Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

In the stillness of the night, Quan Ming attempted to transform all one hundred strands of his Daoist energy into a hidden universe within his sleeve, which he used to contain the bronze mural.

But this mural carries the mandate of heaven from Qi, the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty, to Wu Ding, and the state of Quan.

With his current strength, he cannot be forcibly taken away.

Or perhaps the mural could be made to recognize its owner?

Quan Ming was unwilling.

Because the nation's fortune is divided into four parts.

One portion is in the Shang Dynasty cauldron, one portion is in the Qingge, and the other two portions are on the mural. The remaining half of the Quan Kingdom's fortune controls the mural and is the last flame of the Quan Kingdom. Unless Quan Ming is willing to restore the kingdom, the mural will not recognize him as its master, and the fortune on it will not obey Quan Ming's commands. He cannot take the mural away by clever means.

However, since the Shang Ding and Qing Ge have already recognized him as their master, he can shrink these two sacrificial artifacts and take them into his possession.

He was about to leave when he turned back around.

Looking at the bronze mural, he asked uncertainly, "If you restore a regime, you'll pledge allegiance to it?"

The bronze mural trembled slightly, indicating that Quan Ming should promise restoration, but Quan Ming laughed and said, "If that giant python came to you with my head on its back and asked for restoration, would you agree, aid and abet the evildoer, help him devour my divine body, and take my place as the Immortal Quan?"

The bronze murals are silent.

Quan Ming didn't linger on the fortune within the mural. Instead, he unleashed forty-nine strands of Daoist energy, transforming them into massive chains that locked the mural. The chains then embedded themselves into the bronze, disappearing from sight, while the fortune of the Quan Kingdom was firmly locked within.

Anyone who dares to challenge the fate of the nation will be trapped here!

"Such good bait, let's just wait for that giant python to refine my head and gain some or even a fraction of my wisdom... Come on."

"hehe!"

……

goo goo...

On a moonlit night, a gentle breeze rippled across the Quan River, reflecting the moonlight. A bamboo-awning wooden boat drifted leisurely downstream. Quan Ming leaned against the bamboo awning, turning back to look at the receding Quan City.

"To forcibly take that bronze mural, at least three hundred strands of Daoist energy would need to be transformed into a universe within one's sleeve."

He shook his head slightly; he wasn't in a hurry about it.

The reason he gazed longingly at Quancheng was because he was reluctant to part with the books in the Quancheng Library. Most of the books were on silk or bamboo slips, which would be destroyed if thrown into water, so they could not be hidden. At this time, the Library was surrounded by the Chu army, so he could not forcibly seize them. However, he was itching to see them. These books had never been seen in later generations. There were many Shang Dynasty shamanistic books and Western Zhou historical materials. It would be a real pity if they were to disappear into the past!

"Afterwards, try to make a copy?"

Quan Ming muttered to himself, "The Daoist deity of Chu reveres the lineage of Zhu Rong and has his own Chu culture. The Shang Dynasty culture is merely a reference for Chu, a way to learn from others' experiences, and cannot be directly applied."

But in Quan Ming's eyes, these books are part of the Chinese cultural heritage.

Quan Ming was willing to pay for the copying of these books himself, and it's likely that the King of Chu wouldn't be stingy with that.

Boom!

A sound came from the water.

A fish leaped up and spat out a jade ring.

Yu Huan landed in the boat, and Quan Ming smiled as he looked down: "This child has some clever ideas."

This was sent by Quan Ming's nephew, taking advantage of what Quan Ming said when they parted at dusk: If you encounter difficulties, you can confide in Quan Shui. If it is reasonable, I will naturally appear.

The child's wish: May everything go well for his uncle!

Quan Ming smiled and put the jade ring on his wrist: "As you wish."

The journey was quiet until they approached the Water Palace, when voices and torchlight began to emanate from the scene. Quan Ming looked into the distance, and before he could even make out anything, he heard the young general Dou Lian shout loudly, "Welcome, Immortal Quan!"

"I have been ordered to deliver the items Quan Xian used during his lifetime!"

On the steep, knife-edged rocks of the north bank, a group of armored soldiers guarded the goods on a wooden cart, while Dou Lian stood at the forefront, bowing to welcome Quan Ming.

Quan Ming looked up.

Then, a wave surged up from the Quanshui River, soaring high into the sky, sweeping everything off the wooden cart and into the water palace.

Thank you.

Quan Ming struck the water, which lifted the small boat onto the cliff. He looked down at the group of Chu soldiers and young generals and said, "This is my first time on patrol today. I apologize for the delay and for keeping you all waiting."

