Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 480: Heavenly Means
In the blink of an eye, Lu Zheng found himself in another unfamiliar place.

Mengyuan stood in the air, continuing to make arrangements.

Lu Zheng and the other two watched from the sidelines, but only out of curiosity; they couldn't fully understand the intricacies of the situation.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "How long do you need to prepare, senior?"

Meng Yuan said leisurely, "It won't be long, just a day or two, it won't delay anything."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng said, "It seems that you are well prepared, senior... but why didn't you break through within the sect?"

Meng Yuan smiled and said, "What, do you think the sect leader foresaw something, which is why I appeared and met you?"

Lu Zheng said frankly, "There is such a speculation."

Meng Yuan said slowly, "The secrets of heaven are hard to fathom... However, I did come out because of the sect leader's suggestion, but I really didn't expect to run into you. Perhaps there really is something going on."

"I see..." Lu Zheng then asked, "Senior's breakthrough is a major event. Will anyone else from the Yunmeng Sect come to witness the ceremony?"

Meng Yuan shook his head and said, "We didn't inform them about this. Many of the juniors in the sect have gone out to train, and the elders all have their own things to do... Besides, this is the Chu Kingdom, so it's not appropriate to have people from the sect come here."

"Speaking of which, many people seek out secluded and undisturbed places when they break through to avoid any mishaps."

"However, this is the Chu Kingdom. As an elder of the Yunmeng Sect, they will still give me some face, so naturally no one will cause trouble."

Lu Zheng had thought he would be able to meet the other members of the Yunmeng Sect, but it seems that he won't have that opportunity for the time being.

Meng Yuan acted swiftly, quickly setting up several large formations, and then led Lu Zheng and the others to the designated location.

Wang Tong had been waiting for a long time, and some nearby deities, having heard the news, each took up a spot to watch.

Meng Yuan arrived at a high mountain and said to Lu Zheng and the other two, "Leave the little guy here, you two stay away."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but look at Qingyi, then gave her a few instructions. Seeing that she didn't seem to mind, he left her with Mengyuan.

Then, a gentle breeze carried Lu Zheng and Qing Wan to a nearby hilltop.

Wang Tong rushed over excitedly, "You have such a good relationship with that senior, you wouldn't have joined the Yunmeng Sect, would you?"

"You're overthinking it," Lu Zheng said calmly.

Wang Tong asked suspiciously, "I have never heard of the Yunmeng Sect being so polite to outsiders."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "Seeing is believing, and now you've seen it for yourself."

Wang Tong stroked his chin, "I always felt there was something wrong with you..."

Wang Tong couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Lu Zheng didn't know how to explain, but instead looked towards where Meng Yuan was.

His eyesight was excellent; even from a distance, he could clearly see Mengyuan and Qingyi.

Meng Yuan noticed Lu Zheng's gaze and whispered, "Lu Zheng, watch carefully..."

"All the laws of the world originate from the universe. I cultivate the Great Dao of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, and now I use my own Yin and Yang techniques to manipulate the power of heaven and earth..."

Meng Yuan's leisurely voice echoed in Lu Zheng and Qing Wan's ears.

Meng Yuan tilted his head slightly, and an invisible aura emanated from him.

A dazzling and mysterious spiritual energy surged forth, transforming into extraordinary forces that shot straight into the sky, reaching the heavens.

In an instant, the weather changed dramatically.

A powerful aura quickly spread and enveloped the area.

The onlookers nearby clearly felt this power, the pressure emanating from heaven and earth, which contained the essence of the Dao.

"Hmm? It seems a bit cold..."

Wang Tong's eyes flickered. He felt a sudden surge of heat emanating from the earth. This heat, instead of making him feel scorching, actually took away the original heat, causing the temperature to drop suddenly and become cold.

Endless heat rose rapidly, and the fluctuations of energy were visible to the naked eye.

The large arrays set up at several major ley lines were drawn in, drawing away the hot, dry yang energy from the earth even more rapidly.

These yang energies gathered together and, with the help of the heavens and earth, surged toward the location of Meng Yuan at an extremely fast speed.

Taking advantage of this moment, Mengyuan lowered his head slightly to look at Qingyi and stroked her little head with one hand.

A profound and mysterious cultivation technique was directly infused into Qingyi.

A wise man touched his head, and he received the art of longevity.

Meng Yuan said softly, "You are a being born of heaven and earth, blessed by them. Cultivate diligently, and your future will be limitless..."

Although drought demons are often depicted as undesirable creatures in legends.

But Mengyuan knew that such beings were not easily born; they were the darlings of heaven and earth.

Drought demons are born with extraordinary power, which may cause some negative effects if it gets out of control, but this is not unavoidable.

Qingyi seemed to understand but not quite, only feeling that something had entered her mind and that a certain energy was flowing through her body, making her feel comfortable and at ease.

Around the mountains, many people were quietly watching.

The suffocating pressure emanating from heaven and earth grew stronger and stronger, and some beings even found it unbearable and had to retreat a distance.

Not long after, a strong wind arose.

A huge rift was torn open in the sky.

It was as if a giant beast had opened its mouth wide, spewing out endless light and heat in an instant.

It was the arrival of the arid and hot yang energy from the vast region; an incredibly hot pillar of light descended from the sky and instantly enveloped the mountain where Mengyuan was located.

