Dao Ancestor Hongjun

Biodata

Power Progression

Background and History

Hongjun emerged among the Primordial World's ancient powers. In Western Kunlun, he obtained the Jade Plate of Fortune and developed the method of severing the Three Corpses. He fought Rahu in the western wilderness; their battle destroyed the West's spiritual veins. Hongjun's victory enabled his ascent to Sagehood but left him with a karmic debt to the region 125 891 1169.

He established Zixiao Palace in Chaos and lectured to thousands of cultivators. His teachings opened a path beyond the Grand Unity bottleneck toward the Quasi-Sage realm. He founded Xuanmen, accepted the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Zhunti, and Jieyin as personal disciples, and distributed treasures and Sage positions 656 659 661 975.

Hongjun later merged with the Heavenly Dao. The merger made him its avatar and vastly increased his authority, but bound him to its rules and cost him his individuality. After learning from Ancestor Yang Mei that Pangu's will lay behind the Heavenly Dao, Hongjun came to regard himself as a pawn rather than its true ruler 204 335 661.

Appearance

Hongjun appears as an elderly Daoist, often carrying a bamboo staff 230 754.

• White beard, ruddy complexion, and hair tied in a Daoist topknot 754.
• Wears Daoist robes described as bamboo-green or purple with bamboo-cloud patterns 754 974.
• His gaze and presence can exert overwhelming pressure on cultivators, including Sages 289 754.

Personality

Hongjun is usually stern and restrained. As the Heavenly Dao's representative, he enforces limits on Sage interference and acts to preserve the Primordial World's order. He can also be severe with his disciples, confining Tongtian and later giving the Three Pure Ones pills that would kill them if they fought one another again 70 1061.

His composure is not absolute. He shows rare warmth toward his friend Su Yang, admits his defeat by Yang Mei, and describes himself as a “frog in a well” after confronting how much of the cosmos remains beyond his understanding 656 974 975.

Abilities and Skills

Heavenly Dao Authority

Hongjun can invoke the Heavenly Dao's laws and primordial power, placing him far above ordinary Heavenly Dao Sages 231 289.

• Neutralized the Desolate Heavenly Emperor's Sword-Holding Kill with a finger 231.
• Can suppress high-level Chaos Demon Gods in a one-on-one battle within the Primordial World 602 603.
• His advantage depends on the Heavenly Dao's reach: outside the Primordial World, his strength falls sharply 603.
• Drawing on that power still consumes his origin magical power 604.

Three Corpses Method and Teaching

Hongjun created and taught the method of severing the Three Corpses, which turns severed impurities of the soul into clones of the cultivator's rank and realm 659 1169.

• Taught the Great Dao at Zixiao Palace to three thousand listeners 656.
• Left spiritual powers and secret techniques carved within the palace for listeners to study 683.
• Concealed a crucial condition of attaining Three Corpses Sagehood: defeating a fated opponent and seizing their destiny 206.

Divination and Combat Arts

• Uses fragments of the Jade Plate of Fortune to deduce Heavenly Secrets, conceal his aura, and evade pursuers 316 601 615.
• Forms sword energy from laws and attacks with concentrated Heavenly Dao power 290 291 292.
• Countered Rahu's Zhu Xian Sword Formation with its counter-array 1204.

Equipment, Weapons and Items

• Jade Plate/Jade Slip of Fortune fragment — his treasured artifact for divination and a last-resort counter in battle; its fragments continue to crack with use 291 601 615.
• Bamboo staff — carried during his appearances; used to shatter sword qi and the Devil Lords' abilities 230 1203.

Relationships

• Su Yang — old friend whose guidance helped Hongjun's Dao attainment. Hongjun later sought his help against a threat he could not handle alone 433 656.
• Demon Ancestor Rahu (Luohu) — fated opponent defeated in their ancient battle; the two confront each other again after Rahu's return 206 891 1203 1204.
• The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Zhunti, and Jieyin — personal disciples whom Hongjun taught and granted Sage positions; he continues to discipline the Sages when they defy his decrees 70 659 661 1061.
• Ancestor Yang Mei — defeated Hongjun after Hongjun attained Sagehood and later revealed Pangu's will's hold over the Heavenly Dao 335 451 975.
• Desolate Heavenly Emperor — initially overwhelmed by Hongjun, but later grew strong enough to gain the upper hand in their clashes 231 291 299.
• Pangu's will — the power Hongjun learns is the Heavenly Dao's true ruler; it later seeks his death through Chaos Demon Gods 335 597.

Story Role and Major Arcs

• Enforcing Sage restrictions: Hongjun rebukes Sages for fighting in the Primordial World, grants Nuwa authority to oversee them, and tasks the Jade Emperor with investigating anomalies 70.
• Contesting threats to the world's order: He confronts the Desolate Heavenly Emperor over the World-Destroying Millstone and uses the Jade Plate fragment when pressed in battle 289 291.
• Pursuit by Chaos Demon Gods: After Pangu's will commissions his death, Hongjun repels Slaughter Demon God Huntu but must flee as more Demon Gods converge. He uses the Jade Plate fragment to hide and heads toward Qingshan City 597 603 615 617.
• Later decrees: He intervenes in the Three Pure Ones' conflict, announces the division of immortal and mortal realms, and forbids Sages from interfering in mortal affairs except during a great tribulation 1061 1075 1076.
• Rahu's return: Hongjun protects the Saints from the Devil Lords' attack and battles Rahu's divine-thought incarnation using Heavenly Dao power 1203 1204.