Confucian and Taoist scholar

The new dynasty established in Taiping continued its planned development as always, and the people in various regions did not resist the newly promulgated laws and regulations.

Over the years, they have lived under relatively strict rules, and this management has ensured their stable lives.

Therefore, no one felt that there was anything wrong with the emergence of a complete legal code after the founding of the country.

The public is used to those laws and regulations that target powerful practitioners; they are just old regulations that are now being enforced in a more standardized way.

In the suburbs of the region, Lu Zheng is inspecting the situation in various places, communicating with the people from time to time, and appearing in public to stabilize the local area.

He understood that among those who had recently come to the new dynasty, there were certainly some with ulterior motives, and he had to pay attention to the situation in various regions and strengthen law enforcement and security.

Lu Zheng stood on a hillside, gazing at the newly built workshops nearby, all of which represented emerging industries.

The industrial products produced therein, in addition to meeting local demand, are also traded to other major countries, further stimulating those countries to also attach importance to the development of various industries, thereby improving the living standards of their people.

This is a long-term plan, and we must ensure that these industries develop and grow smoothly.

Just then, Lu Zheng suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest for no apparent reason.

Instantly, the aura within Lu Zheng's body rippled outwards.

His eyes shimmered with golden light, and within his field of vision, several thin lines invisible to the naked eye appeared.

Thin lines, some black and some red, appeared out of nowhere, radiating extraordinary power, and connected with Lu Zheng's body.

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing the cause and effect from these subtle clues.

He couldn't help but raise his right hand, and a Buddhist seal appeared in his palm, intending to use the power of Buddhism and Taoism to sever these invisible threads.

Before Lu Zheng could make a move, a figure gracefully arrived.

Yun Fuyao's eyes shone brightly as she stared intently at Lu Zheng.

Immediately, Yun Fuyao gently waved her hand, and a mysterious aura enveloped Lu Zheng, drawing the few strands of thread that came from an unknown place out of Lu Zheng's body.

Yun Fuyao slowly withdrew her hand, and a hazy mist appeared in her palm.

"Someone attacked you, and more than one person. They used powerful forbidden techniques: the Art of Fate, Gu curses, and divine spells..."

Yun Fuyao examined Lu Zheng carefully again. "Your connections with the various Dao are very close, so they can cast spells on you from tens of thousands of miles away and affect you. These people who cast the spells must at least be Dao cultivators... However, with your abilities, they are unlikely to kill you. At most, they will cause some physical effects and hinder your daily cultivation."

Lu Zheng was not surprised to hear this, but said calmly, "It seems that some people are really quick to act, and they have already made their move against me in secret."

Yun Fuyao said in a low voice, "Since they chose to take action, it proves that they were somewhat prepared. It will probably not be easy to trace back to the source and find the person behind it."

Lu Zhengdao said, "Then there's no need to go to that much trouble."

Yun Fuyao smiled and said, "However, I can guess who the people in this world who are skilled in these techniques and who are strong enough to reach this level are."

Lu Zheng's expression shifted slightly. Yun Fuyao had cultivated for many years and his knowledge was certainly much broader than his. He might even know the people who secretly cast spells.

Yun Fuyao said unhurriedly, "The God of Fate of Chu, the Gu Saint of the Southern Barbarians, and..."

Yun Fuyao spoke slowly, naming several of the world's top experts.

"Although these forbidden techniques do not retain their aura, no one else in the world has such abilities besides them."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "For these people to unite against me, it seems some are determined to get rid of me. Righteousness, righteousness, there really are people who don't want to walk the righteous path."

Lu Zheng founded the Great Way of Law with the intention of enabling everyone to live and cultivate in peace and harmony.

As long as no laws are violated, no one will be deliberately targeted.

However, it is clear that some powerful people are used to being high and mighty and like to ride on other people's heads and act arrogantly, but they do not want to get along peacefully with others.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Zheng said, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Sect Leader Yun again in the coming days..."

Lu Zheng whispered, asking Yun Fuyao to keep an eye on the various parts of the new country.

There are almost no top-tier experts willing to come to the new country to help now, and Yun Fuyao is also acting in secret.

On the surface, the new nation lacked the military strength to resist the invasion of numerous Saint Realm experts.

However, those powerful figures who wanted to deal with Lu Zheng still had some reservations and wouldn't openly cause trouble, but they still had to be on guard.

