Luck Pulling, Pixiu Bargaining

Hongjun was filled with utter bewilderment.

Logically speaking, a Saint preaching on behalf of the heavens was the highest form of Law of Merit and causality in the Primordial World.

The three thousand innate divinities sitting below were all born bearing the luck of heaven and earth. In the process of listening to the Saint's teachings, although the title of master and disciple had not been formally established, the reality of it had already taken shape.

Under the obscure Rules of the Heavenly Dao, the sea of luck clouds above the heads of these divinities should have parted with a wisp, converging into a vast river that flowed along the profound connections of causality to pour into the one delivering the sermon.

This was the reward for a Saint enlightening the Primordial World.

Yet at this moment, as Hongjun sensed through the Jade Plate of Creation, he discovered that those golden threads of luck—which had already left their owners and were about to converge upon him—seemed to be held back by something.

Hongjun's gaze lowered quietly, unable to help but look toward the golden figure sprawled upon the Cloud Treasure.

He saw that Tianlu's claws were idly batting at the void.

To outsiders, this sleepy Pixiu appeared to be merely scratching at the air out of boredom.

But in the eyes of Hongjun's Saintly vision, it was an entirely different matter: this Pixiu was manipulating the flow of luck.

Tianlu was currently overjoyed, his claws toying with the massive amount of luck gathered from the various divinities.

Heh, you old bull-nosed priest, if you're going to lecture, just lecture. Why are you trying to sneakily collect a tax?

Tianlu muttered to himself, though his claws remained precise.

As the auspicious beast Tianlu, he was born as the embodiment of luck and was a favorite of the Great Dao.

When it came to luck, if he did not give his nod, no one could forcibly harvest it in his presence.

The Law of Luck within Tianlu operated silently, emanating an affinity that stemmed from the very source of existence.

Those threads of luck that should have flowed toward Hongjun felt an inexplicable sense of joy upon sensing Tianlu's aura; rather than nourishing the Saint sitting high above, they preferred to remain by Tianlu's side or simply return to their respective owners.

Hongjun perceived the mystery behind this.

He sighed inwardly, thinking that this Child of the Great Dao was truly an incorrigible troublemaker.

However, the sermon could not be interrupted, and the luck could not be missed.

This was not merely a matter of cultivation, but one that concerned his future progress in merging with the Heavenly Dao.

If he were to come away empty-handed from the very first lecture, where would he put the face of a Saint?

The will of the Heavenly Dao would likely grow dissatisfied with him as well.

Thus, while Hongjun continued to speak true words, expounding upon the profound and unfathomable Dao of Daluo, he split off a wisp of divine sense to forcibly invoke the great power of the Heavenly Dao through the Jade Plate of Creation.

"Hum!"

A resonant hum echoed through the void.

The previously stagnant threads of luck, bolstered by the authority of the Heavenly Dao, suddenly pulled taut and began to inch toward Hongjun.

Hongjun felt a slight sense of relief.

A Saint was a Saint after all; within this Purple Heaven Palace, he was the heavens.

However, he had underestimated Tianlu's stubbornness—or rather, he had underestimated this Pixiu's possessiveness toward wealth.

In Tianlu's eyes, luck was the ultimate hard currency of the Primordial World.

Hongjun's preaching certainly had merit, but trying to silently fleece everyone dry was absolutely unacceptable.

Heh! Trying to fight me?

Tianlu felt the pulling force increase and immediately grew interested.

His half-closed eyes snapped open a slit, a glimmer of cunning flashing in his golden pupils.

His golden claws gave a violent tug in the void, the movement as crude as if he were yanking on a tendon.

In an instant, an invisible power belonging solely to the favor of the Great Dao descended.

This power did not belong to the Heavenly Dao, yet it stood above the manifestations of the Heavenly Dao's will.

The threads of luck that had already neared Hongjun recoiled sharply, like startled rabbits, pulling back a significant distance.

The two thousand-plus innate divinities, who were immersed in their enlightenment, felt a sudden jolt. Their smooth train of thought was inexplicably broken, as if something vital had been moving in and out of their bodies.

The corners of Hongjun's mouth twitched even more violently.

He watched those threads of luck swinging in mid-air, pulled here and tugged there, as if they were in a tug-of-war.

Yet behind every single thread lay enough immense luck to allow a Golden Immortal to instantly attain the Dao of Daluo!

"Tianlu, what exactly are you trying to do?"

A helpless divine message rang directly in Tianlu's mind.

Tianlu maintained his lazy posture, even rolling over in front of everyone to face Hongjun with the back of his head.

He sent a message back.

"Immortal Ancestor, you opened your doors to welcome guests to your lecture hall. Everyone came to listen to a lesson, not to sell their souls."

"Is it not a bit unkind of you to be secretly siphoning everyone's luck while you preach?"

Hongjun was choked by the retort and replied via divine sense.

"This poor Daoist passes down the path of longevity and eternal vision to enlighten all living beings. They return this favor with their luck; it is a cycle of cause and effect, a principle as natural as the heavens."

"This is the fixed decree of the Heavenly Dao. How can you call it thievery?"

"I don't care about your 'fixed' whatever."

Tianlu let out a soft huff and gave another tug with his claw.

"Regardless, since this luck passed before my eyes, I feel like it's close to me."

"I am in charge of the world's fortune and luck. If I feel like they don't want to leave right now, then they have to stay right here."

Hongjun laughed in anger.

This Pixiu had truly taken the logic of a bandit to the extreme.

He finally saw it clearly: Tianlu wasn't trying to reason at all; he was purely haggling.

At this moment, the sermon had entered a critical juncture. The Golden Lotus from the Earth emerged with increasing speed, and the spiritual energy within the Purple Heaven Palace had become so dense it began to liquefy.

If this stalemate continued, the rhythm of the sermon would be completely disrupted.

Hongjun took a deep breath, silently reminded himself three times that the main task was what mattered, and then transmitted his voice.

"What do you want? Do not forget, you are also in this Purple Heaven Palace. You have also benefited from the Great Dao I am preaching."

Tianlu chuckled.

"Me? I am the most fair person there is."

"The Immortal Ancestor's sermon is indeed excellent, but I am a picky eater by nature. These Daos of Daluo you are preaching are of no use to me."

"However, I am not an unreasonable person. Immortal Ancestor, you may collect this luck, but you must pay a bit of a service fee."

"A service fee?!"

Hongjun felt his moral character was undergoing an unprecedented test.

He had traversed the Primordial World for countless eons, destroyed Luo Hou, and outmaneuvered Shen Ni. When had he ever heard of having to pay a service fee to harvest luck?

"One high-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure. How about that?"

Hongjun endured the heartache as he offered his price.

In his view, a high-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure was already a rare treasure in the Primordial World, sufficient to settle any dispute.

However, Tianlu let out a disdainful scoff.

"Immortal Ancestor, are you trying to brush off a beggar?"

"Sitting in this hall are the Three Thousand Guests of Purple Heaven, the future backbone of the Primordial World."

"With the luck of so many people combined, you want to settle it with just one high-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure?"

"Your calculations as a sage are a bit too stingy, aren't they?"

Hongjun's divine sense turned cold.

"Then what do you want?"

Tianlu turned his head, his eyes fixed on Hongjun, who sat above with his eyes closed in sermon, and transmitted his reply.

"One top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure will do!"