This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

Zheng Zhuang was willing to take on this karmic responsibility and accept Mao Buduo as his disciple because the "Demon Emperor's Canon" was indeed a remarkable book, even if it was incomplete, it still provided him with considerable inspiration.

One point in Mao Henshao's words is worth considering: since "Seven-Colored Cave Heaven" sent out Blue Fox and Black Fox, why did it invite Mao Henshao and other demons to investigate?

Could it be that they made some discovery along the way and didn't want others to know, so they chose to kill to silence them?

Another possibility is that the Blue Fox and Black Fox discovered something they didn't want the "Seven-Colored Cave Heaven" to know, so they killed the people sent later.

Zheng Zhuang sorted out his thoughts. In either case, as long as he found Blue Fox and Black Fox, he should be able to find out the truth.

All of this seems to have nothing to do with Zhengzhuang, but Mao Henshao mentioned that at that time, those demons had their demon cores stolen and their demonic power absorbed, which is quite intriguing.

To transform into a "transvestite," a necessary condition is to integrate demonic power, but where does the required demonic power come from?

Zheng Zhuang felt he was gradually getting a clue; these two fox spirits might have played an important role in it.

"Get up! Tell me, why have you come to Yongning City?" Zheng Zhuang said, gesturing for him to get up.

Mao Buduo slowly stood up and respectfully said, "Reporting to Master, I overheard some news that there is a celestial tomb nearby, and it is said that there are celestial medicines in the tomb that may be able to cure my strange illness, so I plan to try my luck there."

A celestial tomb? Could it be such a coincidence?

Zheng Zhuang recalled the iron plaque Chen Chui had given him. Judging from the pace, were these people even going in a team?

Who exactly spread this message?

Regardless of the motives of those behind the scenes, Zheng Zhuang felt he should go and take a look, after all, it was his old base.

Zheng Zhuang nodded and smiled, "Don't worry, once you truly embark on the path of cultivation, your strange illness should improve."

"Really? Please, Master, teach your disciple the methods of cultivation!" Mao Buduo said excitedly.

Zheng Zhuang pondered for a while. His cultivation method was definitely not suitable, so he could only pass on Mao Duobu's "Demon Emperor's Codex". However, he had never practiced it himself and could not provide guidance. He could only take it one step at a time.

"Sit cross-legged and relax your mind!"

Zheng Zhuang gave the order, then conjured a point of light at his fingertip and placed it directly on the sparse hair between his eyebrows.

After a long while, Mao Buduo slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was much clearer than before, indicating that he had gained a lot of insight.

Zheng Zhuang nodded in satisfaction. This kind of disciple was much easier to teach. Mao Buduo's potential was also quite good. If he hadn't shown signs of aging, he would have been worthy of the title "genius".

Zheng Zhuang was unsure of the reason for Mao Buduo's condition, so he couldn't easily break the illusion, but simple illusions were not difficult to perform.

It's hard to say about cultivators, but dealing with ordinary mortals shouldn't be a problem. At least it can make Mao Buduo look like a little boy.

"Go! Get another room, and have the waiter fetch you a bucket of water so you can take a good bath!" Zheng Zhuang handed Mao Buduo a piece of silver and softly instructed.

"Master, I..."

Mao was extremely unwilling, but meeting Zheng Zhuang's unquestionable gaze, he could only accept the silver with a bitter face and walk towards the door.

He carefully opened the door, but couldn't bring himself to take a step out.

He recalled the tragic experiences he had when he took human form.

Zheng Zhuang didn't urge him, just watched quietly. This step needed to be taken by Mao Buduo himself, otherwise he would always have a hurdle in his mind.

After a long while, Mao Buduo gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind. With his master here, he wouldn't be beaten to death, right?

Mao stepped out of the room, but quickly stopped.

Because a chubby little boy was walking towards us. The little boy had a round face and looked kind and cute.

But Mao Buduo suddenly became nervous. Once, he saw some children playing games and found it very interesting. He wanted to play with them, but unexpectedly, everyone said he was a monster and beat him up badly.

"Huh? Who are you? Is the master inside?" the chubby Kongming asked curiously.

"I am... wait, aren't you afraid of me?" Mao Buduo asked, somewhat surprised.

The chubby boy curled his lip and said, "Why should I be afraid of you? With your skinny arms and legs, do you believe I can take you down with one hand?"

The chubby boy seemed afraid that the lack of hair would make him disbelieve, and deliberately puffed out his chest.

