Discover Mount Daiyu's wonders, including the boiling Yuanyuan Lake, melting metals into mud, and the lofty Jade Bridge adorned with dragons and phoenixes, amidst swirling clouds.
Mount Daiyu, also known as Fuxi Mountain, has a vast lake to its east called Yuanyuan, with a circumference of a thousand miles. The water in Yuanyuan perpetually boils, causing metals and stones thrown into it to melt into mud. In early winter, the water in Yuanyuan dries up, and yellow smoke rises several zhangs high from beneath the ground at the lake’s bottom, changing colors constantly. People from the mountain often dig at the bottom of Yuanyuan, and just a few feet down, they find charred stones resembling burnt charcoal, with sparks inside. If they lower torches made from hemp, bamboo, and the like, they witness blue flames produced by the burning. Deeper digs result in even larger flames. There is a grass named Manghuang, with round leaves resembling lotus leaves. Standing ten steps away from this grass can burn one’s clothing. When woven into mats, these Manghuang grass mats provide extra warmth in winter. Rubbing two Manghuang grass stalks together generates fire. To the south of Mount Daiyu, there lies a thousand-mile expanse of level sand, colored like gold and as fine as powder. The sand flows slowly forward, and when birds and animals walk on the beach, their feet and claws are submerged by the sand. When the wind blows across the beach, it lifts the sand, creating a dense fog known as golden mist or golden dust. When the sand lands on trees, they shine like they’ve been coated in gold. Mixing the golden sand with mud and water, and using it as a plaster for the palaces of the immortals, makes them radiate in dazzling gold and brightness. To the west of Mount Daiyu stands the Xiyu Mountain, where the stones come in five colors, are very light, and some are shaped like shoes with smooth and attractive surfaces, resembling crafted work. The black stones found there are the most beautiful and are used by the immortals. To the north of Mount Daiyu, there is a thousand-zhang-long Jade Bridge spanning the Black Water. Purple moss covers the entire surface of the bridge, and this moss is sweet-tasting, soft, and smooth. Those who consume it never hunger for a thousand years.
On both sides of the Jade Bridge, there are brilliantly colored clouds with patterns of dragons and phoenixes. The Jade Bridge is over a thousand zhangs above the Black Water River, where clouds and mist generate underneath the bridge. On both banks, there are Dan Gui, Zi Gui, and Bai Gui trees, each towering up to eight thousand zhangs, and these trees are used to build boats called “Wengui vessels.” There are also Sandang and Yuzhang trees, each reaching a height of eight thousand zhangs, and their slender branches are used to create boats that are ten zhangs long. Beneath the Jade Bridge, seven varieties of Lingzhi mushrooms grow in different colors, with the green ones shining brightly and referred to as “Cangzhi.” Fireflies there are as large as bees, chirping like sparrows, and they have four pairs of wings and six legs. On the Jade Bridge, you can also find five types of bats. The yellow ones have no intestines and fly upside down with their bellies facing upward. The white bats have heavy heads and hang upside down under the bridge. The black bats resemble crows and grow as large as small swallows when they reach a thousand years old. The blue bats have fur on their bodies that’s two inches long, with a color reminiscent of jade. The red bats reside in stone caves that reach high into the sky, always watching the sunrise and sunset from above the caves. There is a wild beast known as the “Shouyue,” resembling a leopard. It drinks from the Golden Spring and feeds on the essence of Silver Stone. Every evening, the Shouyue exhales white mist, and the light emitted by this mist is as bright as moonlight, illuminating an area of dozens of mu. It is said that during the time of the Yellow Emperor, this beast was captured. Additionally, there is a grass called “Yaoxiangcao.” Its red flowers shine like cinnabar, while its slender white leaves resemble Forget-Me-Nots. Both the flowers and leaves of this grass emit a fragrant scent, which can be smelled several li away, hence its name “Yaoxiangcao.” The seeds of Yaoxiangcao resemble those of Job’s Tears and are sweet to taste. Consuming them for several months keeps hunger and thirst at bay, and the body exudes the fragrance of Yaoxiangcao. Long-term consumption is believed to extend one’s life, and the immortals often harvest this grass.
岱輿山，一名浮析，東有員淵千里，常沸騰，以金石投之，則爛如土矣。孟冬水涸，中有黃煙從地出，起數丈，煙色萬變。山人掘之，入地數尺，得燋石如炭滅，有碎火，以蒸燭投之，則然而青色，深掘則火轉盛。有草名莽煌，葉圓如荷，去之十步，炙人衣則燋，刈之為席，方冬彌溫，以枝相摩，則火出矣。南有平沙千里，色如金，若粉屑，靡靡常流，鳥獸行則沒足。風吹沙起若霧，亦名金霧，亦曰金塵。沙著樹粲然，如黃金塗矣。和之以泥，塗仙宮，則晃昱明粲也。西有舄玉山，其石五色而輕，或似履舄之狀，光澤可愛，有類人工。其黑色者為勝，眾仙所用焉。北有玉梁千丈，駕玄流之上，紫苔覆漫，味甘而柔滑，食者千歲不飢。玉梁之側，有斑斕自然雲霞龍鳳之狀。梁去玄流千餘丈，雲氣生其下。傍有丹桂、紫桂、白桂，皆直上千尋，可為舟航，謂之“文桂之舟”。亦有沙棠、豫章之木，長千尋，細枝為舟，猶長十丈。有七色芝生梁下，其色青，光輝耀，謂之“蒼芝”。熒火大如蜂，聲如雀，八翅六足。梁有五色蝙蝠，黃者無腸，倒飛，腹向天；白者腦重，頭垂自掛；黑者如烏，至千歲形變如小燕；青者毫毛長二寸，色如翠；赤者止於石穴，穴上入天，視日出入恆在其上。有獸名嗽月，形似豹，飲金泉之液，食銀石之髓。此獸夜噴白氣，其光如月，可照數十畝。軒轅之世獲焉。有遙香草，其花如丹，光耀入月，葉細長而白，如忘憂之草，其花葉俱香，扇馥數裡，故名遙香草。其子如薏中實，甘香，食之累月不飢渴，體如草之香，久食延齡萬歲。仙人常採食之。