Chapter 3: Zhurong, the Fire God

  Looking at the endless and profound darkness in front of him, Ouyang Xuan plucked up his courage and carefully stepped into the Temple of Light.

  Suddenly, at the same time as Ouyang Xuan's first foot stepped onto the temple floor, two huge fireballs burst out from his sides with a loud 'whoosh'.

  Immediately afterwards, like a rapidly spreading plague, countless huge fireballs burst into flames one after another inside the temple.

  In an instant, Ou Yang Xuan's surroundings were a sea of fierce flames, shining as bright as daylight!

  Ouyang Xuan was shocked, his mouth agape as he stared at the unbelievable scene before him: in the massive temple stood countless stone pillars that were several times taller than a person, and on top of each pillar was a cluster of flames that danced and leaped joyfully!

  Looking forward along the giant corridor formed by the two rows of stone pillars in front of your eyes, four towering stone pillars with a height of tens of meters stand majestically in the middle of the vast temple, each separated by several meters, silently supporting the thick top of the temple!

  In the middle of four tall and large stone pillars, there is a huge stone platform with a length and width of several zhang. In the center of the stone platform, there is a cluster of dense, bright red flames, emitting a brilliant light that shines for thousands of feet!

  "Don't be afraid, move forward, I am right in front of you!" That calm and majestic voice appeared again!

  Suddenly, Ouyang Xuan was shocked to discover that the voice came from the thick, intense red flames in the center of the stone platform!

  Ouyang Xuan thought that this mysterious great god should not have any malicious intentions towards himself, so he calmed down his mind and walked steadily towards the huge stone platform.

  The stone platform was getting closer and closer, Ouyang Xuan couldn't help but feel a little surprised at his own courage, thinking to himself: It seems that humans' ability to accept unknown things is still quite strong!

  Just as Ouyang Xuan was still two or three zhang away from the four giant stone pillars, a voice suddenly spoke out again from among the fierce flames on the stone platform: "Halt! You can't go any further!"

  Ouyang Xuan hastily stopped in his tracks and respectfully said, "Hello, I'm Ouyang Xuan, an ordinary human being. I don't know how to address you?"

  "Haha!" That peaceful yet majestic voice chuckled: "As for me, I don't know how long it's been since I last mentioned my own name! Hmm, let me think... Oh, right! Many years ago, you humans used to call me Zhurong the Fire God!"

  "Fire, fire, Fire God Zhu Rong!!?" Ouyang Xuan was shocked with his mouth agape, almost choking on his own saliva!

  This shock is no less than hearing that a rogue has become an emperor, a sparrow has turned into a phoenix, and even more so!

  "Yes, I am Zhu Rong!" That calm and majestic voice said affirmatively.

  "Ah... Ah..." Ouyang Xuan's mind went blank, and he thought to himself: "Heavens! Could it be that the myths of ancient China were true after all? Is there really a Fire God Zhurong?"

  After being stunned for a while, Ouyang Xuan suddenly came to his senses and excitedly said incoherently: "You, you're good, you really are Huo Shen Zhu Rong!? Oh, I mean, you're also one of the ancestors of our Chinese nation, a mythical Tian Emperor, it's an honor to meet you! I, I heard Long Shen Chi Bao say that there is something for me here, I don't know what a human like me can help you with?"

  "Haha!" Zhu Rong laughed, his voice tinged with a hint of melancholy and sadness: "Do you see the four huge stone pillars around my high platform? On top of each pillar stands one of the Four Sacred Beasts: the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise!"

  Ouyang Xuan hastily took a closer look at the four fire-red and gigantic stone pillars in front of him, and indeed there were four strange beast carvings on top of them, which seemed to be something he had seen before in some mythological stories. He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, it's true!"

  "These four stone pillars all have powerful divine power, and together with the sacred beast they form a cage, and I am the prisoner in this cage! Alas——" Zhurong suddenly let out a long sigh, and the temple was filled with a sad and desolate atmosphere for a moment.

  "Wait!" Ouyang Xuan exclaimed in surprise: "You are the mighty Fire God, and as far as I know, you are also one of the top gods in mythology. Who could have imprisoned you here?!"

  "Alas, this matter is a long story to tell. Anyway, I've waited for many years and don't mind this bit of time, so let me tell you about it in detail!" Zhu Rong sighed and began to recount the mysterious ancient legend:

  When Pangu opened the sky and earth, his giant axe struck the chaos, and the sparks splashed upwards to form the purest and most refined air flow towards the sky, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. After a long time, it formed the only spiritual fire existing between heaven and earth - the Samadhi True Fire!

  And I am the heavenly god born from 'Samadhi turned into fire', other heavenly gods and worldly people all call me Zhurong!

  Although I wield the destructive power of fire, my personality is very gentle and sympathetic. Soon after my birth, I built a Palace of Light on Mount Taiyi, living a life that was detached from worldly affairs and uninvolved in worldly matters!

  Later, I occasionally went out for a stroll and saw that the earth was still very desolate. You humans were living like savages, drinking blood and eating raw meat, without knowing the delight of cooked food. At that moment, I had a kind thought and passed on to humanity a spark of "Samadhi True Fire" and also taught you how to use fire! It was only then that you humans began to eat cooked food.

  Because of my benevolent intentions at that time, you humans are very grateful to me, so I receive the highest worship from you humans, and every year I enjoy a rich sacrifice! I am also very satisfied, often going down the mountain to help humans solve some difficult problems.

