Primordial Era: The Three Senior Brothers of the Taiqing Clan

When the master and disciple saw the green bamboo, a name immediately came to mind—Bitter Bamboo, one of the ten innate spiritual roots.

The "Six Roots Purification Bamboo" that the Western Sage would later possess was made from this bitter bamboo. That treasure could seal a person's six senses and had endless uses, making it an excellent innate spiritual treasure. It's just a mystery how this thing ended up here today.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Qing understood the reason.

The West is a barren land, and spiritual objects are scarce. Jieyin and Zhunti often traveled to the East, searching for opportunities everywhere. Whether it was spiritual treasures or talented individuals, they never let go of anything they set their sights on. This bitter bamboo must have been something they found during their travels in the East.

Laozi nodded slightly, examined the bitter bamboo for a moment, then turned to Chen Qing and said, "Although this thing is one of the ten innate spiritual roots, it's not of much use to me. Since you usually enjoy refining artifacts, you can keep it. If you refine it into a spiritual treasure in the future, its power should not be bad."

Chen Qing responded and stepped forward, about to use magic to collect it.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from afar—

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

Chen Qing's face darkened. This primordial world, for some reason, always made him feel as if he had arrived in the era of the Investiture of the Gods. Was Shen Gongbao's phrase, "Fellow Daoist, please wait," originally from this place?

He ignored the voices behind him, used his magic to uproot the bitter bamboo and put it into his sleeve, then slowly turned around.

Two figures flew swiftly from afar, arriving in front of him in the blink of an eye. Chen Qing raised an eyebrow; they were two old acquaintances.

These are the very ones who would later establish eight hundred separate sects and make forty-eight great vows to borrow merit from the Heavenly Dao, namely Jieyin and Zhunti.

These two were originally traveling through this place when they were drawn here by a fortuitous encounter. They had very few spiritual treasures on them, and now that they sensed the treasures here, they were extremely excited, fearing that they had arrived too late.

Unexpectedly, it was too late; he watched helplessly as his spiritual root was taken away by someone else.

Upon recognizing the two individuals who had taken the spiritual treasure, Jieyin and Zhunti's expressions immediately darkened.

If they were ordinary cultivators, they would undoubtedly resort to robbery; such things were not uncommon for them. But the two before them were none other than Taiqing Laozi, the head of the Three Pure Ones, and his disciple, Chen Qing Daoren.

In the primordial world, who didn't know that this master and disciple both possessed supreme treasures? Laozi had the Taiji Diagram and the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda, while Chen Qing had the Qiankun Cauldron. Moreover, both of them were powerful figures who had heard the Dao in the Zixiao Palace, and were definitely not to be trifled with.

Although Jieyin and Zhunti were also disciples of Hongjun Daozu, they were only nominal disciples and were not favored by Daozu. They also did not possess any decent spiritual treasures. Compared to the luxurious master and disciple pair in front of them, they were worlds apart.

The two exchanged a glance, their gazes simultaneously falling on Chen Qing.

Zhunti spoke first, his tone still quite polite: "Fellow Daoist, this bitter bamboo is connected to my fellow disciples by fate. We hope you will part with it and return it to us."

In their minds, since Lao Tzu was alone here, the two of them, as fellow disciples, might not be without a chance of victory.

Laozi is indeed powerful, but it shouldn't be difficult for one person to restrain him for a while. As for Chen Qing, although he possesses a supreme treasure, he is ultimately just a junior. What is there to fear?

Chen Qing's lips curled up slightly, revealing a cold smile. He glanced at his father beside him, whose face was darkening, and immediately understood what was going on.

"Destined to be with you?" Chen Qing said calmly. "Then how did it end up in my hands? Since I've taken it, it means it's not destined to be with you, but destined to be with me. You two should stop using that rhetoric on me."

Zhunti's face darkened, and he angrily said, "Chen Qing Daoist, speaking of which, your master and I are of the same generation. You should call me 'Uncle-Master.' Is this how your master taught you?"

Chen Qing smiled disdainfully: "Uncle-Master? My master and the two uncle-masters are the direct disciples of the Dao Ancestor. The two of you are merely nominal disciples."

Even if someone calls someone "uncle-master," what kind of logic is it for an uncle-master to snatch a nephew's magic weapon?

If you two truly accept this marriage arrangement, then now that I've addressed you as "Uncle-Master," shouldn't you give me a gift as a token of our meeting?"

He paused, then continued with a half-smile, "The gifts my two senior uncles gave me were both top-grade innate spiritual treasures. I wonder what they're going to give me in return?"

Upon hearing this, Laozi couldn't help but smile slightly. He had never liked the two people in front of him, but now that Chen Qingling had spoken so eloquently that she had left them speechless, he felt quite gratified.

Jieyin's face grew even more bitter, and he remained silent.

Zhunti's face darkened, and he immediately dared not mention the words "Uncle-Master" again. Otherwise, he would not only fail to get the item but also have to pay two top-grade innate spiritual treasures.

How could those fellow disciples have such wealth? The precious treasures they each possessed were bestowed upon them by the Dao Ancestor; how could they bear to give them away?

Seeing that he couldn't win the argument with Chen Qing, Zhunti turned to Laozi, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Senior Brother Taiqing, what do you think?"

In his mind, Chen Qing was unaware of the methods of his fellow disciples, and Laozi, as the head of the Three Pure Ones, should be able to see the situation clearly.

Laozi glanced at Zhunti and was about to speak.

Unexpectedly, Chen Qing stepped forward and said loudly, "Daoist Zhunti, since you want this bitter bamboo, it's not impossible."

In this primordial land, strength reigns supreme. If you can defeat me, this spiritual root is yours.

If you can't beat me, you'll have to give me a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure as compensation.

Chen Qing didn't not want higher-grade spiritual treasures, but he knew that his fellow disciples were very poor. Let alone a high-grade one, they might not even be able to afford a mid-grade one.

If you ask for a top-grade item, whether they'll agree is another matter, but they probably don't even have one. Asking for a mid-grade item should be fine.

As for whether he could defeat Zhunti, Chen Qing wasn't too concerned. Even if he couldn't, he could use this opportunity to test his abilities.

In the previous battle with Donghuang Taiyi, the two of them were each covered by a tortoise shell. The Chaos Bell suppressed them everywhere, and other spiritual treasures were useless. Magic spells and supernatural powers were also ineffective. How could they test each other's true strength?

Zhunti and Jieyin are different. They don't have any supreme treasures, so they probably can't break through the defenses of the Qiankun Cauldron.

Moreover, neither of them had yet become saints; although they were quasi-saints, the gap between them and Chen Qing wasn't that significant. With his own resources, he might not be unable to put up a fight.

For him, a mere bitter bamboo stalk was never something he absolutely needed.

Upon hearing this, the three people present were stunned for a moment, each reacting in their own way. Laozi nodded slightly, not stopping him; with him watching over them, he figured nothing would go wrong.

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance, a hint of joy flashing in their eyes. They hadn't expected Chen Qing Daoist to be so arrogant. They were confident of victory; why would they refuse?

Zhunti immediately agreed.

Laozi and Jieyin each stepped aside, leaving the open space in the arena to Zhunti and Chen Qing.