Merit Can Be Used as Cement? Great Desolation Infrastructure, From Zero to One!

Houtu's forehead was beaded with fine sweat.

That piece of pure land, forcibly carved out by the power of merit, was like a greedy, gold-swallowing beast, consuming her accumulated merit at a visible rate.

The efficiency is too low.

"Sister, this can't go on!"

Qiangliang sounded somewhat anxious, "Your merit isn't endless!"

[The mindset of the technical department is always to start over, lacking cost control awareness.]

Xuanzheng shook his head, walked to the edge of the pure land, squatted down, and picked up a handful of dirt that had been purified by the power of merit, showing a pale golden color.

The dirt quickly lost its luster in his fingertips and turned black again, eroded by resentment.

"Sister, what we lack isn't strength, it's method."

Xuanzheng stood up, turned towards the white bone palace in the distance, and put on a professional smile.

"It seems it's time to discuss 'resource integration' and 'departmental collaboration' with our new colleague."

In front of the Sea of Blood Palace.

Minghe sat cross-legged on the Karma Red Lotus, eyes closed, regulating his breathing, his expression still grim.

Xuanzheng, along with three Ancestral Witches, swaggered over.

"Minister Minghe, are you getting used to the job?"

Minghe opened his eyes, his blood-red pupils filled with suppressed rage.

"Xuanzheng, this is my Sea of Blood."

"No," Xuanzheng corrected him.

"Now, this is under the jurisdiction of the 'Primordial Underworld Construction Group Purification Department.' And you are the Minister. Therefore, this is our Sea of Blood."

He completely ignored Minghe's almost murderous expression.

"I'm here to make a deal with you. Or rather, to give you an advance on some of your 'salary' and 'dividends'."

Minghe's eyebrows twitched.

With a flip of Xuanzheng's wrist, several ores of different brilliance appeared in his palm.

"Grand Unity Essence Gold, Shouyang Mountain Divine Copper, and this one, the Star Core. These should be somewhat useful for you in repairing the Karma Red Lotus."

Minghe's pupils contracted slightly.

These were indeed materials he needed but couldn't obtain in the Sea of Blood.

[The fish is about to take the bait.]

"State your conditions," Minghe said coldly.

"Very simple."

Xuanzheng pointed to the surging blood water under his feet, "I want to find a few things in this sea. Some 'Nether Iron Essence,' and 'Blood Fiend Crystals,' local specialties like that."

He paused and added, "Of course, as group assets, we have the right to use them. But this wouldn't seem humane, respecting our old employees, would it?"

Minghe sneered inwardly.

Humane? He didn't believe it for a second.

"Agreed," Minghe replied in a deep voice. "But you can only search in the outer areas and must not venture into the core of the Sea of Blood."

"Deal!" Xuanzheng cheerfully tossed the spiritual materials in his hand over. "Minister Minghe is indeed understanding. Happy cooperation!"

After collecting enough materials, the four returned to the pure land.

Houtu looked at the pile of ores and crystals emitting a dense aura of Yin Sha, even carrying cursed power, and frowned.

"Thirteenth Brother, can we really use these things...?"

"Of course," Xuanzheng's face showed an almost fanatical "researcher" expression. "Sister, forget your inherent perception of materials. In the face of absolute power, there is no such thing as 'good' or 'evil,' only 'usable' and 'unusable'."

He picked up a Blood Fiend Crystal, within which it seemed billions of wronged souls were screaming.

"Now, what we need to do is 'turn waste into treasure'."

He looked at Houtu, coaxing her.

"Sister, please mobilize the power of merit, but don't purify it. Instead... wrap it, permeate it, treat it like a piece of stubborn iron, and use your merit as a hammer to forge it into the shape we desire."

This was a theory unheard of.

Houtu hesitated for a moment but chose to trust Xuanzheng.

She extended her delicate hand, and a strand of pure Merit Golden Light, like a gentle ribbon, wound around the Blood Fiend Crystal.

"Screech--!"

The golden light collided with the blood-red light, emitting a piercing sound.

"Hold steady!" Xuanzheng shouted lowly. "Don't resist, you need to 'neutralize'! Think of it as one color pigment, and your merit as another, mix them together!"

[Hehehehe, yes, that's it! Use positive energy to pollute negative energy! This is called reverse thinking!]

Under Xuanzheng's guidance, Houtu gradually grasped the knack.

A wondrous change occurred.

The scarlet glow of the Blood Fiend Crystals gradually faded, replaced by a gentle, dark purple with faint golden edges.

The internal roars subsided, and the violent energy became stable and orderly.

Success!

In the time that followed, Xuanzheng acted as the "Chief Designer," and Houtu was responsible for "construction." Using this "Merit Artifact Refining Method," they refined the collected materials into a batch of peculiar artifacts.

Several black banners, palm-sized, with Soul Calming runes embroidered on their surfaces with Merit Golden thread.

Strings of beads polished from Nether Iron Essence, each one containing a tranquil and peaceful aura.

"I'll name them the 'Rebirth Series Artifacts' test version."

Xuanzheng picked up a small banner. "This is the simplified 'Soul Guiding Banner,' and that is the 'Soul Calming Bead,' a one-time consumable."

He arranged these artifacts in various corners of the "Purification Test Zone."

Buzz--!

The moment the artifacts were activated, the entire test zone's atmosphere was renewed!

Houtu only needed to expend a tenth of her previous Merit power to get the entire magic circle running, and the purification efficiency increased by more than a hundredfold!

She stared blankly at the scene, her eyes filled with shock and joy.

In the distance, Minghe, atop the White Bone Palace, took it all in.

His fists were clenched tightly within his sleeves.

That Witch Clan member had used the most defiled "garbage" from his Sea of Blood to create "divine artifacts" that even he found astonishing.

This was no longer artifact refining.

This was creating rules!

Xuanzheng looked with satisfaction at the efficiently running "assembly line" before him, already envisioning a grander blueprint in his mind.

[Merit Cement, Merit Rebar, Merit Prefabricated Board... It's feasible!]

He turned around and waved his hand grandly at the stunned crowd.

"We still don't have enough materials."

"Minister Minghe, notify your subordinates to work overtime and open the mines!"