The twelve-petaled Karma Red Lotus deep within the Blood Sea ignited without wind.
The Dao Fruits of the six Saints trembled, and they all bowed to that figure without prior agreement.
Daoist Jieyin crushed the glazed lamp in his palm. "Countless epochs of bitter cultivation could not compare to a single word from you, Fellow Daoist."
Empress Nuwa tore off the Mountain and River Sash at her waist. "Had I known this would happen, why would I have molded humans from clay in the first place?"
The sound of porcelain shattering came from beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens—
Dao Ancestor Hongjun had accidentally knocked over his Primordial Chaos tea cup.
"Holy Father!" The Three Ancestors of Humanity fell to their knees on the spot, weeping bitterly. "What you refused was not merit—it was our Dao hearts!"
That mass of Merit Golden Cloud suddenly swelled, transforming into a gilded curtain that blotted out the sky and sun.
Lu Changqing's sword-like brows furrowed slightly as seventy-two streams of Chaos Sword Qi suddenly flew from his sleeve.
The instant the sword qi collided with the golden cloud—
Half of the Human Sect palace complex on Shouyang Mountain collapsed.
The plaque of Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain split into two.
The Eight Treasures Merit Pool of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss... was drained dry.
Daoist Duobao suddenly clutched his chest. "Master, ** I think I heard the Heavenly Dao crying?"
Sect Master Tongtian expressionlessly drew the Qingping Sword. "Wretched disciple, that is the sound of your master's Dao heart shattering."
Just as all beings believed the farce had ended, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out from the void:
[ Ding! Host's violent refusal to accept detected. Double punishment mechanism activated. ]
Lu Changqing's pupils contracted sharply, and the bloody marks on his palm wound into a river.
"Heavenly Dao... you're playing dirty?"
His answer was a River of Merit stretching across the Primordial Wilderness, countless phantom figures of great powers rising and falling within its waters—
Ancestor Hong Yun was wailing, Demon Master Kunpeng was beating his chest, and even Ancestor Dragon and Yuanfeng were ramming into Buzhou Mountain.
"Since we're going mad..." Lu Changqing suddenly tore through the void and dragged out a sleeping Chaos Demon Ape. "We might as well go all the way!"
The instant the demon ape opened its eyes, all the spiritual treasures of the Primordial Wilderness began ** in unison.
Grand Supreme Elder's Vajra Ring exploded into fireworks.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate's Three Treasures Jade Ruyi shattered into starlight.
Zhunti's Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree... turned directly into a Christmas tree.
Within Purple Cloud Palace, Dao Ancestor Hongjun silently placed three seals on the Jade Plate of Creation. "Luckily, this poor Daoist's coffin lid is thick enough..."
The Thirty-three Heavens shook violently, as though they were about to collapse. Heaven and earth inverted, yin and yang fell into chaos!
The ** trembled, splitting open into ravines stretching billions of miles. Countless towering mountains collapsed with a roar, while the waters of the Four Seas surged backward into the sky, hanging above the nine heavens.
All laws of heaven and earth crumbled, space and time vanished one after another, leaving behind only endless dark void.
At this moment, the Primordial Wilderness seemed about to return to the time before chaos had been divided.
Fortunately, this terrifying phenomenon gradually subsided in the end.
Upon the Primordial Land,
all living beings of every race stood frozen,
uniformly gazing up at the heavens.
That scene of ** destruction was deeply engraved in the hearts of all beings.
Was this the power of Saint Changqing?
With such divine might, who could possibly stand against him?
Only now did all beings understand that Lu Changqing not only possessed immeasurable merit, but strength terrifying beyond imagination!
This scene of ** destruction sent chills down their spines!
Yet the most shocking thing was not the terror of this power,
but that Lu Changqing had used such divine might to destroy all ten trillion merit points!
That was a full ten trillion merit points!
Ten trillion!!
All beings of the Primordial Wilderness were dumbfounded.
The total merit they had seen in their entire lives did not amount to even one ten-thousandth of that!
Could it be that he had saved the entire Primordial Wilderness in his previous life?
What drove them even further to collapse was that such an enormous amount of merit had been casually destroyed by Lu Changqing.
Was this something a sane person would do?
Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple, Queen Mother of the West of Kunlun Mountain, Ancestor Minghe of the Blood Sea, the two Demon Emperors of the Heavenly Court, the Twelve Ancestral Witches of the Witch Clan, and countless great powers of the Primordial Wilderness were all so enraged that they spat blood!
"This old man has lived for so long, yet I have never seen anything so absurd!"
"My Dao heart has shattered!!"
Countless great powers wailed.
They could never have imagined that such a prodigal existed in this world.
Ten trillion merit points, scattered just like that.
Was he scattering merit?
