NOVPUBIf he were in the Great Reversal Valley Spirit Ground, or at the sect headquarters of the Righteous Blood Sect, Lu Ye might consider studying this protective array.
But he was currently in the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, and there were many cultivators queuing behind him, waiting to use the Heaven's Augury Pillar.
If he lingered here too long, it would certainly cause displeasure.
So, despite some reluctance, Lu Ye gave up the idea of comprehending the mysteries of this Formation.
Since he now had the qualifications to enter the Hall of Battle Merits, there would be other opportunities to study it later.
He glanced at the gold-hued spirit fortune stick shrouded in the light screen, thought for a moment, and raised his hand to press it.
The Heaven's Augury treasure vault itself allowed for the exchange of gold-hued spirit fortune sticks for battle merit, and surprisingly, the Hall also had them; this inevitably made him wonder if there were any differences between the gold-hued spirit fortune sticks in these two places?
Looking at it wouldn't cause any loss anyway.
As Lu Ye's hand touched the light screen, just as the information from the Hall of Battle Merits appeared before, another piece of information emerged in his mind.
"Exchange for a gold-hued spirit fortune stick, 14,580 battle merits."
Lu Ye couldn't help raising his eyebrows.
He naturally knew the specific prices of spirit fortune sticks of various colors by heart.
White costs 200 battle merits, followed by green, blue, purple, gold.
Each spirit fortune stick was three times more expensive than the previous one.
The price for one gold-hued spirit fortune stick should be 16,200 battle merits.
Yet here, it only required 14,580 battle merits, a full 1,620 less.
Is this... a discount at ninety percent of the price?
It turned out that the distinction between the gold-hued spirit fortune sticks of the Hall of Battle Merits and the Heaven's Augury treasure vault was here!
At a ten percent discount, each gold-hued spirit fortune stick could save him over 1,600 battle merits; with his more than 280,000 battle merits, he could originally only exchange for about seventeen in the Heaven's Augury treasure vault. But in this Hall, he could get nineteen, gaining two more gold-hued spirit fortune sticks!
It was like finding free treasure!
Are there really such bargains in this world?
Lu Ye almost burst out laughing.
Even for him, obtaining two gold-hued spirit fortune sticks wasn't easy, especially since battle merits aren't always readily obtainable like merit points.
If cultivators need merit points, they could kill some cultivators from enemy camps or sell items to the Heaven's Augury treasure vault.
But acquiring battle merits undoubtedly had much stricter conditions.
Two gold-hued spirit fortune sticks might be the entire haul from a secret realm for a Cloud River Level 9 cultivator.
Just like the gains made by Pang Dahai and others in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain.
And that involved significant risks.
But here in the Hall of Battle Merits, it really was akin to finding something for nothing.
The Hall of Battle Merits... truly a marvelous place!
No matter for what reason he had obtained entrance here, such a qualification could greatly accelerate his growth.
Lu Ye suppressed the impulse to exchange for a gold-hued spirit fortune stick and moved onto the next pedestal.
Given how affordable the first pedestal was, he was keen to see what other treasures were here.
He might find something he needed more, so he mustn't spend all his battle merits at once.
Standing before the second dark pedestal, which was also covered by an extremely delicate protective array, inside the light screen was a jade vial.
"Is this an elixir pill?" Lu Ye thought to himself.
Touching the light screen, information immediately flowed through his mind.
"Exchange for an orifice repair pill, 2,000 battle merits!"
This was an orifice repair pill!
There were orifice repair pills in the Heaven's Augury treasure vault; Lu Ye had once spent 300,000 merit points to buy two for his fourth senior brother, which allowed him to repair his damaged spiritual orifice and advance to Cloud River.
However, the stock of orifice repair pills in the Heaven's Augury treasure vault was extremely scarce. After Lu Ye bought those two pills, there were only a few left, and it seemed that they sold out not long after.
But Lu Ye saw the orifice repair pill again in the Hall of Battle Merits, and it could be exchanged for only 2,000 battle merits, which was obviously much more affordable compared to what he had paid before.
Yet it was not something Lu Ye needed, so even though it was incredibly valuable, he gave it no further regard.
At the third pedestal, Lu Ye raised his hand to touch it.
"Exchange for one drop of soul water, 13,000 battle merits."
Lu Ye was astounded.
In Xianyuan City, he had obtained more than 300 drops of soul water, exchanging them at the price of 1,000 battle merits per drop. However, in this Hall of Battle Merits, it required 13,000 battle merits, a staggering thirteenfold difference.
How much had he benefited!
And now it seems peculiar that his battle merits had depleted so strangely back then because he had not intended to exchange battle merits for soul water at that time; his battle merits just disappeared along with the collection of soul water.
Lu Ye faintly realized that his great gain in Xianyuan City was probably aided behind the scenes by the Xianyuan City Lord; otherwise, with the high price of soul water in the Hall of Battle Merits, it would be illogical to have exchanged so much soul water at such an affordable price in Xianyuan City.
