Confucian and Taoist scholar

"It's still not strong enough."

Lu Zheng looked up at the sky, his eyes sparkling.

Ao Yuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "How much stronger do you want to become? Even the most powerful sage in ancient times couldn't influence the entire world with his own power."

Even the most powerful human saints who pioneered the Great Dao were not universally liked during their lifetimes, facing numerous obstacles and struggling to realize their ideals.

Ao Yuan felt that Lu Zheng had already done better than many sages, but it was probably impossible for him to become even stronger and more outstanding.

Ao Yuan paused for a moment, then said, "But you are still very young. You can take your time and outlast those old and conservative people. Who knows, you might actually be able to stand alone in the whole world."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Won't there be younger people than me in the future? After the sages died, their legacy and their disciples eventually went astray... I don't want that to happen."

Ao Yuan raised an eyebrow. "How do you intend to avoid it?"

Lu Zheng said softly, "I want to compete with the heavens."

"Ok?"

Ao Yuan didn't understand what Lu Zheng meant, but his intuition told him that Lu Zheng's ambitions were far from small.

……

Lu Zheng found Qing Wan in a secluded place where he was in seclusion.

Recently, Qingwan has had some rare free time, and her cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds.

Upon seeing Lu Zheng approach, Qing Wan asked, "You're back from Anguo? Did everything go smoothly?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "It went even more smoothly than I expected, but many powerful clans in Anguo must hate me to the core. They paid a considerable price this time..."

Qingwan snorted, "They should be grateful to you. Compared to some of the powerful families in Qi, they're all better off. These people will stop at nothing to exploit the people and steal from the country. But when you punch them in the head, they feel wronged. They're shameless enough..."

Lu Zhengdao said, "Human nature is like this; it cannot be changed overnight."

Qingwan then asked, "Are there still many dangers outside? You must be careful."

Lu Zhengdao said, "I'm about to break through to the next level, so I probably won't be leaving for the time being."

Qingwan's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed in surprise, "So fast!"

In fact, Lu Zheng had the opportunity to break through and become a saint when the country was founded.

However, in order to better forge the Taiping Code into the Dao, he did not absorb much benefit for himself.

After experiencing various events recently, Lu Zheng felt that he was more in sync with the principles of law and the great path of the saints, and that he could try to step into the next level.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It is quite fast, thanks to the recognition and support of the saints of heaven and earth, as well as the people of the world."

Lu Zheng chatted with Qing Wan for a while, then went to find out about the recent situation in Singapore.

Recently, cleanup crews in various regions have apprehended many people of unknown identity and origin.

However, many of them are very good at hiding their backgrounds and are professional spies, making it difficult to trace their true power.

Xiao Yan, who provided Lu Zheng with the information, said, "I think those dynasties and major cultivation forces have people here, both openly and secretly. Once they unite and want to do something, it will be very difficult to guard against them..."

Lu Zhengdao said, "They don't dare to act openly now. They are mainly focusing their energy on accelerating construction, and they can't neglect propaganda targeting other countries. Sometimes, ideology is the sharpest weapon that can defeat a powerful enemy."

Xiao Yan nodded in agreement, completely agreeing with Lu Zheng's reasoning.

The propaganda department of the new country now possesses the sharpest pens, and the influence of its articles on the world should not be underestimated.

Even the Confucian scholars of the past could not do this.

Xiao Yan continued, "Recently, some new people have come who want to see you, and some even claim to be your old acquaintances... Some of them haven't identified themselves, but say they want to see you in person."

Xiao Yan took out intelligence data on some people and handed it to Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng took the documents and looked at them, lingering on one of the documents for a while.

Afterwards, Lu Zheng went to a small courtyard in the city.

The courtyard gate opened, and an unfamiliar woman appeared before Lu Zheng.

The woman looked at Lu Zheng and said, "It's really not easy to see you, Mr. Lu. Please come in."

The woman led Lu Zheng into the room, slowly brewed tea, and sat down opposite him.

Then, a radiance appeared on the woman's face, revealing another face.

Looking at that familiar face, Lu Zheng remained calm and said, "Moon Goddess, what brings you here to see me?"

The Moon Goddess asked softly, "Did Dongjun die at your hands?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "I did indeed kill one of the Chu Gods, Dongjun. Is he truly dead?"

Moon Goddess didn't expect Lu Zheng to admit it so readily.

Not long ago, the Chu State's divine officials sent people to investigate, but they found nothing; they only made speculations.

