Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Facing Lin Yuan's innocent and expectant face, Yun Ping smiled and pointed to himself.

"That's because, teacher, you were Emperor Wen's teacher before, and I taught you his musical talents!"

"...But the teacher is only in his twenties, while Emperor Wen lived hundreds of years ago."

"Teacher, you just look young; I'm actually millions of years old!"

"Millions of years ago, that was during the time of the Martial Emperor in ancient times, right? Teacher, why are you making things more and more outrageous?"

"That's just how he is." Ye Yuchan, who had recovered, walked over with a stern face, grabbed Lin Yuan's hand, and glared at Yun Ping fiercely. "He has no sense of propriety at all."

Yunping laughed, "Little Yuchan, how come I didn't know my limits?"

"You played a tune just now when I was breaking through my cultivation technique!"

"I was just trying to help you break through," Yun Ping stood up, dusted off his knees, and chuckled, half-closing his eyes. "What, didn't you even realize it yourself?"

Ye Yuchan gritted her teeth after hearing this, "I did find out, but...you didn't tell me beforehand! I thought you were going to cause trouble again, and I almost lost my mind..."

"Me, causing trouble? If I were to cause trouble, I'd play 'You're So Bad, Sir' for you in a heartbeat, followed by 'Enjoying the Pleasures of Spring,' and finally 'The Beauty of the Brothel.' That would definitely make you explode in a heartbeat, go mad, and end up in your grave in one go."

"Junior Sister Yu Chan, what is Teacher saying?" Young Lin Yuan couldn't understand Yun Ping's words.

Ye Yuchan took Lin Yuan's small hand and pulled her senior sister into the courtyard, her face flushing slightly. "Don't... don't pay attention to him. Staying with someone like him for too long will only fill your mind with filth."

"Hey, hey, don't go! We still have things to do!"

Yunping quickly called out to Ye Yuchan and Lin Yuan.

Judging from his slightly serious expression, he didn't seem to want to continue making lewd jokes.

However, Ye Yuchan still scanned Yun Ping up and down with a wary look in her eyes. She was now unsure whether the young man in front of her really had something to do or was just trying to play a joke on them again.

"Why are you staring at me like that? What, are you afraid I'll sell you out?"

"No, I just want to see what you're really up to."

"Don't worry, this medicine is absolutely better than anything that Hua Tuo could do, Li Shizhen could open the coffin, Bian Que could descend, or even the reborn Medical Sage could not compare to."

Yun Ping gazed calmly at the sky, his expression solemn.

It was as if what he said was true—even though it sounded like utter nonsense.

His gaze swept past Lin Yuan and lingered on Ye Yuchan.

He then asked a question.

"Have you... ever heard of the Seven Dream Tree?"

35. Seven Dream Trees

The Seven Dream Tree.

Revered as one of the twenty-two ultimate beings in the world, it exists outside the three celestial realms, neither human nor object, neither alive nor dead. Its existence can be described as matter or energy, and it cannot be explained by our current knowledge.

Legend has it that the Seven Dream Tree is a priceless treasure, comparable in value to the other twenty-one ultimate treasures. However, the specific function of the Seven Dream Tree has remained unknown since ancient times.

Because very few people have the opportunity to encounter the Seven Dream Tree.

This thing is all about fate. Over tens of thousands of years, only a handful of people have been able to step into the Seven Dream Tree. Emperor Wen was one of them.

According to Emperor Wen himself, the Seven Dream Tree is no ordinary object, but a sacred relic. Any living being that enters it will receive great fortune and profound enlightenment.

Upon hearing this, a wave of tree-seeking fever swept across the Three Realms. Basically, every cultivator who was about to ascend to sainthood went crazy and risked their lives to find the Seven Dream Tree.

Then they spent all their money but still couldn't find even half a leaf from the Seven Dreams Tree, so they simply decided to sit down and wait to die.

This marks the beginning and end of the Great Tree-Seeking Era.

"It was all very mysterious. Later, Emperor Wen himself said that the Seven Dream Tree was just a lie he made up on a whim, just to lure a certain sect that was chasing him into spending all their resources to tinker with that non-existent thing."

"Later, those idiots didn't expect to actually go, and they even brought a whole bunch of unrelated people with them. Emperor Wen was also helpless. Who told these people to have brains that looked like they'd been kicked by a donkey?"

Ye Yuchan spoke with conviction, giving Yun Ping a sidelong glance.

She was still wearing that conspicuous black and white maid outfit. Although she insisted that Yunping buy her a new outfit, he refused in every way.

The reason is that the maid outfit really suits Ye Yuchan.

Ye Yuchan herself did not consider this a compliment.

However, the maid outfit did bring Ye Yuchan a lot of trouble. One of them was that the concept of the maid outfit was too peculiar. In this world, it was no different from strange clothing. When she walked down the street, almost everyone stared at her.

