"Heavenly Dao, I want to borrow another hundred billion Merit!"
After reaching enlightenment, Gu Xi immediately contacted the Heavenly Dao through the Heavenly Dao Credit Card and said he wanted to borrow another hundred billion Merit!
After realizing the benefits of "debt," he no longer treated owing debt as a burden, but as a protective talisman.
Thus, he wanted to borrow another enormous sum.
The thought of fleecing the Heavenly Dao made Gu Xi's heart surge with excitement.
One second!
Two seconds!
Three seconds!
"Uh, the Heavenly Dao actually isn't responding..."
Utterly awkward.
Clearly, Gu Xi's plan to fleece the Heavenly Dao had failed.
Before he began repaying his Merit, the Heavenly Dao clearly would not lend him any more.
"Sigh, my character is so good. I'll definitely repay what I owe. Heavenly Dao, why won't you lend me just a tiny little bit more?"
Gu Xi muttered as he collected himself and prepared for the next step of his plan.
The time for Nuwa to create humanity had not yet arrived.
Even if he wanted to interfere, he would have to wait.
For now, he could only find ways to make himself stronger.
With the Primordial Merit Great Dao Embryo, he could directly use this Dao Embryo to comprehend the laws of the Primordial Merit Great Dao.
However, cultivation was a long-term undertaking. For now, he could quickly use certain methods to strengthen himself by acquiring external items.
For example, obtaining some Magic Treasures.
Without the Heavenly Dao's protection, Gu Xi naturally would not have dared entertain such thoughts.
In Hong Huang, nearly every living being understood the importance of Magic Treasures.
Whenever a Magic Treasure appeared, it would trigger bloody struggles among countless living beings.
The many Magic Treasures born of heaven and earth, even Acquired Spiritual Treasures, were held by powerful living beings.
For a mere Heavenly Immortal like Gu Xi, the only way he could possibly obtain a Magic Treasure was through sheer luck.
For instance, he might happen upon an ownerless Magic Treasure while no powerful living beings happened to be nearby.
That relied far too much on luck. The odds were simply too low.
Naturally, Gu Xi had never planned on obtaining Magic Treasures that way.
His chosen method was—directly finding those living beings who possessed Magic Treasures, then visiting them to take them.
Of course, if other living beings learned that a mere Heavenly Immortal like Gu Xi actually dared set his sights on the Magic Treasures held by powerful beings, they would surely mock him for courting death and overestimating himself.
But Gu Xi wanted to say: I'm courting death! Come take my life if you can! Who's afraid of whom?
That was the confidence of someone with powerful backing!
Gu Xi began to act.
Buzhou Mountain was enormous beyond imagination. Moreover, Heaven and Earth Vital Energy there was far denser than elsewhere in Hong Huang, and countless Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands lay hidden within it.
Therefore, many Primordial Gods and Demons and other living beings resided around Buzhou Mountain.
Relying on the Heavenly Dao's protection and unafraid of being plotted against or assassinated, Gu Xi proactively approached Heavenly Immortal-level beings around Buzhou Mountain and secretly learned which of them possessed Magic Treasures.
One month later.
Gu Xi rode a streak of escaping light down before a raised peak at the foot of Buzhou Mountain.
"...According to the information I obtained from those gods and demons, a Golden Immortal-level Gu Diao lives here, known as the Gu Diao Demon King. It possesses an Acquired Spiritual Treasure called the Geng Jin Tiangang Sword."
With that thought, Gu Xi immediately flew above a cave dwelling on the mountain peak.
"Hey! Where is that old Gu Diao demon? I heard you are cruel by nature, slaughtering the living beings around you without restraint and plunging countless beings into misery. I have always upheld justice and defended the weak. I cannot tolerate a vile creature like you. Come out and face your death!"
Gu Xi shouted righteously, his voice carrying in every direction.
The Gu Diao Demon King, who had been cultivating inside its cave dwelling, had long noticed Gu Xi's arrival. However, it could not be bothered with a mere Heavenly Immortal-level being.
But...
It had never imagined that this being would be so outrageously bold, actually shouting above its cave dwelling about upholding justice and demanding that it come out to die.
The Gu Diao Demon King was dumbfounded for a moment.
What was wrong with this world?
How could a mere Heavenly Immortal dare threaten the Gu Diao Demon King with death?
"Could this be some rookie who just became a Heavenly Immortal, who doesn't understand how deep the waters of Hong Huang are and was tricked into coming here to die?"
The Gu Diao Demon King thought so.
Still, no matter what, it would never allow a Heavenly Immortal to act so brazenly before its cave dwelling.
"Although devouring a Heavenly Immortal probably won't do much... a snack delivered to my door shouldn't be wasted. I'll treat it as a light appetizer."
The Gu Diao Demon King flashed and appeared before Gu Xi.
Like Zheng, the Gu Diao Demon King's body was as large as a small mountain. It resembled an eagle, yet two enormous antlers grew from its head.
After appearing, the Gu Diao could not even be bothered to speak to a tiny Heavenly Immortal like Gu Xi. It directly extended a sharp claw, carrying overwhelming demonic power and a violent storm as it seized toward Gu Xi.