Yun Fuyao said, "You are the one who should be most careful."

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "If they want to get rid of me, they have to kill me in one blow, and do it cleanly and efficiently. Otherwise, even if I die, they won't get anything out of it."

Lu Zheng's eyes gleamed. He had anticipated this scene, and now, facing the potential threat only fueled his fighting spirit.

……

North of Yongding City lies a newly built industrial park.

Qingwan stood atop a tall building, sketching and writing in a small notebook, making some plans.

Two local staff members came to report the situation.

One of them came up to Qingwan and gave a report. After speaking for a while...

The entire room was filled with dazzling white light, and a powerful aura flashed by.

In the next instant, Qing Wan and two staff members disappeared.

At the same time, in the northern wilderness outside the new country, two figures appeared and quickly headed north.

One of them looked slightly nervous and whispered, "It seems like no one has noticed..."

They were two powerful Saint Realm experts disguised as staff members, with the intention of getting close to Qing Wan and kidnapping her.

Because they knew that Qingwan was the most important person by Lu Zheng's side, and could be considered the second most important person in the new country.

They weren't confident they could directly confront Lu Zheng in the new country, fearing he might have powerful figures protecting him. So they thought of taking Qing Wan, whose cultivation level wasn't high, away, hoping to use this opportunity to negotiate with Lu Zheng.

After observing for a while, they were certain that Qingwan was not accompanied by any powerful figures, and only then did they find the opportunity to make their move.

The other person, while flying away, kept a watchful eye on their surroundings and asked, "Is she alright?"

The Saint Realm expert who took Qing Wan away kept observing his inner world and confirmed that Qing Wan was not making any unusual movements. She was sealed by the power of the Saint Realm and had no chance to communicate with the outside world.

"She's just a little girl who's just entered the Profound Realm..."

Before the words were even finished, the speaker's expression suddenly changed.

He noticed that Qing Wan, who was sealed away, opened her eyes, revealing a unique aura.

"You guys actually dared to lay a hand on a little girl..."

"Qingwan" spoke slowly, her tone indifferent, and the voice came from another woman.

In the next instant, "Qingwan" changed her appearance, revealing another stunningly beautiful face, exuding an aura of unparalleled immortality.

The Saint Realm expert was shocked and exclaimed, "Yunmeng Sect..."

The face of Yun Fuyao, the sect leader of Yunmeng Sect, was all too familiar to him.

After all, once you've met the sect leader of one of the world's top immortal sects, it's hard to forget them.

He never imagined that the woman he had abducted would be this person. "What?"

The person next to them was still unaware of what was going on.

However, in the next instant, both of them realized that something was wrong.

They found that the world before them had suddenly changed, and they had arrived in another world, where a powerful pressure directly suppressed them.

The two stopped abruptly, looking around warily.

At the same time, Yun Fuyao appeared before the two of them.

An even more powerful aura completely locked onto the two of them.

Both of them paled involuntarily, their intuition telling them that if they made any unusual move, they would be struck by an incredibly terrifying force.

Even among Saint Realm experts, there are differences in strength.

They had never verified the strength of this Yunmeng Sect Master, but the world's powerful figures all speculated that his strength ranked among the top three in the world.

As for who is number one, there is no definitive answer.

In any case, with such a high ranking, everyone in the world has to avoid its sharp edge.

Given Yun Fuyao's years of cultivation and status, even some saintly figures in the world would have to address him as a senior.

Not long ago, they sent someone to visit the Yunmeng Sect, hoping to meet Yun Fuyao, deduce the destiny and fortune of the world, and unite with the Yunmeng Sect, but they didn't get to see Yun Fuyao at all.

Moreover, the attitudes of other high-ranking members of the Yunmeng Sect toward the new country are unclear, and they seem to be keeping to themselves.

They never imagined that the Qingwan they were trying to capture would be Yun Fuyao in disguise.

Clearly, Yun Fuyao has a close relationship with Xinguo, or rather, with Lu Zheng.

Thinking about this, both of them felt they were in deep trouble.

One of them swallowed hard, then forced a bow and said, "So it's Sect Master Yun. I heard that Sect Master Yun is in seclusion within the sect, I didn't expect to meet you here, senior..."

If they had known that Yun Fuyao and Lu Zheng were so close, and that she would personally disguise herself as Qing Wan to deceive people, they wouldn't have acted this way.

