Hongjun

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Hongjun (鸿钧)
Alias(es)	Saint Hongjun; Dao Ancestor; Heavenly Dao Hongjun
Species/Race	Innate Divine Being
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Xuanmen; Zixiao Palace; formerly the Heavenly Dao’s spokesperson
Occupation/Role	Dao lecturer; founder of the Three Corpses method; former Heavenly Dao spokesperson and administrator
Status	Active; freed from the Heavenly Dao’s restraints and departed into Chaos after guiding Haotian. 833
First Appearance	Chapter 15; first direct encounter with Xuanxiao in Chapter 22. 15 22

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Saint	90	Attains Sainthood with the Heavenly Dao’s aid, revealing a realm above Grand Luo Golden Immortal and announcing his first Zixiao Palace sermon.
Sixth-level Saint	124	Reaches the sixth level of Sainthood through the Heavenly Dao’s assistance while in the process of integrating with it.
Ninth-level Saint	144	Xuanxiao observes that Hongjun has reached the ninth level of the Saint realm through his connection with the Heavenly Dao. 144
Primordial Supreme Grand Luo Golden Immortal / Heavenly Dao Realm	199	Completes his merger with the Heavenly Dao; his pressure spreads across the Primordial World, though the Heavenly Dao enters slumber immediately afterward.
Third-level Limitless Saint / Primordial Limitless Grand Luo Golden Immortal	355	Identified as the Primordial Wilderness’s sole Primordial Limitless Grand Luo Golden Immortal at this point. His cultivation is restricted by the Heavenly Dao’s own level and cannot advance unless it makes another breakthrough. 355
Primordial Limitless Grand Luo Golden Immortal	656	At the Void Sea, Yuan Chen and Xi Yao recognize Hongjun as a Primordial Limitless Grand Luo Golden Immortal whose Heavenly Dao authority regulates the heavens.
Liberation from Heavenly Dao integration; subsequent cultivation level unspecified	833	With his merit complete, Hongjun relinquishes his accumulated Heavenly Dao power and authority and regains his freedom. No precise post-liberation cultivation level is stated. 833

Appearance

Hongjun first appears directly before Xuanxiao as a white-robed Daoist emerging from concealment in a nameless valley. 22

• Usually carries the composed, detached bearing of a senior Daoist.
• Tribulation lightning and Xuanxiao’s lightning have left him scorched black and disheveled on several occasions. 23 93 124
• After merging with the Dao, his aura becomes increasingly ethereal and his expression markedly indifferent. 199
• By the time of the Void Sea expedition, he exudes the detached supremacy of one who wields the Heavenly Dao and overlooks eternity. 656

Personality

Hongjun cultivates an outwardly emotionless Dao, but he is not portrayed as indifferent to the Primordial World. Even the deaths of old friends Yin and Yang and Qian Kun do not divert him from what he sees as the greater need for the world’s stability and development. This “great love” is part of why the Heavenly Dao chooses him as its partner. 111

He is strategic, cautious, and capable of political calculation. He attempts to influence the allocation of Saint positions, obstructs Jieyin and Zhunti’s path to Zixiao Palace, and seeks the attendance of key figures whose recognition will aid his integration with the Heavenly Dao. 97 110 His confidence is tempered after Xuanxiao’s subconscious lightning strike severely injures him, leaving him far more wary of the Dao Venerable. 93 95

His sense of obligation also extends to personal debts. He sincerely tries to provide Hong Yun and Kunpeng with opportunities because Hun Kun sacrificed himself to save him, even though his intended repayment conflicts with the Heavenly Dao’s arrangements for the Western Saint positions. 102

After the balance among the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human Paths improves, Hongjun gradually regains emotions suppressed by his union with the Heavenly Dao. He ultimately hopes that the Primordial Era’s Grand Perfection will free him from the need to remain merged with the Dao. 354

