Chapter 909: Peach Blossom Gu Evolves; A Dire Omen for the Star King

First, the Peach Blossom Gu’s original effects—improving skin and temperament, looks, and increasing attraction to the opposite sex—have all doubled.

And the body now carries a peach-blossom fragrance; those who see you feel at ease, those who catch the scent relax.

In short, it’s like gaining an acquired physique akin to the Immaculate Heavenly Fragrance Body. The whole person becomes like a blooming peach tree—inviting, impossible to ignore.

Second, beyond subtly boosting peach blossom luck, the Peach Blossom Gu can now gather it and, through Lu Changsheng’s romantic fortune, condense Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme.

Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme can raise heaven-and-earth fortune, and it purifies emotional balefulness, wards off poison mists, and suppresses heart demon interference.

In other words, the Peach Blossom Gu now not only increases Lu Changsheng’s peach blossom luck, it also elevates his overall fortune.

Third, the Gu’s innate ability 【Five Aggregates Peach Blossom Miasma】 has leveled up.

In addition to the miasma, its fragrance can coalesce and make peach blossoms bloom across the sky, forming a Peach Blossom Law Domain.

Within that domain, it doesn’t just befuddle hearts and senses. It can tug out emotional illusions buried in others and disturb their spirit-soul awareness.

Enemies trapped inside may even develop a false fondness for Lu Changsheng, mistaking the two of them as husband and wife, Dao partners.

If their Dao heart and will are weak, their souls can sink and wander lost in the domain, falling for him in the process.

Beyond the across-the-board power-up, the Peach Blossom Gu has also inherited Blushing Peach Blossom’s gift—Blesses the Husband.

Though at this point, it should be called Blesses the Wife.

Any female cultivator who forms a blessed bond with Lu Changsheng can also receive Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme and a boost to fortune.

They just need to be with him.

If the two are separated for too long or too far, the boon fades bit by bit.

Still, Lu Changsheng can actively expend and apply Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme to help bonded women increase their fortune, resolve emotional balefulness, ward off toxic mists, and stave off heart demon interference.

That might look middling on paper—hurting himself to help others—but to Lu Changsheng it’s incredibly useful.

His wives and Dao partners are already on the verge of stepping from Core Formation to Nascent Soul.

Helping them with Foundation Establishment and Core Formation is one thing.

With his current wealth and clout, even those with inferior spirit roots could be piled with resources straight into Core Formation.

But Nascent Soul is another story.

Charging into Nascent Soul tests every facet of a cultivator.

Talent, foundation, state of mind—all three are indispensable.

Any realm where the base wasn’t properly laid before can leave hidden flaws.

As for the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation, it stops ninety-nine out of a hundred Core Formation cultivators.

Plenty will still risk their lives for a sliver of hope during Foundation Establishment and Core Formation.

But when it comes to breaking through to Nascent Soul, very few dare to gamble.

Even if you manage to shatter the core and form the infant by sheer luck, the Heaven’s Thunder Tribulation and the Heart Demon Tribulation that follow are nine deaths out of ten—often ten out of ten.

So many cultivators reach the peak of Core Formation, yet never dare to attempt the leap—they stop there.

Among Lu Changsheng’s current wives, he believes only Hong Lian can safely overcome the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation and break through.

The others, even if they reach the peak and attempt Nascent Soul, face huge risk.

Now, though, Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme can raise fortune, resolve emotional balefulness, and block heart demon interference.

No need to belabor how important a fortune boost is.

Breaking into Nascent Soul hinges on timing, place, people—and a dose of fate’s favor.

Lu Changsheng and Yun Wanshang already proved that.

When heaven-and-earth fortune smiles on you, timing aligns and inspiration flows. Opportunities for Heaven to condense the Nascent Soul appear.

Lu Changsheng doesn’t expect the Gu to hand every wife a Heaven-ordained Condensing-the-Nascent-Soul opportunity.

As long as his fortune boon smooths the waves, balances the ups and downs, and keeps their state steady, he’ll be satisfied.

If it lets them perform above their usual, all the better.

A cultivator’s state during a breakthrough matters. It can decide success or failure.

Then there’s blocking heart demon interference.

This effect certainly can’t fully negate the Heart Demon Tribulation.

But if it can shave down its bite, that’s the same as carrying a top-tier heart tribulation spirit item. More than enough.

