Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 731 Imitation of the Nine Tripods

"Boom..."

The golden cauldron landed directly in front of Lu Zheng with a heavy thud.

A dense aura of heaven and earth enveloped Lu Zheng, rushing towards him without any guidance, determined to merge into his body.

The expressions of the people nearby changed constantly, especially those of the elderly, who found it difficult to remain calm.

They thought Lu Zheng had used magic to activate the cauldron, but it turned out that the golden dragon of fortune inside had come to find him on its own initiative.

The family had guarded a treasure for hundreds of years, but they couldn't keep it and instead took the initiative to get close to outsiders. No one could remain calm about this.

Seeing the expressions on these people's faces, Lu Zheng quickly understood what was going on.

He tried to reject the fortune of heaven and earth there, but the fortune was too strong, and even he could not completely stop it. He could only let some of the fortune enter his body to improve himself.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but look at the old men and said, "Aren't you going to do something to stop this?"

Upon hearing this, the group wore expressions that were hard to describe; they wished they could have stopped it.

When the heavy cauldron flew out of the main hall, they suffered a powerful backlash of fortune because they failed to seal it.

Faced with this scene, they dared not move even if they wanted to.

The fact that someone has been chosen for such a prestigious position is of extraordinary significance and cannot be hindered by anyone else.

Continuing to attack now will not only result in a backlash from the heavy cauldron, but may also cause a backlash from Lu Zheng's own luck power.

At that time, their cultivation and lifespan will be further reduced, making it even more of a loss.

In the current situation, the connection between this national treasure and Lu Zheng is deeper than that between them and the royal family.

Now that things have come to this, they can only face this unpredictable reality.

An elderly man who had entered the Buddhist order couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and said slowly, "Benefactor Lu is indeed a person favored by Heaven. This is a great opportunity for Benefactor Lu, how can we interfere?"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "That's true... but if you don't make a move soon, I feel like this cauldron is really going to run away with me..."

Lu Zheng felt that he couldn't suppress this cauldron at all. This thing was probably a quasi-Dao artifact, close to the Saint-grade, and it also contained the Dao of Luck.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became even more animated.

Several high-ranking elders looked at each other and quickly exchanged glances.

Ultimately, they chose not to act, as the cost of doing so would be too high, and there was a high probability that they would not succeed.

It would be better to reluctantly give up this opportunity and do them a favor, even though they might consider it a bit too much...

On the other hand, the fact that the cauldron was returned to Lu Zheng meant that they were rid of a hot potato, and they could sleep much more peacefully from now on.

One of them sighed, “This is the will of Heaven. Since you are capable of bearing such a heavy weapon, it should belong to you... Consider it our gift of gratitude.”

When these words were spoken, the elderly people felt as if their hearts were bleeding.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng didn't hesitate at all and gave up resisting.

Instantly, the golden cauldron shone even brighter, and a golden dragon of fortune roamed around Lu Zheng, its dense aura almost engulfing his entire figure.

However, after a short while, the heavy cauldron shrank, and the golden dragon flew into the cauldron, transforming into a beam of golden light that entered Lu Zheng's brow and entered the small world.

The golden cauldron descended into the Literary Palace, and immediately the Taiping Codex flew into the cauldron, slowly absorbing and merging with the fortune within...

Seeing that Lu Zheng had effortlessly taken the heavy cauldron, everyone was deeply moved and could not calm down for a long time.

Even the elders who had guarded the royal treasure for many years couldn't help but marvel at Lu Zheng's terrifying performance.

For such a person, attaining enlightenment and becoming a saint is probably only a matter of time.

Now that they've given away the heavy tripod, it can be considered a good relationship with them... The group felt comforted in their hearts.

Lu Zheng, with the calmest expression, asked, "I've heard that the previous dynasty cast nine great cauldrons to gather the fortune of the world. Could this be one of the nine cauldrons?"

An old man replied, "It's not the Nine Tripods, it's a replica of the Nine Tripods... Back then, an ancestor of the royal family foresaw the collapse of the Divine Dynasty and had some important artifacts replicated, dividing the Divine Dynasty's fortune into more parts."

"Our part of the royal family took a replica of the Nine Cauldrons and hid in this cave world. As for the whereabouts of the other Nine Cauldrons or other important artifacts, we do not know."

