Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

"The sacred tree enters the hall..." Zhang Jingqing paused and said, "No problem, this matter is insignificant. Zhiwei has made his own choice, so we won't interfere!"

"However, the sacred tree is too strange. I do not recommend you to use it. You must keep your distance and not get too close to it."

"As for the deal you mentioned a hundred years from now, who can say for sure what will happen a hundred years from now? For now, there is no need to worry too much or think about anything else. Just let things take their course."

In Zhang Jingqing's opinion, no matter what conspiracy the sacred tree had in secret, as long as he passed the Heavenly Master's degree to Zhang Zhiwei, all problems would be solved. It might take less than a hundred years, so the hundred-year agreement was naturally not important.

However, Zhang Jingqing was still hesitant about the matter of passing on the Dharma. In the past few years, he had always been inclined to pass on the Dharma to Zhang Zhiwei, but after Zhang Huaiyi appeared, he had another choice.

He has been weighing the pros and cons of whether to pass on the throne to Zhang Zhiwei or Zhang Huaiyi, but has not yet come to a conclusion.

The reason is that he still has a lot of time, and there are some things that need not be concluded in a hurry.

Afterwards, several people discussed Western society, the structure of aliens there, and what kind of life ordinary people lead.

When Zhang Jingqing was young, he took the opportunity to go down the mountain to gain experience and went to study at the Imperial University of Peking for a few years. He knew some of the situation of the foreigners. He sighed:
"I have to say that in the past two hundred years, we have fallen far behind. With such a huge generation gap, I don't know how many years it will take to catch up!"

"They are just some strange and ingenious tricks. You must not encourage others to be ambitious and destroy your own prestige. As long as the wars in China are over and a wise leader emerges, it will not be difficult to catch up."

Yi Qian was born in the late years of the previous dynasty. He spent more time practicing Taoism and less time reading. His ideas were still old-fashioned and he believed that an emperor would emerge in the future.

Zhang Jingqing did not bother to argue with his foolish junior fellow apprentice. This was a cognitive problem formed by past experiences and could not be corrected with just a few words.

Besides, they were a group of Taoists who had traveled a long way in the martial arts world and didn't care about these things, so Zhang Jingqing was too lazy to talk to Yi Qian about moving towards a republic.

Zhang Yi would actually retort to him a few times, but he did so simply because he did not get along with Yi Qian. He did not care about the changes in the situation outside, and he cared even less than Yi Qian.

After talking for a while, Zhang Jingqing told Zhang Zhiwei not to go down the mountain in the near future, but to stay there for a while, which would be a good opportunity for him to teach his fellow teachers some skills.

Zhang Zhiwei agreed. He had been training in the mountains for long enough and further training would not bring him much improvement. Next, he had to meditate in the mountains for a while.

It was noon when Zhang Zhiwei walked out of the Dashangqing Palace and returned to the mountain. He reported some things to his master, and the sun had already set when he came out.

At this time, the dinner time in the mansion had passed. Although Zhang Zhiwei could get food by going to the dining hall, he did not go. His demand for food was already very low, and eating was just a habit. Since he had missed the time, there was no need to make up for it.

He moved his body, leaped a few times, and flew to the top of Tianmen Peak opposite the Tianshi Mansion, and went to see the crooked tree that had gained Qi from him.

The crooked tree that was originally struck by lightning and was horribly damaged no longer had any trace of the lightning strike. It was now lush and green, revealing its true appearance.

Zhang Zhiwei didn't know much about plants and only recognized a few common trees, so he couldn't tell what kind of tree this was and kept calling it the crooked tree.

During his time in Shanghai, he went to the library to look up some information during his free time.

It turns out that the crooked tree is called Liudaomu. In ancient times, it was also called the Dragon-Subduing Wood. It is considered a rare plant with the functions of eliminating rheumatism, reducing swelling and detoxifying, and warding off evil spirits and ghosts. The Dragon-Subduing Wood that has obtained Qi is even rarer and has all kinds of incredible functions.

Among the female generals of the Yang Family, Mu Guiying's dowry when she married Yang Zongbao was this dragon-subduing wood. The Yang family generals hoped to use it to resist the Tianmen Formation set up by the Liao army.

Zhang Zhiwei looked at the crooked tree that blocked out the sun and the sky. Such a large dragon-subduing tree would definitely be considered extremely rare in the outside world.

However, the uses of the Dragon-Subduing Wood are quite wide. It can be used as a Chinese medicinal material, and can also be made into magical instruments such as whips, sticks, rosaries, etc. If it were really in the outside world, I'm afraid it would not last long before being chopped down by someone.

"You are lucky to grow up here!" Zhang Zhiwei whispered.

"Swish..."

The crooked tree shook violently and its branches trembled.

