Gods 040: Soul Searching
To save Jiang Ziya, his fellow Daoists call on a senior consultant and borrow a sacred object dating from the time of creation to help them with a smash-and-grab.
Transcript
Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast, where I retell classic Chinese stories in English. This is episode 40 of Investiture of the Gods.
Last time, Jiang Ziya was confronted with the daunting challenge of defeating 10 deadly formations laid out at the foot of his capital by Grand Tutor Wen Zhong’s Daoist friends from the Jie (2) sect. But before he got a chance to worry about that, he fell victim to some underhanded voodoo magic by one of those Daoists, who essentially put a hex on him and took away his souls, killing him. Well, killing him in the Investiture of the Gods sense, which meant he wasn’t dead dead, just dead until resuscitation. And now, one of his fellow Chan sect Daoists, Pure Essence, was on the case.
Pure Essence took the gourd in which the last remaining portions of Jiang Ziya’s soul were stored and fast-traveled to the Zhou capital of Western Qi. There, he was greeted by the Daoist Yang Jian, who went in and told the Martial King Ji Fa. Ji Fa rushed out to welcome Pure Essence. After exchanging greetings, they went inside, and Ji Fa offered Pure Essence the first seat as the guest of honor. Pure Essence then asked to see Jiang Ziya’s body. Ji Fa and the officers brought him to the back, where Jiang Ziya’s body lay in state.
Pure Essence took one look at the corpse and said to Ji Fa, “There is no need for sadness or panic. We just need to restore his soul to his body, and all will be fine.”
When they went back out front, Ji Fa asked Pure Essence what medicine he was going to use to … umm … restore the soul to Jiang Ziya’s body.
“There’s no need for medicine; I have my ways,” Pure Essence replied.
Yang Jian then asked when he would be able to put said ways into practice, and Pure Essence told him that Jiang Ziya would come back to life around midnight. Everyone was delighted, and so they waited for night to come.
When midnight rolled around, Yang Jian went to ask Pure Essence to work his magic. So Pure Essence took to the air and flew out of the city toward the enemy camp. There, he saw the 10 deadly formations that the rival Daoists had set up, all enveloped in dark smoke and ominous-looking clouds. A chilly wind blew, and amid the fog, one could hear the ceaseless moaning of demons and ghosts.
Seeing how dangerous these formations looked, Pure Essence pointed at his feet, and immediately two white lotus flowers appeared underfoot. These were his protection. He stepped onto the lotus, and they lifted him up into the air. From above, he took a close look and noticed some shenanigans going on inside the Soul Snatcher formation. There, he saw the Daoist Yao (2) Bin (1) walking in a square with sword in hand and his hair hanging down. He also noticed a straw mannequin with a lamp at its head and another lamp at its feet, and the flames in both lamps were flickering and appeared to be on the verge of going out.
As he paced, Yao Bin intermittently struck a small placard, and with each strike, the lamps became a little dimmer. And with each strike, Pure Essence could feel the soul in the gourd he was carrying trying to get out and head toward the lamps. Fortunately, the mouth of the gourd was covered tightly with a stopper, so the soul wasn’t going anywhere.
Meanwhile, down below, Yao Bin had been pacing and chanting and praying for days, and yet the lamps refused to go out. And as long as the lamps stayed lit, Jiang Ziya wasn’t DEAD dead. So Yao Bin was getting pretty irritated. He smacked the placard and shouted, “Two of his three major souls and six of his seven minor souls are already here. Where are the others?!”
From above, Pure Essence saw Yao Bin bowing down again and decided to seize the opportunity. His feet pressed down on the two lotus flowers he was standing on, and he swooped down to grab the mannequin. But In that split second, Yao Bin just so happened to look up and saw him coming down.
