The sun was high in the sky.

Looking a little haggard, Ling Changqing walked out of the inner chamber of the boudoir, his steps unsteady.

A "battle" of full mobilization like last night was, in fact, quite rare.

Normally, his bevy of beauties would discuss it amongst themselves and take turns attending to Ling Changqing for Dual Cultivation, with at most three to five close "sisters" coming together at once.

With Ling Changqing’s strength, handling such a small scene was naturally not a problem.

However, Ling Changqing had gotten a bit carried away yesterday. He had been lording it over Ling Qiyue, offending her deeply. In her anger, the Female Patriarch decided to up the intensity, calling all the sisters to join the "group battle."

’Looks like... I still need to speed up my Cultivation, or I won’t be able to maintain my husbandly authority in the future.’

Ling Changqing muttered to himself as he wandered around the courtyard. He silently circulated the Long Xiang Fan Brahma Scripture, and the aching soreness, the feeling of being completely drained, receded like a tide. The long-lost vigor of a dragon and tiger returned to his body.

Ling Qiyue, who had been "stuffed" last night, had already gone into seclusion. It would likely last a month, and if all went well, reaching the Golden Core Peak Realm was a sure thing.

In the eyes of others, Ling Changqing was living a life of bliss, surrounded by beautiful women.

But only these women knew in their hearts that they were the biggest beneficiaries.

Xue Qingtan and Meng Feiyu, the two Reincarnated Great Powers, had once used certain special Secret Techniques to test it. For a Female Cultivator in the Golden Core Realm, one Dual Cultivation session with Ling Changqing was roughly equivalent to the gains from two months of arduous personal cultivation. The benefits were even greater for Female Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage or Qi Cultivation Stage.

At first glance, a two-month increase in Cultivation might not seem like much. However, when accumulated over time, the resulting improvement in Cultivation was quite significant.

And this was just the improvement in Cultivation. There were also a series of other tangible and intangible benefits, such as the fine-tuning and optimization of one’s Spirit Root Talent, an enhancement of one’s Life Chart, and a boost to one’s Luck and Fortune.

To put it this way, even an extremely mediocre woman—good looks and figure aside—could eventually become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator as long as she continuously engaged in Dual Cultivation with Ling Changqing for eight to ten years and was given basic Cultivation Resources.

For women with outstanding talent, character, and appearance, as well as superior Spirit Root Talent, the benefits would undoubtedly be even greater.

For them, receiving the favor of a Child of Destiny like Ling Changqing was a ladder to the heavens.

Furthermore, Meng Feiyu had mentioned that in her era, a suspected Child of Destiny had appeared, but it was a fleeting existence that soon vanished without a trace.

If a woman were to bear Ling Changqing’s child in the future, that child would surely be a favored daughter of heaven, possessing immense Destiny and an Earth Grade, or perhaps even a Celestial Grade, Spirit Root Talent.

No wonder the major powers of Yuzhou couldn’t stop thinking about Ling Changqing. The stakes were simply too high. Bringing him into their family would be no less than acquiring a supreme Ancient Heavy Artifact to anchor their clan’s fortune.

"Master..."

Song Xuelan, dressed in a crimson gown, hurried over. Radiant, with bright eyes and pearly teeth, she bowed and said:

"The heads of the Illusory Treasure Pavilion and the Gathering Sea Pavilion have arrived. When do you plan to see them?"

Ling Changqing thought for a moment, remembering they had made an appointment yesterday. He nodded.

"Please have them wait in the reception hall. I will be there shortly."

"Understood."

Song Xuelan acknowledged the order and departed.

With Ling Qiyue in seclusion and Tang Qiu Yao out inspecting the mines and Medicinal Gardens, the responsibility for managing the family headquarters naturally fell to him.

Ling Changqing lingered in the courtyard for a moment to alter his appearance and physique and apply a Shielding to his Luck and Fortune before unhurriedly returning to the reception hall.

Besides his circle of close female companions, no outsider had ever seen his true face. Even his public name had been changed to Ling Changxing.

Inside the opulent and magnificent reception hall.

Two guests were seated formally. One was a vigorous, white-bearded elder with streaks of gray in his hair, dressed in a colorful, embroidered long robe. Judging by his aura, he should have a Late Stage Golden Core Cultivation.

This was the head of the Illusory Treasure Pavilion on the Changqing Continent: Yu Dongyang.

The other was a Female Cultivator in a long black gauze dress with a plain appearance and an unremarkable temperament. She had a Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivation.

She was the head of the Gathering Sea Pavilion on the Changqing Continent: She Qinghua.

The three great commerce associations of Yuzhou were Xingyun sun, the Illusory Treasure Pavilion, and the Gathering Sea Pavilion.

All three associations possessed long legacies, unimaginably deep networks of connections, and countless businesses, both overt and covert, spread throughout Yuzhou and the surrounding major continents.

Rumor had it that their business operations extended even into certain Outer Heaven Little Worlds, subterranean Secret Realms, and the territories of some ancient sentient races.

On the Changqing Continent, however, the Xingyun sun Commerce Association had arrived the earliest and thus had the closest relationship with the Ling Family.

As for the Illusory Treasure Pavilion and the Gathering Sea Pavilion, they had only approached Ling Qiyue after the Ling Family unified the entire Feiyu Sea Region.

They had now also established branches in the Changqing Continent Marketplace to conduct various businesses, but Ling Qiyue still trusted the Xingyun sun Commerce Association the most.

Seeing Ling Changqing enter, both guests rose to their feet, cupped their hands in greeting, and offered soft-spoken, warm pleasantries.

"Fellow Daoists, there’s no need for such ceremony. Please, sit and talk."

Ling Changqing said warmly.

Yu Dongyang sat back down, a beaming smile spreading across his old face.

"Elder Ling, you truly live up to your reputation for profound Blessed Fortune and being so accomplished at such a young age. To already have a Golden Core Cultivation and be a rare Third Rank Alchemist... I imagine that in another two or three hundred years, you might even attain the Dao Fruit of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, no?"

She Qinghua smiled faintly. "Indeed, I never expected the Ling Family to produce two Third Rank Alchemists. It’s truly enviable. It seems that in a few hundred years, a new Nascent Soul power will emerge in the Feiyu Sea Region."