The Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin

Donghua reached out and grabbed at empty air. An object flew out of the corpse. It was round, with a square hole in the middle and wings on either side.

It was a copper coin with wings. The back was engraved with Great Dao patterns and had the power to drive away demons and ward off evil.

The front bore the Great Dao characters for "trade."

This was the first coin in the Primordial Wilderness: the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin.

Donghua reached out and took the coin, then sent his primordial spirit into the treasure and left his mark on it.

He also learned what the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin could do.

The Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin was said to be able to strip away anything beneath an Innate Supreme Treasure, and it carried the Law of Trade.

Since it was governed by the Law of Trade, then in theory, as long as one could afford the price, one really could claim any treasure in the world.

"But the price is far too steep. No wonder Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao turned into a pair of wretched fools after they claimed the Sea Calming Divine Beads."

The price of using the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin was merit and fortune.

The amount of merit and fortune required depended on the user's cultivation and the grade of the treasure being claimed.

Put simply, the process was a transaction—except it was a forced one. As long as I could afford the price, you had to sell it to me.

That was the terrifying power of the Law of Trade.

Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao had been mere True Immortals, yet they'd dared to claim Zhao Gongming's Sea Calming Divine Beads.

If they didn't die, who would?

After all, Zhao Gongming was a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, and the Sea Calming Divine Beads were a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

The worst part wasn't that they died and ended up on the Investiture of the Gods. Afterward, they became Zhao Gongming's subordinates in the Heavenly Court.

There was no word for how miserable that was.

But this also showed that the two of them had exhausted their merit and fortune when they claimed the Sea Calming Divine Beads.

Looks like I'll have to work hard to earn merit and build up my fortune from now on.

Donghua put away the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin and said to the others, "If you need anything else in this cave abode, feel free to take it."

Besides the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin, there were a few other treasures in the cave, but they had all been made by Wuyi Gong himself.

They were nothing special to Donghua.

Qianyu took a long saber, a Mid-grade postnatal treasure.

The three women took three bead-shaped treasures, also Mid-grade postnatal treasures.

Crown Prince Changqin took nothing. He picked up some jade slips and began reading. Donghua had no interest in those treasures, and as the Crown Prince of the Zhu Rong Tribe, neither did he.

If he wanted a treasure, his father would simply send him an Innate Spiritual Treasure.

Donghua also picked up a few jade slips. Most recorded events from the Primordial Era, while others contained insights into cultivating the Divine Dao.

There was nothing else.

No wonder Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao remained rogue cultivators even after they got their hands on the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin. They had no good cultivation manuals.

Donghua put away the jade slips that recorded events from the Primordial Era and left the secret cave abode.

He'd been in a hurry when he entered the cave and hadn't taken a proper look around. Now that he thought about it, wasn't that tree beside the cave abode the famous Big Red Robe mother tree of Wuyi Mountain in later generations?

He stepped outside and saw that it was indeed a tea tree. Though it was an Innate Spiritual Root, it wasn't top-grade—just a Mid-grade Spiritual Root.

Donghua beamed with delight. Though the Big Red Robe tea tree was only a Mid-grade Spiritual Root, to a tea lover like him, it was just as precious as a top-grade one.

As for the top-tier Innate Spiritual Roots, there were only ten in the entire Primordial Wilderness. Some had taken human form, some had perished while doing so, and others already had owners.

There was no chance he'd get one. He'd finally come across the Fusang Tree, only for Eastern Emperor Taiyi to kill him and leave him with just half of it.

As for his grudge against Eastern Emperor Taiyi, he'd settle it sooner or later. Donghua had always been easygoing, but how could he forget the vengeance of death?

He immediately collected the Big Red Robe mother tree.

Once he was done, he cheerfully said to the others, "You can head back later. Today, I'll treat you to tea. Let's try this Big Red Robe."

They all nodded. They didn't know what Big Red Robe tea was, but they'd seen the Spiritual Root Donghua had just collected.

Tea from a Mid-grade Spiritual Root surely couldn't be bad.

They sat beneath the Fuyao Tree and watched Donghua roast the tea leaves over Pure Yang Divine Fire.

