Unlimited Investment in the Destined Protagonist: Forging an Eternal Immortal Clan - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Heavenly Mandate Empress, Right? First, Obediently Bear Me a Child!

As soon as he returned to his room, Lu Qingxuan began to review the rewards from this investment.

[Nine Revolutions Heavenly Art: A high-tier Heaven-grade Physique-refining technique. With each turn cultivated, the strength of the physical body doubles. Upon reaching the ninth Revolution’s perfection, it cannot be broken by anyone below the Ascendant Realm!]

[Sky-Piercing Sword Technique: A high-tier Heaven-grade sword technique with terrifying power. During cultivation, a strand of sword qi must be fused into the body’s acupoints for tempering. When the sword qi in all 108 acupoints is refined into a single Heaven-Piercing Sword Ray, it reaches the stage of perfection!]

After reading the descriptions of the technique and sword art, Lu Qingxuan was shocked but couldn’t help feel overwhelmed. Heaven-grade techniques and martial skills were incredibly precious to their Lu Royal Mansion.

Even in the entire Beiyuan County, there were no techniques or martial skills of this caliber.

One must know that the highest-level technique and martial skill in the Lu Royal Mansion were merely the high-tier Earth-grade Pure Yang Limitless Technique and Heavenly Seal Art.

But now, through a single golden-tier investment, he had directly obtained a high-tier Heaven-grade technique and martial skill—this gap was no small matter.

Sighing, Lu Qingxuan continued to examine the other rewards.

[Seven-Colored Mysterious Light Wings: A mid-tier Heaven-grade treasure. A special movement-type auxiliary artifact that can be activated either by channeling one’s own spiritual energy or through pre-stored spiritual qi. Once activated, even a Divine Union Realm cultivator would struggle to catch up!]

[Frost Soul Silver Moon Sword: A mid-tier Heaven-grade treasure forged from over a dozen precious materials, including the rare Silver Moon Stone and Mysterious Cold Crystal. Its power is immense!]

Treasures that reached the Heavenly grade were considered extremely rare in Beiyuan County—at the very least, the Lu Royal Mansion had no treasures of this level.

“These two treasures can serve as items for my temporary use!”

Lu Qingxuan satisfactorily stored away the Seven-Colored Mysterious Light Wings and the Frost Soul Silver Moon Sword.

[Purple Extreme Pill: A mid-tier Earth-grade pill recipe. Two pots, each containing 100 pills. The best pill for enhancing the cultivation of Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, with no pill toxicity whatsoever!]

[Mysterious Profound Golden Pill: A mid-tier Earth-grade pill. Two bottles, each containing 10 pills. A specialized pill for peak Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, capable of increasing the chances of breaking through to the Spiritual Pill Realm by 60%!]

Seeing these two pills of considerable rank, Lu Qingxuan nodded in satisfaction.

Especially the Mysterious Profound Golden Pill, which could increase the breakthrough chance to the Spiritual Pill Realm by 60%—its value was self-evident. The Lu Royal Mansion simply didn’t have such high-quality pills.

Spiritual Pill Realm cultivators were considered high-tier powerhouses in Beiyuan County. Within the Lu Royal Mansion, only his father, the patriarch, the grand elder, and the third elder had reached this realm.

However, the grand elder had perished while accompanying his eldest brother to seize an opportunity, and his father, third elder, and patriarch had sacrificed themselves while resisting a beast tide.

Now, the Lu Royal Mansion no longer had any Spiritual Pill Realm experts to hold the fort.

This had caused the Lu Royal Mansion to drop directly from a sixth-rank force to a seventh-rank force.

But now, with these two bottles of Mysterious Profound Golden Pills, he believed the Lu Royal Mansion would quickly produce several Spiritual Pill Realm experts.

Finally, when he saw the scroll containing the Mysterious Profound Golden Pill recipe, Lu Qingxuan decided to hand it over to the clan’s alchemists.

With this recipe, this type of pill would never be in short supply in the future, and the mansion would surely produce even more Spiritual Pill Realm clansmen.

After reviewing all the rewards, Lu Qingxuan took out the Purple Extreme Pills to begin cultivating. However, just as night fell, Lu Qingxuan didn’t expect his mother, Jiang Xunya, to suddenly visit.

Dressed in a long palace skirt, Jiang Xunya slowly walked in from the doorway.

“Mother, why are you here!?” Lu Qingxuan immediately stood up, bowed to Jiang Xunya, and asked in confusion.

