Western Teachings

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Western Teachings (西方教)
Type	Cultivation sect and western spiritual-land restoration movement
Founders	Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti 25
Leadership	Jieyin and Zhunti served as Sect Leaders; Jiang Yun was later appointed Deputy Sect Leader and subsequently the Third Sect Leader 161 266
Headquarters	Mount Sumeru, Western World
Primary Purpose	Revive the ruined Western lands, restore Earth and Spirit Veins, educate living beings, and accumulate Merit through constructive work 24 25
Status	Active; later divided between the Mount Sumeru lineage and the independent Spirit Bamboo Mountain lineage 318
First Appearance	25

Background

The Western Teachings arose from the severe decline of the Western World. During the war between Luohou and Hongjun, the detonation of the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation shattered the region's spiritual and earth veins, leaving much of the West with only Acquired Spiritual Qi and far fewer cultivation resources than the East 3.

Jieyin, Zhunti, and Jiang Yun concluded that restoring the West required more than individual cultivation. They planned to establish a sect that could spread its ideals, gather capable beings, organize large projects, and allow its members to gain Merit and Fortune through repairing the land. They unanimously chose the name Western Teachings 25.

Its early methods were heavily shaped by Jiang Yun's arrays and administration. His Earth Vein Spirit Infusion Array, Spirit Plant Conversion Array, Earth Vein Network, and Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation offered practical means to repair Earth Veins, cultivate Spirit Veins, and draw Star Power into the barren West 24.

Doctrine and Principles

The sect's central mission is the Great Prosperity of the West: restoring the environment, protecting western beings, spreading cultivation, and building a stable spiritual homeland rather than relying on outside resources 14 25.

• Jieyin's Western Way emphasizes tolerance, absorption, karma, good connections, and a Western paradise free from suffering 13.
• Zhunti's Way of Bodhi emphasizes wisdom, enlightenment, Nirvana, and liberation from distraction and external interference 13.
• The sect generally allows disciples to forge individual cultivation paths, provided they do not violate its teachings. Kong Xuan, for example, was explicitly permitted to pursue his own Five Elements Great Dao 172.
• Merit is treated as both spiritual responsibility and a practical route to cultivation. The Merit Golden Body Method was created for beings of limited aptitude, allowing them to advance through sustained meritorious work 26.
• Following the sect's withdrawal from wider Primordial Desolation affairs, Jieyin and Zhunti taught the Heart of Non-Attachment, pairing compassion and protection of others with freedom from deluded attachment and forceful desire 213.

Dao of All Beings

After becoming the Third Sect Leader, Jiang Yun introduced the Dao of All Beings to the Western Teachings. It seeks to help sentient beings awaken themselves, discover their own “Other Shore,” and transcend the constraints of fate through self-realization 266.

“The Dao of All Beings is not my individual Dao; it is the power to inspire, ignite, and carry immeasurable beings to awaken themselves and break free from the shackles of the Heavenly Mandate!” 266

The doctrine shares the Western Teachings' concern for universal salvation, but places greater emphasis on active self-enlightenment and the potential of every being 266.

Organization

Leadership

Position	Holder(s)	Notes
Sect Leaders	Jieyin and Zhunti	Founders and later Saints of the Western Teachings 25 198
Deputy Sect Leader	Jiang Yun	Appointed after his cultivation and achievements elevated him to the status of a Daoist peer among the sect's senior figures 161
Third Sect Leader	Jiang Yun	Formally confirmed after reaching the Hunyuan Great Luo realm 266
Star Academy head	Ziwei Star Lord	Led the Star God lineage after it joined the sect 93 94
Guardian Temple Hall Master	Kong Xuan	Directed the Guardian Temple and integrated Phoenix Tribe disciples 173

Major Institutions

• Scripture Hall — Stores cultivation methods, arrays, divine abilities, and teachings for exchange through Merit Points 26.
• Mission Hall — Issues tasks such as repairing Earth Veins, cleansing demonic pollution, gathering resources, and eliminating fierce beasts 26.
• Exchange Hall — Trades Spiritual Treasures, medicines, materials, and other goods through the Merit Point system 29.
• Enforcement Hall — Handles disputes and enforcement; initially managed by Hei Feng and You Ming 27.
• Transmission Hall — Provides guidance for disciples unable to comprehend exchanged methods independently 27.
• Lecture Hall — Holds major Dao lectures every thousand years and smaller teachings on divine abilities and spell combat every ten years 84.
• Star Academy — Accommodates Star Gods and supports their cultivation after the Ziwei lineage joined 94.
• Engineering Institute — Oversees Spirit Land Construction, Resource Dispatch, Formation Engineering, Starry Sky Engineering, Survey and Exploration, and Technology Research and Development 95.
• Guardian Temple — Protects the sect's orthodoxy, expels external threats, and serves as its principal enforcement force 173.

Training and Discipline

The Western Teachings combines lectures, scripture exchanges, practical construction work, and trials.

• The Nine Tribulations Pagoda tempers the Dao Heart against internal and experiential trials.
• The Nine Prohibitions Pagoda simulates combat and improves spell-combat ability.
• Both were introduced to reduce dependence on direct instruction and encourage disciples to solve cultivation difficulties through personal effort 84 85.

