Red Flower, White Lotus Root, Green Lotus Leaf: The Three Pure Ones Were Originally One Family

The fist seals collided without producing an earth-shattering boom.

The Kunlun Seal, powerful enough to suppress mountains and twist space itself, suddenly halted the instant it struck Niu Ben's jade-glowing fist!

It was as though a Divine Mountain falling at tremendous speed had crashed into a seemingly tiny yet indestructible pillar of heaven!

Buzz—!

The Kunlun Seal trembled violently. Its treasure light was forcibly pushed back by the utterly pure power on Niu Ben's fist!

"What?!"

The savage grin on Guangchengzi's face instantly froze, replaced by shock and disbelief.

How was this possible?!

Niu Ben's punch held off the Kunlun Seal, but at that moment, the ground beneath his feet let out a dull rumble.

Boom!

The foot he had planted on the ground stomped lightly.

An invisible yet vast and mighty force surged wildly through the Earth Veins, instantly empowering his body.

This was precisely the sliver of Earth Origin Power that Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi had given him at Wuzhuang Temple after recognizing the uniqueness of his origins!

With the power of the Earth Veins bolstering him, Niu Ben's aura surged once more!

The fist bracing the Kunlun Seal abruptly exerted force!

"Get... up!"

Boom!

The mountain-sized Kunlun Seal was actually sent flying backward by his single upward punch!

Guangchengzi's mind shook violently. He hurriedly formed a hand seal, barely managing to stabilize the Kunlun Seal, whose radiance had already dimmed considerably.

When he looked at Niu Ben again, the anger in his eyes had completely turned to fear.

"Is that all?"

"Pfft..."

No one knew who was the first to fail to hold it in and laugh.

Then Duobao Daoist, Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Holy Mother Wudang... every disciple revealed an undisguised mocking smile.

"Hahaha! This is killing me!!"

"Using an Innate Spiritual Treasure like a brick? You're really disgracing Uncle-Master Yuanshi!"

"I'd say this Kunlun Seal isn't even as useful as my senior disciple brother's Myriad Treasures Map!"

The piercing laughter was like steel needles stabbing into the hearts of Guangchengzi and every disciple under Primordial Heavenly Lord.

Their faces instantly flushed the color of liver.

Utter humiliation!

This was absolutely utter humiliation!

The surrounding air began to distort as an aura a thousand times more tyrannical, ancient, and violent than before erupted from his body!

Roar—!

A roar unlike anything a mortal creature could produce resounded between heaven and earth!

Niu Ben's body rapidly expanded amid immortal light. The honest young man's face vanished, replaced by a colossal being that stood between heaven and earth!

His azure fur stood on end like steel needles, gleaming with a metallic chill.

His massive body resembled a Primordial Divine Mountain, brimming with explosive strength.

Beneath his four thick hooves, the auspicious clouds scattered, replaced by roiling Chaos qi!

Most terrifying of all were the ox horns shooting toward the heavens, covered in Dao patterns, their sharp tips seemingly capable of effortlessly tearing apart the sky!

Azure Ox's true form!

Yet the form he revealed now was far removed from the gentle appearance he usually wore while carrying Taishang.

The hundred-plus Earth Fiend Divine Ox Shadows within him were driven to their utmost limit at this moment. Their silent roars converged into a torrent of power capable of destroying heaven and earth, racing through his bloodline!

At this moment, he was no longer Taishang's mount.

He seemed like an ancient fiendgod who had emerged from Chaos. The savage aura originating from the deepest parts of his bloodline made every living being present tremble from the depths of their souls!

"This... this is..."

The smile on Duobao Daoist's face froze. He stared fixedly at the Azure Ox, feeling that his countless Magic Treasures were as fragile as paper before this ferocious creature.

"W-What a terrifying aura!"

Golden Spirit Holy Mother's pretty face turned deathly pale, and she involuntarily took a step back.

Guangchengzi, facing this pressure head-on, felt like a small boat amid raging waves, liable to be crushed into dust by that terrifying aura at any moment!

"You... you beast!"

Overcome by fear, Guangchengzi let out a furious but hollow roar. He poured all his magic power into the Kunlun Seal, causing the great seal to blaze with treasure light once more as it smashed viciously toward the Azure Ox!

Yet faced with this full-force strike, Niu Ben, in his true form, held nothing but cold contempt in his enormous ox eyes.

He could not even be bothered to raise his head.

His hind leg suddenly exerted force, and he delivered a simple, direct kick at the descending Kunlun Seal!

Bang!!!

An incomparably dull, thunderous impact rang out!

The Low Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Kunlun Seal, with its boundless might, was like a ball kicked away by an adult. It let out a mournful cry and shot backward even faster than it had come, plunging directly into the clouds at the horizon and vanishing.

One kick!

Just one kick!

