The merit hall had a whole mountain to itself. One site was built on the mountainside, and the other on the summit. The site on the mountainside consisted of several interconnected main halls that formed an imposing complex. Dedicated to Dao Foundation stage cultivators, all inquiries, verifications, and exchanges of merit had to be conducted here. People were constantly flowing in and out of the halls, creating a bustling atmosphere.

In the Palace of Absolute Beginning, merit was the primary source of cultivation resources for the vast majority of disciples. Even descendants of noble clans and aristocratic families sought ways to obtain merits after forging their Dao Foundation. After all, it was all too easy to garner scorn and criticism if they relied solely on their clan to support them.

The merits ranking was completely public. The middle ranks often got overlooked, but everyone paid equal attention to the top and the bottom ranks. Even the most shameless individuals couldn’t stand lingering at the bottom of the list and enduring the public scrutiny that came with it for long.

When a cultivator had forged their Dao Foundation, their need for cultivation resources would increase dramatically. Their need for precious items would increase as well. Unless they hailed from a top-tier aristocratic family such as the Bao Clan and the Cui Clan, it was quite difficult for a middling clan to cover the full expenditure of a Dao Foundation stage cultivator. As for the minor clans, it was all they could do to support a descendant until they reached the Dao Foundation stage.

Prior to entering the merits hall, Wei Yuan took a moment to check his total merit.

At this moment, he was still the top scorer on the major exam ranking. In fact, his total merit had jumped to over fourteen thousand after he traded the golden axe and the horse tack to the Palace. However, in second place, Bao Yun’s total merit had sneakily climbed to eleven thousand during this time. Somehow, the young woman had earned another three thousand plus merits in the past two days. Clearly, she had fought another great battle.

The new second runner-up was a man named Xiao Chonglou. The guy had appeared out of nowhere and earned a whopping seven thousand plus merits in one go. Just two days ago, he wasn’t even on the merits ranking. As expected, one should never underestimate a disciple of the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

Despite all the excitement, the major exam was over for Wei Yuan. After all, he had ventured deep into Liao territory, slain the young chieftain of the Agula tribe, and survived the Snow Hawk Avatar long enough to escape back into the human realm. He had basically given the entire Agula tribe a loud and resounding slap. If Wei Yuan were to appear on the frontlines once more, heavens only know the kind of madness the Liao barbarians would enact to get revenge against him. Sure, it would be quite unseemly for an Avatar to ambush a junior, but then again, a war between two races was hardly a martial spar. There was no such rule where only equals could fight against each other.

Wei Yuan felt much more confident after checking his total merit. First, he went to the immortal silver changer and converted seven thousand merits into immortal silver. It was a huge sum of money, so of course the money changer could not hand them over in physical form. Instead, the working Daoist handed Wei Yuan an exquisitely crafted jade paper imbued with a trace of the merit hall’s Dao essence. Anyone holding this paper could redeem exactly seventy thousand taels of immortal silver from the Palace of Absolute Beginning at any time.

Wei Yuan carefully put away the jade paper before letting out a long sigh of relief. From now on, his debt only amounted to twenty-three million, seven hundred thousand taels. Shaving away a zero was a small but significant step toward becoming debt-free.

With this act, Wei Yuan had used up half of his total merit. However, the merits rankings[1] only calculated one’s total merit accrued. His rank would not be affected even if he used up all of his merit. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

After settling his debt, Wei Yuan made his way to a place specialized in exchanging all sorts of cultivation methods and Dao spells and techniques. He approached the Daoist seated behind the counter and asked, “Senior Brother, are there any Body-tempering cultivation methods that are suitable for ordinary mortals with no innate talent for cultivation?”

“Can you explain in more detail? Who exactly is going to use this cultivation method?”

“An older man who has never cultivated in his life. His foundation and constitution are quite flimsy as well. It would be best if the cultivation method is easy to learn and primarily focuses on improving one’s health and extending one’s lifespan,” Wei Yuan replied.

The Daoist immediately understood what he was getting at. “You look quite young, little Junior Brother. Do you have mortals in your family?”

“I came from a humble background and only entered the Palace because my master took a liking to me. No one else in my family cultivates.”

