Water Dragon Sect

Biodata

Background

Before its wartime relocation, the Water Dragon Sect bordered Cloud-Rain Marsh and established markets along its shores, including Zengtou Market and Zengtou City. It gathered low-level rogue cultivators—known locally as “fishers”—to catch spirit fish and collect heavenly treasures from the marsh for the sect 1.

The sect’s control of housing was a key source of authority over the fishers. Immortal Residences required regular fees; paid residences were protected under sect rules, while the sect reclaimed the homes of deceased tenants 2 10 19. Its collection policies could change without leniency: by the time Pang Zhiyuan collected from Lin Hu, overdue payment was no longer accepted 26.

During the conflict over the Foundation Establishment immortal estate on Maple Leaf Island, a Water Dragon Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator claimed the entire estate. Rogue cultivators from Zengtou, Tai’an, and Jingde gained nothing despite the casualties they suffered 12.

Origins

The sect was founded near the former Falling Dragon River, now called Pear Blossom River, where a Water-Type True Dragon fell thousands of years earlier. The Water Dragon Sect’s name and its historical blessings derive from that event, while remnants of Dragon Qi remained hidden in the riverbed 173.

Boundless Marsh itself was created after cultivators excavated soil touched by the fallen dragon’s qi. The scale of this excavation left few obvious remnants of the original inheritance, though the surviving Dragon Qi continued to attract demonic cultivators and other treasure seekers 173.

War, Fall, and Relocation

The sect’s conflict with Joy Palace initially centered on a spirit vein at Liancheng Mountain. When Medicine King Valley intervened, the Water Dragon Sect and Joy Palace temporarily joined forces against it 112 124.

During the later Orthodox-Demonic War, the Water Dragon Sect’s Cangluo Continent mountain gate was breached after its defensive formation was weakened. The sect withdrew rather than be annihilated, and eventually established a new waterborne headquarters at Dreamcloud Marsh on the Desolate Ancient Continent 316 503.

Profound Water True Person entrusted the Water Dragon Ring and the sect-master position to Ji Yuan during that crisis, believing him to be the sect’s best hope of survival. After Ji Yuan returned as a Nascent Soul cultivator, Profound Water, Li Changhe, Liexiao True Person, and True Person Celestial Chef formally recognized him as Water Dragon Sect Master 505.

Authority in Cloud-Rain Marsh

• Historically operated markets along the shores of Cloud-Rain Marsh and governed Zengtou City and Zengtou Market 1 31.
• Maintained fish markets where sect disciples purchased spirit fish and processed Immortal Residence fees 2.
• Provided nominal protection to residences whose fees were paid, while enforcing eviction and reclaiming vacant properties 10 19 26.
• Treated the marsh’s rogue cultivators as a labor and resource base; Ji Yuan concluded that sect disciples regarded rogue cultivators as little more than ants 1 12.
• Possessed Foundation Establishment cultivators and was associated with Golden Core True Persons, placing it far above the local Qi Refining cultivators 12 43.
• At its Cangluo Continent height, it was one of the Six Great Immortal Sects of Shangdong and possessed more than a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators 116 243.
• Retains Nascent Soul-level protection and influence after its relocation. Ji Yuan and Yun Qianzai publicly released their Nascent Soul pressure over Dreamcloud Marsh, establishing that the sect could no longer be treated as a minor power 505.

Facilities and Commerce

Fish Market and Fish Pen

The sect bought spirit fish from local fishers through its market operations. A sect disciple appraised Ji Yuan’s Coldblood Bass at eighteen low-grade spirit stones and accepted payment for his overdue residence fees at the same location 2.

The Fish Pen served as the site of major public events, including the triennial sect selection in Zengtou City 43.

Hundred Treasures Pavilion

The Water Dragon Sect backed the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, a major marketplace where cultivators could buy techniques, pills, talismans, and magical artifacts 11. Sect cultivators also purchased talismans there and identified promising practitioners for recruitment 25.

Cold Iron Sand Procurement

The sect began aggressively purchasing Cold Iron Sand for an unspecified “key immortal resource,” creating a severe shortage in Zengtou City. Its Hundred Treasures Tower stopped selling the material, offered fifteen spirit stones per jin for supplies, and warned that competing with the sect for it could be fatal 20 31.

Sect Islands and Halls

The former sect territory was centered on Water Dragon Island, with Young Dragon Island serving as the residence area for new disciples. Four Directions Island housed the Pill, Formation, Talisman, and Artifact Halls, while Thousand Mechanisms Island issued and received sect missions 111.

The sect also operated Island of All Things as a major trade center comparable to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. Its territory was so large that crossing it by uninterrupted flight could take an entire day 116.

Recruitment and Selection

The Water Dragon Sect holds a major selection once every three years in Zengtou City. It serves several recruitment paths and includes free spirit-root testing for all six-year-old children in Cloud-Rain Marsh 43.

Joining through Talismans comes with reduced freedom: recruits are expected to devote themselves to talisman drawing rather than enjoy the independence of cultivators admitted through strength 42 46.

During the conflict with Joy Palace, the sect brought one selection forward by a year. Xu Fugui warned Ji Yuan that the rushed recruitment was a trap and that those who joined could be sent to the front line 94. In the subsequent selection, the strongest new disciples were indeed considered for deployment to Liancheng Mountain 112.

