After leaving Dabei Temple, Cheng Ruyi sat alone in Dingfeng Pavilion, contemplating life.
The reason is simple: the amount of information she received today was simply overwhelming, and she needed to find a place to properly digest it.
Of course, besides the impending chaos in the world and information about Xuanzhen Daoist, the most important thing was that the system suddenly issued a long-awaited notification sound the moment she left the main gate of Dabei Temple!
"Ding! Special event successfully triggered, Merit Points Shop officially open!"
The sudden notification sound startled Cheng Ruyi. What special plot had she triggered? Was she chatting with the spiritual master?
And system... I remember you were just a sign-in system back then, how come you've made it more and more complicated now?
The system remained aloof as always, ignoring her inner complaints and offering no further explanation of what this so-called merit points shop actually was.
So, even though she was in a hurry to get down the mountain, she couldn't help but stop when she passed Dingfeng Pavilion halfway down the way, wanting to see what this new thing was all about.
In the desolate mountain path amidst a blizzard, a woman wearing a white rabbit fur cloak sat alone in a pavilion half-buried by the snow. Her fiery red skirt peeked out from beneath the cloak, occasionally billowing in the wind, as if she were the only color in the world.
After Cheng Ruyi opened the system, she found that in addition to the original three buttons, "Check-in", "Items" and "Tasks", there was now an additional "Shop" button.
She swallowed hard, pointed her finger into the air, and suddenly a golden light flashed, revealing a magnificent golden interface. The title, "Merit Points Mall," was still written in a calligraphic style with a flamboyant and elegant script.
However, compared to the rather elaborately designed interface, the content inside appears incredibly simple and empty.
Since it's called a "shopping mall," there should be a lot of things for sale, but now the entire mall is empty, with only one item hanging at the top, shining brightly in solitude.
"【Divine Journey Through the Void】, a top-tier divine-level spell, can shatter the void, transcend time, traverse the universe, and go wherever you wish."
Note: There are no restrictions; simply click the "Use" button to start.
Cheng Ruyi stared intently at the single item on the screen, unable to snap out of her daze for a long time.
Literally, this probably means that after using this spell, she can travel to any place.
So... she can finally return to the modern world? Return to the time before her sudden death? Return to that peaceful life? Return to her parents, relatives, and friends?
Thinking of this, she could no longer suppress her excitement. Without even wiping her tear-stained cheeks, she immediately stretched out her trembling finger and quickly clicked the "Buy" button.
"Ding! You do not have enough merit points to purchase this item. Please continue to work hard."
...........
Cheng Ruyi was stunned for a moment. After she came to her senses, she was both amused and exasperated. She had been so excited that she was overwhelmed by the sudden and huge surprise that she had forgotten to check the price!
After calming her mind, she began to seriously examine the top-grade divine spell before her, finally finding a line of inconspicuous words below the name:
【Price: Merit Points】
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions...hundred million?
Cheng Ruyi blinked, then shook her head and counted several more times. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she counted, the number remained unchanged: one hundred million.
I knew this product would be incredibly expensive, but I never imagined it would be so outrageously expensive—one hundred million! That's an astronomical figure!
She shifted her gaze to the upper right corner of the interface, where it was written in bold red font:
Current merit points: 3150
Okay, okay, is this how you play it? Alright, alright!
Her emotions fluctuated wildly in a short period of time, and the temptation of "going home" was a fatal blow to Cheng Ruyi, causing her to lose her ability to think instantly. Even now, she is still in a daze.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Just then, a melodious and steady bell rang out from afar, its sound cleansing her soul.
After the bells finished ringing, Cheng Ruyi's mood finally calmed down, and she was able to concentrate on thinking about this sudden "merit points mall".
According to the system display, she currently has more than 3,000 merit points, which proves that the condition for triggering the opening of the shop is not having merit points.
After much thought, the most likely explanation is that she just had a conversation with Master Lingjue, or that she met Master Lingjue at Dabeisi Temple today.
Regardless of the specific condition, now that it has been triggered, the most important thing is still the issue of merit points.
She was completely baffled by the figure of over three thousand and didn't know what the basis was. She estimated that she would need to spend some time testing and researching it before she could find the answer.
As for the ultimate goal, although it is too far away, compared to before, it is no longer an ethereal and clueless thing, but a real hope that she can see whenever she opens the system. Since that is the case, she will not give up no matter what, and she will definitely work hard for it no matter how many years it takes!
She absolutely must go home!
Perhaps it was because her long-held expectations were beginning to have a chance of being realized, or perhaps it was because of the change in her mindset after making up her mind, in any case, Cheng Ruyi suddenly felt refreshed and clear-headed, and even the flow of true energy in her body became much smoother.
