One by one, the people in the wooden house walked out. Feng Yuanzheng's question was also their question.
Especially Shangguan Nianci, who hadn't seen his father in twenty years, he was the most eager to know the answer.
Under everyone's gaze, Ghost Doctor sighed and recounted the events of that year.
"Alas, back then, Wuji's challenge against Yagyu Killing God, was something many Martial Forest comrades forced upon him. It was a helpless situation; he had no choice but to accept."
"But Yagyu Killing God, was already over fifty at the time, and his cultivation had reached the Transcendent state. Wuji was not even half his age. No matter how much of a Genius he was, how could he compare to Yagyu Killing God?"
"Wuji then came to me, seeking a strategy against his enemy. In the end, I used the method of Ten Thousand Poisons Devouring the Heart, combined with the Xuan Tian Demonic Technique, to stimulate the Demonic Path within him, greatly increasing his cultivation. He finally defeated Yagyu Killing God."
"However, after that, Wuji could no longer suppress that Demonic Path, and he suffered Qi Deviation. One thought led to a great mistake. Alas..."
"Later, I brought Wuji here, using the unique geographical advantage to suppress the Demonic Path within him, and began to treat him."
"It's just, alas, I am ashamed, truly ashamed. Twenty years of effort, and I still haven't fully succeeded. Wuji is now asleep most of the time, only occasionally waking up briefly."
"I think, if he knew what happened in these twenty years, he would be very sad."
Ghost Doctor lowered his head, a look of disappointment and self-blame on his face.
"Then, how can we make him fully wake up?" Feng Yuanzheng asked, crossing his arms.
While the newcomers were still immersed in Ghost Doctor's emotional narrative, the veterans were already skipping the plot and taking on the mission.
"You're not going to tell us that you have no solution and can only leave it to fate, are you?"
"Alas, over these twenty years, I have dissolved all the Ten Thousand Poisons Devouring the Heart from Wuji's body one by one. But while the poisons are easy to remove, the Qi Deviation is difficult to awaken from. Although my medical skills are superb, resolving Demonic Path is not my specialty."
"The one who tied the bell must untie it. Perhaps, in the end, everything still depends on Wuji himself. Or, there might be a master proficient in this Dao who can come up with a method." Ghost Doctor sighed and said.
Everyone looked at each other, falling into silence for a moment.
"Then, Ghost Doctor, do you know of any masters in the Jianghu who are proficient in this Dao?" Feng Yuanzheng asked.
"There are a few. Abbot Kong Jian, the Divine Monk of Yunhe Temple, was a famous master of the Demonic Path in his youth, but later he achieved great enlightenment, entered Buddhism, and all the deep Demonic Path within him was resolved."
"I visited him back then, hoping he could help Wuji get rid of his Demonic Path. The Divine Monk, however, said that Wuji's Demonic Path was too profound, and his method could not resolve it. But the Divine Monk also promised to find a better method for Wuji."
"Perhaps now, Divine Monk Kong Jian has found this method."
Ghost Doctor's words made everyone smile wryly.
"Senior." Kaka said, choosing his words carefully, "Divine Monk Kong Jian... he has forsaken Buddhism and re-entered the Demonic Path."
Ghost Doctor froze.
If Divine Monk Kong Jian's method couldn't even control his own Demonic Path, how could it awaken Shangguan Wuji?
"The Divine Monk... Alas!" Ghost Doctor sighed again, and then said, "Old Man Tian Ku of Ghost Cry Valley, it is said he is extremely skilled in mental techniques, playing with people's hearts. But he is a person of the Demonic Path, and I am truly worried..."
"That is indeed a problem." Kaka nodded. "Senior, do you have any other candidates?"
"The legendary Old Man San Xiao, who appears like a Dragon but whose tail is never seen, but his whereabouts are truly hard to find. I've searched for him for twenty years and still haven't found him." The answer given by Ghost Doctor always made people even more disappointed.
"Isn't there anyone who is both trustworthy and findable?" The truck driver, Zhang Bin, grumbled.
"If there were such a person, I would have found him myself long ago. Why would I need you to ask!" Ghost Doctor's beard bristled, and he glared at Zhang Bin with an unfriendly expression.
"Don't, don't argue, let's discuss things calmly..." Zhou Peng and Gu Xianghai both came to mediate. Several newcomers at this time showed unexpected unity.
At this moment, Zhou Xinyue, also a newcomer, discovered a problem they had not noticed.
"Huh? Where did Senior Zhou go?"
Senior Zhou?
The few people were stunned, looking around. The faces of the three members of the Yuanzheng Team immediately changed.
"Zhou Ming!"
"When did he leave! I didn't even notice!"
If the newcomers hadn't noticed Zhou Ming leaving, it would have been understandable, but now even the three of them hadn't noticed, which was a big problem.
"Miss Qin, what trick is your captain playing now!" Feng Yuanzheng glared at Qin Wumeng and asked.
Qin Wumeng was also bewildered, but she wasn't worried, and her calm gaze quietly looked at Feng Yuanzheng.
"You..." Feng Yuanzheng felt a surge of anger and was about to lash out, but Zhou Ming's voice suddenly rang out at this moment.
"Oh, why are you all arguing?" Feng Yuanzheng's face changed again. He turned his head and saw Zhou Ming pushing open the door and walking out of the wooden house.
"When did you enter the wooden house?" Feng Yuanzheng's voice was hoarse, his brows furrowed into a 'river' character.
"Before you all arrived." Zhou Ming said with a faint smile.
