Emperor Daye

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Emperor Daye
Alias(es)	Ying Xian
Species/Race	Native mortal of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Great Li imperial court; later based in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace
Occupation/Role	Emperor; Dao Foundation cultivator; architect of the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation
Status	Active 262
First Appearance	99

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Dao Foundation Early Stage	168	A native cultivator who formed his first Profound Root through the grand divine ability Sundial Reversal; forcibly cultivating it without a Dao Foundation Divine-Ability Spirit Item left him aged and restricted.
Dao Foundation Middle Stage	219	Refined the Void-Disrupting Flower into the second Profound Root, Heavenly Decline Method, then displayed the ability to pressure several Dao Foundation opponents simultaneously.

History

Great Li and the Grand Formation

Emperor Daye ascended Great Li’s throne more than thirty years before Chen Lingxi investigated his reign. He ordered widespread canal construction, reshaping rivers, mountain passes, and terrain into the vast Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation. The project devastated settlements and consumed immense numbers of laborers; its formation nodes were supplied through methods including the sinking of coffins containing cultivators beneath waterways. 99

Using the Mirror-Listening Cauldron Artifact Fragment, Daye identified people with exceptional fortunes—most of them reborn Truth-Seekers. He instigated the extermination of a hundred families because severe upheaval could awaken those individuals’ memories of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm. 175 Those he captured were studied in the palace, where he read, erased, and implanted memories to create obedient identities and puppets, including Crown Prince Ying Chi. 148

Dao Foundation Cultivation

A native mortal, Ying Xian cultivated to the Dao Foundation Realm despite the grotto-heaven’s depleted spiritual environment. His first Dao Foundation grand divine ability, Sundial Reversal of the Mysterious Brightness Grand Splendor Way, was cultivated without its required Spirit Item. The backlash rapidly aged him, confined him near the palace formation, and forced him to recover after significant exertion. 168 187

He later nurtured the Void-Disrupting Flower with the Immortal Husk and his grand formation, using it as the Divine-Ability Spirit Item for Heavenly Decline Method. Its refinement gave him a second Profound Root and elevated him to the Dao Foundation Middle Stage. 193 219

Conflict and Cooperation with Chen Lingxi

Daye initially intended to monitor Chen Lingxi until he reached the Heavenward Realm, viewing him as potential cultivation nourishment. 150 175 During their first direct dealings, they signed a Jade Law Document and temporarily agreed to seek escape from the grotto-heaven together. When Chen Lingxi attempted to take the Dao-Seizing Fruit for himself, Daye revealed his restored prime form and tried to confine him; Chen Lingxi escaped back to the present world. 175 176

Their relationship later shifted into a wary alliance against the threat of the World-Refining Furnace and the Quexing Xi Family. Daye welcomed Chen Lingxi at the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, provided him with a Golden Finger Bone talisman, and eventually entered a Dao Foundation Jade Law agreement concerning the Spirit-Placement Treasure Mirror. 204 205 249

Defense of the Grotto-Heaven

When Dao-Below Academy disciples attempted to seize the Immortal Husk through the Heaven-Fishing Great Formation, Daye uncovered their plan with the Mirror-Listening Cauldron and shattered three projected incarnations, killing one. 187

After entering the Dao Foundation Middle Stage, he descended on Nanche Province through the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation. He used Heavenly Decline Method to defeat Luan Shu, Bai Lingze, Yu Jiangwei, and Daoist Zhuxu, capturing Luan Shu and Daoist Zhuxu before withdrawing upon Zhao Duanxuan’s arrival. 218 220

Xiao Changlü and the Volcano Immortal Pivot

Daye secretly maintained and tempered the avatar Xiao Changlü at the Volcano Immortal Pivot. He fed captured Dao Foundation incarnations to the avatar through a vast formation, using their Dao Origin and the lingering spiritual energy of the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation to restore its combat strength. 224 234 242

Appearance

Emperor Daye normally appears as an extremely aged, emaciated sovereign in dragon robes, with sparse white hair, deep wrinkles, and an apparently frail posture. His golden, flame-like eyes remain his most unmistakable feature. 147 174

When exerting his Dao Foundation power, the effects of age recede: his hair darkens, his body straightens, his physique returns to its prime, and his bearing becomes overwhelmingly imperial. 176 187

• Bright yellow or dark dragon robes and an imperial crown. 147 204
• Two clusters of golden flame burning within his eyes. 147
• A hunched, skeletal old-man form when damaged by Sundial Reversal. 168
• A tall, black-haired, powerfully built prime form while unleashing Dao Origin. 194

Personality

Daye is patient, calculating, and relentlessly pragmatic. He treats memories, identities, cultivators, and even entire populations as resources in a larger plan to escape the grotto-heaven’s destruction. His extermination campaigns and experimentation on captives demonstrate extreme ruthlessness. 148 175

Despite this cruelty, he is capable of recognizing useful equals. He gradually treats Chen Lingxi as a fellow native cultivator with whom cooperation may offer a path to survival, though every agreement between them remains shaped by caution, leverage, and concealed contingencies. 204 249

Abilities & Skills

Dao Foundation Cultivation

Daye possesses two Dao Foundation Profound Roots, granting him Dao Origin far beyond Qi Circulation cultivators.

