Li Ming

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Li Ming (李明)
Alias(es)	Demon Venerable; Ming Venerable; Ziwei Venerable; Ninth Heavenly Venerable
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Reincarnation Sea (Dao field); independent cultivator
Occupation/Role	Heavenly Venerable; founder of the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art; teacher and artifact refiner
Status	Alive; has successfully lived three lifetimes 43 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Ordinary mortal cultivator	1	Began with extremely poor aptitude, was rejected by sacred grounds, and relied on an elderly rogue cultivator’s tattered scripture to enter cultivation.
Defective acquired Chaotic Body	1	Created a personal Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art, absorbed special-physique origins, and evolved beyond his original mortal physique.
Imperial Dao Realm / Supreme	2	His five secret realms merged into the Immortal Platform; the Heavenly Heart Imprint fused with him, and he attained the Dao while forming a Great Dao Immortal Fetus.
Demon Venerable / Heavenly Venerable-level combatant	2	Killed Carefree Heavenly Venerable immediately after Dao attainment and adopted the title “Demon Venerable.”
Perfect Chaotic Body; Second Lifetime	23	Underwent nirvanic rebirth in a Great Dao Cocoon at age 26,000, returning with youthful vitality and a flawless Chaotic Body.
Perfect Chaotic Body; Third Lifetime	43	Used the Myriad Dragon Nest’s remaining Dao charm to begin a third lifetime at age 32,200 while retaining his Chaotic Body.

Background / History

Early life

Li Ming is a transmigrator who entered the world as an ordinary mortal with exceptionally poor cultivation aptitude. After his parents died, he was raised by Old Zhang, a low-level rogue cultivator who introduced him to cultivation. Major sacred grounds rejected Li Ming, forcing him to advance through a tattered scripture and his own persistence. 1 15

The mysterious Bronze Mirror became central to his survival. It concealed his aura, resisted curses and deductions, and enabled him to raid tombs for scriptures, treasures, and special-physique origins. Drawing inspiration from the future legend of the Ruthless Empress, he deduced his own Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art rather than inheriting an established supreme method. 1 14

Dao attainment and rise

Li Ming survived an extraordinary Dao-sealing tribulation in the Chaos Sea, with the Heavenly Demonic Saber devouring much of its lightning. The absorbed origins and his self-created art allowed him to develop a defective acquired Chaotic Body before attaining the Imperial Dao Realm. 1 2

At the moment of his breakthrough, Dark Supremes attempted to harvest his Chaos Origin. Li Ming destroyed their avatars, killed Carefree Heavenly Venerable, made the latter’s remains into the Carefree Boots, and publicly embraced the name Demon Venerable. 2

Reincarnation Sea and forbidden zones

After consolidating his realm, Li Ming attacked the Reincarnation Sea and killed its four Dark Supremes, including the Lord of Reincarnation and Thunder God. He claimed the forbidden zone as his territory and used its Dao Altars, Immortal Dao runes, Divine Spring Water, and sealed resources for more than a thousand years of cultivation. 3 4 5

He later annihilated seven more Dark Supremes who ambushed him with Lingbao Tianzun’s killing formation. The battle established his reputation as an invincible Heavenly Venerable, while the Heavenly Demonic Saber absorbed the slain Supremes’ bodies, weapons, scriptures, and Dao imprints. 7 8 9

Ziwei Star and legacy

After more than ten thousand years away, Li Ming returned to Ziwei Star, where its inhabitants honored him as Ming Venerable or Ziwei Venerable rather than Demon Venerable. His attainments elevated both his birth family’s Sun-Moon Holy Land and Old Zhang’s descendants’ Ziwei Holy Land. 14 15

He gave a ten-year public lecture on the five secret realms, benefiting cultivators of every level. He later passed the Thunder God’s Heavenly Art, Nine Secrets: Zhe and Xing, and the Dao Scripture to his affiliated holy lands, while forging Thunder God’s Hammer and the Ziwei Scepter as their defensive foundations. 16 17

Appearance

Li Ming is described as jade-like, refined, and exceptionally handsome; he was once considered Ziwei Star’s foremost beauty in appearance. He does not value this reputation, focusing instead on comprehending the Great Dao. 1

• Often appears in flowing robes amid chaotic energy, giving him the bearing of an exiled immortal. 8
• His aura can manifest as Chaos, a black hole, or controlled chaotic lightning. 8 12
• Following his second lifetime, he emerged with the appearance of an eighteen-year-old youth, black hair, crystalline skin, and overwhelming vitality. 23
• When cultivating or meeting descendants, his true appearance may be obscured by a mass of Chaos. 17