Yet what puzzled the Gu Diao was that this tiny Heavenly Immortal neither resisted nor fled. Instead, he looked at it with a smiling face.
As though he had come specifically to die?
Hmm?
Had I been in seclusion for too long? Had this world truly changed?
There were actually living beings who sought death on their own.
Then, just as the Gu Diao's claw reached the air above Gu Xi's head, its pupils suddenly contracted. In an instant, it felt a suffocating sense of mortal danger.
It reacted quickly, immediately transforming into a streak of light and shifting dozens of miles sideways.
But...
It was useless!
Boom—
A zigzag bolt of lightning descended from the Nine Heavens, as thick as a mountain range and radiating world-destroying might. The vital energy across tens of thousands of miles trembled violently.
Countless nearby living beings nearly wet themselves when they saw that lightning bolt.
"No—"
The Gu Diao only had time to let out one miserable scream before the terrifying lightning, as thick as a mountain range, struck it. Its physical body and Primordial Spirit instantly turned to ash.
Only an Immortal Light-wreathed immortal sword and a fiery treasure mirror remained behind.
"Huh? Didn't they say there was only one Acquired Spiritual Treasure, the Geng Jin Tiangang Sword? Why is there also a treasure mirror? And the aura of that mirror clearly far surpasses the Geng Jin Tiangang Sword."
Gu Xi flew over and collected the Geng Jin Tiangang Sword and the treasure mirror, then immediately began refining them.
A moment later, delight appeared on his face.
The Geng Jin Tiangang Sword was indeed an Acquired Spiritual Treasure, a mid-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure with twenty-four Innate Restrictions.
But the treasure mirror was a Low-grade Primordial Spiritual Treasure with twelve Innate Restrictions, named the Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror.
Once activated, it could release Six Yang True Fire, enough to burn mountains and boil seas.
"I never expected it. The Gu Diao Demon King had actually hidden away a Primordial Spiritual Treasure."
"Most likely, it knew it wasn't strong enough and feared that other powerful beings would come seize it, so it had kept it concealed and dared not reveal it."
"Now this is all for the best. I've fulfilled its wish. From now on, it no longer has to worry about the Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror being exposed. It can live peacefully without constantly looking over its shoulder..."
"By that logic, I seem to be a good person!"
Gu Xi silently gave himself a good-person card, then continued onward.
Before long, he used similar tactics to trick three more Golden Immortal-level gods and demons to their deaths, obtaining three Acquired Spiritual Treasures.
However, the repeated appearances of Heavenly Punishment soon drew the attention of the surrounding gods and demons.
When those gods and demons discovered that the constantly appearing Heavenly Punishment seemed connected to Gu Xi, they immediately avoided him like the plague and even called him the God of Misfortune.
Gu Xi soon found himself awkwardly stuck. After his reputation as the God of Misfortune spread, those gods and demons with Magic Treasures no longer fell for his tricks.
The moment they noticed him approaching, they immediately fled. They did not even care about abandoning their cave dwellings.
Left with no choice, he could only change his methods.
He began using the Primordial Spiritual Treasure Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror, along with his other four Acquired Spiritual Treasures, as bait to lure powerful gods and demons into joining forces to kill him.
The temptation of a Primordial Spiritual Treasure and four Acquired Spiritual Treasures was immense. Four or five Golden Immortal-level gods and demons could not resist attacking Gu Xi together.
They wanted to kill Gu Xi in an instant, take the Magic Treasures, and flee immediately afterward.
Yet once they attacked, their outcome was already sealed—a Sea of Thunder as vast as an ocean crashed down from the heavens, instantly reducing everything within tens of thousands of miles, including the five Golden Immortal-level gods and demons, to ash.
And yet Gu Xi, who had also been struck by the Sea of Thunder, was completely unharmed. He leisurely collected the one Low-grade Primordial Spiritual Treasure and four Acquired Spiritual Treasures left behind by the five Golden Immortal-level gods and demons.
Many living beings hiding in the shadows saw this scene and began trembling, their faces pale.
"Damn it, this person must have been born in response to the Primordial Tribulation Fortune Great Dao, a God of Misfortune. Whoever gets close to him suffers calamity."
"Fellow Daoist, you're right. This person is far too unlucky. Speaking of which, nine Golden Immortals have attacked him, and every one of them perished."
"Everyone, be careful. Stay away from the God of Misfortune. Preserving our lives is what matters."
The many living beings watched Gu Xi's figure with immense fear.
Before long, news of the God of Misfortune spread throughout all of Buzhou Mountain.
After seeing Gu Xi's image, many gods and demons firmly committed it to memory.
The God of Misfortune could not be approached.
"Sigh, it looks like it won't be so easy to keep tricking people in the future."
Gu Xi swept his Divine Sense over the surrounding gods and demons. Seeing their expressions, he knew they would not be so easily deceived from now on.
Still, the Magic Treasures he had gained from this round of schemes were enough for the time being.
Before you continue