Xiangliu

### Summary

Giant snake-like daemon who can bring flood and infertility across anywhere and everywhere they come across.

A **xiangliu**, or **xiangyao**, is a race of giant snake-like daemon known for their poisonous breath which can render land barren everywhere they slide across.

## Overview

**Xiangliu** (相柳), known in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* as **Xiangyao** (相繇), is a venomous nine-headed snake monster that brings floods and destruction in Chinese mythology.

He was a minister of the snake-like water deity Gonggong. When Gonggong received orders to punish people with floods, Xiangliu was proud to contribute to their troubles. Eventually, Xiangliu was killed, in some versions of the story by Yu the Great, whose other labors included ending the Great Flood of China, in others by Nüwa after he was defeated by Zhurong. It said that his blood stank to the point it was impossible to grow grain in the land it soaked and the area flooded, making it uninhabitable. Eventually Yu had to restrain the waters in a pond, over which the Sky Lords built their pavilions.

An oral version of the Xiangliu myth, in which Xiangliu is depicted as a nine-headed serpent responsible for floods and other harm, was collected from Sichuan as late as 1983.

## Summary

The xiangliu, much like the majority of daemon, are the creations of the original demons who used them to wreak havoc in the mortal world, especially on Earth, and bring death and destruction upon mankind.

Due to its fearsome poison, the xiangliu are terrible daemon that no one wants to face but the immortal gods or the bravest of exorcists and hunters. Due to their ability to induce infertility everywhere they go, they are considered omens of destruction and groups of the most experienced exorcists are sent out for an immediate hunt if a xiangliu is located.

In ancient China, the water god Gonggong employed the service of a dozen witches to summon and bind the Alpha Xiangliu to him as his familiar and use it in his military campaign, unleashing its terrible powers onto any place that refused to worship him. Gonggong was later defeated and executed by Zhurong, while the Alpha Xiangliu escaped into the wild and reproduced by raping the nature spirits there.

The Alpha Xiangliu was later killed by the mythical king Yu the Great, but its terror didn't stop there. From its body, poison leaked out as giant floods and stank to the point where it was impossible to grow grain in the land it soaked and the area flooded, making it uninhabitable. Eventually, Yu had to restrain the waters in a pond, over which the gods built their heavenly pavilions.

Only much later on, centuries after Yu the Great's death, did the gods discover the existence of the xiangliu daemon, children and descendants of the Alpha Xiangliu. By performing an unnamed Old Religion ritual, they were able to banish them into **Diyu**, the Chinese Underworld, much to the irritation of Yanluo.

In the Devil Civil War, employed in the service of the Old Satan Faction were hundreds of xiangliu daemon, bred and trained by a cadet house of the Valac Clan using their parselmouth power.

## Appearance

Xiangliu daemon resemble giant snakes, with the largest recorded one reaching as large as over 30-meters across. They have shiny black scales all over their body except on their nine heads, which appear to be the silent screaming faces of humans.

The Alpha Xiangliu is recorded to be the largest of them all, befitting its status as an Alpha, and reached nearly 100-meters across with heads as large as a small house. It had shiny silver-white scales, nine faces that resembled human skulls with giant fangs, and shiny golden gemstones on its head. It secreted a foul-smelling glowing blue slime.

## Characteristics

Not much is known about the xiangliu daemon other than its savageness and terrifying nature. They are extremely gluttonous daemon who would stop at nothing to capture their desired prey, even devouring entire villages and cities just to satisfy its never ending hunger. When a xiangliu catches its prey, all of its nine heads will eat the victim at once, tearing the poor victim apart while their consciousness remains intact due to its poison.

Unlike most daemon, they are an unintelligent species and have a closer resemblance to lesser monsters than actual demonic creatures, with the only known intelligent xiangliu being the Alpha who was killed thousands of years ago. Because of this, it is impossible to maintain a peaceful relationship with the xiangliu daemon without using magic to turn them into familiars and tamed summons.

During the Devil Civil War, because of their power to manipulate all kinds of snake-like beings, a cadet house of the Valac Clan was able to breed and train hundreds of xiangliu daemon to be used as weapons for the Old Satan Faction, which is considered to be an incredible feat as controlling a single non-familiar/non-summonable xiangliu is considered to be extremely difficult, even among members of the Valac Clan.

## Weaknesses

* **Physical Damage**: Like most supernatural creatures, xianglius daemon can still be killed through mundane means if they have either received serious or immense physical damage or received fatal wounds that aren't healed in time.
* **Animal Blood (Mongoose)**: Like some daemon, xiangliu daemon can be weakened and defeated if they are covered in and/or consumed mongoose blood. If consumed, its stomach will begin to heat up and then incinerate itself from inside out.
* **Cold Temperature**: While not being actual reptiles, xiangliu daemon become slower and weakened while in cold temperature, thus making Ice Magic and cold places/areas the perfect combination when fighting against them. However, this weakness could be overcome if the xiangliu has eaten someone recently, making it absolutely necessary to freeze the area it is in before it has the chance to even identify its prey.
* **Light Element**: As daemon, xiangliu are the natural enemies of the Light element. They are vulnerable against natural sunlight, which weakened them if they are exposed to it for an extended amount of time. Intense light, such as the one generated through Light Magic or used in the light constructs of angels and fallen angels, are extremely deadly weapons against them.
* **Holy Attribute**: As demonic creatures, the holy attribute is the bane of all daemon like xiangliu, regardless of their strength. Religious symbols, scriptures, and prayers are extremely effective when defending oneself against one of them, and items imbued with the holy attribute are considered to be the most effective weapons to use when fighting against them.
	+ **Hallowed Ground**: Xiangliu daemon are incapable of entering hallowed grounds, such as churches, synagogues, mosques or other religious places without hurting themselves by every second.
	+ **Holy Weapons**: Xiangliu daemon are easily wounded by weapons bearing the holy attribute, like holy swords or Sacred Gears with divine properties, such as Blade Blacksmith or Twilight Healing (Asia's the single exception).
* **Celestial Weapons**: Weapons made out of sacred metals can be used against the majority of supernatural beings, with daemon like the xiangliu being no exceptions.
* **Primordial Regalia**: Weapons and artifacts that belong to the primordial entities can be used to permanently and absolutely destroy every and any being in existence save for other primordial entities, erasing their existence completely so that they can never be reborn or resurrected without God's involvement.

## Trivia

* Xiangliu, the moon of the planetoid 225088 Gonggong, was named after it.
* They are considered one of the rarest daemon to be seen.
* They can only be found in Eastern Asia, especially in China.
	+ They are also considered a species of daemon native to the Chinese Underworld.
* There is a pack of xiangliu daemon living in the Netherworld's Familiar Forest and are kept in track by members the Valac Clan.
* Because of its venom and nine-heads, they are also known as the Chinese Hydra by westerners.
* A 10-years-long Old Religion ritual is needed to cleanse the infected area of their demonic poison.
* While unconfirmed, it is possible that they, like the majority of snake-like species of daemon, were created by the original Valac.
* In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", the Alpha Xiangliu was considered a divine being and minister to Gonggong.