"A Rainbow Merit Fish, a grand prize of one billion."
Since news about it had already spread everywhere and everyone was discussing it, Lu Yang didn't have to put in much effort to understand the whole story. It turned out there was a permanent special mission within the Primordial Saint Sect called "Accumulating Merit."
The location was beneath the Sacred Flame Cliff, deep within the sea of clouds, at a treasured land called the Merit Pool. Inside the pool was a unique spiritual beast known as the Merit Fish. The fish came in five colors: white, blue, purple, golden, and rainbow.
The closer to rainbow the color, the more abundant the Merit Fish's essence qi. Consuming it could not only improve the quality of one's True Qi but even had the effect of breaking through bottlenecks. The so-called "Accumulating Merit" mission was born from this.
This mission was limited to one attempt per person per month. One would first blindly pick a number, then pay 10 contribution points to take the Merit Fish corresponding to that number. However, the 10 contribution points paid by the cultivator would not be collected by the Saint Sect.
Instead, they were added to the Merit Pool's account. A high-ranking member of the Saint Sect had specifically explained this: whoever could select the single Rainbow Merit Fish in the Merit Pool would win all the contribution points inside it! From the day this mission was posted until now, nearly a hundred years had passed.
But in a hundred years, not a single person had chosen the Rainbow Merit Fish. The result was that the contribution points in the pool accumulated more and more, already reaching an astronomical figure.
"One billion! One billion!"
In the rocking chair, the old man was still muttering in a low voice, his tone full of envy, jealousy, and hate. Just yesterday, the super grand prize of this "Merit Pool Lottery" was finally won, and the disciple who got it had not even been in the sect for ten days.
A prize pool a hundred years in the making was taken by a newcomer who had been here for less than ten days! No wonder the old man of the Scripture Pavilion felt so disgruntled. After all, a portion of that one-billion-point grand prize came from his own participation in the Merit Pool mission over the years.
Not to mention that while receiving the one-billion-point grand prize from the Merit Pool, that Xiao Shiye also obtained the most precious Rainbow Merit Fish. After consuming it, he broke through from the first level of Qi Refining to Qi Refining Perfection overnight.
He has now been accepted as a disciple by a Daoist Master in the sect and is in secluded cultivation, preparing to break through to Foundation Establishment. Such a turn of events made even Lu Yang show a look of envy. But his expression quickly changed.
Because that lucky fellow, Xiao Shiye, did not hide the number he chose when he drew the Rainbow Merit Fish.
"2025113" Looking at this number, Lu Yang couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
Just as Lu Yang firmly committed this string of numbers to memory, preparing to use it in his next life, a graceful figure suddenly walked in from outside the Scripture Pavilion.
"Junior Brother Lu?"
Lu Yang looked up at the sound and immediately recognized the other person. It was none other than Fairy Qingchen. She also seemed quite surprised, a hint of pleasant surprise from the chance encounter on her pretty face.
"Oh, it's Qingchen. Is it time?"
The old man of the Scripture Pavilion also saw Fairy Qingchen. His previously bored expression instantly turned serious. He stood up and said, "Then let's set off quickly."
"Senior Brother, are you also going to explore the cave residence?"
Lu Yang asked curiously.
"What else?" the old man from the Scripture Pavilion said irritably.
"I just lost a huge sum of money. If I don't find some side work, I'll have nothing but the northwest wind to drink!"
"Lost a huge sum of money?"
"Sigh, it was my carelessness," the old man sighed.
"A while ago, the Saint Sect had a great battle with the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion from South of the River."
"The Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion came prepared and forcibly seized a mass grave belonging to the Saint Sect in the south."
"The 'Death-Substituting Yin Skeletons' produced in that mass grave are very precious wondrous treasures. With the mass grave seized, their price within the Saint Sect immediately soared."
"At first, everyone was hoarding them. Out of caution, I watched from the sidelines for a while."
"Later, I saw that the price was indeed only rising and not falling. Feeling the opportunity was fleeting, I finally made a move and hoarded a batch from others at a high price."
Speaking of this, the old man of the Scripture Pavilion was overcome with grief, slapping his thigh in regret.
"Who would have thought, I had just finished hoarding my stock when news came that the Saint Sect launched a counterattack and had reclaimed the mass grave. As a result, the price that had just shot up instantly plummeted, falling even below the original price!"
Lu Yang: "..."
"But thankfully, there's Qingchen."
The old man sighed for a moment, then quickly pulled himself together and exclaimed, "Qingchen is such a good person." Fairy Qingchen smiled shyly, "Senior Brother, you praise me too much."
