If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1194 The River God Has Arrived
The Celestial Masters of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau of the Qin Dynasty have been very busy in recent months.

The newly appointed Celestial Master is busy betraying the Qin Dynasty, while the original "Old Celestial Master" is busy dealing with various disasters in China.

Not only floods and droughts, but also calamities caused by demons and monsters.

As the saying goes, when a country is about to perish, there will surely be monsters appearing.

Grand Tutor Yu had been away from Guanzhong for three months, and Yang Li, the head of the Earth Emperor Palace, and Huihe Zhenren, the head of the Human Emperor Palace, had also been busy traveling around for more than two months with the Great Qin Celestial Master.

This is also why Grand Tutor Yu had many complaints about Lu Jin Gong's passive resistance to work after returning to Xianyang.

Although Lu Jin Gong did not betray the Qin Dynasty, he was always conflicted and did not truly regard himself as the Celestial Master of the Qin Dynasty.

Forget being proactive and sharing the workload with the "Old Celestial Master," he failed to properly fulfill the duties that should have belonged to the "Martial Celestial Master"—acting as a henchman.

Chen Sheng fought his way from Dazexiang to Chen County, but he never went to the front lines.

That's fine.

He did not undertake the task of "eliminating" the various demons and monsters that appeared in China.

If he were more proactive, many things would be much simpler, and Xiaoyu's attitude towards him would be much better.

Despite the numerous disasters, the most important and urgent issue for the Qin Dynasty was still the floods in the Central Plains.

At the beginning of the year, when Empress Dowager Zhao was still alive, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had already predicted the year's fortune: natural disasters and man-made calamities would continue.

Grand Tutor Yu had already prepared a response.

During the Huashan Daoist Debate, four "Rain Masters" who held Heavenly Contracts were recruited.

By possessing the Covenant of Heaven, the Rain Master's power to bring rain will not be rejected by the Heavenly Court or the Rain God.

However, Grand Tutor Yu had a plan, and the Heavenly Court had a wall: when there was a drought, the Qin Rain Master would spread rain upstream, but the Dragon God and the Rain Master would cause drought downstream, and the rainfall upstream could not be stored, so the drought continued; when there was a flood, the Qin Rain Master would divert the accumulated water downstream to reduce rainfall, but the Dragon God and the Rain Master would spread rain upstream, causing torrential rain, and the water would flow from upstream to downstream, still causing huge floods.

Master Grey Crane, along with three rain masters—Golden Heavy, Golden Light, and Golden Dragon—ran around chasing after the disaster, too busy to keep up.

The River God also had to spread disasters, so he was equally busy.

The workload of the Grey Crane Immortal and the others was roughly the same as that of the River God. At most, the River God had the help of the Thunder Department and the Rain God, making his workload slightly easier than that of the Great Qin Celestial Masters.

It's like playing whack-a-mole.

Floods and droughts are like ground squirrels. As soon as a ground squirrel pops its head out, Grey Crane Immortal immediately goes over to knock it away.

In the eyes of the gods such as Hebo and Yushi, the Grey Crane Immortal and his companions were also groundhogs. Wherever they appeared, the gods would follow them and strike them down—bringing disaster.

On this day, the River God led a group of dragon gods to spread disasters in the Qufu and Ningyang area.

The dark clouds were like a thick cotton quilt that had been soaked in water, taken out of the river and spread on the earth.

"Rumble~~" The ground was dark, and it was almost impossible to see the person on the other side.

Only when thunder pierces the rain clouds and tears apart the low-hanging sky will the world be briefly illuminated by light.

"Roar~~" Seven or eight divine dragons roamed freely in the rain clouds, their roars loud enough to drown out the thunder.

At this moment, even the River God transformed into a hundred-zhang-long yellow dragon, frolicking in the sky.

"Splash splash~~~" The rain seemed to be pouring down from the sky.

Villages and houses are like ant nests under a tap.

The river water overflowed the banks at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Before the floodwaters even crossed the embankment and rushed into the town, the floodwaters on the streets were already deep enough to navigate by boat. The resulting torrents were capable of washing away mud-brick houses and thatched huts.

