Chapter 41: Zhuan Xu Seeks the Sword, Painting Shadows in Mid-air

  Xuanyuan Huangdi passed away after proving the Tao, but he did not specify a successor as the Human Emperor. As a result, everyone's attention was focused on Xuantu Dafashi.

  Xuantu Dafashi's face was solemn, and he took out another Taicheng Imperial Edict from his sleeve, saying: "Where is Gaoyangshi Zhuanxu?"

  But then a handsome young man of twenty years old came out from among the crowd of ministers and bowed to respond: "Zhuanxu is here!"

  Xuandu Dafashi nodded and said: "The Master has bestowed upon you the Taiqing Imperial Edict, now go ahead and accept it!"

  Zhuan Xu did not dare to disobey, and hurriedly came before the Grand Master of Xuantu, bowing down to the ground, saying: "Zhuan Xu respectfully asks for the teachings of the Grand Master!" The many ministers behind him also bowed down to the ground, opening their ears wide in anticipation of the Grand Master's proclamation.

  Xuantu Dafashi unfolded the imperial edict and read aloud: "The Supreme Order of the Great Clearness, the Most High Lord Laojun decrees: Zhuanxu was young yet intelligent, and had assisted Huangdi in governing the human tribe with great orderliness. He is worthy of being a Human Emperor! Let it be so!"

  With great joy, he bowed and said: "Your disciple obeys!" After finishing speaking, he carefully took the Taiqing Imperial Edict from the hands of Master Xuandu, his heart filled with surprise and delight!

  The Grand Master of Xuandu saw that the edict had been read, and he bid farewell to the other immortals and left for the Great Scarlet Heaven. The other immortals saw that the Nine Tripods were in place, a new ruler of humanity was born, and there was nothing else to do, so they came forward to congratulate Zhuanxu, then called out to their friends and departed. In an instant, only the people of the human tribe remained.

  All the ministers saw that the decree of the Supreme Elder Lord appointed Zhuanxu as the Human Emperor, and besides, Zhuanxu had the ability to govern the human clan, so there was no opposition, and they all welcomed Zhuanxu back together.

  Originally, Zhuanxu was the grandson of Emperor Huangdi Xianyuan and the son of Changyi. He was born in Ruoshui and lived in Qiongsang. His mother's name was Nvshi. Twenty years ago, on a night when the Northern Dipper star was shining brightly, it fell into her abdomen, and she became pregnant with Zhuanxu. He was enfeoffed in Gaoyang, so he was also called Gaoyangshi.

  After Zhuanxu became the lord of the human tribe, he was ambitious and determined to establish marriage, regulate weddings, distinguish between men and women, and set the order of seniority. This is where the beginning of male superiority and female inferiority originated.

  One year, the heavens poured down great rains, for seven days and seven nights, its momentum unabated, suddenly becoming a flood, the waters overflowing, destroying countless crops and people. Gun and his ministers climbed to high mountains to escape the flood, listening to the sorrowful wails of their people below, everyone's heart was bitter, yet they had no way out, so they could only stamp their feet in grief!

  Yu's heart was filled with anxiety, pacing back and forth, not knowing how to retreat from the floodwaters and rescue his people. Suddenly, he had an idea, turning his head to look at a nearby tree, where he saw a branch that shone with five colors, emitting a faint glow, which would have been hard to notice if one didn't observe it carefully.

  Zhuānxū's heart was filled with doubts, for an ordinary tree to grow such a precious branch was no ordinary thing! He stepped forward and reached out his hand to pluck it, the branch snapped off at once, and a five-colored light burst forth from the branch, shooting onto his body. Zhuānxū's robust frame shook, he closed his eyes and meditated carefully, after a moment, he opened his eyes with great joy and exclaimed: "My clan is saved!"

  He held a branch in his right hand and drew it across the rushing torrent below, shouting: "Great waters, obey my orders, go away quickly!" As soon as he finished speaking, the water seemed to be drawn by some force and gradually flowed towards the East China Sea, and after three days, it poured into the East China Sea, and the flood was eliminated!

