Chapter 181: Acquisition

Nearly a full day passed.

Jiang An reinforced all the seals completely.

Shen Changqing accompanied him throughout the process.

Fortunately, after the initial possession by an evil spirit, no further issues arose.

Ten merit points – a bargain, considering the circumstances.

Upon returning to the third level, Jiang An carried the discarded corpse, ignored by everyone, and ascended.

"What happened, Lords?"

Seeing Jiang An carrying a corpse, all the guards focused their attention on them, and the leader asked in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Jiang An put the corpse down.

"A Grievance Rank monster broke free from its seal on the third level and possessed this person. However, the monster has already been slain. Now, we’ll leave this person to you to determine which Demon Slaying Courtyard they belong to."

"Understood!"

The leader nodded, not overly surprised.

The Demon Prison had existed for so many years; it was normal for evil entities to occasionally break free.

Subsequently, the two exited the Demon Prison.

Upon returning to the Seclusion Pavilion, Jiang An stopped.

"I must now return to the Demon Subjugation Pavilion. If Brother Shen is ever interested, feel free to seek me out there. I shall take my leave."

"Farewell, Brother Jiang."

Shen Changqing nodded, saying nothing more.

After Jiang An departed, he returned to his own residence.

Having spent an entire day, it was now early the next morning.

Back in his courtyard, Shen Changqing checked his attribute panel, noting a significant increase in slaughter points from his recent kill.

A Grievance Rank Peak monster contributed a considerable amount of slaughter points.

There was no reason not to use the slaughter points.

Therefore, upon returning, he immediately began a new round of upgrades.

Name: Shen Changqing
Faction: Great Qin Demon Suppression Division
Identity: Earth-Rank Demon Slayer
True Intent: Hundred Battle True Intent
Martial Arts: Invincible Golden Body, Iron Sand Palm, Celestial Luo Stepping Gait, Mountain Opening Palm Technique, Willow Floss Movement Technique, Great Sun Scripture, Tathagata Golden Body
Slaughter Points: 37

Originally, he only had three slaughter points, but after slaying a top-tier Grievance Rank monster in the Demon Prison and acquiring some additional scattered points, he now had a total of thirty-seven.

The Great Sun Scripture’s improvement was slightly less than Shen Changqing had anticipated.

Fifteen slaughter points could raise it one level.

He consumed thirty slaughter points, directly raising it to the fifteenth level.

The fifteenth level Great Sun Scripture now surpassed his original seventeenth level Heavenly Martial Gang Qi.

Moreover, due to his entry into the Body Forging Realm, his current Qi and blood strength was fully sufficient to support the internal energy’s improvement, without needing to consume Qi and Blood Pills to balance the consumption as before.

"The fifteenth level Great Sun Scripture, combined with my current Qi and blood strength, should be comparable to a true Grandmaster Late Stage, if not better."

"After all, the only gap between me and a Grandmaster Late Stage lies in the mental system."

Shen Changqing estimated inwardly.

The difference between the two in the mental system was negligible in the early stages.

Now that the Great Sun True Qi had reached the fifteenth level, its True Qi quality was not weak, so unless it was a very powerful Grandmaster Late Stage, he was confident in dealing with them.

Then, Shen Changqing’s thoughts shifted.

"A trip to the Demon Prison allowed the Great Sun Scripture to rise two levels. Outward experience is indeed much faster than bitter cultivation inside the Demon Suppression Division, but the problem is that if the mental system doesn’t enter True Intent Manifestation, it will remain a weakness.

Whether or not to go out now is still a question –"

The purpose of going out was definitely to seek out evil entities to hunt.

Currently, both Dahuang Prefecture and Luo’an Prefecture were embroiled in war, and the vast Great Qin was teetering on the brink of instability.

At this point, only by increasing his strength could he cope with future events.

"If I want to improve my strength as soon as possible, I have to find a way to obtain merit points. Only merit points can allow me to stay in the secret room for cultivation."

"I’ve nearly exhausted my merit points. It seems I need to think of a way."

Shen Changqing’s mind raced.

Earn merit points, then use the secret room to cultivate.

After visiting the secret room several times, he understood its importance.

Relying solely on his own bitter cultivation was simply insufficient to sustain that level of consumption.

However – earning merit points, apart from outward missions, proved extraordinarily difficult through other channels.

Something came to mind.

Shen Changqing left the courtyard directly and headed outside.

Demon Slaying Hall.

Shen Changqing arrived at the Treasure Hall once more. It was not crowded now, and people sat behind each counter.

He scanned the area, finally walking towards one of the counters.

"Brother Ji!"

Looking at the person in front of him, Shen Changqing considered it and finally settled on a moderate form of address.

After all, the other party was not even a Black-Rank Demon Slaying Envoy, so calling him "Senior" was clearly inappropriate.

Calling him "Lord" was even worse.

Therefore, after much thought, this address seemed the most fitting.

Ji Qu, who had been dozing off, woke up instantly upon hearing the voice.

