124: Lao Tzu's domineering ways and the calamity of spiritual roots

"Domineering!"

Glancing at Laozi, Li Yun had finally witnessed the dominance of the head of the Three Pure Ones, Taishang Laozi.

Despite Laozi's polite demeanor, Li Yun knew that his arrogance was etched into his very bones, far more powerful than Tongtian's persistence or Yuanshi's pride.

For all these years, the reason Laozi had hidden his edge was that he understood the importance of the phrase "low-key development."

Li Yun didn't know about the others.

But as for the Three Pure Ones, their consciousness hadn't awakened after the Great War between Dao and Demon; rather, it had already awakened during the Era of Vicious Beasts.

Especially Laozi, the eldest brother.

In later generations, forum posts speculated that Laozi's One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones was formed from the Taiqing Origin, Yuqing Origin, and Shangqing Origin, which allowed him to manifest those three incredibly powerful Clones and enable them to Cultivate to the Saint Realm.

But this raised a question.

The Taiqing Origin was fine, as it belonged to Laozi himself; mobilizing his own Origin was no big deal and caused no harm.

But what about the Yuqing Origin and the Shangqing Origin?

These were not things Laozi should have possessed. Even if Yuanshi and Tongtian respected their eldest brother, they wouldn't have just handed over their Origins.

Before Proving the Dao, handing over one's Origin would result in a massive loss of potential and cultivation speed.

After Proving the Dao, they were already Saints; how could they foolishly hand over the very foundation of their existence?

Therefore, the only possibility was that Laozi had plundered them himself.

And the fact that he could plunder the Origins of Yuanshi and Tongtian meant he had awakened very early, perhaps even stealing their Origin power while they were still in a state of total defenselessness.

What did this mean?

It meant that Laozi had developed consciousness long ago, sitting within Kunlun Mountain and watching the surging clouds of the Prehistoric World, the struggle for hegemony among the Vicious Beasts, the Conflict between the Three Tribes, and the Conflict between Dao and Demon.

Because of this, Laozi was well aware of the strength of the Cultivators in this era, knowing that besides those whose cultivation was similar to his on the surface, there were even more powerhouses hidden in the shadows.

Thus, Laozi had always suppressed his inner pride, not just for low-key development, but more so to strengthen himself quietly and await his rise.

But things were different now.

Laozi had already advanced to Quasi-Saint and was following the path of Attaining the Dao through Strength inherited from Pangu's Legacy.

This made Laozi practically invincible within the same Realm, so much so that even other Quasi-Saint powerhouses wouldn't dare to strike against him rashly.

Coupled with the fact that the Three Pure Ones were protected by Pangu, who would be foolish enough to fight them? This resulted in the Laozi of this moment being his true self: sharp, high-spirited, and even walking the path of dominance.

"I am willing to submit..."

Unsurprisingly, the Innate Banyan Tree chose to submit without any resistance.

What a joke.

Laozi's strength was not something it could compare to.

If it offended Laozi, the consequences would be absolutely unimaginable.

Most importantly, the gap between them was too vast. As a mere High Grade innate spiritual root, it might have been able to compare slightly when its cultivation was the same as the Three Pure Ones, but now, it didn't even dare to have such thoughts.

Therefore, the best choice now was to submit. After all, this would allow it to continue staying on Kunlun Mountain and even gain the protection of Laozi—no, the protection of all the Three Pure Ones.

"Very good!"

Nodding in satisfaction, Laozi looked the Innate Banyan Tree up and down before speaking, "Shapeshift!"

"This is your last chance!"

"When the time comes, I will arrange for you to follow Fellow Daoist Li Yun to the Wu Tribe to seek the Method of Proving the Dao taught by Di Yi, giving you the chance and possibility to advance to Quasi-Saint!"

"Conversely, your Main Bodies existing within Kunlun Mountain have stolen at least seventy percent of my Kunlun Mountain's Innate Spiritual Qi. This is something I cannot tolerate."

"Yes!"

Responding in agreement, the Innate Banyan Tree did not dare to refuse.

Laozi wasn't negotiating with it; he was formally deciding its future and fate.

Disregarding everything else, the Innate Banyan Tree immediately began to control its massive body to start Shapeshifting.

As an innate spiritual root, they all possessed the ability to Shapeshift. The only difficulty was that the higher the grade of the Main Body, the greater the difficulty of Shapeshifting.

For example, with the previous Five-Needle Pine and Wind and Thunder Immortal Apricot, if they hadn't abandoned their Main Bodies and only used a portion of them to Shapeshift, they wouldn't have faced a Shapeshifting Tribulation Lightning, but Heavenly Punishment!

The power of that Heavenly Punishment would be enough to destroy them. Even if they luckily survived to complete the Shapeshifting, they would still suffer massive losses.

"Fellow Daoist Laozi!"

Seeing this, Li Yun stepped forward and asked, "Aren't you going to ask if it has original fruits?"

"Since the Five-Needle Pine and the immortal apricot both have them, I don't believe it wouldn't!"

"Besides that, what did you mean just now when you said these innate spiritual roots stole the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi of Kunlun Mountain?"

Li Yun was quite curious about this.

He had fully seen Laozi's teeth-gritting expression just now, and because of that, he felt there was something more to it.

"No rush. It will offer them up on its own when the time comes."

Waving his hand, Laozi glanced indifferently at the Innate Banyan Tree nearby.

A mere High Grade innate spiritual root—he truly didn't believe it would dare to hide anything or defy him.

Then, Laozi began to explain, "What do you think innate spiritual roots are, Fellow Daoist?"

"They are things nurtured by Heaven and Earth. The speed and amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi their Main Bodies absorb are several times, even dozens of times, that of an ordinary Cultivator. Otherwise, how could they have reached their current level?"

"It's just that we Three Brothers shapeshifted too late. By the time we wanted to stop or change it, it was already impossible. This resulted in seventy percent of Kunlun Mountain's Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi being stolen by them, while we Three Brothers were forced to live in the area of the Three Pure Ones Palace."

"On this outing, besides fulfilling my promise to you, what I need to do is resolve these hidden dangers. If they are willing to submit and join the Three Pure Ones' faction, then so be it. But if they dare to resist, then there's no need for them to exist. An innate spiritual root makes for quite good Materials!"

"My second brother's Artifact Refining is unrivaled under heaven. If there are any fools who don't know what's good for them, I don't mind refining them into an Innate Spirit Treasure to aid us Three Brothers!"

So that's how it is!

Hearing this, Li Yun suddenly understood.

No wonder Laozi's attitude toward these guys was so poor.

No wonder he hadn't even thought about bargaining before, even when facing the Five-Needle Pine and the Wind and Thunder Immortal Apricot.

It was only because the foundation of the Five-Needle Pine and the Wind and Thunder Immortal Apricot were strong enough and had a certain level of potential. Otherwise, Laozi's attitude would likely have been similar to this, and he might have even killed and refined them into a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure to increase their combat power without hesitation.