Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

With the autumn harvest over, Quan Ming had nearly 20,000 Chu willpower available to him.

He was not stingy with his subordinates. He bestowed upon his seven spirits and five terracotta warriors who accompanied him on sacrifices a hundred to several hundred times the will of the Chu land, according to their merits.

This further strengthened the resolve of many spirits to serve under Quan Ming.

Among them, Feng Hua was undoubtedly Quan Ming's close advisor and reaped the most benefits.

However, compared to the will of Chu, Feng Hua, this clam spirit, clearly desired the position of "minister who enters the inner chambers."

Unfortunately, Quan Ming felt that Feng Hua lacked wisdom and strategy, so he did not bestow them upon him.

Instead, Feng Hua became even more diligent, working tirelessly to find out the true situation of Quan Ming under the rule of Chu, and to have all sixty-four statues jadeified with pearls produced by himself...

Thus, more than a month has passed.

During this period, Quan Ming outwardly inspected Quan Shui from time to time, but never set foot on land, behaving with impeccable discipline. This gave Qu Wan, who had been watching him closely, a false impression, allowing Qu Wan to breathe a sigh of relief and loosen his grip on his autumn harvest plan considerably.

However, in secret, Quan Ming ordered his spirits to travel to the major capitals of Chu to trade gold, silver, jewelry, and antiques with the truly leisurely noble families, in exchange for enough Chu cowrie shells.

He then ordered the terracotta warriors and their subjects to melt down the cowrie shells of the Quan state and exchange them for cowrie shells of the Chu state in exchange for bronze.

Thus, a small mountain of bronze cowrie shells had been piled up in Quan Ming's water palace. If Quan Ming were a Chu citizen, this Chu currency would be enough for him to buy a vast territory in Chu and become a minor feudal lord.

"That's enough, that's sufficient."

Quan Ming ordered his subordinates to stop what they were doing. If it weren't for the fact that spirits are good at hiding, such a large transaction would have already been traced back to him.

The calls for war are growing ever more urgent, so he should take some time to consolidate his power and then discuss how to negotiate with the powerful families of Chu.

"My lord..."

Quan Ming was in the main hall discussing with the spirits whether there had been any oversights in the events of the past few days when he heard the little carp, Red Ball, enter from outside. It had the body of a child and was carrying a large red lacquered wooden box. It bowed respectfully to Quan Ming and said carefully, "My lord, your nephew has arrived. He has prepared a bottle of wine for you to taste."

As he spoke, he blew out a bubble wrap to encase the wooden box and presented it to Quan Ming.

Quan Ming glanced at the little carp, noticing that it was covered in mud and had some water plants stuck to its waistband. Without a doubt, it had gone outside the Water Palace with Madam Catfish's two children to play hide-and-seek with the big fish that had built their nests on the stone walls of the Water Palace...

He's still a child.

Quan Ming smiled, not disliking the lively atmosphere.

"I'll remember this favor. Now you may leave."

"Um!"

Red Ball scratched his head and jogged away from the main hall. He was still too young. Although he was one of the seven spirits recruited by Quan Ming, he was too small and unreliable due to his age. So he was not sent to the outside world. Usually, he worked in the kitchen and helped the other spirits and terracotta servants with their miscellaneous tasks in the Water Palace, thus accumulating merits.

As for today...

"You turtle, do you really want to trade a 'big secret' for a chance to join the Water Palace?"

Outside the Water Palace, a half-transformed green-haired turtle heard the voice and nodded vigorously, saying, "Yes, yes, please introduce me, Immortal. I am willing to tell you a 'little secret' as a reward."

"A little secret?"

Red Ball's eyes darted around, and he said, "What big secrets and small secrets? We in the Water Palace don't care about such empty talk. You have to lay out the secrets and put them in front of the Water Palace."

"Ah... well, then I'll take you to see it, but you have to promise to introduce me."

