Chapter 9: Unexpected Joy

  The morning sunlight pours across the land, the air is exceptionally fresh, the continuous primitive forest, under the blowing of the wind, sets off a green ocean wave, the early-rising birds cheerfully chirp, from time to time alertly looking around.

  On the ancient and winding mountain waist, a few people were anxiously walking forward, it was Zhang Peng and his party, everyone's face looked very bad, from time to time they would take a glance at Zhao Wuji on Gengzi's back.

  Zhao Wuji's mighty and invincible tiger roar was deeply imprinted in everyone's mind. Everyone knew that Zhao Wuji had once again saved their lives, and they were filled with gratitude and reverence. However, all of them still treated Zhao Wuji as their own brother, a good brother for life, rather than a lofty god.

  The dejected team did not affect the speed of their march, Zhao Wuji said to hurry up and leave, moving forward, everyone thoroughly implemented this principle, when hungry, they would casually eat some fruit or something, at night, it didn't matter, everyone carried night vision goggles with them, a whole night's continuous rush, no one knew where they were going, but no one had the intention of stopping, Zhao Wuji's last words were to let everyone go, so they went, maybe there was another meaning behind this, stopping would be unforgivable to Zhao Wuji.

  No one noticed that Zhao Wuji's pale face on Gengzi's back had a hint of redness, and the two tiger roars had exhausted all his internal energy and physical strength. The whole person was like being hollowed out, although he knew everyone was walking forward, but didn't have the energy to let everyone stop and rest for a while.

  The constant running had made Zhao Wuji's chest feel uncomfortable, and he had almost fainted. After finally waking up from his daze, he passed out again, and didn't know how much time had passed. He felt a familiar True Qi flowing within him, and couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly began to meditate and circulate the True Qi according to the secret method's trajectory.

  After an unknown period of time, Zhao Wujie felt that the true energy in his body was increasing, somewhat chaotic. He quickly clenched his teeth, enduring the intense pain, and firmly held onto his consciousness. Silently operating his internal energy technique, he tightly controlled it, and his bodily autonomy returned. The vital energy and spiritual energy of nature around him wildly entered his body, transforming into true energy.

  Zhao Wuji suddenly came to his senses, this should be the opportunity for great destruction and great establishment, he couldn't help but feel great joy, skillfully operating his internal energy, his body quickly fully recovered, his inner true energy greatly increased, with hints of a breakthrough, it was truly a blessing in disguise.

  Zhao Wujie, who was walking normally, suddenly felt a heat on his back. At first, he didn't think much of it, but later realized something was wrong and quickly stopped to tell everyone. They suspected that Zhao Wujie had a fever, so they laid him down flat on the ground. After feeling his forehead, however, they found that he wasn't hot at all?

  No one could see anything unusual, and they all turned their eyes to Zhang Peng. Zhang Peng couldn't see anything either, shaking his head with a face full of anxiety and guilt.

  The order to rest on the spot was issued, some people fetched water, some hunted, and some set up an umbrella, of course, to shade Zhao Wuji. After a while, the hunters returned, the water fetchers also returned, and the fire was lit.

  After a while, everyone saw that Zhao Wuji was still not awake. One by one, they were in low spirits and busy with their own affairs. The water had boiled, the food was cooked, but the person was still not awake.

  Everyone was unaware that Zhao Wuji had reached a critical moment at this time. Fortunately, Gangzi discovered the situation in time and put down Zhao Wuji, lying flat on his back. In this way, the true energy inside his body would not be disturbed, and he would not suffer from qi deviation leading to madness.

  Gradually, Zhao Wuji felt the true energy inside his body was like a furnace, tempering his body and expanding his meridians without stopping. Zhao Wuji tried to control the true energy in his body, but it brought him immense pain, as if his heart was being cut by a knife, and his body seemed to be about to split open.

  Zhao Wujie, who was desperately clinging to the Qingming Lingtai, gritted his teeth and refused to pass out. Seeing that this true energy could not be controlled, he thought of a terrible consequence and was shocked. His heart was filled with bitterness, and he couldn't believe that before leaving this vast mountain range, he would forever return to it. Alas.

  After struggling several times without any effect, what he got was endless pain. Zhao Wuji also came to a realization and let go of his attachments. Perhaps this is fate. With his open-minded nature, Zhao Wuji simply released his spirit, going with the flow, letting the true energy circulate on its own, silently reciting the "Classic of Nature" in his mind, leaving life and death to heaven.

  The ultimate truth is profound and obscure, the ultimate extreme is dim and silent. Without seeing or hearing, embrace the spirit with quietness. The shape will naturally be correct, it must be calm and clear; without laboring to adorn the shape, without agitating to adorn the essence, only then can one achieve longevity. When the eyes see nothing, the ears hear nothing, and the mind knows nothing, in this way, the spirit and shape are united as one, only then can one achieve longevity.

  Gradually, Zhao Wuji felt himself becoming one with his surroundings, and the true energy within his body slowly calmed down. The gentle little infant flowed through the meridians in his body, repairing the damaged meridians and body.

  After a while, Zhao Wuji felt refreshed all over, every cell seemed to be singing, and he couldn't express the joy that he knew he had fully recovered. His internal skills had made great progress, and he was only one step away from breaking through the third layer, which was now just a matter of time. He couldn't help but feel great joy, slowly opening his eyes to see four familiar people eating with gloomy expressions.

