Primordial World

Biodata

Cosmology and Governance

The Primordial World is a vast, strength-driven realm in which cultivators without Saint- or Hunyuan-level power risk becoming pawns in greater calamities 1. After the Dragon-Han Calamity and Dao-Devil War, the Great Dao retreated from active governance and the Heavenly Dao assumed control of the world’s rules 1.

• Great Dao — The higher Dao that recognizes extraordinary acts of creation, such as Dao Xuan’s successful connection of his Inner World to the chaos void 7.
• Heavenly Dao — The governing rules of the Primordial World. It regulates fixed fates and variables but is neither omniscient nor inherently intelligent 17 40.
• Saints — Bearers of a Karmic Rank granted beneath the Heavenly Dao; they act as its emissaries and wield its authority rather than merely possessing a higher cultivation realm 16.
• Hongjun — The world’s first Saint and the Heavenly Dao’s spokesperson. Initially its sole Saint, he subsequently completes Dao Integration and becomes deeply fused with the Heavenly Dao 39 40 55 57 79.
• Nuwa — Attains sainthood through creating humans and establishes Taisu Heaven in chaos beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens 75 83 86.

Origin World and Attached Worlds

The Primordial World is a genuine Origin World, described as belonging to the absolute top tier of that category. Countless Greater Thousand, Middle Thousand, and Lesser Thousand Worlds exist in attachment to it 79. Its scale remains vastly beyond Dao Xuan’s Inner World during his earlier travels, encompassing the Primordial Land, the starry sky, and the Four Seas 59.

Not every world in the surrounding chaos belongs to the Primordial World. Dao Xuan discovers and refines an independent Middle Thousand World associated with Greek mythology, and later asks Hongjun to notify him of other independent worlds hidden nearby 62 63 67 80.

Dao Integration and the Heavenly Dao’s Limitations

Hongjun explains that, despite the Primordial World’s vastness, its Heavenly Dao lacks one portion relative to the Chaos Great Dao. This missing portion is Great Dao Origin, represented by the saying that the Great Dao numbers fifty while Heaven derives forty-nine. It cannot simply be supplied by Dao Xuan, Hongjun, or even a resurrected Pangu; doing so would make the Heavenly Dao equivalent to the Chaos Great Dao 78.

Hongjun’s Dao Integration binds him so deeply to the Heavenly Dao that an attempt to separate them carelessly could destroy his true spirit or collapse the Heavenly Dao itself. He identifies two possible routes to liberation 79:

• Master the Law of Order and surpass the Heavenly Dao 79.
• Have Dao Xuan attain Hunyuan Taiji and extract Hongjun’s true spirit during the upheaval at the end of a great calamity. Hongjun’s Dao fruit would need to remain within the Heavenly Dao to sustain it 79.

Hongjun’s intervention in the Witch-Demon conflict serves the Heavenly Dao and the preservation of the Primordial World. He decrees that the demons rule the heavens and the witches govern the earth, and forbids renewed warfare until the Heavenly Dao settles into stable operation 78 93.

Structure

Great Dao Laws and Cultivation

The “three thousand Great Dao Laws” are a figurative designation rather than a literal count; the Primordial World contains immeasurably many laws 18.

Three Corpses Severing Method

Hongjun organizes the world’s scattered cultivation methods into the Three Corpses Severing Method after attaining sainthood 16.

• A cultivator uses Innate Spiritual Treasures to sever their good, evil, and self-obsession corpses 16 17.
• The severed corpses become independent avatars that remain connected to and controlled by the true body 16.
• Severing all three corpses brings one infinitely close to sainthood, but true Hunyuan requires Three Corpses Reunification—breaking previous limits and reuniting the corpses with the true body 16.
• The method is treasure-dependent; incompatibility among the treasures used can obstruct later reunification 28.

Dao-Proving Methods and Independent Cultivation

Hongjun teaches three mainstream methods of proving the Dao: Law-Proving Dao, Three-Corpse-Slaying Dao, and Merit-Proving Dao 5 55. Although he is the Primordial World’s first Saint, he identifies Yang Mei as its first cultivator to prove Hunyuan 55.

Dao Xuan pioneers World-Proving Dao, opening a world within himself and binding his Dao fruit to its origin. Its growth raises his cultivation, and its continued existence underpins his survival. Unlike Heavenly Dao sainthood, this path does not require Primordial Purple Qi 3 5. By refining another world’s origin and perfecting his Five Elements Law, Dao Xuan advances his Inner World into a Greater Thousand World and becomes a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal 67.

After this breakthrough, Dao Xuan believes that, although he cannot defeat the Primordial World’s Heavenly Dao, it can no longer prevent his departure. Nevertheless, he remains a being of the Primordial World, and the Heavenly Dao has no reason to act against him so long as he does not defy Heaven 67. Hongjun later warns him to use his independent world sparingly within the Primordial World, as its discovery by the Heavenly Dao could cause serious trouble 80.

