Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

opportunity?

Zhang Xian was taken aback, his eyes flickering, but he quickly looked away. He looked at Quan Ming, but Quan Ming shook his head and said to him, "Mo Ao has already ordered that this matter be kept silent."

This matter is off-limits.

Zhang Xian nodded and quickly smiled, "This is a matter of great importance to the nation and its people, and should be handled with caution."

Thus, the two left Daotian together, and then parted ways at the confluence of Quanshui and Zhangshui, returning to the Water Palace.

……

A hint of doubt appeared on Quan Ming's face; Zhang Xian was probably up to something.

Although the other party was unaware of the contents, Zhang Xian knew him. Quan Ming never did anything meaningless, and his conversation with Qu Xia must be for something profitable.

Shaking his head, Quan Ming recalled Zhang Xian's words at the previous banquet in the Water Palace: that he had spent four hundred years in the Zhang River, failed the Dao Heaven Trial multiple times, was trapped at the first level of Dao Heaven, and that his life was about to end.

Now, it is unknown whether a new Dao Heaven Trial will be conducted.

It was because of the special invitation to Daotian today that the other party felt there was still a chance to contend for destiny.

Everyone knows that a major battle brings great benefits.

"My lord!"

Inside the hall, as Quan Ming returned, one spirit after another came to pay their respects. Feng Hua spoke first: "My lord, you have been away in Dao Tian for a day and a night. Would you like to eat now?"

Immortals and gods naturally don't get hungry; it's just that Quan Ming provides them with meals every day to maintain human routines.

"One day and one night."

Quan Ming thought to himself: There is no sense of the passage of time in this Daotian.

After laughing, he said, "Let's hold a small banquet. You can all come and take your seats. Tomorrow... we'll all have to get to work. Mo Ao has given me a divine decree to maintain the stability of the waterway from Quanshui to Zhangshui."

The lower reaches of the Quan River are the corpse domain of the Quan people. Even with his corpse suppressing it, he still goes there from time to time to patrol in order to prevent uncontrollable accidents, such as Tu Bo acting recklessly... Of course, he is not afraid now.

Quan Ming toyed with the newly acquired power—a horn-shaped piece.

This authority is naturally compatible with the Corpse Realm, so it should be bestowed upon its own corpse, so that the Corpse Realm can be transformed into an existence like the Netherworld.

Of course, this authority can only be exercised over the Quanshui River basin.

But that's enough.

Besides, who can guarantee that his power will always be limited to only two hundred li?

Although he lacked the power to covet the Yangtze River downstream of Quanshui, the Luo River upstream, belonging to the Luo Kingdom, had always been within his sight, tempting him to keep looking at it... As long as the Chu Kingdom annexed the Luo Kingdom, and he had enough merit along the way, the Luo River would surely be his.

He's not a fairy.

Furthermore, Luo Kingdom did not have another "Quan Ming" who was on good terms with the King of Chu.

Thinking about this, it seemed he hadn't corresponded with this person for quite some time...

Ok.

"Fenghua, go and ask my nephew if he still has any brewed... Quan wine. I'm preparing to write to a friend to tell him about what will happen next month. At this time, we need to present wine as a gift to show our sincerity."

liqueur?

After Feng Hua arranged for Granny Quan to prepare the banquet dishes, she heard Quan Ming give his instructions.

He quickly replied, "Yes, yes!"

"Yesterday I told Prince Ju that you were satisfied with the wine, and he sent over a lot more later for you to use... Prince Ju also said that the wine was still poorly brewed, and if there are any improvements, please let the Lord make arrangements."

"Hmm...have him bring the rest of the drinks."

"Purchase more grain from the land."

"Then, in the name of my ancestral hall, we will prepare for the winter sacrifice to me... My winter sacrifice follows the tradition of the ancestors of the Quan family and the Shang dynasty, with the end of November as the end of the year and the beginning of December as the beginning of the year, and the sacrifice will be held on the first day of the year... At this moment, there are still two months, sixty days, which is a cycle of sixty years, enough time for him to brew a batch of good wine... On the day of the ancestral sacrifice and the brewing, a small sacrifice must be made to me, and I will bless the wine in the name of the ancestral gods."

"..."

He meticulously planned and arranged the brewing process.

Feng Hua received the order and immediately went to carry it out.