“Pure Essence, how dare you come into my Soul Snatcher formation to steal Jiang Ziya’s soul?!” Yao Bin cursed aloud. As he shouted, he hurled a fistful of black sand skyward, and Pure Essence quickly swerved and retreated. He managed to dodge the blast of sand, but it caught the two lotus flowers on his feet, and they were both knocked out of the air. Pure Essence almost followed them to the ground inside the formation, which could have been the end for him. He barely recovered and beat a hasty retreat back into Western Qi.
Yang Jian met Pure Essence upon his return and found him panicked and panting.
“Master, did you get the souls?” Yang Jian asked.
Pure Essence shook his head repeatedly and said, “That was close! I almost fell inside the Soul Snatcher formation. I barely got away, but my lotus flowers got knocked down into the trap.”
When Ji Fa heard about this setback, he started to wail and moaned, “It sounds like the Minister Father is lost!”
Pure Essence reassured him, “There is no need to be concerned. He’ll be ok. He’ll just have to suffer for a few more days. There’s somewhere I need to go. I’ll be back soon. Don’t do anything while I’m gone. Just keep an eye on Jiang Ziya.”
Pure Essence then fast-traveled back to Kunlun Mountain. His fellow Daoist Immortal of the South Pole met him outside the Jade Emptiness Palace and asked him how his mission went. Pure Essence recounted his setback and said, “Daoist brother, please ask our master how we can save Jiang Ziya.”
Immortal of the South Pole must have been thinking, uh yeah, that’s what I was about to do in the last episode before you told me you’ve got this. Anyway, he went inside and informed their master, Heavenly Primogenitor, about Jiang Ziya’s troubles.
Heavenly Primogenitor said, “Even though I oversee a major sect, this is a tough situation for me to deal with directly. Tell Pure Essence to go to the Eight Landscapes Palace and see my elder Daoist brother. He’ll help.”
And this elder Daoist brother, by the way, was none other than Lao (2) Zi (3), the guy who, you know, founded Daoism. So Immortal of the South Pole relayed those instructions to Pure Essence, who immediately took off and soon arrived at Mount Xuandu (2,1), where Lao Zi resided. He went to the Eight Landscapes Palace inside Xuandu Cave. It was a fairyland of landscapes. Fairy grass and longevity mushrooms grew on steep slopes, while green pines and willows, purple chrysanthemums, red plums, pink peaches, yellow apricots, brown dates, and luscious pears were everywhere. Immortals and recluses gathered around talks of paintings and games of chess, while exotic creatures roamed.
Pure Essence did not dare to enter the cave without notice. So he waited outside for a bit and saw Chief Priest Xuandu come out. They greeted each other, and Pure Essence explained why he was there. Xuandu hurried inside to inform Lao Zi, who summoned Pure Essence.
Pure Essence entered and kneeled to pay his respects. Lao Zi told him, “You all were destined to endure this calamity. The Soul Snatching formation was based on my magic Map of the Eight Trigrams. This was ordained by heaven. You must all follow the Daoist prohibitions very carefully.”
He then instructed Xuandu to fetch this magic map he spoke of. He handed the map to Pure Essence and explained how he should use it to save Jiang Ziya, and then sent him on his way. Pure Essence rushed back to Western Qi, where he was greeted by the Martial King Ji Fa and all the officers.
“Where did you go, master?” Ji Fa asked.
“We can save Jiang Ziya now,” Pure Essence told him.
Everyone was delighted, and Pure Essence told them that he’ll wait till midnight again before making another attempt.
When midnight came, Pure Essence again took to the air and went to the Soul Snatcher formation. There, he found the sorcerer Yao Bin still praying and chanting. Pure Essence now unfurled the magic map. This map was a treasure from the time of the creation of heaven and earth. As it opened, a golden bridge materialized in the air, lighting up the air and the ground. Ensconced in this brilliant beam, Pure Essence descended, grabbed the straw mannequin, and took to the air once again.
Just then, Yao Bin spotted him again and cursed, “Pure Essence! How dare you come steal my mannequin again?! You’re so despicable!”
