The Hall of Merits occupied an entire mountain of its own, with one complex built halfway up the slope and another at the peak. Along the mountainside, several grand halls joined together into a magnificent compound. This place specifically handled merit point matters for the Dao Foundation realm; checking, verifying, and redeeming merit points all had to be done here. People constantly bustled in and out of the grand halls in a flurry of activity.
In the Palace of Grand Beginning, merit points were the primary source of cultivation resources for the vast majority of disciples. Even scions of prominent aristocratic clans had to find ways to earn merit points and exchange them for resources after casting their Dao Foundations. Otherwise, relying entirely on family support would easily make them a laughingstock.
The Merit Board was completely public, and people paid equal attention to the top and the bottom of the rankings, while hardly anyone cared about the middle. No matter how thick-skinned one was, no one could bear hanging at the very bottom of the board for an extended period, constantly subjected to people pointing and whispering.
Furthermore, once one cast a Dao Foundation, the resources required for cultivation surged drastically, demanding many rare and precious items. Unless one belonged to top aristocratic clans like the Bao family or the Cui family, even a mid-tier clan would struggle to bear the full expenses of a Dao Foundation cultivator. As for small clans, producing a single Dao Foundation disciple already exhausted all their resources.
Before entering the Hall of Merits, Wei Yuan first checked his merit points.
On the general exam rankings, Wei Yuan was still in first place. Moreover, because the gold axe and horse gear had already been surrendered to the palace, Wei Yuan now had over fourteen thousand merit points. However, second-place Bao Yun's merits had quietly climbed to eleven thousand. In just two days, Bao Yun had gained more than three thousand merit points, having clearly fought another major battle. Third place belonged to someone named Xiao Chonglou, who had shot up out of nowhere to seize seven thousand merit points in a single bound. Just two days prior, Wei Yuan had not seen this person anywhere near the top of the board. The Palace of Grand Beginning truly harbored crouching tigers and hidden dragons.
However, this general exam was already over for Wei Yuan. After all, he had ventured deep into the Liao domain, slain the young master of Agula, and managed to escape while resisting a Snow Eagle dharma idol—which amounted to delivering a stinging slap across the face of the entire Agula tribe. If Wei Yuan appeared on the front lines again, there was no telling what the frenzied Liao barbarians might do. Although ambushing a junior from the stature of a dharma idol was thoroughly disgraceful, war between two races was no friendly duel; there were simply no rules about king facing king or general facing general.
Having verified his merits, Wei Yuan felt emboldened. He first went to the immortal silver exchange counter and converted seven thousand merit points into immortal silver. With such a massive sum of immortal silver, it was naturally impossible to hand over physical metal directly; the Daoist handed Wei Yuan an exquisite sheet of jade paper bearing a wisp of the Hall of Merits' Dao rhyme. With this paper, anyone could redeem seventy thousand taels of immortal silver from the Palace of Grand Beginning at any time.
Wei Yuan carefully stowed the jade paper away and let out a long breath. From now on, his debt was down to twenty-three million, seven hundred thousand taels. The spare change at the very end had finally been shaved off—a solid first baby step.
Wei Yuan's available merit points were cut in half in an instant, but the various rankings recorded total merit points earned, so spending them all would not affect his standing.
Having dealt with part of his debt, Wei Yuan headed to the area dedicated to redeeming various cultivation methods and Dao arts. He inquired of the Daoist seated behind the desk, "Senior Brother, are there any Body Casting cultivation methods suitable for mortals without talent to practice?"
"Explain in detail. Who is going to practice it?"
"An elderly person who has never cultivated before, with a rather frail constitution and foundation. Ideally, something easy to start with that strengthens the body and prolongs life," Wei Yuan said.
After hearing a few words from Wei Yuan, the Daoist understood clearly and said, "Junior Brother is quite young. It seems you still have mortals in your clan?"
"I come from humble beginnings and only entered the Palace of Grand Beginning because my teacher took notice of me. None of my other family members cultivate."
