Great Chu

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Great Chu (大褚)
Type	Human cultivation dynasty
Capital	Great Chu Imperial City
Status	Active; ruled by Emperor Chu Guo after Chu Yin leaves the throne 661
First Appearance	39

Background / History

Great Chu is a millennium-old dynasty founded through an agreement with its sacred lands and feudal powers. Those forces cultivate using the dynasty's dragon-vein fortune, while returning their own accumulated fortune to the imperial foundation. This reciprocal bond gives the royal family authority over the dynasty's aristocratic families, holy lands, and many of their mystical treasures. 454

The dynasty once possessed abundant Primordial Qi and entered a golden age roughly two thousand years ago, producing numerous powerful cultivators. Its later prosperity was also sustained by grand fortune arrays laid across its mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas. 59 58

Sixty years before the main story, Great Chu suffered heavily in the Poisoned Drink War, when the Demon Realm attacked through the Northern Territory. The war devastated the dynasty's Primordial Qi and Martial Dao Blood Essence, killed many prominent cultivators, and left lasting damage along the Great Wall. 190 159

The previous Chu Emperor attempted to restore the dynasty after the war by consolidating power, cultivating loyal officials, and using the Moonveil Realm's Immortality Tree. His plan depended on drawing Phoenix blood from the imprisoned Yuan Huang to make the tree bloom. 162 642 His death ten years later severed Great Chu's national fortune and accelerated its decline. 70

During the resulting instability, King Youhai Chu Lin attempted to use the Carp Tide River and the Bai Ze Secret Realm to ascend to the Yang Spirit Realm and forcibly remake Great Chu. His scheme failed after the Northern Sea Mausoleum was shattered, breaking the Tide Sacrifice formation; Chu Lin then died in the destruction of the Pulu Battleship. 70 89 90

Later conflicts over the four dragon veins, the Immortality Tree, and the Ren Shou Palace brought further upheaval. Yuan Huang briefly obtained Great Chu's dragon-vein fortune and reached the Celestial Being realm through the completed Immortality Tree. 591 636 After the fall of the Ren Shou Palace, Chen Jingxuan restored order in the Imperial City, while Chu Guo succeeded Chu Yin as emperor. 679 661

Geography & National Fortune

• Great Chu spans roughly eight thousand li from east to west. 738
• The Northern Territory is defended by snowy wilderness and the Great Wall; the Wall is a fortified second barrier rather than the dynasty's literal border. 190
• The Southern Borderlands are miasma-filled mountains lying outside the effective control of both Great Chu and Great Li. They became a refuge for exiled lawbreakers and heretical cultivators. 97
• Zhenhai Platform stands on the eastern end of the Northern Territory Great Wall, near the Northern Sea, and serves as an important point for Great Chu's national fortune. 740
• The Carp Tide River acts as a bottleneck through which Great Chu draws spiritual energy from the Northern Sea. Its annual tides reflect the condition of the dynasty's national fortune. 58
• Great Chu possesses four dragon veins: two associated with the Imperial City, one with the Daoist Sect, and one with the Great Grain Sword Palace. 593
• The Qin family guards the Martial Dao Luck dragon vein, whose prosperity historically produced Great Chu's martial geniuses and Garrison Envoys. 412

Government & Institutions

• Chu Emperor — The dynasty's sovereign. The position was held by Chu Yin before Chu Guo's accession. 412 661
• Great Chu royal family — The central authority, sustained by imperial blood, dragon-vein fortune, and longstanding contracts with sacred lands. 454
• Imperial City Bureau — The imperial intelligence and enforcement organization; it operates secret-agent networks and mobilizes special envoys. 110 446
• Scripture Pavilion — A divination and intelligence lineage whose master traditionally inherits the position of Great Chu National Preceptor. 110
• Ren Shou Palace — A major seat of royal power associated with the Holy Empress and later political turmoil. 289 679
• Weapon Forging Division — An Imperial City institution supplying large quantities of cultivated equipment and specialized treasures. 419 452
• Black Scale Guards — Elite imperial guards identified by the number of dragon scales on their waist tags; Nine-Scaled guards are rare and generally possess Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivation. 188

