Calabash Brothers: The Ten Directions Guard the Mountains and Seas

The snake spirit was vanquished, and the barrier between the mountains and seas developed a leak. Looking at his seven grandsons, each burdened by their own inner turmoil, their grandfather Hu Huaishan made a startling decision: they would descend the mountain, marry, and put down roots. Yet where Hulu Mountain had collapsed, the vine’s roots had not been severed. As demonic energy intensified throughout the Realm of Mountains and Seas, the gourd vine bore its final three divine seeds in the depths of despair: the eighth child, Hu Tongxuan, could exchange things across the void and toy with the rules; the ninth, Hu Taichu, had the strength to move mountains and rivers and shoulder the collapsing realm; the tenth, Hu Guizhen, carried a lantern and commanded reincarnation, deciding the birth and death of all things. The seven brothers and their seven wives had already brought order to the world; now, three more brothers and their brides would add to their divine power. The eighth married Youji of the Ghost Market, stealing secrets from Heaven; the ninth married Cangli, a mermaid who guarded Guixu; and the tenth, Hu Guizhen, though devoid of desire and feeling, drew the last descendant of the Mengmo clan, Bai Yetan, who used her dreamweaving hands to warm his glasslike heart. Now all ten sons were together, and all ten lanterns burned bright. As the nine-headed Xiangliu revived through “greed, anger, obsession, and resentment,” and the will of Chaos sought to return to the mortal realm, Grandpa Hu Huaishan sounded his reed-pipe. Ten couples stood side by side. Ten flowers bloom on a single vine, their seven colors revealing demons, their power guarding the mountains and seas in every direction. Lanterns light the night, and dreams are woven into garments. This mortal world is worth protecting, and the world shall endure forever!