See the Great Way by Breaking Through Life and Death; Create the Future with the Nine-Turn Divine Art (Continued)

At the same time, within an innate restriction somewhere in the Western Land, a Bodhi Tree and a Bitter Bamboo were also madly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, hastening their transformation.

"Refine."

On Xiao Bai's back, taking advantage of the journey, Yun Xiao sent her divine sense into the Spirit Coffin Lamp and began refining it.

To be honest, Yun Xiao was fairly satisfied with this haul.

Although the Spirit Coffin Lamp was a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, it still fell short of the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler and the Pure World White Lotus in her possession. Even so, its origins were extraordinary.

It was well known that the Primordial Wilderness had four great spirit lamps: the Human Lamp, the Spirit Coffin Lamp; the Earth Lamp, the Eight Sceneries Palace Lamp; the Heaven Lamp, the Jade Void Glazed Lamp; and the Creation Lamp, the Precious Lotus Lantern.

The flame of the Human Lamp, the Spirit Coffin Lamp, in her possession was the most mysterious of the four great heavenly flames: Netherworld Ghost Fire.

After the Battle of the Gods, Ran Deng joined the Buddhist sect. The reason he kept his name and was even honored as Ancient Buddha Ran Deng was this very Spirit Coffin Lamp.

Vulture Peak Mountain had also become part of Western Spirit Mountain because of this lamp.

The lamp's flame, Netherworld Ghost Fire, cultivated itself into human form in Western Spirit Mountain. Unwilling to endure the loneliness there, it fled to the mortal world and disappeared.

The remaining lamp body was eaten by a tiny Gu insect, which eventually became the Ghost Mother Liuli, a menace to the surrounding lands.

The Earth Lamp was the Eight Sceneries Palace Lamp.

Its flame was called "Purple Fire of Burning Delusions."

This flame's power was boundless. It was said to be capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas. If unleashed in full, it could boil half of the East Sea.

The Heaven Lamp was the Jade Void Glazed Lamp.

It was a magical treasure of the Primordial Heavenly Clan.

Within the lamp was a golden flame called "Ancient Flame of Ten Thousand Spirits," one of the four great heavenly flames.

This flame had a special ability: it could detect nearby magical treasures.

However, Venerable Lord Yuanshi was one of the Three Pure Ones and had long since stopped relying on magical treasures to establish himself.

Thus, although he possessed the Jade Void Glazed Lamp, he could not be bothered to search for magical treasures.

When cultivators fought to the death, they often said, "I'll take your Primordial Spirit to light the Heaven Lamp." They were referring to this Jade Void Glazed Lamp.

The Creation Lamp was the Precious Lotus Lantern.

It had been formed from an immature lotus seed of the Thirty-Six-Petal Chaos Green Lotus.

When the heavens were opened, the Thirty-Six-Petal Chaos Green Lotus shattered because it could not withstand the Great Tribulation of Heaven Opening. Its six lotus seeds then became six lotus thrones.

One of the seeds had ripened and became the Twelve-Petal Creation Green Lotus, a treasure of the innate level. The Heavenly Dao would not tolerate it, so it was eventually split into three: the Jade Ruyi, the White Jade Flat Crutch, and the Qingping Sword.

The remaining five half-ripe seeds became the Twelve-Grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus, the World-Destroying Black Lotus, the Merit Golden Lotus, the Twelve-Petal World-Purifying White Lotus in Yun Xiao's possession, and the Twelve-Grade Samsara Purple Lotus.

The Twelve-Grade Samsara Purple Lotus was the most mysterious of them all. Even Yun Xiao had no memories of what abilities it possessed.

Besides these, another not-quite-ripe seed had become the Precious Lotus Lantern.

It was said that only someone with an exceptionally kind heart could activate it.

In short, all four of the Primordial Wilderness's spirit lamps were High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, and each had extraordinary origins.

There were even rumors that if all four divine lamps were gathered, they would give rise to an unimaginable divine treasure!

"What a pity. At this point in time, the Universe Ruler is still in the hands of Qiankun Ancestor. If I could have gotten it at Vulture Peak Mountain too, this haul would have been an absolute windfall."

After initially refining the Spirit Coffin Lamp, Yun Xiao shook her head regretfully.

The Universe Ruler could measure heaven and earth. Combined with the Thirty-Six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, it could manifest a new spiritual treasure—the Thirty-Six Heavens!

Back then, Ran Deng possessed the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. Using them with the Universe Ruler, he manifested the Twenty-Four Heavens, a treasure that excelled at both offense and defense. In one leap, he became the strongest below the Saints!

