The Xuanwu of Slaughter (屠戮玄武,[1] Túlù Xuánwǔ) is a giant creature that lives in a cave in Mount Muxi. It resembles the Divine Beast Xuanwu from Chinese mythology.
Description[]
The beast's coal-black head resembles both a snake and a Xuanwu. Its eyes are golden, with slit pupils and relatively poor eyesight. Steam shoots from its nostrils, and its shell is large enough to be mistaken for an islet in a pool within the cave.[2]
History[]
In history annals, Lan Wangji recalls reading about a demi-Xuanwu, a creature that bore a strong resemblance to the Divine Beast that lives as a god in the North Sea. The demi-Xuanwu appeared over four hundred years ago, consuming countless humans. A group of cultivators once banded together to kill the Xuanwu of Slaughter but failed to find it because it had gone into hibernation.[3]
Death[]
In the lead-up to the Sunshot Campaign, the Qishan Wen Clan commands all clans to send their youths to be trained by the youngest son of Wen Ruohan, Wen Chao.[4]
Wen Chao then forces all the guest cultivators to search Mount Muxi for the cave of a mysterious creature. When they enter the cave and wait by an underground pool, they failed to encounter the creature. Wen Chao grows impatient and suggests stringing up and bleeding someone as bait.[5]
Jealous of Mianmian's beauty, Wen Chao's mistress Wang Lingjiao suggests using her. When Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan defend Mianmian, Su She attempts to intervene by handing her over, but Lan Wangji slaps him away.[5]
From there, a fight breaks out, during which Wei Wuxian takes Wen Chao hostage on an islet in the center of the pool. The islet begins to move, unveiling itself as the shell of the Xuanwu of Slaughter.[5]
The Wens flee, but not before Wei Wuxian stops Wang Lingjiao from vengefully branding Mianmian's face. He takes the Branding Iron on his chest; in gratitude, Mianmian gives him a pouch of herbs she had prepared. After trapping the rest of the cultivators in the cave, the Wens subsequently flee.[2]
Lan Wangji points out that the presence of maple leaves implies a second passage out of the cave, as there were no maple trees by their original entrance. While Wei Wuxian distracts the Xuanwu of Slaughter, Jiang Cheng dives into the pool and finds the entrance. When everyone except Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian is out, Wei Wuxian is struck in the arm by an arrow. Intending to make up for his earlier error with Mianmian by saving Wei Wuxian, Su She had misfired and injured him instead.[2]
Enticed by the scent of blood, the Xuanwu of Slaughter attacks Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji pushes him aside and is bitten on his leg in the process. Ultimately, the Xuanwu blocks the underwater passage with its body, trapping Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the cave.[2]
After three days awaiting rescue, Lan Wangji's injuries heal with the help of Mianmian's herbs. He and Wei Wuxian decide to kill the Xuanwu of Slaughter to escape. As its shell is impenetrable, Wei Wuxian suggested attacking it from the inside to lure it out of its shell, while Lan Wangji uses Chord Assassination.[6]
Inside the Xuanwu of Slaughter‘s shell, Wei Wuxian finds the decomposing corpses of the humans it had consumed. He also finds a strange sword with strong resentful energy that he later forges into the Yin Tiger Tally.[6]
In its death throes, the Xuanwu of Slaughter destroys the underwater passage that would allow Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji to escape, trapping them in the cave. Injured and feverish, Wei Wuxian requests Lan Wangji sing to him, which is how he learns the melody to Wangxian.[6]
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are rescued from the cave seven days later by Jiang Cheng and other cultivators from the Yunmeng Jiang Clan. When Jiang Fengmian inquires about who killed the Xuanwu of Slaughter, Wei Wuxian claims it had mostly been Lan Wangji, and Lan Wangji in turn had claimed it had mostly been Wei Wuxian. Wen Chao, however, later takes credit for killing the creature.[7]
Consequences[]
Wei Wuxian's actions in the cave prompt Wang Lingjiao to target and demand his punishment. Her insistence at severing his right hand leads to the massacre of Lotus Pier, the catalyst for the Sunshot Campaign.[8]
After his resurrection and marriage to Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian discovers that Lan Wangji's money mouch is actually Mianmian's herb pouch. Lan Wangji had stolen it out of jealousy and then kept it to remember Wei Wuxian.[9]
Sometime after their marriage, Wei Wuxian wins an ugly porcelain Xuanwu in a ring toss game. He suggests Lan Wangji put it in the Orchid Room (the classroom) to commemorate killing the Xuanwu of Slaughter and to encourage the disciples to outshine the achievements of their seniors. However, no one dares to ask why the porcelain Xuanwu is sitting on Lan Wangji’s desk.[10]
Gallery[]
.JPG "Tortoise of Slaughter Concept Draft (Donghua).JPG (1.62 MB)")
References[]
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