Chapter 834: The Effects of the Yin-Yang Origin

At that moment, Ina saw her Sect Leader arrive. Knowing the two had matters to discuss and that having her daughter present would be inconvenient, she spoke up.

“Mm.” Lu Jiangtang answered sweetly. She tilted her head up, eyes full of hope as she looked at Lu Changsheng. “Daddy, will you come see Liya later?”

The girl’s clear voice and adoring gaze felt like spring sunlight warming Lu Changsheng’s heart.

He smiled and laid a hand on his daughter’s small head braided with fine plaits. His voice was gentle and doting. “Of course. Once Daddy finishes talking with Master, I’ll come keep Liya company.”

He didn’t mind his daughter listening in.

But the Five Poisons Sect had rules.

Ah Youduo might have private matters to discuss with him, so it was better to have his daughter step out.

“Love you Daddy. I’ll be waiting! Mua!”

The girl hugged her father with bright delight, brimming with worship and reliance.

That affection felt instinctive, so pure it moved Lu Changsheng.

After Ina led Lu Jiangtang out of the Five Saints Hall, Nangong Mili also rose to leave.

She knew the status she held in the Five Poisons Sect was entirely thanks to Lu Changsheng.

Because of that bond, she’d become the number two under Ah Youduo.

But that bond had also cooled the closeness of the old days. Ah Youduo trusted Ina more and treated her as a confidante.

So without Lu Changsheng asking, she stayed extra respectful before Ah Youduo.

“Mili, you can stay.”

Seeing Nangong Mili rise, Lu Changsheng spoke, motioning for her to remain.

At his words, Nangong Mili sat with a calm smile, feeling at ease.

Compared to the Sect Leader, she knew she should lean on Lu Changsheng now.

“Ah Youduo, how have things been these years?”

He looked at Ah Youduo, concerned about her and the Five Poisons Sect.

According to intelligence from the Immortal City of Damengze, the Jin Kingdom hadn’t been peaceful these years.

True Lord Mingsha had tried to break through to Nascent Soul early on and struck some deal with Beast God Mountain, working with them and helping Liang Kingdom fight Jiang and Yue.

But Ah Youduo, influenced by him in the past, refused to act against Jiang Kingdom, and they split over it.

Faced with that, the Heavenly Corpse Sect Master chose to side with the Five Poisons Sect against the Yin Ghost Sect.

There wasn’t much mystery to it.

The Heavenly Corpse Sect simply couldn’t match the Yin Ghost Sect as they were now.

Especially with True Lord Mingsha practically a dog to Beast God Mountain after forming some pact with them.

Without the Five Poisons Sect maintaining a three-way balance in Jin, once Liang overran Jiang and Yue, the Heavenly Corpse Sect would inevitably face invasion and pressure from the Yin Ghost Sect.

“Master.”

Ah Youduo laid out the sect’s situation over the years. The main pressure came from the Yin Ghost Sect and Liang Kingdom.

No one knew what deal True Lord Mingsha had made with Beast God Mountain.

These years he not only seized their territory, he also led large-scale slaughter toward the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range.

He even stirred beast tides and provoked shapeshifting demon kings of the fourth rank.

“It’s true Mingsha needs slaughter to collect Ten Thousand Spirit Blood to feed the Yin Ghost Sect’s supreme treasure, the 【Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Pool】.”

Ah Youduo’s face was solemn. “But to butcher so recklessly and strike at the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range, he must have something to rely on or someone driving him. Otherwise he wouldn’t dare.”

Deep within the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range lived many fourth-rank shapeshifting demon kings.

Normally they slept in their own domains or pushed deeper into the range, rarely paying attention to the fringes.

But if mass slaughter broke out, those demon kings would unite to resist, even calling forth other fourth-rank shapeshifting demon kings from the depths.

If multiple fourth-rank shapeshifting demon kings arose and a true beast tide swept out, the entire Jin Kingdom would suffer.

“Beast God Mountain, huh?”

Lu Changsheng knew that when True Lord Mingsha broke through to Nascent Soul, he borrowed power from Beast God Mountain.

That’s why back in the 【Mirage Domain of Vast Sands】, True Lord Mingsha, True Lord Tiancang, and True Lord Yunmei had hunted him together.

“It’s possible, but I’m not certain. I also suspect it could be related to the Demonic Mastermind.”

Ah Youduo spoke obliquely.

“The Demonic Mastermind.”

Lu Changsheng was no longer a novice to the cultivation world. He understood instantly. This likely tied back to the Seven Demonic Sects.