Both Mengyuan and Qingyi were submerged, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

The entire mountain began to crumble under the descending pillar of light, countless rocks melting into flowing, scalding lava. Wang Tong, his eyes burning, couldn't help but ask, "Can it withstand this?"

Extracting and refining the drought heat from a vast area to quell the drought would be quite troublesome even for a cultivator at the Dao Inquiry Realm, and it could easily be more trouble than it's worth.

Fortunately, Meng Yuan is taking this opportunity to break through, so he can use all his skills without holding back. Once he breaks through to the Dao Inquiry Realm, all the power he has lost will be restored, so there is nothing to worry about.

Inside the pillar of light, Meng Yuan and Qing Yi stood suspended in mid-air, with surging magma below.

Meng Yuan used his mysterious power to protect Qing Yi, preventing her from being exposed to too much of the heat from the world.

Meng Yuan formed a hand seal and, drawn by the power, frantically absorbed the continuous stream of energy.

Those outside only sensed distinct fluctuations of spiritual energy.

The entire mountain was melting at a visible speed, with fiery red lava rolling in.

The pillars of light in the sky showed no signs of weakening, making the surrounding environment even hotter than before.

Some of the nearby vegetation spontaneously combusted without a fire.

In a short while, the area within a radius of dozens of miles was engulfed in a raging sea of ​​fire.

Fortunately, no residents lived nearby, so the incident did not cause too much of a disturbance.

Seeing this, some onlookers stepped back and retreated from the area of ​​the fire.

The heat emanating from this sea of ​​fire carried a mysterious power that could even affect their minds.

All things in heaven and earth contain yin and yang. If Meng Yuan so desires, with just a thought, the living beings in the surrounding area will suddenly lose their yin and yang balance, resulting in various problems.

Even if Meng Yuan hadn't done that, the power he exuded was enough to affect others.

A powerful expert who has almost reached the realm of seeking the Dao possesses power that can influence a whole world, let alone the living beings in that world.

Some people couldn't stand the atmosphere and could only retreat far away.

Some people, however, take this opportunity to gain insights into spiritual practice.

Lu Zheng did not leave, but stood quietly in place, carefully sensing the difference between this world and the one before.

Beside her, Qingwan, clutching a cold, precious object for self-defense, was already drenched in sweat from the heat.

Not far away, Wang Tong was breathing out hot air, feeling agitated and extremely hot, unable to calm down.

"It's so hot, so hot..."

This heat emanated from both body and mind, and even Wang Tong could not escape it by using magic.

He turned to look at Lu Zheng and saw that Lu Zheng looked calm and composed, without even breaking a sweat.

Wang Tong looked surprised. "No, you didn't feel anything? What's wrong with you?"

Lu Zheng slowly spoke, "Yin and Yang, the way of balance... Aren't you a cultivator? Can't you control it?"

Wang Tong was speechless. How could he not know about the balance of Yin and Yang?

Knowing this is one thing; being able to do it is another.

The aura emanating from a powerful expert and the surrounding world, even the residual effects, are not so easily isolated or balanced.

Seeing Wang Tong's ghostly expression, Lu Zheng thought to himself that since he possessed the features of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, he would be able to adapt and balance them quickly.

After a while, the pillar of light in the sky finally began to recede.

However, the surrounding air remained intensely hot, without diminishing in the slightest.

Meng Yuan stood in the center, his aura fluctuating, already on the verge of breaking through to the Dao Inquiry Realm.

He sensed the changes in the surrounding world and raised his hand to make a gesture.

The Lake-Stabilizing Pearl, which was originally placed with Lu Zheng, flew out and soared into the sky.

Meng Yuan pointed a finger, and the divine pearl trembled.

Centered on the divine pearl, a black aura quickly spread out.

It was as if a black curtain had appeared, spreading out in all directions and enveloping the area.

In just a few breaths, the entire sky darkened.

The darkness was expanding rapidly, stretching towards the horizon in all directions.

In an instant, the temperature dropped sharply.

The raging inferno instantly fell silent.

Lu Zheng looked up at the darkness in the sky, which was a layer of black clouds formed by water mist.

With a flick of the wrist, a vast expanse of rain clouds appears; such a skill can be described as extraordinary.

Wang Tong's eyes shone brightly, revealing an inexplicable brilliance. "This is the skill of a true master! Without such an opportunity, one would never witness such a master with such abilities..."

Such a method of summoning clouds and rain is even more laborious than the previous methods of the Wind God and Rain Master moving rain clouds. Even ordinary experts who have mastered the Dao would not be willing to make such a move.

Meng Yuan remained calm and waved his sleeve again.

The heavens and earth were in turmoil, and rain was falling in a light drizzle, mixed with a special power of heaven and earth, which was of the yin nature.

Gathering Yang to form Fire, gathering Water to form Yin... Meng Yuan's eyes flickered; the lake water inside the Divine Pearl of the Lake was merely a catalyst.

In the pouring rain, Meng Yuan once again unleashed his Taoist magic, frantically devouring the Yin essence of heaven and earth.

As Lu Zheng watched the rain, a smile appeared on his lips. He knew that this rain would completely end the drought in the area.

(End of this chapter)