Ren Shanshi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Ren Shanshi (任山石)
Alias(es)	Shopkeeper Ren; Head Escort Ren; Instructor Ren; “Martial Ancestor of this age” (Li Jing’s assessment); Primordial Beginning (mistaken identity in Badu) 145 149
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Coffin shop; Black River Martial Arts Hall; Fortune-Life Martial Hall; Primordial Beginning Temple 122
Occupation/Role	Coffin maker and shopkeeper; martial artist and martial-hall instructor; creator of the Indestructible Vajra Body; Primordial Beginning Temple’s Vajra Warrior 122 140
Status	Alive
Spouse	Yun Niang 75 119
Children	Ren Qing; Yun Niang is pregnant with another child by the Badu arc 1 141 160
Residence	Fortune-Life Martial Hall, Badu’s Everjoy Street beside the Market Ward; formerly Water Mouth City and Three Rivers Prefecture 1 89 142 145
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Iron Body Art initiate	12 13	Receives Su Huo's Iron Body Art as payment for a coffin and begins studying its stance work and medicinal tempering.
Black River Martial Arts Hall disciple	23	Enrolls despite ridicule over his age; Ren Qing secretly infuses him with evening glow to bolster his qi and blood.
Inner Strength Art practitioner	33	Adds an internal-organ tempering art to his training; its severe self-inflicted injuries are healed and reinforced by Ren Qing's cloud and water qi.
Multi-art external martial artist	49	Cultivates seven external martial arts simultaneously; accumulated heaven-and-earth aura strengthens his bones and increases his height.
Demon-slaying martial artist	57	Activates a wrathful Vajra-like state and beats a goat demon to death while rescuing Su Huo.
Vajra Body practitioner	95 96	Learns Vajra Body from Zhao Xinghu; rapidly develops bronze skin, petrified bones, immense weight, and a body able to bear greater amounts of heaven-and-earth aura.
Monstrous giant form	97	Transforms into a more than three-meter-tall, iron-plated giant and kills Zhao Xinghu, a wandering corpse immortal.
Gilded Mountain-Suppressing Protector practitioner	113	Practices a guardian-god refinement method after Ren Qing removes its soul-refining portion. Digests ironstone and fuses metal and stone into his sinews and bones; Ling Weizi compares his fleshly body to that of a transformed Demon Cultivator.
Imperial Court Scroll–empowered berserker	119 120	During the Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital events associated with Ren Qing’s Heart Demon Tribulation, appears as a nearly five-meter-tall, talisman-covered giant, slaughters zombies, and kills Twin Corpse Daoist.
Vajra Warrior	122	Confirmed as Primordial Beginning Temple’s Vajra Warrior and entrusted with the Yin Corpse Dao inheritance for the martial hall.
Indestructible Vajra Body; four-armed form	123	Develops an entirely new martial realm with two additional retractable arms and mountain-and-river tattoos that channel heaven-and-earth breath. Daoist Beisu judges his qi and blood to have faintly reached the threshold of True Immortality.
Refined Indestructible Vajra Body	140 141	Explains that he integrated dozens or hundreds of basic external arts into his own system. His four-armed form exceeds five meters, crushes a giant Ghost Infant, and is approaching a six-armed stage.
Imperial Court Scroll fragment integration	142	Ren Qing secretly merges a fragment into his Niwan Palace to stabilize and conceal his soul. An externally arranged aura makes him appear to breathe heaven-and-earth spiritual energy.
Six-armed Indestructible Vajra Body	150	Advances after enduring the Starvation and Thirst Buddha’s courtyard overnight. Grows beyond five meters and develops four additional arms, with his remaining blood compressed to a mercury-like consistency.
Three-headed, six-armed dharma body; second enlightenment	151	Ren Qing uses the Enlightenment Divine Ability on his mature Indestructible Vajra Body. Recovers from near-fatal poisoning, kills Jing Yan, and manifests a three-headed, six-armed dharma body.
Martial Instruction divine ability	160	The ability gained through his second awakening is revealed: understanding even part of his teaching converts another person’s cultivation into external martial cultivation, with stronger targets taking longer to transform.

