Restoring Its Grade, Gaining a Treasure

Li Zhengyuan looked at the Heavenly Dao Merit above his head and was overjoyed. That mass of Merit looked hazy and chaotic, spanning more than a dozen mu as it gathered overhead.

There was no small amount of Merit here. If he used it to raise his cultivation, he might perhaps reach the Dao Fruit realm. He was currently only a Half-step Dao Lord and still lacked a strand of Innate Fire Qi before he could refine the Five Qi within his chest.

Using Merit to improve one's cultivation brought no side effects at all. It would never lead to unstable mana. Raising one's cultivation with Merit was a method permitted by the Dao of Heaven, a proper path. The resulting realm would be incomparably solid. If one cultivated with Merit while breaking through, it could make that realm exceptionally firm and grant greater insight into the Dao rhythms of heaven and earth.

Li Zhengyuan hesitated. Should he use so much Merit to raise his cultivation, or save it for later?

After all, he was immensely envious of the Merit Golden Wheel and Merit Auspicious Cloud of later ages!

Just as Li Zhengyuan furrowed his brow in deep thought, he suddenly saw the incomparably heavy iron lock before him slowly rise into the air, hovering lightly as though it had lost all weight.

At the same time, the Lost Soul Bell, which had been quietly resting within his Purple Abode, flew out of its own accord beyond his control!

"Hm? What is going on?" Li Zhengyuan was utterly bewildered. He widened his eyes and stared fixedly at everything before him. Before he could make sense of the situation, he noticed that the Merit above his head had suddenly decreased by a full two-thirds!

"Ah!" Li Zhengyuan cried out in shock. Just as he was about to howl, he suddenly discovered that the Lost Soul Bell before him had begun to undergo a wondrous transformation.

The originally incomparably hard iron lock rapidly melted away. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into twelve dazzling Innate Restrictions. Refined by the endlessly pouring power of Merit, these Innate Restrictions moved like nimble fish as they gradually merged into the Lost Soul Bell.

As time passed, the aura emitted by the Lost Soul Bell grew increasingly powerful, while its origin became more and more complete under the nourishment of Merit. Finally, when all the Innate Restrictions had fully merged into it, the Lost Soul Bell firmly reached the peak grade of a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, becoming a rare treasure unmatched in the world!

Unable to suppress his excitement, Li Zhengyuan immediately raised a hand and beckoned. As if possessed of intelligence, the Lost Soul Bell instantly flew back into his hand. He cautiously sent his divine sense into it for a careful inspection, and wild joy immediately appeared on his face!

It turned out that a magic treasure refined through Merit did not require its owner to spend ages refining its restrictions. At this moment, all forty-seven restrictions within the Lost Soul Bell had already been opened.

In other words, as long as he performed a simple binding ritual, he would be able to wield this magic treasure as he pleased, saving himself millions of years of arduous effort!

Overcome with delight, Li Zhengyuan did not dare delay. He promptly used his divine ability to store all the remaining Merit above his head within the Earth Book for safekeeping against future need.

Only then did the Treasure-Seeking Rat appear at his side. It stepped forward, knelt down, and cried, "Great Immortal, spare my life! This little beast knows no propriety and failed to recognize Great Immortal. I beg Great Immortal to forgive my offense!" Then it repeatedly kowtowed and bowed in worship.

Li Zhengyuan found the Treasure-Seeking Rat rather amusing. He had nearly forgotten about it during the great battle just now and had assumed it had long since died amid the chaos. After all, during a battle of magical arts, the slightest carelessness could draw one into the aftershocks, where one might be crushed to death or wiped out.

Yet it was still completely unharmed. It seemed to possess considerable fortune, enough to turn calamity into safety.

So he scrutinized it again, only to discover that it seemed to share a faint connection and entanglement with him. He calculated the heavenly secrets once more. After some divination, Li Zhengyuan could not help but smile wryly. It turned out that this little creature shared a fate of master and disciple with him.

Thus, he said, "All right, stop kowtowing. I have calculated that you are fated to be with me. Are you willing to follow me and serve as an attendant?"

Upon hearing this, the Treasure-Seeking Rat immediately replied, "Willing, willing! This little beast is more than willing! Many thanks, Master, for taking me in!"

"Do you have a name?" Li Zhengyuan asked.

"Reporting to Master, this little beast has neither name nor surname and is willing to abide by Master's arrangements." The Treasure-Seeking Rat seized the opportunity to ask Li Zhengyuan to bestow a name upon it.

Li Zhengyuan considered calling it Duobao, but then he thought again. Duobao was the future disciple of Lord Tongtian—how could it possibly enter under his own sect? Besides, he had never heard that any of his future disciples had been transformed from a Treasure-Seeking Rat.

After pondering for a while longer, he said, "When you take human form someday, I shall bestow upon you a name and Dao title, so that you may travel the Primordial World." The Treasure-Seeking Rat offered another round of grateful bows.

Li Zhengyuan then cleaned up the battlefield once more. Using his mana, he restored and repaired the shattered stones and mountains one by one. Tens of thousands of mountains stood neatly together and settled back into this place. He also soothed the earth veins somewhat, since the earth qi had been greatly depleted during the battle.