Chapter 12

"Colored Merit Fish, a billion-point grand prize."

Since the relevant news had already spread everywhere and everyone was discussing it, Lu Yang didn't need much effort to figure out the whole story.

It turned out that within the Chusheng Sect there was a special permanent mission called "Accumulating Merit."

The location was deep within the sea of clouds below the Sacred Fire Cliff, at a precious site named "Merit Pool," where a unique spiritual beast resided, called the "Merit Fish."

The fish came in five colors: white, blue, purple, gold, and colored.

The closer to colored they were, the more abundant the essence and qi of the Merit Fish; consuming them 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 arose from this.

This mission could be claimed only once per person per month; one first blindly selected a number, then paid 10 contribution points to take out the Merit Fish corresponding to that number.

However, the 10 contribution points paid by the cultivator would not be reclaimed by the Sect but would instead be recorded on the Merit Pool's account; high-ranking members of the Sect had specifically explained this: if anyone could select the single colored Merit Fish in the pool, they would receive all the contribution points inside the Merit Pool!

And this mission had been posted for nearly a hundred years.

Yet in a hundred years, not a single person had selected the colored Merit Fish, resulting in the contribution points in the pool accumulating more and more until they became an astronomical figure.

"A billion! A billion!"

In his rocking chair, the old man continued to mutter in a low voice, his tone full of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Just yesterday, the super grand prize of this "Merit Lottery" finally had a winner, and the disciple who obtained it had entered the sect less than ten days ago.

A century-old prize pool, claimed by a newcomer who had joined less than ten days ago!

No wonder the old man of the Library Pavilion felt unbalanced; after all, this billion-point grand prize included his own contributions from participating in the Merit Pool mission over the years.

Not to mention that while Xiao Shiye obtained the billion-point grand prize from the Merit Pool, he also received the most precious colored Merit Fish; after consuming it, he broke through from the First Layer of Qi Condensation to Great Perfection of Qi Condensation overnight, and had now been accepted as a disciple by a True Person of the sect, entering seclusion to prepare for breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

With such fortune, even Lu Yang could not help but reveal a look of envy.

However, soon his expression changed, because that lucky one, Xiao Shiye, had not hidden the number he chose when he drew the colored Merit Fish.

"2025113"

Looking at this number, Lu Yang could not help but swallow his saliva.

Just as Lu Yang firmly engraved this string of numbers in his heart, preparing to utilize it in his next life, a graceful figure suddenly walked into the Library Pavilion from outside.

"Junior Brother Lu?"

Lu Yang raised his head at the sound and immediately recognized the other party; it was none other than Fairy Qingchen, who also seemed very surprised, a hint of joyful surprise at this chance encounter on her pretty face.

"Oh, it's Qingchen; is it time?"

The old man of the Library Pavilion also saw Fairy Qingchen, and his previously bored expression instantly became serious as he stood up and said, "Then let us depart quickly."

"Senior Brother, you are also going to explore a cave dwelling?" Lu Yang asked curiously.

"What else?" the old man of the Library Pavilion said irritably: "I just lost a huge sum of money; if I don't find some extra income soon, I'll be drinking northwest wind!"

"Lost a huge sum of money?"

"Alas, it was my own carelessness for a moment," the old man of the Library Pavilion sighed: "Some time ago, the Sect fought a major battle with the Yushu Sword Pavilion of Jiangnan."

"The Yushu Sword Pavilion came prepared and forcibly seized a Ten-Thousand-Person Pit belonging to the Sect in the south."

"The 'Substitute Death Yin Skeletons' produced in that Ten-Thousand-Person Pit are very precious rare treasures; once the pit was seized, their price within the Sect immediately skyrocketed."

"At first, everyone was hoarding goods; out of caution, I observed for a while."

"Later, I realized the price was indeed rising without falling, felt the opportunity would vanish in an instant, and only then acted to buy a batch of goods from others at a high price to stock up."

Speaking to this point, the old man of the Library Pavilion was so heartbroken he slapped his thigh in regret: "Who could have imagined that the moment I finished stocking up, news arrived that the Sect had launched a counterattack and the Ten-Thousand-Person Pit had been retaken, causing the price that had just risen to plummet instantly, ending up even lower than the original price!"

Lu Yang: "."

"But fortunately, there is Qingchen," the old man of the Library Pavilion sighed for a while, then perked up again and exclaimed: "Qingchen is truly a good person."