Background / History

Ren Shanshi operated a coffin shop in Water Mouth City with Ren Qing. Though only in his early forties, years of hardship and labor left him heavily wrinkled and older-looking. He accepted dangerous coffin-delivery work because he owed Head Constable Chen a favor, placing him and Ren Qing near the escalating incidents surrounding the Immortal Ascension Sect. 1 11

He was initially frightened by Song Baizhou's corpse ascension and the city’s abnormal events. Ren Qing repeatedly used divine consciousness to ease his panic or influence his thoughts, while Ren Shanshi remained focused on keeping his son safe, fed, and out of trouble. 2 5 7 18

Su Huo’s Iron Body Art gave Ren Shanshi an opportunity to leave funeral work behind. He began training despite his age, then joined Black River Martial Arts Hall to learn stances and saber techniques. Ren Qing secretly supported his progress with evening glow and later several types of heaven-and-earth aura, allowing his martial development to far exceed ordinary limits. 12 13 23 24 33

Driven by the worsening dangers in Water Mouth City and his desire to protect Ren Qing and Yun Niang, Ren Shanshi pushed his training to destructive extremes. His progress fed back through Ren Qing’s Imperial Court Scroll, making his martial arts valuable to Ren Qing’s own body refinement. 33 60

Ren Shanshi took in six half-demon children while still in Water Mouth City and began patiently teaching them martial arts. Fortune-Life Martial Hall was already associated with his wedding procession before the family’s departure for Three Rivers Prefecture. He married Yun Niang, with Li Yao bringing a substantial dowry from the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce. 66 67 75

After moving to Three Rivers Prefecture, Ren Shanshi opened the martial hall there. He trained the six half-demons and later accepted Zhao Xinghu’s eight black zombies as martial disciples. When Zhao Xinghu attempted to abduct and refine him into an armored corpse, Ren Shanshi killed him and protected Yun Niang and Su Huo. 66 67 89 97 98 101

Ling Weizi’s Gilded Mountain-Suppressing Protector method opened another route for his body cultivation. Ren Qing removed its soul-refinement component before passing it on, allowing Ren Shanshi to treat its metal-and-stone fusion process as an external martial art rather than become an obedient guardian god. His immediate progress astonished Ling Weizi. 113

During the Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital events connected to Ren Qing’s Heart Demon Tribulation, Ren Shanshi was contested as corpse-refining material by Twin Corpse Daoist and Corpse-Arm Daoist. He recovered from corpse poisoning, destroyed numerous zombies, and killed Twin Corpse Daoist while frantically searching for Yun Niang and Ren Qing. Daoist Beisu redirected him toward Primordial Beginning Temple, and Ling Weizi recognized the Imperial Court Scroll’s influence in his tattoos. 119 120 122

After Ren Qing emerged from the tribulation, Ren Shanshi was confirmed as the temple’s Vajra Warrior and received the Yin Corpse Dao inheritance. His subsequent study and training produced the four-armed Indestructible Vajra Body, a martial system capable of approaching strength associated with True Immortals. 122 123

While traveling toward Badu, he met Yun Niang’s brother Li Jing and demonstrated the shortcomings of the latter’s government secret art. At the Li Residence in Buddha-Fate Town, he and his disciples protected civilians from Ghost Infants. Ren Qing concealed his own capture of the Buddha Embryo by altering the group’s memories, deliberately leaving Ren Shanshi as the most conspicuous source of extraordinary power. 139 140 141

Ren Shanshi settled with his family and disciples at Fortune-Life Martial Hall in Badu’s Market Ward. Yun Niang’s pregnancy encouraged him to consider staying longer and teaching local students. Ren Qing secretly concealed his soul with an Imperial Court Scroll fragment, contributing to outsiders mistaking him for Primordial Beginning. 141 142 145

