Ink Bamboo Mountain

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ink Bamboo Mountain (墨竹山)
Affiliation	A rogue-cultivator alliance incorporating the Lou Guan, Bamboo Mountain, and Mountain lineages 97 489
Occupation/Role	Cultivation sect, southern border defense force, and resource-development power in the Ten-thousand-mountains 17 81
Status	Active; it survives the campaign against the Nine-Headed Lion Demon and subsequently enters negotiations with Company 659 661
First Appearance	1

Background / History

Ink Bamboo Mountain began as a coalition of rogue cultivators unable to survive in the Central Plains. They fled south to the Li Country borderlands, crossed the river, and opened the wilderness for mutual survival. 97

The sect later cleared demons from its surrounding region and occupied the blessed lands of the Fourteen Peaks. Its campaign against the Black Lotus Sect, including the killing of the Black Lotus Saint Mother while the sect was occupied by the Immortal Palace army, earned it broad recognition; the Lou Guan Daoist decrees subsequently became valid throughout the land. 32 97

During the Black Lotus conflict, most of Ink Bamboo Mountain's pioneers and elders died. The Mountain Lord, then known as Mo Zhi, was among the surviving figures with the highest cultivation and greatest contribution, and became the sect's Patriarch. 193

Ink Bamboo Mountain developed into a major southern force after the Mountain Lord, the sect master, and the senior disciple all reached the Transformation Stage. Its strength compelled the weakened Nangong Immortal Family to coexist with it. 81

Organization

Lineages and membership

Ink Bamboo Mountain includes multiple cultivation traditions rather than a single orthodox inheritance.

• Lou Guan lineage — Its Daoist decrees are recognized across the land; cultivators who reach Golden Core can receive a Lou Guan Daoist decree even without practicing as Lou Guan Daoists. 32 97
• Mountain Lord's lineage — Actively cultivates through moon worship and the Tai Su transformation path despite its dangers. 14 163
• Sect master's lineage — Usually relies on Devil Form materials and medicinal methods, borrowing moon worship chiefly for breakthroughs. 14
• Fourteen Peaks — Rogue cultivators affiliated with local mountain peaks and cave dwellings. They may trade at Lou Guan, undertake tasks, study in scripture pavilions, and gain formal recognition after reaching Golden Core. 97
• Registered outer disciples — Cultivation families and aristocratic clans can enter through a background- and connection-based system. 97

Its broad admissions policy supports a diverse alliance but also leaves the sect vulnerable to spies and internal disorder. 97

Internal divisions

The sect is divided between northern Bamboo Mountain and southern Mountain territories. The five southern peaks have relatively few settled sects and are primarily guarded by the Mountain Lord's five true lords, while rogue cultivator families generally cluster around Bamboo Mountain's nine northern peaks for easier trade with the Central Plains. 130

Territory and Facilities

Ink Bamboo Mountain operates chiefly in the eastern Ten-thousand-mountains, a region extending from Tianyu Mountain to Nanyu Mountain and covering fourteen mountains across roughly 6,500 miles. 81

• Ten-thousand-mountains dojos — An agreement with the Nangong Immortal Family granted ten mountains to Ink Bamboo Mountain as dojos after the Nangong forces withdrew to fight in the Central Plains. 81
• Lingqiu Mountain and Middle Valley — Lingqiu Mountain serves as the southern gate of Ink Bamboo Mountain. Its Middle Valley dojo links the sect to Lei Marsh, Chicken Mountain, and neighboring fronts, making it a forward base for cultivation and artifact refining. 81 82
• Yangjia, Guanxiang, Ji, and Lingqiu Mountains — These four mountains provide spiritual springs, forests, mineral veins, lava pools, and wind caves for Golden Core disciples training in the sect's territory. 81
• Chicken Mountain — A heavily industrialized mining point built on the ruins of an Immortal Palace mine. Ore is mechanically sorted and loaded onto flying ships through an automated transport system. 83
• Tianyu Mountain — A marsh-surrounded strategic choke point that later becomes a core sect territory, with pavilions, islands, merchant ships, and mechanical vessels forming a vast floating city beneath the mountain. 489 587
• Yushan dojo — A contested frontier between Ink Bamboo Mountain, the Nangong Family, and demon forces; it is intended as a training ground for peak Golden Core cultivators. 81

The sect maintains major seals beneath its territory, including one binding a Transformation Stage tree demon in Guanxiang Mountain and another imprisoning a Transformation Stage evil flood dragon beneath Yangjia Mountain's Yin Pool. 84

Capabilities

Mechanics and industrial production

Ink Bamboo Mountain's mechanical arts are recognized as the emerging “Sixth Art” alongside the traditional five arts. The materialization of mechanisms after the appearance of the Void Moon impressed even artifact-refining grandmasters. 93

• Operates mechanical flying ships for mine transport and logistics. 83
• Uses Mechanical Puppets for reconstruction and routine labor. 130
• Maintains workshops for sword casting, alchemy, pharmaceuticals, talisman crafting, and silk weaving. 401
• Teaches mechanics not only to cultivators but also to mortals training as engineers and technicians. 590
• Replaced scarce paper talismans with bamboo talismans made from cultivated ink bamboo. 377

Research and containment

Ink Bamboo Mountain studies Devil Fetus, malevolent energy, Tai Su transformations, and non-material phenomena.

