Chapter 892: Zhang Xuan Burns the Tree (Part 2)

"Burn it?""We asked you to save the tree, not kill it!""Absurd, utterly preposterous! Who can't kill a tree? Do we need you to teach us that?"

Everyone was stunned upon hearing his words, then they all roared in anger. "Is this guy crazy?!"

After he had made them all feel worthless and was asked to treat the tree, he actually wanted to burn it... This Bodhi Tree was the lifeline of the imperial Yu family. The others had desperately tried to save it, fearing they might offend His Majesty and lose their heads. This fellow had boasted so confidently that they had expected some brilliant plan, but he actually proposed burning it... He must be truly insane!

Yu Shenqing also swayed, almost fainting. Zhang Shi had initially spoken so confidently that he had silenced many elders, making Yu Shenqing believe he might genuinely have some ability. But only upon hearing these words did he realize... "Are you just messing around?"

The Bodhi Tree was already on the verge of death. If it were burned again, how could it possibly survive?

"What's wrong? If you want to save the Bodhi Tree, hurry up!" Zhang Xuan frowned, seeing Yu Shenqing motionless."Save it?" Yu Shenqing's mouth twitched. "Are you sure this is saving it? Or are you just trying to completely kill it, seeing that it still has some sprouts?"

"Exactly!" Zhang Xuan nodded, his hands behind his back, offering no explanation.

Seeing that he wasn't joking, Yu Shenqing hesitated for a moment, then turned and instructed the old eunuch named Luo Fu: "Do as Master Zhang says!"

Although he found the act of burning the tree absurd, as the Dean of the Master Teacher Academy, and given the many legendary incidents involving Zhang Shi, Yu Shenqing, despite his doubts, felt it necessary to trust him. The most crucial point was that these elders had been here for almost two years, and the Bodhi Tree had not shown the slightest improvement. Its death was already counting down. Since Master Zhang was so confident, it might be best to treat a dying horse as if it were still alive. Even if it truly died, it could be attributed to fate, with no other recourse.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!""Don't listen to this fellow's baseless claims! The Bodhi Tree is already on its last breath and cannot withstand any more torment..."Seeing that His Majesty truly listened to the other party and ordered oil and fire to be brought, Elder Zhao and the others were all filled with anxiety and hurried forward.

"Everyone, don't worry. Master Zhang is a Master Teacher Academy... a brilliant Master Teacher. Since he's doing this, there must be a reason..." He almost revealed Zhang Xuan's identity. Remembering that it needed to be kept secret for now, Yu Shenqing immediately changed his words.

"Master Teachers are indeed knowledgeable and have broad perspectives, but when it comes to nurturing medicinal plants, we few are absolutely the top in Hongyuan Empire. We have never heard of burning a tree to save a medicinal plant!" Seeing that His Majesty was swayed by this person, Elder Zhao could no longer hold back. His white beard trembled, and he was seething with rage.

They were the pinnacle of medicinal plant nurturing families in Hongyuan Empire, each representing a legacy. Over the years, they had seen numerous cases of treating medicinal plants, yet they had never heard that burning a tree could save one. It was like drinking poison to quench thirst, completely contrary to pharmacology, and absolutely impossible to achieve.

"Yes, indeed, every profession has its specialization," another elder added. "Even a Master Teacher cannot be proficient in all professions. After all, no one possesses the abilities of Confucius!"

Legend has it that Confucius was not only the progenitor of Master Teachers but also proficient in numerous professions. In fact, many of the professions known today were compiled and organized by him. This person before them, even if he was a very powerful Master Teacher... well, Master Teachers weren't omniscient; they had their moments of failure too!

Hearing the elders' words, Yu Shenqing's heart was also full of wavering. However, upon recalling the other party's identity, he gritted his teeth and said: "There's no need for further discussion, everyone. My decision is final; we will follow Master Zhang's arrangements!"

As he spoke, the old eunuch had already brought people with oil and a fire starter. Seeing that His Majesty could still firmly trust him at such a crucial moment, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction. He instructed people to douse the entire tree with oil. Once everything was ready, he lit the fire starter.

"There are at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, families specializing in nurturing medicinal plants across the world," Zhang Xuan said, not rushing to ignite the oil as he turned to look at the crowd. "The methods for treating medicinal plants are endless and countless. Just because you few are not weak in the Hongyuan Empire, does that mean you know all the methods for treating medicinal plants?"

Elder Zhao and the others were left speechless. There were tens of thousands of pieces of knowledge and various legacies in the world. Who would dare claim to have seen them all? Even Confucius himself wouldn't have dared to say that! Otherwise, he wouldn't have been left speechless by two people when passing through a remote country.

"The Bodhi Tree's spirit wasn't dead; it was merely dormant. You recklessly administered medicine without understanding, almost killing it, and made the entire tree look rather grotesque..." Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan said no more and flicked his finger lightly. *Whoosh!* The fire starter fell onto the oil, and a blazing inferno immediately erupted.

"He really burned it..." Elder Zhao and the others' mouths twitched uncontrollably. Having spent a long time with the Bodhi Tree, they had developed feelings for it, and seeing it burned, they found it hard to let go. Yu Shenqing's eyebrows twitched wildly. Once the flames ignited, there was no turning back. He didn't know whether he should have truly trusted this person before him.

