Great Xia

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Great Xia (大夏)
Alias(es)	Great Xia Dynasty
Affiliation	Profound Yellow Realm; Human Dao
Occupation/Role	Orthodox human-path dynasty governing the secular world
Status	Active; its human-path fortune is recovering after the restoration of provincial authority 410
First Appearance	Chapter 5: Spirit Energy Tides 5
Current Ruler	Empress Xia Yunqiu, the Human Emperor 326 410

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Founding amid spiritual depletion	5	The First Emperor founded Great Xia during a prior era of depleted spiritual energy and pacified the four directions. 5
Early Spirit Tide dominance	5, 289	Its imperial authority and modern army initially allowed it to seize most cultivation resources, despite its shallow cultivation foundation. 5 289
Declining control	289	As sect disciples reached Qi Refinement and Spirit Transformation, Great Xia lost influence in counties and districts to grotto-heavens and blessed lands. 289
Incense-fire expansion attempt	318	Emperor Xia completed the Capital City God ceremony, extending an incense divine domain across Great Xia. 318
Post-Dusk restoration	326	Xia Yunqiu succeeded Emperor Xia after repelling demon realms in all ten directions and winning support from court and countryside. 326
Reduced to three prefectures	375	Following continuing upheaval, Great Xia retained only three prefectures, with Jing Prefecture as its essential heartland. 375
Provincial authority reclaimed	381, 410	With Shen Yuan's deterrence and Nether Office support, Great Xia retook authority over its provinces and commanderies; the transfer of authority was later completed. 381 410

Background

Great Xia was established three thousand years before the present era, after the Great Yin Human Emperor severed the connection between Heaven and Earth and spiritual energy gradually declined. The First Emperor founded the dynasty amid the resulting chaos, creating the political order that endured into the Spirit Tide era. 5

Unlike the ancient grotto-heavens and blessed lands, Great Xia did not rise through cultivation. Its imperial family possessed limited cultivation foundations, but the dynasty retained overwhelming early advantages through imperial authority, armed forces, territorial administration, and control of secular resources. 5

The return of the Spirit Energy Tide threatened that balance. As hidden sects revived and cultivators became capable of disregarding conventional weapons, Great Xia's lack of high-level experts became increasingly severe. Its court could influence prefectures, but counties and districts gradually fell under sect control. 289

Governance and Institutions

Human Dao Authority

Great Xia derives its legitimacy from its position as an orthodox human-path dynasty. Its rulers can command portions of humanity's fortune, while high-ranking officials invested with that fortune form a central foundation of the court. 292 298

• The Human Emperor's throne grants authority over Human Dao fortune and dynastic destiny. 375
• Jing Prefecture contains an incomplete Human Dao Grand Formation capable of suppressing cultivators below Void Refinement. 375
• The Imperial Capital's grand formation can empower soldiers and suppress cultivators, though it becomes ineffective against those recognized by Human Dao providence. 295 317
• The Grand Rite of the Human Path is Great Xia's highest-ranking state rite after the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony; it is reserved for events involving the entire dynasty. 303

Imperial Astronomical Bureau

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau oversees Great Xia's cultivation forces and monitors the provinces. Its Director is regarded as the court's second most important figure after the emperor and is invested with national and human-path fortune. 292 326

• The bureau selects and supports exceptional younger cultivators on the dynasty's behalf. 201
• Its Director, Zhong Bu Wen, became a key supporter of Xia Yunqiu's succession. 326
• The bureau's personnel and influence extend into many grotto-heavens and blessed lands. 326

City Gods and Incense Domains

Great Xia sought to restore the City God system in order to reassert authority over its territory during the Spirit Tide era. City Gods and their incense-and-faith domains protect population centers from demons, ghosts, and other threats. 289 376

• Emperor Xia attempted to trade seven prefectures' incense and faith, along with authority over City God appointments, to the Nether Office. 302
• Xia Yunqiu opposed the cession of City God offices, arguing that control of the system belonged to human-path dynasties. 304
• The City God restoration project became the basis of Emperor Xia's attempt to dominate the Incense-Fire Divine Path. 318 320

