Hongjun

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Chaos Origins and the Dao–Devil War

Hongjun originated in Chaos and survived the catastrophe of Pangu opening the heavens. He later described Pangu as having killed him once, an experience that prompted him to prepare additional means of survival. Luohu acknowledged losing the Dao–Devil War to him and regarded his survival, patience, and schemes as more consequential than his direct combat strength 693 717 720.

His ambition extended beyond becoming the Heavenly Dao’s representative. He intended to seize its authority, replace it as ruler of the Primordial Wilderness, and eventually use the world as a foundation to pursue the supreme Great Dao 186.

Sainthood and the Purple Cloud Palace Lectures

Hongjun announced his sainthood to every living being in the Primordial Wilderness and invited those with affinity to hear him teach at Purple Cloud Palace three thousand years later. His appearance shocked innate gods who had never heard his name or understood the Saint realm 12 13.

He delivered three lectures. The first explained cultivation below Great Luo, including a ten-thousand-year exposition of the Heavenly Immortal realm. His subsequent teaching addressed the Quasi-Sage Dao and the routes to sainthood: proving the Dao through Strength or Laws, slaying the Three Corpses, and accumulating Merit 17 21 22.

Wu Ming recognized a deliberate distortion in Hongjun’s account of Pangu: Hongjun used Pangu’s failure to emphasize the difficulty of proving the Dao with Strength without explaining that Pangu had sought a higher attainment than ordinary sainthood. East King Duke subsequently proposed the title Dao Ancestor, which Hongjun neither explicitly accepted nor rejected 22.

At the conclusion of the lectures, Hongjun distributed Hongmeng Purple Qi and treasures. He then announced Dao Integration, presenting it as a sacrifice to complete the Heavenly Dao and declaring that he would not appear unless a Heaven and Earth Tribulation descended 33.

Conflict with the Wu Clan

Hongjun’s expectations were disrupted when he discovered that Wu Ming and the Twelve Ancestral Witches all possessed Primordial Spirits. He also failed to divine Wu Ming’s origins and initially tolerated the Wu Clan’s unexpected merit-earning activities so long as they did not alter the greater trend 14 24.

During the Witch–Demon War, the appearance of the Pangu True Body and Pangu Hall as its heart drew him out of Purple Cloud Palace. He intervened on the Demon Clan’s behalf and demanded that Wu Ming accompany him back to the palace. When Wu Ming refused, Hongjun defeated the Pangu True Body formed by Wu Ming and the Twelve Ancestral Witches 66 68 69.

Zhou Ming then revealed himself as Wu Ming’s true body and took command of the formation. Hongjun lost the ensuing battle, prompting the Heavenly Dao’s will to descend through him. Both later returned to the palace grievously wounded 70 71 77.

Afterward, Hongjun learned that the Ancestral Witches possessed Pangu’s crucial final insights into the Laws. He and the Heavenly Dao planned to recover, establish the Six Saints, and prevent the thirteen Ancestral Witches from assembling their strongest formation 77.

The Reincarnation Scheme

Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao sought to make Houtu transform her true body into Reincarnation. Their aim was both to complete the world’s order and to remove her Wu body, permanently disrupting the thirteen-member formation. With the Wu and Demon Clans no longer willing to wage the necessary war, they planned an Immortal–Demon conflict to increase slaughter and awaken Houtu’s compassion for homeless souls 88 148 173.

Zhou Ming anticipated the scheme and prepared Pingxin, also called Calm Heart, an avatar of the Purifying World White Lotus, to establish Reincarnation instead. Hongjun emerged at the Sea of Blood to insist that only Houtu’s true body could fulfill the task. He threatened to leave Zhou Ming suppressed by the Six Saints, only to learn that Zhou Ming had deliberately allowed himself to be trapped to lure him out 178 180.

The emergence of the Earthly Dao weakened the Heavenly Dao’s monopoly over the world. Hongjun also began to suspect that the Heavenly Dao’s repeated demands for complete integration concealed a plot against him, so he resolved to delay the process and prepare countermeasures 186 194.

Cooperation with Zhou Ming

Hongjun secretly entered Pangu Hall by dividing a wisp of Divine Sense among the Six Saints and reassembling it after their arrival. He proposed cooperation with Zhou Ming against the conscious Heavenly Dao, admitting that he had not found its weakness 241 242 245.

Zhou Ming considered the threat to Hongjun genuine but refused to trust his account completely. Their dealings included Hongjun providing the Method of Shattering the Three Corpses. Later, Hongjun used Haotian to signal that he might require assistance in his struggle with the Heavenly Dao 248 669.

Heavenly Court and the Investiture of the Gods

Hongjun appointed his attendants Haotian and Yaochi as the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother, supplied them with treasures, and ordered the Six Saints to support their Heavenly Court 239.

When Haotian later begged him to compel the Clarify Sect’s disciples into Heavenly Court service, Hongjun agreed to intervene but declared their old bond exhausted. He subsequently presented the Investiture of the Gods to the Six Saints, explaining that those named on it would serve Haotian under heavenly law 344 350.

