"So that's how it is. This light of merit was sent down by Heaven and Earth because they remembered me for slaying that extraterrestrial demon general and saving tens of thousands of people in the prefecture city?"
After some exploration within the space between his eyebrows, Lu Qing understood the origin of this ball of merit light.
It turned out that it was because he killed the demonic cultivator, thus averting the calamity of the blood sacrifice that had befallen the people of the entire prefecture.
Therefore, Heaven and Earth were moved and bestowed merit.
"However, how should we use this light of merit?"
Looking at the light of merit before him, Lu Qing was somewhat perplexed.
The merit he gained this time was even greater than that of his master.
But he simply didn't know how to use this light of merit.
Neither the Li Huo Sect nor the Shen Fu Sect has any cultivation techniques or secrets related to the Light of Merit.
Lu Qing thought for a moment, then withdrew his mind from the acupoint between his eyebrows.
"Senior Yan, do you know how to use the light of merit?"
"Was that golden light just now the light of merit?"
Yan was startled at first, then realized: "That's right. You saved the lives of the entire prefecture's people this time. It's normal for Heaven and Earth to be moved and bestow merit upon you."
"From what you're saying, senior, this divine favor isn't an isolated case?" Lu Qing asked.
"Although it is not a common occurrence, in the ancient era of cultivation, it was not too rare for merits to fall from the sky."
Do you know why the righteous sects in the cultivation world have always emphasized that good and evil cannot coexist and that they must slay demons and monsters?
One of the biggest reasons is that slaying demons and monsters makes it easier to gain divine favor and make one's path of cultivation smoother.
If one could receive the light of merit bestowed by heaven and earth, that would be even more extraordinary.
Those practitioners protected by the light of merit will encounter fewer obstacles on their path of cultivation.
Even when they face the tribulations of Golden Core and Primordial Spirit in the future, the lightning tribulations will be much less severe than those faced by other cultivators.
"Yan" spoke eloquently, revealing some secrets about the Light of Merit.
"The light of merit can actually resist the divine power of lightning tribulation?" Lu Qing was truly surprised this time.
"Otherwise, do you really think there are so many righteous cultivators who are willing to risk their lives to shout about slaying demons and eliminating evil every day?"
Young master, cultivators are the most ruthless, especially ancient beings who have lived for hundreds or thousands of years, who cherish their lives the most.
They are unwilling to easily get into trouble, so why would they risk fighting with demonic cultivators for the sake of a few mortals?
It's all because it's profitable and helpful for one's spiritual practice.
Lu Qing had a sudden realization.
He knew that Yan was right.
The purpose of cultivation is to break through one's own limitations and contend with fate.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they cherish their lives the most, so why would they easily risk their lives for ordinary people?
Only the temptation of heavenly merit would make them flock to slaying demons and eliminating evil.
"Senior Yan, how should we use this light of merit?"
"I don't know either."
Yan shook his head and said, "The light of merit is extremely mysterious. In the ancient era of cultivation, only a few people were able to establish great merit and receive the light of merit from heaven and earth."
I have only heard that the light of merit has a miraculous effect during tribulation, and can effectively reduce the power of the heavenly tribulation.
This is also why, in the ancient era of cultivation, powerful cultivators who were about to undergo tribulation would choose to spend some time in the mortal world to gain experience and accumulate good deeds.
Besides that, I don't know what other uses it has.
Back in the days of the Li Huo Sect, I never saw anyone who could obtain the Light of Merit.
At this point, Yan couldn't help but marvel once again at Lu Qing's extraordinary fortune.
The light of merit is a truly wondrous thing.
In the ancient era of cultivation, even those powerful beings who had already stood at the top of the cultivation world valued it highly.
However, obtaining the light of merit is not easy; it seems that the Heavenly Dao has its own set of standards for judgment.
Simply doing good deeds and accumulating merit does not guarantee that one will receive it.
Unexpectedly, Lu Qing received the light of merit from heaven and earth simply for killing a demonic cultivator who was not even at the Foundation Establishment stage.
If those powerful cultivators from ancient times knew about this, they would probably be green with envy.
"Even you, senior, don't know this..."
Lu Qing shook his head.
Even the ancient "Yan" doesn't know how to use the Light of Merit, so it seems we can only leave it in the acupoint between the eyebrows for now.
In any case, he could sense that the light of merit did not harm him.
On the contrary, he also felt that under the illumination of the light of merit, the entire space between his eyebrows became peaceful.
The power of the soul was bathed in it, and it even felt like it was slowly increasing.
