Mistress

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	He Shutong 228
Alias(es)	Mistress; Lotus Sword Venerable; Thirteenth Elder; Fairy Leng Ying 177 396 412
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Lotus Peak; formerly resided at the Mandarin Sword Sect during her Mortal World trial 24 105 228
Occupation / Role	Void Glimpse sword cultivator; You Su's nominal Mistress and later true Master; Wangshu Fairy's Master 24 105 412
Cultivation	Void Glimpse Great Power; cultivation later declines after her Spirit Platform is damaged 130 412
Status	Active 492
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

He Shutong was originally a Book Cultivator before beginning the path of the sword. At a young age, she cultivated the Ice Heart Technique, a method that severed emotions and desires to improve cultivation efficiency; its effects accounted for the cold, distant manner she displayed for years. She later explained that the technique dissipated after her Mortal World trial succeeded. 228 492

During that trial, she sealed her Mystic Qi and posed as the Dao companion of Guan Chujun, You Su's Master. Their supposed relationship was only a transaction: He Shutong was to care for You Su in the role of his “Mistress” for ten years. Though You Su addressed her as Mistress for eight years, she initially considered herself only his Martial Aunt and rarely interacted with him beyond correcting his sword forms. 24 61 177

When You Su briefly regained his sight in Chuyun City, he perceived his Mistress as a horrifying possessed form: a snow-white gown concealing flowing dark-red flesh, eight enormous tentacles, and two fixed clusters of light where eyes should be. She killed him after he saw her and Junior Sister's monstrous appearances. Later accounts establish that the dream versions of Mistress and Junior Sister were avatars connected to their real counterparts, who had been corrupted by powerful Malevolent Spirits. 1 8 18 23

Despite her aloofness, He Shutong watched You Su's predicament from afar and intended to save him even if he did not ask for help. Once the immediate crisis passed, she formally accepted him as her true disciple and instructed him to call her “Master.” 24 105

Appearance

He Shutong is renowned for an otherworldly, peerless beauty. She is commonly seen in white or plain robes, often with lotus motifs, and carries a cool lotus-like fragrance. Her eyes are likened to a deep starry sky or clear spring water, though fatigue and sorrow can show at their corners. 127 395 475

• Usually wears flowing snow-white robes and wide sleeves. 475 491
• Her sword energy manifests as lotus shadows, petals, and lotus platforms. 85 475
• Has an elegant, icy demeanor shaped by the Ice Heart Technique. 228
• In You Su's early sight-based perception, appeared as a malformed, tentacled Malevolent Spirit beneath an immortal gown. 1 8

Personality

He Shutong is reserved, disciplined, and often difficult to approach. Her years under the Ice Heart Technique left her emotionally detached, causing her to neglect the warmth and care You Su needed while she acted as his nominal Mistress. She later regrets this deeply and seeks to become someone worthy of the title he gave her. 177 228

Beneath that reserve, she is highly protective and self-sacrificing. She planted an Immortal Seed in You Su's mind at severe cost to herself, saved him in Chuyun City and Northern Ao, and continued to support his path when the Evil Warding Department failed to properly guide him. 85 108 130 203 475

Her affection can also become possessive and indirect. Within the dreamscape, she keeps You Su close under the pretense of treating his Spiritual Sense, cooks for him, practices swordsmanship with him, and struggles to reconcile her feelings as a woman with her responsibility as his Master. 428 478 479

Abilities & Skills

Void Glimpse Cultivation

He Shutong is a Void Glimpse Great Power known as the Lotus Sword Venerable. During her Mortal World trial, however, she sealed all of her Mystic Qi and could not use it, leading outsiders and You Su to believe she possessed no cultivation. 10 24 412

• Her Spirit Platform was broken, causing her cultivation to fall. 130
• Expending power to plant the Immortal Seed further weakened her condition. 108 130
• Her damaged life-bound object must be recovered from Jade Ring Pool to repair her Spirit Platform. 130

Lotus Birth Sword Technique

He Shutong's swordsmanship is exceptionally refined and forms the foundation of You Su's early sword training. She can identify the central flaw in his forms after only a few observations. 10

• Her sword energy blooms in lotus-like forms and can become overwhelming killing intent. 85 475
• She created a twelve-petal lotus platform that suppressed Heng Lian First Seat's lightning arts. 475
• She uses the technique to protect You Su, including her intervention against City Lord Liu and Heng Lian First Seat. 85 475
• She teaches and tests You Su's comprehension of the Lotus Birth Sword Manual. 479

