Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 456 Severe Drought

From the information Zhong Ying gathered, Lu Zheng deduced some more detailed details.

The moon goddess herself seemed to act quite cautiously or arrogantly, and did not ask other gods to help her find him.

After thinking it over, Lu Zheng decided to continue his travels, as he couldn't stay in Ghost City forever.

It was a sunny day with bright sunshine.

Lu Zheng and his companion swaggered out of Ghost City, traveling along the flat road as if riding the wind.

Looking at the bright sun in the sky, Qingwan muttered, "It's a bit hot. Is this sun... because it's summer?"

Lu Zheng also raised his head slightly, vaguely sensing that something was amiss.

In a place like Guizhou, the sun shouldn't be this intense, yet it still feels warm. This weather is a bit unusual.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng took out the spirit boat and quickly left Ghost State with Qing Wan.

The journey covered a thousand miles at great speed, and no one hindered them along the way.

After leaving the ghost state filled with ghostly energy, they arrived at a neighboring state.

Lu Zheng stood in the flying boat, with the scorching sun overhead.

Below, the earth was a yellowish-green expanse, with withered grass and trees, dry and cracked soil, and even the mountain streams were almost dry.

The scorching sun baked the earth, even creating visible waves of heat.

"drought……"

A hint of seriousness flashed across Lu Zheng's eyes.

Judging from the surrounding mountains, this region has been experiencing a severe drought, which has likely been ongoing for some time.

Looking around, the sky was clear and cloudless.

Lu Zheng withdrew his gaze and steered the flying boat to search for a populated area.

Soon, the two arrived above a mountain village.

But the crops outside the village were withered and showed almost no signs of life.

Food is the most important thing for people. If this kind of weather continues, it won't be long before these crops wither and die completely.

Even if it rains later, many people will likely not survive this year because they missed the planting season.

A faint sound of gongs and drums drifted over, echoing through the mountains and fields.

Lu Zheng turned his head slightly and looked in the direction of the sound.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that a large group of villagers were gathered in the mountains, worshipping the gods.

One by one, the gaunt people, drenched in sweat, knelt outside the temple, their knees striking the scorching ground, chanting prayers for divine protection and blessings of good weather and abundant harvests.

However, when the villagers brought out the village's most precious offerings, the spirits, who had occasionally appeared before, did not respond at all.

The village elders at the head of the group kept kowtowing, even breaking their scalps and drawing blood.

The crowd looked pious and spoke words of sacrifice and praise to the gods, but it was all in vain.

After a while of this, seeing that the temple statues had not shown any power, the villagers dared not complain and left in twos and threes in disappointment.

Even the offerings they brought were still placed on the altar, and no one dared to move them.

Gradually, the villagers all returned to their village.

The once bustling temple suddenly fell silent.

Soon, the statue in the temple rippled, and a hazy golden phantom appeared.

The illusory figure sat cross-legged before its own statue, absorbing the incense and spiritual energy from the temple, a leisurely and contented expression on its face. "Aren't you afraid of choking on all this incense?"

A slightly cold voice rang in the ears of the gods.

The deities in the temple were startled upon hearing this and quickly looked around, but saw no one.

"Who?"

The gods immediately became alert.

He felt a blur before his eyes, and two figures appeared in front of him. Judging from their demeanor and attire, they were clearly cultivators.

The deity breathed a sigh of relief, but then said with displeasure, "Where did these cultivators come from? I eat the incense offered by the people, what does it have to do with you?"

Lu Zheng's gaze was cold as he said, "The people worship you, yet you do not perform your duties, you are merely a figurehead, and you are unworthy to be called a god."

"How dare you!" the deity roared in anger. "I am a righteous god appointed by the City God of this prefecture. How dare you, a mere cultivator, interfere with my actions? Those common people are meant to offer me their incense..."

However, before the deity on the altar could finish speaking, a powerful pressure descended upon them.

The deity felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, and he fell from the altar to the ground, unable to move for a moment.

The gods were terrified, their souls trembling under the oppressive force, utterly powerless to resist.

"Ah, Immortal Master, spare my life!"

Upon seeing Lu Zheng's cold eyes, the deity was suddenly jolted and immediately admitted defeat.

Even if you are a god, when you encounter someone more powerful than yourself, you can only obediently admit defeat.

Lu Zheng, still not abating, asked, "The people are pleading with you to alleviate the drought, why are you unmoved?"

The deity hurriedly replied, "This humble deity is merely a local earth god; how could I possibly relieve this drought? This humble deity is powerless to help..."

"Are you powerless, or are you reluctant to give up your divine power?" Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow.

The god's eyes flickered. He was naturally reluctant to expend his own power, but he really couldn't do much.

The drought here is severe. Even if he uses his divine power, he cannot alleviate the drought. It would be better for him to save himself.

The deity hurriedly replied, "The will of Heaven is unpredictable. It is said that the entire county, and other counties as well, are also suffering from severe drought. With my limited abilities, how could I possibly pray for rain... This year's drought is an inescapable and unstoppable will of Heaven..."

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Who said there's a drought this year?"

"The County God..." the deity began, "It was the County God who sent someone to inform me. As for where the County God heard it from, I don't know, but I suppose it was calculated by a higher deity."

Lu Zheng believed that there were indeed capable people in the world who could calculate the weather changes of the year and predict local droughts and floods.

But fate is unavoidable and he doesn't believe such words.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "I told you this so you could make preparations and protect the people from disaster. Since you knew there would be a drought this year, why didn't you let the villagers make preparations in advance? Did you want them all to die?"

The god couldn't help but shrink back, "I did talk to them..."

Seeing that the god's words were not sincere, Lu Zheng couldn't help but increase his pressure even more.

The phantom of the deity was instantly compressed into a pancake-like shape.

"Immortal Master, spare my life..." the deity said with difficulty, "I forgot to say it, but what difference does it make whether I say it or not? The county god has already said that this year's drought is extraordinary. The will of Heaven cannot be defied. Whether they live or die depends on the heavens. This lowly deity cannot make that decision."

The gods were there shirking responsibility, not feeling they had done anything wrong at all.

Hearing this, Qingwan, who was standing nearby, said unhappily, "You do nothing, so what's the use of a god like you?"

The deity exclaimed, "With this humble god here, no other demons or evil spirits dare to disturb the village..."

Qing Wan thought to herself that with the other party's limited abilities, it would be better to hire one or two martial artists to protect the village; that would be more effective than this deity.

(End of this chapter)