184: Lao Tzu was shocked when the Jade Pool Forbidden Zone was gifted to it.

"The three Venerables are within Kunlun Mountain!"

Faced with the inquiry, the Quasi-Saint nodded and then spoke, "However, Venerable Yuanshi and Venerable Tongtian are in seclusion; only Venerable Laozi is here!"

"Fellow Daoist, follow me. Kunlun Mountain is now covered in Restrictions. If no one leads the way, you might get lost or even lose your life!"

"Alright!"

With a word of agreement, Li Yun did not refuse.

He also felt that there were even more Restrictions, barriers, and Formations within Kunlun Mountain.

Although this wouldn't stump Li Yun, who possessed the Purple Gold Divine Pupils, having someone lead the way meant he wouldn't have to waste time.

Immediately, Li Yun followed the man and sped toward the interior of Kunlun Mountain.

Before long, the two arrived at the Taiqing Palace.

Upon arriving, the Quasi-Saint did not dare to enter and disturb anyone. Instead, he turned to Li Yun and said, "Fellow Daoist, Venerable Laozi is here. I shall head back now."

"Sorry for the trouble!"

Cupping his fists in a salute, Li Yun did not hesitate and rode a cloud toward the Taiqing Palace.

*Creak—*

As Li Yun landed, the gates of the Taiqing Palace quietly opened.

Immediately after, Laozi's voice came from within: "Haha, Fellow Daoist Li Yun, you've finally returned. Come in and talk!"

Hearing this, Li Yun remained calm on the surface, but waves of shock surged in his heart.

For no other reason!

Laozi had grown stronger again.

And the speed of this growth was very fast; it was highly likely he was approaching the Mid-stage Quasi-Saint level, or perhaps he had already entered the Mid-stage Quasi-Saint realm.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Laozi's aura to be so uncontainable.

Anyone else might suspect it was a show of strength, but Li Yun knew Laozi well and was aware that Laozi was not one to flaunt his power so openly.

Although his personality had indeed become sharper after starting to Cultivate by Attaining the Dao through Strength, that was only toward ordinary people; with those he was familiar with, Laozi tended to act more low-key.

Thinking of this, Li Yun immediately quickened his pace into the Taiqing Palace.

Upon entering, he saw Laozi sitting in the main seat, currently manipulating a teapot to pour tea.

Seeing Li Yun's arrival, Laozi finished his movements, set down the teapot, stood up, and said, "Fellow Daoist Li Yun, it's been many years. Has everything been smooth?"

At this point, Laozi sized up Li Yun, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion.

Although Li Yun's cultivation had improved, in Laozi's view, something was clearly wrong. Reaching the Late Stage Taiyi Golden Immortal in a few thousand years...

For anyone else, that might be a decent speed, but given Li Yun's previous cultivation speed, this was clearly a bit lackluster, even strange.

Subconsciously, Laozi asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you not yet begun the condensation of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown?"

"Yes!"

Nodding, Li Yun didn't hide anything. He looked at Laozi and said, "Fellow Daoist Laozi should remember what I said back then. These years I've been traveling abroad looking for items to strengthen the Three Flowers Crowned Dao Fruit."

"Although it took some time, fortunately, I've found what I needed. Returning to Kunlun Mountain now, I plan to enter seclusion to begin condensing the Three Flowers Crowned Dao Fruit."

Hearing this, Laozi showed a slight smile.

As long as nothing had gone wrong with him personally, it was fine. He knew of Li Yun's grand ambitions.

The difficulty of wanting to condense twelve-petaled Three Flowers was immense; he didn't think Li Yun could succeed.

However, since Li Yun had spent thousands of years searching for things, it meant he wouldn't act rashly.

Wanting to start condensing the Dao Fruit now meant he had some level of confidence, which made Laozi very curious.

Without hesitation, Laozi spoke directly: "Fellow Daoist, your previous residence was destroyed by that woman, Peony. We also used that as a pretext to reclaim West Kunlun Mountain."

"When the Queen Mother of the West left, she only took a small portion of things. Her former residence is still intact. After discussing it, we Three Brothers decided to give this place to you!"

"However, the Luck of Kunlun Mountain belongs to us Three Brothers. I hope you can understand."

Give the Queen Mother of the West's residence to me?

Raising an eyebrow, Li Yun never expected the Sanqing to make such a decision.

The Queen Mother of the West's former residence was not inferior to the Taiqing Palace, Yuqing Palace, or Shangqing Palace, and even the concentration of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was not lacking.

It could be said to be a top-tier blessed land in every sense. Even if the Sanqing didn't need it now, West Kunlun belonged to them; there was absolutely no need to give it to him.

But since they had done so, Li Yun had no intention of refusing. He cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Three Fellow Daoists. I will unreservedly accept this Dao arena."

"As for the Luck, Kunlun Mountain itself belongs to you Three Fellow Daoists. Allowing me to stay here is already the best outcome. How could I covet the Luck and do something so ungrateful?"

"Good!"

Getting Li Yun's affirmative answer, the smile on Laozi's face grew even wider.

Ultimately, this matter was carried out using Li Yun as a pretext. If not for Li Yun, how could they have reclaimed West Kunlun Mountain?

Because of this, the Sanqing owed Li Yun a favor, a massive one at that.

Never mind a mere residence of the Queen Mother of the West; even if Li Yun demanded ownership of West Kunlun Mountain, the Sanqing would have had to grit their teeth and accept it.

But now that Li Yun was so sensible—not only accepting just the residence but also not participating in the struggle for West Kunlun Mountain's Luck—it was definitely the best result for the Sanqing.

Thinking of this, Laozi immediately said, "Fellow Daoist, since you're ready, why not start right here?"

"I will act as your Protector to ensure your safety!"

"At the same time, I'm also very curious where your confidence comes from?"

Hearing this, Li Yun subconsciously frowned.

To be honest, he didn't want anyone to see him condensing the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

However, thinking that he was only condensing the flower buds and didn't need to absorb the complete creation green lotus, world-cleansing white lotus, and thick earth yellow lotus yet, Li Yun calmed down and nodded, "No problem!"

After speaking, Li Yun looked around and walked straight to an area, saying, "Then I'll trouble you to be my Protector."

Saying so, Li Yun sat cross-legged and with a thought, he directly took out a creation green lotus seed, a pure world white lotus seed, and a thick earth yellow lotus seed, holding them in his hand.

Then, he activated the Swallowing Heaven Technique to begin absorbing the power of the three lotus seeds, transferring it all into his Sea of Consciousness. His Primordial Spirit glowed brilliantly, and his essence, energy, and spirit flew out to rapidly absorb the energy of the seeds.

"This is—"

Laozi saw this entire scene.

At this moment, he stood up abruptly, staring fixedly at the three lotus seeds in Li Yun's hand whose energy was rapidly depleting, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

The pure world white lotus seed and thick earth yellow lotus seed were one thing; although they were seeds of top-grade innate spiritual roots, such things weren't non-existent, and Laozi didn't mind.

But that creation green lotus seed was different.

As a seed of one of the four Innate Lotuses, he knew all too well what it signified.

If he could obtain the seed, would Li Yun not have found the lotus flower?

The creation green lotus!

Formed from one of the four Innate Lotus seeds, its value was far beyond that of an ordinary Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, and even...