It's the dead of night. Everyone's either asleep or busy in bed. Who's knocking? This is such a downer! Lu Chen thought ruefully, and stopped.
Xu Jiaqi was also a bit uncomfortable, but she nudged Lu Chen and whispered, "Go check it out. Maybe it's something important! Anyway, coming here, we're destined for unrest."
Lu Chen got out of bed, put on a pair of pants, and went to open the door. He froze as soon as he opened it.
Wow! Am I seeing things? Is that a banshee standing before me?
Of course not a banshee, but Liu Sha, though her sex appeal was undeniably on par with a banshee's. She had bare, white feet adorned with bright red nail polish, and wore a white robe tied only at the waist with a thin belt. The robe was made of lace, and quite transparent! So, you can see there's nothing inside, just a deep, protruding mound—everything beautiful is right there. It's absolutely a stunningly beautiful body!
Moreover, her legs are exposed, and her neckline is open, revealing her ample breasts, brimming with vitality and incredibly alluring.
Her long, flowing golden hair cascades over her shoulders, still damp.
And Liu Sha's entire body exudes a fragrant, fresh, and moist scent, clearly from a recent shower. She looks at Lu Chen, and suddenly trembles, inexplicably feeling a surge of desire.
Lu Chen's body is truly robust. It's not apparent when he's clothed, but when he's naked, his muscles, while not necessarily super muscular, possess a subtle, explosive power.
Combined, he's a man brimming with strength.
The men Liu Sha had encountered from all over the world were all bodybuilders, many with muscles more developed than Lu Chen's. But only Lu Chen possessed that understated yet boundless power in his physique.
And he was covered in sweat, making him even more alluring.
Liu Sha's heart was filled with sweet dreams; she longed to pounce on Lu Chen and embrace him. In fact, she had dressed like this precisely to spend the night with him.
But just as she was about to pounce, she stopped, for she saw the scene inside.
A voluptuous woman, whose figure was no less impressive than hers, sat on the bed, gently wrapped in the blanket. She, too, was covered in sweat, her face visibly flushed with desire.
Liu Sha was looking at her in astonishment.
That woman was Xu Jiaqi!
Ryusha felt disappointed, but quickly suppressed it, covering her mouth and giggling, "Mr. Lu, no wonder you were so willing to help her; it turns out she's already given herself to you!"
Her tone carried a hint of resentment and seduction.
She was indeed a very alluring woman. Although she didn't say it outright, her tone alone conveyed: "Sigh, why isn't it me who's given myself to you?"
Lu Chen scratched his head, resisting the temptation of Ryusha's beautiful body. He chuckled, "Sister Jiaqi has been my woman for a long time, so helping her is only natural. Miss Ryusha, what brings you here in the middle of the night?"
Ryusha rolled her eyes at him, the implication being: "I'm here dressed like this in the middle of the night, what do you think I want? Too bad you already have someone in your bed!"
She sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Mr. Lu, may I call you Chen from now on? Let's be friends."
"Friends are all within the four seas, of course," Lu Chen nodded readily.
Liusha hesitated, clearly dissatisfied with Lu Chen's vague answer, but felt it inconvenient to say what she wanted to say. Then, she flipped her hand and pulled a square box from her robe pocket.
It was only half the size of Lu Chen's fist, made of some kind of wood, a very smooth and lustrous wood. The wood grain was also very neat, concentric circles, looking like a maze.
If Lu Chen hadn't had sharp eyes and noticed the seam in the middle of the box, he would have really thought it was just a piece of wood.
Soon, a strange movement occurred within him, a very subtle power surged forth.
Lu Chen was startled, quickly sensing that the power was actually the Treasure God's power!
Based on his limited experience, he immediately concluded that the wooden box must contain some kind of treasure; otherwise, why would it attract the attention of a treasure-wielding being?
"What treasure are you giving me?" Lu Chen asked with interest. He sniffed, faintly catching a very refreshing fragrance. This fragrance emanated from the box and even carried a trace of energy.
He couldn't help but be somewhat shocked, and a serious expression appeared on his face.
Ryusha gave him a charming smile: "You know it's a treasure, and it truly is. You were able to heal my grandfather, and you helped me, and… to compensate you, I'm giving you this treasure."
As she spoke, her expression also became serious: "Originally, I was reluctant to give it to you; I wanted to give you some money. But you don't lack money, especially since you just won five million dollars. Plus, this thing will be very useful to you."
With that, she placed the small wooden box into his hand.
As soon as Lu Chen held the small wooden box, he felt various supernatural abilities within him stirring restlessly, rushing towards his palm as if wanting to devour the contents of the box.
Lu Chen took a deep breath and opened the box.