The Moon Goddess said, "He's dead. When a god dies, his power vanishes. The Chu Emperor also did not appoint another Lord of the East..."

"In recent years, the Chu Kingdom has been plagued by border wars, and the local people are unsettled, so there aren't enough incense offerings to worship the gods..."

The Moon Goddess paused, then said softly, "Do you know the reason for all of this?"

Lu Zheng slowly said, "You think it's because of me?"

The Moon Goddess said softly, "Isn't it true? In this world, you are the greatest variable. When we first met you, we never imagined you would display such terrifying power..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "You flatter me."

Lu Zheng then asked, "Your Excellency has come here on behalf of the State of Chu to demand an explanation?"

The Moon Goddess shook her head and said, "I want to make a deal with you."

Lu Zheng became slightly interested. "What kind of deal?"

The Moon Goddess said, "If you protect me, I can help you with things and provide you with some secrets that no one else knows."

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes, looking at the Chu Kingdom's righteous god with a scrutinizing gaze.

The Moon Goddess said without changing her expression, "I came secretly from the State of Chu, and no one knows about it yet. If you are willing, I can leave the State of Chu and join this place..."

"I came here not out of a sense of abandoning darkness for light, but because the current situation in the world is unpredictable and I want to protect myself."

If there were no safer alternative, the Moon Goddess would not want to face Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "You are indeed an honest person."

Lu Zheng pondered for a moment and then said, "I can accept you into the new country and treat you the same as other citizens, but you have to fulfill one request."

The Moon Goddess's expression shifted slightly. "What are your requirements?"

She felt that Lu Zheng's demands were probably not simple.

Lu Zheng took out a pen and paper and said, "Since you're surrendering, you should show some sincerity. Write an explanation, saying that you've left the Chu Kingdom and joined the new Taiping Domain Kingdom, and expose some of the dark secrets of the Chu God..."

"If you can't write articles, just write something. Later, I'll have someone from the publicity department polish your writing and publish it as a separate article for a whole issue of Advertising World..."

"Of course, you will also receive a share of the profits from this article. This is the same treatment you received when the retired Emperor Yuan Si of Wei came here."

The Moon Goddess remained expressionless. If she were to actually write such an article to announce it to the world, wouldn't that make her completely hostile to the Chu Kingdom?
Wouldn't the Chu court and the divine officials be furious at that time?
She originally wanted to keep a low profile and stay hidden here, but Lu Zheng insisted that she do so...

Moon Goddess was well aware that there was no possibility of negotiating with someone like Lu Zheng.

Her mind started racing, and she pondered for a long time.

The Moon Goddess then spoke, "Can you truly protect me?" Lu Zheng replied unhurriedly, "There are countless powerful figures in the world who want my life right now. If I said I could protect you, you probably wouldn't believe it yourself. Of course, I will try my best to protect you; after all, your existence is also a good form of publicity!"

Just as an emperor of Wei helped to bring peace and prosperity to the world, the arrival of a great god from Chu is enough to astonish the world once again.

The Moon Goddess remained silent upon hearing this.

After a while, she picked up a pen and paper and began to write quickly.

Before long, a fairly long article was written.

Lu Zheng took it and looked at it, nodding slightly. "Not bad, not bad, Miss Yue's writing is very good, better than mine. However, the wording is too formal and not easy to understand. I'll have the publicity department revise it. Don't worry, you'll have the final draft reviewed, it won't be changed haphazardly..."

A hint of unease flashed across Yue Shen's expression. Putting everything else aside, she wasn't surnamed Yue, and she was probably many generations older than Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng then asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

The Moon Goddess said calmly, "It's up to you to decide."

Lu Zheng then put away the article and nodded, saying, "Very good... So what are your plans next?"

With a wave of her jade hand, the Moon Goddess summoned several radiant divine artifacts before Lu Zheng.

The Moon Goddess explained, "These are divine artifacts wielded by the Moon Goddess. Once I completely sever my ties with the Chu Kingdom's divine path, these artifacts will be unusable and inconvenient to keep with me. So, I'll give them to you to dispose of! I've heard that you can communicate with the ancient divine path and could help me break free from the Chu Kingdom's divine path..."

Lu Zheng replied, "That's no problem. Shall we begin now?"

The Moon Goddess said, "Let's go somewhere else. Back then, when you suppressed my avatar, I had a hard time figuring out your location..."

Lu Zheng's expression shifted slightly, and he raised his hand to reveal a portal.

