Zhou Xuan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhou Xuan (周玄)
Alias(es)	Brother Xuan; Senior Brother Zhou; Shopkeeper Zhou; Manager Zhou; Boss Zhou; Token Master 546 1020
Species/Race	Human 22 384
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Spirit Sword Pavilion; founder of Cloud Pavilion; selected Core Disciple of the Western Desolate Region Alliance; leader in the Western Desolate Region–Northern Lands Alliance, also called the Two-Region Alliance; central figure in the Origin Return Alliance 192 328 633 634 677 830 837
Occupation/Role	Former chore disciple; merchant; artifact restorer; cultivator; alliance organizer; Supreme One Token Master; holder of World Lord authority 828 1020 1094
Status	Active 1094
First Appearance	Chapter 1
Cultivation Technique	Supreme One Art / Taiyi Method lineage 384
Physique	Chaos King Body; later recognized as an Ancient War Body 177 242
Spirit Root	Originally a Five Elements Impure Spirit Root; progressively improved through Enlightenment, eventually becoming an ultimate Null Attribute Spirit Root 2 19 31 112 190
Latest Explicit Cultivation	Absolute limit of the Spirit Transformation Stage; later strengthens his foundation further while remaining short of the peerless Longevity Realm threshold 945 1034

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Body Forging First Stage	2	His system initially evaluates him as a poorly talented chore servant with a Five Elements Impure Spirit Root.
Body Forging Third Stage	3	His physical strength reaches the point where he believes he can kill a cow with one punch.
Body Forging Seventh Layer	19	Consumes three Qi Gathering Pills and advances four layers overnight, despite his improved Five Elements Waste Spirit Root converting only about thirty percent of their medicinal power.
Body Forging Ninth Layer, peak	31	Refines transmuted Qi Gathering Pills from waste pills; prepares to overcome the Qi Refining barrier.
Qi Refining Realm	43	Realizes his Dao through the image of tenacious grass surviving adversity and manifests his first wisp of mana.
Qi Refining Seventh Layer	112	Uses soul Enlightenment and dual-tasking to consume a large quantity of Waste Pills, advancing from the second layer to the seventh.
Qi Refining Ninth Layer, peak	152	Refines large quantities of Qi Gathering and Qi Condensation Pills in a Heaven-Grade Cave Abode, then prepares to establish his foundation with the Primordial Origin Gold Core.
Foundation Establishment, Early Stage	154	Has entered Foundation Establishment but continues disguising himself as a low-level chore disciple.
Foundation Establishment Third Layer / Middle Stage	177	Awakens the Chaos King Body and advances from early Foundation Establishment to the third layer.
Foundation Establishment Third Layer, peak	178	Tests his Primordial Mana and Chaos King Body against ten early Foundation Establishment puppets, rapidly improving his practical combat skills.
Foundation Establishment, absolute peak — temporary	240	Consumes the Sacred Dragon Golden Pill during his battle with Old Ancestor Black Fiend. The pill raises him to the peak of his current major realm for one hour, strengthens his body, and improves spiritual-power recovery without aftereffects.
Golden Core Realm	266	Breaks through with the Supreme One Art and the Jianmu Remnant Leaf; the Jianmu seedling merges into his Golden Core.
Golden Core, Middle Stage	336	His cultivation reaches the middle Golden Core stage, though his soul cultivation becomes his new bottleneck.
Nascent Soul, Late Stage	542	Emerges with late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation; his divine soul also approaches the Spirit Transformation threshold.
Spirit Transformation, Middle Stage — confirmed starting realm	828	His cultivation is already at the middle Spirit Transformation stage when he begins purifying the Nothingness in his Token Master Mark.
Spirit Transformation, Late Stage, approaching peak	828	Converts purified Nothingness into primordial origin power through the Origin-Returning Purification Formation and World-Origin Fragment. His foundation and divine soul strengthen, and his Token Master Mark becomes completely purified.
Spirit Transformation, absolute limit	945	Uses the Earth Vein Instrument to refine the surrendered sects’ reserves into pure origin energy. Deliberately postpones Longevity advancement; his body and spiritual power can contend with an ordinary high-grade Longevity Realm cultivator.
Further foundation enhancement; short of peerless Longevity Realm	1034	Creation origin source, destructive turbid qi, and the Immortal Court’s highest-authority laws form a balanced, closed cycle within his black-gold Dao Fruit. His foundation rises dramatically without crossing the stated breakthrough barrier.
World Lord authority — confirmed possession	1094	Holds black-and-gold World Lord authority and forcibly tears three portions from it while carrying Ji Chen, whose divine soul remains bound by a life-draining invisible chain. This passage does not specify a new cultivation realm.

Background

Zhou Xuan transmigrated into the cultivation world as an infant. Believing it to be a world resembling ancient China, he used knowledge and business ability beyond his era to build a fortune and become the young master of the wealthy Zhou family by age ten. During this period, he rescued Liu Ruyan after her family’s downfall and gave her a home. His understanding of the world changed when he witnessed an immortal sever a river with a finger 1.

He later entered the Spirit Sword Pavilion despite possessing the Five Elements Impure Spirit Root, regarded by his system as exceptionally poor cultivation talent. After two years in the sect, he remained a Body Forging First Stage chore disciple living in a bare wooden hut and surviving by scavenging medicinal dregs from the pill-refining room 2.

His turning point came through a system fueled by Gold Touch Value, which allowed him to find value in discarded materials and pursue the improvement of his spirit root, cultivation, equipment, and allies. He initially concealed this ability because exposure could reduce him to a tool controlled by stronger cultivators 3 23.

