Chapter 10: Merit Rankings (Second Update, Seeking Collection and Recommendations)

  On the stone bed, Shen Gong Bao sat cross-legged like an old monk entering meditation. His hands were clasped together in prayer, his eyes closed and his eyelids drooping. The Jade Clear Immortal Sword moved according to his will, as the spiritual energy around him churned and surged forward, rushing into his body in a competitive frenzy, being absorbed and refined.

  Before long, a wisp of white mist rose from the top of Shen Gong Bao's head, his eyebrows sometimes relaxed and sometimes furrowed, absorbing the spiritual energy at an increasingly rapid pace. Finally, a burst of spiritual energy suddenly erupted inside the cave, and a mighty aura belonging to Taiyi Xuanxian surged out of Shen Gong Bao's body.

  After a while, the vast momentum slowly dissipated, and everything in the cave returned to calmness. Shengong Bao still did not collect his merit and rose, continuing to sit in meditation with Lao Seng, consolidating his current state.

  A high-rise building of ten thousand feet is built from the ground, every step requires a solid foundation, otherwise when advancing to higher levels, all sorts of obstacles will appear and there will be no way to achieve greatness.

  More than a month later, Shen Gong Bao finally slowly withdrew his power, and the bright light in his opened eyes flashed by, his temperament became more and more extraordinary and refined, light and clear, of course, except for that mouse-like face of his.

  "Taiyi Xuanxian, very good, very good!" Shengong Bao muttered to himself, suddenly his eyes lit up, thinking of something, and then he closed his eyes again, entering a meditative state.

  The sound of the Tao is heard again, like a dream yet so real. The great teachings of Lao Tzu echo in my heart, simple and plain without embellishment, every word revealing the Tao. The three thousand teachings of the Tao flow slowly through Shen Gongbao's Heart Lake, like a gentle stream nourishing his foundation for spiritual practice, like vast waves crashing against the obstacles on his path to spiritual growth.

  Mysterious, mysterious, mysterious!

  Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

  The words of the Great Way echoed in his heart, and memories of stargazing reappeared, like a dream, suddenly, along with the Refining Vessel Technique discussed with Yun Zhongzi. At this moment, the blank Merit Board embryo that appeared in the game also emerged before him. The Refining Vessel Technique merged with the Merit Board embryo, and the True Words of the Great Way fluttered by, immediately breaking down into various mysterious and unfathomable mystical symbols. Golden light flashed, and the symbols suddenly enlarged before Shen Gongbao's divine consciousness, then rushed forward to meet him, entering his primordial spirit without any reaction.

  Before long, all the golden talismans were imprinted on his primordial spirit, neither more nor less, exactly three hundred and sixty-five in number, matching the cycles of the celestial sphere.

  When all the symbols entered Shen Gong Bao's primordial spirit, Shen Gong Bao was suddenly pushed out of the Great Dao Illusory Realm by an inexplicable force once again, and his primordial spirit had become extremely weak.

  Although his spirit was weak and depressed, Shen Gongbao was overjoyed, muttering to himself in a low voice: "The 'Huang Ting Nei Jing Jing' actually has such an effect, the merit list is complete!"

  After a long time, Shen Gong Bao slowly calmed down and recovered the spiritual energy he had consumed when he previously comprehended the "Huang Ting Nei Jing Jing".

  Three days later, Shen Gong Bao stood up with a loud shout and walked back and forth in the cave. After several rounds, he suddenly shouted: "Divine Eye, appear!", A bright golden divine eye suddenly appeared on his forehead, just like Erlang Shen's third eye.

  Xiu Wei's cultivation improved, and Shen Gong Bao's divine eyes finally fully appeared, no longer vague or uncertain.

  Dark clouds are rolling in, like wolf smoke rushing straight into the sky. White clouds are floating gently, like auspicious omens shining with golden light. Shen Gong Bao's karma and merit have fully appeared, without a doubt. Whether it is karma or merit, they are both intangible and invisible objects that ordinary people cannot touch or see. However, great masters can refine them into magical artifacts together with heavenly treasures and earthly gems, containing immense power.

  For example, the Taichu Laozi's protective treasure, the Tian Di Xuan Huang Ling Long Pagoda, is made by refining a layer of opening heaven merit after Pangu opened up the sky and earth, mixed with Xuan Huang Qi. It is invulnerable to all laws and unaffected by cause and effect.

  However, no one uses their own karma to refine magical artifacts, because using magical artifacts refined by karma will increase their own karma exponentially. Cultivators are extremely afraid of karma, so no one will use magical artifacts refined by karma, but instead eliminate karma through merit or mysterious techniques, such as the Western Sect's Golden Body of Relics, which is a method to eliminate karma.

  Shen Gong Bao looked at Hei Yun Ye Li beside him, smiled mysteriously, and was extremely strange.

  Returning to the stone bed, he sat in meditation for a moment before suddenly opening his eyes and shouting: "The primordial spirit is the guide, karma is the material, the merit board appears!"

  Crack!

