Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Lu Chen looked at Lu Zi'an, who was so fat he was almost a ball, and then said, "I never expected you to achieve anything great, nor did I think about how far you could go on the path of cultivation. I just wanted you to live longer."

"Do you think I made you cultivate to become some kind of powerful being? Cultivation is just to increase your lifespan."

"To put it bluntly, if your cultivation level is too low, some methods to increase lifespan cannot be used on you."

There are indeed many ways to increase lifespan in the cultivation world, such as elixirs, but low-level methods of increasing lifespan have their limits. Even Great Emperors have their lifespans limited, let alone ordinary cultivators.

Some advanced methods of increasing lifespan usually have requirements on the cultivator's cultivation level. If the cultivation level is too low, the cultivator will not be able to withstand the life-extending methods.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Lu Zi'an lay on the ground and said no more.

He could naturally see that his father treated his children very well, and it was precisely because of his father's "teaching by example" that he, this idle prince, also treated his children very well.

Seeing that Lu Zian did not continue to argue, Lu Chen sighed deeply and then said, "You like beautiful women, that's true. Even your father, the emperor, has so many wives and concubines, it's impossible for him to restrict you."

"But you have to understand, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Don't you understand at all the motives of those people who send you beautiful women?"

Lu Zian seemed to understand something and quickly said, "Father, your son has never betrayed the Great Xia Dynasty."

Lu Zian wasn't stupid; he understood why some people approached him. However, he always accepted the favors from those people without doing anything in return. After all, the gifts were given to him by others, so why not take them?

Lu Chen asked, "I'm asking you, with your status, what can't you have? What do you lack?"

After hearing what Lu Chen said, Lu Zi felt relieved. Indeed, with the wealth he possessed, he could have anything he wanted, and he was not lacking in beautiful women, so there was no need for him to accept the benefits from those people.

Lu Chen continued, "Even if you accept the gifts and don't do anything in return, in other people's eyes, as long as you accept the gifts, those who gave them to you become your people. If the people who gave the gifts do something wrong, how do you think people will view you?"

Lu Zian was drenched in sweat. He understood what Lu Chen meant. Even if he did nothing, as long as he accepted the gifts, it meant that he had accepted those people's allegiance. Since he had accepted the allegiance of those people or forces, there would inevitably be people who would do bad things under his name, and then all of this would be blamed on him.

At this moment, Lu Zian suddenly realized that his father's anger was not because he had married more than a hundred wives and concubines.

Is it simply because he didn't handle his relationship with those who gave him gifts well?

Thinking of this, Lu Zian quickly said, "Please rest assured, Father, I will never accept gifts from others again. Except for gifts from my aunts, brothers and sisters, I will not accept any others."

Lu Chen sighed slightly. Although he was indeed a little angry about what Lu Zi'an had done, he was always lenient with his child and couldn't bear to punish Lu Zi'an severely.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen asked, "How many children do you have now?"

Lu Zian replied, "Reporting to Father Emperor, one hundred and twenty-three."

This……

Hearing Lu Zian recite the number in such detail, Lu Chen's emotions became even more complicated.

Lu Zian has over a hundred children, which means that he has very little bloodline power left. His talent and aptitude were already lacking, and with so many children taking away his luck and bloodline power, it will be even more difficult for Lu Zian to cultivate in the future.

However, Lu Chen was also slightly gratified. Lu Zi'an's ability to instantly name 123 children proved that he treated them very well.

This was similar to what Lu Chen knew. Lu Chen had the Imperial Guards inquire about it, and it turned out that Lu Zi'an was indeed very kind to every child, whether they were boys or girls.

This is something he inherited from Lu Chen.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen said, "From now on, you are not allowed to have any more children. More than a hundred is enough. If you insist on having a child with someone else, you must tell your mother."

This……

Lu Zian was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Yes, Father."

Lu Zian also knew that his father was doing this for his own good.

Moreover, his father only said he couldn't have children, but didn't say he couldn't continue to be intimate with his wives. For cultivators, it's too easy to avoid getting pregnant during intimacy.

Lu Chen glanced at Lu Zian's obese body again. He couldn't bear to look at it any longer, so he waved his hand, and a cool force entered Lu Zian's body.

The next moment, the fat on Lu Zian's body evaporated like water vapor, and Lu Zian instantly transformed into a strong, handsome man with eight-pack abs.

Sensing the changes within himself, Lu Zi'an was completely stunned. He quickly kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Father Emperor!"

Lu Chen continued, "You have made a mistake and cannot go unpunished. From today onwards, you are not allowed to leave the mansion for three years."

Lu Zian didn't feel anything was wrong. Although he liked to travel around, as long as there were women around, he was fine staying at home all the time.

"Yes, Father, I will definitely repent and correct my mistakes."

That's fine.

Lu Chen didn't say anything more and then turned and left.

Lu Zian quickly said, "Respectfully seeing off Father Emperor!"

As soon as Lu Chen stepped out of Lu Zian's residence, a Jinyiwei soldier hurriedly approached him. Lu Chen assumed that the Jinyiwei had discovered Lu Zian's illegal activities, and his face instantly darkened.

However, the Imperial Guard soldier quickly said, "Your Majesty, a caravan from the Crimson Moon Dynasty has appeared on the outskirts of the Imperial Mountain Starfield."

Hearing this, Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had found out that Lu Zian had done something outrageous again, and he was ready to turn around and beat the child.

Lu Chen asked, "Are you sure it's a caravan?"

There wasn't much interaction between dynasties, because most resources could form a stable market cycle within the dynasty itself.

Lu Chen found it hard to believe that a merchant caravan from another dynasty had appeared in the Great Xia Dynasty. He suspected that they were using the guise of a merchant caravan to try to enter the Great Xia Dynasty and gather intelligence.

The Imperial Guard soldier said, "We can't confirm it either, but there's a large amount of black gold on their immortal ship."

"Black gold?" Lu Chen was slightly taken aback.

Black gold is a substance that falls out of the body of a Heavenly Demon after death and can directly harm the Heavenly Demon. Although the Great Xia Dynasty also has some black gold, the amount is not large.

Moreover, there are no large-scale appearances of demons nowadays, and people are not developing black gold mines much.

However, Lu Chen always believed that the Heavenly Demon would reappear sooner or later, so it was good to prepare early.

In Lu Chen's view, when the Heavenly Demons appear on a large scale, it will be the time when a great calamity will descend upon the universe. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the Heavenly Demons as soon as they appear. In this way, it may be possible to avoid triggering the universe's rejection reaction and thus prevent the great calamity from descending.

Of course, this was just Lu Chen's speculation.

Regardless, black gold is the most important substance in the fight against the Heavenly Demon.

Lu Chen then said, "Take me to see them." (End of Chapter)