Nowadays, the Great Jing is plagued by floods, and disasters are appearing one after another across the land.

However, Liu Qingyan, Shen Ying, and the others have greatly improved their cultivation, so they need not wait specifically for Lu Zheng.

After agreeing on the meeting location, it was decided that Lu Zheng would take Si Lingxi along and follow Du Huanzhen and Duan Changzai to investigate Dingshan County, while the others would rush to the border areas between Yizhou and Yanzhou, namely the towns and villages in the midstream of the Lu River, for medical relief and disaster assistance.

Shen Ying, Liu Qingyan, and Yue Honghai, three experts with hundreds of years of Dao practice, along with Du Yueyao, Wang Xiaowan, and the five women of Five Beauties Manor, all are masters with a hundred years of Dao practice. Unless some top-tier master shows a lack of integrity, they can absolutely walk unimpeded in the disaster area.

...

Watching the group hide their forms and leave, Lu Zheng then invited Du Huanzhen and Duan Changzai to return home for a rest.

After Lu Zheng instructed Uncle Li to serve tea, Du Huanzhen sat next to Si Lingxi, "How should I address this lady?"

Si Lingxi smiled faintly, "Surname Si."

"Ah, so Miss Si," Du Huanzhen glanced at Lu Zheng, "Young Master Lu certainly has good fortune."

"Haha, indeed, to receive Lingxi's favor is undoubtedly a blessing for Lu Mou!" Lu Zheng couldn't help but laugh heartily.

Yuan Jing scratched his head on the side; since neither Lu Zheng nor Si Lingxi spoke, he wasn't at liberty to enlighten Du Huanzhen and Duan Changzai about Si Lingxi's identity.

Of course, Du Huanzhen and Duan Changzai knew Si Lingxi wasn't ordinary, given that Shen Ying is the Peach Blossom Fairy with solid and dense incense and candle Qi, already surpassing Governor of Yizhou Chu Jin, and although Liu Qingyan's strength isn't clear, it certainly exceeds theirs.

From what they observed, Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying showed great respect towards Si Lingxi in official matters, and Lu Zheng took her along to assist in battles, which was telling enough.

Still, since Lu Zheng didn't volunteer information, the two naturally wouldn't probe into Si Lingxi's background. After all, the Anomaly Suppression Bureau isn't an intelligence department, and since this lady is Lu Zheng's woman, she surely isn't an enemy.

After asking Si Lingxi how to address her, they refrained from further inquiries and instead returned the conversation to the topic at hand.

"Is Daoist Mingzhang on the mountain?" Duan Changzai asked.

"Master has gone down the mountain," Yuan Jing shook his head and explained the reason Daoist Mingzhang descended.

Duan Changzai shook his head, indicating he hadn't heard of Daoist Yuting, but Du Huanzhen knew him, his eyes lighting up as he asked, "Is Daoist Yuting a Daoist True Man skilled in illusion techniques?"

"Indeed."

"I did meet him once; at that time, I was on official duty in Yaozhou and encountered a troublesome ghost. Fortunately, Daoist Yuting happened to pass by and assisted us," Du Huanzhen said.

Lu Zheng nodded, "Elder Yuting is truly passionate about righteousness and intolerant of evil."

Daoist Yuting traverses the world, refining heart in the mortal realm, exorcising demons, sharing a deep relationship with Daoist Mingzhang—they meet once every one or two years. The last time they discussed the Dao, neither could convince the other, and sometimes when they hadn't seen each other for long periods, Daoist Mingzhang worried he might have been crushed by some powerful demon.

Thankfully, Daoist Yuting's Dao practice isn't weak, and his luck is also good. Despite wandering the martial world for decades, he's able to come to Shaotong Mountain every one or two years to play chess and drink wine with Daoist Mingzhang, and even though he may be in trouble now, he happened to coincide with Daoist Mingzhang's growing strength, and felt compelled to descend for a rescue.

