The Core Formation in my dantian turned in a slow, unhurried revolution, its surface a tapestry of Dao Ancestor runes and tidal water patterns woven together, radiating an aura of ancient antiquity.

The system panel unfolded before my eyes. Over a million merit points blazed across the screen, near enough to make my eyes ache — accumulated from the time I'd dealt with Victor Jin and dismantled the Ten Thousand Fiend Soul-Devouring Formation.

"Old man, with this many merit points, what do you reckon I should exchange for?" I rubbed my chin, eyes roaming across the system shop interface. "How about ten Barrier-Breaking Pills to start? What if I trigger another heavenly tribulation next time I break through?"

"Ptui, ptui, ptui — you jinx!" The system elder's holographic projection snapped into existence. He was holding a bowl of White Elephant pork-bone noodle soup in both hands. "You're already late-stage Core Formation and you're still eyeing Barrier-Breaking Pills? Look at your Marrow Cleansing Spirit Liquid exchange history — after you gave some to Jade Lin and Little Chuan last time, didn't your merit points shoot up quite a bit?"

I blinked. I pulled up the merit log, and sure enough, right after I'd had my wife and child drink the Marrow Cleansing Spirit Liquid, there was a little "+2000" tail tacked on at the end. I hadn't paid it any attention at the time — assumed it was just the system's standard reward. But could it mean…

"Old man, are you saying…" I snapped upright, heart hammering in my chest. "Exchanging elixirs for other people also earns merit points?"

"What did you think?" The system elder slurped at his noodles and gave me a sideways look. "This system is a conscientious system of promoting goodness and eradicating evil. When you help others grow stronger and give them the capacity to do good deeds, it naturally generates merit feedback. Before, your cultivation was too low — the feedback was negligible, barely worth mentioning. But now that you're late-stage Core Formation, your karmic sensitivity has deepened, and it naturally manifests."

I nearly slapped my own thigh clean off.

"You could have told me. Why didn't you tell me sooner? What was all that gruelling cultivation even for?"

I nearly leapt straight off the reef. Good heavens — what a discovery this was! All this time I'd only thought about spending merit points on resources for myself. How had it never occurred to me there was this angle to play?

"Go, go, go — home. I'm going to move the world with the power of love!" I couldn't sit still a moment longer. I crushed the Earth-Shrinking Talisman in my fist, became a streak of flowing light, and shot out of the Guixu Secret Realm. Sea winds howled around me, but they couldn't touch the excitement blazing in my chest. Old Zhang and the others would still be playing chess under the old scholar tree, wouldn't they? Perfect time to let them taste the sweet benefits of this merit windfall.

The scholar tree in the old residential compound was as lush and full-crowned as ever. Sure enough, Elder Zhang, Elder Kai, and the rest of them were huddled around the stone table in the thick of a ferocious match. Elder Zhang's walking cane was rapping the tabletop — thunk, thunk — while Auntie Wang's cry of "Check!" rang out loud enough to shake the air.

"Young Ethan's back!" Auntie Wang spotted me first. She set down her chess piece and waved me over. "Come take a look at your Elder Zhang — he's about to lose his trousers again."

Elder Zhang puffed out his beard and glared. "Nonsense! This is called a strategic withdrawal!"

I walked over with a grin, reached into my Qiankun Bag, and pulled out several jade vials, setting them on the stone table with a soft clink. "Uncles, aunties — brought you something nice today. Marrow Cleansing Spirit Liquid. Care to try some?"

Elder Kai stroked his beard and picked up one of the vials with curiosity. "Marrow Cleansing Spirit Liquid? The same stuff you had us drink last time? The one that fixed up our legs and backs?"

"Exactly!" I nodded. "This batch is even better quality. Guaranteed to cure what ails you — and it'll boost your cultivation as well."

The group exchanged uncertain glances. Elder Zhang was the first to uncork his vial. He sniffed it. "Mm, smells about the same as last time. Fragrant." He tilted his head back and drained it to the last drop with a long, satisfied glug-glug-glug.

The moment he swallowed the spirit liquid, Elder Zhang's eyes flew wide open. An expression of shock spread across his face; dark impurities began seeping out through his skin, and a flush of deep red rose across his complexion…

"I can't — this old man needs to go into seclusion. I think I can break through to Core Formation!"

Elder Kai saw this and hesitated no longer. He took his own vial and drank. Almost instantly, the faint cloudiness that had long hung over his eyes cleared away completely, and his aura settled into something far more steady and profound. "Remarkable! This old man can feel the bottleneck at late-stage Foundation Establishment coming loose!"

The other former members of the Demon Demon Suppression Bureau each picked up a vial and drained it. Moments later, expressions of astonished delight appeared on every face — old wounds that had festered for years had truly, genuinely healed, and each of them had advanced by a minor cultivation stage.

Ding! Host has gifted Marrow Cleansing Spirit Liquid to former members of the Demon Demon Suppression Bureau, aiding in the healing of old injuries and the advancement of their cultivation. Merit points generated by the recipients' future good deeds will be fed back to the host at a proportional rate. Current feedback merit points: +50,000.

The system chime sounded in my mind. I watched the numbers tick upward behind my merit total and nearly burst out laughing. Good heavens — fifty thousand in one go! That was faster than going out and personally hunting down ten rogue cultivators!

"Young Ethan, what in the world is this miraculous medicine of yours?" Elder Zhang seized my hand with trembling excitement. "It's even more effective than an immortal elixir!"

I smiled. "It is an immortal elixir, Director Zhang. When I have good things in the future, you uncles and aunties will always be first in line."

End of Chapter 88: The Core Formation Rotates — Merit Points Surge