King Father of the East Had Long Since Been Restless

King Father of the East had long since been restless, yet he still put on airs, hoping to bargain for a higher price.

He straightened his back, his face full of righteousness.

"Hmph, what does Fellow Daoist take me, the Head of Male Immortals, for? Would I lower my head for a mere one million merit?"

Seeing this, Lu Changqing merely shrugged indifferently.

"Since you are unwilling, forget it."

It was not that he begrudged that bit of merit; the system simply would not allow him to give more.

Since he could not give it away, he could not be bothered to force it.

Yet the moment Lu Changqing uttered the words "forget it,"

King Father of the East's lofty facade instantly crumbled.

He hurriedly grabbed Lu Changqing's sleeve, his face full of smiles.

"Fellow Daoist, wait! This matter can still be discussed!"

Lu Changqing glanced at him and waved a hand.

"No discussion."

The system had set the price. How could he haggle over it?

Seeing Lu Changqing's expression grow increasingly impatient, King Father of the East quickly cupped his hands and shamelessly said,

"Great Master need not say more! Great Master allowing me, King Father of the East, to serve as a guard is an honor to me. How could I dare refuse?"

Seeing his attitude change so abruptly, Daoist Randeng could not help but marvel inwardly.

He had just been acting so high and mighty. How had he become just like him in the blink of an eye?

Kunpeng, however, smiled knowingly, wearing an expression that said, "I understand."

It was not that they were fickle. It was simply that Great Master offered too much!

At this moment, King Father of the East could no longer care about the dignity of being the Head of Male Immortals.

With one million merit every thousand years before him, who still cared about unifying the Primordial Wilderness? Who still cared about the three thousand disciples of Zifu Prefecture? Who still cared about the empty title of Head of Male Immortals?

Would it not be even better to save up one hundred million merit and become a Sage directly?

Seeing King Father of the East and everyone from Zifu Prefecture all recruited, Daoist Randeng was deeply shaken.

What shocked him was not how easily they had been recruited, but how extravagantly generous Lu Changqing was.

Exchanging treasures for merit was one thing, but even gate guards could receive one hundred thousand merit every thousand years if they were Grand Unity Golden Immortals?

What were Grand Unity Golden Immortals? Were they not everywhere in the Primordial Wilderness?

And Quasi-Saints serving as guard leaders received one million merit?

That was one million merit! In the Primordial Wilderness, it was an immense opportunity, yet one only needed to serve as a guard for a thousand years to obtain it?

This was far more satisfying than being the Deputy Sect Leader of the Chan Sect!

While Daoist Randeng was still in shock, Lu Changqing smiled and looked at him.

"Fellow Daoist, take out whatever treasures you brought."

Daoist Randeng came back to his senses and hurriedly smiled ingratiatingly.

"Great Master, do you think... I would be suitable to serve as a guard leader?"

After all, compared with exchanging treasures for merit, was it not more worthwhile to exchange time for merit?

Lu Changqing was taken aback and said,

"Aren't you the Deputy Sect Leader of the Chan Sect? Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to serve as a guard here?"

It was not that Lu Changqing feared Primordial Heavenly Venerate doing anything.

As one protected by the Heavenly Dao, why would he need to fear Yuanshi?

He simply felt that it would be somewhat troublesome.

After all, Sage Yuanshi cared greatly about his reputation.

Daoist Randeng had clearly considered this issue as well.

Hearing Lu Changqing's question, he shamelessly replied,

"Sect Master Yuanshi will remain in seclusion for at least a thousand years this time.

I only ask to serve Great Master for a thousand years!"

Hearing the word "serve,"

Lu Changqing could not help but sigh inwardly at how thick-skinned Daoist Randeng was.

He was practically comparable to the Two Saints of the West.

After giving it some thought, Lu Changqing figured that since he had to spend merit anyway, there was no harm in taking him in as a guard for a thousand years.

He nodded slightly.

That would work.

I'll compensate you according to a Quasi-Saint's standard!

Hearing this, Daoist Randeng immediately bowed respectfully.

Thank you, Great Master!

After easily taking in three guard commanders and numerous guards,

Lu Changqing had them swear Heavenly Dao Oaths one by one.

He then calculated the expenses for every thousand years.

The three commanders together with Kunpeng came to a total of four million merit.

Adding the three thousand Grand Unity guests of Zifu Prefecture and one million Rogue Cultivators,

the total every thousand years was only four hundred million merit.

After calculating this number, Lu Changqing was slightly stunned.

He then calculated how long it would take to exhaust one hundred trillion merit at this rate.

After some simple calculations, he discovered,

that spending four hundred million merit every thousand years meant one hundred trillion merit would take two hundred and fifty million years to use up.