• Sundial Reversal — reverses the years and restores his body from decrepitude to a youthful, powerful state. 168 255
• Heavenly Decline Method — spreads a decaying force that corrodes objects, defenses, and opposing Dao Foundation power. 193 219
• His Dao Origin and physical pressure can inhibit the circulation of weaker cultivators’ spiritual qi merely through proximity. 174
• Maintaining peak strength after using Sundial Reversal previously required prolonged recovery and healing. 187

Weaving Delusion Golden Eyes

Daye possesses the complete Cauldron Vessel known as the Weaving Delusion Golden Eyes. 204

• Reads a target’s bones, meridians, Qi Sea, Consciousness Sea, cultivation history, and memories as though they were exposed in a scroll. 148
• Extracts, alters, and implants memories to fabricate identities and histories. 148
• Created false Rebirth Realm identities and converted figures such as Crown Prince Ying Chi into puppets. 148
• Its golden flames are visible in Daye’s eyes and in avatars under his direct control. 147 234

Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation

A continent-spanning formation built by reorganizing Great Li’s rivers, canals, mountains, and terrain. 99

• Draws on spiritual and vital energies gathered across the realm. 194
• Allows Daye to travel extraordinary distances through rainbow bridges and formation routes. 218
• Sustains and rapidly restores Xiao Changlü’s avatar with stored spiritual energy. 242
• Served as the foundation for nurturing the Spirit Item used to cultivate Heavenly Decline Method. 193

Heavenly Decline Method

Daye’s second grand divine ability manifests as gray-white mist carrying profound decay. 224

• Corrodes the defenses and techniques of Dao Foundation opponents. 219
• Defeated four Dao Foundation cultivators in Nanche Province, capturing two of them. 220
• Strips pure Dao Origin from imprisoned incarnations, which Daye used to nourish Xiao Changlü’s avatar. 224
• Its decay can be weakened by sufficiently powerful opposing forces, such as the blazing sun manifested in battle at Heaven Gate Sea. 262

Incarnation Control

Daye can control Xiao Changlü’s avatar directly.

• His golden flames and distinctive bearing appear in Xiao Changlü when he takes control. 234
• The avatar can recover most of its peak combat strength within moments by absorbing spiritual energy from the grand formation. 242
• Daye used the avatar as a recipient for Dao Foundation incarnations and volcanic formation power. 224

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mirror-Listening Cauldron Artifact Fragment — marks individuals with great fortune, tracks targets, and exposed the Dao-Below Academy’s scheme for the Immortal Husk. 175 187
• Weaving Delusion Golden Eyes — complete Cauldron Vessel used for reading and fabricating memories. 148 204
• Immortal Husk — source of essence qi used to heal damage from Sundial Reversal and support Daye’s cultivation. 199
• Spirit-Placement Treasure Mirror — preserves three souls and seven spirits within its yin and yang sides for passage through Void Turbulence, though its occupants cannot guide its course. 247
• Golden Finger Bone Talisman — a single-use protective spell given to Chen Lingxi; its activation manifested Daye’s face and trapped Bai Lingze in a golden cage. 205 218
• War chariot — a golden chariot drawn by nine phantasmal five-clawed dragons, used alongside the Mountains-and-Rivers Grand Formation during his descent on Nanche Province. 218

Relationships

• Chen Lingxi — Initially a target Daye planned to cultivate or confine; later his most important reluctant ally in seeking survival from the grotto-heaven’s destruction. 175 176 204 249
• Xiao Changlü — Daye’s incarnation/avatar, tempered at the Volcano Immortal Pivot and directly controlled through the Weaving Delusion Golden Eyes. 189 234
• Crown Prince Ying Chi — His crown prince, whose memories and identity were fabricated by Daye, turning him into a puppet. 148 149
• Purple-Robed Marquis — Court subordinate rescued by Daye after defeat at Chen Lingxi’s hands. 150 165
• Yuan Yuan — Court powerhouse and manipulated identity; rescued alongside the Purple-Robed Marquis. 165 167
• Daoist Shurong — Dao-Below Academy adversary who sought the Immortal Husk and opposed Daye’s control of the grotto-heaven. 187 220
• Woman from Lotus Pool Prefecture — A captive Dao Foundation cultivator who mocked Daye’s damaged condition and challenged his resolve. 168

Notable Quotes

“This time, to whom should I grant your memories?” 147

“Daoist friend, I welcome you with this rainbow light!” 204