Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 452 The Secret Realm in the Painting
"What did you say?"

The old man behind heard Lu Zheng's words and couldn't help but ask again.

Lu Zheng slowly said, "The Confucian and Taoist literary palace, haven't you noticed?"

The palace before us is different from the other palaces; it is clearly a literary palace.

However, due to its lack of cultural refinement, this palace is no different from other palaces.

However, as a Confucian and Taoist scholar, Lu Zheng was subtly drawn to such a literary figure.

Just now, a trace of its own literary aura was infused into it, confirming that this is a scholar's palace, but I don't know who left it.

The old man had heard of the Confucian Palace, but had never actually seen it. Upon seeing the palace before him, he looked on with a hint of doubt. "Is this what the Confucian and Taoist Confucian Palace looks like?"

Pang Yun approached with heavy steps, his eyes gleaming, and used a secret technique to examine the palace.

After a long while, Pang Yun spoke up: "It seems to be a Confucian and Taoist literary palace. To cultivate such a literary palace, one must probably be a Grand Scholar of the Sixth Realm..."

"Wait, something's not right. Shouldn't this be some kind of secret realm of a celestial sect? How can there be a literary palace here? And this isn't a literary palace space either?"

Pang Yun was puzzled. This secret realm was too vast. Even a Grand Scholar probably couldn't possess such a large literary palace space.

"However, some cultivation sects do have Confucian practitioners, but there must be something fishy about placing a literary palace here!"

Pang Yunxing rushed into the palace and searched it carefully, but found nothing.

He was greatly disappointed. It was rumored that the literary palaces of some Confucian and Taoist scholars could be preserved for a long time after their death, and that some literary artifacts could be kept inside.

Pang Yun looked at the old man and asked cautiously, "Senior, did you really not get anything here? If you have any treasures, bring them out so we can all take a look. Maybe we can find a way out."

The old man's face darkened slightly, and he said, "I've already said that I didn't get anything from here."

Pang Yun whispered, "If we don't have it, we don't have it. But speaking of which, not everyone can use literary artifacts. People like us probably wouldn't be able to use them even if we got them."

The old man's face darkened upon hearing this, sensing that Pang Yun didn't believe him and was even saying such things to provoke him and tell him not to hoard the treasure.

Pang Yun stood in the open space outside the hall, counting on his fingers, and muttered to himself, "This humble Taoist observes that the Literary Palace is located at the core of the mountain's dragon vein. If we want to find a way out, the Literary Palace is the key..."

Pang Yun was rambling on and on, spouting nonsense about Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and Feng Shui, making him seem profound and unfathomable.

Lu Zheng listened to Pang Yun's mutterings and understood some of what he said, but other parts were strange, as if he was just trying to fool people.

Then, Pang Yun said, "Although I am not a Confucian cultivator, I have a way to set up an array to activate this literary palace. However, I need a lot of materials. Could you gentlemen lend me a hand?"

It was the same old story again, and Lu Zheng did sense something was amiss.

He was well-read, but he had never heard of any grand formation that could awaken the dormant literary palace.

As for the Literary Palace, which is still a Sixth-Rank Grand Scholar, Lu Zheng didn't think Pang Yun had the ability to make it reveal its original grandeur.

Pang Yun probably intends to use this opportunity to set up some kind of grand formation, and then escape from this place or suppress others.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but look at the old man beside him. Judging from the old man's expression, he had obviously believed Pang Yun's words.

This person has been here for decades and seems eager to leave.

The old man couldn't help but ask, "What materials do you need?"

Pang Yun said leisurely, "Many materials are best if they contain literary treasures or literary artifacts."

The old man frowned, then turned to the others. "Now that we're all on this mountain, if we want to leave, we all need to do our part, right?"

The old man gave Lu Zheng a few extra glances.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng asked Pang Yun, "Are you sure you can set up an array to activate this literary palace?"

Pang Yun blinked and said, "I don't have absolute certainty, but how will I know if I don't try?"

Seeing the somewhat cryptic look in Pang Yun's eyes, Lu Zheng was convinced that the other party had not found a way out, but rather had other ideas.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Since we don't have absolute certainty, why bother with all this trouble?"

Pang Yun's expression froze, and he couldn't help but ask, "Do you have another way?"

Lu Zheng did not answer, but instead raised his hand and pressed it against the stone wall of the Wen Palace again, and strands of righteous energy directly permeated the Wen Palace.

There's no need to set up any grand formation to activate a dormant literary palace; simply having Confucian scholars replenish the palace's lack of literary energy will suffice.

However, in the blink of an eye, the others noticed a faint fluctuation in Wen Gong's expression.

"You, you are a Confucian scholar!"

Pang Yun stared at Lu Zheng, and only when he saw Lu Zheng trying to activate the literary palace did he realize that Lu Zheng possessed literary energy, and it was righteous energy at that.

This reminded him of someone, and he was immediately startled.

Pang Yun stared wide-eyed at Lu Zheng, but couldn't see any other similarities between the person in front of him and that person.

"It can't be just one person, right...?" Pang Yun muttered to himself.