Guangchengzi was dumbfounded on the spot. His mind was linked to the Kunlun Seal, and the backlash of that immense force made sweetness rise in his throat as he nearly spat out blood.

Before he could react.

That terrifying Azure Ox had already moved.

Its massive body left behind a streak of azure afterimage as it appeared before him in an instant.

All Guangchengzi saw was a gigantic ox horn rapidly enlarging in his pupils!

"No—!"

He screamed in terror and tried to dodge, only to discover that his body could not move at all beneath the lock of that terrifying aura!

Boom!

The ox horn struck Guangchengzi squarely in the chest.

With a crisp crack, the protective immortal light around Guangchengzi shattered. He was sent flying like a cannonball, tracing a miserable arc through the air before following Daoist Cihang's fate and smashing brutally into the mountain wall on the other side.

Dust billowed, and shattered stones flew through the air.

The valley once again fell into deathly Stillness.

Everyone had turned to stone.

If the earlier slap that sent Daoist Cihang flying could be called a sneak attack, an unexpected strike.

Then now, before everyone's eyes, kicking away the Kunlun Seal and sending Guangchengzi flying with one horn...

That was undisputed, overwhelming strength!

Nine Heavens Above, the Dao Field of the Three Pure Ones.

This power... was truly domineering!

His gaze pierced through the void and fell upon the Azure Ox. For the first time, a flicker of genuine emotion passed through the depths of those calm, undisturbed eyes.

Within the valley, the terrifying Azure Ox slowly withdrew its horn. Immortal light flowed around its body as it transformed back into that honest young man.

Niu Ben patted dust from his body that was not there and looked around.

His gaze swept across every disciple who stood silent with fear.

At last, he spoke calmly. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly carried throughout the entire valley.

"Is there anyone else who refuses to submit?"

Dead Stillness.

After Niu Ben's words fell, the entire valley remained deathly Stillness.

No one answered.

Or rather, no one dared to answer.

Submit?

How could they possibly refuse?!

The disciples led by Cihang and Puxian were all pale-faced. They lowered their heads, not even daring to look at Niu Ben.

Even their senior disciple brother, Guangchengzi, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal wielding an Innate Spiritual Treasure, had been beaten into the mountain with one kick and one horn, his life or death unknown.

If they went up, would they not simply be offering themselves up on a platter?

Duobao Daoist and the others were likewise shaken to the core. The way they looked at Niu Ben had completely changed from idle amusement to reverence.

This ox was way too fierce!

He was so fierce that it was utterly unreasonable!

They enjoyed fighting, but that depended on who they were fighting.

It was better not to provoke such a ruthless figure who attacked at the slightest disagreement.

Niu Ben understood their reactions at a glance.

Good. It seemed fists were still more useful than reason.

He cleared his throat, raising his voice slightly with an authority that brooked no dispute.

"You are all Disciples of the Three Pure Ones and belong to the Orthodox School of Xuanmen. You should have stood united and helped one another."

"Yet today, over nothing more than a Houtian Spiritual Treasure, you drew swords against each other and fought here. What kind of conduct is this!"

"Do you still remember what origins your masters—Uncle-Master Taishang, Uncle-Master Yuanshi, and Master Tongtian—possessed?"

"They were transformed from the Primordial Spirit of Pangu, the true orthodox lineage of the Primordial Wilderness!"

At this point, Niu Ben's tone grew drawn-out and meaningful.

"I once heard Master mention something in passing."

"Red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf—the Three Pure Ones were originally one family!"

"A family should act like a family!"

"Let today's matter end here. No one is to claim that Magic Treasure. Let it remain here for whoever is fated to obtain it in the future."

"If I see you trampling each other and slaughtering your fellow disciples again in the future..."

Niu Ben's gaze abruptly sharpened, and that terrifying savage aura flashed past.

"Then don't blame this ox's fists for not recognizing friend from foe!"

His words struck the ground like thunder, exploding in the heart of every disciple.

Especially the words, "Red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf—the Three Pure Ones were originally one family," which shook their minds and plunged them into thought.

Yes...

Their masters had originally been brothers of the same root and origin.

Why, then, should they disciples fight each other to the death?

Nine Heavens Above.

Niu Ben's words likewise reached the ears of the Three Pure Ones with perfect clarity.

Within Jade Void Palace, a complicated expression appeared on Primordial Heavenly Lord's stern face for the first time.

He looked at the disciples in the light screen, their heads lowered in contemplation, then recalled Niu Ben's words. It was as though a chord buried in the deepest part of his heart had been touched.

One family...

Yes, once upon a time, before they had risen to prominence and established their own sects, how inseparable had the three brothers been.

But when had estrangement, disagreements, and distance appeared between them?

Was it because their Dao intents differed?

Or because... the higher their cultivation became, the prouder their hearts became?