Li Yao

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Li Yao (李窈)
Species/Race	Human; formerly a frail mortal before entering the path of immortality 102
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Fuyang Chamber of Commerce; Primordial Beginning Temple 75 102
Occupation/Role	Disciple of Ren Qing; manager of Primordial Beginning Temple's commercial businesses in Badu; working to rebuild the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce 93 102 142 144 149
Cultivation Realm	Yin Immortal; cultivation stabilized after two months of seclusion at Primordial Beginning Temple 135 136
Status	Alive; based in Badu, preparing the temple's businesses and continuing her cultivation 142 144 149
Family Home	Salt Township, less than twenty li from Badu; the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce originally made its fortune through salt trading 135
First Appearance	7

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Immortality seeker and thangka wielder	7 8	Activates the Duoji True-Seeking Thangka with her own blood, identifying Three Incense Lady and witnessing the trace of a second, unknown immortal.
Painting Immortality Method cultivator	40	Has only recently begun cultivating the method while sheltered at the Fuyang Escort Agency.
Mortal shell cast off	75 102	Her cultivation grants her an otherworldly bearing and allows her to extend her life beyond the illness that had nearly killed her.
Enlightened Primordial Beginning Temple disciple	98 101	Enters the Imperial Court Scroll, is restored alongside the other entrants, and receives Ren Qing's enlightenment.
Threshold of Yin Immortal	135	Ren Qing detects an aura of impending ascension from her; she begins making use of Primordial Beginning Temple's secluded cultivation facilities.
Yin Immortal, cultivation stabilized	136	Confirmed to have become an immortal two months earlier; two months of secluded cultivation stabilize her cultivation, though she still cannot discern Ren Shanshi's full capabilities.

Background & History

Early life and the Immortal Ascension Assembly

Li Yao was born with a crimson mole between her brows. When she was five, she suffered soul-loss syndrome; her father took her to Great Sun Lapis Lazuli Temple in the Western Regions. The journey was catastrophic: members of their group died along the way, and only Li Yao and her father reached the temple. An old monk secretly helped them leave and called her a “Buddha Child.” Li Yao later repressed these memories until the hidden influence within her soul resurfaced 102.

By eighteen, Li Yao was critically ill. Her father spent nearly half of the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce's assets to obtain the Western Regions' Duoji True-Seeking Thangka and send her to Water Mouth City for the Immortal Ascension Assembly 7 102. Though physically weak, she refused to rush blindly into Wish-Fulfillment Abbey; instead, she used her blood to activate the thangka and identify the immortal presiding over the gathering 7 8.

The thangka revealed Three Incense Lady, whom Li Yao considered comparatively benevolent, but it also exposed a second, unknown immortal far beyond her expectations. When Song Baizhou's actions at the abbey became increasingly violent, Li Yao withdrew rather than risk entering the assembly 8.

Betrayal and survival

With her life nearly exhausted, Li Yao consumed a Corpse Dew Life-Extending Pill, accepting that she would die within ten days if she failed to obtain immortality. Zhang Qilin, her longtime servant, then betrayed her: he drugged her and intended to offer her to Zhou Can in exchange for an immortal method 16.

Li Yao survived the pawnshop incident, recovered Zhou Can's human-skin records, and detected the aura of the unknown immortal again with a Clear Sight Talisman. The discovery strengthened her conviction that joining an immortal sect was her only path to survival 17.

She later bought Black River Martial Arts Hall after sensing a distant immortal trace and external-martial-arts aura among its new disciples. Her search eventually led her to Ren Shanshi and the strange events surrounding Fortune-Life Martial Hall 23 76.

At one point, Li Yao's flesh, blood, and bones collapsed into human skin; Hu Nizhou intended to refine that skin into a false body. Li Yao nonetheless later reappeared alive and continued cultivating the Painting Immortality Method 52 75.

Yin Si supplied Hu Nizhou with a fragment of Li Yao's shadow, enabling the scheme against her. He claimed that the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce had supplied his uncle with blood food and that he had previously spared Li Yao under an agreement 49.

