Primordial Era: The Three Senior Brothers of the Taiqing Clan

Perhaps the innate array outside these islands obscured the secrets of heaven, or perhaps for some other reason, but no sentient beings were born in this otherworldly paradise.

The island was so quiet that only the sounds of the wind, the water, and the rustling of the herbs swaying gently in the breeze could be heard, as if it were a pure land forgotten by time.

Chen Qing circled the island once in the air, taking in its general terrain, before flying straight towards the center of the island. A fairy island like this, undiscovered before, a place where the essence of heaven and earth converges, must surely hold great treasures.

From afar, he saw a pond of lotus flowers.

The lotus pond was about a hundred feet in circumference, with clear, jade-like water and its surface covered with emerald green lotus leaves.

Each white lotus stands tall and graceful, its petals crystal clear, each shimmering with seven colors, making it truly extraordinary.

In the very center of the lotus pond, a giant white lotus blooms proudly, its nine-colored light shimmering and flowing, displaying twelve petals—the legendary Twelve-Petaled Pure White Lotus!

This left Chen Qing completely dumbfounded.

It wasn't because of the Pure World White Lotus itself—although top-grade innate spiritual treasures are indeed precious, with his current perspective, he wasn't too shocked.

What truly stunned him was that next to that twelve-petaled Pure White Lotus, there were actually two ten-petaled lotus pedestals growing side by side!

The two ten-petaled lotus pedestals, though not as dazzling as the twelfth-petaled Pure White Lotus, still possessed a precious inner radiance and an overwhelming spiritual aura.

Although it doesn't reach the level of a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, it can still be considered a high-grade innate spiritual treasure. If such a treasure were left out, countless cultivators would fight tooth and nail to snatch it.

"Huh—"

Chen Qing shifted his gaze from the lotus platform to the pool water, only then realizing that the water in the pool was also quite extraordinary.

The water was crystal clear, yet it shimmered with three different colors—gold, silver, and purple—intertwined, creating a dreamlike scene.

It is none other than the famous Three Lights Divine Water!

The Three Lights Divine Water is divided into three types: golden Sunlight Divine Water, silver Moonlight Divine Water, and purple Starlight Divine Water. Each of these three types of divine water is extremely terrifying on its own—Sunlight Divine Water can erode blood essence, bones, and flesh; Moonlight Divine Water can corrode the primordial spirit and soul; and Starlight Divine Water can devour and dissolve true spiritual consciousness. Regardless of which type it is, contact with it is a near-certain death.

However, once these three divine waters are combined into one, the sunlight, moonlight, and starlight merge and converge, transforming into the world's number one healing elixir! No matter how severe the injury, as long as there is still a breath left, the Three Lights Divine Water can bring the dead back to life.

Later, on his journey to the West, Sun Wukong knocked down Zhen Yuanzi's ginseng fruit tree. All the gods and Buddhas in the heavens were helpless, and finally, Guanyin Bodhisattva used the Three Lights Divine Water from her jade bottle to revive the tree. This single incident demonstrates just how miraculous the fruit's effects are.

Faced with such a string of treasures, anyone would be ecstatic. But Chen Qing was conflicted—should he take the innate spiritual treasure and the Three Lights Divine Water?

The Twelve-Petaled Pure White Lotus is a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, primarily for defense. However, he already possesses the Qiankun Cauldron, whose defensive capabilities are comparable to the lotus platform. Therefore, it seems he has no immediate use for the Pure White Lotus.

Moreover, looking at this pond of lotus flowers, Chen Qing suddenly had a whimsical idea—why not cultivate these lotus flowers properly and see if they can advance to the next level?

Even if the twelfth-grade Pure World White Lotus cannot be upgraded to a supreme innate treasure, the two tenth-grade lotus platforms, if properly nurtured, may be able to be upgraded to twelfth grade and become top-grade innate spiritual treasures.

When the time comes, I can use my Qiankun Cauldron's ability to return to its origin, and I might be able to combine the three lotus flowers into one. Perhaps I can even advance to the level of a Primordial Treasure!

With this in mind, Chen Qing made a plan. Since he had already decided to claim this immortal island as his future training ground, he could always retrieve it when needed. After all, things were in his own home; they couldn't possibly run away.

He took one last look at the lotus pond, then turned and flew toward the other two fairy islands.

If the twelve-petaled Pure White Lotus and a pool of Three Lights Divine Water were found on Penglai Island, what else is hidden on the two fairy islands of Yingzhou and Fangzhang?

Filled with anticipation, Chen Qing sped up.

The Primordial Measuring Ruler was found on Yingzhou Island.

The Primordial Measuring Ruler is a top-tier offensive acquired merit treasure in the primordial world. It is formed from the merit of creation and is known for its offensive power, second only to the innate treasure Pangu Banner. Its core characteristics include killing without incurring karmic consequences, suppressing fortune, and restraining defensive treasures.

