The Falling Treasure Money is a top-tier Innate spiritual treasure, shaped like a copper coin with a square hole and a round center. It has flying wings on both sides, upon which Heavenly Dao inscriptions faintly appear.
It can deduce heavenly secrets and, aside from weapons, can bring down any treasure below the level of an Innate Supreme Treasure.
Xiaoxuan used all his strength just to subdue the Falling Treasure Money and draw it into his spiritual platform.
At that very moment, several streaks of mystic light streaked from afar, quickly appearing before Xiaoxuan.
Xiaoxuan naturally paid no mind to the few minor demons with Golden Immortal cultivation among them.
However, one Daoist stood out: he wore his hair in a dual-loop Qiankun knot and donned a black Daoist robe embroidered with flying white cranes; possessing an immortal bearing and glowing with multicolored light, he looked truly extraordinary!
"This poor Daoist, Burning Lamp, greets you, Fellow Daoist!"
Burning Lamp Daoist was one of the three thousand guests of Zixiao Palace, who later became the head disciple under the Primordial Beginning Celestial Worthy and was even revered as the Vice Master of the Elucidation Teaching. His cultivation was nothing short of earth-shattering.
"Disciple Xiaoxuan greets Uncle-Master Burning Lamp!"
Xiaoxuan was naturally very familiar with Burning Lamp.
Though lacking the aptitude to prove the Dao, his heart in pursuit of the Great Dao was exceptionally steadfast; otherwise, he would not have later lowered his seniority to join the Elucidation Teaching in the hope of receiving help from the Primordial Beginning Celestial Worthy to prove the Dao of Primordial.
With desires naturally come flaws!
"Well, little friend, who might you be?"
"Answering Uncle-Master, this disciple is fortunate enough to have entered the sect of the Three Pure Ones of Pangu as the eldest disciple of the Grand Pure Daoist!"
The Three Pure Ones of Pangu! A disciple of Lord Taishang!
Burning Lamp felt a shock in his heart, constantly weighing his gains and losses: when spiritual treasures manifest, they naturally fall to those with an affinity; moreover, since the moment this treasure emerged, karmic resonance dictated that it had an affinity with him, so he must not let this opportunity slip away.
At this time, Dao Ancestor Hongjun's second lecture had not yet begun, and no disciples had been taken nor sanctification positions assigned.
Though the Three Pure Ones of Pangu possessed a formidable reputation, expecting Burning Lamp Daoist to abandon a spiritual treasure within easy reach purely based on that reputation was practically impossible!
"Little friend, this treasure has an affinity with me. This poor Daoist is willing to trade several spiritual treasures for it!"
As he spoke, Burning Lamp Daoist produced several spiritual treasures, all of which were mediocre acquired spiritual treasures.
"Uncle-Master jokes. This treasure was commanded by my teacher to be retrieved by this disciple, so this disciple dare not make the decision on my own!"
Seeing Xiaoxuan refuse, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Burning Lamp's eyes.
A pale yellow light flickered, and a spiritual lamp appeared above Burning Lamp Daoist's head.
Inside the lamp burned a cluster of "grey flames"; at a glance, this fire made one's very soul tremble—it was none of other than the ghost fire leading directly to the netherworld.
The Coffin-Bearing Lamp was Burning Lamp Daoist's companion spiritual treasure. Alongside the Lotus Lamp, the Bajing Palace Lamp, and the Cuigu Liangyi Lamp, it was known as one of the Four Great Spiritual Lamps, and indeed the foremost among them.
The moment the Coffin-Bearing Lamp was deployed, several streams of flame shot forth from it, instantly burning the minor demons to ashes!
Seeing this, Xiaoxuan hurriedly summoned the true form of the Immortal Apricot from his spiritual platform. The Immortal Apricot radiated a cyan-yellow glow, enveloping Xiaoxuan within it.
"Uncle-Master, what is the meaning of this?"
A flash of flowing light crossed Burning Lamp Daoist's hand, revealing a ruler-shaped spiritual treasure—none other than the Qiankun Ruler!
"Fellow Daoist, do not ruin yourself over a spiritual treasure!"
Had it not been necessary, Burning Lamp would not have wished to fight Xiaoxuan.
After all, the Three Pure Ones of Pangu were no ordinary figures, and Burning Lamp had no desire to make powerful enemies!
Seeing that Burning Lamp Daoist was willing to cast aside all dignity to attack him, Xiaoxuan could no longer afford any hesitation. He produced the Yin-Yang Fan given to him by Lord Taishang, swept it forward fiercely, and shouted explosively, "Offense taken!"
Simultaneously, he transformed into a streak of mystic light and hurtled toward Kunlun Mountain.
The Yin-Yang Fan was a renowned heavenly and earthly spiritual treasure. In a mere instant, a sea of flames engulfed Burning Lamp.
Though the Six-Ding Divine Fire belonged to gentle fire, it was exceptionally agonizing.
Just how great was the power of the Six-Ding Divine Fire?
Later texts recorded that the Ruyi Jingu Bang, the Nine-Tooth Rake, and the Purple Gold Bell were all refined in the Eight-Trigrams Furnace, and the spiritual stone monkey Sun Wukong even forged his Fiery Eyes of Truth within it.