At the same time, a system notification sounded in his mind.

[Ding, a white-tier investment clansman has been detected. The host may initiate an investment!]

[Investing one Saintly Appearance Preservation Pill will yield one bottle of Purple Clarity Spirit Essence Pills and 300 high-tier Mystic-grade spirit herbs!]

[Investing one Cold Abyss Ice Spirit Pearl will yield three Sword Dao Crystals and 5,000 mid-grade spirit stones!]

Lu Qingxuan’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected that even his own mother could be an investment target.

Just as Lu Qingxuan was inwardly surprised, Jiang Xunya looked at her son with a hint of heartache and said, “Qingxuan, I know you’ve just taken over the throne, and there are many matters for you to handle, so I chose this moment to come find you. I’m here to discuss your lifelong matter with you.”

Hearing the words “lifelong matter,” Lu Qingxuan’s brows furrowed slightly as he continued listening to Jiang Xunya.

“In the past few days, I had originally planned to select a few talented women for you to take as concubines first, so they could bear new bloodlines for the Lu Royal Mansion. But yesterday, Emperor Lingyun suddenly issued an imperial decree. To commend our Lu Royal Mansion for our contributions in resisting the beast tide, he intends to betroth an imperial princess to you, with the wedding to take place in seven days.

“For this, I hope you can prepare yourself mentally and take this matter seriously.  Now that your father and eldest brother are no longer here, all the burdens and responsibilities of the mansion fall solely on your shoulders.  If you don’t produce an heir soon and something unexpected happens to you, how could I face your father and the ancestors of the Lu Royal Mansion?”

By the end, Jiang Xunya’s expression turned solemn. Clearly, she placed great importance on the issue of continuing the Lu Royal Mansion’s lineage.

Hearing this, Lu Qingxuan was stunned. Betrothed to him? And it was an imperial decree personally issued by Emperor Lingyun?

He truly hadn’t expected something like this to happen to him. Marrying a woman he had never met made him somewhat uneasy.

What if the betrothed princess turned out to be a “flower-like” (ugly) woman? How could he accept that?

Seeming to notice Lu Qingxuan’s concerns, Jiang Xunya explained, “Qingxuan, Emperor Lingyun plans to betroth the Fifth Imperial Princess to you. As for the Fifth Imperial Princess, you should know of her. Though she’s now faded into obscurity, her aptitude, comprehension, and beauty are all exceptional. She was once a renowned genius of the Lingyun Dynasty. If you marry her, the children you produce likely won’t have poor aptitude either.”

Though Lu Qingxuan had never met the Fifth Imperial Princess of the Lingyun Dynasty, he had indeed heard of her deeds.

Ling Xiyue, the Fifth Imperial Princess of the Lingyun Dynasty, had displayed extraordinary cultivation talent from a young age. Starting her cultivation, she crossed the Body Forging and Qi Gathering realms in just half a year, stepping into the True Spirit Realm.

At the age of fourteen, she broke through to the Foundation Realm and entered the Purple Mansion Realm, officially stepping into the Greater Divine Ability Realm. Then, on her seventeenth birthday, she broke through to the Spiritual Pill Realm, and by twenty, she reached the peak of the Divine Union Realm.

Just as everyone anticipated her breakthrough to the Nirvana Realm, it was as if the heavens played a cruel joke on her. Ling Xiyue’s breakthrough failed, and overnight, her cultivation regressed to the Purple Mansion Realm.

Despite this, the Lingyun Dynasty didn’t give up on her, continuing to provide her with abundant resources for cultivation. But from that point on, her cultivation never advanced again, remaining stuck in the Purple Mansion Realm to this day.

The Lingyun Dynasty sought out numerous experts to investigate, yet they could never pinpoint the reason. Thinking of Ling Xiyue’s various experiences, Lu Qingxuan couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness.

A genius girl once held in high regard suddenly turning into a “waste” unable to progress further—surely no one would feel good about that!

“Hm!”

But at that moment, something stirred in Lu Qingxuan’s heart as he recalled a novel he had read on Blue Star. This Ling Xiyue—could she be a protagonist template!?

Lu Qingxuan’s expression turned odd. If that were true, marrying her might not be a loss at all.

[Ding, it has been detected that the Lingyun Dynasty has a woman with a Husband-Boosting Fate and golden-tier luck—Ling Xiyue, the reincarnated body of the Heavenly Mandate Empress. Her memories have yet to awaken. It is recommended to take her as your wife!]

