Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 455 Everything is difficult at the beginning
"call……"

Lu Zheng exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling as if his entire body had been drained.

The scroll before him gradually lost its aura, and the entire secret realm had invisibly connected with his own little world.

However, due to the vastness of the secret realm within the painting, Lu Zheng is temporarily unable to fully control it.

He spent considerable time and effort relocating this secret realm from its original location.

Lu Zheng took out several scrolls to replenish his energy, and then used the scrolls to observe the positions of Pang Yun and the others.

During the time he was merging the painting, no one left; they continued to search and scavenge throughout the secret realm.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng put away the scroll and left the Wen Palace.

When Qingwan saw Lu Zheng come out, she couldn't help but ask, "Did you succeed?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's not fully refined yet, but this place will belong to us from now on. This secret realm has many extraordinary aspects; we can explore it slowly when we have time, as a form of training..."

During this time of refining the scroll secret realm, Lu Zheng also gained some insights from it.

There are indeed many things to learn from the paintings of Confucian and Taoist masters.

Now, when he uses brush and ink to paint and write, the power he can demonstrate is even greater than before.

Qingwan's eyes lit up when she heard this. The thought of being able to move around in such a large area in the future made her feel very excited.

……

At the edge of the secret realm, Pang Yun stood atop a mountain, staring wide-eyed at the outside world.

It was a blurry, indistinct place, but Pang Yun had a feeling that something else existed beyond this secret realm.

Unfortunately, the power of the secret realm blocked it out, and my cultivation was not high enough to see anything.

What lies outside the secret realm?

Pang Yun muttered to himself, his heart filled with curiosity.

What do you think?

A voice suddenly came from behind.

Pang Yun was startled by the sound and quickly turned around to see Lu Zheng and the other person standing not far away, having arrived at some unknown time.

Pang Yun was startled. The fact that the two of them were able to get behind him silently meant that they clearly had some control over the power of this secret realm.

He couldn't help but swallow, then said with a grin, "Haha, it's nothing, I just think the feng shui here is pretty good..."

Pang Yun paused for a moment, then changed the subject, asking, "Have you two taken care of your business?"

Seeing Pang Yun's expression, Lu Zheng smiled and said, "You want to leave?"

Pang Yun quickly said, "I have been traveling for too long and it is time to go back and visit, so as not to worry my master and fellow disciples."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "That's good. As a member of the Taoist sect, a Taoist priest should focus more on his proper duties."

Pang Yun laughed ingratiatingly and said, "This humble Taoist has always enjoyed eliminating evil and upholding justice, just like you."

Lu Zheng didn't say much. He raised his hand and waved it, and a spatial portal appeared.

Pang Yun's eyes flickered, clearly sensing the presence from the outside world; the other party was actually willing to let him leave.

Pang Yun's thoughts flickered, and with a touch of reluctance, he pulled out a storage bag. "I recently found some treasures left behind by cultivators in the secret realm. You might find these useful. Farewell, may we meet again someday!"

Pang Yun said "see you later," but in his heart he wished he could never see the two of them again.

Without saying a word, he put down the storage bag, flashed through the spatial portal, and disappeared into the secret realm.

In the blink of an eye, Pang Yun found himself in an unfamiliar place. Observing his surroundings, he realized he was somewhere in Ghost State.

"This place is no longer safe to stay in. I should return to the mountains..."

Pang Yun muttered something under his breath and flew away as fast as he could.

I thought this trip to Guizhou would be very rewarding, but I ended up witnessing things I shouldn't have, and now I can't even stay in Chu anymore.

After Pang Yun left, Lu Zheng picked up the storage bag he had left behind and examined it. Inside were indeed quite a few spiritual items, including several fresh, high-grade spiritual herbs, likely dug up in the secret realm. Lu Zheng handed the storage bag to Qing Wan to manage.

He then went to find the Zhong family members and saw them observing the marks left by their predecessors under a rocky cliff. These marks were traces left by swords and knives, bearing the remnants of their cultivation.

When Zhong Ying saw the two arrive, she stepped forward and greeted them politely.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "You don't need to rush to understand what's here; taking your time is fine..."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Ying couldn't help but express her gratitude. If Lu Zheng hadn't removed the natural restrictions that bound this secret realm, they wouldn't have been able to explore so many places.

They hadn't gained much from guarding this secret realm before, but now they were making some progress.

Zhong Ying asked, "Where is that Taoist priest?"

Lu Zhengdao: "He said he had something to do and left first."

“I see,” Zhong Ying said. “That person is quite cunning. I suspect that his identity and background are fake.”

Lu Zheng smiled faintly, "It's alright. The world is vast, and some people are just casual acquaintances who pose no threat."

Lu Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "I would also like to ask Patriarch Zhong to help me inquire about some things."

Upon seeing this, Zhong Ying's expression turned serious, and she asked, "What is it?" Lu Zheng replied unhurriedly, "I've heard that some forbidden poems have recently appeared. Could you help me find out about them?"