Fairy Qingchen smiled shyly: "Senior Brother praises me too highly."

"These are words from the bottom of my heart," the old man of the Library Pavilion said sincerely: "If you had not recommended Senior Brother Zhao to me, I fear I wouldn't even have recovered my capital."

"It was just a simple favor," Fairy Qingchen said modestly: "Senior Brother Zhao happened to need a batch of Substitute Death Yin Skeletons, and Senior Brother you happened to have a batch of goods in stock; Qingchen merely happened to be at the right place at the right time; I only hope that in future explorations of cave dwellings, if Qingchen sees something she desires, Senior Brother can assist her slightly."

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; she turned her head to look at him and asked: "For this exploration of the cave dwelling, Junior Brother truly does not intend to accompany us?"

"... etting Senior Sister see my shame."

Lu Yang shook his head and said: "Junior Brother has only just entered the sect recently and is weak and insignificant; I only wish to focus on cultivation. Exploring cave dwellings is too dangerous; I truly have the heart but lack the strength."

"Kid, I don't like hearing you say that."

The old man of the Library Pavilion shook his head: "Focus on cultivation? For ordinary disciples like us with no money or power, knowing only to bury our heads in cultivation leads to no path of immortality."

"Cultivating immortality is inherently acting against heaven; without taking risks, how can one's cultivation base advance by leaps and bounds?"

"When everyone feels fear and wants to retreat, that is exactly when you should be braver, to try and to strive; only then can you seize opportunities!"

When others are fearful, you are greedy; no wonder you went bankrupt.

No matter how persuasively the old man of the Library Pavilion spoke, Lu Yang politely refused, angering the old man so much that he threw out the phrase "rotten wood cannot be carved" before turning and leaving.

Seeing this, Fairy Qingchen did not dare to say more; she merely looked deeply at Lu Yang, then also turned and left, accompanying the old man of the Library Pavilion to a hidden cave dwelling on Senior Butian Peak, where she asked the old man to wait in the outer courtyard before she entered the inner courtyard and arrived before a quiet chamber.

Before long, the door of the quiet chamber opened, and Zhao Xuhe stepped out.

"Failed again? He still didn't agree?"

Listening to Fairy Qingchen's account, Zhao Xuhe's brows gradually furrowed: "He truly is one with a firm Dao heart; very well, lacking this person makes no difference."

"Senior Brother, I think there is something wrong with this person."

Fairy Qingchen lightly bit her silver teeth: "The life lamps of my three lovers have extinguished; last night I sent them to kill that fellow, and it seems now they failed."

"Senior Brother knows that my three lovers were all at the Third Layer of Qi Condensation; if Lu Yang could kill them... could his cultivation base already be at the mid stage?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Zhao Xuhe shook his head without hesitation: "Breaking through a bottleneck is easier said than done; in just a few days, at most he could break through to the Third Layer of Qi Condensation; breaking through to the mid stage is impossible."

"You need not be suspicious; I have checked his purchase records."

"He bought so many Yuan Qi Great Elixirs; if he consumed them regardless of the cost, reaching the Third Layer of Qi Condensation would not be unexpected; as for your three lovers..."

"He used a technique loan to purchase a divine ability, namely the Divine Thunder Sword Control True Art of the Yushu Sword Pavilion." Zhao Xuhe analyzed carefully, peeling away the layers: "If he is exceptionally gifted and has comprehension in the Sword Dao, allowing him to quickly master the sword art, then killing your three lovers would not be surprising."

"What Senior Brother says is correct."

Fairy Qingchen pondered for a moment and felt Zhao Xuhe's analysis was more reasonable; after all, she knew deeply from personal experience how difficult the mid-stage bottleneck was.

It had taken her nearly ten years to barely break through.

To say now that a disciple who had just entered the sect broke through in less than a month was unless he was a True Person reincarnated to cultivate again, otherwise it was simply a fantasy.

"Enough, we will speak of this matter later."

Zhao Xuhe waved his hand, his eyes revealing cold light: "Let us first handle the matter of the 'cave dwelling'; have you gathered all the people?"

"They are gathered," Fairy Qingchen nodded: "Especially Wang Bairong from the Library Pavilion; since Senior Brother bought his Substitute Death Yin Skeletons, he trusts us greatly now."

"That is good."

Zhao Xuhe smiled coldly: "Our Sect has always produced talents in abundance; whether we can make a huge profit from this opportunity depends entirely on these fellow disciples of mine."

(End of Chapter)