Chapter 921: Lu True Lord and the Lord of Dameng City—Is Yangming True Lord the Same Man?

Divine Maiden Palace.

Shen Jianjia listened to her disciple Qin Yuning lay out details about the so-called “Changsheng True Lord,” her face stern and frosty.

Earlier, she had sent people to Da Mengze to gather information.

They discovered that Xuamu Daoist looked exactly like the deputy city lord of the Immortal City of Damengze—”Changsheng True Lord.”

And from the memories in her foster daughter Shen Wanzhao’s mind, the giant whale was the Lord of Dameng City’s spirit pet mount.

But they knew little about Changsheng True Lord himself.

Now, after hearing her disciple’s report, she finally had a clearer picture of this Changsheng True Lord.

He started out as a live-in son-in-law and, in just over a hundred years, rose to where he is now.

Along the way he kept marrying, taking concubines, and having children.

Now he has wives and concubines by the dozens, hundreds of children, and tens of thousands of descendants. One man built a clan from scratch, hailed as a model and a legend by countless rogue cultivators and clan cultivators in Jiang Kingdom.

“The entire Talisman Lu Family carries his bloodline?”

Shen Jianjia’s expression wavered with doubt as she questioned her disciple, wanting to confirm whether the information was wrong.

Cultivators live long lives.

Most cultivators with ambition avoid settling down early to keep from tying themselves down.

Yet this Lu True Lord is a reincarnation of a grand cultivator.

Why would he go the opposite way?

Even if he hadn’t awakened past-life memories early on, this growth path still doesn’t make sense.

And a man this indulgent, with wives and concubines everywhere and a house full of sons and grandsons—how could he still look at my Little Mei like a first love and be so devoted?

“Mm. According to rumors, this Changsheng True Lord possesses a Dual Cultivation Spirit Body and a Fertility Spirit Body.”

Qin Yuning, respectful as always, continued her account.

She had investigated on the spot and learned a great deal about this Changsheng True Lord. It all seemed unbelievable.

She couldn’t fathom how someone who spent so much time and energy on wives and children could still reach mid–Core Formation in just over a hundred years.

On Penglai Island and in the Divine Maiden Palace, breaking through to mid–Core Formation at that age would be considered genius, the cream of the crop.

Now that she knows Lu Changsheng isn’t mid–Core Formation but a Nascent Soul True Lord, she’s even more dazed and baffled.

She suspects Lu Changsheng seized a body to cultivate anew, or deliberately disguised himself as a minor cultivator to experience mortal life.

As outlandish as it sounds, many old monsters, once they reach a certain realm, love to do bizarre things beyond common understanding.

“Dual Cultivation Spirit Body, Fertility Spirit Body—”

Shen Jianjia agreed with this line of thought.

First, Lu Changsheng is a reincarnated grand cultivator. Without a reason, he would never choose to marry and take concubines.

If he possessed a top-tier dual-cultivation spirit body and a fertility spirit body, the choice could barely be explained.

Second, based on Qin Yuning’s description of the Talisman Lu Family—his children far outshining those of other powers—and her nephew Shen Yuanming’s talent, she can judge Lu Changsheng must carry top-tier aptitude.

Besides, for Core Formation cultivators, conception is extremely difficult.

Her Little Mei and this man shared just one night and conceived—those odds are infinitesimal.

If he has a top-tier fertility spirit body, then it makes much more sense.

Third, there’s Lu Changsheng’s looks and bearing.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator and mistress of the Divine Maiden Palace, Shen Jianjia can tell such looks and bearing aren’t innate.

Either he obtained a top-tier natural treasure that cleansed his marrow and reshaped his bones, or he possesses a top-tier charm body and cultivates charm arts.

Many dual-cultivation spirit bodies increase allure.

After breaking through to a higher realm, one’s appearance and aura far surpass ordinary cultivators.

But Shen Jianjia can’t recall a spirit body in the cultivation world that combines both dual-cultivation and fertility at the top tier.

She suspects Lu Changsheng’s constitution may surpass spirit bodies—a Dao Body.

“A Dao Body—”

Records on Dao Bodies in the cultivation world are scarce; she doesn’t know much either.

The Six Paths Demon Lord, for instance, is rumored to possess a peerless Dao Body.

That’s how he rose so quickly and became the number one cultivator in the Starry Sea.

If Lu Changsheng bears a Dao Body,

and that Dao Body grants dual-cultivation and fertility effects, then everything above can be explained.

Still, as a female cultivator, Shen Jianjia instinctively dislikes such a Dao Body and doesn’t want her sister to marry a man like that.

Otherwise, if her sister becomes his Dao companion, would she have to call all his other wives “sister,” get along peacefully, and even look after his children and descendants?

But thinking of her sister’s temperament and the bond already formed with him, and the fact that she birthed a son, Shen Yuanming, Shen Jianjia feels a headache coming on.

Shen Jianjia took a long breath and slowly exhaled, then continued asking her disciple about Lu Changsheng and the Immortal City of Damengze, as well as her impressions from recent contact.

