Primordial Era: From the Creation Lotus to the First Disciple of the Three Pure Ones

After bidding farewell to Ao Guang, the third prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, Qinglian turned her gaze back to the beautiful and spiritually rich Wuyi Mountain before her.

The murderous aura of Zifuzhou still lingered in my heart, making this place all the more secluded and tranquil.

He did not rush to delve into the core, but instead spread his vast late-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal divine sense like mercury flowing across the ground, slowly and meticulously sweeping over every mountain stream, every dense forest, and every strange peak he passed.

Wherever her divine sense reached, the subtle traces of the movement of plants, insects, fish, mountain spirits, rocks, and even the earth's spiritual energy were clearly reflected in Qinglian's heart lake.

His goals for this trip were clear: first, to find the legendary innate spiritual object "Luobao Jinqian," which is said to be able to counter magical treasures and contains the laws of trade; and second, to search for the "Da Hong Pao Mother Tree," the ancestor of tea in later generations, and to experience its unique pure and spiritual charm.

After several days of exploration, covering most of the area surrounding Wuyi Mountain, he discovered several small cave ruins where spiritual energy gathered and some innate spiritual materials of decent quality, but none of them were what he truly sought.

Qinglian was not discouraged. She knew that innate spiritual objects possessed their own spirit and could only be obtained by those with great fortune. Patience was the first essential element in treasure hunting.

On this day, Qinglian traveled to a secluded valley on the southwest side of the main peak of Wuyi Mountain, a place rarely visited by people.

The valley is shrouded in mist year-round, its spiritual energy so rich it's almost like a spiritual liquid, nourishing the exotic flowers and plants within, making it vibrant with life.

However, when Qinglian's divine sense swept across a seemingly ordinary stone wall at the bottom of the valley, she sensed an extremely subtle yet incredibly resilient barrier!

"Innate restriction!" A glint flashed in Qinglian's eyes, and she stopped in her tracks.

This stone wall appears to blend seamlessly with the surrounding mountains, but under his divine perception, its internal spatial structure reveals a mysterious distortion, as if it were a self-contained entity, isolating itself from the outside world.

That blocking force was not a brute defense, but rather contained a certain rhythmic rule of the creation of heaven and earth.

He did not choose to break the ban by force.

Firstly, brute force could damage any spiritual objects that might exist within the barrier, or even trigger an unpredictable spatial collapse;

Secondly, this natural innate restriction itself is a "heavenly book of array principles" containing the ultimate truths of heaven and earth!

Qinglian sat cross-legged on a blue stone not far from the stone wall, her eyes slightly closed, her mind completely calmed.

The immense divine sense no longer forced its way through, but instead, like the gentlest of tendrils, carefully adhered to the invisible barrier. It no longer tried to "see through" or "break through," but instead "listened" and "felt."

His divine sense meticulously traced every trajectory of the energy flow within the restriction, sensing the frequency of the energy nodes' pulsations, and comprehending the profound principles of heaven and earth contained in the runes that constituted the restriction.

Time slipped away silently in the midst of contemplation. Under the protection of the Xuanhuang Pagoda and the auspicious clouds of the heavens, Qinglian's primordial spirit was completely absorbed in analyzing this natural array.

Gradually, the seemingly chaotic restrictive energy began to reveal a clear pattern in Qinglian's "Dao Sensation".

He saw the flow and rotation of Yin and Yang energies, the cycle of generation and restraint of the five elements, and the subtle folds of space... This restriction was like a precise natural magic array, operating according to a certain constant rhythm originating from the beginning of heaven and earth.

"I see... Yin and Yang are the foundation, the Five Elements are the pivot, and space is the lock..."

A sudden realization dawned on Qinglian. His understanding of the Dao of Formations grew and deepened rapidly in this silent comprehension, like a seedling watered by a sweet spring. Many previously obscure points about the Dao of Formations in the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique became clear at this moment! He could even vaguely deduce several more exquisite formation techniques.

After an unknown amount of time, Qinglian slowly opened her eyes, and countless mysterious runes seemed to flash across her eyes.

A slight smile appeared on his lips; he had a complete grasp of the operating principles of this innate restriction. Breaking the formation no longer required brute force.

He pointed his fingers like a sword, gathering a point of extremely pure creation power at his fingertips, and pointed it at the void of the stone wall. This point of power was not an attack, but rather like a precise key, carrying a frequency that resonated with the restriction, gently "tapping" at a key node in the flow of energy within the restriction.

Om-!