Fortune-Life Martial Hall and Primordial Beginning Temple

Li Yao developed a close familial bond with Yun Niang and Ren Shanshi, addressing them as aunt and uncle. She brought an extravagant dowry from the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce for their marriage and attempted to shield Yun Niang when the betrothal letter released hostile, eye-like tangyuan 75.

After witnessing the half-demon disciples, the guarded rear courtyard, and Ren Shanshi's overwhelming martial ability, Li Yao concluded that Ren Qing was likely the immortal she had been seeking. She became determined to enter his sect, while trying not to exploit her connection to Yun Niang and Ren Shanshi for preferential treatment 76 93.

At Ren Shanshi and Yun Niang's wedding feast, she presented them with the deed to a martial hall in Three Rivers Prefecture. Ren Qing's announcement that he needed to prepare for a heart-devil tribulation deepened her reverence for him 79.

During the convoy's journey to Three Rivers Prefecture, Li Yao witnessed Ren Qing's divine sense alter the surrounding landscape, clothing, and equipment. Unlike the other travelers, she recognized that these changes were extraordinary and attributed them to an immortal realm beyond her understanding 88.

Li Yao acquired a Great Dao Diagram and allowed rumors about it to spread, using misinformation to draw attention away from herself. She inferred that the twelve diagrams were connected to Fortune-Life Martial Hall's twelve apprenticeship places 93.

When the Imperial Court Scroll appeared at the martial hall, Li Yao approached it while seeking entry into the immortal sect. The Great Dao Diagram absorbed her attention, and the Scroll drew her inside. Her body and soul collapsed into heaven-and-earth aura, after which Ren Qing restored and enlightened her alongside the other entrants. Although she understood the event as an opportunity for discipleship, Ren Qing discovered that the four entrants had been accidentally drawn into the Small Grotto-Heaven 98 101.

Ren Qing used his blood and Enlightenment Divine Ability to provide the entrants with Daoist robes that restrained the Small Grotto-Heaven's aura and restored their bodies and souls. Li Yao's restoration unexpectedly emitted Buddhist light, exposing the concealed influence within her soul 101.

Western Regions scripture incident

A Buddhist scripture hidden as an insect egg within Li Yao's soul awakened after her enlightenment. It temporarily altered her appearance and threatened to transform her into something else. Ren Qing discovered the parasite, extracted it, and instructed her to remain at the martial hall 102.

The insect egg itself posed no immediate threat, but Ren Qing believed that the scripture might otherwise have erupted after her death. Through the extracted scripture, he comprehended the Great Sun Secret Soil Womb-Store Method, which provided material for developing his own corpse-release cultivation 102.

The incident restored Li Yao's memories of the Western Regions and caused the crimson mole on her glabella to vanish. She now suspects that the father who returned with her may not have been the same person who entered Great Sun Lapis Lazuli Temple with her 102.

Vajra Strongman selection crisis

During the crisis surrounding the Vajra Strongman selection, Fortune-Life Martial Hall was surrounded by hostile Demon Cultivators and human-head kites. When Daoist Beisu and Jingfeng returned, they found Li Yao heavily afflicted by corpse transformation, Su Huo severed at the waist, and Yun Niang unconscious. Jingfeng tended the wounded and established a protective formation 118.

Li Yao was subsequently shown alive and cultivating normally within the martial hall while turmoil continued outside. The account does not specify the individual treatment that reversed her earlier condition 129.

Yin Immortal advancement and Buddha Embryo lead

Li Yao initially avoided using Primordial Beginning Temple's facilities because she did not want to expend its resources before becoming immortal. After reaching the threshold of Yin Immortal, she visited the temple and examined its sect assignments and secluded cultivation opportunities 135.

A notice offering one hundred Spirit Stones for information about the Buddha Embryo prompted her to recall a jade-like Buddha enshrined in her father's study. She told Ren Qing that the family residence was in Salt Township, near Badu. The information led him to plan a journey there before the year's end, combining an investigation of the Buddha Embryo with a visit to Badu 135.