  Gong Gong was overjoyed at the sight, and all the ministers also breathed a sigh of relief. However, they saw that the tree branch suddenly broke free from Gong Gong's hand and hung quietly in front of him. In an instant, a brilliant five-colored light burst forth from the East Sea direction, shooting a clear energy onto the tree branch. The tree branch gradually transformed its shape, and a three-foot-three-inch divine sword hummed softly, its sound ethereal, cleansing the primordial spirit, stirring up the turbid and clarifying the pure!

  Zhuan Xu tightly grasped the divine sword, feeling the mysterious aura emanating from it. His heart racing with excitement, he bowed towards Fangzhang Island in the East Sea and said: "Zhuan Xu thanks the Holy Father for bestowing the sword!"

  He stood up, gently stroking the divine sword, and muttered to himself: "From now on, I'll call you Hua Ying Sword!" The divine sword was spiritual, and suddenly burst out with a million rays of light, shining for thousands of miles, and only slowly subsided.

  The Huaying Sword points to the earth and makes crops grow, points to trees and makes them bear fruit, points to fire and makes it extinguish, points to beasts and makes them leave. It is a divine sword unlike any other. Zhuanxu relies on this sword to bring blessings to humanity, to plan for the welfare of the people, and also regards the Huaying Sword as a treasure, never parting with it!

  At the time, the remaining Li people moved to the north and south, had long been settled, but still practiced witchcraft, the tribe believed in witchcraft, did not worship heaven and earth, did not respect the four seasons, only revered the twelve ancestral witches, even some nearby tribes were influenced by them, also followed the worship of the twelve ancestral witches, with a tendency to spread widely.

  Zhuan Xu was enraged. Although the human tribe had unified, there were still the Yi tribes in the east who harbored evil intentions and possessed great military strength, so he had to handle them with caution. Just as one wave subsided, another rose up. Unexpectedly, the remaining Jiu Li tribes were still stirring up trouble in the south and north. He immediately mobilized his army and first attacked the Jiu Li remnants in the south. Along the way, they swept through like a hot knife through butter, unstoppable. Before long, he had also pacified the Jiu Li tribe, leaving only a small number of tribesmen to flee to the more southern wilderness.

  Zhuan Xu, carrying the great victory, led his army north again to pacify the remaining nine Li tribes in the north, with only a few fleeing to the more northern grasslands. After this great victory, Zhuan Xu absorbed those captured from the nine Li tribes into the You Xiong tribe, ordering the whole nation to worship the four pure gods and cultivate the mysterious Tao!

  One day, Zhuanxu was handling government affairs when he suddenly received a report from his ministers that the eastern barbarian tribes were in revolt and their momentum was fierce and difficult to stop.

  Zhuan Xu was shocked to hear the words, and his heart was filled with worry! Now that he had just returned from conquering the Jiuli tribe, his army had not yet recovered its strength, and the Yi tribe took advantage of the situation to riot, it can be seen that they have been planning for a long time! But what should be done now?

  Zhuan Xu urgently led the army to the front line, facing off against the Yi tribe from a distance. He gazed out at the three miles of fluttering banners and the high morale of the Yi army, his heart sinking as he took in their momentum. Although they may not be comparable to the great Nine Li tribe's army of years past, they were still superior to the current You Xiong tribe's army. It turned out that after a hundred years of peaceful living, the human race had indeed become lax in military affairs. The current You Xiong tribe's army was far inferior to the mighty Lion Troop of old!

  Zhu Di asked the officials behind him: "What should we do in this war?"

  All ministers look at me, I look at you, face to face, speechless and don't know what to say!

  Xuanyuan saw this and secretly sighed in his heart: If I had the power of Feng Hou, who tamed the dragon, what would I be afraid of!

