Wei Li

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Wei Li (未狸)
Species/Race	Human; Miao girl
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Three Corpses Sect of the Witch Gate; later Taiyuan Zongzhen Heaven and the Dao Court
Occupation/Role	Gu cultivator; disciple; Taiyuan Heaven envoy; Dao Ancestor's Shadow
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 93
Age	Sixteen at the time she was selected to marry the Cave Deity 93

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Three Corpses Sect cultivation	225	During half a year of secluded cultivation, gains two years of cultivation.
Cultivation bottleneck overcome	355	Breaks through after overhearing Iris lecture at the academy; this breakthrough is described as following three hundred years of cultivation.
Further cultivation breakthrough	374	Credits Chaoge with helping her overcome a bottleneck associated with five hundred years of cultivation.
Nascent Soul	479	Advances with the support of Dao Court resources while assisting Mo Chuan as the Dao Ancestor's Shadow.

Background / History

Wei Li grew up in a mountain Miao village. At sixteen, her parents prepared to marry her to the local Cave Deity according to village custom, fearing that refusal would bring disaster upon the village. She accepted the arrangement with numb resignation, while her cousin Baoli unsuccessfully tried to stop the marriage 93.

Left alone in a desolate cave for the wedding night, Wei Li met Mo Chuan, then posing as a wandering Daoist priest. After he departed, the rat-headed Night Owl falsely claimed to be the Cave Deity and tried to approach her; Wei Li kept it at bay by threatening suicide until her father, Chun, arrived 94. Mo Chuan later saved Wei Li and Chun from a giant worm, revealed himself as a Daoist, and offered help should they encounter trouble again 96.

Three Corpses Sect

Wei Li was drawn toward the shamanic Gu Dao after witnessing the truth behind the supposed Cave Deity. She later became the youngest disciple of Ba Shou Amur and joined the Three Corpses Sect, a branch of the Witch Gate's Three Corpses lineage. The sect emphasizes “controlling the Three Corpses and commanding the Nine Insects,” with its inheritance traditionally passed to women chosen by destiny 103 123.

She studied under Amur alongside senior sisters Xue Qi and Li Zhi. Although initially sheltered and inexperienced beyond Menjing Mountain, she showed curiosity about the larger cultivation world and an interest in alchemy 123.

Relationship with Mo Chuan

Wei Li encountered Mo Chuan again after entering the Three Corpses Sect. At the New Year's Eve gathering at Moon Worship Lake, he entrusted her with the magic sword Bixie, incense to contact him in danger, and a pill recipe 129. When Mo Chuan was caught in the Locking Wisdom and Binding Dragon Formation, Wei Li recognized that he had deliberately sent her away to protect her and begged Amur to save him 132.

Their relationship deepened through later meetings, including a trip to the Central Plains Lantern Festival. Mo Chuan apologized for deceiving her during their earlier encounter; Wei Li accepted that he had acted for her safety and invited him to travel with her 151 154. Mo Chuan is later identified as her former Dao companion 434.

Taiyuan Heaven and the Grotto-heaven Conflict

Wei Li eventually became Nalan Qiao's disciple within Taiyuan Zongzhen Heaven. When rumors spread of True Monarch Yunxu's death, Mo Chuan urged her to leave Taiyuan Heaven for her safety. She refused, choosing to remain loyal to her sect and master despite the danger. Mo Chuan attempted to remove her by force with the Heavenly Stem Dharma: Turn Stone into Gold, but Nalan Qiao intervened 414.

After Nalan Qiao's death, Taiyuan Heaven's Sect Master Duanmu Zhong ordered Wei Li to serve as an envoy to the Five Great Mountains Grotto-heaven. He used her grief and Nalan Qiao's death to secure her cooperation 431.

As envoy, Wei Li secretly contacted Mo Chuan through a Wing-flapping Sound Transmission Gu. She revealed that the Golden Core in Mo Chuan's possession belonged to her master and asked him not to refine it. Seeking the truth behind Nalan Qiao's death and eventual revenge, she asked Mo Chuan to stall Duanmu Zhong while she pursued Taiyuan Heaven's Cave Heaven Secret Key 433.

Dao Court

After the collapse of Xuling Cave Heaven, Mo Chuan rescued Wei Li by sending her into the Sacrificial Dao Furnace. She later assisted him in managing Dao Court affairs as the Dao Ancestor's Shadow, while using the Court's resources to cultivate 450 479.

Upon reaching the Nascent Soul realm, Wei Li became the second person shown the truth of the world beyond the Nine Provinces: the Star Ring talismans sealing the sky and preventing Spirit Transformation cultivators from escaping. Mo Chuan warned her not to continue cultivating the Spiritual Essence Dao until he found a way beyond the seal 479 480.

After Mo Chuan disappeared beyond contact, Wei Li believed he had gone beyond the Star Ring, though she feared he may instead have met the fate of Spirit Transformation cultivators who attempted to escape 502.

Appearance

Wei Li is described as a striking Miao girl whose appearance ranges from refined ceremonial dress to the practical clothing of a mountain Gu cultivator.

