East King Duke's Heart

East King Duke's heart had long been itching to act, yet he still put on airs, hoping to haggle for a higher price.

He straightened his back, his face full of righteous dignity:

"Hmph, what does Fellow Daoist take me for, the Head of Male Immortals? Would I ever bow my head for a mere million merits?"

Seeing this, Lu Changqing shrugged indifferently:

"If you're unwilling, then forget it."

It wasn't that he begrudged the merits; the system simply wouldn't allow him to give more.

Since he couldn't hand them over, he didn't bother forcing it.

But the moment Lu Changqing uttered the word "forget,"

East King Duke's lofty facade instantly crumbled.

He hurriedly grabbed Lu Changqing's sleeve, his face breaking into a fawning smile:

"Fellow Daoist, hold on! This can still be negotiated!"

Lu Changqing shot him a glance and waved a hand:

"No negotiation."

The system had set the price—how could there be room to bargain?

Seeing Lu Changqing's expression grow more impatient, East King Duke quickly clasped his hands and shamelessly said:

"Great Master need say no more! That Great Master would deign to let me, East King Duke, serve as a guard is an honor; how could I dare refuse?"

Witnessing his sudden shift in attitude, Ran Deng couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

Just moments ago, he was all lofty and aloof—how had he turned out just like himself in the blink of an eye?

Kunpeng, however, smiled knowingly, his face bearing an "I understand"

expression.

It wasn't that they were fickle; it was simply that Great Master gave too much!

At this point, East King Duke no longer cared about the face of being the Head of Male Immortals.

With a million merits every thousand years on the table, what need was there to unify the Primordial Wilderness? What need for the three thousand retainers of Zifu Prefecture? What need for the empty title of Head of Male Immortals?

Saving up hundreds of millions of merits to directly become a Saint—wouldn't that be far better?

Seeing East King Duke and all the people of Zifu Prefecture brought into the fold, Ran Deng was shaken to the core.

What stunned him wasn't how easily they were recruited, but how extravagantly generous Lu Changqing was.

Trading treasures for merits was one thing, but even hiring a gate-guarding guard—a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal—could start at ten thousand merits per thousand years?

What was a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal? Weren't they everywhere in the Primordial Wilderness?

And a Quasi-Saint as the guard captain, with a reward of a million merits?

A million merits—that was already a monumental opportunity in the Primordial Wilderness, and it only required a thousand years of service to earn?

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

While Ran Deng was still reeling in shock, Lu Changqing smiled and looked at him:

"Fellow Daoist, bring out whatever treasures you have."

Ran Deng snapped back to reality and quickly put on a flattering smile:

"Great Master, what do you think... would I be fit to serve as a guard captain?"

After all, compared to trading treasures for merits, trading time for merits was far more worthwhile.

Lu Changqing paused, then said:

"Aren't you the Deputy Sect Leader of the Chan Sect? Coming here to be a guard doesn't seem quite appropriate, does it?"

It wasn't that Lu Changqing feared any move from Primordial Heavenly Venerate.

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

He just found it a bit troublesome.

After all, the Saint Primordial placed great importance on face.

Ran Deng had clearly considered this issue as well.

Hearing Lu Changqing's doubt, he shamelessly replied:

"The Primordial Sect Leader's current seclusion will last at least a thousand years. I only ask to serve Great Master for a thousand years—that's enough!"

When Lu Changqing heard the word "serve,"

he couldn't help but inwardly sigh at Ran Deng's thick skin.

It was almost on par with The Two Saints of the West.

After a moment's thought, Lu Changqing reconsidered: since he was going to spend merits anyway, taking him on as a guard for a thousand years wouldn't hurt.

He nodded slightly.

"That works. I'll reward you at the standard for a Quasi-Saint."

Upon hearing this, Ran Deng immediately bowed respectfully: "Thank you, Great Master!"

After easily accepting the three guard captains and numerous guards, Lu Changqing had each of them swear a Heavenly Dao Oath one by one.

Then he calculated the expenses per millennium: the three captains plus Kunpeng totaled four million merit. Adding in the three thousand Great Luo Retainers and a million Rogue Cultivators of Zifu Prefecture, the total per millennium came to just four hundred million merit.

Figuring out this number, Lu Changqing paused slightly.

He then calculated how long it would take to exhaust a Hundred Trillion Merit at this rate. A simple computation revealed: spending four hundred million merit per millennium, a Hundred Trillion Merit would take two hundred fifty million years to use up.

