Chapter 658: I exchanged it for battle merits

**A Wind Rises in the Nine Regions**

Such an amount of battle merits was unprecedented across the entire Nine Regions; even cultivators in the Divine Sea Realm couldn't possess it. It wasn't that Divine Sea Realm cultivators couldn't earn so many merits, but rather that they constantly expended them to acquire cultivation resources. No one would idly hoard such a vast sum.

With over 300,000 battle merits, even twenty Golden Spirit Talismans could be exchanged!

Given Lu Ye's current cultivation at the fifth level of the Cloud River Realm, possessing twenty Golden Spirit Talismans would easily allow him to advance to the eighth or ninth level!

While the City Lord could discern some of Lu Ye's subtle movements beneath the Soul Pool, he had no way of knowing precisely how many battle merits Lu Ye possessed. Upon receiving an answer from the Butcher, he immediately formulated a plan.

However, even as the City Lord of Xian Yuan City, he couldn't simply deduct Lu Ye's merits to grant him an equivalent amount of soul water. Such matters required the intervention of Heavenly Secrets.

Coincidentally, this also presented an opportunity to test if this person was indeed the chosen one.

If he was, Heavenly Secrets would surely respond; if not, there would naturally be no reaction.

With his decision made, he clasped his hands, faced the void, and softly chanted: "Ji Yuan of Xian Yuan City, respectfully implore Heavenly Secrets. Today, an outsider named Lu Ye entered my Xian Yuan City. He fought valiantly, shedding blood to annihilate the invading insectoids, and his spiritual body was damaged. He was permitted to recuperate in the Soul Pool. Upon awakening, he harbored ill intent and stole soul water from the Soul Pool, thus damaging the foundation of my Xian Yuan City. He should have been slain as a warning to others. However, considering his meritorious service, I, Yuan, cannot bear to do so. Therefore, I implore Heavenly Secrets to grant him the authority to exchange battle merits for soul water!"

Ji Yuan delivered his concise speech without pause, speaking with powerful resonance.

The moment his words concluded, Heavenly Secrets descended from the ethereal realm!

Ji Yuan raised an eyebrow, while the Butcher, standing behind him, revealed a pensive expression.

It was confirmed: the boy was indeed the chosen one!

Although Heavenly Secrets are omnipresent, and any cultivator can respectfully invite them to witness events or formalize contracts, it is exceedingly rare for them to grant special authority to a single individual in such a manner.

This was particularly true given that the matter involved the soul water within the Soul Pool.

This was the very foundation of Xian Yuan City. How could the lofty Heavenly Secrets be unaware of the soul water's paramount importance? Yet, even after Ji Yuan finished speaking, they still responded.

That boy had undoubtedly been chosen, which explained why he received such exceptional treatment from Heavenly Secrets.

Since Heavenly Secrets had granted Lu Ye the authority to exchange battle merits for soul water, what more could Ji Yuan say?

Ji Yuan was unsure of the exchange rate, but he needn't worry; Heavenly Secrets would make its own judgment. Furthermore, soul water was immensely important, and if the boy truly possessed only a few tens of thousands of merits as the Butcher claimed, he likely wouldn't be able to exchange for much of it.

He thought this to himself...

Lu Ye was unaware of the commotion by the Soul Cleansing Pool. At this very moment, he was concentrating intently on condensing soul water.

The last time he had been here, he was merely at the eighth level of the Spirit Creek Realm. Though now at the fifth level of the Cloud River Realm, peculiar circumstances meant his current strength was comparable to that of the True Lake Realm.

Thus, the spirit-gathering funnel he constructed this time was significantly larger than before, and the resulting commotion was naturally incomparable to his previous attempt.

The enormous funnel emitted an infinite devouring force, drawing in the dense soul mist, which subsequently condensed into soul water.

Lu Ye had initially used a jade bottle to collect the soul water, but found it condensed so rapidly that one bottle quickly filled.

He then simply took out an empty waterskin and placed it beneath the spirit-gathering funnel. Listening to the soul water drip into it, Lu Ye felt immensely pleased, considering it the most beautiful sound in the world. He remained completely oblivious that a powerful figure above the Soul Cleansing Pool was secretly grinding his teeth.

While collecting the soul water, he constantly monitored his surroundings.

The last time he had constructed a spirit-gathering funnel here, for some unknown reason, it frequently shattered, forcing him to reconstruct it repeatedly.

Little did he know that the reason for that situation last time was Ji Yuan, the City Lord of Xian Yuan City, secretly interfering...

Otherwise, the amount of soul cleansing water he could have taken out last time would have been considerably greater.

At the time, he simply assumed his spirit-gathering funnel wasn't stable enough and didn't dwell on it.

This time, he was mentally prepared for interference, yet the previous situation never recurred.

Just as Lu Ye was happily collecting soul water, his hand suddenly felt a slight warmth. This oddly familiar sensation astonished him, as such a reaction clearly occurred when a large amount of merit points were deducted.

It was just like when he had previously opened that great door, which required 10,000 merit points.

But he was merely collecting soul water; why would such a large amount of merit points be deducted?

Puzzled, he quickly immersed his consciousness to investigate, and immediately discovered something incredible.

What was being deducted wasn't merit points, but battle merits!

He had originally possessed over 300,000 battle merits, but now five to six tens of thousands were gone, and the amount was still rapidly decreasing.

