Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 722 Buddhist Relics

Even Hu Feng, a powerful demon king, was so frightened by Lu Zheng that his body stiffened and his spine went cold, as if he had encountered the greatest life-or-death crisis of his life.

Hu Feng shuddered and quickly stood up to greet him with a smile.

"Oh, Young Master Lu, please have a seat! I have long admired your name and have been planning to bring my men to join the Taiping Domain!"

"However, no one had come looking for me for a while, and I thought Young Master Lu looked down on our small place... I didn't expect Young Master Lu to come personally to deliver an invitation. Why bother with such a small matter? You can just send someone, and we will cooperate..."

The group of demons and monsters standing nearby lowered their heads and remained silent, wondering when their king had ever said he wanted to join the Taiping Domain.

Before the Lunar New Year, in the dead of winter, Hu Feng confidently told them that people from Taiping Domain had come and bought up the people who couldn't survive, but hadn't directly occupied the area, clearly showing no intention of expanding outwards, and that they didn't need to worry.

Now it seems that this is not obvious at all...

Moreover, this was the first time they had ever seen their king so humble and subservient; he had never been so lowly when facing those Buddhist monks before.

Hu Feng continued rambling on, "I'm not familiar with those monks from Wei, and I don't know what's going on. They came to my place a few days ago and said they wanted to spread Buddhism here... Everyone knows I'm not a Buddhist, but I have read the Confucian classics. As the sages said..."

Lu Zheng slightly raised his eyelids, which immediately startled Hu Feng into stopping his voice.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "You talk too much, but hardly any of it is true."

Upon hearing this, Hu Feng's expression changed slightly, and he quickly said, "Young Master Lu, I didn't dare to make any rash moves just now. You are a magnanimous person... I started from humble beginnings and it wasn't easy for me to reach the Tongxuan Realm. My abilities are not small either, and I will definitely do my best to contribute to building a peaceful world in the future! Oh, by the way, I also know a secret."

As they spoke, Hu Feng secretly transmitted his voice so that it would not be known to outsiders.

Lu Zheng's expression did not change upon hearing Hu Feng's words.

He thought for a few moments, then said, "Take me there!"

Hu Feng's eyes lit up, and he was secretly pleased. It seemed that Lu Zheng at least did not intend to kill him immediately.

"Then they..."

Hu Feng couldn't help but look at the other people in the hall.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Someone will come over later to arrange things. Just cooperate properly."

Upon hearing this, Hu Feng looked at his subordinates—oh, they shouldn't be considered his subordinates anymore…

From now on, everyone is part of the Taiping Domain, and no one has a higher status than anyone else.

Hu Feng, as a demon king from the nearby Taiping Domain, was quite familiar with the situation there, so he was somewhat aware of it.

After all, in such a chaotic place, you can't survive without some tricks or brains.

"Did you all hear that? Stay here and make sure you don't run away. If anyone tries to escape, I... I'll chase you to the ends of the earth and bring you back to face the consequences!"

Hu Feng glared and uttered some harsh words to the others.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Let's go."

Hu Feng quickly led the way, not daring to waste this person's time.

The two quickly left the spiritually rich mountain.

Before long, the two arrived at a dark and desolate valley.

The valley was utterly quiet, with many ruins visible on the ground, along with some broken stone statues and towers.

Hu Feng said, "This is a Buddhist temple complex, which has probably existed for over a thousand years. In the previous dynasty, Buddhism was not thriving, and many monks could only live in seclusion in a corner of the country. At that time, there were quite a few temples in the Northern Region..."

"Several hundred years ago, the dynasty fell, and the Yuan dynasty was established in the south. Buddhism flourished there, and the Buddhist sects in the northern regions moved there. Since then, Buddhism in the northern regions has declined, and there are few temples with flourishing incense offerings here. However, some ancient Buddhist sites from the previous dynasty can still be found."

Lu Zheng had a very detailed understanding of the rise and fall of Buddhism.

In the previous dynasty, Taoism flourished, and not only did Buddhism decline, but even Confucianism and Taoism became secondary schools of thought.

At that time, even those selected through the imperial examinations were not Confucian or Taoist scholars.

It was only after the fall of the previous dynasty and the division of the world that several countries used sacred artifacts to forge national treasures, which could then be used to enrich the Confucian and Taoist culture among their scholars. Only by establishing a separate Confucian examination system could Confucianism and Taoism flourish again.

At that time, various Buddhist sects also reached a cooperation agreement with the Yuan family of the Wei Kingdom's royal family, and once again became a prominent school of thought.

However, Buddhism has experienced many ups and downs and has long lost its original appearance.