The Prince’s Residence attempted to recruit and test him, first through a banquet and the Hanging Buddha, then by imprisoning Li Jing. Ren Shanshi refused a retainer position but entered a deadly courtyard to rescue his brother-in-law. His endurance brought his Indestructible Vajra Body to its six-armed stage; Ren Qing’s subsequent enlightenment enabled a three-headed, six-armed dharma body when the residence’s demons nearly killed him. 145 149 150 151

After the ordeal, Ren Shanshi brought Li Jing back to the martial hall, where Li Jing’s daughters were safe. Still weakened by severe poisoning, he began packing to leave, apparently fearing repercussions from the Prince’s Residence. He nevertheless continued teaching in Badu and later wrote down his Indestructible Vajra Body at Ren Qing’s request. 152 157 160

His written inheritance was accepted by the Ten Thousand Immortals Temple, but carried the influence of his newly awakened Martial Instruction. The Corpse-Spirit Lord and other Yin Corpse Dao disciples became martial practitioners through exposure to it, swelling the hall’s ranks. Ren Shanshi subsequently took in Blood Corpse Child, renamed him Corpse Thirty-Five, and continued his increasingly extreme body tempering. 158 160 163

Appearance

Ren Shanshi began as a weathered, short and stocky middle-aged coffin maker. Martial training and the aura supplied by Ren Qing progressively remade his physique. 1 49

• Initially wore a thick padded coat; his face was creased with wrinkles and he looked older than his actual age. 1
• Early Iron Body Art practice made him sturdier and eased his wrinkles, leaving him looking more than ten years younger. 18
• Became broad-shouldered and thick-backed through external-art practice, with a full beard and corded muscles. 27 33
• Grew beyond one meter seventy after mist aura stimulated his bone growth. 49
• In Vajra Body, his skin turns ancient bronze, blue veins bulge across his body, and smoke and dust issue from his mouth and nose. 97
• His full combat transformation exceeds three meters in height, with metal-like skin, huge muscles, and sulfur-scented white vapor. 97
• After practicing the Gilded Mountain-Suppressing Protector, his skin gains a stronger metallic sheen resembling fine iron scales; stone-hammer strikes produce sparks. 113
• Mountain-and-river tattoos spread over his upper body and carry a faint golden light as heaven-and-earth breath circulates. They can disappear when he restrains his qi and blood. 123 142
• His four-armed Indestructible Vajra Body exceeds five meters in height, though he can return to an ordinary appearance without revealing his surging vitality. 140 141
• After the starvation-and-thirst ordeal, he initially appears gaunt and corpse-like, then enlarges beyond five meters and grows four additional arms from his ribs. 150
• Following his second enlightenment, he can manifest a three-headed, six-armed dharma body. In daily life he still appears to be an ordinary, robust man in a coarse-cloth martial outfit. 151 162 163

Personality

Ren Shanshi is compassionate, practical, and intensely protective. He worries over Ren Qing’s health, brings food home for him, seeks marriage prospects for him, and works to ensure the family can survive outside the coffin trade. 2 18 24 27

He extends that care beyond family. He makes Yun Niang a blind cane, shelters her when the martial arts hall becomes unsafe, brings starving half-demon children home to teach them, and risks his life to save Su Huo from a goat demon. 33 38 57 66

His greatest flaw is his extreme training obsession. He repeatedly injures himself to advance, trusts Zhao Xinghu’s Vajra Body too readily, and believes hardship is necessary for growth. Even so, danger to Yun Niang or his disciples immediately overrides his concern for himself. 33 60 95 97

He remains enthusiastic about discovering new martial principles, regarding methods of metal fusion, additional limbs, and supernatural body transformation as further possibilities within external cultivation. His interest can eclipse practical questions such as how an apparently young girl obtained a sophisticated refinement manual. 113 123 141

Despite his intimidating transformations, he is sociable and adept at handling strangers. Ren Qing attributes this ease to his former coffin-shop connections on both sides of the law. In Badu he greets Rogue Cultivators warmly, helps his neighbors, and earns a reputation for accepting disciples without looking down on their apparent disabilities or unusual appearances. 142 160

Ren Shanshi values family comfort above political prestige. He repeatedly refuses to become the prince’s retainer, and even when pursuing Jing Yan in anger he avoids injuring ordinary bystanders. Yun Niang’s pregnancy leaves him delighted and initially speechless; afterward, he personally attends to her daily needs. 141 145 149 160

As a teacher, he combines encouragement with strict rules. Disciples must practice their stances, help one another, avoid private fights and outside trouble, and respect their master’s wife. His welcoming manner contrasts with Martial Instruction’s involuntary control over those affected by his teachings. 160 163

Abilities & Skills

External Martial Arts

Ren Shanshi combines numerous body-tempering arts and combat techniques into overwhelming physical force.

