After arriving at his new home, Lu Changsheng took some of his belongings out of his Storage Bag, then went to his new cultivation room and began meditating.
He wanted to see how cultivating on Green Bamboo Valley's second-rank spirit vein compared to the first-rank spirit vein at Green Bamboo Manor.
Several hours later, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and spoke, brimming with delight.
"As expected of a second-rank spirit vein! The spiritual energy here is several times denser than at Green Bamboo Manor. My cultivation speed has increased by thirty percent!"
At that moment, Lu Changsheng clearly experienced the benefits of a second-rank spirit vein.
Moreover, the increase was only thirty percent because his speed at refining spiritual energy was limited.
Otherwise, Lu Changsheng felt that he could have cultivated even faster.
Still, he was already thoroughly satisfied with this improvement.
From then on, Lu Changsheng threw himself into cultivation with renewed enthusiasm.
Four days later, a steward of Green Bamboo Valley called Uncle Lu came to Lu Changsheng's residence.
He delivered a Golden-Hair Talisman Brush and a hundred sets of talisman-making materials.
Lu Changsheng was to turn in twenty Fire Bullet Talismans within a month.
This was one of the terms of his earlier agreement with the Lu Lineage.
The Lu Lineage provided the materials, and Lu Changsheng handled Talisman Making.
Twenty Fire Bullet Talismans a month posed no difficulty whatsoever for Lu Changsheng. It was pure profit.
However, this was also because the Lu Lineage still considered Lu Changsheng to be in the training stage.
Later, their requirements for both the quantity and quality of his Talisman Making would increase.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Changsheng had been living in Green Bamboo Valley for over a month.
On this day, his eighth child was born.
It was a daughter.
When the child was born, Lu Changsheng felt no stirring in his spiritual root.
He immediately knew that the child had no spiritual root.
Since he had confirmed that the system could detect his children's spiritual roots, this child's lack of one left him a little disappointed.
But it was only a slight disappointment.
He had become much more accepting of the matter of his children's spiritual roots and could take it in stride.
Looking at his newborn child, Lu Changsheng suddenly remembered that today was the last day of the month. Tomorrow would mark the start of a new month.
And on the first of every month, Green Bamboo Valley held a small trading fair.
I've never seen a trading fair between cultivators before. I could go take a look tomorrow.
Lu Changsheng thought to himself.
When he had become a Talisman Master, the Lu Lineage Disciples and the Immortal Seedlings had given him a round of gifts, leaving him with some spare money.
Thus, he also wanted to see what this small trading fair within the Lu Lineage was like.
Early the next morning, Lu Changsheng arrived at the trading fair in Green Bamboo Valley.
The fair was held at a place called Bambooheart Lake, with pavilions and waterside terraces built along its shores.
Within these pavilions and terraces, members of the Lu Lineage laid out the items they wished to trade on stone tables.
Others put up signs listing the items or resources they wanted to buy.
He did not know whether he had come too early or whether this was all there was, but only a dozen or so people had set up stalls.
They were selling only a handful of odds and ends, none of which he could use.
After making a circuit, Lu Changsheng found it rather uninteresting and prepared to head straight home.
Just as Lu Changsheng stepped out of a waterside pavilion, he saw two women approaching side by side, their arms linked.
He recognized one of them: the eldest young lady, Lu Miaoge.
The eldest young lady was dressed very simply, her flowing black hair tied behind her with a moon-white silk ribbon, looking graceful and delicately beautiful.
She wore a plain, elegant moon-white dress without any other adornments. Her attire was simple, her bearing ethereal and unworldly, as refined as an immortal.
Lu Changsheng had never seen the other woman before.
Yet at the sight of her, he could not help taking a few extra looks.
She appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, with an exceedingly beautiful face that bore a strong resemblance to Lu Miaoge's.
But her makeup, clothing, and bearing were worlds apart from Lu Miaoge's.
Her makeup was exquisite, and her glossy black hair was pinned behind her head with a dark-gold ornament. A few strands fell over her chest on either side, while two dazzling luminous-stone earrings hung from her pale, delicate earlobes.
