What the hell was a hundred trillion merit? Sooner or later, he would burn through it all!
At the thought that clearing his merit to zero would let him become a Sage on the spot, Lu Changqing's eyes gleamed brightly!
No sooner said than done, Lu Changqing began frantically ripening the plants.
With a wave of his hand, the Merit Golden Cloud directly flooded the Spiritual Root garden.
Once they ripened, he picked them; once picked, he ripened them again.
In the blink of an eye, a billion merit was gone!
Awesome! Wasn't this basically money laundering?
Lu Changqing felt that he had taken another step toward his goal!
Ding. Host, please do not try to be clever. Exploiting loopholes is unacceptable.
System rules have been updated. Apart from the first Spiritual Root, all other Spiritual Roots may only be ripened once."
The system notification suddenly sounded.
Lu Changqing froze on the spot.
Damn it! System, you can't afford to lose, can you?
You were the one who left that loophole, yet you wouldn't let anyone exploit it?
Lu Changqing's face darkened as he immediately began cursing.
Now he could only fleece each type of Spiritual Root once.
The Primordial Shore Flower had been the first Spiritual Root, so it did not count as cheating and escaped disaster.
There went another way to burn merit!
Lu Changqing's eyes shifted, but his heart remained perfectly calm.
Wasn't it just a matter of looking?
You had your clever schemes, and I had my ladder over the wall.
Just wait and see!
Once he was done, Lu Changqing dusted himself off and left.
The moment he stepped out, he ran into King Father of the East and the other two.
Who told you three to slack off?
Didn't I tell you to work on the Primordial Violet Qi?
Lu Changqing swept his gaze over them, his tone icy.
Seeing that Great Master was about to lose his temper, the three trembled in fear.
King Father of the East stammered,
G-Great Master, that Shore Flower... it seems to have wilted...
Lu Changqing was taken aback as well.
Wilted?
What was going on?
When he went over to look, the Primordial Shore Flower was drooping listlessly.
It looked as though it had been drained dry.
There was no longer the slightest trace of a divine treasure about it.
It really had wilted."
Lu Changqing stroked his chin.
King Father of the East carefully said,
Great Master, we have already forced out thirty strands of Primordial Violet Qi.
Perhaps we ripened it too harshly and damaged the Spiritual Root's foundation."
Lu Changqing thought it over.
That made sense.
Even a hen that could lay eggs would collapse if it laid dozens in a single day!
Great Master, how about... we forget it?
Ran Deng looked at the Shore Flower with heartache.
If this treasure were truly ruined, it would be a tremendous loss.
Lu Changqing stared intently at the Primordial Shore Flower, examining it closely.
This was crucial to the Saint Creation Plan!
Gritting his teeth, he ruthlessly said,
Continue! It hasn't reached its limit yet.
As long as it isn't completely dead, ripen it to death!
What?
The three were utterly dumbfounded!
Great Master, you're even more ruthless than Zhou Bapi!
Exploiting Sages was one thing!
You wouldn't even spare a blade of grass!
You were trying to squeeze out its very last drop of juice!
It was already wilted like a pickled vegetable!
If the Primordial Shore Flower could speak, it would have been cursing its mother by now!
Lu Changqing could not care less about any of that.
All he wanted to do now was curse the system.
At this rate, it would take forever to burn through a hundred trillion merit.
No.
He needed to come up with a new trick.
He was still being too restrained.
As for the Primordial Shore Flower's feelings? What did that have to do with him?
The great undertaking of creating Sages came first. It could not stop!
With that, Lu Changqing slipped away again.
King Father of the East and the other two looked at one another, on the verge of tears.
Looking at the dying Shore Flower, they truly could not bring themselves to act.
But Great Master had spoken. What could workers like them do?
They could only grit their teeth and continue ripening it.
They managed to squeeze out another five strands of Primordial Violet Qi.
Seeing this, the three ultimately could not bear to continue.
The Primordial Shore Flower had completely withered, its branches and leaves dried up.
If it could shed tears, they would surely have been pouring down like rain.
Not a single drop of essence remained.
Seeing the Spiritual Root in such a miserable state, Kunpeng and the others knew they could not force it any further.
If they continued forcefully ripening it, they feared they would damage its origin and cause it to perish.
We should report to Master. It truly cannot continue any longer."
Kunpeng suggested.
After the three reached an agreement, they went to find Lu Changqing.
Lu Changqing was standing in the garden, gazing blankly at the spiritual plants.
As they entered the garden, rich spiritual energy washed over them. Amid the misty haze, all kinds of Spiritual Roots shone with dazzling light.
Innate Spiritual Roots were everywhere, while acquired Spiritual Roots were too numerous to count.
Even more astonishingly, Golden Light of Merit coiled around these Spiritual Roots—they had actually been ripened with merit!
At this sight, Kunpeng and the other two nearly drooled.
What extravagance...
