Fang Xun

Biodata

Power Progression

History

Cold Mountain County

Fang Xun was a former Sacred Capital official who had been demoted to Cold Mountain County. He turned the exposure of the Great Xiang remnant plot into a path back to prominence, personally interrogating Xiong Jin with the Golden Cocoon and claiming credit for the capture 6 9. His merit secured him the ninth-rank title of Fifth Grand Master and an appointment as Clerk of the Household Office under the Left Chancellor's residence 9 16.

His ambition was repeatedly complicated by Yu Niang's return while pregnant with his child 16 17. Though initially enraged, he recognized the political danger of mistreating her and chose to keep her under care 17. Their son, Huan'er, was later born and bound to Fang Xun through a blood ritual 17 22 24.

While assisting the Changle Marquis's search beneath Cold Mountain, Fang Xun learned that Cold Mountain Grass grew along the path of the wandering Cold Mountain Soul 18. He selected laborers for her expedition, then later sought to exploit those laborers and their knowledge of spirit plants for his own gain 18 21.

Li Shun's presentation of a Cold Mountain Lord drew Fang Xun's attention to his talent with the Spirit-Splitting Life-Creation Technique 24. Fang Xun raised Li Shun's status, employed him to tend the plant, taught him the Twelve Longevity Method, and gave him the original Spirit-Splitting Life-Creation Technique scroll 25 28 30.

During Cold Mountain's flood and miasma crisis, Fang Xun initially prioritized the Bright Light Formation's defensive capacity and his search for Xiong Jin's nephew over activating its purification function 33. He later activated its purification and cooling effects to control unrest, weakening the city's defenses, then further diverted its power to trap the attacker at the county yamen 33 34. The resulting failure of the outer barrier allowed catastrophic floodwaters to overwhelm Cold Mountain 35.

Fang Xun falsely blamed the captured Xiang remnant for the flood while reporting his supposed merit to his master and the Black-Robed Envoys 35. When Jiang Chongguang was rescued and the deception was exposed, he intended to suppress the truth and eliminate witnesses before leaving for the capital 36. He subsequently opened the granaries and offered public relief in an effort to stabilize Cold Mountain and preserve his position 36.

Yu Niang ultimately confronted him over his attempt to silence loose ends, including their son 41 42. She detonated her own body at close range, leaving Fang Xun mortally wounded and with the lower half of his body destroyed 42 45.

Puppet of Square Inch

Li Shun found Fang Xun dying in the snow and offered him survival and revenge 45. After healing his injuries within Square Inch, Li Shun made him a puppet and gained access to his memories, including knowledge of the Twelve Longevity Method and its seven cultivation realms 45.

Using Fang Xun's identity, Li Shun contacted Dong Chunqiu and secured Fang Xun's demotion to mausoleum guard in East Mountain Town rather than execution 47 48. Fang Xun later publicly accepted Li Shun as a disciple, providing him with a legitimate place within Dong Chunqiu's lineage 47 57 59.

Fang Xun continued to act as an official after his puppet conversion. He reported suspected threats around East Mountain and used his position to search for Jiang Chongguang and Han Sushu, though their Daoist paper figures repeatedly misled the town's constables 61 64 75.

During the impending Hundred Schools calamity, Fang Xun planned to move East Mountain's treasures into Square Inch before disaster struck, intending to appropriate them without leaving evidence 76.

Li Shun eventually exposed Fang Xun and Zhao Cheng for sending him into the Imperial Tomb's sealed earth to retrieve Lu Tinglan's armor 85 94. He severed their master-disciple bond, though Fang Xun repeatedly sought forgiveness and Li Shun later accepted his apologies 97 98.

East Mountain and Final Sacrifice

Fang Xun retained official influence in East Mountain, becoming Pacification Commissioner over thirteen counties 101 103. His position was protected in part by Duanmu Qiuche's support, but Yin Fengshuo's appointment as commandery governor placed his old enemy directly above him 101 103.

Following the restoration of Old Tomb Commandery, Fang Xun managed the construction, land redistribution, and resettlement of vast numbers of refugees across East Mountain's thirteen counties 108 131 143. His administrative results were publicly praised as the best in the commandery, making East Mountain a nominal model for the region 108 131 143.

When Fang Han was accused of accepting bribes to favor wealthy refugees, Fang Xun imprisoned his own nephew to preserve impartiality 132 144. He later recognized Fang Han's unusual resistance to tribulation qi and intended for Li Shun to guide the boy's studies and cultivation 132 144 145.

