Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The sound of bronze bells and chimes resounded through the heavens, accompanied by the soft light of the sun, dyeing the layers of auspicious clouds crimson. This inspired the spirits among the clouds to transform into various auspicious beasts, which danced gracefully, adorning the heavens amidst the music of strings and pipes…

Quan Ming rode in a bamboo-covered wooden boat, leisurely traveling through the clouds.

Listening to the music, they headed towards a suspended island at the very center of the Chu Kingdom's Daotian.

On the island, chains inscribed with shamanic script crisscrossed.

Blood-red maple leaves grew on the chains.

Quan Ming's small boat was moored at the shore. He slowly disembarked, smelling slightly of alcohol.

"Chirp!"

A fiery red phoenix flew past Tiandi's side, seemingly about to overturn his ship with a wave of fire, leaving him in a sorry state. Quanbing instinctively made a move, and a small black bird seal flew out, striking the phoenix squarely on the head!

With a loud bang...

The phoenix's head was shattered by the black bird seal, which was as heavy as a mountain, and it fell to the edge of the clouds.

Quan Ming frowned slightly. This was his first time in Dao Tian, ​​and these spiritless immortals shouldn't have any ill intentions towards him... unless one of the immortals or gods here wanted to target him.

"The immortals without spirits...forgotten by the world and losing their intelligence, they can only eke out a living in the Dao Heaven."

"What's wrong with you today? Has your wild side resurfaced?"

Quan Ming subtly mocked the person who attacked him. Whether that person could hear it or not was unimportant. What mattered was that the immortals and gods watching from Dao Tianzhong could hear it, and that was enough... It was normal for him to take action, and there was nothing to blame him for.

"Quan Xian".

Just as Quan Ming was launching his attack, he heard a voice coming from behind him.

It is Zhang Xian.

It seems that even the immortals and gods of the Zhang River were summoned to the Dao Heaven to listen to the immortals and gods of the Dao Heaven at the third level and above discuss the war with Mo Ao.

"Zhangxian".

After exchanging greetings with Zhang Xian, Quan Ming did not mention what had just happened.

The two walked slowly toward the core area of ​​the island.

On the way, Zhang Xian explained the composition of the Dao Heaven of Chu to Quan Ming. He slowly said, "Legend has it that the Dao Heaven of Chu is housed in an ancient cave, guarded by the Chu royal family, and the murals in that cave depict the current order of the Dao Heaven... However, I've heard that it's not yet the true form of the Dao Heaven..."

"Just like this sky, it is simply a mural of the fire god Zhurong, so the layers of red clouds fully demonstrate the majesty of the fire god."

Upon hearing this, Quan Ming nodded: "Indeed, it is extremely majestic."

"However, why does this island... feel like it doesn't belong to the Vulcan?"

"As for this island?"

Zhang Xian stroked his beard and laughed, "This place is a ritual vessel that allows people in the mortal world to communicate with gods and immortals without being affected by the saying 'Gods cannot approach people, and people cannot approach gods.' Whenever a major event occurs in the Chu Kingdom, the King of Chu would consult with the gods and immortals of Chu through this place. Of course, with the emergence of the position of Mo Ao, this authority was also given to Mo Ao."

"..."

The two of them went back and forth, and by the time they reached the core of the island, at an ancient battlefield where eighty-one tall stone tablets stood, they had already explained the layout of the heavens in detail.

As for the ancient battlefield, many immortals and gods are already listed.

There are over a hundred of them, no need to count them all; they are all immortals and gods of the Chu region at the third level of the Dao Heaven realm.

The ethereal robes and the orange-red and green divine light warded off the faint malevolent aura emanating from the place.

They all closed their eyes to rest, showing no reaction to the arrival of Quan Ming and Zhang Xian.

Quan Ming and Zhang Xian also unconsciously released their own Daoist energy to resist the evil aura here.

Ok?

A hostile gaze.

Oh, so it's the resurrected Lord of Jing Mountain.

Quan Ming and Lord Jingshan exchanged a glance, showing no fear. Although these immortals and gods were divided into different levels of Dao Heaven, they each had their own duties. Without a clear hierarchy, there was no absolute suppression between them. At this moment, he had no need to be afraid of the other party.

Zhang Xian gave an awkward smile, but stood with Quan Ming.

He simply said, "Let's get back to our places first."

Having said that, water mist rose from beneath Zhang Xian's feet, and he flew into formation in a corner of the ancient battlefield. The faint green divine light around him shone, representing his divine authority and cultivation.

Quan Ming did as Dao Tian instructed and flew into a corner.

He was surrounded by a dark blue divine light; the blue represented his authority over the water, while the dark blue represented his authority over the corpse domain.

His mastery of the Dao is limited to a hundred Daoist arts.

Those ten thousand or so Chu troops were his foundation, but not much...

But beyond all that, the fortune of the powerful in the Corpse Domain has attracted attention.

