Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 310: Relationship
A big white bird flapped its wings and flew high in the sky, and Qingwan sat in front to guide the direction.

Lu Zhengze sat aside to recuperate and cultivate his righteous spirit.

Suddenly, Qing Wan stared at a place in the distance, "Hey, someone is flying!"

Lu Zheng slowly opened his eyes and looked into the distance. After seeing clearly, his expression couldn't help but change.

He saw that it was Linglong, flying in the clouds opposite.

"Huh? Isn't that someone?"

Qing Wan also saw the face clearly and recognized him.

Ling Long stood on the clouds with his hands behind his back, heading west. Suddenly, he felt something and turned his head to look. He immediately saw Lu Zheng and the other man riding on a flying bird.

Her eyes paused, then a thought flashed through her mind. She slowed down and waited for the two of them.

After a while, the big bird flew close to Linglong.

Lu Zheng greeted her, "Miss Linglong..."

Ling Long smiled slightly, "I didn't expect to see you two here."

She thought Lu Zheng and the others had already arrived in Yongzhou City, but it turned out they were one step behind her.

Qing Wan beside him asked curiously, "Aren't you a water god? Why don't you take the water route but fly in the sky?"

Linglong smiled lightly, "I am still a dragon girl. I feel more comfortable flying in the sky. Jingshui River is too small."

"Oh!" Qingwan understood a little.

Ling Long looked at Lu Zheng and asked, "Mr. Lu, you don't look well?"

After just a few days of not seeing each other, Ling Long discovered that Lu Zheng's appearance had changed a lot and he had become much thinner.

Lu Zheng explained, "I've recently had some realizations, so I've been practicing in seclusion for a few days, which has consumed some of my energy."

I've only heard of people becoming stronger after practicing in seclusion, but Ling Long has never heard of anyone being so exhausted from seclusion.

She couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Lu, are you studying? Then you should take care of your health. Scholars like you don't have strong bodies. Studying for too long can easily cause you to become mentally distressed."

"Thank you for your concern, young lady." Lu Zheng smiled slightly, "But my body can still handle it. I'm not that weak."

Ling Long smiled and said, "I've heard that Master Lu also practices martial arts and is quite capable in combat, having slain many demons and ghosts."

Lu Zhengdao: "I learned a little. The main reason is that I have righteousness. Good cannot prevail over evil, so those opponents naturally cannot defeat me."

Ling Long thought that this was true. What ordinary demons and ghosts fear most are righteousness and thunder magic.

Just with his righteousness, he can suppress many demons and ghosts.

Lu Zheng asked, "Miss, do you go to Yongzhou City to attend the Double Ninth Festival every year?"

Ling Long replied, "When I was first enthroned here, I didn't go there often. Later, I got really bored, so I went to Yongzhou City every Double Ninth Festival to stroll around and occasionally participate in the heavenly sacrifice."

"The Yongzhou City God does offer sacrifices to heaven every Double Ninth Festival. This is his duty."

"Ascending high to offer sacrifices to heaven on the Double Ninth Festival has been a tradition since ancient times. It is said that the Double Ninth Festival is the closest to the nine heavens, and offering sacrifices to heaven can gain the blessings of heaven and earth and bless the next year with good weather and good harvests."

"I've never been to Anguo, but I imagine there's also this kind of festival there, right?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Yes, but I come from a small county town and have never seen any heavenly worship ceremony. Now that I have come to Yongzhou, I can broaden my horizons."

To put it simply, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven is actually a large-scale opening ceremony. As to whether it can really attract the blessings of heaven and earth, it is hard to say.

Lu Zheng was somewhat curious about what the scene would be like when a sacrifice to heaven was led by the city god of a state.

Ling Long couldn't help but ask, "The Yongzhou City God has invited you two to participate in the Heavenly Sacrifice. You should be eligible to observe and even make offerings to the Heaven. I wonder if you two have made any preparations?"

"Offering?" Lu Zheng blinked.

Seeing that Lu Zheng seemed unaware, Ling Long patiently explained, "It's an offering to heaven and earth. Mortals offer grains and livestock when they perform sacrifices, so naturally we have to offer offerings when we offer sacrifices to heaven. If we offer something special that can attract the blessings of heaven and earth, that would be wonderful too."

Ling Long paused, then whispered, "Of course, there's really no need to bring out any treasures. It's just a formality. Anything will do."

After hearing the previous sentence, Lu Zheng still felt that offering sacrifices to heaven was so solemn that it required extraordinary offerings.

But Linglong's next sentence made him feel strange. Could he even deceive God?
Ling Long saw Lu Zheng's eyes and could tell what he was thinking.

She couldn't help but laugh and said, "There are so many places where people offer sacrifices to the heavens on the Double Ninth Festival. In this world, even if we offer incense every day, there won't be any response. If you really take out a treasure to attract blessings, you won't be the only one to benefit. Others may not appreciate it and may even covet your treasure."

Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Covet? Those who participated in the heavenly sacrifice are all acquaintances and familiar gods, right? Who else would dare to do such a thing?"

Ling Long said quietly, "Knowing each other doesn't mean we have a good relationship. There are conflicts between gods and spirits."

"Mr. Lu may not be aware that many gods have overlapping responsibilities. In the early days of the Chu State, offerings to the gods were obtained through competition, leading to considerable friction between the gods. This situation gradually settled down, but over the years, conflicts still occasionally arise among the various deities."

