Chapter Eighteen: Blessings in Disguise

At this moment, Li Chengzhu’s mind was as chaotic as that island nation when it was struck by two atomic bombs—a complete and utter mess. No matter how hard he racked his brains, he could never have imagined things would turn out like this. Gu Linglong had toiled for two months, only to lose herself in the process; she must be feeling terribly frustrated now.

He hurried into a room, closed the door behind him, and only then had the presence of mind to put his clothes back on. A faint trace of red lingered on his lower body, a reminder that all of this had not been a dream!

What’s more, he could feel his power had greatly increased!

Releasing his spirit for an inner inspection, Li Chengzhu discovered he had broken through to the middle stage of Spirit Severance in one leap, and there was a vast reserve of energy coursing through his nascent soul, yet to be refined.

He cursed under his breath several times before he was able to calm his excitement.

A flicker of light flashed at the window. The little creature that had vanished during his recent tryst now landed steadily beside him, opened its mouth, and spat out a storage ring. Li Chengzhu emptied the ring, and was left dumbfounded by what he saw.

It was Gu Linglong’s chest wrap and her undergarments!

He glanced at the little creature, which squinted amorously at him, its gaze full of suggestiveness. Li Chengzhu’s face flushed a deep red. “You little rascal!” he scolded, and without hesitation swept those two items into his own ring. He then took out several pieces of Heaven’s Secret Stone and handed them over.

After the little creature flew away with its spoils, Li Chengzhu finally had the chance to examine the energy that had appeared within his nascent soul.

To his astonishment, it was pure, unadulterated celestial spiritual energy!

Half was yin, half was yang; the two powers were clearly distinct, opposed yet not in conflict.

The yang portion was familiar to Li Chengzhu—it was clearly the celestial spiritual energy Gu Linglong had drawn from his body, which he had just reclaimed during their union of souls. He hadn’t expected it to remain within his nascent soul.

But the yin portion puzzled him—a chill, frigid energy; where had it come from?

Suddenly, he recalled that at the moment when Gu Linglong’s body was broken, a surge of cold energy had entered him. He realized, at last, that this was Gu Linglong’s primal yin energy.

Greater yin begets lesser yang and lesser yin; greater yang begets lesser yin and lesser yang. Only through the harmonization of yin and yang can the Great Dao be achieved.

With this realization, Li Chengzhu quickly set up a spirit-gathering formation, sat down, and entered meditation to absorb the dual celestial energies.

Li Chengzhu immersed his spirit within his nascent soul, striving to absorb both streams of celestial spiritual energy into his body.

Although these two energies obeyed his command, they stubbornly refused to enter his mortal flesh, infuriating him to the point of cursing aloud. In the end, he could only attempt to fuse them, leaving them within his nascent soul.

As for fusing them, the two celestial energies seemed to have no objections. It took Li Chengzhu only three days to thoroughly blend them together, letting their current flow through his nascent soul.

Inspecting his dantian, he saw it suffused with multicolored clouds, and his tiny nascent soul was clad in golden armor and iron robes, exuding an aura of divinity.

Upon further inspection, Li Chengzhu was overjoyed to discover that his nascent soul cultivation had leapt straight to the late stage of Soul Division.

After the initial joy faded, he remembered that his physical cultivation was still only at the middle stage of Spirit Severance. How could his nascent soul have reached the late stage of Soul Division? That was a difference of four entire ranks!

Damn! Am I about to suffer a cultivation backlash? Panic seized Li Chengzhu.

Withdrawing his spirit, his mind was left spinning.

The gains were immense—not only had he enjoyed a night with an immortal, he had also absorbed Gu Linglong’s primal yin energy and reclaimed a portion of his own celestial spiritual power.