Personality

Li Ming is calm, calculating, and intensely independent. He rejects conventional restrictions on reputation and morality, choosing the title Demon Venerable because fear gives him greater freedom to act. He treats opponents, corpses, weapons, and even forbidden zones as potential cultivation resources. 2 4

Despite his ruthlessness, he is not needlessly reckless. He avoids suicidal conflicts with large numbers of Dark Supremes when surrender and compensation serve his interests better, and he prioritizes the long-term Red Dust Immortal path over temporary victories. 16 20

He retains attachments to Ziwei Star, Old Zhang’s descendants, and the Li Family. He protects Ziwei with hidden weapons, teaches openly, and supports allied Heavenly Venerables whose character he respects. 17 25 45

Abilities & Skills

Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art

Li Ming independently created a Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art with its own Great Dao imprint. Unlike the Ruthless Empress’s version, it can establish a supreme foundation through self-cultivation or through seizing others’ origins. 1 11

• Devours origins, blood essence, corpses, Dao laws, curses, weapon fragments, and hostile attacks.
• Evolves and strengthens his physique through absorbed special constitutions. 1
• Transforms his Wheel Sea into a black-hole-like manifestation that absorbs enemy power. 2 8
• Has never been passed to another cultivator; Li Ming considers its karmic and destructive risks too dangerous for broad transmission. 11 15

Chaotic Body

Li Ming first developed a defective acquired Chaotic Body, then refined it into a perfect Chaotic Body during his second lifetime. 1 23

• Resonates with the myriad Daos and excels at comprehending foreign techniques, formations, and Immortal Dao runes. 14 25
• Fused with the Heavenly Heart Imprint upon his Dao attainment, granting broad control over surrounding laws. 2
• His Great Dao suppressed the world so completely that others could not attain the Dao during his era. 14
• His Chaos Origin makes him a recurring target for Dark Supremes seeking longevity and rebirth. 7 23

Transformation Character Secret

A self-created secret art combining Li Ming’s deductions of the Soaring Immortal Art and Myriad-Transformation Sacred Art. It is also called the Flower Secret. 4 8

• Created specifically to counter the Nine Secrets.
• Can transform, reverse, neutralize, or refine phenomena and Dao techniques. 4
• Produces Dao flowers and petals bearing Li Ming’s imprints, which can seal, destroy, or erase enemies and their primordial spirits. 8

Flying Immortal Power and Immortal Ascension Light

Li Ming wields Flying Immortal Power, also manifested as Immortal Ascension Light or Eternal Ascension Power. 4

• Overwhelmed Extreme-Sublimated Dark Supremes and shattered their Dao manifestations. 4
• Destroyed the old ghost’s invading Devil Mist during its possession attempt. 9
• Combined with Chaos Thunder to annihilate Longevity Heavenly Venerable. 19

Thunder God’s Heavenly Art

Li Ming studied Thunder God’s Scripture after killing Thunder God and incorporated it into his own Dao, creating Thunder God’s Heavenly Art. 4 12

• Controls chaotic lightning that naturally emanates from his body and can absorb surrounding Great Dao power. 12
• Uses lightning as an effective force against dark and corruptive beings. 17
• Forged Thunder God’s Hammer and transmitted the art to Li Huayuan and the Sun-Moon Holy Land. 17

Nine Secrets, formations, and Source Arts

Li Ming possesses several Nine Secrets and integrates their principles into his own techniques rather than relying on them alone. 16 25 28

• Xing — Deepened through killing Carefree Heavenly Venerable and forging the Carefree Boots. 2 19
• Zhe — Studied through Longevity Heavenly Venerable’s regeneration and obtained through soul-searching. 19
• Zu — Received from the bronze lamp’s weapon spirit alongside Lingbao Tianzun’s scriptures. 23
• Dou — Received directly from Boundless Heavenly Venerable with its complete creation insights. 28
• Source Heaven Scripture — Created after studying Duan De’s Source Heaven Book; connects Source Arts, terrain, natural runes, and Li Ming’s Chaotic Body. 35

