Chapter 848: The Birth of a Divine Body

“A Spirit Body?”

Lu Changsheng’s heart skipped a beat.

Ever since his son, Lu Yun, brought two spirit-bodied children into the world, not a single member of the Lu Family’s third generation had shown that kind of talent.

As for the fourth, fifth, and even sixth generations, there hadn’t been any either.

But that was normal.

After all, a child’s talent was closely tied to their parents’ cultivation and spirit root gifts.

Beyond pouring in rare resources and miraculous pills, the rest came down to luck.

So for a Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivator to have a child with a gifted spirit body was like hitting the jackpot—odds almost impossibly slim.

“Could it be Ping’an’s child?” Lu Changsheng wondered. This spirit body descendant most likely belonged to his son, Lu Ping’an, and Qin Yi.

Given the timing, Qin Yi should’ve just given birth.

Before he could check the system, he received word from Lu Ping’an—the child had arrived.

“Miaoge.” Lu Changsheng’s face lit up as he glanced at his wife beside him.

He shared the news about Xiaoqin’s newborn and got ready to go see for themselves.

“Ping’an really should have told us earlier about something this important.”

Dressed in a simple white gown, Lu Miaoge walked with graceful poise. Her delicate features looked as pure as fresh snow as she spoke softly, feeling such news should have reached them sooner.

“Maybe he was just so excited he forgot.”

Lu Changsheng took his wife’s slender hand, smiling warmly, and together they left their cave residence for the Hall of Everlasting Life.

Thinking of his daughter Lu Wangshu, who had been meditating on the Blood Talisman Spirit Body technique in the Pocket Dimension, he extended his divine sense to check. Finding she wasn’t at a key moment, he called out, “Wangshu.”

“Your eldest brother and sister-in-law’s child has been born. Want to come have a look?”

“Yes!” Lu Wangshu’s eyes shot open and she hurried out of her wooden house, calling to her parents ahead, looking every bit a happy child, “Father! Mother!”

Then she took Lu Miaoge’s arm and together they left the Pocket Dimension, heading to Lu Ping’an’s courtyard.

“System.”

While walking, Lu Changsheng silently called for the system, wanting to see why his grandchild was born a spirit body.

[Name: Not yet named]

[Lifespan: 1/95]

[Talent: Second-grade Spirit Root, Wild Wasteland Battle Body (top-tier spirit body)]

[Cultivation: None]

[Aptitude: Body Refinement (68%)]

“Wild Wasteland Battle Body?”

Lu Changsheng was astonished. He hadn’t expected this grandchild to be born with such a top-tier spirit body.

Right now in the entire Lu Family, there were only a handful of people with top-tier spirit bodies.

“Second-grade spirit root, top-tier spirit body… Just like Xuangen.”

Lu Changsheng thought of another grandson, Lu Xuangen—the undisputed top talent of the family’s third generation.

But the nature of their spirit bodies couldn’t be more different.

The Five Elements Spirit Body was one of the most common top-tier spirit bodies.

Those with it cultivated five-element arts and spells with incredible speed and power.

But this Wild Wasteland Battle Body was rare, mostly found among body cultivators.

Their physical strength and fighting prowess were unmatched, growing fiercer with every battle.

“I wonder if the Wild Wasteland Battle Body has something to do with Ping’an’s Wild Dragon Spine?”

Lu Changsheng pondered silently.

Inheritance was common in the world of cultivation.

If parents had a spirit root, their children usually did too.

If both parents had spirit bodies, the odds of their children doing so increased substantially.

His son, Lu Ping’an, possessed one of the Lu Family’s nine divine bones—the Wild Dragon Spine—and it had long since fused seamlessly with his body.

Under such circumstances, it was only natural his children might inherit some of these traits.

With the help of fusion pills and years of rare resources, those hereditary attributes could be brought to their fullest, resulting in a spirit body.

Still, whether there was a direct link between the Wild Dragon Spine and the Wild Wasteland Battle Body was hard to say.

By the time Lu Changsheng and Lu Miaoge arrived at their son’s courtyard, Lu Miaoyun and a few others had also heard the news and rushed over.

“Husband, Miaoge, Wangshu!”

Lu Miaoyun, dressed in a deep blue gown, had an air of quiet elegance—but years leading the Lu Family had given her a hint of authority.

She was one of Lu Changsheng’s earliest wives and kept a good relationship with Lu Ping’an’s mother, Lu Lanshu. The two always addressed each other as sisters.

Because of her standing, after she married Lu Changsheng, Lu Lanshu and two other wives, Lu Zier and Lu Qing’er, willingly gave up their position as first wife.

