Jiang Ziya

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Jiang Ziya (姜子牙)
Alias(es)	Jiang Taigong; Immortal Master Jiang; Grand Tutor 151 196 300
Species/Race	Human cultivator 109
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jade Void Palace of Kunlun Mountain; Chan Sect; Xi Qi 94 197
Occupation/Role	Sage’s disciple, master, diviner, talisman-array specialist, Xi Qi strategist, executor of the Investiture of the Gods 95 213 430
Status	Active after the Investiture of the Gods; later travels among mortals teaching medicine 475
First Appearance	Chapter 93

Background / History

Descent to Chentang Pass

Jiang Ziya descended the mountain under orders to assist a wise ruler, arriving at Chentang Pass amid its Dragon Calamity. Initially disguised as a scruffy old man, he gave Yang Heyi a cloth bundle and instructed him to deliver it to the first person who requested it at the pass. The bundle amplified Yang Heyi’s greed and inner demons, eventually allowing Jiang Ziya to possess the Storyteller’s body. 93

He identified himself to Li Jing as a disciple of the Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain, using a jade seal as proof. After recognizing the harm his bundle had caused Yang He, he rescued him from the Li ancestral hall, accepted him as a disciple, and divined that the Dragon Calamity offered a path to extend Yang He’s life. 94 95

The calamity also affected Jiang Ziya’s borrowed body: gills, scales, mucus, fangs, and a dragon horn gradually emerged. Though capable of soul-snatching, he refused to indiscriminately take another body, believing such acts would bring karmic backlash. 96

Mentor to Yang He

Jiang Ziya passed down the Three Origins Scripture, a lineage centered on pill refinement, artifact refinement, and beast refinement. He also taught Yang He the opening four layers of the Five Ghosts Transport Method, warning that the method would be fatal for Yang He’s frail body. 96 97

As his dragon transformation worsened, Jiang Ziya sent his Five Paths God to act independently and prepared contingencies for his disciple. He instructed Yang He to remain in the ancestral hall, study the Three Origins Scripture, and—if necessary—use Jiang Ziya’s remaining body for blood alchemy. 97

Jiang Ziya later infiltrated the East Sea Dragon Palace disguised as Prime Minister Turtle. There, he helped Yang He refine a Shapeshifting Pill, searched for a flaw in the Dragon Palace’s magic array, and warned Yang He that a final tribulation remained. 109

After Yang He’s identity as the Third Prince became established, Jiang Ziya bestowed the Daoist name Dragon Beard Tiger upon him and refined a Dragon Ascension Pill that purified his dragon blood and enabled flight. 116

The Plague Array and Great Shang

During the Plague Array crisis, Jiang Ziya became the elderly head on Lu Yue’s three-headed body under unclear circumstances, apparently after being forced into a desperate confrontation with the stronger plague cultivator. 141 142

He was willing to bear the karmic sin of a million mortals alone rather than allow them to die, even declaring that he would accept having his soul scattered if necessary. Lu Yue was ultimately defeated by Jiang Ziya’s flames after the Plague Array was broken. 149 150

Afterward, Jiang Ziya taught Yang He the Five Paths God cultivation system without reservation and clarified its realms, from Acquired Realm through Hunyuan Realm. 150

Jiang Ziya later served in Chaoge as Director of the Imperial Observatory. Witnessing Great Shang’s worsening disorder, he chose to leave for Xi Qi, judging the other great vassal lords unsuitable to lead a change of dynasty. 160 170 176

Xi Qi and the Investiture War

At Nine Dragon Stream, Jiang Ziya suppressed Xi Qi’s resentment qi and prepared to nurture Ji Chang’s fated hundredth son, Lei Zhenzi. He later accepted Lei Zhenzi as a disciple. 193 198

Jiang Ziya secured Ji Fa’s trust, publicly committed the Chan Sect to Xi Qi’s campaign against Chaoge, and organized Xi Qi’s defenses alongside Nezha, Yang Jian, Huang Tianhua, and Yang He. 196 197

