Chapter 3: Kunlun Obtains Treasure, Azure Lotus Platform

  After Si Qing left the Zixiao Palace and became a disciple of Hong Jun, Li Wen was given the Daoist name Hong Xuan. Then, Hong Xuan followed his three senior brothers back to Mount Kunlun to meditate in seclusion, digesting what he had learned from Hong Jun at the Zixiao Palace, combining it with the Primordial Chaos Pearl's Great Way and the innate Pan Gu Way within his Yuan Shen. His Dao cultivation and magical powers advanced rapidly over a short period of a thousand years, although he had not yet reached the Jie Shi boundary, he was already at the threshold of the Da Luo Golden Immortal realm, waiting for an opportunity to break through and achieve the Quasi-Saint realm.

  Hong Xuan came out of his closed-door meditation, and with a sweep of his divine thoughts, he headed in the direction of the three people's aura. When he arrived near them, Hong Xuan was surprised to find that Yuan Shi and Tong Tian had reached the same level as him, their Daoist powers at the threshold of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. Only Lao Zi's aura was unclear, suggesting that he must have already transcended his physical body and achieved quasi-sainthood. Hong Xuan couldn't help but sigh in admiration, thinking that the fruits of Pangu's primordial spirit were indeed extraordinary. The four of them had been able to easily cultivate their Dao from the beginning, thanks to Pangu's legacy. Among them, Lao Zi had the highest level of enlightenment and was already one step ahead on the path to seeking the Great Dao. Hong Xuan himself was actually the weakest, having only achieved this level of cultivation with the help of three great Daos, while the other three did not have his Chaos Pearl but still had similar attainments.

  However, Hong Xuan sighed in relief. After all, he was now one of the orthodox Pan Gu and had become a direct disciple of Hong Jun. The Heavenly Way had destined that he would become a saint in the future, which was already many times better than others. If he still didn't know how to be content, wouldn't he deserve to be struck by lightning?

  Several people greeted each other and began to discuss the Tao as usual. The four of them were transformed from Pangu's primordial spirit, so they had the Pangu Great Tao in their minds since before heaven and earth existed. However, because the four people obtained different primordial spirits, they also obtained different Pangu Great Taos. Although they are different, they are all Pangu Great Taos, coming from the same origin. When several people discuss the Tao with each other, they can complement each other's shortcomings, so their cultivation will improve rapidly!

  The Four Clans are the orthodox Pan Gu, not without reason. They are not only the incarnation of Pan Gu's primordial spirit but also born with the Great Way of Pan Gu. That is why they dare to call themselves the orthodox Pan Gu. The twelve ancestral witches of the Wu tribe were transformed from Pan Gu's essence and blood, belonging to the same lineage as Pan Gu. However, they cannot be considered the orthodox Pan Gu because they only possess Pan Gu's divine abilities but not the Great Way of Pan Gu. It is known that divine abilities are inferior to heavenly numbers. In front of the Heavenly Way, even if one's divine abilities are extremely powerful, they still cannot compare to the laws and principles of the Heavenly Way. Therefore, the Great Way is fundamental, while divine abilities are secondary.

  After discussing Tao for a while, they also chatted about some of the things they had seen and heard in the vast wilderness.

  At this time, only Hong Xuan spoke up and said: "Three senior brothers, this Kunlun Mountain is one of the places where the most concentrated spiritual energy was transformed after the opening of heaven. It's likely that some strange beasts and treasures were born here. We also have a few Yuan meetings here, but there are few people who move around. Taking advantage of today's leisure time, why don't we take a walk? Who knows, maybe we'll encounter some opportunities and obtain some treasures."

  The three men were overjoyed upon hearing this and all exclaimed that it was a great good deed. They then linked arms and set off to roam Mount Kunlun together.

  But see the majestic mountain, misty and foggy, often see spiritual animals coming and going, playing and frolicking, peonies, rhododendrons, and rare herbs competing to bloom, fragrant scents filling the air, waterfalls splashing, streams babbling, and there are apes howling, tigers roaring, lions bellowing, wolves wailing, rainbows forming bridges, celestial birds flapping their wings above, purple clouds connecting, strange peaks rising, unusual rocks towering, just like morning dew drinking the dawn! What a wonderful land of blessings!

  Four people walked together and picked some spiritual treasures, such as rare fruits. Now is the time when Pangu opened up heaven and earth not long ago, the pre-heavenly spiritual energy has not yet dissipated, so many spiritual roots and strange species were born in those immortal mountains and blessed lands of Honghuang. There are too many to count, and those like the ten-thousand-year-old Zhu fruit are not worth mentioning. However, Hong Xuan didn't care about these at all, he just waved his sleeve and collected them as they walked by, regardless of what they were. He thought that in later generations, spiritual energy would be scarce, and many spiritual roots and species would become extinct. A single ten-thousand-year-old Zhu fruit could cause ordinary cultivators to fight over it endlessly. It's better to take advantage of the current leisure time to collect them all, and in the future, they can also be given to his disciples to enjoy.

