Niu Ben was merely a mount, a Heavenly Immortal.
Before three mighty Quasi-Saints, even the right to breathe seemed extravagant, let alone interject.
If he carelessly displeased any one of them, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But the temptation of the [Chaos Divine Ox Scripture] was simply too great.
This was not merely a cultivation technique. It was his only path to truly changing his fate, shedding his ox body, and standing at the pinnacle of the Primordial Wilderness!
He would gamble on it!
Fortune was sought amid danger!
Niu Ben steeled himself and instantly formed a plan.
He could not directly try to persuade them. That would be too abrupt and far too presumptuous.
But he could take a different approach.
Thus, his massive ox head swayed slightly, and two streams of thick air puffed from his nostrils. In a low voice carrying a touch of simplemindedness and yearning, he sent a message to Taishang Daoist on his back.
"Master..."
His voice was quiet, carrying a hint of caution.
"This little ox... I heard that the Ginseng Fruit of Wuzhuang Temple is one of the Heavenly Earth Spirit Roots. Smelling it can grant three hundred and sixty years of life, while eating one lets you live for forty-seven thousand years... I wonder... I wonder whether this little ox has the good fortune to... to taste one?"
He perfectly played the part of a gluttonous, inexperienced ox demon, so tempted by the legendary treasure that he could barely move.
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately held his breath, his heart rising into his throat.
Success or failure hinged on this one move!
Above the clouds, the delicate atmosphere was instantly broken.
Taishang Daoist, seated on his back, seemed to show the faintest ripple in his ancient-well-still aura.
A moment later, a calm voice with a trace of amusement rang out.
"You gluttonous little ox."
There was not the slightest reproach in his tone. Instead, it was as though he were looking at an immature junior.
It worked!
The huge stone in Niu Ben's heart crashed to the ground!
He knew he had gambled correctly!
Taishang Daoist needed an excuse, and he had personally placed that excuse at his feet.
Meanwhile, Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun, standing opposite them, turned their attention for the first time to the Azure Ox beneath Taishang Daoist.
At this sight, both of them were slightly stunned.
A Heavenly Immortal?
A mere Heavenly Immortal?
Given Taishang Daoist's status and cultivation—future Head of the Three Pure Ones and Pangu's Orthodox Lineage—even if his mount were not some ancient exotic beast, it should at least be a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, shouldn't it?
Why had he taken an ordinary Azure Ox at the Heavenly Immortal realm as a mount?
The two felt some faint doubts, but neither revealed anything on his face.
Upon hearing the Azure Ox's words, Hong Yun immediately stepped forward and laughed heartily at Taishang Daoist. "Fellow Daoist Taishang, your mount is quite spiritually aware. My Ginseng Fruit Tree blooms once every three thousand years, bears fruit once every three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to ripen. It can only be eaten after a full ten thousand years. It so happens that the fruits have just ripened and fallen."
He gave Taishang a deep salute, his tone incomparably sincere.
"If Fellow Daoist is willing to honor us with your presence, I am willing to pick these freshly ripened Ginseng Fruits and share them with you. Discussing the Dao and speaking of mysteries together would surely be better than traveling alone, would it not?"
The matter had already been put this plainly.
If Taishang Daoist refused again, he would seem too cold and unreasonable.
He sat calmly atop the ox's back and gave a slight nod.
"Then I shall trouble you two Fellow Daoists."
"Excellent!"
A cold system notification sounded in Niu Ben's mind.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, Master, for completing the choice. You have received the reward [Chaos Divine Ox Scripture], which has been placed in the system space."
"Please check and accept it."
Haha, it worked!
Niu Ben was ecstatic, yet his body remained as steady as a boulder. He did not dare make the slightest unusual movement.
"Fellow Daoist, this way, please!"
Longevity Mountain Blessed Land, Wuzhuang Temple Blessed Land.
Niu Ben carried Taishang and followed behind the two mighty figures, slowly descending before the Daoist Temple gates.
The Daoist Temple was ancient and grand. Every blade of grass and tree contained Dao charm, clearly making it one of the finest Blessed Lands in the Primordial Wilderness.
The moment they landed, the temple gates silently opened.
Two young Daoist attendants with red lips, white teeth, and twin topknots hurried out and bowed to Zhen Yuanzi.
"Master, you have returned."
These two must have been the famous Qing Feng and Ming Yue.
The next moment, Zhen Yuanzi instructed them, "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, this is Taishang Daoist of Kunlun Mountain, a distinguished guest of mine. Hurry to the rear courtyard and pick four Ginseng Fruits to entertain our guest."
