Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 478 Powerful Helper
The shuttle was as fast as a streak of light, and in no time at all, it had already reached the sky above Yunmeng Marsh.

Feeling the warmth of the air, Wang Tong took a deep breath. "The air is completely different now that we're outside of Great Chu! So refreshing..."

Wang Tong stretched his body, and the freedom of Yunmengze, a land without the fate of a divine kingdom, made him feel relaxed.

He turned to Lu Zheng and asked, "Where are we going now?"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Let's fill it with water first and see how much water that Lake-Stabilizing Pearl can hold."

Lu Zheng leaped lightly, exited the spirit shuttle, and quickly landed on the surface of the Great Swamp.

Seeing this, Wang Tong also followed curiously to the side.

On the vast marshland, ripples spread across the water, and no islands could be seen for dozens of miles around.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng raised his hand and waved it, sending a burst of power crashing into the water.

The water vibrated, and an invisible force spread outwards.

Fish and shrimp in the nearby waters sensed this force and quickly scattered in all directions.

Next, Lu Zheng took out the Lake-Stabilizing Pearl and used the technique that Jing Xi had taught him.

But then the divine pearl shone brightly and immediately disappeared into the water.

A powerful suction force emanated from the divine pearl, affecting the surrounding waters, which surged wildly into the pearl.

A vortex gradually formed and slowly expanded.

It was as if a bottomless pit had appeared in the calm lake, constantly swallowing up the water.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but recall the tortoise shell magic treasure he had obtained before, which also contained a water-spirit space.

However, the space within that magical artifact was far less spacious than that within the Lake-Stabilizing Divine Pearl, and its power was also not as great.

Of course, Yunmeng Marsh is very large, and even if this divine pearl were filled to the brim, it would not be able to lower the water level of the marsh by even a fraction.

Lu Zheng took a step and entered the water, trying to fill his own little world with water.

However, he found that filling the small container with water was slow and time-consuming.

Moreover, there isn't much space in this small space to hold water, so we can't flood the entire area.

Lu Zheng tried it out, poured some water into the little world, and then returned to the surface.

The whirlpool formed by the divine pearl swallowing the lake water had expanded to several miles, and it looked quite spectacular.

Lu Zheng tried to examine the bead again and found that it was still a long way off before it could be filled with the divine bead.

He and Wang Tong waited quietly to the side.

Wang Tong stroked his chin and pondered, "He really knows how to put on an act, but using all this water will be a hassle. We'll need to hire a powerful expert to cast a spell to make it rain..."

Wang Tong was not very proficient in water-based magic, and his cultivation level was also insufficient.

He couldn't even spread rain clouds over a thousand miles, let alone cover an area suffering from drought spanning tens of thousands of miles.

"I was wondering why this place was acting strange. Turns out it was you two little devils causing trouble..."

An old man's voice came faintly from behind.

Wang Tong was startled. He turned around and saw that an old man was already standing behind them, very close by.

Upon hearing this voice, Lu Zheng couldn't help but feel that it was very familiar.

He turned his head and saw that it was indeed as he had thought.

"Who are you?" Wang Tong asked hurriedly, "Let me tell you..."

Lu Zheng, who was standing next to him, raised his hand to signal, and Wang Tong realized what was happening and stopped talking.

Lu Zheng bowed and said, "Elder Meng, what brings you here?"

The old man before them was Meng Yuan, the guardian of the Wan Jing Lou of the Yunmeng Sect.

Lu Zheng never expected to run into the other party here.

Meng Yuan smiled and said, "I came out to get some fresh air. It's stifling to stay in the sect all day."

Meng Yuan stared at Lu Zheng curiously, "It's been a while since I've seen you, and you seem to have improved quite a bit!"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "It's improved slightly."

Upon hearing their conversation, Wang Tong blinked and couldn't help but ask, "Could this senior be an immortal from the Yunmeng Sect?"

Meng Yuan said calmly, "What immortal? I'm not that powerful."

Wang Tong's eyes flashed, and he quickly said respectfully, "Junior Wang Tong greets Senior!"

“Wang Tong?” Meng Yuan looked at Wang Tong. “Judging from your appearance and demeanor, you must be Wang Tong, the eccentric scholar from the State of Chu?”

Wang Tong was delighted upon hearing this, "Senior actually knows me? I am deeply honored..."

"I've met your parents before..." Meng Yuan didn't say much, then turned to Lu Zhengdao, "What are you doing here?"

Lu Zheng said, "The Chu region is suffering from a severe drought. I borrowed a divine artifact to fetch water from Yunmeng Marsh... I mainly want to ask some people to help with the drought relief efforts."

Meng Yuan clicked his tongue and said, "You're still the same as always, wanting to meddle in everything. Do you think the gods of Chu don't care about anything?"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "This junior simply doesn't want to see the people of this place suffer..."

Lu Zheng then recounted the drought situation in the Chu Kingdom.

Meng Yuan listened quietly, then said slowly, "Not long ago, some people in the sect said that some places would inevitably suffer from natural disasters this year. I didn't expect the situation to be so serious."

Lu Zhengdao said, "Elder Meng is highly skilled. I wonder if you could lend a hand for the sake of the millions of people?"

Meng Yuan, with his hands behind his back, chuckled and said, "What if I don't help?"

Lu Zheng said in a serious tone, "It is your duty not to help, but it is a favor if you do... As long as you are willing to lend a hand, I will consider it a favor to you." "You are kind-hearted, senior, and I believe you will not ignore this."

