Lu Changsheng's thoughts stirred, and he extracted the golden brick talisman treasure from his System Space.
Immediately, a talisman inscribed with the image of a golden brick materialized in his hand out of thin air.
This talisman felt much smoother and more substantial than the ordinary ones he usually drew.
The pattern of the golden brick on it shone with a twinkling light, seemingly alive.
With the knowledge of a Second Grade Talisman Master, Lu Changsheng could tell at a glance that the material of this talisman treasure was made from the fur of high rank demon beasts.
The standard talisman paper he currently used was mostly made from lower grade spiritual materials.
For instance, the abundant Qingzhu bamboo on Qingzhu Mountain was one such lower grade spiritual material.
Whereas advanced, top-quality talisman paper required entry grade spiritual materials or demon beast fur.
The materials needed to draw Second Rank Talismans were the same.
One had to use First and Second Grade spiritual materials as raw materials to create talisman paper and spiritual ink.
This was one of the reasons why it became increasingly difficult for a Talisman Master as one progressed—
not only was it harder to advance, but the cost of materials was also high.
To improve one's skills, one had to continuously pour money into this bottomless pit.
"With this talisman treasure, I now have a trump card and can protect my life when facing anyone below the Foundation Establishment Stage," Lu Changsheng murmured as he carefully stored the treasure.
Even if a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator could only unleash part of its power, it was enough for him at the moment.
Just like how a mere ten percent of a Nascent Soul Immortal's magical treasure's power could easily crush a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage—
When he, a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator, used a talisman treasure, even a fragment of its power was enough to overwhelm his peers in the Qi Refinement Realm.
"Tomorrow I'll tell Uncle Fu that I can now refine First Grade lower quality talismans."
Lu Changsheng glanced at the night sky outside the window, which had darkened.
It had been a year and a half since he first purchased talisman making materials from Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
In this year and a half, he had bought talisman paper and drawn talismans amounting to five hundred and sixty in total.
The time was ripe.
He had also intended to reveal his status as an Elementary Talisman Master around this time—
since he had discussed his son Lu Xianzhi's situation with his wives today, there was no need to wait any longer.
Thinking of his son, Lu Xianzhi, Lu Changsheng suddenly remembered his own Spiritual Root.
His Spiritual Root had experienced a mysterious tremor the moment his son was born.
But since then, until now, he had felt nothing.
"I wonder what grade of Spiritual Root my son possesses."
"And to what extent has my Spiritual Root changed under his innate enhancement."
Lu Changsheng pondered silently.
Spiritual Roots are an abstract indicator of one's aptitude for cultivation.
They are not an extra organ within the body that can be seen.
According to what he had read in books, cultivators with a Spiritual Root had different Heavenly Gate acupoints and Dantian compared to ordinary people.
Therefore, even though Lu Changsheng was a cultivator, he could not specifically see what changes his Spiritual Root had undergone, or how significant the changes were.
He could only discern through specialized treasures used to test Spiritual Roots, or by using spells and divine skills like Spiritual Eye Technique.
However, Lu Changsheng was not in possession of these means at the moment.
Thus, he chose the simplest and most direct method—
To observe the speed at which he was drawing in nature's spiritual energy during cultivation and how it compared to before.
After all, an increase in one's Spiritual Root would most directly and clearly be reflected in one's sensitivity and throughput of spiritual energy.
The better the Spiritual Root, the higher the degree of fusion with spiritual energy, the faster the cultivation speed, and the fewer the bottlenecks.
Several hours passed.
Lu Changsheng was certain that his cultivation speed had indeed increased.
But this increase was very slight.
Less than ten percent.
With such a small enhancement, Lu Changsheng came to a conclusion—
His son's Spiritual Root was nothing remarkable.
Even though Lu Xianzhi had just been born and his Spiritual Root had not yet stabilized, and even if it could grow until he was five or six years old, it was unlikely to reach a high level.
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As expected, it was an Eighth Grade, the Lower Grade Spiritual Root.
