Xu Fan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xu Fan (徐凡)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Heavenly Gate Sect (formerly); Hidden Spirit Sect
Occupation/Role	Cultivator; artifact refiner; puppet master; mentor; Hidden Spirit Sect Great Elder
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 6

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Qi Refining Fifth Layer	22	Broke through after refining his first Magic Artifact, the flying sword Nether Piercing.
Qi Refining Twelfth Layer	54	His spells and Spiritual Power Armor firepower could contend with Golden Core-level enemies; he began investigating whether a thirteenth Qi Refining layer existed.
Foundation Establishment Stage	87	Entered prolonged seclusion after accumulating an unusually deep Qi Refining foundation.
Golden Core Stage	170	Broke through after nine days of celestial phenomena; subsequently planned major upgrades to Grape, sect infrastructure, and Dao Artifact-grade weapons.
Golden Core Mid-Stage Peak	202	Advanced while completing the Titanium Heart Giant Shield.
Void Refining Stage	579	Advanced inside the Myriad Mirror Heavenly Palace after extensive time acceleration; his artifact-refining Dao also reached Great Grandmaster level.
Grand Unity Saint	1169	Reached the shore of the River of Time after unlocking the System Rune Ball's chains; gained a trace of Grand Unity Saint aura.
Saint	1201	Entered the Saint Realm after negotiating cooperation with the System; established the Three Thousand Realms' Guardian Great Array with a gesture.

Background / History

Xu Fan is a transmigrator who remembers a past life as a homebody with an interest in games, programming-like systems, and engineering. He received a bizarre System that made him initially believe pursuing a Dao Companion would end in tragedy, leading him to prioritize cultivation, pill refining, and self-sufficiency instead 6 34.

As an Outer Sect disciple of the Heavenly Gate Sect, he lived on a small hilltop, grew Spirit Rice, and gradually earned his first major capital by selling high-quality Spirit Speed Pills. His spiritual power surged immediately after the transaction, signaling an early breakthrough 16.

Xu Fan's early cultivation centered on artifact refining. He refined Nether Piercing, embroidery needles, Colossus, protective formations, sword boxes, and increasingly elaborate Spiritual Power Armor. His encounter with Ye Xiaoyao gave him access to secret-realm opportunities but also convinced him that staying near “protagonists” was dangerous; he repeatedly tried to maintain distance while continuing to profit from Ye Xiaoyao's commissions 22 23 60 64.

He developed the Heart of Puppets from a First-Rank Treasure Artifact controller into Black Spirit, an increasingly intelligent artifact spirit capable of coordinating armies, production lines, construction projects, surveillance, and emotional manipulation 69 85 104. Spirit Heart Ore became central to this work because it allowed his puppets to retain combat experience and operate at roughly half of his own combat level 61 62.

Xu Fan eventually established and expanded the Hidden Spirit Sect, building mountaintop palaces, production lines, satellite weapons, puppet forces, and layered defenses. Though he prefers leisure and calls himself a salted fish, he repeatedly accelerates his research whenever his sect, disciples, wife, or allies are threatened 104 170 529 874.

Personality

Xu Fan is cautious, calculating, and intensely security-minded. He avoids unnecessary risks, retreats from uncertain conflicts, and habitually prepares contingencies long before they are needed. His philosophy is that strength determines truth in the cultivation world, a conviction sharpened after being humiliated by the Dragon Race 64 627 909.

Despite presenting himself as lazy, he is relentlessly inventive when safety or profit is involved. He enjoys refining artifacts, optimizing systems, accumulating resources, and watching others react to the scale of his hidden capabilities 34 104 557.

He is protective of people he considers his own. Xu Fan invests heavily in his disciples' growth, equips Wang Yulun with extensive protection, and is willing to confront vastly stronger enemies for Xu Yuexian or Zhang Weiyun 43 518 780 874.

Abilities & Skills

Artifact Refining

Xu Fan is an exceptional artifact refiner whose methods combine runes, array formations, automated production, puppetry, and Spirit Bodies.

• Refined his first Magic Artifact, Nether Piercing, at Qi Refining Fifth Layer 22.
• Obtained more than 300 runes from a mysterious iron plate and eventually mastered one thousand runes, the baseline requirement for Artifact Refining Grandmaster status 68 85.
• Reached Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster level upon entering Void Refining 579.
• Can refine Dao Artifacts, Immortal Artifact components, high-level talismans, Puppet production lines, and top-tier Profound Yellow Supreme Treasures 170 557 797 1355.
• Created a Spirit Body from Five Elements Origin Spirit Qi, allowing his soul to refine artifacts more smoothly than through puppets 557.