He relied on divination, talismans, the Apricot Yellow Banner, and the Five Paths God to counter malevolent spirits, ghost domains, yin soldiers, and Great Shang’s siege. When Wen Zhong attacked Xi Qi, Jiang Ziya maintained the defensive formation and eventually killed him after using Yang He’s Incarnation in the Rebirth Array. 213 215

Investiture of the Gods and Later Life

As the war reached Jiepai Pass, Jiang Ziya ordered the construction of the Investiture of the Gods Platform to gain control over the Investiture and reduce further casualties among Xi Qi’s soldiers. 413

He initiated the Investiture of the Gods ceremony in Chaoge despite fearing its consequences. As executor, he announced the enfeoffment of immortals and gods, including Yang He’s Corpse Daoist identity. 428 430

The ceremony severely damaged him: the God-Beating Whip and other treasures bestowed by the Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning turned to ash, while Jiang Ziya’s state of mind became unstable. 433

Following Great Shang’s collapse and Chaoge’s ghostification, he remained in the ruined city—later called Haojing—to protect the surviving mortals. In the century after the Investiture, he traveled barefoot through the mortal world, teaching medicine and methods for dealing with demons and Malevolent Spirits. 434 475

Appearance

Jiang Ziya is most often presented as an elderly man with a white beard, though his appearance is unstable because of his possession techniques and the Dragon Calamity’s effects on his borrowed bodies. 93 196 384

• Frequently wears ragged or coarse cloth garments. 196
• Has appeared as a scruffy, seemingly helpless old man while in disguise. 93
• His Dragon Calamity-afflicted body developed gills, scales, mucus, fangs, and a dragon horn. 96 97
• While waiting at Nine Dragon Stream, he fishes with a straight hook rather than a conventional curved one. 193
• Rides a Four Unlike whose features combine a qilin-like head, phoenix-like fur, dragon-like body, and turtle-like back. 214

Personality

Jiang Ziya is principled and compassionate, particularly where mortal lives are concerned. He refuses to casually soul-snatch innocent people despite the danger to himself, and he repeatedly chooses to intervene when calamities threaten entire cities. 96 149 175

He is also highly methodical. During the Dragon Calamity, he prepared escape routes, protective talismans, supplies, and posthumous instructions for Yang He rather than relying on a single outcome. 97 In Xi Qi, he delegates duties according to each disciple’s strengths and prioritizes defensive preparation against larger forces. 197 213

Despite his authority, Jiang Ziya is not unwaveringly certain. He fears that Xi Qi’s legitimacy and the Investiture of the Gods may rest on an illusion, and the burden of conducting the ceremony visibly breaks his composure. 430 433

Abilities & Skills

Possession and Body Manipulation

Jiang Ziya can transfer his consciousness through his cloth bundle and occupy alternate bodies.

• Used the bundle to possess the Storyteller after Yang Heyi opened it. 93
• Exchanged bodies with a prisoner, leaving the prisoner aged while Jiang Ziya assumed a younger corpse-like form. 94
• Can suppress the consequences of possession with pills, though repeated transfers carry risks. 96
• Rejects indiscriminate soul-snatching on moral grounds. 96

Divination

Jiang Ziya uses tortoise shells and calculation techniques to identify dangers, assess fate, and make strategic decisions.

• Divined a method to preserve Yang He’s life during the Dragon Calamity. 95
• Detected that Chentang Pass had become a trap designed around him. 96
• Identified Ji Chang’s missing hundredth son as the key to dispersing Xi Qi’s resentment qi. 193

Five Paths God

Jiang Ziya cultivates the Five Ghosts Transport Method, also called the Five Paths God.

• Houses five visceral ghosts within his body, each capable of acting independently. 97
• Uses them for scouting, retrieval, transporting supplies, and evasion. 97
• Sent them into Chentang Pass to retrieve materials and prepare for the Dragon Calamity. 97
• Used them to transform a rat into a Four Unlike mount during the battle against Wen Zhong. 214

Talismans and Magic Arrays

Jiang Ziya is an accomplished talisman-maker and array master.

