A long time ago, the western part of Guanzhong was covered with mountains. The mountains have beautiful peaks and waterfalls. All year round, hundreds of birds are singing and fragrant flowers are blooming. All kinds of birds and beasts gather here and live a leisurely and quiet life.
Suddenly one year, the sea turtle, the palace protector of the Dragon King of the East China Sea, saw the beautiful mountains and clear waters and green trees here, so he lived in a deep pool and refused to leave.
At this time, there happened to be a phoenix in the Heavenly Palace, and it was also fascinated by the scenery here. It took advantage of the Jade Emperor's nap to quietly fly out of Nantianmen and live in the dense forest in the mountains.
After that, the sea turtle conquered the beasts and fish, and the phoenix ruled all the birds. As if this was not enough, ferocious sea turtles stirred up trouble, causing frequent strong winds and heavy rains. Within a few years, this beautiful place gradually turned into a barren mountain. The birds and beasts couldn't stand all kinds of torture. They died and escaped. Only then did the sea turtle and the phoenix feel satisfied. They also agreed that the sea turtle would be called the emperor and the phoenix would be the queen and rule this place forever.
Just when they were choosing an auspicious day to ascend the throne, a young man named Yang Erlang suddenly came from the east. This young man was carrying two baskets and passed by on his way to Kunlun Mountain. When he saw the barren mountains and ridges, he couldn't help but sigh. After asking about it, I found out that it was the sea turtle and the phoenix who broke the law. He was very angry, stretched out his two giant hands and pushed hard, and threw the sea turtle and phoenix, who were happily drinking the ascending wine, to the hillside of Qinling Mountains and the other at the foot of Qianyang Mountains. In an instant, the barren mountains and ridges disappeared. Here, a piece of flat land appeared, which is where Baoji is today. In the middle of this piece of land, he drew a deep line with his fingers and dredged the water. This is today's Weihe River.
Yang Erlang took out a magic arrow from his side, tied the written letter to it, filled the bow, and shot it back to his hometown. Then he took out two sacred chickens from the basket, put them here, and then ran towards Kunlun Mountain.
Soon, Yang Erlang's villagers received the letter tied to the magic arrow, and rushed here one after another, opened up wasteland and cultivated land, and settled here for generations. Those two magic chickens, one lives on the north bank of the Weihe River and the other lives on the south bank of the Weihe River. Every day before dawn, they open their throats and sing in unison, urging people to get up early and go to work in the fields. Here, year after year, the weather is good and the grain is plentiful. People are very grateful to these two sacred chickens and respectfully call them "Treasure Chickens".
Besides, after Sea Turtle and Phoenix were separated by Yang Erlang, they gritted their teeth with hatred when they saw that the place where they used to be kings and hegemons had been turned into a land of plenty by the villagers. The sea turtles were so jealous that their eyes turned red. They were determined to get rid of Yang Erlang, the villagers, and the two precious chickens, and regain this place.
The two finally came up with a vicious plan; the sea turtle made friends with the magical rooster on the north bank of the Weihe River; the phoenix became acquainted with the magical rooster on the south bank of the Weihe River. The two villains started to sow discord between the two magic chickens. Sure enough, the two magic chickens gradually lost their harmony. Finally, in a place called Chencang on the north bank of the Wei River, the two magic chickens began to fight. The fight became more and more fierce, and they became incompetent.
So the two bad guys took advantage of the fight between the two magic chickens to cause trouble. One night, the north wind howled and dark clouds gathered. Because there is no crow of the magic rooster, the night is so long and the sky is so dark. The sea turtle quietly carried Qianyang Ling and crawled towards the bank of Weihe River, while the phoenix carried Qinling Ling and flew towards the bank of Weihe River. They climbed, flew, flew, climbed...
At this moment, Yang Erlang, who was going to Kunlun Mountain, came here carrying the two peaks of Chicken and Crow. He was shocked when he saw that the sea turtle and the phoenix were about to twist the two mountains together. Seeing that this fertile land will turn into a vast ocean, the magic chicken and the villagers, as well as the wealth they created, will be destroyed together. He couldn't find the magic chicken everywhere, and he was very worried, because the magic chicken could stop the turtles and phoenixes by singing loudly at this time. In his haste, he immediately put the two peaks in the basket, one on the Qinling Mountains and the other on the Qianyang Mountains. Then he stretched out his two giant palms, exerted all his strength, and pressed against the two peaks. Although the sea turtle and phoenix couldn't pull them up at that time, after a while, they continued to struggle forward step by step desperately, and walked. , Flying, the Wei River under their feet has gathered into a small lake. Seeing that the two mountains are about to close together, a disaster is about to come.
Yang Erlang shouted: "Magic chicken, crow quickly!"
Hearing Yang Erlang's cry, the two magic chickens spread their wings in surprise. One was perched on the chicken peak on the mountainside of Qinling Mountains, and the other was One fell on Wushan on Qianyang Ridge. When they learned about the conspiracy of Sea Turtle and Phoenix, they realized that they had been fooled. So filled with regret, he immediately raised his neck and sang: "Oh oh oh! oh oh oh!"
As soon as the magic rooster crows, dawn breaks in the east, and the sea turtles and phoenix cannot move for a moment! The phoenix screamed and fell into a small lake and died; when the sea turtle saw the death of the phoenix, its blood-red eyes shed tears and it immediately turned into a huge stone. The place where the Phoenix died was later named "Phoenix Head".
Legend has it that the sea turtle that turned into stone is still crawling on the Jiacun Plateau in the northeast of Baoji! It seems to be looking at the Phoenix Head on the south bank of the Wei River with nostalgia. It is said that after Yang Erlang died, people buried him at the foot of the Qinling Mountains more than ten miles east of Fenghuangtou. In order to commemorate him, people built a temple here and named this place "Erlang Temple". It is located directly south of the current Baoji County, about 20 miles away from the plateau.
It is said that the place where the wailing cry of the phoenix was first heard was later called "Fengming" and is now Fengming Village in Tuoxi, Baoji County. The place where the sacred roosters fought was named the Fighting Cock Platform, which is located in Shilipu, east of today's Baoji City.
There are still iron-cast sacred chickens on Chicken Peak in the southeast of Baoji and on Wushan Mountain in Qianyangling. Legend has it that since that fight, the two magic chickens have lived in harmony. They get up early every day and sing together, announcing the dawn on time, attracting thousands of chickens to crow. Until now, people still say that they have heard the cry of the sacred rooster, and they all say that Baoji is a treasure land! Therefore, the rich area under the Qinling Chicken Peak and the ancient Chencang was called "Baoji".