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PART I
A long time ago, there was a mortal who wished to be a sect leader of a prominent sect and reach immortality.
Since Mo Ziyuan, a young master from Mo Village, was a child, his mother would always tell him that he was the chosen one—the only one worthy to be a sect leader and lead the Lanling Jin Sect. He grew up believing that the gods were already creating a path for him to walk on and started to think highly of himself.
Thus, he proceeded to do nothing but wait for that miraculous time to come. Along the way, he made fun of those people who were doing their hardest in cultivating, he threw insults to those who made him feel inferior, and abused his own status in life and fate.
When such actions reached the ears of the gods in the Heavens, Lan Qiren, a god from Gusu, was furious. After Lan Qiren talked with his Emperor and fellow gods, he calmly sent Mo Ziyuan to the moon to punish him—disguising the punishment as giving him a trial to prove himself and promising to grant his wish to become immortal and lead the Lanling Jin Sect once accomplishing it.
Mo Ziyuan was ecstatic and gladly accepted Lan Qiren's trial for all he had to do was cut a tree down.
Mo Ziyuan spent five days cutting the thick trunk of a massive tree without a moment of rest. When the trunk finally fell into the ground, Mo Ziyuan threw his ax on the floor and started to rejoice. However, before he could think of a way to leave the moon and announce his success to his family and everyone in his village, a sprout suddenly appeared and started to grow on the bark of the tree.
The thin stem of the sprout turned into a thick trunk in a few seconds, leaving Mo Ziyuan bewildered and speechless. As he was about to open his mouth to complain, he found that his lips were sealed and Lan Qiren's voice suddenly resonated in the moon.
“Each word of complaint will make the trunk grow thicker than before,” the god said.
Mo Ziyuan swallowed his words down and convinced himself that this was just another trial as he obeyed Lan Qiren. He wanted to reach his dreams in the fastest and shortest way possible, thus, the thick trunk fell into the ground after four days of continuous cutting.
When a new sprout started to grow, Mo Ziyuan finally realized that despite putting great effort in accomplishing his trial, the sprout would immediately grow into a thicker trunk. He, however, failed to realize that this was not a trial but a punishment—a punishment that would last forever.
PART II
Sitting on the dais, Lan Wangji, the Jade Emperor and ruler of the Heavens, noticed that Lan Qiren was fatigued from overseeing Mo Ziyuan's punishment every day. This was the first time he saw the god this tired, concerning him, hence he commanded the Venerated Triad to look for a new medicine maker.
“Do not look for a human for they are greedy and arrogant,” the Emperor said as he remembered what Mo Ziyuan did. “Look for an animal instead.”
As the Venerated Triad gods were descending to the Earth, Zewu-jun couldn’t help but smile as he remembered what the Emperor said.
“What are you laughing at, er-ge?” asked his fellow god, Lianfang-zun.
“Stop fooling around. We’re here,” Chifeng-zun cut in.
True to his words, they had already arrived at the foot of the mountain. After Lianfang-zun and Chifeng-zun spent half an hour arguing, they have decided to disguise themselves as old, starving men and conduct their search for a new medicine maker in Yiling.
“Please help us! We are lost! We are old and weak, starving and thirsty. A little amount of food is all we ask!” said Lianfang-zun in a loud and shaky voice like that of an old man as he tried to get the attention of the animals residing in the mountain.
The animals stopped in their tracks and only looked at them with curiosity before continuing what they were doing. The immortal sighed and was about to ask his fellow gods to search on the next mountain when a fox, monkey, and a rabbit came running to them.
“Please have these fruits,” Nie Huaisang, the monkey said, offering his own fruits to Chifeng-zun.
“These crops are hard to eat. Grandpas need to cook these on fire first to make it soft before eating,” Jiang Cheng, the fox, instructed as he laid his root crops in front of Zewu-jun.
Wei Wuxian, the rabbit, bowed, “I apologize. I only have these wild grasses with me. I do not have anything else to give you.”
Lianfang-zun smiled at him. “It is alright.”
It wasn’t. Wei Wuxian, the rabbit, felt sad as the two old men were happily eating while the other was silently watching them eat their fill. Unable to contain the sadness of not being able to do anything to help, he sacrificed himself and jumped into the fire, offering himself as food for the old man to eat.
The three old men were shocked! They immediately transformed back and revealed themselves as the distinguishing Venerated Triad gods—surprising the monkey and fox—and took Wei Wuxian, the rabbit, who miraculously didn't get burned, with them back to the Heavens.
Upon hearing the news of the immortals' return to the Heavens and how they searched for the new medicine marker, Lan Wangji made a decision to personally train Wei Wuxian on how to make the divine medicines.