Ignoring the expressions of the crowd, Zhang Xuan watched the flames before him with a calm demeanor. After it burned for a moment, he raised an eyebrow and commanded: "Extinguish the fire!""Yes!" Several guards hurriedly stepped forward, each releasing their True Qi to envelop the Bodhi Tree. These individuals all possessed at least the strength of the Stepping Void Realm. Their combined True Qi easily extinguished the flames.

With the flames gone, everyone could now see clearly. The Bodhi Tree before them was now charred black, without a trace of life. Without explanation, Zhang Xuan took two steps forward and struck the tree trunk. He struck it thirty-six times continuously, circling the thick trunk before finally stopping.

He stepped back a few paces to stand before Yu Shenqing and the others. He raised his palm and squeezed lightly. *Crack! Crack!* The previously charred black, somewhat carbonized bark made a creaking sound and burst open.

Unsure what this fellow was truly up to, Elder Zhao and the others were about to ask when they suddenly froze, standing rigid where they were."This... how is this possible?"

Yu Shenqing also hurriedly looked over, only to discover that within the burst bark was a trunk as thick as an arm, vividly green and dripping with vitality, as if a withered tree had grown a tender sprout, merely encased by the outer decay, unable to emerge. The outer trunk was clearly shriveled and dead, so how could the heart of the tree be so vibrantly green? Everyone was stunned, as if they had seen a ghost, completely bewildered. They had seen many ailments of medicinal plants, but this strange phenomenon was something they had never witnessed, never even heard of.

"This Bodhi Tree isn't dead; it's merely in a dormant state," Zhang Xuan calmly explained, seeing their confusion. "Its spirit, to protect itself, hid within the tree's core to safeguard its foundation... Without the spirit's support, the exterior naturally withered and yellowed, resembling death! You didn't notice this; instead, you thought it was dead and forcefully infused it with spiritual energy, almost destroying its only foundation! If you had truly succeeded, the Bodhi Tree would have genuinely died..."

Everyone's body trembled. What the other party said was correct. If the spirit wasn't dead, forcefully infusing spiritual energy could easily cause a backlash. If things went wrong, it would lead to mutual destruction, a situation where both would perish together. In other words, fortunately, they hadn't succeeded. If they had, the Bodhi Tree would have effectively been killed by their 'treatment'!

"Master Zhang, the Bodhi Tree... it was always doing well, why would it fall dormant?" Yu Shenqing couldn't help but look over, and the others were also full of doubt.

"I don't know that..." Zhang Xuan said. "Typically, it would only do this to protect itself after suffering severe damage! Since this situation occurred two years ago, did anything unusual happen at that time?"

The Library of Heaven's Path only described the flaws, not the reason for this situation. Even he wasn't entirely clear."This... no!" Yu Shenqing frowned and shook his head: "Two years ago... the old Dean of the Master Teacher Academy went missing. Vice Dean You Xu of the Apothecary Academy came once and took a 'sprout,' saying he wanted to cultivate it to see if he could sense the old Dean's soul... At other times, no one else has touched it!"

"You Xu?" Zhang Xuan frowned. This fellow had caused Wei Changfeng's death. To allow Wei Ruyan to seek revenge, he was still imprisoned in Zhang Xuan's mansion, not yet released. How was he connected to this Bodhi Tree again?

"Yes! Dean You Xu is also a great expert in nurturing medicinal plants. I also invited him to examine it, but he didn't find any problems..." Yu Shenqing continued. You Xu was the best Master Teacher in the academy for nurturing medicinal plants, and Yu Shenqing had invited him. However, he hadn't identified any specific ailment, so naturally, the treatment wasn't successful.

"What the exact reason is, there's no point in pursuing it now," Zhang Xuan said, waving his hand, not wanting to dwell on the issue. "Let's first figure out how to wake it from its dormant state!" Knowing that dwelling on what happened two years ago wouldn't clarify anything and wasn't directly related to him, Yu Shenqing said no more.

He moved swiftly, once again arriving before the Bodhi Tree. Zhang Xuan's palm touched it again, then he lowered his head in thought. A moment later, he flipped his wrist and took out a huge wine gourd. Pulling out the stopper, an extremely dense spiritual energy immediately shot straight up, causing dizziness."Ground Vein Spirit Liquid?" The elders and Yu Shenqing all had their eyes light up. With their eyesight, they could naturally recognize that what was in the gourd was Ground Vein Spirit Liquid.

This spirit liquid contained the power of the earth and had a significant effect on medicinal plants; it was a rare treasure for nurturing them. As the spirit liquid was poured onto the tender green trunk, the previously bare tree visibly sprouted, and tender green leaves grew wildly.

"This... the spirit is alive?" Seeing this scene, Yu Shenqing and the many elders all clenched their fists in excitement. With leaves regrowing and growing wildly, even the most foolish among them knew that the dormant spirit of the Bodhi Tree had completely awakened! Ground Vein Spirit Liquid could, at most, allow sacred medicinal plants to replenish spiritual energy more quickly, but it couldn't make a dormant spirit awaken. What miraculous method had Master Zhang used?