Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 340: Steaming Yunmeng Lake

Fang Jin tried to persuade Lu Zheng earnestly but failed to convince him to join Xuanyang Sect.

In the end, Fang Jin just bought some talismans and went back to his room to study them.

Qing Wan did not sell the third-level thunder talisman to Fang Jin. Seeing that the other party was obsessed with talismans, she was afraid that the thunder talisman she sold would strike Fang Jin to death.

Qing Wan sat next to Lu Zheng, sorting the spirit stones. "That guy was really generous. He didn't even bargain. I raised the price and waited for him to bargain, but he actually bought it directly. Oh, I made twice as much spirit stones..."

The money earned in this way really didn't give Qingwan any sense of accomplishment.

Jing Wei and the others nearby couldn't help but laugh when they saw that Qing Wan didn't seem very happy even after making money.

Lu Zheng chatted with Jing Wei for a few words, agreed on a time to set off together, and then took Qing Wan out for a walk.

Daze City has a small permanent population, but the city is spacious and there is a port built directly to the west of the city.

Lu Zheng and his companion walked through several streets and came to a high place where they could just see the port.

There were ships of all sizes docked at the port.

Some large ships are hundreds of feet long, like a small mountain, and the hull is covered with a layer of iron sheet to withstand strong winds and waves and monsters.

On some of the ships, you can still vaguely see hideous marks, which clearly indicate that they had encountered some accidents.

Qing Wan looked at the large iron ships curiously and said, "Is that the kind of ship we're on?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Yes."

Qing Wan calculated, "I feel like it can hold a lot of people. I'm sure I'll make a lot of money on this trip!"

Lu Zheng said softly, "The Yunmeng Lake is dangerous. It's not like other lakes. It's high risk, high reward... and most people who want to go deep into the lake can only take a boat. There's no other choice."

But not everyone has a flying vehicle, and it is easy to get lost if you don’t have experience flying in Yunmengze.

At this time, the sky had darkened and night was approaching.

Mist was spreading over Yunmeng Lake, and the scenery in the distance was hazy and invisible.

After a while, even some boats still sailing on the swamp were obscured by the fog, appearing and disappearing from time to time.

The hazy scenery is like a dream.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan admired the scenery for a while, then left to wander around other places in the city.

Daze City is brightly lit at night, and many shops are still open for business.

Lu Zheng and the other person went to a pavilion that sold spiritual objects.

As soon as I entered the pavilion, a pretty woman came to greet me.

The woman said in a low voice, "What would you two like to buy?"

Qing Wan raised her head and looked at the woman, her eyes flashing with strange colors, "Do you have demonic energy?"

The woman smiled faintly upon hearing this and said, "I have mermaid blood."

Qing Wan suddenly realized and became curious. "I heard there are mermaids in Yunmeng Lake. It's actually true."

The woman smiled and explained, "The mermaids originally lived in the sea, but later a group migrated to Yunmengze to live and multiply. I have a mermaid ancestor, so I have a trace of mermaid blood in my body, but I'm not a true mermaid. The mermaids in Yunmengze now have another settlement within the marsh, so it's rare to see them."

"But we do sell mermaid beads and mermaid silk here. You two can buy some to give to your friends... These things are almost impossible to buy anywhere else, and they're not as cheap as here."

When the woman saw that Lu Zheng and the other man were outsiders, and could immediately sense the demonic aura on her, it was obvious that she was quite skilled in Taoism, so she carefully introduced various uncommon spiritual objects.

Qing Wan took a mermaid pearl and stared at it, and found that this pearl contained water spirit and was brighter than ordinary pearls, making it suitable for cultivating plants.

"How much is this bead?" Qing Wan asked curiously.

The woman gave a price and Qingwan began to bargain.

The woman's eyes flickered, but she did not look down on Qingwan because she was a child.

The two sides discussed the price seriously.

Lu Zheng looked at the other spiritual objects.

Not long after, Lu Zheng and his companion left the Treasure Pavilion and bought a lot of spiritual objects they had never seen before for research.

Qing Wan shook her head and sighed, saying quietly, "Practicing cultivation really does cost a lot of money. I haven't even warmed up the spirit stones I just earned yet, and I've already spent all the extra..."

In comparison, Qingwan felt that studying Confucianism and Taoism was the most cost-effective way to practice.

Of course, saving money is relative, and spiritual objects are indispensable for practicing Confucianism.

Powerful and wealthy scholars would use necessities such as writing utensils, which would be made of fine natural materials and treasures.

But scholars without money dare not even think about it.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan are not just practicing Confucianism or Taoism. Now that they have reached a higher level, they need to spend a lot of money.

Qing Wan pondered, "Where do those hidden immortal sects get so many spirit stones to train generations of disciples?"

Qing Wan was a little puzzled. Even if the sect had a mine, it would eventually be mined out, right?

Local officials need to manage and live, and they also collect taxes from local people.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "There are so many ways to monopolize and do business... For example, the store we just visited probably has some immortal sect behind it, otherwise these spiritual objects wouldn't be so expensive."

Qing Wan blinked. "Doesn't that mean the Yunmeng Sect might also have a shop here, but no one knows about it?"

Lu Zheng thought Qing Wan had a good idea when he heard this, but did such a top-level immortal sect really need to open a store in a place like this to make money? I'm afraid it's unlikely.

