Chapter Forty-One: The Sun Blazes with Fiery Intensity, Yet the Purest Flavor Lies in the World of Mortals

A chick broke through its shell, surrounded by darkness. It pecked at insects and worms on the ground to grow, becoming a fledgling. The chick developed a blood-red comb atop its head, claws shimmering like gold and sharp enough to slice through iron, and donned a plumage of emerald feathers.

It wandered through the dark woods, feasting on insects and snakes, fighting fierce beasts, bravely battling evil spirits, driving away zombies, growing stronger through blood and struggle.

The chick matured into a rooster. To see clearly in the darkness, it gained heavy golden eyes. In the shadows, it became even more fearless; no insect or snake dared approach, wild beasts became its prey, and even evil spirits and zombies would ignite in flames if caught in the rooster’s gaze.

The rooster was no longer afraid of the darkness, but it despised it.

At last, unable to endure any longer, the rooster—silent since birth—cried out with all its might. Its call shattered the evil spirits and made the beasts bow, but it was not enough. The rooster kept crowing, ever louder, as if even the darkness itself was retreating.

Suddenly, brilliant golden light descended from the sky, sweeping away all darkness.

The sun had risen.

The rooster had summoned the sun’s radiance to the land.

Bathed in golden light, the rooster left that land.

It roamed among humankind and found that many people still lived beneath darkness. So wherever it went, it cleared away poisonous insects and monsters, then crowed to call forth the light.

Thus, people named it Sun Essence, Fire Spirit, Child of Yang, Singing Bird, Dawn Herald, Literary Voice, Keeper of Time, Candle of Night, Scarlet-Clad Lad, Mr. Red Comb, Ghost-Hunting General, Insect-Hunting General.

Eventually, people discovered the rooster’s blood was fiercely potent, able to burn away all evil—not only poisonous creatures, ghosts, and zombies, but even petty liars: if such a person drank it, their gut would rot away. So they called it Lord of Truth, Fierce Young Master, Noble of the Five Virtues.

They found its crow could not only summon the light, but also call back lost souls, so they named it Soul Caller, Spirit Herald.

Everyone hoped the rooster would stay in their settlement, but so many places needed it that the rooster pecked open its own body, letting its scalding blood flow out. Bathed in sunlight, that blood turned into countless chicks—thus was the origin of all chickens in the world.

“Oh! So that’s how it happened!”

“Yes, that’s how!”

“…”

In the night, old and young sat before Cloud House, listening to Yunqi tell the tale.

The old chieftain nodded earnestly. “So where did that first divine rooster go?”

Yunqi continued:

“The divine rooster mastered the arts, cultivated immortality, and transformed into human form, naming itself ‘Yuandan’—New Dawn. Look at the character ‘Dawn’: let me write it for you. It shows the sun rising above the ground. See? That’s ‘Dawn’, isn’t it? And ‘Yuandan’ means everything has just begun—the sun has risen, the monsters are banished, a new life begins. Master Yuandan is the figure you all have pasted on your doors.”

Yunqi pointed to the newly posted guardian deity images on every household’s door.

Everyone gazed at the painting, nodding in agreement—the noble master depicted was indeed as mighty as a grand rooster.

A child piped up, “Yuandan is the day after New Year’s Eve! The first day of the new year!”

Yunqi smiled, nodding and patting the child’s head. “Yes, that day shares its name with Master Yuandan. If you paste his image on your door that day, he will watch over you.”

The child nodded, promising to do so.

“Later, Master Yuandan’s abilities grew so great that one night, he saw a patch of darkness in the sky—those stars were dim. So he flew up to the heavens, took up residence there, and that patch of stars shone bright. That region is called the Plough Constellation, and so people also call him Lord of the Plough Sun, and his abode is the Palace of Light.

“Look, right there!”

Yunqi pointed to a cluster of stars in the western sky.

“I see it!” “I see it!”

The children clapped; those stars were indeed brighter than the others.

“But sometimes, living among the stars is too cold, so the star lord occasionally dwells in the sun, the warmest place of all. So watch carefully: if the Plough shines bright, the star lord is at home. If it dims, he’s hidden in the sun again.”

“Oh—”

The children gazed at the stars, imprinting Yunqi’s words in their minds.

“All right now, Master Yun needs rest. We’ll hear more tomorrow night.”

The old chieftain ushered the children away. Every night lately, Master Yun had been telling stories of Yuandan’s monster-slaying adventures, and the children never wanted to leave.

Yunqi smiled, seeing them off.

The villagers could not know that as Yunqi recited the tales and painted guardian images, a Yuandan Master—born from the Plough constellation yet never before seen in this world—was slowly taking shape atop his Twelvefold Tower.

————

September nineteenth, the eleventh day since Yunqi arrived at the settlement—and his birthday.

Early that morning, after watching the Red Comb General crow, he went into the mountains and returned carrying two bundles of firewood and a wild boar.

He laid his bounty in the village square and told the gathered villagers,

“Tonight we hold a bonfire feast!”

Everyone cheered.

All were eagerly awaiting it; such a huge wild boar would last them months without needing another meat meal!

————

That night, the flames danced bright, the aroma of roast meat wafted, and the scent of wine filled the settlement.

Yunqi embraced several children and a few White Dragon cubs, falling asleep warmly beside the bonfire.

————

September twenty-ninth, the twenty-first day since Yunqi’s arrival.

At dawn, only a few stars lingered, the sky was ashen blue, and in the east, a pale white stretched across the horizon.

Yunqi sat in meditation, with five hearts upward, facing east.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo—”

The Red Comb Master began to crow.

Light burst forth.

Yunqi breathed naturally; within the Twelvefold Tower, Master Yuandan, clad in red robes, also sat in meditation.

In the radiance of the great sun, golden threads of smoke were drawn into Yunqi’s nostrils, descending into the Twelvefold Tower, circling around Master Yuandan. The golden smoke was as light and splendid as the finest silk threads on a tapestry.

A faint smile appeared on Yunqi’s face.

He turned his palm, a golden flame dancing in his hand. Its tongues of fire licked the air, warping the void into waves, exuding an intense heat and a fierce spirit. Yunqi murmured,

“Visualization complete—this is the Solar Fire?”

That night.

Yunqi continued to meditate outside his house, facing the village.

Every home’s lights shone like stars in the sky, but while starlight was cold, the lamps were warm.

Within the Twelvefold Tower, Master Yuandan sat serenely.

As Yunqi breathed, imperceptibly, slender threads of nearly invisible, ginger-hued fire drifted from each lamp, gathering together and entering his nostrils, flowing into the Twelvefold Tower. There, they joined the Solar Fire, distinct yet intertwined, circling the red-robed Master like twin dragons.

Yunqi marveled—this was the power of visualization: when the heart is sincere, the spirit manifests, and when the spirit manifests, all becomes possible. In that moment, he tasted a kind of flame never before described in any text.

“The ancients spoke of essence, energy, and spirit, fused into the True Fire of Three Mysteries. Following their wisdom, I shall combine humanity, hearth, and feeling, forging my own True Fire of Three Flavors.”