Since that's the case, he decided to ignore it for the time being.
"Young Master Lu, are you alright?"
Just as Lu Qing was pondering, a call reached his ears.
However, Wei Xinghe saw him standing there in meditation and was worried that he might have been injured in the previous battle, so he asked him with concern.
As for the city lord and others, after witnessing Lu Qing's terrifying strength, they were filled with awe and reverence for him.
They dared not disturb him any longer.
Even if Lu Qing was just standing there in a daze, they dared not show the slightest disrespect.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things." Lu Qing came back to his senses and smiled. "By the way, Patriarch Wei, have you found Zihao?"
"Oh, right, Zihao!"
Wei Xinghe then realized what was happening and quickly began to sense it with his mind.
But soon, his expression changed drastically: "Oh no, Zihao is gone!"
"What's going on, Patriarch Wei?"
Upon seeing this, Lu Qing immediately asked.
When he contacted Wei Xinghe using the Concealing Breath Talisman, he did not mention Wei Zihao's information.
"Young Master Lu, Zihao was previously controlled by that demonic cultivator using evil magic, and he seems to have become a completely different person..."
Wei Xinghe quickly recounted Wei Zihao's story, emphasizing the significant change in his personality.
“When the formation was still in place, Zihao was still in the city, but now I can’t sense his presence anymore.”
Wei Xinghe looked anxious.
He had a premonition that if Wei Zihao secretly left, he might never be able to find his eldest son again.
"He has black runes on his body, and his personality has changed drastically..."
Lu Qing recalled the Qingyun Sword Pavilion disciples he had previously suppressed on the ground.
However, those people were severely injured by him and are still lying there unable to move.
"Patriarch Wei, please don't rush, let me take a look."
Lu Qing released his mental energy to sense the situation in the city.
His spiritual power is far greater than Wei Xinghe's.
The range of its sensing capabilities far surpasses that of Wei Xinghe.
Because, with Lu Qing's full sensitivity, he quickly discovered that a hidden aura was lurking in a certain location.
Lu Qing smiled slightly: "Patriarch Wei, I think I've found the location."
Then, to Wei Xinghe's delighted gaze, his figure disappeared.
Soon, everyone sensed a strange aura suddenly erupting in one of the city's streets.
But it only lasted for a moment before it was suddenly suppressed.
Immediately afterwards, a few breaths later, Lu Qing reappeared before everyone.
He was also carrying someone in his hand. When Wei Xinghe looked at him, he realized it was none other than Wei Zihao.
However, at this moment, Wei Zihao's eyes were closed, and he was unconscious, having fallen into a coma.
"Zihao!"
"Don't worry, Patriarch Wei, I've only temporarily sealed Zihao's consciousness."
He was under the spell of that demonic cultivator, his mind was clouded, and he was in quite a bit of trouble.
I'm afraid I'll have to go back and study this carefully with my master before I can see if I can find a way to solve it.
Lu Qing explained.
"That's excellent."
Upon hearing this, Wei Xinghe finally felt relieved.
"Alright, Patriarch Wei, now that the demonic cultivator has been killed, this matter is settled."
The talisman on Zihao's body is obtained by extracting life force from his body in exchange for power.
It must be untied as soon as possible, otherwise it will cause him great harm if left untreated.
"Shall we go back now?"
Lu Qing said to Wei Xinghe.
"In that case, let's go back immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Xinghe's heart jumped again.
He recalled the scene of his previous fight with Zihao.
At the time, he was worried that Zihao would have to pay a price for wielding power far beyond his own cultivation level.
Hearing Lu Qing's words, how could he not be anxious?
He wished he could fly back to Jiuli Village immediately so that Lu Qing and the old doctor could rescue his son.
The city lord and others were waiting on the side.
He wanted to wait until Wei Xinghe and Lu Qing finished speaking before going forward to express his gratitude for saving his life.
Unexpectedly, before they could even find a chance to thank them, Lu Qing and Wei Xinghe said they were leaving.
Immediately, the city lord of the prefecture stepped forward and said, "Patriarch Wei, our benefactors, are you leaving already? You have saved the entire prefecture, and we haven't even had a chance to thank you yet!"
Besides, it's getting late; why don't you two set off tomorrow?
Wei Xinghe immediately looked at Lu Qing.
But he saw Lu Qing remain calm and shake his head slightly at him.
Wei Xinghe immediately understood.
"Lord of the City, as you can see, my unworthy son has been cursed by that demonic cultivator. I must go back as soon as possible to find a way to save him. It is really inconvenient for me to stay any longer."
