Fleecing the System

[You can choose one item from the first three pages of the shop.]

The system remained silent for a long while before speaking.

Shen Ranxi raised an eyebrow. It seemed the system was determined to get this bead. This thing was very important to it.

The items on the first three pages of the shop were not bad either. The cheapest item on the third page cost at least five thousand Merit Points.

Logically, the system had helped her before, and she really should have known when to stop, but...

Haha, she was not some understanding, considerate person. Chances to fleece the system did not come often. If she did not fleece it to her heart's content, was she still Shen Ranxi?

The System Shop's prices were outrageously expensive! How many Evil Soul Masters could she kill to earn Merit Points before reaching Level Forty? Why were they called Evil Soul Masters? Because they followed crooked paths, and their cultivation rose ridiculously fast!

Thinking of this, Shen Ranxi flashed a toothy grin. "System, I'm not asking for an exorbitant price. Let me choose one item from the fourth page, and give me ten thousand Merit Points!"

The system remained silent for ages. Just as she was about to ask whether it agreed, a sound of mechanical short-circuiting crackled by her ear... crackle... crackle...

...No way, had it short-circuited from anger? Was the system really that fragile? Shen Ranxi felt a little uneasy. She had only pushed it the tiniest bit, no bigger than a fingernail.

Shen Ranxi said, "System, you're not actually mad, are you? If not, then..." They could negotiate a little more.

She did not get to finish the latter half, because the system interrupted her.

[Host, I requested approval from my superiors. Your demands have been approved! They cannot be changed again!!!]

That tone...

You were the one who missed your chance... this has nothing to do with me!

She happily agreed. "Don't forget my Twenty Consecutive Draws."

The system said, "..."

What a greedy human!

[Give me the bead!]

"I haven't picked my items yet. What if you take it and go back on your word?"

[Please do not question the system's integrity. The system is a higher-dimensional life-form and would never do such a thing!]

Her anger had even made that mechanical voice sound a little exasperated.

"Oh my, you really can't take a joke. Look how mad you are. Of course I believe you!" Shen Ranxi did not dare push it too hard. She still hoped there would be more good deals like this in the future.

She had never intended to use that bead in the first place. No matter what divine artifact it was, she would never use something that devoured life! She would never forget how everyone in the village had died!

She had originally been worried about what to do with it. She could not destroy it, yet she was afraid someone else might pick it up.

She gave the bead to the system. She planned to go back, bathe, and burn incense before drawing the prizes. Hopefully, seeing how sincere she was, it would give her something good.

First, she would see what the first four pages of the shop contained...

After looking through them, she sorted them into four categories: pills, artifacts, cultivation methods, and technology.

Pill Section

[Heaven Grade Nine Revolutions Rebirth Pill]

Price: Merit Points

Effect: After death, revive on the spot at full health. Lose memories for half a year. Cooldown: 24 hours.

[Ripening Fluid (Limited to 1 drop/day)]

Price: 1,000 Merit Points

Effect: Any spirit plant's age +1,000 years.

[Breakthrough Candy]

Price: 999 Merit Points/10 pieces

Effect: Melts upon entering the mouth. The consumer ignores bottlenecks and advances three levels in a row, but will randomly have diarrhea for half a shichen.

[Beauty Pill]

Price: 999 Merit Points

Effect: After consumption, it is as though ten levels of beauty enhancement have been applied.

Artifact Section

[Reincarnation Sword Array]

Price: 40,000 Merit Points

Effect: A sword array formed from twelve high-grade swords. Can block the attacks of a Titled Douluo.

[Mountain River Society Map - Homestay Type]

Price: 50,000 Merit Points

Contains 1,000 mu of spirit fields + 3 sea-view cave residences. Time flow rate ×2.

[Disposable Substitute Grass Doll]

Price: 50,000 Merit Points

Description: Blocks one fatal strike from anyone below Titled Douluo. Burns away after use. Environmentally friendly and pollution-free.