The Daoist nodded and said, "Your filial devotion is commendable! However, once you cast a Dao Foundation, your lifespan can exceed three hundred years, and a True Person of the Dharma Idol realm enjoys a thousand years of life. Stepping onto the path of immortal cultivation means you will inevitably drift further and further from your clan. A century from now, you will find that even your nephews and nieces pass away before you. Coming to the Hall of Merits to exchange for cultivation methods shows good sense. The Palace of Grand Beginning's six basic Body Casting methods place extremely high demands on foundational talent; anyone with slightly lacking bone structure would struggle to make an inch of progress even after decades of practice. Wait here a moment, and I will go look for you."
A moment later, the Daoist returned, set three sheets of jade paper before Wei Yuan, and introduced them one by one. "This is the Pine and Crane Longevity Art. It draws upon the spiritual essence of the pine and the crane, with the advantage of being easy to begin. While tempering the sinews and flesh, it nurtures a wisp of Dao power, strengthening the body and lengthening life. However, progress with this method is slow, requiring patient, grinding effort over years and months, and it demands much of one's state of mind. Once mastered, it is not suited for magical duels or warfare. If practiced to Body Casting completion, one's lifespan can exceed a hundred years."
Wei Yuan's heart stirred. This technique was quite suitable for Wei Youcai. The old man had nothing much to do anyway; casually practicing it after meals and tea would let him live a long life.
The Daoist continued, "This is the Coiling Mountain Tiger Stance. It comes with a set of Tiger Saber Techniques and Tiger Steps. Once mastered, one's physical strength surpasses most ordinary unranked Body Casting arts, and it excels in combat. However, this method requires medicinal baths to soothe hidden injuries, which consumes a considerable amount of gold and silver. Additionally, those who are naturally frail should not practice it."
Upon the third sheet of jade paper was a visualization chart, depicting high mountains and flowing water. This method was suitable for those endowed with karmic destiny, yet its requirements were far lower and simpler than the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Chart.
Each of the three techniques had its own focus. After weighing them briefly, Wei Yuan considered passing on the High Mountains and Flowing Water Chart. He himself had been tormented by visualization methods for ten years, giving him an innate aversion to any visualization chart now. Besides, in a tiny place like Ye County, where would any karmic destiny come from?
These three cultivation methods were either gathered by the Palace of Grand Beginning from lesser sects or ancient arts that had been abridged and revised; each cost only a hundred merit points. When redeeming them, however, Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment and decided to exchange for the High Mountains and Flowing Water Chart as well. Back during the unified examination, winds and clouds had gathered in Fengyuan Commandery, drawing the three great immortal sects—an event still vivid in Wei Yuan's mind.
Although ten years had passed, according to what he had learned in the Theory of Karmic Destiny lectures, the karmic destiny accumulated in Fengyuan Commandery should have long since settled onto individuals, and where those people had gone was anyone's guess. Generally speaking, those blessed with karmic destiny would encounter fortuitous opportunities and were unlikely to remain holed up in a poor, remote corner forever.
Even so, Wei Yuan harbored a sliver of hope. Perhaps someone in his family possessed a touch of karmic destiny; if so, practicing a visualization chart would yield twice the results with half the effort, greatly extending their lifespan.
After the exchange was complete, the Daoist added, "Junior Brother, if this is for the elders in your family, rather than exchanging for cultivation methods, giving them some pills might be better. Over in the pill area, there are many pills available for mortals to take, most of which have the effect of prolonging life."
"There are pills like that as well?"
"There have always been cultivators wishing to support their clans and shelter their descendants. Many mortals lack the talent to cultivate, but pills can be used by anyone. As a result, far more people have always exchanged for pills than for cultivation methods."
Wei Yuan thanked the Daoist and headed to the pill area as directed. A moment later, he exchanged for several bottles of longevity-prolonging pills, which surprisingly cost seven hundred merit points—much more expensive than the techniques. Wei Yuan stowed away the cultivation methods and pills, intending to have them delivered home when someone from the palace traveled to Fengyuan Commandery. For now, Wei Yuan could not leave the Palace of Grand Beginning at will, but minor tasks like this could be commissioned to others at the Mission Hall for a modest fee.
