Chapter 45: Yu Controls the Waters with the Help of the Dragon King

  Yu was beheaded on Mount Feather, and Emperor Shun ordered his body to be collected and sent back home. Looking at the still pouring rain, Emperor Shun asked his ministers: "Gentlemen, do you have any other strategies to control the flood?" After the heavy rain, not only the north of the Nine Provinces along the Yellow River suffered from flooding, but now even the south of the Yangtze River was flooded. At this time, the whole country was suffering from the flood, and it was more severe than before!

  But then the great official who had recommended Gun stepped forward and said: "I beg to report to Your Majesty, Gun's son Yu is also well-versed in controlling floods. Moreover, I have heard that his methods of controlling floods are different from those of his father Gun. Why not summon him for a trial? If it turns out that his methods can indeed alleviate the flood problem, then let him take charge of this flood control project?"

  Emperor Shun furrowed his brow and said, "I've also heard of Yu's reputation, but I haven't seen him before. Have him summoned first, and I'll personally assess whether he truly understands the art of water control!"

  Then Emperor Shun issued a decree to summon Yu, and saw that he had thick eyebrows, was nine feet tall, with a majestic physique, extraordinary bravery, and a pair of bright eyes radiating an intimidating aura. What a magnificent Han man! Emperor Shun secretly praised in his heart.

  Yu bowed his body and paid homage to Emperor Shun, saying: "Your humble servant Yu, pays respects to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live forever!"

  Emperor Shun nodded and said: "You may rise! I have heard that you are good at controlling water, but I don't know what strategy you have."

  Yu heard this and sank into deep thought for a moment before saying: "I beg to report to Your Majesty, blocking is not as good as yielding. In controlling the waters, one must make the main goal be free flow!"

  Emperor Shun was delighted and said: "You are indeed able to control the waters! I want to entrust you with the position of Minister of Works, in charge of the great task of water management. Are you willing to accept?"

  Yu heard this and hastily knelt down on the ground, saying: "I am willing to accept the order, I swear to pacify the Hong Demon, to comfort my father's spirit in heaven!"

  Emperor Shun heard this and thought of Gun, who had been beheaded. He couldn't help but sigh and say: "You have such aspirations, which is good, but I hope you will consider the safety of our people's billions and not follow in your father's footsteps!"

  Yu heard this and his heart skipped a beat. He immediately said firmly: "Your Majesty, don't worry for now! Yu understands!"

  Emperor Shun nodded and said: "Since that's the case, you go back and prepare. From now on, the lives of our clan's billions of people will be in your hands!"

  Yu heard the words and couldn't help but think of his wife, Tushan Shi, who had just been married for three days. A dark thought arose! Yu immediately bid farewell to Emperor Shun and returned home. From a distance, he saw his wife leaning against the door, looking out. His heart warmed up. He hurriedly quickened his pace and walked in front of his wife, holding her hand and entering the house together.

  After sitting down, Fang said: "I have received the order of our master. I will take over my father's duties to deal with the flood disaster. I'll be leaving soon. I won't be at home. Everything will depend on you!"

  Tuishan's hand trembled at the words, but soon relaxed. With a gentle smile, she said: "This is a great matter that brings blessings to our people. You may go now, I will take good care of Mother in the house!"

  Yu nodded and then bowed to his mother. Under the gaze of the two women, he walked towards the flooded area!

  Clear Void Heaven. Mysterious Clear Realm. Hongyuan took a glance and stepped forward, one step at a time, towards the land of floodwaters, Yu. Nodded slightly. Descended from the cloud bed. Took a step out. Left Clear Void Heaven. Walked in the midst of Chaos. Before long, arrived before the palace of Nuwa Heaven. Only to see that Empress Nuwa was already waiting outside the palace gates.

  Nüwa bowed to Hongyuan and said, "Nüwa has seen Fourth Brother!" But she didn't know that at this moment, her heart was extremely shocked. Although she saw Hongyuan, she couldn't feel his presence. It seemed as if a mysterious and unclear aura surrounded him, making it impossible for people to understand! Nüwa secretly guessed that Fourth Brother's cultivation had made significant progress.

  Hong Xuan bowed his head and returned a courtesy, saying: "I have paid my respects!" He then followed Nüwa into the palace under her escort.

  After the host and guest were seated, the Goddess Nuwa spoke first, asking: "I don't know why the Fourth Master has come?"