The old man felt that even if it were the real Nine Cauldrons, even if they didn't contain as much fortune as during the prosperous days of the Divine Dynasty, it would still be something a young man like Lu Zheng couldn't bear.

Those around them couldn't help but show surprise upon hearing this.

After all, this is a secret belonging to the royal family. Not to mention outsiders, many members of the royal family are unaware of such secrets.

Even Miao Kong had never heard of such a thing before.

The old man is telling the story in public now because there's really nothing left to hide, so he might as well let everyone hear the tale.

"I see."

Lu Zheng nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The old man continued, "Alright, everyone should go back and pack their things to leave. There's no more show to watch! Just keep what happened here to yourselves. If word gets out, none of us will have a peaceful day."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill and understood the gravity of the situation.

One by one, they fell silent, returning to where they came from.

On the way back to the city, Zhao Wei couldn't help but scratch his head. The most important royal treasure in that palace was the Heavy Cauldron, which now belonged to Lu Zheng. It seemed that there was nothing of great importance for him to inherit and protect in the future.

After thinking about it this way, Zhao Wei felt that the pressure on him had been greatly reduced.

As for the fact that the family's treasured artifact, which had been guarded for many years, had been acquired by an outsider, Zhao Wei felt mostly admiration amidst his complex emotions.

Faced with that scene just now, and with Lu Zheng's calm and composed demeanor in dealing with the heavy cauldron, he felt like a frog in a well looking at a vast ocean...

Before he had even seen the world, Zhao Wei felt that Lu Zheng had shattered his pride.

So what if he's a descendant of royalty? It's really nothing special... Zhao Wei couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"This is a national treasure, of great importance. I hope you can keep it for yourself and make good use of it, rather than giving it to others... Giving away such a thing may not necessarily be good for you."

An old man approached Lu Zheng and gave him some advice.

He was worried that Lu Zheng would offer the heavy cauldron to those dynastic powers, so he stayed behind to persuade him. Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Senior, you can rest assured. This cauldron is also of great use to me, and I will not hand it over to anyone else."

Hearing Lu Zheng say this, the old man felt a little relieved.

The old man said quietly, "Giving this to you is not going against the wishes of our ancestors. You are extraordinary. I hope you can take care of the younger generation in my clan in the future. I don't ask that they become rich and powerful, just that they live in peace."

Lu Zhengdao said, "Once you become a member of the Taiping Domain, everyone is the same. I will protect everything they have. Even if someone tries to investigate you because of your identity, they will have to get past me first..."

"Of course, regarding the assessment for joining the Taiping Domain, it remains the same as before: I will not show any personal feelings. I hope you can understand, senior."

The old man nodded and said, "Okay."

The old man also understood that some rules could not be broken, because once the rules were broken, the entire order would collapse.

Since Lu Zheng was pursuing fairness and justice, and even those dynastic forces had to follow local customs and rules when they went to Taiping Domain, he couldn't make any excessive demands.

Meanwhile, inside the royal treasury, several elders were putting away the other treasures.

This time, no valuable treasures flew to Lu Zheng's place, which relieved the group.

If they chose Lu Zheng for all the treasures, they would truly have no face to face their ancestors.

However, some people believe that some of the artifacts are in a sealed or semi-sealed state and have not sensed Lu Zheng's presence, which is why there has been no movement...

Looking at the empty hall, someone couldn't help but sigh, "I wonder if there are any other remnants of the royal family left in this world. After we get out, we should be careful. Even if we can't protect the treasure, we can't let our bloodline be cut off..."

After a flurry of activity, the entire cave world was finally almost ready.

With his Buddhist mark and heavy cauldron, Lu Zheng easily opened a wide passage, allowing hundreds of thousands of people in the cave to gradually leave for the outside world.

In the end, only a small group of people remained inside the cave to do some cleanup work.

With so many people coming from the outside world, and this area originally belonging to Hu Feng's territory, Lu Zheng simply took them to Hu Feng's place, which was nearby.

Hu Feng's territory had only recently been incorporated into the Taiping Domain, and a professional management and development team was already in charge of the area.

Lu Zheng addressed the high-ranking members of Dongtian, saying, "This area has just become part of Taiping Domain and is undergoing major reforms and construction. Placing you here will allow you to learn and work together for now... If you find it difficult to adapt, you can talk to me later."