He might as well scatter us too!
For a moment, many great powers stared blankly, their bodies going limp.
Ancestor Minghe in particular was already advanced in years. After this **, he was nearly driven mad, his face pale as paper.
Back then, he created the Asura Clan and established the Asura Path precisely to seek merit and attain sainthood.
After cultivating bitterly through countless epochs, the merit he had obtained was pitifully small.
Yet the merit Lu Changqing had casually displayed today was an astronomical figure.
What was even more hateful was that merit ordinary people dreamed of obtaining was not merely discarded by him like worn shoes—he had personally destroyed it.
How could Ancestor Minghe's Dao heart not collapse?
The other living beings of the Primordial Wilderness were no better off.
Countless beings felt their scalps go numb.
Such a scene was simply unprecedented.
Could Saint Changqing be mentally unwell?
They only dared mutter those words in their hearts.
For a time, all beings even began wondering whether the other Saints were abnormal as well.
If the Six Saints heard this, they would surely cry out that they had been wronged.
Not to mention ordinary beings,
even they had never witnessed such a scene.
Above the ninth heavens, the Six Saints of the Primordial Wilderness nearly fell to their knees.
Their minds roared without end.
"Heavens, what is Lu Changqing doing!"
"This prodigal!"
"That was ten trillion merit points, you prodigal!"
"What kind of person could carry out such a suffocating operation?"
At this moment,
the Six Saints felt as though their heads were splitting apart.
It was as if their primordial spirits had also been pulverized by the Sacred Azure Tribulation Light.
They had thought Lu Changqing destroying one hundred million merit points was already prodigal enough, but who could have known that he would take out ten trillion merit points the next instant.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he destroyed them too.
So much merit!
A full ten trillion!
One had to know that when Nuwa attained sainthood, she had only used several tens of millions of merit points.
With this much merit, even if it were given to a pig, it would be enough to make it the protagonist of heaven and earth.
With merit protecting its body, no law could harm it, and even the Heavenly Dao would have to yield three parts!
When such an enormous amount of merit appeared, the sight was simply suffocating!
Vast golden light illuminated the Primordial Wilderness!
The minds of the Six Saints were completely consumed by the Golden Light of Merit!
However!
Immediately afterward, Lu Changqing nonchalantly destroyed all ten trillion merit points!
That sight truly left men silent and women in tears.
The Six Saints wept bitterly.
They felt as if everything they had ever known had collapsed at this moment.
Within Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun wore the same bewildered expression.
The Six Saints had never seen such a sight.
But when had Hongjun ever seen it either?
What exactly had Lu Changqing done!
He had personally destroyed ten trillion merit points!
Had this man once been struck by Chaos Divine Lightning?
Hongjun truly could not understand why Lu Changqing would do this.
He neither understood how Lu Changqing had acquired such a vast quantity of merit, nor why he wanted to destroy it.
Destroying ten trillion merit points in one stroke.
Even Hongjun could not help but have his mind shaken upon seeing it.
If one had not suffered cultivation deviation for tens of thousands of years, one absolutely could not perform such a suffocating act!
In short.
All beings of the Primordial Wilderness were left speechless with shock.
They had thought Lu Changqing avoiding merit was shocking enough.
Who would have expected that they had still underestimated just how absurd he was.
This man was simply beyond reason!
At this moment.
Lu Changqing did not care in the slightest about the state of mind of the Primordial Wilderness's living beings.
His heart held only excitement and exhilaration!!
"Destroying merit deducts double the amount. If I destroy ten trillion, then twenty trillion will be deducted."
"If I do that another hundred times or so, won't squandering all my merit be easy?"
"I really am too smart!!"
At this thought, Lu Changqing nearly began dancing with joy.
This behavior only left the living beings of the Primordial Wilderness even more confused.
Could Saint Changqing truly have some hidden illness?
He had destroyed so much merit, so why was he still celebrating?
Just then, the system notification sounded in Lu Changqing's mind.
"Ding. Friendly reminder: System rules have been refined. Destroying merit grants double rewards. The host is now rewarded with twenty trillion merit points."
Upon hearing
that sound, Lu Changqing was overjoyed.
He nearly shouted, "Deduct it! Go ahead and deduct it! No need to be polite!"
The smile on his face gradually spiraled out of control.
But after hearing the entire system notification, Lu Changqing's expression froze.
He fell silent.
He was completely dumbfounded!
What was going on?
The system had been fixed?
It could have been refined sooner or later, yet it had to be refined at this exact moment!
And upon hearing that he had been rewarded with twenty trillion merit points, Lu Changqing turned directly to stone!
In a daze, he seemed to see Merit Golden Clouds filling the sky and surging toward him.
He wanted to flee, but there was nowhere to run.
