From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

# Chapter 495 Chang'e Should Regret Stealing the Elixir —

Gu Kun also strongly agreed with Gu Qian's suggestion.

Although they promised Jiang Liu that they would cherish their own lives and not go to the sea to retrieve the pearl and pill for anyone else, the current situation concerns the lives of all of them, so going to the sea to retrieve the pearl is a last resort.

Furthermore!

If they can escape and leave the Ruins of Guixu, the eight remaining Dragon Household Otters will no longer live on the boat and will have to live on land... So they must seize this last chance to go to sea and seize the pill!

Seeing that the two were extremely excited, probably because they had never met the Clam Ancestor before, Jiang Liu did not disturb their interest. He simply told them to suppress their excitement and wait for Lu Jin and the old captain to bring their people over.

During this time, Jiang Liu invited Duanmu Ying, Gu Qian, Gu Kun, and Jonathan to tour the entire bronze palace in search of other useful clues.

The sea-penetrating array patterns on Gu Qian and Gu Kun's bodies can actually be considered a map of the Ruins of Return, only it is rather abstract. Moreover, the "zombie" suppressed under the Jianmu tree in the picture has not yet been found. Since the "zombie" with a totem similar to the Peng bird is not on the seabed side, it must exist in the area below the plaza of the Black Mountain where the Jianmu tree stands.

Using mental scanning, as long as the range is controlled and the Mermaid is not affected by the seabed below the Bronze Palace or the Iron Tree under the Stone Cauldron, it is fine.

Therefore.

Jiang Liu quickly found the passage leading to the area beneath the bronze palace.

A bronze gate.

However, after thousands of years, this bronze gate is covered with greenish-blue patina, and a crack has appeared in the center.

"The crack is only wide enough to fit one hand in; you can't get in at all."

Jonathan reached inside and groped around for a while, but found nothing except mud on his arm. "Before we came in, everything inside this bronze palace was filled with seawater, right? Even if there were mummies inside, they would have been ruined by the seawater! I just hope the gold and silver are still intact!"

Jiang Liu ignored him, stepped forward, and gripped the gap with both hands, raising his Qi.

hum!

Under the shocked gazes of Jonathan, Duanmu Ying, Gu Qian, and Gu Kun, Jiang Liu pried open the bronze gate, which was over three meters thick.

"I'm more interested in the hidden information than the zombies or the treasure."

Jiang Liu took the lead and entered it—

Unlike the barbican inside Ping Mountain, the bronze palace built by the Kingdom of Hatred does not have many traps, so many spaces can be violently destroyed.

However, the force must be carefully controlled, otherwise, if the ancient coral reef supporting the bronze palace and the ring mountain is accidentally broken, the entire island may collapse.

The passage was pitch black, but there were raised grooves on both sides, which contained a peculiar kind of oil that would ignite upon contact with fire and illuminate the space.

"Strange, since this place was filled with seawater before, wouldn't the grease in these grooves be washed away by the seawater?" Duanmu Ying found it odd.

"This is mermaid wax."

Gu Qian sniffed it and recognized the origin of the oil: "Mermaids can extract oil from their internal organs, skin, and flesh. It ignites when exposed to fire and turns into wax when exposed to water. It is heavier than seawater, so it won't be washed away by the seawater that flows into it."

The walls on both sides of the passage are covered with murals depicting the origins of the Hentian clan.

original--

Jiang Liu believed that the reason why the Hentian clan was called "Hentian" was because they were the victors in the struggle over beliefs and totems! This was because two beliefs had emerged within the clan: one believed that the Guixu Qi Formation was in the shape of a fish, while the other believed that the Guixu Qi Formation was in the shape of a bird.

Eagles soar in the sky, fish swim in the shallows.

The "fish" swimming in the sea defeated the "bird" flying in the sky, so the winner was called the Hatred Sky Clan.

But now—

Looking at these murals, Jiang Liu realized he was wrong; the words "Hate Heaven" might not have anything to do with the "Fish and Bird Conflict".

Similar to what Gu Qian said, the Hentian clan did indeed migrate down from the Yellow River.