So back then, she’d always looked out for Lu Ping’an, the Lu Family’s eldest son to inherit the Qingzhu Mountain bloodline.

Over the years, one managed the household, the other guided the younger generations.

“Yun, Zhenzhen.” Lu Changsheng greeted them with a smile as he made his way over with several wives to see the child.

Once inside, they found Lu Ping’an—tall, broad, and a little stiff—holding a baby awkwardly by the bedside.

Qin Yi lay pale and weak on the bed.

No matter your cultivation, pregnancy and childbirth always left a mother weakened.

It was one of the reasons children of high-level cultivators often ended up exceptionally gifted.

“Father, aunties, Wangshu, you’re all here.”

Lu Ping’an greeted them.

Qin Yi, still on the bed, also managed a greeting.

Lu Miaoge immediately came over, took Qin Yi’s wrist, and used the Supreme Goodness Like Water Method to help nourish her body.

That method wasn’t a formal healing technique, but it was outstanding for nourishment—better than most famous doctors.

“Thank you, Mother-in-law.” Though Qin Yi was straightforward by nature, she grew awkward around her in-laws, addressing them as Lu Ping’an did.

“Father, take a look.”

Lu Ping’an nervously handed his son over to his own father, his movements so tentative that Lu Miaoyun and Lu Wangshu couldn’t help but laugh.

After all, everyone present was at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Lu Ping’an was even a Core Formation cultivator, with a law domain. Even if he dropped the child, he could save him instantly.

And with Lu Changsheng, a Nascent Soul True Lord, there was nothing to worry about.

“Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!”

The baby was a boy—plump, fair, and healthy.

Once in Lu Changsheng’s hands, he immediately began wailing, voice strong and lungs full, the vibrance of his young body on display.

“Hahaha! Ping’an, he’s definitely inherited your constitution.”

Lu Changsheng didn’t mind the noise at all, looking at his grandson with delight.

“Father, let me see, let me see!” Lu Wangshu chirped, eager for a turn with her nephew.

Lu Miaoyun and Qu Zhenzhen crowded closer for a look as well.

“So, big brother, have you picked a name for my nephew yet?”

Lu Wangshu poked at the baby’s chubby cheeks, remembering Lu Lingxiao and Lu Linghe’s childhood.

Back then, with Aunt Ling Zixiao often busy, their father would hand the twins to her to look after, hoping the siblings would grow closer.

Now those two had grown up—Lu Lingxiao had broken through to Core Formation and gone to the front lines.

“Fan. He’ll be called Lu Xuanfan.”

Lu Ping’an watched as Wangshu held the infant and replied.

He’d asked his father before to name the child.

But after naming hundreds of children, Lu Changsheng had lost interest and told him to do it himself.

After much back-and-forth with Qin Yi, they settled on Lu Xuanfan.

“Xuan” was the third-generation naming character in the Lu Family.

“Fan” embodied his wish for a safe, ordinary, happy life for his son.

He hoped that his child would grow up peaceful and simple, yet within that ordinariness find something extraordinary, enough to bring honor to the family.

At the same time, “Fan” was a reminder of where he’d started.

If not for his father’s intervention, he would’ve died a mortal, just like his mother and so many siblings, now only dust in the earth.

“Lu Xuanfan.”

Lu Wangshu, Lu Miaoyun, and the others nodded, softly calling the baby’s name.

The third generation of the Lu Family numbered in the thousands, with even more in the fourth, fifth, and sixth.

Yet, as the eldest son’s child, this baby already held special meaning.

Other than a handful of family members, the news of Lu Xuanfan’s birth attracted little public attention.

But Lu Miaoyun still sent out ten spirit stones each as baby gifts to everyone on Bihu Mountain, so instantly the whole clan learned that Lu Ping’an and Qin Yi had a child together.

Many second- and third-generation family members came to pay their respects, offering congratulations to their big brother or uncle.

As for the fourth and fifth generations, most weren’t old enough even to visit—they just lined up to send their well-wishes when the chance came.

Neither Lu Ping’an nor Qin Yi liked elaborate ceremonies, so they skipped the baby’s one-month feast.

They didn’t want their child growing up in the spotlight, after all.

Knowing there were no festivities planned, Lu Wangshu didn’t wait for her nephew’s one-month mark—she returned to seclusion, determined to make her final push at Core Formation.

With years of accumulation, the Nine-Nine Profound Talisman Sutra, fourth-tier talismans, a clear Dao Heart, Butterfly Transformation Gu, and Ten Thousand Spirit Blood—all steadily breaking through bottlenecks—she felt almost certain of success.