  It's been so long since such days passed, just when I was at peace with the world, I suddenly offended another great god in the world - Gonggong, the Water God!

  Gonggong is a great god born from the blood and sweat of Pangu, he lives in water, but his temperament is very cruel, both good and evil, likes to play with humans for fun. If it weren't for the protection of the goddess Nüwa and some of our heavenly gods, I'm afraid you humans would have long been reduced to Gonggong's playthings and be miserable.

  Later, Gonggong heard that humans worshipped me because of fire and felt very angry: he thought the world was detestable, water and fire were both things needed for human life, why did humans worship the fire god but not him, the water god?

  Then, Gonggong, in a rage, led the water tribe and launched an attack on the Bright Divine Palace of Mt. Buzhou where I lived!

  A huge flood came pouring in, countless water soldiers shouted and roared, the earth suddenly became a vast ocean, human casualties were heavy!

  At this time, Nüwa was traveling in the west and not in the Central Plains. For the safety of humanity and my own dignity, I had no choice but to lead the Fire Tribe and Gonggong into a fierce war!

  I and Zhong Gong fought from the top of Buzhou Mountain to the bottom, from the bottom to the sea, and then from the sea to the sky. We really killed until the heaven collapsed and the earth cracked, and the sun and moon lost their light.

  Finally, I gained the upper hand, and Gonggong gradually became no match for me. Enraged and humiliated, Gonggong saw that he could not win, his anger reached new heights, and he violently crashed into my Mount Buzhou!

  After a deafening crash, Mount Buzhou collapsed! And Mount Buzhou was the heavenly pillar that supported the northwest sky. When Mount Buzhou collapsed, the sun, moon and stars no longer returned to their original positions. The earth cracked open in many places, floods and disasters became more frequent, causing even greater catastrophes for humanity who had already suffered greatly!

  This battle between me and Gonggong shocked the gods of heaven and earth, Huangdi, Yandi and other great gods, along with Nuwa who rushed back, came out to capture me and Gonggong, and restrained us from continuing to fight!

  Nüwa saw that humanity was on the verge of destruction, so she used her divine power to repair the damaged sky in the northwest with five-colored divine stones, restoring order to the world!

  And as for me and Gonggong, the gods had a fierce debate on how to deal with us. In the end, the Heavenly Emperor Huangdi declared Gonggong the chief culprit and ordered him to be imprisoned forever in the North Sea Water Eye, never to escape for eternity!

  And I, due to my unintentional mistake, caused a great calamity among humans. The Yellow Emperor and the other gods decided to punish me, so they ordered that I be imprisoned in the Temple of Light, leaving only an old subordinate, Red Leopard, to accompany me! However, the Yellow Emperor promised me: one day, when my guilt is cleared, a human with double pupils will come to rescue me, helping me return to Heaven.

  "Are you Ouyang Xuan? I've been waiting for you here for a long time. You're the one who can rescue me from this prison, just like Chi Bao said, it's your mission!"

  Ouyang Xuan's eyes widened in shock and his face was filled with incredulity, never expecting that Zhurong, the Fire God, had such a tumultuous past!

  However, Ouyang Xuan still had some doubts and asked: "I roughly understand your past, but you said that the Yellow Emperor imprisoned you in the Bright Temple on Mount Buzhou. There are two questions here: Firstly, didn't Mount Buzhou collapse? Why wasn't the Bright Temple destroyed?! Secondly, shouldn't this be Mount Hua? But from what you're saying, it seems to be Mount Buzhou, which doesn't seem right!"

  "Haha!" Zhu Rong smiled peacefully: "The Temple of Light is forged by my divine power, how can it be destroyed so easily! After the collapse of Buzhou Mountain, it was only buried under the ground, which is where you are standing now!"

  The stone carving of the Yin and Yang Eight Trigrams that brought you here was created by Fuxi, as the only passage between the Palace of Light and the mortal world. It will automatically open when the savior arrives at the appointed time!

  Another issue is also very simple, after the collapse of Mount Buzhou, the divine realm changed the name of Mount Buzhou to 'Mount Taihua'. Later on, you humans even removed the character 'Tai' and directly called it Mount Hua! However, in some ancient classics of yours, there should still be places that refer to this place as Mount Taihua!"

  "So that's how it was! I've also heard the myth of your great war with Gonggong, but not in such detail. And I didn't know that the heavenly court had severely punished you and Gonggong!" Ouyang Xuan understood and respectfully said: "However, back then you fought against the water god Gonggong to save humanity from his invasion, and as a result were punished by the heavenly court! Now, since heaven's will has arranged for me to rescue you, I will do my best. Please teach me how to do it!"

  "It's that simple!" Zhu Rong's voice became somewhat excited as he was about to break free from his millennia-long prison: "Do you see the yin-yang bagua stone carving at your feet? Bite your right index finger and let the fresh blood drip onto the eight trigrams of Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Gen, Zhen, Xun, and Dui in sequence! Then the yin-yang bagua diagram will rotate, retracting the four sacred beasts on the stone pillars. That way, I'll be freed!"

  "It's that simple!?" Ouyang Xuan was somewhat incredulous!

  "Haha!" Zhu Rong laughed: "It's too difficult for you humans to do, isn't it? When the Yellow Emperor ordered Fu Xi to imprison me here, he took this into consideration and designed it this way!"

  "Also!" Ouyang Xuan smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "You endure for a little while longer, I'll immediately rescue you!"

  Ouyang Xuan gritted his teeth and bit down hard on the index finger of his right hand, causing fresh blood to gush out from the wound, bright red!