"To have a Spiritual Root in the seventh child is lucky enough, how could the quality of the Spiritual Root be any better?"
Lu Changsheng sighed softly, knowing this was quite normal.
His wives and concubines were all ordinary people, and his Spiritual Root was only Ninth Grade; the probability of his children having a Spiritual Root was about one to two percent.
To have a Spiritual Root in the seventh child was already very fortunate.
As for how good the born Spiritual Root was, hoping for a Middle Grade or Higher Grade Spiritual Root was truly wishful thinking.
Except for a few rare cases, most children's Spiritual Roots are similar to their parents', not much higher in grade.
Moreover, ninety-nine percent of people with Spiritual Roots have Lower Grade ones.
All these Immortal Seedlings that came to the Lu Family had Lower Grade Spiritual Roots; not a single one had a Middle Grade Spiritual Root.
"If you want to have more children with Spiritual Roots, you need to have them with a woman who has a Spiritual Root."
"If both parents have Spiritual Roots, especially if they are cultivators, the probability of their children having Spiritual Roots can be as high as ten to twenty percent."
Lu Changsheng thought to himself.
He realized that if he continued like this, having children with ordinary women, ninety-nine percent of his offspring would be mortals.
Indeed, he had mixed many utilitarian intentions into his marriages and reproduction.
But he didn't want to keep having children blindly.
Otherwise, the children without Spiritual Roots could only watch as they experience the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death.
As for ensuring their happy growth and a blissful life,
It was not a problem now with fewer children, as he could treat them all well and evenly.
But what if the number of children became too many?
Lu Changsheng knew that at that time, it would be impossible for him to treat them all equally, without favoritism.
Looking at the history of past emperors killing their sons, you would know.
If he had too many, he would inevitably do the same, neglecting the children without Spiritual Roots.
Furthermore, taking wives and concubines to father children also required a certain amount of his time and energy.
"Sigh, thinking about this is still somewhat far-fetched."
"To have children is natural, and if the conditions are met, one should still strive for good breeding."
Lu Changsheng took a deep breath, shook his head, and stopped dwelling on these thoughts.
He also felt that he was overthinking and being indecisive and emotional.
Cultivation itself is an act against the natural order; if he gets too entangled in emotions, it will be hard to go far, and he might even invite a Heart Demon upon himself.
"I wonder if I could take a woman with a Spiritual Root from the Lu Family after becoming a Talisman Master."
Seeing that it was already daylight, Lu Changsheng got up to leave the house, ready to tell Uncle Fu about his ability to draw First Grade Lower Rank Talismans.
Suddenly, he thought whether becoming a First Grade Talisman Master would allow him to marry a woman with a Spiritual Root from the Lu Family.
If it had been before, this would have been absolutely impossible.
Merely wishful thinking of a live-in son-in-law, daring to covet marrying above his status!
But now,
With the talent he had displayed in talisman-making, becoming an Elementary Talisman Master was not impossible.
As long as he wasn't trying to marry Lu Miaoge, one of the core females of the Lu Family, there might be hope.
"If I could marry several women with Spiritual Roots, it would be ideal; the children born later would likely have Spiritual Roots."
"Whether for myself or for the children, it would be a good thing."
"However, there's no rush for now, and hurrying won't help."
Lu Changsheng thought.
It would be good to marry a woman with Spiritual Roots.
But he was only at the Second Level of Qi Refinement now, relying solely on his First Grade Lower Rank Talisman-Making Skill.
Even if he married a woman with Spiritual Roots, he feared that the power balance in the marriage would not be strong and the harmony he currently enjoyed might be disrupted.
Moreover, if he made such a request to the Lu Family, it would definitely not be as simple as taking wives of worldly background like before; he would need to pay some sort of price.
So Lu Changsheng felt there was no need to rush this matter for the moment, it was something to consider when his circumstances improved.
Not to mention, with his Second Rank Talisman-Making Skills, marrying a few 'fairies' with Spiritual Roots would not be difficult in the future.
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