Ren Qing gave Li Yao one hundred Spirit Stones for cultivation facilities and resources. She then spent two months cultivating in seclusion at the temple, stabilizing her newly attained immortal cultivation. She anticipated that the journey toward Badu would probably become a permanent relocation because of Ren Qing's plans for the Metropolitan Examination and the temple's development 135 136.

Return to Salt Township

Li Yao returned to her ancestral residence with Yun Niang, Ren Shanshi, and their attendants, hoping to investigate her father and the changes associated with his return from the Western Regions. She found the residence empty and discovered no letters from her parents 135 139.

Li Jing, Yun Niang's younger brother, informed her that the Li household had been destroyed and that her father had disappeared without leaving a corpse. Li Yao protested that she had sent a letter home requesting personnel and had received guards, making the reported disappearance difficult to reconcile with her own experience 139.

The accompanying Fuyang guards were men Li Jing remembered burying. They abruptly cut their own throats, and their bodies produced Ghost Infants. Ren Shanshi protected Li Yao, Yun Niang, and the martial disciples during the ensuing battle 139.

Afterward, Li Jing disclosed that Li Yao's father might still be alive: before the disaster, he had said he intended to return to the Western Regions. With Wu Chu and the other guards dead, Li Yao could no longer contact the chamber's senior members and remained uncertain about its condition. She nevertheless trusted that Ren Qing had made arrangements for their onward journey to Badu 141.

Badu businesses and chamber reconstruction

After establishing Primordial Beginning Temple in Badu's Market Ward, Ren Qing assigned its six shops to Li Yao. She also prepared the martial-hall residence for Ren Shanshi, Yun Niang, and their disciples. When Li Yunxiao arrived with a demand that Ren Shanshi attend Pang Su's feast, she recognized the visitor's cultivation and potential danger but trusted her uncle-in-law's strength 142.

Li Yao proposed selling pills to Rogue Cultivators, reasoning that their shortage of treatment would create strong demand. She warned that powerful clans could monopolize high-quality stock before it reached ordinary cultivators. Ren Qing rejected lowering the quality and instead ordered high-quality pill production, with a low-grade Spirit Stone included for every ten pills 143.

She immediately understood the commercial implications of Ren Qing's Spirit Stone scheme, which began with one-to-one exchanges for depleted stones and would later increase the cost. At the pill-shop counter, she accepted spiritual materials as payment, assessed their age, and supplied Little Yang Pills and Spirit Stones to cultivators suffering severe backlash 143 144.

Ren Qing later placed the pill shop under the Seven Immortals of the Temple so Li Yao could prepare the other businesses and continue cultivating. She willingly handed over its operation 144.

Alongside her temple duties, Li Yao worked to rebuild the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce. Her father's disappearance had left its businesses unmanaged, allowing city gangs to seize many of them. With assistance, she recovered some shops, though restoring full control required more time 149.

When Ren Shanshi urgently consumed large quantities of potent and poisonous herbs, Li Yao helped bring medicinal supplies into the training ground and expressed concern about his condition. He concealed his intention to rescue Li Jing and advised her to take Yun Niang and the others back to Three Rivers Prefecture if trouble arose 149.

Appearance

Li Yao was initially ravaged by illness, appearing nearly skin and bones with visible veins, severe coughing, and a dim crimson mole between her brows. The Corpse Dew Life-Extending Pill turned much of her hair white and left her bleeding from all seven orifices 7 16 17.

After cultivating the Painting Immortality Method, her illness was no longer visible and her movements carried an otherworldly air 75.

• A crimson mole was present on her glabella from birth until the Buddhist scripture incident 7 102.
• Her body can assume a human-skin state; she has transformed her arm into a thin sheet of skin to cast a spell 52 75.
• During the scripture's awakening, her face became unnaturally round and solemn, resembling a Buddha image 102.
• She was heavily affected by corpse transformation during the Vajra Strongman selection crisis, but later resumed normal cultivation 118 129.

