He glanced at Chu Bai and said seriously, "If it weren’t for Junior Brother Chu, this wouldn’t have been so easy for us.
"From the precision of his luring to the final killing blow, Junior Brother Chu deserves the most credit. I propose we each give ten percent of our earnings from this trip to Junior Brother Chu as an extra token of our gratitude."
"I agree!" Zhang Shan immediately chimed in. "I wouldn’t feel right otherwise."
"I have no objection either," Lin Xiaoyun nodded, her eyes sincere.
Chu Bai was about to refuse, but Wang Qingli raised a hand to stop him.
"That settles it."
Wang Qingli looked at Chu Bai, her gaze softening. "You’ve earned it. Don’t refuse. Otherwise, we’ll be too embarrassed to ask you along the next time a good opportunity comes up."
Seeing their firm resolve, Chu Bai felt a warmth in his chest. He cupped his hands in thanks. "In that case, I’ll graciously accept."
The group exchanged a few more words before parting ways.
As Chu Bai walked back to his room alone, the cool night breeze sobered him up a little. He felt the heavy pair of Rat General’s Fangs tucked inside his robes, and a satisfied smile touched his lips.
This trip had been a great success. He had not only earned plenty of Cultivation Resources but also made some valuable connections and, more importantly, put his own strength to the test.
’Hunting missions like this really are the fastest way to earn.’
’But high rewards come with high risks. The Rat General we faced was only at the initial stage of the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer. If Lü Qing’s team hadn’t been there to take some of the pressure, our group of five would have struggled to take it down. We might have even been wiped out.’
’I still need to improve my strength as quickly as possible... I’m not short on resources for now, so I have to speed up my cultivation of the Five Elements Dao Foundation.’
「Three more days passed.」
Wang Qingli finally completed the entire process for turning in the mission.
After a strict verification by the Task Hall, the mountain of rat tails was exchanged for a staggering sum—six hundred and thirty Daoist Merit.
Split evenly among the five of them, each person’s account was credited with a full one hundred and twenty-six points.
But that wasn’t all.
As per their earlier agreement, Zhao Gang, Zhang Shan, and the others each took ten percent from their shares—a total of forty-eight points—and had it transferred to Chu Bai’s medallion.
With that, plus his previous balance, Chu Bai’s total Daoist Merit once again surpassed the two-hundred-point mark.
’At least for the short term, I won’t have to worry about cultivation resources.’
Chu Bai looked at the reassuring number on his medallion and let out a long sigh of relief.
With this huge sum of merit, combined with his unused access to the Class A Blessed Land, he could enter seclusion for a while without any distractions and focus on breaking through to the next stage of his Five Elements Dao Foundation.
Just then, Chu Bai felt the ancestral aperture between his eyebrows throb violently. A scalding current surged from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness without warning, instantly flooding his entire body.
He subconsciously summoned his system panel.
He saw that his fourth Fate Chart, [Seal and Ribbon Mutual Generation, Merit and Demerit Shape Destiny], which had always been dim and inert, was now radiating an unprecedentedly brilliant golden light!
[Seal and Ribbon Mutual Generation, Merit and Demerit Shape Destiny (Activated)]
[Status: Acknowledged for primary contribution, prestige emerging.]
[Effect: With the Seal and Ribbon bestowed, all skills flow with greater ease. As the host’s status and merits rise, the effects of other Fate Charts will be greatly amplified.]
’It’s activated?!’
Chu Bai was stunned.
He had originally thought this Fate Chart would only activate once he had truly obtained an Official Status; he never expected to meet the conditions for activation so soon.
’So this is what "merit" meant...’
’It didn’t activate when I killed the Rat General, only after word got out and the achievement was recognized.’
’Perhaps it’s based on influence?’
’The merit of eliminating the rat infestation isn’t immediately obvious, but over time, it’s considered removing a hidden danger from the world.’
’I’ll need to test this a few more times to be sure.’
The next step, as always, was cultivation.
’Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood.’
He used Introspection to look inside his Dantian. There, he saw vortexes of metal, water, and wood-attribute Qi, which, under the governance of his Perfection Level Guiyuan Technique, had already formed an exceptionally stable structure.
It was a self-sustaining cycle, operating in perfect harmony.
But its very stability made introducing a fourth attribute the greatest challenge of all.
’Whether I try to assimilate Earth first, or Fire first, it will instantly shatter the existing balance.’
Chu Bai’s brow furrowed.
’If I choose Earth, Earth overcomes Water.’
’The moment Earth Qi enters my body, my Water Attribute Magical Power—the largest component of my foundation—will be suppressed. This, in turn, will starve the Wood Qi that relies on it for nourishment, causing the entire cycle to collapse.’
’If I choose Fire, Fire overcomes Metal.’
’The moment Fire Qi enters, the Geng Metal Qi that forms the very skeleton of my Dao Foundation will retaliate. My body will descend into chaos, with Water conflicting with Fire and Metal battling Fire. My meridians would likely be shredded.’
’This step is the most perilous hurdle in forging the Five Elements Dao Foundation. If I can’t overcome it, this [Impermanence Root] of mine will be nothing but a joke.’
Chu Bai pondered for a long time, his gaze drifting over the list of Blessed Lands.
The Spirit Pavilion offered a vast array of Fire and Earth-attribute Spiritual Qi types—everything from [Earth Lung Fire] to [Thick Virtue Earth] was available. But no matter how many scenarios he ran in his head, he couldn’t seem to find a single type of Qi that would be perfectly compatible with his current foundation.
’Since introducing a single attribute is so difficult, maybe I can try... a more gradual approach? Like boiling a frog in lukewarm water?’
A flash of inspiration struck him. ’What if I use my access to the Spirit Pavilion to alternate my cultivation between Fire and Earth-attribute Blessed Lands every double-hour? Would that allow my body to slowly adapt to both auras? Is that feasible?’
With that thought, he no longer hesitated. He immediately selected a relatively mild Fire Attribute Blessed Land and entered.
Reality, however, dealt him a harsh blow.
After a trial of just one double-hour, Chu Bai was forced to beat a hasty and disheveled retreat.
No matter how carefully he controlled his rate of absorption, the moment the Fire Qi entered him, the Geng Metal Qi in his body erupted violently, like a lit powder keg.

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