Chapter 19

Laozi accepted the merit and handed the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda to Lu Changsheng. Then he suddenly remembered that Lu Changsheng was protected by the Heavenly Dao.

What use did he have for such a supreme defensive treasure?

Curious, he asked:

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng, your fortune is profound. Under the Heavenly Dao of the Great Desolation, no one can harm you.

Why do you still want this Exquisite Pagoda?"

After hearing Laozi's question, Lu Changsheng casually tossed the pagoda aside and said as if it were only natural:

"Because it looks good!

My Changsheng Palace has been changing its decorating style recently.

Having only the Northern Profound Origin Water Control Banner is a little monotonous.

So I'm placing an Exquisite Pagoda there for decoration!"

Hearing Lu Changsheng's answer,

everyone was left utterly bewildered.

Public opinion was frightening?

This was simply even more overbearing than a Saint!

Kunpeng and the other two witnessed Lu Changsheng's extravagant behavior and wailed inwardly.

This was a Companion Spiritual Treasure of a Saint!

The greatest defensive treasure in the Great Desolation.

An existence powerful enough to rival an Innate Supreme Treasure.

And he was actually using it as decoration?

If word of this got out, anyone would want to strangle Lu Changsheng.

But the problem was, he was Lu Changsheng.

A living being protected by the Heavenly Dao.

An existence no one in the Great Desolation dared to provoke.

"Alas—it seems only the Great Master can act like this!

I truly wonder how much merit the Great Master has to squander?"

The three forcibly suppressed their emotions and sighed with envy.

While the three junior brothers were lamenting, Lu Changsheng turned his gaze toward Primordial Heavenly Lord and Sect Master Tongtian.

With a trace of amusement in his eyes, he said:

"I heard that your Innate Supreme Treasures—"

Seeing this, Primordial and Tongtian waved their hands repeatedly before he could finish:

"Don't even think about it. Absolutely not!"

Lu Changsheng drawled, eager to give it a try:

"Oh—is that so—"

However, Primordial and Tongtian knew that they absolutely could not let him try.

If he did, their treasures would probably "pass on."

Who could withstand giving away that much merit?

Without such supreme treasures, their strength would inevitably plummet.

If danger befell them then, they might not even be able to protect themselves.

After all, in the Great Desolation World, strength was the foundation for survival.

Thus, Tongtian and Primordial rejected him firmly:

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to say more!

We truly cannot sell them this time!"

Seeing how stingy the two were, Lu Changsheng could only pout helplessly.

He sighed dejectedly:

"My heart is so tired. I hold a huge amount of merit, yet have nowhere to spend it?

Could merit no longer be attractive nowadays?

Or have all of you already earned enough?"

Hearing Lu Changsheng's boastful words,

the Six Sages and Kunpeng's trio of junior brothers all felt their scalps go numb.

What kind of normal living being would say something like that?

It was simply too infuriating.

Just as the Six Sages were trembling with fear, the Two Sages of the West secretly lamented that they had obtained too little merit. They shamelessly forced out ingratiating smiles and asked:

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng, do you need to open up another Great Thousand World? We can do it. We're very fast!"

Hearing the Two Sages of the West, the other Saints cast them disdainful looks.

In their view, opening up a Great Thousand World was completely useless. It was not only time-consuming and exhausting, but also consumed Saint Origin. It was simply troublesome.

Unless they were establishing a new dojo and wanted to make an impressive show of it, perhaps some powerful expert would be willing to spend the effort to open one.

But one was enough. What use was there in opening more? The words of the Two Sages of the West were purely an attempt to shamelessly freeload on the merit.

However, they had always been thick-skinned, and the Six Sages had long since grown accustomed to it.

Yet no one had expected that after hearing the almost shameless flattery of the Two Sages of the West, Lu Changsheng's eyes would actually light up.

This made the Six Sages' hearts tighten—after all, this man had never acted according to convention.

"Huh—you've made a rather interesting suggestion!"

Lu Changsheng looked as if he had suddenly realized something.

All he had ever wanted was to squander his wealth.

If he exchanged for treasures, he would soon have nothing left to exchange. After all, treasures were limited.

Even if he exchanged away every treasure, he still could not spend much of his merit.