When she returned to Lishan Villa, she found that her understanding and proficiency in the [Flowing Light Dance] technique had increased, and it seemed that she had successfully advanced from the "beginner" to the "proficient" state.
Cheng Ruyi was overjoyed. She estimated that her lightness skill was now more than enough to easily surpass Guo Xiaoyu's. If she were to encounter the Western Jin spies lying in ambush in Wolong Village now, she wouldn't have to be in such a sorry state!
That night, she hid alone in her room and looked at the entire merit points mall dozens of times, finally confirming with complete certainty that there was indeed only one item for sale in the entire mall, and it was priced exorbitantly.
She couldn't help but feel a little regretful, but upon closer reflection, perhaps the other items weren't listed because she hadn't triggered any events? Maybe there would be opportunities in the future, such as completing a special task and listing a special item. The more Cheng Ruyi thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.
The next morning, Cheng Ruyi had just finished her morning exercise when she thought about going out to find a place to test how to obtain merit points.
But before I even stepped out of the front yard, I heard that familiar, sickeningly sweet voice from afar.
"Little Ruru~~ I've come to play with you! I also brought you some succulents, come out and get them!"
Cheng Ruyi hurriedly went out to take a look and saw her best friend holding her little daughter, directing the servants to carry half a pig down.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Although she was a little surprised, she was still happy that her best friend had come to visit her. "Where's Brother Sun? Why didn't he come with you?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Liuer, who had just been all smiles, immediately straightened her face and said in a sullen tone, "Don't mention him. I don't know what's wrong with him lately. He's so busy every day that I can't even see him. Humph, it's infuriating!"
Seeing this, Cheng Ruyi quickly changed the subject, took the baby from Yang Liuer's arms, and affectionately kissed her smooth little face. "Oh my, little Qisi looks like she's grown up a lot since last time, and she's getting prettier and prettier!"
Yang Liuer's youngest daughter, Sun Qisi, was born prematurely during the previous lockdown. Since birth, she has been small and weak, and often gets sick.
However, the little baby inherited the best features of her parents and was incredibly beautiful and lovable, so everyone cherished her even more and treated her like a precious treasure.
"That's right. Compared to her two monkey-like brothers, this little princess is simply spoiled and picky about food. She won't eat this or drink that, and the only thing she likes is the food your family sends!" Although Yang Liuer complained, she kept smiling and teasing her daughter while taking out a small and exquisite rabbit fur cloak and putting it on her.
Seeing the little girl's pale face, Cheng Ruyi quickly picked her up and walked back inside. "It's cold outside, let's go back inside and talk!"
Back in the warm indoors, after eating a small bowl of hot rock sugar and white fungus stewed with snow pear, little Sun Qisi's complexion finally regained its rosy hue, and even her hands and feet were no longer cold.
Now she has taken off her heavy coat and is lying on the wool carpet in Cheng Ruyi's bedroom, having a great time playing with Cheng Yunle.
"Ah~~ It's so nice here, the room is so warm, it makes me want to take a nap!"
Seeing her youngest daughter, who had caused her so much worry every day, now so lively and energetic, Yang Liuer felt much lighter and started to feel sleepy. After drinking two more bowls of brown sugar ginger soup, she took off her coat and leaned lazily against the daybed, stretching her back.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Ruyi casually asked, "Do you have enough charcoal? This cold winter looks like it might last for a long time, so we should definitely stock up!"
"It's enough, but it's still not as warm as your fire pit. Besides, it's not safe to keep the fire pit indoors. We always have to open the window to let it air out, so it gets a bit cold."
In fact, Huai Shan County has never experienced such cold weather in previous years, so almost no one in the city builds a fire pit. Although ordinary braziers can also keep warm, they are certainly not as warm and comfortable as a fire pit, so it is no wonder that Yang Liuer sighed like that.
At this point, Cheng Ruyi suddenly remembered the half-pig she had just seen. "Why did you suddenly bring so much pork? Pork is so expensive in the county town these days. Aren't you afraid the Sun family will hold something against you for doing this?"
"You've been sending me things all along! As Sui said, it's impolite not to reciprocate, and as a polite person, of course I have to return the favor!"
Yang Liuer got tired of lying on her left side, so she got up, changed her position, and continued lying down. "Besides, what do the other members of the Sun family care about? I even left them half a piece of pork. They're overjoyed!"
"That's true, but why would Uncle Yang suddenly send over so much pork for no reason? Could it be...?"
Although the Yang family's pork shop never lacked pork, Yang Zhong had always been low-key and frugal because he had experienced a low point in his life. The fact that he slaughtered a pig and gave it away must mean that there was a great joy in the family!
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