大鹏金翅鸟 (Golden-Winged Great Peng)(the mythological figure that Xiao is partially based off of)
Translation of some facts on the Chinese Baidu page
- a guardian deity bird in Chinese Buddhism
- Born with capabilities for flight
- Has diamond-like horn with glowing precious pearl, steel-like talons and beak, sword-like wings
- Hot sand rains from its golden wings
- Lives on a great sago cycas (sago palm)(tree)*
- Need to eat a dragon king and five hundred small dragons (all with poison) everyday
- The dragons are extremely violent, and light up at death, reducing their entire body to ashes, and can burn the surrounding woodland park(?)
- The heart of the Great Peng Bird is a precious pearl that sinks to the bottom of the ocean after its death
- Since it feeds on dragons which have poison, the poison will accumulate in its body, and it’ll fly up and down seven times before flying to the top of a mountain and burn itself to death
*I was surprised that even Xiao’s preference for Wangshu Inn (which is built around a giant tree) may be an allusion to the Golden-Winged Great Peng