Lu Zheng felt that Meng Yuan's appearance here was not an accident, but he still had to say some nice things.

Seeing Lu Zheng say this, Meng Yuan said leisurely, "You can forget about the favor. You're doing a good deed, and I don't have the shamelessness to accept anything in return."

Meng Yuan paused for a moment, then said, "Perfect timing. I'm about to break through to the next level, so I can take this opportunity to help you get rid of the drought. But will the Chu Kingdom allow this?"

Meng Yuan turned his gaze to Wang Tong, "Don't worry, I won't use this to steal the fortune of the Chu Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Wang Tong asked curiously, "May I ask, senior, are you about to attain enlightenment and become a saint?"

Meng Yuan narrowed his eyes. "I'm not that powerful. I'm just asking the question."

Wang Tong quickly replied, "Asking the Dao? That's incredibly impressive! I guarantee you, you can break through in the Chu region! We already spoke with the local deities before we came, and they will do their best to cooperate!"

To achieve the Dao is to become a very powerful cultivator, and Wang Tong thought he could take this opportunity to observe and learn from him.

Meng Yuan didn't quite believe Wang Tong's words, and instead looked at Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "If it doesn't harm the State of Chu, they should agree."

Meng Yuan smiled and said, "Of course, it won't harm the Chu Kingdom. If you're in a hurry, you can go now."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng said, "Senior, are you alone? I was thinking of going to Star Bay to ask the aquatic creatures there for help..."

Meng Yuan said calmly, "Those aquatic creatures in Star Bay? They can't be of much help with their limited strength."

"It's not that I'm belittling them, but based on what you've said, even for cultivators seeking enlightenment, eliminating the drought would be a very troublesome matter."

"However, I can take advantage of this breakthrough to make my move."

"If that's not the case, and you expect me to do disaster relief with my current strength, the rare and precious resources I would need, plus the reward, would be so high that I'd sell you all..."

Meng Yuan suddenly remembered that Lu Zheng still possessed an extraordinary treasure, enough to justify the reward.

Hearing Mengyuan say this, Lu Zheng felt much more at ease.

He then cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll trouble Senior Meng to make the trip."

Meng Yuan nodded, "Of course, it's only because you're such a little kid..."

Meng Yuan slightly raised his hand, and a stream of magical power entered the Lake-Stabilizing Divine Pearl.

The divine pearl trembled, and the surrounding waters were instantly cleared away, with all the lake water transferred to the divine pearl's space, filling it to the brim.

When Lu Zheng and Wang Tong saw that the nearby waters had been cleared up, even exposing the riverbed, their expressions changed slightly. The methods of this expert who had reached the Dao Inquiry stage were truly remarkable.

In an instant, the waters from other lakes surged in, filling the gap in this area.

Meng Yuan gently moved her fingers and gave the Lake-Stabilizing Pearl to Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng held the divine pearl and clearly felt that it was much heavier than when he first got it.

Using their thoughts to probe further, they discovered that the space inside was entirely filled with water, the amount of which was difficult to measure at the moment.

Meng Yuan raised his hand again, tearing through space and opening a spatial passage.

"Let's go!"

Meng Yuan enveloped the two of them with his spiritual power and quickly entered the passage.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them arrived in the land of Chu, but they were still some distance from the previous capital city, though they had reached a drought-stricken region.

One moment they were in a damp swamp, the next they were in an extremely hot place.

"Tsk, this drought is indeed extraordinary."

Meng Yuan looked up at the bright sun in the sky, "This change in the weather is a once-in-a-century event..."

Mengyuan then said to Wang Tong, "Young man of the Wang family, go to the nearby city and inform the priests that I need to make some arrangements here before continuing our journey. If they are worried, they are welcome to come and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Wang Tong quickly responded and hurried to a nearby city.

Meng Yuan then looked at Lu Zheng, "It seems you have a pretty good relationship with these gods and goddesses from Chu."

"It's alright," Lu Zhengdao said.

Mengyuan asked, "Where is that little girl Qingwan? I haven't seen her."

Meng Yuan found it strange that Qing Wan, who was always seen with Lu Zheng, was nowhere to be seen this time.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng had an idea and immediately brought Qing Wan and Qing Yi out of the small world.

The two, one big and one small, hadn't reacted yet.

Qing Wan turned her gaze and saw Meng Yuan. "Oh, it's you!"

Meng Yuan looked at Qing Yi beside Qing Wan, a strange light flashing in his eyes, "A drought demon? Where did you pick it up from?"

Meng Yuan, being well-informed, immediately recognized the little girl in front of him as a newly born drought demon.

Lu Zheng, who was standing nearby, explained, "We found her during the disaster relief efforts a while ago, when we were putting out wildfires..."

Meng Yuan clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "You're quite lucky, kid, to encounter such a being, born at the near-sixth realm. Countless humans, gods, demons, and ghosts cultivate for a lifetime and still can't reach this level."

"You haven't noticed the officials of Chu, but you've gotten a good deal. Train them well, and they'll be a great help in the future."

Meng Yuan had no greed for this little drought demon, and he didn't need to train any helpers.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng replied, "I still don't know how to raise it."

“Simple,” Meng Yuan said with a smile. “I’ll just teach her a Daoist technique! Heh, with her around, it’ll be much easier to eliminate the drought here…”

(End of this chapter)