Lin Bao emerged into the world, having transformed into an Innate Dao Body.
That is to say, a human form.
The Innate Dao Body was the primary corporeal form of the world of Honghuang.
It evolved according to the form of Pangu, the God of Creation.
When living beings took physical form, they would perceive existing forms between heaven and earth as reference points.
Such as the Innate Dao Body modeled after the Great God Pangu.
Or the forms of dragons, phoenixes, and Qilins.
All were valid options.
Thus, the form of the Great God Pangu became the top choice for many living beings.
Not only because the Great God Pangu was the ultimate figurehead, but also because the Innate Dao Body was inherently the form most attuned to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Cultivating in this form yielded twice the results with half the effort, offering endless miraculous benefits.
Feeling the surging Taiyi golden power within his body, Lin Bao felt a wave of curiosity. “Is this the power of a Taiyi Golden Immortal?”
“With every gesture lies profound mystery—crossing the cosmos, controlling life and death in my palm, achieving eternity in a single thought... all within my grasp.”
Lin Bao's realm after taking human form was that of a Taiyi Golden Immortal.
And it was the late stage Taiyi Golden Immortal realm at that!
Reasonably speaking, taking form as a Heavenly Dao anomalous treasure meant his origin was a High-Grade Innate Divine Being—on equal footing with Innate Divine Beings like Nüwa, Fuxi, Zhunti, Jieyin, Dijun, and Taiyi. His realm upon taking form should have been Daluo Golden Immortal.
Born as a Daluo Golden Immortal.
That was the standard for a High-Grade Innate Divine Being.
However, after mulling it over carefully, Lin Bao understood.
It was likely due to the inherent flaws in his true form.
The Heavenly Dao anomalous treasure—the Luobao Gold Coin—had two fatal flaws:
First, dropping treasures required spending an equivalent amount of qi fortune as a price.
The ability of the Luobao Gold Coin to drop spiritual treasures was essentially a forced transaction.
Using qi fortune as payment to strip others of their spiritual treasures.
If the user could not afford the qi fortune, they would suffer a backlash from destiny, plagued by endless bad luck.
Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao during the Investiture of the Gods were classic examples.
After using the Luobao Gold Coin to knock down Zhao Gongming's Dragon-Binding Rope and Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls, they couldn't afford the required qi fortune at all. As a result, their qi fortune was severely depleted, and they were haunted by misfortune.
Xiao Sheng was bludgeoned to death by Zhao Gongming's golden whip.
Cao Bao died in the Red Sand Array.
Both of their names ended up on the Investiture List.
Even worse!
After their names were listed, the two even became righteous gods of the Ministry of Wealth—subordinates under Zhao Gongming.
How wonderful—with prior grudges between them, it would be a miracle if Zhao Gongming didn't make life a living hell for them.
Beings listed on the Investiture List were immortal and indestructible, so this misery would likely last until the end of Honghuang.
Second, it could only drop spiritual treasures below the tier of Supreme Treasure, and it was completely ineffective against weapons.
During the Investiture of the Gods era, after Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao dropped Zhao Gongming's Dragon-Binding Rope and Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls, they enraged Zhao Gongming, who directly pulled out his golden whip to smash them.
The two wanted to continue using the Luobao Gold Coin to knock down Zhao Gongming's golden whip as well.
However, this time the Luobao Gold Coin failed.
It was ineffective against weapons.
Xiao Sheng was whipped to death on the spot by Zhao Gongming.
It was excusable that the Luobao Gold Coin could not knock down Supreme Treasures; after all, only the absolute best among Heavenly Dao anomalous treasures were on par with Supreme Treasures. Ordinary Heavenly Dao anomalous treasures were only slightly stronger than Peak-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.
But being unable to knock down weapons was a bit unreasonable.
This was its second flaw.
Precisely because of these two flaws, Lin Bao could not be born as a Daluo Golden Immortal upon taking human form.
He possessed only a mere late stage Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation.
However, Lin Bao was not discouraged in the slightest.