"Hey, of course. I, the Great Immortal Red Ball, am not that villainous Branch Immortal. How could I go back on my word? Come on, let's hurry up... The Water Palace has been very busy these past few days. Don't try to fool me and waste my time."

……

……

blow!

Not long after the red ball left, Quan Ming, who was about to continue explaining the follow-up matters to the spirits, stopped speaking when he saw a stream of light descending from the heavens. He raised his hand to silence the spirits, then stood up and received this decree that only immortals and gods could see—

The Zhou emperor had already convened a meeting in Nan Shen Kingdom and declared war on the State of Chu. They agreed to fight outside Jingmen and within the territory of the State of Luo at the beginning of spring next year. The King of Chu ordered the State of Chu to prepare for war with all its might, as did the immortals and gods of Chu.

At this moment, immortals and gods of the Dao Heaven level three and above must go to the Dao Heaven to initiate the Dao Heaven Assembly.

This was the second Daotian Assembly.

Special order—the Immortal of the Water Realm shall proceed to Daotian and be at the command of Mo Ao!

……

Looking at the order in his hand, Quan Ming pondered. This was the matter that Mo Ao Qu Xia had been busy with recently. He hadn't expected that a second one had already been held... It seemed that the Dao Heaven Assembly was not perfect. There were many variables in this battlefield, and the allocation of immortals and gods needed to be constantly replenished. For example, he was just a Narcissus at the first level of Dao Heaven, which was considered the weakest level in the Chu land's immortal and god system. Originally, he was not qualified to go to Dao Heaven to participate in the meeting...

The narcissus is a local deity.

They were not worshipped in the ancestral temples of the Chu state.

Those qualified to participate in the meeting were all immortals and gods of Chu at the third level of the Dao Heaven Realm or above, and were directly worshipped by the King of Chu and enjoyed the sacrifices of the entire Chu Kingdom.

"It seems my prediction was correct."

Quan Ming was not surprised that he was qualified to participate in the Dao Tian Assembly. After all, Quan Di bordered Yong Guo and Luo Guo. Even though the border area was mountainous and wild, without the Great Dao, with little communication and extremely difficult to become a battlefield, it was still border. In times of war, precautions would be taken.

Moreover, Quanshui has now absorbed the Zhishui River basin.

This river basin is also connected to the Zhangshui River.

Connecting Jingze and Ze.

The Zhang River connects with the original Zhi River, forming the waterway hub of Jingmen in the State of Chu, while Jingze is the port where ships dock.

This natural marching route is a powerful tool in times of war, and now is the time to clear it in advance to prevent any mishaps during wartime.

After thinking for a moment, Quan Ming did not respond immediately.

Instead, he first opened the gift his nephew had sent, took out the red lacquered box, took out the wine jar placed on the silk, removed the cap, poured the wine into the white jade bird-shaped goblet, and took a small sip...

Well, although the brewing time was a bit rushed and the flavor is slightly bland, because it contains the will of Chu and a faint trace of the aura of a powerful person, this wine is already a nourishing substance for ordinary mortals. Even for immortals and gods, the Daoist fluctuations brought by the aura of a powerful person are different from those of the Dao Heaven of Chu, which is also a unique feature. Overall, it can be considered a rare and excellent wine.

It's acceptable.

Quan Ming divided the wine into portions, allowing his subordinates to taste it one by one.

He then said, "I need to go to Daotian and I don't know when I will return. During this time, you can stay in the Water Mansion and protect the Quan people and Chu people in the Quan River Basin from time to time. As for this wine... Fenghua, go and send some money to my nephew and tell him to brew more. The grain for brewing can be traded with the Quan people for money. As for the helpers, they will all be paid wages. If Qu Wan asks, just say that Quan Xian likes wine and that the wine is brewed to prepare for the winter sacrifice for me."

"……promise."

No one asked any further questions, and Quan Ming didn't give them a chance.

Transforming into a streak of light and attaching itself to the order, Quan Ming soared upwards. With the help of the Water Mansion, he opened the barrier passage and headed towards the Daotian of the Chu Kingdom!

……

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