fifth form

Chapter 2136 The Rise of Literary Style
If one believes that the realm of true self is the limit of spiritual practice, ordinary people will be satisfied with being able to reach the realm of supernatural powers and the realm of self-only, and they will also agree that reaching the realm of true self is the end point of spiritual practice.

When these limits of practice are reached at a higher level, it undoubtedly makes people feel that there is still hope ahead and the pursuit has not stagnated.

Compared to the Golden Crow Emperor who was wandering around the burning fire in a gloomy mood, Zhenyuan Shenjun was indeed more energetic.

Especially Zhenyuan Shenjun used the Wanshou Fruit to practice the Changsheng Jue to increase his lifespan. At this moment, he looked more energetic and spirited, like a young monk who had just come out of the mountains.

If it weren't for the longevity fruit trees in the secret place of Broken Soul Ridge that needed care, and if there were no possible problems with the longevity fruits, Lord Zhenyuan would have wanted to travel to the ends of the earth to see the prosperity of the world.

Even though he was still concerned about the longevity fruit tree, now that he felt the tree had come back to life, he thought there was nothing wrong with going out for a while.

If Zhang Xuezhou is willing to help, he will send Zhang Xuezhou back to Chang'an City and wait for a while before going to the Yedi River Holy Land to look for the Taoist Lord. It is also possible that they will go to the Xieluo River Holy Land to visit His Majesty.

Gazing at the beautiful mountains and rivers below the sky, he felt a sense of clarity and comfort in his heart.

"There is a city below. Let's go and see where it is."

Zhang Xuezhou didn't know the way, and it was also the first time for Zhenyuan Shenjun to travel far out of the holy land. The two flew in a straight line, and they would find a landmark to mark their direction wherever they flew to.

After flying over mountains, wastelands, jungles and seas, the two finally found a place where people gathered.

Seeing that the place below was no longer where the tribe was grazing, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he had finally found the landmark.

He spoke first, and Zhenyuan Shenjun agreed, quickly leading the wind and waves downward.

"I seem to be familiar with this place!"

As they continued to fly down, Zhang Xuezhou felt a vague sense of familiarity rising in his heart.

He and Zhenyuan Shenjun landed on a slope in the mountain. When they walked for several miles, Zhang Xuezhou looked up and saw the three words "Shujun City" hanging high on the city gate.

After searching back and forth for the correct route to the West Kunlun Holy Land, Zhang Xuezhou did not expect that the Feiyu Demon King would stumble and shuttle through the clouds and carry him in a straight line.

This was the point where he had fallen when struck by lightning in the past, and it was also the straight line landing area after his 15,000-mile flight this time.

With this landmark, it will be several times easier for Zhang Xuezhou to travel to and from the Kunlun Holy Land. He only needs to take off from the landing point and fly straight west to reach his destination, without having to go back and forth and take a long detour.

This time, he relied on the Cloud-soaring Technique to fly with the help of Zhenyuan Shenjun, and they flew for a total of more than two days. They had taken many breaks during the flight. If he had used the Cloud-soaring Technique to continue, it would obviously save some time.

Zhang Xuezhou thought about it and felt that it would take about a week for him to return to the Kunlun Holy Land, and he would no longer need to go back and forth.

"This is Shujun City!"

Zhenyuan Shenjun was somewhat unfamiliar with the Han characters, so Zhang Xuezhou was responsible for introducing them.

"I passed by here in my early years. With the help of Wen Weng, the county governor, I got to know the owner of this place. We are passing by now and it is a good opportunity to ask for some entrance items!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to Shujun City, which made Zhenyuan Shenjun very happy.

Both Zhenyuan Shenjun and Zhang Xuezhou are good at fasting, but they are both mortal. Once they encounter the consumption of continuous casting of spells, their physical strength and magic power will be depleted, making it difficult for them to rely on fasting to support themselves.

If they could eat, even better quality food, they would obviously recover faster.

When Zhang Xuezhou traveled west, he only brought the purple gold and red gourd that could not fit into his bag, and did not bring any other magic weapons, but his bag was full of small items.

When he took out his "jie", he couldn't help but sigh a little, and felt that the things he did in Shujun City in the past were still vivid in his mind.

As his guarantor, although County Magistrate Wen Weng only acted as a guarantor out of consideration for Dong Zhongshu's reputation, his help was also real.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the city normally with Zhenyuan Shenjun. He felt that after several years, Shujun City had some familiarity but also some strangeness.