“With the 【Fifty-Fifty with Anyone】 skill, even if the six Saints of the Heavenly Dao stand before me, I would dare to step up and test their depth.”
Lin Bao clenched his fists, full of confidence!
This was the confidence brought by his cheat!
As for why he didn't include Ancestor Dao Hongjun...
That was because Lin Bao didn't know which era of Honghuang he was currently in.
If it were the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, or the era of the Investiture of the Gods, Ancestor Dao Hongjun would have long since integrated his body with the Heavenly Dao, reaching the even more incomprehensible Dao Integration Realm.
A Dao Integration Realm Saint exceeded the scope of Level 1 【Fifty-Fifty with Anyone】.
At that moment, Lin Bao had an epiphany as two Great Dao divine runes surfaced within his Primordial Spirit: Xuanjian!
“A name bestowed by the Great Dao?
“Xuan—pertaining to the innate, naturally extraordinary; Jian—reflecting the true heart and nature, penetrating all things, holding the scales of balance.
“A good name.”
Lin Bao... or rather, Xuanjian. Xuanjian let out a soft chuckle, a sudden wave of relief sweeping through his entire body.
“Very well. What's done is done. Lin Bao is now a thing of the past. From now on, my name is Xuanjian. I shall evaluate all the treasures under heaven and discern the hearts of all people under heaven.”
Restraining his aura.
Xuanjian stepped forward.
The golden pillar of light that had once seemed insurmountable was now completely useless in the face of his Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation.
Without any hindrance,
Xuanjian emerged.
He landed steadily in the center of the ten innate spirit springs.
“The Luobao Gold Coin is one of the Heavenly Dao anomalous treasures of Honghuang, naturally carrying the Great Dao of Commerce. Since I am the Luobao Gold Coin, the path most suited to me is the Great Dao of Commerce.”
Among the Three Thousand Great Daos, every single one could lead to Hunyuan.
Although the Great Dao of Commerce lacked the mystical properties of Time or Fate, nor did it possess the ultimate slaughter of Slaughter and Destruction, its strength lay in its stability.
“The Great Dao of Commerce is essentially transaction: exchanging what one has for what one needs, equal value exchange. Barter is transaction, and purchasing with currency is also transaction. The more merchants prosper in the world, the more the Dao of Commerce flourishes.”
“In Honghuang, apart from the Human Race created by Saint Nüwa, very few engage in commerce. As a result, from the initial Ferocious Beast Calamity to the Witch-Demon Calamity, the Dao of Commerce has remained lukewarm, only gradually taking shape after the Human Race created a monetary system.”
“I must make the Dao of Commerce popular across Honghuang... Honghuang deserves an unprecedented chamber of commerce.”
Having just taken human form with the Dao of Commerce accompanying his essence, Xuanjian quickly clarified his own path.
And that was: to promote commerce!
To charge into the Hunyuan Realm through the Dao of Commerce!
However...
“No rush. I've only just taken human form and haven't truly stepped out into the world yet. One step at a time.”
“To establish a chamber of commerce, the first step is funds. It would be fantastic if I could find the Treasure-Gathering Gold Basin, one of the Three Treasures of Commerce. With its treasure-seeking ability, I could surely gather a massive amount of wealth in a short time to build up my capital.”
In Honghuang, there were three spiritual treasures related to the Great Dao of Commerce: the Luobao Gold Coin, the Treasure-Gathering Gold Basin, and the Money-Shaking Gold Tree.
These three spiritual treasures could be called: the Three Treasures of Commerce!
The Luobao Gold Coin possessed the power to drop treasures, implicitly matching transaction, while serving as a symbol of currency and an embodiment of credit.
The essence of the Treasure-Gathering Gold Basin was convergence, accumulation, and foundation.
The Money-Shaking Gold Tree represented growth, circulation, money generating money, continuous vitality, and endless streams of wealth.
“Wait!”
Just then, Xuanjian felt a mystical sensation in the dark, as if... something closely tied to him had appeared.
And two of them, no less!