• Began with the Iron Body Art, which tempers flesh, skin, tendons, and bones through medicinal baths and stance work. 12 13
• Learns saber techniques at Black River Martial Arts Hall. 24
• Practices seven external martial arts concurrently by Chapter 49. 49
• Uses disciplined stances, fist techniques, palm strikes, and body conditioning to train half-demons and zombies. 67 76 101
• His attacks can generate air waves, crack bluestone, and overpower demons despite his lack of detectable immortal cultivation. 57 76
• Eventually integrates dozens or hundreds of basic external martial arts into the Indestructible Vajra Body; many of these arts derive from Immortal Ascension Sect inheritances. 140
• Can assess harmful methods of force generation and qi-and-blood circulation. He recognizes that Li Jing’s secret art damages his vital essence and predicts premature organ aging if its use continues. 139 140
• Seals medicinal potency inside his body before battle, conserving it during the starvation-and-thirst ordeal. Before his second enlightenment, he still recognizes slow injury recovery and limited stamina as weaknesses of martial artists. 149 151

Vajra Body

A powerful external art learned from Zhao Xinghu, later augmented by Ren Qing’s heaven-and-earth aura.

• Hardens his skin and bones while dramatically increasing his weight and physical strength. 95 97
• Requires rivets driven into acupoints and severe physical strain during training. 96
• Enables a bronze-skinned combat state with crushing force strong enough to shatter stone beneath his feet. 97
• Its rapid advancement drew the attention of corpse-refining cultivators seeking to turn him into an armored corpse. 95 97 104

Heaven-and-Earth Aura Enhancement

Ren Qing secretly channels different breaths of heaven and earth into Ren Shanshi’s body, sustaining his extreme training and strengthening specific aspects of his physique.

• Evening glow replenishes qi and blood. 23 24
• Cloud qi enhances the force of his punches; water qi heals accumulated internal injuries. 33
• Mist aura stimulates bone growth, while later dust, hot air, and moonlight temper bones, slow qi-and-blood depletion, and protect his soul. 49 60
• His martial progress returns heaven-and-earth breath to Ren Qing’s Imperial Court Scroll, allowing Ren Qing to gain corresponding body-refinement benefits. 33 108
• His mortal body has a limit; excessive aura causes violent coughing and forces Ren Qing to withdraw most of it. 90
• Vajra Body training increases his capacity to bear heaven-and-earth aura, while the Scroll’s presence over the martial hall allows continuous replenishment within its range. 96
• Mountain-and-river tattoos later channel heaven-and-earth breath through his meridians even when the Imperial Court Scroll is not directly possessing him. 123
• In Badu, a Scroll fragment merges with his Niwan Palace, stabilizing his soul and concealing its aura. Ren Qing also arranges surrounding breath to make Ren Shanshi appear to absorb and exhale spiritual energy, masking his identity from observers below the Profound Immortal level. 142

Giant Transformation

When fighting at full strength, Ren Shanshi can assume a monstrous, wrathful Vajra-like form.