His restored concern for the wider world remains evident in his response to external threats: he convenes the Primordial Era’s major powers to prepare for invasion and remains vigilant toward hostile forces attempting to seize its fortune. 510 653 When allowing Xuanxiao, Yang Mei, and Luohu to share his final sermon, he willingly sacrifices part of the destiny and merit available for his own Dao-unification in order to strengthen the world’s defenders. 195

Upon gaining his freedom, Hongjun expresses profound gratitude to Xuanxiao. Having witnessed innumerable possible futures in which he remained trapped and eventually lost himself, he understands liberation as an escape from a genuinely hopeless fate. His restored individuality also includes a playful, secretive side: he conceals his correspondence with Yang Mei and Yin Yang rather than admit that his departure is intended to reunite with them. 833

Abilities & Skills

Three Corpses Method

Hongjun derives the Three Corpses method from the Jade Butterfly of Creation and uses it to create three bodies equal to himself in cultivation, aura, and spirit. 57

• The method severs corpses through the inextinguishable spiritual light within Innate Spirit Treasures. 97
• Higher-grade Innate Spirit Treasures produce more powerful Three Corpses. 97
• The Three Corpses represent innate evil, goodness, and obsession, which bind the cultivator’s primordial spirit. 144
• Attaining Dao through the method requires the Three Corpses to become one, a feat Hongjun describes as requiring exceptional perseverance. 147
• Hongjun himself did not attain Sainthood through the Three Corpses method. 147
• With the Heavenly Dao’s assistance, he improves the method into a cultivation path especially suited to most beings of the Primordial World. More than twenty great beings subsequently reach the Primordial Golden Immortal realm through corpse-severing. 158
• During the confrontation with Luohu, Hongjun deploys his Three Corpses in separate directions after calculating the positions of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian. 57

Heavenly Dao Communion

Before his merger, Hongjun alone can communicate with the Heavenly Dao through the Jade Butterfly of Creation. He uses this connection to learn that Xuanxiao has been granted the title of Dao Venerable. 22

• Travels to the Heavenly Dao’s origin space to seek its counsel. 61
• Communicates with the Heavenly Dao to conceal the manifestation of Xuanxiao’s Sea of Lightning behind a barrier surrounding the Primordial Wilderness, preventing outsiders from observing it. 62
• Receives the Heavenly Dao’s support in attaining Sainthood. 146
• Gains authority to act on the Heavenly Dao’s behalf after integration, but his true spirit becomes bound to it. 97
• Risks emotional assimilation and the loss of his individual will through prolonged union with the Heavenly Dao. 97
• His integrated cultivation cannot surpass the Heavenly Dao itself. At the third level of the Limitless Saint realm, he recognizes that further advancement requires the Heavenly Dao to advance first. 355
• As the Three Paths become more complete, he can intervene in minor affairs, but matters harmful to the Primordial Era or involving its grand destiny remain subject to the restraint of the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human Paths. 354
• Perceives events beyond the Primordial World’s boundary, including the arrival of Devil Master and Dugu Baitian from another world. 598
• Ultimately casts off the Heavenly Dao’s restraints once his merit is complete and the new order of the Three Realms has been established. 833

Saintly Authority

Hongjun’s ascension manifests as purple energy, merit, celestial music, falling flowers, and golden lotuses across the Primordial World. 90

• His Saintly pressure compels beings throughout the Primordial World to prostrate themselves. 90
• Effortlessly forces Luohu away from a Zixiao Palace futon despite Luohu being close to the Primordial Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm. 109
• Can borrow the Heavenly Dao’s power; after merging with it, he reaches the Heavenly Dao Realm. 124 199
• His manifestation as Heavenly Dao Hongjun confronts Luohu during Luohu’s attempt to attain the Hunyuan realm. 140
• Breaks the Primordial River Luo Array and imposes a three-Yuan Hui truce upon the Immortal Court and Demon Race. 189
• Summons the Primordial Era’s principal races and powers to organize resistance against the nine worlds preparing to invade the Immortal Realm. 510
• Holds the Origin Realm’s Yuan Chen and Xi Yao under his control before transferring them to Xuanxiao’s custody. 656
• Manifests with the complete Origin Realm hovering above his palm before arranging its integration into the Primordial Wilderness. 688
• Appears alongside the Saints to seal escape routes and surround Annihilation, Five Elements, Void, Devouring, and Kunwu during the counterattack against the outer-realm invaders. 819