Yun Fuyao looked at the two of them and said calmly, "Since we are old friends meeting again, why not show each other our true selves?"

Upon hearing this, the two men's expressions changed several times. They still had some sense of shame and were too embarrassed to face Yun Fuyao with their true faces.

Even without revealing her true face, they felt that Yun Fuyao probably recognized them.

One of them quickly clasped his hands and said, "We really didn't know you were Sect Master Yun. We were very rude just now. Please forgive us, senior. We will come to apologize another day."

When he spoke, he emphasized the word "apology".

It was obvious that they wanted Yun Fuyao to downplay the incident, offer sufficient compensation later, and then everyone would consider it a thing of the past.

Yun Fuyao remained unmoved and said, "Speak, who else was involved in planning this?"

There must be more than just these two people involved in such an operation; there must be other figures involved in planning and providing support.

Yun Fuyao transformed into Qing Wan's appearance to prevent anyone from harming her, but after only a short time, someone actually did make a move.

The two remained silent upon hearing this. They had already exposed their identities, and if they revealed the identities of others, they would probably have no face to show in the world afterward.

"Senior, please don't make things difficult for us. Under the circumstances of morality, how can we..."

"Morality?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Fuyao couldn't help but sneer, "You two are elders of the Saint Realm, yet you came to the New Kingdom disguised as locals and even kidnapped a young girl. With such behavior, how dare you talk about morality in front of me?"

Upon hearing this, the two immediately showed expressions of shame and anger. Being caught red-handed, even the thickest skin couldn't hide it.

"What exactly do you want from us to leave, senior? I promise I will never participate in anything targeting Lu Zheng or Xinguo again. I hope you will consider our past relationship and friendship and let bygones be bygones."

Yun Fuyao looked at the two of them and asked, "Have you read the Taiping Code?"

Upon hearing this, the two felt a sense of foreboding.

They had indeed read the Taiping Code, but they scoffed at some of its provisions.

Seeing their expressions, Yun Fuyao said quietly, "Since you have read it, you should know some of the legal principles. Killing citizens of the new country to disguise themselves, kidnapping important regional representatives, endangering national security... these are all crimes, and they deserve to be punished."

The two of them stared at Yun Fuyao in disbelief, thinking that Yun Fuyao was joking with them!

"Senior Yun, you..."

They simply couldn't imagine that Yun Fuyao would punish them in accordance with the Taiping Code of the new country.

Yun Fuyao said indifferently, "Since you are unwilling to tell the truth, then we can only impose certain sanctions on you first."

Yun Fuyao slowly raised his hand, and instantly, the world changed color, and wind and thunder surged.

An extremely oppressive aura enveloped the two Saint Realm experts.

"Senior Yun, how could you..."

The two were horrified and quickly circulated the immense power within their bodies, trying to resist Yun Fuyao's suppression and then attempting to escape from this place.

However, Yun Fuyao's strength was something they had not anticipated.

But Yun Fuyao stood suspended in mid-air, his figure shrouded in a hazy mist.

Looking out, the hazy expanse was an enormous phantom, a towering divine tree tens of thousands of feet tall, standing upright and exuding an incomparably sacred and mysterious aura.

The next instant, the branches of the divine tree's phantom began to sway.

Like giant stone pillars, they swept towards the two Saint Realm experts with terrifying pressure from heaven and earth.

Faced with Yun Fuyao's attack, the two widened their eyes, but their bodies were unable to move at all.

At that moment, they felt a sense of despair and realized their own insignificance.

It turns out that even if they cultivate to the Saint Realm, they are not invincible; there are actually people who can completely suppress them.

The phantom of the divine tree quickly bombarded the two of them, and its powerful aura instantly engulfed them.

Under the impact of the force, the space around the two people fluctuated, and spatial turbulence raged.

Everything happens in the blink of an eye.

Soon, the world returned to calm once again.

The two Saint Realm experts remained in the same spot, but their figures had become as blurry as mist.

Yun Fuyao's powerful attack just now completely destroyed both of their bodies, and their sacred souls were also greatly diminished.

Yun Fuyao raised her jade hand, and a powerful force still locked onto the two of them.

"I never imagined you would be so easily defeated. It seems you've all grown old. Why don't you stay home and enjoy your retirement? I'll give you one more chance..." (End of Chapter)