• After clearing the mutated coral sea, its cultivators extracted malevolent energy, catalogued Devil Fetus samples, and shipped sealed specimens back for research. 181
• Heavenly Craft Peak research facilities reverse-engineer the legacy of an extraterrestrial immortal civilization. 401
• Its methods for handling Devil Fetus attracted the interest of Emei Sect's Han Xiangmo. 181
• The sect's Tai Su body-transformation methods are considered unusually adaptable, inclusive, and fast-growing—qualities that led the three major sects to consider exterminating its lineage. 155

Defense and military operations

Ink Bamboo Mountain functions as a barrier between Li Country and the demons, devils, and moon-worshipping sects of the south. Its strategic role likely contributed to recognition by the three major powers and to the Immortal Palace tolerating Li Country's offerings to it. 17

• Its southern routes are marked by guiding bright-light talismans resembling beacon towers. 82
• Mountain dojos use defensive formations, emergency routes, shelters, and guiding lights for demonic assaults. 599
• During demon tides, Golden Core and Foundation Establishment disciples patrol the old dojos and eliminate infiltrating lesser demons. 386
• The sect fields armored forces, mechanical ships, spirit beasts, Dharma Protectors, and cultivators stationed across its peaks and resource sites. 599
• Defeated demons may be incorporated as Dharma Protectors, mounts, spirit beasts, pets, or sealed subordinates. 489

Economy and Development

Ink Bamboo Mountain sustains its disciples through mines, spirit fields, medicinal gardens, beast pens, monster-derived resources, trade, and cultivation-material exchanges. 81 89 489

• It exchanges mining, refining, and transport services with Nangong Family forces for magical treasures, pills, talismans, and cultivation techniques. 89
• Its consortium planned railways, banks, and bond issuance; Li Fan agreed to guarantee the bonds in exchange for Mountain territory retaining ownership and management of its railway section. 471
• During its Ten-thousand-mountains expansion, the sect laid mechanical railways to supply six reclaimed mountain dojos and support new core territories. 489
• Its Finance Department issues banknotes, while institutes including the Iron Dao, Mountain Moving, Alchemy, Talisman Jade, Mechanism, and Sword Forging Institutes issue distinct notes. 575

Relationships

• Nangong Immortal Family — A tense coexistence shaped by the transfer of Ten-thousand-mountains dojos and shared pressure from demons and Central Plains factions. 81
• Immortal Palace — Former border authority in Ten-thousand-mountains; its weakened influence enabled Ink Bamboo Mountain to assume much of the region's defense. 81
• Yuntai Peak — Ink Bamboo Mountain joins its alliance amid escalating regional conflict, gaining deterrence but becoming a more visible target. 327 432
• Demon Race — Its principal southern adversary; the sect wages prolonged campaigns to reclaim dojos, destroy demon lairs, and subjugate surviving demons. 489
• Emei Sect — Emei Sect recognizes Ink Bamboo Mountain's Devil Fetus research, though Ink Bamboo Mountain remains acutely aware of the Xuan Sect's overwhelming power. 181
• Company — Company attacks the sect, later offers an acquisition arrangement preserving nominal independence while demanding research cooperation and priority over results. 599 661

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Black Lotus Sect campaign — Ink Bamboo Mountain joins the suppression of the Black Lotus Sect, infiltrates its main altar, and kills the Black Lotus Saint Mother at heavy cost. 32
• Ten-thousand-mountains consolidation — The sect receives mountain dojos from the Nangong Family and develops a structured network of resource sites and cultivation fronts. 81
• Tiantai Mountain aftermath — Eight surviving disciples are punished for killing fellow disciples to survive while trapped in a formation, demonstrating the sect's severe internal discipline. 43
• Devil Fetus and Jade Toad Granny operations — The sect investigates demonic threats, pursues Jade Toad Granny, and conducts large-scale cleanup and containment work after the coral-sea disaster. 163 181
• Disciples' massacre — An attack nearly wipes out a generation of new disciples; surviving peak masters and Real Persons organize the recovery, patrols, and pursuit of the attackers. 397
• Southern expansion — Ink Bamboo Mountain reclaims lost dojos, pushes westward to Tianyu Mountain, develops railways and resource sites, and reorganizes its growing territory into the Tianyu Mountain lineage. 487 489
• War with the Nine Bends God — The sect launches a major offensive against the Hundred Thousand Mountains' demon coalition and ultimately removes the Nine-Headed Lion Demon as a major southern threat. 641 659
• Company negotiations — After Company attacks the sect and Qin Jiu repels intruders, Company proposes an acquisition framework based on nominal independence and controlled research cooperation. 658 661