Fenxiang Sect

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Fenxiang Sect
Alias(es)	焚香门
Affiliation	Formerly one of the Five Great Righteous Sects; aligned with the righteous path
Occupation/Role	Cultivation sect; keeper of Qingguan Mountain and the seal suppressing Wujiu Demon Venerable
Status	Destroyed at Qingguan Mountain during Wujiu Demon Venerable's revival; later re-established at a new mountain gate with diminished strength and a fractured membership 254 364 450
First Appearance	Chapter 40

Background / History

Thousand-year legacy

Fenxiang Sect was a millennium-old righteous sect whose historical leader, Ying Tian True Person, coordinated the righteous path during the ancient war against the demonic sects. Ying Tian was master to both Lu Xingzhou and Wujiu Demon Venerable. 420

For centuries, the sect's principal grounds were Qingguan Mountain, an eight-hundred-li range whose earth veins it controlled. Beneath its Demon-Suppressing Palace lay the seal imprisoning Wujiu Demon Venerable's corpse. 217 241

The sect became one of the Five Great Righteous Sects through its deep reserves of disciples, arts, pills, formations, and secret realms. Its Soul-Cleansing Flowers were particularly coveted because they could assist Tongxuan Realm cultivators in reaching Spirit Transformation, the realm known as “Little Longevity.” 76 150

Expansion and internal decline

Under Sect Master Lu Xingzhou, Fenxiang Sect relaxed its admission standards to rapidly strengthen itself against an anticipated demonic resurgence. It accepted talented cultivators from unorthodox paths, greatly increasing both its scale and number of Tongxuan Realm disciples. 76 240

The expansion undermined discipline and intensified competition among the Three Mountains and Five Halls. Disciples became increasingly arrogant, factionalized, and willing to scheme against one another for resources, status, and access to Soul-Cleansing Flowers. 76 82 254

Lu Xingzhou accepted these flaws as the price of survival: he believed a large, loyal force was more necessary than strict moral standards in an era approaching war with the demonic path. 240

Qingguan Mountain crisis and destruction

When the seal beneath Qingguan Mountain began failing, Lu Xingzhou summoned the chief disciples to defend the Demon-Suppressing Palace. Mutated Soul-Cleansing Flowers had grown within Wujiu Demon Venerable's body and damaged the sealing formation. 217 220

The crisis exposed the sect's divisions. Ren Yaosheng and other chief disciples abandoned their posts, while Qin Wanjun, Fang Hao, and Mo Suixin remained to defend the talisman sustaining the seal. 220

During the wider demonic assault, Spirit Beast Hall, Molten Gold Hall, and Hundred Crafts Hall rebelled; roughly half of the sect turned traitor. Loyal disciples were purged while Lu Xingzhou remained trapped below Qingguan Mountain, attempting to prevent Wujiu Demon Venerable's complete revival. 247

Wujiu Demon Venerable ultimately broke free. The ensuing catastrophe destroyed Fenxiang Sect's mountain gate, shattered Qingguan Mountain's earth veins, and claimed both Lu Xingzhou and Qinghe Sword Sect Master Zhang Qi. 250 254

Aftermath and re-establishment

Qingguan Mountain became a poisoned dead land after the battle. Wujiu Demon Venerable's corpse released corrosive decay, while unstable earth veins and deathly energy threatened the surrounding region. 254 270

Yellow Springs Sect received much of Fenxiang Sect's surviving inheritance, including more than 47,000 books and other resources. Pang Duoduo produced Lu Xingzhou's will to establish that this was compensation for Yellow Springs Sect's aid during the calamity. 254

Tie Shengrong, formerly Mountain Lord of Hanging Star Mountain, departed with surviving disciples and established a new Fenxiang Sect elsewhere. Most disciples who had remained at Qingguan Mountain to contain the corpse poison were later devoured by the Azure Wyrm Lord; Pang Duoduo and Mo Suixin were the only known survivors of that group. 364 453

The rebuilt sect retained enough craftsmen and miscellaneous-art cultivators to reconstruct an imposing mountain gate, but its new Mountain-Guarding Grand Array was still weak because it had not fully integrated with the surrounding earth veins. 450

Organization

Division	Function
Profound Heaven Mountain	One of the three formation-eye peaks; its disciples specialized in combat arts and divine abilities, forming part of the sect's demon-slaying backbone. 217
Hanging Star Mountain	One of the three formation-eye peaks of the mountain-protecting grand formation. Tie Shengrong and Tie Xianrong were associated with this branch. 217 363 364
Heart-Burning Mountain	One of the formation-eye peaks; Lu Xingzhou's Daoist grounds and the customary site for major sect deliberations. 217
Longevity Hall	Refined pills and cultivated spirit plants. 217
Seven Stars Hall	Specialized in divination, calculations, and the sect's finest formation arts; it had comparatively few disciples and limited involvement with the other branches. 217
Molten Gold Hall	Forged magical treasures. 217
Spirit Beast Hall	Raised spirit beasts and mounts. 217
Hundred Crafts Hall	Managed miscellaneous disciplines including mechanisms, puppetry, talisman drawing, and gu refinement. 217