"Nonsense! Then who was the person who was just talking to us!" Feng Yuanzheng felt his blood surge, almost unable to suppress the anger in his heart.
"Was there? It must be your illusion." Zhou Ming spread his hands, smiling indifferently.
"To hell with your illusion!" Feng Yuanzheng, full of anger, threw a punch. The strong wind whistled, and the punch directly aimed at Zhou Ming.
He had measured this punch, after all, he just wanted to throw a punch to vent, not to cause an internal fight between the two teams.
But he didn't expect that when the punch landed, the body of Zhou Ming in front of him twisted and disappeared again without a trace.
"Another fake?" Feng Yuanzheng felt a knot of anger in his heart. Although he didn't understand what method Zhou Ming was using, he could no longer suppress this increasingly rising anger.
"Zhou Ming!"
"Are you looking for me?" The door of the wooden house opened again, and Zhou Ming's figure strolled out, waving to Feng Yuanzheng with a smiling face.
"You damn bastard, die for me!" Feng Yuanzheng clenched his right fist, and a powerful Aura suddenly surged, as if his fist had become a nuclear bomb about to explode, destructive power about to erupt.
"Calm down." A hand rested on his shoulder. Zhou Ming appeared behind him at some point, still smiling as he said to him.
Feng Yuanzheng suddenly turned around, his power-filled fist smashing down hard towards Zhou Ming's head behind him.
However, just as the fist was about to land on Zhou Ming's face, Zhou Ming's face twisted, turning into Kaka's appearance.
Feng Yuanzheng's pupils contracted sharply, but the fist he had thrown could not be pulled back no matter what.
Just then, another hand appeared in front of him, grabbing his arm and forcefully blocking his fist, which carried immense power.
"I told you to calm down." Zhou Ming's somewhat helpless voice rang out, echoing like a grand sound from heaven and earth, resounding around Feng Yuanzheng.
The world in Feng Yuanzheng's eyes suddenly twisted.
A strong sense of unreality flooded his heart, and all the unreasonable things that had just happened suddenly came to mind.
How could Zhou Ming be so elusive?
When did I become so impulsive and irritable?
Feng Yuanzheng opened his eyes, and the surrounding environment had changed greatly.
In the incomparably spacious cave, it was silent. All the beautiful scenery he had just seen was an illusion.
In the darkness, a bronze tree more than ten meters high stood tall and mighty before him.
At the top of the bronze dream tree, branches intertwined, as if forcibly bent and woven into a bronze cloud bed.
A person lay on the cloud bed, breathing steadily, with a strong Qi. The interaction of their Qi even caused a sting in Feng Yuanzheng's spirit.
It was as if what lay there was not a person, but a spiritual, peerless Divine Sword!
"That is..." Feng Yuanzheng opened his mouth in surprise.
"That is Shangguan Wuji, whom we are looking for." Zhou Ming's voice came from beside him.
Feng Yuanzheng suddenly turned his head, his eyes shooting two beams of light in the darkness.
"Are you real or fake after all!"
Zhou Ming also turned around, rather helplessly patting Feng Yuanzheng's shoulder.
"Old Feng, you're an eight-star veteran after all, can you please not act like a naive kid?"
"You can now even consider the question of whether I am real or fake, which means you are very clear-headed. Are you afraid of being in a dream?"
"Dream?" Feng Yuanzheng asked in confusion, "You mean all that just now was a dream? When did..."
"When you stepped into the range covered by the power of this bronze dream tree, probably in the passage about five hundred meters from here." Zhou Ming replied.
"So that was when!" Feng Yuanzheng immediately recalled that at that time, Ghost Doctor suddenly showed abnormalities and ran at high speed.
So they had fallen into a dream at that time... Feng Yuanzheng looked at his companions lying scattered on the ground and couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
"What exactly is the origin of this bronze dream tree, that it could make us all fall into it at the same time? Are they still not awake? And where is Ghost Doctor? Did he come with us? Then..."
Feng Yuanzheng was full of doubts and couldn't help but pour out questions to Zhou Ming like a bamboo tube pouring beans.
"Stop, stop, let's do one thing at a time, okay?" Zhou Ming sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You help me wake them up first, and then I'll explain everything to you."
"How do I wake them up?" Feng Yuanzheng asked, frowning at the people on the ground.
"Just call them. If they don't wake up, drag them out of the bronze dream tree's influence range and then wake them up."
Zhou Ming followed, bending down to pick up Zhou Peng, whose face was buried in the dirt, and slapped him repeatedly across the face without mercy.
"Wake up! Wake up! Are you going to wake up, you!"
After a series of slaps, Zhou Peng's cheeks swelled at a visible speed, but he still didn't wake up. A stream of drool even slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth; he was sleeping soundly.
"He's beyond help. Just throw him out later." Zhou Ming casually tossed Zhou Peng aside, then picked up Gu Xianghai.
Feng Yuanzheng watched, dumbfounded.
"Is that how you woke me up just now?"
Zhou Ming glanced at him, then'slapped' Gu Xianghai's face a few times.
"I wouldn't be so rough with you, Boss Feng." He said, shaking Gu Xianghai a few times vigorously, then, with a disappointed look, he threw him beside Zhou Peng.
"This one's no good either. Next."
Are there any friends who read Baki the Grappler? I just read the latest chapter of 'Fatty Dao', and my feelings are mixed. Half-Yuan's skill in padding the plot is completely unmatched by most web novel authors, isn't it? Truly worthy of the man vying for the title of the freest manga artist.