White Cloud Temple

Biodata

Organization and Influence

• Leadership: True Person Qingxu leads the sect. His junior brother Qinghe was its other True Person until he sacrificed his living body and continued as a Ghost Cultivator 32 108 109.
• Membership: He Yuqing estimates roughly 200 formal disciples and around 1,000 people in total, including outer disciples, servants and warriors. Formal disciples use the generational characters Qing, Yu, Ling and Zheng 28.
• Public reach: Branch temples extend across Wuzhou, and White Cloud disciples staff many prefectural and county ghost-suppression offices 15 28.
• Religious authority: Under Great Gan rule, other Taoist sects needed White Cloud Temple's endorsement to establish temples in Wuzhou; unauthorized worship could be prosecuted 39 192.
• Secular affairs: Outer disciples manage sect properties, while the main public temple in Jianye was guarded by three Grand Master-level outer sect elders 28 104 106.

Sites and Treasures

• White Cloud Sword: The sect's supreme offensive treasure suppresses its fortune and supports its standing in Wuzhou. Activating it places a heavy demand on even a True Person's magical power 33 107.
• White Water Temple: A branch temple in eastern Anchang County enshrines a replica of the White Cloud Sword. Worshippers' luck flows toward the true sword, while they receive a trace of sword energy that can ward off fierce ghosts 26.
• Jianye temple: The sect's main public-facing temple stood beside the Xu family residence, with which it had a secret passage 104 105.
• Mountain gate: Hidden in the mountains outside Jianye behind a decoy temple and concealing mist. Eighteen Fierce Ghost Divine Generals guarded its entrance 106 107.
• Yin Wind Cave: A yin-rich Blessed Land where sect members who turn to Ghost Cultivator practice can train 109.

History

Qingxu sought to secure the sect's future by backing a Wuzhou Hidden Dragon as Great Gan's rule weakened. White Cloud Temple covertly supported the Li family before Yuheng formally pledged the sect's assistance. Qingxu then committed its personnel and supplies to the Li family's campaign 33 80 88 89.

The sect's efforts brought it into conflict with Fang Ming. Qingxu planned to suppress worship of the Earth God, and he later fought Fang Ming alongside a True Person of the Supreme Dao. After that confrontation, Fang Ming pursued Qingxu to the concealed mountain gate, defeated its guardians and confronted Qinghe wielding the White Cloud Sword 46 98 106 107.

Fang Ming overpowered the sword with the Taiping Seal. Qinghe sacrificed his living body in exchange for Fang Ming sparing the sect; he subsequently consolidated his soul in Yin Wind Cave. The temple lost disciples, its guardians and much of its fighting strength, while both Qingxu and the sword remained damaged. Qingxu planned to seal the mountain for ten years 108 109 113.

Unable to safely withdraw from its commitment to the Li family, the sect shifted toward Song Yu. Qingxu arranged to keep Yuheng supporting Li Rubi while preparing to offer the Hidden Dragon's defeat as a token of allegiance to Fang Ming. White Cloud Temple later aided Song Yu's campaign and promoted his claim across Wuzhou 113 114 128 129 211.

Qingxu eventually submitted to Fang Ming's authority over Wuzhou's ghostly affairs. He and five core disciples subsequently joined Fang Ming in a campaign against rogue cultivator sects. After Song Yu's enthronement as King of Wu, a White Cloud priest regarded the sect's assistance as a chance to erase the consequences of its earlier political allegiance 192 193 239 240 310.

Relationships

• Qingxu — sect leader whose decisions guide its alliances and response to Fang Ming 32 89 193.
• Qinghe — Qingxu's junior brother and the sect's other original True Person; sacrificed his living body to preserve its lineage 108 109.
• Yuheng — Qingxu's disciple and the sect's envoy to the Li family; his commitment to its Hidden Dragon campaign left him deeply entangled with the family's fortunes 32 88 109.
• Fang Ming — former enemy who defeated the sect at its mountain gate and later gained its submission 107 108 193.
• Song Yu — ruler the sect assisted after abandoning its former strategy; its fortunes became tied to his success 113 129 310.
• Li family — the sect's original choice in the struggle for Wuzhou, supported first covertly and then openly 80 88 89.