His spirit root changes repeatedly as he develops the system. By his seventh-layer Body Forging breakthrough, he has upgraded it to a Five Elements Waste Spirit Root; by the ninth-layer peak, it is described as a Wasted Four Elements Spirit Root. During his rapid Qi Refining advancement, he possesses an earth-attributed Single Attribute Spirit Root capable of efficiently processing large quantities of medicinal power. It eventually becomes an ultimate Null Attribute Spirit Root, which converts spiritual energy directly into Primordial Qi 19 31 112 177 190.

The origins of his cultivation remain an enduring concern. The Supreme One Art is incomplete, and he seeks stronger soul cultivation to deduce its continuation. In Central Province, learning that the immortal veins descended from the upper realm’s Supreme One Immortal Court gives him a possible lead concerning both the technique and the Ancient Bronze Book. He later pursues the Eye of Return to Void because the Immortal Court may explain his powers, complete his cultivation method, and illuminate his origins; these connections initially remain possibilities rather than established explanations 341 762 790.

Personality

Zhou Xuan is calculating, observant, and habitually cautious. His early life as a merchant taught him to distrust excessive friendliness, negotiate from a position of advantage, and conceal his intentions until he has enough power to protect himself 124 154.

His ambition is inseparable from pragmatism. He treats wealth, information, personnel, and discarded resources as means to cultivation; even when considering the highest realms of the Immortal Path, he returns to the practical question of earning more Gold Touch Value 207 217. He is notably frugal, bargaining over even minor purchases while spending enormous sums when he considers an investment worthwhile 195 552.

Despite his ruthlessness toward enemies, Zhou Xuan repeatedly protects people he accepts as his own. He cures Little Stone’s spirit root, entrusts Cloud Pavilion to Lin Qingzhu, and develops systems intended to preserve entire regions against the Demonic Calamity 203 244 634.

His caution is a deliberate survival philosophy rather than a commitment to permanent obscurity. Once Foundation Establishment, Primordial Mana, and the Chaos King Body give him sufficient self-defense, he decides that continued hiding would deny him recognition and influence. Later, he describes his earlier approach to Little Stone as staying alive through concealment, patience, detours, and schemes instead of unnecessary direct clashes 182 687.

He prefers exploiting opponents’ interests to fighting them on their strongest ground. Central Province’s competing factions become prospective customers whose desires and distrust he can manipulate. When Cangwu proposes killing the Demon-Slaying Alliance’s leaders, Zhou Xuan rejects the idea because it would unite their followers, obstruct scrap collection, and turn Central Province’s cultivators against him 763 1039.

His rule combines rewards, intimidation, and firm ethical boundaries. He distributes valuable supreme-origin crystals to devoted subordinates while warning that betrayal will cost them the resources embedded in their Dao Fruits. However, he explicitly condemns inciting slaughter and refining living people into origin source, rebuking Xuanming for methods he considers indistinguishable from those of the Heavenly Patrol Guards. Even intimidated followers acknowledge that his principles make him preferable to arbitrary tyrants 986 1020 1051.

Abilities & Skills

Gold Touch System and Enlightenment

Zhou Xuan’s system identifies the hidden value of discarded objects and converts useful materials into Gold Touch Value, the resource he uses to enhance himself and others.

• Scans supposedly worthless marketplace goods for convertible value and hidden potential 15.
• Transmutes damaged waste pills into usable Qi Gathering Pills 31.
• Can perform Enlightenment on living beings, including clearing pill toxins and repairing damaged meridians 23.
• Cures Little Stone’s Withered Spirit Death Curse and restores his Earth Attribute Heavenly Spirit Root at the cost of 100,000 Gold Touch Value 203.
• Restores the consciousness of a broken sword’s Sword Spirit rather than converting it for immediate profit 302.
• Requires secrecy; Zhou Xuan considers public knowledge of the ability a grave threat to his freedom 23.
• Improves spirit-root quality, ultimately producing a Null Attribute Spirit Root that converts spiritual energy into Primordial Qi 19 112 177 190.
• Upgrades a Growth Acceleration Array for 1,000 Gold Touch Value, doubling its efficiency, and repairs cracked Array Jade into Flawless Spirit Jade for another 100 points 68.
• Transforms a dangerous Blood Burst Pill into the Sacred Dragon Golden Pill, eliminating its side effects and granting a one-hour increase to the peak of the user’s current major realm 235 240.
• Supports advanced targeted creation. He designs a pseudo-world-class wondrous item using lingering world-origin resonance, remnants of Nothingness, and Taiyi Law, giving it a genuine creation aura while concealing Dao Fruit contamination; the displayed estimated cost is 672,000 Gold Touch Value 832.

Artifact Restoration and Refinement

Zhou Xuan specializes in restoring, upgrading, and repurposing damaged magical treasures.

• Uses Artifact Refining Platforms to repair multiple artifacts simultaneously while consuming only one Low-grade Spirit Stone 184.
• Builds Cloud Pavilion’s business model around purchasing scrap, improving it, and selling restored artifacts at accessible prices 184 192.
• Repairs the Zhengyi Sect’s Tai'e Sword through an ancestral restoration art, restoring the spiritual core of its sect-guarding formation 392.
• Creates and deploys improved Artifact Refining Platforms through subordinates including Han Qi 166.
• Initially enhances Han Qi’s inefficient low-tier Artifact Refining Platform, demonstrating the potential of automated artifact repair 163.
• Repairs and upgrades damaged treasures for sale in Vast Sea City, earning fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones to finance his Foundation Establishment preparations 152.