Looking at these historical traces nearby, Lu Zheng couldn't help but sigh.

As Hu Feng led the way, he explained, "I found this place decades ago. At the time, I thought it was just a temple ruin, but I accidentally discovered that there was more to this place than meets the eye. I even secretly set up an array here to prevent others from noticing..."

Hu Feng led Lu Zheng through a cluster of ruins to the foot of a collapsed Buddhist pagoda.

Then, Hu Feng raised his hand and waved it, and an invisible force moved the two heavy bluestones aside, revealing a dark passage.

Hu Feng said softly, "The location is still deep underground. Young Master Lu, are you waiting for me here, or..."

Lu Zheng said, "Continue leading the way."

After arriving here, he sensed something unusual about this place through the Buddha's mark.

Seeing that Lu Zheng didn't seem worried at all, Hu Feng went into the passage first and took out a walnut-sized pearl that emitted spiritual energy to illuminate the way.

Go down the steps, winding your way deeper and deeper underground.

Hu Feng opened several hidden stone doors with great familiarity, and then passed through layers of invisible restrictive barriers.

The two arrived outside an underground Buddhist temple.

Lu Zheng saw that the gate of the Buddhist temple in front of him was tightly closed, and the entire temple was faintly exuding a Buddhist aura.

Above the gate, some symbols and characters can be seen appearing and disappearing, shimmering with light and containing a mysterious aura.

Hu Feng said in a low voice, "I wanted to open this Buddhist temple to see what treasures were hidden inside, but the restrictions on this temple are quite sophisticated, and I couldn't break them at all..."

"I even drew some of those symbols and characters and had them examined by monks. They all said they were some kind of esoteric script lost in Buddhism, and that only highly accomplished monks from certain major sects could decipher their meaning..."

Hu Feng paused for a moment, then said, "I am not familiar with those eminent monks of the Buddhist sect in Wei, and I am afraid that they will seize the treasure and kill me to silence me, so I have not revealed the information."

As he spoke, Hu Feng thought to himself that Bao De had just learned of this news when he died, so it wasn't really that he had revealed anything...

Hu Feng smiled and said, "I've considered that Young Master Lu is not a greedy person, and he's not on good terms with Buddhism, so there's no harm in telling you about this. Even if there are any Buddhist treasures inside, they will all belong to Young Master Lu; I wouldn't dare to touch a single thing!"

Lu Zheng turned his head to look at Hu Feng and said calmly, "Who told you that I don't get along with Buddhism?"

"Uh……"

Hu Feng was stunned for a moment. Wasn't that right? Everyone in the vicinity of Taiping Domain knew about the demons, monsters, and ghosts. Lu Zheng had explicitly banned Buddhism in the areas he governed and strictly prohibited the propagation of Buddhist doctrines.

Everyone assumed that this was Lu Zheng's rejection of Buddhism as a Confucian disciple.

Lu Zheng was too lazy to explain anything. He strode to the front door and carefully looked at the symbols and characters that appeared and disappeared intermittently.

He had never seen these symbols before, but he could sense a strange power intertwined within them, allowing the marks to connect into one.

After a moment, Lu Zheng slightly raised his hand, and wisps of white energy emerged, transforming into a series of symbolic characters arranged in a row.

Seeing this, Hu Feng couldn't help but say, "Young Master Lu is indeed very learned, he can even understand these characters..." Lu Zheng said calmly, "I don't understand."

Hu Feng's expression froze; he felt that his attempt to flatter had backfired.

He thought Lu Zheng had figured out the cipher and was cracking it, but it turns out he was just randomly arranging them here.

Lu Zheng may not understand, but he didn't just randomly assign a number.

After a while, Lu Zheng wrote down the arranged contents.

Then the white streams of air dissipated completely.

Hu Feng couldn't help but suggest, "Why don't we try to break it by force? I saw that Young Master Lu was able to kill those eminent monks before, so breaking into this Buddhist temple shouldn't be too difficult for him."

Speaking of what happened before, Hu Feng still doesn't understand how Lu Zheng managed to instantly kill those Buddhist monks, among whom were some who had reached the half-step into the Dao realm.

The result was that even such a master couldn't escape when facing Lu Zheng; he died without leaving a trace.

He even suspected that Lu Zheng might possess some kind of Saint-level weapon, so he remained obedient and dared not make any unusual moves.

If such a powerful weapon truly existed, it would certainly be able to breach this palace.

Hu Feng was still very curious about what was inside the Buddhist temple that he had been unable to decipher for decades.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng did not take Hu Feng's suggestion. Instead, he took a few more steps forward and raised his right hand to touch the palace gate.

