Chapter 12: The Merit Lottery and the Corpse Puppet

“The Prismatic Merit Fish, a grand prize of one billion…”

Since the news had already spread far and wide, with everyone talking about it, Lü Yang had no trouble piecing together the full story.

As it turned out, the Primordial Saint Sect had a permanent special mission called “Accumulating Merit.”

The location lay deep within the sea of clouds beneath Sacred Fire Cliff, at a blessed ground known as the “Merit Pool.” Within the pool dwelt a rare spirit beast called the “Merit Fish.”

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

The closer to prismatic, the richer the Merit Fish’s vital essence. Consuming one could not only improve the quality of one’s True Qi, but even help break through bottlenecks.

The so-called “Accumulating Merit” mission was born from this.

Each person could attempt it once per month. One would first blindly select a number, then pay 10 Contribution Points to take out the Merit Fish corresponding to that number.

However, the 10 Contribution Points paid by each cultivator were not reclaimed by the Saint Sect. Instead, they were simply recorded in the Merit Pool’s account. Senior figures within the Saint Sect had publicly addressed this: whoever selected the sole Prismatic Merit Fish in the pool would receive every Contribution Point accumulated within it!

Nearly a century had passed since this mission was first posted.

Yet in all that time, not a single person had selected the Prismatic Merit Fish. As a result, the Contribution Points in the pool piled higher and higher, growing into an astronomical sum.

“One billion. One billion!”

On his rocking chair, the old man was still muttering under his breath, his tone dripping with envy and resentment.

Just yesterday, the grand prize of this “Merit Lottery” finally found its winner, and the disciple who claimed it had joined less than ten days ago.

A century-old prize pool, taken by a newcomer who had been in the sect for less than ten days!

It was no wonder the Scripture Pavilion’s old man was so upset. After all, that one-billion prize included his own contributions from years of participating in the Merit Pool mission.

What made it worse was that this Xiao Shiye, in addition to receiving the pool’s one billion Contribution Points, had also obtained the most precious Prismatic Merit Fish itself. After consuming it, he broke through overnight from the first layer of Qi Refinement all the way to peak Qi Refinement. He had already been taken in as a disciple by one of the sect’s True Persons and was now in closed-door cultivation, preparing to assault Foundation Establishment.

Such fortune was enough to make even Lü Yang’s eyes gleam with envy.

But his expression quickly changed… because that lucky soul, Xiao Shiye, had not concealed the number he chose when he drew the Prismatic Merit Fish.

“2025113.”

Looking at that number, Lü Yang swallowed.

I’ll commit every digit to memory and put this to good use in my next life.

A graceful figure stepped through the Scripture Pavilion’s entrance.

“Junior Brother Lü.”

Lü Yang looked up toward the voice and immediately recognized her. It was none other than Fairy Qingchen. She seemed equally surprised, her pretty face showing a flicker of delight at the unexpected encounter.

“Oh, Qingchen. Is it time already?”

The Scripture Pavilion’s old man also spotted Fairy Qingchen. His listless expression immediately turned serious as he rose to his feet. “Then let’s head out.”

“Senior Brother, you’re going to explore a cave dwelling too?” Lü Yang asked.

“What else?” the old man snapped. “I just lost a fortune. If I don’t find some extra income soon, I’ll be drinking the northwest wind!”

“Lost a fortune?”

“Ah, it was my own carelessness.” The old man let out a sigh. “A while back, the Saint Sect fought a battle against the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion down in Jiangnan.”

“The Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion came prepared and managed to seize one of the Saint Sect’s mass graves in the south.”

“The Corpse Puppets produced from that Mass Grave are extremely valuable treasures. The moment the grave was lost, their price within the Saint Sect skyrocketed.”

“At first, everyone was hoarding them. I was cautious and held off, watching from the sidelines.”

“Later, I noticed the price truly was only going up, never down. Thinking the opportunity would slip away, I finally made my move and bought a batch at a high price from other people.”

At this point, the old man was practically slapping his thigh in regret. “Who could have predicted that the moment I finished stocking up, news came that the Saint Sect had launched a counterattack and reclaimed the Mass Grave? The price that had just surged instantly crashed, falling even below the original!”

Lü Yang: “…”

“But at least there’s Qingchen.” After lamenting for a while, the old man rallied his spirits and said, “Qingchen really is a good person.”

