Chapter 84: The Dao Shouldn’t Be So Narrow, Nor Should Dao Companions Be So Few!

“Hmm, thirty offspring!?”

“Did Ji’er and Shui’er give birth to their children?”

Upon hearing the sudden alert from the system, Lu Changsheng couldn’t help but feel excited. 

He immediately knew that Ji’er and Shui’er, the two women at Qingzhu Mountain, had given birth to their children.

The lack of palpitations during this period also meant that neither of their children had a Spirit Root.

“I wonder what color hair and eyes the children will have.”

Lu Changsheng wondered.

He had been quite curious about this matter all along.

Previously, he had even looked up information on this.

But the books didn’t give a clear answer, only saying that it mostly depended on the bloodlines of both parents.

Without thinking much about it, Lu Changsheng took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and silently prayed, “System, I want to draw a lottery!”

Immediately, a pale red virtual roulette wheel appeared.

“I wonder what I’ll draw this time.”

Lu Changsheng looked at the spinning wheel and murmured to himself, then directly said, “Start the lottery!”

With a thought, a golden light suddenly appeared around the pale red Roulette Wheel, and it began to spin.

Five seconds later, the golden light gradually slowed down, step by step, until it finally stopped at the treasure award.

【Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the treasure: Black Dragon Magic Bead!】

[The reward has been sent to the system space, and the host can check it at any time.]

A black light circulated, with a faintly visible pattern of a dragon bead emerging from the roulette wheel, accompanied by a system alert sound.

“A treasure!?”

“Wow, finally something I wanted!”

Lu Changsheng’s eyes lit up as he saw the reward he drew this time, his face filled with excitement and joy.

The magical weapons used by cultivators are divided from low to high: magical weapons, spiritual weapons, magical treasures, spiritual treasures, and heavenly spiritual treasures.

They correspond to the Qi Refining period, Foundation Establishment stage, Core Formation Stage, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, and Divine Transformation Stage, respectively, and are used by cultivators at different stages.

For example, treasures can only be wielded by Core Formation stage cultivators.

Naturally, Lu Changsheng couldn’t wield a treasure.

But his Hundred Treasure Refinement Body Tempering Technique could refine the treasure into his body to accelerate cultivation.

Previously, even a fragment of a broken treasure had greatly accelerated his progress in the Hundred Treasure Refinement Body Tempering Technique.

Now that he had obtained a complete treasure, wouldn’t his progress soar?

Lu Changsheng immediately looked at the system space.

To see what grade the treasure he drew belonged to and what effects it had.

[Treasure: Black Dragon Magic Bead]

[Grade: medium-grade magic treasure]

[Description: Made by refining the soul of a third-order evil dragon into a mysterious Yin Bead. When activated, it emits a black light that can suppress the flesh and taint the soul of the target. When activated to the extreme, it can control the soul of the evil dragon within the bead to attack the enemy. The longer it is used, the more fierce the evil dragon’s power becomes, and the harder it is to control.]

“Black Dragon Magic Bead, a medium-grade magic treasure!”

“It can emit black light, suppress the flesh, taint the soul, and control the soul of the evil dragon to attack.”

Lu Changsheng looked at the description of this treasure’s grade and was very satisfied.

He thought that a medium-grade magic treasure was already quite good.

Looking at the description of the treasure’s effect, he also knew that this was a treasure more inclined towards attack.

Actually, Lu Changsheng wasn’t too concerned about the effects of the treasure.

He had always hoped to obtain a treasure just to practice the Hundred Treasure Refinement Body Tempering Technique.

As for its specific functions, he felt it didn’t matter much, as long as it was adequate.

“However, it’s also a good thing that this treasure has attack capabilities.”

“After all, the Treasure Bone Technique in the Hundred Treasure Refinement Body Tempering Technique uses treasures to nurture the bones, allowing the bones to partially unleash the power of the treasures.”

“Once my bones are nurtured, perhaps I can directly control the soul of a dragon and kill enemies!”

