Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 557 Beyond the Southern Frontier
Yun Xiao tossed the remaining four spirit pills to Lu Zheng, "Eat them. Your physique is not bad. Take two pills and rest for a few days, and you should recover quickly."

Lu Zheng held the pills and gave one to Qingyi, who was standing next to him.

Qingyi glanced at it and pushed the pill back to Lu Zheng. She was only interested in the furnace fire and had no interest in this kind of pill.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng swallowed one elixir and put away the rest of the pills.

The gentle medicinal power flowed through his body, greatly easing Lu Zheng's mind and spirit.

In a daze, Lu Zheng fell into a deep sleep.

Yun Xiao shook his head slightly. Judging from Lu Zheng's appearance, he knew that the other party had not had a proper rest for a long time.

These young people nowadays really don't cherish their bodies. How can they do anything if they don't take care of their health? Yun Xiao sighed inwardly.

When he was young, he cultivated himself at Qingyang Palace. Although the cultivation was arduous, he did not neglect his health preservation.

A little while later, Qingwan came back excitedly from outside.

Upon seeing Lu Zheng resting in the courtyard, she immediately quieted down and then waved to Yun Xiao.

The two did not disturb Lu Zheng and went to talk to each other in the side.

Qingwan said, "I walked around the city, asked the government officials, and also inquired with some barbarians. I can roughly pinpoint the location now."

Qingwan took out several maps and laid them out. "These are the maps I bought. They are slightly different, but the location of Burial Mountain is basically confirmed. I heard that Burial Mountain is a forbidden place in the area, extremely dangerous. Even cultivators at the fifth realm dare not easily set foot there..."

"Further south, there are some fierce barbarian tribes. It is said that some places worship some evil gods and sacrifice people from other tribes. I don't know if it's true or just hearsay."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao leisurely replied, "Evil gods? They're probably just some demons, ghosts, or wild gods. It's quite normal for people in a place like this to worship such deities."

It is quite normal for ancient sacrificial rituals to exist in such wild mountain ranges.

It would be strange for Yun Xiao if there were a more civilized and enlightened human race than the outside world.

Yun Xiao said, "Alright, no need to say more. After Lu Zheng has rested, you can talk to him. You should also go and rest."

Qingwan nodded and quietly led Qingyi to a room to rest.

In the blink of an eye, the sun was setting.

Lu Zheng woke up feeling refreshed.

He glanced to the side and saw Yun Xiao beside him. "Daoist Master, your pills..."

Now that he's fully awake, Lu Zheng realizes that the pills he took earlier seem a bit unusual.

Yun Xiao chuckled and said, "I added some calming herbs to your medicine. Don't worry, it won't harm your body. You're weak, that's why it's so effective. Look, I'm fine after taking it."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "It's just tiring, it's not really a problem, is it?"

Lu Zheng felt that his physique was very strong and not weak.

Yun Xiao clicked his tongue and said, "That's not all. If it were anyone else, using that kind of power like you, their body would be completely drained, and they might not be able to recover for several years..."

Yun Xiao paused, then said, "When I travel the world, I'm truly traveling for leisure. But you, it feels like you're constantly risking your life everywhere you go?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's alright, I still have my own life."

"Tsk..." Yun Xiao was speechless.

After chatting for a while, Qingwan heard a noise and went out of the room to tell Lu Zheng the information she had gathered.

Yun Xiao, standing to the side, reminded him, "The situation among the barbarian tribes further south is probably even more complicated than in the southern borderlands. Don't even think about trying to civilize them."

"Your methods might not even be very effective in the capital. Let alone the illiterate barbarians there; there's no government to support you there, and literacy won't put food on the table for them..."

Lu Zheng smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Daoist. If we do encounter those tribes, we'll just consider it an investigation and won't do anything more."

Lu Zheng was well aware of his own limitations; to expect barbarians to be brought into a more civilized society all at once was wishful thinking.

Investigation? Yun Xiao's eyes flickered slightly. This word must be used to indicate what kind of response they're going to take in the future.

A commotion came from outside.

After a short while, the centurion from the border town arrived with some armored soldiers.

It was the Zhennan Army that received the news and dispatched a team to the border town as quickly as possible.

Among the visitors was a captain who politely clasped his hands in greeting to Lu Zheng and the others, and also brought a letter. "The general has learned of the true man, but unfortunately he has been busy with military affairs recently, so he asked me to deliver this letter to express his gratitude!"

Because of the series of events caused by the dragon vein in the southern border, the Zhennan Army camp also dispatched many people to deal with them and try to resolve the hidden dangers as soon as possible.

Yun Xiao opened the letter, glanced at it, and nodded. "We came to the Southern Frontier for sightseeing, but we just happened to encounter some things and helped each other out. There's no need for gratitude. After dawn, we will continue our journey south."

The captain had originally intended to entertain the group on behalf of the general, but upon hearing Yun Xiao's words, he couldn't help but show a hint of hesitation.

Seeing this, Yun Xiao chuckled and said, "Go on with your business, there's no need to worry about us." The captain, understanding the situation, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and left with his men, not daring to bother them any further.