"I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart," the old man said sincerely.
"If you hadn't recommended Senior Brother Zhao to me, I'm afraid I wouldn't have even been able to get my principal back."
"It was just a small effort," Fairy Qingchen said modestly.
"Senior Brother Zhao happened to need a batch of Death-Substituting Yin Skeletons, and Senior Brother, you had a batch hoarded. Qingchen was just there at the right time. I only hope that when we explore the cave residence later, if there is something Qingchen fancies, Senior Brother can help me out a little."
Senior Brother Zhao...
Zhao Xuhe?
Lu Yang's heart stirred slightly.
"By the way, Junior Brother Lu."
Only then did Fairy Qingchen seem to remember Lu Yang, turning her head to look over.
"About this exploration of the cave residence, is Junior Brother really not planning to go with us?"
"... I must be a laughingstock to Senior Sister."
Lu Yang shook his head and said, "Junior Brother has just entered the sect and is weak and powerless. I only want to focus on cultivation. Exploring a cave residence is too dangerous.
I truly lack the strength even if I have the will."
"Kid, I don't like hearing you say that."
The old man of the Scripture Pavilion shook his head.
"Focus on cultivation? For ordinary disciples like us with no money and no power, just burying our heads in cultivation will lead to no Immortal Path."
"Immortal cultivation is inherently an act of defying the heavens. If you don't take risks, how can your cultivation level advance by leaps and bounds?"
"When everyone else is afraid and wants to retreat, that's when you should be brave enough to try, to strive. Only then can you seize the opportunity!"
Be greedy when others are fearful, huh? No wonder you went bankrupt. No matter how eloquently the old man of the Scripture Pavilion spoke, Lu Yang tactfully refused, angering the man so much that he threw out a "rotten wood cannot be carved" and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Fairy Qingchen didn't press the matter further. She only gave Lu Yang a deep look before also turning to leave. She went with the old man to a hidden cave residence on Heaven Mending Peak, had him wait in the outer courtyard, and then walked into the inner courtyard, arriving before a Cultivation Chamber.
After a short while, the door to the Cultivation Chamber opened, and Zhao Xuhe strolled out.
"Failed again? He still didn't agree?"
Zhao Xuhe listened to Fairy Qingchen's account, his brow gradually furrowing.
"His Dao heart is truly firm. Oh well, it's no great loss without him."
"Senior Brother, I think there's something wrong with this person."
Fairy Qingchen bit her silver teeth.
"The life lamps of my three paramours have gone out. I sent them to kill that fellow last night... it seems they failed."
"Senior Brother, you know as well as I do, my three paramours were all at the third level of Qi Refining. For Lu Yang to be able to kill them... could it be that he's already at the middle stage of cultivation?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Zhao Xuhe shook his head without hesitation.
"Breaking through a bottleneck is easier said than done. In just a few days, the most he could do is break through to the third level of Qi Refining. It's impossible for him to have reached the middle stage."
"You don't need to be so suspicious. I've checked his purchase records."
"He bought so many Great Primal Energy Pills. If he took them regardless of the cost, reaching the third level of Qi Refining wouldn't be surprising. As for your three paramours..."
"He took out a cultivation technique loan to buy a Divine Ability, the Divine Firmament Sword-Riding True Art from the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion."
Zhao Xuhe meticulously analyzed the situation.
"If he is exceptionally talented and has high comprehension in the way of the sword, allowing him to quickly master the sword arts, then it wouldn't be strange for him to slay your three paramours."
"That... Senior Brother is right."
Fairy Qingchen pondered for a moment and felt that Zhao Xuhe's analysis was more reasonable. After all, she had personally experienced how difficult the middle-stage bottleneck was back then. It had taken her nearly ten years to barely break through.
To say that a newly-entered disciple broke through in less than a month... unless he was a reincarnated Daoist Master, it was simply an impossible fantasy.
"Alright, we'll talk about this later."
Zhao Xuhe waved his hand, a cold glint in his eyes.
"First, let's handle the 'cave residence' matter. Have you gathered everyone?"
"They're all gathered."
Fairy Qingchen nodded.
"Especially Wang Borong from the Scripture Pavilion. Senior Brother, since you bought his Death-Substituting Yin Skeletons, he trusts us a lot now."
"Good."
Zhao Xuhe gave a cold smile.
"My Saint Sect has always produced a wealth of talent. Whether I can make a huge profit this time will all depend on these junior and senior brothers of mine..."
(End of this chapter)