Exchanging for a Puppet

During Yang Tianyou's battle with the two-headed demonic leopard.

Fairy Youruo controlled the Heavenly Gang Demon-Subduing Formation, conjuring various attacks that left the overconfident Deer-Body Devil Race in a very sorry state.

At the same time, she was also distracted by controlling Fourth-Tier Lower-Grade Puppet to stop the Scorpion-Tailed Devil Race.

Only the last humanoid Nascent Soul Devil Race was unhindered; it quickly flew out of the Formation's range and disappeared into the horizon as a black Escape Light.

A quarter of an hour later, the Deer-Body Devil Race and the Scorpion-Tailed Devil Race both perished, and several thousand Devil Race were also wiped out, with only a few escaping and fleeing in panic. The Human Race won a great victory.

Of course, although they achieved a considerable victory, their own losses were also very severe.

Because she had to preside over the Formation, Fairy Youruo endured the greatest pressure. After the battle, her aura quickly weakened, and she suffered serious injuries.

In addition, her Fourth-Tier Lower-Grade Puppet's Energy Core was also pierced by the Scorpion-Tailed Devil Race, and repairing it would require a huge cost.

It should be noted that Puppets are always among the most valuable Law Treasure of the same rank. The cost of repairing a Puppet alone is enough to forge one or two Fourth-Tier Lower-Grade Law Treasure.

Of the thirty-six Golden Core Cultivators, seven perished and fifteen were severely injured. Some were injured in the clash of Formations, while others were taken away by the Devil Race during their desperate counterattack while pursuing them.

The remaining Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators suffered the greatest losses; of the more than 7,000, only a little over 3,000 remained.

The remaining people were all injured, but their spirits were extremely high. Each of them was like Precious Sword that had been honed and polished, radiating a sharp and fierce edge.

War is the most transformative force, especially a life-or-death battle like this where everything is at stake.

It doesn't take many; just one experience is enough to break through many of these cultivators' cultivation bottlenecks on their own.

Why do spiritual practices encounter bottlenecks?

First, one's innate talent and foundation; second, one's temperament and willpower; and third, one's level of enlightenment!

With all three present, cultivation will proceed smoothly without hindrance; bottlenecks can be overcome in a single step.

Even if it's less advanced, having only one of these can greatly reduce the difficulty of overcoming the bottleneck.

Besides, although our side suffered heavy losses, each surviving cultivator could receive a considerable amount of Merits.

In addition to Merit, there were also spoils of war captured from the Devil Race.

The various resources of the Devil Race are not unusable by the Immortal Dao path. They only need to use special methods such as the Pure Yang Method to cleanse them of Devil Qi, and the remaining materials can be used normally.

For example, Yang Tianyou obtained a piece of Fourth Tier Mo Yuan Black Gold from the storage Law Treasure of the two-headed demon leopard.

This piece of Spirit Gold was imbued with the demonic blood of the two-headed demonic leopard, which originally intended to forge it into a Devil Treasure. However, it was killed by Yang Tianyou, so it naturally had no chance of becoming Devil Treasure.

Yang Tianyou only needs to use special Demon-Cleansing Spirit Water or Fourth Tier Pure Yang Flame to carefully refine this piece of Mo Yuan Black Gold, completely refining the Devil Race aura within it. The remaining Mo Yuan Black Gold can then be used to refine Fourth Tier Immortal Dao Law Treasure.

After cleaning up the battlefield, at Yang Tianyou's suggestion, Fairy Youruo led the cultivators to retreat directly from Yuan Qingshan.

Although they won this war, it did not have much impact on the overall situation.

The difference in strength between the Devil Race and the Lu Wu Realm Allied Forces is obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

In addition, the Guanghan Immortal deliberately lowered the guard of the Bloodfiend Devil Lord and the Gluttonous Devil Lord, and also pretended to be defeated, voluntarily giving up part of the fortress territory.

The first line of defense has already been breached by 30%, and the Second Line of Defense by 10%. The Devil Race army is advancing at an extremely rapid pace.

Under these circumstances, Yuan Qingshan and his fellow cultivators, whose strength had been greatly diminished, were no longer suitable to guard this place.

First, they are vulnerable to retaliation from the Devil Race; second, their fighting strength has been greatly weakened, and Yuan Qingshan's Spirit Veins have less than 30% of their original Spiritual Qi remaining, so even if he wanted to defend, he would be powerless.

Therefore, the wisest decision would be to withdraw to the rear, rest and replenish troops, and then take on new missions.

On the Demon-Subduing Flying Boat, in the main hall, Fairy Youruo sat in the head seat, her face beaming with joy.

