Following the aura he sensed, he went onward. Before long, the faintly circulating traces of a profound and mysterious innate formation emerged before him.
Chen Ku paid it no mind.
Not to mention that Jie Yin and Zhun Ti, two mighty quasi-sages, stood behind him—even with his own strength, he could break this innate formation without any effort.
Grand Luo Golden Immortal peak-level mana surged forth, sweeping across the world before him.
In an instant, the innate formation shattered, revealing the scene within.
Chen Ku's eyes widened, and delight mixed with shock filled his face.
"Is this... the Innate Five-Needle Pine?!"
Chen Ku recognized the spiritual root before him at a glance.
It was none other than the Innate Five-Needle Pine, one of the ten finest Innate Spiritual Roots.
This was a Five Elements spiritual root.
Compared to the others, the Five-Needle Pine's reputation was not particularly earth-shattering.
However, its effects and value were in no way inferior to the Ginseng Fruit.
This Five-Needle Pine bloomed once every five thousand years, bore fruit after another five thousand years, and only matured after yet another five thousand years.
In other words, it took a full fifteen thousand years for a single harvest to mature.
And each time, it produced only fifty fruits—ten of each kind, corresponding to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Eating one of each of the five fruits would gather the qi of the five elements within one's body, allowing an immediate breakthrough and saving countless years of arduous cultivation.
"Ha ha, good! This is wonderful!"
Chen Ku could not help laughing, unable to conceal his delight.
Without a doubt, this Five-Needle Pine was countless times more precious than the Innate Banana Tree from before.
Obtaining this spiritual root would make his advancement even more efficient, allowing him to improve far more astonishingly than before.
Just as Chen Ku was marveling over it, Jie Yin and Zhun Ti arrived behind him.
At a glance, the two saw the enormous Five-Needle Pine, and both wore utterly stunned expressions.
"The Innate Five-Needle Pine?!"
"Heavens, who would have thought this spiritual root grew on Buzhou Mountain?"
Zhun Ti cried out in surprise. His ecstatic expression was exactly the same as Chen Ku's.
Beside him, Jie Yin's expression also changed greatly.
"No wonder there have only ever been legends of such a spiritual root, while no one has ever seen it."
"So it was hidden here."
"Heh, without our disciple's keen senses, I fear we would never have discovered it."
Jie Yin looked at Chen Ku with admiration, his tone full of astonishment.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Innate Five-Needle Pine had been hidden extremely well here, sheltered by Pangu's pressure.
Even if other great experts had come here, after resisting Pangu's pressure, they likely would have had no mind left to search for further opportunities.
But Chen Ku was different.
As one whose origin was a top-grade Innate Spiritual Root, and who had taken form on his own, his perception of spiritual roots had long been imprinted into his instinctive divine sense.
That was why, beneath the overwhelming pressure, he could clearly sense this top-grade Innate Spiritual Root.
Hearing Jie Yin's words, Zhun Ti nodded repeatedly.
"Indeed, indeed!"
"This time, my martial nephew has rendered a great service to our Western World."
"Heh heh, looking across the world, there are only a handful of lineages that possess top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots."
"In the future, Yuanshi and the others will certainly no longer dare to look down on us."
Zhun Ti was thoroughly satisfied, a smile on his face.
Just as he had said.
Each of the ten top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots was an existence rarely seen even in ten thousand ages.
In the present world, only Yuanshi controlled a Yellow Central Pear, while Queen Mother of the West possessed Ren Water Peaches.
And at Longevity Mountain Wuzhuang Temple, there grew a Ginseng Fruit tree.
That was precisely where Zhen Yuanzi's Daoist sanctum lay.
In the past, whenever Zhun Ti saw other top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots shining with divine radiance in such profound and mysterious scenes, he had been consumed by envy, jealousy, and resentment.
Were it not for the fact that the owners of those spiritual roots were all formidable top-tier experts, he might have long been unable to resist taking action and seizing them by force.
Zhun Ti naturally assumed that once they acquired this Innate Five-Needle Pine and brought it back to the Western World—
Then, even compared with Kunlun Mountain, Five Villages View, and the like, no one would dare to underestimate them again.
As he spoke, unconcealed greed showed in his eyes.
He wanted it badly!
He truly wanted it badly!
But at that moment, Chen Ku's expression shifted. He gave a strange smile and said:
"Heh heh..."
"Martial Uncle, you wouldn't rob your martial nephew of his spiritual root, would you?!"
"I found this Five-Needle Pine first, you know."
Hearing this, both Jie Yin and Zhun Ti were stunned.
Well, well!
This brat's thick-skinned nature was showing itself again.
Why were the three master and disciples still distinguishing between yours and mine?!
Zhun Ti even feigned anger, raising his brows as he spoke.
"Hmph, what nonsense are you talking about, brat?!"
"The three of us share glory and disgrace alike."
"Besides, if not for the protection of Senior Brother Jie Yin and me, how could you possibly..."
Zhun Ti had originally been righteously prepared to say that if not for the protection of the two of them, how could Chen Ku have safely reached this place? How could he even have climbed Buzhou Mountain?!
But halfway through his words, he abruptly stopped!
Zhun Ti suddenly realized something.
That was right!
Along the way, Chen Ku seemingly had not relied on the protection of either of them at all.
Moreover, while climbing Buzhou Mountain, he had appeared even more relaxed than Jie Yin and Zhun Ti.
What he had just said truly made little sense.
For a moment, Zhun Ti's face turned awkward, and he said nothing.
Damn it... having a disciple—or martial nephew—who was too monstrously talented was not a good thing either.
It left him without even a chance to put on the dignity of an elder.
As he thought this, a few more traces of resentment appeared in Zhun Ti's gaze.
Still, this also showed that Zhun Ti truly had his heart set on the Innate Five-Needle Pine before him.
After all, at their quasi-sage level of cultivation, ordinary Spiritual Root Immortal Fruits were already of little use, barely better than nothing.
Only top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots, or existences of an even higher grade, could offer him any improvement.
Unlike him, Jie Yin at the side appeared exceptionally open-minded.
Usually, when Zhun Ti faced other independent cultivators in the world, he could force three parts of an argument even when he had no reason.
Yet today, facing Chen Ku, he was left speechless, his face full of embarrassment.
This sight made Jie Yin burst into laughter.
"Ha ha, my disciple is right."
"Since we are masters and elders, we should naturally follow the principle of first come, first served."
"Since you discovered this Five-Needle Pine, it should belong to you."
Jie Yin acknowledged this without hesitation.
He saw things more clearly. Chen Ku was already his disciple, so what difference did it make who the spiritual root belonged to?
In the end, would it not still benefit the same Western World?!
Hearing this, Chen Ku smiled in satisfaction.
"Heh heh, then I thank Master and Martial Uncle."
As soon as he finished speaking, he skillfully waved his sleeve and once more displayed the great divine ability of Buddha's Palm Paradise.
A flash of divine light flickered, and the enormous Innate Five-Needle Pine was directly taken into his possession.
At the side, Zhun Ti could only look on with eyes full of envy, unable to say anything more.
Before you continue