XUANMU CHRONICLES - FOREST REALM - 1.2

Deep within the far reaches of the boundless cosmos lay the Forest Realm—a vast and wondrous world where every living being was divine.

There, countless kinds of flowers, birds, insects, fish, winged creatures, and beasts flourished beyond measure. There, the rivers, lakes, and seas shimmered in seven radiant hues—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—each color crystal-clear and dazzling to behold. There, the mountains and rolling hills were not formed of earth and stone, but of gold, silver, and diamond.

It was a realm of marvel and bliss.

The people of that world lived among the forests, and most of their homes were built from gold gathered from the mountains. Their food came from leaves—but the leaves of the Forest Realm were no ordinary leaves. They could transform into every kind of exquisite delicacy.

This was a common immortal art known to all beings of the realm: With a single touch, a leaf could become a feast.

One had only to choose a leaf and tap it lightly, and it would at once turn into a dish of wondrous flavor.

And so the beings of the Forest Realm lived with green mountains as their companions and immortal cranes as their friends, unbound and carefree, joyful and at ease for ages beyond reckoning.

From afar, a young maiden in a flowing green dress came riding upon the clouds, followed by a five-colored divine dragon. Her name was Biyao.

Biyao was a young girl of the forest—small and lovely, bright-eyed and lively, with a doll-like face and a playful, cheerful nature.

On this day, she and the others were playing shuttlecock.

Yet when immortals played shuttlecock, it was far more wondrous than any game of mortals. Each time they struck the shuttlecock in midair, they would perform a graceful movement to match it. The more beautiful the motion, the more delighted the shuttlecock became, crying out in praise.

The sight of seven or eight fairy maidens of the Forest Realm playing in the sky was more breathtaking than even the flying apsaras painted upon the Dunhuang murals, fairer by heaven knows how many celestial layers.

Seeing Biyao’s elegance in the air, the smooth flow of her every movement, the shuttlecock could not help but cry out again and again:

“Ah! How beautiful! Truly beautiful beyond words!”

But the shuttlecock was too honest.

It praised Biyao alone, and the other fairy maidens could not help but feel a sting of jealousy.

“You wretched shuttlecock! Are we not beautiful at all? Why do you praise only Biyao?”

The shuttlecock gave an awkward little laugh and muttered under its breath,

“But Biyao truly dances the best. What is there to be unconvinced about?”

At those words, one of the fairy maidens was instantly overcome by jealousy. In a burst of anger, she refused to play any longer and flew away, abandoning the others where they stood.

Everyone was left embarrassed.

Everyone, that is, except Biyao.

She was neither embarrassed nor angry. She only gazed after the departing fairy maiden with deep, solemn eyes and fell into thought.

The others were bewildered.

How could this lively little girl, always smiling and laughing, suddenly reveal such a profound and weighty look?

They called to her:

“Biyao… Biyao…”

Only then did she come back to herself. At once she concealed that look in her eyes and said with a bright smile,

“Everyone must be tired from playing. Let’s go bathe in Ziyi Lake. The water there is sweet.”

And indeed, they had all worked up a sweat, so together they went to bathe in Ziyi Lake, splashing and playing in the water, carefree and lighthearted.

Beside the lake, the five-colored divine dragon idly toyed with its tail using one claw, so relaxed it nearly drifted off to sleep.

Here, all was tranquil.

But far away, there was one immortal who was anything but calm.

That immortal was General Lianbo.

Lianbo was the king of the Thirteenth Heaven of the Forest Realm. At this very moment, he stood at the entrance of the spacetime tunnel, so anxious that sweat had broken across his brow. He needed to ascend to the Upper Heaven to seek audience with the Dharma King, yet the old guardian of the tunnel gate hesitated in great difficulty.

“Old sir,” General Lianbo pleaded, “please, let me pass. I truly have urgent business with the Exalted Lord!”

“General,” said the old man, troubled, “if you have business, then submit it by memorial. You are of the Thirteenth Heaven. Unless the Exalted Lord has summoned you, you truly may not enter the Upper Heaven…”

Why did the old man still call him General?

Because in ages long past, when Lianbo had followed the Dharma King in pacifying the Forest Realm, slaying demons and banishing evil, he had been the Dharma King’s great general of righteous war, famed for his glorious deeds. That was in a time so distant it had nearly become legend. But the old gatekeeper was himself an ancient immortal, and so he still called him by his old title.

After peace was restored to the Forest Realm, the Dharma King had bestowed upon him the title of King Lianbo, placing the Thirteenth Heaven under his rule.

“Old sir!” Lianbo said urgently. “This concerns the lives of all beings in the Forest Realm!”

The old man hesitated no longer.

“Very well. Enter the tunnel. There is no gate in the Upper Heaven. Once you emerge from the tunnel’s end, still your heart, steady your spirit, and leap upward. You will enter.”

No sooner had the words left the old man’s lips than General Lianbo answered only:

“My thanks!”

With a sweep of his golden cloak, he stepped into the tunnel.