The tree had no eyes and could not see Zhang Zhiwei coming. It relied on its Qi to sense and identify objects, but Zhang Zhiwei had no Qi at all, so the crooked tree did not notice him until he made a sound. Then the crooked tree noticed him and immediately greeted him happily.

Zhang Zhiwei walked over and patted its trunk. Compared to the last time he saw it, the crooked tree had not changed much this time. It was obvious that it had passed its rapid growth period and its size had stabilized. Its future growth, both in terms of cultivation and size, would only depend on slow work.

As for how it should practice, even Zhang Zhiwei could not point it out a clear path.

If it is an animal, there is still a possibility. After all, animals also have meridians. Even if they are different from those of humans, they at least have some similarities. But as for plants, that is another track.

Zhang Zhiwei is not a botanist, and it is impossible for him to go to school for the crooked tree. From now on, he can only rely on his own instincts to accumulate knowledge.

Of course, he is not without any help. If he practices under the crooked tree and breathes in the Qi of the Three Elements of Heaven and Earth, the crooked tree can also benefit from it. In fact, the reason it can grow so fast is because of the Qi of the Three Elements of Heaven and Earth.

Moreover, it is not just the crooked tree that benefits from practicing under the tree.

The special practice environment created by the crooked tree can also assist Zhang Zhiwei's practice. It can be regarded as a mutually beneficial process.

The crooked tree shook its branches, dropping bits of stardust, creating a barrier for Zhang Zhiwei that could isolate him from the outside world and was very suitable for spiritual practice.

Zhang Zhiwei was not polite either. He walked into the barrier, meditated with his eyes closed and breathed in. At this time, the sky was dark, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. It was a good time to breathe in the moonlight and starlight of the three treasures of heaven.

As Zhang Zhiwei inhaled and exhaled, the moonlight was as full as water, turning into strands of silver light, gathering on top of Zhang Zhiwei's head and flowing into his mouth and nose.

During this process, a lot of moonlight was absorbed by the crooked tree. The moonlight shone on the leaves, as if they were coated with a layer of light film. The breeze from the top of the mountain swayed the leaves slightly, like a beautiful painting. It's a pity that no painter captured this scene.

The crooked tree likes to absorb moonlight. Among the three elements of heaven and earth, it likes to absorb moonlight and sunlight the most, followed by starlight. It can absorb very little of the elements like water, fire and wind. Some of them may even have a counterproductive effect, such as fire qi, which will make its leaves dry up.

Due to the continuous battles during this period, Zhang Zhiwei did not spend much time on cultivation. Although his meditation skills had reached the fifth level, the Qi in his body was circulating all the time whether he was walking, sitting, standing or lying down.

But this kind of practice was too rough, so he planned to make up for it and at the same time, consolidate and absorb the gains from this experience.

Zhang Zhiwei stayed in seclusion for seven days and seven nights. His fellow disciples searched for him in vain and thought he had sneaked down the mountain again. They were planning to report to their master.

Tian Jinzhong suddenly remembered what Zhang Zhiwei said about it being a good place to practice under the crooked tree, so he brought his fellow disciples, Lu Jin, and Lu Ci to the top of Tianmen Mountain, where they met Zhang Zhiwei, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed under the tree.

Sensing the arrival of a group of people, the crooked tree gently shook its branches, and even raised one branch to make a "hush" gesture, suggesting that they should not disturb him. The group of brothers and sisters were all very observant. Seeing that Zhang Zhiwei was practicing, they did not disturb him and quietly went down the mountain.

The crooked tree's cultivation barrier can isolate the noise from the outside world. In addition, his fellow disciples did not show any hostility towards Zhang Zhiwei, so Zhang Zhiwei did not notice their arrival.

However, his fellow disciples were still very considerate. They were worried that he had no food to eat, so they came to deliver meals to him every morning, noon and evening. They did not disturb him during the delivery process. They just put the meals on the mountain and then turned around and left.

However, Zhang Zhiwei never ate it once, but they still delivered it every day. However, when delivering it, they would eat the food from the previous day to avoid waste.

On the seventh day, Zhang Zhiwei finally finished his meal. When Tian Jinzhong and several fellow disciples came to deliver the meal, Zhang Zhiwei was still eating, so he ate two servings in a row.

"The food you sent me is pretty good!"

Zhang Zhiwei used chopsticks to dig around and found a dozen or so pieces of fatty pork belly neatly arranged inside.

In this era, pork is more valuable than beef or mutton, and fat meat is more valuable than lean meat. The food in Longhu Mountain tends to be light, and this kind of pork belly is rare.

"The food you bring for brother must be more substantial!" said a fellow apprentice with a smile.

