Jie Sect

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Jie Sect
Original Name	截教
Affiliation	Shangqing lineage; based at Golden Turtle Island
Leader	Master Tongtian
Senior Leadership	Zhao Xuan, Eldest Senior Brother and first disciple under Master Tongtian
Status	Active; in strategic seclusion and resisting the Investiture of the Gods’ targeting
First Appearance	1

Background / History

The Jie Sect is the largest and most influential sect in the Primordial World, described as having “ten thousand immortals” under its banner. Its members come from diverse origins, and its doctrine emphasizes teaching without discrimination and preserving a chance of survival for all beings. Zhao Xuan entered the Shangqing lineage before the Three Pure Ones separated, then followed Master Tongtian east when the sect was founded on Golden Turtle Island. 1 6

For years, Jie Sect disciples undertook much of the work others avoided: suppressing East Sea demons and Sea Eyes, pacifying the Southern Wilderness’ poisonous miasma, protecting human tribes, mediating overseas cultivator conflicts, repairing celestial infrastructure, and staffing peripheral Heavenly Court posts. Their service was routinely treated as expected labor rather than recognized merit. 1 8 14 29

Despite these contributions, the sect is disparaged by the Chan Sect for its members’ varied true forms and origins. Its worldly intervention and accumulated killing karma are later used as grounds to mark it for the Investiture of the Gods, while Zhao Xuan argues that these are consequences of answering requests for aid and bearing others’ responsibilities. 1 17 27 28

Organization and Doctrine

• Headquarters: Biyou Palace, Golden Turtle Island in the East Sea. 1
• Lineage: Shangqing, led by Master Tongtian. 1 28
• Teaching: Accepts disciples without discrimination based on origin or true form. 6 28
• Scale: Known for “ten thousand immortals coming to pay homage”; its numbers, influence, fortune, and reach are considered foremost in the Primordial World. 1
• Internal administration: Day-to-day sect affairs are generally handled by Daoist Duobao, Holy Mother Jinling, and other senior disciples; Zhao Xuan ordinarily avoids public management but commands exceptional trust as Tongtian’s first disciple. 1
• Core vulnerability: Its loyalty, willingness to aid others, broad membership, respect for its master, and commitment to justice can be exploited to draw disciples into the Investiture calamity. 6

Known Members

Leadership

• Master Tongtian — Sect leader and Shangqing Saint; supports Zhao Xuan’s strategy and severs the sect’s Old Merit Karma linked to the Heavenly Court. 4 24
• Zhao Xuan — Eldest Senior Brother and first disciple; leads the sect’s strategic withdrawal, accountability campaign, and challenge to the Investiture of the Gods List. 1 5 27
• Daoist Duobao — Second-ranked direct disciple; commonly handles sect affairs and initially favors preserving the larger situation. 1 4
• Holy Mother Jinling — Core disciple; supports resistance and advocates confronting threats to the sect. 1 3
• Holy Mother Guiling — Core disciple; outspoken defender of the sect against discrimination and Heavenly Court exploitation. 1 9
• Holy Mother Wudang — Core disciple; reserved but resolute in the confrontation with the Investiture. 1 30

Other Named Disciples

• Zhao Gongming — Outer disciple and brother of the Three Xiao Sisters; recognizes that the sect’s loyalty is being weaponized against it. 1 6
• Yun Xiao, Qiong Xiao, and Bi Xiao — The Three Xiao Sisters; outer disciples. Yun Xiao advocates caution against traps, while Bi Xiao initially favors direct battle. 1 2 6
• Qingxiaozi — Guarded the Third Sea Eye for two thousand years; his records expose Water Department negligence, and he later formally suppresses the Sea Eye under a Heavenly Court petition. 12 19
• Daoist Qingyi — Previously assisted in suppressing Southern Wilderness poisonous miasma for three thousand years; dispatched again only after responsibilities, merit, and karma are publicly recorded. 23
• Daoist Chisong — Repaired shifting North Star Domain nodes alone for thirty-six days, though a Dou Department official claimed the credit. 14
• Yu Hua — Assisted the Thunder Department in capturing an evil cultivator; two of his disciples were later killed in retaliation without Heavenly Court support. 14
• Lingya Immortal — Mediated an overseas cultivator conflict for the Heavenly Court and was abandoned to handle the aftermath alone. 14

Role in the Primordial World

Area of service	Jie Sect involvement	Documented consequence
East Sea Sea Eyes	Guarded multiple Sea Eyes, including the Third Sea Eye through Qingxiaozi. 8 12	The Third Sea Eye destabilized after Qingxiaozi’s withdrawal; replacement Water Department personnel failed. 10 15
North Star Domain	Assisted in patrolling twenty-one of thirty-six star nodes; Daoist Chisong repaired shifted nodes. 8 14	Star-node emergencies followed the sect’s recall. 10 21
Southern Wilderness	Helped suppress poisonous miasma, including Daoist Qingyi’s three-thousand-year assistance. 1 23	The miasma became a crisis after withdrawal, revealing Heavenly Court responsibility. 22 23
Human and lower realms	Protected human tribes, suppressed evil cultivators, and handled demon-related disturbances. 1 8	Lower-realm disturbances escalated when disciples returned to Golden Turtle Island. 10
Heavenly Court	Branch disciples filled numerous peripheral positions and maintained water, star, patrol, and suppression duties. 1 8	The court’s dependence became visible once the disciples left. 8 10

