Simultaneous travel: I am proving the great way in the heavens.

Chapter 601 The Growth of Luofu, the Secrets of the Demon World! The Power of the Strange and Supernatural!
Confucian disciples, of course, follow the teachings of the sage, "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits; he respected ghosts and spirits but kept them at a distance."

However, how could an ordinary scholar possess the mind and cultivation of a sage?

Especially for a scholar like Zhu Xiaolian, who had witnessed the existence of extraordinary power and even seen demons and monsters wreaking havoc in the town, he simply could not follow the teachings of the sages.

And Luo Fu, who in his eyes truly possessed extraordinary power, undoubtedly became someone he wanted to befriend.

Having decided to travel together, Zhu Xiaolian was extremely enthusiastic.

Almost everything was arranged for Luofu along the way.

Poor Hou Xia, his pageboy, not only had to carry Zhu Xiaolian's book box, but also had his burden increased by Luo Fu's addition.

Although he knew little about the world, Luo Fu learned a great deal about the current state of the world from Zhu Xiaolian, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations.

The current emperor's surname is Zhang, the country's name is Zhou, and it has been ruling the world for two hundred years.

When the emperor first ascended the throne, he did indeed have the ambition to govern well. At first, he did indeed reform the court, and it even began to show signs of revival. However, a few years ago, for reasons unknown, the emperor suddenly changed his mind and began to worship Buddhism and Taoism. He even appointed a Western Region Tantric monk, Pudu Cihang, who appeared out of nowhere, as the national teacher.

From that time on, the court, which had finally become somewhat clear-headed, became chaotic again, and even began to show signs of the dynasty's impending doom.

Whenever the current emperor was mentioned, Zhu Xiaolian's tone couldn't help but feel a little wistful, but more than that, it was one of disappointment and frustration.

After all, as Confucian disciples, cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world is the common aspiration of almost all Confucian disciples.

No matter how capable one is, it is never wrong to place one's hopes on a wise and virtuous ruler.

Unfortunately, Luo Fu wasn't very interested in these court affairs.

What he was more concerned about was whether the world was inherently filled with demons and monsters running rampant from the beginning, or whether it suddenly changed at some point.

Zhu Xiaolian didn't know much about this, but he had read quite a few books. According to Zhu Xiaolian, about a hundred years after the current dynasty was established, legends about demons and monsters suddenly increased in the world.

It is quite obvious that the great changes in the world began around the time this dynasty established its rule over the world a hundred years ago, and there will not be much deviation in that time.

It should be noted that while some of the books Zhu Xiaolian read may have been forgeries, they also contained some genuine information.

According to Zhu Xiaolian, folk tales about demons and monsters are common.

But these were all just hearsay from ignorant people in the mountains. However, a hundred years after this dynasty established itself in the world, there suddenly became a lot of evidence about these legends of demons and monsters, which were difficult to distinguish from the truth.

The reason why empirical evidence is presented with the rhetoric of being difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood is entirely because, taking a hundred years as a dividing point, most of the legends before that were hearsay, but after a hundred years, suddenly there are many records claiming to have personally experienced them.

Zhu Xiaolian, in particular, had personally witnessed the power of those strange and supernatural beings; otherwise, he would not have known Luofu.

Having roughly made up his mind, Luo Fu knew that he wouldn't get any more secrets from Zhu Xiaolian.

After all, Zhu Xiaolian only had the status of a local gentry because he passed the imperial examination and became a Juren. As a Confucian disciple, he was just a scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken.

I witnessed extraordinary power because the town was indeed haunted.

Even if he experienced something extraordinary, it was only as an observer for Zhu Xiaolian; it didn't actually happen to him.

As for the painted wall that Zhu Xiaolian encountered, Luo Fu didn't know when he would encounter it.

Although Luofu knew that the famous abbot of Jinshan Temple, Zen Master Fahai, was definitely a highly virtuous monk; and that Lanruo Temple in Jinhua was even inhabited by a thousand-year-old tree demon.

However, Luo Fu has no connection with the former, and as for the latter, Luo Fu has not yet figured out how strong the upper limit of power in this world is. If he rushes in rashly, the outcome is uncertain.

Of course, what truly deterred Luofu from making any rash moves was Zen Master Baiyun.