• First displays a smaller transformation while fighting the goat demon, growing taller as his muscles tighten and smoke seeps from his pores. 57
• Later becomes a giant more than three meters tall, with iron-plate-like skin and immense speed. 97
• Uses this form to kill Zhao Xinghu, whose corpse poison failed to reveal any immortal method within Ren Shanshi. 97 98
• His later Indestructible Vajra Body can exceed five meters and develop additional arms; these limbs retract when he restrains his qi and blood. 123 140 150
• Can vary the scale of his transformation rather than always assuming his largest form, growing to nearly three meters when breaking the Hanging Buddha’s ropes. 145

Gilded Mountain-Suppressing Protector

Originally a guardian-god refinement method supplied by Ling Weizi, this inheritance becomes a body-tempering resource after Ren Qing removes its soul-refinement portion. 113

• Fuses metal spiritual materials and stone into flesh, sinews, and bones. 113
• Ren Shanshi learns its introductory portion immediately and mobilizes his qi and blood to begin practice. 113
• He crushes ironstone with his hands, chews it, and digests it directly, strengthening the metallic quality of his body. 113
• His disciples strike him with stone hammers as part of the process, producing sparks without interrupting his enjoyment of the tempering. 113
• The modified method avoids the original process of refining the subject’s soul into a guardian god that obeys every command. 113

Indestructible Vajra Body

Ren Shanshi’s self-developed martial system combines numerous external arts and refinement inheritances. He regards it as a new martial realm rather than an immortal cultivation method. 123 140

• Foundation — Emphasizes a stable, rooted stance, guided circulation throughout the blood vessels, and deliberate command of qi and blood. 140
• Four-armed stage — Produces two additional arms and a giant body exceeding five meters. Its vigorous qi and blood leads Daoist Beisu to judge that Ren Shanshi has faintly touched the threshold of True Immortality. 123 140
• Ghost-slaying force — Allows him to crush a giant Ghost Infant with his bare hand and attract other Ghost Infants by releasing his qi and blood. 140
• Six-armed stage — Achieved after enduring the Starvation and Thirst Buddha overnight; his remaining blood becomes extremely concentrated, while four additional arms grow from his ribs. 150
• Dharma-body potential — Ren Qing recognizes that the art already contains the rudiments of a dharma body and is particularly suited to the Dharma Body Immortal Art. He delays further enlightenment until Ren Shanshi can control the transformation well enough to regain human form. 151
• Cultivation requirements — Ren Qing identifies two conditions for beginning the system: a vast supply of pure heaven-and-earth breath, beyond what spirit stones alone can provide, and enlightenment that places the practitioner’s life under Ren Qing’s control. 157

Three-Headed, Six-Armed Dharma Body

Ren Shanshi’s second enlightenment builds upon the advanced Indestructible Vajra Body. Ren Qing intervenes after the demons at the Prince’s Residence exhaust and poison him, choosing to empower him rather than reveal himself openly. 151

• Ren Shanshi recovers from an apparently near-fatal collapse, crushes Jing Yan’s neck, and manifests a three-headed, six-armed dharma body. 151
• The transformation fulfills his earlier wish for additional heads to help coordinate his multiple arms and observe attacks from different directions. 141 151
• It does not immediately eliminate all consequences of the battle: severe poisoning still leaves him weakened afterward. 152
• He later uses his monstrous, three-headed form to absorb an extreme boiling body-tempering mixture. 163

Martial Instruction Divine Ability

The divine ability acquired through Ren Shanshi’s second awakening is revealed as Martial Instruction. Its effects make him comparable to a humanoid Great Dao Diagram. 160

• Anyone who comprehends even a small part of his teaching can have their existing cultivation stripped away and assimilated into external martial cultivation. 160
• The influence can be transmitted through spoken instruction, written text, or images; stronger targets require more time to transform. 160
• His Indestructible Vajra Body manual carries this influence. The Corpse-Spirit Lord is compelled to absorb its apparently nonsensical contents, subsequently loses much of his cultivation, and begins forgetting the Yin Corpse Dao’s inherited teachings. 158 160
• His words and actions can imprint themselves into affected disciples’ minds and dictate behavior. The Corpse-Spirit Lord cannot refuse horse-stance practice or leave the hall despite attempting to escape. 160
• Heaven-and-earth breath within the hall sustains converted practitioners after their former vitality is lost. 160
• Blood Corpse Child also experiences involuntary conversion toward external martial arts while observing Ren Shanshi’s body tempering. 163

Martial Instruction and Command

Beyond the divine ability, Ren Shanshi is an experienced practical instructor and battlefield leader.

