Pre-Qin Mythology: Starting with the River God

Chapter 99 A Constant Journey in Zhangyuan

Ji Meng!

The god of rain, according to legend, was the rain master of Emperor Yan. During the Battle of Zhuolu between Emperor Huangdi and Chiyou, Ji Meng initially defected to Chiyou's side, but was later subdued by Emperor Huangdi. However, due to his divine prestige, he was still appointed as the rain master.

Suddenly, the woman, Quan Ming, thought of this position.

Nüba helped the Yellow Emperor stop the rain, but she could not return to heaven, causing the land to become scorched for thousands of miles.

Perhaps it was to suppress the power of Nüba that Ji Meng was not killed, and that the two were allowed to restrain each other?

However, in later generations, the legends of these two were no longer heard.

No country regards these two as ancestors and performs sacrifices to them.

Thinking this, Quan Ming looked down at the silk scroll.

What's so strange about these ancient gods and immortals who should have disappeared from the world?

This also explains the [Yin-Yang Music Phenomenon], and why it exists—and, according to what the red ball just said, this Cloud Dream Celestial God is also related to Ji Meng—

All these things need to be explored.

The silk scroll reads—

The Book of Mountains and Seas records: Guangshan Mountain is covered with greenery on its top and trees on its bottom. The god Jimeng dwells there. He has the body of a human and the head of a dragon. He roams the Zhangyuan River. When he comes and goes, there are always strong winds and rain.

"Guangshan".

"Ji Meng".

"He roamed freely in the Zhangyuan area."

"This Guangshan is recorded in the ancient records of the Quan Kingdom. The ancient Ji surname was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. One of them was the chief diviner of the Shang Dynasty, who held the power of divination. Later, he followed the Shang king to conquer the south and won a great victory. He was enfeoffed as the Ya and granted a kingdom. He was stationed at Guangshan in the south and took Guang as his surname. He was Ji Guang. This Guangshan was the original Guang Kingdom."

"What about the past? Because Zhou destroyed Shang, Guangguo did not respect Zhou. Although we did not launch a campaign against them, we made an example of them and did not enfeoff any of Zhou's vassals, keeping them outside of Zhou's territory."

"Guangguo subsequently weakened and was annexed by Huangguo more than a hundred years ago."

"Although the Guang clan still exists, I fear their lineage has been broken."

Quan Ming shook his head slightly.

As descendants of the Shang dynasty, they may have different times, but their fates are similar. Whether it was the Guang state in the past, the Quan state now, or the Song state in the future, as long as the Zhou dynasty still exists, these Zhou vassal states will inevitably be the first to be attacked, because the ancestors of these Zhou vassal states mostly participated in the war to destroy the Shang dynasty.

If the Shang dynasty were to be re-established, their fate would be predictable.

"Ji Meng, could he be a celestial being from the Kingdom of Guang?"

There are few records about Guangguo and Quanguo, and Huangguo deliberately concealed them, so it is now impossible to find out which gods Guangguo worshipped back then.

"As for constantly roaming the Zhangyuan region?"

"Zhangshui River————"

"Abyss — Only the Jingze land connected by the Zhang River can be called an abyss when the Yunmeng Marsh is overflowing."

"This *Classic of Mountains and Seas* is too ancient; the origin of its illustrations is unknown, and the text itself was not written by someone from a single era—this account of Ji Meng dates back at least to before—Yu the Great?"

Ji Meng was a god during the time of Nüba.

This era is divided by the Xia Dynasty, and the period before Yu the Great is called the ancient times.

Before Fuxi, there was the ancient era.

The period between Yu the Great and the Zhou Dynasty is considered the recent ancient period.

Therefore, Quan Ming asserts that the records in the *Illustrated Classic of Mountains and Seas* belong to the ancient immortals and gods before Yu the Great—since it is ancient, it may have some connection with the Guang Kingdom, but it should not be much—

"So, it's said that it's more related to Zhangyuan?"

The place of Dao Wang appears at the end of the Zhang River, so this Ji Meng god must have died in Zhangyuan.

In ancient times, Zhangyuan bordered Yunmeng.

This may be the reason why the Heavenly God of Yunmeng is related to Ji Meng.

As for the connection—

"Knock, knock, knock!" Outside, Quan Weng knocked on the door, and Hong Qiu's voice came from outside: "My lord, the green-haired turtle has been caught!"

They came at just the right time.

Quan Ming raised his hand and rolled up the silk scroll.

"Enter."

The door was wide open, and it was still dark outside, almost dawn.

The green-haired turtle trembled and dared not enter, but the red ball grabbed it by the neck and forcibly dragged it in.

The red ball looked at Quan Ming ingratiatingly.

Quan Ming said helplessly, "Alright, I didn't blame you. Now that the culprit has arrived, I won't send you away. Just stay here."

"Hey!" Red Ball exclaimed excitedly, standing to one side.

Despair filled the green-haired turtle's eyes as it gazed at the red ball.

Red Ball turned its face away and snorted angrily, "You almost got me kicked out of the Water Palace! If the Master hadn't wanted to capture you, I would have chopped off your turtle head halfway here!"

Upon hearing this, the green-haired turtle was startled and quickly shrank its head.

Quan Ming raised his hand.