In Journey to the West, Guanyin's willow branch was scorched bone-dry by the Six-Ding Divine Fire!
Though Burning Lamp Daoist possessed the cultivation of a Peak Daluo Golden Immortal, by the time he broke free from the Six-Ding Divine Fire, his black Daoist robe had turned charred black, and even his facial hair had been singed quite a bit.
Spotting Xiaoxuan, who had already flown tens of thousands of li away, Burning Lamp Daoist transformed into a streak of black light and gave chase.
Mystic as the Grand Pure Profound Technique was, it ultimately could not bridge the chasm in cultivation between the two.
Before long, Burning Lamp Daoist used his superior speed to catch up, blocking Xiaoxuan's path from ahead!
"Hmph, you little Daoist, truly utterly unfilial!" Burning Lamp shouted angrily, holding the Qiankun Ruler. "As a junior, you actually dared to launch a sneak attack on your elder. This poor Daoist will teach you a proper lesson on behalf of Fellow Daoist Taishang!"
As he spoke, grey light enveloped his body from the Coffin-Bearing Lamp, and he hurled the Qiankun Ruler directly at Xiaoxuan.
"Bang!"
The Qiankun Ruler collided with the Immortal Apricot. The Immortal Apricot spun rapidly above Xiaoxuan's head; though the rebound force drove Xiaoxuan back several steps, he suffered no serious harm!
After all, the Immortal Apricot was one of the Ten Great Immortal Spirit Roots, comparable to a top-tier Innate spiritual treasure!
The Qiankun Ruler was a top-tier acquired spiritual treasure; although Burning Lamp possessed Peak Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation, taking Xiaoxuan down in a single blow was nearly impossible.
When his first strike failed to yield results, Burning Lamp Daoist sat cross-legged. The Coffin-Bearing Lamp above his head spat out a stream of grey flame that enveloped Xiaoxuan to scorch and refine him, while the Qiankun Ruler relentlessly hammered against the Immortal Apricot.
"Old thief Burning Lamp, truly utterly shameless!"
Xiaoxuan channeled Grand Pure immortal Qi into the true form of the Immortal Apricot to protect his body.
Yet Xiaoxuan was merely at the Realm of Taiyi Golden Immortal Consummation. Even with the golden pills bestowed by Taishang to replenish his dharma power, how could he possibly match Burning Lamp?
Seeing his dharma power gradually exhausting, Xiaoxuan turned pale as a sheet, cold sweat streaming down his face.
The once dewy and vibrant Immortal Apricot was also gradually turning yellow!
"Kid, hand over the spiritual treasure, and for the sake of Fellow Daoist Taishang, this poor Daoist can spare your life!"
"In your dreams!"
Though Xiaoxuan was barely holding on, he refused to tarnish the reputation of the Three Pure Ones of Pangu!
"Courting death!"
Burning Lamp Daoist roared angrily, the might of the Qiankun Ruler surging by another thirty percent as it smashed straight toward the tottering Immortal Apricot.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, a black-and-yellow pagoda descended to shroud Xiaoxuan's head.
The thunderous onslaught of the Qiankun Ruler landed upon the pagoda like a stone dropping into the boundless sea, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.
"The Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Linglong Pagoda?!"
Burning Lamp Daoist cried out in alarm, his expression turning extraordinarily unsightly!
Hearing this, Xiaoxuan felt his vision go black and lost consciousness.
Three figures appeared before Xiaoxuan. Taishang, usually detached and unassertive, wore a face of absolute solemnity. After feeding an eight-turn golden pill into Xiaoxuan's mouth, he sneered and said, "Burning Lamp, you and I once listened to the Dao together in Zixiao Palace. How could you cast aside your dignity and attempt to murder my disciple?"
The Primordial Beginning Celestial Worthy, who valued his pride above all else, felt not a shred of goodwill toward Burning Lamp for daring to attack a disciple of the Three Pure Ones: "Why bother wasting words with this scoundrel, Eldest Brother? Let us settle this with a fight!"
With those words, the Three Treasures Ruyi flew forth from his hand, instantly knocking the Coffin-Bearing Lamp from atop Burning Lamp's head and smashing viciously down onto Burning Lamp Daoist's crown.
"Bang!"
Though Burning Lamp possessed Peak Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation, how could he possibly compare to the Primordial Beginning Celestial Worthy?
With a single blow, Burning Lamp was battered bloody, collapsing to the ground.
Burning Lamp turned pale, the terror in his eyes impossible to conceal.
Recalling the Coffin-Bearing Lamp, Burning Lamp intended to grab the Qiankun Ruler and flee.
At that exact moment, a cold, piercing voice rang in Burning Lamp's ear.
"You bully my Three Pure Ones disciples and still expect to leave unscathed? Leave the Qiankun Ruler behind as an apology, or else I shall have you perish here and return your body to the Chaos!"
Driven by the Master of Tongtian, the Qingping Sword spat out sword qi, pointing directly at Burning Lamp Daoist's face.
Unwilling though he was to the extreme, Burning Lamp had no choice but to depart in bitter resentment!