• Corrects posture, footing, knee placement, back alignment, and breath control during horse-stance training. 70
• Keeps the black zombies’ violent instincts under control through strict discipline. 101
• Organizes his demon and zombie disciples into a defensive formation against hundreds of Ghost Infants. Species-specific techniques become more effective when he corrects their focus and coordination. 140
• A forceful clap and command to focus clear his disciples’ agitation after battle, allowing them to restrain their auras and return to orderly positions. 141
• Maintains rules against infighting and harming others outside the hall, while he and Su Huo take turns leading disciples on nighttime neighborhood patrols. 160

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Iron-ringed saber — Received through Black River Martial Arts Hall training. 24
• Stone hammer and wooden mallet — Used as self-inflicted body-tempering tools. 41 60
• Blind cane — Hand-carved for Yun Niang. 33
• Vajra Body manual — Given by Zhao Xinghu; later revealed to be bait for corpse refinement. 95 97
• Boulder Body manual — Purchased from the Corpse-Driving Daoist as a superior external art. 104
• Gilded Mountain-Suppressing Protector manual — Supplied by Ling Weizi after Ren Qing removes its soul-refinement section. 113
• Hedgehog Daoist Child spikes and ironstone — Ren Qing orders ten jin of the child’s spiritual materials supplied for the modified refinement method; Ren Shanshi consumes the accompanying ironstone during practice. 113
• Yin Corpse Dao inheritance — Entrusted to him for the martial hall; he later studies a human-skin page recording an external method whose initiation requires four arms. 122 123
• Imperial Court Scroll fragment — Secretly integrated into his Niwan Palace by Ren Qing to stabilize and conceal his soul. 142
• Indestructible Vajra Body manual — Written at Ren Qing’s request, with numerous corrections and crude diagrams. Accepted as a new inheritance by the Ten Thousand Immortals Temple and capable of transmitting Martial Instruction. 157 158 160
• Body-tempering medicines — Uses potent and sometimes poisonous herbs throughout his training; later prepares a boiling mixture incorporating poisonous herbs, glowing ores, and corpse qi, then immerses himself in it. 41 149 163
• Fortune-Attracting Money Tree sapling — Purchased with Yun Niang and carried home while he enthusiastically tells passersby that planting it gathers wealth qi. 133

