Sages

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Sages
Original Name	诸贤
Alias(es)	Venerable Sages
Affiliation	The Sacred Hall and Third Heaven; separate Sage communities also exist in the Outer Heaven and Foreign Domains
Occupation/Role	Heavenly Dao–enfeoffed guardians and managers of their respective Daos; supreme authorities of the Sacred Path
Status	Active collective; individual Sages have fallen, been exposed, or changed allegiance during the Contention of the Great Dao
First Appearance	Chapter 9 — invoked collectively through Sage Incense

Background / History

Three thousand years after the previous Great Calamity of Heartlessness, the Sacred Hall was founded during the rebuilding of the world. Its initial five Sages were the Confucian Sage, Yin Yang Sage, Dao Saint, Mohist Sage, and Martial Saint. The Sacred Hall subsequently expanded its ranks through Path Expansion and meritorious deeds, a process presented as the will of the Heavenly Dao. 1016

Several later Sages attained sainthood through major accomplishments: the Painting Sage subdued foreign heretics and demons across Purple Lu through the Way of Painting; the Chess Saint helped establish a realm where Buddhism and the Literary Way coexisted; and the Sage of Books destroyed an Alien Passage at Wuding Mountain with his inkstone. 1016

The Sages reside above the mundane world, chiefly in the Third Heaven, while the Sacred Hall administers matters of the Sacred Path below them. Their influence extends through Sacred Families, Palaces, temples, and the schools of thought tied to each Sage. 181 973

By the present era, the Sages are divided by competing Daos, personal factions, and conflicting plans for the Great Calamity of Heartlessness. The deaths of the Music Sage and Painting Sage, the exposure of the Confucian Sage's faction, and the conflict with Foreign Sages turn long-standing political tensions into open Sage-on-Sage warfare. 1022 1073 1091 1093

Nature and Authority

Heavenly Dao Enfeoffment

Sages are enfeoffed by the Heavenly Dao and entrusted with the management of particular Daos. In practice, a Sage functions as that Dao's “gatekeeper”: those who pursue a path encounter its Sage before they can approach the Heavenly Dao itself. 971 1022

• The Heavenly Dao normally protects its appointed Sage rather than intervening for a challenger. 971
• A Sage's authority is treated as comparable to imperial authority; accusations against one require stringent procedures and a judgment before the Heavenly Dao Stage. 1022
• Their lifespans are effectively limitless by mundane standards. 847
• Sage status does not guarantee moral integrity; several Sages use family power, proxies, hidden assassins, or political schemes to preserve their influence. 852 973

Saintly Essence

A Sage's Saintly Essence is the culmination of their lifelong cultivation and is comparable to a cultivator's primordial spirit. 979

• Destroying Saintly Essence causes the Sage to lose their realm and Sage might; it cannot normally be regenerated. 979
• Saintly Essence is a central cause of Sage conflict, particularly among Foreign Sages whose power cannot naturally integrate with the local Heavenly Dao. 979 1039
• Absorbing another Sage's Saintly Essence can greatly increase combat power. 1039
• For a Quasi-Saint, fusing a Literary Sage's Saintly Essence grants an opportunity for sainthood but binds the recipient's future Dao to that Sage's path. 1073

Literary Way Privileges

Literary Sages possess advantages tied to their inherited schools and followers. Their Sage Phenomena can manifest entire Dao-themed regions, from the Martial Saint's blood-red battlefield aura to the Mohist Sage's bronze city-like starry domain. 1034

• Unite with the Dao — A Literary Sage may draw on the collective power of all inheritors of their Dao. 1092
• Temple and Literary Heart links — Confucian Temples and Confucian Literary Hearts allowed the Confucian Sage to bind vast numbers of scholars to his power. 1092
• Sacred Domain — Sages can deploy domains embodying their respective Daos in direct confrontation. 1072
• Judgment authority — Sage-level power can be used through methods such as Sacred Path Heart Cleansing, which prevents deception during examination. 1067

Foreign Sages and Heavenly Dao Suppression

Foreign Sages who enter this world are suppressed by its Heavenly Dao. To avoid detection, some conceal themselves in Blood Coffins or use Heaven-deceiving methods. 700 768 1095

• Foreign Sages often seek other Sages' Saintly Essence because their own Saintly Essence does not align with the local Heavenly Dao. 979
• Dao Balls allow Saint-level beings to integrate with the local Heavenly Dao, but impose irreversible Heavenly Dao karma. 1046
• Sages who bear this karma must coexist and perish with the Heavenly Dao of this world. 1092
• Competition for Dao Balls shattered the prior balance among Foreign Sages and led to widespread killing for Saintly Essence. 1040 1045