Mao Buduo didn't care about the little fat boy's threat at all; instead, he looked towards Zhengzhuang with delight.

He subconsciously reached up to touch his face, only to find that nothing had changed, and lowered his head in disappointment.

“Your original appearance hasn’t changed. You are you, unique and irreplaceable. Why care so much about other people’s opinions?” Zheng Zhuang poured a mouthful of “poisonous chicken soup” down his throat.

Seeing that Mao was not much, Zheng Zhuang was somewhat moved and decided to take another swig:

"What others see now is just what you want them to see; consider it a gift from your teacher."

"When you can one day openly show your true self, you will have no weaknesses and can become a true strong person!"

Mao Buduo's eyes suddenly lit up, and his fists clenched involuntarily, because no one had ever said such a thing to him before.

He had always lived a life of meager and humble existence, but he had also dreamed that one day people would look at him differently.

Inspired by Zheng Zhuang, he secretly resolved to become a strongman.

"Thank you for your teachings, Master!"

Mao Buduo's eyes glistened, but his tone was unusually firm as he strode forward.

Seeing Mao Buduo's enthusiastic expression, Zheng Zhuang couldn't help but feel smug. It seemed that he had a talent for being a teacher. As long as he gave him more encouragement, he wouldn't have to worry about his apprentice not becoming successful!

The chubby boy stood outside the door, feeling envious. This kid he'd never seen before was actually Mr. Zheng's disciple! He himself had never even been able to become Mr. Zheng's apprentice!

"Greetings, sir!" the chubby boy bowed to Zheng Zhuang.

"Come in! What brings you here?" Zheng Zhuang nodded slightly.

"I just had my father buy this inn. You can stay as long as you like, sir. This room will be reserved for you forever. If you ever pass through Yongning City, you can always stop here to rest. The same goes for the one in Jiankang City," the chubby boy said loudly.

Zheng Zhuang was slightly taken aback. Although he had saved them once, he hadn't expected them to go to this extent.

"Very well, is there something you need? Please speak up."

The chubby boy first shook his head, then hesitated for a moment before saying:

"I originally only wanted to express my gratitude for saving my life, and I didn't ask for anything in return. But I heard that person call you 'Master,' and I wonder if I could..."

"You also want to become my disciple? Why? Do you want to learn magic?" Zheng Zhuang asked with great interest.

The chubby boy nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I want to learn powerful magic so that if I encounter bad guys like last time again, I can protect my mother."

"You're quite frank! But do you have any other reasons?" Zheng Zhuang asked with a smile.

Zheng Zhuang had actually investigated unintentionally and found that although the little fat boy was intelligent, he did not have the aptitude for cultivation.

However, he couldn't say it directly, as it might hurt the little fat boy's self-esteem.

Because that's how people are. Take Zheng Zhuang's past life for example. When he was a child, he thought he was different from others. But as he grew older, he gradually realized that, apart from a few people born with a silver spoon in their mouths, everyone is actually the same—just a corporate slave.

“Others…” The chubby boy tilted his head and thought for a while, but found that there didn’t seem to be any other reasons.

Zheng Zhuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the chubby boy didn't say anything about maintaining world peace, otherwise he would have been too embarrassed to refuse.

"What do you think is the most important thing in a person's life? Or, what kind of life is meaningful?" Zheng Zhuang decided to give the chubby boy some valuable advice.

Without waiting for the chubby boy's answer, he concluded decisively: "It's to realize one's own value!"

The chubby boy was stunned. He had read about ideas like "loyalty to the emperor and serving the country" in books before, but what the teacher said made more sense.

"Realize your own value..."

"That's right! A person's life should be lived in such a way that when looking back on the past, they will not regret wasting their years, nor be ashamed of having accomplished nothing. Only then, when they are about to die, can they say: 'I have dedicated my life and all my experiences to the most magnificent cause in the world—the struggle for peace.' Just think, wouldn't it be wonderful if Cangzhou were free from war?"

The chubby boy was completely stunned and could only nod silently in response:

"Of course!"

Zheng Zhuang nodded with satisfaction and said, "Therefore, your path should be to study hard, not to learn any magic. No matter how powerful the magic is, it is nothing but fleeting smoke, but great ideas can influence countless people invisibly! Take the folding fan I gave you and go to Quliang Academy!"

The chubby boy didn't quite understand, but he still thought it made a lot of sense, so he quickly agreed.

"Sir, you are right!"

Watching the chubby boy slowly walk away, Zheng Zhuang silently breathed a sigh of relief.