Supreme One Art and Divine Eyes

Zhou Xuan cultivates the Supreme One Art, a technique linked to the Taiyi Orthodox Sect lineage and the Ancient Bronze Book in his Sea of Consciousness 384.

• His soul Enlightenment grants effortless dual-tasking, allowing simultaneous control of multiple magical artifacts and much faster cultivation 112.
• Uses the Heavenly Eye Technique and Supreme One Divine Eye to perceive spiritual energy, rules, formations, and hidden structural weaknesses 296 557.
• Applies frequency-based analysis to bypass barriers such as Eternal Profound Ice 560.
• Uses Taiyi Divine Power to deconstruct, divide, and redirect overwhelming blood-qi pressure rather than meeting it head-on 585.
• The Heavenly Eye Technique grants Supernatural Vision, Origin Insight, and Power Amplification. He later recognizes it as only an entry-level substitute for the Supreme One Art’s deeper pupil techniques 117 341.
• Uses the Supreme One Art’s concealment methods to compress and seal his mana, presenting himself as a first-layer Qi Refining disciple despite possessing seventh-layer cultivation. Close inspection by sufficiently powerful cultivators can expose this early disguise 122.
• Combines soul cultivation from the Supreme One Art with the Zhengyi Sect’s physically oriented Taiyi Method. He provides Xuanchengzi with a separated soul-cultivation method intended to harmonize the sect’s spiritual power and improve its resistance to Abyssal Demons 387 400.
• Visualizes the Two-Region Alliance’s operations through the Supreme One Divine Eye, distinguishing vow-power flows, Cloud Pavilion trade routes, and defensive lines as differently colored threads 676.
• Pinpoints the concealed main core of the Wind-Thunder Annihilation Formation despite three layers of false nodes protecting its location 890.

Chaos King Body and Physical Combat

After awakening the Chaos King Body, Zhou Xuan’s body becomes a primary source of combat power.

• Possesses Immunity to All Techniques: spiritual-power beams from ten Foundation Establishment puppets dissipate upon touching his gray protective halo 178.
• Defeats multiple Foundation Establishment cultivators effortlessly with bare hands and a plain gray sword 202 205.
• Physically overwhelms Golden Core cultivator Old Ancestor Black Fiend in direct combat 238.
• His body is later identified as an Ancient War Body capable of manifesting spiritual power into form 242.
• The Chaos King Body improves his physical constitution, Primordial Mana power, and recovery speed. Practical sparring with ten puppets helps him turn these advantages into usable combat skill 177 178.
• Its defensive advantages do not automatically erase every realm gap. During Black Fiend’s overwhelming mana attack, Zhou Xuan recognizes a lethal threat and consumes the Sacred Dragon Golden Pill to reach temporary peak Foundation Establishment strength 240.
• At the absolute limit of Spirit Transformation, his strengthened body and spiritual power can contend with an ordinary high-grade Longevity Realm cultivator 945.

Soul Defense

Zhou Xuan’s soul is unusually resilient and protected by the Bronze Book and his cultivation.

• His soul power reaches the peak of the ninth Qi Refining layer after Enlightenment 112.
• A golden halo purifies the Resentful Souls released by the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, leaving him unaffected by a Golden Core-level soul attack 238.
• The Bronze Book automatically destroys illusions that attempt to exploit his memories of transmigration and his previous life 443.
• Early soul cultivation using the Green Copper fragment improves fine bodily control, coordination, speed, and power transmission without immediately increasing his raw physical strength 33.
• Uses Soul Piercing techniques, including a Soul Spike that instantly kills a mad cultivator, and captures fragments of the victim’s memories for information 93 139.
• Plants a Soul Imprint on Zhao Xiong to prevent disclosure of his identity and appearance during his Northern Lands infiltration 556.
• Develops a soul-splitting method associated with Second Brother and considers training additional souls in separate professions. His proposed multi-soul team is an aspiration in this passage, not confirmation that every imagined soul has been created 356.
• Second Brother, as his Second Soul, can pursue targets within vow power without suffering the resentful-qi contamination that threatens ordinary cultivators’ Dao Foundations 678.

Agriculture, Alchemy, and Formations

Zhou Xuan applies resource enhancement beyond conventional artifact repair.

• Operates Spirit Gathering and Growth Acceleration Arrays to concentrate spiritual energy and improve crop growth 68.
• Cultivates improved Spirit Rice on Desolate Mountain, recognizes superior mutations with mass-production potential, and gains the gratitude of chore disciples working the fields 119.
• Agrees to supply Spirit Rice to Medicine Peak after the Third Elder protects him from Huo Yun’s attempted seizure of his resources 175.
• Refines Longevity Pills for Great Wild Village and uses Enlightenment to improve their quality. These pills nourish mortal bodies and extend lifespan rather than directly providing cultivation power 368 369.
• Works with Mu Lingxin, a disciple sent by Cangwu, to develop a formation connected to the Central Province operation 826.
• Directs the Origin-Returning Purification Formation with four Longevity Realm experts supplying power while he controls the purification at its center 828.

Nothingness Purification and Origin Refinement

His Central Province developments give him the means to treat corruption that even ancient Longevity Realm cultivators cannot remove.

