Chapter Eleven: Visiting Zhenyuan Together

  The two men were apparently in no hurry to visit Zhen Yuansi, so they walked leisurely towards Zhen Yuansi's Wuzhuangguan.

  Before long, the two appeared outside Wanshou Mountain. Although this mountain is not as good as Kunlun Mountain, it is also a treasure land of immortals. Among the high mountains and steep ridges, colorful clouds surged, obviously these colorful clouds were transformed from the thick heavenly and earthly yuanqi. In the mountains, there were dragon roars and tiger howls, crane dances and ape wails, auspicious beasts flying in the mountains, it is indeed a place with great aura.

  "This Mount Wanshou is indeed a famous mountain of immortals, and it's not inferior to Kunlun!" Yun Zhongzi said with sincerity.

  Hong Yun said, "Haha, yes, my good friend Zhen Yuanzi is indeed lucky to have obtained this mountain."

  Two people arrived at the Wuzhuang Temple, only to see two Taoist boys standing at the gate. They were Qingfeng and Mingyue. As soon as they saw that it was Hongyun visiting, although they didn't know who the other Taoist was, they didn't dare to be slow and immediately paid their respects to Hongyun, planning to go in and report.

  However, just at this moment, a loud laughter came out, "Hongyun, since we parted last time, you haven't come to my Wuzhuangguan for thousands of years. I thought you had forgotten about your old friend."

  As soon as he heard this, Yun Zhongzi knew that the person was Zhen Yuanzi. He saw that he was wearing a purple gold crown on his head, a crane cloak on his body, and grass shoes on his feet. He looked like a child's face, stroking his beard with a big smile, walking out of Wuzhuangguan. Then he looked at Yun Zhongzi again, "It turns out that it is fellow Taoist Yun Zhongzi, Fellow Taoist has made great progress in his Taoism for thousands of years."

  Yun Zhongzi chuckled and said, "Oh no, oh no, how can this little bit of Taoism compare to the great Daosage Zhenyuan?"

  Hongyun jokingly said to Zhenyuanzi, "What? Aren't you going to invite us in for a sit?"

  Zhenyuanzi said, "It's actually my fault, please come in quickly, both of you."

  Three people entered the Wuzhuang Temple and came to a courtyard, where Zhenyuanzi ordered Qingfeng Mingyue to pick some fruit. Before long, Qingfeng Mingyue arrived with three jade plates in hand, each containing two ginseng fruits that resembled infants, emitting a blue glow as if they had spiritual energy.

  Zhenyuanzi said, "There's nothing particularly remarkable in these five gardens and halls, but I do have some ginseng fruit that I can offer to the two of you as a gesture of hospitality."

  Yun Zhongzi smiled politely, then picked up a ginseng fruit and swallowed it. The ginseng fruit dissolved instantly upon entering his mouth, and at the same time, a pure stream of Wood Element Qi surged into Yun Zhongzi's body.

  Yun Zhongzi was shocked and immediately sat cross-legged, guiding this vital energy into the dantian, and then began to quietly refine it.

  After a whole day's effort, Yun Zhongzi finally refined the yuanqi of this ginseng fruit. Just this one ginseng fruit actually allowed his cultivation to make some progress again, which secretly shocked Yun Zhongzi. Now, Yun Zhongzi's cultivation was at the Mahayana Golden Immortal level; he hadn't expected that this ginseng fruit would have such an effect even on a Mahayana Golden Immortal.

  Opening his eyes, he found that the jade plates in front of Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun were empty, and he also understood that the cultivation of these two people was much stronger than his own. At almost the same time, Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun also woke up one after another.

  "How is it? Are you satisfied with the ginseng fruit of the poor Daoist?" Zhenyuanzi asked Yunzhongzi.