Just like when True Lord White Lotus appeared in the Five Poisons Sect years ago and took Nangong Yaoyao as a disciple.

He still didn’t know the exact purpose, but from what he knew now, it was the Seven Demonic Sects laying groundwork for the great calamity to come.

He hadn’t expected True Lord Mingsha to be tangled up with an envoy of the Seven Demonic Sects.

If he stormed the Yin Ghost Sect, would yet another envoy show up?

“It’s only my guess.”

Ah Youduo shook her head, then asked Lu Changsheng, “Master, what brings you here this time?”

“I came to check in on you, borrow your cave residence to break through, then flatten the Yin Ghost Sect and kill Mingsha.”

Lu Changsheng spoke lightly.

“Break through? Flatten the Yin Ghost Sect and kill True Lord Mingsha?”

Ah Youduo and Nangong Mili both froze at that, faces shocked and a little dazed.

Hadn’t Lu Changsheng already advanced to Nascent Soul? Why another breakthrough?

And flatten the Yin Ghost Sect?

Kill True Lord Mingsha? That was terrifying to even say.

Leaving aside the Yin Ghost Sect’s fourth-rank forbidden array, which was hard to break.

Just dealing with True Lord Mingsha wasn’t that simple.

There was a simple reason.

Among Nascent Souls, killing a peer was extremely difficult.

And True Lord Mingsha had the supreme treasure 【Ten Thousand Ghost Blood Pool】, which made him a match for many veteran Nascent Soul cultivators.

Ah Youduo had switched to the question-level cultivation, the Ten Thousand Calamities Toxic Spirit Codex.

But limited by her Nascent Soul foundation and her techniques, her combat strength had only grown so much. She might still not be a match for Mingsha.

Lu Changsheng had only recently advanced to Nascent Soul, yet said, almost offhand, he’d flatten the Yin Ghost Sect and kill True Lord Mingsha.

This was outrageous. Even though both Ah Youduo and Nangong Mili utterly believed in Lu Changsheng’s strength and knew he had, at Core Formation, fought and slain Nascent Soul cultivators.

They still felt he was being a bit too bold.

But as a Nascent Soul True Lord, Ah Youduo reacted fast. She remembered Lu Changsheng had already reached fourth-rank body refinement at Core Formation and asked, “Master, are you breaking through to mid-fourth-rank body refinement?”

If he did, then with his methods and his peerless sword embryo, killing True Lord Mingsha wasn’t impossible.

“That’s right.”

Lu Changsheng nodded.

She drew in a sharp breath.

Even having guessed, Ah Youduo was still stunned beyond measure.

No wonder he was a Central State powerhouse and emperor, bearing the unmatched Dragon Emperor Dao Body. How many years had it been?

Not only had he broken through to Nascent Soul, his body refinement was about to climb to mid-fourth-rank. Normally, anyone who dual-cultivated took body refinement a level below qi cultivation.

After a realm breakthrough, they’d invest in their physique to raise combat strength and survivability.

But her Master did the opposite.

His body refinement was a level higher than his qi. And he was too fast.

Ah Youduo remembered when Lu Changsheng took her back into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons to seek the Gu God Cauldron. He’d just broken into the fourth rank of body refinement.

By the count, only twenty-five years had passed.

Twenty-five years, barely the time she’d spent retraining her cultivation.

Yet in that span, her Master had stepped into Nascent Soul, and right after entering the fourth-rank of body refinement he was about to reach its mid stage. Even a mid-Nascent Soul giant wouldn’t see such gains in body refinement in so little time.

“Mid-fourth-rank body refinement!”

Beside them, Nangong Mili gazed at Lu Changsheng’s peerless face, heart fluttering.

She hadn’t expected him to grow so much over the years.

Not only had he advanced to Nascent Soul, he was about to push body refinement to the mid fourth rank.

He wasn’t a pure body cultivator either. He only practiced body refinement on the side.

Even so, mid-fourth-rank body refinement was enough to make him a regional power.

At that moment, Nangong Mili wanted to leap into his arms and ask about everything he’d been through, to pour out her longing.

But when she thought of his physique, which she could barely handle before, and that it was about to advance again, she worried she’d be taken apart. Her heart trembled yet still held a trace of anticipation. Her eyes turned hazy and sultry, like threaded silk drifting out.

“I’ll arrange a cave residence for Master. As for flattening the Yin Ghost Sect, Master can take the long view and prepare well.”

Ah Youduo knew most strong cultivators disliked being doubted, so she didn’t press.

“No rush.”

Lu Changsheng chuckled. He planned to see how effective his Yin-Yang Origin would be on Ah Youduo’s Nascent Soul Spirit Body.