Known Sage Implements

• Sage Incense — A precious Confucian Temple-controlled incense through which scholars may communicate with all Sages; most prayers receive no response. 9
• Sage's Brush — A commonly used Sage implement; the Martial Saint once used his brush to sever the Dragon Gate. 364
• Sage's Ink — A single drop of Sage's Ink once plunged three thousand miles of ocean into eternal night. 364
• Weiyang Brush — The Martial Saint's brush, capable of carrying the might of the Way of Warfare and supporting Sacred Path Heart Cleansing. 1022 1067
• Sky-Splitting Inkstone — The Sage of Books' inkstone, used to destroy an Alien Passage at Wuding Mountain. 972 1016

Sacred Hall Structure

Level	Role
Sages	Supreme authorities enfeoffed by the Heavenly Dao; they oversee their Daos and convene at locations such as the Sacred Affairs Altar. 1022 1079
Sacred Hall	Governing institution for Sacred Path affairs, functioning under the Sages' authority. 181
Palaces and Palace Masters	Administrative branches of the Sacred Hall; Palace Masters may be publicly assessed by the Sages. 1066 1067
Sacred Families	Powerful hereditary institutions associated with individual Sages and their schools. 181 973
Scholars and inheritors	Followers whose Literary Hearts and institutional networks can become a source of power for Literary Sages. 1092

Factions and Internal Conflict

The Sages' disputes are not merely philosophical. Their factions determine control over the Sacred Hall, Sacred Families, the Palace Master position, the Literary Way, and the response to the Great Calamity of Heartlessness. 1064 1075

Faction / Alignment	Documented Members	Position
Martial Saint's side	Martial Saint, Dao Saint, Mohist Sage, Chess Saint, Wisdom Sage, Agricultural Sage, Yin Yang Sage, History Sage	Opposed the Confucian Sage's scheme at Wuming Mountain; the Wisdom Sage later revealed hostile intentions. 1091 1093
Confucian Sage's side	Confucian Sage, Stratagem Sage, Sage of Books, Poet Sage, Medical Sage, Name Sage, Miscellaneous Sage, Law Sage	Allied with Foreign Sages in an attempt to eliminate the Martial Saint's faction and seize the Heavenly Dao Dao Fruit. 1091 1092 1093
Foreign Sage coalition	Thirty-six Foreign Sages led publicly by the Phoenix Sage, Secret Sage, and Infant Sage	Bound to this world's Heavenly Dao through karma; ultimately rejected the Confucian faction's plan because the Heavenly Dao's collapse would also destroy them. 1090 1092

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arc	Developments
Early Sacred Path influence	Sage Incense establishes that scholars can petition all Sages, though direct responses are exceptionally rare. 9
Moon Shadow investigation	Lin Su and Yao Gu begin suspecting that powerful Sages, particularly the Painting Sage and Music Sage, may be connected to Moon Shadow's survival and manipulation. 883
Music Sage judgment	The Martial Saint kills the Music Sage, exposing her identity as Liu Ruyan and forcing the Confucian Sage and Painting Sage to answer for their role in her ascent. 1022
Heavenly Dao Sacred Platform	Seventeen Sages gather to judge Lin Su; his calculation of the Great Calamity of Heartlessness forces them to postpone the indictment. 1034 1035
Dao Ball conflict	Foreign Sages fight over Dao Balls, which offer power and integration with the local Heavenly Dao at the price of irreversible karma. 1039 1046
Palace Master assessment	The Martial Saint uses Sacred Path Heart Cleansing to expose Cao Xiangdao and the deputy candidates as unfit to lead the Sacred Hall. 1066 1067
Painting Sage's fall	Lin Su defeats the Painting Sage on Dao Mountain, reveals him as an alien demonic heretic, and forces a public Confession Edict from the Confucian Sage. 1072 1073 1074
True Dao Contention	The Confucian Sage's faction attempts to use Foreign Sages against its rivals; the plan collapses, and the Confucian Sage is killed after Lin Su exposes his hypocrisy before the world's scholars. 1091 1092 1093
War against the Wisdom Sage	The Wisdom Sage reveals his foreign origin and hidden cultivation before being defeated by Lin Su's Body Manifesting the Cosmos. 1094 1095
Western campaign	Remaining Sages cooperate with Lin Su against enemy formations and foreign threats, though their trust in formations and in one another remains limited. 1097

Notable Quotes

“On the Literary Dao, at the end of each path stands a person: a Sage!” 971

“Sages were not as noble and pure as imagined…” 883

“The Literary Way was supreme because its system was inherited from a single lineage, and because Sages of the Literary Way could integrate the collective force of an entire Dao.” 1092

Trivia

• The Sacred Hall's early roster contained only five Sages; later Sage positions were created through Path Expansion and meritorious deeds. 1016
• The Music Sage, Painting Sage, Chess Saint, and Sage of Books were originally associated with Confucianism's Four Academies before achieving sainthood. 1016
• A Sage's fury differs by path: a cultivation Sage's anger fills the heavens with killing intent, while a Literary Sage may become increasingly calm and resolute. 1022
• The Yin Yang Sage cannot use the Book of Changes to divine Lin Su because, as its creator, he stands outside the system it governs. 1101