Shen Gong Bao

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Shen Gong Bao (申公豹)
Alias(es)	“The Richest Man Under Heaven”; National Preceptor; Grand Tutor; “wild Taoist” 163 203 216
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Chan Sect registered disciple; Regent King Ji Fa’s National Preceptor; temporarily compelled to represent the Jie Cult in Tongtian’s wager 203 218 252
Occupation/Role	Merchant and proprietor of Rich Man Villa; political adviser; immortal cultivator 163 203 230
First Appearance	Chapter 163

Background / History

Shen Gong Bao appeared in Chao Ge roughly five years before Ji Fa’s investigation into him. His background was untraceable even to the Heavenly Listening Department, but he had rapidly amassed immense wealth, built Rich Man Villa south of the city, and established connections capable of moving goods between the Central Plains and Western Regions. He dealt only in business and claimed that sufficient money could buy anything. 163

When Jiang Shang sought the legendary Ice Mountain Snow Lotus, Shen Gong Bao demanded either one million gold or a future favor. Ji Fa accepted the favor to obtain the lotus, and Shen Gong Bao’s first requested repayment was an escort for an important shipment by the Loyal and Brave Marquis. 164 165

Ji Fa later connected Shen Gong Bao and Baotong Trading Company to a plague outbreak and the Grand Tutor’s estate. When confronted with the Son of Heaven’s Sword after Qing Xu’s formation was broken, Shen Gong Bao attempted to survive by blaming Qing Xu for the poison scheme. 185 188

He subsequently approached Ji Fa as a Chan Sect disciple with knowledge of the planned re-establishment of the Investiture of the Gods. Shen Gong Bao revealed that he had endured discrimination within the Chan Sect because he was regarded as a being “born from wetness and hatching from eggs,” denied high-grade cultivation methods and magic treasures. Seeking survival rather than submission to the Investiture of the Gods, he wagered that humanity could overcome destiny and offered Ji Fa his knowledge and loyalty. 203 204

Despite this pledge, Shen Gong Bao later exploited his Chan Sect identity to mislead Duobao Daoist into sending Jie Cult cultivators against Ji Fa. After Ji Fa defeated Luo Xuan, Shen Gong Bao publicly pressured Luo Xuan to honor his wager, binding himself more firmly to Ji Fa’s side. Ji Fa rewarded him with one of Luo Xuan’s Flying Smoke Swords and retained him as National Preceptor. 210 211 218 219

Appearance

Shen Gong Bao can appear as an unremarkable, gaunt Daoist rather than an ostentatious magnate. His ordinary appearance contrasts with his wealth, influence, and sharp political instincts. 203

• Usually wears a washed-out gray Daoist robe; later adopts a solemn Daoist robe while serving Ji Fa. 203 216
• Carries a horsetail whisk. 164 216
• Has a roguish smile and exceptionally bright eyes. 203
• Is described as possessing neither the obvious immortal aura of True Lord Yuding nor the arrogance of Yao Guang Tian Jun. 203

Personality

Shen Gong Bao is intensely materialistic, eccentric, and commercially minded. He repeatedly speaks of wealth, enthusiastically recruits Jiang Shang with promises of riches, and treats impossible acquisitions as matters of price. 163 164

His ambition is tempered by a powerful survival instinct. When threatened, he can become obsequious, fabricate accounts, abandon allies, or seek stronger patrons. His fear of death and the Investiture of the Gods drives much of his opportunism, but his experiences within the Chan Sect also leave him genuinely resentful of immortal hierarchy and discrimination. 188 203 210

After witnessing Ji Fa’s Human Way, Shen Gong Bao begins to recognize it as a path beyond the Mystic Sect’s conventional order. He becomes more willing to contribute his political acumen to Ji Fa’s government, though he remains fearful whenever confronted by Saints or overwhelming immortal power. 221 230 245

Abilities & Skills

Golden Immortal Cultivation

Shen Gong Bao is identified as a Chan Sect Golden Immortal, though he is markedly inferior to Grand Unity Golden Immortals such as Luo Xuan. 219 252

• Used an Immortal Family Cleansing Technique to suppress a plague temporarily. 258
• His technique failed to remove the plague’s concealed source, which remained underground and within corpses before spreading further. 258
• He could not successfully refine the Flying Smoke Sword through force alone; its Samadhi True Fire rejected his Chan Sect magic power. 221

Divination and Chan Sect Secret Methods

Shen Gong Bao can employ Chan Sect methods to observe heavenly signs and infer major events.

• Detected that the star representing Jie Cult destiny had dimmed and that a Grand Unity Golden Immortal had fallen within Great Shang. 236
• Possesses enough knowledge of sect affairs to identify the Investiture of the Gods’ planned revival and explain the immortals’ contempt for mortal dynasties. 203

Commerce and Resource Networks

Shen Gong Bao maintains unusual wealth, connections, and logistical reach.

• May be capable of traversing the dangerous southern route through Kunlun and returning from the Western Regions within a month. 163
• Obtained and sold the Ice Mountain Snow Lotus, a rare plant said to flower and bear fruit only once per thousand years at Kunlun’s peak. 164 165
• Operates Rich Man Villa and accumulated enormous wealth through methods the Heavenly Listening Department could not uncover. 163

Political Strategy and Manipulation

Shen Gong Bao is an effective, ruthless adviser who understands how to exploit fear, greed, and factional division.