Personality

Li Yao is cautious, observant, and intensely determined to survive. At the Immortal Ascension Assembly, she refused Zhang Qilin's suggestion to charge into Wish-Fulfillment Abbey without understanding the danger, choosing instead to observe and use the thangka first 7.

Her desire for immortality is rooted primarily in survival rather than greed. Even while dying, she intended to share any immortal opportunity with the Fuyang Chamber members who had accompanied her 16. She remains willing to take calculated risks, but she recognizes when a situation exceeds her ability to control 8 52.

She is also protective of those she considers family. When the betrothal letter endangered Yun Niang, Li Yao immediately placed herself between Yun Niang and the threat despite exhausting her divine sense 75.

Her reverence for Ren Qing is accompanied by restraint: she did not want to obtain discipleship through family connections or waste temple resources before becoming immortal. Even after losing contact with her chamber's senior members, she retained confidence that her master had made arrangements 93 135 141.

Li Yao also possesses practical commercial judgment. She anticipates monopolization by powerful buyers, quickly grasps the leverage created by Spirit Stone exchanges, and shows excitement at the potential of Ren Qing's business strategy 143.

Abilities & Skills

Duoji True-Seeking Thangka

A Western Regions thangka activated through Li Yao's blood.

• Reflects the true visage and aura of immortals 7 8.
• Allowed Li Yao to identify Three Incense Lady and detect a second, unknown immortal 8.
• The thangka scorches more quickly when observing a stronger immortal presence 8.

Painting Immortality Method

Li Yao's principal cultivation method.

• Allowed her to cast off her mortal condition and extend her life 75 102.
• Grants transformations involving human skin; her arm can become a thin skin-sheet for spellcasting 75.
• Her body previously collapsed into human skin, leaving her consciousness vulnerable to Hu Nizhou's false-body refinement scheme 52.
• She can assume a portrait-like form and return to her original body 93.
• Her cultivation eventually reaches Yin Immortal and stabilizes after two months of secluded practice 135 136.

Divine Sense and Spiritual Perception

Li Yao developed a faint divine sense during her cultivation.

• Detects traces of immortals and unusual supernatural presences 17 23.
• Perceived the hostile phenomenon emerging from the betrothal letter when ordinary guards could not 75.
• Can cast spells through her transformed skin, though doing so can exhaust her divine sense 75.
• Recognized the extraordinary alterations caused by Ren Qing's divine sense during the convoy journey when the other travelers treated them as normal 88.
• Can assess a visitor's cultivation sufficiently to recognize Li Yunxiao as a Core Condensation Demon Cultivator 142.
• Despite attaining immortalhood, she remains unable to see through Ren Shanshi's full strength 136.

Commercial Management

Li Yao draws on her experience with the Fuyang Chamber of Commerce to support Primordial Beginning Temple's businesses.

• Uses intermediaries and misleading rumors to protect valuable acquisitions and obscure her position 93.
• Identifies Rogue Cultivators' need for pills and treatment, while anticipating competition from powerful clans 143.
• Understands the strategic value of controlling Spirit Stone supply and exchange rates 143.
• Assesses the age of spiritual materials offered as payment and conducts pill-and-Spirit-Stone transactions 144.
• Prepares new temple shops and helps recover chamber businesses seized by gangs 144 149.

Items

• Duoji True-Seeking Thangka — A worn Western Regions thangka purchased at enormous cost by her father; activated with Li Yao's blood to reveal immortal visages 7 8.
• Corpse Dew Life-Extending Pill — A flesh-colored pill that briefly prolonged her life at the cost of severe physical deterioration 16 17.
• Clear Sight Talisman — Used to sense the aura of the unknown immortal after Zhou Can's death 17.
• Great Dao Diagram — Acquired through Wu Chu; Li Yao believed it was her opportunity to enter Ren Qing's sect 93 98.
• Betrothal letter — Released malicious eyeball-like tangyuan before being swallowed by a toad within Fortune-Life Martial Hall 75.
• Martial-hall deed — Presented to Ren Shanshi and Yun Niang at their wedding; concerned a martial hall in Three Rivers Prefecture 79.
• Soul-protective Daoist robe — Bestowed through Ren Qing's blood and enlightenment to restrain the Small Grotto-Heaven's aura and restore her body and soul 101.
• One hundred Spirit Stones — Given by Ren Qing after she supplied the lead concerning her father's jade Buddha; intended for cultivation facilities and resources 135.