Even great powers like Ancestor Minghe had no choice but to avoid his sharp edge.

Now she had twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. The Twelve Heavens they manifested were not perfect, but they were still tremendously powerful.

"Master."

Just as Yun Xiao's thoughts were racing, Xiao Bai's voice suddenly rang out.

She looked ahead and saw an old man sitting cross-legged in midair, eyes closed, with a divination diagram laid out in front of him, blocking their way.

"Pay him no mind. Keep going."

Yun Xiao gave the order calmly. The most important thing now was to head north, find Kunlun Mountain, and obtain the Fragment of the Jade of Creation.

"Buzz—"

Just as Xiao Bai turned to go around him, the old man appeared in front of them once more, blocking their path.

"Fellow Daoist, would you care for a fortune reading?"

The old man slowly opened his eyes. A flash of golden light passed through them.

Yun Xiao regarded him calmly for a moment, then smiled faintly. With a flash, she appeared opposite him and sat down before the divination diagram. "The road is long, and I don't know which way to go. A fortune reading might be useful."

"What would you like to know, fellow Daoist?"

"Let's see whether, with my Golden Immortal cultivation, encountering a Grand Unity Golden Immortal who blocks my way will be a blessing or a calamity."

Hearing Yun Xiao's words, the old man paused in surprise, then smiled along with her.

"Very well. I'll cast a fortune for you!"

Smiling, he placed a sheet of paper and a brush before Yun Xiao. "Please draw whatever comes to mind."

Yun Xiao took the brush without hesitation and drew a large horizontal line on the paper.

The old man picked up the sheet. But just then, a gust of evil wind swept past, and the paper fluttered down onto the divination diagram.

It landed precisely over the image of a dagger. The drawing was so lifelike, it looked as if the weapon could be plucked straight from the page and used to pierce someone's heart!

"Fellow Daoist, this fortune doesn't look too good!"

The old man pointed at the crimson sky. "At this hour, the setting sun is just peeking over the horizon. It's dusk."

Then he pointed at the dagger on the diagram. "This dagger is called Golden Chi She Yuan."

The old man pointed to the line on the paper. "Your line, placed beneath the dagger at dusk, portends great misfortune!"

"How bad?" Yun Xiao asked.

"Beneath that line are a dagger and the setting sun. It could be bad enough to end in your death."

"So it's death, then."

"Exactly, it's—"

"Death!!!"

The old man's laughing face twisted into a savage grin!

The next moment, the divination diagram began moving on its own, though there was no wind. The dagger depicted on it actually flew out of the image, stabbing straight toward Yun Xiao's brow!

Golden Chi She Yuan could pierce through the physical body and strike an enemy's Primordial Spirit, killing with a single blow!

And at such close range, there was nowhere to dodge!

"Clang!"

Just as Golden Chi She Yuan was about to reach Yun Xiao's brow, a white lotus blossomed on her forehead, knocking the dagger away!

"How can a mere Golden Immortal possess such a spiritual treasure?!"

Seeing this, the old man cried out in shock.

This Golden Chi She Yuan was his Accompanying Spiritual Treasure, a mid-grade innate treasure, yet her spiritual treasure had knocked it away outright.

That meant the lotus-shaped defensive treasure was at least a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!

It might even be a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!

This was an incredible opportunity delivered right to his doorstep!

If he killed her, wouldn't all of it belong to him?

Thinking this, the old man's face immediately filled with a smile. "At first, I only meant to kill you and your mount, then nourish my origin with your mount's essence."

"But I never expected that a mere little Golden Immortal like you would possess such a great opportunity. Today is truly my lucky day."

The old man looked down at Yun Xiao, as if everything were already under his control.

His identity was Geng Metal Ancestor, born from the Innate Geng Metal Origin.

Xiao Bai, meanwhile, was an Innate Geng Metal White Tiger. He had sensed her from far away, so he had come ahead of time to block their path.

According to Geng Metal Ancestor's plan, obtaining Xiao Bai's essence was the main goal. Killing Yun Xiao was merely incidental.

But he had never expected that the little Golden Immortal he had overlooked would possess such a great opportunity. It was a double blessing!

"Which opportunity are you talking about?"

Just as Geng Metal Ancestor prepared to strike again, Yun Xiao suddenly waved her hand, and a Mysterious Yellow Handkerchief emerged, floating in the air.

"This treasure is called the Mysterious Yellow Star Handkerchief. It's a mid-grade innate treasure. With a single strike, it can draw upon the power of the stars."