Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 168 Bloody Disaster

Qing Wan stood beside the green bamboo scroll, her small body swaying in the spiritual energy. A lot of vitality entered her body, nourishing her body and soul. She closed her eyes in comfort for a moment.

Lu Zheng was sitting nearby and also felt the changes in the scroll.

After a while, the aura of the scroll faded, but the green bamboo in the painting still felt extremely real.

Lu Zheng gently stroked the scroll and added a poem, which improved the quality of the painting.

An idea came to his mind, and he pointed his finger at a green bamboo in the painting.

Suddenly, a dazzling green light appeared, and a green bamboo broke through the painting and took root directly in the soil next to it. It quickly grew into a green bamboo nearly five meters long, full of spirit and exuding an aura of integrity and tenacity.

Ling Zhu has the air of a gentleman, and Lu, who was standing beside him, was also infected by his aura.

Lu Zheng reached out and touched the green bamboo. The touch felt extremely real, but he also had a vague feeling that it was not yet completely real, as if something was missing.

After observing it carefully, Lu Zheng included the green bamboo into the painting and put the entire scroll away.

Qing Wan had already absorbed her fill and lay back in Lu Zheng's pocket with a satisfied look on her face, enjoying the spiritual vitality she had refined.

Lu was packing up his things and preparing to continue on his journey when he suddenly heard a noise.

Glancing sideways, he saw a Taoist priest coming quickly.

"Hey?"

When the Taoist saw Lu Zheng, his eyes suddenly flashed.

He just discovered an unusual spiritual energy fluctuation here from afar and thought it was some rare treasure that appeared in the world. But it turned out that there was someone here, and it was an acquaintance he had met before.

The Taoist looked at Lu Zheng with a smile and walked forward slowly. "My little Taoist friend, we meet again. It's really fate!"

"Master, I am a scholar."

Lu Zheng didn't expect to meet the Taoist priest who had sold him magic spells here again.

The Taoist said leisurely, "Alas, in the early days of the human race, there weren't so many distinctions among cultivators. Confucianism and Taoism were once one family, and we are all fellow believers. What's wrong with calling each other fellow Daoists? I'm Yun Xiao, and you can call me Daoist Yun or Daoist Yun Xiao. Cultivators don't need to be so particular!"

"My name is Lu Zheng." Lu Zheng said.

Yun Xiao's eyes moved slightly. He had heard a little about the Qixi Literary Gathering. It turned out that this young man was Lu Zheng.

He couldn't help but laugh and said, "My dear friend Lu, your name is well known to me! I heard that you claimed that your math skills were unmatched in the world, and that you defeated those Wu people miserably. You are truly a young and promising person."

Lu Zheng said embarrassedly: "Uh, I never said such a thing. I think someone is exaggerating."

Yun Xiao laughed heartily and said, "That shows you have some real skills, otherwise why would someone praise you so much? By the way, how's the magic I sold you going?"

Lu Zheng replied: "Once you enter the threshold, you can summon bean soldiers, but they are not very effective."

Yun Xiao said, "See, I'm not some charlatan. What I sell are genuine goods! If you practice diligently and master this method, you'll be able to summon even more powerful bean soldiers."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Master, what you said is very true."

Yun Xiao looked at Lu Zheng and said slowly, "It is fate that we meet again. I have something unpleasant to say, but I wonder if you, little friend Lu, would like to hear it?"

"I'd like to hear the details." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

"Ahem..." Yun Xiao's expression changed, and he stared at Lu Zheng sternly. "From my observation of your face, I know you might be in danger of a bloody disaster. You better be careful, young friend."

Lu Zheng remained calm upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Taoist Priest. I'll keep it in mind. I have to hurry on my way, so I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, Lu Zheng bowed and walked up the mountain path.

Yun Xiao quickly followed, "Fellow Daoist, do you not believe what I say?"

Lu Zheng smiled as he walked, "As the sage said, 'Misfortune often follows blessing, and blessing often follows misfortune... Just let everything take its course. Even if disaster strikes, there's nothing to fear."

Lu Zheng didn't care much about Yun Xiao's statement, whether it was true or false.

It is not his character to become timid because of some bloody disaster.

"Hey, you still don't believe me!" Yun Xiao raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm telling you, I'm a legitimate Taoist priest from Shu Kingdom!"

The Shu Kingdom in the south admired Taoism and promoted Taoism. Some officials in the court were even Taoist priests.

When Lu Zheng heard this, he couldn't help but look back at Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao had a serious expression on his face. He raised his hand and formed a Taoist seal. A ray of light flowed between his fingers, emitting an extraordinary and powerful aura.

He said slowly, "I practice the Xiaoyao method of Zhuang Sheng. I am a Taoist who has been canonized on Qingyang Mountain outside Rongdu. I am not talented, but I have practiced for many years and have barely reached the fourth level."

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't expect that this Taoist priest was such a capable one.

"It turns out to be the senior. I am confused." Lu Zheng couldn't help but say.

Yun Xiao smiled and said, "What do you mean by senior or not? I've only practiced a few years longer than you. If you reach my age, you might be even more powerful than me!"

Lu Zheng smiled without saying anything and continued on his way quickly.

Yun Xiao said, "You must remember what I said."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "I will be careful, don't worry about me, senior."

