Yuanyang Sect

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Yuanyang Sect
Original	元阳宗
Affiliation	Former ruling sect of Liang Province; two Golden Core elders and their followers later merged into the Tianyue Sect, while other Yuanyang Sect factions remained outside that integration. 526 635
Status	Severely weakened after the disappearance of Sect Master Zhou Mingyuan and the loss of most peripheral resources. Much of its personnel, manuals, resource deeds, and marketplace administration was absorbed by the Tianyue Sect, but the sect was not wholly extinguished; Zhou Mingyuan later referred to its remaining, limited intelligence channels. Yunyang Marketplace was later merged with Wulin Marketplace under Tianyue Sect administration. 526 531 635 665
First Appearance	Chapter 60

Background / History

About a century before the main story, the Yuanyang Sect joined other sects in driving the Demon Sect forces from the region. The territory was left devastated: cultivators had been killed, exploited, or driven away. The Yuanyang Sect subsequently rebuilt its jurisdiction’s marketplaces, mines, spirit fields, and rogue-cultivator settlements, though high-level cultivators remained scarce. 207

The Demon Sect formerly occupying Liang Province was the White Underworld Sect, which had been weakened by its long-standing conflict with the Sha Demon Sect. The Yuanyang Sect exploited this decline to destroy the White Underworld Sect and seize Liang Province. 348

The sect’s main mountain gate stood at Yuanyang Mountain, thousands of miles from the frontier marketplaces. It possessed several Golden Core cultivators, but its local forces were comparatively limited. 207

Rule in Liang Province

The sect administered marketplaces and settlements through defensive formations, management offices, patrol inspectors, and stationed disciples.

• Its defensive formations could detect the spiritual-power surge produced by a cultivator’s Foundation Establishment breakthrough. 207
• Registered courtyards in settlements under its control required Spirit Stone rent but were protected by sect restrictions. 178
• Its patrol inspectors maintained order, registered residents, and collected rent. 178
• The sect’s jurisdiction included the Wang, Li, and Ji Foundation Establishment families. 196
• It planned to rebuild the Loose Cultivator Market by recruiting guards from Yunyang Marketplace and neighboring areas; these guards would maintain order and conduct security patrols, while the market’s revenue would belong to the sect. 185

Organization

Position / Group	Known Function
Sect Master	Zhou Mingyuan led the sect and held Late Golden Core cultivation. He disappeared with the Earth Origin Spirit Fetus during the sect’s crisis, but later reappeared and personally inquired into rumors concerning Li Yuan’s inheritance. 447 480 503 635
Golden Core Elders	Senior combatants and decision-makers; four Golden Core elders remained during the sect’s final internal division. Two led their followers into integration with the Tianyue Sect, while the two who favored resistance did not obstruct them. 526
Inner Sect Elders	Managed regional affairs. Chen Yi was responsible for Yunyang Marketplace and its surrounding area. 207
Outer Disciples	Performed local administrative and procurement work, including patrol inspection and formation-material acquisition. 178 298
Dharma Protectors	Independent Foundation Establishment cultivators granted sect status, stipends, contribution points, and optional missions without compulsory service. 207
Honored Guests	Higher-status external cultivators not bound by sect rules or mandatory duties; Li Yuan received this position after forming his Golden Core. 480

Recruitment and External Cultivators

The sect recruited through two known channels:

• Children with spiritual roots could be identified early and sent for sect training. 191
• Rogue cultivators could apply through public recruitment regardless of age or background, provided they passed an assessment. 191

Its recruitment campaigns drew rogue cultivators into Yunyang Marketplace, sharply increasing traffic, lodging demand, and security measures. 191 196

Dharma Protector Terms

The Yuanyang Sect offered Li Yuan the position of Dharma Protector after his Foundation Establishment breakthrough. The arrangement included the following conditions: 207

• No compulsory tasks or restrictions on travel.
• A prohibition on actively opposing the sect.
• A prohibition on actively killing Foundation Establishment cultivators within its jurisdiction.
• Optional sect missions with rewards for completion and no punishment for refusal.
• Monthly Spirit Stone payments and annual contribution-point allocations.
• Access to sect exchange resources, including techniques, pills, items, and materials.
• A token that served as identification, task notification, contribution-point record, and pass for sect marketplaces and strongholds.

Marketplace Presence

During the Wang–Li Family conflict, the Wang Family paid the Yuanyang Sect to establish Yuanyang Hall shops in Qinghe Market. The shops sold higher-quality pills, talismans, mineral materials, and magical-tool components than most roadside stalls. 90

The shops were intended primarily as a stabilizing symbol. The sect restrained the two families from escalating their conflict, and rogue cultivators felt safer seeing the Yuanyang Sect’s name in the marketplace. 90

The sect also operated Yunyang Marketplace, where it provided seclusion chambers. Rogue cultivator Zhang Xuanqing reportedly achieved Foundation Establishment there after taking a Foundation Establishment Pill. 142

Following the partial merger, Tianyue Sect administration took over Yunyang Marketplace, expanded its cultivation zones and martial arenas, and prepared to establish a Tianyue Sect recruitment point there. 533

Ghost Mist Forest and the Ruins

The Yuanyang Sect claimed the Ghost Mist Forest ruins after forcing the Sha Demon Sect to withdraw. In exchange, Liang Province acknowledged the Dark Abyss Society’s right to exist openly. 262

The sect expanded into the depths of the forest, deployed formations around spirit veins, and organized teams of formation cultivators and auxiliary personnel to dismantle ancient restrictions. 251 272 282

It also established a large-scale early-warning array centered on Li Yuan’s Ghost Mist Forest station after contracting him to protect rogue cultivators and clear demonic beasts over the long term. 227

The forest was believed to contain the remnants of a Nascent Soul sect, and later investigations identified the deeper ruins as part of the Mysterious Nether Sect’s Branch Hall. 213 394 400

Golden Core Formation Platform

The sect discovered and developed a Golden Core Formation Platform within the ruins.

