The Legends of Ren Zu, Chapter Four, Section 33 stated:
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence ran after her brother, trying to catch up to him. However, he was so fixated on becoming an eagle that he continued flying over a vast distance across Purple Heaven before Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence was able to reach him. He cared not for anything save for soaring in the sky.
Once Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence finally managed to find Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance, he nearly attacked her.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence asked.
"Be careful Human," Cognition Gu warned. "He has almost completely lost his identity and sense of self."
Before her brother could attack her again, he seemed to finally recognize her.
"Sister?" Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance said. "Ah, it's you."
"Brother, you've almost lost yourself by transforming into an eagle. You need to turn back," Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence urged.
"No," Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance replied. "Sister, I was wondering why I felt so terrible earlier. I felt so bad about having destroyed Blue Heaven and causing so much damage. But now that I'm an eagle, I don't need to worry about that anymore. All I have to do is fly around, eat, and rest. That's all. And most importantly, I can just finally fly away to somewhere where no one knows me, where no one will judge me for what I did to Blue Heaven!"
"But brother," Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence answered, "no matter where you go, you'll still be the same person. Will that heal the wound in your heart? Changing where you are won't change who you are."
"It's too late, sister. I want to remain an eagle now," Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance said. He then soared back into the sky, leaving Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence with no choice but to follow him.
Eventually, Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance grew bored of being an eagle. But although being an eagle was liberating, eagles have their own problems. Although he could fly, he was light and vulnerable on the ground. As he glanced down at a large spring within Purple Heaven, he began wondering what it might be like to go for a swim and so abandoned the idea of remaining as an eagle.
So he landed by the spring, transformed himself into a fish, and dived into the water.
"Brother, wait!" Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence yelled out.
Her brother simply didn't care. "Look, sister," Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance called out. "Down here in the depths of the water, no one knows who I am. Down here, I'm free - not like I was back on land. Now I can swim forever as a fish."
"Brother, you must turn back into a human!" Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence said.
"No, sister. I want to remain in the water."
However, even as Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance continued to swim, he quickly got bored of being a fish and wanted to become something else. The more he swam, the more time he had to think about his previous life, and the memories that haunted him returned.
Deciding he wanted to emerge from the water while still remaining within it, he chose to turn into a frog.
"Look, sister," Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance said as Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence followed him. "I'm a frog now. I don't have to worry about anything. I just need to hop around this pond and go ribbit-ribbit. I can be in the water and on land too. Isn't this for the best?"
"Brother, you're a human, not a frog. Turn back into a human now!" she said.
"No, sister, it's too late. I like being a frog now," he answered.
However, as he continued hopping around as a frog, he found that being a frog was equally unsatisfying. It grew boring, and he began remembering his past life once again. Thinking about the sky, the water, and the land, he decided to turn into a duck instead.
"Look, sister, I no longer need to stay just on land or in the water. I can fly in the sky too!" Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance said.
"But brother, you're not a duck. Turn back into a human now!" she said.
"It's too late, sister. I want to be a duck now," he replied.
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance continued to flap around, now free to wander the water, the sky, and the land. However, becoming a duck quickly grew boring as well, and the memories of his past life returned once more.
It was at that moment that Cognition Gu fluttered away from Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence and landed near him.
"Oh human," Cognition Gu said, "no matter what you try to transform yourself into, over and over again, you haven't addressed the root cause of your problem. As long as the problem isn't tackled at its root, no matter what form you take, you will never be satisfied. And no matter where you go, the land, the sea, or the sky, so long as it is the same 'you' as you were before, it will not change who you are."
"I see that now," Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance said softly. "I need to turn back into who I was before."
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance attempted to turn back into a human. However, as he did so, Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence gasped.
"Brother... you didn't turn back into a human!"
Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance looked down at his body. He had turned into a strange, horrific creature: a tentacle protruded from one arm, he had the wings of a duck, the beak of an eagle, and strange feathers sprouting all over his body.
"Oh human," Cognition Gu said sadly, "you've pretended to be someone else for so long that you've forgotten what it truly means to be you. Now, turning back is impossible."
"Not possible! Brother," Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence said, "I'll help you turn back into who you are! Just keep trying, and I'll tell you whenever you get it right."
However, no matter how many times Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance tried to turn back into his former self, he was unable to. There was always something wrong. He ended up as a grotesque amalgamation of various animal parts, unable to recall his true human form using Transformation Gu.
He had been running away from himself for so long that he had finally, completely lost his sense of self.
"Sister... just who am I?" Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance asked. "What have I become?" He moved to a nearby pond and glanced at his reflection. "I cannot even recognize myself anymore."
***
Tie Xue Leng glanced around the Tie clan encampment. With the loss of Tie Ba Xiu, their plans would have to change.
"Tell me... are you serious about trying to see whether you can change Fang Zheng's mind?" Tie Xue Leng asked Tie Ruo Nan.
"Father... how did you know about that?" she asked in surprise.
"I could read it all over your face," Tie Xue Leng said, a gentle smile visible even through his bronze mask. "I've known you long enough to be able to tell. If that is truly what you want, then invite Fang Zheng to our encampment. Despite only visiting the inheritance a few times, Qing Shu and Fang Zheng seem to have great gains. Qing Shu is rumored to have found a Golden Yellow Relic Gu in the inheritance. They may have some secret, and we may be able to barter information with them. Even if Fang Zheng refuses to change his ways."
"All right, Father," Tie Ruo Nan said, preparing to invite both Fang Zheng and Qing Shu to the Tie clan encampment.