[Ding, the Disciple’s Merit Return System has officially opened.]
[Disciples’ merit points will be numerized, and the merit return rate is 20%.]
[Ding, your disciple Xiao Fan has slain five heretic cultivators, gaining 100,000 merit points, and you have received 20,000 merit points in return.]
Suddenly, a notification appeared on the Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator, and, following the Dual Cultivation System, another function had been activated.
Now, Lu Changsheng could see the exact amount of merit returned by each of his disciples.
“Hmm?”
Lu Changsheng even saw the merit required for the growth of the Heavenly Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.
To elevate the Heavenly Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda from the twentieth to the twenty-first layer, one hundred million merit points are needed.
In other words, Xiao Fan would need to perform 5,000 similar acts of kindness, and the returned merit would then be sufficient for the Heavenly Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda to grow into the twenty-first layer golden pagoda.
Fortunately, Lu Changsheng had ten disciples, and each one of them, in their daily accumulation of good deeds, provided a substantial amount of returned merit.
Invisible merit, seemingly of no use to an ordinary cultivator, is vital for those in possession of Merit Treasures.
Legends say that saints, to a greater or lesser extent, all have a Merit Treasure close to them, eventually becoming their exclusive Path Comprehension Treasure.
Lu Changsheng also had an exquisite top-grade Ultimate Treasure “Eighteen-Rank Merit Golden Lotus,” which was another Merit Treasure.
However, Lu Changsheng had no intention of Refining this treasure but planned to bestow it to Lu Qinglian after she ascended to a Half-Step Great Luo Golden Immortal.
The Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and the Merit Golden Lotus were both defensive Merit Treasures. If he intended to cultivate the Merit Golden Lotus, the merit used to cultivate the Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda would inevitably decrease by half. It would be better to allocate it to his disciples to cultivate the Merit Golden Lotus.
The Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator was truly defying the heavens, as it could even return merit.
Logically speaking, since a disciple is taught by the master to perform righteous deeds, a portion of the merit naturally belongs to the master.
“No wonder all the Holy Lands and Sects are eager to recruit disciples; it seems that accumulating this invisible force of merit is one of their objectives.”
Lu Changsheng was starting to grasp the reasons why places like Holy Lands, Sects, and Prestigious Families flourished with disciples.
[Ding, your disciple Lu Qinglian has slain a Tiger Demon harming the locale, gaining 80,000 merit points, and you have received 16,000 merit points in return.] Read exclusive chapters at empire
[Ding, your disciple Ning Qianqian has slain a Demon Chief who had cultivated for a hundred thousand years, gaining 120,000 merit points, and you have received 24,000 merit points in return.]
[Ding, your disciple Dugu Aotian has slain a Tree Demon who had cultivated for three hundred thousand years, gaining 300,000 merit points, and you have received 60,000 merit points in return.]
…
While Lu Changsheng was practicing swordsmanship on Zhengsheng Sect, he continued to receive merit returns.
The Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda came to the center of Lu Changsheng’s Dantian, floating above the Qi Sea. The invisible force of merit flowed into the Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, and the twenty-first layer of the pagoda was forming.
[Ding, your disciple Lin Qingzhi has slain ninety-nine heretic cultivators, gaining 250,000 merit points, and you have received 50,000 merit points in return.]
Suddenly, Lu Changsheng saw the notification from the Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator and was taken aback.
His eldest disciple, Lin Qingzhi, was also slaying demons and eliminating heresies?
The heretic cultivators slew by Lin Qingzhi had a merit value of 250,000, indicating that his opponents were not weak.
“It seems my eldest disciple has had his adventures in the Immortal Realm,” thought Lu Changsheng.
Knowing that several of his disciples were faring well in the Immortal Realm, Lu Changsheng heaved a sigh of relief.
…
Far from Zhengsheng Sect, Lin Qingzhi sheathed his Immortal Sword amidst the corpses of Demon Sect members strewn across the ground and rivers of blood.
Accompanying Lin Qingzhi were disciples wearing the same Daoist Robe from their Sect.
“Brother Lin, the last time you had an epiphany, your realm shot up from the Earth Immortal Realm to the Heavenly Immortal Realm instantly, which was truly astonishing. It gave us all quite the shock. The Sect Master said you have the Heart of the Innocent, capable of learning the Dao in the morning and becoming an Immortal by evening. We were skeptical at first, but now we’ve truly witnessed your prowess,” said his fellow sect brothers, who were both envious and jealous as they fawned over this quiet, reticent junior brother.
Lin Qingzhi remained unmoved as everything stayed the same.
