Legitimate Title, Taishang's Personal Disciple, Senior Disciple Brother of the Three Teachings!

Niu Ben's heart was filled with boundless joy.

He had never expected that Taishang would directly accept him as a disciple.

According to the original events of the Primordial Wilderness, Taishang's first disciple was Great Master Xuandu, born of the innate human race, whom Taishang took in while preaching the Golden Core Great Dao to humanity before establishing the Human Sect. The purpose was to bind the sect's fate more closely with that of humanity.

And Great Master Xuandu, perhaps because he cultivated the Way of Non-Action, paid no heed to the tribulations of the human race.

Now, however, Niu Ben had snatched that position.

Niu Ben withdrew his thoughts and immediately bowed deeply.

"Disciple Niu Ben greets Master!"

His heart raced—the status of a mount and that of a disciple were vastly different.

Before, the various disciples of Kunlun Mountain had called him Senior Disciple Brother, but that was only because of his high cultivation and his position as Taishang's mount—a mere honorary title on the surface.

Now, he had truly become Taishang's disciple.

The benefits of this needed no elaboration.

At present, Taishang's sect had only this one disciple—the true Senior Disciple.

And in the future, Taishang's disciples would always be few, each one extremely precious. If anything happened to him, Taishang would be the first to shield his own.

Seeing Niu Ben so moved, Taishang couldn't help but smile, his gaze growing even more indulgent.

He had always liked this ox, and now that it had become his personal senior disciple, his heart was naturally pleased. Moreover, this ox had truly brought him face.

At that moment, his mind stirred. He reached out and helped Niu Ben up, his smile deepening.

"Good!"

"From now on, you are the first disciple of my sect. I gift you this."

Taishang waved his hand, and a purple cloud of light descended.

When Niu Ben saw it clearly, his heart leaped.

It was a gourd, entirely purple-gold in color, slowly floating into Niu Ben's hands.

Niu Ben caught it with both hands, his excitement mounting. He naturally recognized this treasure, which would shine brilliantly in the future.

Especially during the small tribulation of Journey to the West, it would appear many times.

And this Purple-Gold Gourd, in Taishang's hands, was usually used to store immortal pills. Taishang excelled at alchemy, and in the Dao of pills, he was universally acknowledged as the foremost in the Primordial Wilderness.

Yet in Journey to the West, even when held by two mere alchemy-serving boys, this gourd had left Sun Wukong battered and humiliated.

Moreover, this gourd came from the Innate Gourd Vine.

That vine was the first gourd vine in the world, bearing seven gourds in total.

The gourd Taishang had taken possessed the power to absorb all things. If someone's name was called, they would be drawn inside. Those whose cultivation was insufficient would dissolve into pus in moments, their form and spirit utterly destroyed.

Those seven gourds were all renowned throughout the Primordial Wilderness. The red gourd taken by Hong Yun was called the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd, its power terrifying.

The gourd taken by Emperor Taiyi was refined into the Immortal Slaying Gourd.

Later, it fell into the hands of Daoist Lu Ya, one of the Ten Golden Crows. With a single phrase, "Treasure, please turn," countless souls were sent to the Investiture of the Gods.

The fourth, purple-blue, was the Monster Summoning Gourd, obtained by Nuwa and made into the Monster Summoning Banner, capable of summoning all demons under heaven.

The fifth, purple-yellow, was the Water-Fire Gourd, taken by Tongtian Cult Master, containing two Water-Fire Kirins.

The sixth, purple-black, was the Chaos Gourd, capable of forming its own chaos, obtained by Primordial Heavenly Lord.

Niu Ben suppressed his excitement and bowed once more.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this treasure!"

Taishang's voice carried a warm, familiar tone as he said with a smile, "Ox, cultivate diligently from now on. Do not be lazy."

If it had been any other disciple, Taishang would have added a warning—not to act arrogantly or tyrannically, and certainly not to use the name of the Three Pure Ones to cause trouble in the world.

But he knew Niu Ben. The ox had hardly ever left the Dao Field.