She’d helped him a lot these years.

If he wanted her to continue helping wholeheartedly, he had to give her benefits.

Ah Youduo showed no resistance. Delight flickered in her eyes.

She’d been waiting for the Dragon Emperor Essence from Lu Changsheng after he reached Nascent Soul.

Dragon Emperor Essence.

Nangong Mili bit her red lip, a tide of anticipation rising in her heart.

She’d been a fourth-grade True Core back then with almost no hope of Nascent Soul.

Thanks to Lu Changsheng’s Yin-Yang energies, she advanced from a fourth-grade True Core to a third-grade Golden Core.

A third-grade Golden Core had hope for Nascent Soul.

But without a Huaying Pill and top-tier Nascent Soul spirit items, the odds were only twenty to thirty percent.

Now that Lu Changsheng had advanced to Nascent Soul, the Dragon Emperor Essence of his unmatched Dao Body would be stronger and could help her forge an Immortal Golden Core sooner. With an Immortal Golden Core, Nascent Soul would no longer be distant.

But seeing the expectation on her Sect Leader’s face, Nangong Mili knew she’d have to wait her turn.

Normally she had to stay respectful before the Sect Leader, but later might be different.

After all, when the three of them were together before, the Sect Leader had even, under that bastard man’s demands, lowered herself to serve her.

It hadn’t gone far, but the taboo of a subordinate serving above her still made Nangong Mili tremble inside.

Now that Lu Changsheng was a Nascent Soul True Lord, when he caught Nangong Mili looking at him with hazy, brimming charm, he could guess her thoughts and felt a bit speechless.

This woman really was just his type.

Right then and there, in the Sect Leader’s imposing palace, Lu Changsheng scooped the petite and lovely Five Poisons Sect Master into his arms in front of Nangong Mili.

In an instant, the girl-like Sect Leader transformed into a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old maiden, pretty and graceful.

Though her looks and figure couldn’t quite match Nangong Mili’s, she was still captivating.

Soft black hair spilled down her back. Her delicate face was only a little larger than Lu Changsheng’s palm, sheer purity and beauty in sharp contrast to her status as Sect Leader of the Five Poisons Sect.

Her bare feet were pale and dainty, translucent like freshly peeled bamboo shoots, smooth as jade.

When she rose on her toes, the round heels flushed a faint rosy pink, tender and tempting.

After twenty years, Ah Youduo was a bit shy again about such matters between men and women.

But Lu Ancestor was deeply versed in this path and gently guided the Nascent Soul Sect Leader.

He didn’t play favorites either and beckoned to Nangong Mili to join them.

Before long, spring warmth filled the solemn palace where every disciple usually paid respects.

They hadn’t seen each other in so long, and sparks should have flown.

But Lu Ancestor kept the main purpose in mind.

As rivers surged and flood dragons roared, the Yin-Yang Myriad Laws Nascent Soul poured a black and a white, like a Yin-Yang fish born of the great Dao, deep into Ah Youduo’s body.

Even as a Nascent Soul True Lord, she could barely withstand that flood of Yin-Yang energies. Nangong Mili watched her Sect Leader’s trembling, sweat-damp body and weakening legs and wondered if she should call Xiaochan or Ina over.

She didn’t much like Ina.

But at this rate she might fall apart. Lu Changsheng soothed Ah Youduo with Yin-Yang magical energy and helped her refine the Yin-Yang fish.

Ah Youduo forced herself to keep her trembling mind clear and savored the Dragon Emperor Essence, more vast and profound than years ago.

When the Yin-Yang fish entered her Qi Sea Dantian, her Nascent Soul Spirit Body felt a natural closeness and comfort.

Her spirit body drew in the Yin-Yang fish and began to refine it.

Warmth wrapped her Nascent Soul Spirit Body at once.

It was like becoming a baby in the womb, nourished without end, her heart clear and wondrous.

She could clearly feel her Nascent Soul Spirit Body improving and growing.

But soon, she finished refining that Yin-Yang fish.

An unprecedented hunger rose in Ah Youduo’s heart.

She wanted another dose.

But she knew this “Dragon Emperor Essence” wasn’t limitless.

Lu Changsheng needed time to recover it, and giving it out back-to-back would wear on him.

“Ah Youduo, how was it?”

Lu Changsheng asked, wanting to know how long it would take his Yin-Yang Origin to raise her Nascent Soul Spirit Body to an Earth Dao Nascent Soul.

“The effect is obvious. A few hundred times like that and my Nascent Soul can advance to an Earth Dao Nascent Soul.”