  Hong Xuan heard this and calmly said: "Nothing else! I came for the sake of governing the waters!"

  Nüwa heard this and was taken aback. She immediately sighed and said, "Well! The human race is after all created by me, and I am revered as the Holy Mother. Now that they have suffered from the flood for a long time, it should be the end of their suffering!"

  Hong Xuan heard the words and nodded in approval, then took out a piece of pre-heavenly Gangjin essence from his sleeve and said: "This object can help Yu control the flood, but it will also require the efforts of Shifu's sister!"

  Nüwa nodded, took the pre-heavenly Gangjin essence from Hongyuan's hand, and a cloud of celebration appeared on her head, about the size of a mu field. The cloud was clear as water, with drops of clear water falling down. On top of the cloud, three flowers appeared, and above the three flowers, the pre-heavenly treasure Qiankun Ding floated. The Qiankun Ding jumped down from the three flowers and fell into her palm.

  Nüwa tossed the Ding of Heaven and Earth in her hand, and the Ding of Heaven and Earth suddenly floated in the air, one zhang high, emitting a faint aura of chaos. Nüwa spat out a mouthful of immortal energy towards the Ding of Heaven and Earth, and the lid of the Ding opened instantly, sucking in the pre-heavenly Gangjin essence in Nüwa's hand. The lid then closed immediately!

  The two saints saw the tripod of Qiankun was refining treasures, so they quietly sat and waited.

  In an instant, the tripod shook violently, and then the lid opened wide. A dazzling golden light burst out from inside the tripod, illuminating the entire Queen Mother's Palace. When the golden light faded, two golden artifacts were seen floating quietly in front of the two saints, one shaped like an axe and the other like a staff.

  Yu stood on high ground, gazing out at the turbulent and surging floodwaters below, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Although he now knew that the key to controlling the waters lay in dredging, the countless towering mountains ahead blocked his path, and he was unfamiliar with the topography of the region. He had no idea where to begin. If only he had the magical sword of his ancestor Zhuanxu, things would be much easier, but since his ancestor's passing, the sword had vanished without a trace, and could not be found anywhere. Yu sighed in lamentation.

  Just then, the Three Treasures flew down from thirty-three heavens and floated quietly in front of Yu. Yu looked closely and saw that one of the treasures was an axe with the three golden characters "Axe for Opening Mountains" engraved on it; a staff had the words "Golden Hooped Rod of As You Please" carved on it; and there was also a map, embroidered with mountains, rivers, and geographical features, emitting seven-colored light, which suppressed the light from the axe and staff.

  Yu took the three treasures into his hands, and three different breaths from the three treasures surged into his mind. Suddenly, all the information about the three treasures was in his heart. The map turned out to be the Mountain and River Map of Nüwa, which was lent to him for surveying mountains and rivers and investigating geography; the axe and hammer were the water-control treasures refined by Hongyuan, with the mountain-opening axe able to open mountains and crack earth, and the golden ruler able to measure the depth of water, just the right objects for Yu's great work of controlling the waters!

  Yu Chao wore Fahua and came in the direction of worship, bowed three times, and said: "The human tribe's disciple Yu Chao pays homage to the holy father and mother!"

  Yu was born with divine power and also obtained three spiritual treasures, relying on them to control the flood. He opened many channels and walked through many roads, eight years passed, his body was weak and thin, no hair left on his feet.

  That day, he arrived at the riverbank of Minjiang River and suddenly saw a pavilion on the riverside. The pavilion was inscribed with "Huanglong Pavilion". Yu Daqi was surprised and didn't know which god or immortal was worshipped inside. He had never heard of it before! So he stepped into the Taoist temple, scanned around with his eyes, and found that the temple only occupied an area of about ten square meters, but inside, there were some worn-out parts, many places were covered with spider webs, apparently no one had come to worship for a long time.

  In the center of the hall there is a clay statue. But what one sees is that the person in the statue wears Taoist robes, with a wheel of golden light on his head, fully displaying the demeanor of a Taoist immortal!

  Yu Guan said to himself, "I don't know which deity this immortal is from, yet he receives the incense and fire of my people!" Originally, the highest deities worshipped by the Yu people were the Four Pure Ones and Nüwa Niangniang. Next in line were the Holy Master Kong Xuan, the ancestors of the Yu people You Chao and Suiren, and then the Three Sovereigns in the Huoyun Palace. Although there were different local deities worshipped in various places, they were few in number, and only those who had rendered meritorious service to the Yu people could receive their worship! But Yu did not recognize which deity was being worshipped here. Suddenly, a loud laugh came from the statue, and in Yu's astonished gaze, a golden light flew down from the sky and landed in front of the statue. A clear voice came from the golden light: "Boundless Heavenly Venerable! I am Huang Long Zhenren; greetings, Sir Siku!"