Dao Preaching

Hongjun’s three sermons establish an orderly cultivation framework for the beings of the Primordial World. 66 146

• Announces his first sermon at Zixiao Palace thirty thousand years after attaining Sainthood. 90
• Explains cultivation realms from Earth Immortal through Grand Luo Golden Immortal during his first sermon. 134
• Teaches the Three Corpses path, the requirements for Sainthood, and the function of Primordial Violet Qi. 147 197
• Explains corpse-severing, attaining Dao through strength, and attaining Dao through merit as distinct cultivation routes during his second sermon. 144
• Preaches three times to repay the opportunities granted by the Heavenly Dao. 146
• Shares the final sermon with Xuanxiao, Yang Mei, and Luohu, allowing them to respectively transmit the paths of the Primordial Grand Luo Golden Immortal in preparation for threats from Chaos. 195
• After his liberation, privately guides Haotian at the Immortal Court for several years before departing into Chaos. 833

Divination and Future Observation

Hongjun uses deductions to investigate cosmic trends, potential disciples, and external threats. He foresees Jieyin and Zhunti’s eventual departure from Xuanmen long before Buddhism is established. 110 833

• Near the final stage of Dao integration, his understanding of the Primordial World’s broad trends exceeds Xuanxiao’s at that time. 151
• His divination is not infallible: an invisible force prevents him from determining the cause of Xuanxiao’s disturbance during seclusion. 438
• Observes trillions upon trillions of possible futures through the River of Time. In timelines without Xuanxiao, his attempts to preserve order or escape through the world’s decline all end in continued imprisonment and eventual assimilation by the Heavenly Dao. 833

Equipment / Treasures

• Jade Butterfly of Creation — Fragments of a Chaos Supreme Treasure that Hongjun obtained by chance. They allow him to glimpse Dao mysteries, communicate with the Heavenly Dao, and develop the Three Corpses method. 22 57 146
• Dust whisk — Carried while discussing the Primordial Era’s broader trends with Xuanxiao. 357
• Treasure Distribution Rock — Located in Chaos and used to distribute the numerous Innate Spirit Treasures Hongjun gathered during his travels. Before completing Dao integration, he leaves those treasures for the sermon attendees to obtain according to their affinity. 198
• Ancient scroll for the Investiture of the Gods — Produces a scroll bearing Dao patterns, a Chaos aura, and the resonance of heaven-and-earth laws when discussing the Investiture of the Gods. Xuanxiao reacts with surprise at Hongjun’s willingness to use it. 496