In ancient times, there were ten suns in the sky. Yi shot down nine of them, leaving one behind.

Some members of Yi's tribe felt that Yi was too merciful and that they needed to shoot down the last sun as well to vent their hatred, but Yi refused.

Unfortunately, these members of the tribe had no choice but to suppress their anger for the time being.

Afterwards, Yi went to Kunlun and obtained an elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West. After consuming it, he shed his physical body and ascended to the full moon...

Did Hou Yi eat the elixir of immortality?

Duanmu Ying stared at the image of Hou Yi standing on the full moon in the mural, speechless. "In the legend of the Hentian clan, Hou Yi ate the elixir of immortality himself, not Chang'e who stole it?"

"It's not Hou Yi, it's Da Yi," Jiang Liu corrected. "The former was a person from the time of Emperor Yao, and the latter was a person from the Xia Dynasty. They cannot be generalized."

and--"

Looking at the mural, Jiang Liu pondered, "From a realistic point of view, the best choice for Da Yi to obtain the elixir of immortality was to swallow it himself as soon as possible."

Was Chang'e really the wife of Yi?

I don't think so.

"Wasn't Chang'e Hou Yi's wife?"

Jonathan was unfamiliar with the myths and legends of China and was puzzled, but Duanmu Ying was dumbfounded and questioned, "What profound theories do you have now?"

"Before being called Chang'e, Chang'e had several names, such as Chang'e, Su'e, Heng'e, Heng'e, and Heng Wo. Which one do you think is her real name?" Jiang Liu asked.

"How would I know? And what's the point?" Duanmu Ying asked, puzzled.

"The significance is immense. Take the name Chang'e for example. Originally, it was Heng'e or Heng'e. Heng has the radical for 'woman' and Heng means 'eternal.' Because it was the same as the name of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, Heng was changed to Chang, the Chang of 'usual.' Later, the radical for 'woman' was added, making it Chang of 'Chang'e. The original story about Chang'e stealing the elixir of immortality comes from the 'Guicang,' in which the hexagram 'Guimei' says: 'In the past, I stole the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West, and took it to flee to the moon.'"

Jiang Liu looked at Da Yi standing on the moon again, lost in thought. "Leaving aside the meaning of the Gui Mei hexagram, this one line alone shows that in earlier times, Chang'e's predecessor, Heng Wo, had no direct connection with Da Yi. Instead, she was someone who stole the elixir of immortality directly from the Queen Mother of the West, and she might not even have been a woman."

As for why she later became involved with Yi and even became his wife, that's probably just a popular rumor among ordinary people.

People always like to associate two similar things together.

After Yi shot down the suns, he asked the Queen Mother of the West for the elixir of immortality. Heng Wo stole the elixir from the Queen Mother of the West, and so—

Hengwo became Da Yi's wife, and her name became Heng'e.

Because the meaning of the two characters '恒我' is only one: to make me eternal, which doesn't sound like a name at all, later generations added the '女' radical to '我', making it Heng'e;

Later, to avoid using the character "恒" (Heng) in Liu Heng's name, it was changed to "姮" (Heng), then to "常" (Chang). Then, the radical "女" (woman) was added to "常" (Chang), making it "Chang'e".

As for terms like "Su'e," they need no further explanation; they directly describe a woman's purity.

That's all for now.

Jiang Liu paused, giving Duanmu Ying some time to process what was happening, before continuing, "But analyzing the content of these murals, if the sculptors of the Hentian clan didn't add too much personal artistic embellishment during the carving process, then Hengwo and Dayi really do have some connection—"

But they are not a married couple; rather, they are very likely the same person!

[At least within the worldview of "Under One Person"... that might be the case!]

Jiang Liu only thought this to himself.

# Chapter 496 Kunpeng, Ocean Currents, and Monsoons

Are Yi the same person as Chang'e?

Duanmu Ying pondered for a moment and said, "It really does sound like that."

Let's look at the murals again.

After Yi ascended to the moon, the rest of Yi's tribe split into two groups: one remained in the Yellow River basin, while the other went down the Yellow River in search of the sun. They called themselves the Hentian clan, entered the Bohai Sea, swam through the Yellow Sea, passed through the East Sea, and finally arrived at the South Sea, where they found the Guixu.

