heavens, all there was was a
great ball of watery vapor called chaos. And at that time the spirits
of the five elemental powers took shape, and became the five Ancients.
The first was called the Yellow Ancient, and he was the ruler of the
earth. The second was called the Red Lord, and he was the ruler of the
fire. The third was called the Dark Lord, and he was the ruler of the
water. The fourth was known as the Wood Prince, and he was the ruler
of the wood. The fifth was called the Mother of Metals, and ruled over
them. These five Ancients set all their primal spirit into motion, so
that water and earth sank down. The heavens floated upward, and the
earth grew firm in the depths. Then they allowed the waters to gather
into rivers and seas, and hills and plains made their appearance. So
the heavens opened and the earth was divided. And there were sun, moon
and all the stars, wind, clouds, rain, and dew. The Yellow Ancient set
earth's purest power spinning in a circle, and added the effect of
fire and water thereto. Then there came forth grasses and trees, birds
and beasts, and the tribes of the serpents and insects, fishes and
turtles. The Wood Prince and the Mother of Metals combined light and
darkness, and thus created the human race as men and women. And thus
the world gradually came to be.

At that time there was one who was known as the True Prince of the
Jasper Castle. He had acquired the art of sorcery through the
cultivation of magic. The five Ancients begged him to rule as the
supreme god. He dwelt above the three and thirty heavens, and the
Jasper Castle, of white jade with golden gates, was his. Before him
stood the stewards of the eight-and-twenty houses of the moon, and the
gods of the thunders and the Great Bear, and in addition a class of
baneful gods whose influence was evil and deadly. They all aided the
True Prince of the Jasper Castle to rule over the thousand tribes
under the heavens, and to deal out life and death, fortune and
misfortune. The Lord of the Jasper Castle is now known as the Great
God, the White Jade Ruler.

The five Ancients withdrew after they had done their work, and
thereafter lived in quiet purity. The Red Lord dwells in the South as
the god of fire. The Dark Lord dwells in the North, as the mighty
master of the somber polar skies. He lived in a castle of liquid
crystal. In later ages he sent Confucius down upon earth as a saint.
Hence this saint is known as the Son of Crystal. Th