No one objected to this.

So, a large group of people headed to the newly built urban area.

Lu Zheng also took the lead in notifying some people to prepare for the reception and resettlement.

The former demon king Hu Feng is still working hard, and he has contributed to almost half of the infrastructure construction in the new area.

The efficiency and quality were beyond the reach of even Hu Feng's former subordinates, who couldn't help but admire him. They thought to themselves that he truly deserved to be their former king, a powerful demon at the Tongxuan Realm, who was proficient in everything and always did more work than he could handle...

When Hu Feng learned that Lu Zheng had brought the people out of the cave, he volunteered to help.

"Mr. Lu... let me take care of them! I'll make sure they're settled in perfectly, that they adapt to life here as quickly as possible, and I can also keep an eye on them for you... ah, I mean supervise them..."

"Don't worry, I know all the laws and regulations of the Taiping Domain. I guarantee I won't make any mistakes, and I won't let them make any mistakes either!"

Seeing that Hu Feng was so enthusiastic, Lu Zheng asked Hu Feng and several managers to go and meet him.

Relocating and resettling hundreds of thousands of people is indeed not an easy task, but fortunately, the organization is well-organized and orderly, and with the cooperation of the management personnel from both sides, no major problems have arisen.

The ordinary people or servants who were originally in the cave also regained their identities, became free, and were allocated certain resources.

Lu Zheng also specifically ordered that the former masters and servants be separated and resettled to eliminate the master-servant mentality of some people as soon as possible.

Some people are used to a life where they are waited on hand and foot, and they are not used to it at first, but they can only endure it, because no one indulges them.

For this reason, Lu Zheng stayed behind to observe the situation.

After all, these people stayed in the cave and were unaware of the situation in the Taiping Domain, nor did they understand Lu Zheng's style of doing things. It was inevitable that some hotheads who did not want to follow the rules would appear.

Perhaps only then will he be able to control the situation.

Sure enough, on the very night the arrangements were made, some pampered people couldn't stand it anymore and banded together to protest.

Then, all the protesters were arrested and forced to work under cover of darkness...

Those who still refuse to obey will be subjected to physical punishment in public.

Even pleading on their behalf was of no use.

Some local transvestites and ghosts were stunned, wondering where these pampered people came from and how they dared to break the rules.

Lu Zheng found Zhao Wei and said, "Go and talk to your people again. If they really feel they don't belong here, they can apply to leave, instead of coming out here to incite everyone's emotions and say that the rules here are unreasonable..."

"clear."

Zhao Wei nodded emphatically, then smiled and said, "I used to dislike those people, but because of my status, I couldn't do anything to them... It makes me feel very relieved that you've had them dealt with like this..."

To be honest, Zhao Wei was quite pleased to see this kind of scene.

Although his former servants and attendants had been separated and he was still adjusting to their new lifestyle, he wasn't about to cause any trouble because of it.

Lu Zheng continued, "The main roads connecting here to the nearby districts are now complete. You can apply for temporary permits to visit other areas; it won't take much time to go there and back. I won't take you sightseeing; I have other business to attend to..."

Zhao Wei said in a low voice, "I've heard rumors that you want the entire Northern Region to become a peaceful region?"

There were many locals and demons doing things in the resettlement area, and Zhao Wei also heard a lot of conversations about Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng smiled upon hearing this and said, "I will do my best. Of course, I am not as ambitious as you think, so don't expect anything from me in any way... Don't expect your family to rise to power here, and neither can other families."

Zhao Wei's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything more. He cupped his hands in farewell and went back to warn others.

Two days passed in a flash. Although some minor conflicts occurred in the resettlement area, they did not have a significant impact. Even the respected elders cooperated well.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng quietly left to check the situation to the north.

After the start of spring, in addition to Hu Feng's place, Lu Zheng also sent invitations to several nearby forces.

Some local warlords, seeing the tide turning against them, simply abandoned their posts and fled, while others, with considerable influence, readily chose to submit...

After all, everyone knew Lu Zheng's capabilities. Resistance would be the quickest way to die; they would either abandon their posts and flee or turn to the light.

Thus, without resorting to any force, the Taiping Domain expanded outwards by another area. (End of Chapter)