Yang Tianyou sat to her left, right next to her, his status now vastly different from before.

The other Golden Core Cultivators looked on with awe upon seeing this.

Although they were puzzled about where Xu Tianyi had obtained the Seven Bonded Spirit Beasts and the dramatic change in his strength, they wisely refrained from asking further questions.

The strong always possess various privileges. Yang Tianyou's slaying of the Nascent Soul Demon King demonstrates his strength, enough to deter those with ill intentions.

Moreover, the Cultivation World is vast and boundless, full of wonders. In addition, Xu Tianyi has not spent much time with them, and they are all from different parts of the country.

So gradually, these Golden Core Cultivators accepted the fact that Xu Tianyi possessed Nascent Soul Level strength and stopped regarding him as Golden Core Combat Strength.

A day later, the Demon-Subduing Flying Boat retreated to the fourth line of defense, to a fortress at the Spirit Transformation level.

This place can be temporarily considered the rear of the war. The warehouse of the fortress stores a large amount of Cultivation Resources, which cultivators can exchange for using their Merits.

After settling everyone in, Fairy Youruo Ruo went to the Spirit Transformation cultivator guarding the area to explain the details of Yuan Qingshan's battle and to tally the Merits.

Half a day later, Fairy Youruo returned with a smile.

Upon her triumphant return, the Spirit Transformation cultivator stationed there did not blame her, but instead greatly praised her and readily awarded her the Merit.

Handing out lists of Merit List to everyone, Fairy Youruo smiled and said, "Take a look. This is the amount of Merits you've earned this time, along with related written statistics. If you feel there's anything wrong, you can appeal to higher authorities."

Yang Tianyou took the List and scanned it with his Spiritual Awareness. At the top were the sources of his Merits.

For example, killing a Devil Race in the Nascent Soul Early Stage will reward you with 25,000 Intermediate Merits.

Playing a key role in the war will be rewarded with 20,000 Intermediate Merits.

Killing Devil Race in the Late Golden Core will reward you with 4000 Intermediate Merits.

Killing Devil Race in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage will reward you with 20 Intermediate Merits.

In the end, it's all about accumulating all the Merit.

After Xu Tianyi's name, there was a string of very conspicuous gold numbers.

Xu Tianyi, Merit: 51234 (Intermediate Merit)

The so-called Intermediate Merits are those where each point of Merit has the purchasing power equivalent to one Middle-Grade Spirit Stone.

On the battlefield, the Merits a cultivator earns vary depending on their cultivation level.

For cultivators at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Realm, the Merits they earn are calculated based on Low-Level Merits. One Low-Level Merit is equivalent to one Low-Grade Spirit Stone in purchasing power.

The Merits earned by cultivators at the Golden Core Realm and Nascent Soul Realm are calculated according to the Intermediate Merit.

For cultivators at the Spirit Transformation and Sage Manifestation Realms, the merits they earn in Merit are calculated based on High-Level Merits. One High-Level Merit is equivalent to one Upper-Grade Spirit Stone in terms of purchasing power.

More than 50,000 Intermediate Merits, which is equivalent to more than 50,000 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, is definitely a huge amount of Cultivation Resources.

Yang Tianyou was unaware of the other people's Merit; this was a matter of privacy, Fairy Youruo did not deliberately pry into it.

The reason she had a smile on her face was because the war had been a great victory, and as the commander-in-chief, she had won the most Merits, totaling more than 200,000.

With so many Merit, not only could he repair Fourth-Tier Lower-Grade Puppet, but he could even buy two new ones.

"So, does anyone feel that their Merit are unfair and are preparing to appeal?" Fairy Youruo looked around at everyone.

"No!!"

The cultivators shook their heads.

"That's good. If you have any problems, you can contact me at any time using the Communication Talisman." Fairy Youruo continued, "You can use your Merits to go to the Merit Exchange Office and exchange them for the cultivation supplies you need."

I have already applied to my superiors to replenish the troops in our unit.

With all defense lines stretched thin and troop redeployment expected to take considerable time, we can use this opportunity to recuperate and prepare for the next mission.

After saying this, Fairy Youruo gracefully departed, seemingly heading to the Merit Exchange Office to purchase supplies.

The majestic golden hall stands atop the mountain peak, its plaque bearing three bold, flowing characters. "Merit Hall."

One cultivator after another came and went, each with a joyful expression on their face.

Why do people fight to the death on the battlefield? First, to resist the invasion of the Devil Race; second, for their own Dao Path.

To go far on the path of Immortal Dao, how can you succeed without resources?

Yang Tianyou looked up at the gleaming golden plaque, then strode inside.