Luo Fu had just returned from the shared space when Master Baiyun noticed something amiss, which made Luo Fu subconsciously raise his assessment of the upper limit of power in this world.

However, Luo Fu had overestimated this world.

Master Baiyun can be considered to be the true pinnacle among cultivators in this world.

Despite the fact that when dealing with the thousand-year-old tree demon of Lanruo Temple, Master Baiyun not only lost his eyesight but was also imprisoned by the tree demon for a long time due to a single careless move.

It seems that Master Baiyun is far inferior to Yan Chixia, but Yan Chixia was already dead at that time. The thousand-year-old tree demon had clearly captured Master Baiyun, but it was unable to do anything to him. This was enough to prove Master Baiyun's cultivation level.

Especially at the end, the blood of Zen Master Baiyun turned completely golden, which clearly meant that he had already shed his mortal body and was qualified to ascend to the Western Paradise.

It's not surprising that Luo Fu was discovered by Zen Master Baiyun, much like a newbie encountering the final boss in a beginner's village. This would lead Luo Fu to misjudge the power ceiling of this world.

This doesn't mean that the upper limit of this world is nothing special.

Don't forget that the current Imperial Preceptor in the capital is still the same Pudu Cihang, which means that Yan Chixia is still alive and that Zen Master Baiyun has not truly reached the absolute limit of his own strength.

Of course, because this world is full of changes, it seems to be a combination of many strange stories, so the timeline obviously cannot follow a set pattern, but will change accordingly.

This change was also one of the key factors that helped Luo Fu suppress his inner impulses.

He and Zhu Xiaolian, master and servant, traveled together.

Several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Luo Fu finally completed the initial localization of the shared power. At the very least, he now truly has the strength to protect himself.

This only made Luo Fu seem even more unfathomable in Zhu Xiaolian's eyes.

The three of them traveled all the way to the capital, and for the most part they slept in the wilderness.

After all, in this day and age, most travel is done on foot, and it's common to go ten days or half a month without encountering any villages or towns where people gather.

Once you reach a town, you'll naturally need to rest for a few days.

Even the Xia people were not livestock; even oxen and horses couldn't withstand the arduous journey of carrying luggage for days on end.

As for why the three of them didn't have any means of transportation, one reason is that horses or donkeys used for transportation also need to be fed, and carrying luggage would only add to their burden.

On the other hand, although Zhu Xiaolian was a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level), he could be considered a newly promoted local gentry.

They could afford to support pageboys, but they really couldn't afford to support livestock.

Luo Fu and Zhu Xiaolian, along with his page Hou Xia, traveled together and, when they encountered towns and other places where people gathered, they naturally had to rest for a few days.

On the one hand, spending several days in the open and in the wind is not exactly a leisurely trip.

It is a huge drain on both mental and physical strength.

On the other hand, after several days of travel, they needed to replenish their food and water. They stayed at an inn in a town on the way to the capital.

Unlike Zhu Xiaolian and Hou Xia and his servant, who needed a good rest to relieve their fatigue.

Having already completed the initial localization of its forces, Luo Fu showed no signs of having gone through several days of travel.

After exchanging a few words with Zhu Xiaolian and his servant, Luo Fu decided to explore the town.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty is now showing signs of its twilight years, this town is still bustling with activity.

The streets are bustling with pedestrians and residents, and stalls selling various goods can be seen from time to time.

Wandering through Luofu, I was soon drawn to a scene of arguing.

It was a farmer pulling a cart loaded with fresh pears, arguing with a Taoist priest dressed in tattered clothes, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

After only a short while, Luo Fu understood what had happened.

The farmer's pears were very sweet, but they were very expensive. The ragged Taoist priest kept asking the farmer for pears, but the farmer refused, which led to the current dispute.

The scene before him gave Luo Fu a strange sense of familiarity.

Before Luo Fu could react, a shop assistant quickly walked out from a shop on the side of the road.

It seemed that the argument between the farmer and the Taoist priest was affecting the shop's business. After the shop assistant came out, he took the initiative to spend money to buy one of the farmer's pears and give it to the Taoist priest, intending to settle the matter in this way and at least prevent the two of them from continuing to quarrel and further affecting the shop.

Upon seeing this, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Luo Fu.

Plant pears.

Next, this Taoist priest, after eating the pear, will likely use a clever trick to give away all the pears on the farmer's cart to the onlookers for free.

