Shennong Ruler

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Shennong Ruler (神农尺)
Alias(es)	One of the Nine Divine Weapons; supreme treasure 176 182
Affiliation	The Nine Divine Weapons; formerly sealed within Shennongjia 175 176
Occupation/Role	A divine weapon of cultivation, healing, herbal discernment, and agricultural blessing 176
Status	Active; later bestowed by Yu Chen to a dragon 246
First Appearance	Chapter 175 (mentioned and sought); Chapter 176 (obtained) 175 176

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Recognition and partial awakening	176	Recognizes Yu Chen after he locates it in Shennongjia. Its vitality strengthens his body, viscera, Yin Spirit dharma body, and cultivation arts; however, much of its divine power remains sealed. 176 182
Curse-driven transformation	198	Yu Chen allows the Spirit of the Heavenly Book's curse to evolve rather than immediately removing it. The ruler's vitality shifts toward concepts of health, happiness, and warding off evil, while its spirituality develops a subtle new quality. 198
Spirit-vessel integration	223	Tenglong's true spirit is fused into the ruler under a contract sanctioned by the world's will. Yu Chen uses sacrifice to prevent it from being classified as a Demonic Weapon. 223
Bestowal and guardian succession	246–247	Yu Chen bestows the ruler to a dragon before ascending. By this point, the Seven-Colored Deer's former role as its guardian had passed to the True Dragon Spirit after its integration with the ruler. 246 247

Background / History

The Shennong Ruler was sealed in Shennongjia, a place associated with Shennong's ascent. The Seven-Colored Deer guarded it and used Shennongjia's yin-yang and Five Elements currents to conceal both itself and the weapon. 175

Although it is associated with Shennong, Yu Chen considers it more likely to be a manifestation of heaven-and-earth Dao principles that was influenced by the concept of Shennong at its birth. Its ability to identify herbs, heal injuries, dispel poison, enlighten living beings, and bless harvests reinforced that association. 176

Yu Chen found the ruler within a valley of exotic plants by using five-colored light to distinguish the plants' attributes. The weapon alone radiated dense vitality strongly enough to resist his search method, revealing its location. 176

Like the other Nine Divine Weapons, the Shennong Ruler is not an intelligent Demonic Weapon. It normally remains dormant and follows the workings of fate, while the world's will suppresses its emergence before the appropriate time. Yu Chen nevertheless draws upon its spirituality and incomplete memories of past wielders to investigate its nature. 182

After Tenglong's True Dragon Spirit was integrated into the ruler, it assumed the Seven-Colored Deer's former guardian position. This relieved the deer of its duty as guardian of the Shennong Ruler. 223 247

Appearance

The Shennong Ruler resembles a two-foot-long, palm-width wooden measuring stick, but has a handle and the form of a hardwood whip. Deep-green patterns run across its body. 176

• Emits jade-green or pale-green radiance when activated. 182 194
• Can appear pitch-black when covered by the Spirit of the Heavenly Book's curse. 196 197
• Its light is associated with dense vitality, growing vegetation, and ripening spirit herbs. 176 182

Abilities & Skills

Healing and Vitality

The ruler channels abundant life force into living beings and can strengthen the body, restore meridians, and support recovery.

• Healed Hou Guangqing's hidden injuries by sending life force through his meridians. 182
• Protected Li Sha's meridians from collapse while Yu Chen forcibly widened them with mana. 191
• Helped Yu Chen nourish Li Sha while she broke through again into the Martial Dao Grandmaster realm. 193
• Its vitality can be used as a sacrificial offering to nourish spiritual beings such as Tenglong. 223

Herbal and Agricultural Authority

The ruler can distinguish the properties of herbs, affect medicinal substances, and accelerate the growth of vegetation.

• Identifies the yin-cold and warm-hot properties of the hundred herbs. 176
• Can heal wounds, dispel poison, enlighten living beings, and bring abundant grain harvests. 176
• Causes nearby plants to grow rapidly and can ripen spiritual herbs. 182
• Transformed a half-finished anti-gu medicinal liquid into a lingzhi mushroom when tapped by Yu Chen. 178

Cultivation Enhancement

Upon recognizing Yu Chen, the ruler substantially improved his cultivation foundation and his comprehension of Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend arts.