Clutching tightly in his hand a scorched piece of white wood, he emerged from the spacetime tunnel, leapt in a single bound into the Upper Heaven of the Forest Realm, and hastened toward the distant place where five-colored auspicious light was shining.

Meanwhile, back at the lakeside, the five-colored divine dragon was dozing when it suddenly sensed a sharp aura of urgency surging from afar. Opening its eyes wide, it saw that it was Lianbo.

The two knew one another well.

The little divine dragon was mischievous by nature and loved to play tricks. Seeing how frantic Lianbo looked, it decided to douse some of his fire.

It took a mouthful of lake water and spat out a great spray straight at him.

The attack caught Lianbo completely off guard. He let out a thunderous shout:

“Stop this nonsense! Do you know what time it is?!”

The little dragon froze in fright. Only then did it realize that something was terribly wrong. At once it darted toward Ziyi Lake to find Biyao.

The sunlight above Ziyi Lake was just right, falling upon the deep violet waters so that they shimmered and glittered like a river of stars.

Biyao was bathing in the lake when the five-colored divine dragon flew above her and spoke to her in words none of the others could understand.

With a gentle wave of her jade-like hand, a clear breeze arose and transformed into an immortal robe that settled over her body.

A beauty emerged from the waters.

In the Forest Realm, the garments of immortals were woven from the clear wind itself. Silk is already known among mortals for its softness and fineness—but how much finer must wind be? Clothes made from it were so delicate that against the skin they felt almost like nothing at all, light or weighty as one wished. Their shape and color answered directly to the heart’s desire, manifesting in whatever form one imagined in a single thought. Such were the effortless wonders of immortal things—though mortal language can scarcely do them justice.

But let us return to the matter at hand.

With calm and measured steps, Biyao emerged from Ziyi Lake and saw General Lianbo before her, sweat covering his brow.

Lianbo glanced around. Several fairy maidens had also stepped out of the lake, and little birds, monkeys, and squirrels were all watching, unable to understand what had happened.

He looked at Biyao. His expression was grave. He seemed about to speak, yet held back. Instead, he silently opened his hand and showed her the charred piece of white wood he carried.

The moment Biyao saw it, her face changed in shock.

“Where was this found?” she asked at once.

“In the Yujing Forest of the Thirteenth Heaven.”

“How many?”

Lianbo paused.

“…Thirteen trees.”

In that instant, all trace of Biyao’s former calm vanished. The shock on her face deepened into something closer to dread.

The immortals and little creatures nearby all began asking at once:

“Who is this man?”
“What happened to you?”
“Shouldn’t burnt wood be black? Why is this one white?”

But Biyao did not answer.

She merely spread wide her great sleeve, and in a single motion, every living being by the lakeside who had heard their conversation was drawn into it.

Then she rose upon the clouds and carried them away.

Inside the sleeve, all the immortals were stunned.

How could little Biyao possess such immense power as to carry them all? Where was she taking them? Who was this general-like figure? Why had he come to seek Biyao?

In the eyes of the others, Biyao had always seemed like an ordinary young girl who had not yet come of age, living quietly in the forest.

It was true that all beings of the Forest Realm were immortals, and immortals possessed divine powers. Any one of them could hold the Earth in the palm of a hand. But beings of the same level could not be moved or subdued by one another. A young immortal who had not yet come of age should not have been able to carry full-grown immortals, much less contain them all within a single sleeve.

So how had Biyao done it?

And besides—was General Lianbo not supposed to be on urgent business to see the Dharma King?

Why, then, had he come instead to seek out this seemingly ordinary young girl?

Could it be…

Biyao carried them through cloud and mist. Ahead, light shone from behind a veil of thin clouds. Then, with a sweep of her sleeve, all the beings within it were gently released onto clouds as soft as cotton.

The sight before them left them utterly dumbstruck.

They had arrived at the Royal Palace of the Forest Realm.

The little monkey’s eyes widened.

“My mother told me that the palace houses are built of beautiful jade, that the ground is paved with auspicious clouds, and that the air is filled with the fragrance of camellias. It’s all true!”

And it was true indeed.

The palace walls were formed of radiant jade, clear and translucent.
The palace ground was paved with auspicious clouds, soft yet unyielding.
The palace light shimmered with the brilliance of colored crystal, bright yet gentle.
The palace air was filled with the rich fragrance of camellias.

The entire palace was magnificent, noble, and serene.

A little squirrel looked up at the plaque hanging above the eaves and blurted out:

“Hongmiao Zhengsen!”

The birds began chirping excitedly:

“I know! I know! This is the grand hall where the Dharma King holds court—the Hall of Hongmiao Zhengsen! We’ve really come here!”

Then from both sides of the hall, the eighteen Guardian Deities bowed their heads in unison and said:

“Welcome back to the palace, Dharma King!”

Everyone stood there as though trapped in a dream, stunned beyond speech. Their minds had gone completely blank.

Where was the Dharma King?

Then they saw Biyao slowly ascend the crystal-radiant throne.

And in that instant, she transformed into the bearing of a queen.

(To be continued)