  So much ado, it's gotten to the point where even this peaceful fairyland is all stirred up. Yuan Shi's face already shows displeasure, and Lao Zi also furrows his brow deeply. Tong Tian can't help but ask: "Younger brother, those rare spiritual roots and unusual species are one thing, but why did you also collect these ordinary fruits?"

  Hong Xuan faintly smiled and glanced at Yuan Shi, saying calmly: "Nothing else, just having nothing to do while idle!"

  Tongtianyi Ou, speechless, could only shake his head and sigh, helplessly smiling wryly, and let him do as he pleased. He finally understood why Yuanshi didn't bother Hongxuan today, but it was because Yuanshi had already learned a lesson from Hongxuan's sharp tongue, and now didn't want to argue with him again. On the contrary, he himself had just learned a lesson, and in the future, it would be better to be more careful, lest he invite trouble again!

  The four of them were each lost in their own thoughts, but suddenly they all stopped in their tracks and gazed ahead. Before them, not far away, a faint, multi-colored glow was emanating from the midst of the pale leaves, with seven-colored clouds and mist swirling around it. The four of them exchanged a glance, knowing that it was the Treasure Light, and simultaneously activated their magical powers to rush towards the glow.

  When the four of them arrived nearby, they saw a woman with a dignified appearance standing in front of a calabaza vine. It was Nüwa herself. Nüwa also seemed to have noticed their arrival and stepped forward, bowing her head in greeting: "So it's the four masters, Nüwa greets you!" The four of them hastily returned the courtesy, saying they didn't dare. Afterwards, they also cast their eyes on the calabaza vine with four calabazas, just like Nüwa did.

  But then he saw that on the calabaza vine were hanging four gourds emitting colorful lights, the first one was purple and gold in color, the second one was red and black, the third one was yellow, and the last one was green. In front of these four gourds there were three knots, it was clear that three gourds had been taken away by someone, this made Hong Xuan think of the calabaza on Red Cloud Old Ancestor's waist in Zi Xuangong.

  This gourd vine absorbed a wisp of the primordial chaos left over from the creation of the heavens and produced seven differently colored precious gourds, each one being a congenital treasure with different functions. Apart from the gourd belonging to Red Cloud Old Ancestor and the four that can be seen now, who knows whose hands the other two have fallen into?

  The gourd had only four, but there were five people, and it was not good to divide the treasure. The four of them did not want to fight each other, they were all disciples of the first sage Hongjun, if they fought for the spiritual treasure, it would be spread out and ridiculed by outsiders.

  The atmosphere suddenly became strange. No one was willing to back down, after all, it was a congenital spiritual treasure. Even if the vast world of Honghuang had countless treasures everywhere, congenital spiritual treasures were rare, let alone higher-level ones that could be counted on one's fingers.

  Nüwa saw that the four were all present, while she was alone. If they were to fight, she would not be able to defeat the four of them. She sighed silently and did not want to compete with them again. Just as she was about to leave, Hongyuan suddenly spoke up: "What a wonderful gourd vine! It can actually produce such a spiritual treasure! Now that our teacher's direct disciples are all here, it can be seen that the heavenly way is favoring us, and the spiritual treasure should belong to us. Nüwa, you must have been waiting for a long time too, and it can be seen that you also have fate with the spiritual treasure. Why don't you just pick one?"

  Laozi Yuanshi Tongtian saw Hongyuan and said so, and they all nodded in agreement. After all, the four of them didn't want to bully Niwa just because they were more people, let alone worshiping the same master, and the day when they would meet again was still long. There was no need to leave a cause and effect for the sake of a small Lingbao.

  Nüwa was overjoyed when she heard this, and when the other three also agreed, she happily went forward to pick up the red and black gourd. Then, she bowed to the Four Pure Ones again and said: "In that case, Nüwa thanks you four masters here. However, I have another important matter to attend to and cannot stay any longer. If you four masters are free, please come visit me at my cave mansion."

  The four of them said in unison: "It's fine if the young lady leaves!" However, it was because the four of them knew that Nüwa urgently wanted to return to refine her spiritual treasure.

  Nüwa thanked the four of them and then bid farewell and left.