The Primordial Measuring Ruler is one of only two acquired treasures of merit in the world.

It is much stronger than the Pure World White Lotus, which means that the White Lotus has the potential to advance; otherwise, there would be no comparison at all.

Finally, they found twelve Sea-Stabilizing Pearls on Fangzhang Island, each of which was a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure.

To be honest, compared to the Pure World White Lotus and the Primordial Measuring Ruler, the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl disappointed Chen Qing somewhat—not that they were bad, but his expectations were too high, so the gap between expectations and reality was naturally large.

But then I thought about it again and realized that the harvest was already incredible enough. To be greedy would be ungrateful, so I reluctantly accepted it.

According to Chen Qing's estimation, those twelve Sea-Stabilizing Pearls should be part of a set of magical treasures, along with the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls in the possession of Zhao Gongming in later generations.

When all thirty-six are combined, they form a top-grade innate spiritual treasure with boundless power.

For some reason, there is no legend about the twelve Sea-Stabilizing Pearls in his possession in later generations, as if they had never appeared in the primordial world.

However, Chen Qing was too lazy to investigate further at this point. Now that he had the item, he didn't care about its origin.

What he really wants to find now is the Qiankun Ruler.

The Qiankun Ruler contains the Qi of Qiankun, which can be used to open up the heavens within the Dinghai Divine Pearl.

He clearly remembered that in the later Investiture of the Gods, the Taoist Ran Deng snatched the twenty-four Sea-Stabilizing Pearls from Zhao Gongming and then used the Qiankun Ruler to transform them into the Twenty-Four Heavens.

During the battle, it was as if twenty-four small worlds were crushing everything in their path, with immense power. As a result, Burning Lamp became one of the top beings below the Saints.

Of course, Chen Qing didn't intend to emulate Randeng's creation of the heavens and then smash people.

What he was eyeing was the laws contained within them—if he could refine the Qi of Heaven and Earth within the Qiankun Ruler and the laws contained within the Dinghai Pearl, he might be able to create countless worlds within his own body.

Eighty-four hundred million microscopic clones—if each of these microscopic clones were to create a multiverse… just thinking about it is terrifying.

He currently possesses twelve Sea-Stabilizing Pearls, while the other twenty-four are likely still with Dao Ancestor Hongjun. He should have a chance to find them at the Treasure Distribution Cliff in the future.

Although one Sea-Stabilizing Pearl and the Universe Ruler might be enough, it's better to collect the whole set just to be on the safe side.

As for the Qiankun Ruler—it's unclear whether it's in Ran Deng's possession or on the Treasure Dividing Cliff. But there's no rush; Ran Deng will eventually join the Chan Sect, so we can figure out a solution then.

Having figured all this out, Chen Qing stopped worrying and began to wander around the island. Besides the innate spiritual treasures, there were also many ordinary innate spiritual roots, rare flowers and herbs on the island. Although they were quite precious, they were insignificant compared to the treasures he had already acquired, and he was too lazy to collect them one by one.

Days passed by like this. Chen Qing cultivated, comprehended the Dao, and nurtured spiritual herbs on the island. Occasionally, he would go to the lotus pond to check on the growth of the lotus flowers, living a carefree and leisurely life.

On this day, Chen Qing finished his cultivation and was about to take a stroll by the lotus pond when suddenly his heart skipped a beat—on a whim, he vaguely felt something calling to him.

This feeling is mysterious and profound; it is a sign that a person cultivating the Tao is in communion with heaven and earth, and that an opportunity is about to arrive.

Chen Qing dared not delay. He immediately left the island, shut down the island's protective formation, and transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the prehistoric land.

After these days of refinement, he has completely mastered the innate array surrounding the immortal island and even made some upgrades and improvements. Now, he can sense and rush back in time whenever someone attacks the array.

Moreover, given his current cultivation level and his status as a direct disciple of Laozi of Taiqing, as long as he reveals his name, it's likely that no one in the prehistoric world would dare to openly seize his immortal island.

As he drew closer to the primordial land, the feeling of calling within him grew stronger. Chen Qing quickened his pace, his figure transforming into a long rainbow, flying straight towards that direction.

Suddenly, the sound of fighting came from ahead.

Chen Qing looked closely and saw that the two sides were locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle. In the sky, a member of the Wu clan had transformed into a giant thousands of feet tall, his muscles bulging and veins popping. Every punch and kick he made carried a world-destroying power as he fiercely attacked a Taiyi Golden Immortal of the Demon Clan who was covered in demonic energy.

The demon race's Taiyi Golden Immortal was equally unyielding, wielding a large sword with ferocious skill, its blade flashing like snow, occasionally slashing down with a powerful blow, its blade energy stretching hundreds of feet, infuriating the witch race member.

Chen Qingyin remained hidden in the shadows, his brows slightly furrowed.

Has the Lich War already begun?