Lu Changsheng licked his lips, still quite looking forward to the effect of nurturing his bones with this treasure.

He imagined that once his bones were formed, if he encountered danger, he could directly activate the Black Dragon Bead, control the soul of a dragon, and kill the enemy.

Anyone seeing a Qi Refining stage or Foundation Establishment stage cultivator displaying such means of attack would be caught off guard and baffled.

Soon after.

Lu Changsheng’s thoughts moved, extracting the Black Dragon Bead from the system space.

A fist-sized bead, as heavy as a few hundred pounds, fell into Lu Changsheng’s hand.

The bead was quite heavy, estimated to weigh several hundred pounds.

It felt slightly cool in his hand, but not cold at all.

The surface of the bead was very pure, without any impurities, only a faint black light flowing.

Inside the bead, one could clearly see a mini ink-black dragon lurking.

“So this is a magic treasure.”

Lu Changsheng curiously examined the Black Dragon bead in his hand.

This was his first time seeing a treasure.

However, after looking at it for a few moments, he didn’t see anything special about it, feeling it was just like that.

Lu Changsheng arrived at the lounge on the third floor and started to prepare for refining this Black Dragon Bead.

He couldn’t wait to condense it into his body to practice the Hundred Treasure Refinement Body Tempering Technique and nurture his bones.

After all, not long ago, he had successfully entered the threshold of the Hundred Treasure Refinement Body Tempering Technique, experiencing the benefits of body refinement and strength.

Although his body was already very good and healthy.

But the feeling of being so strong, full of strength, and commanding ten women at night was completely different.

“Swoosh!”

Lu Changsheng activated the Hundred Treasure Refinement Body Tempering Technique, and the spiritual energy in his body turned into a flame, starting to refine the Black Dragon Bead in front of him.

Under the refinement of the spiritual flame, a faint black aura spiraled out from the Black Dragon Bead in front of him, lingering and rising.

The evil soul of the lurking dragon inside also stirred at this moment, vivid and lifelike, as if it wanted to break free from the Bead.

Lu Changsheng remained calm, knowing that this was the treasure being activated, and continued to refine it with the fire of spiritual energy.

And so, time passed bit by bit.

After a long time, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and a bitter smile appeared on his face, “It’s not easy to refine this Black Dragon Treasure and assimilate it into the body.”

“With my current cultivation at the peak of Qi Refining Stage Six, it may take two or three months to refine this treasure completely.”

In the previous refining process, he depleted his spiritual power, yet he couldn’t even refine one percent of the treasure.

Having experienced refining the black iron block before, he knew that obtaining treasures was not easy, let alone refining them.

But he didn’t expect it to be this difficult.

“Two or three months, so be it. After all, it’s a treasure, and it’s normal to take some time.”

Lu Changsheng sighed lightly and put away the Black Dragon Bead.

Taking out a spirit stone, he sat down and practiced, replenishing his spiritual power.

He hadn’t drawn any talismans today yet.

After his spiritual power had recovered sufficiently, Lu Changsheng took out his talisman-making tools and drew two medium-grade talismans and two high-grade talismans in the talisman room.

Now that his cultivation was sufficient, he didn’t need to use premium talisman paper and premium spiritual ink to draw high-grade talismans.

Ordinary high-grade talismans could be drawn using Advanced Level talisman paper and ink, saving a lot of costs.

After finishing the talismans, seeing that it was getting dark, Lu Changsheng thought it better to make an early start and go to the White Jade Tower.

Now that he had stored over three hundred spirit stones again, he could afford to take in a few more unfortunate women.

He also wanted to see if there were any unfortunate individuals with Spirit Roots.

After all, if he wanted to have more children with Spirit Roots, he needed women who possessed Spirit Roots.

Out of his thirty children, only four had Spirit Roots.

Among these four, Qu Zhenzhen and Lu Miaoyun’s two daughters each had one.

Among the many wives who had given birth, only two children had Spirit Roots.

This made Lu Changsheng inevitably hold some expectations for the children in the bellies of Shao Yuyao, Xiao Qing, and Guan Xin.