Moments later, after absorbing everything, Shen Jianjia arrived at a hypothesis.

The Lord of Dameng City, the Yangming True Lord, and the Changsheng True Lord are the same person.

The reason is simple.

Jiang Kingdom is just a remote corner of the Southern Desolation.

The Immortal City of Damengze is only a third-rank immortal city.

For such a small place, producing a Changsheng True Lord and a Yangming True Lord is already unbelievable, as if heaven favored it.

How could two appear at once?

What’s more, she has seen the Sun-Moon Yin-Yang Mirror.

Such a treasure has a spirit and has already recognized Lu Changsheng as its master.

Yet according to Qin Yuning’s intel, the Lord of Dameng City owns a similar treasure.

Besides that, the spirit pet mounts the two ride are one and the same.

Though spirit pet mounts can be lent out,

a fourth-rank spirit pet deserves respect even from a Nascent Soul powerhouse.

From her foster daughter Shen Wanzhao’s memory of the man riding the giant whale into the Starry Sea,

and from their brief contact earlier, where Lu Changsheng’s spirit whale obeyed him to a fault, all of it supports Shen Jianjia’s guess.

Yet after learning all this, Shen Jianjia still has no clear grasp of Lu Changsheng.

Only shock and more shock.

What is this man’s true origin?

Even as a reincarnated high cultivator with a Dao Body, how could he reach this level in just over a hundred years?

Seizing a body and cultivating anew would make more sense!

After all, reincarnation only inherits past-life favor. One’s talent, spirit-soul, and speed might be faster than others, far beyond peers.

But cultivation still needs to be climbed step by step.

Whereas with seizing and reincarnating, one can, through a Nascent Soul Spirit Body, quickly return to the Nascent Soul stage!

“But he doesn’t seem like an old monster who seized a body to cultivate anew.”

Shen Jianjia frowned, feeling there was only one possibility left.

His previous life far exceeded her imagination.

He was a Spirit Transformation True Venerable.

Only then could he grow this fast, reach mid–Nascent Soul soon after the breakthrough, possess a late-stage spirit-soul, and carry a Celestial Treasure!

“A Spirit Transformation reincarnate—”

Though Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation differ by only one realm,

the gap between them is a chasm that’s hard to cross.

You can glimpse this from the fact that the Southern Desolation has no Spirit Transformation True Venerables.

Shen Jianjia once read scattered notes in ancient texts.

They say Spirit Transformation True Venerables, with vast divine abilities, can use a reincarnation secret technique to protect the true spirit and enter the cycle by choice!

So a Spirit Transformation reincarnate would far outstrip ordinary cultivators in talent, cultivation speed, and in divine abilities and artifacts.

“Alright, I understand.”

Shen Jianjia waved Qin Yuning away, then sat alone in the main hall, lost in thought.

A Spirit Transformation reincarnate is someone even she must treat with care.

One misstep could bring calamity to the Divine Maiden Palace.

At that moment, Shen Jianjia’s head throbbed.

She truly hadn’t expected the cultivator entangled with her younger sister to be suspected of Spirit Transformation reincarnation.

Shen Yiren returned to her cave residence to rest, but she couldn’t calm down.

Xuamu Daoist’s arrival had left her dazed and unfocused.

Especially when he greeted her with “Yiren, Yiren,” and asked whether she remembered the promise he made when he left.

Shen Yiren sighed softly, her gentle eyes resting on the wisps of smoke rising from a crystal incense burner, lost in thought.

Even Mind-Concentrating Incense couldn’t help her settle her mind now.

In fact, under the incense’s effect, her thoughts gradually cleared, and scenes from a Heart Demon Illusion surfaced.

Along with one scene after another from the White Dew Palace in the past—

Shen Yiren’s heart jumped. She quickly held her breath and focused, biting her lip. Why was she drifting back to the White Dew Palace again?

For years she’d tried to lock those memories away.

“It was just a mistake, a fleeting affair.”

Shen Yiren murmured to herself, trying to find comfort.

But with her mind still in turmoil, she left the cave, turned into a streak of divine rainbow, and flew to the rear cliff of Divine Maiden Peak.

“Greetings, Third Palace Master!”

Though Shen Baishuang had business and had gone to Blade Forging Mountain with Lin Yuanti,

Shen Jianjia still cared deeply about her nephew’s cultivation.

She assigned a senior elder of the Divine Maiden Palace to instruct Shen Yuanming so nothing would go wrong in his cultivation.

“Elder Xin, thank you for your hard work,” Shen Yiren said with a bow to the elder before her, very courteous.

Elder Xin was an old hand of the Divine Maiden Palace, highly senior, and had instructed Shen Yiren in the past.

“Third Palace Master, you flatter me. The Young Lord is heaven’s own child, gifted beyond measure. It’s my fortune to instruct him.”

The old woman spoke, clearly pleased with Shen Yuanming’s talent, as if seeing another Nascent Soul True Lord in the palace’s future.

Shen Yuanming’s performance came partly from his talent truly outstripping others.

And partly because under Shen Baishuang’s guidance he had built a deep foundation and stepped onto the right path.

