Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 163 Zhurong (Part 1)

While Lü Shang in the world of Jambudvipa was enjoying his youthful success, with a jade belt around his waist, governing the region and basking in his power, Lü Shang in the world of Great Wilderness and Seas was slowly opening his eyes in his quiet palace.

Inside the palace, bronze lamps stood between black jade pillars, casting dappled light and shadow. Xu Boshang sat on a wooden couch, his eyes seemingly blazing with fire. The phantom images of three Primordial Taiyi True Seals floated and sank in the firelight of his pupils.

"Zhurong Flag!"

Looking at the small vermilion flag in front of him, Lü Shang's expression was solemn. This precious treasure had been refined by him day and night with all his heart and soul since it fell into his hands.

Today, Lü Shang has finally gained complete control of this important artifact of the Zhu Rong clan.

The essence of a perfect human being, almost divine, was poured into this divine object that had been sealed away for countless years, gradually restoring its former divine power.

boom!
He slowly exhaled a breath of true qi, which landed on the vermilion flag and transformed into a wisp of crimson gold true fire, exploding upon touching the void. At the same time, wisps of crimson fire seeped from the cracks in the floor tiles of the entire palace, and even sparks appeared around it.

"Excellent, what a fine treasure of Zhurong!"

Faced with the strange phenomenon before him, Lü Shang spoke softly. His body was bathed in red light, and his fiery aura was like a furnace. Countless fire spirits transformed into fire dragons, fire serpents, fire phoenixes, fire birds, fire crows, and fire crows, divine birds and strange beasts, flying freely.

"Unfortunately, this belongs to the Zhu Rong clan. If it were a powerful artifact of the Gong Gong clan, with my pure-blooded Gong Gong body wielding it, I would be able to roam freely throughout the nine provinces of the human world."

"Although Gonggong originated from Zhurong and was a descendant of the Jiang clan, they ultimately took different paths."

He gently stroked the Zhurong Banner, and the tadpole-like seal script on it rippled with golden-red waves, as if the sound of an ancient river of fire surging from within the banner.

The Zhurong Banner, an object belonging to the ancient god Zhurong, though not the artifact used by Zhurong to attain enlightenment, still contains a portion of the divine power of the ancient god Zhurong, possessing divine power that would terrify even the righteous gods in heaven.

If a pure-blooded Zhurong were to wield this Zhurong Banner, in the human world after the severing of the connection between heaven and earth, apart from Emperor Zhuxia, who holds the emperor's decree, and the four feudal lords who are revered as the leaders of the Four Sacred Mountains, there would be no one to rival him.

Unfortunately, Lü Shang was not a pure-blooded Zhu Rong, and therefore could not unleash the full potential of the Zhu Rong Banner's divine power.

Even though both Gonggong and Zhurong shared the surname Jiang, they were still bound by the conflict between water and fire. As a pure-blooded Gonggong, Lü Shang could only unleash about 40% of the Zhurong Banner's power.

Even with only 40% of its power, it was enough to roam freely in the human world.

"That's all,"

Seeing the raging fire inside the palace, Lü Shang sighed softly, the flames in his eyes gradually fading.

The fire spirits flying in the sky suddenly froze, then transformed into thousands of crimson-gold light spots, which rolled back and disappeared into the banner of Zhurong like rivers flowing into the sea.

The vermilion banners moved without wind, and the light of the precious seals on them subsided into a line of gold and red, with faint flames flowing around the corners of the banners, but no longer any firelight emanated from them.

After putting away the Zhurong Banner, he sat sideways on the couch, tapping the edge of the couch with his fingers, causing the bronze lamp tree beside him to sway gently.

Lu Shang lowered his eyes to look at his left hand resting on his knee, and said softly, "Someone, bring me my zither."

The palace servants who had been waiting outside moved at the sound. The head servant carried a long box, the sandalwood box inlaid with cloud patterns in silver wire.

In the vast wilderness of mountains and seas, the Yaoqin is the exclusive domain of noble and divine descendants, and there is a saying that Fuxi made the qin.

The people of the Great Wilderness generally believe that the first Yaoqin in the world was made by Fuxi.