• Draws Nothingness from his Token Master Mark with the World-Origin Fragment, restrains it with Taiyi Divine Power, and uses the fragment’s creative force to purify it into primordial origin power 828.
• Completely removes Nothingness from the Token Master Mark, strengthens his divine soul, and develops a much closer bond with the Supreme One Token 828.
• Purifies contamination from Old Ancestor Xuanming’s Dao Fruit, curing an affliction that has obstructed him for millennia 828.
• Demonstrates control over the corruption damaging the Grand Hua Old Ancestor’s Dao Fruit and uses the threatened disruption of its balance with the myriad spirit origin fetus to force a confession 853.
• Uses the Earth Vein Instrument to devour and refine a vast collection of otherwise incompatible treasures into pure origin energy, strengthening his body and divine soul without suffering the destruction such absorption would cause ordinary cultivators 945.
• Balances creation origin source, destructive turbid qi, and the Immortal Court’s highest-authority laws within his black-gold Dao Fruit, establishing a closed energy cycle 1034.
• Possesses black-and-gold World Lord authority and can forcibly separate portions from it 1094.

Strategy, Commerce, and Organization

Zhou Xuan combines cultivation with commercial and military planning.

• Secures investment from Qin Mu while retaining a ten-percent profit share in his business proposal 166.
• Negotiates compensation and priority rights before agreeing to participate in the Hidden Dragon Treasure Appraisal Conference 246 247.
• Designs the Blood-Qi Internal Circulation Technique for Northern Lands body cultivators 587.
• Establishes the Taiyi Furnace Method to combine body cultivators’ close-combat strength with spell cultivators’ formations, talismans, and logistics 633.
• Directs resource exchange and the formal alliance between the Western Desolate Region and Northern Lands 634.
• Secures command of the Demon Slayer Squad and ownership of purge spoils before agreeing to eliminate Demonic Qi Nodes 506.
• Develops the Blood-Qi Internal Circulation Technique from frequency-based handling of Vow Power, buffering disorderly energy and protecting the Yang Clan’s overloaded Golden Crow bloodline 570 587.
• Proposes connecting regional Vow Power Networks to pierce the World Barrier and coordinate the Western Desolate Region with the Northern Lands 624.
• Initiates “cultivation for all” through thirty-six academies and the Kindling Decree, which exempts students from taxes and labor service and offers official cultivation-disciple status to successful students 643.
• Uses the academies as nodes for a growing cross-region vow-power network, monitored through Apocalypse 645.
• Treats Central Province’s five rival camps as a market for the resources they desire, using commercial dependence and factional competition instead of attempting immediate conquest 762 763.
• Gives allies control of corruption-treatment slots while retaining his role as healer and resource collector, making the allocation of survival opportunities a tool for political realignment 837.
• Plans to use the Purifier to make the Immortal-Burying Abyss Central Province’s exclusive resource hub, replacing competition over scarce and damaged spirit veins 986.
• Attacks the Demon-Slaying Alliance economically by suspending exchanges, spreading rumors about Purifier failure and crystal shortages, and undermining confidence in contribution points. He orders intruders repelled without killing them 1039.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ancient Bronze Book — A mysterious artifact within Zhou Xuan’s Sea of Consciousness. It resists attempts to inspect his Luck and is believed to be connected to the Golden Age 76 77. Learning of the Supreme One Immortal Court gives him a possible lead concerning its origin, though the connection is initially unconfirmed 762.
• Artifact Refining Platforms — Used to repair and upgrade damaged magical treasures on a large scale 184.
• Foundation Establishment Puppets — Zhou Xuan commands at least ten for defense and combat training 178.
• Golden Core Puppet — A puppet he chooses to Enlighten into the Golden Core Realm as a deterrent 229.
• Cloud-Drifting Shuttle — A high-speed flying artifact used for travel and concealment 154 271. Purchased as a high-grade flying artifact during his Foundation Establishment preparations 152.
• Jianmu Remnant Leaf — Assists his Golden Core breakthrough; its seedling merges into his Golden Core 266. Its leaf pattern later lights up when he activates the Supreme One Divine Eye to examine the alliance’s operational network 676.
• Golden Crow Jade Pendant — Half of an ancestral Yang Clan token given by Yang Mie; it grants leverage with the Northern Lands Yang Clan 546 561.
• Apocalypse — A technologically distinct starship used for transport, reconnaissance, stealth, and cross-region travel 450 625. Its monitoring system detects subtle resonance between regional vow-power fields, and its scanning arrays assess the devastated Spirit Sword Pavilion’s surviving cultivators, spiritual energy, and demon seal 645 681.
• Primordial Origin Gold Core — A supreme foundation material identified by the system as suitable for Supreme Foundation Establishment; Zhou Xuan uses it in his breakthrough preparations rather than relying on an ordinary Foundation Establishment Pill 147 152.
• Sacred Dragon Golden Pill — Created through ultimate Enlightenment of a Blood Burst Pill. Temporarily raises him to the peak of his current major realm, grants the Sacred Dragon Body’s blessing, and doubles spiritual-power recovery without aftereffects; consumed against Black Fiend 235 240.
• Wither-Bloom Pills — Life-saving pills retained for their strategic value in the Ancient Secret Realm rather than converted immediately into Gold Touch Value 298.
• Supreme One Token — An Immortal Court-linked token that responds to a summons from the depths of Central Province and is associated with his Token Master Mark. After purification, his bond with it becomes exceptionally close; it also protects him during a clash with the Court Guardian Pavilion’s old woman 790 828 858.
• Token Master Mark — A mark purified from black-and-gold contamination into brilliant gold when Zhou Xuan removes all traces of Nothingness from it 828.
• Fragmentary Map of the Eye of Return to Void — Given by the Alliance Leader to assist his secret journey to the sealed domain and its Immortal Court Portal 790.
• World-Origin Fragment — Used to extract and purify Nothingness during the Origin-Returning Purification Formation 828.
• Soul-Calming Wood — A treasure received from Celestial River Sect Master Chen Changgeng and set aside for a special purpose. It later contains the Court Guardian Pavilion old woman’s remnant soul 890 970.
• Earth Vein Instrument — Used for distant projections and the large-scale refinement of sect treasures into origin energy. Zhou Xuan postpones investigating a Supreme One Token-related matter in the East Sea Abyss after ending its projection 945.
• Purifier — The foundation of Zhou Xuan’s proposed resource hub in the Immortal-Burying Abyss. Its exchange system becomes a means of influencing Central Province’s factions and contribution-point economy 986 1039.
• Immortal Court Prison Ship — Carries Zhou Xuan, Cangwu, and Xuanming away from the stripped Black Fortress toward Central Province 986.
• Supreme-Origin Crystals — Resources capable of helping Cangwu and Xuanming advance their Dao Fruits beyond limitations imposed by Central Province’s incomplete laws. Zhou Xuan distributes a twenty-percent share as payment while demanding obedience 986.

