Journey to Wuyi Mountain, Cleverly Breaking the Treasure-Dropping Coin

Wuyi Mountain was not among the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens or the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, yet it possessed a clear, wondrous spiritual elegance of its own.

Though the mountain was not tall, it was filled with strange peaks and jagged rocks, with clouds steaming and rosy mists rising. The Nine-Bend Stream wound through it, its waters clear to the bottom and brimming with spiritual energy, making it an excellent place for Rogue Cultivators to live in seclusion.

That day, two streaks of escaping light descended from the horizon, revealing Xuan Chuan and Zhao Gongming.

Gazing at the familiar scenery before him, a trace of complicated emotion flashed across Zhao Gongming's face before it was replaced by boldness. "Senior Brother Xuan Chuan, this is the place.

"The cultivation grounds of Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao lie beneath Treasure-Dropping Cliff, upstream along the Nine-Bend Stream.

"Heh, when I traveled here years ago, I got into a dispute with those two over a Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricot and fought them once.

"The two of them were mediocre, yet they relied on that strange copper coin and nearly made me lose my Sea-Calming Pearls, thus forming karma between us. Though there were no further clashes afterward, this grudge was still forged."

Xuan Chuan nodded. His divine sense swept over all of Wuyi Mountain like a clear breeze, and he immediately sensed two fairly strong True Immortal auras entrenched somewhere upstream. There was also an unusual treasure aura faintly leaking out, as though it could strip away the spiritual radiance of all things.

The Treasure-Dropping Coin... an innate spiritual treasure. It has neither offensive nor defensive power, yet it specifically restrains all treasures under heaven. It can bring down all acquired items and can even interfere with innate spiritual treasures. It truly is an extraordinary treasure.

Xuan Chuan thought to himself, This treasure is linked to Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao's fate and has already become their natal item. Seizing it by force would not be easy, and it could easily taint me with great karma. Junior Sister Yunxiao's concerns were not without reason.

"Junior Brother Gongming, once we meet those two, simply act according to the plan. Provoke them into fighting and force them to use the Treasure-Dropping Coin," Xuan Chuan transmitted. "Leave the rest to me."

Zhao Gongming nodded heavily. "Alright! I'll follow Senior Brother's lead!"

The two no longer concealed their auras and rode the clouds straight toward Treasure-Dropping Cliff.

The pressure of a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal and a peak Golden Immortal—what Zhao Gongming revealed—was utterly unrestrained, immediately alarming the creatures cultivating within the mountain as well as the masters beneath the cliff.

"Who dares trespass upon my Wuyi Mountain cultivation grounds?!" A furious shout rang out as two figures rushed from the cave abode beneath the cliff, blocking their path in midair.

The man on the left had a sallow face and a sparse mustache. Wearing a square headscarf and dressed like a scholar, he held a whisk in his hand. He was Xiao Sheng.

The man on the right had a dark face, a full beard, and a burly frame. With twin swords on his back, he was Cao Bao.

Both had late-stage True Immortal cultivation. Their expressions shifted uncertainly as they clearly recognized Zhao Gongming.

"Zhao Gongming? It's you!" Xiao Sheng's face darkened. "The karma from back then has already been settled. Why have you come again?

"And you even brought help. Are you planning to bully the few with the many and forcibly seize Wuyi Mountain?" His wary gaze swept over Xuan Chuan, whose aura was deep and unfathomable.

"Ha ha ha!" Zhao Gongming laughed loudly, his voice shaking the forests. "Xiao Sheng, Cao Bao, do not measure a gentleman's heart with a petty man's yardstick!

"Zhao came today not to pick a fight. But in our battle back then, you two relied on an exotic treasure to win by trickery, and I was never convinced!

"I have come specifically to seek another lesson and see whether the two of you have improved over these years!"

Cao Bao was impatient by nature and shouted angrily, "Zhao Gongming, do not be so arrogant! If we could defeat you then, we can defeat you just the same today!"

Xiao Sheng was more cautious. He stopped Cao Bao and cupped his hands toward Zhao Gongming. "Fellow Daoist Zhao, cultivators should value harmony above all else.

"What happened back then had right and wrong on both sides. Why cling to it? My brother and I live in seclusion and cultivate quietly; we do not wish to stir up another dispute."

"You do not wish for a dispute?"

Zhao Gongming raised a brow and produced twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. They spun rapidly in his palm, radiating five-colored brilliance and vast tidal power. "Then settle the karma of these damned Sea-Calming Pearls!

"Take one move from Zhao. If you can still receive it with that copper coin, Zhao will turn around and leave, never to return! But if you cannot... heh heh, then return that immortal apricot from back then to Zhao, principal and interest!"

The moment the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls appeared, Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao's expressions changed drastically. They had experienced this treasure's power firsthand years ago. Without the Treasure-Dropping Coin, they would have found it nearly impossible to withstand.

"You go too far!" Cao Bao could no longer hold himself back. With an angry roar, he said, "Brother, why waste words with him? Since he seeks humiliation himself, let him witness the might of the Treasure-Dropping Coin once more!"

Seeing that matters had reached this point, Xiao Sheng knew there was no peaceful end. A fierce glint flashed through his eyes.

"Fine! Zhao Gongming, you brought this upon yourself!" He reached into his robes and took out a strange copper coin with wings. It was the Treasure-Dropping Coin!