Having prepared the cultivation methods and pills for his family, Wei Yuan let out a sigh of relief. After ten years of cultivation, he could finally do something for his household. Although Wei Youcai was getting up in years and unlikely to step onto the immortal path, living another decade or two while remaining vigorous, eating well, and drinking well in his old age would be more than enough.
With family matters settled, Wei Yuan proceeded to the core exchange area.
The core exchange area was an independent grand hall filled with nearly a hundred desks, each holding a jade slate. At this moment, around thirty or forty people were in the hall, each occupying a desk and browsing through the contents of a jade slate.
Wei Yuan casually found an empty desk, slotted his identity jade medallion into the groove on the desk, activated the jade slate, and began browsing with his divine sense.
The information inside the jade slate was virtually as vast as an ocean, divided into dozens of broad categories such as pills, talismans, cultivation methods, magical implements, dharma treasures, and materials. Under each broad category were multiple subcategories. For example, pills alone contained seventeen subcategories, each with further divisions, beneath which lay the specific pills. In pills and poisons alone, there were nearly a thousand varieties.
When querying a specific item, there was not only an explanation but often an image as well, and some top-grade items even provided a wisp of Dao rhyme to experience. For instance, there was an immortal pill called the Sky-Supporting Good Fortune Pill, said to have been left behind by ancient immortals. A Dao Foundation cultivator who consumed it could reach heaven in a single bound and directly achieve a dharma idol. However, the dharma idol formed after consuming the pill was fixed as the Sky-Supporting Azure Peak, ranked at the very lowest tier among all dharma idols.
Seeing the Sky-Supporting Good Fortune Pill gave Wei Yuan quite a shock. Could a True Person of the Dharma Idol realm be achieved directly by swallowing a pill? Even though it could only produce a fixed, inferior dharma idol, a dharma idol was still a dharma idol; no matter how shoddy, it was far stronger than the vast majority of Dao Foundations. Out of the countless Dao Foundations in the Palace of Grand Beginning, less than five percent ever achieved a dharma idol.
Yet the thought that merely taking a pill could produce a dharma idol made Wei Yuan feel distinctly uncomfortable.
In Wei Yuan's heart, immortal cultivation was meant to defy heaven, hacking through thorns and enduring tribulations to attain mighty power within oneself—that was what true cultivation was. This made Wei Yuan feel as though the wondrous heights of the immortal heavens, which he had fought through endless trials to reach, could simply be stepped onto by someone taking medicine with effortless ease.
Suppressing his discomfort, Wei Yuan checked the redemption conditions for the Sky-Supporting Good Fortune Pill, only to find that it required heavenly merits. The so-called heavenly merits were a higher tier above ordinary merit points, obtainable only by completing missions related to the dharma idol realm. Heavenly merits could be exchanged downward for ordinary merit points, but merit points could not be exchanged for heavenly merits. Since the Sky-Supporting Good Fortune Pill required heavenly merits, no matter how many merit points Wei Yuan possessed, he could not exchange for a single one.
Wei Yuan closed the pill category and turned to browse magical implements instead. Now that he had cast his Dao Foundation, he needed a few handy magical implements at his side.
Among magical implements, swords were the most numerous, forming a category of their own. Next came bows, arrows, and heavy crossbows grouped together into one class, followed by other weapons.
As Wei Yuan browsed, a gold axe suddenly caught his eye:
Divine Edge Supreme Cleaving Axe: Nurtured for years by a foreign powerhouse's essence soul, possessing three great effects—Divine Edge, Keen Blade, and Decapitating Strike. A top-grade slaughtering weapon.
Wasn't this the young master of the Liao Clan's gold axe? Wei Yuan had only just turned it over to the sect, and it was already in the exchange catalog? Then Wei Yuan glanced at the redemption price: four thousand five hundred merit points.
Wei Yuan silently closed the magical implement category, deeply understanding at that moment that there was good reason for the Palace of Grand Beginning's flourishing prosperity.
Suddenly, another broad category leaped into Wei Yuan's view: Boundary Stones.
Chapter 93