After the witch ripped out his heart, this mortal body began to lose control.

When Lu Changsheng woke up, it was past 9 AM. He clutched his chest and woke up with a start.

He opened his eyes to find himself in his and Shen Qinghe's marital room.

"Look, the son-in-law is awake!"

Inside the room, four or five maids who were responsible for taking care of him by the bedside showed joy when they saw that he had woken up.

Someone shouted, "Quickly, go and inform Butler Li!"

Then a maidservant respectfully approached Lu Changsheng and inquired about his condition.

Lu Changsheng felt his mouth was parched and immediately said to her, "Cuihong, quickly pour me a glass of water!"

Cuihong quickly poured him a glass of water.

He gulped it down in two mouthfuls.

He lay back down on the bed.

Only then did I feel comfortable.

Memories of last night began to resurface in my mind.

He recalled being hunted down and pierced through the heart by a sword...

Even the scene of the witch leading him to kill the two Xue brothers is still vivid in his mind.

My memory ends after the thousand-strong army vanished between my brows.

He ordered, "Bring me a mirror."

"yes!"

He took the bronze mirror from Cuihong's hand and saw a sword mark between his eyebrows.

He reached up to touch his chest, but the jade pendant around his neck had vanished.

He knew that the jade pendant and the broken army had entered his body to suppress the witch.

The witch's last words from last night quietly surfaced in my mind.

"Just you wait, the demonic energy has already begun to erode this body. It won't be long before I possess it, and then no one can stop me!"

Damn it, that bastard! Even as a remnant soul, he still won't give up and tries to possess me.

It seems I don't have much time left; I need to speed up my body-refining process.

However, the earth fire essence needed to begin the second stage of body refinement has not yet been found.

Just then, a lean old man entered the house.

Looking up at Lu Changsheng on the bed, she said, "I heard that the young master has woken up, so this old servant came to visit him and report back to the young lady."

Lu Changsheng's gaze darkened slightly as he swept his eyes over the lean old man before him.

The other person was dressed in the finest brocade robe of the Shen family steward. He had a pair of triangular eyes and an air of arrogance between his brows. When he bowed, he only gave a slight nod and did not even lower his head. His posture was extremely perfunctory.

"Who are you?"

"This old servant, Li Quan, was originally the steward of the outer courtyard, but now I have replaced Zhang Decai to be in charge of your daily life."

Lu Changsheng felt very uncomfortable seeing the old man's unwilling expression, as if he owed him tens of thousands of spirit stones.

This guy can't tell the difference between the big and small kings. He immediately asked the maid beside him, "Cuihong, where is Steward Zhang? Go and call him here quickly."

Upon hearing this, Cuihong said, "Young master, Steward Zhang, Steward Zhang can't come."

I heard from the people in the manor that Steward Zhang is probably dead, but his body has not yet been found.

"What? Butler Zhang... is dead?"

Lu Changsheng never expected that his chubby old butler would die like this. What a pity!

Li Quan sized up Lu Changsheng, his gaze devoid of respect, as if he were looking at a burden who had climbed the social ladder to the Shen family:

"Steward Zhang is unlucky. How could he have such good fortune as his son-in-law? He was chased by four Foundation Establishment experts and survived, and the young lady even used the family's treasure to heal you."

No one in the Shen family has ever received such treatment.

The second young master is no good, not even the eldest master and the second master are good enough.

Those words were barbed, they stung!

Lu Changsheng felt very uncomfortable after hearing this.

"Cuihong, bring the teacup over here!"

……

He took the teacup from Cuihong and threw it directly at the face of the triangular-eyed butler in front of him.

Bang!

Li Quan dared not dodge and took the teacup head-on, shattering it.

"If you look down on me so much, what are you doing here?"

"You've got too much nerve! Go back to where you came from, my little temple can't accommodate you!"

"Please rest, sir. This old servant takes his leave!"

His face had turned ashen, and he didn't give a direct answer.

He turned around and muttered to himself as he walked away, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Lu Changsheng to hear clearly: "He's just a spineless coward who relies on a woman for protection. What's with all the airs of a son-in-law? Doesn't he even know if he's good enough for her..."

On the couch, Lu Changsheng's fingertips clenched quietly, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and the sword "Breaking Thousands of Troops" shot out from between his brows and was held in his hand.

Lu Changsheng immediately unleashed the third move of the Jinghong Sword Technique from behind Li Quan, his golden sword energy sweeping out in a semi-circle.

boom!

After the loud noise, the spiritual energy dissipated, and Li Quan had already turned around and formed a claw shape with one hand.

Despite Lu Changsheng's all-out attack, he was completely unharmed.

"The young master's injuries have not yet healed, and his spiritual power is weak. It would be best for him to rest and recuperate."

Lu Changsheng's face darkened upon seeing this, but he was thinking to himself:

No wonder this old man is so arrogant; he actually has real skills.

Even when I ambushed him from behind, he managed to catch my full-force sweeping attack with just one hand.

This sweeping dust technique is too much for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to withstand in the early stages, which shows that this old man's strength is at least at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

The Shen family truly lives up to its reputation as a powerful clan; even their outer courtyard steward is already at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Just then, a maidservant rushed into the room, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"Young master, someone from the outer courtyard reported that someone from the city lord's mansion has come to see you."

--------------------

In the outer courtyard reception room,

Baili Ji held a small purple jade bottle, about the size of a palm, in both hands and bowed as he handed it to Lu Changsheng.

"Young Master Lu, my master heard that you were seriously injured yesterday and sent me to visit you on his behalf."

He also heard that you have been focusing on tempering your physical body recently, and instructed me to give you this bottle of earth fire essence.

I hope you will accept this.

Lu Changsheng looked at the essence of earth fire, but he was in no hurry to accept it, though he really wanted it.

This essence of earth fire can aid in body tempering and strengthen bones, making it one of the essential items for him to progress from the second to the fifth level of body refinement. He was just wondering where to get this stuff.

Yang Tianjin has just sent someone to deliver it.

As the saying goes, there is no kindness without a reason, nor is there hatred without a reason.

Yang Tianjin must have had ulterior motives for sending this, considering his previous actions.

Lu Changsheng naturally realized that this kid was after his Broken Army.

I appreciate the thought, but you should take the things back with you.

Seeing that Lu Changsheng was hesitant to accept the offer, Baili Ji knew he had some concerns, so he spoke up to persuade him:

"My young master said that it is normal for people of the same path to exchange gifts, so please accept this as a gift, sir."

"To be honest, fellow Daoist, I really want this essence of earth fire."

But I wouldn't feel comfortable taking it for free. How about I buy it for two thousand spirit stones? Also, if your young master has any more Earth Fire Essence, he can trade with me.”

"Young Master Lu, you are overthinking it. My young master simply wants to make friends with you and has no other intentions."

"Take this Earth Fire Essence; you can buy more next time!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Changsheng accepted the jade bottle without further ado.

He thought he should get his hands on it first and deal with the rest later.

Yang Tianjin's cunning and keen insight are terrifying.

He sent the most needed item directly.

-----------

After Baili Ji left, Lu Changsheng hurriedly returned to the bamboo grove courtyard.

He then instructed Li Quan to prepare the materials needed for the second stage of body tempering.

He had already tasted the sweetness of victory through last night's battle.

If it weren't for his terrifying physical strength at the first level of Body Refinement, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the repeated attacks from four Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The reason my bones broke last night was because I hadn't reached the third level of body refinement, bone refinement.

With the essence of earth fire, he simply reached the third level of body refinement before leaving seclusion.