The Second Chapter

As cultivation progressed...

Great Dao Divine Runes appeared.

Three Thousand Laws surrounded him.

Within the Purple Mansion, myriad acupoints twinkled with starlight.

Three Thousand Dao Seeds slowly manifested.

A brilliant River of Time and Space illuminated the heavens.

As the Dao Seeds gradually took shape, the vast River of Years, carrying the Galaxy, manifested in the world.

When the Three Thousand Dao Seeds were completely formed, endless profound Great Dao Prophecies suddenly appeared.

They emitted terrifying Great Dao Power, shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

"Boom—"

The power instantly shattered the cave dwelling where Lu Changsheng was in seclusion.

A majestic Dao aura swept across heaven and earth, startling countless powerful beings in the Primordial World.

But this power came and went quickly.

By the time everyone investigated, it had vanished without a trace.

With a glimpse of the threshold, Lu Changsheng felt his mind and spirit refreshed.

With a casual wave, Three Thousand Laws followed.

With a palm strike, countless rivers and mountains shattered, and heaven and earth were torn asunder.

His strength had increased by more than a hundredfold.

Lu Changsheng couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

"As expected of the Great Dao Spendthrift System, the rewards are truly astonishing!"

After praising the system's generosity, Lu Changsheng began to ponder how to spend his quadrillions of Merit.

Suddenly, his mind moved, and a flash of understanding crossed his eyes:

"Since I can't use Merit to improve my cultivation, why not use it to refine magical treasures?"

There was a unique type of magical treasure in the Primordial World—

Merit Treasures.

They were refined by fusing Merit into Innate or Acquired magical treasures, and could greatly enhance the power of the treasures.

With this thought, Lu Changsheng unhesitatingly took out a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—

the Tai Xu Creation Banner.

This was his Companion Spiritual Treasure, containing Creation Profound Light.

When shaken, it released Tai Xu Creation Power, which could decay all things, and even dissolve Primordial Spirits, its power not to be underestimated.

After taking out the Creation Banner, Lu Changsheng casually summoned a ball of Golden Cloud of Merit, and poured it into the banner continuously.

Although the fusion of Merit into magical treasures inevitably incurred some loss, to Lu Changsheng, this loss was insignificant.

One ball of Golden Cloud of Merit was depleted, and the next followed immediately.

Without the slightest hesitation, he continued to pour it in until he could no longer inject any more.

Although continuously injecting Golden Clouds was a bit tedious, the feeling of extravagance from not cherishing the consumption of Merit was indeed satisfying.

After the Tai Xu Creation Banner was refined, Lu Changsheng did not immediately check the changes in the magical treasure.

Instead, he looked at the system first, wanting to know how much Merit this refinement had consumed.

Upon seeing the amount, Lu Changsheng was left somewhat speechless.

He grumbled in a low voice:

"What's going on? I poured in so much Golden Cloud of Merit, and it only cost a million Merit?"

If any other cultivators heard this, they would probably collapse on the spot.

That was a million Merit.

In the eyes of the cultivators of the Primordial World, it was a great opportunity that was hard to come by.

After a few complaints, Lu Changsheng began to inspect the enhancements to his Dharma treasures.

Originally a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Tai Xu Creation Banner, after being tempered by Merit, had been promoted to a Top-grade Innate Merit Spiritual Treasure.

The appearance seemed to have changed little, but upon careful sensing, one could detect the aura of Merit emanating from the spiritual treasure.

"The change doesn't seem very obvious!"

Lu Changsheng examined it for a moment and gently waved the Creation Banner, wanting to test how much the Dharma treasure's power had increased.

With a gentle wave of the Creation Banner, the previously ordinary Tai Xu Creation Power, was now so dense it was almost tangible.

As it was swung, it covered the sky and earth, corroding and dissolving everything it touched.

Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed:

"Hoo--As expected of a Dharma treasure infused with Merit, its power has increased more than tenfold compared to before, almost catching up to an Innate Supreme Treasure!"