The Daoist nodded and said, “Your filial piety is commendable! However, a Dao Foundation stage cultivator enjoys a lifespan of over three hundred, and an Avatar Trueman over one thousand. From the moment you embark on the path to immortality, it is inevitable that you will become more and more distant with your family. When a hundred years had passed, you will find that your grandchildren and even great-grandchildren had passed away before you.

“You are smart to come to the merits hall for a suitable cultivation method. The foundational requirements of our six universal cultivation methods are so demanding that those with even slightly inferior innate talent would struggle to make any progress despite cultivating for decades. Wait here a moment—I’ll go find you something suitable.”

Moments later, the Daoist returned and laid out three pieces of jade paper in front of Wei Yuan. He introduced them one by one. “This is the Pine and Crane Method of Longevity. It derives from the Dao essences of the pine and the crane. It’s easy to learn and allows one to nurture a wisp of Dao energy as early as the flesh-tempering stage. It primarily enhances one’s health and extends one’s lifespan. However, this method progresses slowly and requires years of painstaking effort and a high level of mental discipline. It is also suited for combat or warfare even after the cultivator has mastered it. When cultivated to perfection, the cultivator may live beyond a hundred years.”

Wei Yuan was moved. This cultivation method sounded suitable for Wei Youchai. The old man didn’t have much to do anyway. As long as he cultivated it after a meal, he would naturally enjoy a long lifespan.

The Daoist continued, “This is the Fierce Tiger Circles the Mountain. It also comes with a Fierce Tiger Saber Method and a Tiger Foot Method. Upon completion, the cultivator would be physically stronger than most non-tiered Body-tempering methods. It is suitable for combat. However, this method requires submerging one’s body in medicinal baths to eliminate hidden damages and so is quite expensive. It is also unsuitable for people who are born with a frail body.”

The third piece of jade paper contained an image. It required a cultivator to visualize an image of mountains and streams. It was suitable for those with fortune, but required far less effort and innate talent than the Jade Toad Full Moon Painting to cultivate.

All three cultivation methods had their own strengths and weaknesses. After just a few seconds of deliberation, Wei Yuan decided to give up on the Mountains and Streams Painting. After being tormented by an image for an entire decade, he instinctively loathed any image he set his eyes on. Besides, there was no way a small place like Ye County would possess any fortune, right?

The three cultivation methods were either goods they had collected from a small sect, or ancient methods that had undergone revision. Each method only cost a hundred merits. Despite his initial misgivings, Wei Yuan ultimately chose to exchange the Mountains and Streams Painting. Back in the day when the unified exam took place, the winds and clouds had gathered in Fengyuan Commandery and drawn even the attention of the three immortal sects. He had not forgotten what had happened back then.

Of course, ten years had passed since that day. His Fortune Theory Class taught him that the fortune gathered in Fengyuan Commandery should have gone to specific individuals long ago, and considering the kind of karma and opportunities fortunate people naturally encountered, it was unlikely that these individuals would remain in a backwater place like Ye County.

Still, Wei Yuan dared to hope that someone in his family had gotten a smidgen of fortune. In that case, they would advance much faster and easier when cultivating the image, and enjoy a long lifespan as a result.

After the exchange, the Daoist added, “Little Junior Brother, if you are doing this for the elderly seniors in your family, then I would suggest you exchange for some pills as well. The medicinal area offers a wide variety of pills that mortals can consume, and most of them boost longevity.”

“We have pills like that?”

“People who wish to uplift their family or provide shade for their descendants have always existed. Many mortals do not possess an innate talent for cultivation, but anyone can consume medicine. In fact, far more people had exchanged pills for their families than cultivation methods.”

After thanking the Daoist, Wei Yuan went to the medicinal area as instructed. Moments later, he had exchanged a few bottles of longevity medicine. To his surprise, he had to pay seven hundred merits to obtain them. They were considerably more expensive than the cultivation methods.

Wei Yuan put the cultivation methods and medicine in safe keeping and planned to have them delivered to Fengyuan Commandery. At this moment, he did not yet have the freedom to travel to and fro the Palace of Absolute Beginning as he pleased. However, he could put up a mission at the mission hall and have someone deliver the goods. It would not cost him much to do so.