Cultivation Arts and Resources

Miscellaneous disciplines

Fenxiang Sect's curriculum emphasized broad technical training. Disciples were required to study at least three miscellaneous disciplines alongside ordinary cultivation. 52

Known fields and associated inheritances included:

• Pill refining — Fenxiang Sect's foremost specialty; its abundant pill supply made advancement from Qiling to Tongxuan comparatively accessible for its disciples. 76
• Medicine — The Spirit Pivot Needle Art was among its noted Heavenly Book-related arts. 52
• Formations and feng shui — The Eight Gates Escape Art was associated with these fields, while Seven Stars Hall led the sect in formation work. 52 217
• Mechanisms and puppetry — The Book of Lu Ban and Hundred Crafts Hall's inherited methods covered mechanical constructs and puppet arts. 52 217
• Talismans and spells — Fenxiang Sect preserved extensive talisman traditions; the True Scripture of the Great Cavern of Shangqing contained a comprehensive, ancient talisman-drawing secret art. 246
• Spirit-beast cultivation — Spirit Beast Hall raised beasts and mounts, while its related secret arts were later among the inheritances used by Yellow Springs Sect. 217 272

Heavenly Book Secret Arts

Fenxiang Sect was said to possess more Heavenly Book Secret Arts than any other sect and was reportedly seeking to gather the complete collection. 103 165

Its library preserved original Heavenly Book texts on a material resistant to water, fire, insects, and blades. Later copies decayed with age, allowing Pang Duoduo to distinguish original Heavenly Book volumes from transcriptions. 539

Notable preserved or associated texts include:

• True Scripture of the Great Cavern of Shangqing — contained an ancient, comprehensive talisman-drawing art. 246
• Scripture on Transforming the Hu — held among the sect's Heavenly Book-related scriptures. 246
• Supreme Clarity Golden Elixir — held among the sect's Heavenly Book-related scriptures. 246
• Innate Phantom Body Art — Fenxiang Sect's altered name for the Eight-Nine Profound Art, whose true history was obscured to conceal Wujiu Demon Venerable's origins. 255
• Ancient volumes later identified as remnants of the Book of Life and Death. 539

Soul-Cleansing Flowers

Soul-Cleansing Flowers grew atop Qingguan Mountain above Wujiu Demon Venerable's sealed body. Their effects offered a comparatively reliable route from Tongxuan to Spirit Transformation. 76 150

The sect doubled its harvesting of the flowers with Lu Xingzhou's tacit approval, worsening internal competition. Mutated flowers later became part of the seal's collapse and attacked the sect's chief disciples within the Demon-Suppressing Palace. 76 217 220

Territories and Defenses

• Qingguan Mountain — The original eight-hundred-li sect grounds, built around controlled earth veins and the seal on Wujiu Demon Venerable. It was destroyed and contaminated after the Demon Venerable's revival. 217 254
• Demon-Suppressing Palace — An underground complex within Qingguan Mountain that housed the sealing formation and its central golden talisman. 217 220
• Mountain-Guarding Grand Array — Its formation eyes were the Three Mountains. The original array drew upon Qingguan Mountain's earth veins and was considered difficult even for top cultivators to breach. 217 241
• New mountain gate — Established after the destruction of Qingguan Mountain. Though visually grand, its defensive formation initially remained only marginally effective. 450

Relationships

• Lu Xingzhou — Former sect master. He expanded the sect in preparation for demonic threats, but his hesitation toward internal corruption and factional conflict contributed to its collapse. He died during Wujiu Demon Venerable's revival. 76 247 254
• Wujiu Demon Venerable — Formerly connected to Fenxiang Sect through Ying Tian True Person; his corpse was sealed beneath Qingguan Mountain for a thousand years. His revival destroyed the sect's original mountain gate. 217 254 420
• Pang Duoduo — Seven Stars Hall Master and leading diviner. She remained involved in Qingguan Mountain's containment efforts and later worked closely with Yellow Springs Sect. 217 254 272
• Mo Suixin — Seven Stars Hall's chief disciple and Pang Duoduo's disciple. She defended the seal during the crisis, later joined Yellow Springs Sect, and continued seeking aid for Fenxiang Sect's remaining problems. 220 272 287
• Fang Hao — Former Fenxiang Sect chief disciple and Lu Xingzhou's direct disciple. He later became Yellow Springs Sect's chief disciple and negotiated aid for his former sect. 345 372
• Tie Shengrong — Former Hanging Star Mountain Lord who became sect master during the reconstruction period. He accepted Yellow Springs Sect's assistance out of necessity. 364 372 373
• Tie Xianrong — Elder of Hanging Star Mountain who sought Pang Duoduo's help establishing the rebuilt sect's grand formation. Later accounts identify him as sect master amid dissatisfaction from the remaining disciples. 363 539
• Yellow Springs Sect — Inherited much of Fenxiang Sect's surviving library and resources after the Qingguan Mountain disaster. The two sects later negotiated a body-refining method and Fenxiang manpower for poison-neutralization work. 254 369 372
• Burning Lamp Sect — An affiliated sect used as a recruitment path and indirect instrument for Fenxiang Sect's affairs, including efforts to investigate and frame Chen Ye. 147 150 176