The Dao-Severing Sword in Hand

"Changzhi, you did well this time."

On the flying boat back, Cang Wenyu spoke up in praise.

Li Yi even stepped forward and patted Lu Changzhi on the shoulder, saying with a smile:

"It seems Changzhi is already prepared to be a peak master."

Everyone was quite impressed.

Lu Changzhi smiled and said:

"The credit goes to Gu Chen too. His strength was more than enough."

"Enough, of course it was." Li Yi laughed heartily and remarked:

"A Dao Platform Realm cultivator knocked down a Life and Death Realm cultivator. I reckon things won't be peaceful among their factions once they get back."

Cang Wenyu looked at Gu Chen and nodded to himself.

In terms of strength, Gu Chen's performance had indeed been astonishing.

His cultivation realm was even more reassuring.

He remembered that Gu Chen had already broken through to the Life and Death Realm.

When it came to hiding their cultivation, this master and disciple truly came from the same lineage.

They were hard to see through.

They had revealed some of their strength, but still held something back.

It was just right.

Although the Five Symbols Sect sought to preserve its strength, it still chose its targets carefully.

Avoiding trouble at every turn was cowardice.

When it was time to act, they still had to act.

Using eighty percent of their strength would protect their dignity while giving the other factions a glimpse of what they had.

Then no one would suspect the remaining twenty percent.

After chatting with the other peak masters for a while, Lu Changzhi got up and returned to his quarters.

He opened the system.

The number displayed under [Experience Points] was 5,610.

Subtracting the 1,660 experience points he had before coming,

that meant this trip had earned him a total of 3,950 experience points.

A massive profit, indeed.

Shop.

He called it up in his mind, and the system interface appeared again.

Finding the [Dao-Severing Sword That Had Lost Its Sword Spirit], Lu Changzhi chose to buy it without hesitation.

With a crisp chime, the Dao-Severing Sword was his.

The moment he acquired the sword, it automatically bound itself to him.

In an instant, a powerful, solid feeling arose in Lu Changzhi's heart.

He wanted very much to take the sword out and have a look at it.

But this was a sacred artifact, after all.

If he brought it out rashly, it might cause some kind of commotion.

He could only put the thought aside for now.

"Current host's strength detected to be too weak. A new feature has been specially unlocked for you, Master."

"New feature: Money Can Make Ghosts Turn the Millstone."

"Would you like to view the details?"

Lu Changzhi's expression shifted.

"View."

[Money Can Cause Ghosts to Turn the Millstone]: For weapons and other items whose grade is far higher than the user's current strength, experience points can be spent to unleash their greatest power. The amount of experience spent depends on the item's grade and the number of times it is used.

After reading about the feature, Lu Changzhi turned his attention back to the Dao-Severing Sword.

Sure enough, an additional option had appeared beside it.

"Spend 1,000 experience points to activate it at the strongest state currently available. If no one dies, no experience points will be deducted."

"Put that way, it's quite a bargain."

Lu Changzhi murmured softly.

Even if Sect Master Cang Wenyu himself were to wield a sacred artifact, he might not be able to unleash it to its fullest.

Lu Changzhi only needed to spend 1,000 experience points.

"This way, I'll have some protection even when I go out."

He had 2,110 experience points left, enough to activate it twice.

Back at Hidden Origin Peak,

"Master, I'm planning to enter seclusion for a while."

As soon as they returned, Gu Chen spoke to Lu Changzhi.

Lu Changzhi nodded his agreement.

"Master!"

Hearing the commotion, Luo Ling'er came running over proudly, carrying a tray in her hands.

"Come and try Ling'er's secret-recipe cupcakes!"

At the same time, a fragrant aroma wafted toward them.

Seeing this, Lu Changzhi smiled and said:

"Looks like I came back at just the right time."

"Indeed." Gu Chen, who had just left, chimed in.

Lu Changzhi glanced at him.

"Weren't you going into seclusion?"

Gu Chen picked up a cupcake and said seriously:

"Ling'er put her heart into these."

"I have to fill my stomach first if I'm going to have the strength to enter seclusion."

Mu Fan flashed forward and remarked:

"I really don't think the Flower Spirit Sect's banquet could compare to our Ling'er's cooking."

"Really?" Luo Ling'er's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly asked.

"That's true." Lu Changzhi nodded.

Ling'er's cooking really was beyond reproach these days.

"Master, you shouldn't be the one saying that." Mu Fan shook his head. "At the banquet earlier, you ate the most out of the three of us."

Lu Changzhi glanced at Mu Fan. "Shall I find you something to do?"

"No, no." Mu Fan waved his hands repeatedly.

"I think what you said earlier was quite credible, Master."

Before long, Luo Ling'er's creations had all been divided up.

Gu Chen went back into seclusion, and Mu Fan got up and returned to his room to rest.

"Since everyone likes them so much, Ling'er will go make some more."

Luo Ling'er's little face was full of satisfaction, and she got up to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Lu Changzhi spoke up.

"Ling'er, are you planning to start cultivating now?"

Luo Ling'er was taken aback. "Didn't you say I had to wait a while before?"

"You can start now," Lu Changzhi said with a smile.

"I can?!" Luo Ling'er's eyes lit up, and she nodded at once.

"Then I want to cultivate too."

"But there are some things I need to tell you first."

Lu Changzhi thought for a moment, then told Luo Ling'er a few things about physiques.

"Master, do you mean I'm someone who was born with a special physique?" Luo Ling'er asked after listening.

Lu Changzhi nodded.

"Then won't I become really powerful in the future?"

"Of course. It's just that your physique is a little unusual. It will give you brute strength, rather than speed or anything else," Lu Changzhi reminded her.

Luo Ling'er thought for a moment.

"Strength as great as Little Chicken's?"

"More or less."

"That sounds great!" Luo Ling'er rubbed her hands together and looked at Lu Changzhi.

"Master, let's hurry and start."

As expected, was this destined? Lu Changzhi thought.

"Come with me."

The two then went to an open area.

"System, how do I activate it?"

Lu Changzhi asked in his mind.

"Master, choose to use the Earth Demonic Bear spirit core on Luo Ling'er. Once it has been used successfully, her physique will be activated."

As soon as those words ended, the system continued:

"Friendly reminder: Given the target's current condition, using the Earth Demonic Bear spirit core to activate her physique may cause a certain amount of pain. Master can spend 1,000 experience points to eliminate the pain and give your disciple a painless experience."

"Would you like to spend the experience points?"

"?" A question mark appeared over Lu Changzhi's head.

"System, how did you get so shady?"

He only had a little over 2,000, and in the blink of an eye it wanted to squeeze half of that out of him.

How had he not noticed this before?

"Master, how about letting the current target endure it?"

"According to the system's calculations, after the current target's physique has been activated, she will not suffer for too long-approximately two months, three days, and ten shichen."