Yun Xiao put away the letter and turned to Lu Zheng with a smile: "These soldiers are so easy to talk to. If it were those high-ranking officials in Chengdu, they would have to pull and shove each other to make sure they weren't being impolite... I get a headache every time I see certain people."

Qingwan blinked upon hearing this, "Isn't the Daoist Master a true immortal? Why does he have to watch those people's expressions? Why can't he just say it directly?"

Yun Xiao said quietly, "Precisely because I am a True Person, Qingyang Palace is one of the most prestigious... It can put on airs, but it cannot act arrogantly. Besides, the nobles in Chengdu, when it comes to family background, are all there."

Qingwan shook her head and sighed, "Even a Taoist priest can't escape worldly desires!"

"Uh." Yun Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Just occasionally, until I advance further..."

"Become a saint?" Qingwan asked.

Yun Xiao couldn't help but say, "What you're saying makes it sound so easy to become a saint."

Qingwan asked curiously, "Didn't you say you had already asked the Dao? Isn't taking it a step further and becoming a saint?"

Yun Xiao rolled his eyes and said, "So what you thought was 'further advancement' meant directly advancing a whole major realm? At my level of cultivation, even advancing to a minor realm is incredible, let alone becoming a saint..."

Yun Xiao didn't even dare to hope that he could attain enlightenment and become a saint, yet this girl was already fantasizing about it for him.

Qingwan couldn't help but say earnestly, "Daoist Master, you must have dreams!"

Yun Xiao curled his lips, "You little girl, how much cultivation do you have, yet you dare to criticize me? Speaking of which, you're a demon, yet you cultivate literary energy. Are you really planning to focus on Confucianism and Taoism? A demon like you who cultivates Confucianism will probably never become a saint in your entire life."

Demons and ghosts who cultivate Confucianism—the most talented among them in history are the great Confucian scholars, but becoming a saint is almost impossible.

Qingwan said, "What demon? It's a Confucian scholar. I learned from Lu Zheng!"

Yun Xiao's eyes flashed as he looked at Lu Zhengdao and asked, "You really have the idea of ​​switching allegiances?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "She means to learn from me, to draw on the strengths of many schools of thought, to learn useful skills, and to prioritize cultivation over everything else."

Yun Xiao looked at the two of them, his eyes darting around, feeling that these two young people were hiding something.

The border town is not peaceful at night.

The arrival of the Zhennan Army soldiers shattered the peace of the entire city at night.

After another search, the Zhennan Army found Chu spies hiding in the city.

The commotion lasted until dawn.

After taking two pills, Lu Zheng recovered to about 70-80% of his strength and continued on his journey.

After passing the border pass and traveling another dozen miles, the group discovered that the miasma outside the pass had suddenly become much denser.

Compared to this place, even southern Xinjiang has relatively fresh air.

Yun Xiaoyao looked at the surrounding天地气势 (heaven and earth energy) and said, "The Southern Frontier belongs to the Great Shu. Under the great nation's fortune, the original miasma in the Southern Frontier has been eliminated to a certain extent. After hundreds of years, in comparison, the miasma here seems much denser."

Lu Zheng asked curiously, "The fortune of a nation can have such an effect?"

Yun Xiao stretched out his hand to sense the surrounding atmosphere and slowly said, "That's natural. It's said that the land shapes its people, but if one possesses the power of heaven and earth, one can change that land. The destiny of a nation is, in fact, a manifestation of the great power of heaven and earth..."

Yun Xiao then pointed to Qingyi beside him, "As a Tongxuan level expert, a being born of heaven and earth, Qingyi also possesses this effect. If you let her stay here for decades or even centuries, the miasma in the surrounding area will definitely decrease significantly..."

Qingyi wrinkled her little nose; she would never stay in such a humid region filled with poisonous miasma.

Yun Xiao suddenly remembered something, "By the way, I heard that there was also a drought demon among the Chu Kingdom's priests, do you know about him?"

Lu Zhengdao: "I've heard people mention it, but I still know very little about it."

Yun Xiao smiled and said, "There aren't many rumors about that person outside. However, some people say that the Chu Kingdom has suppressed that person in a certain place because the drought demon has extraordinary power. They say that he was made a god, but he was actually used as a tool..."

Yun Xiao looked at Qing Yi and said, "I'm not trying to scare you. Little girl, you still need to study and cultivate hard. Don't think you're so great just because you're like this now."

Qingyi looked up at Yun Xiao, her gaze intense, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I know!"

The spirit boat sped across the mountains and rivers.

Along the way, the group enjoyed the scenery.

It was all vast mountains, with no human settlements or villages in sight, not even a proper road.

Occasionally, one might see a small path in the mountains, which is a path formed by wild animals moving around over the years.

Qingwan couldn't help but ask, "There's not a single person in sight. Do people really live in a place like this?"

This place is characterized by high mountains and dense forests, teeming with monstrous beasts and poisonous insects; it hardly seems like a habitable place.

Yun Xiao stroked his beard and said, "The environment here is considered good. The cold plateau to the west of Shu is covered with snow all year round, and there is not much grass or trees, but there are still people there... We humans are more resilient than other races, and we can set foot in any place."

(End of this chapter)