Reincarnation

The Primordial World lacks complete Reincarnation Laws in the documented developments and therefore remains incomplete in that respect 18.

• Reincarnation is expected to arise through Houtu’s future transformation and sacrifice 18.
• The orthodox path to establishing it requires comprehension and unification of the Life and Death Laws 18.
• The lack of reincarnation is not unique to the Primordial World; Dao Xuan’s Inner World initially shares the same deficiency 18.
• Dao Xuan later develops powers related to life, death, and reincarnation through the Dark Profound Soul-Delivering Lamp, while continuing to regard Houtu’s future transformation as significant 22 37 38.
• Houtu subsequently cultivates a Primordial Spirit. Dao Xuan offers her a World Tree Leaf, Flower, or Fruit as different ways of responding to her ordained tribulation, but her choice and its outcome remain unresolved at the end of their documented meeting 93.

Spiritual Roots and Treasures

The Primordial World’s Innate Spiritual Roots embody major law origins and serve as foundations, resources, and sometimes the true bodies of powerful cultivators 24 36.

An Innate Supreme Treasure contains at least one complete Great Dao Law. Sets of spiritual treasures may rival such treasures in power without possessing equally complete laws. Acquired Meritorious Supreme Treasures, such as the Heaven-and-Earth Black-Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and Hongmeng Measuring Ruler, derive their exceptional power from world-creation merit rather than complete laws 65.

Power Progression

History

Following the Dragon-Han Calamity and the Dao-Devil War, the Great Dao withdrew while the Heavenly Dao came to govern the Primordial World 1. This transition set the stage for Hongjun’s rise and the coming age of Saints.

Hongjun subsequently attained sainthood, producing world-spanning phenomena including purple qi, falling heavenly flowers, golden lotuses, auspicious clouds, and surging spiritual energy 9. He opened Zixiao Palace to the great powers and announced three Dao sermons of three thousand years each 12.

During the first sermon’s aftermath, Hongjun appointed Dong Wang Gong and Xi Wangmu as leaders of the male and female immortals, respectively, granting them authority to govern the world’s immortals 14. Their appointment directly conflicted with the ambitions of Dijun and Taiyi, who sought universal supremacy 14.

The world then moved further toward the Witch-Beast Calamity when Dijun and Taiyi proclaimed the Demon Heavenly Court in the Thirty-Three Heavens 32. At its establishment, the rise of the Demon Tribe, the anticipated response of the Witch Clan, and the expected formation of Dong Wang Gong’s Immortal Court signaled an approaching era of large-scale conflict 32.

Completion of the Zixiao Teachings

Hongjun designates the six future Saints, accepts them as disciples, and grants treasures and Primordial Purple Qi. He gives an additional strand of Purple Qi to Hong Yun and allows the assembled powers to divide the treasures on Treasure-Dividing Cliff 55.

After the final teachings, Hongjun merges with the Heavenly Dao. Dao Xuan witnesses the Heavenly Dao reveal itself during the integration and later studies the insights gained from that event 57.

Witch-Demon War and Enforced Peace

While Dao Xuan is absent in chaos for more than a hundred epochs, the Witch Clan and Demon Tribe fight a devastating battle. The Witch Clan’s Pangu projection nearly annihilates Dijun and the Demon Tribe’s leadership, but Hongjun intervenes 68 93.

Hongjun imposes a division of authority under which the demons rule the heavens and the witches govern the earth. He also forbids further hostilities until the Heavenly Dao settles into stable operation 78 93. This creates a temporary peace rather than resolving the underlying conflict. Houtu remains anxious about the eventual renewal of war and nearly shatters her newly cultivated Primordial Spirit when attempting to divine its outcome through obscured Heavenly Secrets 93.

Humanity and Later Races

Nuwa creates the Human Tribe and becomes a Saint. Dao Xuan supplies Three Lights Divine Water and Nine Heavens Breath Soil through his disciples in preparation for her work 70 83 86. Nuwa subsequently opens Taisu Heaven as her sanctuary in chaos 75.

Nuwa entrusts the humans to Linghu’s care on the condition that they overcome their difficulties without direct assistance from her spells or divine abilities. Linghu may guide and advise them at critical moments 83. With the emergence of the Three Ancestors of the Human Race, humanity establishes a foundation for survival, and Dao Xuan recalls Linghu to Chaos Island while the ancestors continue leading the tribe across the Primordial Land 86.

Inspired by Nuwa’s achievement and Dao Xuan’s independent attainment, Minghe creates the Asura Race. His gains raise him from mid-stage Quasi-Saint to Quasi-Saint perfection, but do not grant him Dao realization 86 87. His later failure to prove the Dao despite obtaining merit twice causes widespread bewilderment among the world’s great powers 91.

