It recalled the face of a young man from years ago who bore a striking resemblance to the person standing before it now.
It observed the mountain for five hundred years, guarded the mountain for five hundred years, and protected the mountain for five hundred years. Unbeknownst to itself, it had earned the recognition of Green Python Mountain and the approval of Heaven and Earth. Consequently, it became the god of this mountain.
It didn't need incense offerings or rituals, nor the recognition of any human king, for Heaven and Earth had already accepted it.
From that moment on, the mountain became part of it, and it was more than just the mountain.
Originally, it thought that once it became the mountain god, there would be few beings in Heaven and Earth that it would need to fear.