Ah Youduo’s cheeks were rosy, her voice a little breathless yet radiant.

A few hundred times sounded like a lot.

But this was a Human Dao Nascent Soul advancing to Earth Dao. It was a chance countless cultivators could only dream of.

Even so, Lu Changsheng frowned.

A few hundred times.

Right now it took almost a month to recover a single wisp of that Yin-Yang Origin.

A few hundred times meant decades.

For a Nascent Soul True Lord, a hundred years was only a tenth of a life.

But for Lu Changsheng, who’d cultivated just over a century, spending decades to raise one Human Dao Nascent Soul to Earth Dao felt far too slow.

And that was only Human Dao to Earth Dao.

Raising an Earth Dao Nascent Soul to Heavenly Dao might be a bottomless pit. “I’ve only just reached Nascent Soul. As my realm climbs, my Yin-Yang energies will grow stronger.”

“And besides realm, improving my Chaos Body will also boost my Yin-Yang energies.”

He thought it through and didn’t dwell.

Human Dao, Earth Dao, Heavenly Dao—each step was a barrier.

If Nascent Soul quality were easy to make up after the fact, treasures that raised Nascent Soul quality wouldn’t be so rare.

Most cultivators wouldn’t risk their lives for Earth Dao or Heavenly Dao and would settle for Human Dao to break through safely.

“Don’t worry. When I advance, the Dragon Emperor Essence will only grow stronger.”

Lu Changsheng told Ah Youduo.

If he went all out to help her raise her Nascent Soul quality, he could also use elixirs to speed up the recovery of his Yin-Yang Origin.

“Thank you, Master!”

Thinking of how fast he advanced, Ah Youduo brimmed with expectation. Maybe Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul wasn’t a dream.

She rose and, through action, showed Lu Changsheng her joy.

Lu Changsheng wrapped an arm around the sultry Nangong Mili and let go once more.

The palace filled again with warm spring sounds, louder than before, with no telling when they’d end.

A few days later, Lu Changsheng let Ah Youduo and Nangong Mili rest. He left the Five Saints Hall to see Ina and his daughter, Lu Jiangtang.

He also brought this daughter to meet his son Lu Minghuang and daughter Lu Mengchan.

He didn’t demand perfect harmony among all his children.

But he still wanted them familiar with one another, to have siblings they got along with.

Lu Minghuang, Lu Mengchan, and Lu Jiangtang all belonged to the Five Poisons line, so they should get to know each other.

Lu Jiangtang, like Lu Mengchan, cultivated the Ten Thousand Calamities Toxic Spirit Codex.

Lu Jiangtang adored her father, clung to him, and was incredibly lovable.

But with her brother Lu Minghuang and sister Lu Mengchan, she wasn’t as close.

She even acted like others were taking pieces of her most beloved treasure.

Faced with that, Lu Changsheng felt a bit helpless. So for the next stretch, with Meng Xiaochan and Ina, he stayed with the three children and calmly guided their cultivation.

Whether it was Lu Minghuang’s Divine Creation Refinement Art or the children’s Ten Thousand Calamities Toxic Spirit Codex, he was the best teacher.

He wanted to teach Ina as well, but she didn’t meet the conditions for that scripture.

They needed to gather many natural treasures, then use a secret technique to condense a postnatal poison body before she could cultivate it.

“Keep an eye out for such treasures.”

Lu Changsheng told Ina.

In the cultivation world, top experts valued their scriptures and rarely passed them on lightly.

Even though Ina was Ah Youduo’s confidante, the latter had never considered giving her the Ten Thousand Calamities Toxic Spirit Codex, only teaching Lu Jiangtang.

Lu Ancestor was much more casual about it.

He believed that if one met the conditions, they should cultivate the best scriptures available.

Even for the Yin-Yang Creation Sutra he cultivated, he shared some of its true intent with Lu Quanzhen so it could help validate his Kunpeng Swallowing Heaven Demon Art.

If not for missing conditions and no one at home being compatible with the Yin-Yang Creation Sutra or the True Saint Skill of Brahma and Demons, he wouldn’t have kept anything back.

“Thank you, Master!”

Ina didn’t know the scripture well.

But she knew it was a top scripture her own Sect Leader treasured, and her heart surged.

Lu Changsheng wanted to spend more time with his wives and children.

But he’d come to the Five Poisons Sect for important business and couldn’t delay too long.

Half a month later, he gave Ah Youduo a list of the treasures he needed, then entered her cave residence to break through to the second layer of Nascent Soul and mid-fourth-rank body refinement.