  The golden light dissipated, and a figure emerged. Yu looked closely and saw that it was the person from the statue. He was taken aback for a moment, then heard him introduce himself, and quickly regained his composure, hastily bowing to say: "Yu has met the immortal elder! Is the immortal elder the Yellow Dragon Immortal who once assisted the ancestors of Xuanyuan?"

  The newcomer was none other than Huang Long Zhen Ren, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals who propagated the teachings. Huang Long Zhen Ren chuckled and said, "It is indeed I!"

  Yu Da Xi said: "I did not expect that it would be the immortal elder who arrived, truly a blessing for Yu. But I do not know why the immortal elder has come?"

  Huang Long Zhenren smiled and said, "I was meditating in my cave today when I suddenly felt a movement in my heart. I calculated with my fingers and knew that there was a connection between me and this place. So I came here, but I didn't expect to see you, Sir Siku. It seems that the will of heaven is like this, so I can only follow it."

  Yu heard this and asked in a puzzled tone: "Yu is foolish, please enlighten him, venerable one!"

  Huang Long Zhenren didn't respond to him, but instead walked out of the Guanmen, came to a vacant lot, and his whole body was surrounded by a cloud of mist. He revealed his true form as Huang Long, which was thousands of feet long, hovering above the Minjiang River, letting out a series of loud roars!

  After a long roar, the Yellow Dragon True Man descended in front of Yu, and with human words coming out of his dragon mouth, he said: "General Siku, please get on my back. I'll carry you, and it will also save you from the suffering of climbing mountains and wading through rivers!"

  Yu heard the words and was deeply moved, but hesitated and said: "How can this be?" Huang Long True Man said nonchalantly: "Sir, you don't have to worry! Since I've come here, it's the will of heaven, and it's also a good deed. Don't decline again, or you'll miss the great opportunity to control the flood!"

  Yu heard his words and no longer pushed back, turned over and got on the dragon's back. After all, the people of the human tribe were still waiting for him, and the sooner he succeeded in controlling the flood, the more people would be saved!

  The Yellow Dragon True Man was just about to fly up to the heavens when he saw four seven-colored auspicious clouds flying in from the eastern horizon. On top of the clouds stood four men, who were none other than the Four Dragon Kings of the Sea!

  Only then did the East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang open his mouth and say, "Brother Dao is indeed deeply blessed with good fortune!" Perhaps because they were both of the dragon tribe, the Four Seas Dragon Kings did not show any jealousy towards Huang Long True Person.

  Huang Long Zhen Ren nodded his dragon head slightly and said, "I have seen you, fellow Taoist! This is indeed the favor of Heaven!"

  Ao Guang nodded and, along with his three brothers, paid their respects to Yu, saying: "Sir, the four of us have come in accordance with the Xu Qing Fu edict to assist you in controlling the floodwaters. For every river that you open up, we will use our magic to guide it into the sea, so as to prevent it from overflowing!"

  Yu heard the words and was overjoyed, saying: "So Yu thanked the Dragon King!" After speaking, he rose into the air from behind Huang Long Zhenren, following the map of mountains and rivers, constantly chiseling away at the obstructing great mountains with his axe for opening up mountains. The Four Seas Dragon Kings followed him left and right, repeatedly casting spells to guide the floodwaters into a network, causing the rivers to be interconnected, covering the entire land of the Nine Provinces!

  The Dragon King of the Four Seas again sent a message to the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas, and for every river that was formed, he dispatched a nine-clawed golden dragon to lead its affiliated members to enter the river, establish a dragon palace, and become the dragon king of the river. From then on, the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas not only controlled the land of the four seas but also controlled the rights of all large and small rivers in the inland areas. Wherever there was water in the world, there were dragons! Under the order of Xuán Qīng, they took charge of the responsibility of making clouds and rain everywhere, and from then on, the incense and fire of human offerings to the dragons never ceased, and the dragon clan's fortune became even more prosperous. This is a later story, and it will not be mentioned for now!

  It is: Hongyuan bestows treasures to control water, and the dragon clan enters and exits the mainland again!