  Some memories came back, Zhao Wuji laughed and got up, saying: "You said it's brotherly love, but you didn't even call me when there was food to eat. That's not very righteous."

  "Brother Wuji?" Everyone was overjoyed, and they all crowded around, moving at an unbelievable speed, sizing up Zhao Wuji from head to toe. One person touched here, another touched there, their faces filled with smiles.

  "Don't touch, don't touch," Zhao Wuji was itchy from being teased by everyone, he really wanted to laugh and dodged left and right.

  Everyone burst out laughing happily, their laughter was so sincere, so hearty, and so comforting.

  "Brother, I've got some for you," Gangzi said with a smile as he handed over a large helmet full of food.

  Zhao Wuji also felt hungry, so he ate first and then talked. Everyone saw Zhao Wuji eating happily and followed with a silly smile.

  "After a while, someone said, 'It smells so bad, where's that smell coming from?'"

  "Ah!" Zhao Wujie, who had just eaten his fill, suddenly let out a loud cry and rushed towards the nearby mountain stream, quickly stripping off his clothes and starting to wash up. His earlier cultivation had unintentionally purged all the toxic air, stagnant air, and sickly air from his body, leaving behind a layer of black, murky sediment on his skin.

  Looking at Zhao Wuji's joyful and swift washing, everyone laughed happily. Fengzi said: "Peng brother, why not let Brother Wujie join us? With his skills, he is fully qualified."

  "Yes, to be honest, last night's tiger roar was too damn manly, it was quite powerful." Gangzi also said.

  "Binzi, what do you think?" Zhang Peng asked Binzi beside him.

  "I think it's better to forget about it, Wuji brother is a person who values freedom, otherwise he wouldn't have thought of going out to make a name for himself. My point is, after he returns safely, try not to mention anything that happened here, so as not to bring him trouble. Peng Ge, you have many connections, arrange for him to stay in school for a while, I think he'll want to go abroad and travel around, first to learn some foreign languages, second to get familiar with city life, it's a buffer for him, beneficial."

  Everyone listened to Binzi's unique analysis and fell into deep thought. After a moment, no one said anything else, apparently acknowledging Binzi's point of view.

  "Alright, let's do it as Brin said for now. As for the details, we'll discuss later when we have a chance to ask him. Also, I think Wuji brother doesn't like to talk about himself or ask about others' business, probably due to his personality. So, everyone should just leave his mysterious skills alone. Firstly, it's personal privacy, who doesn't have some secrets? Secondly, it's because of his personality, let's avoid any awkwardness."

  ┅┅。

  After a while, Zhao Wuji returned, and everyone dealt with the traces. After chatting for a few words, they continued on their way. Zhao Wuji looked at the surrounding terrain, analyzed it, and pointed in one direction: "From here, it's about half a day's journey to get out of the mountain, and then going forward is Zitan Mountain."

  Everyone was thrilled to hear this, thinking of the tasks on their bodies, and their feet were even more powerful. Along the way, everyone walked and talked, of course, mostly about the four people telling Zhao Wuji about life outside, starting from the country's terrain, talking about several cities, each city's characteristics, different regional personalities; From economy, industry to life, people rush for money, strive for career, and from education to work and so on.

  From everyone's words, Zhao Wuji recorded many things, especially the thing about money. Qingniu Village had no transactions and everyone lived a collective life under the management of the elderly. The whole village got along harmoniously, and any disputes were resolved through proper channels.

  Of course, in order to give Zhao Wuji a preventive shot, so as not to imagine the outside world too beautifully, everyone also talked about many gray things, such as darkness and corruption.

  The world is diverse, and life is multifaceted. Only such a society can be fascinating. After listening to this, Zhao Wuji did not retreat, but instead stirred up that longing heart, yearning to witness the prosperity of the city and the vibrant nightlife.

  In Zhao Wuji's view, urban life is similar to the primitive forest, where opportunities and dangers coexist, and the weak are preyed upon by the strong. When Zhao Wuji expressed this realization, everyone scolded him for being perverted, saying his understanding ability was too strong. Isn't urban life just a hunting ground? The difference from the primitive forest is that what's being hunted is fame and wealth, nothing more.

  The crowd, having nothing more to say, began to share the stories they had all experienced, and finally talked about the use of guns. Zhao Wuji was like a sponge, desperately absorbing the information everyone shared, remembering what he could use, and whether it would be useful later. The more you know, the better, just like having an extra skill increases your chances of survival in the primeval forest.

  Unconsciously, everyone walked out of the primitive mountain range and saw the plain and signs of human habitation in the distance, as if they were in a different world. They all showed smiles on their faces.

  Arriving at the foot of the mountain, in front of us was a highway, no cars, no people, and the village was still far away. What to do next? Everyone looked towards Commander-in-Chief Zhang Peng.

  Zhang Peng raised his binoculars and looked for a while, saying: "We are already in a neighboring country, the language is different, everyone should be careful, also, destroy everything that exposes our identity, I don't want to cause a diplomatic incident."

  Everyone burned all the epaulets, badges and other things that represented their identities with a fire, and buried the ashes. Zhao Wuji didn't understand why everyone was doing this, but he didn't ask, they were all old soldiers, so there must be a reason for doing so.