The miraculous stone (1)

When the novel begins, the Chinese Empire is in crisis. In 1058, under the Song dynasty, a mortal plague ruins the country and decimates inhabitants as well as soldiers. Inondations and fires make even worse the situation. Troubled, the Emperor himself asks his ministers to find a solution. One of them suggests to call Zhang, the Divine Teacher of Taoists to save the nation.
Hong Xin, a noble Marshal is sent to take the Saint back to the capital.
Alas! Hong Xin is nothing but patient and he will fail in proving his piety which is an exigence of Zhang to listen to his prayer.
Yielding to his impulse, Hong will have unsealed a stone buried for centuries to keep in prison 108 devil-kings.
As soon as the sacrilege is done, with a great rippen sound 108 golden rays shimmer in any direction and change into 108 stars in the sky.
Terrified, Marshal Hong will never tell a word of his adventures and Zhang, the Divine Teacher will free his country from the plague... but the 36 stars of Heavenly Spirits and the 72 Earthly Fiends will soon unleash the tempest on China and make shivering the foundations of the Chinese Empire.
It is only at the end of the novel that the miraculous stone will reappear and reveal the origin of the Liang Shan Po gang of outlaws.