Opening his hazy eyes, he was fully awake the moment he saw Shen Changqing.

"Lord Shen!?"

He was visibly startled, but quickly regained his composure.

"How is it that Lord Shen has the time to visit This old one today? Could it be that you wish to exchange something?"

"I have some matters I wish to discuss with Brother Ji."

Speaking to this point, Shen Changqing looked left and right, lowering his tone considerably.

"Previously, Brother Ji mentioned that merit points could be traded on the black market –"

"Lord Shen wishes to sell merit points?"

Ji Qu’s expression cleared.

Hearing this, Shen Changqing shook his head: "No, I do not wish to sell merit points, but rather to purchase them."

Purchase merit points!

Ji Qu’s expression froze, then turned serious.

"This matter is not suitable to discuss here. Let us move to another location."

Having said that, he went to another counter and said to another person: "Old Chen, I have some matters to attend to. Please cover for me!"

"Alright."

The old man named Old Chen glanced at him, casually nodding in agreement.

Seeing this, Ji Qu immediately led Shen Changqing away.

Leaving the Demon Slaying Hall, he said: "Shall This old one discuss this at This old one’s residence, or at your residence, Lord Shen?"

"Let’s go to your place."

Shen Changqing shook his head.

He no longer resided in the Yellow Division Demon Slaying Courtyard, and it was impossible to return.

As for taking someone to the Seclusion Pavilion, that was also inappropriate.

After all, he had only recently entered the Seclusion Pavilion, and if he took someone in and out without authorization, causing any problems would be troublesome.

Ji Qu did not think much of it, and led Shen Changqing towards his residence.

"This old one has always resided in the Earth Division Demon Slaying Courtyard. May I ask where Lord Shen resides?"

As they walked side by side, Ji Qu could not help but turn his head and ask.

"I no longer reside in the Demon Slaying Courtyard."

"You no longer reside in the Demon Slaying Courtyard?"

Ji Qu’s expression froze, and then as if he had realized something, his expression changed slightly.

"Could it be that Lord Shen has entered the Seclusion Pavilion?"

"Brother Ji is also aware of the Seclusion Pavilion?"

Hearing Shen Changqing’s question, Ji Qu finally confirmed his guess, and a look of admiration appeared on his face.

"Lord Shen has truly entered the Seclusion Pavilion."

After exclaiming this, he gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Lord Shen is joking. I believe no Black-Rank Demon Slaying Envoy is unfamiliar with the name of the Seclusion Pavilion. Before joining the Demon Slaying Hall, This old one was once a Black-Rank Demon Slaying Envoy and was fortunate enough to visit the Seclusion Pavilion once.

That is where the Demon Suppression Division’s true core lies.

Unfortunately, This old one has only been to the Martial Pavilion. I have only heard of the other pavilions, but have never actually been there."

Having said that, Ji Qu looked at Shen Changqing again.

"May I ask which pavilion Lord Shen went to?"

"The Martial Pavilion."

"The Martial Pavilion, of course. With Lord Shen’s talent, if you were to enter the Seclusion Pavilion, you would most likely enter the Martial Pavilion!"

Ji Qu was not too surprised.

In his view, it was normal for Shen Changqing to enter the Martial Pavilion upon entering the Seclusion Pavilion.

On the contrary, it would be strange if he had entered the Demon Subjugation Pavilion or the Demon Sealing Pavilion.

As they talked, they soon arrived at Ji Qu’s residence.

It was similar to Shen Changqing’s previous residence, except that the other party had decorated it slightly, making it more pleasing to the eye.

In a small pavilion, the two sat facing each other.

Ji Qu skillfully used True Qi to boil a pot of cold water, with a smile on his face.

"This old one does not have Enlightenment Tea here, only some ordinary spiritual tea. I hope Lord Shen will not find it strange."

"Brother Ji is joking."

Shen Changqing smiled slightly.

Looking at the spiritual tea Ji Qu brewed, although it also had spiritual energy permeating it, the gap between the two was enormous compared to Enlightenment Tea.

Clearly, it was as the other party had said.

The grade of this spiritual tea was obviously not high.

Picking up the spiritual tea, Ji Qu took a small sip, then looked at Shen Changqing with a puzzled expression.

"Lord Shen has entered the Martial Pavilion and should not lack merit points. It is said that the people in the Martial Pavilion can obtain a lot of resources from the Demon Suppression Division every year."

"Although the Martial Pavilion does have some resources, Shen needs to use merit points elsewhere."

Shen Changqing also picked up his teacup, took a sip of the spiritual tea, then put it down and said solemnly.

"I know that Brother Ji is more familiar with the black market, so I would like to ask you about it. I wonder if it is possible for me to acquire merit points?"

Hearing this, Ji Qu pondered for a moment.

"The black market sells merit points, so it can naturally acquire merit points as well, but This old one would like to ask presumptuously, how many merit points does Lord Shen ultimately wish to acquire?"

"You should know."

"The price will vary depending on the amount of merit points."

End of Chapter