Yuan Yan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Yuan Yan (元衍)
Alias(es)	Eldest of the Four Yuans
Species/Race	Primordial divine being; transformed from the Primordial Gourd Vine, a Yin-Yang and Five Elements spiritual root
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Yingzhou Immortal Island; leader of a group including twenty-six Great Luo Golden Immortals
Occupation/Role	Cultivator, Dao lecturer, earth-vein restorer, and master of Yingzhou Immortal Island
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Early Golden Immortal	2	Awakens as the spiritual consciousness of the Primordial Gourd Vine, possessing a strong Yin-Yang and Five Elements foundation.
Taiyi Immortal Perfection	3	Reaches the limit of his Taiyi Dao Fruit after thirty yuanhui of secluded cultivation; gains the qualification to take form.
Perfected Taiyi Golden Immortal	4	Takes human form by severing the vine section bearing the first primordial gourd; his flawless Dao heart further strengthens his primordial spirit and mana.
Great Luo Dao Fruit	7	Completes and evolves his Great Dao of Yin-Yang after thirty-five epochs, transforming his Taiyi Dao Fruit into a Great Luo Dao Fruit.
Great Luo Golden Immortal	8	Uses Nine Yin-Yang Evolutions to raise both body and primordial spirit to the Da Luo level before undergoing the Great Dao's test.
Mid-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal	12	Completes three Yin-Yang transformations and further perfects his Yin-Yang Dao after sixty to seventy yuanhui in seclusion.
Late-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal	30	Advances through long-term battlefield restoration and refinement of accumulated source power and merit.
Perfected Great Luo Golden Immortal	42	Breaks through after several kalpas of seclusion, shared Dao comprehension with his Dao bodies, and refinement of innate treasures.
Perfected Great Luo Golden Immortal; five Yin-Yang transformations	43	His physical body and primordial spirit reach the strength of mid-grade innate spirit treasures; he considers himself unmatched among Great Luo Golden Immortals of the same rank.

Background / History

Yuan Yan was originally an ordinary human from Earth before crossing into the Primordial World by unknown means. Countless yuanhui before his awakening, he became the consciousness of the Primordial Gourd Vine, fell into slumber due to weakness, and merged with the vine while receiving its primordial inheritance and the name bestowed by heaven and earth: Yuan Yan. 2

His main body was a top-grade primordial spiritual root rooted in Nine Heavens Breath Soil. It possessed Yin-Yang and Five Elements origins and nurtured seven primordial gourds containing numerous Great Daos, including yin-yang, soul, karma, creation, slaughter, chaos, space, water, fire, and destruction. 2

Fearing the original fate in which the gourds would be divided and the vine would wither, Yuan Yan cultivated in secrecy to take form before others could claim him. After reaching Taiyi Immortal perfection, he transferred nearly one-third of the vine's primordial origin into the first gourd-bearing section, severed it from the main body, and transformed into a primordial Daoist. 3 4

Rather than abandon the damaged vine, Yuan Yan repeatedly returned to his vine form to nurture the Myriad Dao Primordial Gourd while restoring the Primordial Gourd Vine's lost origin. He remained hidden during the late Dragon-Han Calamity, concentrating on the Great Dao of Yin-Yang and pursuing the ambition to contend for the highest realms of cultivation. 5 6

Appearance

After taking form, Yuan Yan appears as a tall, handsome young Daoist clad in seven-colored robes. His eyes can display the evolution of the three thousand laws. 4

• Tall and upright in bearing. 4
• Wears distinctive seven-colored Daoist robes. 4
• His innate Dao body originates from a severed section of the Primordial Gourd Vine. 4
• His true form is a vine section bearing the Myriad Dao Primordial Gourd. 5

Personality

Yuan Yan is highly self-determined. Although he initially worries that he may be fated to be divided and destroyed alongside the Primordial Gourd Vine, he rejects reliance on a system or external savior and commits himself to changing his own fate through cultivation. 2

He is ambitious but cautious. During the Dragon-Han Calamity, he refuses to leave Mount Buzhou while tribulation and baleful qi are dense outside, choosing concealment, accumulation, and treasure-nurturing over reckless exploration. 5

Yuan Yan is also pragmatic in his dealings with both treasure and karma. He avoids stripping Mount Buzhou bare, leaves recoverable roots behind, and slows the refinement of corrupted battlefields to avoid causing further damage. 16 24 He values alliances and cordial Dao exchanges, but does not place unconditional trust in potential allies. 21 58

Abilities & Skills

Great Dao of Yin-Yang

Yuan Yan's primary Dao uses the balance and transformation of yin and yang to explain all things. He treats Yin-Yang as a foundation capable of encompassing and evolving other laws. 7