But opening Great Thousand Worlds was endless. He could open as many as he wanted.

For every Great Thousand World he opened as a dojo, the system allowed him to consume ten million merit—wasn't that much faster than exchanging for treasures?

Thinking of this, Lu Changsheng immediately revealed a bold, heroic smile and said loudly:

"This Venerable has decided. From today onward, I'll hire the Six Sages to open Great Thousand Worlds for me.

For every world opened, I'll pay ten million merit.

The more work you do, the more you earn. Fair to both young and old!"

Hearing Lu Changsheng's decision, the eyes of the Two Sages of the West narrowed into slits from smiling.

The other Saints, however, were stunned by his words.

You're only a Quasi-Saint, and you barely have any disciples under you. What do you need so many Great Thousand Worlds as dojos for? Could it be that you have too much merit and feel itchy all over, unable to rest until you burn it all away?

Laozi could not figure out what was in Lu Changsheng's head, no matter how hard he tried.

Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Changsheng, what exactly do you want with so many Great Thousand Worlds as dojos?"

Laozi truly could not understand why Lu Changsheng insisted on doing these seemingly meaningless things.

Hearing Laozi's question, Lu Changsheng replied as if it were only natural: "Why? What else could it be? Because I feel like it. I have so much merit that I have nowhere to spend it, and it's burning a hole in my pocket!"

As soon as he said this, the Six Sages were all speechless, their expressions nearly collapsing.

What kind of human speech was that?

The Six Sages could not understand why Lu Changsheng always seemed to have a grudge against merit, as if he wanted to spend it all the moment he saw it.

He looked practically as if squandering merit were a form of revenge.

Watching him even made them want to experience that feeling for themselves.

But merit was simply too precious. Even spending a tiny amount made their hearts ache.

Unlike the Six Sages' intense reactions, Kunpeng and the other two remained quite calm.

There was nothing they could do. After following the Great Master for so long, they had long since become numb.

They were tired. So be it. Let him do whatever he wanted.

After a moment of shock, the Six Sages still accepted Lu Changsheng's proposal.

Complaining was one thing, but apart from Lu Changsheng, who would truly go against merit?

Thinking this, the Six Sages each received a soul imprint from Lu Changsheng.

As long as they imprinted it into the origin of the Great Thousand World they opened, Lu Changsheng would be considered to have control over that world.

And they could use it to exchange for ten million merit.

After receiving the imprints, the Saints departed one after another.

After all, they had obtained far too much merit this time and had to hurry back to refine it and improve their cultivation.

After the Saints took their leave one by one, Lu Changsheng casually took out the Realm-Breaking Elixir gifted by Laozi and swallowed it in one gulp.

The spiritual elixir transformed into surging magical power and poured into his Purple Palace acupoint.

The Great Dao Primordial Creation Art he cultivated began circulating, and the three thousand Law Dao Seeds within his body evolved one after another.

As they evolved, Great Dao Divine Runes flowed, while the Three Thousand Laws revolved around him.

From time to time, they radiated a strand of imposing Great Dao Laws that made the heart tremble.

Before long, the vast and terrifying might of the Great Dao Laws enveloped the entire Wuji Heaven.

Lu Changsheng broke through to the mid-stage Quasi-Saint realm with effortless ease.

But this was still far from enough.

After breaking through, he plucked the nine spiritual fruits borne by the Yellow Middle Plum.

He ate them all as snacks in one go, yet still felt unsatisfied.

He then took out Nine-Turn Golden Elixirs and chewed through them one after another like candy.

Such extravagant behavior made Kunpeng and the other two watching from the side wince repeatedly.

The years of the Great Desolation passed without count.

Time flew, and a hundred years went by.

At this moment, within Wuji Heaven,

Lu Changsheng was savoring spiritual fruit when he suddenly sensed something.

The mysteries of the Great Dao began circulating, and the Primordial Creation Art completed cycle after cycle.

The three thousand Dao Seeds within his body began to evolve and deduce.

Then, thunderous rumbling echoed from within his body.

In the next instant, the three thousand Laws intertwined and rose.

Endless Great Dao Divine Runes coiled around him.

Golden lotuses containing the intent of the Laws bloomed one after another.

Their radiance was brilliant, illuminating the myriad worlds.