Mandarin Duck Sword

He Shutong knows the Mandarin Duck Sword, a paired sword art that requires trust and synchronization between its wielders. She trains with You Su after he asks to practice it together. 24 478 479

• She corrects You Su's posture and guides the paired forms directly. 479
• The technique's intimacy complicates their efforts to maintain a conventional Master-disciple distance. 478 479

Immortal Seed

He Shutong planted an Immortal Seed in You Su's mind as a disciple-accepting gift. The seed supports his cultivation and can provide emergency Mystic Qi. 108

• The act exhausted her enough to require seclusion. 108
• It laid the foundation for You Su's attempt to obtain the Lotus Root Heart for her. 177
• She later refilled the seed while caring for the unconscious You Su. 127

Spiritual Sense and Dream Manipulation

He Shutong maintains a formation in the immortal forest around Lotus Birth Pool, guiding approved visitors while preventing others from finding their way through. 227

• She enters the heart's barrier to preserve and extend her memory of You Su. 396
• In the dreamscape, she can alter circumstances around You Su and keep him there while claiming to treat his weakened Spiritual Sense. 397 428
• She shares memories and reveals personal truths to You Su through her memory space. 412

Equipment / Items

• Storage Magic Treasure — He Shutong possesses a storage treasure capable of holding numerous valuable items. 97
• Life-bound object / Destiny Item — An unnamed object connected to her Spirit Platform; recovering it from Jade Ring Pool is necessary for her recovery. 130
• Immortal Seed — A cultivation aid she implanted in You Su's mind at great personal cost. 108

Relationships

• You Su — Initially his nominal Mistress under an agreement with Guan Chujun; later accepts him as her true disciple. Their bond develops from distant sword instruction into mutual devotion, trust, and complicated romantic feeling. 105 177 478
• Guan Chujun — You Su's real Master and He Shutong's close acquaintance. Their false Dao-companion arrangement required He Shutong to care for You Su during her ten-year Mortal World trial. 24 177 259
• Wangshu Fairy — Her disciple and You Su's Senior Sister. Wangshu becomes jealous of the attention He Shutong gives You Su. 24 127
• Bihua Venerable / Third Elder — A fellow elder who reveals the severity of He Shutong's injuries to You Su and assists with matters surrounding her Destiny Item. 130 177
• Ji Lingruo — You Su's Junior Sister. He Shutong advises You Su to respect Lingruo's wishes and never treat dual cultivation as an obligation or coercive act. 274
• Heng Lian First Seat — An enemy whom He Shutong confronts after crossing the Northern Sea to save You Su. 475

Story Role / Major Arcs

Chuyun City and the Mortal World Trial

He Shutong's early presence is deliberately unsettling: You Su sees her monstrous possessed form, is killed by her sword, and later struggles to determine whether the woman secluded in the main hall is truly his Mistress. Despite appearing indifferent, she covertly monitors his dangers and ultimately intervenes when City Lord Liu severely injures him. 1 24 61 85

Becoming You Su's True Master

After You Su's growth and the events surrounding Lotus Peak, He Shutong formally takes him as a true disciple. She gives him the Immortal Seed, then suffers a broken Spirit Platform and declining cultivation because of the power she expended for him. 105 108 130

Lotus Root Heart Recovery

You Su risks his life to obtain the Lotus Root Heart for He Shutong. When the item becomes assimilated into his Spirit Platform, she personally extracts it during a dangerous detoxification process. She then reveals that she was never truly married to Guan Chujun, but wishes to become a Mistress worthy of You Su's devotion. 175 177

Trust, Teaching, and Shared History

He Shutong begins actively mentoring You Su on Malevolent Spirits and opens up about her own past, including her former life as a Book Cultivator and the Ice Heart Technique. She entrusts him with her true name after concealing it for nearly two centuries. 203 227 228

Dreamscape and Northern Ao

Within the dreamscape, He Shutong attempts to make up for the years she missed in You Su's childhood, remaining by his side and preserving a warmer version of their shared life. In reality, she crosses the Northern Sea to rescue him from Heng Lian First Seat, fighting beside him until she is injured. 397 428 475

Reality After the Dream

After their dream experiences intensify their feelings, He Shutong struggles to reassert the boundary between Master and disciple. You Su becomes more openly devoted, while she remains conflicted by the difference between the intimacy of the dream and the consequences of such feelings in reality. 478 492 493

Notable Quotes

“Firstly, I would save him even if he didn't ask. Secondly, I am not his Mistress. That was just your peculiar whim.” 24

“Of course, I am.” 94

“I am not your real Mistress. Your Master and I are not partners; it was just a transaction.” 177