With Lu Changsheng’s help, his wives and Dao partners basically gain a flat twenty percent bump to forming the infant.

That might not sound like much.

But twenty percent is enough to make a cultivator stake their life—and actually succeed.

The first and third effects are kind of underwhelming, but Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme pulls its weight.

Lu Changsheng figures his looks and presence don’t need any more polishing.

Otherwise he’d be a walking charm demon.

He already has to keep his face and bearing understated most days.

Especially the part about his body giving off fragrance.

Back when he obtained the Immaculate Heavenly Fragrance Body, he already disliked that bit.

He’s a grown man—walking around scented just feels wrong.

Later, when his physique upgraded to the Chaos Body, he took full control of the fragrance and dialed it down to nothing.

He never uses it unless it’s for a little husband-and-wife fun.

Now the Peach Blossom Gu slaps another body fragrance on him. Lu Changsheng really isn’t a fan.

Thankfully, it’s under his control and not a passive effect.

As for the Five Aggregates Peach Blossom Miasma and that Peach Blossom Law Domain—sleazy tricks like these do nothing for him.

Ever since he got the Peach Blossom Gu, the only time he used the Five Aggregates Peach Blossom Miasma was against the Six Paths Demon Concubine—desire blazing, he unleashed it on instinct.

He’s never released it otherwise.

Still, better to have it than not.

Lu Changsheng didn’t dwell on it.

A cultivator can never have too many methods.

One more method means one more way to deal with an enemy.

This Peach Blossom Law Domain looks pointless at first glance.

But against multiple foes, or a female cultivator with cracks in her spirit and heart, it can turn the tables.

“Congratulations, my lord, on refining an Immortal Gu!”

When Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and the surge of qi around him stilled, Ah Youduo hurried forward to offer her congratulations. Her eyes brimmed with respect and admiration—her master felt even more otherworldly now, like an exiled immortal.

“Ah Youduo, you’ve worked hard these days.”

Lu Changsheng lifted a hand and swapped the tribulation-torn robe for a fresh one, then spoke with easy grace.

Once the Peach Blossom Gu rose to an Immortal Gu, it could greatly enhance a cultivator’s looks, features, figure, and bearing.

Lu Changsheng’s face didn’t really change; his aura simply grew gentler, with a hard-to-describe charm that drew people in at a glance.

Partly, improvements to looks and figure settle in slowly.

Partly, his features, appearance, and bearing had long been pushed to the “immortal grace” threshold by the Immortal Grace Technique, the Peach Blossom Gu, the Immaculate Heavenly Fragrance Body, the Chaos Body, and his cultivation realm. There isn’t much room left.

Any further improvement would no longer be about mortal notions of beauty, but a manifestation of rule-like Dao rhyme.

It’s like practitioners of charm techniques.

Many high-level cultivators of such arts build their method around elevating appearance and allure, then use that beauty to bewitch others.

Lu Changsheng never set out to cultivate such arts.

But the way his charm has stacked up already rivals many who did.

“You’re too kind, my lord. Being able to witness an Immortal Gu’s birth is my honor.”

Before Lu Changsheng, Ah Youduo had long set aside the pride and dignity of a sect master and Nascent Soul True Lord.

Once the tribulation ended, Ina from the Five Saints Hall brought their daughter Lu Jiangtang over to offer congratulations as well.

The girl idolized her father and asked why Daddy had to undergo a tribulation.

“This tribulation is called the Immortal Gu Tribulation.”

Lu Changsheng told his daughter that master and Gu face it together, so their life-bond would be tighter and the Gu’s power under complete control.

At that, Ah Youduo seemed to have an epiphany.

Ina’s beautiful eyes, however, flickered with shock and disbelief.

She hadn’t expected that tribulation to be an Immortal Gu Tribulation, that her lord’s Gu had ascended.

For a Five Poisons Sect cultivator, Immortal Gu are the holiest of all.

“No wonder the Gu in my body trembled in unrest just now.” Thinking back to how her Gu bowed to Lu Changsheng earlier, Ina felt even more reverence for the handsome man before her.

Afterward!

Afterward!

Afterward!

Lu Changsheng tested the Peach Blossom Gu’s new abilities on Ah Youduo and Ina.

A Core Formation cultivator like Ina is child’s play for the Five Aggregates Peach Blossom Miasma—never mind the domain.