After Fuxi, people said: When a king achieves great things, he makes music and establishes rites. The greater his achievements, the more elaborate his music; the more discerning his governance, the more elaborate his rites.

Therefore, the Yellow Emperor composed the "Yunmen", Emperor Yao composed the "Daxian", Emperor Shun composed the "Dashao", and Emperor Yu composed the "Daxia".

"Your Majesty,"

The palace maid gently lifted the lid of the box, and a clear, melodious sound emanated from the zither. "Sing!"
Lü Shang's hand brushed across the body of the zither, his palm grazed the icy strings, and a dragon's roar echoed in the palace, lingering long afterward.

"Step back,"

He glanced at the palace servants, placed the zither steadily on his lap, and with a slight flick of his right wrist, his wide sleeves slid down to his elbows like flowing clouds.

After the palace servants withdrew, his fingers gently pressed on the strings of the zither, and the bronze lamps in the palace trembled with the sound of the zither.

The sound of the zither burst forth from the strings, like a cold spring rinsing stones. With a slight movement of his wrist and a flick of his index finger, the five notes of the zither flowed together.

As Lü Shang played the zither, the small vermilion flag in his sleeve was covered with red-gold seal script, and it responded accordingly to the vibrations of the zither strings and the changes in tone, as if it were resonating with the zither.

"Zhurong,"

After the music ended, Lü Shang glanced at his sleeve and muttered to himself.

He was naturally aware of the change in the small crimson flag in his sleeve; he wasn't playing the zither to cultivate his character.

Rather, it is to awaken the spirituality of the Zhurong Banner and gain the approval of the will of the Zhurong clan within it.

It is known that Zhu Rong loved music, and her son, Prince Changqin, was born carrying a zither, thus becoming known as the God of Music.

There are five kinds of birds in the world: one is called the Emperor Bird, another is called the Luan Bird, and the third is called the Phoenix Bird. They dance when they hear the zither.

The Zhurong Banner is a divine object of the Zhurong clan, and it carries the will of the Zhurong clan. The likes and dislikes of the Zhurong clan are the likes and dislikes of the Zhurong Banner.

Therefore, since Zhu Rong loved music, the Zhu Rong Banner naturally also loved music.

After obtaining the Zhurong Banner, Lü Shang would often play a tune on his zither in the palace in his spare time from handling state affairs.

After all, divine objects of the Zhurong Banner's caliber possess incredible spirituality, and the divine power they can unleash varies depending on whether they are acknowledged by the divine object itself.

"Your Majesty, Minister Wu and the eldest son of the commoners, Prince Chong, have come to pay their respects."

Just as Lü Shang was playing the zither, a palace servant outside the door whispered.

Upon hearing this, Lü Shang sighed deeply and said, "Please invite them in."

The palace gates slowly opened, and a figure in a black robe stepped in first, the jade pendant at his waist making a soft clinking sound with each step. It was Wu Wenhe, whose hair and beard were completely white.

The man behind him, dressed in black armor with a cold and stern expression, was none other than the eldest son of a concubine, Chong.

After Wu Wenhe entered the palace, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty's qin skills have become more and more exquisite. This old minister even heard the lingering melody of 'Yunmen' in the corridor."

Lu Chong stood with his hand on his sword, his brows furrowed with an unusual solemnity, and said, "Your Majesty, we have come to the palace today with a matter of great importance to the nation, which we need to discuss with you."

"Your Majesty, you have reigned for three years, and your wisdom and brilliance have been witnessed by the entire nation. We, your subjects, are also thrilled that the State of Xu has a ruler like you and the Lü clan has a patriarch like you."

At this point, Prince Chong suddenly knelt on one knee, the sound of his armor clashing like thunder, and said, “But, Your Majesty, the way of Heaven and Earth is that Yin and Yang are in harmony, and then all things are born. The ruler is Yang, and the queen is Yin. Only when Yin and Yang are in harmony can we follow the way of Heaven.”

Seeing that Lü Chong had already spoken, Wu Wenhe immediately said, "It is not that we are unaware of Your Majesty's lofty ambitions, but the succession of the state is truly the foundation of the nation."

"We, your humble servants, beseech Your Majesty to select wives for the nation, so as to stabilize the foundation of the state and reassure the people."

(End of this chapter)