Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 342 Road

Shocking!

In an instant, countless divine senses swept around Zhu Ge.

It should be noted that countless people were watching as Zhu Ge approached Shengjing.

Putting everything else aside, those few that fly above Zhu Ge's head all year round are no ordinary people.

Some people thought that Zhu Gehui should keep a low profile and bide his time.

Some people have considered gradually building up the celebration.

Some people also thought that Zhu Ge would gather all his strength to resist.

But no one ever imagined that Zhu Ge would be so radical!

Keep in mind, Zhu Ge is only at the second realm!

Although everyone says that Zhu Ge's name will be announced on the "Sheji Ranking: Li Qiu Ranking" at the end of the year, after all, Zhu Ge's combat power is undeniably number one.

However, since the establishment of the Great Sheng Dynasty, the "Imperial List" has been published countless times.

However, no one in the second realm has ever been announced.

Whether it was the "List of State Affairs" in the early days of the dynasty, which was designed to govern the country and bring peace to the world according to Confucianism, or the "List of State Affairs" designed to promote development during the creation of a hundred paths such as alchemy, weapon crafting, medicine making, and clothing making, only those at the third realm could be listed on the list.

If someone from the second realm makes the list, it's not just a matter of who will be next, but at least there will be no one like them before.

The first person to create a new world!

"Whoosh"

A cold wind howled, and the dark clouds over Shengjing seemed to hang even lower the moment Zhu Ge finished speaking.

The young man in the blue uniform robe looked up, his pen hovering above the roster, ink condensing into a full droplet at the tip, suspended but not falling.

His gaze shifted from the roster to Zhu Ge's face, like a screw being slowly tightened, its gaps being closed inch by inch.

"What did you say?"

His voice was a little lower than before, but it still maintained that steady tone that had been repeated many times.

There was just a thin layer of suppressed fluctuation, like a string that had been stretched for too long finally beginning to vibrate slightly.

"I said—" Zhu Ge patiently repeated, "I don't like the rule you just mentioned."

He stood at the edge of the array, about a few feet away from the pale blue pattern carved on the ground, without taking another step forward.

He didn't deliberately emphasize his words, nor did he deliberately soften them; he simply stated the sentence in a calm, factual manner, as if saying that the sky was darker today than yesterday, or that the road ahead was not easy to travel.

Nothing special.

"You—" The young man's pen finally came to a stop, leaving a tiny ink dot on the roster.

Then he realized what was happening, quickly closed the roster, and put the pen back into the pen holder at his waist, his movements swift and decisive.

He raised his head and looked Zhu Ge up again, his gaze sweeping from Zhu Ge's shoulder to his waist, pausing for a moment at the location of the Purgatory Star Staff, before moving back to Zhu Ge's face.

The young man remained silent for a moment, as if verifying some information or waiting for some instructions.

He turned his head and glanced behind him, towards the direction of the city gate.

Separated by several layers of formations and two city walls, the specific scene could not be seen, but some kind of information was being transmitted in the void in a way that Zhu Ge could not perceive.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhu Ge again: "You may enter the city and be granted a lower-class token."

As he spoke, he took out a wooden sign that read "Entry Order".

Inferior brand?

Zhu Ge glanced at the sign, then stopped looking at the sign and the young man, and walked forward.

Step by step forward, the power within his body surged wildly into the array stars of the Lower Yuan Palace.

At the same time, a foot-long white light shot out from Zhu Ge's eyes, and his figure appeared in the sky.

"The meaning of returning to the origin!"

Zhu Ge whispered.

The next moment, all the forces of blood energy, literary energy, and witchcraft were transformed into spiritual energy under the influence of the Returning to Origin Intent.

This made Zhuge's spiritual power unprecedentedly strong!

Driven by such spiritual power, the array stars within his body trembled.

The "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Zhen Tu" that Zhu Ge cultivates is a true-level cultivation technique given to him by the True Lord of Annihilation.

Using the body as the array's core, one can gather array stars and set up the Zhou Tian Star Array both inside and outside the body!

"I don't use any so-called access tokens."

"Shengjing belongs to the human race, not to anyone else. I do not need anyone's permission to enter it."

As she spoke, Zhu Ge walked forward.

The next moment, his phantom in the sky transformed into the starlight of the celestial sphere, with the core constellations being Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, and Tian Ji.

The seven stars are Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang.

The starlight in the sky echoed the array of stars in Zhuge's Lower Yuan Palace, and Zhuge's intention to return to the origin seemed to be subtly becoming a force of returning to the origin.

Taking this opportunity, Zhu Ge slowly walked towards the formation in front of her.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" The young man's face paled. "You, you're going to force your way in???"

