Zhang Lu made great efforts to develop the Zheng Yi Meng Wei Dao

Zhang Lu vigorously developed the Zhengyi Mengwei Dao (Way of the Orthodox Unity and Majestic Authority).

After Zhang Ling (34–156 CE), the founder of the Zhengyi Mengwei Dao (Way of the Orthodox Unity and Majestic Authority), passed away, his son Zhang Heng and grandson Zhang Lu successively inherited his Taoist tradition.

During the reign of Emperor Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty (190–220 CE), Zhang Lu dominated Hanzhong for over 20 years (191–215 CE), vigorously spreading and developing the Zhengyi Mengwei Dao while expanding its organizational structure. Styling himself "Master Lord" , Zhang Lu implemented reforms and new measures for the tradition:

Organizationally, he established the roles of Jijiu (Libationers) and Zhitou Dajijiu (Chief Libationers) to manage newly initiated "Ghost Soldiers" . Jijiu served as both religious leaders and administrative officials, integrating religious and political authority without separate bureaucratic structures.

Morally, he required adherents to be "sincere and trustworthy, rejecting deception." The sick were instructed to reflect on their own transgressions.
In disciplinary rules, he prohibited killing during spring and summer and banned alcohol consumption. For minor offenses, offenders could atone by repairing roads for a hundred paces; for serious crimes, they were forgiven three times, with punishment only applied if unrepentant after the third pardon. Additionally, Zhang Lu placed communal rice and meat at transportation hubs for free use by refugees and travelers.

In religious practices, Zhang Lu continued the methods of Zhang Xiu, the "Five-Dou-of-Rice Master" from Bajun. The sick were taught to kowtow and reflect on their sins, drink talismanic water, and use "quiet chambers" for penitence. He appointed "Chiefs of Deceit" (Jianling Jijiu) to lecture on the Five Thousand Words of Laozi, requiring all followers to recite and study it. "Ghost Officials" (Guili) were tasked with praying for the sick, a ritual involving writing the patient’s name and confession on three documents: one placed on a mountain, one buried in the ground, and one submerged in water—known as the "Three Officials’ Handwritten Petitions".

Zhang Lu’s integration of religious and political authority in Hanzhong lasted nearly 30 years, winning the trust of both Han Chinese and ethnic minority populations. In 215 CE, when Cao Cao’s army conquered Hanzhong, Zhang Lu submitted and was appointed General Who Pacifies the South and ennobled as the Marquis of Langzhong. This granted the Zhengyi Mengwei Dao legal status, allowing it to spread openly. Following the northward migration of its followers, the tradition took root in northern regions, becoming the orthodox lineage of later Taoism.