Hongjun

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Hongjun (鴻鈞)
Alias(es)	Dao Ancestor; Heavenly Dao Saint; Great Heavenly Venerate; Dao Integrator; Leader of the Mystic Gate
Species/Race	Chaos Demon God; his original form is described as an earthworm 371
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Heavenly Dao; Zixiao Palace; Mystic Gate
Occupation/Role	Dao Ancestor; preacher of the Dao; architect of Heavenly Dao tribulations
Status	Active 652
First Appearance	Chapter 4

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Chaos Demon God	371	Initially weaker than many Chaos Demon Gods; survived repeated defeat by the Chaos Demon Ape through extreme endurance and submission.
Heavenly Dao Saint	4 5	Attained Sainthood and announced his lectures at Zixiao Palace; gained a clearer perception of the Primordial Chaos's general trend.
Saint Twelfth Heaven, peak	71	His established cultivation before suffering backlash from the Primordial world outside Buzhou Mountain.
Saint Third Heaven	71	The Heavenly Dao intervened after the backlash and stabilized his fallen cultivation at the third level of Sainthood.

Background / History

Origin in the Chaos

Hongjun was a Chaos Demon God who survived through caution, endurance, and an ability to turn humiliation into advantage. When the Chaos Demon Ape challenged the three thousand Demon Gods, Hongjun was defeated badly; afterward, he apologized to the Ape instead of seeking revenge. The gesture earned him the Ape's protection from later mockery by other Demon Gods 371.

During the Great Tribulation of Opening the Heavens, he hid in his earthworm form within a crack in a chaotic rock rather than confronting Pangu directly. Even so, Pangu's axe light split him in half, forcing Hongjun to escape with his true spirit and spend a long period restoring both body and Primordial Spirit 5 371.

Rise as Dao Ancestor

After recovering, Hongjun rose through schemes and conflict, defeating powerful innate beings including Demon Ancestor Luo Hou, Yin Yang Ancestor, and Qiankun Ancestor. He also drove Yang Mei from the Primordial Chaos before attaining the position of Heavenly Dao Saint 5.

As a Saint, Hongjun established Zixiao Palace as the center of his teachings. His lectures drew the major innate beings of the Primordial Chaos, while his cultivation system and allocation of opportunities positioned him as the Dao Ancestor recognized by the wider world 4 45.

Appearance

Hongjun is usually presented as an elderly Daoist with white hair, an immortal bearing, and a whisk. He commonly sits upon a cloud bed or futon within Zixiao Palace 5 186 389.

• Carries a whisk during formal appearances 247 389.
• Often holds or studies the Creation Jade Plate 5 24.
• Surrounds himself with Dao rhythms, Saintly pressure, auspicious clouds, and proclamations when appearing publicly 45 247.
• His original form is identified by Pangu as an earthworm; Hongjun himself recalls being a weak cricket-like creature in the Chaos 5 371.

Personality

Hongjun is calculating, patient, and deeply invested in controlling the Primordial Chaos's “general trend.” He treats tribulations, disciples, clans, and even Sainthood as pieces in a larger arrangement meant to preserve Heavenly Dao momentum and secure his own authority 24 303 434.

His greatest early strength is endurance. He survives situations that would destroy more prideful figures, accepts humiliation when necessary, and waits for opportunities to reverse his circumstances 371. This restraint contrasts sharply with his recurring emotional reactions to Qin Xuan, who repeatedly disrupts his plans, exposes his schemes, and damages his public image 95 349 404.

Hongjun is also highly concerned with dignity and presentation. He prepares poetic announcements for major appearances and may delay intervention in a crisis to make his arrival more imposing or to harvest greater fortune from public admiration 220 247 439. After his reputation is ruined in the Creation Jade Plate incident, he embraces infamy after discovering that widespread rumors increase his fortune 410.

Later, his demeanor becomes markedly detached. The Saints observe that he appears to have lost ordinary emotions and humanity, prioritizing the Heavenly Dao's grand trend over personal bonds or individual lives 557 558.