Relationships

• Liu Ruyan — Former love interest whom Zhou Xuan rescued and raised after her family’s ruin. Their later encounters are distant and adversarial, especially after his rapid rise surpasses her expectations 1 15 273. Her management reforms impose harsh labor conditions on him, reproducing methods learned from his earlier business practices. After her fall to the demonic path, he repairs the Demon Suppressing Tower and seals her together with the Heavenly Demon’s remnant soul 18 437 456.
• Zhou Ye — Loyal subordinate and fellow former chore servant. Zhou Xuan clears his pill toxins and repairs his meridians; Zhou Ye later guards him during seclusion and gathers discarded materials for him 23 31 112. Zhou Xuan continues to remember his reliability and resourcefulness when considering personnel for the expanded alliance 677.
• Han Qi — Trusted subordinate and mentee responsible for obtaining damaged Artifact Refining Platforms and helping operate Zhou Xuan’s business 166 192.
• Little Stone — Protégé treated as a younger brother. Zhou Xuan cures his Heavenly Spirit Root, guides his first Qi Induction, and supports his growth into the bearer of the Desolate Ancient Tyrant Body 203 204 213. He selects interim body-refining and heavy-weapon techniques suited to Little Stone’s physique and later discusses heart inquiry, survival, and the responsibilities of wielding a sword with him 278 687.
• Lin Qingzhu — Business partner, subordinate, and manager of Cloud Pavilion. She hires Zhou Xuan to oppose Li Wei, then receives responsibility for the pavilion and a thirty-percent share of its net profits 203 244 245. After a ten-year separation, she reunites with him as an experienced trade-route manager whose cultivation remains at Foundation Establishment. Zhou Xuan recognizes how much administrative work she once shielded him from and publicly declares her his Dao Companion to defend her authority over the alliance’s finances. Lin explains that the declaration is a political protection of her role rather than a worldly romantic union 668 669 670 673 674 675. She accompanies his Central Province negotiations and supports his dangerous pursuit of the Immortal Court’s secrets despite fearing for his safety 759 762 790.
• Qin Keqing — Initially hostile and aligned with Liu Ruyan, she becomes Zhou Xuan’s long-term ally and expedition partner. They work together against Demonic Qi Nodes and travel jointly to the Northern Lands 102 506 546. Their early conflict includes her nearly killing him through Foundation Establishment pressure; Qin Mu intervenes and rebukes her conduct 99 100 101. She later acknowledges her misunderstandings, expresses gratitude, and develops feelings complicated by jealousy over Lin Qingzhu. Lin’s candid explanation of their different roles helps Qin overcome that jealousy and break a cultivation bottleneck while Zhou Xuan quietly observes 329 334 548 675.
• Qin Feng — Third Prince of the Fengqin Kingdom and political ally. Zhou Xuan gifts him Old Ancestor Black Fiend’s Golden Core and later negotiates participation in the Treasure Appraisal Conference 242 246.
• Qin Mu — Qin Family guest elder, business backer, and early protector. He apologizes for Qin Keqing’s treatment of Zhou Xuan, recruits his commercial insight, and supports him against Artifact Peak’s pressure 101 102 166 175.
• Tan Lei — Early subordinate and information source who offers knowledge of sect affairs and monitors the Spirit Dining Hall. Zhou Xuan later remembers his diligent Spirit Rice farming when reflecting on the reliability of former chore disciples 57 60 677.
• Third Elder / Dan Chenzi — Medicine Peak elder who recognizes Zhou Xuan’s agricultural and commercial potential, offers him an Inner Sect position, and protects him from Huo Yun. Zhou Xuan acknowledges the favor by agreeing to supply Spirit Rice 120 175 186.
• Yang Mie — Fellow prodigy and trusted comrade. Yang Mie gives Zhou Xuan the Golden Crow Jade Pendant and sees him as an ally in protecting the Western Desolate Region 546 547.
• Xuanchengzi — Zhengyi Sect leader who becomes grateful to Zhou Xuan after the repair of the Tai'e Sword and accepts his soul-cultivation method and resource-exchange proposal 392 400.
• Xuanyue — Zhengyi Sect cultivator who initially suspects him of being an intruder but accepts him after recognizing his Supreme One Art lineage and confirming his humanity 384.
• Yang Wudi — Yang Clan leader and initially wary ally. Zhou Xuan persuades him to support a campaign replacing the Six Extreme Sects with a new Northern Lands order 587. Their relationship develops into an explicit superior–subordinate arrangement: Zhou Xuan demands that his rules become the Yang Clan’s rules, and Yang Wudi agrees to follow his direction in exchange for resolving his cultivation conflict and preserving the clan’s bloodline 586. He later pledges support for the cross-region plan and carries out Zhou Xuan’s academy-building orders 624 643.