“A karmic connection? Could it be the locations of the Treasure-Gathering Gold Basin and the Money-Shaking Gold Tree?”
Xuanjian grew excited, his amber eyes shining brightly as if they were two gleaming gold coins. “Yes, it must be! The Luobao Gold Coin is known as one of the Three Treasures of Commerce alongside those two. Having the most fundamental karmic connection with the Great Dao of Commerce, they should naturally be able to sense each other!”
“First, I'll scour Mount Wuyi completely, then refine the core of Mount Wuyi to make this High-Grade Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land entirely mine. After that... I'll step out of Mount Wuyi and find the Treasure-Gathering Gold Basin and the Money-Shaking Gold Tree!”
Xuanjian made up his mind.
He acted immediately.
“I wonder what era it is outside right now, but since I haven't seen Xiao Sheng or Cao Bao, it probably hasn't reached the Investiture of the Gods era yet.”
...
Moving like lightning, Xuanjian shot through Mount Wuyi!
In no time at all, Xuanjian found the famous Dahongpao Tea Tree halfway up Mount Wuyi!
Commonly known as: the Lesser Dao Comprehension Tea Tree!
There halfway up Mount Wuyi, beside a spiritual pool, grew a fiery red tea tree. Its foliage was lush, its leaves red as fire, wrapped in continuous Dao charm and surrounded by innate runes. Its fragrance was rich and intoxicating; merely smelling it would clear a cultivator's mind and sharpen their vision.
This tree was none other than a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Root—the Dahongpao Tea Tree!
It had the ability to aid cultivation, enlighten the Dao, and calm the mind.
However, Xuanjian did not uproot the Dahongpao Tea Tree to take it away. Instead, he plucked the tea leaves growing on it and harvested them.
Mount Wuyi was his place of origin and would be his Dao sanctuary in the future. It was only fitting for the Dahongpao Tea Tree to grow here, so why bother relocating it needlessly?
After collecting the tea leaves of the Dahongpao Tea Tree, Xuanjian continued his search.
Mount Wuyi truly lived up to its reputation as a High-Grade Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land; there were dozens of Innate Spiritual Roots growing within it!
However, apart from the Dahongpao Tea Tree, the other Innate Spiritual Roots were mostly Mid-Grade or Low-Grade.
The majority were Low-Grade.
“Is this a Low-Grade Wood-Attribute Innate Divine Material, the Grass-Sesame Vine?”
“A Mid-Grade Metal-Attribute Innate Divine Material, Geng Metal Essence.”
“A Low-Grade Water-Attribute Innate Divine Material, Kui Water Crystal.”
Innate Divine Materials were naturally formed materials, serving as excellent resources for refining spiritual treasures or cultivating the Five Elements Attunement.
Apart from spiritual roots and divine materials, Xuanjian also found three Innate Spiritual Treasures!
Namely: the Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—Qingming Sword, the Low-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—Soul-Falling Lamp, and the Low-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—Wind-Thunder Cloud-Treading Boots.
The Qingming Sword was a slaughter-type spiritual treasure.
The Wind-Thunder Cloud-Treading Boots were a speed-type spiritual treasure.
The Soul-Falling Lamp was a control-type spiritual treasure.
The three served different functions, complementing each other. Used together properly, they could unleash astonishing effects, greatly enriching Xuanjian's tactical repertoire against enemies.
After performing a simple refinement of the first layer of restrictions, Xuanjian continued his exploration.
Finally, on Erxian Ridge in Mount Wuyi, Xuanjian discovered two masses of innate qi.
“Erxian Ridge? Innate qi? Could these two masses be Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao? They haven't even birthed spiritual intelligence yet. Could it be the Witch-Demon era right now?”
Landing before the two masses of innate qi, Xuanjian sensed them with his Primordial Spirit.
He found that these two masses of innate qi were still in a chaotic state, with no spiritual intelligence birthed yet.
【Ding! Detected that the host has found two masses of innate wealth qi. They will take form in the future under the names Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao, and share a karmic connection with the host. Please choose from the following options: ...】
Rate on N.U.