Abilities & Skills

Heavenly Dao Integration

Hongjun merges with the Heavenly Dao and acts as its primary spokesperson and enforcer in the Primordial Chaos 46 369.

• Senses major shifts in fate, tribulations, and disturbances across the Primordial Chaos 5 303 460.
• Draws on Heavenly Dao power to stabilize or reinforce his cultivation after severe backlash 71.
• Can manifest dharma images or projections to intervene across vast distances 475 652.
• Suppressed four Saints with a single word, preventing them from mobilizing Saintly Power or Laws 558.
• Excessive use of Heavenly Dao power carries a cost; after freezing Zixiao Palace and expelling the Ancestral Witches, he visibly paled 27.

Deduction and Heavenly Secrets

Hongjun uses the Creation Jade Plate to observe the Primordial Chaos and deduce future developments.

• Detected the approaching Witch-Demon Tribulation after becoming a Saint 5.
• Attempted to locate the missing Witch Clan through repeated deductions, severely taxing the Creation Jade Plate 5.
• Tracks unusual cultivation, disguised figures, and disruptions to the Heavenly Dao's intended course 92 460.
• His calculations can be blocked or misled by concealed heavenly secrets, Qin Xuan's schemes, spatial laws, and false artifacts 369 403 460.

Three Corpses Method

Hongjun teaches the method of severing the three corpses as a path toward the Dao and Quasi-Sainthood 27.

• Yuanshi Tianzun successfully uses the method to become a Quasi-Sage during Hongjun's lecture 27.
• Hongjun erases the memories of attendees after Zhurong reveals a flaw in the method 27.
• Qin Xuan later states that the three corpses cannot be reunited when they are severed through Spiritual Treasures of differing origins 180 220.
• Qin Xuan further accuses Hongjun of concealing this flaw to control the number of Sages and bind them to the Heavenly Dao; this accusation gains broad support among the onlookers 180 220.

One Qi Transforms Hongjun

Hongjun can create powerful incarnations through the technique One Qi Transforms Hongjun.

• Initially summons two clones to absorb a Heaven-Opening Divine Axe strike while his main body retreats 235.
• Combines these incarnations with his three corpse avatars, allowing six Hongjuns to fight together 250.
• His clone-like figures grow stronger through repeated cycles of world birth, destruction, and rebirth 350.
• The technique can protect his main body, but axe wounds imbued with creation power can erode a clone's origin and resist healing 235.

Great Heavenly Dao Art, Annihilation

Hongjun employs Great Heavenly Dao Art, Annihilation against Qin Xuan's Pangu True Body 350.

• Produces annihilation beams backed by his incarnations' power 350.
• Forces Qin Xuan to use repeated Heaven-Opening Axe strikes to destroy the attacks 350.
• Its power threatens the stability of the Chaos itself during Hongjun's battle with the Pangu True Body 350.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Creation Jade Plate — Used for deduction, monitoring the Primordial Chaos, and communicating with or channeling Heavenly Dao authority. Qin Xuan later deceives Hongjun by returning a false version of the artifact 5 403 404.
• Whisk — Hongjun's customary Daoist implement during formal appearances 247 389.
• Twelve-Grade Pure World White Lotus — A high-grade innate lotus platform retained by Hongjun when Qin Xuan seeks it in negotiation 358.
• Cloud bed / futon — His usual seat in Zixiao Palace, from which he lectures, observes, and lays out plans 5 186 303.