Having checked only three pedestals, each item on them was either extremely attractive to Lu Ye or a scarce and precious commodity.
This piqued Lu Ye's interest even more for the upcoming investigation.
At the fourth stone platform, Lu Ye halted, his eyelids involuntarily tightening.
Because he saw something familiar on this platform.
A gold-hued Token!
The Golden Body Token!
There were actually Golden Body Tokens available for exchange here.
Having personally experienced the powerful effects of the Golden Body Token, Lu Ye naturally understood its value.
It was a boon from Heaven's Augury, and within the Nine Provinces, no one could break its protection before its power fully dissipated—not even a strong cultivator from the Divine Sea Realm!
Having a Golden Body Token was equivalent to having a means to preserve oneself in any dire situation.
Despite his previous investigations, Lu Ye was full of anticipation for the treasures inside the Hall of Battle Merits, but he had never expected to find Golden Body Tokens here.
He just didn't know how expensive it would be... probably very, right?
If it were not too expensive, he could completely afford to exchange one for self-defense.
Pressing his hand against the light screen, Lu Ye couldn't help but twitch, immediately retracting his hand and walking toward the next stone platform without looking back.
A Golden Body Token for two hundred thousand battle merits!
With his current wealth, he could afford it, but spending two hundred thousand battle merits on a single Golden Body Token seemed too extravagant.
Right now, he was more eager to enhance his cultivation swiftly.
How could it be so expensive!
A spark of indignation flared in Lu Ye's heart. But then, he thought about it, this after all was something that could invoke the protection of Heaven's Augury, a defensive means even strong cultivators from the Divine Sea Realm were powerless against—expensive, naturally, had its reasons.
Even if it hurt, it was worth the cost!
In the hunting field, he was forced to use a Golden Body Token and had been unaware of its value until just now. Learning that it actually cost two hundred thousand battle merits in the Hall of Battle Merits, he felt so distressed his face twitched.
Xia Liang, Tan Sheng...
Damn it!
Calming his emotions, he proceeded to investigate platform by platform.
Indeed, as Lu Ye had thought earlier, the treasures on display in the Hall of Battle Merits, if taken outside, would all be covetable objects that many cultivators would scramble for.
All kinds of unimaginable elixir pills and miracle cures, many spirit flowers and rare herbs nearly extinct in the Nine Provinces, and materials for refining Spiritual Artifacts, as well as a collection of exotic treasures with peculiar effects, were all available here.
For example, the combat arena that Huo Liaoyuan of the Sacred Fire Order had once used against him was available for exchange here, and the price was not too steep—just over ten thousand battle merits.
However, Lu Ye did not exchange for this thing. Over ten thousand battle merits might not seem like a lot, but it was nearly enough to buy a gold-hued spirit fortune stick.
The combat arena was of little use to him. If he ever encountered an overpoweringly strong adversary, his greatest advantage would still be his Wings combined with Move-Like-The-Wind. He would flee for his life, not stick around for a fight to the death with the enemy.
Among the many platforms, there were some items that he could directly see. These visible items were ones he could attempt to exchange for with battle merits.
But there were many more that he couldn't make out clearly. When he placed his hand on these platforms, he got no information whatsoever.
Lu Ye surmised that he probably didn't yet qualify to exchange for these treasures.
It wasn't too disappointing; the many visible treasures had already dazzled him, making it difficult to choose. If he could see those invisible ones too, it would only make his heart itch even more.
After a while, Lu Ye arrived at another platform and the item exhibited there took him by surprise—it was not an object, but a marking.
A battlefield marking, glowing red!
Next to this platform was another with a battlefield marking, but this one glowed with a blue light.
In the Nine Provinces, the red battlefield marking signified Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, while blue represented the Haotian Alliance. The battlefield marking of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union was yellow.
The sudden appearance of two battlefield markings with different colors here...
Lu Ye couldn't help but feel puzzled. What use were these things?
If he exchanged for one, could it change his faction allegiance? 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
But even if that was true, what would be the significance?
A cultivator begins his cultivation journey within his own circle, making friends with like-minded companions and incurring numerous enemies. Even if he changed his faction allegiance, his friends and foes would not change, unless he changed his entire identity.
With such doubts in mind, Lu Ye pressed his hand on the light screen in front of him.
Many insights immediately dawned on him.
He realized that he had misunderstood the use of this battlefield marking; it was not something to change one's faction allegiance.
"Exchange for Ten Thousand Demons Ridge battlefield marking for eighteen thousand battle merits," the screen read.
Lu Ye's mind stirred, and he confirmed the exchange.
There was a brief warmth on his own battlefield marking, a sign that the battle merits had been deducted.
At the same time, the light screen obstructing his large hand disappeared, followed swiftly by the red battlefield marking flying out and striking his forehead.
Taken by surprise, Lu Ye's head jerked back, and then, he felt a scorching sensation on the back of his other hand.
Looking down, Lu Ye saw a crimson glow enveloping his hand, which soon faded, and with it, the red battlefield marking also vanished from sight.
