Shi Zhengyuan

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Shi Zhengyuan (释正源)
Alias(es)	Wang Yuan
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Spirit Mountain System; Above High Heaven (Fourth Seat); Luofeng Cult
Occupation/Role	Governor of Longzhou City; Great Grandmaster; leader of the Spirit Mountain remnants
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 55 (mentioned); Chapter 59 (in person)

Background

Shi Zhengyuan was once a fellow cultist of Hong Tianbao. Unlike Hong, he remained within the Spirit Mountain lineage, operating publicly under the identity of Wang Yuan, Longzhou City's governor 55.

By the time he meets Zhang Fusheng, Shi is a Great Grandmaster and one of the few surviving pillars of the declining Spirit Mountain System. Yuan Feidao later identifies him as a loyal disciple of the lineage and one of its last remaining “fruits” 59 212.

Appearance

Shi Zhengyuan is an elderly, bald man with a smooth-shaven head, simple clothing, and a kind, compassionate face reminiscent of a venerable monk 59.

• Bald, with a calm and benevolent bearing.
• Usually dresses plainly despite his status as a city governor.
• Often clasps his hands and speaks in Buddhist terms or chants.

Personality

Shi Zhengyuan is deeply pious toward the remnants of Spirit Mountain and its Buddhist legacy. The Nine-Ringed Zen Staff, the idea of a Living Buddha, and the possibility of Spirit Mountain's restoration all inspire genuine reverence in him 59 60.

His faith also makes him unusually willing to accept Zhang Fusheng's claims. After Zhang invokes names and concepts Shi does not recognize, Shi interprets them as recovered Buddhist wisdom and addresses him as the Living Buddha 60 62. Once convinced that the Luofeng Cult can revive Spirit Mountain through the Heavenly Venerate of Sin Removal, he acts decisively to spread its worship 213 216.

Abilities & Skills

Great Grandmaster Cultivation

Shi Zhengyuan is a Great Grandmaster whose cultivation is tied to the Spirit Mountain System.

• He possesses a Spiritual Realm and the Dragon Boat Buddhist Kingdom 59 213.
• Within Dragon Boat territory, he claims that the Buddhist Kingdom allows him to suppress any Innate cultivator who appears there 213.
• He cannot advance to the Innate Great Realm without guidance from a surviving Spirit Mountain deity or another corresponding dimension 213.
• He can appear beside Zhang Fusheng almost immediately after being contacted 70.

Spiritual Realm and Anchoring

Shi is knowledgeable about Spiritual Realms, alternate dimensions, and the process of anchoring scenes into reality.

• He explains that a Spiritual Realm can hold multiple anchored dimensional scenes 61.
• He identifies artifacts, natural phenomena, and other objects connected to alternate dimensions as possible anchors 61.
• His own Spiritual Realm manifests as an immense mountain range and a skull-lotus setting associated with the Nine-Ringed Zen Staff 59.
• He uses the staff's reflected scenes to help Zhang Fusheng anchor a Danxia immortal mountain into his Spiritual Realm 62.

Nine-Ringed Zen Staff

The Nine-Ringed Zen Staff is the supreme treasure of Shi's Spirit Mountain lineage.

• The bronze-and-iron staff bears nine linked rings and nine sections of immortal vine; it is treated with extreme reverence by Shi 59.
• It can reveal fragmented scenes connected to its history, including the hardships of nine monks traveling west 60 62.
• Shi believes that enduring nine tribulations is necessary to regain the status needed to wield the staff fully 61.
• He admits that he personally cannot activate the treasure's full power 61.
• Elder Jinchi later strips Shi of the staff, the Buddhist Kingdom, and his High Heaven Token; Guanyin subsequently reclaims the staff and Brocade Kasaya under the World-Honored One's decree 308 310.

Equipment / Items

• Nine-Ringed Zen Staff — A Spirit Mountain supreme treasure and dimensional anchor formerly held by Shi Zhengyuan 59 61.
• High Heaven Token — Grants access to Above High Heaven; Shi's token was taken alongside his other treasures by Elder Jinchi 308.
• Level 3 Brave Lion Meat — Shi procures three taels of this Star Beast meat and offers it to Zhang Fusheng 70.

Relationships

• Zhang Fusheng — Regards Zhang as the Living Buddha and supports his plans to restore Spirit Mountain; Zhang uses Shi's faith and institutional power to establish the Luofeng Cult 60 213 216.
• Hong Tianbao — Former fellow cultist. Hong contacts Shi when Zhang Fusheng encounters danger and needs access to Spirit Mountain treasures 55.
• Yuan Feidao — Senior figure of the Spirit Mountain lineage who recognizes Shi as one of its few remaining loyal disciples 212.
• Du Mingsheng — Fellow seat of Above High Heaven from the Mandala System; Shi questions him about the Mandala Buddhist Child's pursuit of the Living Buddha 83.
• Elder Jinchi — An Old World remnant soul who seizes Shi's Buddhist Kingdom, Nine-Ringed Zen Staff, and High Heaven Token 308.
• Lin Changle / Guanyin Bodhisattva — Descends under the World-Honored One's decree to reclaim the Nine-Ringed Zen Staff and Brocade Kasaya after Elder Jinchi's seizure 310.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Encounter with the “Living Buddha”

Shi meets Zhang Fusheng at Ping'an Hotel after arriving in response to the threat surrounding him. Examining Zhang's body, he discovers Dead Man's Bones and becomes convinced that Zhang is an Arhat or Bodhisattva descended into the mortal world 59.

When Zhang speaks of Spirit Mountain and Leiyin Temple without reverence for the staff's illusion, Shi interprets this as proof of recovered Buddhist wisdom. He formally bows and addresses him as the Living Buddha 60.

Above High Heaven

Shi becomes the Fourth Seat of Above High Heaven. To obtain his seat, he offers his lifelong cultivation in breathing techniques, judging it expendable after reaching the Great Grandmaster realm 83.

He remains one of the organization's most devout members, regularly seeking guidance concerning Spirit Mountain, Nine Nether, and Old World secrets 100 214.

Revival of Spirit Mountain

Shi gathers Spirit Mountain remnants and reveals his intention to exchange Heaven and Dao, demanding that the assembled Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters consider what price they are willing to pay 133.

After Zhang proposes using the Luofeng Cult as a public shell for Spirit Mountain's rebirth, Shi agrees to help. He replaces Buddhist household altars in Longzhou with tablets of the Great Vow Ksitigarbha King and contacts Great Grandmaster-level Spirit Mountain remnants to support the cult 213 216.

Elder Jinchi Incident

A returning Old World remnant soul, Elder Jinchi, emerges through the Nine-Ringed Zen Staff and overpowers Shi. Jinchi takes control of the staff, the Dragon Boat Buddhist Kingdom, and Shi's High Heaven Token while declaring himself the destined replacement for Tang Sanzang 308.

Shi later returns to Above High Heaven and reports that the World-Honored One saved him from the Old World remnant 311.

Trivia

• Shi's spiritual accumulation reaches roughly four hundred years after Zhang Fusheng's influence expands his mental will 60.
• He believes a person can use the same object for dimensional anchoring only once, though a Spiritual Realm itself can contain multiple anchored scenes 61.
• By Chapter 342, Zhang Fusheng detects an unclear karmic thread connected to Shi and several other old acquaintances, suggesting that someone has investigated them all 342.