The story of Kong Xuan

Kong Xuan first held Three Mountain Pass, controlling the road by which the Zhou army had to move east. The ground before the pass was steep, the woods were dense, and mist lay about the middle of the mountain all year. The Zhou vanguard came up and challenged repeatedly without being able to break it.

Kong Xuan’s attainment was profound. He belonged to neither the Chan nor the Jie Sect and had never entered the Western Sect; he held his pass alone and came and went under the authority of none of the three.

Orders came from Shang moving Kong Xuan to hold Jinji Ridge instead. The road over the ridge was narrow with cliffs standing on either side; Kong Xuan garrisoned it, held the strong ground and cut the Zhou army’s road.

Behind Kong Xuan appeared five streams of divine light in blue, yellow, red, black and white, opening like a canopy across the sky, their colours shifting; whatever was made of the five elements — metal, wood, water, fire or earth — vanished the moment it was drawn into the light and could not be found again.

The officers of the Zhou camp came out to challenge one after another, some with weapons and some with treasures, and all were swept into the five-coloured light and lost. Hong Jin, Nezha and others were beaten in turn; Jiang Ziya went out himself and was covered by the light and vanished with the rest.

Nezha, Yang Jian and others tried again and could not break the light. Yang Jian, watching closely, saw that when the sunlight fell aslant on Kong Xuan’s figure there was the trace of a five-coloured tail feather in his shadow, unlike an ordinary man’s.

Luya came at the news, took out his gourd, spoke the words and loosed the Immortal-Slaying Flying Blade at Kong Xuan. The blade flashed cold as lightning and had barely closed when the five-coloured light caught and drove it back, and Luya had to take it in and retire.

Kong Xuan went on challenging before the ridge, his brocade robe catching the daylight and the light behind him showing and fading. The Zhou officers conferred for days without a way to break him, and the army lay below Jinji Ridge unable to move.

Zhunti Daoren of the Western Sect came riding the wind from the west with the Seven-Treasure Wondrous Tree and faced Kong Xuan before Jinji Ridge; auspicious light and divine light crossed above the ridge and the air changed. After several exchanges Zhunti showed his dharma-body, on which appeared twenty-four heads and eighteen arms, and took each of the five streams of light in turn.

At a word from Zhunti the five-coloured light was wholly drawn in and Kong Xuan’s true shape appeared: a peacock of five colours from head to tail. Before its wings could open Zhunti had it with the demon-binding cord and took it into his own house, carrying it west; it appeared in the field no more.

With Jinji Ridge settled the Zhou army passed the ridge and marched east, and Jiang Ziya, Nezha, Yang Jian and the others who had been swallowed by Kong Xuan’s light came out of it one by one and returned to their own ranks.