Hongjun was baffled.
By all reason, a saint transmitting the Dao on behalf of heaven was the greatest Law of Merit and Law of Cause and Effect in the Primordial World.
Of the three thousand Innate Divine Beings seated below, every one had been born bearing the fortune of heaven and earth. Though the name of master and disciple had not yet been established, the substance of that relationship had already formed as they listened to the saint's teachings.
Under the unseen Rules of the Heavenly Dao, a thread should have split from the clouds of fortune above these divine beings' heads, converging into a vast river and flowing through that mysterious karmic connection into the lecturer.
This was the reward for a saint's enlightenment of the Primordial World.
Yet as Hongjun sensed through the Jade Plate of Creation, he discovered that the golden threads of fortune which had already left their owners and were about to gather toward him had somehow been forcibly held back.
Hongjun's gaze quietly lowered as he looked toward the golden figure sprawled atop the Cloud Treasure.
Tianlu's paw was lazily stirring the void, now and then.
To outsiders, the sleepy Pixiu merely seemed to be idly scratching at the air.
But through Hongjun's saintly eyes, it was an entirely different matter. This Pixiu was manipulating fortune.
Tianlu was delighted, his paw toying with the immense fortune gathered from the divine beings.
Heh, you ox-nosed old Daoist. You're giving a lecture, so why are you secretly levying taxes too?
Tianlu grumbled inwardly, but his paw did not hesitate in the slightest.
As the auspicious beast Tianlu, he had been born as the incarnation of fortune and was even a Pet of the Great Dao.
When it came to fortune, if he did not nod in approval, no one could forcibly harvest it before his eyes.
The Law of Fortune within Tianlu quietly circulated, carrying an affinity born from his very origin.
When those threads of fortune that should have flowed toward Hongjun sensed Tianlu's aura, they inexplicably became excited. Rather than nourish that lofty saint, they preferred to remain by Tianlu's side—or simply return to their original owners.
Hongjun perceived the mystery behind it.
He sighed inwardly. This Child of the Great Dao truly was an utter troublemaker.
But the lecture could not be interrupted, and the fortune could not be lost.
This was not merely a matter of cultivation; it concerned the progress of his future merger with the Heavenly Dao.
If he gained nothing from his very first lecture, where would he put his saintly dignity?
The Heavenly Dao Will would likely become dissatisfied with him as well.
Thus, while Hongjun spoke true words and expounded upon the unfathomable Dao of Daluo, he also split off a thread of divine sense and forcibly drew upon the mighty power of heaven through the Jade Plate of Creation.
"Buzz!"
A hum echoed through the void.
Empowered by heavenly authority, the previously stalled threads of fortune suddenly stretched taut and began inching toward Hongjun.
Hongjun inwardly breathed a small sigh of relief.
A saint was still a saint. Within Purple Heaven Palace, he was heaven itself.
Yet he had still underestimated Tianlu's stubbornness—or rather, this Pixiu's possessiveness toward wealth.
In Tianlu's eyes, fortune was the highest-grade hard currency in the Primordial World.
Hongjun's lecture certainly had merit, but trying to quietly shear everyone clean of their wool was absolutely unacceptable.
"Heh! You want to contend with me?"
Feeling the pulling force intensify, Tianlu immediately became interested.
His half-lidded eyes suddenly opened into narrow slits, and a trace of cunning flashed through his golden pupils.
His glittering golden paw jerked sharply through the void, the movement as rough as yanking a sinew.
In an instant, an invisible mighty power unique to the Great Dao's favor descended.
This power did not belong to the Heavenly Dao, yet it transcended the outward manifestation of the Heavenly Dao Will.
The threads of fortune that had already drawn close to Hongjun recoiled in unison by a great distance, like startled rabbits.
More than two thousand Innate Divine Beings immersed in enlightenment shuddered all over. Their previously smooth trains of insight inexplicably broke for a moment, as though something important were moving in and out of their bodies.
Hongjun's mouth twitched even more fiercely.
He watched the threads of fortune swing back and forth in midair, pulled one way and then the other, like a tug-of-war.
Yet behind every one of those threads was an immense fortune sufficient to let a Golden Immortal instantly attain the Dao of the Daluo Realm!
"Tianlu, what exactly do you want?"
A helpless transmission of divine sense sounded directly in Tianlu's mind.
Tianlu maintained his lazy posture and even rolled over in full view of everyone, turning the back of his head toward Hongjun.
He sent a transmission back.
"Immortal Ancestor, you opened the doors of the Lecture Hall to welcome guests. Everyone came here to attend a lesson, not to sell themselves."
"You're lecturing while secretly siphoning off their fortune. Isn't that a little unfair?"
Hongjun choked on his words before transmitting back.
"I impart the Dao of eternal life and enlighten all beings. Their return of this fortune is a cycle of cause and effect, only natural and right."
"This is the fixed decree of the Heavenly Dao. How can it be called secret theft?"
"I don't care whether it's heaven's decree or not."
Tianlu snorted and gave another tug with his paw.
"Anyway, when this fortune passes before me, I feel close to it."
"I, your lord, govern the blessings, emoluments, and fortune of this world. If I think they do not wish to leave, then they will stay here."
Hongjun was so angered that he laughed.
This Pixiu had taken bandit logic to its absolute extreme.
He could see it now. Tianlu was not trying to reason with him at all; he was simply haggling.
The lecture had now reached a crucial point. Golden Lotus from the Earth emerged faster and faster, while the spiritual energy within Purple Heaven Palace had become so dense it was nearly liquid.
If this deadlock continued, the rhythm of the lecture would be completely disrupted.
Hongjun took a deep breath, silently recited the important matter comes first three times, and then transmitted his thoughts.
"What do you want? Do not forget that you are also within Purple Heaven Palace. You have benefited from the Great Dao I have spoken of as well."
Tianlu chuckled.
"Me? I'm a very fair person."
"Immortal Ancestor, your lecture is indeed quite good, but I was born a picky eater. This Dao of Daluo you speak of is of no use to me."
"Still, I am not unreasonable. If you, Immortal Ancestor, want to collect this fortune, that is fine—but you must pay a handling fee."
"A handling fee?!"
Hongjun felt that his morals were undergoing an unprecedented trial.
He had roamed the Primordial World for countless Yuanhu, slain Luo Hou, and tricked Shen Ni. Since when had harvesting fortune required paying a handling fee?
"One Upper-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure. How about that?"
Suppressing his heartache, Hongjun named his price.
In his view, an Upper-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure was already a rare supreme treasure in the Primordial World, more than enough to settle any dispute.
Yet Tianlu let out a disdainful snort.
"Immortal Ancestor, are you trying to fob off a beggar?"
"Seated in this hall are the Three Thousand Guests of Purple Heaven, the future pillars of the Primordial World."
"You want to settle the fortune of so many people with a single Upper-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure?"
"Your saintly accounting is a little too shrewd, isn't it?"
Hongjun's divine sense grew several degrees colder.
"Then what do you want?"
Tianlu turned his head, his eyes fixed on Hongjun, who sat above with closed eyes and continued lecturing, and transmitted back.
"One Supreme-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure will do!"
Before you continue