Joyous Union Sect

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Joyous Union Sect
Original Name	合欢宗
Organization Type	Cultivation sect with a ten-thousand-year heritage 99 100
Sect Master	Ji Ruxue, the current Joyous Union Fairy 98 101
Headquarters	Penglai Immortal Island 76 98
Membership	Accepts only female disciples; Su Changqing joins separately as a male Guest Elder 71 77
Status	Active; defending against a joint invasion by the Yin Corpse Sect and Soul Refining Sect 99 102
First Appearance	Introduced during Su Changqing’s journey with the Ouyang siblings 71

Background / History

The Joyous Union Sect has operated in its sea region for ten thousand years. Its ancestor established the True Spirit Great Array, which remains the sect’s principal defensive formation 99 101 102.

Several centuries before the current invasion, multiple forces joined together to attack the sect. Despite outsiders’ doubts, its cultivators considered their position secure under the protection of a late Core Formation expert. The later assault by the Yin Corpse Sect presents a much more serious threat to its survival 98.

Organization and Membership

Leadership

Every successive sect master inherits the title Joyous Union Fairy, replacing her previous title. Leadership selection values administrative wisdom as well as cultivation strength 98 101.

Member	Position / Responsibility	Details
Ji Ruxue	Sect Master; Joyous Union Fairy	Coordinates the defense, recalls disciples, and orders delaying actions until the main array can activate 98 101 102.
Leng Ruyue / Fairy Ruyue	Senior elder	A late Core Formation cultivator who recruits Su Changqing, negotiates outside support, and issues wartime orders 75 77 78 99.
Fairy Cailian	Supreme Elder	A late Core Formation cultivator normally removed from routine affairs; participates in the invasion crisis 98 99.
Fairy Linglong	Overseer of island formations	Reports on the activation of the sect’s defensive formations 101.
Fairy Yue Luo	Elder	Takes part in discussions about the approaching enemy army 99.
Hou Qianqian	Disciple; patrol leader	Leads the Foundation Establishment women who intervene in the Chaotic Star Island dispute 74 75.
Li Xueyun	Newly admitted disciple	Accepted after presenting the token belonging to her mother, Leng Ruyue’s former disciple 72 76.
Chun Hua and Qiu Yue	Disciples	Close senior and junior sisters who discuss whether the sect can survive the invasion 99.

Recruitment and Access

• Admission standards: Applicants must possess exceptional talent and meet appearance requirements 71.
• Recruitment timing: Disciple recruitment takes place alongside the Harmony Gathering 71.
• Restricted headquarters: Men are normally forbidden from entering Penglai Island, with unauthorized entry punishable by death. Leng Ruyue makes an exception for Su Changqing 76 77.
• Outside visitors: Harmony Gathering participants ordinarily stay on Chaotic Star Island rather than entering the headquarters 71.
• Prestige: Sect membership provides substantial protection and standing; even Core Formation cultivators treat its Foundation Establishment disciples with respect 73 99.

Marriage and Outer Disciples

• Approved partnerships: Disciples may form dual-cultivation partnerships with outside men with their elders’ approval 72 99.
• Harmony Gathering: Held once every hundred years to facilitate such partnerships. Participating women generally have ordinary aptitude and are less highly valued than the sect’s core elites 72.
• Elite expectations: Core elite women are expected to remain unmarried and maintain their virginity, although this restriction is understood rather than explicitly stated 72.
• Change of status: Approved marriage converts an inner disciple into an outer disciple, regardless of her former rank or cultivation. She then requires permission to reenter the sect 99.
• Vassal families: Married outer disciples may settle with their husbands on nearby islands and establish cultivation families affiliated with the sect 99.

Li Xueyun’s mother was an exception to the approved marriage system. A promising direct disciple of Leng Ruyue, she fell in love with a rogue cultivator and was expelled. Unlike sanctioned brides, she received no generous dowry and was forbidden to establish a cultivation family 72.

Guest Elder Arrangement

• Su Changqing’s duties: Required to act when the sect faces danger; otherwise free to pursue his own affairs 77.
• Compensation: A piece of Gold Essence and a monthly stipend of fifty thousand spirit stones 77.
• Recruitment purpose: Strengthen the sect’s high-end combat power before war with the Yin Corpse Sect 77.

