X-Dragon Era

After much hesitation, Xin Yun finally made up his mind, fusing the Heaven and Earth Seal with his physical body to become his Life-Bound Magical Treasure, just as Laozi's Taiji Diagram, the Primordial Sovereign's Ruyi, and the Leader of Tongtian's Green Sword had become one with them, making it forever impossible for anyone else to snatch it away.

Once a Life-Bound Magical Treasure was refined, even treasures such as the falling treasure coins, vajra bracelets, Five-Colored Divine Light, or the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree would absolutely not be able to shake it off. The person was the treasure, the treasure was the person, two in one, with boundless mystical uses!

However, a person could only bond with one magical treasure in a lifetime. Once bound, it could not be undone, nor could another treasure be chosen instead. This decision was truly very difficult to make.

Take the Three Pure Ones as an example, Laozi did not have any magical treasures for a long time, and thus had not bound any magical treasure to himself until he obtained the Taiji Diagram from Hongjun, which he ultimately decided to bind. In contrast, the Leader of Tongtian and the Primordial Sovereign had good magical treasures early on, which they had bound, including the Primordial Sovereign's Jade Ruyi and the Leader of Tongtian's Green Sword, both of which were bound early on.

The Three Pure Ones differed in strength, with Laozi being the strongest, the Primordial second, and the Leader of Tongtian the weakest. This disparity was not due to inherent strength; the Three Pure Ones were one, born at the same time, grew up at the same time, and cultivated at the same time, with identical cultivation bases. The difference lay in the power of their Life-Bound Magical Treasures!

Clearly, the Taiji Diagram was superior to the Jade Ruyi, which in turn was superior to the Green Sword, thus creating a hierarchy of strength. This shows just how crucial the choice of a Life-Bound Magical Treasure was.

Among the Six Great Saints, the weakest in terms of strength would probably have to be Nuwa. Her Life-Bound Magical Treasure was the Red Embroidered Ball, an Innate Spiritual Treasure forged from the leftover colored stones from Patching the Sky, which, compared to the other Great Saints, was a class too low.

Apart from Nuwa, the lowest would be Zhun Ti. His Life-Bound Magical Treasure was the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, crafted from a branch of the Innate Spirit Root Bodhi Tree, placing him in the fifth position.

Above Zhun Ti was Jieyin, whose Life-Bound Magical Treasure was the Twelve-Rank Lotus Platform, which was much stronger than Zhun Ti's and seemed comparable to the Leader of Tongtian in strength.

Another example is the seventh sage determined by Hongjun—Hong Yun. The reason he failed to become a saint lay in his Life-Bound Magical Treasure, the Ninety-Nine Red Cloud Soul-Scattering Gourd. Although this treasure was also an Innate Spiritual Treasure, Xin Yun knew that this Red Gourd was not meant for attacking, which made Hong Yun's combat strength weak. He even lost that wisp of Hongmeng Purple Qi and met a tragic end. Ultimately, it was all because of the Life-Bound Magical Treasure.

The last example is Donghuang Tai Yi. Although he was only a Quasi-Saint and his strength was not at the level of the saints, his Life-Bound Magical Treasure was the Chaos Bell! It was incredibly formidable, which was why he became the Celestial Emperor, able to contend with Pangu's True Form summoned by the Twelve Ancestral Witches—a feat saints could not manage.

Therefore, Life-Bound Magical Treasures are extremely important; they could be said to determine the ultimate limit of achievement. The stronger the treasure, the higher the level that could be reached; the weaker the treasure, the lower the level of attainment.

Looking at the Heaven and Earth Seal in his hands, Xin Yun used to hesitate. If possible, he really wanted to wait for Donghuang Tai Yi's fall and seize the opportunity to snatch the Chaos Bell, then make the Chaos Bell his Life-Bound Magical Treasure. That way, combined with the Kongtong Seal, even without becoming a saint, he could still contend with the saints.

But now, upon reflection, that seemed nearly impossible. If he waited for the Chaos Bell, he feared he would end up like Hong Yun, unable to preserve even a trace of Hongmeng Purple Qi, unable to become a saint. Caught between becoming a saint or obtaining the Chaos Bell, Xin Yun could only choose one.

Moreover, once he became a saint, everything else would not be a problem. The odds of obtaining the Chaos Bell without being a saint were too low, practically non-existent. However, once he became a saint, the odds would increase tenfold or more. Though unable to exchange Life-Bound Magical Treasures, even just using the Chaos Bell as a treasure would be formidable; no other treasure or ability could displace an Innate Supreme Treasure.

It was a tough choice, but one he had to make. After these past few days' events, Xin Yun had thought it through very clearly. Even if the genuine Chaos Bell and the Kongtong Seal were laid out before him for his choosing, Xin Yun would still opt for the Kongtong Seal. Even though in terms of power, the Chaos Bell definitely had the advantage, the Kongtong Seal's functions were irreplaceable!

If he considered only himself, concerned only for himself alone, Xin Yun would undoubtedly choose the Chaos Bell, but that would be far too lonely a path. Moreover, the Chaos Bell was not yet in his possession, and it was uncertain whether it would ever be his. Even if he could obtain it, it might take tens of thousands of years—who could have the patience of Laozi?

Furthermore, what truly appealed to Xin Yun was that the Kongtong Seal could continuously grow stronger. With the ongoing supplementation of Spiritual Copper from Shou Yang Mountain, its power would gradually increase. Coupled with the nine Jade Dragons on the seal and the immortal life-giving source, the potential for its future development was simply limitless!

Time! Yes... What Xin Yun needed now was time. As long as he continued to refine it, one day, the Kongtong Seal would become a treasure surpassing the Sky-Overturning Seal. With the nine Jade Dragons and the immortal, life-giving source, when all factors were combined, its power and functions might not match the Taiji Diagram, but they would certainly exceed the Jade Ruyi and the Green Sword. As for the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and the Twelve-Rank Lotus Platform, they were incomparable with it.

Genuine Innate Supreme Treasures were too distant, too elusive, and apart from those, the Kongtong Seal was the strongest treasure Xin Yun knew of, especially with its ability to grow stronger, which infinitely increased its value. (To be continued, for more information, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)