After informing the shopkeeper Zhang Shan, Lu Changsheng left and headed towards the White Jade Tower.

“Brother Lu, where are you going?” 

Passing by the Jade Feast Pavilion, the owner, Yu Maocheng, saw Lu Changsheng and greeted him.

Since they lived across from each other and their shops were next to each other, they would usually greet each other and chat for a while when they met.

Especially after a recent conversation where Yu Maocheng learned that Lu Changsheng was not a member of the Lu Family but rather a son-in-law, it felt like finding a kindred spirit.

He complained to Lu Changsheng about his marriage, expressing some regret about marrying into a cultivation family.

Although it was good to have powerful backing, it was also easy to be bossed around by his wife after marriage.

As a spiritual chef, he was busy every day, and he only had ten spirit stones of pocket money per month.

Lu Changsheng naturally didn’t resonate with this sentiment.

But he didn’t say much, just responded with a few words, expressing that it was not easy, and indicated that his wife was still reasonable in this regard.

At that time, Yu Maocheng didn’t notice Lu Changsheng’s tone and would come to drink and chat with Lu Changsheng whenever he had time.

It wasn’t until shortly after, when Yu Maocheng saw the bustling scene of women in Lu Changsheng’s courtyard, that he froze and fell silent.

At that moment, the way he looked at Lu Changsheng changed.

Of course, afterward, they didn’t become distant because of this incident.

Usually, things were the same; they greeted each other when they met, exchanged pleasantries, and invited each other to the Jade Feast Pavilion for meals.

But he no longer went to drink with Lu Changsheng and complained about his married life.

He knew that complaining to someone like Lu Changsheng was like playing the lute to a cow. He simply couldn’t understand their pain and had no resonance with it.

“I feel like there are too few maids at home, so I’m planning to go to the White Jade Tower to take a look,” Lu Changsheng replied with a smile.

Then he warmly invited, “Brother Yu, would you like to come along? Let me tell you, this White Jade Tower…”

“Get lost, get lost, get lost!” 

Yu Maocheng heard this and immediately turned black-faced, quickly waving his hand.

“Brother Yu, as the saying goes, the great way should not be so small, and fellow cultivators should not be so few. So, the more fellow cultivators, the firmer the path in one’s heart!” Lu Changsheng joked, striding toward the White Jade Tower in search of enlightenment.

Watching Lu Changsheng’s back, Yu Maocheng couldn’t help but sigh slightly, showing a hint of envy in his eyes.

He knew that Lu Changsheng had more than ten maids at home and now he was going to visit the White Jade Tower.

Thinking of himself, he sighed softly.

At this moment, a woman in her thirties with a beautiful face came to Yu Maocheng’s side and said, “Husband, are you envying Lu Changsheng? Do you also want to take in a few concubines?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Maocheng was startled, not expecting his wife to be right beside him.

Immediately, he said with a serious face, “No, absolutely not!”

Although he had such thoughts, such things were absolutely not to be admitted.

However, before he could explain, the woman sighed softly and said, “Husband, we’ve been married for twenty years. In these twenty years, I’ve only given birth to four children for you—Feng, Yun, Yu, and Xue. Among them, only Xue has a Spirit Root and can cultivate. If you want to take in a few concubines, it’s fine.”

“Isn’t that inappropriate?”

Yu Maocheng said somewhat embarrassedly.

“It’s okay, dear husband. Whatever you like, I’ll help you choose,” the woman said gently with a faint smile. “How many do you want? Three, five, or ten?”

“No, no need. One is enough, just one.”

Yu Maocheng smiled and said.

“I see, Yu Maocheng, when I married you as a young girl, I not only ran this restaurant for you, but I also gave birth to four children for you. Now you think I’m old and want to take concubines, right?”

His wife’s face, which had been full of smiles a moment ago, suddenly turned cold. With a cold snort, she turned and walked away.

Seeing this, Yu Maocheng sighed deeply, knowing he had made a mistake again.

