After hearing Niu Zhuang's blood-soaked words, Niu Ben's eyes, as deep as the starry sky, narrowed slightly.
He understood.
The whole chain of events was crystal clear.
Put simply, his cheap old man, Niu Ba, felt like he was about to get the shit beaten out of him. Only then did he remember his son, the one who had "joined the disciples of the Three Pure Ones and become a Saint's mount," and wanted him to go back and hold the line.
It was a little too practical, but... he understood.
Ding!
At that moment, the cold, vast, utterly emotionless mechanical voice in his mind arrived as expected.
"God-Tier Choice System activated."
"God-tier Choice triggered."
"Choice One: Refuse to return."
"As a cultivator, one should sever worldly ties and keep one's heart free of burdens."
"Trivial clan disputes are no more than passing clouds. What do they have to do with me?"
"Complete the choice to receive the reward: [Hundred Thousand Years of Dharma Power]."
"Choice Two: Return to the clan and resolve the crisis."
"They gave birth to me and raised me; our blood is connected. Such kindness must be repaid."
"To settle grudges freely and keep one's thoughts unblocked is what a true man should do."
"Complete the choice to receive the reward: [One divine ability]."
Looking at the two options manifested in his consciousness, each flickering with a different light, Niu Ben did not hesitate in the slightest.
Sever worldly ties?
To hell with severing worldly ties!
He snorted coldly and roared in his heart.
"I choose Two!"
He could not stand by and watch the Azure Ox Clan suffer disaster.
Even if he was a transmigrator whose soul did not belong to this world.
Ever since he had transmigrated into an Azure Ox, Niu Ba had treated him as his own son and lavished the clan's finest resources upon him. Niu Ben could not deny that simple yet profound father-son affection.
Besides, what was cultivation for?
It was to keep one's thoughts unblocked!
If he could not even protect his own clan or save his own father, then what fucking use was cultivating the supreme Great Dao?
"Congratulations, Master, on making your choice. Choice successful!"
"Reward obtained: [Great Dao Clone Technique]."
The system's voice fell silent.
Great Dao Clone Technique?
Niu Ben's heart jolted. His divine sense immediately sank into the system space to inspect the information on the divine ability he had just acquired.
[Great Dao Clone Technique: A supreme-grade clone divine ability, beyond the Heavenly Dao and formed from the Origin of the Great Dao.] [Effect: Based on every major realm the host has experienced, a clone possessing one hundred percent of the original body's combat strength may be created.]
Holy shit!
The instant he saw the description of this divine ability, Niu Ben's heart violently clenched from overwhelming shock and ecstasy!
Even his breathing grew heavy!
This... this was countless times more overpowered than Taishang Daoist's ultimate secret art, One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones!
Although One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones could create three Dao bodies, those bodies were not physical entities, and their combat strength fell far short of the original body's. They were more useful for confusing and assisting enemies in battle.
But what about his Great Dao Clone Technique?
Every clone it created was a physical entity with one hundred percent of his original body's combat strength!
One hundred percent!
What kind of concept was that?
His current cultivation was at the Early Stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortal.
Since stepping onto the path of immortality, he had passed through Heavenly Immortal, Mystic Immortal, True Immortal, Golden Immortal, and now Grand Unity Golden Immortal!
A full five major realms!
Didn't that mean he could create five clones exactly like his current self?
Every one of them would possess the combat strength of an Early Stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortal!
Just imagine that scene.
When fighting an enemy, he would begin alone, calm and composed.
Then, in the middle of the battle, five identical versions of himself would suddenly appear behind him with a series of swishes. Six Early Stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Niu Bens would stand in a row, staring coldly at their enemy with the same eyes.
Six against one!
Just thinking about it was enough to make one's scalp tingle and soul tremble!
Awesome!
Awesome to the extreme!
So awesome that even his soul trembled!
This divine ability was simply tailor-made for him to show off... no, it was a divine skill for protecting his Dao!
