Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 443 Confucianism on the outside, Legalism on the inside
The Moon Goddess looked at these rare and precious materials, her eyes flashing with a strange light. It was clear that the matter of refining the divine pill was the private operation of that avatar.

The clone actually wanted to break free from the control of the original body? The Moon Goddess pondered, thinking that there must be something wrong with that True God Technique, which caused the clone to develop its own selfish desires.

After thinking it over, the Moon Goddess decided to put aside the matter of cultivating to become a true god and instead inform her true self about this matter.

However, the main body is out searching for someone and doesn't know where they are now. She is only a low-level divine sense, so it is difficult for her to contact the main body now.

However, there was no need to rush this matter. The Moon Goddess put away her storage bag and returned to her residence.

……

Manager Zhang rushed back to the shop and finished dealing with some other matters before finally catching his breath.

He put a pill in his mouth and slowly regulated his body.

Although Manager Zhang did not cultivate, he managed to upgrade himself to a martial artist through the use of pills, making his physique stronger than that of ordinary people, so that his body could not withstand the strain of running around as a merchant.

A short while later, one of his men brought a package.

Manager Zhang carried the things to see Lu Zheng and the other man. When he arrived at the courtyard where Lu Zheng was, he found that Lu Zheng and the other man were reading books in the courtyard.

Manager Zhang said with a smile, "Did I disturb you?"

Lu Zheng, holding the thick book, nodded slightly and said, "Manager Zhang, have you finished your work?"

"All done!" Steward Zhang grinned. "I went to the sacred mountain to pay my respects, and on the way back I even saw the Moon Goddess..."

Manager Zhang beamed with joy. He hadn't revealed his true form when the Moon Goddess had asked him to do things before.

This time, however, he actually saw a god, which made even a nobody like him feel incredibly flattered. It would have been even better if that being had bestowed some reward upon him, but unfortunately, there was none...

"Moon Goddess?" Lu Zheng's eyes flickered.

Qingwan, who was engrossed in her book, also raised her head slightly.

Steward Zhang nodded and began to sing praises: "It is indeed our Great Chu's Moon Goddess, who possesses boundless power and controls cause and effect, fortune and misfortune..."

Lu Zheng thought that another Moon Goddess had arrived, but he didn't know if it was the real Moon Goddess or a divine thought. It was probably the latter, so there was no need to worry too much.

Manager Zhang then took out a package of gifts and said with a smile, "Thanks to the two of you for protecting our caravan last night, this is a small token of our gratitude."

Lu Zheng used his divine sense to examine the gift and found nothing unusual, so he put it away.

Manager Zhang then took out several small tokens and said, "This Ghost City is different from other places. If you two want to go anywhere, these tokens are quite important, lest you be tricked by those demons and ghosts who treat you like outsiders..."

Manager Zhang presented the plaques and explained their purpose and the places they could be used to go.

"If you think it's too much trouble, you can tell me and I'll arrange a guide for you."

Steward Zhang paused for a moment, then added, "As for this place, you can stay here as long as you like, don't be shy. I estimate I'll be staying in Ghost City for another half month..."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Alright. I see you must be tired, so go and get some rest. Don't worry about us."

"Okay." Manager Zhang replied with a smile, his eyes inadvertently glancing at the book in Lu Zheng's hands.

He paused, "The laws of the Great Chu?"

Manager Zhang found it strange. The other party was a cultivator, so why would he read such books?
Seeing Zhang's surprised expression, Lu Zheng said, "I am not from Chu. I am just curious to learn about the laws of your Chu Kingdom so as not to break the rules."

"Oh, I see..." Manager Zhang suddenly realized.

The laws of the various states in the world do indeed differ in many ways, especially in the state of Chu, which has many gods and some of its rules are different from those of the neighboring states.

As for the claim that Lu Zheng was not from Chu, Steward Zhang did not care. He had met many cultivators from other countries, and had even encountered a bald monk from the north.

Manager Zhang didn't disturb the two any longer and quietly left the courtyard.

Lu Zheng withdrew his gaze and continued to peruse the thick book.

This wasn't the first time he'd read this law book; now he was reviewing it to gain new insights.

In ancient times, there was a school of Legalism that could use the law to judge crimes, determine punishments, and decide life and death.

Later, this doctrine was incorporated into the laws of the dynasty, and a special office was established to manage it, with officials of the dynasty in charge.

But the law is merciless, while people have selfish desires, so there are few truly pure Legalists left in the world.

Among the nine kingdoms of the world, several major powers governed their countries by adhering to Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside.

However, after experiencing so much, Lu Zheng felt that it was neither Confucianism nor Legalism.

There must be a true law in this world... The thought flashed through Lu Zheng's mind.

In that small world, the wind and clouds suddenly changed, and lightning flashed.

An extremely oppressive atmosphere filled the world, even suppressing the remaining aura of the Moon Goddess.

Lu Zheng seemed to sense something. He got up and went back to his room, where he set up a concealing magic array and entered the small world.

Seeing this, Qingwan sat and guarded the courtyard to prevent anyone from disturbing her.

Lu Zheng stood between heaven and earth, and the entire small world seemed extremely turbulent, undergoing changes.