• Made Yu Chen's Earthly Fiend Methods purer, with some advancing in color and quality. 176
• Strengthened Yu Chen's five viscera and six bowels, improved the Lung God Hao Hua and Spleen God Ever-Present, and smoothed the circulation of his five viscera and five qi. 176
• Suppressed foreign spirituality within the Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, and Black Tortoise phantoms without diminishing their underlying power. 176
• Extended Yu Chen's permitted stay in the Divine Weapon World to more than three years and gave him the ability to return at will. 176

Environmental Manipulation and Sealing

The ruler can influence earth veins, vegetation, and the flow of primordial qi over a wide area.

• Became roots reaching into the nether earth, sealed fissures between yin and yang, and disrupted the circulation of primordial qi around the Great Unity Way's illusory heavenly realm. 194
• Nourished terrain and vegetation while repairing disruption caused by slight movements in earth veins. 219
• Its equal-standing divine radiance could suppress the Xuanyuan Sword's pervasive sword intent during Yu Chen's battle with Tai Wang. 240

Blessing and Protective Concepts

The ruler's curse-driven development shifted part of its power away from raw vitality toward more conceptual protection.

• Its evolving radiance developed concepts of health, happiness, and driving away evil. 198
• The Spirit of the Heavenly Book's curse was highly targeted, temporarily overcoming the ruler's usual disaster-warding qualities and coating it in black grime. 197
• Yu Chen retained the curse as a subject of study rather than destroying it immediately. 197

Relationships

• Yu Chen — Current wielder during the Divine Weapon World arc; located the ruler in Shennongjia, studied its spirituality, used it in combat and healing, and later bestowed it to a dragon. 176 182 246
• Seven-Colored Deer — Former guardian beast with a symbiotic bond to the ruler; led Yu Chen to its hidden valley and later remained associated with him. Its former guardianship role passed to the True Dragon Spirit after the latter merged with the ruler. 175 176 233 247
• Tenglong — His true spirit was fused with the ruler as a sanctioned vessel for his continued existence; the resulting True Dragon Spirit assumed the Seven-Colored Deer's former guardian role. 223 247
• Xuanyuan Sword — A fellow Nine Divine Weapon representing a conflicting human path; prior wielders of the two weapons fought over whether to seize all creation or take only the greater share. 218 219
• Spirit of the Heavenly Book — Placed a targeted curse upon the ruler before departing. 196 197
• Shennong Hall — A fallen righteous-path sect reportedly founded by a disciple of a former wielder; it inherited a lesser Divine Weapon that aided medicinal-herb growth. 197

Story Role / Major Arcs

Discovery in Shennongjia

Yu Chen enters Shennongjia seeking both the Seven-Colored Deer and the Shennong Ruler. After passing the deer's test, he finds the ruler among countless herbs and earns its recognition. 175 176

Emergence of a Divine Weapon

Yu Chen reveals the ruler while aiding Hou Guangqing, establishing it as one of the Nine Divine Weapons. Its emergence later becomes known across the Divine Weapon World and is treated by major powers as a sign that further Divine and Demonic Weapons may appear. 182 218

Curse and Spirituality Research

After the Spirit of the Heavenly Book curses the ruler, Yu Chen studies the curse rather than simply cleansing it. His experiments lead him to conclude that Divine Weapons can evolve and may be closer to an alternative form of deity than ordinary artifacts. 196 198

Conflict with the Xuanyuan Sword's Path

The ruler becomes central to Yu Chen's ideological conflict with the Xuanyuan Sword. Yu Chen teaches that their prior wielders disagreed over whether humanity should seize all creation for itself or share reverence with all living beings. 218 219

Tenglong's Vessel

Yu Chen offers the Shennong Ruler as a vessel for Tenglong's true spirit. After formal sacrifice and the world's approval, Tenglong is integrated into the ruler without turning it into a Demonic Weapon. 223

Final Bestowal

Before ascending, Yu Chen grants the Shennong Ruler to a dragon, while the Xuanyuan Sword is given to the human dynasty's representative. The ruler's former guardian position, previously held by the Seven-Colored Deer, had already been transferred to the True Dragon Spirit through Tenglong's integration. 246 247