Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 190 Between the Palaces
Lu Zheng walked closer to check out the flowers and trees, and found that they were all growing well and full of vitality.

Xiao Shan explained, "The soil here is spiritual soil, and it's also nourished by the spirit of culture. I occasionally take care of these flowers and plants, so they grow just as well as they do outside."

Lu Zheng nodded, "I see."

Xiao Shan said with a smile: "In fact, when your Wen Palace can accommodate living things, you can raise Qing Wan there. She is a very spiritual little girl. Even if she doesn't focus on Confucianism, she is not comparable to ordinary monsters."

Lu Zheng deeply agreed with this. Qing Wan was influenced by the literary spirit of a scholar who had passed the imperial examination. She was able to awaken and transform at an early age. She did have some talent beyond that of a demon.

Xiao Shan walked in front and took Lu Zheng to the room.

When the door opened, the layout inside was like a study, filled with many books and calligraphy and paintings.

When Lu Zheng entered, he could clearly feel the literary atmosphere of Xiaoshan.

Xiao Shan came to a bookshelf, took down two books, and handed them to Lu Zheng, "Take a look."

Lu Zheng took the books curiously. They were two identical copies of "The Analects of Confucius", but the aura they emitted was different.

He gently flipped through the two books, "This one is a real book, and this one is the Dean's literary spirit?"

Xiao Shan nodded and said, "Some of the books in this room were condensed by me using my literary energy. How can a literary palace be complete without some books?"

"The dean is very knowledgeable." Lu Zheng couldn't help but say.

If you are not familiar with these classics and have no certain understanding of them, it will be difficult to materialize them.

Xiao Shan smiled and said, "My friend, you are too kind. I haven't comprehended these sage books deeply enough. They can only be displayed in the Wen Palace and cannot be taken out."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng knew that some Confucian and Taoist scholars were so advanced in their cultivation that they could even use their literary energy to condense real books and pass them on to future generations as special cultural treasures.

It is said that there was a Confucian general in the previous dynasty who used his own literary skills to compile hundreds of war poems into a book. The poems in the book could kill demons and monsters, making it a rare and precious cultural treasure.

However, that book of war poems was lost in the last years of the previous dynasty and its whereabouts are unknown.

Some great scholars were able to turn the entire Four Books and Five Classics into a literary treasure. Ordinary scholars could benefit from just flipping through one or two of them and improve their own literary talent.

Lu Zheng looked at the books in front of him. These books made of literary energy were still quite different from real books.

Xiao Shan said leisurely, "I'm still a little short of my realm. I'll strive to use my literary energy to condense a true book in this lifetime and pass it on to future generations, so that I won't have any regrets."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "The dean is in his prime, and he still has a long life ahead of him."

Xiao Shan laughed heartily, "Just take your time and watch. I'll go make some tea!"

Xiao Shan walked to a tea table in the room and started to make tea there.

Lu Zheng looked at the calligraphy and paintings again. Most of them were from Xiao Shan, and there were also other cultural treasures from literati.

They are much better than the collections in the study outside. They are all treasures full of spiritual charm and literary flavor.

Xiao Shan smiled and said, "If you like any painting, you can choose any one of them."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "A gentleman doesn't take away what others like. The dean's collections are extraordinary. I think he takes good care of them. How can I just pick them casually? Besides, I don't know much about calligraphy and painting. I can only sense what is good and what is bad, but I can't appreciate anything."

When Xiao Shan heard this, he couldn't help but think of the green bamboo scroll that Qing Wan used for cultivation.

Lu Zheng treated such a precious scroll so casually, which seemed to indicate that he really didn't know much about calligraphy and painting.

Xiao Shan laughed heartily and said, "Don't be so polite with me. A friend once wanted to trade a painting with me, but I was reluctant to give it to him. Now I'm being generous for once. If you want it again in the future, I may not give it to you..."

Lu Zheng looked at it for a while and said, "Actually, I quite like the dean's painting of a crane. It can carry people flying, but there are no such paintings here."

"I see. I'll draw you a picture when we get out later!" Xiao Shan said, "But I'm not very good at painting, so I can't draw a very good crane. Please don't despise me, my friend."

"How dare I." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

After a while, Xiao Shan prepared the spiritual tea and brought a cup to Lu Zheng.

The two stayed in the room for a while, then went to the yard to sit and rest.

Lu Zheng felt that although this Wen Palace was not big, the environment was quite good.

He thought for a moment and asked curiously, "I've heard that when one reaches the level of a great scholar, the Wen Palace can even be moved to the outside world. Has the dean ever seen such a Wen Palace?"

Hearing this, Xiao Shan recalled the past and murmured, "I was fortunate enough to meet him once. Back in Tai'an City, my colleagues and I went to visit the sage of our An State. Although I didn't see the sage's true face, I did visit his Wen Palace."

"His Palace of Literature is a nine-story building. I've only entered the first floor, but I can already feel the vastness of his literary aura. Compared to a sage, it's like a firefly meeting the bright moon."

Lu Zheng was surprised and said, "A nine-story building? How tall is it?"

Xiao Shan replied, "It covers an area of ten zhang in radius and is thirty zhang high. However, after entering, the space inside feels even larger. It's said to be a smaller version of the Saint's Palace. The real Saint's Palace is as big as a mountain."