• Proposed that the thirty-seven noble families be induced to surrender seventy percent of their land under the guise of “atoning for sins,” with confiscated land used to reward compliant families. 230
• Warned Ji Fa that a plot against Great Shang sought to provoke conflict between the ruler and feudal lords, allowing its architects to seize Human Way momentum. 224
• Manipulated Duobao Daoist by exaggerating Ji Fa’s hostility toward the immortal sects and concealing his own failures. 210 211

Human Way Comprehension

After receiving a Flying Smoke Sword from Ji Fa, Shen Gong Bao began to understand that its power originated in the Human Way rather than ordinary immortal refinement. 219 221

• Meditated on the people’s will, military fighting spirit, and national law rather than relying solely on magic power. 221
• Experienced a transformation in his own magic power as the sword slowly accepted him. 221
• Came to regard the weapon as a test of whether he was worthy to wield power outside the Mystic Sect’s system. 221

Equipment / Items

• Horsetail whisk — his customary Daoist implement. 164 216
• Flying Smoke Sword — one of Luo Xuan’s five magic treasures, awarded by Ji Fa; its Samadhi True Fire initially repelled Shen Gong Bao’s magic power. 219 221
• Rich Man Villa — his estate and commercial base south of Chao Ge City. 163
• Ice Mountain Snow Lotus — a rare medicinal treasure he supplied to Ji Fa in exchange for a favor. 164 165

Relationships

• Ji Fa — initially a transactional partner and later the Regent King he serves as National Preceptor; Shen Gong Bao pledges his knowledge and loyalty to Ji Fa in exchange for a chance at survival and future merit. 203 218 230
• Jiang Shang — an old acquaintance who knew Shen Gong Bao’s fixation on wealth and negotiated with him for the Ice Mountain Snow Lotus. 163 164
• Jiang Ziya — Shen Gong Bao’s junior brother; Shen Gong Bao dismisses him as incompetent before their opposing roles in Tongtian’s city-building wager. 253 255
• Primordial Heavenly Venerate — Shen Gong Bao’s master and Chan Sect leader; Shen Gong Bao resents the sect’s discrimination and lack of support for him. 203 210
• Lord of the Heavens (Tongtian) — forcibly appoints Shen Gong Bao as the Jie Cult’s representative in the wager against Ji Fa, later sentencing him to the Immortal Slaying Formation after Bao Yuan City’s failure. 252 260
• Duobao Daoist — a Jie Cult senior disciple whom Shen Gong Bao deceives into dispatching cultivators against Ji Fa. 210 211
• Luo Xuan — the volatile Jie Cult “Plague God” whom Shen Gong Bao lures into confronting Ji Fa; Luo Xuan later threatens both Shen Gong Bao and Ji Fa after losing their wager. 214 218
• Qing Xu — an associate Shen Gong Bao blames for the poison scheme when Ji Fa corners them; Qing Xu accuses Shen Gong Bao of bringing him into the conflict. 188

Story Role / Major Arcs

Merchant of Rich Man Villa

Shen Gong Bao enters Ji Fa’s sphere as a mysterious merchant with access to dangerous trade routes and rare goods. His sale of the Ice Mountain Snow Lotus binds Ji Fa to an unspecified favor, demonstrating his preference for long-term leverage over immediate profit. 163 165

Chan Sect Defector and Ji Fa’s Adviser

After being implicated in the plague affair, Shen Gong Bao pivots to Ji Fa’s side by exposing sect secrets and presenting himself as a discarded Chan Sect disciple seeking a future under the Human Way. He becomes Grand Tutor and later National Preceptor. 203 216 219

Instigator of the Jie Cult Conflict

Shen Gong Bao covertly appeals to Duobao Daoist for aid against Ji Fa, using fabricated and exaggerated claims to provoke Jie Cult intervention. This directly contributes to Luo Xuan’s arrival at Chao Ge. 210 214

National Preceptor of the Human Way

Ji Fa’s reward of the Flying Smoke Sword and Shen Gong Bao’s efforts to refine it push him toward a deeper understanding of Human Way power. He later returns from his assignment at the Ministry of Works to offer a plan for dividing the noble families and implementing the Favor Spreading Edict. 221 230

Bao Yuan City Wager

Tongtian compels Shen Gong Bao to represent the Jie Cult against Jiang Ziya in a contest to build and govern a city of refugees. Shen Gong Bao relies on one hundred Jie Cult disciples and Immortal Family infrastructure to create Bao Yuan City, but dismisses the plague threat and fails to contain it. 252 253 256 258

After one month, Bao Yuan City is left ruined and populated only by Shen Gong Bao and living corpses, while Jiang Ziya’s Hope City flourishes. Tongtian orders Shen Gong Bao taken to the Immortal Slaying Formation for execution; the provided context does not confirm whether the sentence is carried out. 260

Notable Quotes

“There is nothing in this world that cannot be bought with money. If there is, it's simply because the money wasn't enough.” 163

“I bet that humans can conquer destiny!” 203

Trivia

• Shen Gong Bao named his wager-city Bao Yuan City, meaning “treasures flowing endlessly.” 256
• Lord of the Heavens selected him for the wager partly because of his reputation for “Fellow Daoist, please stay,” broad social connections, and experience influencing mortal courts. 252
• His first attempt to refine the Flying Smoke Sword left him with churning blood and qi, leading him to conclude that Ji Fa’s reward was also a test. 221