As cultivation unfolded...
Divine runes of the Great Dao emerged.
Three Thousand Laws surrounded him.
Within his Violet Palace, countless acupoints shimmered with starlight.
The Three Thousand Dao Seeds slowly appeared.
The resplendent River of Time and Space illuminated the heavens.
As the Dao Seeds gradually condensed into form,
the vast River of Years manifested in the world, carrying with it a galaxy.
When the Three Thousand Dao Seeds completely took shape,
endless, profound Great Dao Prophecy suddenly appeared.
It radiated terrifying Great Dao Power, shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
"Boom—"
The power instantly smashed through the cave where Lu Changsheng was cultivating in seclusion.
Majestic Dao might swept across heaven and earth,
alarming countless mighty figures throughout the Primordial World.
Yet this might came and went quickly.
By the time everyone investigated, it had already vanished without a trace.
Having gained an initial understanding of it, Lu Changsheng felt refreshed.
With a casual wave of his hand, the Three Thousand Laws followed.
He struck out with one palm,
and countless mountains and rivers shattered as heaven and earth transformed.
His strength had surged more than a hundredfold.
Even Lu Changsheng could not help marveling.
"As expected of the Great Dao Spendthrift System, the reward really is astonishing!"
After praising the system's generosity, Lu Changsheng began thinking about how to exhaust a million billion merit.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
Understanding flashed through his eyes:
"If merit can't be used to increase my cultivation, why not use it to refine treasures?"
There was a unique type of treasure in the Primordial World—
Merit Treasure.
It was refined by fusing merit with an Innate or Acquired Spiritual Treasure,
and could greatly enhance the treasure's might.
With that in mind,
Lu Changsheng immediately took out a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—
the Tai Xu Creation Banner.
This was his Companion Spiritual Treasure,
and it contained Creation Profound Light.
When shaken, it released Tai Xu Creation Power that could decay all things,
and even dissolve the primordial spirit. Its might was extraordinary.
After taking out the Creation Banner, Lu Changsheng casually summoned a mass of Golden Cloud of Merit,
and continuously poured it inside.
Although fusing merit into a treasure inevitably caused some wastage,
that slight loss was nothing to Lu Changsheng.
When one mass of Golden Cloud of Merit was exhausted, another followed.
Without the slightest hesitation, he continued pouring it in until he could no longer inject any more, then finally stopped.
Although continuously injecting the golden clouds was somewhat tedious, the feeling of extravagantly spending merit without the slightest reluctance was genuinely exhilarating.
After the Tai Xu Creation Banner finished refining,
Lu Changsheng did not immediately inspect the treasure's changes.
Instead, he first looked toward the system, wanting to know exactly how much merit this refinement had consumed.
After seeing the result, Lu Changsheng was speechless.
He complained in a low voice:
"What's going on? I clearly injected so many Golden Clouds of Merit, yet it only spent a million merit?"
If other cultivators heard those words,
they would probably collapse on the spot.
That was a million merit!
In the eyes of Primordial World cultivators, it was an incredible opportunity that could only be encountered by chance.
After complaining for a while,
Lu Changsheng finally examined the treasure's improvement.
The Tai Xu Creation Banner, originally a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, had undergone merit tempering
and advanced into a Top-grade Innate Merit Spiritual Treasure.
Its outward appearance seemed largely unchanged.
But with a careful sense, one could detect the aura of merit radiating from within the spiritual treasure.
"It doesn't seem to have changed much!"
Lu Changsheng examined it for a moment before gently waving the Creation Banner,
wanting to test how much the treasure's might had increased.
The Creation Banner swayed lightly.
The originally ordinary Tai Xu Creation Power
had now become so dense that it was nearly tangible.
As it moved, it spread across the heavens and earth,
corroding and dissolving everything it touched.
Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he praised it:
"Phew— As expected of a treasure infused with merit! Its might has increased more than tenfold compared to before. It's practically catching up to an Innate Supreme Treasure!"
It had to be said that merit truly was a good thing.
"Ah—refining a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure only used a million merit.
That's merely one ten-millionth of my total merit. When will I ever finish using it?
I never expected having too many good things could be so troublesome!"
Lu Changsheng sighed helplessly.
If the cultivators of the Primordial World heard that sigh,
they would surely go mad with envy.
Everyone else desperately yearned for and treasured merit,
while Lu Changsheng was troubled because he had too much.
Wasn't he deliberately provoking people?
After sighing,
Lu Changsheng immediately took out all his treasures.
After all, even a mosquito's leg was still meat.
He could spend whatever he could.
But Lu Changsheng did not have many treasures.
Apart from 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, after all, extraordinary objects and could not be obtained easily.
Even the Two Sages of the West possessed only a few Innate Spiritual Treasures.
With a thought, Lu Changsheng refined all those dozen or so Acquired treasures into Merit Spiritual Treasures and Merit Supreme Treasures.
After discovering that there was nothing else to refine, he casually refined his Daoist robe into an Acquired Merit Supreme Treasure as well.
As for the Innate Supreme Treasure given by the system—the God-Slaying Spear—
Lu Changsheng did not refine it.
The God-Slaying Spear was the most vicious supreme treasure in the Primordial World,
and it governed slaughter.
If merit were infused into it, its baleful aura would instead be worn away.
The result would be counterproductive and not worth the loss.
After finishing the treasure refinements, Lu Changsheng suddenly remembered the Golden Wheel of Merit.
Thus, he took out countless golden clouds of merit
and refined 9,999 Golden Wheels of Merit, suspending them behind him.
After the entire set of Merit Equipment was refined,
Lu Changsheng displayed all the Merit Treasures and golden wheels together with great interest.
In an instant, the light of merit shone over the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths like a blazing sun,
alarming many mighty figures throughout the Primordial World.