Lu Zheng was amazed, "So powerful?"

"Isn't the sage's palace of literature comparable to that of an ordinary scholar?" Xiao Shan said with a smile. "The sage's tower is located on Wensheng Mountain in Tai'an City. If you ever visit the capital in the future, even if you can't climb the mountain, you can still admire the tower from other places in the city. It's in a quite conspicuous location."

"Having the good fortune to enter that towering building and be imbued with the sage's cultural aura has brought many benefits... I only spent a short while in there, and my cultural aura grew by three feet! It saved me years of cultivation!"

Lu Zheng pondered and said, "Three meters, not too much."

Xiao Shan's expression froze. Thinking about Lu Zheng's terrifying speed of cultivation, three meters of literary energy didn't seem to be much.

He laughed dumbly and said, "My friend, you are extremely talented. Others cannot compare to you. If you go to the Holy Tower, perhaps your literary talent will increase even more."

He went to the Saint Wen Palace? Lu Zheng thought about it and estimated that it would take a long time for such a thing to happen to him. Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I don't expect such a thing. Saint, I heard that the semi-saint in our An country lived for many years?"

Xiao Shan whispered, "He was alive before Da'an was founded. He is the ancestor of the royal family."

Lu Zhengdao: "So, as long as he is still here, Anguo will be able to maintain stability for a long time..."

Xiao Shan hesitated to speak, but sighed, "Even saints cannot escape collapse."

Lu Zheng's expression changed slightly, and he vaguely heard the deeper meaning.

Xiao Shan added, "Don't discuss the saint outside in the future. This is extremely disrespectful."

"Uh……"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Is there anything wrong with discussing the ancient sages?"

Xiao Shan said, "It's not a big deal, but don't discuss those living saints. Sometimes, they can even sense it, so don't violate the taboo... Privately, in a place like this, it's okay to say a few words."

Xiao Shan paused and changed the subject, "You've visited my place, so you should have some understanding of how to transform your own Wen Palace, right?"

"Well..." Lu Zheng touched his chin, "I still have to give it a try."

His palace of literature is not small, and with his literary talent, he may not have the energy to build it well.

Xiao Shan nodded and asked curiously, "Is there something special about your Wen Palace that makes it difficult to renovate?"

Lu Zhengdao: "It's a bit big, it doesn't seem easy to expand..."

"A bit big?" Xiao Shan's face showed even more curiosity.

Lu Zhengdao said, "It's a little bigger than the Dean's place, and the Wen Palace is also very complete. It would be difficult to expand it further. I guess we can only expand the outside and put some things inside."

"Ok?"

Xiao Shan thought for a moment and said, "My friend, you have received guidance from a saint and are extremely talented. It's normal for the Wen Palace to be large and complete. If it's difficult to make changes, just add some things."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Would you like to go and take a look, Dean? Could you give me some pointers?"

Xiao Shan is a trustworthy person and an elder with a steady personality. Letting him go to the Haoran Zhengqi Hall to take a look may help Xiao Shan improve a little.

Xiao Shan became interested. "Oh? I'd be happy to."

Lu Zhengdao: "I just don't know how to show it to the dean."

Xiao Shan said, "If you trust me, I will release a trace of my soul into your Wen Palace."

"Okay." Lu Zheng nodded.

The two of them left Xiaoshan's Wen Palace and returned to the study.

Afterwards, Xiao Shan lightly tapped Lu Zheng's eyebrows with one finger and carefully released a trace of soul thought.

The next moment, Xiao Shan found himself in a vast white space.

"Dean, behind the scenes."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shan turned around and saw Lu Zheng, and then saw a palace standing behind him. Outside the palace, there were a lot of items piled up.

Xiao Shan suddenly stared and said in shock: "This is your Wen Palace!"

A white jade palace ten meters square, with carved beams and painted rafters, is imposing and exudes a strong sense of righteousness.

Lu Zhengdao: "It was like this from the beginning."

Xiaoshan felt his throat dry. Wen Palace, Wen Palace. He didn’t expect that Lu Zheng’s Wen Palace was such a big palace.

With excitement, he walked outside the hall and looked at the large characters above, "Haoran Zhengqi... Could it be that this Wen Palace was given to you by Meng Sheng?"

"Maybe." Lu Zheng was also unclear about the situation.

Xiao Shan felt that it was very likely. Unless Lu Zheng was a natural saint, or had the potential to be a saint, how could he open up such a literary palace by himself?

Xiao Shan took a deep breath and suppressed his inner excitement. "Can I go in and take a look?"

Seeing Xiao Shan's expression, Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "How about the dean take it a little longer?"

Xiao Shan's expression changed. Could there be something special inside?
He couldn't help but say, "Ah, I'm old, and I'm not as patient as young people... Open it, I can bear it."

Lu Zheng smiled without saying anything. As soon as he thought about it, the door slowly opened.

The Hall of Righteousness is filled with righteousness.

On the top, the sun, moon and stars are moving, and on the ground, there are mountains and rivers. They are all illusory scenes, but they exude a majestic atmosphere.

There are also several cultural relics suspended in it, shining brightly and showing their extraordinary beauty.

Apart from this, there is nothing else in this huge palace.

Xiao Shan was stunned when he saw the scene.

(End of this chapter)