Lu Changqing's face twisted, and he nearly burst into tears.
At this moment, countless living beings of the Primordial Wilderness looked at one another, completely baffled.
Why was Saint Changqing so strange, rejoicing one moment and grieving the next?
Could he have gone mad?
All beings were confused.
"No—!!"
Lu Changqing suddenly erupted with a heart-rending roar, startling all living creatures into shuddering.
That scream was truly chilling.
"Why! Why are you giving me so much merit! I only want to fulfill the simple wish of spending one quadrillion merit points!"
Lu Changqing wailed hysterically!
His entire body felt as though it had fallen into an icy abyss!!
"Is there still any justice in this world?!"
I only wanted to spend some merit—why was it so hard?!
His words
left every living being in the Primordial Wilderness dumbstruck, completely stunned!
Their mindsets shattered!
Quite a few beings were so furious that they spat blood on the spot.
Listen to that—was that even human speech?
A tiny wish?
Spending a hundred trillion merit was a tiny wish?
If they were strong enough, countless beings would have already rushed up to give Lu Changqing a savage beating.
Even the Six Saints felt their scalps tingle, their hands itching to find something to vent on.
"Fellow Daoist Changqing spoke with such sincerity; it didn't seem fake."
But it still made people especially want to beat him up!
Tongtian clenched his fists, feeling utterly stifled.
If he had not feared that Lu Changqing had already cultivated the Three Thousand Laws to perfection and mastered the terrifying Sacred Azure Tribulation Light, he truly would have wanted to be the first to rush up and punch him.
All living beings were shocked.
Yet Lu Changqing was truly in despair at that moment.
He had thought he had found a shortcut.
Instead, not only had he wasted a trillion merit, he had also gained another trillion in debt.
Lu Changqing's temples throbbed.
This time, he had truly dropped a rock on his own foot.
Calm down, calm down!
I'm not panicking. I'm not panicking!
It's only another trillion merit. It's fine. I still have infrastructure projects that can consume merit. At worst, it'll just take a little more time.
After much difficulty, Lu Changqing steadied his emotions and repeatedly consoled himself.
Then a brilliant smile appeared on his face.
But when the beings of the Primordial Wilderness saw that smile, their hearts suddenly skipped a beat.
They had an ominous premonition.
Just then, Lu Changqing spoke. The Primordial Law shook heaven and earth as he proclaimed to the Three Realms:
"From today onward, Wuji Heaven shall enact new rules: all beings participating in world creation must complete the corresponding number of worlds within the specified time."
"Using one thousand years as a cycle, any Sage who creates fewer than ten worlds shall lose eligibility for rewards!"
"And likewise, Quasi-Saints who create fewer than fifty, Great Luo cultivators who create fewer than one hundred, and those below Great Luo who create fewer than five hundred shall also lose eligibility for rewards!"
The moment those words were spoken,
the Primordial Wilderness erupted.
Countless beings widened their eyes in disbelief.
No way.
Lu the Skinflayer, you were serious?!
You were trying to work people to death!
At that moment,
the Six Saints in the heavens were also dumbfounded.
"Fellow Daoist Changqing, are you serious?"
Taiqing's mouth twitched, and the other Sages did not look much better.
They recalled those days when they had frantically created worlds.
Every time they created a world, it was an extremely draining task even for a Sage.
Over time, even Sages could not endure it.
That was why they had gradually slowed their pace later on.
The merit would remain there anyway. They could take it slowly; it wasn't going anywhere.
But now,
with Lu Changqing's rule in place, did they still want to slack off? Sorry, their eligibility to receive merit would be revoked outright!
This method could indeed improve efficiency.
But it was far too inhumane!
Was this really necessary just to spend merit?!
Lu Changqing's words stirred up a huge uproar across heaven and earth.
Some great powers made a rough calculation.
They were shocked the moment they did.
According to Lu Changqing's arrangement, within a thousand years, they would have to spend ninety percent of their time creating worlds.
They would barely have any time left for cultivation!
Did he have to be this ruthless?!
Lu the Skinflayer, Lu the Skinflayer!
He was treating people like beasts of burden!
The Six Saints saw this and shuddered inwardly as well.
This was simply driving all beings of the Primordial Wilderness like oxen and horses!
"Fellow Daoist Changqing, I fear this is rather inappropriate."
Taiqing hesitated for a moment before speaking.
The other Sages nodded as well.
The countless beings of the Primordial Wilderness also voiced their agreement.
"Yes, Saint Changqing, we also feel this is rather unreasonable."
There was no helping it; the beings of the Primordial Wilderness had grown accustomed to leisurely lives.
They truly could not adapt to the schedule Lu Changqing had set!
Giving up ninety percent of their time to create worlds was far too exhausting.
Before you continue