Chapter 1: Cloud Dream Has a God

In the Cloud Dream Great Marsh, heaven and earth were dark, and the frantic wind and rain continually beat the water surface, raising rolling waves.

The water was utterly turbid, yet there was a place that differed somewhat from its surroundings.

From the sky it looked no different, but up close it was abnormal, as if the wind and rain were separated by a cover.

Yet in sensation it was the same as elsewhere, with no difference.

Inside the cover the rain ceased and the wind cleared; white lotus flowers bloomed in connected clusters, varying in size.

Forming an endless expanse, a boundless Lotus Kingdom.

At the center, however, there was only a single giant lotus over ten thousand feet tall, surrounded by four enormous lotus leaves—three large and one small—guarding it, slowly unfolding.

Each time the lotus opened a little, its surrounding rosy light spread outward for a thousand li.

Until the light was blocked at the edge of the cover, reflecting upon the water.

As the lotus fully blossomed, the rosy light gradually faded, retracting around the lotus; the four lotus leaves, the lotus itself, and the lotus roots in the water began to detach from the surface.

The three large lotus leaves turned into a white great drum, their stems becoming a small green mallet, the tail connected to the drum by white lotus threads.

The small leaf became an Imperial Bell, the leaf forming the bell's body, the stem becoming its handle, to be held in hand.

The lotus root turned into a white jade whip, the point where it joins the lotus forming the grip.

Each segment of the lotus root became a segment of the whip, each segment having six faces, each face bearing nine hundred sigils, for a total of twenty-four segments.

The lotus and its seed pod transformed into a pure white lotus platform, twelve layers of petals stacked around its body.

The rosy light was wholly drawn back into the flowers and leaves, then released again, but only to encircle the lotus platform.

The seed pod, after becoming the platform's body, left behind twelve lotus seeds which joined together to form a string of prayer beads, hovering above the lotus platform.

A divine being within the lotus platform also began to awaken after all this was completed.

Who am I?

In his heart, however, no voice answered him. He searched his memory, as if there were some human memories, but they were vague and unclear.

The clearest memory he had was of a giant wielding a giant axe, swinging it.

It let light, fire, wind, and electricity appear in the place of original chaos as the giant axe swung.

Various qi and colors appeared within the chaos, filling it completely and enveloping it.

Qi and chaos merged and separated, alternating, transforming into each other, gradually becoming various qi that arose spontaneously within the chaos.

The giant smiled with satisfaction at this sight, although he had not seen it.

But he felt that the giant had laughed, and he was quite certain.

But soon these began to press against each other, and the feeling of chaos reappeared.

This made the giant furious; he continued to swing the giant axe, cleaving the newly arisen chaos until the axe shattered.

The qi that had originally formed gradually stratified, constituting the world, and the giant stepped into it.

He was already exhausted; chaos no longer appeared, or rather, as soon as it appeared it was instantly transformed into various currents.

But those newly transformed qi began to compress this newly born world.

The giant had no choice but to rise again, his body becoming even larger, the qi emanating from his hands lifting up the world's top.

And it kept growing until the clear qi rose and the turbid qi sank, separating heaven and earth.

During this period the giant's body was riddled with holes by the various qi washing over it.

When the world was divided, there was the turbid qi sinking in the sky, the metallic qi, the clear qi rising from underground and flying toward the sky, and the water qi.

When heaven was opened, the resentful qi formed by the demon god born of chaos that the giant casually slew, the drifting and floating cloud qi between heaven and earth, and the strong winds……

These qi took away part of the giant's body and formed many different things, such as this lotus platform beside him.

Only after heaven and earth stabilized did the giant notice his present self.

He lowered his head to glance at the ground; aside from the lifeforms that had formed from substances staining his body, there was no vitality.

He looked up at the sky, which was empty and silent.

Suddenly, the giant, as if having made up his mind, emitted the first sound between heaven and earth: 'Zha.'

Instantly, divine power filled heaven and earth, thunder mists spread, thunderous sounds appeared, and all things trembled uneasily under this majesty.

The resentment of the demon god that had surrounded the lifeforms born from the giant's flesh and blood instantly dissipated, revealing their true forms.

But those resentful qi still existed in the earth's turbid qi; heaven and earth had been opened too vast by the giant, and the giant was too exhausted.

He had not rested since the beginning of the opening, and he now had no strength left.

Thus, the giant's body sat down; he once again glanced at the world, and the hairs on his head fell off, flying up into the sky and turning into stars.

But the stars in the sky were chaotic, so his eyes also flew up into the heavens.

They turned into the sun and moon, governing the sun and moon, organizing the stars.

The traces of blood left where his blood flowed became the Four Rivers and Eight Streams, connecting to the Four Seas.

They gathered together, becoming the sea's eye, purifying heaven and earth.

In the depressions formed lakes and great marshes, with rivers, lakes, and seas interconnected.

The impure blood coalesced into a single entity, becoming the Sea of Blood, independent of the world's waterways.

His flesh turned into endless mountain ranges and earthen veins, like Kunlun and Zhongshan.

His limbs became the pillars supporting heaven and earth, and his spine became Mount Buzhou.

At the same time, various qi within his body burst forth, flying in all directions; the clear qi pierced through his body, transforming into three streams of light flying toward Eastern Kunlun.

The turbid qi fell to the ground, took root, and turned into twelve clumps of loess scattered around Mount Buzhou.

The vital qi mostly fell to the east, the metallic qi mostly to the west, the fire qi to the south, and the cold qi mostly to the north.

The water qi turned into torrential rain, scattering across heaven and earth, filling the valleys and thus the world's water systems.

Plants and trees sprang up from the ground; his meridians became flying birds, his blood vessels entering water became scaled armor, and those landing became beasts.

Seeing this scene, the giant satisfiedly nodded, his form dissipating into heaven and earth, and the world began to have vitality.

At the same time, the living beings between heaven and earth also knew the name of this giant; He was called 'Pangu'.

The memory ended there; the beings on the lotus terrace walked to its edge, looked at their reflection in the water—red-bearded and white-haired, with four faces, human bodies with serpent tails, wings on their backs, green eyes with vertical pupils.

This appearance was completely different from the vague image in His memory.

But He did not find this appearance ugly; He felt only a kind of Dao's beauty, giving a very intense feeling.

Looking down at the clear pool beneath the lotus terrace, He only felt as if starlight flickered within it, and upon gazing at the distant lake water, He discovered the two waters were not the same.

Looking up, He saw four treasures floating in the air, feeling an overwhelming sense of familiarity, and instinctively reached out to summon them.

The prayer beads slipped onto His left hand on their own, the jade whip stood before Him, and the imperial bell and drum were positioned on His right side—the bell above, the drum below.

All were within easy reach, ready to be grasped and used as soon as He reached out.

He reached out on the terrace, grasped the drumstick, and lightly struck the drum surface.

Boom

In an instant, His mind and spirit felt as if a huge stone had fallen on the lake surface, startling huge waves and tumultuous surges, and like thunder rolling across the wilderness, making Him tremble incessantly; yet it caused Him no harm, instead clearing His mind.

He suddenly knew His own name.

'Qi'

(End of chapter)