However, in Luo Fu's view, the farmer's actions were beyond reproach, after all, the pears were his livelihood, but the Taoist's actions were unacceptable.

Relying on his skill in deception, the Taoist generously gave away all the pears on the farmer's cart to the audience. While it seemed like the Taoist was acting chivalrously, this was undoubtedly a huge blow to the farmer, almost destroying his livelihood.

Sure enough, after the Taoist priest got the pear and ate it in big bites, he immediately began to show off his illusion magic, digging a hole in the pear core and planting it there.

He then asked for a pot of boiling water from a nearby shop and poured it on the surface.

The next moment, the pear core buried in the ground sprouted instantly, and it was visible to the naked eye that it grew from a tender sprout into a lush tree with branches and leaves, flowering and bearing fruit all in the blink of an eye.

The tree was laden with pears, hanging heavily from the branches.

This clever trick truly astonished everyone present. The Taoist priest, as if it were commonplace, picked pears one by one and offered them to the onlookers. Even Luo Fu received a sweet and plump pear.

After picking all the pears from the tree, the Taoist priest still seemed unsatisfied and borrowed an iron shovel to start cutting down the tree.

This small town is not exactly bustling, and finding an axe would certainly not be easy. Tools like shovels would be much easier to borrow.

However, just as the Taoist was about to use the borrowed shovel to cut the pear tree down,

Luo Fu finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Master, relying on your trickery to bully innocent farmers like this is somewhat contrary to the true meaning of Taoism."

As Luo Fu's voice faded away.

The onlookers immediately erupted in an uproar.

In truth, Luo Fu's words were not merely a simple exchange with the Taoist; rather, in that single sentence, he broke through the Taoist's illusion.

Before everyone's eyes, there was no longer any pear tree that had grown so quickly. The Taoist priest in front of them was standing in front of the farmer's cart, holding an iron shovel, trying to cut off the cart's handle.

"Ah!" The farmer, as if waking from a dream, screamed in agony, his eyes widening and bloodshot with rage. "You damned thief! You've ruined my family's livelihood! I'll fight you to the death!"

Seeing that the cart was empty, the farmer, now awakened from his illusion, knew perfectly well that the mysterious magic the Taoist had just demonstrated was nothing but a deception. The pears he had given to the onlookers were actually ones he had brought to sell.

Even though he knew that the Taoist priest possessed some mysterious magic, the farmer was so desperate that he was ready to fight for his life after the priest had cut off his livelihood that he no longer cared whether the priest had any supernatural powers or magic.

The rabbit bites people when it is anxious.

Not to mention living people whose livelihoods have been cut off.

The Taoist priest was clearly startled.

Seeing the farmer rushing over, he quickly said, "Wait a minute, I was just joking. I'll compensate you for the value of your cart of pears."

The farmer was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, and then gave a price he was willing to pay.

The Taoist priest didn't haggle at all. He took out a small piece of silver from his tattered Taoist robe and tossed it to the farmer, saying, "This small piece of silver is enough to buy you a cartload of pears."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Taoist casually tossed the iron shovel aside and looked at Luo Fu, who had broken his illusion.

His expression darkened slightly, and the Taoist priest asked, "Sir, whose disciple are you? Why have you disrupted my magic?"

"You dare to bully others with your skills and ask about my background?" Luo Fu sneered.

Luo Fu had absolutely no respect for this kind of person who relied on deception to appear carefree, but in reality used it to bully an honest and simple farmer.

Enraged by Luo Fu's words, the Taoist priest's face grew even more gloomy. He gritted his teeth and said, "This humble Taoist will learn from your superior skills."

Before he finished speaking, the Taoist priest suddenly made a hand seal and chanted an incantation.

The next moment, a wisp of smoke rose from beneath the Taoist's feet. In an instant, it transformed into dark clouds.

Thunder and lightning flashed amidst the dark clouds.

This sight immediately startled the onlookers who were watching the spectacle.

The crowd scattered like birds and beasts in an instant.
Even the farmers who had been there before were now trembling with fear as they pulled their carts and fled.

The shops on both sides had their doors tightly shut, but a crack had been left in the window, revealing pairs of peeping eyes.

"You have such a petty trick, and you dare to show off in front of me?"

Luo Fu immediately recognized that the Taoist's seemingly grand gesture was actually just a low-level charade.

(End of this chapter)