The moment the coin emerged, an invisible Dao rhythm of "dropping treasures" spread through the air. The light of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls in Zhao Gongming's hand immediately dimmed slightly, as though suppressed and drawn by some invisible force.

"Go!" Xiao Sheng sent the Treasure-Dropping Coin flying. The coin transformed into a streak of golden light, carrying a strange hum as it shot straight toward Zhao Gongming's Sea-Calming Divine Pearls!

At the same time, Cao Bao drew his twin swords and slashed out two streams of Sword Qi at Zhao Gongming, creating an opening for the Treasure-Dropping Coin.

Following the plan, Zhao Gongming feigned great fury and activated all twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls at full strength. They transformed into an ocean of five-colored radiance and charged fiercely toward the Treasure-Dropping Coin and Cao Bao's Sword Qi.

In secret, Xuan Chuan moved.

He did not attack directly, nor did he even reveal himself. He merely silently circulated The One That Escaped,

and used the Fate-Cutting method to quietly "graft" and "entwine" a portion of the Merit and fate he had accumulated onto Zhao Gongming's Sea-Calming Divine Pearls!

Merit was acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao; no law could stain it! Fate was favored by destiny; it was where all variables lay!

The golden light of the Treasure-Dropping Coin was just about to envelop the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls and "bring them down." Yet at the instant that golden light touched the pearls' radiance—

Hum!

A layer of exceedingly faint yet incomparably tough and noble violet-gold radiance suddenly surfaced amid the five-colored glow on the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls! It was the fusion of Merit, fate, and the Dao rhythm of The One That Escaped!

When the golden light of the Treasure-Dropping Coin struck that violet-gold halo, it was like encountering slick, ungraspable glass or colliding with illusory clouds and mist.

The Dao rhythm of "dropping treasures" could not accurately lock onto the core restrictions of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls! It was like trying to catch flowing wind with a fishing net—utterly futile!

"What?!" Xiao Sheng's expression changed drastically. He desperately poured in his mana, causing the Treasure-Dropping Coin's golden radiance to blaze even brighter, yet it could never break through that bizarre violet-gold halo, much less bring down the treasure!

"Now!" Xuan Chuan transmitted.

Zhao Gongming's spirits soared. Though he did not understand why, he knew Senior Brother Xuan Chuan had succeeded! He threw back his head and laughed wildly. "Ha ha! Xiao Sheng, Cao Bao, your broken copper coin has failed! Behold my treasure!"

The twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were no longer restrained and erupted with a roar!

The five-colored radiance transformed into towering waves that instantly swallowed Cao Bao's Sword Qi and engulfed Xiao Sheng, who was trying to retrieve the Treasure-Dropping Coin!

"Not good!" Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao were scared out of their wits. It was already too late to flee.

Boom! Boom!

With two dull impacts, the pair were like men struck by a primordial beast. Their protective immortal radiance shattered instantly, their treasures flew from their hands, and they spat blood as they were hurled backward.

They slammed heavily into the cliffside, their tendons snapped and bones fractured. Their auras withered to the extreme; they had already suffered grievous injuries!

Zhao Gongming raised his hand and recalled the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. He did not take their lives, merely reached through the air and seized the dimmed, fallen

Treasure-Dropping Coin, which still hummed and trembled. He examined it carefully before tossing it back to the barely living Xiao Sheng.

"Today, I have merely administered a slight punishment and reclaimed the karma! I hope you two conduct yourselves properly and do not wield treasures to commit violence again! This thing... hmph, take it back!"

Zhao Gongming was not bloodthirsty by nature. Having vented his anger and reclaimed control over the karma, he let the matter rest.

Xiao Sheng caught the Treasure-Dropping Coin and sensed that its connection to him remained close, yet somehow seemed much "cleaner" than before—the impact of Merit and fate had purified part of its karma with Zhao Gongming.

Looking at the heavily injured Cao Bao, Xiao Sheng's face was ashen. Knowing that the other party had shown mercy, he no longer dared harbor even the slightest resentment. Struggling, he cupped his hands.

"Th... thank you, Fellow Daoist Zhao, for showing mercy... This karma... is settled..."

Zhao Gongming nodded in satisfaction and looked in Xuan Chuan's direction.

Xuan Chuan gave a slight nod and transmitted, "The karma has been cleared. Let us go."

The two did not linger. They raised their escaping lights and departed Wuyi Mountain.

Not long after they left, the void near Treasure-Dropping Cliff rippled faintly. A figure dressed in a gray Daoist robe,

with an ancient, unadorned face and a Coffin Lantern in hand, slowly emerged. He was Ran Deng Daoist, Vice Sect Leader of Chanjiao!

He looked in the direction Xuan Chuan and Zhao Gongming had departed, then at the heavily wounded Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao.

Then he looked at the Treasure-Dropping Coin, whose glow had grown slightly dim. For the first time, a trace of gravity and... deep wariness appeared in his ancient well-like, unmoving eyes.

"Interference through Merit and fate... and it can even obscure the heavenly secrets. Even I nearly failed to notice it... Xuan Chuan of Jiejiao... a variable, a tremendous variable..."

Ran Deng muttered in a low voice, his brows tightly furrowed. "This matter must be reported to Teacher at once. If this child is not removed, he may become a great calamity for my Chanjiao!"

With a flicker, he too vanished silently, as though he had never appeared.