforming into a tall figure clad in golden armor.

However, this golden-armored warrior was noticeably weaker in size and presence compared to those transformed by the Golden Armored Bean Mother.

“Hit me with all your might,” Lu Changsheng said to the golden-armored warrior before him.

This golden-armored warrior’s combat ability was rather simple, leaning towards close-combat and defense. It couldn’t use spells.

“Boom!”

Hearing the command, the golden-armored warrior immediately raised its fist and struck at Lu Changsheng.

The fist wind howled, arriving in an instant.

Facing this punch, Lu Changsheng didn’t even blink. His expression remained calm as he raised his hand, easily catching the fist.

“The strength is at the late stage of body tempering, and the hardness barely reaches the level of a High-Tier Artifact.”

Lu Changsheng released the fist, pondering as he gained a rough understanding of the golden-armored warrior’s strength.

However, in his view, the golden-armored warrior’s greatest function wasn’t combat.

Instead, it was its ability to understand simple commands and instructions, making it useful for various tasks.

With these eight golden-armored warriors, crafting Second-Tier puppets would be much simpler. Many components wouldn’t need to be made by hand.

“What? Want to try?” Lu Changsheng asked, seeing his son Lu Ping’an eyeing the golden-armored warrior with interest.

“Dad, this golden man seems different from the one Aunt Yun used before. It’s not as powerful,” Lu Ping’an said.

He had seen the might of the Golden Armored Bean Mother when Xiahou Demon came that day.

He could clearly sense that although this one looked similar, its aura was much weaker.

“Yes, that golden-armored warrior was transformed from the bean mother.”

“This golden-armored warrior is just transformed from the spirit beans produced by the bean mother, equivalent to a cultivator at the late stage of body tempering.”

“If you’re interested, you can spar with it and try,” Lu Changsheng said.

Although his son Lu Ping’an only had the strength of the Third Level of Qi Refining, he possessed the martial prowess of a Great Innate Grandmaster.

“Late stage of body tempering? Great!” Lu Ping’an nodded eagerly upon hearing this and waved at the golden-armored warrior, “Come on!”

“You fool, don’t you see where we are?”

“This is the herb garden. What if you damage the spiritual herbs?”

Lu Changsheng smacked his son’s head, saying irritably.

He then walked out of the spiritual herb garden with Lu Ping’an, coming to an open space. He ordered the golden-armored warrior to attack Lu Ping’an.

“Bang!”

The golden-armored warrior’s form shot out like a cannonball, charging towards Lu Ping’an.

“Bring it on!”

Seeing this, Lu Ping’an stepped forward, his fist surging with blood energy as he punched out.

“Boom!”

The two collided, and Lu Ping’an stepped back repeatedly, leaving deep footprints.

But he showed no fear. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he leaped up, continuing to throw punches at the golden-armored warrior.

His fists were fierce, one after another, accompanied by howling wind and tiger-like roars.

Faced with Lu Ping’an’s onslaught, the golden-armored warrior neither dodged nor evaded, fighting with a rigid style that traded blow for blow.

Even though its physical strength surpassed Lu Ping’an’s, it couldn’t gain much advantage.

“Secret Technique—Primordial Chaos!”

At this moment, true qi surged within Lu Ping’an’s body. His muscles bulged, and his fists struck like emerging dragons, forcing the golden-armored warrior to retreat step by step.

“Not bad at all,” Lu Changsheng’s lips curled into a smile as he watched.

Honestly, he didn’t know his son’s exact strength.

Although the golden-armored warrior fought rather stiffly and rigidly,

Lu Ping’an’s combat awareness and techniques were indeed impressive.

“Summon!”

Lu Changsheng infused spiritual power into the remaining seven Golden Armored Spirit Beans in his hand, making them join the battle.

“Dad, what are you doing?!” Lu Ping’an, who was just getting into it, immediately changed his expression and shouted loudly.

He could suppress the golden-armored warrior before him purely through skill.

But two fists couldn’t beat four legs. If all seven joined in, he’d be done for today.

“Just adding a bit of challenge for you,” Lu Changsheng said with a smile. After some thought, he only let two golden-armored warriors join the battle, leaving the other five to watch.