A ripple-like surface spread across the stone wall, silently parting to reveal a narrow, white-glowing portal, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Beyond the portal lay not the cave one might have imagined, but a small world shrouded in a light white mist, isolated from the outside world!

A rich, innate spiritual energy wafted towards me, carrying a strange, Daoist aura that seemed to measure the value of all things.

Qinglian stepped into it.

The view before them suddenly opened up. It was a tiny space, no more than a few miles in circumference, with a smooth, mirror-like surface, neither gold nor jade, but shimmering with a warm luster.

In the center of the space, there was no dazzling treasure, only a strangely shaped "coin" floating quietly.

This coin is a simple, dark gold color, round on the outside and square on the inside, symbolizing the ancient principle of "heaven is round and earth is square".

On one side of the coin are two mysterious characters, “Luo Bao”, which seem to have been naturally formed from the patterns of heaven and earth.

The other side is engraved with the equally profound word "money".

It did not exude any world-destroying pressure, but rather a peaceful yet supreme aura of law permeated the air—the law of "transaction"! It was the manifestation of the supreme Dao of equivalent exchange and the measurement of value!

"The Treasure-Dropping Coin!" Qinglian thought with certainty. This was one of his goals for this trip!

He stepped forward slowly, not immediately taking the coins, but instead focusing his mind on sensing the Daoist aura emanating from them.

The profound information of the "trading" principle flowed naturally into his primordial spirit like a gentle stream.

"I see..." After a moment, a look of understanding and amazement flashed in Qinglian's eyes.

He had already understood the fundamental rules of the Treasure-Dropping Coin: This treasure does not need to be refined; as long as the holder focuses their mind on the target magic treasure and activates the coin, the "Treasure-Dropping" power can be unleashed!

However, activating this ability does not consume magical power, but rather consumes the holder's own luck!

Luck, though mysterious and profound, is related to the rise and fall of a living being or even a powerful force!

By expending one's luck to obtain another's magical treasure, one may seem to be taking a shortcut, but in reality, one is engaging in a forced "transaction" with the Heavenly Dao at the cost of one's own future fortune, opportunities, and even life!

No wonder that in the later War of the Gods, Cao Sheng and Xiao Bao, who were only at the level of Xuanxian, were able to obtain such great treasures as the Dragon Binding Rope and the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl from Zhao Gongming, a Daluo Jinxian, even though they were only at the level of Xuanxian!

No wonder they ultimately couldn't escape the fate of having their names recorded on the Investiture of the Gods!

This treasure is incredibly powerful, but it is also a true "devourer of fortune." The more frequently it is used, the greater the loss of one's own fortune will be, and in the end, one will inevitably suffer a backlash from the Heavenly Dao and cannot escape the calamity!

"What a brilliant 'treasure-dropping coin'! What a brilliant example of equivalent exchange!"

Qinglian felt a chill run down her spine. This treasure was the ultimate double-edged sword, possessing immense power, yet also extreme danger.

He stretched out his hand, and the Falling Treasure Coin seemed to sense his immense fortune and pure Dao heart (it did not greedily activate itself immediately), emitting a slight hum, transforming into a stream of dark golden light, and falling into his palm on its own, feeling warm to the touch.

Qinglian carefully put it away, placing it in a corner of the Qiankun Diagram, using the power of Qiankun within the diagram to temporarily nurture and isolate it. This treasure should never be used lightly unless absolutely necessary, and one must always be vigilant about changes in one's own fortune.

After receiving the treasure-dropping coins, Qinglian did not immediately leave the small space.

He released his divine sense again to carefully investigate, and only after confirming that there were no other spiritual objects did he turn around and walk out of the restriction.

The stone door behind him closed silently, returning to its original state as if it had never been opened.

Next, Qinglian's goal shifted to finding the "Great Red Robe Mother Tree".

Following the vague sense of the pure and ethereal essence of tea from his past life, and combining it with the unique beauty and spiritual energy of Wuyi Mountain, he embarked on a more meticulous search among the mountains.

His footprints and thoughts can be found on the peaks of cliffs, at the bottom of deep canyons, and beside the banks of sacred springs and streams.

However, as time went by, Qinglian traversed almost every inch of Wuyi Mountain that might nurture spiritual roots. Her divine sense swept over the land repeatedly, but she still failed to capture the spiritual root aura that she had imagined, which contained a unique and purifying Daoist charm.

It's as if the "Great Red Robe Mother Tree" is just a vague legend, or perhaps its time to be born has not yet come.

"Could it be that the opportune moment has not yet arrived? Or perhaps... the so-called Da Hong Pao of later generations is not the only ancestor of spiritual teas in this world?"