  A cracking sound came from the void, and Shengong Bao's face turned pale in an instant, with a bean-sized cold sweat sliding down his cheek. He had no time to spare, and his hands formed a mysterious seal, suddenly appearing in mid-air A three-inch square piece of golden fragments, it was a fragment of Shengong Bao's primordial spirit that he forcibly broke off from his own primordial spirit.

  "This is the most fundamental substance of the origin, not like the power of the origin that can be recovered in a short period of time. Such a small object as a fingernail cannot be restored even after countless years."

  However, Shen Gongbao didn't seem to mind. He saw that his hands were constantly forming seals, and the seals struck the fragments of Yuanshen, shattering them into powder and dispersing them. After a moment, the fragments reformed into a fragmented square image.

  Then, Shen Gong Bao made a grasping motion in the air, and the dark cloud's energy appeared in his hand. With a flick of his finger, the energy flowed into the square picture like water, connecting the broken pieces of Yuanshen with needle and thread. In no time, a black square banner took shape.

  Shen Gong Bao's empty hand grasped the air, and this black, square object resembling a demonic flag fell into his hands. Although his face was deathly pale, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.

  "The Merit Board embryo has finally been refined, hahaha... Its appearance is like this, extremely crazy, although it's different from the white Merit Board in his memory, but Shen Gongbao knew that what he held was indeed the Merit Board, and on the day of its completion, it would become his most powerful treasure."

  After those 365 golden talismans were imprinted on his primordial spirit, Shen Gong Bao knew how to refine the Merit Board. It turned out that refining magical treasures with the method of karma was also a part of the Three Thousand Great Daos' Refining Equipment Dao. In the True Speech of the Great Dao, it clearly appeared and was grasped by Shen Gong Bao, so he was overjoyed.

  "The Scripture of the Inner Landscape of the Yellow Court" contains three thousand great Dao, which is a collection of the world's great Dao. As long as you understand one of them or are aware of some secret method, even if it's just a word or half a sentence, with deep insight and thick good fortune, you can also comprehend all in the cleansing of the great Dao's teachings. Undoubtedly, Shen Gongbao is fortunate.

  Shen Gong Bao used his own yuan Shen as the canvas, his own karma as the brush and ink, and painted a merit chart. This belonged to the soul-refining path of alchemy, which required using one's own yuan Shen as the guide, and the refined object could only be used by oneself, with great restrictions.

  However, the benefits are many. The treasure refined is due to the cultivator's yuan Shen as the guide, and it contains the source of the cultivator's yuan Shen, so it is one with the cultivator from the beginning. On the day of completion, there is no need for refinement, and it can be obtained without any hindrance. Moreover, as long as the refined treasure is stored in the sea of consciousness of the yuan Shen to nourish, it will not leak out even a little bit, nor will it attract people's envy.

  Nowadays, the Merit Board is just an empty shell, and it must be left to Shen Gongbao's continuous refinement in the future to become a rare treasure. Looking at the Merit Board in his hand like ink, Shen Gongbao joyfully stored it in his Yuanshen recognition sea, and nurtured it with warmth.

  Then, Shen Gong Bao finally sat down with a grin, entering into meditation to recover. Not only was his spiritual energy severely damaged, but his magical powers were also greatly depleted, and he had to retreat again to restore himself.

  In the mountains, time flies by without a care, and before you know it, three months have passed.

  "Ah..."

  Outside the cave, Shengong stretched his arms lazily and let out a comfortable sigh, gazing at the surrounding clouds and misty scenery. His mood was excellent, and he couldn't help but rise up on a cloud and fly to the top of the clouds, looking down at Mount Kunlun.

  The clouds surge and heave, sometimes calm, sometimes in motion. When calm, it's like a vast ocean without waves, serene and peaceful; when in motion, it's like dragons soaring and tigers leaping, with waves crashing and surging, extraordinary and remarkable.

  Among the rolling clouds, the green peaks are sometimes hidden and sometimes visible. Occasionally, you can hear the sound of mountain streams flowing gently. The clear wind blows against your face, and your clothes flutter in the breeze. Looking far into the distance, all that can be seen is a vast expanse, and only then do you realize how great the sky is and how broad the earth is. A heroic spirit suddenly arises in your chest, and your temperament is once again elevated. Even an ordinary face takes on a mysterious golden glow, losing its usual plainness.

  "Vast sky and earth, there must be a place for me, Shen Gongbao, to unfold my grand plan. Just wait!" At this moment, Shen Gongbao's not-so-sturdy figure was so straight and majestic, with an aura of dominance emanating from him, but unfortunately, no one saw it.

  After feeling a sense of nostalgia, Shen Gongbao flew towards Qilin Cliff to see if Yuanshi Tianzun had returned from the Purple Mist Palace and whether the sealing of the gods had begun.

  (Second update, editor asked me to revise the text, a lot of changes need to be made for the draft after Qingfeng... Ugh, Qingfeng is going to be busy lately, and there are exams too... Qingfeng is going crazy! Also, if you have any suggestions please let me know, give Qingfeng some inspiration, hehe!)