Upon obtaining this result,

Lu Changqing muttered unhappily,

Only four hundred million merit spent every thousand years—it is still far too little!

Although time in the Primordial Wilderness was vast,

two hundred and fifty million years was ultimately far too distant.

Lu Changqing did not have the patience to wait that long.

At this time, the three Quasi-Saint great powers who were exchanging greetings with one another

were also stunned by Lu Changqing's complaint.

Spending four hundred million merit every thousand years?

That was four hundred million merit!

It was enough for King Father of the East and the other two to attain Sagehood at the same time, with plenty left over,

yet Great Master squandered it all in just one thousand years?

How extravagant was that?

Thinking this, the three great powers of the Primordial Wilderness exchanged looks,

then whispered with faces full of envy,

What an unrivaled spendthrift!

Lu Changqing did not hear their discussion.

After helplessly complaining that his expenses were too low,

he turned his gaze toward King Father of the East and Daoist Randeng.

Although their treasures were probably not worth much merit,

every little bit helped.

Thus, he said,

"Take out all your treasures. I'll exchange them for merit for you."

King Father of the East and Daoist Randeng did not refuse.

After all, aside from their companion spiritual treasures and a few important magic treasures,

exchanging their other treasures for merit was not a loss.

But upon careful inspection, the treasures produced by the two Quasi-Saints were of average quality.

The best among them were merely high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures,

all items that Lu Changqing was not particularly interested in.

After handing everything over to Kunpeng for safekeeping,

Lu Changqing exchanged eight million merit for Daoist Randeng and five million merit for King Father of the East.

Having obtained such enormous amounts of merit,

the two were immensely excited and repeatedly expressed their thanks.

With Lu Changqing's permission, they each opened a cave abode in Wuji Heaven and entered seclusion to cultivate.

At the same time,

outside Wuji Heaven,

several spatial-temporal rifts appeared.

Ming He, Zhen Yuanzi, and Hong Yun appeared at the same time.

The three smiled at one another and courteously deferred.

"Fellow Daoist, please go first!"

They had encountered one another while traveling through space and time.

Because Houtu, an Ancestral Witch of the Witch Clan,

had controlled a magic treasure with her primordial spirit

during the war between the Witch Clan and the demon race,

easily defeating Fu Xi of the demon race,

she had become famous in a single battle,

shocking many great powers throughout the Primordial Wilderness.

The Witch Clan had originally been unable to give birth to primordial spirits,

yet they already stood proudly above the Primordial Wilderness through their physical bodies alone.

If they could also cultivate primordial spirits...

Most crucially, Houtu had been able to develop a primordial spirit precisely because she had exchanged for merit in Wuji Heaven!

After hearing about Houtu, Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, and Ming He were drawn here as well.

Opportunities in the Primordial Wilderness were difficult to find. With such a great opportunity before them, they naturally could not let it pass.

After a brief discussion, the three decided to travel together.

After exchanging courtesies for a while, they simultaneously transmitted their voices.

"Fellow Daoist Changqing, Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, and Ming He have come to visit!"

At this moment, Lu Changqing was worried over the slow rate of merit consumption. Upon hearing the names of the three great powers, his face immediately lit up with joy.

As the Earth Immortal Ancestor, Zhen Yuanzi possessed many treasures. He even had an Innate Spiritual Root such as the Ginseng Fruit Tree. Even if he did not exchange magic treasures, the Ginseng Fruits themselves were precious items.

Ming He had cultivated in seclusion deep within the Blood Sea for many years, and the treasures he had accumulated were equally abundant.

But compared with Hong Yun, they were still slightly inferior—Hong Yun possessed a strand of Primordial Violet Qi.

That was more precious than any Primordial Supreme Treasure. Asking for three or five hundred million merit would not be excessive at all.

Thinking of this, Lu Changqing immediately transmitted his reply.

The three soon arrived before Longevity Palace and immediately saw their peers: Kunpeng, King Father of the East, and Daoist Randeng.

Hong Yun greeted them warmly. "So the three Fellow Daoists are here as well."

King Father of the East replied with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Randeng and I serve here as Great Master's guards, while Fellow Daoist Kunpeng is Great Master's mount."

The moment these words were spoken, Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, and Ming He were all stunned.

King Father of the East, the dignified Head of Male Immortals and lord of Zifu Prefecture, was actually willing to be a mere guard?

Daoist Randeng, originally the Deputy Sect Leader of the Chan Sect, had actually come to serve as a guard as well?

Kunpeng, the Teacher of Ten Thousand Demons of the demon race, was actually willing to become someone else's mount?

These three... had they gone mad?

King Father of the East and the others were unconcerned by their shock—how could such ordinary people understand the benefits of following Great Master?

