The Heavenly Maiden is a soul-devouring god that resembles a dancing woman, located in a cave temple on Dafan Mountain.
Description[]
The Heavenly Maiden's features are initially vague but become clearer after consuming the souls of several cultivators. She is immune to spiritual weapons, Talismans and ordinary arrows, and dances as she attacks. Her presence is undetectable by the Compass of Ill Winds.[1][2]
She is capable of consuming human flesh and ripping human bodies apart.[2]
History[]
Creation[]
The Heavenly Maiden was originally a natural rock formation that merely resembled a dancing woman. After its discovery, legends abounded explain its presence on Dafan Mountain. One legend says that the Heavenly Maiden was made by an immortal who was in love with the goddess ä¹å¤©ē儳 (literally "Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens"). His love angered the Maiden, so the statue was left unfinished.
Another legend claims that the statue was of a daughter of the Jade Emperor whose early death prompted her father to make a statue in her memory. Regardless of origin, the people living in the village of Fojiao Town near Dafan Mountain came to believe in their own legends and began worshiping the statue.
Over hundreds of years of worship, the Heavenly Maiden gained sentience and began stealing human souls. By the time Wei Wuxian arrives on Dafan Mountain, seven people have already had their souls taken.[3]
Victims[]
The first victim was a vagrant who took refuge in the Maiden's temple during a storm. After wishing for wealth, he exited the temple rich enough to throw a lavish wedding. However, his soul was taken on his wedding night.
The second victim goes by the name of A-Yan. She appeared to lose her soul after her fiancĆ© was eaten by wolves. She was the only victim to have her soul returned, as the third victim was A-Yan's father. Blacksmith Zheng (ééę±, ZhĆØng TiÄjiÄng) prayed for the goddess to return his daughter's soul, and lost his soul as a result.[3]
The Heavenly Maiden visibly moves when Jin Ling makes a wish for whatever was taking souls on Dafan Mountain to appear. As payment for granting his wish, the Heavenly Maiden then takes the soul of an unnamed cultivator who repeats Jin Ling's wish.[2]
Defeat[]
After leaving her temple, Heavenly Maiden gains a taste for flesh and blood as well as souls.[2] She is only defeated after Wei Wuxian summons the Ghost General Wen Ning, who uses a rock to smash her into pieces. Inside the Heavenly Maiden is an internal core that could be processed by a skilled cultivator to return the souls of people who had their souls taken recently. However, no one thinks to pick up this core, as they are all distracted by the presence of Wen Ning.[4]
Animation Divergence[]
In the Animation, she does not come to life from years of worship, but is instead possessed by the Demonic Left Arm captured in Mo Village. Moreover, she is depicted with six arms, which is not mentioned in the novel.[5]
Manhua Divergence[]
The manhua also depicts the Heavenly Maiden as having six arms.[6]
Web Series Divergence[]
In the Web Series, the Heavenly Maiden gained its soul-stealing abilities from the presence of Yin Metal hidden within her temple. As a result, she devoured the souls of Wen Qing and Wen Ning's parents, and nearly devoured the soul of Wen Ning. In fact, the initial suppression of the Goddess Statue led to Wen Ruohan's preoccupation with the Yin Metal.[7]
Gallery[]
.JPG "Goddess Statue Concept Draft (Donghua).JPG (2.6 MB)")
Trivia[]
- The Heavenly Maiden's original translation was "goddess statue" by Exiled Rebel Translations.[2]