• Ye Changqing — Heavenly Secret Pavilion prodigy, close friend, intelligence partner, and regional coordinator. Their relationship includes playful disputes over debt, cooperation through the Vow Power Network, and joint observation of the Central Province Immortal Alliance’s council. Zhou Xuan entrusts him with monitoring the cross-region passage and cutting it off if abnormal fluctuations occur 252 328 329 624 645 755 759.
• Second Brother — Zhou Xuan’s Nascent Soul Middle Stage clone/second personality, linked to him by soul and used for reconnaissance and counsel 384 420. Later appears in dragonling form and serves as a Second Soul resistant to resentful-qi contamination; Zhou Xuan assigns him to hunt Zhao Ji while staging his own departure from Jade Dragon City 678 679.
• Dragon-Robed Alliance Leader / Origin Return Alliance Leader — Ancient master of the Purple-Gold Immortal Vein and a major negotiating counterpart. He explains Central Province’s history and factional divisions, then apologizes after witnessing Zhou Xuan’s power and agrees to escort him secretly to the Eye of Return to Void 762 763 790. He subsequently participates in purification operations and obeys Zhou Xuan’s settlement and resource-control orders 828 945 1039.
• Wuchen — Guide and operational intermediary associated with the Purple-Gold Immortal Vein. He explains the Eye of Return to Void’s sealed portal and later executes Zhou Xuan’s teleportation orders for surrendered sects 790 945.
• Emperor Jiang Wu — Longevity Realm collaborator who helps power the purification formation, participates in the Origin Return Alliance’s decisions, and later carries out Zhou Xuan’s orders to seal the Immortal-Burying Abyss 828 837 945 1039.
• Old Ancestor Cangwu — Longevity Realm ally who sends Mu Lingxin to assist Zhou Xuan with formation research and helps conduct the purification. After receiving supreme-origin crystals, he pledges his life and the Heavenly Sword Sect’s reserves to Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan later restrains his preference for resolving opposition through killing 826 828 986 1039.
• Old Ancestor Xuanming — Longevity Realm elder whose Dao Fruit Zhou Xuan purifies, earning deep gratitude and the Dark Nether Immortal Vein’s support. Rewards further secure his obedience, but Zhou Xuan sharply rebukes him for proposing exploitation based on slaughter and refining living people 828 986 1020.
• Grand Hua Old Ancestor — Central Province adversary associated with the Grand Hua Immortal Vein’s forbidden research and Northern Lands sacrifice scheme. Zhou Xuan extracts his confession in the Nine Nether Dungeon and exposes his role as the Court Guardian Pavilion’s disposable proxy 755 763 853.
• Court Guardian Pavilion Master / Old Woman — An Immortal Court-linked adversary who intends to claim the myriad spirit origin fetus. She recognizes Zhou Xuan as the central obstacle to her plan; her remnant soul later becomes confined in his Soul-Calming Wood and pleads for survival 853 858 970.
• Ji Chen — Companion on Zhou Xuan’s disguised inspection of Central Province’s forbidden-zone gathering points. Later, Zhou Xuan carries him while an invisible chain drains his divine soul’s life force and forcibly separates portions of his own World Lord authority; the provided passage does not establish the outcome 1039 1094.
• Old Ancestors Hunyuan and Wuji — Subordinate collaborators intimidated by Zhou Xuan’s warnings against crooked schemes. Wuji nevertheless recognizes his commitment to principles, and both mobilize rewards throughout Central Province after receiving his instructions 1051.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Rise from the Chore Servant Courtyard

Zhou Xuan begins at the bottom of the Spirit Sword Pavilion as a mocked chore disciple with a “trash” spirit root. By exploiting waste pills, medicinal dregs, and hidden artifacts through his system, he reaches the peak of Body Forging and enters Qi Refining while avoiding attention from enemies such as Zhao Long and Liu Ruyan 2 31 43.

He also develops soul cultivation, spirit-field formations, and an improved Spirit Rice operation. Qin Keqing’s early hostility exposes how vulnerable he remains to stronger sect disciples, while Qin Mu’s arrival opens a route to commercial backing. After reaching seventh-layer Qi Refining, he stages a public first-layer breakthrough to gain the privileges needed to leave the mountain without revealing his actual cultivation 33 68 99 100 101 102 112 119 122.

Establishment of Cloud Pavilion

After gaining Foundation Establishment strength and the Chaos King Body, Zhou Xuan stops relying entirely on concealment. He builds a repair business around Artifact Refining Platforms, defeats Artifact Peak’s attempts to suppress it, and wins support from ordinary disciples by demonstrating cheap, effective repairs 177 183 184.

His business and improved Spirit Rice challenge established resource monopolies, provoking Huo Yun. Protection from Qin Mu and the Third Elder helps him survive the initial pressure, while his public composure and commercial achievements eventually attract recruitment offers from several peak elders 175 179 182 186.