"Help~~"

"Oh God, have pity on us, please stop raining!"

Inside and outside the county town, cries for help, wails, and prayers pleading with the gods initially filled the air like boiling water, creating an unbearable cacophony. Then, in less than half an hour, the world fell into a deathly silence amidst the roar.

The roar came from the floodwaters washing over the land and destroying cities and fortresses; the deathly silence was because at this moment, in this vast expanse of marshland, there was not a single living creature left.

Even cattle, horses, chickens, and dogs were swept into the water and fed to the turtles.

"Feeding turtles" is not a descriptive phrase at this time.

There really were hundreds and thousands of water sprites, swimming and playing in the flood.

They were all water demons from the Dragon Palace, originating from nearby rivers and marshes. They came with their Dragon King to bring disaster, specifically to guide floods that would breach dikes and drown the struggling heroes of the martial world.

Since heroes know martial arts, they are unlikely to be drowned by natural floods and need the help of river monsters.

The scene resembled Xiaoyu's previous life, a summer day at an amusement park's large swimming pool. The huge pool was packed with people seeking respite from the heat. They frolicked in the water, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere, splashing water everywhere.

For the river monster, today, here, is truly a huge playground.

They can freely unleash their river monster nature.

Just like the dragon kings in the sky, they couldn't recklessly accumulate rain clouds and completely disregard the lives of the creatures below. In the ancient times before the rise of humanity, the scene here today was commonplace and could be seen everywhere.

"Report!" Just as the dragon gods were celebrating, a white line rose from the water.

The white line spread rapidly from the northwest, accompanied by tense shouts.

The Dragon Palace's Chief Clerk arrived via water escape.

With a splash, as he reached beneath the Dragon King, a silver-armored general flew out from underwater, leaping into the air and shouting, "Lord River God, something terrible has happened! Grand Tutor Yu of the Great Qin Dynasty has returned to Xianyang!!"

"Roar~~~" The hundred-foot-long yellow dragon nimbly swung its body, turning 180 degrees on the spot in an extremely graceful posture while flying at high speed.

"Boom!" Like a yellow lightning bolt, He smashed a blank path through the rain curtain and in the blink of an eye, He stretched His Dragon Head in front of the Chief Clerk.

"I already knew that Yu Fengxian had returned to Xianyang. What are you shouting about?"

The River God's body was very honest; upon hearing "Grand Tutor Yu," he immediately reacted strongly and came to the Chief Clerk's side.

But He was shouting disdainfully, and the dragon's face also showed indifference, with a hint of reproach in his tone.

"Master, since you know that Grand Tutor Yu has returned, why are you still outside causing rain? She's got her eyes on us now, and on you too!" Gongcao Shen said anxiously.

"Whoosh~~" The hundred-foot-long yellow dragon suddenly shone with divine light, and its body quickly shrank into a dot, transforming from a dragon body into an old dragon king with a face like a live crab, prominent horns, and dragon whiskers hanging down to his chest.

"Isn't Yu Fengxian arresting a rogue celestial master? What does that have to do with our Dragon Palace?"

"Master, have you forgotten about Zhong Yuangong and Zhang Zhenren? They presented the True Form Map of the Four Rivers and are currently guests at the Dragon Palace!" the official reminded him.

"Oh, they're still in the Dragon Palace?" The old dragon frowned. "Didn't they receive the news that Yu Fengxian is arresting people everywhere?"

"Nowadays, who in the divine path doesn't know what Grand Master Yu is up to? The Celestial Masters who haven't been caught yet are hiding everywhere, seeking refuge from great immortals and grotto-heavens!"

The official said tactfully, "Master, I heard about this beforehand from the wandering god of Mount Hua."

It is said that Ye Jiutian, Qiu Mingzi and others are on their way to the Great River Dragon Palace to capture Zhong Yuangong and his group.

They probably haven't arrived yet.