Development and Major Arcs

Founding and Western Revival

The sect was established after Jiang Yun presented the practical formations needed to restore the Western World. Its founders intended to mobilize western beings through collective cultivation and merit-based labor rather than leave the region permanently dependent on the East 24 25.

Spirit Bamboo Mountain became an early model for the sect's development. Its offices, halls, formation networks, outposts, recruitment system, and Spirit Land construction methods later influenced Mount Sumeru's wider administration 28 29 40.

Expansion through Alliances

The Western Teachings expanded by offering restoration methods, cultivation resources, protection, and organizational expertise to allied groups.

• Dragon Race disciples became registered disciples after Jieyin cleansed their Karmic Force and transmitted cultivation methods to them 42.
• The Ziwei Star God lineage joined Mount Sumeru, strengthening the sect's Fortune and leading to the creation of the Star Academy 93 94.
• The Phoenix Tribe formally entered the sect after Kong Xuan and Winged Immortal accepted Guardian roles and took Heavenly Dao oaths 172.
• The Giant Turtle Clan joined after its survivors were recovered from Daiyu Immortal Island and the Nine Netherworlds 144 155.

Sainthood of the Two Sect Leaders

Jieyin and Zhunti achieved sainthood after the Western lands were restored, their Earth and Spirit Veins recovered, and their goal of educating and protecting western beings had been substantially fulfilled 197 198.

Their ascent established the Western Teachings as a major power in the Primordial Desolation and gave Mount Sumeru a firm position amid the rise of the Saints 198.

Strategic Contraction

As the Witch-Demon conflict escalated, the sect withdrew its main strength from external regions. Its Saints ordered the recall of direct and inner disciples, rotations for outer disciples, suspension of major external projects, and repatriation of strategic resources to Mount Sumeru 212.

This policy shifted the Western Teachings from broad expansion toward defending and perfecting its western homeland. The sect continued limited cooperation with allies through information sharing, resource exchange, and non-core formation support 212 213.

Reincarnation and Youming Administration

The Western Teachings played a major role in establishing the Nine Netherworlds' reincarnation order. Its members helped recover the Nine Netherworlds World, supplied Earth Dao treasures and formations, and proposed institutional features such as the Ten Halls of Yama, Eighteen Layers of Hell, and tools for soul guidance and judgment 155 161 219.

When authority in the Underworld was distributed, the Western Teachings received 30% of its divine positions. Its disciples were particularly suited to karmic judgment, record-keeping, soul guidance, salvation, and the administration of hells 220.

Spirit Bamboo Mountain Lineage

After Jiang Yun's avatar, Spirit Gourd Daoist, was imprisoned at Spirit Bamboo Mountain without intervention from Jieyin and Zhunti, Jiang Yun established an independent Spirit Bamboo Mountain lineage within the Western Teachings 318.

The new lineage gathered Jiang Yun's former followers, the inhabitants of Pengxuan Grotto-Heaven, Ling Xi, Gao Shou, the Three Xiaos, Zhao Gongming, Kong Xuan, and other like-minded members. The Two Sages did not obstruct the division and allowed disciples to choose their affiliation freely 318.

Relationships

• Dragon Race — Long-term ally. The sect exchanged restoration techniques and resources for Dragon Race manpower, support, and cooperation in the Four Seas; many Dragon Race members later joined as disciples 40 42 212.
• Phoenix Tribe — Cooperated in southern Spirit Land development and Earth Fire removal. The tribe's Fortune and young-phoenix survival rate increased during the partnership, eventually leading to its formal integration into the sect 169 172.
• Ziwei Star Lord and the Star Gods — Joined the Western Teachings and founded the Star Academy, but Ziwei later established an independent Youming Star God lineage after remaining permanently in the Nine Netherworlds 93 94 299.
• Giant Turtle Clan — Accepted into the sect after the recovery of survivors and ancestral remains from Daiyu Immortal Island; their adult members possess formidable physical strength 144 155.
• Witch Clan and Houtu — Partners in establishing reincarnation. The Western Teachings received a substantial role in the Underworld while recognizing the Witch Clan's leading authority over punishment and order 161 220.
• Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun — Longstanding allies in Earth Vein restoration, the Hongmen alliance, and the creation of the Nine Netherworlds order 56 122 220.
• Human Race — Jiang Yun protected the newly created Human Race, taught it Martial Dao, and became revered as its Holy Father and Martial Ancestor; the sect later retained deep ties to human development through Jiang Yun and Spirit Bamboo Mountain 190 191 198 319.
• Heavenly Court — Provided Star Academy personnel to manage celestial operations and opened channels for disciples seeking merit through Heavenly Court service 316.

Notable Achievements

• Restored large portions of the Western World's Earth Veins and Spirit Veins through formation-based Spirit Land construction 24 281.
• Built a merit-based cultivation, exchange, and task-completion system that connected individual advancement to western reconstruction 26 29.
• Helped establish the Six Paths Reincarnation and received thirty percent of the Underworld's authority 219 220.
• Enabled Jieyin and Zhunti to fulfill their vows to revive the West and attain sainthood 197 198.
• Provided the organizational model and technical expertise that accelerated the restoration of the northern Primordial Desolation 281 283.
• Supplied Star Lords and willing disciples to support the early administration of the Heavenly Court 316.