What was happening?

Lu Ye felt a surge of panic.

This time, his greatest gains from entering Xian Yuan City, apart from soul water, were these battle merits. Though the quantity was substantial, he had risked his life for every single one.

He had already planned that upon his return to the Cloud River battlefield, he would immediately enter the Heavenly Secrets Treasury to exchange for a batch of Golden Spirit Talismans to enhance his cultivation. He didn't need to elevate it too drastically; with his current foundation, merely advancing to the seventh level of the Cloud River Realm would leave few in the entire Cloud River battlefield able to threaten his safety. If he could reach the eighth level, it would be even more splendid; he could then traverse the Cloud River battlefield unchallenged, and any presumptuous Myriad Demon Ridge cultivator who dared to seek trouble would be courting death.

However, his carefully laid plans were shattered by this sudden development.

Lu Ye couldn't understand why his battle merits were inexplicably decreasing, and at such an alarming rate, dropping almost exactly one thousand points at a time.

Why was this happening?

Although he had indeed employed certain methods and wielded power far beyond his inherent cultivation when acquiring these merits, he had earned them by slaying insectoids one by one. Why were they simply vanishing?

Furthermore, he had never heard of any cultivator's merit or battle merits vanishing in such an inexplicable way.

Even when facing desperate situations, Lu Ye could remain calm and undisturbed. But at this moment, he panicked. Watching his battle merits rapidly diminish, he felt an uncontrollable pang of heartache, as if someone was carving flesh from his body, slice by slice.

Over 300,000 battle merits—more than twice his current merit points! Within the cultivation world of the Nine Regions, it was likely no cultivator possessed more battle merits than standard merit points.

Before he could even truly utilize them, they were simply vanishing little by little.

Lu Ye cautioned himself to remain calm. First and foremost, he needed to ascertain why his battle merits were vanishing without explanation.

However, after much thought, he still had no clear idea.

At most, it was because he was secretly taking soul cleansing water...

Wait...

Lu Ye suddenly realized, his gaze fixed on the enormous funnel before him.

The reduction of battle merits followed a pattern; it was always in exact increments of one thousand points.

It was common knowledge that Heavenly Secrets managed the accounting and expenditure of both merit points and battle merits.

Therefore, the decrease in his battle merits was also the work of Heavenly Secrets.

If Heavenly Secrets truly intended to erase this vast amount of battle merits, it would simply do so directly; there would be no need for such a slow, agonizing deduction.

One thousand points, an exact integer, was also a curious figure.

Lu Ye simultaneously perceived the condensation of soul cleansing water and monitored the changes in his battle merits, gradually discerning a pattern.

Every time his waterskin received a drop of soul cleansing water, his battle merits would decrease by one thousand points.

To verify his conjecture, Lu Ye moved the waterskin away from beneath the funnel.

As expected, the number of his battle merits ceased to change. Even if new soul water condensed, as long as it wasn't collected, no battle merits would be deducted, as the condensed soul water would quickly re-vaporize and return to the soul mist.

So that's how it was!

The battle merits he was consuming were indeed for exchanging soul water; each drop was worth one thousand battle merits.

Realizing this, Lu Ye's previously tense mood completely relaxed.

He had originally been sneaking around here, feeling anxious and fearful of being discovered, as taking something without permission was ultimately not a good thing.

But since this process consumed his battle merits, it was perfectly legitimate.

While this certainly scuttled his original plans for cultivation advancement, soul water was undoubtedly far more precious than mere cultivation.

This substance could only be obtained within Xian Yuan City, whereas cultivation could be gradually improved. Anyone with common sense could easily discern which was more important.

Moreover, one thousand battle merits for one drop of soul water—what a bargain!

Lu Ye hadn't expected the price to exchange for soul water here to be so incredibly affordable.

What could one thousand battle merits accomplish? For a cultivator, one thousand battle merits could be exchanged for one blue spirit talisman or two white spirit talismans, neither of which would offer a significant improvement to a cultivator.

But a single drop of soul water? If it were put on the market, even grand cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm would likely vie for it fiercely. Any Divine Sea Realm grand cultivator who possessed a single drop of soul water could experience a notable enhancement of their divine soul.

Compared to this, certain cultivators at the ninth level of the True Lake Realm had an even greater demand for soul water, as a single drop might enable them to break through their current bottleneck and advance to the Divine Sea Realm.

The two items were on entirely different levels of value.

Having understood why his battle merits were being consumed, Lu Ye completely relaxed.

He wasn't sneaking around; he was acquiring this soul water by exchanging a vast amount of battle merits!

He could now stand tall, even in the presence of the City Lord of Xian Yuan City!

Meanwhile, by the Soul Cleansing Pool, the expression of the City Lord of Xian Yuan City, whom Lu Ye was oblivious to, turned grim, as he sensed that things were developing rather unexpectedly.

"Butcher!" Ji Yuan exclaimed. "Didn't you say he only had a few tens of thousands of merit points?"

The Butcher quickly defended himself, "I don't know how many merit points he has; I was merely guessing." He then asked, "What happened?"

Ji Yuan slowly turned his head, staring intently at the Butcher, and gnashed his teeth, "He has already collected over two hundred drops of soul cleansing water! And he still hasn't stopped!"

How could he possibly have only a few tens of thousands of merit points? It's likely that the merit points the boy possesses far exceed the Butcher's estimate.