"Perhaps you could return to the Dragon Palace immediately and remind Zhong Yuangong?"

The Dragon Lord of Heze also transformed from a black dragon over twenty feet long into human form, descended beside the River God, and loudly proclaimed: "What should I remind Zhong Yuangong? Tell him to leave the Yellow River quickly and say that we are afraid of Yu Fengxian."

We should reassure Zhong Yuangong and let him stay in the Yellow River Dragon Palace with peace of mind, so that he won't be afraid even if Yu Fengxian comes.
Uncle, you are the River God, the chief of the river spirits on earth, you mustn't back down!

The other dragons also stopped stirring up wind and rain, transformed into human form, and came to the side of the River God. The Dragon King of Sishui shouted, "Ao Ze, shut up! We have received the Heavenly Decree to bring rain and disaster to the human world."

To abandon one's post without cause and to provoke the imperial court is a foolish act of courting disaster.

Then, he turned to look at the River God and said, "Yu Fengxian is getting serious now, you'd better not go back to the Yellow River."

Don't get into a direct conflict with her; it's not worth it, and there's no need for it.

All we need to do is send someone to inform Zhong Yuangong so that they can leave the Central Plains as soon as possible, or at least leave the Yellow River.

Chen Sheng has already started his rebellion, and the Central Plains are about to descend into chaos. At this time, it's better to avoid trouble.

"Let's be patient for a while, until war breaks out across the land, various kings rise and the Qin Dynasty teeters on the brink of collapse, then we'll 'retaliate'."

“Ao Xing, you’re such a coward! Zhong Yuangong brought the True Form Map of the Four Rivers out of Xianyang, which is a great favor to us.”

They are also our old friends, with a friendship spanning tens of thousands of years.

"We can't even protect such benefactors and relatives. Do the Four Seas Dragon Clan still have any face left?" said the Giant Wild Dragon Lord.

"Second Uncle, what are you saying? Xing-ge'er is not ungrateful and would not betray Zhong Yuan Gong."

"Quietly inform Zhong Yuangong and tell them to go to sea and avoid the storm. It's good for him and for us," said Meng Zhulongjun.

“If it were before, we would of course have to give way to Yu Fengxian.”

But by this time, Chen Sheng had already started his rebellion. Do you understand what that means? The land of Chu no longer belonged to the Qin Dynasty!
"The 'Nine Cauldrons Controlling Dragon' secret technique that Yu Fengxian relies on is not entirely unusable, but its power is at least greatly reduced," said the Dragon Lord of Heze.

"Stop arguing!"

The River God sternly rebuked him and turned to the Chief Clerk, asking, "How many people did Yu Fengxian bring to the Yellow River?"

"Grand Tutor Yu doesn't seem to be here. There are only those Celestial Masters who were forcibly fed the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill. There are several hundred of them in a large group," the Registrar said.

River God sneered, "Several hundred people, could it be that all the captured Celestial Masters have come?"

Making such a big fuss, does Yu Fengxian want to intimidate others with force? Hmph, what a beautiful dream.

Continue to spread disaster, ensuring that the area within 500 li of Ningyang City is turned into a vast swamp.

I'm going back to the Yellow River.

He glanced around at the Dragon Lords, each with a different expression, and said slowly but firmly, "We have actually already clashed with Yu Fengxian."

For the past few months, we have been competing with Da Qin Yu Shi.

Yu Fengxian's attempt to avert natural disasters in the Central Plains has now almost completely failed.

If Yu Fengxian only wants to capture Zhong Yuangong, I don't need to avoid Ye Jiutian and the others.

If Yu Fengxian is using this as an excuse to cause trouble and intentionally seeks to create problems for us through the Zhong Yuangong case, my avoidance today will only embolden her.

Moreover, it's simply unavoidable.

We informed Zhong Yuangong to leave, and he did indeed leave. But Yu Fengxian deliberately disbelieved us and insisted on entering the Dragon Palace, searching each palace one by one. Should I tolerate this?

Even so, I still endured it.