And the last time he had traveled the Primordial Wilderness, he had done so quietly, never committing any overbearing acts.

More importantly, he had a brain. What master wouldn't love such a disciple?

Primordial Heavenly Lord and Tongtian could only feel a sour ache in their teeth, a hint of elegance mixed into their gazes.

Tongtian was especially frustrated. He had just proposed taking Niu Ben as a disciple, thinking his only competitor would be his Second Brother.

But it turned out Big Brother was the one who played by no rules, directly accepting Niu Ben as his personal senior disciple.

Though the two were inwardly vexed, they had nothing to say. After all, Niu Ben had always been Taishang's mount. They could only offer a few insincere congratulations.

The Three Pure Ones soon departed.

The news that Niu Ben had been accepted as Taishang's disciple spread throughout Kunlun Mountain.

Everyone who heard it was stunned and shocked, but soon felt it was only natural.

After all, they had witnessed with their own eyes just how terrifying Niu Ben's actions had been. At merely the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, he had withstood heavenly thunder and even swallowed the Chaos Divine Thunder into his belly.

Niu Ben returned to his own cave dwelling.

First, he consolidated his cultivation.

About a month later, he finally opened his eyes.

He had originally planned to refine the Purple-Gold Gourd bestowed by Taishang, but his ears twitched slightly as he caught faint sounds coming from outside the cave. With a flicker of thought, he appeared at the entrance.

There, he saw the disciples gathered before his cave.

They were all disciples under Primordial Heavenly Lord and Tongtian.

Seeing Niu Ben emerge, they immediately stepped forward, bowing respectfully in congratulations.

"Congratulations, Senior Disciple Brother Niu Ben, on becoming a disciple of the Grand Master Uncle."

Now, Niu Ben had truly solidified his status as Senior Disciple Brother, and could be called the foremost among the Disciples of the Three Pure Ones.

Before, he had only been Taishang's mount, a Senior Disciple Brother in name. The others held some awe for him, but not much—that awe was merely respect for a powerful being.

But now, they were genuinely convinced from the heart.

Even if some felt a twinge of sourness, they no longer dared to show it. The first Personal Disciple under Taishang, a genuine Senior Disciple Brother—who would dare defy him?

Moreover, Taishang had only this one Personal Disciple.

The weight of that status went without saying.

Unlike them, who had many fellow disciples around.

In the eyes of the Grand Master Uncle, Niu Ben was surely a treasured gem, and they had to stay on good terms.

Facing the disciples who had come to congratulate him, Niu Ben saw through their intentions. With a warm smile, he returned their greetings, then invited them all into his cave dwelling.

The conversation naturally flowed pleasantly.

After the bustle faded, only Niu Ben remained in the cave.

Even the Three Xiaos and Zhao Gongming had left.

Because he needed to refine the Purple-Gold Gourd, to quickly break through the restrictions on this spiritual treasure, adding another means to his arsenal when facing enemies.

The power of a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure had long been proven.

In the Primordial Wilderness, battles came down to who had more Magic Treasures and whose treasures were stronger.

A famous example was True Man Huang Long of the Chan Teachings, known as the Three-Noes Daoist—no disciples, no Magic Treasure, no Dao Field.

His cultivation was hardly lacking, yet every time he fought, he ended up at a disadvantage.

He couldn't even beat the third-generation disciples of the Chan and Jie Teachings, all because he had no powerful Magic Treasure in hand.

If he were given an Innate Spiritual Treasure, he could grind those third-generation disciples into the dirt.

Time drifted by.

A thousand years later.

Niu Ben felt a stirring in his heart. He put away the refined Purple-Gold Gourd, and with a flicker of thought, appeared before his cave.

The Three Xiaos were standing right at his cave entrance, just about to call out to Niu Ben.

But then Niu Ben appeared.

The three sisters were startled at the same time.

Niu Ben looked at the three sisters before him, and a smile unconsciously spread across his face. The Three Xiaos were the ones who had accompanied him the longest on Kunlun Mountain, and he was very fond of these three girls.

"For all three of you to come together, is there something you need?"