Immediately, three golden-armored warriors attacked Lu Ping’an together.

Faced with this encirclement, Lu Ping’an soon became flustered and began to struggle.

After all, these golden-armored warriors fought with a style that traded injury for injury, relying on brute force.

With three attacking together, even with superior martial arts, it was hard to defend against.

“Stop,” Lu Changsheng immediately ordered the golden-armored warriors to halt.

He took out a Rejuvenation Talisman from his Storage Bag and used it on Lu Ping’an, dispersing his bruises and injuries from the fight. He praised, “Not bad.”

“Ping’an, you have good talent in martial arts and body tempering.”

“When you break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining, I’ll teach you a body tempering technique. Then you can cultivate both techniques and physical strength.”

“Body tempering technique? Dad, isn’t the Purple Yang True Scripture I’m cultivating considered a body tempering technique?” Lu Ping’an asked, somewhat surprised.

“Haha, how can that be considered a body tempering technique?”

“You’ll understand when you break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining.”

Lu Changsheng chuckled, planning to teach Lu Ping’an the Hundred Refined Body Technique once he reached the middle stage of Qi Refining.

He then recalled all the golden-armored warriors, turning them back into Golden Armored Spirit Beans.

Seeing his son Lu Ping’an eyeing the spirit beans in his hand covetously, Lu Changsheng smiled and said, “I’ll give you a few when the second batch is ready. Don’t think about it for now.”

“Thank you, Father!” Lu Ping’an scratched his head and gave a simple, honest smile.

“Keep watching over that Golden Armored Bean Mother. Let me know if anything happens.”

Lu Changsheng patted Lu Ping’an’s shoulder, then transformed into a beam of light and returned to Hall of Everlasting Life.

Upon arriving at the main hall, he immediately went to a side hall to study how to use the golden-armored warriors to forge puppets.

Through his Divine Sense, he communicated his requirements to the eight golden-armored warriors, instructing them to begin work.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

Soon, the eight golden-armored warriors began their tasks.

“Crafting puppets generally involves six steps: refining materials, smelting, shaping, assembly, array fusion, and inscribing patterns.”

“The golden-armored warriors can handle four steps: refining materials, shaping, assembly, and inscribing patterns.”

“However, refining materials consumes too much energy for the golden-armored warriors. They’d likely exhaust most of their energy just refining the materials for one component.”

“Having the golden-armored warriors do shaping and assembly seems wasteful.”

“So, the most suitable task for these golden-armored warriors is actually the high-difficulty work of inscribing patterns.”

“As long as I transmit the required pattern steps to the golden-armored warriors through Divine Sense, they can replicate it exactly according to my requirements.”

After most of the day, Lu Changsheng had a general understanding of using golden-armored warriors to forge puppets.

He had initially thought of using the golden-armored warriors for basic manual labor.

Now he realized they could be used like CNC machines, capable of handling the most precise and core tasks.

“In that case, I need to rethink my puppet factory plan,” Lu Changsheng pondered.

Then, he went to the puppet workshop at the foot of Biyun Peak.

This workshop wasn’t fully formed yet, with only Lu Xian’er, eight cultivators, and over ten mortals.

Under Lu Xian’er’s arrangement, these people began implementing Lu Changsheng’s puppet factory assembly line concept, dividing the work to craft puppets.

“Greetings, Mountain Lord!”

“Father!”

Seeing Lu Changsheng arrive, everyone bowed respectfully.

“Xian’er, come here for a moment,” Lu Changsheng called to his son Lu Xian’er.

“Yes, Father.” Lu Xian’er immediately followed Lu Changsheng to a side hall.

“Xian’er, do you have any unfinished puppets that haven’t been inscribed yet?” Lu Changsheng asked.

“Yes, please wait a moment, Father.” Lu Xian’er brought out a beast-shaped puppet.

This was just an ordinary first-Tier low-quality puppet.

Usually used by cultivators for carrying things, guarding homes, or as cannon fodder, it had no Market value and couldn’t make money. It was purely for practice.

Lu Changsheng took out a spirit bean, infused it with spiritual power, transforming it into a golden-armored warrior. He transmitted the inscription instructions through Divine Sense and handed a Spirit Pattern Knife to it.