  Yun Zhongzi burst out laughing and said, "My friend is joking, it's not just a matter of being satisfied with two words. The legend says that the ginseng fruit is a pre-heavenly spiritual root born from the hands of Zhenyuan Daxian, which blooms once every 3,000 years, bears fruit once every 3,000 years, and only ripens after another 3,000 years. In short, it takes 10,000 years to be edible. It's said that in these 10,000 years, only 30 fruits are produced, each resembling a three-year-old child with four limbs and five senses intact. If someone has the fortune to smell one of these fruits, they'll live for 360 years; if they eat one, they'll live for 47,000 years. As for the great name of ginseng fruit, I've heard it like thunder in my ears. Now that I'm lucky enough to have eaten this fruit, it's truly a blessing from three lifetimes. I haven't even thanked Zhenyuan Daxian yet - this ginseng fruit is indeed a wonder of the world."

  Yun Zhongzi's words were quite enjoyable for Zhen Yuansu. As the first disciple of Sanqing, Laozi was also a master of alchemy, and his alchemical techniques were renowned throughout the vast wilderness. It can be imagined how precious and extraordinary Laozi's heavenly treasures and earthly jewels were. Now that he could get such high praise from Sanqing's first disciple, Zhen Yuansu was secretly pleased with himself.

  However, he humbly said, "Fellow Taoist has overpraised me. You'd better put away this Ginseng Fruit of Immortality, for if it's left suspended in the air for too long, its vital energy will dissipate."

  Yun Zhongzi thanked him and didn't pretend to be polite, directly putting the remaining ginseng fruit into the green calabaza at his waist.

  "Zhenyuan Da Xian, I have an impolite request to make, I don't know if I should mention it or not." Yun Zhong Zi said this after putting away the Ginseng Fruit.

  Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yunju were taken aback, saying, "What's wrong with that? Just speak freely!"

  Yun Zhongzi said, "I have long heard of the ginseng fruit tree and wish to take a look. I also hope it will come true."

  Zhenyuanzi burst out laughing and said, "I thought there was something big going on, but it's just this matter. What's the big deal? Fellow Daoist, come with me."

  Hongyun let out a sigh of relief, Yun Zhongzi was someone he had brought to the Five Elements Hall himself. If Yun Zhongzi were to reveal something that would put Zhenyuanzi in an awkward position, Hongyun wouldn't be able to explain it to Zhenyuanzi either.

  Yun Zhongzi also smiled wryly, still not fully integrating into the world of Honghuang. Nowadays, people in Honghuang are not good at plotting, and thinking about Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun, their reputation is so good, but they are not cunning or stingy. Just looking at the Ginseng fruit tree, this matter is nothing to Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun, but rather he underestimated these two great masters. He secretly scolded himself: Shameful!

  At the same time, Yun Zhongzi also secretly sighed that he had come to the later generations. After more than 10,000 years, he still hadn't fully integrated into the world of Honghuang. He was still dealing with people according to the ways of the past, which didn't seem quite suitable. It seemed that he needed to change his concept of treating others in the future.

  Three people walked into the backyard of Wuzhuang Temple, and saw a giant tree standing upright in the backyard. Standing under the tree, looking up, it seemed that this ginseng fruit tree went straight to the sky. The whole tree was shining with a radiant glow, and the leaves were flowing with colorful light, as if wearing a cloak of clouds. Its majestic appearance was extraordinary. No wonder Zhenyuanzi held the Earth's placenta and cooperated with the ginseng fruit tree. In terms of defense, it was only inferior to a few top-grade defensive treasures. If Zhenyuanzi's cultivation reached a certain level, he could use the Earth's book to mobilize the entire Honghuang continent. Even if Yuanshi had become a saint, he might not be able to break through this defense.

  "With this peach fruit and that earth book in hand, fellow daoists will not fear anyone on this vast and desolate land." Yun Zhongzi said sincerely.

  Zhenyuanzi nodded, "Fellow Daoist, your words are not quite right. The vast expanse of the Grand Primordium is boundless, and there are countless powerful beings. My own cultivation is still shallow, and although I have a place in this grand primordial world, I dare not be arrogant or claim to fear no one. All I can say is that I barely manage to protect myself."