Even a Nascent Soul like Ah Youduo wavered under the Peach Blossom Law Domain, her mind thrown into disarray as emotional illusions were stirred.

As for Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme, any woman bonded to him can receive its boons.

Short stints together build that boon slowly unless he expends Dao rhyme himself.

But the Gu only just advanced to fourth rank, so he doesn’t have much Peach Blossom Dao Rhyme yet.

He’ll need to harmonize with his partners—living in affection and accord—to steadily gather it.

Of course, to gain large surges of peach blossom luck and quickly condense Dao rhyme, he still needs to form bonds with new high-level female cultivators.

Those already bonded can only accumulate peach blossom luck little by little through daily life. It’s very slow.

“So you want to force me into bonding with other women? You…”

Lu Changsheng could only stare speechlessly at this way of condensing Dao rhyme, then scold the Peach Blossom Gu.

Would the Lu Ancestor really go seek bonds just for a bit of Dao rhyme?

If he bonds, it’ll be love at first sight, mutual affection, a fate sealed across lifetimes—or for the sake of family, the future, the greater picture.

Though the tasks that brought him to the Jin Kingdom were wrapped up, Lu Changsheng wasn’t in a rush to leave.

He wanted time with Ah Youduo, Ina, his daughter Lu Jiangtang, and the others.

He also summoned weaponsmiths from the Five Poisons Sect, the Heavenly Corpse Sect, and the Yin Ghost Sect to help refine more spirit treasures.

The item wasn’t anything new—it was the Misty Dust Banner’s sub-flag, the Small Misty Dust Banner.

Years ago, Lu Changsheng found cross-country travel a hassle and a time sink.

If he could copy the Small Misty Dust Banner and embed it in the ley lines of the Yin Ghost Sect, the Fuhai Sect, and the like, he could use the 【Misty Dust Banner】 to hop back and forth in a blink.

Once he became a fourth-rank weaponsmith, he had the confidence to replicate the sub-flag.

He’d just been held back by materials.

After the battles with the Fuhai Sect and the Yin Ghost Sect, and the Liang-Yue War, the Lu Ancestor’s purse had fattened enough to assemble what he needed.

He planned to personally forge the first Small Misty Dust Banner here, then have the local weaponsmiths replicate a second.

He genuinely wanted to train these smiths up.

Going forward, re-casting spirit treasures and forging treasure embryos would be handed to them, along with the craftsmen he captured from the Liang Kingdom.

Otherwise, even the Lu Ancestor can’t be in ten places at once.

While Lu Changsheng busied himself with the Small Misty Dust Banner, in the Jiang Kingdom’s Immortal City of Damengze, at the City Lord’s Mansion—

“Why isn’t my husband back yet?” Hong Lian was puzzled.

Through Bihu Mountain, she knew Lu Changsheng had returned from the Liang Kingdom.

He’d gone with Qu Zhenzhen and her brother to the Jin Kingdom first.

Besides Xu Ruoyin arriving at the Immortal City, half a year ago another Core Formation cultivator showed up, claiming to be from the Starry Sea’s Divine Maiden Palace.

Such a Core Formation cultivator didn’t worry Hong Lian.

But she knew the Starry Sea.

She’d heard Lu Changsheng talk about his experiences there and knew he’d once entered the Divine Maiden Palace.

So this female cultivator named “Qin Yuning” most likely came because of what he did in the palace.

Since it was only a Core Formation visitor and nothing life-or-death, she hadn’t triggered the emergency message talisman to call Lu Changsheng back.

No need to disturb him and make him drop everything in the Jin Kingdom to hurry home.

Even so, with this much time passed and no sign of him, Hong Lian worried he’d be tied up for years again.

“If he still hasn’t returned soon, I’ll send word.”

Partly because of the matters of Xu Ruoyin and Qin Yuning.

Partly because her preparations for Nascent Soul were about done—she could start the breakthrough.

At that moment, in the Immortal City of Damengze, atop a pavilion tower—

Qin Yuning stood tall and graceful in a blue-and-white tasseled gown.

By her master’s order, she’d come to pay respects to the city’s deputy lord, the Changsheng True Lord.

Since he wasn’t around, she waited.

Her master’s instructions were not to be taken lightly.