Using merit to cultivate Spiritual Roots—under heaven, only Master possessed such lavish means."
After standing dazed for a moment, the three wiped their mouths and composed themselves before walking toward Lu Changqing deeper in the garden.
Master, the Primordial Shore Flower truly can no longer withstand being ripened."
Lu Changqing frowned slightly and followed them to the Spiritual Root.
The flower looked as though it had endured countless ravages. Its branches and leaves hung limp, and its entire body was yellow and withered.
It was indeed too miserable to continue.
Lu Changqing also understood the gravity of the matter. This flower was connected to the Primordial Violet Qi and was currently his only means of obtaining it.
He truly should not take too much from it.
In that case, bring some Three Lights Divine Water and Chaos Divine Spring to nourish its origin."
Upon receiving the order, Kunpeng and the others felt immense relief. They hurriedly took out the treasures, sighing inwardly: these were both supreme treasures of the Primordial Wilderness, extraordinarily precious. Even Sages would covet them, yet they were now being used to water a single Spiritual Root.
But considering that this flower could produce Primordial Violet Qi, it was worth it.
Primordial Violet Qi was the foundation for attaining the Dao. A single strand could create a Sage.
If this flower could continue producing it, they could practically create Sages in batches—something unheard of in the Primordial Wilderness.
Only Master could likely accomplish such a thing.
Before long, after being nourished by all manner of divine waters, the Primordial Shore Flower regained its crystalline radiance.
Lu Changqing nodded in satisfaction.
Very good. Once it has recovered, ripen it again."
Before his words had even faded, the Spiritual Root that had just regained some vitality trembled slightly.
If it could speak, it would surely have burst into furious curses.
Kunpeng and the other two, who were watering it nearby, could not help but let their hands shake. They exchanged glances, their faces filled with pity.
Too miserable.
In its current state, it would take at least a thousand years to recover. Who knew that once its origin was restored, it would have to endure this again.
This kind of exploitation was worse than what beasts suffered.
And this was a Primordial Spiritual Root.
Those words would likely become the nightmare of its entire life.
Once he saw that the three had properly cared for it, Lu Changqing stopped paying attention.
He had another important matter—squandering merit.
He had originally wanted to exploit a system loophole by repeatedly ripening plants, but the system had swiftly patched the restriction. Each Spiritual Root could now only be ripened once with merit.
He was now considering other ways to squander his fortune, yet he could think of nothing for the moment.
Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have cumulatively spent three trillion merit and received one mysterious gift package."
The system notification suddenly rang out.
Lu Changqing's face immediately lit up with delight.
He had finally spent three trillion, yet that was only three percent of the total."
It had been better before he calculated it. Once he did, he practically wanted to cry.
After all that effort, he had only used up this little merit.
At this rate, when would he ever exhaust it all?
This was too difficult!
After lamenting for a while, he checked the reward.
The gift package he had received for spending one percent last time had already been excellent. This one should not be bad either.
He opened the gift package, and golden light swirled.
Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the Hunyuan Dao Scripture;
obtained the origin of a Hunyuan Dao Fruit;
obtained one Primordial Dao Spiritual Fruit;
obtained one Three Thousand Demon God Blood Pool."
Seeing these rewards, Lu Changqing's eyes blazed.
System-produced items truly were extraordinary.
The Hunyuan Dao Scripture!
This was a cultivation method that pointed directly to the Hunyuan Realm.
One only needed to cultivate one's own laws to perfection to attain the Hunyuan Dao.
It was vastly superior to methods such as Severing Three Corpses and attaining Sainthood through merit.
Of course, Lu Changqing had no need for it himself. He already possessed a Great Dao-level **, which could point directly to the Great Dao Realm.
But he could teach it to others.
In that way, his Saint Creation Plan could advance another step.
The system was truly considerate.
Next was the second item.
The origin of a Hunyuan Dao Fruit!
According to the system, this item could help someone condense a Hunyuan Dao Fruit and increase the success rate by forty percent!
Do not think forty percent was insignificant—if this were revealed in the Primordial Wilderness, it would drive all living beings mad.
Ordinary people could not even touch the threshold of becoming a Sage. A forty-percent chance was simply dreamlike.
More importantly,
after successfully condensing it, the power of the Hunyuan Dao Fruit could increase tenfold!
This item could be called heaven-defying; even in a Sage sect, it would be enough to serve as a sect-defending treasure.
The first two items were already so astonishing. The latter two presumably would be no less impressive.
He continued examining them.
Primordial Dao Spiritual Fruit!
This item was specifically meant to raise one's cultivation.
What made it precious was that even Sages could benefit from it!
Ordinary Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots were already useless to Sages, but this fruit could allow a Sage's cultivation to break through an entire major realm.
Sure enough, nothing that came with it was ordinary.
Lastly came the Three Thousand Demon God Blood Pool.
It contained the Three Thousand Great Dao Laws.