She wore a sexy, fitted black off-the-shoulder dress embroidered with gold thread, displaying every exquisite curve of her figure to the fullest.
Like a cheongsam, the skirt had high slits on both sides, revealing portions of her full thighs and smooth calves, rounded like jade.
Yet her long, beautiful legs were not bare, their pale skin rivaling frost and snow. Instead, they were covered in black silk stockings as thin as a cicada's wings, making them look even more slender and alluring.
Besides the sheer black stockings, what surprised Lu Changsheng and drew a few extra glances was the pair of ornate black high heels with gold patterns on her feet.
Their slender heels were probably three or four inches high, accentuating the contours of her legs until they looked even more perfect and provocative-the sort of legs one could admire all year.
She looked aloof and noble, sexy and enticing, and stood more than half a head taller than the eldest young lady, Lu Miaoge, beside her.
"What are you staring at? Keep leering, and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
When the woman in the black dress and high heels noticed Lu Changsheng looking at her, her voice rang out like an icy spring.
"Huanhuan."
Seeing this, Lu Miaoge gently tugged at her younger sister.
Then she gave Lu Changsheng an apologetic look.
Lu Changsheng also felt that he had been a little impolite.
Mostly, he had never expected to see an outfit featuring black stockings and high heels in this cultivation world.
Besides...
The woman's dark-gold dress paired with black stockings and high heels truly was eye-catching.
There was a seductive allure amid her cold, noble elegance that had made him look a few times more.
"Greetings, eldest young lady."
"Greetings, miss. That was rude of me."
Lu Changsheng cupped his hands with an easy, composed expression.
His former self might have felt embarrassed.
But now that he had several wives and concubines, along with quite a few children, something like this was not enough to embarrass him.
Food and desire were human nature!
Wasn't it only natural to take a few extra looks the first time he saw black stockings?
Still, from Lu Miaoge's words and their resemblance, he realized that the two women were sisters, which surprised him a little.
He had not expected sisters to differ so much in temperament and personality.
"Lu Changsheng, did you come here to buy something?"
Lu Miaoge asked Lu Changsheng in a gentle voice.
"Uncle Fu told me there was a small trading fair here on the first of every month, so I thought I'd come take a look."
Lu Changsheng replied.
"Everyone won't arrive until noon. You came a little early."
Lu Miaoge spoke softly.
"I see. Still, I wasn't looking to buy anything. I only came to broaden my horizons. Now that I've had a look, I was just about to head back."
Lu Changsheng nodded, without prolonging the conversation.
It was perfectly normal to appreciate beauty and admire young women, but a woman like Lu Miaoge was beyond what he could afford to get involved with for now. It was better to keep his distance.
Here in public, who knew whether exchanging a few words with Lu Miaoge might draw the attention of her admirers and followers?
With that, Lu Changsheng cupped his hands, took his leave, and walked away.
Watching his retreating figure, the woman in the black dress beside Lu Miaoge said with a look of distaste, "So he's Lu Changsheng? He really is as lustful as the rumors say. He already has nine wives and concubines, yet he's still such a lecher."
"Huanhuan, you should also pay a little attention to how you dress. This is a bit..."
Lu Miaoge said gently.
"A bit frivolous, right? Sister, a woman adorns herself for the one who pleases her. I dress this way for myself, not for anyone else."
Hearing her sister's words, Lu Miaohuan curled her lips and replied without the slightest concern.
"It seems I still know far too little about this world."
"Well, that makes sense. I spent my first eighteen years in the village. Apart from being escorted to the Azure Cloud Sect, the farthest I ever went was the county town."
"Even after coming to the Lu Lineage, I've never set foot outside. Everything I know comes from books. How could I possibly know much?"
"This is a world of cultivation. How can I view it through such a narrow lens?"
"In all those cultivation and fantasy animations from my previous life, practically everyone had high heels and long legs. So things like stockings and high heels being here is perfectly normal."
After returning to his residence, Lu Changsheng spoke with a sigh.
He did not take what had happened today too much to heart.
It was merely a small interlude in his life.
Still, he could look into where such shoes and stockings were sold in the future.
He had no other intentions. He simply wanted to give his wives and concubines a few gifts.
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