He felt it couldn't be such a coincidence. That person had recently been vying with the righteous god of Chu for a sacred artifact, so how could he now be dealing with a powerful clan in Ghost State City that worships gods?

If it really is that one, doesn't that mean the Moon Goddess who fought against her has already fallen...? Pang Yun dared not think any further.

The old man and the Zhong family members couldn't help but show surprise when they saw that Lu Zheng was actually trying to provoke the local literary palace.

The literary palace of a Grand Scholar is not so easily provoked. The old man narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Lu Zheng, his thoughts racing.

A moment later, Wen Gong suddenly trembled.

Inside the palace, an invisible vortex appeared, and spiritual energy from all directions rapidly converged into the main hall.

Everyone looked surprised upon seeing this, not expecting that Lu Zhengzhen had actually activated the literary palace.

Lu Zheng was not surprised by this, as the righteous energy he cultivated was inherently more powerful than other literary energies.

Moreover, he wasn't trying to refine this literary palace, so he didn't need much literary energy at all.

At least with his current level of cultivation, he can still make the literary palace react slightly.

Everyone turned their gaze to the main hall, where an item slowly materialized at the point where spiritual energy gathered.

It was a long, narrow scroll painting, depicting lifelike patterns, with mountains, rivers, and stars shining brightly.

"This is……"

Pang Yun and the others found that the scene on the scroll looked somewhat familiar.

Pang Yun exclaimed in surprise, "This is a map of a secret realm, a secret realm within a painting! Could it be that we are inside a painting?!"

Pang Yun, his expression excited, slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "It must be! The Confucian and Taoist Grand Scholars have such abilities; they can paint a world as a blessed land..."

He was a well-informed person who knew that some Confucian and Taoist masters were skilled in painting and could even create their own worlds with their paintings.

“Look at the edges of that painting. Many parts are blurred and unclear. Obviously, it has been too long and the aura contained in the painting has dissipated. There is no suppression on the outer edge of this secret realm... But we are in the center, where the Literary Palace is located, so we are suppressed by the power contained in the painting.”

Pang Yun felt that everything made sense now; as long as they obtained the painting, they could control this secret realm.

If you want to go out then, it will be a piece of cake.

However… Pang Yun glanced at the old man not far away, subconsciously increased the distance, and began to be on guard.

The old man looked at the painting and frowned. If it was truly a secret realm painted by Confucian and Taoist scholars, could he refine and control this painting?

Upon seeing Lu Zheng, the old man was still moved by the literary palace, and he tried to fully reveal the scroll. His eyes flickered uncertainly.

It's not time to make a move yet... The old man put his hands into his sleeves and was already secretly circulating the power within his body.

Seeing this, the Zhong family members knew that a conflict was bound to happen soon, so they gathered together to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Standing next to Lu Zheng, Qing Wan remained calm and composed despite the unusual behavior of the crowd.

She slowly took out an array plate, and immediately a light screen appeared, isolating others.

The old man's eyes flickered; even upon seeing Qingwan, he remained wary of the others.

Without further hesitation, the old man raised his hand and waved it, unleashing a torrent of black energy from his sleeve that blasted towards the light barrier.

The light barrier rippled and was quickly enveloped by black mist, gradually losing its color.

Wisps of black energy pierced through the light screen, spreading towards Lu Zheng and the other person.

Lu Zheng turned his head slightly, his gaze calm, and said, "Are you in such a hurry?"

The old man's gaze was cold as he said, "Who knows if you'll refine the scroll directly? If that happens, we'll all be trapped here. Why don't you all work together to suppress those two first, and then control them..."

The old man immediately tried to pull others into an alliance.

He felt that at this moment, he needed to get others on his side; otherwise, he would become the target of everyone's criticism.

The old man added, "This young man cultivates the righteous spirit of a scholar; he certainly won't let us go."

Upon hearing this, none of the others immediately expressed their opinions.

At this point, taking sides first may not be a good thing.

Upon seeing this, Lu Zheng slowly withdrew his hand, but the scroll in the main hall appeared and disappeared intermittently, not fully materializing.

With a single step, Lu Zheng vanished from his spot.

Upon seeing Lu Zheng's actions, the old man was startled and quickly stepped back.

However, he was ultimately a step too slow.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Zheng was already in front of the old man, and a bright fist slammed down on him.

The old man was horrified and quickly circulated his spiritual power, forming a protective black aura in front of him.

Lu Zheng's solid fist easily pierced through the black mist and landed firmly on the old man's chest.

The old man was sent flying backward, spitting out a pool of black blood.

A thought flashed through his mind: Are the Confucian cultivators outside different now than before? Why are they still scholars who practice body cultivation?

He thought Lu Zheng was going to use some Confucian or Taoist skills, but instead he used his fist directly, catching him off guard.

The old man hovered in mid-air, forcibly stabilizing himself, his eyes filled with malice as he said, "A Confucian cultivator, and a Confucian cultivator at the fifth level of martial arts, very good, very good, the world outside has truly changed..."

He said that Lu Zheng was not afraid of him at all, and was surprisingly unassuming.

(End of this chapter)