We appreciate your kind intentions.
That demonic cultivator is cruel and wicked, harming the people. It is only right that we take action.
The people in the city are still living in fear. The most urgent task is for the city lord to appease them.
There's no need for you to trouble yourself to entertain us.
After Wei Xinghe finished his polite words, Lu Qing put his hand on Wei Xinghe's shoulder.
Driven by their thoughts, a gentle breeze appeared and surrounded them.
The next moment, a whirlwind suddenly rose, and the three figures were lifted off the ground and flew out of the city.
Even as he passed by the several severely injured and fallen Qingyun Sword Pavilion disciples, a rope flew out from Lu Qing's hand, wrapped them up, and took them away with him.
The city lord and others initially wanted to persuade him to stay, but ultimately they didn't dare.
He could only watch as Lu Qing and the others rode away on the wind, his face full of shock.
It took a long time for everyone to come to their senses.
Someone couldn't help but ask, "Lord City Lord, just who is that young man?"
Everyone couldn't help but look at the city lord.
In the entire prefecture city, if we were to talk about who had the best information network and the most informants, it would undoubtedly be this person.
However, they saw that the city lord shook his head.
“I don’t know either. This is the first time I’ve met this benefactor. I’ve never had any contact with him before.”
In his heart, he thought that Wei Xinghe's address to that person as "Young Master Lu" reminded him of some rumors that had recently come from the capital.
"Even you don't know?" Everyone was taken aback.
However, some people had a glint in their eyes, and it was unclear what they were thinking.
"Regardless of who this benefactor is, his strength is evident to all; he is a being far beyond our imagination."
Therefore, I advise everyone not to do anything that might offend that person, lest you bring about your own utter destruction.
The city lord glanced at it and offered his advice.
"Lord City Lord, rest assured. That young man saved our lives, how could we dare to offend him?"
Everyone responded in unison.
Whether they actually listened to it or not remains to be seen.
Lu Qing was naturally unaware of the conversation between the city lord and the others.
He used the power of talismans to take Wei Xinghe and the others away, and after flying for more than ten miles, he landed on the ground.
“Patriarch Wei, with my current cultivation level, the power of the talismans I can use is limited.”
"Next, we'll probably have to go back."
Lu Qing didn't shy away from saying it.
In fact, with his current spiritual power, it wouldn't be impossible for him to activate the power of the talismans and continue flying with Wei Xinghe and the others.
However, it took a great toll on his mental energy.
He could manage a journey of a hundred or two hundred miles.
But the prefectural capital is a thousand miles away from Jiuli Village, so his act of bravado is meaningless.
"Thank you for your hard work, Young Master Lu. By the way, who are these people...?"
Wei Xinghe showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever; on the contrary, he expressed curiosity about the people Lu Qing later took away with ropes.
He noticed that these people had black runes on their faces and hands similar to those of Wei Zihao.
"These people should be Zihao's fellow disciples, who were also cursed by that demonic cultivator."
Therefore, I didn't kill them; I wanted to try and see if I could save them.
Lu Qing explained.
To prevent the people on the ropes from struggling, Lu Qing also sealed their consciousness, putting them into a coma.
"Young Master Lu is truly kind-hearted," Wei Xinghe praised sincerely.
At this moment, he recognized that these people were indeed Zihao's fellow disciples, and they had even visited the Wei residence before.
He didn't recognize him at first because his face was covered by runes.
"By the way, Young Master Lu, are the spells on Zihao and the others easy to remove?"
At this moment, Wei Xinghe finally asked the question that had been on his mind all along.
"To be honest, I'm not sure either." Lu Qing pondered for a moment and said, "That demonic cultivator has a mysterious background and the secret techniques he has mastered are also very profound."
The curse he planted himself will likely be difficult to break.
Wei Xinghe was shocked, knowing that his worst fears had come true.
Actually, he had already guessed this when Lu Qing said earlier that they needed to go back and study the situation before they could find a way to rescue them.
After a moment of silence, Wei Xinghe finally spoke: "Whether or not the curse can be lifted in the end, it is Zihao's fate."
Unfortunately, that demonic cultivator is already dead; otherwise, perhaps we could have forced him to reveal the method to remove the curses from Zihao and the others.
These words immediately stirred something in Lu Qing's heart.
A smile suddenly appeared on his face: "That's not necessarily true, Patriarch Wei. Let's not rush on our way for now; perhaps there's another way."
Wei Xinghe was immediately stunned.