Resources and Military

• Great Xia controlled more than one hundred small- and medium-sized spirit-stone mines, with additional mines reviving as the Qi Tide returned. 139
• The court used the national treasury to cultivate Imperial Capital prodigies, offering natal spiritual treasures, royal scriptures, spiritual medicines, and access to a fragmented Dao wondrous divine ability. 201
• Its early military advantage rested partly on a modern army numbering in the millions, though firearms became less effective against Qi Refinement and Spirit Transformation cultivators. 289
• Great Xia lacked pillar-level experts capable of matching the foremost figures of grotto-heavens and blessed lands. 187
• The Mount Tai Lord's Talisman Edict was once regarded as the dynasty's foremost underworld treasure and greatest reliance against underworld powers. 256 260

History

Conflict with the Cultivation World

During the Spirit Tide's early stages, Great Xia used its secular strength to secure cultivation resources and maintain control. It also backed Imperial Capital prodigies, partly to establish a connection with Shen Yuan through Xue Mingzhi. 5 201

This advantage diminished as major sects expanded their lineages among the population and their younger cultivators matured. Great Xia increasingly relied on its orthodox status, resource competition, and support for weaker sects to resist the leading grotto-heavens and blessed lands. 289

Nether Office Alliance

Emperor Xia pursued an alliance with the Nether Office to counter the sects and restore City Gods. The proposed terms included large concessions of incense and faith, City God offices, and a unilateral oath upon Great Xia's dynastic providence. 302

The Nether Office demanded that Xia Yunqiu preside over the Grand Rite of the Human Path instead of the Crown Prince. Emperor Xia accepted the condition and granted her the title of Princess Tianxing, binding her more closely to the court while elevating her public standing. 303

Xia Yunqiu later used knowledge of the Square-Inch Secret Realm to negotiate against the Nether Office's demands. Her stance won broad support because she refused to surrender Great Xia's City God system and incense domains. 304 305

Dusk Realm Crisis

Emperor Xia secretly traded with the Dusk Realm after the Spirit Tide's return. The transactions included a fragment of Langhuan Pavilion and foreign resources used to repair the Imperial Capital's grand formation and strengthen the dynasty's armies. 321

His ambition escalated into an attempt to control the Incense-Fire Divine Path by becoming the Capital City God. The scheme brought the Dusk Realm's influence into Great Xia, destabilized dynastic fortune, and caused Emperor Xia to lose public support. 318 321 322

After Shen Yuan suppressed the Capital City God and exposed the Dusk Realm's involvement, Xia Yunqiu led forces into the imperial city. Emperor Xia's downfall ended his rule. 322 323

Xia Yunqiu's Reign

Xia Yunqiu defeated invading demon realms in all ten directions within twelve days, gaining the support of Great Xia's civil and military officials. She was subsequently enthroned as Human Emperor. 326

Despite this succession, Great Xia later lost effective control over most of its territory. By the time the major factions forced the issue in Jing Prefecture, the dynasty retained only three prefectures. 375

Shen Yuan intervened against the Void Refinement True Lords seeking to abolish Great Xia's rule over the eighteen prefectures and seize Human Dao fortune. This created an opportunity for Xia Yunqiu's government to reclaim provincial authority. 375 376

Relationships

• Xia Yunqiu — Ninth daughter of the former Xia Emperor; later became Great Xia's Human Emperor after defending the dynasty from demon realms and succeeding to the throne. 296 326
• Xia Emperor — Former ruler whose alliance with the Dusk Realm and City God scheme nearly destroyed the dynasty's legitimacy. 321 322
• Shen Yuan / Supreme Daoist — A decisive external supporter who quelled the Dusk crisis, protected Great Xia from hostile factions, and later helped restore provincial authority. 323 376 381
• Imperial Astronomical Bureau — Great Xia's principal cultivation and provincial oversight institution, led by Zhong Bu Wen. 292 326
• Nether Office — A powerful underworld organization with which Great Xia attempted an alliance centered on City Gods, incense domains, and the Grand Rite of the Human Path. 302 303
• Grotto-heavens and blessed lands — Great Xia's primary competitors for cultivators, resources, local authority, and Human Dao fortune. 289 375
• Dusk Realm — An otherworldly power secretly cultivated by Emperor Xia; its influence contributed to the imperial crisis and Great Xia's instability. 321 323

Trivia

• The Great Xia Imperial Capital is the preserved inner city of the Great Yin Imperial Capital from later generations. 339
• Great Xia's Projection Pearl was modeled after the Great Yin Dynasty's Mirage Dragon Pearl and can transmit projections through formations in public squares across the Nine Provinces. 422
• The Landscape-and-State Map, refined by Great Xia for Shen Yuan, contains the spirits of mountains, rivers, and cities across its territory and possesses the embryonic form of a small world. 381 382