Upon arriving at the Golden Core Cultivator's exchange room, one finds only a table, two futons, a Second-Rank Low-Grade Puppet, and a thick exchange List.

Sitting on the futon, Yang Tianyou picked up the exchange List and browsed through the various resources on it.

Law Treasure, Formation Disc, Pills, Talisman, Cultivation Method... everything is available.

Yang Tianyou looked at it for a while, and finally his gaze settled on a golden Puppet that resembled an ape.

Name: Vajra Ape Puppet

Rank: Fourth-Tier Lower-Grade

Ability: This Puppet's body is inscribed with Lower Second-Heaven Divine Ability — the Immovable Vajra Body, possessing extremely strong defensive capabilities...

Control method: Only those at the Nascent Soul Realm Divine Sense can control it in battle.

In addition, three thousand Middle-Grade Spirit Stones or thirty Upper-Grade Spirit Stones need to be added as energy to unleash the combat power of the Nascent Soul Early Stage. The more Spirit Stones added, the longer the combat time.

Note: Low-Grade Spirit Stones, due to their insufficiently pure Spiritual Qi, cannot power this Puppet.

Exchange Price: 77,000 (Intermediate Merit)

Looking at the majestic and imposing Vajra Ape Puppet before him, Yang Tianyou's eyes flickered slightly.

His True Spirit Strength is comparable to that of Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator, while his Divine Sense strength is slightly weaker. However, with the assistance of the Star-Chart Disk, he could barely touch the threshold of the Nascent Soul realm.

In this way, you can control this Fourth Tier Puppet.

"With this Puppet, my safety on the battlefield will be better guaranteed, and I absolutely cannot kill the Demon King Qingyin by myself alone."

Unlike the two-headed demonic leopard, which was suppressed by the Heavenly Gang Demon-Subduing Formation and suffered considerable injuries, the opponent was not like them.

If one is careless when dealing with the Demon King Qingyin, it is easy to suffer an unexpected defeat...

"It's just that the Merits required to exchange for these Puppets are a bit too many..."

Yang Tianyou frowned.

Generally speaking, the market price of a Fourth-Tier Lower-Grade Law Treasure fluctuates between 16,000 and 30,000 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones Middle-Grade Spirit Stone.

Unless they are magical Law Treasure with special functions or exceptionally rare, the prices are generally similar.

Puppets, of course, belong to the category of precious Law Treasures, and their prices are generally a level higher.

The value of a Fourth-Tier Lower-Grade Puppet is comparable to that of an ordinary Fourth-Tier Mid-Grade Law Treasure.

These 70,000-plus Intermediate Merits are actually quite cheap compared to the market price, but Yang Tianyou's Merits are still insufficient.

"We'll have to sell the two-headed demonic leopard's carcass and some other materials. Even if it means losing a lot of Merits, Puppets are a matter of life and death, so we should get them as soon as possible!"

Yang Tianyou quickly made a decision.

He then organized the supplies in his Storage Ring, took out some and placed them in his Storage Bag, then handed them to the Tier 2 Puppet who was acting as his attendant.

Storage Bag was the corpse of a two-headed demonic leopard, as well as materials such as Mo Yuan Black Gold, which had been seized.

"Daoist Friends, please wait a moment..."

The Puppet spoke, beginning to check the resources in its Storage Ring and tallying its Merit.

Fifteen minutes later, Yang Tianyou's Merits increased by more than 30,000.

"That's really shady, they deducted 30% or 40% of the value directly!" Yang Tianyou shook his head, but didn't say anything.

It's a matter of one party being willing to give and the other being willing to receive; the value of Merit is undeniable, and to obtain it without resorting to war, one must pay a much higher price.

This was also one of the methods the Allied Forces used to encourage monks to fight bravely.

"Exchange for the Vajra Ape Puppet!"

Yang Tianyou released a wisp of White-Gold Law Power from his fingertips and injected it into the List.

"Daoist Friends, please wait a moment while I go to the warehouse to fetch the goods!"

A voice came from the Puppet's mouth, then it picked up the exchange List and went to the warehouse at the back to retrieve the Vajra Ape Puppet.

Fifteen minutes later, Yang Tianyou flew out of the Merit Hall, a smile on his lips.

At this moment, inside his Storage Ring lay a golden-armored Ape Puppet and a box of eighty neatly arranged Upper-Grade Spirit Stones.

He exchanged this for 10,000 Merits.

Upper-Grade Spirit Stones are more effective at driving the Vajra Ape Puppet, and it doesn't matter if they're more expensive. Since we've already spent the majority of the money, we shouldn't be stingy with the smaller expenses.

"Now, it's time to find the Demon King Qingyin..."