Hongjun

Biodata

Name	Hongjun (鸿钧)
Alias(es)	Dao Ancestor; Old Ancestor Hongjun
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Heavenly Dao; Purple Cloud Palace
Occupation/Role	Dao Ancestor; former master of the Heavenly Dao
Status	Alive; sealed in the North Sea Abyssal Eye and stripped of the Dao Ancestor position 307
First Appearance	Chapter 5 (mentioned); Chapter 15 (direct appearance) 5 15

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Heavenly Dao Sage	25 27	Announces his merger with the Heavenly Dao after distributing Primordial Violet Qi, accepting disciples, and opening Treasure Distribution Cliff.
Half-step Great Dao Realm Saint	217	His fusion with the Heavenly Dao and hidden methods make him a formidable force, though Xuan Wazi's breakthrough surpasses him in raw power and Dao level.
Primordial Chaos Supreme / quasi-Creation God	302	Fuses the rule powers of three thousand Demon Gods and the origins extracted from the Nine Sages; intends to sacrifice the Primordial World to become a Creation God.
Early-stage Primordial Supreme — Demon God Avatar	303	His avatar wields the combined rule powers of three thousand Demon Gods, giving him combat strength comparable to a Great Perfection Primordial Supreme.
Peak Hunyuan Limitless Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal	305	His aura falls by a major realm after his Demon God form is heavily damaged in the clash with Xuan Wazi.
Suppressed Heavenly Dao Realm	307	Retains enough origin to sustain Heavenly Dao Realm cultivation, but loses the authority of Dao Ancestor after his stolen powers are extracted.

Background & History

Dao-Demon Conflict

Hongjun appeared during the Dao-Demon Conflict with Old Ancestors Yin-Yang and Qiankun, along with Great Immortal Yang Mei, confronting Luo Hou at Mount Sumeru over Luo Hou's slaughter-based Dao and the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation 15. Although he presented the assault as a righteous effort to end Luo Hou's chaos, he secretly monitored the other formation gates and calculated the most advantageous sacrifices while defending himself with a fragment of the Jade Disk of Fortune and his severed Three Corpses 16.

His plan to suppress Luo Hou and seize the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation and God-Slaying Spear was disrupted by Xuan Wazi, who took the greatest rewards of the conflict. Hongjun also became burdened by the karmic consequences of the Western earth veins' destruction, beginning his lasting hostility toward Xuan Wazi 16.

Purple Cloud Palace

As Dao Ancestor, Hongjun convened lectures at Purple Cloud Palace to teach the cultivation paths of the Primordial World. His third lecture expounded the Saint's Dao, but Xuan Wazi's challenges to the Saint and Quasi-Saint paths undermined the authority of his teachings and provoked an unusually cold response 24.

After the lectures, Hongjun distributed eight strands of Primordial Violet Qi and accepted Laozi and Yuanshi as direct disciples. Tongtian, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti became nominal disciples, while Xuan Wazi and Hong Yun remained outsiders 25. He then declared his merger with the Heavenly Dao, stating that Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao would no longer openly manifest 25.

Conflict with Xuan Wazi

Following his merger with the Heavenly Dao, Hongjun treated Xuan Wazi as an anomaly capable of disrupting predestined events. He observed Xuan Wazi obstructing the enlightenment of future Saints through the Chaos Bead, but initially chose not to intervene directly 54.

Hongjun's schemes included manipulating Houtu toward a premature, self-destructive manifestation as Reincarnation in order to perfect Heavenly Dao authority. Xuan Wazi exposed and interrupted this plan, openly accusing Hongjun of distorting Houtu's Dao for his own ends 90.

Hongjun later attempted to seize the Five-Colored Stone and suppress Xuan Wazi with Heavenly Dao power, but was driven back after Xuan Wazi severed the Heavenly Dao chains controlling the Four Sages 135. During the Investiture of the Gods conflict, Hongjun threatened to reset the Primordial Era unless Xuan Wazi stopped interfering; the confrontation ended with Hongjun accepting rules that prohibited immortals from slaughtering non-immortal mortals 216.

Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West

Hongjun continued operating through the Heavenly Dao faction after being forced into compromise. Following the deaths of Jieyin and Zhunti, he ordered Yuanshi to accelerate the Investiture of the Gods process and use the “Substitute Tribulation” method to protect the Heavenly Origin Sect's core disciples 233.

He later revealed that he had orchestrated both the Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West tribulations. According to Hongjun, the deaths, karmic fluctuations, and conflicts generated by these events allowed him to secretly draw out the Primordial World's origin for his own ascension 303.

Final Defeat and Imprisonment

Hongjun eventually captured the Nine Sages and extracted their origins while gathering the remnant souls and laws of three thousand Demon Gods. Having become a Primordial Chaos Supreme, he intended to sacrifice the entire Primordial World to ascend as a Creation God 302.

In the chaos outside Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun fought Xuan Wazi through Demon God transformations, rule nets, Demon God Purgatory, and Demon God Return to Origin. His power relied on the resentment and stolen laws of dead Demon Gods, while Xuan Wazi purified their resentment and broke his techniques through the Primordial Indestructible Body and Primordial Return to Origin 303 304 305.

After Hongjun conceded defeat, Xuan Wazi chose not to kill or refine him. Instead, Hongjun was sealed beneath eighty-one layers of seals in the North Sea Abyssal Eye while Xuan Wazi extracted the Primordial World's origin, the Nine Sages' cultivation, and the three thousand Demon Gods' laws over an immense span of time 306 307.

Appearance

In his later imprisonment, Hongjun is depicted with long white hair, a withered face, sunken eyes, and an aura diminished to the point of near imperceptibility 306 307.

• During his ascension attempt, his body is bound in dense, hair-thin golden threads extending into the void 302.
• His Demon God Avatar possesses three thousand eyes and bleeds black Demon God blood when damaged 303 304.
• He is commonly seated upon a Cloud Bed in Purple Cloud Palace, surrounded by Heavenly Dao Laws 217 233.

Personality

Hongjun is calculating, detached, and willing to treat allies, disciples, and living beings as components of a larger arrangement. During the Dao-Demon Conflict, he covertly judged the most useful sacrifices among his own companions; much later, he admitted that even his disciples had merely been tools used to maintain and exploit the Heavenly Dao 16 303.

He generally maintains an indifferent and authoritative demeanor, even when observing major disruptions to the Heavenly Dao's plans. However, repeated defeats and Xuan Wazi's growing strength gradually expose his anger, desperation, and fear of losing control 54 135 217 233.

After his defeat, Hongjun becomes exhausted and reflective. He acknowledges that he miscalculated Xuan Wazi and questions whether the transcendence he pursued was worth the cost of everything he sacrificed 306.

Abilities & Skills

Heavenly Dao Authority

As the Dao Ancestor merged with the Heavenly Dao, Hongjun can exercise vast Heavenly Dao power and influence the operation of destiny, tribulations, and Saintly positions.

• Bestows Primordial Violet Qi and determines disciple status at Purple Cloud Palace 25.
• Appoints East King Duke and West Queen Mother as leaders of male and female immortals 25.
• Observes disturbances in heavenly secrets and monitors major developments throughout the Three Realms 54 272.
• Uses Heavenly Dao pressure to oppose Xuan Wazi's intervention in Houtu's Reincarnation crisis 90.
• His authority is limited by the Chaos Bead's concealment and by Xuan Wazi's ability to disrupt heavenly secrets 54 258.

Three Corpses and Daoist Methods

Hongjun possesses refined Daoist cultivation techniques, including the Three Corpses method.

• Uses severed Three Corpses to stabilize himself while confronting the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation 16.
• Defends against Immortal-Slaying Sword Qi with a fragment of the Jade Disk of Fortune 16.
• His teachings on Quasi-Sainthood and the Three Corpses allow hundreds of cultivators to advance during his second Purple Cloud Palace lecture 22.