Yun Xiao saw this and felt that this young man was not very righteous. He couldn't help but say, "I know that you have a righteous spirit and a righteous heart, and you are not afraid of disasters. However, the world is unpredictable, and your level of Taoism..."

Lu Zheng turned and asked, "Master, do you want to help me avoid this disaster?"

Yun Xiao stroked his beard with one hand, "I also value talent. It would be a pity if something happened to someone like you. I'll give you this talisman. If you carry it with you, it may keep you safe for a while and turn a major disaster into a minor one."

Yun Xiao handed a talisman to Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng looked at the talisman, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and in the end he didn't say anything.

He raised his hand to take the talisman and said thank you, "Thank you, Taoist Priest."

Yun Xiao followed and waited for a while but there was no further news.

He blinked and thought to himself, you are really rude, young man.

Yun Xiao coughed dryly and said, "This talisman was not easy to refine. It took quite a bit of effort. It is specially used to avert disasters. It is very precious. Don't lose it."

"I will keep it well." Lu Zheng nodded.

Yun Xiao twitched his lips and said again, "This talisman is worth 1,800 spirit stones. You must keep it well!"

Lu Zheng was slightly surprised and asked, "So expensive?"

Yun Xiao said leisurely, "How else? A bloody disaster is not so easy to avoid. If you feel bad about it, just give me the cost price, five hundred spirit stones will be enough."

"Is that so?" Lu Zheng raised his hand and took out two talismans. "I'll sell them to you for 300 spirit stones. Do you want them?"

Yun Xiao paused and looked at the talisman in Lu Zheng's hand, which was almost the same as the one he had just taken out.

This talisman was given to Lu Zheng by Qing Xuanzi before. It has the effect of calming the mind and soothing the spirit. It is a second-level spiritual talisman and has no effect in resolving disasters.

Lu Zheng said softly, "Master, you could have just robbed me, but you still gave me a talisman. It's really..."

Yun Xiao was embarrassed and couldn't help but say, "That's right. I'm a legitimate Taoist priest, how could I do such a thing? I don't force anyone to buy or sell anything, I always keep my word!"

"This talisman is only slightly more expensive, but it's still effective... You scholars don't often use spiritual stones for cultivation, but do you know that spiritual objects are so scarce among cultivators all over the world?"

Although Yun Xiao's realm is high, he is also extremely short of resources for cultivation.

Seeing that Lu Zheng was a big fat sheep, he thought of trying to trick him into paying a high price, but the other party didn't fall for it.

Lu Zheng sighed, "This is not a reason for the Taoist priest to lie."

"Don't be so harsh. As the saying goes, suffering a loss is a blessing." Yun Xiao said quietly, "Some people pay money and suffer a loss, but they can also learn from it."

Yun Xiao reluctantly took out another talisman and handed it to Lu Zheng. "I'll give it to you for free. It's a third-level talisman, a real life-saving talisman, not a fake. Don't say I lied to you anymore!"

Even at Yun Xiao's current level, the success rate of making a third-level protective talisman is not high.

Lu Zheng could clearly see the difference of this talisman. It was indeed a rare talisman.

Lu Zheng shook his head and said, "Master, you are thoughtful. I don't need such a talisman."

Yun Xiao raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and thought to himself, could it be that Lu Zheng has some powerful self-defense treasure on him?

But think about it, Lu Zheng was once received by the Princess of Fengcheng County, and he might have received a lot of good things.

"Hey, if you think you have too much of a good thing, forget it."

Yun Xiao immediately took the talisman and said, "I really didn't lie to you. There is blood on your head. What have you done recently?"

Yun Xiao couldn't help but have a gleam in his eyes, and looked at Lu Zheng again.

He could vaguely see the direction of Lu Zheng's recent luck, with a little blood, but not much.

However, Yun Xiao felt that for a scholar who cultivated a righteous spirit, this little bit of blood was obviously unusual.

"Master, do you know how to read qi?" Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask curiously.

Yun Xiao smiled and said, "I understand a little. But your aura is so restrained that it's hard for me to see through it. How about you reveal your full aura so I can take a good look?"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "I won't bother you, Taoist Priest."

The other party knows the art of observing qi. If he doesn't restrain his qi, won't everything be exposed?
As for the bloody light that Yun Xiao mentioned, Lu Zheng had some guesses, but there was no definite answer. He could only wait until he encountered it, and perhaps he would know the reason.

"If you don't want to, forget it." Yun Xiao said, "I have some really good stuff here, but I'm afraid you can't afford it. Do you want to take a look?"

"No, thank you..." Lu Zheng said.

Lu Zheng continued on his way and could already see a village in the mountains ahead.

Yun Xiao said, "It's a method for cultivating righteousness and justice. You Confucians, it guarantees that your righteousness and justice will become even purer! I'll sell it to you at a low price, 10,000 spirit stones!"

Lu Zheng walked quickly without even turning his head.

Yun Xiao couldn't help but say, "Young man, don't walk so fast. You don't believe me, I'm not lying to you!"

Yun Xiao was a little surprised to see that Lu Zheng was not moved at all.

The more this happened, the more Yun Xiao was unwilling to give up. He had to sell something to Lu Zheng, not wanting to miss out on this big client.

(End of this chapter)