Immediately, the golden-armored warrior took the Spirit Pattern Knife and began inscribing on the beast-shaped puppet.

“This…?!” Lu Xian’er’s eyes widened in surprise at this sight.

“This golden armored warrior can follow orders and perform simple tasks.”

“For example, refining materials, crafting components, and engraving formations.”

“Xian’er, I want you to focus mainly on puppet assembly and spirit patterns. From now on, you can skip the engraving part and focus on the big picture, integrating formations.”

“You can leave the spirit pattern work directly to the golden armored warrior.”

Lu Changsheng said.

His idea for the puppet factory was to design puppets himself, provide blueprints and steps.

The factory apprentices and employees would refine, shape, and assemble, then integrate formations and engrave patterns.

But now, with the golden armored warrior, he thought the difficult task of engraving could be entirely handed over to it.

“Yes, Father!”

Lu Xian’er nodded in response, looking at the golden armored puppet.

“Keep this golden armored warrior. Here’s how to use the Golden Armored Spirit Beans. You can control it to engrave spirit patterns.”

“Let me know when you can make flying beast puppets.”

“If this golden armored warrior runs out of energy, go to your elder brother and have him plant the spirit beans on Lingcui Cliff for a few days.”

Lu Changsheng explained how to use the Golden Armored Spirit Beans to Lu Xian’er.

He gave his son three blueprints of varying difficulty, letting them practice and try to craft.

“Yes, Father. I won’t disappoint you.”

Lu Xian’er said earnestly, his face lit up with joy.

He hadn’t expected his father to entrust him with such a precious golden armored warrior.

When Xiahou Demon came before, he saw their family’s golden armored warrior suppress Xiahou Demon’s Yin corpse, knowing how valuable these warriors were.

This made him realize that his father had high hopes for this puppet factory.

“Good, work hard and try to make the puppet factory our family’s first profitable industry.”

Lu Changsheng patted his son’s shoulder.

Although their puppet factory was still in its teething phase, not even making pocket change.

But once they could stably produce Mid-Tier first-tier puppets and improve efficiency, they’d be close to turning a profit.

If they could stably produce High-Tier first-tier puppets, it would be a decent industry.

“Yes!”

Lu Xian’er nodded firmly.

He knew if he could achieve what his father described, their family’s puppet business could form a profitable industry chain.

After instructing Lu Xian’er, Lu Changsheng returned to Hall of Everlasting Life, letting the remaining seven golden armored warriors continue working, crafting parts and components for him.

Two months later.

Inside the secluded Cave Dwelling in Hall of Everlasting Life.

“Boom boom boom—”

Lu Changsheng sat cross-legged, his internal qi surging like a volcanic eruption, roaring like a mountain torrent, echoing in the Cave Dwelling, clanging and ringing endlessly.

If not for the special material of the cave walls inscribed with formations, the entire dwelling might have collapsed from these metallic sound waves.

“Hundred Refined Body Technique, Sixth Layer!”

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes, his body like cast gold, dazzling and intense, filled with powerful qi pressure.

He clenched his fists, vital energy boiling, blood qi gushing, treasure light flowing, full of powerful force.

“Clang!”

Lu Changsheng took out a Top-Tier Artifact from his Storage Bag, slashed at his arm, leaving only a faint white mark.

Then he took out a low-Tier Spirit Tool, slashed lightly, seeing only a faint white mark, then slashed hard.

Seeing it still only left a faint red mark, Lu Changsheng’s face showed slight joy.

“Now I can withstand Spirit Tools barehanded without harm.”

Lu Changsheng mused to himself.

He imagined a Foundation Establishment cultivator attacking him, Spirit Tool Flying Sword coming at him, and him barehanded blocking the Spirit Tool – what a show-off scene that would be.

“Now that I’ve broken through to the Sixth Layer of the Hundred Refined Body Technique, my speed in refining the Nine-Treasure Jade Ruyi has also increased.”

“In a year at most, I’ll be able to refine this Nine-Treasure Jade Ruyi into my natal treasure bone.”

Lu Changsheng placed his palm on his chest, his eyes bright with anticipation.

Once his natal treasure bone was formed, he would possess nine Divine Abilities.

By then, Ling Zixiao’s condition could be greatly improved.