Relationships

• Ren Qing — The unknown immortal Li Yao initially sought through the thangka. After discovering his connection to Fortune-Life Martial Hall, she pursued entry into his sect; she later formally addressed him as “immortal elder” and identified herself as his disciple 8 76 93 102. He removed the scripture from her soul, supported her cultivation with Spirit Stones, and entrusted her with the temple's shops in Badu 102 135 142.
• Yun Niang — Li Yao's aunt-like confidante. Li Yao brought her a lavish dowry and tried to protect her from the betrothal letter's attack 75 79. They later traveled together to Salt Township and Badu, where Li Yao helped prepare the family's residence 136 139 142.
• Ren Shanshi — Addressed by Li Yao as uncle. His martial talent and proximity to Ren Qing helped lead her to Fortune-Life Martial Hall 75 76. She later calls him uncle-in-law, remains unable to discern his full strength even after becoming immortal, and worries about his extreme medicinal training. He instructs her to protect Yun Niang and retreat if danger arises 136 149.
• Wu Chu — Her guard and subordinate, entrusted with assisting new martial-hall disciples, obtaining the Great Dao Diagram, and spreading misleading rumors to protect Li Yao 23 93. Ren Qing noticed a crimson mole on his glabella and suspected another Buddha Child, though Li Yao's own divine-sense examination detected nothing abnormal. Wu Chu and the other guards were dead by the aftermath of the Salt Township incident, leaving her unable to contact the chamber's senior members 102 141.
• Zhang Qilin — Her former loyal servant, who betrayed and drugged her in pursuit of Zhou Can's immortality method 16. He died during the collapse of Zhou Can's illusion 17.
• Su Huo — A fellow seeker who followed Li Yao into the Imperial Court Scroll after witnessing her enter it 98. In Badu, she consults him when concerned about Ren Shanshi's unusually urgent training 149.
• Hu Nizhou — Attempted to use Li Yao's human skin as material for a false body 52.
• Black Lady — A bear demon who had taken Li Yao as her offspring; Li Yao was later found unconscious and afflicted with Bear Poison at the Fuyang Escort Agency 40.
• Li Yao's father — Spent a substantial portion of the chamber's assets trying to save her life. Her recovered memories led her to question whether he truly escaped Great Sun Lapis Lazuli Temple. His study contained a jade Buddha that became a lead in Ren Qing's Buddha Embryo investigation. He disappeared before the destruction of the Li residence and reportedly intended to return to the Western Regions; his fate remains uncertain 7 102 135 139 141.
• Li Jing — Yun Niang's younger brother, whom Li Yao addresses as uncle. He informs her of the household's destruction and her father's disappearance, tries to protect her during the Ghost Infant crisis, and later offers the possibility that her father survived 139 141.
• Mouse True Person — Her senior brother and the temple's instructor. He consults her about merchandise for the Market Ward shops and works with her to implement Ren Qing's commercial instructions 143.
• Seven Immortals of the Temple — Fellow temple members who take over the pill shop at Ren Qing's direction, allowing Li Yao to prepare the remaining businesses and continue cultivating 144.
• Jingfeng — A fellow entrant into the Imperial Court Scroll and recipient of Ren Qing's restoration. She later tends the martial hall's wounded, including the heavily transformed Li Yao, during the Vajra Strongman selection crisis 101 118.

Notable Quotes

“I want to live. Father has already nearly bankrupted the family for my sake. I can't die for nothing in a foreign land.” 52

“I should hurry up and become immortal. Maybe then I can clear up my doubts.” 102

“Pills. Most Rogue Cultivators lack medicine and treatment. Even if the quality is a little poor, they'll still sell.” 143

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