• Comprehended the Law of Yin-Yang to perfection before forming his Great Luo Dao Fruit. 7
• Uses Yin-Yang to analyze, transform, create, destroy, heal, and suppress. 7 25
• Has also opened and developed the Dao of Reincarnation, Dao of Worlds, and Great Dao of Mind. 10 14

Nine Yin-Yang Evolutions

A cultivation method created by Yuan Yan to alternately transform his physical body and primordial spirit through yin-yang imbalance and restoration. 7 8

• Raises both body and primordial spirit beyond their normal limits. 8
• At the Da Luo level, his body and primordial spirit became no weaker than low-grade innate spirit treasures. 8
• Five completed transformations bring both to the level of mid-grade innate spirit treasures. 43
• Each transformation before the ninth further doubles their strength; nine transformations are intended to reach high-grade innate spirit-treasure strength. 43

Yin-Yang Divine Arts

Yuan Yan created numerous divine abilities based on his Yin-Yang Dao. 7

• Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram — defensive and suppressive technique modeled after the heaven-opening Taiji Diagram; its power is limited by Yuan Yan's cultivation realm. 7
• Yinyang Divine Light — combines destruction, capture, creation, healing, and defense; can divide into vast numbers of controlled rays. 7 25
• Reversing Yin-Yang — reverses acquired circulation and disrupts the order of an area, causing opponents' Dao arts to become chaotic or fail. 7
• Yin-Yang Furnace — refines corrupted qi, resentment, residual Dao power, and other hostile forces into usable yin-yang energy. 23 24
• Yin-Yang Myriad Transformation Divine Light — created specifically to purify blood-baleful resentment from damaged earth veins and convert it into gentle Yin-Yang origin power. 25
• Whip Mountains and Move Stones — reassembles collapsed divine mountains and reconnects damaged earth veins. 25
• Yin-Yang Escape Art — movement technique created alongside his other Yin-Yang divine arts. 7

Three-Selves Severing Method

Yuan Yan deduced this method from his simplified understanding of the Three Corpse Severing Technique. It creates independent Dao bodies from the Departed Self, True Self, and Dao Self. 13 14

• Split the Primordial Gourd Vine into three sections to house the three selves. 14
• Created the Dao bodies Yuan Jie, Yuan Lun, and Yuan Ling, each with two innate gourds and the foundation of a top innate sacred being. 14
• Retains absolute control over the three Dao bodies; their thoughts are linked, and their experiences and Dao comprehension can be shared. 14 28
• The method does not conflict with Yuan Yan's future pursuit of the Hunyuan Dao. 34

Formation and Deduction Arts

Yuan Yan possesses substantial ability in formations, heavenly-secret deduction, and adapting existing methods to his needs.

• Comprehended and controlled the Primordial Yin-Yang Great Evolution Formation around the Primordial Gourd Vine, though he could not initially unleash its full Primordial Golden Immortal-level power. 5
• Helps operate the Four Symbols Return-to-Origin Formation with his three Dao bodies; the formation was used to refine the Netherworld Serpent Ancestor. 33 34
• Deduced a simplified Three Corpse Severing Technique in fewer than ten epochs and used it as the basis for three Dao-body methods. 13 14
• Jointly deduces the locations of corrupted battlefields with his Dao bodies through their connected Dao auras. 29

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Myriad Dao Primordial Gourd — Yuan Yan's accompanying gourd treasure, formed from the first primordial gourd. It began as a high-grade primordial spiritual treasure with thirty-six restrictions and later evolved into a top-grade innate spirit treasure. It can reverse yin-yang qi into a small chaos realm, evolve Five Elements and myriad Dao transformations, and store, nurture, or refine all things. 4 8
• Nine Heavens Breath Soil — supreme-grade primordial spiritual treasure with thirty-nine primordial divine restrictions; the original soil in which the Primordial Gourd Vine was rooted. 4
• Yinyang Mirror — high-grade innate spirit treasure with thirty-six innate divine restrictions. Its Yin side annihilates primordial spirits and true spirits, while its Yang side heals Dao wounds and can revive the dead; both sides together form Life-and-Death Reincarnation Tribulation Light. 17
• Yinyang Cauldron — a Yin-Yang-aligned treasure used to form the Yin-Yang Furnace and provide origin power for repairing earth veins. 19 24 25
• Twelfth-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus — Yingzhou Immortal Island's central treasure, retained by Yuan Yan for defense and purification. 38 39 43
• Yinyang Twin-Bloom Lotus — supreme-grade innate spiritual root that assists comprehension of Yin-Yang and is suited to Yuan Yan's Dao. 18 19
• Jade Disc of Creation fragment — a fragment bearing the Three Thousand Great Daos that greatly enhances Dao comprehension. 40
• Four Symbols Formation Flags — formation treasures used by Yuan Yan and his Dao bodies to establish the Four Symbols Return-to-Origin Formation. 19 33
• World-Sealing Stele — core treasure of the Yinyang Grotto-Heaven; refining it gave Yuan Yan control of the realm and its protective formation. 18 19
• Yingzhou Immortal Island boundary stele — after refining it over three thousand years, Yuan Yan became master of Yingzhou Immortal Island. 38