The revised combat assessment on Mountain Rain Island prohibited talismans, cultivation pills, formations, Water Thunder Pellets, and other external consumables; candidates could use only magical artifacts and techniques against a same-rank demon beast 107 109. Ji Yuan passed by swiftly killing a Late First-Tier Earth-Rending Demon Wolf, and seven Late Qi Refining cultivators ultimately became disciples in that selection 111.

New disciples assigned to Young Dragon Island must earn one hundred Merit Points annually. They may obtain points through missions or by submitting crafted goods such as talismans and pills 108.

Water Dragon Sect Mutual Aid Society

The Water Dragon Sect Mutual Aid Society was formed by ordinary, unaffiliated cultivators preparing to join the sect. Du Wanyi established it to counter the unequal treatment faced by cultivators with poor spiritual roots, no family backing, and little hope of receiving favored assignments 65.

The society’s members recognized that Heavenly Spirit Root disciples, cultivators from established families, and well-connected disciples received superior opportunities, while entrants who joined through late-Qi-Refining combat could be assigned undesirable chores or used as expendable labor 65.

The association provided its members with cultivation intelligence, trading opportunities, and potential cooperation. Yao Jingfeng welcomed Ji Yuan and Wu Yan as members, while Du Wanyi helped Ji Yuan obtain Clear Spirit Jade for his Cave Abode 79. After Yao Jingfeng’s disappearance, Han Feiyu assumed leadership; following his Foundation Establishment and acceptance as Profound Water True Person’s disciple, the society’s standing improved, though it later existed largely in name only 167.

Known Personnel

• Ji Yuan — Current Water Dragon Sect Master and a Nascent Soul cultivator. Profound Water True Person entrusted him with the Water Dragon Ring and sect-master position during the sect’s crisis 505.
• Profound Water True Person (Xuan Shui) — Golden Core cultivator who formerly directed the sect’s affairs and selected Ji Yuan as its successor during the relocation crisis 150 505.
• Kong Xifeng — The sect’s Nascent Soul ancestor, who defended the returning Tower-Ship Flying Boat by instantly killing two Golden Core demonic cultivators and containing a third’s self-destruction 308.
• Li Changhe — Foundation Establishment cultivator and son of Elder Li Gang. After Ji Yuan saved his life, he gave Ji Yuan an Ascension Token, a Communication Talisman, and the Heaven-Escaping Shuttle 106 107.
• Liexiao True Person — Golden Core lightning cultivator who defended the sect’s Tower-Ship Flying Boat against a Late Third-Order Rift-Splitting Thunder Falcon 308.
• True Person Celestial Chef — Golden Core cultivator and sect leader who aided in escorting survivors through the war zone and later recognized Ji Yuan as sect master 308 505.
• Pang Zhiyuan — Fifth-Layer Qi Refining sect official who handled Immortal Residence fees in Ji Yuan’s district 26.
• Senior Brother Liu — Sect cultivator at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion who recognized Ji Yuan’s talisman talent and recommended the next Talisman Way selection 25.
• Hong Xiuwen — Talisman-area examiner during the triennial selection; a leading member of the Talisman Hall within the Four Treasures Hall and an Upper First-Tier Talisman Master 46.
• Xu Fugui — White-haired sect cultivator who worked in the Pavilion’s technique section and later mentored Ji Yuan in the Water Drop Finger and Surging Waves Sword Art 11 40.
• Yun Shangping — Foundation Establishment cultivator who administered Ji Yuan’s selection trial, formally accepted him into the sect, and later brought the successful recruits to Young Dragon Island 111.
• Gu Liben — Foundation Establishment cultivator who, alongside Yun Shangping, initially considered deploying Ji Yuan and Du Wanyi to the Liancheng Mountain front 112.
• Hua Yaoyue — Golden Core cultivator of the sect and Ji Yuan’s master. She warned her disciples about the coming demonic invasion and revealed the secret origin of the Water Dragon Sect 173.
• Unnamed Foundation Establishment cultivator — Seized the Maple Leaf Island immortal estate for the sect 12.
• Unnamed green-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator — Oversaw the Zengtou City selection from a lotus-leaf magical treasure 43.

Story Role

The sect is the dominant institutional power shaping life around Cloud-Rain Marsh. Its rents, markets, recruitment standards, and demand for resources determine the opportunities available to local rogue cultivators 1 20 43.

Ji Yuan repeatedly avoided deeper dependence on the sect during his time as a rogue cultivator. He paid fees early, hid his wealth, and declined immediate recruitment despite his talent in talismans, fearing that sect membership would turn him into a restricted talisman maker and interfere with his independent building-based cultivation 12 42 46.

At the same time, he saw eventual membership as necessary for obtaining higher-level resources such as a Foundation Establishment Pill and, after reaching Foundation Establishment, the right to establish an island of his own 43. He eventually entered through the combat selection, used Li Changhe’s Ascension Token to avoid frontline deployment, and settled on Young Dragon Island as an official disciple 111 112.

The sect’s decline during the Orthodox-Demonic War transformed Ji Yuan’s relationship with it. What began as a necessary source of resources became an institution he was expected to preserve; after its relocation, he accepted the sect-master position and began considering how to build the Water Dragon Sect into part of a broader power base 316 505.