“I wonder where Master, Chen Yao, and the other junior brothers and sisters are…”
Ever since Lin Qingzhi had left his master, he had never again met the master who had given him the power-infusing initiation. After all, not everyone could transmit their power without harming themselves.
“Junior brother Lin, we have flattened this Demon Sect, and the forces behind them could arrive at any moment. Let’s go back,” said a fellow disciple.
“Okay.”
Everyone flew back to their sect on their swords.
…
At Zhengsheng Sect, Lu Changsheng occasionally received notifications from the Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator, and the merits returned to him were increasing day by day.
In addition to Lin Qingzhi, there were Chen Yao, Ji Xuan, Mo Huazhi, Shen Xiaoyao, and several other disciples who also occasionally returned merits. These disciples each had their encounters after ascending to the Immortal Realm.
Even Ji Xuan, who possessed the Demon God Physique and whom Lu Changsheng was most worried about, did not stray from the path and still followed the teachings from their time at Mount Shu.
After a thousand years, nurtured by the unseen force of virtue, the Heavenly Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda had fully grown into a twenty-one-story golden tower.
To grow from a twenty-one-story to a twenty-two-story golden tower required one hundred and fifty million merits.
“The amount of merits needed for the Heavenly Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda is just too much. I really don’t know how many merits it will require if the pagoda grows to its limit. I’m afraid it will have to be calculated by trillions…” Lu Changsheng thought with a sense of trepidation.
Ordinarily, a common merit treasure would not require so many merits.
But the potential of the Heavenly Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda is extremely high, which is why it requires a tremendous amount of merits.
[Ding, your disciple Dugu Aotian has killed eight thousand heretic cultivators, gaining 5 million merits, and you have received 1 million merits in return.]
“Strange, how did Dugu Aotian kill so many people? Could it be that he has waged a great battle with the Demon Sects?” inquired Lu Changsheng, slightly surprised to find that Dugu Aotian had killed eight thousand heretic cultivators.
Eight hundred thousand li away from Zhengsheng Sect, Dugu Aotian traveled alone to a small country where he heard that a Demon Sect was causing trouble nearby. He set out to slaughter the sect and devoured the blood and qi of its members, converting it into his own demonic qi.
Because of his Demonic Ancestor Body, Dugu Aotian’s method of cultivation was unorthodox, requiring the constant consumption of flesh, blood, and souls to make advancements in his demonic cultivation skills. However, Dugu Aotian did not harm the weak or those cultivators of the righteous Dao; instead, he chose to devour those of the Demonic Dao. This, too, was a significant path in cultivating demonic arts.
The entire Demon Sect was annihilated by Dugu Aotian. The sect master, at the third layer of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, was grabbed by the throat with a single hand from Dugu Aotian, struggling to breathe: “If you kill me, you will regret it. The force behind me is beyond your imagination…”
“Die.”
Under the influence of his demonic cultivation skills, Dugu Aotian was cold and merciless. With a slight exertion of power, the Demon Sect’s sect master’s neck broke. An overwhelming demonic qi surged from Dugu Aotian’s body, enveloping the sect master and completely absorbing his blood qi.
Dugu Aotian’s abilities improved yet again.
Cultivating demonic arts, as long as one can continuously devour living beings, the speed of cultivation is much faster than normal cultivation techniques. This is also the reason why Blood Demon Ancestor and Daoist Yuxuan were contemporaries, but the Blood Demon Ancestor was several minor realms ahead of Daoist Yuxuan.
After erasing his presence, Dugu Aotian left immediately.
He had learned the prudence of his master, Lu Changsheng, and during his travels, he would be as elusive as possible to make it difficult for his enemies to pursue him.
Now at the fifth layer of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, Dugu Aotian could only be tracked by assassins like Su Xiaoqi from the Assassin Sects, who were at the Heavenly or Earth Level.
Shortly after Dugu Aotian left, several figures appeared at the entrance of the Demon Sect. The leader was an old man with a goat’s beard: “My son established a sect here and became quite influential on his own. I didn’t expect that he would be killed by someone else. This demonic qi is extremely pure; the person responsible is a Great Demon.”
A Demon Sect elder said, “Sect Master, does that mean the young master offended another Demon Sect and was attacked by them?”
The goat-bearded old man’s eyes flashed fiercely: “It doesn’t matter who it is. Whoever dares to provoke me will face dire consequences. Once I capture him alive, I will flay him and dismember his limbs, making him endure unbearable torments, unable to live or die.”
He took out a treasure that resembled a compass, pointing in the direction in which Dugu Aotian had fled.
“Let’s pursue them!”
The goat-bearded old man led several Demon Sect elders, chasing in the direction indicated by the compass.