Dou Lian quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Immortal Quan, you flatter me. The Quan River stretches for hundreds of miles; it was our recklessness that led us here."

"Haha, reckless?"

Quan Ming smiled at the naive young man and nodded slightly: "Go back now. I am preparing a banquet these days, inviting the immortals and gods from all around to meet me. Immortals and mortals cannot come into contact with each other, so I can only ask you to look after me, young general. I will reward you in a few days."

"I wouldn't dare, it's my duty."

Dou Lian responded.

He quickly left with his armored soldiers.

Quan Ming looked around and could see the hesitation in the eyes of the Chu soldiers. A narcissus, transformed from a Quan person, was pressing down on their heads, making the Chu soldiers feel uneasy, but it seemed that they did not offer much resistance.

Quan Ming thought about it and thought to himself: That makes sense. The people of Chu and the people of Quan are all people, and they need similar things. Do they also like war? War... is just something that the top people of Chu and the top people of other countries need.

He shook his head with a smile, dismissing these thoughts from his mind, but Quan Ming couldn't quite understand this young general.

Completely different from that Doubo.

He's completely devoid of shrewdness, but instead possesses a sincere and innocent heart... Could it be that there's an anomaly among the clan?

He shook his head slightly, saying it was a trivial matter.

Everyone has the right to make their own choices.

Quan Ming leaped into the water, retracted the bamboo-awning boat, and entered the water palace.

"My lord!"

Inside the Water Palace, the four of them—the old man, the old woman, the old woman, and the young man—were moving his belongings from his lifetime. Among them were many miscellaneous books and ancient texts, as well as ancient zithers and jade artifacts. The collection was dazzling, with little gold and silver but mostly elegant and exquisite objects.

Quan Ming pondered for a moment.

Ten thousand strands of Chu will transformed into a hundred strands of Daoist rhyme.

Daoist energy is the divine power of immortals and gods.

Although he still has assessments to overcome and cannot advance to the second level, thus being trapped in his realm, the Daoist aura representing divine power can continue to accumulate, with no upper limit.

If his divine power were comparable to that of a great god, the world would take notice of him, and his strength would not stagnate due to the stagnation of his realm.

Even a minor god can possess great power!

He still has 3,510 portions of the Chu will.

It can condense at most thirty-five strands of Daoist charm.

Ok……

So he took out 1,600 portions and melted them into 16 strands of Daoist rhyme. Then he divided these 16 strands of Daoist rhyme into four portions and bestowed them upon the four terracotta figurines. He left the rest untouched for the time being, in case of emergency.

"As my subordinate, how can you expect to get things done without some skill if you rely solely on brute force?"

The Daoist aura attached itself to the jade ornaments previously bestowed upon them, and with a flash of auspicious light, these jade ornaments gained divine power.

Refining weapons?

This is merely a simple application of Daoist principles; it doesn't even qualify as weapon crafting.

Because these Daoist principles have not been transformed into restrictions, these jade artifacts cannot continue to grow. Unless Quan Ming reaches the second level of the Dao Heaven Realm and uses the [Divine Decree], he can transform the Daoist principles into restrictions and truly refine the artifacts.

Just like how the immortal cultivator transformed a corpse into a ghostly corpse...

"Thank you, my lord!"

The four bowed and expressed their gratitude. These jade artifacts had become one with them. The Daoist essence bestowed upon them had given them more spirituality, and their eyes were less dull. After obtaining the Daoist essence, they had already grasped how to use it and began to use the Daoist essence to transform energy and lift the items to the storeroom, which was many times better than the previous brute force.

Quan Ming nodded upon seeing this.

He bestowed upon them Daoist charm not only to make it easier for them to do things for him, but also because he was worried that the Zhixian would be shameless and allow the Yin Corpse to attack his terracotta figurines.

With four strands of Daoist energy in hand, he was immersed in the power of the water.

These four terracotta figures have at least acquired a means of self-protection!

"Let's put out all the usable tools. Are we just going to leave them gathering dust in the storeroom?"

As he spoke, he yawned: "Ha... I'm tired after a long day. I'll come back to see your arrangements tomorrow... Oh, by the way, prepare a feast. Starting tomorrow, we'll recruit water spirits as servants. Although they're servants, they all have some skills and can be considered half of our subordinates. They should be treated with the proper etiquette."

The four of them shouted in unison, "Yes, sir!"

"Oh, right, Quan Nan, go out and find a dead dog's carcass."

"……promise."

……