Immediately, he chased after her and tried to coax her: “Madam, Madam, listen to my explanation. My feelings for you are as clear as day and night. How could I possibly have such thoughts? It was just a joke.”

When Lu Changsheng arrived at the White Jade Tower, the red-dressed woman who greeted him remembered him. She immediately greeted him with a smile and led him to a room on the second floor.

“Master Lu, it’s been a while. Jiuniang has been missing you so much~”

In the room, dressed in a black phoenix misty silk long dress, exuding charm and allure, Feng Jiuniang smiled enchantingly at Lu Changsheng.

“Haha, Manager Feng, I came here to buy some more maids.”  Lu Changsheng said.

“I wonder if the White Jade Tower currently has any Spirit Root maids, preferably priced within three hundred spirit stones.”

Lu Changsheng’s gaze subconsciously swept over the fullness at the neckline and the voluptuous thighs hidden under the skirt before speaking.

Every time he came to the White Jade Tower and saw this Feng Jiuniang, he couldn’t help but sigh. This woman was truly captivating to the bone.

This made him think that this was just a steward of the Jiulong Market White Jade Tower.

If it were a steward of a immortal city or headquarters, or even a higher stage, how much more enticing it would be.

“Master Lu, please have some tea. I’ll go check if there are suitable candidates for you,” Feng Jiuniang said with a soft smile, not minding Lu Changsheng’s gaze.

After pouring tea for Lu Changsheng, she swayed her slender waist and walked out of the room with a clinking sound.

Soon after, Feng Jiuniang returned and placed two jade slips on the table, saying, “I just checked, and currently, only two people meet Master Lu’s requirements. Master Lu can take a look to see if you’re interested.”

“Good.”

Lu Changsheng nodded, picked up one of the jade slips, and placed it on his forehead to sense it with his mind.

Immediately, he saw a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a beautiful face and a petite and lovely figure.

There was a hint of reluctance and grievance on her cute face.

Without thinking, he knew that she must have ended up at the White Jade Tower for various reasons, just like Shao Yuyao.

He picked up the second jade slip.

Inside was a woman in her late twenties, with a beautiful face and a plump figure, but she looked somewhat fragile, with a hint of numbness in her eyes.

“What’s the situation with these two maids, and what are their prices?” With the experience of the previous two times, Lu Changsheng was quite savvy and asked directly.

“This woman has a cultivation of Qi Refining Stage Two and possesses a Ninth-grade Spirit Root, priced at two hundred and ten spirit stones.”

“This woman has a Seventh-grade Spirit Root but no cultivation. She is priced at three hundred spirit stones,” Feng Jiuniang explained, pointing to the two jade slips.

“Why does she have a Seventh-grade Spirit Root but no cultivation? And isn’t the price of a Seventh-grade Spirit Root higher?” Lu Changsheng raised his eyebrows and inquired.

He roughly knew the pricing of maids at the White Jade Tower.

A maid with a Seventh-grade Spirit Root would typically start at five to six hundred spirit stones.

“This woman originally had a cultivation of Qi Refining Stage Five, but her Dantian was damaged, resulting in the loss of her cultivation, hence the absence of cultivation.”

“That’s why, despite having a Seventh-grade Spirit Root, she is priced at only three hundred spirit stones,” Feng Jiuniang explained.

“I see.”

Lu Changsheng nodded slightly.

No wonder when he just saw her appearance in the jade slip, she seemed somewhat fragile.

It seems that she must still be recovering physically and feeling somewhat weak.

In that case, this woman must be suffering more than the young girls.

Since that’s the case, I’ll choose to save this woman.

Immediately, Lu Changsheng said, “Please, Manager Feng, show me her detailed information.” 

Feng Jiuniang brought out the information about this maid.

Lu Changsheng examined it carefully.

The woman’s name was Xiao Yueru, thirty years old this year, like Shao Yuyao, she was from a small Qi Refining family.

Because her family was destroyed, she ended up at White Jade Tower.