Fallen Leaf City and Fengqin Kingdom

Zhou Xuan leaves the sect to expand beyond its confines. In Fallen Leaf City, he protects Little Stone, joins forces with Lin Qingzhu, destroys City Lord Li Wei’s forces, and takes control of the Lin Family’s assets as the basis for a broader commercial empire 192 203 205 207.

Little Stone’s bloodline connection leads him to postpone the journey to the Imperial Capital and investigate the Shi Family’s treasure vault. He enters its secret realm with Little Stone, examines the Nine-Layer Demon Tower, and supports the boy’s transformation into the bearer of the Desolate Ancient Tyrant Body 210 211 213.

Imperial Capital and Golden Core Breakthrough

In the Fengqin Kingdom’s Imperial Capital, Zhou Xuan develops Cloud Pavilion, defeats Old Ancestor Black Fiend despite the realm gap, and uses the victory to strengthen ties with Qin Feng. He later enters seclusion and reaches Golden Core, triggering a Jianmu-related heavenly phenomenon that attracts widespread attention 238 242 266.

The confrontation becomes a citywide spectacle and a commercial opportunity. Zhou Xuan reassures Lin Qingzhu, bets on his own victory, and prepares the Sacred Dragon Golden Pill as insurance against Black Fiend’s realm advantage. After the breakthrough, he celebrates with Lin Qingzhu and Little Stone while reflecting that even a quiet life requires enough strength to avoid being bullied 233 235 240 267.

Ancient Secret Realm and Zhengyi Sect

Zhou Xuan returns to the Spirit Sword Pavilion as a twenty-year-old Golden Core cultivator, overturning the sect’s perception of him and challenging Liu Ruyan’s standing. During later explorations, he restores a Sword Spirit, learns of the Cage Realm’s larger dangers, encounters Xuanyue, and repairs the Zhengyi Sect’s Tai'e Sword at great personal cost 272 273 302 384 392.

After the Ancient Secret Realm trial, he is selected as a Core Disciple of the newly established Western Desolate Region Alliance despite preferring a lower profile. Its abundant resources accelerate his cultivation, but the incompleteness of the Supreme One Art drives him to seek soul-strengthening treasures and further methods 328 329 341.

His service to the Zhengyi Sect earns secluded cultivation privileges and access to resources. Before departing for the East Continent, he gives Xuanchengzi a complementary soul-cultivation method and establishes a recurring exchange of cultivation resources for the sect’s broken artifacts, demonic beast bones, and other waste 392 400.

Demonic Calamity and Regional Leadership

Following the demonic crisis, Zhou Xuan helps purge Demonic Qi Nodes with Qin Keqing, Rakshasa, and Luona. He acquires Vow Power as a strategic asset, then accepts responsibility for linking the Western Desolate Region with the Northern Lands against the greater threat 506 538 544.

His earlier repair of the Demon Suppressing Tower and sealing of Liu Ruyan with the Heavenly Demon’s remnant soul leave him remembered as a benefactor of the Western Desolate Region. When he returns after ten years, the renewed demonic crisis has forced its strongest defenders onto besieged fronts and made the old seal a central concern 437 438 456.

Northern Lands Reformation

Using Yang Mie’s token and his Nascent Soul Late Stage strength, Zhou Xuan gains access to the Northern Lands Yang Clan. He creates a Blood-Qi Internal Circulation Technique, allies with Yang Wudi, breaks the Six Extreme Sects’ old order, and establishes a Vow Power Network centered on Jade Dragon City 561 587 608 625.

He explicitly distinguishes the Yang Clan’s submission and territorial consolidation from the larger alliance he intends to build. By the time he returns south to negotiate, three Extreme Sects have been destroyed and three have submitted; Jade Dragon City has gathered thirty million mortals and two hundred thousand body cultivators, and its Vow Power Divine Statue has surpassed late-stage Spirit Transformation combat strength 623 624 625.

Alliance of Body and Law

Zhou Xuan formalizes cooperation between Northern Lands body cultivators and Western Desolate spell cultivators. His Taiyi Furnace Method and resource-exchange system create a combined defense against the Devil Tide, while academy networks begin spreading vow-power cultivation across both regions 633 634 645.

The Kindling Decree and thirty-six-academy plan extend this reformation toward universal access to cultivation. Ye Changqing coordinates construction in the Western Desolate Region while the academies begin linking the two regional vow-power fields 643 645.

As the alliance grows, Zhou Xuan recognizes that martial talent alone cannot manage its finances and supplies. Lin Qingzhu’s return fills this administrative gap. When Fallen Sect elders challenge her authority, he publicly names her his Dao Companion and declares that rejecting her authority amounts to rejecting his own. The incident also exposes Qin Keqing’s jealousy, which she resolves through an honest conversation with Lin 668 669 673 674 675.

Return to the Sect and Central Province Interference

Zhou Xuan stages a public departure from Jade Dragon City aboard Apocalypse to lure Zhao Ji into acting, leaving Second Brother behind to hunt him. He also uses the journey to return to the Spirit Sword Pavilion, whose surviving population and spiritual energy have been devastated by demonic pressure 678 679 681.

The severed demon-seal formation node beneath the sect bears signs of a Spatial Secret Art associated with the Central Province Immortal Alliance. Zhou Xuan connects the sect’s sabotage with the manipulation of Jade Dragon City’s vow power and records the grievance for a future reckoning. He subsequently confronts Zhao Ji underground, and a jade thumb ring delivered from Central Province signals that a larger external conflict is beginning 686 698 704.