After refining it, one could strengthen the physical body, comprehend laws, and accelerate the growth of one's Dao Seed.
In short, all four rewards were immensely precious. Even Sages would likely develop greedy thoughts upon seeing them.
More importantly, with this generous batch of rewards, Lu Changqing could finally attempt to break through into the Hunyuan realm!
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he immediately began preparing for it.
Meanwhile, after discussing the matter, the Six Saints ultimately could not resist those ten million merit points of **.
There was no helping it. The other party was offering far too much.
Was it not merely asking their teacher to come forth and help create a world? What harm was there in trying?
The Sages immediately went to the Purple Cloud Palace to visit Hongjun and explain their purpose.
Facing **' requests, Hongjun still maintained an unfathomable bearing, even speaking with mockery in his voice:
"Just ten million merit points were enough to make you bow your heads?"
"Do you truly think Lu Changqing had good intentions? He might be concealing sinister motives."
Yet those words did not shake the Six Saints' resolve in the slightest.
For an existence that could casually throw out ten million merit points and even wield the Heavenly Dao at will, they wished such opportunities would come along more often.
Taiqing Laozi spoke even more bluntly. "No matter what intentions Longevity Immortal Venerable may have, the merit points are real."
"Recently, I have already broken through to the eighth level of the Hunyuan Sage realm, and the other senior and junior brothers have all improved significantly as well."
Upon hearing this, Hongjun was secretly alarmed.
Tsk! At this rate, my disciples will surpass their master!
But for him to personally act and create a world for Longevity Immortal Venerable? Where would the dignity of the mighty Dao Ancestor go?
"Hmph! I am the Dao Ancestor, the supreme Sage. Why would I care about such a small amount of merit?"
Hongjun continued putting on airs, appearing unmoved on the surface.
In truth, he was already deeply conflicted inside.
At the very least, they had to persuade him a few more times before he could reluctantly agree.
Who would have thought that Tongtian, with his straightforward nature, would immediately come to a realization upon hearing this:
"I understand! Master must have made rapid progress in Integrating with Dao and no longer needs merit points. We were worried for nothing!"
As soon as he said this, the other five Sages all revealed expressions of sudden understanding.
Seeing ** like this, Hongjun froze on the spot.
...Tongtian, you blockhead!
The Six Saints, convinced they had figured it out, stopped persuading him and took their leave one after another.
Only Hongjun was left standing there in disarray.
No... persuade me a little more.
Say a few more words, and I'll agree.
Hongjun was suffering inside.
Yet he could not say it aloud.
This damned pride!
Meanwhile.
Having received the system rewards, Lu Changqing could finally try proving the Dao of Hunyuan and experience the realm of a Sage.
Though he was not yet a Great Dao Saint, he thought about it and decided he could not demand too much.
After all, Sages stood at the pinnacle of the Primordial Wilderness—deathless and indestructible, eternal through tribulations, their spirits roaming heaven and earth as they understood all things!
They controlled the cosmos, manipulated creation, reversed yin and yang, and were capable of anything!
As for the possibility of failure, Lu Changqing had not considered it at all.
Or rather, such a possibility simply did not exist.
His foundation had no shackles whatsoever and could point directly toward the Great Dao Realm.
He was ordinarily merely lax in cultivation. Even so, ** operated on its own, cultivation was as easy as eating and drinking, and breaking through to Hunyuan was naturally inevitable.
What was more, he now possessed numerous heaven-defying treasures.
He had more than thirty strands of Primordial Violet Qi alone. He could use them as he pleased; if one strand was not enough, he could simply add another.
Although Lu Changqing was proving the Dao of the Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal rather than becoming a Heavenly Dao Sage, he did not actually need violet qi.
But a supreme treasure like Primordial Violet Qi had far more uses than that.
It could forge one's Dao foundation, increase the chance of condensing a Dao Fruit, and even strengthen one's Dao Fruit. It offered nothing but benefits!
This was a treasure even rarer than a Primordial Supreme Treasure.
Thinking of this, Lu Changqing was in high spirits.
At that moment, Kunpeng, King Father of the East, and Ran Deng entered.
"Why are you not properly watching over the Primordial Shore Flower? What are you doing here? Remember to water it with more divine water. I'm still waiting for it to keep producing Primordial Violet Qi!"
Lu Changqing said with a frown.
His Saint Creation Plan depended entirely on that Primordial Shore Flower.
Kunpeng's mouth twitched at his words, and he hurriedly explained:
"Great Master, the Shore Flower needs time to absorb the divine water. Pouring more in now is useless. It will take at least a thousand years before it regains its effectiveness."
King Father of the East also chimed in:
"Yes, Great Master. Too much is as bad as too little!"
"If it is watered with too much divine water, the Shore Flower will be unable to bear it instead."
Lu Changqing immediately became displeased:
"Good heavens, it's that delicate!"
Before you continue