Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 28: Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures
Lu Zheng discovered that the tiger demon was dead, so he sat down against a stone wall and slowly adjusted his breathing to recover his strength.

He thought that this tiger demon had grown up step by step, becoming the king of the mountain and dominating the area, and it would not be easy to deal with it.

Judging from the current situation, the tiger demon must have eaten rare treasures to reach his current state. He appears strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and his brain is not very bright. In the end, he killed himself because of his own stupidity.

Lu Zheng rested for a while and then came close to the small tree to observe it.

Although the small tree has no fruit, it still exudes a sense of vitality and is full of vitality.

Judging from the growth of several branches, the tiger demon must have eaten a fruit before.

Lu Zheng had never seen this kind of tree, but he thought that the fruit that the tiger demon wanted to eat before his death must be an ordinary spiritual fruit.

Since the tiger can eat it, there is no reason why he cannot eat it.

Thinking of this, Lu Zheng looked at the two spiritual fruits in his hand that were not yet fully ripe, picked up one of them, and took a careful bite.

The fiery red flesh is slightly sweet with a hint of sourness.

After Lu Zheng swallowed a small piece of fruit pulp, he soon felt a violent and hot breath rushing through his body.

Lu Zheng raised his eyebrows and quickly sat cross-legged on the ground, practicing the method of nourishing his qi.

Under the suppression of the righteous spirit, the breath gradually became gentle, slowly nourishing Lu Zheng's body, and even his mind became clear.

Seeing that the spiritual fruit was effective, Lu Zheng was slightly delighted. He took a small amount of the spiritual fruit and continued to refine it there.

It took Lu Zheng half a day to swallow and refine the two spiritual fruits.

He opened his eyes slightly, his dark eyes were deep, bright and sharp, with a hint of brilliance flashing in them.

"call……"

Lu Zheng opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of foul air.

He slowly stood up and moved around, and found that his entire body was covered with a layer of grayish-white skin, like a snake shedding its skin.

Lu Zheng began to peel off the outer skin, revealing fair and clean skin, and his body became more well-proportioned and stylish.

"I feel like I've become much stronger."

Lu Zheng muttered to himself, feeling that his body was filled with powerful strength, and his energy and spirit were greatly improved.

He looked at the stone wall next to him and punched it with his right hand.

The stone wall trembled slightly, and a concave fist mark appeared where the fist hit. The stone at the original position was crushed into powder and fell down.

Lu Zheng slowly retracted his fist. He had not used his full strength in his previous attack, nor had he released any righteous energy.

If it attacks with all its strength, it would probably be more powerful than a single claw from a tiger monster.

He guessed that it was because his body was smaller, so even if he ate two unripe spiritual fruits, his physique would be stronger than the tiger demon.

"Good good."

Even with Lu Zheng's calm temperament, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.

He had never seen this kind of spiritual fruit before, but according to his understanding, the one that could cause such a big change in his physique was indeed not an ordinary spiritual object and could be called a treasure from heaven and earth.

Now that he has a strong physique, he is not afraid of close combat with some monsters, and his strength has been greatly enhanced.

Lu Zheng felt that he had plenty of energy but could not vent it, so he walked to the tiger demon's body, pulled out the long sword that was embedded in the tiger's body, and then practiced Tai Chi sword moves there.

His sword moves were extremely swift, and his figure was as agile and graceful as a ghost.

After performing more than a dozen sword moves in a row, Lu Zheng gradually adapted to his physical strength.

[You have practiced Tai Chi sword techniques and have gained some understanding of them. Your proficiency has increased by 10%.]

Lu Zheng sheathed his sword and then explored the cave to see if there were any other treasures.

The cave was quite large, a karst cave deep inside the mountain, with many paths leading in all directions. However, the tiger demon was large in size, and its range of movement was limited.

Lu Zheng searched for a while and found a lot of gold, silver and treasures piled up in a dark corner.

It should be that the tiger demon ate people and took money, and piled it here as trophies to show off its own strength.

After all, a tiger doesn't need all these treasures.

Lu Zheng searched around, but found only ordinary belongings and no valuables like magical instruments.

However, he also found some identity certificates, more than twenty in total. It was obvious that the original owners of these certificates had died at the hands of the tiger demon.

Moreover, these are the victims with proof. The number of people eaten by the tiger demon is probably far more than these people.

Lu Zheng wrapped the certificates in a piece of cloth and put them away carefully.

Apart from that, Lu Zheng did not take anything else and left the cave directly.

I came to the platform on the edge of the cliff outside and looked down. It was more than thirty feet away from the ground.

Lu Zheng took a deep breath, took light steps, stepped on the protruding rocks, and jumped down.

After a few jumps, Lu Zheng landed steadily on the ground and returned to his previous place.

When he returned to the place where he rested last night, the bookcase was still quietly placed there, without being moved by anyone.

Lu Zheng packed up his luggage, put on his book box, and continued on his journey.

He suddenly felt like an ascetic monk, slaying demons and monsters along the way, seeking his own righteous path.

Today the sun is hidden behind thick clouds, the sky is slightly dark and the weather is cool and pleasant.

Lu Zheng walked along the river, neither hurried nor slow.

As he hurried on, he reviewed the battle just now, looking for his own shortcomings and learning lessons.

I don’t know how far I walked, but a small boat came from the river behind me.

The person rowing the boat is an elderly man, but he is full of strength and spirit when he holds the pole.

When the old man saw Lu Zheng, he said loudly: "Young man, do you want to take a boat?"

Lu Zheng turned his head slightly and smiled, "I want to go to the nearby Baisha Village. I wonder if you're going the same way, old man?"

The old man smiled and said, "Baisha Village? I happen to be passing by there, I can give you a ride."

As he spoke, the old man rowed the boat closer and called Lu Zheng to get on board.

"Thank you very much, old man!" Lu Zheng bowed to express his gratitude, stepped lightly, and jumped onto the boat and stood firmly.

The old man then rowed the boat again and continued sailing in the river.

The old man, while leaning on a bamboo pole, chatted, "Young man, are you a scholar?"

"Yes, I'm coming out to study." Lu Zheng nodded.

The old man suddenly understood what he said, but was puzzled. "Why go to Baisha Village for study? I heard that you scholars all go to big places for study, such as provincial capitals or national capitals..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I don't have much ability, so I can only travel around this county. When I have learned enough, I will go to a bigger place to have a look... The old man knows a lot."

The old man chuckled, "I've been rowing a boat all my life. I've seen a lot of people and heard a lot of things. Even high-ranking officials from the state capital have ridden on my boat!"

"Awesome! I've never seen such a high-ranking official." Lu Zheng gave a thumbs up.

The old man couldn't help but smile and said, "I'm not that great. Scholars like you are amazing. You will become high-ranking officials in the future. As for me, the only skill I have is rowing a boat."

(End of this chapter)