Five Element Carts Yaoguai Chiefs
Location
Focus of the elemental carts quest in chapter 5. A full breakdown of it, including the carts’ locations, can be found here.
Description
At Flaming Mountains, Red Boy was about to celebrate his hundredth birthday. He was in high spirits and asked the Keeper, “My birthday is coming soon. Can I go out and play for a while?”
The Keeper replied, “As your father instructed when he ordered me to watch over you, I must ensure you focus on your practice. You cannot go out at will.”
Red Boy argued, “I have already mastered the Samadhi Fire. Can’t I take a break for a few days?” As he spoke, he punched his nose, releasing a burst of flames.
The Keeper shook his head, “You were taught the Samadhi Fire so that you could use it to refine your inner core. Spitting fire carelessly such as that dissipates your qi and is nothing more than a trivial trick.”
He continued, “The liver corresponds to wood, which generates fire; the heart corresponds to fire, which generates earth; the spleen corresponds to earth, which generates metal; the lungs correspond to metal, which generates water; the kidneys correspond to water, which generates wood. The five elements generate each other in a continuous cycle. With the Samadhi Fire, you should use it to refine the energy of your five organs.”
Growing impatient, Red Boy said, “Enough, I understand. I’ll go back to my practice.”
On his birthday, the Bull King hosted a grand banquet in the mountains, inviting many friends to celebrate. Red Boy ordered some minions to bring out five small carts. The minions arranged the carts according to the five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Red Boy approached them, recited an incantation, and spat out fire from his mouth while thick smoke erupted from his nose. Flames burst forth from his eyes, and fire surged from the five carts. After several bursts, the red flames blazed into the sky.
The Keeper was displeased, feeling that Red Boy was too playful and overly interested in trivial tricks. He feared that the boy might waste his potential in the days to come.
However, the Bull King was very pleased. To him, although Red Boy was not engaged in deep practice, he already understood how to employ his skills to create useful tools, which showed great ingenuity. He immediately ordered the creation of five larger war carts for his son.
From then on, the Five Element Carts became Red Boy’s companions in his practice. Within a hundred years, these carts, imbued with his Samadhi Fire, gained sentience and became formidable guais in the Flaming Mountains.
Poetry
Five carts align with elements five,
From their fusion, fiery life does thrive.
Beast heads roar as they swiftly race,
Fire wheels east and west, the path they trace.
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