Relationships

• Xuanxiao — Long-time friend, powerful ally, and the figure Hongjun treats with greatest caution. They debate Dao for 29,900 years, coordinate the Primordial World’s defense, and discuss Hongjun’s eventual freedom from the Heavenly Dao. 95 97 199 354 They later continue coordinating over inter-world threats, Chaos visitors, and the Origin Realm. 510 598 656 Hongjun ultimately credits Xuanxiao’s arrangements and assistance with making his liberation possible. Xuanxiao releases him from his duties and watches his departure with brief loneliness and reluctance. 833
• Heavenly Dao — Hongjun’s patron and eventual counterpart in Dao integration. Their union grants immense authority but binds Hongjun’s true spirit and threatens his emotions and autonomy. 97 199 Once his merit is complete, Hongjun relinquishes the spokesperson’s authority and breaks free of its restraints. 833
• Luohu — Former like-minded friend during the Fierce Beast Tribulation, later a rival in the Dao-Demon Struggle. Their paths diverge sharply after Hongjun accepts the Heavenly Dao. 140 Despite their rivalry, Hongjun includes Luohu among the great beings responsible for defending the Primordial World and sharing the final sermon. 194 195 199
• The Three Pure Ones — Hongjun seeks their recognition and attempts to recruit them as disciples, but they refuse due to their bond with Xuanxiao. 97 196 Before departing, Hongjun names Laozi as his successor in governing the Immortal Realm’s divine system. 833
• Haotian and Yaochi — His Daoist attendants and later members of the Six Imperial Ones. Hongjun entrusts them with guarding Zixiao Palace after being injured by Xuanxiao’s lightning. 93 354 Both gained consciousness through his guidance and possess a bond with him deeper than that of ordinary disciples. 365 After regaining his freedom, Hongjun spends several years privately guiding Haotian, settling his remaining attachment to the Primordial Wilderness before leaving. 833
• Nuwa — Direct disciple; receives three Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasures upon entering Xuanmen. 196 Hongjun informs her in advance of the arrangement for Jieyin and Zhunti to establish Buddhism and leave Xuanmen, and she does not obstruct it. 833
• Zhenyuanzi — Direct disciple; receives the Creation Cauldron, Kunwu Sword, and Twelve-Grade Pure World White Lotus. 196 Entrusts the Book of Earth to Hongjun for delivery to Yang Mei; its use in establishing the Earthly Dao’s Dao Master enables it to become a Half-Step Innate Supreme Treasure. 297 Like Nuwa, he is informed beforehand of Buddhism’s establishment and does not interfere. 833
• Jieyin and Zhunti — Nominal disciples accepted despite Hongjun’s reluctance and concerns over their future departure from Xuanmen. 110 196 Their anticipated separation eventually occurs when they establish Saha Buddhism, becoming Amitabha Buddha and the Buddha Mother respectively and redirecting part of Xuanmen’s destiny to their new teaching. Hongjun communicates the arrangement to Nuwa and Zhenyuanzi before his departure. 833
• Hun Kun — A past benefactor who sacrifices himself to save Hongjun during the Fierce Beast Tribulation. Hongjun later tries to repay this debt by securing opportunities for Hongyun and Kunpeng. 102
• Yang Mei and Yin Yang — Old companions whom Hongjun secretly contacts before leaving the Primordial Wilderness. They discover a strange unknown world deep within Chaos, and Hongjun departs intending to seek them out, while concealing that purpose from Xuanxiao. 833
• Houtu — Collaborates with Hongjun in matters of inter-world defense and the Origin Realm. Hongjun asks her to remain behind and guard the Three Realms while he prepares a preemptive attack against the Nine Great Worlds. 511 651 652
• East Prince and West Queen Mother — Appointed by Hongjun as the heads of male and female immortals to harmonize Yin and Yang and restore order. 148 Hongjun subsequently rejects East Prince’s request for discipleship, stating that they lack master-disciple fate. 196
• Devil Master and Dugu Baitian — Visitors who cross Chaos to reach the Primordial World. Hongjun observes their arrival alongside Xuanxiao and learns that their world’s Heavenly Dao has been corrupted. 598
• Annihilation — A surviving traitor from the Primordial Wilderness who returns from Chaos to scheme against its fortune. Hongjun recognizes Annihilation’s aura but fails to locate his hidden position before he retreats. 653 During the later counterattack, Hongjun and the Saints surround him alongside Five Elements, Void, Devouring, and Kunwu. 819
• Yuan Chen and Xi Yao — Origin Realm powerhouses initially defeated and bound by Gou Chen, then placed under Hongjun’s authority. 652 654 He releases them from his restraints and leaves them to Xuanxiao for use in exploring the Origin Realm’s secret domains. 656

Story Role / Major Arcs

Encounter with Xuanxiao

Before meeting Xuanxiao directly, Hongjun learns through the Jade Butterfly of Creation that Pangu’s younger brother has survived and possesses an extraordinary relationship with the Great Dao. He resolves to avoid offending him. 15