As he cursed, he again unleashed a torrent of black sand. Pure Essence saw this and went ah crap! As he panicked for a second, he dropped the magic map into the formation. Yao Bin quickly pounced on the map. Pure Essence managed to escape with the mannequin, but just barely. He was scared witless. His face was ashen, and he couldn’t stop hyperventilating. Nonetheless, he quickly fast-traveled away, found a safe spot, and descended to the ground. He put down the mannequin, opened the gourd, and used it to draw out and store the parts of Jiang Ziya’s soul that had been absorbed into the mannequin.
Pure Essence now hurried back to Western Qi, where everyone was eagerly awaiting his return.
“Did you get it?” Yang Jian asked as soon as he saw Pure Essence.
“Jiang Ziya is saved,” Pure Essence said. “But I lost our sect leader’s treasure in the formation. It could be trouble for me later!”
But there was nothing to be done about that right now. So they all went inside, and Pure Essence went to Jiang Ziya’s bedside and parted his hair. He pressed the mouth of the gourd against Jiang Ziya’s skull and tapped the gourd a few times. The souls seeped back into Jiang Ziya’s body, and within moments, Jiang Ziya opened his eyes and said, “That was a good nap!”
And then, he looked around and saw everyone hovering over him, and he sprang up. Ji Fa told him, “If not for this master’s hard work, we would have never met again in life!”
Only now did Jiang Ziya realize that he didn’t just wake up from a nap, and he asked Pure Essence what happened. Pure Essence brought him up to speed, including how he had lost their sect leader’s magic map trying to save Jiang Ziya. Jiang Ziya lamented the loss, but Pure Essence told him, “Just focus on recuperating. Once you have recovered, we will discuss how to defeat the enemy.”
It took some days, but Jiang Ziya finally got back to full strength. He now assembled everyone to discuss how to defeat the enemy’s formations. Pure Essence said, “These formations are all works of sorcery. We don’t know their secrets. But we are acting in accordance with the will of heaven, so they cannot harm us.”
While they were talking, Yang Jian informed Jiang Ziya that the Yellow Dragon Immortal from Twin Immortal Mountain had arrived. So this Yellow Dragon Immortal, like Pure Essence, was a member of the second class of disciples of the Chan sect under Heavenly Primogenitor, a class that included 12 Daoists who were all now very powerful. Jiang Ziya welcomed him in and asked what he was doing there.
“I have come to help you defeat the 10 deadly formations,” Yellow Dragon replied. “As we are all destined to violate the commandment against killing to varying degrees, we will all be gathering here soon. But this place is too vulgar for my fellow Daoists. So I have come in advance to discuss the matter with you. Outside the west gate, you should build a reed pavilion and have it decorated with lanterns and flowers. Otherwise, it may be disrespectful to all the sages.”
Jiang Ziya immediately ordered the officers Nangong Kuo and Wu Ji to oversee the construction of the pavilion. He also told Yang Jian to wait at the entrance of the prime minister’s residence and inform him immediately when more Daoist masters showed up. Pure Essence then suggested that they should just wait until the pavilion is finished before they resume discussing military matters, which seemed rather irresponsible, but hey who are you to question the guy that just saved your life?
So days passed, and Wu Ji reported that the pavilion was done. Jiang Ziya, Pure Essence, Yellow Dragon, and the rest of the Daoist crew now relocated to the pavilion, leaving Flying Tiger at the prime minister’s office to oversee things there. Before long, Daoist masters started streaming in. All 12 members of that second cohort of the Chan sect gathered. These included a lot of the names that we’ve already heard: Grand Completion, Pure Essence, Yellow Dragon Immortal, Fairy Primordial, Jade Tripod, Virtue of the Pure Void, and Wenzhu. But there were also some new faces that we haven’t met yet: Spiritual Treasure, Universal Virtue, Immortal of Merciful Navigation, Heavenly Master of Divine Virtue, and a guy named Ju (4) Liusun (2,1).