Puppet Mastery

Xu Fan's signature specialty is designing, producing, and remotely commanding puppets at enormous scale.

• Uses Spirit Heart Ore to imprint combat experience into puppets, raising their independent combat performance to about half of his own level 62.
• Developed the Heart of Puppets/Black Spirit as a central command artifact for puppet forces 69 104.
• Controlled more than one thousand construction and labor puppets simultaneously during the construction of his sect's mountaintop palace 104.
• Built puppet forces ranging from Qi Refining swordsmen to Foundation Establishment archers, Golden Core combat units, Spirit Transformation heavy armor units, Integration puppets, and Mahayana puppets 53 125 518 611.
• Created Heavenly Might No. 1, his second Mahayana Stage Puppet 611.
• Uses puppets not only for battle, but for mining, excavation, construction, refining, reconnaissance, transportation, and production 64 104 190.

Arrays, Runes, and Production Systems

Xu Fan treats artifact refinement as an industrial process rather than solely individual craftsmanship.

• Designed protective barriers, spatial stabilization arrays, production lines, automated farms, rifle lines, bullet lines, and Spiritual Power Armor lines 34 90 104 111.
• Built a Palm-sized Farm Automated Assembly Line and a treasure-grade rifle production line 104.
• Completed a Spiritual Power Armor production line and planned further pill-production infrastructure 111.
• Uses satellites, orbital cannons, Demon Suppressing Stars, and large-scale arrays as permanent strategic defenses 190 202 518.

Combat and Strategic Warfare

Xu Fan generally fights through preparation, terrain control, puppets, artillery, arrays, and overwhelming resource deployment rather than direct duels.

• Used Foundation Establishment puppets, a Spiritual Wind Vessel, and top-grade archer puppets to escape Strange Birds in a Minor World 53.
• Used Spiritual Power Armor's main cannon to kill a Golden Core Strange Bird 54.
• Destroyed a Golden Core Ice Bear Demon Beast with the Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon 71.
• Deployed Space-Based Weapon Satellites against Integration Stage demon race threats 194 202.
• Defeated the Mystic Moon Giant Eagle through patient observation and the Eight Rods technique executed by a puppet 613.
• Defeated Fei Yue Golden Immortal, reclaimed the Five Colors Peak, and escaped using Golden Immortal puppets disguised as Wood Origin Race members 1009.
• Summoned the Punishing Heavenly Dao, embodying the Great Dao of Destruction, to devour Guangchen Heavenly Venerate's clone 1129.

Teaching and Cultivation Guidance

Xu Fan trains disciples through personalized methods, harsh benchmarks, practical combat, and tailored techniques.

• Used Soul Bewitching Art to place Wang Yulun in an illusionary training environment against a Rock Armor Mantis Demon Beast 7.
• Tailored Xu Gang's inheritance toward powerful Five Elements spells and Xu Yuexian's toward concealment, escape, appraisal, and treasure hunting 43.
• Established puppet-based advancement trials so disciples must defeat same-level puppet opponents before progressing 92.
• Developed and taught Xu Gang the Dongfeng 15 Short-Range Missile Divine Ability and hinted at the stronger Dongfeng 61 461.
• Guided Sui Ying's puppet swordsmanship by mirroring and correcting his techniques during live combat 477.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Nether Piercing — Xu Fan's first refined flying sword 22.
• Colossus — Giant shield Magic Artifact 22.
• Spiritual Power Armor — Armor series refined for himself, Wang Yulun, disciples, and later mass production 42 61 109.
• Heart of Puppets / Black Spirit — Puppet-control Treasure Artifact and artifact spirit 69 104.
• Spiritual Wind Vessel — Vessel used for mobility and escape in the Minor World 53.
• Electromagnetic Number One — Disposable lightning-based spear Magic Artifacts using the Lightning Rune 61.
• Orbital Cannons and Space-Based Weapon Satellites — Long-range strategic weapons 194 518.
• Merit Fortune Canopy — Fortune treasure later lost while protecting Linsen Immortal City 511 512.
• Notebook — Records enemies Xu Fan intends to kill if they threaten his disciples or interests 627 780.
• Innate Spirit Treasure Immortal Sword — Contains the Great Dao of Space and was used to open a passage between the Immortal Realm and Star Domain 1150.