Hongjun first meets Xuanxiao after concealing himself with the Jade Butterfly of Creation. He reveals that the Heavenly Dao has bestowed the title “Dao Venerable” upon Xuanxiao, beginning their long association. 22 While travelling with Xuanxiao, Hongjun is accidentally struck by tribulation lightning meant as punishment for Xuanxiao’s words, leaving him scorched and bewildered. 23

During the Dao-Demon conflict, Hongjun joins Yang Mei, Qian Kun, and Yin Yang in confronting Luohu at Mount Sumeru. He subsequently reveals his Three Corpses to help counter the Four Swords of Zhu Xian formation. 52 57

Saint Ascension and Zixiao Palace

Hongjun becomes the Primordial World’s first publicly recognized Saint and invites all fated beings to hear his Dao at Zixiao Palace. 90 Xuanxiao’s unconscious reaction to Hongjun’s Saintly pressure then sends a lightning bolt into Zixiao Palace, seriously injuring Hongjun and shattering his brief confidence that Sainthood might place him on Xuanxiao’s level. 93 95

He debates the Dao with Xuanxiao for 29,900 years, gains insight into Xuanxiao’s all-encompassing path, and prepares his sermon around the Three Corpses method and the requirements for Dao integration. 97

Securing the recognition of the Three Pure Ones is especially important because their Pangu lineage and Heaven-Opening Merit affect the difficulty of his Dao integration. Hongjun personally accompanies Xuanxiao to persuade them to attend, and they ultimately agree to hear the sermons. 97 99 100

Three Sermons and Saint Positions

Hongjun’s sermons systematize cultivation across the Primordial World, give seekers access to the Three Corpses method, and reveal the existence of nine Saint positions. 134 147 197 He accepts Nuwa and Zhenyuanzi as direct disciples, Jieyin and Zhunti as nominal disciples, and grants selected figures Primordial Violet Qi. 196 197

During his second sermon, Hongjun appoints East Prince and West Queen Mother as the respective heads of male and female immortals, investing them with fruit-position power to help restore order. 148 When East Prince proposes honoring him as “Dao Ancestor,” Hongjun declines the title out of concern that it may further disrupt the Primordial World’s balance. 149

His final sermon includes thirty thousand years of teaching on the Saintly path, followed by three-thousand-year sermons from Xuanxiao, Yang Mei, and Luohu on their respective Daos. This expanded instruction is intended to improve the Primordial Wilderness’s strength against threats from Chaos. 195 Before completing his integration, Hongjun also distributes his collected Innate Spirit Treasures through the Treasure Distribution Rock. 198

Merging with the Dao

After completing his sermons, Hongjun announces that he will unite with the Heavenly Dao to repair its flaws. 195 He entrusts the Primordial World’s defense to Xuanxiao and other great beings before completing the merger ten thousand years later. 199

The union elevates him to the Heavenly Dao Realm but confines him to the Heavenly Dao’s functions. His manifested form confronts Luohu during the latter’s breakthrough attempt. 140 199

Hongjun’s decision to integrate is voluntary and intended to perfect the Heavenly Dao, rather than being forced by the destruction of the Western spiritual veins. Once integrated, he cannot act against the Primordial World without being suppressed by the Heavenly Dao, and the world’s decline would also weaken him. 238

Later Governance

As the Primordial Era develops, Hongjun works with Xuanxiao to establish a more balanced order among the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human Paths. 239 354 He helps settle the dispute over the new Immortal Court by endorsing the Six Imperial Ones’ joint governance. 349

The increasingly complete Three Paths allow his emotions to return, although his ability to intervene remains limited. He anticipates that the Primordial Era’s eventual transformation into the Eternal True Realm will remove the need for his integrated role and permit him to return to his true self. 354 When the Three Realms take shape, he regards the new stage of the world’s development as progress toward that freedom. 450

When Xuanxiao authorizes it, Hongjun merges the Origin Realm into the Primordial World’s western territories to balance heaven-and-earth fortune and settle his remaining karmic debt to the West. 687 688 Clearing this pre-Saint karma is a necessary preparation for his eventual release after the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation. 687

