"Spare us, my king! Spare us, my king!"

"Bei Yue Sea" and "Fan Yuwen" grimaced and cried out wretchedly, thrown to the ground hard by Ao Kuo's ruthless strike.

"We are just two little demons living upstream of Gui Ling River, usually secluded in cultivation, never harming anyone. But a few days ago, while fishing in the river, we were captured by these two people, placed under restriction, and forced to impersonate the Prefect and Chief Clerk of Gui Ling River's Water Mansion."

"Bei Yue Sea" raised his head, trembling, and looked at several people with a mournful expression, "Spare us, my king!"

"Fan Yuwen" also curled up his neck, "These two took over the Gui Ling River Water Mansion easily; their divine techniques are vast, and we had no choice but to obey, helpless to change our fate. Spare us, my king!"

Lu Zheng looked at Ao Kuo, "What about those two guard water soldiers just now?"

Ao Kuo coldly snorted, flicking his sleeve, revealing two one-foot-long river fish, "These two were traitorous water soldiers from the Water Mansion, disgraceful things, I've already killed them."

"Oh, okay..."

Lu Zheng grimaced slightly, though almost certain, he still turned to "Bei Yue Sea" and "Fan Yuwen," asking, "Are these two demons from Gui Ling River?"

The two shook their heads repeatedly, "Never heard of them!"

Lu Zheng nodded and then turned to the two men in black, "Well, can you tell me who the big shot behind you truly is?"

The man in black on the left sneered but remained silent.

The man in black on the right looked at Lu Zheng coldly, "When the time comes, you will know."

"So mysterious!" Lu Zheng raised a brow, rubbing his chin, "Why so mysterious, could there be some conspiracy?"

If so...

Lu Zheng's eyes flashed, a Golden Palace Heart Sword streaked by, shooting into the left man's Sea of Consciousness.

At this point, the man's Sea of Consciousness was already sealed by Lu Zheng, allowing the Golden Palace Heart Sword to shoot through without hindrance, straight to the depths of the Sea of Consciousness.

Moments later, a deeply concealed spell seal appeared before the Golden Palace Heart Sword.

It looked like a drop of blue-black water.

The next moment, the Golden Palace Heart Sword suddenly transformed into the Golden Palace, attempting to suppress the water drop.

Yet, perhaps sensing the man in black's Sea of Consciousness offered no resistance, the water drop suddenly dissolved, instantly spreading across the entire Sea of Consciousness of the man in black, threads seeped into the Golden Palace.

In an instant, the shimmering Golden Palace was tinged with blue-black.

"What the...!?"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but be startled, quickly severing his connection between his spirit and the Golden Palace.

He had been very careful, yet he didn't expect the spell seal to be so sensitive.

"Uh..."

Looking down, Lu Zheng saw the man's face suddenly turn dark, his entire Divine Soul eroded by the blue-black water drop, utterly destroyed.

"So brutal?"

The next moment, the other man in black's face also changed, his already dark complexion turning blue-black, and he too perished.

"Buzz!"

Over five hundred strands of Light of Fortune surged in three waves into the Jade Seal; these belonged to the two men in black and the saved Ao Kuo.

Lu Zheng nodded, a decent gain.

"What's going on?"

Ao Kuo, shocked, watched the deceased men in black transform into two large catfish, startled.

Lu Zheng squinted, "The opponent's Dao Practice is extraordinarily profound, their spell seal keenly perceptive, immediately executing its victim upon detection."

"Such experts, indifferent?" Ao Kuo asked in disbelief.

These two men in black weren't nobodies; renowned in the East Sea, joining the Dragon Race, they were significant figures.

"Perhaps because these two aren't his core subordinates, or perhaps he has many like them, or perhaps he cannot afford to let anyone capture them..."

Lu Zheng shook his head, "Who knows..."

He too felt alarmed, though Great Jing and the Four Directions seemed generally peaceful, the underwater confrontations and surging undercurrents persisted.

Clearly, this was a design targeting Great Jing and the Dragon Race, but what was the goal?

Merely to occupy a Water Mansion...

Lu Zheng's eyes flashed, exchanging glances with Ao Kuo, "Flood disaster?"

"You mentioned the Observatory predicted a flood disaster this year?" Lu Zheng asked.

Ao Kuo nodded, "The Observatory predicted heavy snowfall last year, with this year's warm spring, abundant rainfall, bound to cause floods. Hence, the Water Mansion was tasked to streamline water veins, minimizing the flood's impact as much as possible, while..."

Pausing, Ao Kuo continued, "Guard against various demons and devils exploiting the flood disaster."

Lu Zheng, having crossed over not long ago, had already experienced a flood disaster affecting nearly ten provinces in the south, earning Liu Qingyan the honorable title of Lady Qingyi.

Back then, their cultivation was too weak, mostly focused on treating illnesses, saving lives, and slaying a few little demons; they weren't involved in the actual battles.

"So, someone plans to exploit the natural disaster, intensifying the flood's devastation."

If a Water Mansion is occupied at that time, its operations won't be about streamlining water veins and mitigating floods but exacerbating them, flooding both banks, thereby amplifying the damage not by one plus one but geometrically.

"Ruthless!" Lu Zheng remarked deeply, "Was the Water Mansion targeted during the flood disaster back then?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Don't know." Ao Kuo shook his head.

He had been indulging in food and drink in the East Sea at the time, oblivious to Great Jing's happenings.

"But the Court's Water God isn't so easily killed," Ao Kuo said, "The Water Mansion Seal can control the Array of Water Mansion, enhancing the Water God's strength by two to three folds, and the break of one Water Mansion Array alerts the higher-level Water God."

Ao Kuo thought, "Thus, seizing a Water Mansion requires a sneak attack; yet, Water Gods rarely leave the Water Mansion, and sneaking an attack on the Water God inside the mansion is no easy task. If it weren't for my clan uncle returning to the East Sea with the Seal, these two couldn't have breached Gui Ling River's Water Mansion."

Lu Zheng nodded, agreeing that should Court-appointed Mountain Gods and River Gods be easily dethroned, where would the Court's majesty lie.

"Anyway, let's release Magistrate Bei and Chief Clerk Fan," Ao Kuo suggested, "I need to ask about the East Heaven River Water Mansion; this must be reported."

"Indeed!" Lu Zheng nodded repeatedly, then guided Lin Wan and Yue Honghai, led by "Bei Yue Sea," to the backyard.

Upon arrival, the backyard was adorned with pavilions, bridges over flowing water, a corridor spanning a sizeable pond, with a pavilion on the pond's edge.

The pond abounded with river fish, turtles, crabs, and shellfish.

Ao Kuo extended his hand, True Dragon Power emanated, shooting into the pond, lifting the restrictions permeating the pond.

"Shua shua shua!"

The next moment, streams of light flew out from the pond, transforming into soldiers, civil and martial officials, maids, and servants.

This cinematic spectacle amazed not just Lin Wan but even Lu Zheng, both watching eagerly.

"Oh my, that turtle is female."

"Wow, that maid carries two large shells on her back?"