Relationships

• Wang Yulun — Close friend and “Good Brother.” Xu Fan advises, equips, and repeatedly protects him, while Wang Yulun supplies rare materials and accidentally exposes Xu Fan's artifact-refiner identity 7 61 518.
• Xu Gang — Eldest disciple and later referred to as Xu Fan's eldest son. Xu Fan develops his artillery-like Five Elements path and encourages him toward greater heights 43 461 777 1484.
• Xu Yuexian — Second disciple; a treasure hunter skilled in concealment and escape. Xu Fan is highly protective of her and prepares to confront even Great Luo Golden Immortals over threats to her 43 61 780.
• Wang Xiangchi — Disciple trained through same-level swordsman puppet trials; later receives permission to leave for outside training and a Great Dao Scripture for protection 92 518.
• Li Xingci — Disciple trusted with recruitment and sect responsibilities; Xu Fan supports his wish to learn artisan skills for his family 104 800.
• Ye Xiaoyao — Friend, client, and recurring source of danger whom Xu Fan considers a “protagonist.” Xu Fan assists him with swords and survives adventures with him, but repeatedly tries to avoid being dragged into his fate 23 54 64.
• Zhang Weiyun — Xu Fan's wife. Her departure and later abduction by an Immortal Realm power become major motivations for Xu Fan's continued advancement 222 872 874.
• Grape — Xu Fan's artifact spirit and AI-like assistant. Grape manages computing, surveillance, production, deductions, and sect defenses 178 190 627.
• Black Spirit — Artifact spirit of the Heart of Puppets; manages puppet coordination and develops an increasingly independent personality 104.
• Shi Zhan — Azure-robed swordsman from a Minor World who becomes indebted to Xu Fan and later assists in building the Hidden Spirit Sect Outer Sect 125 180.
• Feng Changning — Founder and leader associated with Nine Phoenix Island and the Nine Phoenix Dynasty; Xu Fan advises and protects her territory while recognizing her potential 180 270 874.
• Ning Dao — Friendly ally who frequently seeks Xu Fan's artifact-refining help, particularly for Dao Artifact Spirit Swords 194 270.
• White-haired Old Man — Powerful diviner who seeks to bind his fate to Xu Fan's through gifts, information, and repeated dangerous divinations 957 963.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Early Heavenly Gate Sect Period

Xu Fan begins as a low-profile Outer Sect disciple focused on farming Spirit Rice, refining pills, earning Spirit Stones, and avoiding romantic entanglements because of his System 6 16.

Secret Realms and the “Protagonist” Problem

He meets Ye Xiaoyao, identifies him as a likely protagonist based on extraordinary luck and an ancient ring, and decides that avoiding him is safest. Despite this, Xu Fan is repeatedly drawn into Ye Xiaoyao's affairs through artifact commissions and dangerous expeditions 23 53 60 64.

Rise of the Puppet Army

After obtaining Soul Iron and Spirit Heart Ore, Xu Fan upgrades his puppets from tools into combat units capable of adaptive battle behavior. He refines the Heart of Puppets and begins building automated production systems 61 62 69 90.

Founding and Building the Hidden Spirit Sect

Xu Fan establishes Hidden Spirit Sect infrastructure with over a thousand puppets, creates production lines, recruits disciples, and positions Xu Yuexian as Sect Leader while he remains the sect's hidden strategic core 104 105.

Defense of the Human World

As demon race threats escalate, Xu Fan turns Hidden Spirit Island into a fortress supported by satellites, cannons, heavy armor puppets, Integration puppets, and Mahayana puppets 202 518 611.

Ascension and Immortal Realm Expansion

Xu Fan reaches the Void Refining Stage through the Myriad Mirror Heavenly Palace's time acceleration, later ascends into higher realms, builds Immortal Ship forces, and expands his influence into the Immortal Realm and Chaotic Star Zone 579 881 909 920.

System, Saints, and the River of Time

Xu Fan investigates the System Rune Ball, survives an attempt by a mysterious force to seize its core, advances to Grand Unity Saint, and later becomes a Saint after negotiating directly with the System 1169 1201.

Chaos Land Era

Xu Fan continues refining Profound Yellow Supreme Treasures, travels through chaotic lands, protects the Three Thousand Realms through Grape and his clones, and challenges Holy Lords through World Chess and overwhelming strategic power 1355 1417 1525 1564.

Trivia

• Xu Fan compares artifact refinement to programming and high-freedom construction games from his past life 34.
• He names many creations after concepts from his former world, including the Armstrong cannon series and Dongfeng missile Divine Abilities 71 461.
• He considers himself a “salted fish,” but becomes extremely industrious whenever danger threatens his safety or those close to him 529 627.
• His preferred response to uncertainty is to add more puppets, more arrays, more weapons, and more contingencies 104 202 909.