Inter-World and Chaos Affairs

When Xuanxiao detects nine merged worlds that will invade the Primordial Era’s Immortal Realm, Hongjun summons the major races and powers to make collective preparations for the coming war. 510

After assessing the gathered forces, Hongjun concludes that the Primordial Era’s superior foundations and combat strength substantially reduce the danger posed by the invaders. Rather than wait for the Nine Great Worlds to arrive, he proposes attacking them in Chaos, while asking Houtu to guard the Three Realms. 511

Hongjun later receives Devil Master and Dugu Baitian’s arrival from beyond the boundary wall and discusses their corrupted Heavenly Dao with Xuanxiao. 598 He also identifies the returning aura of Annihilation, a former traitor of the Primordial Wilderness, but is unable to prevent the enemy from escaping back into concealment. 653

Hongjun and Houtu observe Gou Chen’s battle with Yuan Chen and Xi Yao. Recognizing the Origin Realm as an exceptional Great Thousand World, Hongjun considers the benefits of incorporating it into the Primordial Wilderness. 651 652 The realm is initially sealed outside the Primordial Wilderness because Hongjun, Xuanxiao, and other Hunyuan beings sense an unknown danger within it. 655

At the Void Sea, Hongjun’s authority overwhelms the Origin Realm’s Yuan Chen and Xi Yao. After Xuanxiao offers to use them as guides through the Origin Realm’s hidden domains, Hongjun relinquishes the captives to him. 656

Investiture of the Gods and Counterattack

During the later outer-realm crisis, Hongjun confronts invaders who claim to have prepared for the absence of many of the Primordial Wilderness’s unrestricted top-level defenders. 812 When the defenders close their trap, he appears with the Saints and surrounds Annihilation, Five Elements, Void, Devouring, and Kunwu, preventing their immediate escape. 819

Hongjun subsequently coordinates preparations for a counterattack against the outside worlds. Xuanxiao’s Heaven-Sealing Formation provides the factions with a means to restrain those worlds’ origins and overcome suppression by their opposing heaven-and-earth wills. 826

He stands beside Xuanxiao during the final Investiture of the Gods ceremony. Captured outside cultivators supply the Investiture List with numerous capable candidates, while their assignment to lower and laborious divine duties serves as punishment for their invasion. 830

Liberation and Departure into Chaos

After the Calamity Cycle ends and the Three Realms’ new divine order is established, Xuanxiao declares Hongjun’s merit complete and releases him from his responsibility as the Heavenly Dao’s spokesperson. Hongjun willingly relinquishes the associated power and authority, finally escaping the restraints that had threatened to erase his true self. 833

Hongjun names Laozi as his successor in administering the Immortal Realm’s divine system. Before leaving the world, he visits the Immortal Court and privately guides Haotian for several years, making up for the personal support he could not freely provide while bound by the Heavenly Dao’s impartial laws. 833

His stated destination is Chaos, but his concealed purpose is to reunite with Yang Mei and Yin Yang, with whom he has already been exchanging messages. Their discovery of an unusual unknown world deep in Chaos has attracted his interest. Once his remaining attachments within the Primordial Wilderness are settled, he passes through its boundary and departs. 833

Before leaving, Hongjun informs Nuwa and Zhenyuanzi that Jieyin and Zhunti will establish Buddhism and separate from Xuanmen. Three hundred years later, the Western pair found Saha Buddhism and redirect part of Xuanmen’s destiny to their new teaching, fulfilling the departure he had long anticipated. 110 833

Notable Quotes

“I am Hongjun, and I have now attained sainthood.” 90

“In thirty thousand years, I will preach the Dao in the Zixiao Palace beyond the heavens.” 90

“Today, my Dao law is complete. I shall use myself as a boat to ferry the Dao across the river, carrying the Dao with my body, and lodging the Dao within me.” 199

“At that time, the Primordial Era will no longer need me, the so-called one who has merged with the Dao. I will have fulfilled my merits, transcended, and returned to my true self.” 354

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