Primordial Era: Reborn Kong Xuan, Steady Cultivation

After giving his instructions, Kong Xuan did not act rashly. With a thought, he summoned the two refined post-heavenly-grade spiritual treasures, the "Water-Drawing Pearl" and the "Crimson Fire Pearl".

The two pearls glowed with spiritual light and floated beside him. Although they were not of high grade, they were better than nothing at this moment to enhance the protection and perception of specific attributes.

In this strange place where even the divine sense of a Golden Immortal is restricted, any advantage can become crucial.

Immediately afterwards, the five-colored divine light that had been contained around him burst forth!

The five colors of light—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—flowed endlessly, forming a perfectly round light shield that protected him within.

The hazy light made his figure appear and disappear in the radiance.

Upon closer inspection, the jet-black light representing the water element and the crimson light representing the fire element, thanks to the blessing of the "Water-Drawing Pearl" and the "Crimson Fire Pearl," were noticeably more solid and bright than the other three colors, subtly causing ripples in the surrounding mist.

After boosting his defense and perception to their current optimal state, Kong Xuan no longer hesitated and took a step towards the misty, deep ravine entrance!

It felt as if I were passing through an invisible membrane, or stepping into another world.

The sights and sounds of the outside world were instantly shut out, replaced by a dull silence and an omnipresent stickiness.

The suppressive force here is indeed similar to the innate array that protected the Da Hong Pao tea tree before. Both of them strongly interfere with perception, but this one is even stronger!

Forcibly probing with one's divine sense not only drastically reduced the range to a few dozen feet, but also caused a faint stinging and sluggish feeling.

As far as the eye could see, the thick gray-white fog confined the view to a pitiful area of ​​a few dozen feet; beyond that, it was all a vast, indistinct expanse of fog.

The fog itself was strange; it was not pure water vapor, but seemed to contain some kind of strange energy that could erode spiritual senses and disrupt direction. It flowed slowly and silently.

"What a powerful illusion!" Kong Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and he became even more vigilant.

He dared not move quickly, first lightly touching the ground with his toes to confirm that what he was standing on was solid rock and not a trap.

The five-colored protective divine light emitted a steady faint glow in the thick fog, barely dispelling the fog that clung to his body, but that was all.

The light of the "Water-Drawing Pearl" and the "Crimson Fire Pearl" flickered uncertainly in the mist, echoing the five-colored divine light, attempting to sense the changes in the surrounding water and fire spiritual energy, but the information returned was equally blurry.

He elevated his five senses to their limits, relying not on his severely suppressed divine consciousness, but more on his body's instinctive perception of airflow, temperature, and ground vibrations, as well as the subtle feedback generated when the five-colored divine light came into contact with the mist, to be alert to potential dangers.

With keen eyes, he slowly scanned the shadowy outlines of rocks in front of and to the sides, delineated by the thick fog.

Shortly after Kong Xuan's figure completely disappeared into the churning fog of the Misty Golden Stream, the chillingly deep aura of the outside world seemed to be temporarily shut out as he entered.

The old ginseng spirit, which had been lying prostrate on the ground, not daring to breathe, cautiously raised its "head" at this moment. Its three ginseng leaves turned warily, and after sensing for a long time, it confirmed that the terrifying aura of the Golden Immortal had indeed penetrated deep into the ravine and would not return in the short term. Then, it suddenly sprang up from the ground.

The feigned submissiveness and fear were instantly replaced by an uncontrollable rage. It turned to the equally uneasy Zhi Tong beside it, its aged voice sharp with agitation: "You stinking Zhi! Rotten Zhi!"

It's all for naught that when I first saw you awakening your intelligence, you were so ignorant and pitiful, and I kindly guided you on the key to cultivating by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon!

It's one thing that you don't think about repaying the kindness of your elders who guided you, but today you dare to collude with outsiders and reveal my place of seclusion, attracting this evil star here!

"You're trying to kill me!"

Startled by the harsh rebuke, Zhitong trembled. Already feeling guilty, her face turned pale, and she hurriedly waved her hands, explaining, "Master, please calm down! Master, please calm down!"

Xiaozhi... Xiaozhi didn't mean to harm you!

It's just that... that master is incredibly powerful, and unlike other cultivators who kill indiscriminately, he agreed to take Xiaozhi as his disciple!

Xiao Zhi thought to herself, "The master is just asking a question. If Elder Shen answers properly, perhaps... perhaps he can get some benefits, or... perhaps he can even catch the master's eye..."

Its voice trailed off, clearly knowing that its words could not completely quell the old ginseng's anger.

"Hmph! Benefits? You traitorous wretch, you sold me out completely just to please your new master!"

I've cultivated for tens of thousands of years, what kind of battles haven't I seen?

Your master? Heh heh, what a dangerous and bizarre place this Mysterious Golden Ravine is?

Even a Golden Immortal would need ten or eight years, or even a hundred or eighty years, to explore and resist the mind-confusing power within before they can easily escape. I have no interest in waiting here foolishly!

The old ginseng spirit sneered repeatedly, its roots waving excitedly.

"Enough with the nonsense! I've taken note of what happened today!"

Considering we are both spirits of plants and trees, and that cultivation is not easy, I will not hold a grudge against you on the spot.

But listen to me carefully: if you ever dare to reveal my whereabouts to any outsider again, don't blame me for disregarding the last shred of kinship and making you pay!

It uttered these harsh words, then glared fiercely at the bewildered Zhitong one last time. Suddenly, a pale yellow aura surged around it, and its plump ginseng body, like a fish entering water, darted into the soil below, disappearing completely without even a ripple.

Its speed in escaping underground was even faster than when it was fleeing for its life, clearly indicating that it was genuinely enraged and determined to get away from this place of trouble completely.

Left alone, Zhitong stared at the spot where the old ginseng had disappeared, opened his mouth, but could not utter a sound.

It felt both wronged and fearful. It felt wronged because it did not have malicious intent, and fearful because it was worried about how it would explain itself to the master after the old man left.

The master asked me to keep an eye on the old ginseng, but with my meager skills, how could I possibly keep an eye on a ginseng spirit that is tens of thousands of years old, who is eager to escape and is also skilled in burrowing underground?

It slumped down on the rock by the ravine, hugging its knees, gazing longingly at the swirling fog at the ravine's mouth, hoping its master would come out soon.

……

Decades passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Kong Xuan found a strangely shaped coin lying quietly in a patch of slippery, dark mud.

Its entire body is dark gold, neither square nor round, with a pair of thin, cicada-wing-like golden wings with natural Dao patterns growing on its edge. Although it has been dormant for countless years, it contains a hidden power that can disturb the spiritual energy of treasures and influence the causal fortune.

"Found it!" Kong Xuan was overjoyed and almost shouted out loud.

He suppressed his excitement and carefully took the strange coin into his palm.

It felt warm to the touch, yet carried a hint of metallic coolness, and those tiny wings seemed ready to take flight at any moment.

"The Falling Treasure Coin! It really is the Falling Treasure Coin!"