This is similar to someone in the original world wearing ancient costume, a tall hat, and carrying a sword on the street, shouting, "The king has ordered me to patrol the mountain."

One word—awkward.

The next step is to take action.

In terms of action, it's fine most of the time, but in special circumstances, this maid outfit becomes a huge problem.

For example, right now... the black stockings that covered her slender legs had several large holes, exposing her smooth, white skin to the air. The lace trim on her skirt was also torn, and through the gaps, one could vaguely see a color that made one's blood boil.

The reason for this was simply because of the thorn forest they were in.

"So you think my brain's been kicked too?"

Yunping, who was walking in front, turned around and looked at Ye Yuchan with amusement.

Strangely enough, despite walking through thorny thickets, Yun Ping had not a single scratch on his body, and his white robe was as sturdy as a top-grade magic weapon.

Ye Yuchan gritted her teeth angrily, glaring at him with displeasure, "Yeah, I really think you've got something wrong with your head! Bringing me to this godforsaken place..."

"This place is wonderful, otherwise why would the Seven Dream Tree take root here?"

"The Seven Dream Tree is just a legend! Emperor Wen himself couldn't possibly be lying, could he?"

"Maybe he was lying back then? To keep some promise? Like, I'll give you a piece of candy, and you won't tell anyone my little secret?"

"Do you think Emperor Wen is some little kid like you?!"

“You’re wrong about that.” Yun Ping shook his head at Ye Yuchan with a smile, and said seriously, “You should know that no matter what your status or position is, every man is a boy until the day he dies.”

"I don't think you're being reasonable, but I really want to go back! Why do I have to search for something that doesn't even exist?!"

At this point, Yunping paused in his steps.

This sudden action rekindled a glimmer of hope in Ye Yuchan's previously despairing heart.

They're leaving, right? They're leaving, right?

Under Ye Yuchan's hopeful gaze, Yunping turned around with a smile.

A warm smile came into view.

"Just a friendly reminder, this thorny forest is called the Gray Mist Forest. It doesn't matter who comes in, but a gray mist might blow up on the way back. If you get lost and separated from me, there's nothing a god can do to save you."

"...Is it...is it really that scary?"

Although Ye Yuchan said that, her body still shrank back unconsciously.

They were clearly still somewhat afraid of this gray fog forest.

But as long as I follow behind this guy, everything will be fine, right?

Thinking this, Ye Yuchan quickened her pace. Although the thorns around her were constantly wearing down the hem of her clothes, she no longer complained about the unbearable situation.

Upon seeing this change, Yun Ping smiled mysteriously and, without saying anything more, led Ye Yuchan toward him.

Does the Seven Dream Tree exist?

—The answer is yes.

The Seven Dream Tree really exists, because Yunping has been to the Seven Dream Tree.

Not only him, but all five of his other disciples had been to the Seven Dream Tree and witnessed and felt its powerful, vast, and unfathomable strength, like the starry sea.

Of course, they also gained a lot of benefits from the Seven Dream Tree.

Considering Ye Yuchan's own strength, Yunping felt it was necessary to take Ye Yuchan to the Seven Dreams Tree.

What she lacks now is physical fitness.

In terms of cultivation techniques, she possesses the Heavenly Grade 3 Qianren; in terms of spiritual roots, she has the mutated Azure Jade Spiritual Root; in terms of magical artifacts, she has that little guy, the Forging Saint; and in terms of talent and aptitude, she is definitely not inferior.

What she lacks now is physical constitution—the kind of constitution that protagonists usually have at the beginning.

Yunping treats each of his disciples as if they were the protagonists of a world, so of course he has to use some overpowered protagonist templates.

...I wonder what kind of adventure this girl will have in the Seven Dreams Tree.

Seeing Ye Yuchan following cautiously behind him, yet still unable to resist observing her surroundings, Yun Ping's lips curled into a slight smile.

That said, this girl seems to be...

"Hey, Little Rain Cicada, I have a question for you."

"W-What are you doing?" Ye Yuchan jumped up like a rabbit.

Why are you so nervous? Are you so afraid of the gray fog?

Upon hearing this, Ye Yuchan immediately turned her head away, "No, no, I was just thinking about something."

"Tsk tsk tsk, alright alright, I'll spare you this arrogant trick of yours. I'll ask you, have you ever had any real combat experience before?"

"Real combat?" Ye Yuchan frowned in confusion. "If it's a duel within a sect, I've had quite a few."

"What about battles with spirit beasts or demons?"

"How could such a thing possibly exist? I've been in Tianbei Valley for all these years, I've never gone out to train, okay?"

"That's such a coincidence!"

"...What did you say?" Ye Yuchan didn't quite hear her.

“I said, that’s really terrible.”

"I think I heard you say something strange just now?"

"No, no, you must have misheard."

Yunping smiled and denied it.

36. Gray fog