Fairy Qingchen smiled bashfully. “Senior Brother flatters me.”

“I speak from the heart,” the old man insisted. “If you hadn’t introduced me to Senior Brother Zhao, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have even gotten my capital back.”

“It was nothing, really,” Fairy Qingchen demurred. “Senior Brother Zhao happened to need a batch of Corpse Puppets, and Senior Brother happened to have a stockpile. Qingchen merely brought the two together at the right moment. All I hope is that when we explore the cave dwelling, if Qingchen sees something she fancies, Senior Brother might lend a hand.”

Senior Brother Zhao… Zhao Xuhe?

A thought stirred in Lü Yang’s mind.

“Oh, that’s right. Junior Brother Lü.”

Only then did Fairy Qingchen seem to remember Lü Yang. She turned to look at him. “We’re about to go explore a cave dwelling. Are you sure you don’t want to come along?”

“…Senior Sister must think me a coward.”

Lü Yang shook his head. “I’ve only just entered the sect. I’m weak and insignificant. All I want is to focus on my cultivation. Exploring cave dwellings is too dangerous. I truly don’t have the ability.”

“Kid, I don’t like the sound of that.”

The old man shook his head. “Focus on cultivation? For ordinary disciples like us with no money and no backing, burying your head in cultivation alone is a dead end.”

“Cultivation is inherently an act of defiance against the Heavens. If you don’t take risks, how will your cultivation ever advance by leaps and bounds?”

“When everyone is afraid and wants to retreat, that’s exactly when you should be brave enough to try, to fight for it. That’s how you seize opportunities!”

Be greedy when others are fearful. No wonder you went bankrupt.

No matter how the old man tried to persuade him, Lü Yang politely declined, until the man finally spat out a parting remark of “rotten wood can’t be carved” and turned to leave.

Fairy Qingchen could not press further either. She simply gave Lü Yang a long, lingering look before turning away as well. Together with the old man, she made her way to a secluded cave dwelling on Heaven-Mending Peak. She had the old man wait in the outer courtyard, then proceeded alone into the inner courtyard, arriving before a meditation chamber.

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

“Failed again? He still won’t agree?”

As Zhao Xuhe listened to Fairy Qingchen’s account, his brow furrowed deeper still. “He really does have a firm Dao Heart. Well, no matter. Losing him is no great loss.”

“Senior Brother, I think something is wrong with this person.”

Fairy Qingchen bit her lip. “The life lamps of my three lovers have gone out. I sent them to kill him last night… it seems they failed.”

“Senior Brother, you know my three lovers were all at the third layer of Qi Refinement. If Lü Yang managed to kill them… could he have already reached the mid-stage?”

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

Zhao Xuhe shook his head without hesitation. “Breaking through a bottleneck is no easy feat. In just a few days, he could have reached the third layer at most. Mid-stage is out of the question.”

“And don’t let your imagination run wild. I’ve checked his purchase records.”

“He bought that many Great Vitality Qi Pills. If he consumed them recklessly, reaching the third layer wouldn’t be surprising. As for your three lovers…”

“He used the technique loan to buy a divine ability: the Jade Pivot Sword Pavilion’s Divine Firmament Sword Control True Art,” Zhao Xuhe reasoned. “If he’s exceptionally talented and has a natural aptitude for the sword, enabling him to master the art quickly, then killing your three lovers wouldn’t be so strange.”

“That… Senior Brother is right.”

Fairy Qingchen pondered for a moment and decided Zhao Xuhe’s analysis was more reasonable. After all, she knew firsthand just how difficult the mid-stage bottleneck was.

She had barely managed to break through after nearly ten years.

Claiming that a newly inducted disciple had broken through in less than a month? Unless he was a reincarnated True Person, the idea was simply a fantasy.

“Enough. We’ll deal with this later.”

Zhao Xuhe waved his hand, a cold light in his eyes. “Let’s handle the ‘cave dwelling’ matter first. Is everyone assembled?”

“They are.” Fairy Qingchen nodded. “Especially Wang Bairong from the Scripture Pavilion. After Senior Brother bought his Corpse Puppets, he trusts us completely now.”

“Good.”

Zhao Xuhe smiled coldly. “Our Saint Sect has always been full of talents. Whether we can use this opportunity to make a fortune depends entirely on these dear brothers and sisters of ours…”