Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly.

How can you see the whole mountain when you're in the mountains?

At this moment, Quan Ming was traveling upstream on the Quan River towards Quan City, with a thick fog obscuring his view.

He reached out and touched the surface of the water...

The cool river water calmed his mind. Now, the most important thing was to build his own water palace. As a minor god at the first level of the Dao Heaven, he could not go directly to the Dao Heaven. The water palace was his way to the Dao Heaven. At the same time, if he died outside, he could be reborn by consuming the will of Chu through the water palace.

Although weak, it is difficult to kill.

This is why he kept the Chu territory's will unused...

Quan Ming, dressed in an ethereal gray-blue fairy robe, leaned against the bamboo awning and sighed: "To advance to the second level of the Dao Heaven, one needs one hundred strands of Dao essence... and each strand of Dao essence requires one hundred portions of Chu will."

Looking at the lifeless will of Chu within his body: 1,896 copies!

It would allow him to obtain eighteen strands of Daoist essence.

However, he cannot use it all now, because rebirth and dealing with things beyond his capabilities both require consuming the will of Chu.

"How much strength can eighteen strands of Daoist energy increase?"

"I'll wait until Quanren is settled and Daotian gives back to the will of Chu before I improve my strength. Besides, even if I satisfy the requirement of a hundred strands of Dao rhyme, it's not something I can improve at will... I need Daotian's permission to advance to the second level of Daotian."

"But it's alright."

"At the very least, this promotion does not require the approval of the King of Chu or any deity."

Quan Ming shook his head and smiled.

Dao Tian is impartial and selfless, only favoring the fate of the Chu Kingdom. Even the King of Chu cannot issue orders to Dao Tian... This is much better than being a county magistrate or a prince.

Quan Ming believes he is capable and can forge ahead towards his goals.

But during those years when the young master was suppressed by his father's authority, he was almost powerless, and the road ahead was utterly dark, with no hope in sight.

As for the county magistrate promised by the King of Chu?

Heh, he really looks down on him... This path is even more difficult than the young master's, because he is a foreigner, a prisoner of war, how could the nobles of Chu tolerate him becoming too powerful?

He was already fed up with those rules of etiquette, the reputation of blind filial piety, and factional struggles.

Living is like being a chess piece.

Only the gods...

Within his authority, he is the chess player!

As long as he has the ability to bring good fortune to the State of Chu, he can continue to be promoted!

...That's what he wanted.

"ha……"

Quan Ming stretched and yawned, not bothered by his low strength. Instead, he enjoyed the tranquility of the place. Anyway, he could be resurrected after death, and as the Immortal of Quan Shui, he also held the power of the water in Quan Shui to fulfill his political ideal of protecting the people of Quan in his previous life. So why bother so much? Why rush to pursue the strongest strength and abandon enjoyment?

"We need to choose a good location to build the water palace. The area where I loved swimming in the river when I was a child would be perfect..."

"Also, it doesn't need to be too big, and it shouldn't be the kind that's all gold and shiny, that's really old-fashioned. It should be elegant, with a courtyard... It should be decorated with a lot of jade, and plant some flowers and plants... Oh dear, Xiong Tong clearly knows that I love jade the most, and even if it's because of the Chu funeral customs, he only sent this little bit."

Quan Ming curled his lip after looking at the jade artifacts displayed in the bamboo shed.

She then smiled faintly, her eyes gleaming mischievously.

Fortunately, he had made preparations before his death. He sent his secret guards to take advantage of the chaos to search the Quan Kingdom's treasury, the king's private treasury, and his own private treasury. All the gold, silver, and jade artifacts were poured into the Quan River.

When the generals of Chu saw the empty treasury, they probably secretly resented the nobles of Quan for not forgetting to take these mundane items with them when they fled for their lives!

"It's a pity."

"According to the Chu system, non-Chu nobles at the first level of Daotian can only have four terracotta figurines as attendants."

"Four are not enough for me to command."

"That's really stingy."

……

Half an hour of going against the current.

Quan Ming wasn't just playing in the water; he was using the power of the Quan River to sense the origin and end of the river, as well as the divine aura... In reality, although the Quan River is a tributary of the Yangtze River, it is only a small section of the lower reaches of this tributary. The Quan Kingdom's portion of the distance from the lower reaches to the upper reaches is not large.