"I'm going home." Zhu Ge glanced at him and said earnestly, "This isn't a conflict you can get involved in. Go on your way."

After saying that, Zhu Ge continued to look ahead.

Meanwhile, countless passersby on the surrounding official roads were all stunned.

Because at this moment, right in front of them, the first layer of the grand formation of Shengjing manifested itself, displaying a colorful appearance, like a vat of oil paint being mixed together.

"Stop! Stop! Don't go in yet!"

"The formation is in trouble and no passage is allowed!"

"What's going on?! Report this to Bailu Official immediately!"

"Why do I feel the great formation trembling?!"

Officials at countless roadblocks were frantic, running around like ants on a hot plate.

Only those who exist in the Three Realms can become officials of Luca, also known as White Dew Officials.

The true Grand White Dew Official is the one who oversees all the waterways in the world.

From air currents and ocean currents to land routes, water routes, and air routes, everything is under its control.

However, the White Dew Official and the Awakening of Insects Official are both general titles for the same official position.

The strongest Bai Lu official is the one Zhu Ge met before.

However, Zhu Ge didn't care.

Even if the White Dew Official himself were to arrive, it would be the same.

"If we don't open it now, it would be such a waste to break this formation," Zhu Ge said softly.

But at that moment, a figure appeared in the sky.

It looks like it's Bailu Guan!

Just like when Zhu Ge first met her, Bai Lu Guan was dressed in a gray long dress, her figure was thin, and her face was indifferent.

"You can only enter Shengjing if you gain our approval," Bai Luguan said coldly. "Last time, I did not approve of you."

Approved?

Zhu Ge stopped walking.

As the True Lord of Oblivion said, the Ten Heavenly Officials are not simply black and white.

It was a mixture of political stances, personal relationships, and weighing of interests.

The same applies to the division of the Ten Heavenly Officials into factions that the True Lord of Oblivion and Zhu Ge discussed.

Standing on the side of the New Year's Eve official are the officials of the Awakening of Insects, Summer Heat, Grain in Ear, and Cold Dew.

These individuals had previously expressed their support for or seconded the abolition of the position of Hanxue Guan, the True Lord of Extinction, in the "Vote of the Officials".

Their interests are closely tied to those of the New Year's Eve official, and they can be considered the New Year's Eve official's core support base.

However, the True Lord of Extinction also pointed out that their support for the New Year's Eve Official may be more out of a desire to uphold the "orthodox order".

Or perhaps they wanted to take this opportunity to seize the power left behind after Hanxueguan was deposed.

On the other hand, the Frost Official, the Clarity Official, and the Grain Rain Official stood on the side of the Annihilation True Lord.

The Frost Official was the most outspoken woman. During the "Vote of the Officials," she declared that she would kill whoever replaced the Annihilation True Lord.

This attitude goes far beyond neutrality; it is a powerful defense against the suppression of the true ruler's personal will.

The True Lord of Oblivion also said that the Frost Official was actually eccentric and unpredictable in temperament, and extremely perverse.

To sum it up in Zhu Ge's words, it's "yandere".

But, despite her yandere nature, the Frost Official belongs to one of their own.

And what about the honest and upright officials?

Although he spoke in support of the Extinction of the True Lord, he actually preferred to uphold tradition and procedural justice.

He did not directly support the extermination of the True Lord, but instead questioned the procedure for abolishing official positions.

This means that the abolition and succession of the Cold Snow Official position are not determined by the New Year's Eve Official.

He was more like a neutral party who upheld the old rules, but in that context, this attitude was actually a form of protection for the True Lord of Extinction.

As long as the blessing song does not violate the rules set by the Holy Emperor before his death, there will be no problem.

The rule of "human immortality" established by the Holy Emperor is the core of all the rules.

As for the Grain Rain Official?

As the most detached Lord of the Lanterns, as Zhu Ge knows, the core duty of the Grain Rain Official is "recording".

He was an ally of Zhuge and the Annihilation True Lord, but as a historian, he had to adhere to the principle of neutrality.

Zhu Ge would not force him to directly intervene in political struggles.

However, those who are familiar with the situation know this.

The Lantern-Carrying True Lord is a descendant of the Annihilation True Lord.

In fact, he is no different from his master, except that the True Lord of Extinction is too temperamental and accepts disciples based entirely on his mood.

Even after the Lantern-Carrying True Lord became the Grain Rain Official, he still hadn't succeeded in becoming a disciple.

However, for the Lantern-Carrying True Lord, the Annihilation True Lord was his "master," not much different from his father.

Therefore, what the True Lord of Annihilation actually told Zhu Ge this time was to win the support of those relatively neutral Heaven and Earth Officials.