Yin Fengshuo's pressure, delayed relief supplies, and spreading accusations drove East Mountain toward unrest 143 144. The Heaven's Lifespan Lock Tribulation further attempted to reshape Fang Xun's mind into the greedy official described by the rumors, but he recognized the imposed greed and resisted the alteration at physical cost 143 144 145.

As Heavenly Dao Severed Qi erupted, Fang Xun ordered the evacuation of East Mountain's population toward the mountains and personally hurried among the surrounding counties to enforce the evacuation 147 148.

When Heavenly Dao Severed Qi overwhelmed East Mountain, Fang Xun led officials in a futile defense 148. He then burned all remaining life essence to force the black qi back and shield the refugees, remaining in place until he was swallowed by the Severed Qi 148.

Li Shun returned to investigate the disaster, wrote a funeral oration exposing Yin Fengshuo's conduct, and helped establish Fang Xun's posthumous reputation as East Mountain's loyal martyr 149 150. Fang Xun received a robe-and-cap burial because no remains were recovered 149 150.

Posthumous Legacy

The widespread circulation of Li Shun's funeral oration and a ten-thousand-person petition led to a campaign to establish a shrine for Fang Xun 150 151. Yin Fengshuo was subsequently stripped of office, imprisoned, and sentenced to death for colluding with a Jun Family descendant 150 151.

By the time Li Shun later used Fang Xun's puppet as a means of observation, the Fang Xun Shrine had received abundant incense offerings 183. His sacrifice had become known beyond East Mountain, where additional local shrines also began to appear 183.

Li Qing continued to promote Fang Xun's virtuous reputation throughout East Mountain after his death 188.

Fang Xun's shrine was destroyed sometime before Li Shun's journey to the Sacred Capital 246. Li Shun and Zhao Cheng returned to East Mountain to investigate, with Shentu Xin suspected of responsibility 246.

Personality

Fang Xun maintained a refined, calm official demeanor even while pursuing ruthless objectives 8 9. He could rapidly infer hidden motives—such as Xiong Jin's reason for seeking Cold Mountain Venerable—and was adept at presenting ambition as public duty 8 9.

His desire for rank, wealth, and a secure future for Huan'er often overrode his judgment 21 24. He kept rewards intended for laborers, planned to exploit Cold Mountain Grass, and became consumed by the prospect of capturing another Great Xiang imperial descendant for merit 21 24.

Failure exposed a far more fearful and desperate side 36. Once his political future seemed threatened, he considered murdering witnesses and relying on Cold Mountain County's isolation to conceal the truth 36.

His eventual remorse toward Li Shun was at least partly pragmatic 97 98. Fang Xun initially viewed apologizing as a performance necessary to reclaim his disciple and the protection of their lineage, but his repeated visits and willingness to endure humiliation gradually shifted public opinion and led Li Shun to accept him again 97 98.

His final stand transformed his public legacy 148 149. Despite his earlier failings and the puppet nature of his later existence, East Mountain remembered him for refusing to retreat before the Heavenly Dao Severed Qi 148 149.

Abilities & Skills

Confucian Character Arts

Fang Xun wielded principle qi through written characters formed in the air 9 34.

• Formed a “key” character to open a residence protected by restrictions 9.
• Created a “pursue” character that became tracking ink-birds, though the technique failed after the target's aura was erased 9.
• Used Confucian doctrine and written characters to impose crushing restraint on a powerful intruder 34.
• His official seal augmented his mid-stage Spirit Sense cultivation to near late-stage effectiveness 33.

Twelve Longevity Method Knowledge

Fang Xun possessed extensive experience with Great Qian's longevity cultivation 25 45.

• Personally imparted the Twelve Longevity Method to Li Shun after Li gained noble status 25.
• His memories allowed Li Shun to cultivate the Mortal Embryo Realm with the familiarity of repeated practice 59 60.
• Revealed that borrowed lifespan must eventually be repaid through tribulations and explained the method's seven cultivation realms 45.
• His memories also explained that surviving another cultivator's Heaven's Lifespan Demand tribulation could reduce the difficulty of one's own future tribulations 47.

Square Inch Puppet State

After Chapter 45, Fang Xun existed as Li Shun's puppet within Square Inch 45.