Relationships

• Ren Qing — His son and covert benefactor. Ren Shanshi’s drive to become stronger centers on protecting Ren Qing, while Ren Qing secretly nourishes his body with heaven-and-earth aura and gains cultivation feedback from his progress. Ren Qing later conceals his soul, grants him a second enlightenment, and submits his martial inheritance to the Ten Thousand Immortals Temple without revealing his own immortal arts. 18 33 60 108 142 151 157 158
• Yun Niang — His wife, formerly a blind woman he courted and cared for deeply. He makes her a cane, invites her to stay at the coffin shop, shops with her, and protects her during Zhao Xinghu’s attack. Their wedding is celebrated at Fortune-Life Martial Hall. Her pregnancy becomes an important reason for remaining in Badu, and he personally looks after her daily needs. 33 38 57 75 97 141 142 160
• Su Huo — Elderly martial artist who provides the Iron Body Art. Ren Shanshi saves him from a goat demon; Su Huo later assists at Fortune-Life Martial Hall. In Badu they take turns leading neighborhood patrols with the disciples. 12 57 76 160
• Six half-demons — Rescued children whom Ren Shanshi brings home and patiently trains in martial arts. The original group comprises three eel-like and three eagle-headed children, initially named Eldest through Sixth. His later disciples include additional demon types. 66 67 90 140
• Eight black zombies — Former followers of Zhao Xinghu whom Ren Shanshi accepts as martial disciples after killing their master. His instruction and discipline restrain their violent impulses. 98 101
• Zhao Xinghu — Ostensible martial-arts associate who teaches him Vajra Body, then tries to abduct and refine him into an armored corpse. Ren Shanshi kills him. 95 97 98
• Li Yao — Visitor to Fortune-Life Martial Hall who is astonished by his martial prowess; Ren Shanshi feels guilty after frightening her with his palm wind. She provides a dowry for his wedding, helps arrange the family’s Badu residence, and worries over his excessive medicinal preparation before the rescue of Li Jing. 75 76 142 149
• Li Jing — Yun Niang’s younger brother and Ren Shanshi’s brother-in-law. Initially doubts his status as a martial artist, then comes to admire him as a possible Martial Ancestor. Ren Shanshi offers to teach him safer cultivation, risks his life to rescue him from the Prince’s Residence, and brings him back to the hall where his daughters are sheltered. 139 140 145 149 150 151 152
• Ling Weizi — Supplies the modified Gilded Mountain-Suppressing Protector and witnesses his rapid metal-fusion breakthrough. His purely martial appearance and transformed-Demon-Cultivator-level physique overturn her expectations of ordinary martial artists. 113
• Daoist Beisu — Redirects the disoriented Ren Shanshi toward Primordial Beginning Temple during the Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital events; later witnesses his four-armed breakthrough and recognizes its unprecedented proximity to True Immortal strength. 119 123
• Twin Corpse Daoist and Corpse-Arm Daoist — Compete to claim him as corpse-refining material. Ren Shanshi kills Twin Corpse Daoist, while Corpse-Arm Daoist is forced to withdraw under his master’s restriction. 119 120
• Jing Yan — The prince’s chief retainer, who attacks him with the Hanging Buddha, imprisons Li Jing, and later poisons him. Ren Shanshi kills him after his second enlightenment. 145 149 151
• Wuchen — First Guest of the Prince’s Residence, who courteously escorts him inside but later attacks his soul with Soul Poison. Wuchen is killed by an unseen force during Ren Shanshi’s recovery. 149 151
• Corpse-Spirit Lord — A Yin Corpse Dao cultivator converted by the Indestructible Vajra Body manual. Badu’s townsfolk bring him to Ren Shanshi, who accepts him into the hall and makes him practice martial stances; he later becomes a comparatively peaceful member of its community. 158 160 163
• Blood Corpse Child / Corpse Thirty-Five — Brought into the hall and renamed by Ren Shanshi. His cultivation involuntarily shifts toward external martial arts, and he develops a reluctant fascination with the training. 162 163
• Badu’s neighbors — Regard him as a good man who helps the community and accepts unusual or apparently simple-minded disciples without prejudice. His reputation leads them to bring the transformed Corpse-Spirit Lord to his hall rather than report him to the authorities. 160

Story Role / Major Arcs

Water Mouth City Coffin Shop

Ren Shanshi serves as Ren Qing’s mortal father and business partner during the Song Baizhou and Immortal Ascension Sect incidents. His coffin work exposes him to dangerous corpses, constables, and rumors of immortality. 1 2 5 11

Martial Arts Awakening

After Su Huo leaves the Iron Body Art as payment, Ren Shanshi discovers a late-blooming aptitude for external martial arts. He shifts away from coffin work and trains at Black River Martial Arts Hall, supported in secret by Ren Qing. 12 23 27

Protector of Water Mouth City

Ren Shanshi’s training becomes a response to the city’s growing horrors. He protects Yun Niang, saves Su Huo, and proves that external martial arts can kill demons by defeating a goat demon. 33 37 57

Fortune-Life Martial Hall

Ren Shanshi establishes Fortune-Life Martial Hall, takes responsibility for half-demon disciples, and marries Yun Niang before relocating to Three Rivers Prefecture. His reputation grows after he defeats Ling Fu and later kills Zhao Xinghu in his giant Vajra form, subsequently accepting the latter’s black zombies as students. 66 67 75 81 88 89 92 97 98

The hall becomes both a shelter for unusual beings and the outward foundation surrounding Ren Qing’s Primordial Beginning Temple. Its disciples benefit from Ren Qing’s enlightenment, while Ren Shanshi provides the discipline and practical training needed to turn their enhanced bodies into controlled martial strength. 101 122