She hadn’t spent the whole half year just waiting. Between closed-door cultivation, she asked around and gathered news about the Jiang Kingdom.

The more she learned about the deputy city lord “Changsheng True Lord,” the more puzzled she felt.

How did her master even know of such a Core Formation cultivator—and why send her to deliver a letter to him?

With her master’s level and status, it made more sense to be in contact with the city’s lord, the Lord of Dameng City, Yangming True Lord.

In her inquiries she also heard of how the Lord of Dameng City, Yangming True Lord, pacified the Liang-Yue War.

The Jiang Kingdom lagged behind the Starry Sea.

But the Lord of Dameng City’s strength admitted no doubt.

He was a top-tier Nascent Soul cultivator—a mid-stage powerhouse.

So Qin Yuning suspected the message was really meant for the Lord of Dameng City.

But her master wouldn’t fumble something like that.

She could only swallow her confusion and quietly wait for the Changsheng True Lord to return from the Liang front.

Starry Sea, Starrymoon Hall.

“Ominous. Ominous. Ominous!”

In the divination chamber, the Star King’s face was ashen.

Previously, his fortunes had swung between peril and slim hope, mostly peril. He’d been trying to find a path to life.

When he learned the Lord of Dameng City, Yangming True Lord, had captured six Nascent Soul cultivators—likely a reincarnated great power—he rested and paid a heavy price to divine again.

This round, every sign pointed to misfortune, and faintly they coalesced into a great ill omen.

As a top diviner, the Star King knew what that meant—nine deaths to one life, a fatal calamity.

With the Starrymoon Hall, a fourth-rank forbidden grand array, and layers of safeguards, he feared neither the Turtle Immortal Patriarch nor the Six Paths Demon Lord. He could keep them outside.

Yet now, sitting inside his own hall, a great ill omen was forming.

How could he not be afraid of such a hexagram?

“Yue Zun!”

The Star King immediately realized Yue Zun was likely to betray him.

They co-commanded the Starrymoon Hall and ran its defenses together. Even a late-stage Nascent Soul attacker would retreat empty-handed.

If a great ill omen was brewing while he sat within, there was only one reason—Yue Zun’s betrayal.

Or rather, Yue Zun choosing not to help him, maybe even helping someone else.

The more he thought, the uglier his expression grew.

They weren’t Dao partners, but he and Yue Zun had worked side by side for centuries.

Now, if she might betray him for a nebulous ancestral injunction, how could he not rage?

“In just two years, my readings shifted from ups and downs—mostly peril—to a looming great ill omen. That means this man’s strength and methods are climbing fast.”

“Besides Yue Zun, he must have other means. If I keep dragging this out, he might actually kill me.”

The Star King’s heart quivered.

As a top diviner, his survival instinct was razor sharp.

Whenever danger approached, his spiritual sense warned him.

Which only made the cloud of death closing in feel more real.

“Even if he isn’t the Eastern Emperor or the Master of Yuhai Mountain reincarnated, he’s on that level. If he keeps growing like this, it’s only a matter of time before he wipes me out. I can’t sit here waiting to die.”

The Star King’s expression turned cold and hard.

He judged that once the Lord of Dameng City had absolute confidence of killing him, he’d come for the Starrymoon Hall.

“Run. For me, right now, there’s only running.”

After a moment’s thought, the Star King decided.

He would abandon the Starrymoon Hall and flee the Starry Sea.

If he couldn’t beat them, he’d have to run.

“I have to move fast. With a top-tier reincarnate like him, you can’t judge by normal rules. In a few decades he could wield late-stage Nascent Soul power.”

The Star King hadn’t reached this point in life by being indecisive. He’d dared to hunt the Eastern Emperor’s Heir alongside the Zhenhai Patriarch.

The Starrymoon Hall was precious, but not as precious as his life.

He still had a long lifespan ahead and a limitless path, with hope for late-stage Nascent Soul. How could he just sit and await doom?

With his cultivation and divination legacy, he would have a place anywhere.

He swallowed a pill and began healing, replenishing the essence and blood he’d burned during divination so Yue Zun wouldn’t notice.

When he’d fled the Fuhai Sect back to the Starrymoon Hall, Yue Zun already sensed something was wrong.

He’d spent the last two-plus years secluded, divining nonstop.

If Yue Zun saw his essence depleted and lifespan shaved away, she’d be able to guess far too much.