The days flew by and under the guidance of the Jade Emperor, Wei Wuxian, the rabbit, was able to master the art of medicine. Lan Qiren’s sickness was cured as soon as he drank the medicine, astonishing all of the gods in the Heavens. The rabbit was so happy that he couldn’t help but jump into the Emperor’s lap and asked to be pat on his head. Unexpectedly, the Jade Emperor indulged him.
The rabbit then decided to work even harder to please his Emperor and to get his attention every day. He also befriended two sun descendants and became popular among the gods.
However, Wei Wuxian, the rabbit, didn’t last long in the Heavens. Rumors had it that he was banished by the Jade Emperor himself after causing an exiled goddess to become immortal again. But it was said that the Jade Emperor was too attached to the rabbit and couldn't bear to send him back to Earth so he sent him to the moon instead. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji never saw each other again.
PART III
The Wen descendants were running rumpus. The eight adult Wens transformed themselves into suns, bringing the two young Wens—Wen Ning and Wen Yuan—and forced them to play along. The ten suns heartlessly scorched the Earth high up in the Heavens. Lan Wangji summoned the greatest archer in all of the Heavens, Jin Zixuan, and commanded him to teach the Wens a lesson.
“Do not harm Wei Wuxian’s friends, Wen Ning and Wen Yuan,” the Jade Emperor said before dismissing the archer.
When Jin Zixuan descended to the Earth, he saw the sufferings of the mortals with his own eyes. Everything was lifeless—the lands and waters were dried up, the trees were burning, the animals were blinded, and everyone was in great agony. Fueled by anger, Jin Zixuan plucked his arrow from his satchel and aimed at the suns. The first sun fell and died, followed by another, until there was only one sun left alive to give the right amount of light and warmth to the Earth—completely forgetting his Emperor’s reminder.
Upon hearing the news, Lan Wangji became furious and exiled Jin Zixuan from the Heavens with his beautiful wife, Jiang Yanli. He turned them into mere mortals and forced them to live their lives as ordinary people on Earth. As soon as the decree was made, Lan Wangji left the dais with the equally furious rabbit with him.
Life as mortals was too hard for the former immortals. It took them a while to adjust to their new lifestyle. Jin Zixuan taught the villager men how to hunt with bows and arrows, while Jiang Yanli busied herself in teaching the ladies the art of weaving. Although he was a hero of mankind, he had his fear—it was the inevitable death of the mortals. He wished to avoid it and return to the Heavens with his wife again. She, at least, didn't deserve this punishment.
One day, Jin Zixuan recalled an immortal residing on a hidden part of Mount Kunlun. He told his wife his plan to ask for the immortal’s aid. Jiang Yanli agreed and promised to wait for his return.
After days and nights of traveling, he finally reached her sacred temple on Mount Kunlun. The Queen Mother of the West, Baoshan Sanren, pitied the archer and granted him an elixir of immortality.
“Drinking half of the elixir will grant you everlasting life. Drinking the whole bottle will make you ascend to heaven as a full-fledged immortal.”
Jin Zixuan thanked the immortal and left. As he was journeying back home, he thought of giving half of the elixir to his wife and keep the other half for himself.
Jiang Yanli was ecstatic on her husband’s return and news. She cooked all of his favorite dishes and celebrated throughout the night after hiding the elixir away from prying eyes.
One day, while Jin Zixuan was out to hunt for food, Su She sneaked into the couple’s hut. He knew that the couple used to be immortals and he had heard that they obtained the elixir of life from another immortal.
“Give me the elixir or I will end your husband’s pitiful life,” he threatened when Jiang Yanli caught him.
Despite being a former immortal, Jiang Yanli wasn’t as strong as her husband; she was losing her fight with the burglar. Afraid that Su She would get his hand on the elixir her husband worked hard for, she drank all the contents of the bottle. She then felt her limbs grow weightless and began to float in the sky.
As a banished god, she could no longer return to the Heavens, thus, she hid in an abandoned moon and silently wept. From that day on, she would be spending the rest of her eternal life away from her mortal husband.
Legends say that up until now, the shadow of Mo Ziyuan cutting a tree can be seen at night when the moon is round and bright, especially during the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is also said that during this time, the Goddess Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian, the rabbit, are able to reunite with their loved ones. Although they can't be with them physically, they are fortunate enough to see each other once a year.
EXTRA
“Shijie! Shijie!” Wei Wuxian shouted as he ran to the immortal.
Jiang Yanli smiled at him and crouched down. “What’s the matter, Xianxian? Why are you in such a hurry?” she said as she fondly stroked the fluffy fur of the rabbit.
“Shijie, I found a mortal at the other side of the moon! He spends most of his time cutting the huge tree down but every time the trunk falls, the old bark will grow a new trunk. What is he doing?”
“Really? Why don't we accompany him? He must be feeling lonely,” she said melancholy.
“Shijie, don't be too sad. Xianxian is here with you. Also,” Wei Wuxian paused and smiled, “we will see them again next year.”