• Sect teams opened the platform’s Core Gate and uncovered a complete Golden Core Formation Altar connected to the main spirit vein. 285
• It officially garrisoned the Golden Core Formation Zone after its auxiliary arrays were completed. 306
• It announced public quotas for cultivators to use the platform during wartime preparations. 315
• The platform later disappeared after a demonic cultivator assault; the sect suppressed this information while continuing secret work in the ruins. 324

The sect also possessed records concerning orthodox and heterodox Golden Core formation paths, including the Heterodox Life-Nurturing Path associated with the Demon Sect’s Longevity Pills. 283

Conflict with Demonic Forces

The Yuanyang Sect opposed the Dark Abyss Society, the Sha Demon Sect, and other demonic forces operating in Liang Province.

• It investigated and liquidated the Li Family after uncovering communications, trade records, and outpost maps proving the family’s collaboration with the Dark Abyss Society. 290
• It deployed containment arrays against demonic cultivators in the ruins and captured a core leader of the Dark Abyss Society. 277
• It issued wartime procurement orders and bounties for demonic cultivators while supporting the Qishui Sect’s front-line efforts. 306 315
• Its scouts operated in the Ghost Mist Forest, where they encountered surveillance and ambush activity by Dark Abyss Society agents. 388
• At least two Yuanyang Sect members were suspected of secretly trading intelligence or materials with the Dark Abyss Society. 357
• The sect had previously altered an ancient Yuanheng Mountains formation that drained living creatures’ essence and blood, changing it to draw from demonic beasts instead. 290
• It imposed martial law at its Ghost Mist Forest outpost and investigated all personnel who entered the Mysterious Nether Branch Hall after the Branch Hall’s Jade Bead disappeared. 405
• After challenging the Tianyue Sect’s failed unilateral protection of the Branch Hall, it gained the right to rotate three disciples through guard duty there. 410

During the struggle over the Ghost Mist Forest and Withered Bone Ridge, the sect was reinforced by Golden Core cultivators from its main sect. Its forces temporarily cooperated with the Tianyue Sect against the Yuan Sect and Sha Demon Sect. 402 446

Decline and Merger

After Zhou Mingyuan disappeared with the Earth Origin Spirit Fetus, several Golden Core cultivators gathered outside the Yuanyang Sect’s mountain gate. Other sects began dismantling the Yuanyang Sect’s mines, spirit fields, herb gardens, and outposts across Liang Province. Zhou was believed to have been attempting Nascent Soul formation when he vanished. 503 505

The sect’s influence contracted to an area near its mountain gate. Many disciples attempting to flee were intercepted and killed, though some escaped and scattered across Liang Province’s marketplaces. 505 514

The Tianyue Sect later reached an agreement with the Yuanyang Sect. It incorporated some Yuanyang disciples and opened a selection of Yuanyang cultivation techniques, spells, formations, artifact-refining methods, and talisman-making manuals for contribution-point exchange. 517

Two of the sect’s four Golden Core elders ultimately led their followers into a complete merger with the Tianyue Sect, transferring sect tokens, core manuals, and mineral-vein deeds. The two elders who had favored resistance did not interfere. 526

After the merger:

• Most of the Yuanyang Sect’s mineral veins, spirit fields, and strongholds were transferred to the Tianyue Sect. 526
• Yuanyang Sect disciples were permitted to leave the mountain gate and seek work, trade, hunting opportunities, or independent cultivation. 526 531
• Many low-cultivation former disciples dispersed into marketplaces and wilderness areas, where they sold low-grade goods, accepted tasks, or hunted demonic beasts to support themselves. 531
• Management rights over Yunyang Marketplace passed to the Tianyue Sect. 533
• Wulin Marketplace and Yunyang Marketplace were subsequently merged, sharing supply channels and profits under Tianyue Sect rule. 665

Despite the extensive transfer of personnel and resources, the Yuanyang Sect retained at least a limited remnant presence. Zhou Mingyuan later stated that the sect had few remaining channels for gathering intelligence. 635

Relationships

• Li Yuan — Recruited as a Dharma Protector after reaching Foundation Establishment; later promoted to Honored Guest upon forming his Golden Core. 207 480
• Chen Yi — Inner sect elder and regional manager who handled Li Yuan’s recruitment, missions, contribution settlements, and intelligence cooperation. 207 251 446
• Zhou Mingyuan — Sect Master who sought to recruit Li Yuan more fully, then elevated him to Honored Guest status. He later disappeared with the Earth Origin Spirit Fetus before reappearing and questioning Li Yuan about rumors tied to the Mysterious Nether Sect ruins. 447 480 503 635
• Wang Family — A subordinate Foundation Establishment family that funded Yuanyang Hall shops to stabilize Qinghe Market during its conflict with the Li Family. 90 196
• Li Family — A subordinate Foundation Establishment family later liquidated by the sect for collaboration with the Dark Abyss Society. 196 290
• Ji Family — A Foundation Establishment family under the sect that specialized in artifact refining. 196
• Tianyue Sect — Initially a powerful allied presence in Liang Province; later incorporated two Yuanyang Golden Core elders and their followers, took over most Yuanyang resources and Yunyang Marketplace administration, and merged Yunyang Marketplace with Wulin Marketplace. 382 526 533 665
• Sha Demon Sect — Demonic rival that contested the Ghost Mist Forest ruins and later occupied former Yuanyang Sect resource sites. 262 506
• White Underworld Sect — Former demonic ruler of Liang Province, destroyed after being weakened by conflict with the Sha Demon Sect. 348