• Uses the Five Elements Evasion Technique for rapid movement. 95
• Protected the Li ancestral hall with the Apricot Yellow Banner and spirit talismans. 96 97
• Developed a talisman method to restore mortals whose heads had become ghosts. 151
• Constructed Xi Qi’s demon-exorcising formation and employed the Rebirth Array to restore yin soldiers to mortals. 213 215

Alchemy, Artifact Refinement, and Beast Refinement

Jiang Ziya created the Three Origins Scripture and practices its three refinement paths.

• Refined the Shapeshifting Pill for Yang He. 109
• Refined the Dragon Ascension Pill to purify Yang He’s dragon blood and grant flight. 116
• Provided Yang He access to the Primordial Chaos Cauldron for Dragon Transformation Pill refinement. 97
• Created the Four Unlike, a beast with relatively low advancement difficulty and little apparent backlash. 214 227

Investiture of the Gods

As bearer and executor of the Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya can inspect recorded names and carry out heavenly enfeoffment.

• Used the scroll to identify the souls and affiliations of cultivators tied to the Investiture. 206
• Built the Investiture of the Gods Platform to gain greater control over the process. 413
• Conducted the sealing ceremony in Chaoge, assigning heavenly positions to the listed immortals and gods. 430

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Hundred Treasures Bag / cloth bundle — A rag-wrapped possession medium that can induce greed and inner demons in its holder. 93
• Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner — A supreme treasure used to shield structures, suppress Malevolent Spirits, establish formations, and contain calamities. 96 206 213
• God-Beating Whip — A whip bestowed by the Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning; particularly effective against those named in the Investiture of the Gods and against Malevolent Spirits. 175
• Investiture of the Gods — A scroll recording enfeoffed figures and enabling Jiang Ziya to execute the Investiture ceremony. 206 430
• Primordial Chaos Cauldron — An alchemical cauldron Jiang Ziya allowed Yang He to use for pill refinement. 97
• Four Unlike — His unusual mount, created through the Five Paths God. 214

Relationships

• Yang He / Dragon Beard Tiger — His disciple. Jiang Ziya accepted Yang He after the Chentang Pass incident, taught him multiple cultivation methods, protected him during crises, and bestowed his Daoist name. 95 97 116
• Nezha — Martial nephew and fellow member of the Chan Sect lineage. Nezha teases Jiang Ziya over his love tribulation but follows his strategic direction in Xi Qi. 116 197
• Yang Jian — Martial nephew and trusted ally. They cooperate on talismans, civilian relief, defensive arrays, and Xi Qi’s war effort. 151 206
• Lei Zhenzi — Disciple. Jiang Ziya accepted him after his birth from Nine Dragon Stream’s resentment qi and intended to teach him lightning manipulation. 198
• Ji Fa — Ruler and ally of Xi Qi. Jiang Ziya suppresses Xi Qi’s calamity, earns Ji Fa’s trust, and leads the Chan Sect’s support for the campaign against Chaoge. 193 196
• Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning — His master and the source of several of Jiang Ziya’s supreme treasures, including the God-Beating Whip. 175
• Shen Gongbao — Fellow disciple of the Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning and a recurring adversary whose schemes repeatedly threaten Jiang Ziya and Xi Qi. 162 206
• Bigan — Political and ideological opponent in Chaoge. Their conflict centers on Great Shang’s fate, the use of sacrifices, and the consequences of the Investiture. 170 430

Notable Quotes

“Soul-snatching harms one’s virtue. If done arbitrarily, it will eventually lead to backlash.” 96

“Achieving immortality and enlightenment is not my lifelong wish. I will bear the karmic sin alone, and I am willing to have my soul scattered.” 149

“Disciple Jiang Ziya, with ten thousand spirits as sacrifice and the Investiture of the Gods as covenant, I decree all heavenly immortals and gods to their rightful places!!!” 430