Major Inhabitants and Powers

• Hongjun — First Saint, Dao Ancestor, teacher at Zixiao Palace, and the Heavenly Dao’s spokesperson; completes Dao Integration and intervenes to preserve the world during the Witch-Demon conflict 12 39 40 55 57 78.
• Dao Xuan — A major variable whose actions have altered fixed destinies within the Primordial World. He becomes a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal through World-Proving Dao and later discusses Hongjun’s possible liberation from the Heavenly Dao 40 67 79.
• Twelve Ancestral Witches — Powerful beings who cultivate their physical bodies rather than Primordial Spirits and naturally command Great Dao laws. Their Pangu projection nearly destroys the Demon Tribe’s leadership during the great battle 11 68 93.
• Houtu — Earth Ancestral Witch associated with the expected establishment of reincarnation. She later cultivates a Primordial Spirit and seeks a way to survive her ordained tribulation 18 93.
• Dijun and Taiyi — Founders of the Demon Heavenly Court and aspirants to universal supremacy; their faction rules the heavens under Hongjun’s imposed settlement 32 33 78.
• Dong Wang Gong and Xi Wangmu — Appointed by Hongjun as leaders of male and female immortals 14.
• Jieyin and Zhunti — Western cultivators whose true forms are the Bitter Bamboo Spiritual Root and Bodhi Tree, respectively 36 42.
• Zhen Yuanzi — Master of Longevity Mountain, associated with the Earth Book and the Ginseng Fruit Tree 25.
• Three Pure Ones — Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian, residing together on Kunlun Mountain during the earlier developments and designated among the future Heavenly Dao Saints 36 55 58.
• Nuwa and Fuxi — Cultivators associated with Phoenix Perch Mountain who decline to join the Demon Heavenly Court. Nuwa later creates humanity and becomes a Saint 60 83.
• Yang Mei — Former Space Demon God reborn in the Primordial World and identified by Hongjun as the first being to prove Hunyuan 55.
• Hong Yun — Associate of Zhen Yuanzi and Dao Xuan; receives the additional strand of Primordial Purple Qi from Hongjun 55 60.
• Minghe — Master of the Netherworld Blood Sea and creator of the Asura Race; reaches Quasi-Saint perfection without successfully proving the Dao 86 87 91.
• Human Tribe — Nuwa’s created race, initially guided by Linghu and later led by its Three Ancestors 83 86.
• Asura Race — Race created by Minghe in an attempt to follow the example of Nuwa’s merit-based attainment 86 87.
• Phoenix Clan — Former great power of the Dragon-Han Calamity, associated with the Parasol Divine Tree as its clan-protecting spiritual root 47.

Relationships

• Great Dao — Former governing principle that retreated after the Dragon-Han Calamity; still recognizes world-creating achievements. The Primordial World’s Heavenly Dao remains distinct from it and lacks its Great Dao Origin 1 7 78.
• Heavenly Dao — Current governing order of the Primordial World; determines rules, fixed fates, and Saintly authority. Its stability underlies Hongjun’s temporary prohibition on renewed Witch-Demon warfare 1 16 40 93.
• Hongjun — First Saint and Heavenly Dao spokesperson, now deeply fused with the Heavenly Dao. His interventions protect the world, while any attempt to free his true spirit must avoid destroying the governing order 39 40 57 78 79.
• Dao Xuan — An anomaly whose interference with established destinies is tolerated by the Heavenly Dao so long as he does not openly defy Heaven. After attaining Hunyuan, he believes he can leave despite its opposition, but Hongjun still warns against exposing his independent world within the Primordial World 39 40 67 80.
• Houtu — Her future transformation into Reincarnation is expected to remedy one of the world’s fundamental flaws. Dao Xuan later offers her choices that may alter her personal fate, without a documented resolution to her decision 18 93.
• Demon Heavenly Court — A rising celestial power whose establishment accelerates the Witch-Beast Calamity; subsequently assigned rule over the heavens and temporarily forbidden from renewing war with the witches 32 78 93.
• Witch Clan — Earth-governing faction under Hongjun’s settlement. Its previous victory over the demons does not remove uncertainty about the eventual resumption of the calamity 78 93.
• Dao Xuan’s Inner World — An independently cultivated cosmos that grows into a Greater Thousand World. Dao Xuan studies the Primordial World as a model while developing a distinct structure; Hongjun regards his method as a possible means of eventual liberation 59 67 79.
• Attached Worlds — Countless lower-category worlds belong to the Primordial World’s wider cosmological system, unlike the independent worlds hidden in nearby chaos 79 80.
• Taisu Heaven — Nuwa’s Saintly sanctuary beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, outside the Demon Heavenly Court’s superior authority 75.

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