Atop a cluster of reddish leaves from some unknown plant, a flower about the size of an adult's thumb appeared before his eyes.
The pale blue flower was incredibly lustrous, subtly shimmering with iridescent light, as if concealing a patch of blue sky and white clouds. The petals were quite thick, easily three or four centimeters thick.
It truly looked like it was carved from some kind of priceless gemstone.
Most amazingly, it seemed alive, gently swaying.
Lu Chen's eyes widened, his whole body trembling: "This is… Yuan Duo?"
Liu Sha's eyes lit up: "I didn't expect you to know about this treasure! Yes, it's Yuan Duo!"
Lu Chen, of course, knew. In his family's library, there was a book called "The Collection of Treasures," which introduced all sorts of treasures in the world. Among them is this Yuan Duo.
The *Wu Hua Shou Lu* (Collection of Treasures) categorizes these treasures into nine grades, and the cloud is grade three!
It's important to understand that many treasures listed in the *Wu Hua Shou Lu* are extinct in modern society, and the higher the grade, the rarer they are. As a grade three treasure, the cloud is practically priceless.
Of course, to those who don't know how to use it, it's probably just a toy worth a few thousand or tens of thousands of yuan; but to those who do, they'd be willing to go bankrupt to acquire it.
The so-called Yuan Duo is described as "generating primordial energy, each bloom returning to its source." This means it's the foundation of internal energy, capable of continuously generating it.
Whether martial arts practitioners or mystical cultivators, cultivating internal energy is paramount, because internal energy can be refined into various forms of energy needed by its master, producing a wide range of uses.
And internal energy, in fact, is possessed by both ordinary people and cultivators.
The difference lies in their methods. Ordinary people absorb spiritual energy and essence through food and exercise, which is then transformed into internal energy through the natural circulation of blood. Cultivators, however, actively draw upon the essence of spiritual energy from the outside world through various breathing techniques, refining it into internal energy.
Regardless of the method, the transformation of external spiritual energy into internal energy is inseparable from the primordial energy (yuanqi) inherent in each person. This primordial energy is what cultivators refer to as their "qi root."
The process is roughly as follows: absorbing the essence of external spiritual energy, which is then transformed into internal energy through the operation of the qi root—cultivators strengthen the operation of the qi root through various methods, storing internal energy in the dantian (lower abdomen) and extracting it to convert it into energy when needed.
This is similar to adding gasoline to a car, which is then converted into energy by the engine to run.
Of course, the human body is far more complex.
Therefore, while a cultivator's skill superficially depends on the abundance of their internal energy, in essence, it depends on the strength of their primordial energy, or qi root! Internal energy (内气) eventually runs out, but primordial energy (元气) never does; it is inexhaustible. Even after internal energy is depleted, it continues to absorb spiritual energy and transform it into internal energy.
Observe ordinary people: after working until they are exhausted, they regain their strength after a short rest. This is the process of primordial energy converting spiritual energy into internal energy.
Besides constantly refining internal energy, a cultivator's main goal is to gradually expand their energy root during the refining process. However, this is difficult; often, even when internal energy fills the dantian, the energy root doesn't grow any larger.
This "cloud" (a concept in Chinese astrology), once absorbed by the cultivator, becomes their primordial energy, their energy root.
The benefits of this are significant: it increases the speed of refining spiritual energy into internal energy; even without active cultivation, it allows for faster absorption and conversion of spiritual energy into internal energy; and it allows for the refinement of internal energy to a higher purity, among other benefits.
Especially, refining internal energy to a higher purity is every cultivator's dream!
The so-called "purer" could be interpreted in modern terms as "higher quality." Imagine two strands of internal energy, one lighter and more refined. If they attack each other, the latter will naturally prevail!
For Lu Chen, who urgently needs to improve his cultivation, this Yuan Duo is incredibly precious and necessary.
But after thinking for a moment, he slammed the box shut, returned it to Liu Sha's hand, and said calmly, "I can't accept something for nothing. What I helped you with is already repaid in those five million dollars."
He lowered his voice slightly, "As for your compensation for what happened at the swimming pool, I think that's enough."
Hearing this, Liu Sha's heart fluttered, and even her usually composed face flushed.
She shoved the small box into Lu Chen's hand, saying, "I don't think it's enough! You should take it. I think the most suitable person in the world to use this Yuan Duo is you. I know some of your secrets, and Yun Duo can help you!"
Lu Chen wasn't surprised that Liu Sha knew about the Seven-Life Flower; Yang Jiangyu had already told him.
However, judging from her expression, he guessed she had some ulterior motive!
He tossed the small box away, saying indifferently, "What's wrong with being straightforward? Miss Liu Sha, state your purpose, otherwise, I won't accept such a valuable gift."
Liu Sha was startled.