Derived from perception —

Quanshui, whose full name is Jushui, originates from Shennong Mountain, flows through Yong, Lu, Luo, Quan, and Chu, and finally merges into the Yangtze River.

Each of these areas has its own deity in its river channels.

They are all Quan Ming's rivals!

The immortal mentioned by Xiangjun is among them, which is the downstream of Quanshui—Zhishui!

Logically, after the defeat of the Quan state and its assimilation into the Chu state, the Quan River should have been absorbed by the downstream Zhi River, completely renamed Zhi River, and become the domain of the Zhi River Narcissus...

After all, Zhi Shui Shui Xian contributed a great deal to the battle between Chu and Quan.

"It seems I'll have to fight this immortal again before this matter is over." For every gain, there is a loss. Even among gods, there are grudges. Their struggle for power is no less intense than that of ordinary people. However, Quan Ming is not troubled. As long as his water palace is not breached, he still has the will of Chu in his body, so he will not die!

It was just one match.

In the realm of power and water, Quan Ming is the master.

I doubt that this immortal would dare to rush into the Quanshui River and attack his water palace!

We've arrived.

Quan Ming stood up, gliding across the waves, and put away the bamboo-awning wooden boat behind him. He arrived at the calmest part of the Quan River, where the south side of the river was the most fertile land in the Quan Kingdom. At this moment, it was the height of summer and the beginning of autumn, with golden rice fields everywhere.

To the north of the water lies a tail of the Jing Mountain range, standing alone on the plain. It is the sacred mountain of the Quan Kingdom, Quan Mountain.

Over the years, the water has eroded this side of the cliff, making it look as if it has been cleaved by a sword. Below the cliff, the water flows gently, dozens of meters wide, dark green and bottomless.

The south side of a mountain and the north side of a river are both considered Yang (positive).

Here, the yang energy rises, and even though the water is deep, it is not gloomy at all. On the contrary, it is a beautiful place with clear waters, lush mountains, schools of fish, and occasional wisps of mist rising from the sky.

Quanming loved coming here when he was a child.

Even after he became involved in politics, he still preferred to come here to find peace of mind.

"stand!"

Quan Ming looked at the most tranquil body of water at the foot of the cliff. He had dived down there before and found a cave. Although it couldn't be called a paradise, it was spacious and quiet. He then stretched out his finger and connected with the Dao of Chu. Soon, a flash of light appeared, and a rumbling sound came from underwater. A magnificent palace built of blue-white stone rose in Quan Ming's mind and stood firmly at the entrance of the cave.

Thus, the palace is embedded in the cave entrance, just like the underwater Dunhuang caves.

Behind the palace is a cave, through which mountain water seeps down to form a clear pool.

"live!"

Quan Ming waved his hand, and four terracotta figures appeared: two men and two women, an old man, an old woman, a young girl, and a young boy.

The four of them were all dressed in gray and stood on the water.

"Your servant greets Your Majesty!"

The four of them knelt down and kowtowed to the Lord.

Quan Ming frowned slightly: "Get up..."

Pointing to the old man, he said, "You shall be called Quan Weng. From now on, you will manage my warehouse and take good care of the gold, silver, and jade."

"promise!"

Pointing to the old woman, he said, "You are called Granny Quan. From now on, you will take care of my meals. Although I am now a god, I cannot give up the delicious food I ate in my previous life. If I don't eat delicious food, I'm afraid I will forget that I was once a human being."

"promise!"

Pointing at the girl: "You'll be called 'Power Woman,' and from now on, you'll be in charge of her daily needs..."

Pointing to the young man: "...You will be at his service at any time, guarding the gate and doing odd jobs..."

"promise!"

Quan Ming was satisfied. At least the four terracotta figurines that Xiong Tong had given him as sacrificial offerings were finely carved and of good appearance. He wouldn't lose face if he took them out.

"Alright, now come with me to the Quan River in Quan City to bring back my gold, silver, and jade artifacts. Dou Bo has already entered the city. He's incredibly meticulous. Now that the Zhou emperor is leading an alliance to attack Chu, Chu is facing a shortage of supplies. Xiong Tong sent him to Quan because he must be interested in Quan's lost treasures. If we wait a few more days, and those things are discovered, things will be disastrous!"

"……promise!"

……

……

Unbeknownst to Quan Ming, some Yin Corpses were swimming upstream, gradually approaching his Water Palace!