Guardian Refinement and Indestructible Vajra Body

The modified Gilded Mountain-Suppressing Protector gives Ren Shanshi a method of incorporating metal and stone into his body without the original soul-refining process. After the Green Mountain Psychiatric Hospital events, he receives the Yin Corpse Dao inheritance and develops his own four-armed Indestructible Vajra Body. This progression brings external martial cultivation into apparent competition with True Immortal strength. 113 119 122 123

Buddha-Fate Town and the Martial Ancestor

At the Li Residence, Ren Shanshi’s strength overturns Li Jing’s understanding of martial arts. He warns that government secret arts damage vital essence, crushes a giant Ghost Infant, and organizes his monstrous but disciplined disciples to protect civilians. Li Jing begins considering whether his brother-in-law has opened a new martial path and deserves recognition as the Martial Ancestor of the age. 139 140 141

Ren Qing deliberately lets this public display draw attention away from himself, erasing memories of his own capture of the Buddha Embryo. Ren Shanshi becomes the visible face of the group’s extraordinary power without knowing the full extent of his son’s intervention. 140

Badu and the Prince’s Residence

In Badu, Ren Shanshi settles beside the Market Ward, supported by a hidden Imperial Court Scroll fragment. Outsiders mistake him for Primordial Beginning, bringing him into the prince’s attempts at recruitment. He resists the Hanging Buddha’s ropes at Moon-Gazing Tower and rejects the prestige of becoming a guest retainer. 142 145

When Li Jing is taken hostage, Ren Shanshi enters the Prince’s Residence and endures its starvation-and-thirst courtyard. The ordeal advances his Indestructible Vajra Body to six arms, but the subsequent demon attack exposes his vulnerability to poison and spiritual assault. Ren Qing’s second enlightenment transforms this near-defeat into a three-headed, six-armed dharma-body breakthrough. 149 150 151

Martial Inheritance and Expanding Discipleship

Ren Shanshi writes down his martial system so Ren Qing can offer it to the Ten Thousand Immortals Temple. Although the manuscript is poorly written, it is accepted as an inheritance and transmits Martial Instruction to readers. The Corpse-Spirit Lord’s conversion reveals that Ren Shanshi’s teaching can replace established cultivation paths with external martial cultivation. 157 158 160

As former Yin Corpse Dao disciples enter the hall, its community grows into an unusual mixture of demons, ghosts, zombies, and converted cultivators. Ren Shanshi’s routine offers safety and cooperation in place of their former sect’s rivalry, but participation is enforced by the same divine ability that reshapes their cultivation. Blood Corpse Child’s admission as Corpse Thirty-Five illustrates both the hall’s appeal and its loss of personal autonomy. 160 163

Trivia

• Ren Shanshi began formal martial-arts training around middle age and progressed from novice stances to demon-slaying strength within roughly half a year. 23 95
• Multiple corpse-refining cultivators identify him as extraordinary material for an armored corpse, artifact, or pill refinement. 95 97 104
• He remains unaware that Ren Qing is responsible for much of his abnormal physical growth and recovery. Even the reappearance of mountain-and-river tattoos in Badu does not reveal the true source of his enhancement to him. 33 60 90 142
• Poverty prevented him from nearly joining an escort agency in his youth, leaving a long-standing interest in external martial arts. 12
• The narrative gives slightly inconsistent early age descriptions: Chapter 1 places him in his early forties, Chapter 18 says he is not yet forty, and Chapter 24 has him describe himself as forty. 1 18 24
• Su Huo calls him the number-one martial artist of the age, while Li Jing later privately considers him the Martial Ancestor of the modern age. These are assessments of his extraordinary achievements rather than a formally conferred rank. 76 140 145
• By the Ghost Infant battle, he has practiced martial arts for only one or two years despite mastering and integrating dozens or hundreds of external arts. 140
• His limited literacy makes his written manual appear chaotic and nearly unusable, but its crude text and diagrams still transmit Martial Instruction. 157 158 160
• Ren Qing treats the daily replenishment that prevents his father’s self-destructive training from killing him as a recurring source of merit, likening him to a “merit perpetual motion machine.” 60