Story Role / Major Arcs

Forewarning of the Investiture

Zhao Xuan’s three-hundred-year-old prophecy begins to come true when Haotian, Taiqing, Yuanshi, the Western Sect Saints, and Master Tongtian converge at Zixiao Palace. The Jie Sect realizes that its size and diversity may make it the primary target for filling the Heavenly Court’s divine positions. 1 2

Zhao Xuan reveals the predicted outcome: many disciples will die, be listed as gods, be converted, or see the sect nearly destroyed. He characterizes the coming calamity as a division of benefits in which the Jie Sect supplies the lives and losses. 2 3

Strategic Retreat and Recall

Rather than entering the calamity through loyalty or provocation, Zhao Xuan proposes that the sect withdraw from worldly affairs, recall its disciples, seal Golden Turtle Island, stop accepting new disciples, and avoid involvement in the Heavenly Court and human dynasties. Master Tongtian conditionally grants Zhao Xuan decision-making authority for the Investiture crisis. 4 5

A Supreme Clarity Dharma Decree recalls Jie Sect disciples working for the Heavenly Court and elsewhere. Their departure exposes that they had been performing indispensable but unofficial labor across the Three Realms. 7 8 10

Accountability Campaign

When Qingxiaozi is falsely blamed for deaths at the Third Sea Eye, Zhao Xuan produces jade slips documenting his service and the Water Department’s negligence. He refuses to let the Heavenly Court punish a Jie Sect disciple without evidence. 11 12

The sect then demands formal recognition, clear responsibility, and compensation before providing aid. Haotian ultimately seals a petition authorizing Qingxiaozi as temporary Water Department guardian; Qingxiaozi suppresses the Third Sea Eye, proving both his own competence and the Heavenly Court’s dependence on Jie Sect personnel. 15 16 19

Zhao Xuan establishes three steles outside Golden Turtle Island. Supplicants must record the source of a disaster, the party originally responsible, and the distribution of merit and karma after Jie Sect intervention. The steles turn requests for aid into public karmic records and expose neglected Heavenly Court duties. 22 23

Confrontation with the Investiture of the Gods List

When the Heavenly Court attempts to remove the steles, Master Tongtian severs the Jie Sect’s Old Merit Karma tied to the Heavenly Court. This act forces the phantom of the Investiture of the Gods List to appear—with “Jie Sect” at its head. 24 25

The sect’s core disciples receive visions of their projected futures, confirming that the list targets them. Master Tongtian and the Ten Thousand Immortals join Zhao Xuan in demanding to know what crime warrants the Jie Sect’s placement on the list. 25 26

Using the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger, Zhao Xuan challenges the list’s three stated charges: deep worldly involvement, heavy killing karma, and excessive, mixed numbers. He argues that each charge is evidence of the sect’s prior service, the burdens it carried for others, and its doctrine of teaching without discrimination. The resulting conclusion is: “Past merits are not crimes. Shangqing is innocent.” 27 28 29

Zhao Xuan then records the unequal benefits of the Investiture: the Heavenly Court gains gods, the Chan Sect avoids tribulation, the Western Sect gains influence, and the Xuan Sect gains order—while the Jie Sect bears death, lost immortality paths, scattered disciples, damaged reputation, and collapse of sect fortune. 29 30

The Dao Ancestor eventually withdraws the manifest list until the true calamity arrives, but the Accountability Ledger remains open and the account is unresolved. 32

Relationships

• Master Tongtian — Founder and leader; backs the sect’s retreat and supports Zhao Xuan’s defense of the sect. 4 24 26
• Heavenly Court — Relied heavily on Jie Sect disciples for operations but sought to assign them blame, retain their labor, and fill divine positions through the Investiture. 8 11 27
• Chan Sect — Rival sect whose members disparage the Jie Sect’s origins; Zhao Xuan accuses it of avoiding tribulation while benefiting from Jie Sect losses. 1 17 30
• Western Sect — Viewed as a beneficiary of Jie Sect collapse and conversion of its disciples; its leaders recognize that the Accountability Ledger could implicate them as well. 2 29 30
• Dragon Palace — Benefited from Jie Sect protection of the East Sea but faces reckoning through Zhao Xuan’s merit-and-debt records. 16 19 21
• Human tribes, Mountain Gods, Earth Deities, and rogue cultivators — Frequent recipients of Jie Sect aid; many realize the sect’s historical contributions once the public ledgers expose them. 1 23 29

Notable Quotes

“Why is it that whenever there is dirty, tiring, bitter, or suicidal work, they all think of our Jie Sect?” 4

“Past merits are not crimes. Shangqing is without sin.” 28

“The benefits of the Investiture: the Heavenly Court gains gods, the Chan Sect avoids the tribulation, the Western Sect gains influence, and the Xuan Sect gains order. The cost of the Investiture: why must it be borne solely by the Jie Sect?” 29

Trivia

• The Jie Sect’s prosperity—its vast membership and broad social role—is identified as the main reason it is targeted for pruning through the Investiture. 28
• Though many Jie Sect disciples assist the Heavenly Court, they are not formally Heavenly Court officials, allowing the sect to recall them without technically defying an order. 8
• The Investiture of the Gods List’s first visible entry is “Jie Sect,” revealed only after Tongtian severs the sect’s Old Merit Karma. 24 25