Jiang Ziya welcomed all of these fellow Chan Daoists. Once they sat down, Grand Completion said, “My friends, now that we have gathered, the rise of the good and just and the downfall of the wicked and unjust will soon be known to all. Jiang Ziya, when will you move to break the 10 formations? We are at your command.”
Jiang Ziya was scared out of his mind by such deference from guys who had way more powers than him. He bowed respectfully and said, “Daoist brothers, I have been cultivating my Dao for a meager 40 years. How can I possess the ability to break those 10 deadly formations?! Please take pity on my shallow talents and meager knowledge, and save the people and the army from calamity. Can one of you oversee things for me, so as to resolve our lord’s worries. It would be a blessing to our people, and to me!”
Grand Completion, however, replied, “I doubt whether we can even guarantee our own safety. Our powers are not sufficient to deal with their sorcery either.”
And so it went on like this as they kept trying to pawn off the responsibilities of leadership. Suddenly, they heard the cry of a deer in the sky, accompanied by a strong and exotic fragrance that filled the air. Riding on the deer was a Daoist with exquisite features. This was Master Burning Lamp. We met him back in episode 15. He was the guy who resolved that little blood feud between Nezha and his father by threatening to repeatedly drop a pagoda on Nezha if the kid didn’t cut it out with his attempted patricide. As mentioned in that episode, Master Burning Lamp was second only to Heavenly Primogenitor in the hierarchy of the Chan sect.
All the other Daoists welcomed Burning Lamp, and once they sat back down, he said, “I hope you all won’t mind that I showed up a bit late. Those 10 deadly formations are quite dangerous. Who is in charge here?”
Jiang Ziya rose, bowed, and said, “Umm, do YOU want to be?”
Burning Lamp said, “To tell you the truth, I came to help you shoulder the burden of command. Also, since my Daoist friends are facing calamity, I have come to help. You may give me the seal of command.”
Everyone was delighted that someone finally stepped up and volunteered to take charge. Jiang Ziya presented Burning Lamp with the seal, and NOW, they could finally get down to the business of figuring out how to defeat those 10 formations. But as they did so, Burning Lamp was thinking to himself, “This calamity is going to cost me at least 10 of my friends.”
Meanwhile, in the Shang camp, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong was huddling with HIS 10 Daoists. They told him that their formations were now ready to go and asked him to send a letter to the enemy to demand combat so they could wrap this thing up and go home soon. So Wen Zhong sent his general Deng (4) Zhong (1) to deliver a letter to Jiang Ziya. It said:
“From Grand Tutor and Commander of the Western Campaign Wen Zhong, to Prime Minister Jiang Ziya: As the old saying goes, ‘All the vassals of the land are the king’s servants.’ Your rebellion without cause is an offense against all the realm, and you should be scorned by all under heaven. You have shown no remorse, and instead have repeatedly acted with brutality, killing the king’s soldiers and insulting the court. Your crime is immense. Our 10 deadly formations are now complete, so let’s settle this. I have sent Deng Zhong to deliver this letter to you so that we may set a date for you to attack our formations. Respond at once upon receiving this letter.”
Jiang Ziya read the letter and wrote a reply that said, “We will face off in three days.” When this got back to Wen Zhong, he threw a feast in the main tent to treat his Daoist friends, and they drank to their hearts’ content.
Around midnight, they walked outside and were astonished by the sight of auspicious colored clouds hanging over the reed pavilion in the Zhou camp. It was as if golden lanterns, linden leaves, and strings of pearls shone brilliantly in the sky.
“The disciples of Kunlun Mountain have arrived,” the 10 Daoists said with alarm. They promptly stopped the party and went back to their respective formations to make sure everything was ready for the coming battle.
Three days passed, and on the morning of the fourth day, the Shang camp set off a series of explosives and its troops roared with the cries of battle. Wen Zhong set up in front of the camp gate, flanked by his army and his four generals, while his 10 Daoist friends each took up position within their own formations.