Lu Zheng sighed, hoping it isn't too late.

"Don't worry, Daoist Yuting has spent his life doing good and accumulating virtue, exorcising demons, surely heaven will protect him, turning misfortune into blessing," Du Huanzhen consoled.

Lu Zheng nodded in thanks, then asked, "Regarding the person connected to Ha Dazhi, did Ha Dazhi provide any valuable clues?"

"He did," Duan Changzai nodded.

"Ha Dazhi is a subordinate of the Golden Centipede King, residing in the cold pool beneath Golden Centipede Mountain. On that day, he saw this person enter Golden Centipede Mountain, and shortly after, a surge of aura erupted, suggesting signs of a confrontation."

"Oh?"

"Ultimately, they didn't engage, appearing cautious of each other," Du Huanzhen said, "Then the person descended the mountain, passed by the cold pool, and invited this toad out, discussing the matter, and even gave him three Earth Dragon Pills as deposit."

"Which means the person's cultivation is approximately similar to that Golden Centipede King?" Lu Zheng asked.

"Seems so," Du Huanzhen nodded.

"And how is the Golden Centipede King's cultivation?" Lu Zheng asked.

Duan Changzai's expression turned serious as he replied solemnly, "Eight hundred years of Dao practice!"

Lu Zheng, "..."

After taking a deep breath, Lu Zheng managed to control his expression management, nodding and sighing, "Indeed that's already very strong."

It is already very strong!

Eight hundred years of Dao practice, what kind of concept is that?

Daoist Mingzhang has just broken through; even with significant progress post-breakthrough, currently, he's only at about six hundred years of Dao practice.

Chu Jin is an old hand, but with limited talent, stuck at around seven hundred years of Dao practice, unable to progress further.

Ao Yun, Ao Run, and Ao Kuo are True Dragons of the Dragon Race, all around seven to eight hundred years of Dao practice.

Those who can firmly suppress them are individuals like Cyan Dragon Aoqi, Celestial Fox Tu Yuya, Yan Hongxia of Cloud Ascending Mountain, these young prodigies, or even veteran experts like Liu Zong of the Celestial Escape Sect and Zen Master Jin Ye of Rizhao Temple.

Of course, this only refers to Dao practice; even with the same Dao practice, the battle effectiveness differs greatly with different cultivation techniques or magical treasures. For instance, even though Daoist Mingzhang's Dao practice definitely can't compare to the Golden Centipede King's, in a real fight, Lu Zheng believes Daoist Mingzhang has a better chance of victory.

Overall, eight hundred years of Dao practice is indeed very formidable. Though saying one can walk unimpeded through Great Jing might be exaggerated, claiming the ability to oversee a region and roam freely is certainly sufficient.

Many people strive all their lives and only reach one or two hundred years of Dao practice at best.

You can't compare Lu Zheng or Master Qing Song with others—that would be unfair.

"But it's still not enough in Younger Brother Lu's perspective," Duan Changzai shook his head, offering praise in admiration, "Lord Chu said you've already acquired a thousand years of Dao practice."

Not counting this time, the last time Chu Jin saw Lu Zheng was when they were tracking the Ten Thousand Transformations Saint Infant—that time, Lu Zheng already had over a thousand years of Dao practice, seen by Chu Jin, who was quite shocked.

So after Duan Changzai and Du Huanzhen learned about this, they shamelessly sought help from him.

"Luck was on my side, cultivation never encountered a bottleneck," Lu Zheng chuckled, "But if that person only possesses eight hundred years of Dao practice, perhaps we'll catch a big fish by chance tonight."

"Haha, indeed!" Duan Changzai nodded in agreement.

...

After lunch at home, Yuan Jing took his leave since he had no necessity to go, regardless of whether the opponent would appear.

Then, the other four rested for the afternoon until 5:00 PM, when they reconvened, and Lu Zheng gestured, enabling cloud riding and mist driving, lifting everyone as they headed straight towards Dingshan County.