It had to be said, Merit was indeed a good thing.

"Sigh--Refining a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure only cost a million Merit.

It only consumed one in ten million of my total Merit. When will I ever use it all up?

I never expected that having too many good things could also be such a bother!"

Lu Changsheng sighed helplessly.

If the cultivators on the Primordial World heard this sigh, they would surely be driven mad with envy.

Others yearned for and cherished Merit with all their hearts, while Lu Changsheng worried about having too much of it.

Wasn't this deliberately provoking people?

After his sigh.

Lu Changsheng immediately took out all his Dharma treasures.

After all, even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

He might as well spend some if he could.

However, Lu Changsheng didn't have many Dharma treasures.

Besides the Innate Spiritual Treasure he had just finished refining, he only had a dozen or so Acquired Spiritual Treasures and Acquired Supreme Treasures.

Innate Spiritual Treasures were not ordinary items and could not be easily obtained.

Even the Two Sages of the West only possessed a few Innate Spiritual Treasures.

With a thought, Lu Changsheng refined all dozen or so Acquired Dharma treasures into Merit Spiritual Treasures and Merit Supreme Treasures.

Then, finding nothing else to refine, he casually refined his Daoist Robe into an Acquired Merit Supreme Treasure.

As for the Innate Supreme Treasure gifted by the system—the God-Slaying Spear, Lu Changsheng did not refine it.

Because the God-Slaying Spear was the Primordial World's foremost fierce and malevolent Supreme Treasure, dominating slaughter and war, infusing it with Merit would instead wear down its malevolent aura, making the effect counterproductive and not worth the loss.

With the Dharma treasures refined, Lu Changsheng remembered the Golden Wheel of Merit, So, he took out countless golden clouds of merit, and refined nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Golden Wheels of Merit to hang behind him.

After the entire set of merit equipment was refined, Lu Changsheng, with great interest, revealed all the Merit Treasures and Golden Wheels together.

In an instant, the light of merit shone like the scorching sun upon the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, startling many powerful beings in the Primordial World.

But just as they were about to investigate, Lu Changsheng had already retracted all the Golden Wheels.

Everyone could only suspect if it was a momentary illusion.

"Tsk tsk, if I displayed this in front of cultivators, wouldn't it blind their eyes?"

Lu Changsheng sighed with self-satisfaction, put away the remaining Merit Treasures, and kept only the Daoist Robe he was wearing.

With everything done, he looked at the system with contentment.

Who would have thought that refining so many treasures, only consumed ten million Merit.

Compared to tens of billions of Merit, it was but a drop in the ocean.

"This is really troublesome, when will I ever spend these hundreds of trillions of Merit?"

Lu Changsheng sighed helplessly.

If these words were heard by other cultivators, they would likely be angered to the point of spitting blood.

What others dreamed of, Lu Changsheng treated as worthless, truly infuriating.

After lamenting this "happy trouble,"

Lu Changsheng decided to leave Wuji Peak and travel the Primordial World.

Within Wuji Peak, the avenues for obtaining Merit were truly limited.

It would be better to try his luck outside and find inspiration for spending extravagantly.

With this thought, Lu Changsheng took out the Acquired Supreme Treasure of Merit he had just successfully refined—the Wuji Divine Boat.

With a slight movement of his divine sense, the Divine Boat grew against the wind. He boarded it and left Wuji Peak, freely roaming the Primordial World.

Along the way, Lu Changsheng saw many scenes of conflict between the Witch Clan and the Demon Clan.

Although the two clans had not engaged in full-scale war, their conflicts remained, with minor skirmishes occurring frequently.

With his cultivation at the late stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, Lu Changsheng was not significantly disturbed along the way, and ordinary cultivators would not dare to provoke him easily.

At this moment, on the ground, the Demon Saint Che Qi of the Demon Clan had just gained the upper hand in a small skirmish.

