During the height of the Tang Dynasty, in the picturesque district of Zengcheng in Guangdong, a girl named He Qiong was born to a man named He Tai. From her earliest days, it was evident that the girl was unlike others. Legends say she was born with six long hairs on the crown of her head, which the local villagers took as a sign of her destined connection to the heavens. As she grew, He Qiong developed a deep, contemplative nature. While other children played, she would often sit by the banks of the river or at the foot of the hills, watching the flow of water and the movement of the clouds. She possessed an innate kindness, helping her parents with their modest business and refusing to eat the flesh of animals, subsisting instead on a simple diet of herbs and grains. Her beauty was matched only by her spiritual purity, and many suitors sought her hand, but she turned them all away, feeling a call to a life that transcended the domestic boundaries of her time.
At the age of fourteen, He Qiong began to experience vivid dreams. In these visions, a divine figure—often identified in later accounts as the immortal Lu Dongbin or a celestial spirit from the court of the Queen Mother of the West—appeared to her. The spirit spoke of the hidden secrets of the universe and the path to the Dao. One particular dream instructed her to seek out the mica powder found in the deep crevices of the earth, which she began to consume. This unusual diet further refined her physical form, making her body light and her mind incredibly sharp. However, the most significant turning point in her journey occurred when she traveled to the slopes of Mount Luofu, a sacred mountain known for its deep Taoist roots and its role as a bridge between the mortal and immortal realms. Mount Luofu, situated north of the Dongjiang, was a place of mist-covered peaks and ancient temples, where the energy of the earth was said to be at its strongest.
While wandering through the dense, emerald forests of Mount Luofu, He Qiong found herself in a secluded valley that seemed to exist outside of time. The air was filled with a fragrance so sweet and potent that it revitalized her soul. There, she encountered a magnificent tree, its branches heavy with fruit that shimmered with an ethereal light. This was a Xiantao, a Peach of Immortality, identical to those grown in the legendary gardens of Xiwangmu on Mount Kunlun. These peaches were said to ripen only once every several thousand years and granted longevity and divine powers to anyone lucky enough to taste them. As she stood in awe, a mysterious figure appeared from the shadows of the ancient trees. Some stories claim it was the immortal Iron-Crutch Li, while others say it was a manifestation of the mountain's own spirit. The figure plucked a peach and handed it to her, acknowledging her years of devotion, her refusal to succumb to worldly temptations, and her unwavering pursuit of the Dao.
As He Qiong took her first bite of the magical fruit, she felt a profound transformation. The juice of the peach was like liquid moonlight, cooling her veins and filling her heart with an overwhelming sense of peace. The heavy burdens of mortality began to dissolve. She could feel the Qi, the life force of the universe, flowing through her with newfound clarity. Her senses expanded; she could hear the whispers of the mountain spirits and see the subtle vibrations of the rocks and trees. The peach was not merely food; it was a catalyst that unlocked her latent divinity. From that moment on, she no longer felt the pangs of hunger or thirst. Her physical body became nearly weightless, and she found that she could traverse great distances with a single step, gliding over the rugged terrain of Mount Luofu as if walking on air.
News of her transformation spread throughout the region. When she returned to her family, they were astonished to see her skin glowing with a celestial luster and her eyes reflecting the wisdom of the ages. She began to perform miraculous acts of healing, using her knowledge of mountain herbs and her newly acquired divine energy to cure the sick and comfort the grieving. She became known as He Xiangu, or 'Immortal Maiden He.' Despite her elevated status, she remained humble, often seen carrying a large ladle or a lotus flower, symbolizing purity and her commitment to serving others. The lotus, in particular, became her primary emblem—a flower that rises from the mud but remains unstained, much like her soul had risen from the complexities of mortal life to the clarity of the heavens.