The city walls were a little higher, and there was a constant stream of people coming and going, and the streets were filled with the sounds of hawkers calling out their wares.

Although Shu County City was not as prosperous as Chang'an City, this kind of business scene was rare in many cities. Some vendors had children reading numbers aloud with simple bamboo slips, and there were also children playing arithmetic and finger-guessing games. Some people put a roll of bamboo slips on their goods and read them when they had nothing to do.

"The people here are really eager to learn. Even the sellers read books." Zhenyuan Divine Lord said happily: "This must be a very open-minded place!"

“It’s really easy to learn here!”

Zhang Xuezhou focused on the prosperity of commerce, while Zhenyuan Shenjun only felt that this place was a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, and even merchants liked to read.

Reading more means understanding things, and understanding things will help you to be reasonable, rather than simply and brutally solving problems by relying on fists.

Such open-mindedness was unheard of in Zhenyuan Shenjun's limited knowledge.

"In the past, only nobles were qualified to study," said Zhenyuan Divine Lord. "I never thought the world has developed to this level!"

"Reading and learning is not as important as filling your mouth with food. It is difficult to study without a full stomach. Only the nobles have the money and time to read books," said Zhang Xuezhou.

"That's the truth," Zhenyuan Divine Lord nodded and said, "That's why I'm curious about this open-minded atmosphere. How can people here read and learn to read despite being hungry?"

"This is not difficult. We can find out by just asking," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

Zhang Xuezhou had not been to Shu County City for several years. He had seen the embarrassment and helplessness of County Magistrate Wen Weng when he promoted the academy, but he did not expect that things would be completely different a few years later.

The fact that vendors can read proves that people in other industries or higher classes will definitely study seriously.

In a society where mouths are more important than anything else, this requires Shujun City to have an extremely high level of self-reliance.

For the Han Dynasty at that time, the people outside the Emperor's City had to go through several adjustments before they could barely get enough food and clothing. No one cared about studying. The changes in Shujun City really surprised Zhang Xuezhou.

This is not the era of plenty brought about by the technological explosion in real society, where people can continue to focus on their studies, but an agricultural era that requires people to get up early and go to bed late.

Zhenyuan Shenjun was curious, and Zhang Xuezhou was also extremely curious.

"Students of the county magistrate's academy are exempt from corvée service. If one student enrolls, the whole family will benefit. After completing their studies, they can become officials in the county. Once again, they can serve as filial brothers and farmers, and have the same status as the three elders in the village. Who among us doesn't want to learn!"

After paying two and a half taels of money to buy ten wild fruits, Zhang Xuezhou easily learned the reason from the vendor.

"Since ancient times, interests have always moved people's hearts. The county magistrate here is really a man of courage," Zhenyuan Divine Lord praised: "But this kind of promotion will inevitably harm the interests of others and will inevitably be opposed. How did he start to promote it, and how will he continue to promote it?"

"This question, Lord God, is a bit beyond their scope!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't need to ask, he knew very well that the vendor had no way of knowing such things.

In the eyes of the vendors, all they know is that studying can bring them benefits, and nothing else.

This is also the most effective way to promote learning.

Benefits can guide people to study, but Zhenyuan Shenjun is quite curious about who can provide huge benefits to maintain so many people following to study, and whether there are enough positions for scholars. After exempting these scholars from corvee labor, the overall interests of the city are even shrinking. How can this be maintained?

After leaving the Kunlun Holy Land, Zhenyuan Shenjun felt that this situation was just like the difficult problems he encountered in his practice, and he also wanted to see how people from different fields solved related problems.

"Seeing thousands of things, dispelling doubts and understanding many principles, you will be able to draw inferences from other things!"

When Zhang Xuezhou showed a little curiosity, Zhenyuan Shenjun responded seriously, indicating that his journey into the secular world after leaving the holy land would not only be maintained in the interaction with the large group of practitioners, but also that if he discovered some beautiful place, he would make corresponding pursuit.

If he understands everything clearly, he may be able to draw inferences from other things and gain a deeper understanding of his own practice.

"Humans are social creatures. It is impossible to climb to a high place alone without the group!"

He murmured something meaningful, but quickly stopped talking so as not to mention some great practitioners.