Chapter 42

The great powers were having a hard time, and so were all the living beings of the Primordial World.

Countless creatures felt their scalps go numb, their hearts trembling in shock.

This scene was simply enough to astonish the ages.

"Is something wrong with Saint Changsheng?"

No one dared speak. They could only mutter to themselves.

Some even secretly wondered: Could it be that the other Saints were abnormal too?

If the Six Sages had heard this, they would have cried out that they were innocent.

Not to mention ordinary creatures—even they had never witnessed such a spectacle.

Above the Nine Heavens, the Six Sages of the Primordial World nearly fell to their knees, their minds roaring without end.

"My heavens, what exactly did Lu Changsheng do?"

"This spendthrift madman!"

"That was a trillion merits! What a wastrel!"

"What kind of 'brilliant' mind could possibly come up with such a suffocating act?"

At that moment, the Six Sages felt as if their heads were about to split apart.

It was as though their divine senses had also been shattered by the Sacred Azure Tribulation Light.

They had thought that Lu Changsheng destroying a hundred million merits was outrageous enough. Who could have known that he would summon a trillion merits moments later?

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he destroyed them with his own hands once again.

That was so much merit!

A full trillion!

When Nuwa attained the Dao and became a Saint, she had only expended several tens of millions of merits.

Such vast merit, even if bestowed upon an ordinary mortal swine, could elevate it into a darling of heaven and earth.

With merit protecting its body, all laws found it difficult to invade, and even the Heavenly Dao had to show it some respect!

When this boundless merit suddenly appeared, the entire Primordial World was shrouded in dazzling golden light.

The divine senses of the Six Sages were completely submerged by the power of merit.

Yet in the next moment, Lu Changsheng actually destroyed all that trillion merits without the slightest pity!

This shocking sight left all who witnessed it beating their breasts in anguish. The Six Sages were even reduced to tears, their lifelong convictions collapsing with a boom.

Within Zixiao Palace, Dao Ancestor Hongjun was likewise dumbfounded.

Not to mention the Six Sages—even Hongjun, who had endured countless tribulations, had never witnessed such an anomaly.

Lu Changsheng's actions were simply incomprehensible!

He had actually buried a trillion merits with his own hands!

Could this man's mind have been damaged?

Hongjun could neither understand Lu Changsheng's motive nor believe that anyone would reject such a heaven-sent opportunity.

At the instant he watched the merit vanish, even the Dao Ancestor could not help but feel his mind tremble.

Unless one had gone mad after enduring countless tribulations, it was absolutely impossible to commit such an absurd act.

All living beings of the Primordial World were horrified.

They had thought that Lu Changsheng avoiding merit was already a violation of all reason. They had never expected his bottom line to be so unfathomably deep.

Yet Lu Changsheng himself paid no attention to the discussions of the masses. His heart was leaping with joy.

"Destroying merit gives me double compensation. That trillion merits turned into two trillion!"

"If I repeat this dozens of times, depleting my merits will be just around the corner."

"This plan is truly wonderful!"

His ecstatic appearance only made the living beings even more confused.

Could this Saint Changsheng really be mentally abnormal?

Just then, the system notification sounded in his sea of consciousness:

"Ding! The system's rules have been updated. Destroying merit will now grant double feedback. Two trillion merits are being issued to the host as a reward."

Upon hearing this, an even more fervent light burst from Lu Changsheng's eyes.

Lu Changsheng nearly shouted aloud: Deduct it! Hurry up and deduct it! Don't hold back on me!

The smile on his face gradually became strange.

However, when the system notification ended, Lu Changsheng's expression stiffened.

He fell silent.

His entire person was dumbfounded!

What was going on?

Had the system been repaired?

Why had it not repaired itself earlier or later? Why now of all times?

The moment he heard that he was being rewarded with two trillion merits, Lu Changsheng froze on the spot!

In a daze, he seemed to see a massive Golden Cloud of Merit hurtling toward him.

He wanted to flee, but he could not.

Lu Changsheng's face twisted, and he looked as if he were about to cry.

At that moment, countless living beings of the Primordial World exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding what was happening.

Why was Saint Changsheng so strange? One moment he was laughing, and the next he was crying.

Could he have gone mad?

The masses were baffled.

"No—!"

Just then, Lu Changsheng let out a thunderous roar, startling all living beings into trembling from head to toe.

The voice was utterly miserable, sending chills through their hearts.

"No! Why are you giving me so much merit? I only want to spend a hundred trillion merits. That's just one tiny wish!"

Lu Changsheng roared in despair!

Even in the sweltering heat, his entire body felt cold!

Could this world get any better?

I only wanted to spend a little merit. Why was it so difficult?

Yet his words caused the minds of all living beings in the Primordial World to shake violently!

Their mentalities completely collapsed!

Quite a few creatures spat out mouthfuls of old blood.

Listen to him—is that something a human would say?

Spending a hundred trillion merits, and he called that a tiny wish?

If they had not been unable to defeat him, billions upon billions of living beings would have swarmed him and beaten him up to vent their anger.

At that moment, even the Six Sages felt their scalps go numb and their hands itch, wanting to smash something.

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng's words are sincere. He doesn't seem to be pretending."

"But hearing those words really makes my hands itch!"

Tongtian clenched his fists, frustration building in his heart.

If he had not remembered that Lu Changsheng had mastered the Three Thousand Laws and possessed that terrifying Sacred Azure Tribulation Light, he truly would have been the first to rush over and punch him.

All living beings were stirred.

And Lu Changsheng was genuinely despairing.

He had thought he had found a shortcut...

Now, not only had the trillion merits he had previously spent gone completely to waste, but he had even incurred another trillion in debt.

The veins at Lu Changsheng's temples bulged.