Following Zhou Ming’s intervention in Jiang Ziya’s recruitment, Hongjun obeyed the Heavenly Dao’s instruction to guide Primordial Lord Tianzun toward Shen Gongbao. He ultimately declared Shen Gongbao the heaven-mandated candidate and awarded Primordial Lord the Investiture of the Gods and God-Beating Whip 386 389.

Zhou Ming identified a deeper objective behind the tribulation: provoking the Three Pure Ones into exhausting their inherited merit and incurring enough karma for Hongjun to restrain them through Saint-Smiting Pills. During the settlement, Hongjun also demanded their Heaven-Opening Marks as a bargaining condition, which Zhou Ming rejected 373 541.

At the tribulation’s end, Hongjun imposed Heavenly Court service on the Clarify and Interception sects, ordered Taiqing to provide a Three Corpses incarnation, and separated Jieyin and Zhunti from the Mystic Gate. He barred the Saints from entering the Primordial Land or interfering in mortal affairs until the Immeasurable Calamity, then proposed reforging the Primordial World with Zhou Ming 544.

Defeat by the Heavenly Dao

After the Journey to the West ended, Hongjun resumed final Dao Integration while secretly intending to devour the Heavenly Dao. Instead, its Law Chains bound his body and eroded his Primordial Spirit 643 664.

Hongjun coordinated an attack with the remnant souls of Destiny and Karma, striking from outside while they attacked the Heavenly Dao’s origin from within. The Heavenly Dao revealed that it had staged its apparent weakness to draw those remnants out. Hongjun had been selected as a catalyst because his Chaos Demon God identity and ambition made him suitable bait 690 691.

The Heavenly Dao then sought his body as a vessel capable of bearing its perfected origin and escaping the Primordial World. Hongjun attempted self-detonation, but the Heavenly Dao severed his connection to his Origin Essence, devoured his Primordial Spirit, and took possession of his body. Hongjun’s final resistance included a vow to return 692 693.

The being later confronted by Zhou Ming at Purple Cloud Palace was explicitly the Heavenly Dao inhabiting Hongjun’s body, not Hongjun himself 706.

Return and Final Defeat

Hongjun survived through a contingency hidden in Haotian: a wisp of his Primordial Spirit. Using Haotian’s body, he plundered his former disciples’ cultivation, then slaughtered the Wu and Demon armies to restore himself to peak Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal. He imprisoned the surviving Great Powers beneath Spirit Mountain 717 718 720.

He united with Luohu, Yang Mei, Karma, and Fate against Zhou Ming, supplying the Five Elements Heaven-Sealing Array and thirteen drops of Ancestral Wu Essence Blood. After Yang Mei revealed his own Hunyuan Infinite cultivation, Hongjun disclosed his ability to reclaim the dead Heavenly Dao’s authority and reached Half-Step Hunyuan Infinite before Zhou Ming’s return 725 732 734.

In the final battle, Hongjun combined the authorities of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity to fight alongside Yang Mei. Zhou Ming’s decisive axe strike forced that fragile fusion beyond its limits. The resulting backlash stripped Hongjun of his power; Yang Mei abandoned him, and Zhou Ming’s axe erased him from existence 738 739.

Appearance

• Build and face: Lean and gaunt, with an ancient, unadorned face 241.
• Usual expression: Impassive and restrained, frequently compared to an undisturbed ancient well 66 170.
• Sainthood manifestation: Appeared above the horizon amid auspicious light, with purple Qi extending ninety thousand li behind him 12.
• Later vessel: Used Haotian’s body after his original body was taken by the Heavenly Dao 693 717.

Personality

Hongjun is patient, secretive, and deeply calculating. Luohu distinguishes him from more direct fighters: rather than relying on head-on confrontation, he survives through preparation, hidden contingencies, and long-term manipulation. Even his allies suspect that his concealed advantages are intended for use against them once their common enemies are defeated 720 732.

His outward composure conceals considerable pride and resentment. Discovering the advantages inherited by Pangu’s descendants drives him to denounce the Great Dao as unjust. When threatened with annihilation by the Heavenly Dao, that same pride turns into a willingness to destroy his own body rather than surrender it 77 693.

His pursuit of the Dao overrides loyalty and compassion. He drains his former disciples’ lifetime achievements, treats entire armies as nourishment, and spares survivors because their connections to the world’s Fortune may remain useful 717 718.

Abilities & Skills

Three Corpses Cultivation

Hongjun teaches the severing of the good, evil, and self Corpses through Innate Spiritual Treasures, followed by their reunification 22.

• Identifies this as his own route to sainthood 22.
• His public teaching omits the obstacle posed by severing the Corpses with treasures that do not share the same origin 93.
• Knows how to shatter the Corpses and reclaim their Origin Essence 671.
• Teaches Haotian and Yaochi a faster simultaneous-shattering method, warning that failure can destroy both body and spirit 671.