  However, it was originally from the Yellow Emperor's lineage. Feng Hou Li Mu Ying Long also followed him to Huayun Palace, accompanying the Yellow Emperor. Zhuan Xu lacked able ministers like those of the Yellow Emperor era. At this time, the great calamity had not arrived, and the many immortals who had obtained the Dao returned to their own Dao fields for secluded cultivation. Only some unenlightened true cultivators remained by Zhuan Xu's side. Moreover, these cultivators usually only protected him completely and would not take action against ordinary people.

  He strode out with big steps, heading towards the opposite direction. The officials behind him exclaimed in shock, and two elderly officials stepped forward to pull him back, saying: "Your Majesty, what are you doing!"

  With a mighty push, he sent the two of them flying, saying: "I will take care of this myself, you two need not worry!" After speaking, he ignored the two and strode to the center of the battlefield, quietly gazing at the massive army in front of him. A surge of pressure suddenly burst forth from his body, pressing down on the barbarian tribe opposite him. The Painted Shadow Sword at his waist shot up into the sky with a whooshing sound, humming softly, its hum growing louder and louder until it could be heard for hundreds of miles. A beam of sword light shot out from the Painted Shadow Sword, flying straight towards the Fire Cloud Palace in the 33rd Heaven, striking the bell hanging above the palace gates in an instant.

  A loud sound, the bell rang out, spreading throughout this chaotic region. The three Holy Emperors inside Huoyun Palace were suddenly shocked, Fuxi's eyebrows furrowed, hastily calculating with his fingers, and only relaxed after a moment, saying to the other two: "It seems that the Holy Father already knows that Zhuanxu is in trouble, and is waiting for us to take action!"

  Shennong sighed: "The labor saint is worried! The other day, we joined forces to refine a sword, which can be given to Zhuanxu to help him quell the rebellion!"

  Xuanyuan Huangdi also said: "That's right!"

  A sword light shot out from the Huoyun Palace, instantly traversing countless spaces and appearing in front of Zhuanxu. Upon closer inspection, it was a divine sword with a body that shone like stars, and on top of the sword, there was a surging aura of the Emperor's power. Overjoyed, he received the divine sword and bowed towards the direction of the Huoyun Palace, saying: "Zhuanxu thanks the three Holy Emperors for their kindness!" He then flew up to the sky with the divine sword in hand and shouted loudly towards the Yi tribe: "This is the divine sword bestowed upon me by the Three Emperors of humanity! Will you not surrender?" A burst of imperial aura suddenly exploded from his body, surging forward and pressing down on them. Two large golden characters "Teng Kong" appeared in the high sky, shining brightly and illuminating the universe.

  It seemed that a certain string in their hearts had been touched, and the people of the Yi tribe involuntarily knelt down to the ground, calling out to Zhuanxu without end!

  Below, the people of the bear tribe looked up at Zhuanxu in the high sky, and also knelt down to the ground, looking up at their emperor with reverence! Several old ministers even trembled at the corners of their mouths, unable to speak, their minds wandering, as if recalling the grandeur and tragic heroism of Xuanyuan Huangdi's time! As if recalling the youthful vigor and heroic spirit of those years! As if lamenting the passage of time, the long-lost passion returned to their bodies once again! Looking at Zhuanxu was like looking at Xuanyuan Huangdi back then! So majestic! So grand! So awe-inspiring!

  As the Yi tribe submitted, the territory under Zhuanxu's rule became even larger. All things, whether still or moving, all spirits of heaven and earth, everything illuminated by the sun and moon, were all subject to him. He was a man of calm depth with wise plans, broad-minded and knowledgeable about affairs, cultivating talent to appoint to office, carrying out the times to imitate heaven, relying on ghosts and spirits to establish justice, governing the vital energy to teach and transform, holding sincerity to make offerings. Therefore, all the people respected and submitted to him!

  It is: Painting a shadowy divine sword driving all things, soaring holy sword subduing treacherous enemies!