Duobao and Hongjun
However, with the Landscape of Mountains and Rivers, and the State in his hands, Fuxi's expression remained calm. He seemed to be pondering, yet also weighing a decision.
Although Fuxi was very satisfied with the Landscape of Mountains and Rivers, and the State, he did not agree immediately. Instead, he spoke.
"This painting is excellent, but it is not a treasure for attack. I fear I cannot rely on it to defeat Luohu. I wonder, fellow Daoist, do you have any treasures for attack?"
Hearing this, Hongjun was not angry. Instead, he rejoiced inwardly.
He had succeeded in winning Fuxi over!
As for the treasures he had given up, he would consider them payment for Fuxi risking his life.
After all, Demon Ancestor Luohu was hardly so easy to kill. Whether Fuxi would survive the battle was still unknown.
"As for treasures for attack, I do have a few."
"However, I do not know which one would suit you, fellow Daoist. I find it difficult to choose."
Hearing this, Fuxi rejoiced inwardly and suggested,
"Why not bring out all these treasures together, fellow Daoist, and let me choose for myself?"
Fuxi's suggestion left Hongjun momentarily stunned. Wasn't that a little too direct?
He hesitated over the request.
As the saying went, wealth should not be flaunted. Showing one's treasures to others for no reason was a path to death.
Moreover, in the Primordial World, strength reigned supreme. Swindling and plundering, killing people and seizing their treasures, were common occurrences.
But that applied only to others. There was no need for Hongjun himself to worry about it.
Although Hongjun did not claim to be the strongest in the Primordial World, he was still a mighty figure at the Quasi-Sage level. There truly was no one who could snatch a treasure from his hands.
Even if Fuxi was rather mysterious, Hongjun was no pushover either.
Thus, after pondering for a moment, Hongjun nodded in agreement.
Hongjun waved his broad sleeve, and four treasures appeared before him.
A giant hammer flashing all over with purple lightning.
An embroidered ball shimmering with red radiance.
A small banner wreathed in countless fierce winds.
And a large golden lock.
Hongjun pointed to the four Magic Treasures before him and introduced them one by one. "Please look, fellow Daoist. These four Magic Treasures are all for attack. They are the Purple Lightning Hammer, the Red Embroidered Ball, the Fierce Wind Banner, and the Heart-Piercing Lock. All of them are High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures!"
"I wonder if any of them satisfy you, fellow Daoist?"
Hongjun was certainly showing his sincerity now.
Looking at the four treasures before him, Fuxi was genuinely taken aback. Although he had long known Hongjun was wealthy, he had not expected the old Daoist to be so extravagant.
He had as many as four High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures for attack alone, to say nothing of the rest!
But he soon regained his composure. What did the number of treasures old Daoist Hongjun possessed have to do with him, Fuxi?
For now, these Magic Treasures were merely sitting in Hongjun's pocket.
When the time came for him to preach at Zixiao Palace, wouldn't Hongjun give all the treasures away?
Compared with becoming a Sage and reaching a supreme realm, Magic Treasures were not so important.
Although Magic Treasures were immensely helpful in battles of magic in the Primordial World, when it came to cultivation, external things were ultimately external things, nothing more than tools. One's own strength was the key to everything.
Looking at the four treasures before Hongjun, Fuxi had already made up his mind.
"This Red Embroidered Ball is fated to be mine!"
"Very well, I shall do as you wish, fellow Daoist."
Hongjun waved his hand and put away the other three treasures. Then he raised a hand and pointed, and the Red Embroidered Ball flew toward Fuxi.
Fuxi beckoned, and the Red Embroidered Ball spun around before landing lightly in his hand.
Looking at the treasure brimming with spiritual life in his hand, Fuxi could not help smiling faintly.
The treasure was over a foot across and pink in color. Jeweled ornaments and beads hung from the embroidered ball, rings and pendants jingled, and red radiance streamed around it.
This treasure was also a treasure his younger sister Nuwa would carry with her in the future. Now that he had obtained it from Hongjun, Fuxi could consider one of his wishes fulfilled.
This severed the bond of master and disciple between his younger sister and Hongjun.
After accepting the treasure, Fuxi made a promise. "If you battle Luohu in the future, fellow Daoist, I will surely lend what little help I can."
Hongjun nodded at his words. "With that promise from you, fellow Daoist, this old Daoist can rest easy!"
Cause and effect held sway in the Primordial World. Since Fuxi had accepted Hongjun's treasure, he naturally would not dare go back on his word.
Otherwise, once burdened with karmic retribution, even a Quasi-Sage would find it hard to withstand.
But what he did not know was that Fuxi cultivated the Mythological Great Luo Law Hongmeng Scripture, so the cause and effect of the Primordial World had little influence on him.
Fuxi's promise was nothing more than empty words.
"Since this matter is settled, I shall take my leave!" Having achieved his goal, Hongjun stayed no longer. He stirred his magic power and departed on a cloud.
Although Hongjun had parted with two high-grade spiritual treasures on this trip, he did not feel it was a pity, since he had secured Fuxi as a helper, a man of mysterious origins and profound divine abilities.
But after he had flown hundreds of millions of miles away, his spiritual intuition stirred, and his expression turned uncertain.
Fuxi had accepted the treasures and agreed to act against Luohu. This was tantamount to the two of them forming a bond of cause and effect under the witness of the Heavenly Dao, so by rights, Fuxi would not dare go back on his word.
But for some reason, Hongjun kept feeling that something about the matter had been overlooked.
Before his reincarnation, he had possessed the keenest spiritual intuition among the three thousand demon gods.
Otherwise, he could not have clung to life after Pangu fought the three thousand demon gods alone, much less obtained a Fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation.
Thus, Hongjun placed great trust in his spiritual intuition. Now that it had given him a warning, he had no choice but to take it seriously.
"Something is still amiss. I must take further measures, just in case."
At this thought, Hongjun abruptly halted his flight and took out a fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation. His left hand continuously formed different hand seals as he calculated with all his might.
The next moment, a beam of golden light shot from Hongjun's eyes. Countless traces of Dao and divine laws appeared and vanished around him.
The supreme treasure in his hand, the Jade Disc of Good Fortune, shimmered with specks of light like the stars throughout the heavens, extraordinarily profound.
A moment later, Hongjun had made up his mind, with a plan already formed.
"Since I cannot divine this person, I shall start with the Demon Sect."
"If this succeeds, Fuxi will certainly not side with Luohu."
After Hongjun left, Fuxi intended to enter seclusion once more.
After all, there was still quite a long time before the final stage of the Dragon-Han Calamity. Fuxi intended to make good use of that time and raise his cultivation.
He had also gained a great deal from this discussion of the Dao.
Hongjun was indeed worthy of being the future first Sage and Dao Ancestor of the Profound Gate, whose teachings would spread throughout the world. The profundity of his Dao and techniques surpassed all others in the Primordial World.
Although Hongjun's Method of Severing the Three Corpses had flaws, it also contained subtleties.
The approach to becoming a Sage implicit in it gave Fuxi considerable inspiration, even giving him a faint sense of the direction he could take in building the second layer of the Hongmeng Scripture.
Of course, it had only given him a direction. After all, attaining Mythological Great Luo was tens of thousands of times more difficult than becoming a Heavenly Dao Sage, and no one knew just how many.
The gulf between the two could not be measured by reason.
After instructing the Twelve Ancestral Witches not to disturb him unless necessary, Fuxi went straight into seclusion to cultivate in Pangu Hall.
Of course, Fuxi did not begin his seclusion immediately. Instead, he took out the Landscape of Mountains and Rivers, and the State and sent his consciousness into the painting.