Righteous Dao City was rather simplistic, consisting only of two main avenues running north-south and east-west, with only customary small paths in between. Many areas lacked proper housing, featuring merely makeshift shacks.

At first glance, one might think it was an encampment for Qi Refining cultivators outside the Treasure Ship Market.

It was hard to imagine Golden Core cultivators, who dominated their respective planets, tolerating such modest conditions.

But considering that the weakest realm in the extraterritorial battlefield was the Golden Core phase, it seemed less surprising.

Duan Que pointed ahead to a mountain and smiled, "Fellow daoist Huikong, that is Righteous Dao Mountain. The three seniors reside in the topmost fourth-tier cave dwellings. From the bottom up, there are first, second, and third-tier dwellings."

"The higher you go, the richer the Spiritual Qi!" he continued. "These dwellings correspond to the early, middle, and late phases of the Golden Core respectively. A first-tier dwelling costs one hundred and twenty small spiritual stones or one medium spiritual stone per year. The price doubles for the second-tier, and doubles again for the third-tier."

Chu Xuan chanted a Buddhist name again, "I did not expect to receive such treatment on my first visit to Righteous Dao City. Dragon Buddha above, the three seniors are truly benevolent!"

Duan Que remarked with emotion, "My partner and I only reside in a second-tier dwelling; we have never experienced the Spiritual Qi of a third-tier dwelling..."

He looked at Chu Xuan with evident envy.

Soon, Duan Que arranged everything for Chu Xuan. "The three seniors are currently in seclusion. Right now, the heads of the three great families take turns managing the city and its affairs."

"You must be weary from your long journey to Righteous Dao City, rest for now," Duan Que advised. "In a few days, when the head of the Duan family is available, I will come to invite you to meet the leaders of the three great families of Righteous Dao City.

I can assure you, with your strength and virtue, just a nod from you, and you could become an honorary elder of our Duan family. You should know, the Duan family is the strongest of the three, a true Nascent Soul family, while the other two are merely False Soul families.

As an honorary elder of the Duan family, not only will your actions in Righteous Dao City become much easier, but even if you go to Majestic City or Feather Transformation City, you will be treated with great respect."

As he was leaving, Duan Que respectfully handed over a communication jade, "Fellow daoist Huikong, this is my communication jade. If you have any needs, just let me know!"

Chu Xuan smiled, "Thank you, fellow daoist Duan."

Boom.

The stone door of the cave dwelling closed heavily.

Chu Xuan murmured a Buddhist chant, "This dwelling is quite nice, indeed to my liking. Dragon Buddha above, I thank the three seniors for their generosity."

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He then took several sets of formations from his storage bag and, in the blink of an eye, had the dwelling perfectly arranged.

Chu Xuan, although reassured by the array of formations like Spirit Gathering and Soundproofing already in place in the third-tier cave dwelling, didn't quite trust others to ensure his safety.

He had to lay out his own arrangements, because who knew if Righteous Dao City had installed any backdoors in the dwellings?

"Much more comfortable now," he murmured to himself as he finished setting up his additional protections. With a slight grin, he mused, "Huikong, oh Huikong, borrowing your identity shouldn't upset you, right?"

Casually, Chu Xuan summoned the Evil Soul Chain, and following its manifestation, the soul of Huikong appeared, standing obediently before him.

Upon hearing Chu Xuan's words, the soul scratched its head in confusion.

'What Huikong? Am I called Huikong? I'm not though!'

Reflecting on Duan Que's earlier attentiveness and warmth, Chu Xuan considered the implications.

"I knew the extraterritorial battlefield valued merit, but I didn't realize just how useful it could be. Just showing a single layer of the merit wheel garnered such a warm reception. If I revealed three layers..."

He shook his head vigorously, "That would paint a huge target on my back. No, that won't do."

Showing restraint was essential. A three-layer merit wheel, indicative of saving countless lives, was a blessing from the heavenly Dao typically reserved for humanity's saviors.

Not even a great cultivator at the Nascent Soul or Astral Projection stages might achieve such a feat, let alone a mere Golden Core cultivator like himself. If he were to display such a wheel, he might end up a subject of relentless study by the powerful.

The reasons for the battlefield's emphasis on merit were not detailed in the jade slip provided by Wan Wuying, only mentioning that spatial rifts, dangerous and lethal to many cultivators, appeared less frequently around those imbued with merit.

Cities with many meritorious cultivators also saw fewer spatial rifts around them, explaining why Righteous Dao City was quick to expel demonic cultivators. A single malevolent presence could disrupt the city's collective merit, inviting disasters.

Merit seemed to have other, less understood benefits, beyond the scope of what could be learned from available texts.

"Duan Que's eagerness clearly aims to recruit me on behalf of the Duan family," Chu Xuan thought. "This is expected. Anyone like me, endowed with such merit, could significantly bolster any family within Righteous Dao City if I joined them.

Joining the Duan family isn't a bad idea; to me, all three families are much the same. With my level of merit, not too high nor too low, it's unlikely many would go out of their way to target me. This could be a good opportunity to gather materials for crafting magic treasures."

Chu Xuan mulled over his plan to craft the Sky-Shielding Umbrella, a demonic treasure similar to the Myriad Souls Banner in its function of harnessing souls to nourish fierce ghosts.

Of course, the Sky-Shielding Umbrella could accommodate an even greater number of aggrieved spirits and fierce ghosts, easily surpassing hundreds of millions.

This type of umbrella was a widely known demonic treasure, and its crafting method was readily available, especially to someone like Chu Xuan who was a prominent figure in the Infinite Sect.

To craft the Sky-Shielding Umbrella, only two materials were essential:

The hide of a Golden Core stage demonic beast - The thicker and larger, the better, as it would serve as the main fabric of the umbrella.

Yin Soul Bamboo - Used for the ribs and handle of the umbrella.

Yin Soul Bamboo is as thick as a thumb and grows by absorbing the souls of the dead. The bamboo reaches three inches if it absorbs the souls of a thousand ghost soldiers; six inches for ten thousand ghost soldiers; and nine inches for a hundred thousand ghost soldiers.

While it could grow further by absorbing more powerful spirits like ghost generals, the cost-effectiveness for using such advanced Yin Soul Bamboo in the umbrella decreases.

For Chu Xuan, nine-inch Yin Soul Bamboo would suffice. He considered the acquisition of these materials:

"The hide of a Golden Core demonic beast... I just need to put out the word, and people will gather it for me without me having to spend time on it. As for the Yin Soul Bamboo..."