That's right—he was roasting tea over Pure Yang Divine Fire, though he used a gentle flame.

The leaves from the Big Red Robe mother tree contained Daoist insight and spiritual energy. Ordinary fire couldn't roast them properly.

Roasting tea was a skill. One had to bring out the fragrance while keeping the spiritual energy and Daoist insight from dissipating.

After a while, they sat at a stone table, drinking Big Red Robe tea.

Donghua said, "Delicious! Truly delicious. I've never had tea this good."

They all nodded, but they were too busy refining the spiritual energy and comprehending the Daoist insight in the tea to concern themselves with its flavor.

The three young ones, who were Mystic Immortals, immediately broke through to the peak of the Mystic Immortal realm.

"May I ask your name, senior?"

At the mountaintop, Crown Prince Changqin finally couldn't hold back and asked.

"I am East King Gong of the Purple Mansion, Emperor Lord Donghua, and my Daoist title is Tai Wei."

They were astonished, especially the three young phoenixes, who all studied Donghua.

"So you're the Head of Male Immortals, East King Gong."

Donghua nodded, feeling rather helpless. No one remembered his identity as Emperor Lord Donghua, master of the Purple Mansion. To be precise, it wasn't that no one remembered; they had simply chosen to forget.

Yet everyone knew his title as Head of Male Immortals, East King Gong—even the three young phoenixes, who were only Mystic Immortals.

This wasn't the first time he'd encountered this during his travels through the Primordial Wilderness. It had happened many times before.

Looks like I've still underestimated the fame of being Head of Male Immortals.

The phoenix who had remained silent spoke up. "When we first became immortals, our primordial spirits once left our bodies and paid our respects to Her Ladyship West Queen Mother in the void. We've never met her in person, but to see His Majesty King Dong here today is a great honor."

The other two youngsters chimed in. Then Qingluan Bird said, "I've paid my respects to Her Ladyship West Queen Mother too. She even patted me on the head and said I was cute."

This was the first time Donghua had heard West Queen Mother's name since his rebirth. It had come up so suddenly.

He studied the phoenix. He hadn't expected this one to be the royal bird of the Phoenix Clan.

At first, the Phoenix Clan had revered the five-colored phoenix above all others, because Yuanfeng's true form was a five-colored phoenix. Next came the golden phoenixes, also known as royal birds.

The five-colored phoenixes in the world could be counted on one hand. So, in practice, the Phoenix Clan was ruled by golden phoenixes, just as the Dragon Clan's rulers were the Golden Dragons.

"There's nothing special about East King Gong. I'm just a cultivator. What's your name?"

"This junior is Jin Feng of the Phoenix Clan."

Donghua set down his teacup and asked again, "I'm asking what your name is."

Jin Feng looked puzzled. "To answer His Majesty King Dong, this junior's name is Jin Feng. Is there some significance to that name?"

Donghua paused, surprised that this random phoenix he'd met was also a famous figure in later generations.

If he wasn't mistaken, Jin Feng was the very golden phoenix who willingly became Nuwa's mount when Nuwa attained sainthood.

She was also renowned in later generations. Nuwa hadn't founded a great teaching and had taken almost no disciples, just a few nominal ones. This mount, Jin Feng, was practically no different from a personal disciple.

Donghua gave a slight shake of his head. "There's nothing significant about the name Jin Feng. I simply sensed just now that you're destined for an opportunity in the future. Whether you can seize it is up to you."

"Don't ask any more. The time isn't right, and the Heavenly Secret can't be revealed."

Jin Feng suppressed her curiosity. If her senior didn't want to tell her, she couldn't press him.

"Meeting you young ones today was fate, but fate brings people together and then parts them. Let's take our leave here."

Now that Donghua had obtained the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin, it was time to leave and continue traveling through the Primordial Wilderness, comprehending the Dao of Hun Yuan.

Just then, a dark figure streaked across the sky, and an old man in black descended.

He pinched his fingers to calculate and sniffed the air. A moment later, he stopped.

Looking at Donghua and the others, he asked, "Did you take the Treasure-Dropping Golden Coin?"

As he spoke, he fixed Donghua with a sinister stare.