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bronze Mirror — Li Ming’s mysterious protective artifact. It conceals him from enemies, absorbs the river of time, suppresses powerful opponents, seals the Bronze Immortal Hall’s laws, and can erase Dark Strangeness. 1 2 11 27
• Heavenly Demonic Saber — Li Ming’s primary weapon, forged from absorbed origins and corpses. It has consumed multiple Heavenly Venerables, Dark Supremes, immortal metals, Dao laws, and faith power. Its nine-immortal-metal composition was completed at the Reincarnation Sea, and it later evolved into an Immortal Weapon. 4 20 32
• Carefree Boots — A pair of extreme-speed boots refined from Carefree Heavenly Venerable’s body. 2
• Bronze Immortal Hall — An immortal artifact taken from the old ghost after Li Ming destroyed it and imprinted the hall with his own Emperor Runes. 11
• Devouring Heaven Demon Jar — Li Ming’s former body, refined into an Extreme Dao Weapon using Immortal Dao runes, Chaos Divine Marrow, Mother Qi of All Things, immortal materials, and Dark Supreme blood essence. 29 30
• Nine hidden Extreme Dao Weapons — Three bells, three cauldrons, and three towers forged from Immortal Gold and sealed around Ziwei Star as a defensive formation nourished by faith power. 25
• Thunder God’s Hammer — A Heavenly Venerable weapon forged for Li Huayuan and the Sun-Moon Holy Land. 17
• Ziwei Scepter — A Heavenly Venerable weapon forged for Zhang Wen and the Ziwei Holy Land. 17

Relationships

• Old Zhang — Adoptive guardian and first cultivation guide after Li Ming’s parents died; Old Zhang’s descendants later founded the Ziwei Holy Land. 1 15
• Li Huayuan — Distant Li Family descendant and leader of the Sun-Moon Holy Land; received Li Ming’s Thunder God’s Heavenly Art, Nine Secrets: Zhe and Xing, Dao Scripture, and Thunder God’s Hammer. 17
• Zhang Wen — Ziwei Holy Master and descendant of Old Zhang’s lineage; received the Dao Scripture and Ziwei Scepter. 17
• Carefree Heavenly Venerable — First legendary Heavenly Venerable killed by Li Ming after his Dao attainment; Carefree’s remains became the Carefree Boots. 2
• Daode Tianzun — Fellow Heavenly Venerable and Dao-discussion partner. They exchanged scriptures, debated the Dao for a century, and later cooperated around Lingbao Tianzun’s fate. 24 25
• Lingbao Tianzun — Initially connected to the ambush using Lingbao’s formation, but later treated by Li Ming as a respected fellow seeker of the Red Dust Immortal path. Li Ming aided his revival and gave him a strand of Chaos Origin. 8 44 45
• Boundless Heavenly Venerable — Saved by Li Ming from Dark Strangeness within the Chaotic Dragon Nest. In gratitude, Boundless gave Li Ming the Nine Secrets: Dou, True Dragon transformation insights, and the Myriad Dragon Nest. 27 28 29
• Netherworld Emperor Duan De — First met as the creator of Source Arts; later fought Li Ming at the Mythical Battlefield. Their rivalry developed into mutual respect and discussions of rebirth and immortality. 35 37
• Emperor Zun — Defeated by Li Ming in a hundred-move battle, then became a pragmatic ally in matters involving the Heavenly Court, Immortal Ascension Cauldron, and Nine-Revolution Immortal Elixir. 48 49
• Dark Supremes — Persistent enemies who covet Li Ming’s Chaos Origin and expect to attack him in old age; Li Ming has killed many of them but accepts compensation from those willing to yield. 14 20

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Creation and Dao attainment — Rises from an untalented mortal through tomb-raiding, the Bronze Mirror, and his self-created Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art; survives Dao-sealing and kills Carefree Heavenly Venerable. 1 2
• Conquest of forbidden zones — Claims the Reincarnation Sea, destroys its four Dark Supremes, annihilates seven ambushers, and forces several other restricted areas into submission. 3 4 8 20
• Bronze Immortal Hall incident — Survives the old ghost’s possession attempt, destroys the ghost within the Bronze Immortal Hall, and refines the artifact for himself. 9 11
• Return to Ziwei Star — Becomes the planet’s celebrated Ming Venerable, lectures on the Great Dao, strengthens its two associated holy lands, and establishes hidden defenses around the star. 14 17 25
• Longevity transformations — Completes a perfect Chaotic Body and second lifetime, later reaches a third lifetime while preserving his original physique and growing dragon-like might. 23 43
• Dragon Nest and Kunlun campaigns — Acquires the True Dragon Elixir, assists Boundless Heavenly Venerable, gains the Myriad Dragon Nest, refines the Devouring Heaven Demon Jar, conquers Kunlun Mountain, and advances the Heavenly Demonic Saber toward immortality. 27 30 31 32
• Heavenly Venerable alliances — Exchanges Dao insights and Chaos Origin with Daode, Lingbao, and Netherworld Venerable, then participates in Emperor Zun’s preparations for the Nine-Revolution Immortal Elixir and the Road to Immortality. 45 49 50

Notable Quotes

“I do not want to be a good person. I only want to be someone both righteous and evil, free and unfettered, without bearing the shackles of morality.”
— Li Ming 23

“We cultivators draw our great power from ourselves.”
— Li Ming 48