Exchanging for fourth-tier essence blood
"They only told me to go to the vicinity of Yangshang Town, not to go directly to Yangshang Town."
"This means Yangshang Town hasn't been taken yet," Lu Feng whispered.
"Grown ups?"
Seeing him standing still and muttering to himself, Ji Qingqing went up to him and asked him a question.
"Fine."
Lu Feng snapped out of his daze and said to the others,
"Go into the city first. Get some rest. There might be a new mission soon."
The group quickened their pace and headed towards the city gate.
The checks at the city gate were much stricter than before. Two Grandmaster stood guard on either side of the gate, checking each token one by one.
After Lu Feng and his companions showed their identities, they were questioned carefully for a few more minutes before being allowed to pass.
Upon entering the city, pedestrians hurried along the streets.
Many people carried their bags and hurried towards the city gate, their faces showing barely concealed tension.
Lu Feng glanced around a few times, then, without lingering, led Ji Qingqing and the others straight towards their residence.
As soon as he arrived outside the tent area, he saw a familiar figure standing in front of a tent.
It was Lu Shuang, who had her arms crossed, as if she had been waiting for a while.
"You should go and heal your wounds first."
Lu Feng gave instructions to Ji Qingqing and the others.
The others responded and returned to their tents before he walked towards Lu Shuang.
Lu Shuang turned around, glanced at him, and without any further pleasantries, directly lifted the tent flap and went inside.
Lu Feng followed him inside.
"You received Uncle Xiao's message too?"
"Hmm. Let me hide near Yangshang Town."
"Me too. I guess Uncle Xiao and the others abandoned Severed Cloud Pass in order to seize Yangshang Town..."
"No need to guess, that's how it is." Lu Feng interrupted her.
"But Yangshang Town probably hasn't been captured yet. Otherwise, the adults would have sent us directly to Yangshang Town instead of finding a secluded place nearby to hide first."
Lu Shuang glanced at him but did not refute him.
She paused for a moment, then asked, "When do we set off?"
"I don't know. There are still so many people in the city; the higher-ups probably won't abandon Severed Cloud Pass now. Let's wait and see."
There was another reason why Lu Feng didn't leave in a hurry.
He always felt that the tiger demon's identity was not simple.
They initially ordered everyone to hold their ground, but now that the tiger Demon King is dead...
The third line of defense was held, but the higher-ups showed no intention of continuing to defend Severed Cloud Pass. Instead, they moved their troops towards Yangshang Town.
Putting these two things together, the answer becomes clear.
"Oh right, the points rankings are out, and you're in first place." Lu Shuang suddenly remembered something and took out a token from her bosom, waving it around.
"Is that all?"
Lu Feng was somewhat surprised.
The competition was already settled before the demonic beasts were even driven out of Yongzhou?
"I'm not entirely sure what they're thinking either."
"However, besides rankings, points can also be exchanged for merit points. The exchange rate is one-to-one."
"Is this for real?"
Lu Feng's heart skipped a beat.
He was worried that he didn't have enough fourth-tier demon beast essence blood. If he could exchange his points for merit points, and then use those merit points to exchange for essence blood, he would have a good chance of reaching the fourth level of the Hundred Beasts Body-Tempering Art.
"What? What do you want to change to?"
"I need a large amount of fourth-tier demonic beast essence blood to cultivate a certain technique." Lu Feng did not hide anything.
"Come on, I'll go with you. If you need more, I'll lend you some."
Lu Shuang spoke decisively and turned to walk out.
Lu Feng stared at her retreating figure, momentarily stunned.
When did this cold-faced swordsman become so generous?
Without thinking too much, he quickly followed and headed towards the Merit Hall in the city.
When the two arrived at the Merit Hall, there were already quite a few people inside.
In addition to the disciples of the Demon-Slaying Bureau Division of the West City headquarters, Jiang Han, Lin Jingfeng, and other disciples from the outer city were also present.
The hall was bustling with people exchanging merit points, handing over missions, and gathering information.
As soon as Lu Feng and Lu Shuang entered the room, several pairs of eyes turned to them.
"Lu Feng! You're finally back! Congratulations on taking first place at the Hua Jin Realm."
Jiang Han was the first to greet him, a smile on his face.
"Congratulations."
Lin Jingfeng echoed, his tone still stiff, but completely different from his arrogant demeanor at Drunken Immortal House.
"When do you plan to leave for Yangshang Town?" Lu Shuang asked the group.
"You'll just exchange your merits for your freedom and leave. What about you?"
Jiang Han replied, and the others also received the message. They prepared to leave after collecting their points and merits.
Lu Shuang turned to look at Lu Feng.
Lu Feng shook his head, offering no clear answer.
After exchanging a few polite words in the lobby, the group parted ways.
Jiang Han and Lin Jingfeng headed towards the pills section, while Lu Feng and Lu Shuang went straight to the materials section.
There was only one steward at the counter in the materials area, who was busy organizing ledgers.
Seeing the two approach, the butler looked up and asked a professional question:
What do you two need?
"I need sixty-eight portions of fourth-tier demonic beast blood essence. Can I choose them myself?"
"Fourth-tier essence blood, one hundred merit points per piece, you can choose." The deacon nodded after quoting the price.
Lu Feng then walked to the display shelf of blood essence and examined each item one by one.
He already possesses the essence blood of thirty-two fourth-tier demonic beasts. He only needs to add another sixty-eight different types to complete the full one hundred types required for the fourth level of the Hundred Beasts Body-Tempering Art.
He picked them out quickly and skillfully, selecting sixty-eight bottles in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
He then handed the points token to the steward.
The deacon took the token, glanced down at it, and paused for a moment.
33,200 points.
It's important to know that although the Western Slaughter Division doesn't award points, many people still participate and earn merit.
At most, he knew only a few thousand merits.
The deacon raised his head again, his face showing more respect, and his tone was much more polite than before:
"Please wait a moment, sir."
With a wave of his hand, he deducted 6,800 points and handed the token back with both hands.
What else does the adult need?
Do you have any fifth-tier demon beast essence blood?
"Yes! One fifth-tier essence blood costs one thousand merit points."
One thousand per share, Lu Feng quickly did the math in his head.
He doesn't have a single piece of fifth-tier essence blood right now. To collect the 100 kinds required for the fifth level of the Hundred Beasts Body-Tempering Art, he would need 100,000 merit points.
He still has 26,400 left, which is far from enough.
Do you accept low-level essence blood?
Lu Feng remembered that he still had a considerable amount of second- and third-tier demonic beast essence blood on him.
"Received! One second-tier merit point, one third-tier merit point."
Lu Feng had accumulated over two thousand portions of second-tier essence blood and dozens of portions of third-tier essence blood.
He had given all the first-tier materials to Ji Qingqing and the others, letting them exchange them for cultivation resources.
Then all the second- and third-tier essence blood were placed on the counter.
The deacon counted them one by one, and finally announced a number, "Two thousand eight hundred merits."
Adding to the original 26,400, the total is 29,200.
Just then, Lu Shuang, who was beside him, suddenly spoke up.
"Exchange mine for a medal of honor as well."
She took out jade bottles from her storage bag and placed them on the counter.
The steward finished counting. "One thousand five hundred merit points."
"Plus the 16,000+ points I have, it's all yours."
"I don't want to change it; keeping it is a waste."
Lu Shuang took out her points token and handed it to Lu Feng.
"Thank you." Lu Feng did not refuse and merged the two people's points and essence merits.
Fifty-five thousand meritorious deeds.
He selected fifty-five different types of fifth-tier demonic beast blood essence and stored them in his storage bag.