Yet just as they were about to investigate,
Lu Changsheng had already put away all the golden wheels.
Everyone could only wonder whether it had merely been an illusion.
"Tsk, tsk. If I displayed this in front of cultivators, wouldn't it blind them?"
Lu Changsheng happily sighed over it, then put away the remaining Merit Treasures, leaving only the Daoist robe he wore.
After finishing everything, he looked at the system with satisfaction.
Who could have expected that refining so many treasures
had consumed only ten million merit?
Compared to a hundred billion merit, it was merely a drop in the bucket.
"This is such a headache. When will I ever finish spending this million billion merit?"
Lu Changsheng sighed helplessly.
If other cultivators heard this, they would probably be furious enough to vomit blood.
What others dreamed of possessing, Lu Changsheng treated like weeds.
It was truly infuriating.
After lamenting this "happy trouble"
for a while,
Lu Changsheng decided to leave Wuji Peak and travel through the Primordial World.
There were simply too few ways to obtain merit within Wuji Peak.
It would be better to go outside and try his luck, searching for inspiration on how to spend extravagantly.
With that thought, Lu Changsheng took out the Acquired Merit Supreme Treasure he had just finished refining—the Wuji Divine Boat.
With a slight movement of his divine sense, the divine boat grew in the wind. He boarded it, left Wuji Peak, and casually traveled through the Primordial World.
Along the way, Lu Changsheng saw quite a few scenes of battles between the Witch and Demon Clans.
Although the two clans had not launched a full-scale war, their conflicts remained, and minor clashes erupted one after another.
Relying on his cultivation at the late Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage, Lu Changsheng encountered little interference along the way. Ordinary cultivators did not dare provoke him easily.
At that moment, on the ground, the Demon Saint Che Qi had just gained the upper hand in a minor battle.
While he was gloating, he noticed a divine boat radiating golden light of merit approaching through the sky. The person aboard it was merely at the late Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage.
Jealousy arose in Che Qi's heart, and he thought, A mere late Grand Unity Golden Immortal actually has the right to possess an Acquired Merit Supreme Treasure?
An evil thought arose within him. He ordered his subordinates to continue pursuing the Witch Clan's remaining soldiers while he broke away and chased after the divine boat.
Lu Changsheng had no idea that the Demon Saint had targeted him. He continued leisurely searching for a way to spend his merit aboard the divine boat.
Suddenly, a demonic wind swept over and blocked the divine boat's path.
Lu Changsheng frowned and asked, "Who dares block my path?"
Before his voice had faded, Che Qi emerged from the wind with a sinister grin and said:
"Fellow Daoist, I believe this divine boat of yours is fated to be mine. Why not part with it and give it to me?"
With that, he revealed his cultivation at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, intending to intimidate Lu Changsheng.
Although his words sounded polite, Lu Changsheng understood perfectly:
This was clearly an attempt to seize his Acquired Supreme Treasure—the Wuji Divine Boat.
After hearing Che Qi's words, Lu Changsheng could not help revealing an amused expression.
He shook his head and sighed softly:
"You've got quite the nerve, daring to target me?"
As he sighed, Lu Changsheng even considered whether he should rub a "Great Merit Jade Spiral Pill" together with his bare hands and let this ignorant demon see the world.
However, before he could act,
a clear shout suddenly rang out.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman with an outstanding bearing appeared before the Demon Clan alongside a burly man, and coldly sneered:
"Typical of the demon race—what despicable behavior!"
Hearing the sudden rebuke, Che Qi found the voice somewhat familiar.
He hurriedly turned to look,
but the moment he saw the woman's face, his expression changed drastically,
and he turned around and tried to flee.
But before Che Qi could act,
the burly man beside the woman had already moved to stop him.
"Hmph—trying to run? Too late!"
The burly man snorted coldly and suddenly clenched his fist,
then threw a punch, its surging power seeming capable of tearing the sky apart.
Seeing this, Che Qi hurriedly used a divine ability of the demon race,
trying to block it somehow.
However, before the burly man's fist wind, his resistance was like a breeze brushing across one's face,
completely useless.
With danger upon him, Che Qi's eyes nearly split open as he brought out his natal magic treasure.
"Boom—!"
A thunderous sound shook the heavens,
and Che Qi's physical body shattered on the spot,
leaving only his natal magic treasure wrapped around his primordial spirit as it fled in panic.
The brief exchange came to an end,
and Lu Changsheng guessed that these two must have come from the Wu race—
after all, only the Wu race, which focused on refining the body and blood essence, would adopt such a direct fighting style.
Although Lu Changsheng was not afraid of that Grand Unity Golden Immortal from the demon race,
the other party had helped him, so he should still offer his thanks.
"Many thanks to you two fellow Daoists for your assistance!"
As he expressed his gratitude, Lu Changsheng suddenly thought:
They had helped him,
so giving them some merit as thanks should be fine, right?
With that thought, he tentatively asked the system:
"System, this Wu girl helped me. If I casually give her ten million merit as thanks, that shouldn't be too much, right?"
The system quickly responded in its cold, mechanical voice:
"System assessment: ten million merit exceeds the upper limit.
The host may give at most one hundred thousand merit and must abide by the principle of equal exchange!"
Hearing the system's cold response, Lu Changsheng could not help complaining under his breath:
"That's way too stingy!"
While Lu Changsheng was communicating with the system mentally, the Wu woman beside him waved her hand and said:
"Fellow Daoist, you flatter me.
The demon race has always acted despicably. Punishing them is simply our duty."
She then introduced herself: "I am Houtu, one of the Wu race's Ancestral Witches, and this is the Great Wu Xing Tian.
May I ask how I should address you?"
Before you continue