Hearing the system’s prompt, a glint of intrigue flashed deep in Lu Qingxuan’s eyes.

A Husband-Boosting Fate, golden-tier luck, the reincarnated Physique of the Heavenly Mandate Empress! And her past-life memories hadn’t even awakened yet!

What was there to wait for? He had to seize this opportunity! He was banking on this timing gap. If the Empress had already awakened her past-life memories, he might actually have some reservations. But now, Lu Qingxuan had already made up his mind.

“The Heavenly Mandate Empress, huh? First, obediently bear me a child!”

Seeing the change in Lu Qingxuan’s expression, Jiang Xunya assumed he was unwilling to marry the Fifth Imperial Princess and immediately spoke again.

“Qingxuan, Emperor Lingyun betrothing her to you is actually beneficial to our Lu Royal Mansion. If you marry the Fifth Imperial Princess, not only will our Lu Royal Mansion gain a connection to the imperial family, but we can also use this to deter those forces eyeing our mansion’s assets.”

Though the Lu Royal Mansion was situated in Beiyuan County, the entire county wasn’t solely under their control. There were also the Zhou Family, Fang Family, Han Family, and the County Governor’s Mansion—four forces not weaker than the Lu Royal Mansion.

With the Lu Royal Mansion’s strength now greatly diminished, the many resources it controlled would inevitably attract the covetous eyes of other forces.

Lu Qingxuan couldn’t deny his mother’s words. Now, combined with the system’s suggestion, whether for himself or the mansion, marrying the Fifth Imperial Princess was a must.

Immediately, Lu Qingxuan nodded. “Alright, the Lu Royal Mansion will welcome the Fifth Imperial Princess with the highest honors.”

Hearing her son finally agree, Jiang Xunya’s expression brightened with joy. “Then I’ll give the orders now and start preparing for this wedding banquet.”

With that, she turned to leave.

However, Lu Qingxuan called out to her, “Mother, I brought back two good things for you from the Qingyun Dao Sect.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xunya was somewhat surprised, pausing her steps mid-turn.

Meanwhile, Lu Qingxuan had already taken out a pill shimmering with rosy clouds and a white pearl wreathed in misty fog, handing them to Jiang Xunya.

“Mother, this is a Saintly Appearance Preservation Pill, with effects to preserve youth and enhance beauty. And this Cold Abyss Ice Spirit Pearl can help you comprehend a trace of the True Intent of Ice. I hope you like them.”

These two items were special treasures Lu Qingxuan had collected at the Qingyun Dao Sect. Though not exceedingly precious, they were comparable to high-tier Mystic-grade treasures and considered rare.

Jiang Xunya was genuinely surprised. Her son had brought her gifts for the first time, and her heart warmed slightly.

Her expression softened as she said, “Hm, I like both of these very much. Then Mother will accept them!”

As a mother, Jiang Xunya felt both comforted and delighted by anything her son gave her—especially since these two treasures were exactly to her liking.

After accepting the items, Jiang Xunya left Lu Qingxuan’s room with a face full of smiles.

[Ding! Investment successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining one bottle of Purple Clarity Spirit Essence Pills, 300 high-tier Mystic-grade spirit herbs, three Sword Dao Crystals, and 5,000 mid-grade spirit stones!]

[Purple Clarity Spirit Essence Pill: A low-tier Earth-grade pill. One bottle contains 10 pills. When taken by peak Foundation Realm cultivators, it increases the chance of breaking through to the Purple Mansion Realm by 60%!]

[Sword Dao Crystal: Contains a trace of the True Intent of Sword Dao. It can assist cultivators in having a certain chance to comprehend the True Intent of Sword Dao]

Though the Lu Royal Mansion had pills for breaking through to the Purple Mansion Realm, their quality couldn’t compare to something like the Purple Clarity Spirit Essence Pill. Items produced by the system were indeed top-notch!

Shifting his gaze, Lu Qingxuan looked at the Sword Dao Crystals—treasures capable of helping cultivators comprehend the True Intent of Sword Dao. These were also rare and valuable items.

Lu Qingxuan stored all the rewards away and resumed his cultivation, awaiting the wedding to the Fifth Imperial Princess in seven days. However, Lu Qingxuan didn’t even make it to the day of welcoming the Fifth Imperial Princess.

Just three days later, the three major families of Beiyuan County took action against the Lu Royal Mansion.