Her body was injured in battle and her Dantian was damaged, causing her cultivation to be completely dispersed, and she couldn’t practice anymore.

There were no other residual effects, and she could still bear children.

However, she was not a virgin and had given birth to a child before.

This should also be a factor White Jade Tower considers in pricing.

“Alright, she’ll do.”

After Lu Changsheng finished reading, he said directly.

He came here to buy maids with a purpose, so he didn’t have too many scruples.

Besides, she came from a decent family.

It’s not like the beauties in Drunken Immortal Pavilion, where everyone has tasted her lips.

As for her cultivation level, Lu Changsheng didn’t care at all.

He was interested in this maid’s seventh-grade Spirit Root.

If this maid hadn’t been injured in her Dantian, according to White Jade Tower’s previous prices, a woman with a seventh-grade Spirit Root would cost at least five to six hundred spirit stones.

In Lu Changsheng’s view, this was a small windfall for himself.

Immediately, Lu Changsheng paid a deposit of sixty spirit stones and waited for her to be sent over.

He also spent fifty spirit stones to buy four ordinary maids without Spirit Roots.

Lu Changsheng asked White Jade Tower to deliver these four maids to his residence later, rather than taking them with him.

Otherwise, walking on the street might attract attention.

For such small requests, Feng Jiuniang naturally agreed directly, saying there was no problem.

Just as he was about to leave White Jade Tower, Lu Changsheng thought of something.

He asked Feng Jiuniang, “Manager Feng, do you have any women in White Jade Tower who possess spiritual bodies?”

He had only come across brief mentions of spiritual bodies in books before.

It was because of the incident with the woman in the colored skirt that he thought of this.

Considering how broad White Jade Tower’s network was, he wondered if there were any women with spiritual bodies here.

Upon hearing this question, Feng Jiuniang also looked slightly startled.

Then she smiled softly and said, “Of course, we do.”

“Huh!?”

Lu Changsheng was somewhat surprised at the answer.

He hadn’t expected that there were indeed women with spiritual bodies in White Jade Tower.

It seems that the White Jade Tower is much more formidable than he had imagined.

Seeing the look of astonishment on Lu Changsheng’s face, Feng Jiuniang chuckled lightly and continued, “However, people with spiritual bodies are extremely rare, one in ten thousand, even we at the White Jade Tower don’t come across them often.”

“And most of them come to our White Jade Tower hoping to find a dao companion, to marry a suitable husband.”

“If young master Lu intends to spend spirit stones to purchase a maid, I’m afraid he’ll be disappointed.”

“Even for us at the White Jade Tower, such maids with spiritual bodies are rare, and many people come to us at the White Jade Tower to make reservations.”

“If young master Lu has such intentions, you can pay a deposit first, and when we at the White Jade Tower find someone with a spiritual body, we will notify you.”

Feng Jiuniang’s face carried a charming smile as she spoke unhurriedly.

“I was just asking casually.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Changsheng didn’t feel particularly disappointed, thinking that this was normal.

Otherwise, if even in the White Jade Tower, women with spiritual bodies were sold casually, it would indeed be somewhat terrifying.

He didn’t ask any further questions.

Women with spiritual bodies were still a bit distant for him at this stage, not something he could consider.

If he encountered one himself, that would naturally be ideal.

But spending money to buy a maid with a spiritual body from the White Jade Tower, he’d rather not.

With that money, he might as well buy a few maids with medium-grade Spirit Roots.

After all, the grade of parents’ Spirit Roots directly affects the child’s Spirit Root limit.

If both parents have low-grade Spirit Roots, it’s difficult to give birth to a child with medium-grade Spirit Roots.

If one parent has a medium-grade Spirit Root, then the probability of the child having a medium-grade Spirit Root will also be relatively higher.

Soon, accompanied by Feng Jiuniang’s farewell, Lu Changsheng walked out of the White Jade Tower.

“Hmm?”

Just as Lu Changsheng was walking back, he heard a commotion coming from a nearby shop, after turning his head to look he saw a familiar figure.