Strange Phenomenon

Planning ahead was a capability that he, as the Patriarch of the Lu family, had to possess, and this would be even more true as the Lu family continued to grow!

Otherwise, if the time came when the Lu family needed something but it wasn't there or hadn't been prepared for, they truly wouldn't even know how they were destroyed.

"Father!"

As Lu Wanyuan walked into the residence, a chubby, fair-skinned toddler came running toward him.

"Lei'er, why are you here?"

"I was playing with Mother, and I just happened to see you entering the gate."

"Oh, so that's how it is. Let me give you a hug!" Lu Wanyuan immediately reached out his large hands and picked up the boy.

The boy was his son, named Lu Gulei, who belonged to the second generation of the Lu family, the 'Gu' generation. He was now over two years old.

Back when Lu Gulei was born, they had been given quite a fright.

Because an omen had appeared in the sky; the entire sky above Bayberry Market was covered in thick, dark clouds, hanging so low it felt as if they might collapse at any moment, close enough to touch.

Originally a clear, cloudless day, it had instantly plunged into darkness, feeling just like the dead of night—pitch black.

The entire market was thrown into a panic, and the administrators of the market, especially the high-level cultivators, were scared out of their wits.

Dazzling bolts of lightning, like silver spirit snakes, rolled within the thick clouds, and from time to time, massive strikes of lightning would slam down into the market.

With thunderous roars, explosions erupted everywhere in the market, and fires kept breaking out!

Seeing such ferocious lightning power, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Bayberry Market trembled as they hid in their cultivation chambers, terrified that the lightning might find them.

Fortunately, this omen came as quickly as it went.

An hour later, everything returned to normal.

Faced with such an omen, the actual administrator of Bayberry Market, the strongest Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator in the region, Mei Wenyuan, immediately reported the situation to their Sect, the Qingyun Sect, after the phenomenon vanished.

The Sect immediately arranged for people to investigate Bayberry Market, but because the omen had arrived suddenly and departed just as quickly, they were unable to find even the slightest connection to it.

Therefore, although the people sent by the Sect arrived, they achieved no results, and the matter was eventually left unsettled.

And at the time the omen occurred, it happened to be when Baili Qiuyue was in labor.

It was supposed to be a routine delivery, and the midwife had already arrived.

At first, seeing the apocalyptic phenomenon, especially the lightning energy constantly descending from the sky and shattering the earth, everyone was stunned. They had never seen such an omen before and were at a loss for how to handle it.

But at that moment, seeing Baili Qiuyue hanging by a thread, Lu Wanyuan immediately forced the midwife to proceed with the delivery, disregarding everything else, terrified of losing both mother and child.

Strange to say, the moment the midwife cradled the infant in her arms, the dark clouds in the sky vanished in an instant, as if they had never been there at all.

If not for the market being shrouded in ruin and littered with debris, one truly wouldn't believe that the scene had been entirely different just moments ago.

The members of the Lu family immediately concluded that this phenomenon must be related to the child born to their sister-in-law.

They never would have believed, even if beaten to death, that such a massive phenomenon had been caused by a newborn infant of their Lu family.

However, they also knew that if they didn't want to die, they certainly couldn't let others know that this phenomenon was caused by someone from the Lu family.

They also realized that the infant born at this moment had infinite future potential and, naturally, had to be protected.

As long as Lu Gulei could grow up normally, he would surely reveal his potential in time. It was truly a matter of waiting for the flowers to bloom!

Therefore, everyone very consciously kept the connection between the phenomenon and the infant hidden. Especially after discovering that people from the market were searching everywhere, they realized the situation was unusual and became even more careful to conceal it.

In light of this, they buried the secret even deeper in their hearts, ensuring no one would discover it.

Lu Wanyuan was, of course, overjoyed to see his son safe and sound. This was his eldest son, and he naturally needed to be nurtured well.

Thus, Lu Gulei began receiving supplements from a young age, all to build a solid foundation for him.

Of course, there was also an unexpected surprise: when his son was born, he had actually acquired new traits from him.

One was a "Fire Control Art" trait, and the other was a "Sky Thunder Seed x3" trait.

Naturally, of these two traits, he only used the "Fire Control Art" trait.

He immediately obtained a Magic Formula for controlling flames. The flames here, of course, referred to those between heaven and earth that had developed sentience.

These flames were the legendary Exotic Fires or Immortal Fires, such as the Golden Crow Flame, the Nether Ghost Fire, and so on—all peerless treasures.

Of course, treasures like these were not something someone like Lu Wanyuan could possess.

He had enough self-awareness to know that.

First, such things were extremely hard to come by; they were legendary treasures, and he only knew a few fragments of information about them from books.

Second, even if he did have an Exotic Fire, for him at his current level, it would simply be a ticking time bomb.

Because his current strength was insufficient to possess it, meaning he had no way to protect it. The moment it leaked, it would likely mean certain death.

He was learning this Fire Control Art mainly to see if, through the experience gained from it, he could control the flames within the earth's veins. This would certainly be of great help in artifact refining and alchemy.

Instead of using other combustible materials to raise the temperature as he did now—a method that was inefficient, time-consuming, and labor-intensive—if he could draw a fire dragon out from the earth's veins and let it unleash its power, then the costs for the Lu family's artifact refining and alchemy would be significantly reduced, making them much more competitive.

However, he hadn't even entered the threshold yet. It turned out that to successfully cultivate this Fire Control Art, one required a very special substance.

That is Ice Grass, a Tier 2 spiritual herb that grows in frigid regions.

However, such spiritual herbs are certainly not easy to find.

Because he was practicing the Fire Control Art, especially when dealing with Earth Veins, the temperature of the Earth Vein Fire Dragon's flames was extremely high. If he did not take precautions, not only would he fail to control the Fire Dragon, but he feared he would be reduced to ashes himself.

This Ice Grass was the preparation for that. Before controlling the flames, he needed to consume a medicinal decoction brewed from the Ice Grass. Only then could he withstand the high temperature of the Fire Dragon and avoid being burned to ash.

The other entry had not been used yet and was kept in storage. One look at this entry made it clear that it was a means of attack.

It was likely something akin to a grenade; naturally, storing it in his mind was the most convenient place.

"Husband, you're back. How did the discussion go?"

"It went alright. You could say it was worth the price. Although I spent a significant amount of spirit stones, the harvest was bountiful."

"I managed to secure their channels, Artifact Refining Legacy, experience, and so on. These are things that cannot be obtained with spirit stones alone. I have already arranged for Second Brother to hold down the fort there!"

"That's great! I never expected the first industry among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation to be artifact refining!"

"I originally thought it would be Xiao Ting's alchemy. I heard that Xiao Ting is now an Alchemist and can refine Tier 1 low-grade pills. To become an Alchemist in just about a year—her talent is truly exceptional."

Baili Qiuyue looked at Lu Wanyuan and said with some surprise.

"I thought the same at first, but given the current situation, it seems we were wrong."

"But it also highlights an issue: Xiao Ting is now an Alchemist at the Myriad Pills Pavilion."

"If she tries to leave the Myriad Pills Pavilion later, it probably won't be easy. The main thing is that her talent is simply too strong; the people at the Myriad Pills Pavilion will definitely make things difficult for her!"

"That would be very troublesome. Our current Lu Family is nothing compared to the Myriad Pills Pavilion. If there were a real conflict, I fear that with a mere blink of an eye from the Myriad Pills Pavilion, the Lu Family would be wiped out."

Lu Wanyuan's expression turned serious. He looked at her with a furrowed brow, then nodded thoughtfully.