“No more praise, Elder Xin,” Shen Yiren said gently, looking toward her son cultivating in the Primordial Magnetism Field.

Before seeing Lu Changsheng’s true face, she hadn’t noticed.

But after seeing Xuamu Daoist’s face, she could instantly see many traces of Lu Changsheng in her son’s features.

Only, compared to Lu’s elegant handsomeness, her son Shen Yuanming—tempered by his two elder aunts—had sharper brows and a proud heroic air.

“Mother.” In the Primordial Magnetism Field, Shen Yuanming opened his eyes and looked at Shen Yiren.

“Keep cultivating,” Shen Yiren told her son. She didn’t let him stop and waited quietly at the side.

Looking at her son, she didn’t know how to tell him about Lu Changsheng.

She felt she should first see what Lu thought, talk to her elder sisters, then let the two meet.

She sighed inwardly.

“Third Palace Master, what’s wrong?” The old woman nearby, seeing Shen Yiren like this, worried she was dissatisfied with the way she had been instructing Shen Yuanming.

“It’s nothing.” Shen Yiren quickly pulled herself together and asked the elder about her son’s cultivation.

Time ticked by. Shen Yuanming finished his session and stepped out of the Primordial Magnetism Field.

“Mother, is something bothering you?”

In white brocade and a jade belt, his figure like a bamboo shoot breaking through the earth, Shen Yuanming asked his mother.

“What could trouble your mother? I just came to see you.”

Shen Yiren paused inside, her voice soft.

But Shen Yuanming knew his mother too well. “Did Second Aunt upset you?” he asked.

“You’re fine. Don’t start guessing wildly.”

Shen Yiren tapped his forehead lightly, thinking she really wasn’t good at hiding things.

If she probed sideways about his thoughts on his father, he might guess immediately.

Sometimes a child being too smart and sensible isn’t always a good thing.

She set the thought aside and decided to speak with Lu Changsheng later, explain the situation, and ask if he wanted to acknowledge and meet his son.

If he didn’t like children, then her sisters would continue to raise the boy.

After all, according to her eldest and second sister, the child shouldn’t have contact with Xuamu Daoist or be tied to him.

She just felt that wasn’t right.

The next day, as Lu Changsheng wondered whether to seek out Shen Yiren, a steward from the Divine Maiden Palace arrived, saying the Great Palace Master invited him.

Lu Changsheng frowned. What was this Great Palace Master up to?

They had just talked yesterday. Why call him again?

He entered the Divine Maiden Palace and immediately saw the Great Palace Master—draped in a starry, luxurious dress, poised and elegant, stunning beyond compare.

“Lu True Lord, please sit.”

She was much more courteous to Lu Changsheng this time.

Given Qin Yuning’s intel—his mid–Nascent Soul strength and suspected Spirit Transformation reincarnation—Lu Changsheng deserved her full respect.

“May I ask why the Great Palace Master summoned me?”

Lu Changsheng knew she was wary of him.

If she called him here, there had to be something to discuss, so he didn’t waste time on pleasantries.

“I invited you with no ill will, Lu True Lord. I simply want to understand a few things about you, my friend.”

Shen Jianjia gazed at Lu Changsheng and spoke in a calm, pleasant tone.

“Oh?” Lu Changsheng arched a brow and waited for her questions.

“I’ve heard you have a clan called the Talisman Lu Family, with hundreds of wives and children, and tens of thousands of bloodline descendants?”

Shen Jianjia asked.

“What do you mean by that, Palace Master? Are you trying to threaten me with it?”

Although Shen Jianjia’s words carried no threat,

she had touched his soft spot out of nowhere, so Lu Changsheng wasn’t about to stay polite.

“I mean no harm. It concerns my little sister, so I want to understand this side of things.”

Shen Jianjia shook her head slightly, her tone quite courteous.

Before this, she’d thought that even if a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator came, she could still contend within the Divine Maiden Palace.

Now, facing Lu Changsheng—whose strength matched a Nascent Soul powerhouse, suspected of Spirit Transformation reincarnation, and carrying a Celestial Treasure—she was full of caution.

“That’s right,” Lu Changsheng nodded, admitting it openly.

When Shen Jianjia had invited him to the Divine Maiden Palace earlier, he already knew his cover had been blown.

Given that, it was normal for her to know everything about his identity as “Changsheng True Lord.”

But her asking only now told Lu Changsheng she’d been short on intel before and had just learned the full story from Qin Yuning.

Hearing Lu Changsheng confirm it, Shen Jianjia was at a loss for words.

She truly didn’t know how to describe a situation like his.

She went on, “Most cultivators dislike starting families because of the entanglements. Why do the opposite, Lu True Lord?”

“There are many paths to the Dao. Everyone has their own path.”

Lu Changsheng said evenly, “If you’re worried for the Third Palace Master on that front, you don’t need to be. I’ll speak to her frankly myself.”

“All the better.” Shen Jianjia nodded, then continued, “If I’m not mistaken, you, the Lord of Dameng City, and the Yangming True Lord are one and the same, aren’t you?”