As he was feeling smug, he noticed a divine boat emanating golden light of merit flying in the sky, and the person on board was merely at the late stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Che Qi felt a surge of jealousy and thought to himself, "A mere late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal, how can he possibly possess an Acquired Supreme Treasure of Merit?"

He immediately harbored malicious intent and ordered his subordinates to continue pursuing the remnants of the Witch Clan, while he himself broke away to chase after the divine boat.

Lu Changsheng was still unaware that he had been targeted by a Demon Saint and was leisurely searching for ways to spend Merit on the divine boat.

Suddenly, a gust of demonic wind swept in, blocking the path of the divine boat.

Lu Changsheng frowned and asked, "Who dares to block my path?"

Before his voice could even fall, Che Qi appeared from the wind, a sinister smile on his face, and said:

"Fellow Daoist, I find your divine boat to be fated with me. Why not part with it and gift it to me?"

With that, he revealed his cultivation at the peak of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, intending to intimidate Lu Changsheng.

Although his words seemed polite, Lu Changsheng knew very well:

This was clearly an attempt to snatch his Acquired Supreme Treasure—the Wuji Divine Boat.

After hearing Che Qi's words, Lu Changsheng couldn't help but reveal a hint of amusement.

He shook his head and sighed:

"You've got quite the nerve, daring to even plot against me?"

While sighing, Lu Changsheng even considered whether or not to manually conjure a "Great Merit Jade Spiral Pill"

to broaden the horizons of this ignorant Demon Clan before him.

However, before he could make a move, a clear, crisp shout suddenly rang out.

A woman of exquisite beauty and outstanding temperament appeared before the Demon Clan with a burly man, and said with a cold, sarcastic tone:

"The Demon Clan's actions are truly despicable!"

Hearing the sudden reprimand, Che Qi found the voice somewhat familiar.

He quickly turned his head to look.

Upon seeing the woman's face, his expression immediately changed drastically, and he turned to flee.

But before Che Qi could even act, the burly man beside the woman had already moved to stop him.

"Hmph—Trying to escape? Too late!"

The burly man let out a cold snort, clenched his fist tightly, and threw a punch, his power surging as if to tear apart the sky.

Seeing this, Che Qi hastily unleashed his Demon Clan divine abilities, attempting to resist.

However, before the burly man's fist wind, his resistance was like a gentle breeze on his face, completely ineffective.

With danger imminent, Che Qi's eyes were about to split open as he summoned his life-bound magical treasure.

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar shook the heavens and earth.

Che Qi's physical body shattered on the spot, leaving only his life-bound magical treasure, which wrapped around his Primordial Spirit, to flee in panic.

The brief exchange ended.

Lu Changsheng guessed that these two likely came from the Witch Clan—

after all, only the Witch Clan, who specialized in cultivating their physiques and Blood Essence, would adopt such a direct combat style.

Although Lu Changsheng did not fear that Demon Clan Grand Unity Golden Immortal, the other party had still intervened, so expressing his gratitude was appropriate.

"Thank you both, fellow Daoists, for your assistance!"

While expressing his thanks, Lu Changsheng suddenly thought:

Since they helped him, giving them some Merit as a token of gratitude should be fine, right?

With this thought, he tentatively asked the system:

"System, this Witch Clan maiden helped me. Is it too much if I casually give her ten million Merit as thanks?"

The system quickly responded with a cold, mechanical voice:

"System judgment: Ten million Merit exceeds the upper limit.

The host can bestow a maximum of one hundred thousand Merit, and must adhere to the principle of equivalent exchange!"

Hearing the system's cold response, Lu Changsheng couldn't help but grumble softly:

"This is too stingy!"

Just as Lu Changsheng was communicating with the system mentally, the Witch Clan woman beside him waved her hand and said:

"You are too kind, fellow Daoist.

The Demon Clan has always acted despicably; punishing them is our duty."

She then introduced herself, "I am Houtu, an Ancestor Witch of the Witch Clan. This is Xing Tian, a Great Witch.

May I know your name, fellow Daoist?"