44: bitter bamboo

Tens of thousands of years later.

Two figures, one green and one red, flew swiftly across the Primordial Land and entered the Western territory.

The red figure was faster, often flying to various places to stop and look around.

This was their first time coming to the West, so it was inevitable they were curious; Qing Wu didn't bother to interfere.

Unlike the elegant mountains and rivers of the East, a desolate and mysterious aura permeated the space between heaven and earth here.

Yuan Feng transformed into a streak of crimson light, weaving, diving, and circling among the grayish-brown mountains like a dancing flame, adding a touch of brightness.

Yuan Feng grew increasingly interested, carefully investigating every anomaly she discovered.

To her, these strange sights never seen in the East were more fascinating than some ordinary Innate Spirit Treasures.

"This Western Land is quite interesting; there are many things here that the East doesn't have."

Seeing the Western Land so enchanting, Qing Wu couldn't help but feel some regret in his heart.

"What a fine place, yet it will be ruined by that wretched Rahu and turned into a barren land."

Thinking of this, Qing Wu used the Opportunity to flick out some Wutong leaves, letting them fly with the wind and fall randomly onto the Western Land.

A trace of his Dao Rhyme was hidden within these leaves, which could temporarily be considered anchors.

He admitted his current strength was insufficient; even if he had plans to arrange things in advance to save the Western Land from collapse, it would likely be a futile effort.

After all, the destruction of the Western Ancestral Court triggered by Rahu was a level of damage that even many Chaos Gods and Demons could not withstand.

With his current cultivation at the Daluo Realm, wanting to set up some preparatory move to protect the Western Earth Veins from harm under such damage was simply a pipe dream.

Therefore, he could only increase his strength as much as possible and see if he could use these anchors to recover some of the Western Earth Veins when the time came.

After arranging these, Yuan Feng suddenly sent him a voice transmission: "Qing Wu, there's one of your kind here, and it seems no worse than you."

Hearing this, Wutong was first stunned.

Then he realized she must have discovered a Spiritual Root.

And from her tone, the grade of this Spiritual Root wasn't bad, even comparable to himself.

Wouldn't that be another Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Root!

With the idea of giving the Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Root a home, Qing Wu naturally wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with it to see if he could invite it back.

However, what surprised him was that the first to sense such an Opportunity was actually Yuan Feng, not him, a fellow species.

Then this Spiritual Root was a bit lacking in manners.

At this moment, Yuan Feng was standing in the Void Realm, pointing from afar at a hidden spot ahead.

Within a Formation, a Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Root was actually hidden.

It was a spiritual bamboo that was green and black all over.

Qing Wu recognized it at a glance; this was the bitter bamboo, one of the ten Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Roots.

Its body was like forged dark iron, with dark golden natural Dao patterns on every segment, and the edges of the bamboo leaves were as sharp as blades, wounding the Primordial Spirit upon contact.

Six-colored precious light hovered at the tip of the bamboo, corresponding to the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind; those who approached would gradually lose their six senses.

This object was rooted by a Western Spiritual Spring, its roots absorbing traces of Evil Qi from the Beast Calamity; there were no birds, beasts, or insects around, only the sorrowful sound of the wind passing through the bamboo forest.

Originally a Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Root, it was later refined by Daoist Jieyin into the Spirit Treasure Six Clean Roots Bamboo, which could brush away a person's six senses.

Although its Divine Ability was carried forward, it was ultimately a bit of a waste; this was one of the ten Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Roots, and for it to only become a Magic Treasure was unjustifiable no matter how one looked at it.

But it might also be because the bitter bamboo was affected by Rahu detonating the Earth Veins during the subsequent Struggle between Dao and Demon, resulting in a loss of its Origin and an inability to survive, which forced Jieyin to refine it into a Magic Treasure.

Otherwise, for the barren Western Land at that time, a Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Root would have been far more valuable than an Innate Spirit Treasure.

Qing Wu closed off his mind and approached the protective Formation.

Sensing Qing Wu's approach, the bitter bamboo immediately brushed out six-colored precious light, attacking along with a bitter Dao sound.

Qing Wu kept his mind tightly closed, and the Azure Lotus Treasure Flag radiated brilliant light, sweeping away the various Dao sounds and precious light.

Qing Wu was able to approach smoothly.

Seeing this, Yuan Feng let out a light exclamation from behind, "Qing Wu, you're actually unaffected?"

Previously, Yuan Feng felt a pull of Qi and thought a treasure was being born, so she rushed over immediately.

Unexpectedly, the bitter bamboo gave her a brush right in the face; caught off guard, her mind almost became unstable.

This time, she didn't tell him about the effect of the bitter bamboo in advance because she wanted to see how he would fare before it.

But she didn't expect Qing Wu to be completely unaffected.

Qing Wu shook his head, feeling a bit speechless in his heart.

He trusted Yuan Feng completely, but he didn't expect her to try and prank him.

If he hadn't known the effects of this bitter bamboo in advance, he might have truly lost his composure in front of her, and who knows what he would have done then.

Approaching the Formation, Qing Wu directly used the Qingmu Sound to begin communicating with the bitter bamboo.

As a fellow Supreme-Grade Acquired Spiritual Root, Qing Wu was able to take human form, and the bitter bamboo was also very curious about him, opening the Formation's Restrictions to let Qing Wu enter smoothly.

"Ku————"

As the Dao sound entered his ears, Qing Wu suddenly felt his mind enveloped by infinite sorrow.

It seemed the bitter bamboo was recounting its sorrow at being unable to take human form and being trapped in this tiny space.

This intense emotion almost made Qing Wu lose control of his mind and shed tears.

Qing Wu discovered that besides being able to block the six senses, this bitter bamboo could also amplify certain emotions.

At this moment, it was using its own sorrow to evoke a strong resonance in Qing Wu.

Qing Wu steadied his mind, his fingertips glowing with a faint green light as he responded with the Qingmu Sound: "As a fellow Spiritual Root, I know your suffering..."

The bamboo body trembled slightly, dark golden Dao patterns flowed, and the six-colored precious light flickered.

The bitter bamboo's Dao sound became increasingly mournful, and it started talking incessantly; Qing Wu couldn't help but tap on its bamboo body.

"Stop for a moment! Listen to me."

Then, Qing Wu manifested his Dao Fruit and his true Qing Wu form, beginning an in-depth conversation with it.

The bitter bamboo stopped swaying and no longer brushed out six-colored precious light, just listening to the vision Qing Wu painted for it.

Hearing that there was hope for its transformation, the bitter bamboo suddenly burst with piercing green light, and the surrounding Formation shattered with a bang.

Qing Wu knew this was the bitter bamboo's reaction, indicating its willingness to go with him.

Then he sacrificed the wood spirit pearl, revealing the space within, and took the bitter bamboo inside.

Before this, the bitter bamboo shook its body, and a natal bamboo segment fell before Qing Wu.

Qing Wu picked it up; it shimmered slightly with six-colored light, and it should be the Six Clean Roots Bamboo that Jieyin obtained.

"Wutong..."

At this moment, a red figure landed; before Yuan Feng could speak, Wutong raised the bamboo segment and gave her a light tap on the forehead.

Caught completely off guard, Yuan Feng was hit directly; her feet slipped, and she fell straight down.

Qing Wu reached out to take her into his arms, but at this time, Yuan Feng's six senses were sealed, and under subconscious drive, she began to burrow into Qing Wu's embrace...