In an instant, the Three Thousand Great Daos revolved around his form.

The aura of the Laws permeated Wuji Heaven and Earth.

Kunpeng and the other two witnessed the might of Lu Changsheng's breakthrough and shook their heads in amazement:

"As expected of the Great Master. In only a hundred years,

he actually broke through from the early-stage Quasi-Saint realm all the way to the late-stage Quasi-Saint realm!

Such speed is unmatched in the Great Desolation!"

Regarding Lu Changsheng's heaven-defying aptitude,

Kunpeng and the other two had long since grown accustomed to it.

After all, they often saw Lu Changsheng casually eating golden elixirs and spiritual fruits while breaking through without warning.

In just a hundred years, they had witnessed such a scene three times.

"Indeed, no one can compare.

After all, only the Great Master in all the world can treat so many spiritual fruits and golden elixirs as snacks."

East King Duke sighed softly.

Over the past hundred years, Lu Changsheng had consumed countless spiritual fruits and immortal elixirs.

He refused to eat spiritual fruits unless they were innate,

and he only recognized Nine-Turn Golden Elixirs.

Such extravagance was something ordinary cultivators would not even dare imagine.

Of course, his innate foundation was also crucial.

If one's foundation was insufficient,

even devouring all the spiritual treasures of Heaven and Earth would make it difficult to advance.

At the same time, as Lu Changsheng continued scattering merit...

The Great Desolation World was welcoming a surging tide of breakthroughs!

Countless living beings broke through and advanced one after another.

Within the Green-striped Silver Rhinoceros Clan, a Quasi-Saint aura enveloped the entire clan.

The elders of the Red-horned Sky Ox Clan cast their gazes over one after another.

"Hasn't Old Monster Silver Rhinoceros been stuck at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm for a million years?"

One Sky Ox Elder muttered with a frown.

"I heard he just returned from Wuji Heaven. It seems he truly exchanged for merit."

As the Sky Ox Clan Leader spoke, he looked toward Wuji Heaven, his eyes filled with longing.

In the East Sea, within the Mystic Spirit Whale Clan.

A Quasi-Saint pressure suddenly swept outward, startling the entire sea region.

The Mystic Spirit Whale Clan was bursting with excitement.

"Ancestor Mystic Whale has finally entered the Quasi-Saint realm!"

"This trip to Wuji Heaven truly wasn't in vain."

"From now on, our clan will also have a Quasi-Saint guarding us. We no longer need to fear bullying from the Great Cloth Dragon Shark!"

One member of the Mystic Spirit Whale Clan said joyfully.

The East Sea was ruled by the Dragon Clan, which governed the myriad races, but conflicts between the various clans had never ceased.

Another Mystic Spirit Whale at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm gazed toward Wuji Heaven, his eyes filled with yearning:

"One day, I'll go to Wuji Heaven too and break through to the Grand Unity realm through merit!"

Atop Haoran Peak, Ancestor Thunder, who had been trapped for a million years, broke through his bottleneck and entered the late-stage Quasi-Saint realm.

The Blood Sea churned as red light shot into the sky. Ancestor Minghe reached the pinnacle, successfully breaking through his realm.

Across the prehistoric world, scenes of breakthroughs like this could be seen everywhere.

Countless living beings with shallow foundations and mediocre aptitudes broke through their own limits thanks to Lu Changsheng's merit.

Wuji Heaven had already been regarded by all living beings as the sacred land of the prehistoric world, as well as a symbol of merit.

Through his own efforts, Lu Changsheng had raised the strength of the entire prehistoric world by an entire level!

Among them, the Witch and Demon races, as the overlords of Heaven and Earth, had changed the most drastically.

On this day, within the Demon Race Heavenly Court.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, the Demon Emperor!"

All the demon generals knelt and paid their respects in unison.

Fuxi and Eastern Emperor Taiyi smiled as they looked toward Di Jun, who had just emerged from seclusion after breaking through to the Quasi-Saint peak.

"Congratulations, Demon Emperor, on entering the Quasi-Saint peak."

Fuxi cupped his hands in congratulations.

Taiyi also spoke excitedly:

"From this day forth, our Demon Race will surely stand at the pinnacle of the prehistoric world!"