Lu Zheng raised his hand, using his righteous spirit as ink, and began to write the principles of law out of thin air, wanting to integrate them into the world.

The small world suddenly shook violently, the sky and earth changed color, and even the literary palace trembled.

Lu Zheng had only written a few words when he felt an extremely terrifying resistance; his entire arm felt as heavy as a mountain, and he couldn't move it an inch. He found this to be much more difficult than compiling classic poems.

Lu Zheng knew that his strength was too weak. Compiling the poems of his predecessors into classics and personally compiling a legal code were not on the same level of difficulty.

By doing this, he is broadening the scope of the Dharma, something that would be difficult to achieve even within his own small world.

However, such formidable resistance also demonstrates that some of his ideas are feasible.

I'm not afraid of the heavens and earth not reacting; I'm afraid of no reaction at all.

In just a few breaths, Lu Zheng was already drenched in sweat and could no longer continue writing.

As he watched the large characters gradually disappear before him, a thought struck him.

Several dazzling characters transformed into streams of light and flew into the literary palace, bombarding the strange phenomenon of the bright moon.

Under the impact of the terrifying force, the bright moon trembled for a moment, and the divine aura of the moon god contained within it dissipated somewhat.

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that the power of this method was quite formidable, as it followed the laws of nature and contained the power of heaven and earth.

Lu Zheng continued to try, but tried not to make too much of a commotion so as not to be noticed by outsiders.

On the sacred mountain, several avatars of the true gods vaguely sensed something.

An inexplicable feeling arose out of nowhere, as if some terror hung over their heads, as if a thunderbolt were about to strike them.

However, upon closer inspection, the deities found nothing unusual.

They thought that some strange changes had occurred in other parts of Chu, which had caused them to sense something amiss here as well.

They had experienced this vague feeling not long ago.

At that time, a Confucian and Taoist classic was published, which shook the fate of the Chu state, and they were also affected.

"This year is likely to be a year of many troubles..."

A deity sat in his dwelling and couldn't help but mutter something under his breath.

In previous years, the State of Chu had never made any major moves that could affect Guizhou.

Although he was a righteous god, his position was not high and his divine realm was insufficient. Living in Ghost State, he could not see the general trend of the world.

The newly arrived moon goddess stood on the high platform, her bright eyes constantly changing colors, yet her vision was always hazy.

"I can't see clearly..." the Moon Goddess thought to herself. Even she herself couldn't figure out the recent celestial phenomena. The world was probably about to descend into chaos.

Previously, the Moon Goddess herself even suspected that the death of her clone was deliberately targeted, but now that Lu Zheng has not been found, she cannot find out the exact truth.

……

Time passed slowly, and Qingwan sat in the courtyard protecting Lu Zheng, not daring to let her guard down for a moment.

After all, they could see the sacred mountain just by looking up, and who knows, the gods on the mountain might be sending people everywhere to look for them.

Hiding in such a place, right under the Moon Goddess's nose, Qingwan found it quite thrilling.

She felt that even if she were alone, she wouldn't be as carefree as Lu Zheng, and wouldn't think of coming here to avoid being searched by the gods of Chu.

Three more days have passed, and they still haven't found this place. This is really bad... Qingwan thought to herself with amusement.

Just then, a slight noise came from inside the room.

Qingwan turned her head slightly and saw Lu Zheng walk out from inside, looking a little thinner than before.

Because Lu Zheng had concealed his aura, Qing Wan couldn't tell what was wrong with him, so she couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Are you... alright?"

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "The problem is solved."

After working tirelessly for the past few days, Lu Zheng finally managed to completely remove the Moon God's aura from his small world, and the Moon Phenomenon also completely refined that trace of Daoist essence.

Through these few days of training, Lu Zheng's martial arts realm has reached the fifth level.

However, whether it's the fourth or fifth realm of martial arts, it doesn't make much difference to Lu Zheng. He doesn't specialize in martial arts; he just makes his physique stronger.

"So fast!" Qingwan looked surprised.

According to Lu Zheng's previous statement, it seemed that it would take quite some time to resolve the troubles of the small world, but it has only taken three days so far.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "If you use the right method, it will be quick. You should rest well. I'll go find Manager Zhang and ask him to help send a letter."

"Okay, okay!" Qingwan nodded.

Lu Zheng is keeping a low profile now, but she's certain he's become even more powerful, so she needs to work on her cultivation as well.

Next time I encounter some powerful figure like a righteous god, I'll be able to lend a hand.

Lu Zheng went to find Manager Zhang and found him still busy in the shop, helping to manage the store.

This was Lu Zheng's first time visiting the shop. He discovered that the shop sold quite a few goods, all of which were spiritual items that were beneficial to the cultivation of demons and ghosts, and each item was priced quite high.

He had previously visited some shops in Yunmengze, where the same spiritual items could fetch several times, or even more than ten times, the price, and yet demons and ghosts would still pay for them.

Lu Zheng thought to himself, no wonder the Dahang Merchant Guild was able to open a branch here. Manager Zhang was always so generous. This must be a very profitable business.

(End of this chapter)