In the Sea of ​​Guixu, the Hentian Clan saw a giant whale roaming the four seas, and a roc flying out from the seabed and soaring through the nine heavens.

"Is this a Kunpeng?"

Duanmu Ying asked in confusion, "If this thing exists, shouldn't it be in the North Sea?"

During the pre-Qin period, Beihai likely referred to the present-day Bohai Sea... It couldn't possibly be the Arctic region, could it?

There are two possibilities.

Jiang Liudao said, "Firstly, according to my observation, the Guixu Qi formation moves between the four seas. Perhaps the 'Kunpeng' seen by the ancients was precisely when Guixu moved to the Bohai Sea."

If we consider this space, which exists based on the Qi of Guixu, as a large ship, then the ancient Hentian clan might have been able to travel the world and enjoy the mountains and rivers through Guixu.

"And the remaining possibility is that Beiming refers to the South China Sea Ruins."

Upon hearing this argument, Duanmu Ying asked suspiciously, "Are you serious? Doesn't Beiming refer to the North Sea? Why say the South Sea? Doesn't the 'Free and Easy Wandering' mention the South Sea later in the text?"

“The key to ‘Northern Darkness’ and ‘Southern Darkness’ may not be the north-south direction, but the word ‘Darkness’ itself. ‘Darkness’ means the underworld, and by extension, it can be understood as the lowest point. ‘Northern Darkness’ means the northernmost point, and the northernmost point is the south. Therefore, it can refer to the South China Sea’s Guixu.” Jiang Liu explained, “However, judging from ‘Free and Easy Wandering’ alone, the first possibility is indeed the most likely, as the Guixu’s energy pattern can be moved.”

“I think you’re overthinking it. If it’s the North Pole, then it’s the Arctic, the northernmost continent on Earth covered in ice and snow,” Jonathan said, showing off his geographical knowledge.

"Don't try to apply Western geographical knowledge to the ancient books described by our ancient Chinese sages."

Jiang Liu shook his head. "The author of 'Free and Easy Wandering,' Zhuang Zhou, was a figure from the pre-Qin period. At that time, paper had not yet been invented, and writing was done on bamboo slips, wooden tablets, and animal bones. Therefore, the sentences on bamboo slips were extremely concise, and their fundamental purpose was to describe all the relevant content within the effective writing range."

The Kun swims in the sea, the Peng soars in the sky; in the Northern Sea there is a fish called Kun, which transforms into the Peng bird and migrates to the Southern Sea...

Don't you think it's like a change in climate or phenology?

When it involves the ocean, it's more like a description of the cyclical process of ocean currents and air currents.

As for why it is named Kunpeng, perhaps this Qi formation, in the ocean currents, resembles a large fish, and after reaching the Northern Sea, it rises and leaves the ocean, migrating south, its form resembling a Peng bird.

Kunpeng.

This legendary mythical beast is very likely a special atmospheric phenomenon where "sea and air" coexist, formed by ocean currents and monsoons between the Bohai Sea and the South China Sea.

At this point, Jiang Liu's understanding of the aura talisman that resembled both a fish and a bird became increasingly clear.

Activate this Kunpeng seal—

In the scene:

Inhale through your nose, and the air enters your blood, flowing through your entire body with each heartbeat, both profound and powerful.

After one cycle, the breath is exhaled through the lungs, light and natural.

Within the Heart's Landscape:

Undersea currents surged, and the surging emotions made the sea pulsate, as if it had come alive. Then, with a gust of wind and waves, a giant Kun leaped up from the Northern Sea, transforming into a Peng bird. With a flap of its wings, wind and clouds rose and soared straight to the heavens. The wind it carried swept through the three realms of humanity, further completing the operation of the four seasons and six energies, and thus making the river's control over the four seasons and six energies even more precise.

This talisman can help Jiang Liu further master the subtleties of breathing, and then complete the Primordial Qi Technique!

"What exactly is the Qi Bureau?" Duanmu Ying asked, her brows furrowed.