One of the immortals standing to Quan Ming's side slightly opened his eyes, glancing at Quan Ming's aura with puzzlement, his eyes seemingly calculating something. The other immortals also opened their eyes. In fact, they all knew what this was, but seeing is believing. Now that they had seen it, they understood... that this was different from the others.

Quan Ming sensed the gaze and instead of retreating, he moved forward.

He said, "I am not only the immortal of the water, but also the ancestral god of the human realm."

——Ancestor God——

Ah... there are quite a few 'ancestral gods' among them, after all, many of them come from great clans and are the ancestors of their clans.

But Quan Ming's ancestral divine status is that of the ancestor of a nation.

They were all from a clan under the jurisdiction of the State of Chu.

In this realm of Chu, the ancestral deity of a clan is first and foremost Chu Chen, and only then is he considered the clan's ancestor.

Apart from those few direct ancestors of the Chu state who could be ranked on par with Quan Ming and claim to be ancestral gods, these other "ancestral gods" seemed unworthy of the title and should not be used as such.

Many immortals and gods understood the reason behind this, and they withdrew their gazes, hiding the emotions and desires in their eyes... because there was no profit to be made.

Quan Ming was satisfied with this.

He didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble because of these things.

hum!

At this moment, a vibrant life force spread across the ancient battlefield, and this life force was able to suppress the malevolent energy for a brief period of time.

"Welcome, Shao Siming!"

At this moment, voices came from the mouths of the various immortals and gods, their tones respectful.

Before Quan Ming, the later immortal, could react, he saw countless autumn orchids and wild grasses growing and spreading from the ancient battlefield. The pure white flowers bloomed, like the Milky Way reflected in the sky, mixed among the fragrant herbs, their fragrance appearing and disappearing with the breeze, shimmering and flowing.

This miracle served as a vanguard, clearing the way for a phoenix chariot from afar. The chariot, with its canopy made of peacock feathers and its banners adorned with kingfisher feathers, was pulled by five silver fish and slowly approached. In a glance, it covered hundreds of thousands of feet, but in the blink of an eye, it was already right in front of them. Amidst the cheers of the crowd, it stopped on the battlefield, amidst the magnificent scenery.

Inside the carriage, a young girl dressed in a lotus-patterned ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a fragrant grass belt around her waist, her long black hair was not tied up and was scattered in the wind. Her face was like the bright moon reflected in the water, a beauty unlike that of the mortal world.

At this moment, her eyes were filled with worry as she slowly rose to her feet.

Only then did the sword at his waist come into view...

hum!

Ascending to the heavens, a pure white lotus throne appeared beneath her. Leaning on the throne, she was unconventional, overlooking the battlefield from above. She exuded vitality, yet also a fleeting melancholy. At the same time, she paid no attention to the greetings from the immortals and gods present, remaining silent and no longer sparing a single glance.

All the immortals and gods are well aware of Shao Siming's temperament.

None of them dared to offend this high-ranking deity at the fifth level of the Dao Heaven realm. After paying their respects, they all remained quiet and did not disturb him.

With the appearance of Shao Siming.

Xiangjun and Xiangfuren, who were at the fourth level of the Dao Heaven, also arrived hastily aboard their celestial boat, braving the surging waves.

They were the first to greet Shao Siming. Upon seeing that it was these two, Shao Siming reluctantly nodded, then continued to bow her head in silence, fiddling with the sword tightly sheathed in her hand.

Only then did Xiangjun and Xiangfu breathe a sigh of relief.

The two exchanged a glance, and Xiangjun stepped forward and said warmly, "A water monster appeared in the great river just now, and we only managed to suppress it. That's why we're late. Please forgive us, all you immortals and gods."

"No, no, I wouldn't dare."

"Xiangjun governs the great river, and our Chu region is at peace because of it. How dare we, the immortals and gods of Chu, blame Xiangjun?"

"Xiangjun's virtue is truly..."

Flattery and sycophancy are particularly prominent in the Dao Tian region of Chu, where humans have been enfeoffed as immortals and gods. Or rather, they are even more undisguised. After all, although Xiang Jun is only at the fourth level of Dao Tian, ​​the Dao Tian realm does not represent strength and power.

Facing Xiangjun, who holds supreme power over the entire Chu water system...

If these hundred immortals and gods were to come together, they would likely not gain any advantage if they approached the water. The Chu region is mostly composed of lakes and tributaries, and its vast waterways make it a veritable land of lakes and marshes. How could these immortals and gods dare to be negligent?

If it weren't for the limitation of geographical area, with Xiangjun only controlling a section of the Yangtze River and the rest occupied by other countries, he would probably have already reached the fifth level of the Dao Heaven Realm... or even the sixth level... with immeasurable upper limit of power.

"Thump!"

At this moment, more high-ranking immortals and deities arrived...