"Senior Disciple Brother, has the clan encountered trouble? Do you need us junior brothers and sisters to help?"
At the side, Immortal Bixiao, dressed in a water-blue Daoist robe, and Jade Cauldron True Person, holding a Three-Pointed Double-Edged Halberd, had also understood what happened. They stepped forward and asked with concern.
The way they looked at Niu Ben was filled with heartfelt respect.
Though Niu Ben was nominally only Saint Taishang's mount, his status among the disciples of the Three Pure Ones was extraordinarily high.
He followed Saint Taishang day and night, listening to the Great Dao True Words. Even these Personal Disciples could only envy such an opportunity.
In terms of seniority, since he followed Taishang, he could be considered, in a sense, the "Senior Disciple Brother" of all disciples of the Three Pure Ones.
His affairs were naturally Kunlun Mountain's affairs.
"No need."
Niu Ben suppressed the wild joy in his heart and slowly shook his head, radiating powerful confidence.
"The Savage Ox Clan is nothing worth mentioning. This is a private matter of my clan, so I should not trouble you junior brother and sister."
He solemnly cupped his hands toward them.
"Please wait here for a moment. I must first go to the Eight Views Palace to report this matter to Master and ask for leave."
With that, his body flashed, transforming into an azure stream of light that tore through space at extreme speed and flew straight toward the Taiqing Realm's Eight Views Palace, suspended in the depths of Nine Heavens Above.
Inside the Taiqing palace.
Formless Great Dao, Silent Dao Sound.
Taishang Daoist still sat cross-legged upon the cloud bed, neither sorrowful nor joyful, neither thinking nor desiring, as though he had merged with the Great Dao of heaven and earth, eternal and unchanging.
Niu Ben respectfully knelt on the ground and recounted the entire matter from beginning to end without omitting a single detail.
After listening, Taishang Daoist slowly opened those ancient, tranquil eyes that seemed to contain the birth and destruction of universes and the Reincarnation of all things.
That single glance seemed to pierce through past and future, seeing through every thought in Niu Ben's heart.
He merely nodded lightly, his voice so calm that no emotion could be heard in it.
"Go."
Just two words, yet they were like a decree of the Heavenly Dao, Word of Law.
Then, he casually flicked his seemingly withered finger.
Whoosh!
A streak of pure light, profound to the extreme and seemingly containing every principle of Purity and Non-Action between heaven and earth, shot from his fingertip. It was so fast that it ignored time and space, instantly entering Niu Ben's brow.
Buzz—!
Niu Ben felt his Primordial Spirit Sea shake violently as a supreme law imprint, filled with the aura of destruction and creation, branded itself deeply into the core of his Primordial Spirit.
The Taiqing Dao Seal!
He instantly understood what it was.
This imprint contained the full-force strike of Taishang Daoist, a great Late Quasi-Saint expert!
It was a true supreme trump card that could kill anything below the Quasi-Saint realm in a single strike!
Whenever he encountered a life-or-death crisis, he only needed a thought to activate it and save his life.
Taishang Daoist appeared indifferent, but in truth, he was protective to the extreme!
Naturally, he would not allow his mount to perish so easily outside. That would disgrace his Taiqing master's name.
A warm current instantly flowed through Niu Ben's entire body.
"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this treasure!"
Deeply moved, Niu Ben respectfully kowtowed three times to Taishang Daoist.
Having received permission and such a heaven-defying life-saving trump card, he did not delay any longer. With a flash, he reappeared at the entrance to Kunlun Mountain.
Although his aura was restrained, the powerful confidence rising from his heart completely transformed his bearing.
He looked at the expectant Niu Zhuang, and a cold curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Let's go. We're going back."
He spoke to Niu Zhuang, who had waited for so long. Then he swept his sleeve, carrying Niu Zhuang with him as the two transformed into a stream of light, tore through space, and sped toward the Ox Clan Territory.
Before you continue