For example, Bailu Guan!

For example, the Qingming official!

During the "voting" session, these two either spoke briefly or simply seconded the motion.

Their statements were more in line with the situation at the time.

If the situation changes, their stance is very likely to be readjusted!

"So—how can I gain your approval?"

After a moment of silence, Zhu Ge asked.

Bai Luguan stood in the air and said calmly, "I control the navigation of the world. The matter I asked you is naturally related to Confucianism."

Confucianism?

Zhu Ge frowned slightly: "Excuse me."

To be honest, Zhu Ge only had a superficial understanding of Confucianism.

What he knows best is actually Chinese language, and only the content of the twelve-year compulsory education.

Or it could be short videos, short dramas, online novels, etc.

He can't do anything that's way beyond the curriculum!

But at this point, he had no choice but to force himself to learn.

If all else fails, he still has a cheat code.

Once the Kunpeng is activated, anything can be thought of.

Bai Luguan stood in mid-air, the hem of her gray dress pressed tightly against her calves by the wind, outlining a slender silhouette.

Her gaze fell on Zhu Ge, not as if she were looking at an opponent, but more as if she were looking at a scroll being slowly unfurled, waiting for it to fully unfold and reveal all the contents written inside.

Curiosity, anticipation, vigilance, and regret —

It seems that a single glance can contain all emotions.

Her voice was like the continuous, steady sound of a river flowing through flat land: "You created the Yi Dao and pioneered the Xiao Dao, truly deserving to be called the founder of the new Confucian way."

"But what I want to ask you is not those mysterious divination symbols, nor those moving stories; what I want to ask you is the path."

""

"The road?" Zhu Ge's gaze met hers in the gloomy sky.

"Roads." Bai Luguan repeated the word, then said, "Shengjing has streets that are a million miles long, and Dasheng has official roads that are hundreds of millions of miles long."

"Some of these roads were built in ancient times, some were repaired in previous dynasties, some have fallen into disrepair, and some are still in use. But since the Holy Emperor passed away, no one has systematically repaired them. The roads are rotting, the bridges are collapsing, and the waterways are silting up."

"I asked you, what's the way?"

When the first question came down, Zhu Ge felt that the surrounding air had become even quieter than before.

Those passersby who had been watching from a distance all lowered their voices at this moment.

The busy officials stopped in their tracks, all eyes turning to Zhu Ge, awaiting his reply.

What is a road?

Zhu Ge didn't rush to speak.

He stood on the ground, with the slowly flowing array patterns beneath his feet and a gloomy gray sky above. Bai Luguan was suspended in mid-air, waiting for an answer.

"The road." Zhu Ge hesitated before speaking, then decided to add a valuable element: "The road is a connection."

Bai Lu Guan remained silent, but her brows furrowed slightly.

"The so-called Great Way is a road, a road of thought. The course you manage is a road for passage."

"After the Holy Emperor passed away, the world was in chaos, and the path of humanity was being forgotten, not because the path itself was unimportant, but because people forgot what the path was meant to connect."

"A road, whether material or mental, is a connection."

"Roads, waterways, thought processes, mental journeys, the path of life, and so on—everything is a path."

"It is the process from the beginning to the end, and also the beginning of the process from the beginning to the end, and the end of the process from the beginning to the end."

After saying that, Zhu Ge shut up.

Bai Lu Guan remained silent, nodded slightly, and then said, "The second question—"

"How do we build the road?"

Road construction?

Zhu Ge was taken aback.

The second question is more specific and relevant than the first.

But upon closer reflection, it seems even more difficult?

The previous answer was too broad, so now, regarding the road construction issue, Zhu Ge's answer is not simply about using stone slabs to build roads.

How do we heal our inner wounds?

How to repair brain circuits?

How do I fix my thought process?

How do we navigate the path of life?

That's a great question!

However, when it comes to philosophy, Zhu Ge does have some ideas.

Zhu Ge was silent for a moment before speaking: "The first step in building a road—well, it's not laying stone slabs or digging a foundation."

"The first step in road construction is surveying."

"If a road is to be built, the first thing to do is to figure out the distance and elevation difference between the two places it is to connect."

"This requires a ruler."

"If you don't know the distance, you won't know how much material you need; if you don't know the height difference, you won't know how gentle the slope of the road needs to be."

"If one city is on a mountaintop and another city is at the foot of a mountain, and the route passes through three mountain ridges and two river valleys, then the method of cultivation for this route is completely different from that for the route where both cities are on a plain."

"This is the way of thinking, this is the way of the heart, and this is the way of life."

"Only with a 'yardstick' for measuring roads can we build them."

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