On the other side, the Zhou forces lined up. Four pairs of Daoist warriors came out. The first duo were Nezha and Huang Tianhua, Flying Tiger’s eldest son. The second pair were Yang Jian and Thunderbolt. The third were Poison Dragon and Vicious Tiger, the guys who magically refilled the Zhou army’s granaries when they were running low a while back. The fourth pair were Nezha’s two elder brothers, Jinzha and Muzha. Meanwhile, Master Burning Lamp led the host of senior Daoists as they casually walked out.
Once the two sides were lined up, from within the Heavenly Destruction formation came the sound of a bell, and the formation’s entrance opened. As two banners waved, a Daoist with blue face and red hair raced out on a deer. This was Qin (2) Yuan (2), and he was daring the Zhou forces to try their luck in his formation.
On the Zhou side, Master Burning Lamp looked around himself and thought, “There’s no one here destined to be …”. But before he could finish his thought, a Daoist wielding a halberd descended from the heavens on a gust of wind. This was Deng (4) Hua (2), the fifth disciple from the Jade Emptiness Palace. He bowed to his fellow Daoists and said, “On our master’s command, I have come specifically to break the Heavenly Destruction formation.”
Burning Lamp nodded while thinking to himself, “It is so ordained. There’s no getting around it.”
Before he could say anything, Qin Yuan was shouting from across the lines, “Hey, who from the Jade Emptiness Palace dares to come look at my formation?”
Deng Hua shot back, “Qin Yuan, hold your horses. Don’t be too full of yourself!”
“Who are you, that you dare to boast?!” Qin Yuan asked.
“You wretch! You don’t even recognize me?! I am Deng Hua from the Jade Emptiness Palace.”
“Well, do you dare to attack my formation?” Qin Yuan asked.
“Since I was sent here to do just that, how can I return empty-handed?!” Deng Hua replied as he raised his halberd and stabbed at Qin Yuan. Qian Yuan raised his staff to counter. But before they had exchanged five blows, Qin Yuan feigned an attack and then turned and retreated into his formation. Deng Hua gave chase and pursued him into the formation as well.
When Qin Yuan saw Deng Hua enter the formation, he quickly ascended a terrace. There were several tables set up there, and they held three pennants. Qin Yuan took the pennants and started waving them left and right, and then he threw the pennants to the ground. At that moment, the sound of thunder roared through the formation, and Deng Hua immediately fainted and collapsed to the ground. Qin Yuan then casually strolled over and cut off his head. He walked out of his formation with the head in tow and shouted, “Hey you guys from Kunlun Mountain, who else wants a taste of my Heavenly Destruction formation?”
So, yeah, Deng Hua was the redshirt destined to die to show that the situation was serious. When Burning Lamp saw Deng Hua’s head, he sighed and lamented, “Pity that he spent so many years following the Dao, only to meet his end today!”
He now turned to one of the senior Daoists, Wenshu, and told him to go break the Heavenly Destruction formation, adding a reminder to be careful. Wenshu promptly went out while singing these lines:
I dare to test the blade of my sword,
The jade dragon shrieks in fright.
Purple vapors from my hand rise high.
Lucky clouds emerge and cover my head.
I grow longevity peaches in the golden tower.
By order I left my celestial home,
And came to this vulgar world, merry and gay.
When he was done singing, he said to Qin Yuan, “Your sect has no restrictions, so you were living a carefree life. Why then did you decide to put on this Heavenly Destruction formation and take lives? I have come to break your formation, so I have to break the commandment against killing. It’s not that we have abandoned compassion, but rather that we have to enforce the law of cause and effect. Don’t regret it when it’s too late.”
Qin Yuan laughed and replied, “You all are carefree immortals. Why are you bothering with this? And you don’t comprehend the endless intricacies of my formation. You all have brought this calamity upon yourselves; I didn’t force you.”