Her goal now wasn’t the Immortal Golden Core, but the Dao Golden Core her father spoke of.

Lu Changsheng didn’t stick around to keep watch.

He would only come by when his daughter reached her final breakthrough.

For now, he channeled his grandson Lu Xuanfan’s Wild Wasteland Battle Body into his own Chaos Body.

Talent among the Lu Family’s third generation usually declined by half compared to the second.

But even weakened, a top-tier spirit body was still as powerful as a superior spirit body.

Through fusion, Lu Changsheng came to understand the Wild Wasteland Battle Body in depth.

It shared similarities to the Undying Golden Body.

A tough, resilient body immune to many arts and curses, boasting natural regeneration and immense physical strength.

But unlike the Undying Golden Body’s insane vitality,

the Wild Wasteland Battle Body didn’t generate immortal matter or undying traits in advance.

Instead, it developed a special “battle blood”.

This battle blood would ignite, boiling in the thick of combat.

In some ways, it was like Ping’an’s Hope Gu.

But while the Hope Gu set the user aflame in desperate times, pushing them to their limits,

the Wild Wasteland Battle Body used the will to fight to rouse every drop of blood, lifting one’s power and endurance.

Besides that, it granted a huge advantage in hand-to-hand combat.

Heightened senses and fighting instincts could surpass any ordinary cultivator.

“How can the Wild Wasteland Battle Body be so much like the Undying Golden Body… Did someone base the latter off the former?”

Lu Changsheng couldn’t help but wonder during the fusion, suspecting his grandson’s spirit body was closely tied to Ping’an’s Undying Golden Body.

The Undying Golden Body had come from Mount Da Luo’s legacy, the Nine Cicadas Undying Body Technique.

It required the essence of an Undying Golden Body to even begin.

His son only attained it by escaping from True Lord Fuhai, who tried to seize his body for the Da Luo inheritance, succeeding in condensing the Undying Golden Body.

As his cultivation realm advanced, the Undying Golden Body could continue to evolve.

“Mount Da Luo is a top force in the Central Region, masters of body cultivation. Surely they’ve studied countless spirit bodies and even developed ways to create them artificially.”

Lu Changsheng had once asked Ling Zixiao to look into Mount Da Luo and Dragon-Tiger Immortal City.

Although she couldn’t uncover much,

he learned Mount Da Luo was one of the Southern Desolation’s true powers.

Otherwise, True Lord Fuhai—an influential Nascent Soul expert—wouldn’t have suffered such a terrible fate.

After a long while, Lu Changsheng finished fusing a weakened Wild Wasteland Battle Body into his Chaos Body.

His Chaos Body had already merged with the Undying Golden Body, Kunpeng Body, and the incomplete Chaos Body from his daughter, Lu Jiangtang.

So this fusion brought little boost to his strength.

Mainly, he gained the battle blood and sharper combat sense and perception.

After body cultivation reached the fourth tier, his flesh became like a spirit treasure, filled with spiritual awareness.

Now he was more sensitive to changes in energy, danger, and divine sense.

With the Wild Wasteland fusion, he was even more alert.

If threatened, his instincts would take over, dodging or counterattacking on reflex.

It sounded ordinary, but in life-and-death struggles, such a talent was priceless—covering for his relative lack of close-combat skill.

After all, the Lu Ancestor’s fighting style had always favored brute force over fancy techniques.

“System, lottery draw.”

With the fusion done, Lu Changsheng initiated a draw.

He’d earned one for his grandson’s birth.

Not long ago, the family’s next generation cracked the twenty thousand mark, earning another.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you’ve obtained the technique: ‘Perfect Seamless Robe’!]

[Reward has been delivered to your system space—you can check it any time.]

An image of a glowing jade book floated in his vision as the system chime sounded.

“Huh?”

Lu Changsheng frowned a little at the technique’s name.

Somehow it sounded more like a robe than a cultivation art.

He opened the system space.

[Technique: Perfect Seamless Robe]

[Grade: Orthodox]

[Description: Created by Lady No-Clothes. Mastering this technique forms a seamless robe that conceals every trace of energy and destiny. When worn, all is hidden and the world cannot fathom you.]

“A method to hide cultivation and magical power?”

Lu Changsheng arched an eyebrow.

Breathing Tehniques were among the most-used tricks by cultivators.

But most of them barely worked.

He’d mostly relied on the sealing light of his Nine Treasures Dao Bone to hide his cultivation.