Lu Zheng touched his chin and asked, "Just like in the officialdom?"

Ling Long smiled and nodded, "Almost."

It's said that gods are high above, untouched by worldly desires. But that's not true. Without striving for something and offerings, one can't become a god. Lu Zheng couldn't help but wonder, "Young lady, you don't seem to like being a god. Why do you want to be one?"

"Eternal life." Ling Long did not hide his true thoughts.

Lu Zheng said leisurely, "Immortality? Even saints in this world cannot achieve immortality. Miss, do you really find it interesting that you have lived for so long?"

Ling Long's eyes changed color when he heard this. "It is indeed quite boring. Master Lu, can you give me some advice on how to live a less boring life?"

When Linglong was first named a true god, he felt that his life was pretty good.

But over time, I felt extremely bored. Having lived too long, I lost interest in many things.

Lu Zheng said, "It is better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone."

Ling Long covered his mouth and chuckled, "Mr. Lu, are you telling me about Mencius's great principles?"

"Miss, don't you agree with this logic?" Lu Zheng asked back.

"That's not the case..." Ling Long said quietly, "I'm just a local water god, I can't be as influential as Master Lu."

Lu Zhengdao said, "Young lady, you are the water god who controls hundreds of miles of water. You are much stronger than me. Why do you say that?"

Lu Zheng looked at Ling Long with a burning gaze. "Since you are a local deity, why don't you benefit the people, shine and contribute, and live a dazzling life? Even thousands of years after your death, the descendants of the people who have benefited from your grace will remember your name, remember that you have been here, and remember that your footprints are all over this world... This is true eternal existence."

Lu Zheng's words seemed to have a special power that made Ling Long's heart inexplicably hot and ripples appeared.

It gave her the urge to do something immediately.

Soon, Ling Long reacted and found that she was actually affected by Hao Ran's righteousness.

She was surprised. She didn't expect that Lu Zheng's righteousness could penetrate the power of Shintoism and directly affect her mind. It was really terrifying.

It is said that those who keep company with vermilion become red, and those who keep company with ink become black.

Ling Long felt that today he had witnessed the horror of Confucian and Taoist scholars.

She couldn't help but look at Qing Wan, and felt that Qing Wan, a little fairy, could cultivate to her current level, and she must have been influenced by Lu Zheng a lot.

Qing Wan noticed Ling Long's gaze and tilted her head with a puzzled look.

Ling Long smiled and retracted his gaze, then said, "Mr. Lu's words have benefited Ling Long a lot. I will consider it carefully."

Hearing Ling Long say this, Lu Zheng realized that the other party might not take it to heart.

He couldn't help but ask, "Miss, haven't you received any news from the Yongzhou City God recently?"

"No, what news?" Linglong asked curiously.

Lu Zhengdao said, "I gave Mi Chenghuang some advice, asking him to pay more attention to the people, but the young lady didn't receive any instructions. I guess things have changed, or he's still planning."

"Hmm?" Ling Long was becoming more and more curious. "What did you tell him?"

"Well," Lu Zheng paused, "after all, these are some suggestions for Mi City God. Since nothing has been concluded yet, it's not easy to tell you."

Ling Long didn't like people leaving things unfinished, so he said, "Don't worry, I won't spread rumors! Besides, after all, Mi Cheng Huang is my uncle, so he's not an outsider!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng asked curiously, "Are all the righteous gods of your Chu State related to each other?"

Ling Long smiled and said, "That's about right. How about letting an outsider become the true god? Of course, if Mr. Lu wants to come to our Chu State to become the true god, it's not impossible. He can even marry a royal woman. If you don't like ordinary princesses, I can also introduce you to some goddesses."

The high-ranking gods in the Chu State were more or less related to the royal family. If they were not royal princes, they were at least relatives by marriage.

Hearing this, Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "Let's get back to the topic just now, shall we?"

He didn't want to have any relationship with the State of Chu, nor did he want to marry a goddess. Lu Zheng was not interested in the Nine Heavens Fairy!
Lu Zheng told Mi Chenghuang the suggestions he had made.

Ling Long was surprised and doubtful when he heard this. In such a thing, apart from the local people of Yongzhou and Mi City God, no other people or gods would benefit from it.

If we act in this way, we will probably encounter considerable obstacles and easily arouse opposition from many existing parties.

Besides, it is still unknown whether Mi Chenghuang can get so many benefits.

Ling Long's mind raced, wondering if Lu Zheng had come to the State of Chu to cause trouble?

But when I think about Lu Zheng's style of doing things in Anguo, it seems to be the same, not much different.

Ling Long couldn't help but say, "You're really not afraid of offending people by suggesting this! Even if Mi Cheng Huang doesn't reveal it and I don't say anything, if you put it into practice, I'm afraid it won't be long before someone will guess it was your suggestion."

This matter involves the interests of many parties and can easily cause dissatisfaction among certain gods and places.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "It doesn't matter if they know. Can they kill me?"

"Don't I dare to kill you?" Ling Long asked in surprise.

She didn't know where Lu Zheng got the confidence from, and he was not afraid of other people's retaliation.

This is Chu, not An, but no one will protect Lu Zheng with all their strength.

(End of this chapter)