Wei Yuan let out a sigh of relief after wrapping up his preparations. After ten years of cultivation, he could finally do something for his family. Although Wei Youchai was old enough that his chances of walking the path to immortality was pretty low, this ensured that he would live at least another decade or two. During his twilight years, he would enjoy a healthy body and be able to eat and drink to his heart’s content as well. That was enough.

After he was done with family matters, Wei Yuan headed to the central exchange area.

The central exchange area was an individual hall with almost a hundred tables set up. Each table had a jade plaque on it. Right now, between thirty and forty people were occupying the tables and flipping through the jade plaques in search for their heart’s desire.

Wei Yuan sought out an empty table and inserted his identity token into a slot on the table. After the jade plaque came active, he began perusing its contents using his perception.

The jade plaque contained a sea of information. There were dozens of major categories such as medicine, talismans, cultivation methods, mystic artifacts, mystic treasures, materials and more, and these majors categories were divided into many, many more minor categories. For example, the medicine category alone had seventeen minor categories, and these minor categories were subdivided into specific types of medicine. There were nearly a thousand different types of medicine and poisons alone.

When searching for specific items, descriptions and even images were provided for the most part. Some top-tier treasures even carried a trace of Dao essence for contemplation. For example, there was an immortal elixir[2] called the Heaven-reaching Creation Pill that was said to be left behind by an ancient immortal. If a Dao Foundation stage cultivator consumed it, they would form an Avatar immediately and without fail. However, the Avatar they formed was fixed to the Heaven-reaching Azure Peak, and it ranked near the bottom among all existing Avatars.

Wei Yuan was stunned when he saw the Heaven-reaching Creation Pill. He could not believe that it was possible for someone to become an Avatar just by consuming a pill. Although it was only a fixed, low-tier Avatar, even the absolute worst Avatar in existence was still stronger than the vast majority of Dao Foundations. The Palace of Absolute Beginning boasted many Dao Foundation stage cultivators, but less than five percent of them could form an Avatar in the future.

The realization that it was possible to form an Avatar just by consuming a pill made Wei Yuan deeply uncomfortable. In his opinion, cultivating immortality was an act of defiance against the natural order. If someone had gained their power by walking a thorny path and overcoming many hardships, then they were undoubtedly cultivating immortality. But if not.... The idea that someone had literally eaten their way to immortalhood when he had to go through everything he had to reach the heavens was just ....

Wei Yuan forced down his discomfort and checked the exchange requirements for the Heaven-reaching Creation Pill. As it turned out, it required a Heaven Merit. In short, a Heaven Merit was a higher tier of merit. It was obtainable only by completing an Avatar-related mission. A Heaven Merit could be exchanged for ordinary merits, but ordinary merits could not be exchanged for a Heaven Merit. Since a Heaven-reaching Creation Pill cost a Heaven Merit to exchange, Wei Yuan could own a sea of ordinary merits and still not exchange for a single one.

Wei Yuan closed the category and turned his attention to mystic artifacts. Now that he had forged a Dao Foundation, he needed a few suitable mystic artifacts to carry with him.

Out of all the mystic artifacts, swords were the most numerous. They formed an entire major category of their own. After that were arrows, bows, and crossbows. The three equipment formed a category of their own. Then came all other types of weapons.

While looking, Wei Yuan suddenly noticed a familiar-looking golden axe. It read:

Divine Edge Limit Cutting Axe: Nurtured by the primordial spirit of a foreign elite for many years, it possesses three major abilities: Divine Edge, Sharp Blade, and Deathblow. It is a top-tier killing weapon.

It was none other than the young Liao chieftain’s golden axe. Wei Yuan wasn’t expecting to see it here as he had traded it to the sect just a while ago. When he checked the price, it stated: Four thousand and five hundred merits.

Wei Yuan quietly closed the category. He was really starting to understand why the Palace of Absolute Beginning remained prosperous for so many centuries.

Suddenly, a major category caught his attention: Realm Stones.

1. RankingS, meaning that all other rankings where merit is tallied are included as well. ☜

2. Did you know that immortal elixir and immortal elixir aren't the same? Yeah, this is another one of those behind-the-scenes retroactive changes you'll never learn.... ☜