Heavenly Dao Authority

Dao Integration grants Hongjun access to Heavenly Dao power and influence over the Primordial World’s workings 60 88.

• Can increase the Heavenly Dao authority available to the Six Saints 170.
• Reinforces the Wu Clan’s karmic connections to the Primordial Wilderness to obstruct Zhou Ming’s attempt to sever them 589.
• Reclaims ownerless Heavenly Dao authority after its death to attain Half-Step Hunyuan Infinite 732 734.
• Integration also exposes him to the Heavenly Dao’s attempts to bind, consume, and replace him 664 693.

Divine Sense Concealment and Survival

Hongjun can divide and conceal fragments of his consciousness 241.

• Splits one wisp of Divine Sense into six parts and hides them on the Six Saints to enter Pangu Hall undetected until reassembly 241.
• Communicates with Haotian and Yaochi through the Haotian Mirror 671.
• Preserves a Primordial Spirit contingency within Haotian, enabling his return after the Heavenly Dao devours him 720.

Origin Essence Plundering

Hongjun restores lost power by consuming others’ cultivation and Origin Essence 717 718.

• Strips former disciples of their Dao Fruits and cultivation 717.
• Consumes both Wu vital essence and demonic Origin Essence 718.
• Rapidly restores previously attained realms because his comprehension remains intact; sufficient Origin Essence is the limiting resource 717.

Formations and Three Daos Fusion

Hongjun possesses methods intended to counter the Wu Clan’s collective strength 725.

• Five Elements Heaven-Sealing Array: Uses an Ancestral Witch’s Essence Blood to pull that witch out of the Pangu True Body 725.
• Limitation: Admits that its effectiveness becomes uncertain after Zhou Ming reaches Hunyuan Infinite 732.
• Three Talents Authority: Forms a gray wheel from Heavenly, Earthly, and Humanity Dao authorities to attack the Pangu True Body 739.
• Fatal weakness: The three authorities remain insufficiently refined and cannot maintain their balance under extreme pressure 738 739.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Jade Plate of Creation — Signature treasure used with Dao laws to withstand the Pangu True Body and resist the Heavenly Dao. Its defenses are ultimately overwhelmed by the perfected Heavenly Dao 69 692 693.
• Hongmeng Purple Qi — Holds seven streams associated with sainthood; distributes six before the final stream goes to Hong Yun 33.
• Investiture of the Gods — Places those named under Haotian’s authority, with heavenly punishment enforcing obedience; later entrusted to Primordial Lord Tianzun 350 389.
• God-Beating Whip — Awarded to Primordial Lord Tianzun alongside the Investiture of the Gods 389.
• Thirteen drops of Ancestral Wu Essence Blood — Obtained from Great Witches and prepared for the Five Elements Heaven-Sealing Array 725.
• Treasure-Dividing Rock — Repository where he places previously acquired Spirit Treasures for lecture attendees to obtain according to fate 33.

Documented Treasure Grants

Relationships

• Heavenly Dao — Former partner and source of authority, but also his intended usurpation target. It outmaneuvers him, devours his Primordial Spirit, and takes his original body 186 690 693.
• Zhou Ming / Wu Ming — Principal rival whose concealed identity disrupts Hongjun’s plans. They temporarily negotiate against the Heavenly Dao, but Zhou Ming ultimately kills him 70 242 739.
• Houtu — Target of his attempt to cripple the Wu formation through her bodily transformation into Reincarnation. She openly rejects his demands 173 180.
• Three Pure Ones — Disciples whose sects and inherited merit become instruments in his plans for the Investiture tribulation. Taiqing and Primordial Lord are later among those he drains and imprisons 373 717 718.
• Nuwa — Disciple and recipient of several creation-related treasures; Hongjun considers her sainthood part of establishing the Six Saints 33 88.
• Jieyin and Zhunti — Named disciples and beneficiaries of his treasure distribution. He later separates them from the Mystic Gate and ultimately plunders their cultivation 33 544 717 718.
• Haotian — Former attendant appointed Jade Emperor. Hongjun declares their old bond exhausted after Haotian’s appeal for help, yet secretly uses him as both a messenger and a survival vessel 239 344 669 720.
• Yaochi — Former attendant appointed Queen Mother. Receives his cultivation guidance but later witnesses him exploit Haotian’s body and drain the assembled Great Powers 239 671 717.
• Luohu — Defeated opponent from the Dao–Devil War and later a wary ally against Zhou Ming 720 725.
• Yang Mei — Final coalition partner who recognizes Hongjun’s dangerous scheming. Fights beside him, then abandons him when the Three Daos fusion collapses 720 739.
• Destiny/Fate and Karma — Their remnant souls cooperate with him against the Heavenly Dao; Fate and Karma later join his coalition against Zhou Ming 690 725.

Notable Quotes

“I am Hongjun. Today, I have proved the Dao and become a Saint!” 12

“Beneath the Heavenly Dao, minor trends can be altered, but the great trend... cannot!” 70

“I, Hongjun, have schemed my entire life. I absolutely cannot simply sit and await death!” 186