I'll Send You Off with Merit!

Lu Changsheng was like an ancient god of slaughter.

He did not pursue them. Instead, he slowly raised his right claw, wreathed in golden flames, and a trace of frenzied resolve flashed through his eyes.

"I'll send you off with merit!"

He swung his arm with all his might.

The sliver of Great Dao Merit he had forcibly extracted did not transform into some dazzling divine killing technique

Instead, he used it as a hidden weapon, splitting it into three blinding streaks of golden light that hurtled toward the three fleeing figures at an unbelievable speed.

The Phoenix Clan elder and the two surviving Dragon Clan soldiers were fleeing for their lives, their protective astral qi and Escape Lights pushed to the limit.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The golden light struck their surging protective mana with ease.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any heart-rending pain.

But in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial Land, these three blood-soaked Mystic Immortals using their protective demonic power to forcibly resist and consume that streak of golden light was an unforgivable crime!

Damage Great Dao Merit, and boundless karmic sin will follow!

In an instant, the Calamity Sha Mist churning above Phoenix Fall Valley was swept away, and the heavens turned black as ink.

Karmic sin so dense it became tangible appeared from nowhere, like countless icy chains. It wound tightly around the three of them, locking the surrounding space solid.

"This... this is the karmic sin of heavenly retribution?!"

Feeling the destructive will that stood above all living beings, the Phoenix Clan elder stiffened all over and looked up in despair.

"Rumble!"

Heavenly might descended.

Three bolts of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, each as thick as a water vat and carrying the merciless will to erase all cause and effect, suddenly crashed down from the ninth heaven!

"No!"

The Phoenix Clan elder, fleeing at the front, only had time to let out a piercing scream.

Under the crushing force of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning's heavenly retribution, their bodies, magic treasures, and even their primordial spirits shattered in an instant into the most fundamental particles of spiritual energy, vanishing into the world.

Their bodies and spirits were utterly destroyed.

Not a trace remained.

"Phew..."

Watching the three Mystic Immortals be completely erased from the world by the heavenly lightning,

the golden flames around Lu Changsheng went out in an instant.

His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees. Gasping for breath, he turned as pale as gold paper.

"Cough, cough..."

Lu Changsheng coughed up a mouthful of dark golden blood, feeling wave after wave of weakness sweep through him.

The expenditure of that sliver of Great Dao Merit had directly dropped him from the mid-stage of the True Immortal realm to the early stage. Even the foundation he had only just stabilized showed signs of wavering.

The price was certainly no small one.

"Worth it."

Lu Changsheng weakly tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Compared to exposing the secret of the Mysterious Yellow Shield, the price of losing a little cultivation was something he could easily bear.

At worst, he could go back and cultivate in seclusion for another hundred thousand years. He would make it all back eventually.

"Kill, loot, and strike it rich..."

Lu Changsheng forced himself to his feet.

He did not rush to heal his injuries. Instead, dragging his exhausted body, he began to clean up the battlefield.

Those who followed the Dao of Cowardice not only had to know how to lie low; they also had to know how to erase the evidence and leave no trouble behind.

Although the four Mystic Immortals had been blasted to ash by the heavenly lightning, their storage pouches and several damaged weapons had survived, thanks to the Mysterious Yellow Shield's deliberate protection.

Lu Changsheng looted every last one of these spoils.

Then he began what could only be called a textbook cleanup.

First, burn the bodies and scatter the ashes.

Although the bodies were already gone, he still used Pure Yang Fire to burn the places where they had died seven times over, making sure not even a trace of their scent or lingering laws remained.

Second, purify the surroundings.

He controlled Cowardly Immortal Vine and reorganized the spiritual energy disrupted by the battle's shock waves. He even used a precious Purifying Water Talisman to wash away the stench of blood in the area.

Third, turn over the earth.

Lu Changsheng performed the Earth Escape Technique and forcibly turned over the earth for a hundred li in every direction, digging down thirty feet!

He buried all the surface soil that might bear traces of the fight deep underground.

He went through the entire process in one smooth, practiced motion—so practiced it was almost heartbreaking.

Once he was done, the ruins looked like a naturally formed meteor crater. No one could tell that a brutal battle had taken place here, where a True Immortal had killed four Mystic Immortals against all odds.

Just then,

a faint yet pure golden light suddenly descended from the heavens and silently sank into Lu Changsheng's brow.

"Hm?"

Lu Changsheng paused slightly, then immediately sank his consciousness into his dantian and discovered that it was a small cluster of merit bestowed by the Heavenly Dao.

He was first taken aback, but quickly understood.

His cleanup had not only purified the lingering Tribulation Sha Qi left behind by the Phoenix Clan elder and the others; he had also, in passing, restored the disrupted Earth Vein and spiritual energy.

His actions had inadvertently aligned with the Heavenly Dao's workings as it repaired the Primordial Land, so the Heavenly Dao had bestowed a little merit upon him in return.

Although this cluster of Heavenly Dao Merit was a mere cup of water compared to the sliver of Great Dao Merit he had just paid so dearly to expend,

at least it helped recoup some of his losses, easing the heartache that had nearly made his heart bleed.

"The Heavenly Dao's still fair. At least I wasn't made to do all this filthy cleanup work for nothing."

Lu Changsheng inspected the area once more, and only after confirming that he had left no loose ends did he finally let out a long breath.

He patted the bulging spoils at his waist and glanced at the Mysterious Yellow Shield floating above his head again.

Although he had paid a terrible price,

this trip had earned him a top-grade defensive Innate Spirit Treasure, a fortune in the possessions of dead Mystic Immortals, and even a little merit for cleaning up the battlefield.

"The Primordial Land is too dangerous. Home is best."

Lu Changsheng lingered no longer. He plastered his entire body with Breath Concealment Talismans and activated the Mysterious Yellow Shield's ability to conceal cause and effect to its fullest.

Turning into an inconspicuous earthen-yellow Escape Light, he plunged underground.

He was desperate to get home.

The journey out had spanned eighty thousand li and taken him a full thousand years.

On the way back, with the Mysterious Yellow Shield's protection, he took less than a hundred years to catch sight of that same barren Nameless Low Mountain again.

When the heavy stone door slammed shut behind him,

and the three thousand layers of the Mysterious Yellow Pure Yang Array activated once more, completely sealing the cave dwelling off from the outside world,

Lu Changsheng toppled onto the White Jade Cloud Bed with a thud.

"I made it back alive..."

He murmured to himself, the corners of his eyes even turning damp.

Only after experiencing a fight to the death could one truly appreciate the supreme sense of security this fortress of an array provided.

He swore that until he broke through to the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm... no, until he broke through to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm,

even if Dao Ancestor Hongjun gave a lecture on the Great Dao outside, he would not take one step beyond this door!

Just as Lu Changsheng fell into a deep sleep, intending to spend the long years ahead replenishing the source he had lost,

he had no idea

that several hundred years after he left,

the shattered Xiantian Micro Spiritual Cave received a true powerhouse.

An old man in a gray robe with a gaunt, haggard face appeared silently at the edge of Phoenix Fall Valley.

The old man gave off no pressure whatsoever. Yet the terrifying Tribulation Sha Qi around him seemed to encounter its natural bane whenever it came within three feet of him, retreating in every direction.

"Strange..."