While Quan Ming was arranging patrols with the other spirits in the palace to stabilize his waters, he also revealed that he had obtained some of the power of the Earth God, which allowed him to manage the souls of the dead in the Quan River...

This!

The monsters were startled.

"My lord... My lord has obtained the power over the souls of the dead?" The blue fish spirit covered her lips, and the ink droplets she was swallowing paused slightly, staining her cheeks black.

Lady Catfish and the lotus spirit siblings were also startled and stammered, but they quickly turned their surprise into joy.

The woman from Aolai carrying the tortoise shell on her back had a slight glint in her eyes and said urgently, "Our lord has the power to manage the souls of the dead. Doesn't that mean you are in charge of all the sacrificial rites within this Quan Shui region? Then... shouldn't we hurry and inform them?"

The lotus spirit siblings chimed in, "Indeed. During this time, when we collected dew in the morning and embraced the moonlight in the evening, we saw many people from Quan offering sacrifices outside... There were even some Chu people who died in the sacrificial war, and the name of the god they were worshipping was Tu Bo... We must pass this message down quickly, otherwise, when those souls hear the name Tu Bo, they will probably all go downstream and leave Quan Shui... This will not benefit the souls, and our lord will not receive the merit of guiding the souls."

Inside the hall, there was much discussion, all of them rejoicing that Quan Ming had gained power.

At the same time, they also acted as "half behind the scenes," offering advice and strategies to Quan Ming, as if they would immediately take care of things as long as Quan Ming nodded.

Upon seeing this, Quan Ming smiled and said, "This matter should indeed be the top priority."

Looking around, he realized that Granny Quan had only just taken over the banquet arrangements and couldn't hold it immediately, so he said, "Then everyone should first go and inform the spirits around Quan Shui..."

Quan Ming clapped the horn in his hand, and several beams of black light fell into the monster's hand.

He then looked at Quan Weng and said, "I'll trouble you to go to Quan County and find the county magistrate, inform him of this matter, and have him announce it to the people below, so as to prevent any mistakes in the sacrificial rites."

"Go quickly and meet back quickly. Tomorrow I will go to the downstream Corpse Domain to formally take over this authority. At that time, I will also use this authority to inform the creatures of the Quanshui River."

"promise!"

Having received the decree, all the monsters retreated.

Quan Ming then stood up, leaving behind the bluefish...

"Qingyu, you are aloof and dislike talking to the outside world, so come with me to the Chess Pavilion... Perfect timing, I have something to ask you."

……

Chess Pavilion —

The bluefish swallowed and spat out ink dots, its gloomy face filled with doubt.

Quan Ming sat opposite him.

Looking at the empty chessboard, I picked up a black piece and placed it on... the center!

Ah!

The bluefish was taken aback.

Having played chess with Quan Ming for many days, this was the first time I'd seen him place his first move on the center point. Those who place their first move on the center point are either beginners making a random, haphazard move, or crazy players who engage in chaotic battles...

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

The bluefish put the white piece it had just picked up back into the chess jar.

Quan Ming didn't keep Qingyu in suspense and said directly, "The Lesser Master of Fate has encountered a major incident... When I saw her in Daotian today, I saw that although she, a deity who governs life, was full of divine power, her face was full of melancholy and hesitation... Even the Greater Master of Fate inquired about her and showed concern..."

"And you, the blue fish spirit who came here after leaving the pool of Shao Siming, also have a gloomy face and a similar... illness to Shao Siming."

"Um?"

Quan Ming looked up and stared intently at the bluefish.

This time, he was determined to get an answer, because war was imminent. Mo Ao had issued a divine decree, and these high-ranking gods had all descended to the border. These high-ranking gods were clearly the main force in the war between immortals and gods. Whether the immortals and gods sent by the Qu clan or other clans were colluding with the immortals and gods to seize benefits was one thing, but they would never dare to cross the bottom line... the bottom line of the King of Chu.

Mo Ao?

These high-ranking immortals and deities only obeyed the King of Chu.

Rather than a prominent family.

This is the bottom line!

So... if Quan Ming wants to take advantage of the situation, he must make contact with a high-ranking deity.

He has already obtained the position of guarding the north of the Quan River in Quxia.

This is entering the game, becoming a piece in the chess set.

To learn about Shao Siming from Qingyu and befriend her is to pick up a chess piece and become a chess player.

Ah!

Could it be that Quan Ming really only cares about the small merit of protecting Quan Shui Zhi Bei?

……

……