Demon God Rule Powers

Hongjun fuses and weaponizes the laws and resentment of three thousand slain Demon Gods in his attempt to become a Creation God.

• Creates a three-thousand-eyed Demon God Avatar whose combined rule powers rival a stronger opponent 303.
• Manipulates time, space, life and death, destruction, and numerous other Demon God laws 303.
• Uses Demon God Purgatory to trap opponents within resentment and Demon God Return to Origin as a final self-destructive strike 304.
• The powers are fundamentally dependent on enslaved remnant souls and resentment; Xuan Wazi's purification of the Demon Gods weakens Hongjun's foundation 304 305.

Origin Extraction

Hongjun secretly extracts power from the Primordial World and its major cultivators to fuel his own advancement.

• Imprisons the Nine Sages and drains their origins in the chaos behind Purple Cloud Palace 302.
• Uses the Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West tribulations to conceal the extraction of fallen immortals' origins and Heavenly Dao fortune 303.
• The stolen origins and Demon God laws become deeply fused with his Primordial Spirit, making them difficult to remove without endangering his life 307.

Equipment / Items

• Fragment of the Jade Disk of Fortune — Used to dissolve Immortal-Slaying Sword Qi while Hongjun enters the eastern gate of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation 16.
• Nine-Dragon Agarwood Chariot — His seat during the confrontation with Luo Hou 15.
• Cloud Bed — His customary seat within Purple Cloud Palace 25 233.
• Heavenly Dao Law Chains — Manifestations of his connection to the Heavenly Dao; they become unstable when the Heavenly Dao suffers backlash 233.

Relationships

• Xuan Wazi — Primary rival and the “Great Dao Anomaly” who repeatedly ruins Hongjun's plans, defeats him in chaos, and ultimately seals him away 16 135 303 306.
• Luo Hou — Dao-Demon Conflict adversary; Hongjun leads the attack on Luo Hou's Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation while intending to claim its treasures for himself 15 16.
• Old Ancestor Yin-Yang — Temporary ally in the assault on Luo Hou; Hongjun views the battle in part through the lens of useful sacrifices 15 16.
• Old Ancestor Qiankun — Temporary ally in the assault on Luo Hou and another participant in breaking the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation 15 16.
• Great Immortal Yang Mei — Temporary ally in the Dao-Demon Conflict; enters the formation alongside Hongjun and the other ancestors 15 16.
• Laozi — Direct disciple and recipient of Primordial Violet Qi; later revealed to have been regarded by Hongjun as a tool for maintaining the Heavenly Dao 25 303.
• Yuanshi — Direct disciple who receives Hongjun's orders to accelerate the Investiture of the Gods and employ Substitute Tribulation 25 233.
• Tongtian — Nominal disciple whose questioning of the Quasi-Saint path contributes to Hongjun's hesitation; later one of the disciples Hongjun admits he treated as a pawn 22 25 303.
• Nuwa — Nominal disciple and later opponent aligned with Xuan Wazi against Hongjun's plans 25 135 233.
• Jieyin and Zhunti — Nominal disciples given Primordial Violet Qi partly to settle Hongjun's karmic debt from the Western earth veins' destruction 25.
• Houtu — Target of Hongjun's attempt to force a premature manifestation as Reincarnation for the perfection of the Heavenly Dao 90.
• The Nine Sages — Captives whose origin power Hongjun extracts to fuel his ascension attempt 302 307.
• Hong Lei — Replaces Hongjun as Master of the Heavenly Dao after the stolen origins and Demon God laws are returned to the world 307.

Notable Quotes

“Disciples? Those so-called disciples were merely tools I used to maintain the Heavenly Dao.” — Hongjun 303

“I miscalculated you.” — Hongjun, acknowledging his defeat to Xuan Wazi 306

“Perhaps you are right... Transcendence, creation, eternity... were those things truly worth trading everything for?” — Hongjun 306