A chick broke free from its shell, surrounded by darkness.

It pecked at the insects on the ground, growing into a young rooster.

The rooster developed a bright red comb, its claws turning golden and sharp enough to cut through iron, and its feathers transformed into a dazzling array of emerald hues.

The rooster roamed the dark forest, pecking at snakes and insects, battling fierce beasts, fighting evil spirits, and driving away zombies, growing stronger with each bloody encounter.

Eventually, it became a mighty rooster.

To see through the darkness, it grew a pair of golden double-pupiled eyes, becoming even more fearless.

Snakes and insects dared not approach, beasts became its prey, and evil spirits and zombies would burst into flames with just a glance from it.

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

One day, it could no longer endure the silence.

For the first time since its birth, it let out a powerful crow.

The sound shattered evil spirits and forced beasts to bow their heads, but it wasn’t enough.

The rooster continued to crow, its voice growing louder and more intense, as if even the darkness itself was retreating.

Suddenly, a brilliant golden light descended from the heavens, sweeping away the darkness.

The sun had risen.

The rooster had called the sun’s radiance to this land.

Bathed in the golden light, the rooster left this place and began to wander the mortal world.

It discovered that many people lived in darkness, so wherever it went, it cleared away the poisonous insects and evil spirits, then crowed to bring light.

People began to call it by many names: the Sun’s Essence, the Fire’s Essence, the Son of Yang, the Dawn Caller, the Morning Herald, the Timekeeper, the Night Illuminator, the Red-Cloaked Lord, the Ghost-Catching General, and the Insect-Catching General.

Later, people found that the rooster’s blood was so potent that it could burn away all evil.

Not only did it destroy poisonous insects, evil spirits, and zombies, but if a deceitful person drank it, their insides would rot.

Thus, it was also called the Lord of Truth, the Fierce Prince, and the Prince of Five Virtues.

People also discovered that the rooster’s crow could not only summon light but also call back lost souls.

So, it was also known as the Soul-Summoner and the Spirit-Caller.

Everyone wished for the rooster to stay in their village, but there were too many places in the world that needed it.

In the end, the rooster pecked at its own body, letting its hot blood flow out.

Under the sunlight, the blood transformed into countless eggs, which became the origin of all chickens in the world.

“Ah! So that’s how it happened!”

“That’s how it was!”

“…”

In the night, the old and young sat in front of the Cloud Qi’s house, listening to him tell the story.

The village chief nodded solemnly, “Where did the first divine rooster go?”

Cloud Qi continued, “The divine rooster later mastered the Dao and became an immortal, taking on human form. He named himself ‘Yuandan.’ Look at the character ‘dan’—I’ll write it for you. It’s a sun rising above the horizon. See? Doesn’t it look like that? And ‘yuan’ means the beginning of everything. So, ‘Yuandan’ means the sun has risen, driving away the evil spirits, and a new life has begun. Daoist Yuandan is the one you see on your door charms.”

Cloud Qi pointed to the newly pasted door god images in the village.

Everyone nodded as they looked at the picture.

The Daoist in the image was indeed tall and mighty, resembling a great rooster.

A child exclaimed, “Yuandan is the day after the New Year! It’s also the first day of the new year!”

Cloud Qi smiled and patted the child’s head, “Yes, that’s right. This day happens to share the same name as Daoist Yuandan. If you paste his image on this day, he will bless you.”

The child nodded in agreement.

“Later, Daoist Yuandan became so powerful that one night, he noticed a dark patch in the sky where the stars had no light. So, he flew up and settled there, and that part of the sky lit up.

That constellation is called the Pleiades, so he became known as the Star Lord of the Pleiades, and his residence is called the Palace of Light.

“Look, it’s right there!”

Cloud Qi pointed to a cluster of stars in the western sky.

“I see it!”

The children clapped their hands. Indeed, those stars were brighter than the others. “But sometimes, living among the stars can be too cold, so the Star Lord occasionally retreats to the sun, where it’s warmest.

So, if you notice the Pleiades shining brightly, it means the Star Lord is home.

If they’re dim, it means he’s hiding in the sun.”

“Oh—”The children gazed at the stars, committing Cloud Qi’s words to memory.

“Alright, alright, Daoist Cloud needs to rest.

We’ll come back tomorrow night.” The village chief ushered the children away. For the past few nights, Daoist Cloud had been telling stories of Daoist Yuandan slaying demons, and the children couldn’t get enough of them.

Cloud Qi smiled as he saw the children off.

The villagers didn’t know that as Cloud Qi continued to tell stories of Daoist Yuandan and painted protective charms, a version of Daoist Yuandan, born from the Pleiades but never before seen in this world, was slowly taking shape in the highest level of his Twelve-Storied Tower. --- On the nineteenth day of the ninth month, the eleventh day since Cloud Qi arrived in the village, it was also his birthday.

Early that morning, after watching the Red-Cloaked General crow, he went into the mountains and returned with two bundles of firewood and a wild boar. He placed the items in the center of the village and announced to the gathered villagers,“Tonight, we’ll have a bonfire feast!”

Everyone cheered.

They were all looking forward to it. Such a large boar would provide enough meat for months! That night, the fire blazed brightly, the aroma of roasted meat filled the air, and the scent of wine wafted through the village.

Cloud Qi, holding a few children and accompanied by a few white dragons, fell asleep warmly by the bonfire. --- On the twenty-ninth day of the ninth month, the twenty-first day since Cloud Qi arrived in the village, the morning was quiet, with only a few lingering stars in the pale gray sky.

The eastern horizon glowed with the first light of dawn. Cloud Qi sat in meditation, facing east, his palms turned upward.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo—”The Red-Cloaked General began to crow, and light flooded the land.

Cloud Qi breathed naturally. Inside his Twelve-Storied Tower, Daoist Yuandan, clad in red robes, also sat in meditation. In the radiance of the sun, wisps of golden smoke were drawn into Cloud Qi’s nostrils, flowing into the Twelve-Storied Tower and swirling around Daoist Yuandan.

The golden smoke looked light and luxurious, like the finest threads of gold on a tapestry. A faint smile appeared on Cloud Qi’s face. He flipped his hand, and a golden flame danced in his palm.

The fire flickered, distorting the air like waves. Feeling its terrifying heat and fierce energy, he murmured,“The visualization method is complete.

Is this the Sun’s Bing Fire?” That night, Cloud Qi sat in meditation again in front of his house, facing the village. The lights in every home resembled stars in the sky, but while starlight was cold, the light from the homes was warm.

Inside the Twelve-Storied Tower, Daoist Yuandan sat peacefully. As Cloud Qi breathed, almost imperceptibly, faint threads of nearly transparent, warm yellow fire energy drifted from the lights of each home, gathering into strands that flowed into his nostrils and into the Twelve-Storied Tower.

These threads of fire, distinct from the Sun’s Bing Fire, swirled around the red-robed Daoist, forming a circle like twin dragons. Cloud Qi marveled. This was the power of visualization.

When the heart is sincere, the spirit is formed, and when the spirit is formed, one can act freely. In this moment, he had absorbed a flame never before recorded in any text. “The ancients spoke of essence, energy, and spirit, combining them into the Three Pure Flames.

Following their wisdom, I shall combine the flavors of the mortal world, human warmth, and human emotion to create the Three-Flavored True Flame.”

*Note: I’m working the night shift today, so I’ll post this short chapter first.

The next chapter will be very late.*

(End of Chapter)