It was precisely because of this unexpected event with Gu Linglong that Li Chengzhu was able to access the celestial spiritual energy ahead of schedule. Of course, he could only use the part he had retrieved from Gu Linglong’s body. The remainder, still hidden within his physical form, was beyond his reach; he would have to continue advancing his cultivation, expanding his meridians, and slowly releasing the rest.

For a cultivator to wield celestial spiritual energy—such a feat would leave most cultivators boggled and speechless.

Though Gu Linglong hadn’t achieved her goal this time, she still managed to extract a considerable amount of celestial spiritual energy from Li Chengzhu. Moreover, having formed a soul bond with him and absorbed his primal yang energy, her own strength would undoubtedly rise by a tier, narrowing the gap between her and the other immortals.

Despite his skyrocketing progress, Li Chengzhu was filled with dread at the disparity between the cultivation of his body and his nascent soul. His master was still at the Lake of Nurturing Immortals, so there was no one he could ask for advice. He could only bury his fears deep within.

Calming himself, Li Chengzhu decided to refine his amethyst bracelet.

Otherwise, if the fluctuations in his spiritual pressure were detected, others would immediately notice something was off.

After over a month of study, he was now thoroughly versed in the methods of artifact refinement; gone was the fumbling novice of old, no more failed attempts.

Celestial spiritual energy was truly peerless—at crucial moments, it never failed. With the power of his nascent soul, it took only half a day for the amethyst bracelet to be successfully refined and integrated.

Gazing at the tiny bracelet on his nascent soul’s wrist and the stable spiritual pressure it emitted, Li Chengzhu grinned with satisfaction. Now, no one would be able to tell that his nascent soul had reached the late stage of Soul Division, right?

Over the course of five days, Li Chengzhu completed his seclusion. When he emerged, the governor’s residence was as peaceful as ever.

He nonchalantly found Xiao Ying and told her she could stop refining tools, then prepared to take the fruits of two months’ labor out into the world.

Xiao Ying, however, seemed a bit awkward, her cheeks rosy. Li Chengzhu, now well acquainted with the pleasures of intimacy, found her utterly enchanting and nearly lost control of himself.

“Where are we going?” Xiao Ying asked, trailing behind her boss.

Li, the great boss, turned around with a sly grin. “To sell weapons, of course!”

Xiao Ying pursed her lips. “You’ve got fifty-two top-grade flying swords and ten mid-grade ones from these two months—who are you planning to sell so many to?”

Eyes gleaming with mischief, Li Chengzhu suggested, “How about a wager? If I can sell all these flying swords in a single day, you give me half your share.”

Xiao Ying thought it over. Nowadays, every cultivator had their own flying sword; though it was rare to see so many top-grade swords at once, there probably weren’t that many real buyers. She replied, “Don’t even think of selling them at a loss!”

Li Chengzhu rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid. Fifteen top-grade stones for a top-grade flying sword, three for a mid-grade one—that’s fair, right?”

Xiao Ying nodded, smiling charmingly. “And if you can’t sell them all in a day…”

“Then you get half of my share!” Li Chengzhu agreed readily.

Xiao Ying stared at this once miserly, stingy man in astonishment, wondering if dual cultivation had addled his brain. After some thought, she couldn’t see any traps in his proposal; besides, with her understanding of the city’s market, she figured her odds were ninety percent in her favor. Why not risk half her ten percent for a shot at half of his ninety?

“Deal!” she agreed with alacrity.

Seeing her consent, Li Chengzhu’s smile turned sly. He gathered his spiritual power and let out a booming shout that echoed throughout the city: “The Governor’s collection is on hot sale! To raise funds for the purchase of an immortal artifact to resist the Angel Legion, the Governor is selling off his entire collection at rock-bottom prices. Come quick—nothing but the best, the only limit is your imagination! Come to the Governor’s residence for great deals, and to Qidian to read books. If you’ve got money, spend it; if you don’t, come support us anyway!”

Xiao Ying stood dumbfounded as she watched Li Chengzhu shouting his lungs out, utterly speechless.