Chapter 67: Zu Long's Tribulation

Qi specially brought out the Water-Controlling God-Subduing Staff, which also counts as a step for them; Hongjun might come, and in front of outsiders we must always give the earth gods some face.

After all, being scolded by a peer and being scolded by a leader are received differently.

Outside Cloud Dream Marsh, Qi stood on the water holding the Water-Controlling God-Subduing Staff, coming to greet those called water gods but who are actually wealth-bringing earth gods.

Not minding Zu Long's and their expressions upon seeing the Water-Controlling God-Subduing Staff, Qi called out an invitation:

"Everyone, please enter the marsh."

Having spoken, Qi turned and left, not waiting for their response at all.

Zu Long had anticipated this situation and also didn't mind; he turned his head to look back at the troop, but almost lost his composure due to the crowd's behavior.

You are all innate divine beings; how can you have no shame at all and commit such an unbecoming act?

Only see that over eight hundred water gods had their eyes glowing with spiritual light, all desperately recording the water relief of Cloud Dream Marsh, and several had already gone into the water, using their hands to feel the water's flow.

These few are precisely the Four Rivers Water Gods and the Three Waters Water Gods; the other water gods also had this urge, but some couldn't let go of their dignity, after all their behavior was already embarrassing enough.

Zu Long thought, no wonder Qi didn't even want to say another word; if it were him, he wouldn't want to linger either.

Being stared at by over eight hundred innate divine beings with glowing eyes, not to mention Qi and Zu Long, even Hongjun had never seen such a scene.

These water gods no longer cared about face either; with so many people, everyone was doing it, and recording these water ripples was the real important matter.

If they failed to obtain the flow data of Cloud Dream Marsh, upon returning they could rely on these water ripples to reduce many calculations; the more they recorded, they could save several yuanhui of effort.

Qi flew ahead, with over eight hundred innate divine beings following with glowing eyes, which also gave Qi considerable psychological pressure.

As the crowd entered Qi's Dao Chang, they took their seats, and the banquet naturally began.

Qi and Zu Long, along with the water gods of the Four Rivers and Three Waters, did not appear at the banquet; the water gods at the banquet were received by Di Jun and Fuxi.

Qi and them at this time had arrived at the Pond Heart Pavilion; besides them, Taiyi and Nüwa were also present.

"Everyone, there's no need for me to elaborate on why you have come; as the chief of all water systems, how should you deal with your own actions? The importance of Cloud Dream Marsh, you ought to know."

Qi's voice was calm.

Zu Long himself looked troubled.

After a moment, Zu Long's voice was heard saying:

"Daoist Qi, this matter is indeed our fault, but we were truly unaware of the Cloud Dream Marsh affair."

"Don't say that to me; I'm also tired of hearing your excuses. Whether I go out or not, if Cloud Dream Marsh remains unmoved, then there will be no worry about floods in the world."

"Having done such a foolish thing, do you not even care about the fallback safeguards? Or perhaps you already knew but remained unmoved."

"Wanting to undertake great deeds yet only seeking immediate profit, you are deceitful and slippery, forget your origins and responsibilities, overlook the weight of authority, and abuse your power!"

Qi shouted a rebuke, then asked them:

"How should the powers of heavenly gods, earth gods, and divine humans be exercised, and what are their duties?"

Everyone remained silent; Taiyi and Nüwa dared not speak.

"Heavenly gods govern weather and celestial phenomena, regulate the yin and yang qi of heaven and earth, constituting the heavenly Dao of the Three Powers; they manifest prominently and act vigorously, moving with the seasons and changing accordingly."

"Earth gods govern mountains, rivers, streams, and marshes, nurturing all things and sustaining life, constituting the earth Dao of the Three Powers; they remain hidden and inactive, acting spontaneously and quietly, exerting no external force unless disaster strikes."

"Divine humans govern the changes of heaven and earth, possessing the power to overturn heaven and earth; they must undertake the responsibility to maintain heaven and earth, constituting the human Dao of the Three Powers; they seek renewal and put it into practice with their bodies."

"You are earth gods and also divine humans; what have you done?"