Several streams of water surged in from all directions, lifting the green-haired turtle and straightening its body—facing the terrified green beady eyes, it solemnly said, "Why do you know about the Cloud Dream Celestial God? If you do not speak, or if you are hiding something, I will throw you into the Corpse Realm to be devoured by evil spirits—"

hiss!

The green-haired turtle stared wide-eyed at the green bean-shaped object.

Trembling, she cried out, "I—I—Lord Zhaoyang, spare my life! Lord Zhaoyang, spare my life! I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything—it was Shao Siming, it was Shao Siming who sent me—"

Shao Siming!

Quan Ming released the green-haired turtle and stared at it coldly.

Listening to the green-haired tortoise kneeling on the floor, Shao Siming enlightened this tortoise with the bloodline of the Luo Tortoise, word by word, and told it about the Yunmeng Heavenly God, guiding it to this water area that originally belonged to Zhangyuan, so that it could use the power of the Water Palace to find the remnants of the Yunmeng Heavenly God.

Wait, he spoke in great detail, stammering, not daring to conceal anything.

Quan Ming lowered his eyes. When he heard the green-haired turtle question why Shao Siming did not enter the Land of Death, his gaze flickered slightly. When he heard that there was something in the Land of Death that could suppress the Yunmeng Heavenly God, he was surprised for a moment.

"The Yunmeng Heavenly God was suppressed, but is he still alive?"

Quan Ming tapped the table lightly.

The green-haired tortoise swallowed hard and replied, "Alive, but not entirely alive—the previous Immortal was a descendant of the Cloud Dream God—but this was only formed from a drop of blood. The two ferocious beasts suppressed in the Cloud Dream Marshes are the resentment of the Cloud Dream God's remains—extremely vicious. For years, they have been suppressed by the Lesser Master of Fate and the Lord of Clouds, but the Lesser Master of Fate is 'ill' and her strength is inexhaustible, which is why the ferocious beasts in the marshes broke the seal—that's why the Lesser Master of Fate sent me to find them—"

"That's fine."

Quan Ming interrupted Green Turtle.

It was seven parts truth and three parts falsehood; he didn't entirely believe it. Of course, this didn't mean the green-haired turtle was lying, but rather that Shao Siming had never revealed the truth to the outside world from the very beginning.

The reason he saw through it at a glance is quite simple.

Mengze is related to the State of Chu.

If there really is a problem, given Shao Siming's personality, she would only report it to Dao Tian and let all the immortals and gods of Dao Tian handle it together. Why would she let a little turtle secretly search for something that is being suppressed?

Therefore, there must be some scheme by the Lesser Master of Fate involved.

What purpose do you wish to serve by borrowing the Heavenly God of Yunmeng?

As for what it is?

Quan Ming's heart sank. What exactly was Shao Siming going to do? — Sacrifice herself to allow the new Shao Siming to appear, and this new Shao Siming would then trap him and Da Siming in the tribulations of the seven emotions and six desires — and also bring out some kind of Dao Wang Land to suppress the Yunmeng Heavenly God.

Um--

Quan Ming was taken aback, then suddenly realized.

"The Land of Dao's Demise has appeared, the Lesser Master of Fate has vanished, strange things have happened in Yunmeng, and a new Lesser Master of Fate has emerged—such coincidences, could they all be a scheme?"

Gently on the forehead.

Quan Ming was also confused for a moment.

But according to the order of the Dao, Shao Siming should not, and would not, harm Chu. Why then—could it be that her own illness forced her to do this?

"The appearance of a woman and the Moon Goddess!"

"Yes—in my last conversation with Shao Siming, she said that her 'illness' stemmed from this—Nühe and Yuemu—seem to have heard of it—"

Quan Ming looked up and gazed at the pile of ancient books in the room.

It seems there's a record of it!

Quan Ming got up, ready to search, but then heard Quan Weng's voice from outside: "My lord, Lord Yunzhong has arrived and requests your presence."

Lord of the Clouds?

Yunze!

Very well, both Yunmeng and Erze are infested with ferocious beasts, so let's ask about these beasts first.

"Blue Fish, Red Ball—summon your spirit subjects and search the room for records related to [Woman and] [Moon Mother]. I will review them after speaking with Lord Cloud."

"As for this green-haired turtle, just throw it into the pond in the backyard."

"----promise!"

He readily agreed and strode out of the library.

Qingyu's gaze followed, a hint of sorrow and admiration flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly concealed by the gloomy black ink.

"Compassionate and wise —"

"Only in this way can we defy fate."

The red ball on one side asked in confusion, "Sister Bluefish, what are you talking about?"

Qingyu slowly shook her head and said softly, "I'm just marveling at Lord Zhaoyang's wisdom—if Lord Zhaoyang could use this wisdom to suppress the ferocious beast of Mengze in front of the Chu people, his prestige would be unimpeded, and he might even be able to ascend to the sixth level of the Dao Heaven—"

"The sixth level of the Dao Heaven?"

Red Ball was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Didn't the Cloud Dream Celestial God leave behind an opportunity to reach the eighth level of the Dao Heaven? With our lord's talent, he should have reached the eighth level of the Dao Heaven!"

Bluefish: "—Perhaps."