Relationships

• Yuan Jie, Yuan Lun, and Yuan Ling — Yuan Yan's three-selves Dao bodies, created from the Departed Self, True Self, and Dao Self. They are completely loyal, share connected minds with him, and publicly present themselves as his three younger brothers. 14 62 64
• Nuwa — fellow Yin-Yang-aligned innate sacred being and increasingly close Dao companion. Yuan Yan aided her and Fuxi against Xuan Mo, then exchanged jade talismans with them for future contact. 21 56 58
• Fuxi — Nuwa's brother and Yuan Yan's Dao companion. Fuxi feels an innate affinity toward Yuan Yan due to their connected Yin-Yang origins. 21 58
• Twenty-six Great Luo Golden Immortals — subordinates who swore Heavenly Dao oaths to Yuan Yan and the other Three Yuans; they repair the Western Continent's leylines under his direction. 60 62
• Three Pure Ones — prominent cultivators with whom Yuan Yan discusses the Dao at Jade Void Peak. They receive him respectfully due to the danger and depth they sense from him. 58
• Netherworld Serpent Ancestor — a perfected Great Luo Golden Immortal defeated and permanently refined by Yuan Yan and the Three Yuans. His extracted memories reveal information about the Hunyuan Golden Immortal path. 34
• Hongjun — Yuan Yan intends to attend Hongjun's Purple Firmament Palace lecture despite concerns that his identity as a transmigrator could bring unknown consequences. 62

Story Role / Major Arcs

Taking Form from the Primordial Gourd Vine

Yuan Yan awakens as the vine's consciousness, recognizes the danger of his destined fate, and cultivates to Taiyi Immortal perfection. He self-dismembers by severing a gourd-bearing vine section, becoming a primordial divine being while preserving the remaining vine and six immature gourds. 2 3 4

Mount Buzhou Expedition

After creating his three Dao bodies, Yuan Yan leaves his birthplace to climb Mount Buzhou. He acquires the Yinyang Mirror, discovers and secures the Yinyang Grotto-Heaven, and redistributes gathered treasures among the Four Yuans according to their respective Daos. 16 17 18 19

Three Clans Battlefield Restoration

Yuan Yan purifies a Three Clans Battlefield with the Yin-Yang Furnace, creates a new purification art to repair its earth veins, and receives Heavenly Dao merit for stabilizing the land. He later reunites with his three Dao bodies to cleanse and restore battlefields across the Primordial World over thirty-six epochs. 23 25 26 28 29

Defeat of the Netherworld Serpent Ancestor

When Yuan Jie is ambushed by the Netherworld Serpent Ancestor, Yuan Yan and the other Dao bodies coordinate the Four Symbols Return-to-Origin Formation. They shatter, suppress, and refine the ancestor's body, primordial spirit, true spirit, and contingencies, then extract his memories for knowledge of the Hunyuan realm. 30 33 34

Discovery of Yingzhou Immortal Island

Following an elusive opportunity to the East Sea, Yuan Yan forces a passage through the void and enters Yingzhou Immortal Island. He refines its boundary stele, becomes its master, and claims the Twelfth-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus while sharing the island's remaining opportunities with his Dao bodies. 36 37 38 39

Building a Western Base

After reaching Great Luo Golden Immortal perfection, Yuan Yan directs the Four Yuans and their followers toward restoring the Western Continent. Yingzhou Immortal Island is relocated to the Supreme Awakening Range as their headquarters, where Yuan Yan lectures on the Dao and strengthens his growing faction. 43 60

Dao Exchanges and Purple Firmament Palace

Yuan Yan travels through the Primordial World to discuss the Dao with figures including Nuwa, Fuxi, the Three Pure Ones, and the Queen Mother of the West. He later prepares his Dao bodies and followers to travel separately through chaos to Hongjun's lecture at the Purple Firmament Palace. 56 58 62 65

Notable Quotes

“My fate is mine, not heaven's!”
— Yuan Yan 2

“What would I have to fear?”
— Yuan Yan, accepting Nuwa and Fuxi's invitation into their formation 21