Central Province Negotiations and the Immortal Court Search

Zhou Xuan and Ye Changqing secretly observe the Central Province Immortal Alliance’s council, discovering severe resource scarcity, failed research into his Perfect Crystals, and rival leaders advocating invasion and the refining of Northern Lands mortals into Blood Pills. Grand Hua’s unusual composure points toward an independent God-Making Grand Formation scheme 755.

He travels to Central Province with Lin Qingzhu and selected Cloud Pavilion staff rather than approaching the encounter as a military expedition. The Dragon-Robed Elder reveals the immortal veins’ Supreme One Immortal Court origin and explains the alliance’s five competing camps. Zhou Xuan sees their division as an opportunity to sell each faction what it most desires and exploit their competition 759 762 763.

After witnessing Zhou Xuan’s power, the Alliance Leader withdraws his earlier condescension and recognizes him as an equal. Zhou Xuan insists on a secret visit to the Eye of Return to Void, hoping to understand the Supreme One Immortal Court, his cultivation method, and his own origins. The Alliance Leader agrees to escort him personally with Wuchen, and the Supreme One Token responds as though summoned from Central Province’s depths 790.

Purification and the Origin Return Alliance

With the Alliance Leader, Emperor Jiang Wu, Cangwu, and Xuanming supporting the Origin-Returning Purification Formation, Zhou Xuan removes Nothingness from his Token Master Mark and refines it into primordial origin power. He advances from middle to late Spirit Transformation and proves that Dao Fruit contamination can be cured by healing Xuanming 828.

The newly formed Origin Return Alliance becomes a vehicle for restructuring Central Province’s political relationships. Zhou Xuan gives its leaders authority to distribute treatment slots while reserving healing and resource collection for himself, turning the demand for survival into pressure on rival territories and factions 830 837.

Exposing the Court Guardian Pavilion

In the Nine Nether Dungeon, Zhou Xuan interrogates the imprisoned Grand Hua Old Ancestor and reveals the source of the myriad spirit origin fetus. Three hundred years earlier, the Court Guardian Pavilion supplied the fetus and instructed Grand Hua to mature it through a blood sacrifice in a declining region; Grand Hua selected the Northern Lands in pursuit of a peerless Dao Fruit and control of Central Province 853.

Zhou Xuan concludes that Grand Hua was intended to commit the atrocity and absorb its blame while the Pavilion waited to claim the result. He redirects his allies’ attention toward the Pavilion as the true adversary. Its old woman later openly acknowledges Grand Hua as a discarded pawn and claims the fetus as Immortal Court property 853 858.

The confrontation further demonstrates the Supreme One Token’s protective role and Zhou Xuan’s ability to mobilize others against a common threat. By a later stage, the old woman’s remnant soul is confined within his Soul-Calming Wood and begs to remain useful rather than be destroyed 858 862 970.

Immortal-Burying Abyss and Resource Consolidation

After battle, Zhou Xuan orders sects that surrendered their reserves relocated to the outskirts of the Immortal-Burying Abyss. He makes clear that their payment purchased survival rather than comfort, assigns the four Longevity Realm elders to enforce the settlement, and forbids entry into the Core Area 945.

He then refines the surrendered reserves through the Earth Vein Instrument, reaching the absolute limit of Spirit Transformation but refusing to rush into Longevity. Later, after departing the stripped Black Fortress aboard the Immortal Court Prison Ship, he rewards Cangwu and Xuanming with supreme-origin crystals and outlines a plan to make the Abyss Central Province’s exclusive resource hub through the Purifier 945 986.

His effort to control this resource system includes limits on permissible methods. He condemns Xuanming’s incitement of infighting, tolerance of slaughter, and proposal to refine living people into origin source. Further cultivation balances creation origin source, destructive turbid qi, and Immortal Court authority within his black-gold Dao Fruit, strengthening his foundation without crossing the peerless Longevity threshold 1020 1034.

Economic Pressure and the Forbidden-Zone Inspection

When the Demon-Slaying Alliance becomes an obstacle, Zhou Xuan rejects Cangwu’s proposal to kill its leaders. Instead, he orders the Immortal-Burying Abyss sealed, suspends exchanges under the explanation that the Purifier requires repairs, and has Xuanming spread rumors that crystal reserves and contribution-point values are collapsing 1039.

Disguised as an ordinary scholar, he travels with Ji Chen to inspect conditions personally. At Black Wind Valley, the formerly busy gathering point is nearly deserted, with grievously wounded cultivators abandoned in the streets. The inspection exposes the human cost behind the scrap-gathering economy and its disruption 1039.

World Lord Authority and Ji Chen’s Crisis

In the latest supplied passage, the Central Province Continent comes to a halt while Zhou Xuan stands holding Ji Chen. An invisible chain on Ji Chen’s divine soul continues draining his life force. Zhou Xuan touches his brow and forcibly tears three portions from his black-and-gold World Lord authority; the passage establishes the action but not its ultimate result 1094.

Notable Quotes

“Never place your hopes on someone else’s conscience.” 566

“The old order is collapsing, and in my hands, I hold the key to establishing a new one.” 587

“Whether she's my Dao Companion has no bearing on her ability to uncover your rotten accounts.” 674

“If you refuse to accept her authority, it's really mine you refuse to accept.” 674

“Whether I can produce them is my business.” 764

“Killing won't solve the root problem. It'll only turn the cultivators of Central Province against us.” 1039

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