Wenshu laughed and shot back, “We’ll see who’s going to lose his life!”
Qin Yuan got mad at that quip and raised his staff to attack. Wenshu countered with his sword. After a few bouts, Qin Yuan once again retreated into his formation. When Wenshu pursued him to the entrance of the formation, he saw an ill-looking fog and felt a melancholy wind coming from inside, and it made him hesitate. But from behind him, he heard the sound of golden bells ringing, spurring him to advance, so he had no choice but to press forward, but not before taking some precautions. He pointed at the ground, and two white lotus flowers appeared. He stepped on them and levitated into the formation.
As soon as he entered, he could hear Qin Yuan shouting, “Wenshu! Even if you can spit golden lotuses and shoot white light from your hand, you cannot escape my formation!”
Wenshu was like, “Oh yeah? Bring it!” He opened his mouth and out came a golden lotus flower the size of his head. Meanwhile, white light shot out from the fingers on his left hand, and when they hit the ground, another lotus appeared at the end of the beams of light. On this lotus there were five golden lamps that lit his path forward.
Meanwhile, Qin Yuan started waving his magic pennants. But as he did so, a colorful cloud rose up from Wenshu’s head, and strings of pearls dangled from this cloud. Under this canopy, Wenshu held his magic lotus flowers and appeared to undergo a metamorphosis. Qin Yuan repeatedly waved his magic pennants, and yet, Wenshu was showing no sign of fainting.
After letting his foe wave his pennants in futility for a while, Wenshu said, “Qin Yuan, I can’t spare you today. I must break the commandment against killing!”
As he spoke, Wenshu unleashed his Invisible Dragon Stake. Instantly, Qin Yuan found himself bound to the stake by the three rings that were attached to it, and he was unable to move. Wenshu now bowed in the direction of Kunlun Mountain and said, “Your disciple must kill today!” He then pulled out his sword and sliced off Qin Yuan’s head with one swing. He took the head in hand and left the formation.
Watching from afar, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong let out an angry roar. “Wenshu, don’t you go anywhere! Here I come!”
He now galloped after Wenshu on his Black Qilin. But Wenshu just ignored him and kept going back toward his own lines. Wen Zhong was about to chase him, but from the other side, Yellow Dragon Immortal flew out on his crane and blocked Wen Zhong’s path.
“Qin Yuan’s formation killed my fellow apprentice Deng Hua,” Yellow Dragon said. “So Qin Yuan’s own death just makes us even. Right now we have broken one of your formations, but the other nine remain. We had agreed to fight with our magic, not brute strength. You should turn back.”
Just then, the sound of a bell rang out from the Earthly Fury formation as another of Wen Zhong’s Daoist friends, Zhao (4) Jiang (1), rode out on his deer and shouted, “Wenshu may have broken the Heavenly Destruction formation, but who dares to try my Earthly Fury formation?!”
As he spoke, he charged toward the Zhou lines. Burning Lamp now told the junior Daoist Han (2) the Poison Dragon, “You go and break the Earthly Fury formation.”
So Poison Dragon leaped out and shouted to Zhao Jiang, “Don’t you act up! Here I come!”
“Who are you, that you’d dare to face me?” Zhao Jiang asked.
“I am a disciple under Heavenly Primogenitor. On Master Burning Lamp’s command, I have come to break your Earthly Fury formation,” Poison Dragon replied.
But Zhao Jiang scoffed, “Your powers are weak. How dare you attack my formation? You’re throwing your life away!”
As he spoke, Zhao Jiang raised his sword and attacked. To see whether Poison Dragon can hold his own, tune in to the next episode of the Chinese Lore Podcast. Thanks for listening!
Music in This Episode
- “Sao Meo” by Doug Maxwell / Zac Zinger
- “Dark Toys” by SYBS (from YouTube audio library)
- “Ravines” by Elphnt (from YouTube audio library)
- “The Quiet Aftermath by Sir Cubworth (from YouTube audio library)