Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Heavenly Sovereign Descends into the World

Xuan Daozi had long since learned the “benefits” of caring for a pregnant woman. Even he, a Great Luo Immortal, had been tormented nearly to death by this woman who would one day bear Fuxi. When to eat, what could be eaten and what could not, even the slightest cold or illness—all of it had to be driven away with power, as though viruses themselves could be expelled by force.

At last, Xuan Daozi came to understand the true “ferocity” of the Lady of Huaxu. He had thought of giving up more than once, but then he would remember that he was doing this for the sake of what was to come. So endure it he did. He had never expected that this endurance would last twelve full years. Only then did Xuan Daozi realize that cultivating the Way was hard, but caring for a pregnant woman was harder still.

At first, Lady Huaxu had also resisted Xuan Daozi’s “care.” She had hands and feet of her own; why should she be waited on by someone else? Besides, his status was such that she had to look up at him, and he was a man besides. How was she supposed to speak to him? For that reason, she had not wanted Xuan Daozi looking after her in the beginning.

But as time passed, Lady Huaxu’s belly grew larger and larger, until it was as big as two basketballs. By then she could no longer walk at all. Yet Xuan Daozi knew that for a pregnant woman, a certain amount of walking was beneficial to the child, and so, despite her objections, he took on the full responsibility of caring for her.

In the beginning, Lady Huaxu had only been shy. After all, how could she accept a grown man attending to her? Leaving aside status, she was somewhat averse to Xuan Daozi. But as the two spent more and more time together, their bond gradually grew close. Xuan Daozi naturally became her elder brother, and Lady Huaxu became his little sister.

All the while, the Thunder God tried more than once to see Lady Huaxu, but each time he was blocked by Xuan Daozi, her steadfast protector. Why? Because the Thunder God, having suffered grievous injury, had been forced back into his original form.

Xuan Daozi knew all too well of the White Lady incident. If Lady Huaxu were to see the Thunder God in his present appearance, would she not be frightened straight into the underworld?

That would only create even more chaos.

After careful thought, Xuan Daozi finally explained it to the Thunder God: if he wished to meet her, he must first take human form. Only then, with a human appearance, would feelings and the rest be easier to accept, would they not?

Stirred by this familial love, the Thunder God launched a full assault upon the Dao. In only ten short years, he recovered his former strength and even took human form. Only after Xuan Daozi’s explanation did Lady Huaxu slowly accept the fact that the Thunder God was her husband.

Time passed little by little, and Lady Huaxu’s belly, in any case, kept growing larger. Anyone could see that the child within her was no ordinary being.

Twelve whole years. For twelve years, Xuan Daozi had been vexed, and for twelve years he had labored anxiously, until at last liberation arrived.

In an instant, dragons flew in the heavens, brilliant clouds blazed for miles, and harmonious strains of music drifted through the air. The constellations of the firmament shone one after another, and even the ancient powers who had long dwelled in deep palaces rode their clouds into the sky, each of them at a loss. What manner of being could inspire such a spectacle?

“Wait, wait a moment. Don’t rush,” Xuan Daozi said. In truth, he was more anxious than anyone, but there were two who were even more anxious than he: one was the child’s father, the Thunder God; the other was the child’s maternal grandfather, the patriarch of the Huaxu Clan. Compared with those two, Xuan Daozi’s only role was to comfort them.

“Fellow Daoist, don’t stop me. She’s in danger. She’s in danger!” The Thunder God suddenly sensed something then, and his face turned deathly pale as he tried to rush into the room where Lady Huaxu was giving birth.

Xuan Daozi did not know what was happening, but he knew that men must not enter a woman’s birthing chamber. So he threw himself into blocking the Thunder God, who had nearly gone mad with worry. The Thunder God, for his part, was simply frantic. The instant his spiritual sense caught the slightest hint of danger to Lady Huaxu, he wanted to charge ahead.

It seemed Xuan Daozi’s persuasion had finally worked. The Thunder God suddenly turned to him and said, “Fellow Daoist, sense it for yourself. Is this right or wrong?”

By now Xuan Daozi was still clinging to the Thunder God. Hearing this, he leaped down at once, sent out his spiritual sense, and his expression instantly grew solemn.

The midwife inside was also frantic. The child’s head had already come out, but Lady Huaxu had lost consciousness and fainted completely. The midwife hurried out and said to Xuan Daozi and the others, “What are we to do? Do you want the mother, or do you want the child?”

Hearing this, Xuan Daozi and the Thunder God sensed that something was wrong. The two anxious men hurried into the room and saw Lady Huaxu in the midst of labor.

By now, Lady Huaxu was no longer a maiden in her youth. Xuan Daozi was also deeply puzzled: Lady Huaxu had always been sustained by his own power; as one already formed into an immortal body, why should she still suffer the aging, sickness, and death of mortals?

After careful examination, the two finally understood. It turned out that while still in the womb, the child had already been absorbing the primordial qi of heaven and earth. Each day, Lady Huaxu absorbed the power Xuan Daozi sent into her body, and over time her body gradually adapted to that primordial energy, thus forming what might be called an immortal body.

Because of this, the child had been drawing on the primordial energy that nourished the mother. Then, as time passed, by the moment of birth the child had actually developed a measure of independent awareness in advance. And with Xuan Daozi and the others absent, no power being supplied to her, the child simply absorbed the energy within the mother’s body on its own. In this way, Lady Huaxu was transformed into a wrinkled old woman.

Fuxi was still continuously drawing energy from Lady Huaxu’s body. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, Xuan Daozi and the Thunder God hurriedly exerted their great powers and poured their own force into Lady Huaxu. The surging primordial qi roiled through the air, but once it entered Lady Huaxu’s body it became a gentle stream, nourishing every cell within her.

The midwife was astonished beyond words. What sort of being could grow young again from old? Then she recalled the various legends she had heard from her elders and realized that the person before her was no ordinary man, but an immortal.

As Xuan Daozi continued to send out power, he said to the midwife, “What are you standing there for? Hurry and deliver the child!”

With an “ah,” the midwife threw herself back into her own battle.

“Almost there, almost there. Come on, girl, keep it up! Come on, girl, keep it up!”

The midwife knew that the person before her was one she could only look up to, and even her gaze upon the infant grew solemn. For she had already seen the child’s body, and it was not human at all.

The moment Xuan Daozi and the Thunder God entered the room, Lady Huaxu felt a chill wind rush in, and her consciousness began to clear somewhat. Seeing that Lady Huaxu had awakened, Xuan Daozi comforted her, telling her to bear down and give birth properly while they protected her. Hearing the encouragement of both her brother and her husband, Lady Huaxu found strength in herself.

Then came a thunderous cry, and a great deity at last descended into the world once more. After giving birth, Lady Huaxu seemed utterly exhausted and fell into a dazed sleep.

Xuan Daozi and the Thunder God, who had been sending her power all along, collapsed onto the ground as well, panting for fresh air in great gulps. So giving birth was not only a woman’s affair after all. Men, too, had their part in it!

The midwife stood frozen in shock. Was this really a human birth? Why had she delivered a monster? A head of a man and a body of a dragon—that left her standing there in a daze, utterly stupefied.

This was the famed Emperor Fuxi, sovereign of humankind.