"And recently, it seems the officials of the gods have been searching for someone..."

"Yunmengze..."

Lu Zheng mainly wanted Zhong Ying to inquire about the situation of the gods, but he couldn't say it directly, so he mentioned several things.

Lu Zheng then said, "Your Zhong family has some influence in Ghost Prefecture. You should be able to find out the details of this information, right?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhong Ying replied, "I've heard a little about these things, but I haven't paid much attention. I'll ask about it when I get back."

"Then I'll have to trouble you," Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Zhong Ying waved her hand and said, "It's nothing serious..."

Zhong Ying didn't think it was a big deal to just inquire about some details.

The group stayed in the secret realm for another two days before Lu Zheng led the Zhong family away.

Once outside, they found themselves in a different location than where they had entered the secret realm.

Zhong Ying and the others didn't care, since a secret realm could have multiple exits, and now that Lu Zheng controlled the secret realm, he could leave from other places at any time.

Zhong Ying sent one of her clansmen to inform the one who was guarding the entrance to the secret realm.

The others returned to Ghost State City together.

Upon arriving in Guizhou City, Lu Zheng discovered that Manager Zhang of the Daxing Merchant Guild had already left with some members of the caravan, leaving him a letter to say goodbye.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan continued to live in the small courtyard arranged by the Chamber of Commerce.

Time passed day by day, and the entire Ghost City remained unchanged.

Lu Zheng stayed in the room, writing laws with ordinary pen and ink.

In her spare time from cultivation, Qingwan also helped organize the laws written by Lu Zheng.

Looking at these new laws, which differed from those of other countries, she wondered, "Will these laws be of any use?"

She didn't believe that the laws written by Lu Zheng would be implemented by the major powers in the world.

After all, many of these rules would be unacceptable to those important figures.

For example, if a deity or cultivator breaks the law, he or she will be punished the same as a commoner.

No matter how she thought about it, Qingwan didn't believe anyone would enact such a law, and she doubted that even in Anguo, no one would support Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng smiled faintly upon hearing this and said, "Everything is difficult at the beginning. Some things are easier for them to accept once you get started... As for how to get started, we need to find a way..."

Regardless, Lu Zheng felt that he should finish writing the book first, and then consider what to do next.

Like that previous book of new poetry, although it has been banned in many countries, it is still being circulated.

The righteous path of the world cannot be killed or erased.

Of course, compiling the laws into classics this time was no easy task. It broadened the path of Legalism and was more difficult than compiling the poems of our predecessors.

I'm afraid even the Yunmeng Sect can't help, or won't help at all.

After all, if a classic of law were to be created, the impact would be enormous, and even the Yunmeng Sect might not be able to contain it.

The fact that Yunmeng Sect was able to help him publish a classic poem ahead of schedule is already considered an exception.

Just then, a voice came from outside.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng knew that it was a member of the Zhong family who had come. He packed his things and went outside to see that it was Zhong Ying who had come in person, concealing his identity.

Zhong Ying gave Lu Zheng a wink.

Lu Zheng understood and led Zhong Ying into the room, then used an array plate to set up an isolation barrier.

Zhong Ying sat down and said, "I have had people try their best to find out what you want to know."

"There have indeed been some banned poems recently, but their origin is unknown. Some say they came from above, from the capital, but the government suspects they were written by people from Anguo or Qiguo. They are also inquiring about the situation, trying to find the true origin of those poems..."

"As for who the gods are looking for recently, apart from the one who wrote the forbidden poem, they are not looking for anyone else..."

Zhong Ying recounted in detail what she had recently gathered and learned, saying, "That's roughly the situation in Ghost Prefecture; we don't know about the outside world."

Lu Zheng was puzzled. There was no information about him? This shouldn't be the case, since even the underworld officials in the Ghost Market knew about him back then.

The lack of any news at all is unusual to Lu Zheng.

“Oh, right,” Zhong Ying added, “Speaking of which, the Moon Goddess in our Ghost State City has changed. The previous one has disappeared, and now another avatar of the Moon Goddess has arrived. Recently, there have been some new faces at the Moon Goddess Temple, and they seem to be busy with something, but it’s hard to get information from there…”

This matter concerns the Moon Goddess. Among the great gods of Chu, only she has left a wisp of her spirit in Ghost State City. The local families cannot afford to offend her and dare not inquire about the Moon Goddess's situation.

As Lu Zheng listened to Zhong Ying's account, he guessed that his affair with the Moon Goddess had not been spread, and that only the Moon Goddess and her subordinates were looking for him.

If other deities and officials knew about the matter involving sacred objects, they wouldn't have remained so calm and composed, let alone shown any reaction.

Even if it's just the Moon Goddess lineage looking for him, Lu Zheng still has to be careful. The existence of a great god is not something he can contend with in his current state.

Seeing Lu Zheng deep in thought, Zhong Ying was a little puzzled as to why he was interested in these things.

(End of this chapter)