Hu Feng opened his mouth as if to remind Lu Zheng that the Buddhist temple's restrictions were unusual, but he felt that Lu Zheng couldn't possibly be unprepared, so he wisely kept quiet.

As Lu Zheng touched the door, a powerful Buddhist energy surged out from the hall.

However, before the restrictions of the Buddhist temple could be fully activated, a golden mark appeared in Lu Zheng's palm.

In an instant, the surging Buddhist energy receded like a tide and subsided.

Even the colorful symbols and characters on the gate completely lost their luster and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Lu Zheng's right hand touched the door, and then he pushed it hard.

"Om..."

The heavy door made a sound and slowly opened inward.

Hu Feng stood behind, dumbfounded, his slightly open mouth now stuffed with an egg.

He pondered for decades and tried countless methods, but still couldn't crack the Buddhist temple.

As soon as Lu Zheng arrived, he simply pushed it away with his hand.

It was pushed open...

Hu Feng suddenly felt his mind go blank, unable to comprehend the scene he was witnessing.

"How...how did you do that?"

Hu Feng's expression froze; he could no longer contain his shock.

Lu Zheng tilted his head slightly, smiled, and said, "If I said I have an affinity with Buddhism, which is why I was able to open this door, would you believe me?"

Hu Feng nodded blankly. If it were a Buddhist monk saying this, he might not believe it, but this one was too unfathomable to him.

Lu Zheng pushed the door open halfway and stepped straight into the hall.

Hu Feng glanced around and, finding no danger, curiously entered the Buddhist hall.

Inside the hall stood rows of jade Buddha statues, all carved from large pieces of spiritual jade.

However, perhaps due to the passage of time, these jade sculptures do not possess a strong spiritual aura.

The previously surging Buddhist aura had also subsided and disappeared without a trace.

Hu Feng raised his head slightly, looking at the Buddha statues around him with curiosity in his eyes.

"Huh? That's strange! The Buddhas enshrined here seem different from the Buddha statues we have now. There are no memorial tablets for them either. Which Buddhas are being worshipped here?"

Hu Feng found that he couldn't immediately recognize the true identities of these Buddha statues.

Lu Zheng looked around. He didn't recognize some of the statues, but the Buddha statue in the center of the hall was indeed quite familiar.

Looking at the benevolent-looking Buddha statue, Lu Zheng said, "This one is the Buddha."

"Buddha? Buddha doesn't look like..."

Hu Feng's expression shifted slightly; he remembered that the Buddhas enshrined in temples elsewhere did not look like this.

Lu Zheng said, "This is the original appearance of Buddha. As for why the statues outside are not like this, you have to ask the people who made those statues."

Hu Feng felt a chill run down his spine, sensing that these words seemed to reveal some Buddhist secrets.

Lu Zheng continued to examine the temple. Apart from the usual Buddhist artifacts, there were no treasures stored here.

There is no trace of incense offerings or worship among these Buddha statues; only wisps of mysterious energy remain.

Lu Zheng observed for a while but couldn't discover the secret.

After all, he didn't decipher the text at all when he entered; you could say he got in by taking a shortcut.

Hu Feng couldn't help but mutter, "There doesn't seem to be anything special here..."

He was, after all, a powerful demon of profound understanding. With a sweep of his divine sense, he could thoroughly investigate every nook and cranny of the hall, but he found no Buddhist treasures or scriptures hidden there.

Lu Zheng moved his right hand, and a golden light flashed in the hall.

Hu Feng, who was standing nearby, was startled and sensed the powerful Buddhist energy. He immediately assumed a defensive posture.

But he soon discovered that he had not been attacked.

Suddenly, the main hall rippled violently, and wisps of Buddhist energy converged from all directions to the center.

A golden portal gradually appeared before the two of them.

Hu Feng's eyes lit up, and he said with a hint of excitement, "This! There's a whole new world inside!"

Not only Lu Zheng, but even Hu Feng sensed a different aura from inside the portal.

That was the aura of another place; beyond this gate lay a hidden paradise.

I thought I wouldn't find anything, but it turns out there's a secret hidden inside this Buddhist temple.

Hu Feng estimated that without Lu Zheng's help, even if he entered this place, he wouldn't be able to create this portal. After all, he was a demon, didn't practice Buddhism, and had some restraint with Buddhist energy.

Wait a minute… Hu Feng looked at Lu Zheng with surprise, his mind filled with increasing confusion.

Lu Zheng ignored Hu Feng's many questions. Seeing that the portal formed by Buddhist energy had stabilized, he stepped through it and disappeared into the portal.

Seeing Lu Zheng enter, Hu Feng couldn't detect his presence with his divine sense. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to follow closely behind. (End of Chapter)