Getting this result, Lu Changqing muttered in dissatisfaction: "Only spending four hundred million merit per millennium—still too little!"

Though the years of the Primordial Wilderness stretched endlessly, two hundred fifty million years was ultimately too distant. Lu Changqing had no patience to wait that long.

At that moment, the three Quasi-Saint powerhouses, who were exchanging greetings, were also startled by Lu Changqing's complaint.

Spending four hundred million merit per millennium? That was four hundred million merit! Enough for East King Duke and the other two to achieve Dao and become Saints simultaneously, with leftovers—yet the Great Master was squandering it all in a single millennium? How extravagant was that?

Thinking this, the three Primordial powerhouses exchanged glances and whispered enviously: "Truly a peerless prodigal!"

Lu Changqing didn't hear their discussion. After helplessly complaining about the low spending, he turned his gaze to East King Duke and Ran Deng. Though their treasures likely weren't worth much merit, every little bit added up.

So he spoke: "Take out all your treasures. I'll exchange them for merit."

East King Duke and Ran Deng didn't refuse. After all, aside from their companion Spiritual Treasures and a few key artifacts, exchanging the rest for merit wasn't a loss.

But upon careful inspection, the treasures the two Quasi-Saints produced were of average quality—the best being merely upper-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, items Lu Changqing had little interest in.

After having Kunpeng store them all, Lu Changqing exchanged eight million merit for Ran Deng and five million for East King Duke. Receiving such vast merit, the two were overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. With Lu Changqing's permission, they each opened a cave dwelling in Wuji Heaven and went into seclusion to cultivate.

Meanwhile, Beyond Wuji Heaven, several spatial rifts appeared, and Ming He, Zhen Yuanzi, and Hong Yun materialized simultaneously.

The three exchanged smiles and deferred to one another:

"Fellow Daoist, after you!"

They had met while traversing spacetime.

Because the Ancestral Witch Houtu of the Witch Clan, during the war between the Witch and Demon races, had used her Primordial Spirit to control a magic treasure, easily repelling the Demon Fu Xi, she made a name for herself in a single battle, shaking many great powers across the Primordial Wilderness.

Originally, the Witch Clan could not nurture a Primordial Spirit, relying solely on their physical bodies to dominate the Primordial Wilderness, but if they could also cultivate a Primordial Spirit...

Most crucially, Houtu had given birth to her Primordial Spirit precisely because she exchanged merit from Wuji Heaven!

Upon hearing of Houtu's deeds, Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, and Ming He were also drawn to come.

Opportunities in the Primordial Wilderness were rare, and with such a great one before them, they naturally could not miss it.

After a brief discussion, they decided to travel together.

Following a round of polite gestures, they transmitted their voices simultaneously:

"Fellow Daoist Changqing, Zhen Yuanzi (Hong Yun) (Ming He) has come to call!"

At that moment, Lu Changqing was fretting over how slowly his merit was being consumed. Hearing the names of these three great powers, his face lit up with joy.

Zhen Yuanzi, as the Earth Immortal Ancestor, possessed many treasures, and with the Ginseng Fruit Tree, an Innate Spiritual Root, even if he didn't exchange for magic treasures, ginseng fruits were rare delicacies.

Ming He had cultivated deep within the Blood Sea for years, amassing equally abundant treasures.

But compared to Hong Yun, they both fell short—Hong Yun held a strand of Primordial Violet Qi.

This was more precious than any Primordial Supreme Treasure, and setting a price of three to five hundred million merit would not be excessive.

Thinking this, Lu Changqing immediately transmitted a reply:

The three then arrived before Longevity Palace and spotted their peers Kunpeng, East King Duke, and Daoist Randeng at a glance.

Hong Yun greeted warmly: "Three fellow Daoists are here as well."

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

At these words, Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, and Ming He were stunned.

East King Duke, the Head of Male Immortals and master of Zifu Prefecture, willingly became a guard?

Daoist Randeng, originally the Deputy Sect Leader of the Chan Sect, also came to be a guard?

Kunpeng, the Teacher of Ten Thousand Demons of the Demon Race, willingly became another's mount?

Were these three... mad?

East King Duke and the others were unperturbed by their shock—how could these mundane beings understand the benefits of following the Great Master?

As Zhen Yuanzi and the others recovered from their astonishment, their eyes swept over the mountain of Merit Magic Treasures piled behind Kunpeng, and their hearts leaped with joy.