Seeing that they gave no reply, Qi spoke again.

After these words, several people felt ashamed beyond bearing, their heads nearly drooping to their chests.

"As earth gods, seeking private gain, abusing authority, violating the Dao of the Three Powers, you have meddled with water—do you admit it?"

Qi looked at those few.

The crowd spoke with difficulty:

"Admit."

"As the chief of all water systems, influencing the beings of a region, with countless water gods under you, now affecting the wilderness, you have failed in your supervisory duty—do you admit it?"

"Admit."

"As innate divine beings, yet colluding with humans and gods, you have neglected your duty to educate all beings, betraying heaven and earth and abandoning your responsibility—do you admit it?"

"Admit."

Finally, Qi stopped looking at the remaining water gods and instead spoke solely to Zu Long:

"The matter arose from the dragon clan; it was your scheme, causing damage to the waters of the four seas, neglecting one region—do you admit it?"

Zu Long nodded and said:

"Admit, this is the responsibility of the dragon clan."

Qi then said:

"You are indeed the lord of all water systems; regardless of whether you knew about the Cloud Dream Marsh affair, whether you were schemed against or there truly was a fool, it is your dereliction of duty—do you admit it?"

"Admit. I am indeed the lord of all water systems, and having committed this wrong, I left it unattended; whatever the cause, I bear responsibility."

Seeing this, Qi said nothing more, merely took out the Water-Controlling God-Subduing Staff, set it upon the platform, and said:

"Accept your punishment."

Qi then said no more, rose and withdrew to stand at one side.

Taiyi and Nüwa's faces turned green at this moment; they wished they could vanish on the spot.

They somewhat regretted coming here; they hadn't expected things to escalate so much, especially since several of them possessed strength at the peak of innate divine beings.

Qi, sharing their status as earth god water gods, naturally wasn't worried about these matters, but they feared that leaving this door would get them silenced!

Zu Long and them now had no mind to pay attention to whether Taiyi and Nüwa were present, their eyes fixed firmly on the Water-Controlling God-Subduing Staff.

They could sense that the Water-Controlling God-Subduing Staff seemed to have a special suppressive effect on them, but having made a mistake, they had no choice but to endure it.

Finally, Zu Long gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, dispelled his protective spiritual light, and took a step forward.

The Water-Controlling God-Subduing Staff seemed to sense something; spiritual light swirled around it, and it flew actively toward Zu Long.

A staff strike unexpectedly directly knocked the Ancestral Dragon back to its true form, and a giant dragon hundreds of millions of zhang tall directly smashed beside the Pond Heart Pavilion.

Only saw the giant dragon's scales shatter, golden blood continuously seeping from the wounds.

The Water-Subduing Divine Staff rose high again and smashed onto the giant dragon's body.

The giant dragon's flesh and blood instantly scattered, and parts of its damaged body exposed bone.

This scene stunned everyone, even Qi never imagined the Water-Subduing Divine Staff's power was unexpectedly so great.

Seeing the Water-Subduing Divine Staff rise again, Qi was about to recall it, but the Ancestral Dragon shook its head to stop him.

The Water-Subduing Divine Staff fell again, the Ancestral Dragon was struck so that its tendons and bones separated; its realm, which had originally surpassed the Luotian Revered God, now wavered.

Another staff strike fell, the Ancestral Dragon's realm dropped, becoming no different from Yuan Feng and the others.

At the moment the fifth staff strike fell, a Qi Luck Golden Dragon flew out from the Ancestral Dragon's body, taking the strike in its place.

The golden dragon suffered this strike; its golden light dimmed, its scales cracked, and its aura became feeble.

After this strike, the Water-Subduing Divine Staff ceased attacking and came to rest once more on the stone platform.

After a moment, the Ancestral Dragon gradually recovered, returned to human form, slowly rose, its complexion pallid, with a trace of blood at the corner of its mouth.

"The Ancestral Dragon will remember this transgression and will not repeat it."

The Ancestral Dragon said to the Water-Subduing Divine Staff.

Everyone present looked at each other.

(End of chapter)