The Moon Goddess immediately sensed a powerful aura emanating from the portal.

The moon goddess hesitated only briefly before entering.

A whole new world opened up before her.

The Moon Goddess's eyes gleamed with a strange light. Was this the inner world that Lu Zheng had cultivated? It actually contained the vast Dao of Heaven and Earth.

She felt a strong sense of oppression even in this place.

Moon Goddess was certain that if Lu Zheng attacked her in this place, she would probably have no chance of fighting back.

The Moon Goddess couldn't help but sigh softly, "You are truly special. Some say you are a reincarnation of a saint, but I think even if you were a reincarnation of a saint, it would be difficult for you to achieve such accomplishments at such a young age."

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "I'm actually not special. My existence just proves one thing."

The moon goddess's eyes flickered, and she asked, "What?"

Lu Zheng looked at the small sun in the sky and said softly, "It proves that sticking to the right path is the right thing to do."

Upon hearing this, the Moon Goddess remained silent for a moment before saying, "It's not easy to stick to the righteous path, otherwise there would be saints everywhere in the world."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Perhaps. But I really hope that everyone in the world can be like a dragon and become a saint."

Lu Zheng waved his hand, and a powerful Daoist aura enveloped the Moon Goddess.

The moon goddess stood still, suppressing the urge to resist.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "You can begin now. No outsider will trace back to where you want to go, even if someone uses the Divine Art of Fate on you."

The Moon Goddess's eyes flickered. "The God of Fate attacked you?"

Lu Zhengdao: "You don't know?"

The Moon Goddess shook her head and said, "The major gods of Chu are not all of one mind. Each of them has their own secrets. How could the God of Fate not keep such a matter from others? Even the Emperor of Chu did not know in advance that the Eastern Lord was coming to cause you trouble..."

Lu Zheng clicked his tongue and said, "I thought you guys, being from the same family, would be more united than outsiders. But seeing that you can even come here, it seems I was overthinking it."

The Moon Goddess remained silent. Unity? That would only happen when there were shared interests.

Right now, everyone is too busy trying to protect themselves.

Without offering further explanation, the Moon Goddess began to use divine magic to sever the connection with the Chu Kingdom's divine path.

The State of Chu, thousands of miles away.

In Yingdu, inside the Moon God Temple, the lifelike statue of the Moon God, exuding a divine aura, suddenly trembled.

The statue was covered with a dense network of cracks, like a spider web.

However, in a short while, the statue exploded, and golden light emanated from the divine path.

At the same time, the moon goddess statues in various parts of Chu showed abnormalities, becoming dim and losing their divine power.

The statues in the Temple of the Moon were damaged in an instant, which quickly attracted the attention of other great gods.

In the blink of an eye, several illusory figures shrouded in divine light appeared inside the Moon Goddess Temple.

"How is this going!"

"Why is the Moon Goddess also..."

"Who did this?"

……

A righteous god hurriedly stepped forward to check the situation, his powerful divine sense carefully probing the entire palace, searching for any remaining clues.

There were deities there, forming a divine seal, trying to find the Moon Goddess, but they did not sense any response.

"It seems she also perished, perhaps like Dongjun, she was......"

A deity's voice was deep and solemn.

A deity said, "Impossible! I saw the Moon Goddess cultivating at the sacred mountain temple outside Yingdu just yesterday..."

A righteous god arrived before the moon goddess statue, which had turned to dust, reached out and grabbed it, causing a surge of divine energy.

Hold onto some barely perceptible fragments.

Immediately afterwards, through divine calculation, the fragments were restored, and a uniquely shaped object appeared before everyone's eyes.

"This seems to be an artifact from the previous dynasty..."

Some people's eyes flashed with an unusual light.

One of the gods said in a low voice, "It seems she is not dead, but has departed from the path of the gods."

The gods reacted differently upon hearing this, unable to understand why the Moon Goddess would make such a choice out of the blue.

The position of a master is not one that just anyone can attain.

The moon goddess actually abandoned her divine position? This is hard to understand.

However, some deities were delighted by this, as the loss of one great god meant they could enjoy an even greater share of the incense offerings.

Soon, the gods reported the news to the Chu Emperor.

The Chu Emperor was stunned upon hearing this. The loss of two great gods in succession was something he simply could not comprehend.

The Chu Emperor dismissed everyone and stood alone in the palace, lost in thought.

"Is there still a need for this divine path to exist?"

The Chu Emperor murmured softly, his expression shifting between light and shadow. (End of Chapter)