Cultivation Method Section

Soul Tool Crafting Method

Price: 300 Merit Points

Effect: Methods for crafting various advanced Soul Tools.

Hide the Sky and Cross the Sea

Price: 3,999 Merit Points

Effect: A concealment cultivation method with six levels. Once cultivated to mastery, it allows you to remain hidden for five minutes right under the nose of someone four levels higher than you.

You Have It? Hand It Over

Price: 100,000 Merit Points

Effect: Instantly copy one divine ability from an enemy up to three major realms above you, depending randomly on your luck. Limited to once per day. Duration: three days.

Formless Heart Sutra First Volume

Price: 100,000 Merit Points

Effect: All forms are illusory; if one sees that all forms are not forms, then that is the true form.

Transform Appearance Sever Karma—based on the internal heavenly cycle, it also silently tempers the physical body. It acts upon the body and can be divided into the "Three Appearances," each with six minor stages:

Formless Blood: Blood like an empty abyss, immune to all toxins.

Physical benefits: When the blood flows, it briefly becomes "formless." Toxins, parasitic insects, and curse particles pass directly through the body without leaving a trace.

Formless Bone: Bones give rise to empty forms, reforged yet unbreakable.

Physical benefits: Bone weight decreases by 40%, greatly increasing speed and agility. When struck heavily, the surface of the bones instantly becomes "hollow," evenly dispersing the impact throughout the body and reducing the risk of fractures by 90%.

Formless Body: The organs share one breath, becoming a world of their own.

Physical benefits: The five internal organs can instantly shift three cun within the body to evade fatal piercing attacks. After the lungs become "formless," they can be projected outward to form a "vacuum barrier" with a radius of one zhang. Any enemy technique entering it is forcibly stripped of its "attributes" and turned into the most primordial spiritual energy. Upon reaching great completion, the heart can temporarily stop beating for the duration of one incense stick without causing death, entering a state of "False Stillness."

When she reached the final Heart Method, she opened its detailed description. Shen Ranxi's eyes widened when she saw the contents. This thing was so powerful. Wasn't this exactly the Heart Method Great Sage had given her?!

Aaaaah—

Great Sage, you're incredible!!! I love you to death!!

He had given her something this good!

She had to carefully consider which one to choose. The most expensive one was not necessarily the most suitable for her.

She needed to choose the one that would help her the most at her current stage.

Shen Ranxi thought for a moment... forget it, she would not buy anything yet. What if the Twenty Consecutive Draws gave her the item she wanted to buy? Then she could save another huge batch of Merit Points... Besides, it did not hurt to dream a little for now... Thinking this, Shen Ranxi could not help but smile.

Shen Ranxi said, "Feifei, take out Big Ox and have it keep watch tonight. I really can't hold on any longer."

It was not that Shen Ranxi lacked vigilance. The Soul Returning Tree's skill was simply too useful. It was practically a defense divine body chosen by heaven.

Because striking the Soul Returning Tree's trunk produced a sound similar to a cow's roar, Shen Ranxi named it Big Ox. She did not know whether the Soul Returning Tree was a Soul Beast, because Feifei could not smell any aura from this world on it.

Big Ox had an honest temperament. It did not mind such a rustic name at all.

The Soul Returning Tree came with a domain—Abyssal Soul Return. It could deploy a domain with a radius of ten meters all around it.

Any living creature that entered the domain would fall into a soul-lost state, muddled and dazed, until Big Ox withdrew the domain.

It only had two skills:

Abyssal Attraction: Whenever a life-form within the domain suffered severe injuries or died, the Soul Returning Tree absorbed its dissipating soul and converted it into "Abyssal Breath." Abyssal Breath could strengthen the tree's self-healing ability, or instantly bloom into "Soul Ember Flowers," inflicting soul-burning damage on enemies within range.

Remnant Soul Rebirth: If an allied unit died within the domain, its soul would be temporarily imprisoned by the roots.