Territory and Resources

Holding	Importance
Penglai Immortal Island	Entirely controlled by the sect. Described as covering nearly a million li, with numerous spirit veins and exceptionally dense spiritual energy; the sect’s buildings occupy only a small portion 76 77.
Chaotic Star Island	Hosts visiting Harmony Gathering participants and a temporary marketplace. Sect patrols enforce order there 71 73 74.
Surrounding islands	Thousands of nearby islands, most with suitable spirit veins, support married outer disciples and their cultivation families 99.
Feihua Market	A vital sect industry targeted for its resources during the invasion 102 105.

Military Strength and Cultivation

Documented Forces

Force	Documented Scale
Foundation Establishment cultivators	More than ten thousand within the sect 77.
Core Formation leadership	Nearly a hundred attend the initial defense council; more than a hundred elders later lead the counterdeployment 98 102.
Late Core Formation experts	Four occupy the leading seats at the defense council; Supreme Elder Cailian is also identified at this stage 98.
Vassal cultivation families	More than a thousand, providing an additional wartime force 99.
Defensive formations	More than 3,650 large and small formations 101.

True Spirit Great Array

The sect’s ancestral protective array combines Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, drawing on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth 100 101.

• Powerful enough that the enemy expects enormous casualties from a direct assault after activation 100.
• Requires time to activate even after its spirit stones have been replenished 101.
• Depends on a core formation eye; destroying it would prevent activation 101.
• Ghost Face Buddha possesses clues pointing to nine possible locations, all within heavily protected forbidden grounds 101.

Ten Directions Sword Rain Formation

Ten Foundation Establishment disciples can combine their strength through this sword formation to produce Core Formation-level power 102.

• Allows the group to hold off a Core Formation cultivator despite the normal disparity between realms 100 102.
• Forms a key part of the defense alongside the sect’s island formations 100 102.

Youth-Preserving Cultivation

Most of the sect’s cultivation methods preserve a youthful appearance 98.

• Elders who have lived for centuries commonly look like women in their twenties 98.
• Ji Ruxue appears approximately eighteen despite holding authority over the sect’s elders 98.

Relationships

• Su Changqing — Guest Elder and wartime supporter. His grudge against the Yin Corpse Sect’s Skull Old Demon helps persuade him to accept the appointment; he later returns to aid the sect 77 102.
• Divine Light Fairy and Divine Light Peak — Allies secured through Leng Ruyue’s negotiations. Their forces prepare an attack on the Yin Corpse Sect to relieve pressure on Penglai Island 78 97 98.
• Yin Corpse Sect — Principal enemy. Its stronger high-end combat force prompts the Joyous Union Sect to seek reinforcements 77.
• Soul Refining Sect — Joins the Yin Corpse Sect’s invasion despite the Joyous Union Sect having no prior grievance with it 99.
• Outer-disciple cultivation families — Vassals that normally shield the surrounding territory. During the invasion, they are recalled to fight under unified command and defensive formations 99.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arc / Event	Chapters	Sect Involvement
Harmony Gathering preparations	71 72	Attracts rogue cultivators, sect representatives, and cultivation families seeking partners or recruitment opportunities.
Chaotic Star Island dispute	74 75 76	Patrol disciples confront public fighting. After Su Changqing kills Li Tianyi’s group, Leng Ruyue resolves the confrontation by inviting him to the sect and admitting Li Xueyun.
Recruitment and covert diplomacy	77 78	Leng Ruyue appoints Su Changqing as Guest Elder. The Harmony Gathering serves as a smokescreen to distract enemy spies while the pair secretly seek Demon Race support.
Divine Light alliance	84 96 97	Leng Ruyue’s planned use of a Tribulation Crossing Pill faces competition from Old Monster Frenzied Lion. After she and Su Changqing kill him, the alliance proceeds successfully.
Joint invasion	98 99 100	Reports of nearly one hundred thousand enemies initially meet skepticism. The Soul Refining Sect’s participation explains the threat’s scale, while advance Core Formation attackers inflict over a thousand casualties on the sect and its affiliates.
Defense of Penglai Island	101 102	The sect abandons outer territories, withdraws low-level disciples, and delays the enemy while activating the True Spirit Great Array. Its elders and sword-formation teams engage the attackers.
Feihua counteroperations	103 104 105	Su Changqing spreads fabricated claims that the invaders intend to seize the entire sea region, hoping to mobilize other forces. He then impersonates Yin Corpse elder Li Long to infiltrate the raiders’ pavilion.