  These words shocked Yun Zhongzi, last time in the Purple Palace, he heard that apart from a few super quasi-saints, most of the others were just big Luo Jinxian cultivators. The legendary quasi-saints were also among them, but he had forgotten about those legendary quasi-saints who existed and were famous in the vast expanse of Honghuang. However, the Honghuang world was so vast that many quasi-saints remained unknown or hidden. Now thinking back, he realized he had underestimated this Honghuang world. From now on, when traveling through Honghuang, he must be twelve times more careful.

  Yun Zhongzi bowed deeply to Zhen Yuanshi and said, "Your words are indeed wise, I am enlightened."

  Zhenyuanzi waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoist, you're being too serious."

  After seeing the ginseng fruit tree, the three returned to the courtyard together, pushing cups and changing plates. Later, Yun Zhongzi was about to leave, but Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun two people repeatedly persuaded him to stay, so Yun Zhongzi had no choice but to stay behind. The three of them explored and verified the Great Way together.

  Three people drank and talked all day as if they were old friends, and before they knew it, ten years had passed. Cloud Son bid farewell to the two of them, calculating that the war against the witch was not far away, so he had to hurry up and travel to the Unexplored Mountains to gather various precious medicinal herbs and spiritual fruits, and hopefully obtain a few magical treasures.

  Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun no longer detained him, sending Yunzhongzi down to Wanshoushan before returning.

  Yun Zhongzi bid farewell, and said to Hong Yun, "Hong Yun fellow Taoist, the Hongmeng Purple Qi is the key to becoming a saint. In my humble opinion, you should close your doors and cultivate more, and soon attain the Mixed Yuan, become a saint. Otherwise, be careful of those with ulterior motives who will pry into your Hongmeng Purple Qi."

  What made Yun Zhongzi disappointed was that this red cloud actually didn't think much of it and said, "Everything depends on fate, don't force it."

  Yun Zhongzi indeed did not insist, and went down the mountain.

  After leaving Wanshou Mountain, Yun Zhongzi returned to the place where he met Hongyun and found those few demon beasts again. He still let them collect spiritual medicine for himself, while he went on a carefree journey to Buzhoushan. Along the way, only when he encountered particularly precious and rare medicinal materials would he put them in his gourd; as for other medicinal materials, Yun Zhongzi didn't even give them a glance.

  On this day, Yun Zhongzi had just traveled to the foot of a giant tree. As he looked at the tree, his eyes revealed a puzzled expression, because the tree was not only enormous but also terrifying in diameter. When Yun Zhongzi probed with his divine sense, he took a fright and found that it was about one mile around, which was just one tree occupying such a large area. This was something unthinkable in later generations, yet now it was truly appearing before his eyes. Of course, at this point, Yun Zhongzi had already mentally prepared himself for these strange occurrences, so he only took fright for a moment.

  As for why it's puzzling, it's because this tree is so gigantic, with lush branches and leaves, but the trunk has some yellowish dryness to it. The surroundings of this tree are filled with a thick, primordial energy, and the entire tree gives off an aura reminiscent of an old man in his twilight years. Logically speaking, in the midst of the vast wilderness, this tree shouldn't be like this at all.

  After some thought, his divine sense swept towards the trunk of the tree, but there was no discovery. Then he swept towards the roots of the tree. Suddenly, Yun Zhongzi's eyes burst into two golden lights, staring straight at the roots of the tree. His eyes had a complex expression with doubt, surprise, fear and more.

  Yun Zhongzi took a deep breath, and his true form appeared - a white cloud. The white cloud compressed under the tree, compressing again and again, until it was compressed into a thin thread, thinner than a strand of hair, three feet long. This thread was Yun Zhongzi's true form transformed.

  Yun Zhongzi crawled into a small crack on the trunk, after crawling in, Yun Zhongzi couldn't feel any light, he could only release his divine sense, relying on his divine sense to slowly crawl towards the place he had just discovered.