• His injuries were healed before his conversion into a puppet 45.
• The puppet body did not suffer fatigue, allowing uninterrupted administrative work during Yin Fengshuo's campaign of attrition 143.
• Li Shun altered the puppet using Shentu Xin's Life-Qi Furnace trait, which could strengthen techniques through life qi 79 80. Square Inch negated the trait's usual lifespan cost for the puppet, although it gave Fang Xun a crazed aura 79 80.
• The puppet retained information gathered through its senses, allowing Li Shun to later review events observed through Fang Xun's eyes 183.
• The manifested body could still be destroyed; it was ultimately consumed after its life essence was exhausted 148.

Administration and Political Maneuvering

• Managed Cold Mountain County's official response to rebellion, disaster relief, and reconstruction 9 36.
• Was assigned responsibility for the administration of East Mountain's thirteen counties and the resettlement of millions of refugees 103 143.
• Investigated corruption among yamen runners after a disguised expert exposed their extortion of migrants 108.
• Supervised land redistribution, refugee registration, and the construction of the thirteen counties under East Mountain's jurisdiction 131 143.
• Ordered and coordinated the emergency evacuation of East Mountain's population before the Heavenly Dao Severed Qi reached the inhabited areas 147.

Equipment

• Golden Cocoon — A torture and restraint device used to bind Xiong Jin; its threads contracted into his flesh to force information from him 9.
• Official Seal — Enhanced Fang Xun's combat strength while he was at the Spirit Sense Realm 33.
• Divine-Communing Incense — Unearthed from the destroyed Cold Mountain County yamen; used to contact Dong Chunqiu and repair Fang Xun's injuries 47.

Relationships

• Li Shun — Initially a laborer Fang Xun sought to employ for spirit-plant cultivation 28. Li Shun later saved and converted Fang Xun into a Square Inch puppet, became his nominal disciple, exposed his betrayal, and eventually accepted his repeated apologies 45 59 94 98. Li Shun later preserved and promoted Fang Xun's posthumous legacy through his funeral rites and shrine 149 150.
• Yu Niang — Fang Xun's former wife and the mother of Huan'er 18 22. Their relationship deteriorated after he refused to formalize her position and attempted to protect his career over their family; her suicide attack left him dying 18 22 42.
• Huan'er — Fang Xun's son with Yu Niang 22 24. Fang Xun's concern for the child's future intensified his pursuit of status and merit 22 24.
• Dong Chunqiu — Fang Xun's master 47 57. Dong Chunqiu demoted him to guarding the mausoleum after the Cold Mountain disaster but did not abandon him entirely 47 57.
• Yin Fengshuo — Political rival and eventual superior in Old Tomb Commandery 45 85 103. Yin secretly aided the scheme against Fang Xun, spread damaging rumors, and later pressured East Mountain through official channels and supply delays 45 85 103 144. His actions contributed to the circumstances surrounding Fang Xun's death; he was later stripped of office, imprisoned, and sentenced to death for colluding with the Jun Family 148 151.
• Sun Chengyou — Senior official and patron who informed Fang Xun of the East Mountain Pacification Commissioner's appointment and warned him that future survival depended on his own ability 101 102.
• Fang Han — Fang Xun's nephew 132 144. Fang Xun imprisoned him over bribery allegations, later released him after recognizing the accusation was false, and came to value his extraordinary potential 132 144 145.
• Zhao Cheng — Fellow disciple who discussed court affairs with Fang Xun and worked with him to secure Lu Tinglan's armor for Duanmu Qiuche's breakthrough 85 94. He later assisted Li Shun in advocating for Fang Xun's shrine and investigating its destruction 150 246.
• Duanmu Qiuche — Fang Xun's martial uncle, whose advancement to the Creation Realm helped secure Fang Xun's appointment as East Mountain Pacification Commissioner 83 101. Fang Xun and Zhao Cheng sent Li Shun into the Imperial Tomb's sealed earth in pursuit of Lu Tinglan's armor for Duanmu's breakthrough 83 94.
• Li Qing — Li Shun's younger brother, who helped gather public support for Fang Xun's shrine and later continued spreading Fang Xun's virtuous posthumous reputation 150 183 188.
• Shentu Xin — The Jun Family madman whose Life-Qi Furnace trait was applied to Fang Xun's puppet by Li Shun 79 80. Shentu was later suspected of destroying Fang Xun's shrine 246.
• Changle Marquis — A powerful noblewoman whose favor Fang Xun unsuccessfully sought 16 18. She warned him not to betray Yu Niang and later used Cold Mountain laborers for her search for the Cold Mountain Soul 16 18.