From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 120: Swapping a Shotgun for a Cannon
"This offensive artifact is indeed powerful!"

After a fierce battle, the group felt mentally and physically exhausted, so they withdrew from the battlefield.

Having found a relatively safe area, the ghost soldiers, shrimp soldiers, and crab generals set up camps around the area, and the group took stock of their achievements and gains.

"All the merit points we've accumulated over the past few days can't compare to the amount of points we've gained in this one day of fighting!"

The three were quite excited. With the artifact, they were much more adept at dealing with ordinary evil spirits.

"I already have enough merit points to reach 10,000. I plan to exchange them for some armor and mounts to improve the strength of the Yin Soldiers."

They have no ambition to compete for a top-ten ranking, so there's no point in keeping these merit points. They might as well convert them into strength as soon as possible so that they can gain more in the days to come.

"What a coincidence! I was also short a few thousand points, but I've finally collected enough merit points today. Let's exchange them together."

Hearing this, the River God was also pleased. Wasn't this the very reason they came to hunt in autumn?

"Then what I say..."

You Ming wondered if he could exchange his merit points for something. He had already accumulated more than 40,000 merit points.

But he only had a few ghost soldiers under his command, and he didn't lack any cultivation techniques for the time being, so he didn't know how to spend these merit points.

“You Ming, I advise you not to use your merit points for now. You are different from us.”

"Your strength is greater, allowing you to venture deeper into the entire Dharma Realm and even compete with those experts for a place in the top ten."

"If you can really make it into the top ten, you can use these merit points to exchange for some more valuable treasures in the treasure vault of the Mountain Guardian King."

"What is being publicly exchanged nowadays are just some ordinary items."

The City God was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

They had represented Changning County in countless autumn hunts, but they had never dared to dream of ranking in the top ten.

Over the years, no county-level power has ever made it into the top ten.

"Top ten?"

You Ming vaguely remembered hearing the Night Wanderer Zhu Xin mention something about the top ten hunters in the Autumn Hunt receiving special rewards. It turns out that this is what it refers to.

"Okay, then I'll go and try to make it into the top ten."

The little carp nodded; he didn't have any intention of hiding his strength or biding his time.

Deep down, he still had that mindset of striving for the top and competing for first place in everything; otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed at Yuanling Mountain all the time, spending so much time cultivating every day.

……

Silver flames rose, their light flowing like a river.

Four thousand one hundred and fifteen objects, resembling copper pellets, floated in the flames, surrounded by an aura of iron and blood.

The City God waved his banners, and the River God stirred the waves.

One by one, the ghostly soldiers disappeared into the flames, and in an instant, bullets pierced their bodies.

These copper balls melted instantly, like molten lava, directly scorching the armor plates off the bodies of these ghost soldiers, exposing their ghostly souls.

In the blink of an eye, the copper balls began to spread along their bodies, while flames surged all around, leaving flame-like marks on their bodies.

Meanwhile, the shrimp soldiers and crab generals also shed their original shells and grew a new layer of metal-like shells, making their bodies even larger.

About an hour passed.

Rows of ghostly soldiers stood in formation, each clad in bronze-cast black armor, calm as a mountain, yet exuding an imposing aura.

The leader, a group of nearly fifty ghostly soldiers, rode tall horses covered in scale armor, looking quite imposing.

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals, their bodies gleaming with metal and their movements accompanied by the surging of water veins, appeared even more mystical. With enough merit points, the divine soldiers under the City God and River God finally received a major upgrade in equipment. Once they earned more merit points, they could upgrade their weapons again, and their strength would see another surge.

During the past day or two, You Ming spent his time killing evil spirits in the vicinity and continuing to familiarize himself with spells and artifacts.

Because the fighting was so intense, the number of external evil spirits was decreasing. Only by constantly venturing deeper into the Dharma realm could one encounter more evil spirits.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Suddenly, You Ming opened his eyes.

A low, sorrowful wind blew, and then a very thin deity slowly appeared, carrying a long, thin, white flute as thin as bone on his back, his face filled with grief.

It was the Wind God who guarded the mountain rift.

"Koi Spirit God, I have arrived as promised."

The Rift Wind God smiled at You Ming, then reached out and tossed out a ball of five-colored light, which then transformed into a thick cloud.

"I have already integrated the [Cloud Retreat] into the five-colored clouds. You can give it a try."

You Ming looked down at the cloud layer that was eight feet in diameter. Its outline was soft and indistinct, like a flower but not quite, and its surface shimmered with a very faint five-colored glow.

Just as he was hesitating about what to do, the clouds silently unfolded, spreading out a circular cushion of light mist that lifted You Ming's entire body, slowly raising him into the air.

The clouds were like downy feathers, yet they provided a remarkably stable support. Standing on them, he felt even more secure than on solid ground.

"The only drawback of this magical power is that it cannot be refined like a magic weapon. If it is taken away, it will belong to someone else."

The Rift Wind God gave You Ming a piece of advice.

You Ming nodded. The moment he was lifted up by the clouds, he felt as if his thoughts had merged with the entire five-colored cloud.

With the slightest thought, the clouds beneath his feet trembled slightly.

In an instant, a colorful light flowed, and the cloud instantly streaked across the void, flying hundreds of feet away, without a sound, without leaving a trace, and without settling into the dust.

You Ming felt the surrounding scenery spinning wildly, but he didn't feel dizzy or hit by a strong wind at all.

A faint layer of power covered his body, easily cutting through all resistance.

The colorful clouds shone brightly in the void, and in the blink of an eye, they suddenly appeared like rain and mist passing through the trees, and then like rosy clouds circling the peaks.

The rise and fall are all driven by Youming's single thought.

As expected of a treasure specifically designed for flight, its speed is much faster than my own full-speed flight.

In the next moment, all the colorful light suddenly contracted, leaving only wisps of smoke lingering around Youming's body.

You Ming moved slightly, leaving behind a series of afterimages in the void.

These afterimages seemed to possess a kind of sentience, each flying off in a different direction.

Judging solely from their appearance and aura, it was impossible to distinguish between the real person and the illusion.

"Om."

The mist surrounding Youming suddenly spread, and Youming's shadow moved along the edge of the spread in an instant.

Just as Youming's main body was about to swim north, one of his avatars suddenly switched places with the main body, as if they had teleported.

Within the area shrouded in smoke and clouds, he could constantly switch positions between his true self and his numerous illusory forms at any time.

The truth and the falsehood, the reality and the illusion, are so intertwined that it's impossible to tell the difference.

(End of this chapter)