This time, he had truly brought it upon himself.

"Stay calm, stay calm!"

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious!"

"It's only another trillion merits. No matter. I still have the great infrastructure project to spend merit on. At most, it'll just take a little longer."

After several emotional ups and downs, Lu Changsheng finally suppressed the turmoil in his heart and repeatedly consoled himself.

Then, an extremely radiant smile bloomed across his face.

Yet when this smile entered the eyes of the living beings of the Primordial World, their hearts inexplicably jolted in unison.

An ominous premonition quietly spread.

Just then, the masses saw Lu Changsheng open his mouth. The Chaotic Origin Laws trembled along with him, and his voice resounded throughout heaven and earth:

"From this day forward, Wuji Heaven shall establish a new rule: Any living being participating in world creation must complete the corresponding number of worlds within the designated period."

"One thousand years shall constitute a cycle.

"If a Saint creates fewer than ten worlds, their eligibility shall be revoked, and they shall not receive any rewards!"

"The rest shall follow the same principle: Quasi-Saints who create fewer than fifty, Great Firmament Immortals who create fewer than one hundred, and those below the Great Firmament level who create fewer than five hundred shall likewise be removed from the ranks and receive no rewards!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Primordial World trembled.

Countless living beings stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

No way!

You really are that skinflint Lu!

Are you trying to work us to death?

At that moment, the Six Sages high in the sky were also stunned.

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng, are you serious?"

The corners of Taiqing Saint's mouth twitched slightly, while the expressions of the other Saints beside him were much the same.

In an instant, those years of burying themselves in work and frantically creating worlds seemed to reappear before their eyes.

For a Saint, creating a world every time was no easy task.

If this continued indefinitely, even Saints would inevitably feel exhausted.

That was precisely why everyone's efficiency had gradually slowed later on. The merits were there anyway, and they would not grow legs and run away. There was no harm in taking things slowly.

But now that Lu Changsheng had issued this new rule, did they still want to slack off? Sorry, but they would directly lose their eligibility to receive merit!

This method would surely be effective, and their efficiency would definitely rise dramatically.

But it was also truly... insane!

Was this really necessary just to spend merit?

Lu Changsheng's words stirred up enormous waves throughout heaven and earth.

One great power of the Primordial World made a rough calculation. It would have been fine not to calculate, but the result left him horrified.

According to Lu Changsheng's arrangement, within a thousand years, they would likely spend ninety percent of their time merely creating worlds.

That left almost no time for cultivation!

Was there really any need to be so strict?

Lu, you skinflint!

This was practically forcing people into a dead end!

The Six Sages were shaken to their cores.

This was clearly treating all living beings of the Primordial World like livestock and driving them forward!

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng, is this arrangement perhaps somewhat unreasonable?"

Taiqing hesitated for a moment before speaking.

The other Saints beside him could not help nodding as well.

The living beings of the Primordial World also chimed in one after another:

"That's right, Saint Changsheng. We really feel that this isn't quite appropriate."

After all, the living beings of the Primordial World had always been accustomed to comfort.

They truly found it difficult to adapt to the plan Lu Changsheng had proposed!

Using ninety percent of their time to create worlds was simply too exhausting.

Thus, everyone began trying to persuade him.

As for giving up on creating worlds?

That was absolutely impossible.

No one was willing to miss out on such an easy way to earn merit.

It was just that they had previously been able to create worlds however they pleased.

Now they were being restricted, so it was naturally difficult to accept.

However,

after hearing everyone's words, Lu Changsheng shook his head and spoke with a solemn expression:

"I arranged things this way for your own good!"

"Could you have obtained merit this easily in the past? No, right?"

"Now I've given you such a wonderful opportunity, yet you don't know how to cherish it. It truly pains me."

"It's only a thousand years. An ordinary great power can sleep for tens of thousands of years at a time. To you, isn't time the least valuable thing of all?"

As soon as these words were spoken,

countless living beings were instantly stunned.

What he said seemed to make some sense.

Even the Six Sages were momentarily enlightened.

What he said was indeed true,

Time was indeed the cheapest thing they had.

Cultivating for a thousand years would barely bring them any progress,

but now, they could exchange a thousand years for merit—

Come to think of it, weren't we the ones who profited?

"Lu Changsheng, you're truly glib. Unfortunately, no matter what you say, you can't change the fact that you're exploiting the living beings of the primordial world."

Just then, a voice resounded throughout the primordial world.

Countless living beings turned to look.

Heavenly flowers rained down, golden lotuses emerged from the void, billions of divine rays shone brilliantly, and endless divine light flowed and glimmered.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun appeared, and his first words were a rebuke.

A sharp light flickered in his eyes. The moment Lu Changsheng established the rules, he had secretly rejoiced, feeling that he had finally seized an opportunity.

This was undoubtedly the perfect chance to suppress Lu Changsheng's prestige!

Dao Ancestor Hongjun immediately descended in person and shouted sternly:

"Lu Changsheng, you've gone too far! Do you think that having abundant merit means you can act recklessly?"

"Let me tell you, the living beings of the primordial world will never submit to your oppression!"

His words were righteous and his expression solemn, but inwardly, he was plotting to expose Lu Changsheng's disguise in front of everyone, allowing all living beings to see his true nature and thereby restore his own prestige.

Yet Lu Changsheng merely looked puzzled.

"Hongjun, shouldn't you be staying in Zixiao Palace? What are you doing here, interfering?"

"What does this have to do with you?"

Hongjun declared righteously, "I'm speaking up for justice! Today, I represent all living beings in questioning you!"

Lu Changsheng rolled his eyes at him, too lazy to argue. He merely said indifferently, "Heavenly Dao, strike him."