  There were only four people left, and the atmosphere became quiet again. Hong Xuan spoke up: "In my opinion, these three gourds should be taken away by the three elder brothers." The three of them looked a bit embarrassed, and Yuan Shi also said: "How can this be? As elder brothers, we should yield to our younger brother, how can we still take advantage of him?" Laozi Tongtian also nodded in agreement.

  Hongyuan furrowed his brow, displeased: "We are all transformed by Pangu, originally brothers, why be so polite?" Without waiting for the three to react, he stepped forward and picked up the remaining gourds, distributing one to each of them. The three had no choice but to accept the gourds, with Laozi getting the purple gold gourd, Yuanshi getting the yellow gourd, and Tongtian getting the green gourd.

  The old man sighed and said: "In that case, it was indeed we three who took advantage of the situation!"

  Hong Xuan smiled and said: "Master brother, why is this? With the remaining calabaza vine, I can also refine a piece of treasure."

  Although that's the case, the three of them also knew that this spiritual energy had converged to form seven gourds, and each of these seven gourds had extraordinary uses. However, after the gourd vine produced these seven gourds, it almost exhausted its spiritual energy, leaving very little behind. Even if they were used for refining treasures, they wouldn't be able to refine any decent spiritual treasures. They knew that Hong Xuan was intentionally letting them have it, so they all secretly felt grateful.

  Hong Xuan was about to go forward and pick the calabaza vine, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks. The three of them felt a sense of wonder, Tong Tian's impatient nature got the better of him, and he asked: "Shidi, what's going on?" Hong Xuan turned around, looked at the three of them with an odd expression, and then said: "It seems like there is still a spiritual treasure under the calabaza vine."

  Three people listened in surprise, went forward and looked down at the gourd vine, but saw that the place under the gourd vine was covered with grass, faintly emitting strands of blue immortal light, feeling the weak fluctuations of the law from the green light, several people knew that this must be another congenital spiritual treasure.

  With a sweep of his hand, the grass was parted to reveal the treasure that had been hidden beneath. Before him stood a twelve-tiered lotus platform emitting a soft, ethereal glow, rotating and floating above the grass in an inexplicable, mystical trajectory.

  "Twelve varieties of green lotus!" The four people exclaimed.

  In the time before heaven and earth were opened, a treasure was born in the midst of chaos: the Chaos Green Lotus. It is one of the four great treasures of chaos, along with the Heaven-Opening Axe, the Creation Jade Tablet, and the Chaos Pearl. However, when Pangu opened the heavens, the Chaos Green Lotus was damaged during the process, but its four lotus seeds survived. After the opening of the heavens, they were nourished by a wisp of chaotic energy and formed into four twelve-tiered lotus platforms: the Twelve-Tiered Golden Lotus, the Twelve-Tiered Crimson Lotus, the Twelve-Tiered Black Lotus, and the Twelve-Tiered Green Lotus. Although these four lotus platforms are not pre-heavenly treasures, they are also top-level pre-heavenly spiritual treasures that contain the Great Way and belong to defensive spiritual treasures. Even a saint who has proven their mixed origin would find it difficult to break them if they stood on them, and they have the divine effect of suppressing the flow of energy, making them extremely precious!

  Yuanshi was about to take a step forward to collect the green lotus, but seemed to have thought of something and stopped in his tracks, looking at Hongyuan. Laozi had already understood Yuanshi's intention and said to Hongyuan: "Younger brother, we three have obtained spiritual treasures, only you haven't. This lotus platform was also discovered by you first, it can be seen that you have a predestined relationship with this treasure, why not let you collect it?"

  Tongtian also said: "It should be so!"

  Hong Xuan nodded and said, "So it's indeed my fault!" After finishing speaking, he waved his hand and shot a stream of clear air at the green lotus. The green lotus trembled slightly before being stored in Hong Xuan's sleeve.

  "In this way, the attack has a quantitative Tianchi, the defense has twelve Qinglian products, and there is also some guarantee. It's just a pity that the Hunyuan Pearl can't be used for mutual combat, but it can be used to entrust obsession with the purpose of beheading corpses. I think using the Hunyuan Treasure to behead corpses will require higher moral integrity, Taoist practice, and law enforcement than all the saints!" Hong Xuan thought to himself.

  Three people saw Hong Xuan put away the twelve Qinglian, and they also stopped thinking about continuing to play in Kunlun Mountain. They all thought about returning to the cave mansion to worship and refine the newly obtained spiritual treasure. Hong Xuan also saw their thoughts, he also wanted to worship and refine the Qinglian as soon as possible, so he didn't say much, pulled down the calabaza vine with one hand, put it in his sleeve, and returned to the cave mansion with the three people.

  It is: Kunlun Xianshan Zhong Lingshu, with fate obtained treasure Qinglian Tai!