She then said that we had taken the true form image and demanded that we hand it over. Should we hand it over or not?
If we endure this further, we will also send out the True Form Diagram. Yu Fengxian asked us not to spread disasters in the Central Plains anymore—the Great Qin Celestial Master has already done this.

That scoundrel Lu Jin Gong claims to represent Yu Feng Xian and demands that we obey the imperial court's orders.

Can we tolerate this? If we tolerate it, will Heaven tolerate our crimes of disobeying Heaven's will?

At that point, I'm afraid he'll inevitably have to go through the ordeal of being executed on the Dragon-Slaying Platform.

At this point, the hesitation and unease deep in the River God's eyes completely disappeared, and he said firmly, "When she starts to cause trouble, no amount of forbearance will work, and nothing I do can satisfy her."

Then we cannot bear it, nor will we blindly back down.

We shouldn't cause trouble, but we also shouldn't be afraid of trouble.

On the Yellow River, we have nothing to fear from anyone.

"Uncle is right, well said! Even if Yu Fengxian had come to the Yellow River in person, we would still argue our case and not lose face," shouted the Dragon King of Heze.

The River God waved his hand, "Alright, you continue with the rainmaking, I'm leaving."

Xianyang is not far from the Yellow River. Going east along the Wei River, past Tongguan Pass, the Yellow River lies just below the pass.

Continue north along the Yellow River for another hundred miles or so, and you will reach the section of the river where the River God's Dragon Palace is located.

When the River God returned to his hometown, the 350 “criminal beasts of Qin” had already left Tongguan and entered the Yellow River basin.

He Bo only had time to say a few words to Zhong Yuan Gong before Qiu Mingzi's shouts reached the Dragon Palace from the river.

Is the River God at home?

"Lord Zhong Yuan, you may remain in the palace, enjoying your drinks and the music and dance. Allow me to go out and meet them." The River God sneered and went out to greet them.

He had already learned from the clerk that several hundred people would be coming. But when he actually saw the people outside, he was still taken aback.

Good heavens, a full three hundred and fifty people. There are powerful Golden Immortals like Ye Jiutian, and Celestial Immortals like Qiu Mingzi.

There are over two hundred True Immortals!

"What do you want with so many of you coming to my Great River Dragon Palace?"

Qiu Mingzi stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Our target is certainly not Lord Hebo."

This time, I am acting on the orders of Grand Tutor Yu to capture Zhong Yuangong, the 'traitor of Qin' who has broken multiple oaths to Heaven.

As long as Lord River God allows Zhong Yuangong and Zhang Zhenren to come out, everything that follows will be none of the Yellow River Dragon Palace's business.

The River God mocked, "You are truly loyal, aren't you? For Grand Tutor Yu, you have even disregarded your old friendship."

Qiu Mingzi sighed, "I also want to ask Lord Hebo, why do you disregard our past friendship? Knowing our situation, you still mock us."

The River God was taken aback and said, "You yourselves have suffered, yet you insist on dragging your old friends into the fire pit as well?"

Don't fall into Yu Fengxian's trap.

You, her best friends, are killing each other, while she stands by, grinning smugly.

Qiu Mingzi said with embarrassment and anger, "Now, Lord Hebo can certainly stand on high and make sarcastic remarks. But if you were in our shoes, you might not be able to do any better than us."

River God laughed and said, "I've heard that the Ancestral Dragon Qi Pill has no effect on others."

Ye Jiutian grew impatient and said, "River God, be straightforward. We want to capture Zhong Yuangong. Will you release him or not?"

The River God said, "I've also heard that you once went to Huangshan to capture He Zhenjun."

He once infiltrated the cave to capture a Daoist master.

None of you succeeded, and you all gave up when faced with difficulties.

"Is my Great River Dragon Palace inferior to Huangshan Peach Blossom Cave, or even the Cave Heaven Dao Palace?"

Ye Jiutian flicked his sleeve, and a golden light flew out, circled once, hovered above his head, and transformed into two golden dragons that intertwined.

"River God, will you release them or not?"

(End of this chapter)