Chapter 52: Changes in Merits

The blade wasn't a traditional saber; it was longer than a typical sword but very narrow, resembling the legendary Embroidered Spring Saber.

Lu Ye swung it a few times and found it comfortable to use.

This was a good outcome. The old sword was unusable, and now he had a new weapon without needing to buy one.

He tried channeling his spiritual power into the blade. A faint glow immediately appeared on the long sword, not sharp but giving a sense of weight.

Even more surprisingly, Lu Ye felt as if something was hidden inside the blade.

Closing his eyes, he used the flow of his spiritual power to sense it, gradually discerning what was within the blade.

Inside this blade, there was a spiritual紋!

"Is this... a spiritual artifact?" Lu Ye looked surprised.

He had frequented the market several times, and his knowledge was far greater than when he first entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He had heard of spiritual artifacts—weapons specifically for cultivators. A fine spiritual artifact could often greatly assist its owner.

Lu Ye's previous sword was a mundane artifact; apart from being sharply forged, it had nothing special about it. But spiritual artifacts were different. Depending on the type of spiritual纹 inscribed within, each spiritual artifact possessed its own unique power.

This blade contained a spiritual纹. When Lu Ye channeled spiritual power into it, he could easily activate the spiritual纹's power, imbuing the blade with its properties.

He experimented for a moment and confirmed that the spiritual纹 was for reinforcing the blade. This meant the spiritual artifact would be less prone to damage during combat.

Lu Ye suddenly understood. No wonder his sharp spiritual纹-enhanced long sword hadn't been able to cut through the opponent's blade earlier...

This was an unexpected bonus. Although reinforcing the blade might sound unexciting, it was actually a very practical spiritual纹. Furthermore, Lu Ye himself possessed the sharp spiritual纹, which he could readily use to enhance this spiritual artifact, significantly increasing its sharpness.

With such a spiritual artifact in hand, Lu Ye's strength would increase by at least 10-20%. He could now slash and chop freely when encountering enemies, without worrying about his weapon breaking.

However, a spiritual artifact with only one spiritual纹 was probably the lowest-grade kind.

"Come in!" Lu Ye sheathed the long blade and sat down cross-legged again.

A small figure slowly floated into the cave entrance. When it reached Lu Ye, it gave him a fawning smile and obediently said, "The other person's body has been dealt with too."

Lu Ye casually tossed out a storage bag—Liu Ruoyin's.

Yiyi took it, inspected it, and said in surprise, "So much?"

Inside, there was over a bottle of spirit pills alone, plus a few spirit stones.

"Let's split the goods fifty-fifty. Thank you both this time," Lu Ye nodded to her. Although he had enough talismans and was confident he could kill the clean-faced man on his own, if he had done so, he wouldn't have been able to open the man's storage bag.

And he would definitely have had to take some risks.

When he went to find Dahu and Yiyi, he intended to borrow their strength. Fortunately, Yiyi was quick-witted; with just a word from him, Yiyi knew what to do.

Their cooperation this time was smooth and enjoyable.

The clean-faced man's storage bag didn't have many good items; the only valuable thing was his weapon. Liu Ruoyin was richer, but not by much.

Moreover, Liu Ruoyin's talisman was activated at the last moment. If Dahu hadn't shielded him, Lu Ye would have had to face the talisman's power himself, adding much danger.

Splitting the items in half, with Lu Ye taking the spiritual artifact, he technically profited.

Yiyi hadn't expected Lu Ye to be so generous. She looked at him with a somewhat complex expression, finally thanking him.

"Wait," Lu Ye called out to her.

Yiyi turned back.

"You must have heard what the woman we killed earlier said."

"Yes."

"Although this matter was her private action, and her death is no great loss, she was, after all, a member of the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance. I don't know how the Alliance will react after her death, but you two should find another base. This place is too close to Qingyun Market. If the Alliance investigates her death, they could easily trace it back to you."

"What about you?" Yiyi asked.

"I'll be leaving here soon."

This incident taught Lu Ye a lesson. All the spirit pills he used for cultivation now came from selling Origin Magnetic Ores, and the only sales channel was the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance. After only three visits, Liu Ruoyin had targeted him.

Who knew if there was a second Liu Ruoyin there?

So, he decided not to stay here any longer.

If cultivating to the first level of Spirit Creek granted him the qualification to survive on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, then the second level now gave him the capital to travel.

He couldn't control what decisions Yiyi and Dahu would make. The Spirit Creek Battlefield was vast, and they might not meet again, but out of goodwill, he offered the reminder.

After Yiyi left, Lu Ye inventoried his supplies.

Ninety-three Spirit Cultivation Pills: eighty-one bought from the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, twelve from sharing the spoils with Yiyi.

Four spirit stones: also from sharing spoils. His own spirit stones had been used to buy food.

Seven healing pills: four were his remaining, three were found in the clean-faced man's storage bag. Liu Ruoyin's storage bag, on the other hand, had no healing pills; she probably never expected to need them.

Under thirty various talismans.

Twenty-six Origin Magnetic Ores of various sizes.

One lowest-grade spiritual artifact long blade.

One volume of the Golden Cicada Freedom Art.

His current spirit pills were enough to cultivate him to the third level of Spirit Creek. Once he reached the third level, his strength would undoubtedly increase again. While he couldn't claim to dominate the outer perimeter of the battlefield, his self-preservation ability would at least improve.

He vaguely felt he had forgotten something. After thinking for a long time, he finally remembered.

Immediately, he channeled spiritual energy into the back of his right hand. As spiritual power ripples spread, they formed a blue spiritual紋. The spiritual紋 wriggled and transformed, and several large characters appeared in Lu Ye's vision.

Name: Lu Ye.

Identity: Disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect.

Cultivation: Twenty-one apertures.

Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield.

Merit: Eight.

Compared to the first time he saw the battlefield mark, his name, identity, and location hadn't changed. But his cultivation had progressed from three apertures opened to twenty-one apertures. This was the result of Lu Ye's efforts over two months, so there was nothing surprising about it.

What interested him was the Merit!

The first time he saw it, he was very curious about what this merit was and how it was obtained.

Only now did he vaguely understand.

This merit, he suspected, could only be obtained by killing people.

He remembered that when the clean-faced man died, a red light floated from the back of his hand and flew into his own hand.

But when Liu Ruoyin died, a yellow light flew out.

Did different colored lights represent different factions?

If so, the clean-faced cultivator he killed must have belonged to the Myriad Devil Ridge, and the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance was considered a neutral faction? That's why they did business with both sides.

However, Lu Ye currently didn't know the specific use of this merit. He could only gradually explore it in the future.