Relationships

• Qin Xuan — Principal rival and repeated disruptor of Hongjun's plans. Their conflict spans the Witch Clan's disappearance, the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe, the Three Corpses method, the Creation Jade Plate, and the Investiture of the Gods 5 220 350 406 493.
• Heavenly Dao — Hongjun's source of authority after merging with it, but also a force that questions his failed plans and pressures him to restore the intended tribulations 46 65 303.
• Yang Mei — Former Chaos associate and target of Hongjun's pursuit. Hongjun previously forced Yang Mei from the Primordial Chaos and later seeks his help or suspects him of opposing his plans 5 73 460.
• Yuanshi Tianzun — Disciple and frequent pawn. Hongjun scolds, directs, conceals information from, and even schemes against Yuanshi when the Heavenly Dao's grand trend demands it 316 434 460.
• Grand Supreme Laozi — Disciple whom Hongjun seeks to protect and reward, though Laozi conceals his own actions at Buzhou Mountain 186.
• Tongtian Jiaozhu — Disciple whose refusal to establish a sect and pursue immediate Sainthood frustrates Hongjun's plans 151.
• Jieyin and Zhunti — Western disciples subject to Hongjun's control and retaliation. Hongjun torments their Primordial Spirits and later plans to punish them for breaking from the Mystic Gate 362 389.
• Haotian — Daoist boy and Heavenly Emperor. Hongjun views Haotian as useful but expendable, sparing him largely because the Heavenly Emperor position is difficult to replace 40 463.
• Pingxin — Lord of the Earthly Dao and a major threat to Hongjun's control of the Primordial Chaos. Hongjun avoids confronting her within the Netherworld, where her authority is strongest 258 355.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Zixiao Palace Lectures

Hongjun becomes a Heavenly Dao Saint and summons cultivators to Zixiao Palace to hear the Dao 4. He teaches the Three Corpses method, distributes Primordial Violet Qi and Spiritual Treasures, and prepares his disciples for the coming Saint era 27 46.

When Zhurong exposes the method's flaw, Hongjun freezes the entire palace, removes the Ancestral Witches, and erases the revelation from the other attendees' memories 27.

Failed Witch-Demon Layout

Hongjun expects the Witch Clan and Demon Clan to become the protagonists of a major tribulation. He is alarmed when his deductions reveal that the Witch Clan was never established, leaving only the Ancestral Witches and destroying the basis of his intended arrangement 5.

He attempts to use the Demon Court, innate pure Yin, and innate pure Yang as alternative pieces to drive calamity, but Qin Xuan's protection of the Ancestral Witches repeatedly frustrates this plan 24 65.

Conflict over the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe

Hongjun personally appears outside Buzhou Mountain and demands that Qin Xuan surrender the reunited Heaven-Opening Divine Axe 69. The confrontation escalates into clashes with the Pangu True Body, leaving Hongjun injured and forcing him to reveal his clones and hidden techniques 103 235 249 350.

Immortal-Demon Tribulation

Hongjun watches and guides the conflict between the Immortal Court and Demon Court as a means to expend tribulation energy and preserve balance 281 303. Dijun eventually realizes that Hongjun treated the Demon Court as a disposable pawn and self-destructs against Mount Sumeru rather than die according to the planned outcome 304.

Creation Jade Plate Scandal

Qin Xuan appears to return the Creation Jade Plate and thereby dissolve their Great Dao oath, but Hongjun later discovers that the artifact is false 403 404. Qin Xuan uses a recording stone to reverse Hongjun's accusation publicly, making Hongjun appear to be a borrower who refused to return the Jade Plate 406.

Hongjun initially loses face, then discovers that rumors about the scandal increase his fortune. He begins spreading defamatory stories about himself deliberately to exploit this effect 410.

Human Race and Investiture of the Gods

Hongjun repeatedly interferes in the Human Race to preserve the Heavenly Dao's grand trend, including manipulating Yang Tianyou's destiny and attempting to strip away his cultivation 475. During negotiations over the Investiture of the Gods, Qin Xuan forces Hongjun to concede protections for mortals and surrender four Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures 493.

Notable Quotes

“The Demon Clan's power is too great; it needs to be checked!” 24

“Why should I, Hongjun, care about others' opinions when I act?” 410

“Let's discuss how to salvage the grand trend.” 558