Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 510 Divine Relief from Calamity
A towering phantom of a deity stood between heaven and earth, its tightly closed eyes slowly opening.

The deity slowly turned, its eyes gazing across the four directions of heaven and earth, as if scrutinizing this realm.

This deity has no independent consciousness; it has only come in response to a summons.

The request she was given was to alleviate a rain disaster in a certain area.

Looking at the dark, heavy clouds around them, the towering phantom of a deity stepped through the air and arrived at a height of ten thousand feet.

Immediately, a golden divine seal appeared in the hand of the divine phantom.

In an instant, the illusory image of the deity shifted, releasing endless light and heat.

Along with this, the power contained within Qingyi also surged forth.

Under the scorching sunlight, the thick layer of clouds evaporated at a visible speed, dissipating as air currents and unable to condense into rain clouds for a time.

Below, on the ground, everyone felt as if an incredibly bright sun had reappeared in the sky.

As soon as the sun came out, the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped.

Not only in Dafeng County, but also in the surrounding prefectures and counties, the torrential rain quickly turned into a drizzle, and eventually even the dark clouds dissipated.

The rainstorm, which was supposed to last for several more days, suddenly disappeared.

The light and heat, imbued with the divine power of heaven and earth, shone down on the earth, forcing even some evil spirits and demons to hide.

Under the scorching sun, much of the water on the vast land dried up, reducing dampness and decay.

This targeted light and heat did not affect ordinary living beings.

Many plants, deprived of the dampness and rain, have become more vibrant.

Lu Zheng stood below, carefully sensing the light and heat, and for a moment he couldn't help but gain some insight.

All the powerful Taoist arts in the world seem to have something in common: they can use various special methods to draw upon the great power that exists between heaven and earth.

As the phantom of the deity released its aura, the phantom gradually became blurred.

Before long, the towering phantom of the deity vanished completely.

Qingyi stood alone high in the wind.

She looked left and right, feeling that there was nothing for her to do, so she looked down.

With a leap, like a shooting star, the little body crashed down towards Yulin Temple.

Lu Zheng saw Qingyi falling straight down from the sky, flew into the air, caught her, and brought her down.

Yun Xiao, with his hands behind his back, looked Qing Yi over for a while and said leisurely, "She's alright. This experience of being possessed by a deity will be quite beneficial to her future cultivation. She should contemplate it carefully."

It was a rare opportunity for Qingyi to have the power of a suitable deity bestowed upon her.

But Qingyi wasn't that clever enough to understand anything she could comprehend.

Seeing Qingyi's bewildered expression, Yun Xiao couldn't explain much, since he hadn't been possessed by the Goddess Nüba.

Yun Xiao turned to look at Lu Zheng and said with a smile, "The rain is over now, are you a little relieved?"

Yun Xiao knew that, given Lu Zheng's nature, he would also have to worry about the livelihoods of the people after the disaster.

As for such matters, Yun Xiao couldn't do much; at most, he could make a small talk with some officials. Perhaps, considering that he was a True Person of Qingyang Palace, the local officials wouldn't be so outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant during the disaster relief efforts.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's really too much trouble for you, Daoist Master."

Yun Xiao waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about that. Anyway, you owe me a favor. Oh dear, this time inviting the gods has exhausted me. I need to rest for a while. Xuan Lang and the others are in your care..."

“You’re all young people, you get along well! There are also some Qingyang Palace disciples in other places, please help me look after them if you have the chance…”

"Xuanlang, during this time you'll be following Lu Zheng around, so learn from him and listen to him, understand?"

Yun Xiao gave a few instructions, then left Yulin Temple in a flash, disappearing from sight in no time.

When Xuan Lang and Xuan Li saw that Yun Xiao had disappeared, a hint of embarrassment flashed across their faces.

After spending these past few days with him, they had come to understand the nature of this grandmaster uncle; he was handing them over to Lu Zheng as a burden.

He said he was going into seclusion, but who knows where he's going to have some fun.

Xuan Lang looked at Lu Zheng and asked, "Where does Young Master Lu plan to go next? We're afraid we'll have to follow you for a while."

Xuanlang had no choice but to obey his grandmaster's orders.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and asked, "Speaking of which, I still don't know why you came here for training?"

Xuan Lang explained, "Our grandmaster said that the world has been in bad shape these past few years, so he sent us young disciples out to gain experience and temper our minds. Then our grandmaster uncle took us on a journey, just wandering around without any particular destination... Many of my fellow disciples were sent on missions by our grandmaster uncle, some to subdue demons and ghosts, and others to seek out Taoist sects for sparring and competition..."

"Before coming here, another junior brother was sent to catch fish in the great river. He was told to find a kind of spirit fish that tends to appear during floods..."

Lu Zheng thought to himself that Yun Xiao's way of training the younger generation was quite casual.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "I'm planning to go back to Dafeng County again to see how they handle this."

It's rare to encounter such a major flood, so Lu Zheng wanted to learn more about it from various perspectives and accumulate some experience so that he could be better prepared for similar situations in the future.

He wouldn't serve as an official to govern the local people, but he could help others compile and collect strategies for governing the people, which would also benefit the people.

He also plans to write a book on disaster prevention and mitigation, which should be of some use.

Hearing that Lu Zheng was going back to the county town, Xuan Lang and the other man had no objections and expressed their willingness to go with him to do something to help the local people.

When Chen Lin, the abbot of Yulin Temple, learned that Lu Zheng and his group were leaving, he tried to persuade them to stay, but naturally, he couldn't.

Before leaving, Lu Zheng also took out a document and gave it to Chen Lin, saying, "We borrowed your place to invite the gods, which caused some damage to the Taoist temple. This is compensation for the abbot. We still need to go and help the disaster-stricken people, so it is really not appropriate for us to stay here any longer."

Chen Lin couldn't refuse the inscription Lu Zheng gave him, so he accepted it with both hands and put it away. He said solemnly, "The people of Dafeng are suffering from disaster, and I cannot sit idly by. After I have settled the affairs of the temple, I will also lead people to help with the disaster relief and do my part."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly and said, "Master, you are kind and benevolent. Cultivating the Dao is all about the heart. If your heart is pure and benevolent, you will be close to nature and not far from the Great Dao."

Chen Lin nodded upon hearing this and said, "What this young master says is absolutely right. Those who do evil have impure thoughts and too many distracting ideas; how can their cultivation last long?"

He actually agreed with Lu Zheng's words, but he rarely did good deeds because he was busy with his cultivation and didn't have the time or energy for it.

However, seeing how outstanding these young people are, and how they spend their time on such things, perhaps there really is some profound secret that is beneficial to their cultivation.

Seeing that these people seemed to be staying in Dafeng County for a while, Chen Lin also planned to observe and learn from them to make up for his shortcomings.

(End of this chapter)