As the three were still stunned, their gazes swept over the mountain-like pile of Merit Magic Treasures behind Kunpeng, and joy immediately rose in their hearts.

It seemed that the opportunity to exchange magic treasures for merit with Lu Changqing was indeed real.

The three bowed together.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Changqing!"

When Kunpeng first saw Hong Yun, bloodlust already filled his eyes, and killing intent surged beneath the surface.

In his view, he had lost his chance at becoming a Sage entirely because Hong Yun had given that seat to Jieyin.

If not for that, how could the two from the West have taken his Saint position?

Even more hateful was the fact that Hong Yun had also received a strand of Primordial Violet Qi bestowed by the Dao Ancestor.

Now that his merit was nearly sufficient, if he obtained the Primordial Violet Qi as well, he would be only a step away from becoming a Sage.

Hong Yun, however, was completely unaware of this killing intent.

Lu Changqing believed that he had little association with Kunpeng, so there was naturally no question of any grudge between them.

He knew of the conflict between Kunpeng and Hong Yun, so he merely cast a faint glance at the killing-intent-filled Kunpeng before turning toward the other three with a smile and nodding. Then he asked Hong Yun,

"Fellow Daoist Hong Yun, how much merit would you be willing to accept in exchange for this strand of Primordial Violet Qi?"

In Lu Changqing's view, Kunpeng's resentment over Hong Yun giving up his seat was not enough to drive him to kill. The true cause and effect behind everything was this strand of Primordial Violet Qi.

Hong Yun froze at his words.

He had come to exchange for merit, but he had never considered parting with the Primordial Violet Qi—this was a Chaos Supreme Treasure essential for attaining sainthood. Only seven strands existed in the Primordial Wilderness; six had already been used by the Six Saints to prove their Dao, leaving only this one in his possession.

How could such a treasure be sold so casually?

Yet Hong Yun had never been good at refusing others. Seeing Lu Changqing ask about it, he could only name an exorbitant price, hoping Lu Changqing would back down in the face of difficulty.

Thus, he replied with a smile:

"I had not intended to part with this item, but since Fellow Daoist Changqing is interested, it would be inconvenient for me to refuse.

Let us price it at one hundred million merit."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone present understood: Hong Yun was clearly declining in a tactful manner.

One hundred million merit—even Saint Nuwa, who possessed the greatest store of merit, might not be able to produce that much, much less Lu Changqing, who was merely a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Seeing Lu Changqing furrow his brow slightly, Ran Deng sighed. "One hundred million merit is indeed an astonishing sum. If there were enough Primordial Violet Qi, it would be enough for two great powers to attain the Dao and become saints."

King Father of the East nodded in agreement.

Though they knew Lu Changqing could pay four hundred million merit every thousand years, they believed he must possess some secret method of continuously acquiring merit. Producing such an enormous sum all at once would surely be quite difficult.

Kunpeng, who had followed Lu Changqing the longest, was full of confidence. Great Master was one favored by the Heavenly Dao; what was a mere one hundred million merit? Even if it were two hundred million, he would agree without hesitation!

It was only that his knowledge was limited, making it difficult for him to imagine an even greater sum.

King Father of the East and Ran Deng were about to ask what it meant to be favored by the Heavenly Dao when Lu Changqing, after pondering for a moment, smiled at Hong Yun.

"The price of one hundred million merit still needs to be discussed."

Ran Deng and King Father of the East exchanged glances, thinking, Just as expected.

Ran Deng shook his head. "No one in the Primordial Wilderness can afford such a price. If Great Master truly wants it, then you can only negotiate properly."

Let us see how much he can drive the price down!

King Father of the East calculated inwardly.

After all, Great Master was clearly determined to obtain the Primordial Violet Qi. Bargaining was inevitable.

There was nothing unreasonable about that.

Who could casually produce one hundred million merit? If Great Master could gather tens of millions, that alone would be astonishing.

Hearing the two whispering, Kunpeng recalled Great Master's legendary feats of bargaining and could not help sighing.

"Negotiation is indeed negotiation, but I fear the way he negotiates will be vastly different from what you two imagine."

King Father of the East and Ran Deng were stunned by his words.

Before they could ask, Hong Yun was already smiling as he said:

"Though the price is high, the Primordial Violet Qi is no ordinary thing. Not a single bit can be reduced.

Why not have Fellow Daoist Changqing choose something else..."

Before he could finish, Lu Changqing cut him off in a clear voice.

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. What I meant was—this price is inappropriate. It is too low!"

Too low?

One hundred million, and he still thought it was too little?

Could such words truly come from a living being of the Primordial Wilderness?

Other than Kunpeng, everyone was left dumbstruck.