When his body cultivation hit the fourth rank, he could just use his body to seal off energy and hide his true strength.

In short, he’d always depended on his flesh, blood, and magical power to mask his presence.

But as for dedicated methods for it? He’d never actually learned any.

“System, give me the inheritance!”

Feeling intrigued, Lu Changsheng triggered the transmission of ‘Perfect Seamless Robe’.

Almost instantly, the full technique poured into his mind.

He sank his focus into it, digesting every line of insight.

“What an interesting art.”

After some time, he opened his eyes, having fully comprehended it.

The technique consisted of five realms.

First was the Dust Robe.

With this, one could shroud their body with invisible motes, hiding both cultivation and appearance.

Second was the Law Robe.

Here, one gathered all their energy into a robe-like shell. No aura would ever leak, no matter how one moved, breathed, or channeled power.

Third was the Formless Robe.

At this point, you didn’t even have to activate anything—your cultivation, wounds, and even scent became impossible to detect. You blended in like any mortal.

Fourth was the Tribulation Robe.

It required special treasures to forge, but once complete, one’s energy bore tribulation-mark veins, becoming impossible to pierce even with heavenly divination.

Fifth, the Heavenly Robe.

It was seamless, immaterial, threaded with the laws of the void itself.

When used, one’s presence vanished completely—no energy, no lifeforce, no tracking method could find you.

Even standing right before someone, divine sense couldn’t perceive a thing.

To the naked eye, you faded like a mirage—your features impossible to remember.

“With the Lu Family Record, I don’t have to worry about anyone prying into our destiny, but if a child masters this art, it’d be a huge advantage for wandering the world.”

As a Nascent Soul cultivator and mid-fourth rank body cultivator, Lu Changsheng found the technique had little effect on himself.

But for the younger Lu family members, it could be incredible.

Even just mastering the first level put it above countless regular arts.

If they reached the second, no one at the same cultivation rank could see through their disguise.

The ability was also excellent for escapes.

Even if targeted by curses or poison, it could mask the symptoms.

He remembered when he’d once been chased by True Lord Tiancang in the Mirage Domain of Vast Sands—if he’d had Perfect Seamless Robe then, no one could have tracked him.

And for himself, he could still benefit if he practiced it to perfection.

It had a lot in common with his own divine art—the Yin-Yang Glass Wall.

But the two were distinct and didn’t clash.

If he layered both, he’d be nearly impossible to sense, even for a Nascent Soul expert.

He could get close, suppress all energy emissions, and strike before an enemy knew he was even there.

Last time, even Fuhai True Lord had at least noticed the Nine-Leaf Sword Technique before it struck.

But with this, the enemy wouldn’t have time to react.

Especially now, after his fourth-rank body breakthrough, close combat would be a nightmare for his foes.

“Definitely worth adding to my cultivation list.”

Lu Changsheng exhaled and made a mental note to work on this technique when time allowed.

Given his talent and understanding, he just needed to gather the right materials for the higher levels.

With a little effort, he’d get there.

The only trouble was, looking at his long backlog of techniques and to-dos, it gave him a headache.

“System, lottery draw.”

Time for the second draw.

At this point, he was so used to the ordinary lottery, he barely blinked.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you’ve obtained a puppet: Faceless Homunculus!]

[Reward has been delivered to your system space—you can check it any time.]

“A puppet?”

He’d won the Thousand-Faced Fox Puppet before—the one with self-awareness.

After later meeting Qian Zhuyan, a genius in the puppet-arts, Lu Changsheng’s interest in puppets had only grown.

Now that the system had given him another, he was curious what inspiration this one might bring.

“Extract!”

He didn’t bother to inspect it, immediately drawing the Faceless Homunculus from his system space.

At once, a puppet appeared made entirely of transparent, crystalline material—utterly blank and faceless.

Reading the system info, he quickly understood its purpose.

A third-rank puppet.

But unlike most, it had no battle capabilities.

Its main function was to simulate the circulation and breakthrough process of any technique.

If Lu Changsheng ever worried about hidden dangers in a new art, he could feed his data and the art to the puppet, letting it run the simulation.

If a problem arose, the Homunculus would immediately warn him.

But since it was only a third-rank puppet, it could only simulate up to Core Formation and couldn’t handle high-level, complex arts.

It was most useful to Qi Refining or Foundation cultivators looking to preview their future progress.

You could test your compatibility with an art, or check for flaws in new techniques found outside.

Even for breakthrough attempts, if you were uncertain, the Homunculus could simulate the entire process in advance.

Although it couldn’t truly mimic your state of mind, it gave a decent approximation.