"Did you spend money to subsidize it?" Zhang Zhiwei asked. The vegetarian hall would not let this kind of meat be used, as the fat would be used to extract oil.

"Yes, yes, yes. We put a lot of effort into arranging this. Brother, you have to make it up to us. It would be better if you can take us down the mountain for a good meal..." said a fellow apprentice with a smile.

But the next second, it was ruthlessly exposed by the big mouth Tian Jinzhong who couldn't hide the truth:
"Actually, it was the uncle who was in charge of the dining hall. He thought you had brought great fame to our Tianshi Mansion, so he specially prepared extra food for you. From now on, your meals will be prepared according to the master's standards!"

"so good?"

"It's my duty. Brother, just enjoy your meal. We all have no objection." Tian Jinzhong said.

"Yes, yes, yes. We have no objection. Senior brother works the hardest and has to teach on behalf of the master. It's only right that he eats more." Several fellow apprentices echoed.

Although Zhang Zhiwei had been teaching on behalf of the teacher before, it was just because he wanted to teach. Now it was Zhang Jingqing who gave the order and this became his mission.

Zhang Zhiwei had no objection to this. He had always been doing this anyway. He flipped through the fat inside and said:
"Next time, tell the brothers who come to the dining hall that the greasy and nutritious fat meat should be left to the brothers who need to grow. I will just eat some lean meat."

"How can that be possible? Okay, of course I have to leave it to you, brother!" the younger brother said hurriedly.

Zhang Zhiwei patted his junior fellow apprentice on the shoulder. This junior fellow apprentice was a head shorter than him and said:

"That's not necessary. Look at me, I'm tall and strong. What else do I need to supplement? Just eat it!"

"Brother, you are so nice!"

Several fellow disciples were moved to tears.

This is not Zhang Zhiwei's attempt to cheat his fellow apprentices. In this age when everyone has a pale face, fat meat is simply more delicious than lean meat.

"There's something even better!" Zhang Zhiwei said with a smile, "Go gather all the fellow disciples!"

"Brother, are you going to give a lecture?" asked a fellow student.

"What kind of classes are there? When can you not study? I'll take you to the Shangqing Restaurant at the foot of the mountain for a good meal, and everyone can eat to their heart's content." Zhang Zhiwei said with a smile.

The fellow disciples were overjoyed and went down the mountain joyfully. They gathered everyone together and came to Shangqing Restaurant in a large crowd.

Zhang Zhiwei counted the number of people and found that there were too many people coming this time, because not every fellow disciple was free during the day. Some had to go to receive pilgrims, and some had to work in the fields. He had originally said that he would pack up the food for those who had not come after the meal, but now he saw that many people who had tasks had come.

"Don't fail to complete the task just for a bite of food, or you'll get whipped!" Zhang Zhiwei reminded.

"Don't worry, senior brother, we have finished our work!" said a junior fellow student.

"Yes, yes, yes, we exceed our targets every day!"

At this time, Tian Jinzhong said: "The hoeing maniac is back, and he has finished all the hoeing work that everyone needs to do in the next week in one go!"

Zhang Zhiwei: "."

No wonder he didn’t see Lu Ci coming, it turned out he went to hoe the fields.

Lu Ci didn't come to eat and was still rolling. Naturally, Lu Jin didn't want to be outdone and continued to roll.

"Then when Erbi came out with me, weren't you used to it?" Zhang Zhiwei asked his fellow disciples.

Originally, they had not investigated this crazy ground-digging devil, but every time the senior brother left, the crazy ground-digging devil was gone. Even if they didn't want to investigate anymore, they could guess who it was.

"It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. It's really hard to get used to it. I don't know how long he will stay in Longhu Mountain. I really hope he can join our Tianshi Mansion!" sighed a junior brother.

"Just be lazy, you guys, just follow and learn!"

Zhang Zhiwei scolded and went into the restaurant.

Shangqing Restaurant is owned by the Tianshi Mansion, and most of the guests they entertain are passing pilgrims. Their own disciples are actually not welcome. Normally, so many people coming at once would be expelled to avoid disturbing the pilgrims' meals and rest. However, they had to give Zhang Zhiwei face and quickly arranged seats for them.

In such a public place, the eating habits of the group of Taoists were relatively normal. At least there was no scene of them picking up the plates and drinking peanuts.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhang Zhiwei paid the bill and returned to the Tianshi Mansion with the packed food. After bringing the packed food to his fellow disciples on the mountain, Zhang Zhiwei gave a class overnight to make up for the seven days without any classes.

The other Taoists were all solemn and serious in their lectures, but Zhang Zhiwei was the only one who taught in a relaxed manner. Everyone sat together, eating the snacks they had packed back while listening to him talk about the principles of cultivation. (End of this chapter)