The Yunmeng Sect wants to do business and invest, and will not target ordinary practitioners.

Lu Zheng thought of Yun Fuyao, who had suddenly found him earlier. He was even able to befriend someone as insignificant as him. Perhaps the Yunmeng Sect had connections with many powerful clans, so how could they be lacking in cultivation resources?
The two of them strolled around Daze City again, did some shopping, and watched the excitement, which swept away all the fatigue from traveling for the past few days.

There should be a balance between relaxation and hard work in spiritual practice, and one should not be impatient for quick results.

Lu Zheng relaxed and took Qingwan back to the inn to rest.

During the remaining time, he planned to go into seclusion and prepare some things in case of any accidents in Yunmeng Lake.

Qing Wan stayed in the room, practicing step by step as usual, learning all kinds of knowledge, and her life was quite fulfilling.

Fang Jin learned that Lu was in seclusion and didn't want to disturb him.

He had originally come out to complete a mission for the sect. Now that the mission was completed and he was about to return to the sect, he met Lu Zheng.

Now he changed his mind and planned to go and take a look at the selection meeting for disciples of the immortal sect.

For this purpose, he spent some extra spirit stones to buy a ticket on the same ship, hoping to take this opportunity to ask Lu Zheng more about the art of talismans.

"There is righteousness in heaven and earth..."

Qingwan sat at the desk, her fair and tender hands holding a pen and writing "Wenbao" neatly.

A flash of light flashed, and the five-character treasure was written.

“Huh, this is really hard to write…”

Qing Wan raised her hand to wipe the non-existent sweat from her forehead, feeling a surge of emotion in her heart.

In the past, I always saw Lu Zheng easily create a treasure of literature, but it was quite difficult for him to pick up a pen himself.

Especially those poems, which she wrote in a disjointed manner and could never become literary treasures.

However, thinking about the success rate of scholars writing cultural treasures in the book, her situation is normal, while Lu Zheng's is abnormal.

Qing Wan took the treasure, and tried to stimulate the positive energy in it, and then refined it to increase her own positive energy.

I refined the things I wrote myself.

This is not a perpetual motion machine. After all, Qing Wan has to consume a lot of energy and spirit to go back and forth, and she also has to spend money on ink and paper.

"Tsk, it really does have a little effect..."

Qing Wan smacked her lips, looked at the paper that had lost its spirituality, and felt her own changes, her eyes flashing with joy.

After a while, Qingwan packed up her things and waved her little hand.

The mark left by Lu Zheng appeared on his palm, and a gate of literary energy appeared.

Lu Zheng in the small world felt something and walked out directly.

Qing Wan said excitedly: "We should set off. Do you have any extra talismans? That Fang came in to look for me several times..."

Lu Zheng took out a bag and handed it to Qing Wan. "I drew a few more, but not much. Keep some for yourself. You can use it in case anything happens."

"Yeah." Qing Wan took the bag and nodded heavily. "I'll sell him a second-level talisman. I'm afraid he'll misuse it. You don't know, he almost burned down the inn yesterday..."

"I've already sold the four thunder talismans to Jing Wei. This is the spirit stone."

Qing Wan took out a storage bag and handed it to Lu Zheng.

Lu Zhengdao: "Take it yourself."

"Okay." Qing Wan didn't refuse and continued, "I can already write Wenbao. Oh, by the way, my Wen Palace has grown a little bit, and I can grow things. But I can only grow one pea plant, no more..."

The two chatted for a while before leaving.

When they arrived outside the inn, Jing Wei's guards had already prepared a carriage and were waiting for everyone.

After a while, Jingwei and her daughter came over.

Fang Jin also walked over with dark circles under his eyes.

Normally, monks can stay energetic after staying up for several days and nights.

Judging from Fang Jin's appearance, he has been mentally and physically exhausted in less than two days.

As soon as Fang Jin saw Lu Zheng, he said, "Your method is wrong. I can't practice it."

Lu Zheng looked at Fang Jin and said, "Do you have literary talent?"

Fang Jin said quietly, "As for the Confucian spirit, too much isn't enough, but a little can still be cultivated. The sages said..."

When Fang Jin recited Confucian classics, he showed some literary aura, but it was indeed not much.

Lu Zheng blinked. The spiritual power in Fang Jin's body covered up the literary aura, so that he didn't even notice that the other party had some Confucian and Taoist cultivation.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask: "You have so little literary talent, can you write a single word of Wenbao?"

"Well..." Fang Jin was stunned for a moment, scratching his head, "It seems that this is indeed not possible."

Lu Zheng smiled faintly and said, "Then you still have to practice."

Fang Jin opened his mouth. It was already very exhausting for him to practice the immortal skills, and now he was asked to study Confucianism?
Fang Jin asked, "How far do you have to go in practice?"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "He must be a scholar, right?"

Fang Jin touched his chin and muttered, "Confucian scholar, if it doesn't work out, I'll go back and ask my master for help. I'll ask him to ask the elders of the sect to give me some literary energy..."

A foot of literary spirit is not much. Their sect has its own ways to enthrone Confucian and Taoist scholars like those in the court.

This immortal sect with a rich history is truly unique. A strange look flashed in Lu Zheng's eyes.

(End of this chapter)