• At sixteen, she wore a silver phoenix coronet decorated with butterflies, dragons, and phoenixes for her forced wedding ceremony 93.
• Her ceremonial appearance was compared to a misty camellia: beautiful without vulgarity and charming without seduction 93.
• She later wore simple hemp clothing and deerskin boots while visiting her family, though the plain attire did not diminish her elegance 122.
• As Taiyuan Heaven's envoy, she concealed part of her face with a silver silk half-mask 433.

Personality

Wei Li initially meets hardship with quiet resignation. Faced with being offered to the Cave Deity, she does not openly rebel, but her calm ritual conduct and later resistance to the Night Owl reveal resolve beneath her fear 93 94.

She is compassionate, loyal, and deeply committed to the people she considers family. She refuses to abandon Taiyuan Heaven in its time of crisis, even when Mo Chuan offers to remove her from danger 414. Nalan Qiao's death drives her to act independently and secretly pursue the truth, despite the personal risk of opposing Taiyuan Heaven's leadership 431 433.

Around Mo Chuan, Wei Li is often shy and easily flustered, yet she grows increasingly forthright about her affection and wishes to stand beside him rather than remain protected at a distance 151 154 355.

Abilities & Skills

Gu Dao

As a Three Corpses Sect disciple, Wei Li cultivates the Gu Dao, the sect's path of commanding the Nine Insects 123.

• Raises Gu worms with care and prepares animals as feed for them 150.
• Uses Gu worms for long-range surveillance; her insects can spread through an area and observe across great distances 433.
• Employs a Wing-flapping Sound Transmission Gu for one-time communication over a thousand miles 433.
• Raises Dream-Sweetening Insects, requiring close attention during their hatching period 414.

Cultivation

Wei Li steadily advances through sustained cultivation, sect instruction, academy lectures, and Dao Court resources.

• Broke through major cultivation bottlenecks after attending lectures by Iris/Chaoge 355 374.
• Reached the Nascent Soul realm while serving as the Dao Ancestor's Shadow 479.
• Was instructed by Mo Chuan in the method of extinction by weapons, though she had not yet grasped its true meaning at the time of their discussion 414.

Heavenly Stem Dharma: Turn Stone into Gold

Wei Li is stated to possess the Heavenly Stem Dharma: Turn Stone into Gold 414.

• The technique can turn a target into a golden statue temporarily.
• Mo Chuan considered her capable of using it during the Taiyuan Heaven crisis 414.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bixie Sword — Mo Chuan's personal magic sword, given to Wei Li for self-defense. It emits sword light when infused with Primordial Qi 129.
• Contact incense — Incense entrusted by Mo Chuan; burning it and silently reciting his Daoist name alerts him to danger 129.
• Pill recipe — A recipe given to Wei Li by Mo Chuan, later used as the basis for her receiving a batch of pills 129 151.
• Silver silk half-mask — A mask refined using the Five Sensory Organs Talisman, worn during her covert envoy mission 433.
• Magic artifacts from Nalan Qiao — Artifacts given to Wei Li by Duanmu Zhong after Nalan Qiao's death 431.

Relationships

• Mo Chuan / Ming Chen — Former Dao companion. He saved her from the false Cave Deity's danger, gave her Bixie for protection, and repeatedly tried to keep her out of life-threatening conflicts; Wei Li later trusted him with her plan to investigate Nalan Qiao's death 96 129 414 433 434.
• Ba Shou Amur — First master and leader of the Three Corpses Sect. Amur accepted Wei Li as her youngest disciple and later understood Wei Li's feelings for Mo Chuan 106 123 132.
• Nalan Qiao — Later master in Taiyuan Heaven. Nalan protected Wei Li from Mo Chuan's attempt to forcibly remove her from Taiyuan Heaven; her death became Wei Li's central motive for seeking the truth and revenge 414 431 433.
• Duanmu Zhong — Taiyuan Heaven's Sect Master. He appointed Wei Li as an envoy after Nalan Qiao's death, using that loss to compel her cooperation 431.
• Chun — Wei Li's father. Though he initially allowed the Cave Deity marriage out of fear for the village, he later personally rescued her from the Night Owl 93 94 95.
• Baoli — Her cousin, who wanted to marry her and tried to prevent her sacrifice to the Cave Deity 93.
• Xue Qi and Li Zhi — Wei Li's senior sisters in the Three Corpses Sect. They affectionately tease her about Mo Chuan and her travels 123 154.
• Chaoge / Iris — Academy lecturer whose teachings helped Wei Li overcome cultivation bottlenecks 355 374.

Trivia

• Wei Li's first meeting with Mo Chuan included him roasting a rabbit near the cave where she had been left for the Cave Deity 94 95.
• She was initially embarrassed for Mo Chuan to see her processing rabbits and feeding her Gu worms 150 151.
• Her private communication password with Mo Chuan was: “King of Heaven covers the earth tiger?” / “Chicken stew with mushrooms.” 433