The Golden Mother nodded. A trace of satisfaction flashed through her eyes. She then took out a cluster of golden, slightly lustrous breathing soil, placed it on a sandalwood tray, and solemnly handed it over. Her tone grew slightly heavy, as though reluctant to part with it. "This is Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, Innate Divine Soil. A single grain placed in water can expand fertile land for ten thousand miles and make it as secure as an impregnable fortress. Take it to control the waters and build dikes. You will bring peace to the common people and display Heaven's benevolence. May the Nine Provinces soon be pacified, may the people return to their fields, and may they never again suffer the bone-gnawing torment of raging floods."
Once Gun had firmly accepted it with both hands, the Golden Mother rose to take her leave. The Celestial Maiden played the cloud zither, its notes ethereal and distant. The Phoenix Chariot rose into the air, melted into the golden light filling the sky, and vanished in an instant.
In the eyes of the immortals, controlling the waters was nothing more than guiding the water's momentum and suppressing it with earth—a matter settled with a flick of the fingers. But the laws of Heaven were strict, and immortals and mortals belonged to separate realms. In the end, the human race had to shoulder this burden themselves.
As a result, Gun only knew how to pile walls higher and build dams stronger, trying to block everything by force...
A handful of yellow earth spread out, and a thousand-zhang-high dike rose from the ground. It blocked the flood on this bank, but forced all the muddy waves toward the opposite side. Walls were torn down in the east to repair those in the west; breaches on