Major Powers

• Qin family — Great Chu's foremost martial family and custodian of the Martial Dao Luck dragon vein. Ancestor Qin is regarded as the dynasty's pinnacle martial artist. 159 412
• Great Grain Sword Palace — One of Great Chu's two most prestigious sects; it holds one of the dynasty's dragon veins and is bound to the imperial system through accumulated fortune. 49 593
• Daoist Sect — One of Great Chu's two most prestigious sects and holder of a dragon vein. 49 593
• Jiang family — A major aristocratic force with deep ties to the Northern Territory and the Scripture Pavilion. Jiang Lie is a renowned Garrison Envoy. 49 50
• Chu family of Qing Province — A powerful regional clan strengthened by King Youhai's title and status. 49
• Hundred Flowers Valley — A first-class sect ranked among Great Chu's top ten, known for producing exceptionally talented disciples. 49
• Martial Sect — A prominent Great Chu martial sect led by the Martial Immortal, a Yang Spirit Realm expert who rose during the dynasty's period of declining fortune. 261 412

Military

• Great Chu maintains one hundred and eight Garrison Envoys in the Northern Territory. 107 412
• The Northern Territory Great Wall has defended the human realm against the Demon Realm for centuries. 190
• Following the Poisoned Drink War, the dynasty established the Northern Hunt, requiring sects and aristocratic families to send elite disciples beyond the Great Wall to hunt in the snowy mountains. 190
• The imperial government deploys Treasure Ships for long-range transport, military operations, and large-scale formation support. 480 715
• The Dragon Shackling Formation is an imperial grand formation that seals and drains ambient Primordial Qi, making it especially dangerous to Qi-based cultivators. 716

Foreign Relations

• Great Li — Great Chu's principal neighboring human dynasty. The two states have fought repeatedly, but also cooperated against the Demon Realm and established the Square Circle Market as a symbol of peace. 200 293
• Demon Realm — Great Chu's primary external threat. The Demon Realm launched the Poisoned Drink War and continues to menace the Northern Territory through demon tides and powerful demon cultivators. 190 740
• Southern Borderlands — Nominally outside Great Chu's direct rule, but repeatedly contested by the dynasty, the three heretical sects, and the Paper Effigy Dao. 97 468
• Square Circle Market — A joint Chu–Li institution created to preserve peace after the Poisoned Drink War, though its two Grand Proprietors compete for fortune. 200

Story Role / Major Arcs

Decline after the Chu Emperor's death

The former emperor's death leaves Great Chu's national fortune severed, weakening the dynasty and enabling factional struggles across the four territories. 70

Carp Tide City crisis

King Youhai exploits the Carp Tide River, demonic arts, and the Bai Ze Secret Realm in an attempted Yang Spirit ascension. His plan to transform Great Chu ends when the Northern Sea Mausoleum is shattered and the Pulu Battleship is destroyed. 70 89 90

Northern Hunt

Great Chu gathers its younger generation for the Northern Hunt beyond the Great Wall, but the event becomes a major disaster involving the Great Moon Kingdom, Demon Realm forces, and competing holy-land prodigies. 190 222 261

Southern Borderlands Demon Subjugation

The dynasty launches a major campaign against the Southern Borderlands' heretical sects and the Paper Effigy Dao. The operation culminates in the emergence of the Bai Ze Secret Realm through the Earth Abyss, scattering Great Chu's Treasure Ships into the Secret Mausoleum. 434 487 490

Dragon-vein conflict

The Holy Empress seeks the Great Grain Sword Palace's dragon vein as part of a plan to gather all four veins and revive the Immortality Tree. The royal family and Sword Palace openly clash over the fate of Great Chu's fortune. 591 605

Chu Guo's reign

Following the collapse of the Ren Shou Palace's order, Chu Guo becomes emperor. Under Chen Jingxuan's administration, Great Chu enters a rare period of recovery, restoring Northern Territory commanders, suppressing southern heretics, and stabilizing its borders. 661 679

Demon Tide at Zhenhai Platform

During a new demon offensive, Chu Guo personally visits Zhenhai Platform, using the crisis to expose a traitor while Snow Master and Bai Ying defend him against the invading tide. 740 743 744