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

The three bowed in unison:

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Changqing!"

But when Kunpeng first saw Hong Yun, a bloodshot glint appeared in his eyes, and murderous intent surged darkly.

In his view, his loss of the chance to become a Saint was entirely because Hong Yun had once yielded that seat to Jieyin.

Had it not been for that, how could the two from the West have stolen his Saint position?

Even more infuriating, Hong Yun had received the Primordial Violet Qi bestowed by the Dao Ancestor.

Now that his merit was nearly complete, if he could also obtain the Primordial Violet Qi, becoming a Saint was within reach.

Hong Yun, however, was utterly unaware of this murderous intent.

Lu Changqing felt he had little connection with Kunpeng, so naturally, he bore no grudge.

He knew well the grievance between Kunpeng and Hong Yun, so he merely cast a faint glance at the murderous Kunpeng, then turned to the other three with a nod and a smile, before addressing Hong Yun:

"Fellow Daoist Hong Yun, how much merit would you require to part with that strand of Primordial Violet Qi?"

In Lu Changqing's view, Kunpeng's resentment over Hong Yun yielding the seat was not enough to drive him to murder; the true cause of all this karma was this strand of Primordial Violet Qi.

Hong Yun was taken aback at these words.

Though he had come to exchange for merit, he had never considered parting with the Primordial Violet Qi—this was a Chaos Supreme Treasure essential for achieving Sainthood, with only seven strands existing in the Primordial Wilderness. Six had already been used by the Six Saints to achieve Dao, leaving this final one in his possession.

How could such a supreme treasure be sold lightly?

But Hong Yun was never good at refusing. Since Lu Changqing had asked, he could only name an exorbitant price, hoping the man would back down.

Thus, he replied with a smile:

"I had no intention of selling this item, but since Fellow Daoist Changqing has expressed interest, I find it hard to decline.

Let it be priced at one hundred million merit."

At these words, everyone present understood the implication: Hong Yun was clearly giving a polite refusal.

One hundred million merit—even Saint Nuwa, who possessed the deepest reserves of merit, might not be able to produce such a sum, let alone Lu Changqing, who was merely a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

Seeing Lu Changqing's brow furrow slightly, Ran Deng sighed softly. "One hundred million merit is indeed a staggering figure. With enough Primordial Violet Qi, it could allow two great powers to achieve Dao and become Saints."

East King Duke nodded in agreement.

Though they knew Lu Changqing could pay four hundred million merit every thousand years, they assumed he must have a secret method for continuously acquiring merit. Producing such a huge sum all at once would surely be a strain.

But Kunpeng, who had followed Lu Changqing the longest, was confident: Great Master is favored by the Heavenly Dao. What is a mere one hundred million merit to him? Even if it were two hundred million, he would agree without hesitation!

His insight, however, was limited—he could not fathom even higher figures.

Just as East King Duke and Ran Deng were about to inquire about the Heavenly Dao's favor, Lu Changqing pondered for a moment, then smiled at Hong Yun:

"The figure of one hundred million merit still needs further discussion."

Ran Deng and East King Duke exchanged glances, thinking to themselves, Just as expected.

Ran Deng shook his head. "No one in the Primordial Wilderness can bear such a price. If Great Master truly desires it, the only way is to negotiate amicably."

Let's see how much he can haggle it down! East King Duke calculated inwardly.

After all, Great Master clearly had his heart set on the Primordial Violet Qi, so bargaining was inevitable.

That was hardly unreasonable.

Who could easily produce one hundred million merit? If Great Master could scrape together tens of millions, that would already be astonishing.

Kunpeng, overhearing their murmurs, recalled Great Master's legendary bargaining feats and could not help but sigh:

"Negotiate, yes—but the way he negotiates may be far from what the two of you imagine."

East King Duke and Ran Deng were stunned by this.

Before they could ask, Hong Yun spoke with a smile:

"This price may be high, but the Primordial Violet Qi is no ordinary thing—not a single merit can be reduced.

Perhaps Fellow Daoist Changqing should choose something else..."

Before he could finish, Lu Changqing interrupted with a clear voice:

"Fellow Daoist misunderstands. I meant—this price is wrong. It's too low!"

Too low?

One hundred million is still too little?

Did those words truly come from a living being of the Primordial Wilderness?

Everyone except Kunpeng stared in shock.