Upon hearing this, Qing Feng and Ming Yue looked up at Taishang, then curiously glanced at Hong Yun and Niu Ben, who was lying on the ground, before hurriedly replying.
"Yes, Master."
With that, the two turned and rushed toward the rear courtyard.
"Fellow Daoist Taishang, please come inside."
Zhen Yuanzi gestured invitingly and led Taishang into the main hall of the temple.
Naturally, Niu Ben followed closely behind Taishang Daoist. His massive body lay beside a Pouf Cushion at the side of the main hall, all his aura restrained, like a statue carved from bluestone.
Inside the hall, the three mighty figures began discussing the Dao.
Every gesture and movement of theirs contained the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, the profound mysteries of the Great Dao.
For ordinary immortals, merely listening in on a little of it would bring endless benefit.
But Niu Ben's attention was fixed on the system reward, the [Chaos Divine Ox Scripture].
As his will touched it, countless profound pieces of information instantly flooded into his soul!
Niu Ben felt even his Primordial Spirit trembling as it was pulled into a stretch of Chaos.
Here, there was no time and no space.
A colossal ox, so majestic it could not be described in words, lay quietly asleep.
Using the origin of one's bloodline as a guide, one continuously refined the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and moon, and Chaos energy, condensing Divine Ox phantoms within the body.
Just as he was immersed in the profundity of the cultivation technique, a fragrant scent awakened him.
Qing Feng and Ming Yue entered, each carrying a White Jade Plate.
They bore the Heavenly Earth Spirit Root, the Grass Returning Pill, also known as the Ginseng Fruit!
Worthy of being a legendary Heavenly Earth Spirit Root, merely taking one breath of its fragrance made Niu Ben feel incomparably comfortable throughout his limbs and bones. Even the bloodline within him became more active.
Zhen Yuanzi took three fruits and handed them separately to Taishang and Hong Yun, keeping one for himself.
"Fellow Daoists, please."
The remaining fruit was delivered before Niu Ben by Qing Feng and Ming Yue.
He opened his ox mouth and swallowed the entire Ginseng Fruit in one bite.
The fruit melted the instant it entered his mouth, and an incomparably pure surge of life energy exploded inside him.
Boom! He felt the bottleneck in his cultivation loosening slightly beneath the force of that energy.
This was only at the Heavenly Immortal realm. If someone with profound cultivation ate it, the effect would be even more unimaginable.
It truly was worthy of an Innate Spiritual Root!
Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun merely smiled faintly at the sight and said nothing.
In their eyes, this was only a casual reward Taishang Daoist had bestowed upon his mount. It was of no consequence.
After savoring the delicious Ginseng Fruit, Niu Ben gathered his mind once more and devoted all his attention to that peerless cultivation technique.
The [Chaos Divine Ox Scripture] possessed an incomparably domineering cultivation philosophy!
It did not follow the conventional path of absorbing spiritual energy and condensing dharma power step by step. Instead, it required one to transform one's body into Chaos and contain heaven and earth within one's flesh!
The general outline of the cultivation technique made its meaning clear from the start: My body is Chaos, and Chaos is my body. Congeal three thousand Divine Oxen, and attain the supreme Dao!
The entire cultivation technique was divided into three major levels.
The first level was the Earth Ox Realm.
At this realm, one had to open up a small patch of Chaos within the dantian's sea of qi.
Within that Chaos, one had to condense the first 'Earth Fiend Divine Oxen.'
Once three thousand Earth Fiend Divine Oxen were condensed within the body, the Earth Ox Realm would reach major completion, granting strength comparable to a Top Grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure!
The second level was the Heavenly Ox Realm.
At this realm, one had to further expand the Chaos Space within the body, draw the Nine Heavens Gale and the radiance of the sun, moon, and stars into the body, and temper the Divine Ox body.
The original Earth Fiend Divine Oxen had to transform one by one into 'Heavenly Gang Divine Ox.'
A Heavenly Gang Divine Ox could control the laws of a region of heaven and earth. It itself was the Dao, and its power far surpassed that of the Earth Fiend Divine Oxen.
At this realm, one likewise needed to condense three thousand Heavenly Gang Divine Oxen to reach completion, granting strength comparable to an Innate Supreme Treasure.
The third level was the Divine Ox Realm.
After the Heavenly Ox Realm reached completion, one could use one's own body as a furnace and the laws of the Great Dao as fuel to condense true 'Chaos Divine Oxen'!
Every Chaos Divine Ox contained a trace of Chaos Origin power and possessed the might to destroy heaven and earth.
Upon condensing three thousand Chaos Divine Oxen, one would become Invulnerable to All Laws and Indestructible Through All Calamities. With every gesture, one would seem to possess the power to shatter a Chaos world!
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