Bai Jing

Biodata

Background and History

Bai Jing was the eldest daughter of an ordinary peasant family. She married Xu Chuan when he was twenty and helped raise their household in Dongxi Village. By the time the Jade Pear trees began bearing fruit, they had two sons—Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan—and she was expecting a third child 1. She gave birth to Xu Mingxuan after a difficult labor and recovered with the help of a Qi-Blood Pill 3 4. She later had a daughter, Xu Mingshu, and another son, Xu Mingxian 8 15 93.

As the household grew, Bai Jing supervised the children's writing practice and worried about the demands of Mingwei's martial training 7 10. When starving refugees came to the door, she gave them food and water while leaving the decision about longer-term shelter until Xu Chuan returned 12. After the Xu Clan's founding ceremony, she oversaw the counting and storage of its gifts with Steward Zhou 31.

Bai Jing welcomed Mingwei's wife, Yang Ronghua, and their son Xu Dezhao into the family 35 43. She then took an active role in seeking a match for Mingyuan, proposing a meeting with a daughter of the Wu Household that might also ease tensions between the families 44. During a severe drought, she gave her father Bai Fu 2,000 taels from her personal savings and proposed that her birth family become vassals of the Xu Household. Bai Hua accepted the proposal, and the Bai Household joined shortly afterward 50.

Household Responsibilities and Family Legacy

Bai Jing was three years younger than Xu Chuan. Her childhood was difficult, and as her birth family's eldest daughter, she had taken responsibility for household affairs from an early age. She later regarded her marriage as a fortunate contrast to those hardships, saying that Xu Chuan had fulfilled his wedding promise to give her peace, prosperity, and happiness 1 132 245.

Her responsibilities centered on the inner household rather than its external businesses or martial affairs 32. She also maintained social contact with the ladies of Qingjiang's Aristocratic Clans. Xu Mingyuan regularly sent her another hundred or two hundred taels every two or three months, helping her accumulate the personal savings from which she assisted the Bai Household 50.

The drought disrupted Mingyuan's planned betrothal ceremony with the Wu Household. Bai Jing regretted the loss of the banquet and worried that he might be upset; Xu Chuan proposed proceeding directly to the marriage the following year and sending Mingwei to convey their sincerity to the Wu Household 55. Although she favored suitable family alliances, she rejected Madam Zhu's proposal for Mingshu, using Xu Chuan's wish to keep their daughter at home longer as a polite explanation 59.

At the feast celebrating Xu Chuan's entry into the Immortal Way, Bai Jing was moved to tears when Xu Dezhao promised to protect her. She also encouraged Mingyuan to have more children 74. When Mingxuan returned after six years of frontier service, their reunion was emotional 77.

After Wu Rushan became pregnant, Bai Jing urged Mingxuan to marry. She considered his proposed talent contest for a bride somewhat improper, but nevertheless helped discuss the arrangement with interested aristocratic clans. The contest ultimately led to his marriage to Zhang Wanqing, a young woman from an ordinary family 78.

By the time Xu Mingshu was twenty-three, Bai Jing remained concerned about finding her a suitable husband. She discussed possible candidates from the Xu Household's affiliated families with her longtime maid A-Li, but could not find anyone she considered worthy of her daughter 93. She subsequently intended to arrange a marriage between Mingshu and Li Zhi, which Mingshu openly refused 96. Mingwei later attempted to reason with her on Mingshu's behalf. Bai Jing reluctantly postponed the matter until Xu Chuan returned, though she remained displeased and warned that Mingshu should not complain to her if her father eventually arranged a political marriage 97. At a later Year Sacrifice, Bai Jing again teased Mingshu about remaining unmarried and pressed her brothers to help find a suitable match 108.

After her parents' deaths, Bai Jing's younger brother and his family became her principal concern for the Bai Household's future. During a walk through Dongxi's fields, she asked Mingwei to preserve at least one Bai branch even if its members later committed wrongdoing. He promised that the Xu Household would maintain a Bai branch across generations and pass this obligation to future household heads 93.

Later Family Life and Rejuvenation

Xu Chuan's prolonged absences troubled Bai Jing. During one Year Sacrifice, she told Mingwei that she dreamed of Xu Chuan's retreating figure and felt that he was becoming increasingly distant from her. Nevertheless, she continued to trust his devotion while recognizing his great ambitions 87.

Bai Jing warmly welcomed Xu Chuan when he returned from his travels. On one such occasion, he personally offered to dress her hair and paint her brows 121. As the Xu Household prospered, she gradually accepted his preference that their children follow their own hearts rather than be pressured into marriage. Xu Chuan also told her that Mingwei and the others would follow him along the path of immortal cultivation, which she accepted after her initial surprise 132.

When Mingwei and Yang Ronghua proposed Shen Qingyi as a bride for Xu Dezhao, Bai Jing approved of Qingyi's upbringing in the household, bearing, and cultivation. She agreed that they could arrange a betrothal first rather than rush the wedding during an important period for Dezhao and the clan 140.

During a Year Sacrifice after forty-four years of marriage, Xu Chuan gave Bai Jing a pill rich in life force. Because an ordinary person could not fully withstand or absorb its medicinal power, he put her to sleep and personally helped her assimilate it. He then used his Rejuvenation Art to restore her youthful appearance. Repeating the art every ten years could maintain that appearance 185.

Her transformation attracted the family's attention, and Xu Mingshu affectionately celebrated her mother's renewed youth. The household kept the rejuvenation secret. Xu Chuan explained that the Rejuvenation Art changed appearance and life aura but could not meaningfully extend a cultivator's lifespan 186. Bai Jing later gave birth to another son, Xu Mingqing, who possessed a true spiritual root, the innate talent Grand Unity Azure Spirit, and an eighth-grade Yi Wood bloodline 191.

Xu Chuan had once promised to take Bai Jing to see the world after their children established families and livelihoods. At the time of that conversation, she had never left Qingjiang County and joked that they might be too old to walk by then; he replied that he could carry her on his back. Her own aspirations remained centered on an ordinary, fulfilled family life rather than grand ambitions 287.

When Xu Mingxian and other family members returned from Southern Heaven, Bai Jing welcomed them warmly. Xu Deyue and her husband Ye Fan, along with Xu Chongfei and his wife, formally paid their respects. Mingxian, Xu Deling, Xu Deyue, and Chongfei then told her about their lives, amusing experiences, and the customs and scenery of Southern Heaven 376. During the Clan Tournament, she was astonished to learn that Chongfei was only approaching twenty-six and remarked that the Xu Household's descendants were becoming more outstanding with each generation 405.

Before Mingwei and Yang Ronghua departed with Changfeng Xiaoyang, they visited Bai Jing to say goodbye. Although Mingwei warned that he might be unable to return for decades or even a century, she reassured them that Xu Chuan was caring for her and told them to leave without worrying 451. She explained that, while protecting the clan had fulfilled Xu Chuan's hopes for Mingwei, her own wish had been for him to live peacefully with the person he loved. She explicitly told them that everlasting life was not her desire, and the couple knelt and kowtowed to her three times before leaving 451.

Final Days and Death

After Yang Ronghua's departure, Bai Jing's courtyard became quieter. Although she still appeared only a little over thirty, Xu Chuan could see that her lifespan was nearing its end. She refused his offer of a lifespan-extending pill, telling him that death eventually came even to cultivators. She asked him to take her back to Dongxi when she died, and he agreed 476.

Bai Jing considered herself fortunate to have outlived many Immortal Masters she had once known. She was satisfied that Xu Chuan had taken no other wife, that their descendants flourished, and that the household continued to prosper. Xu Chuan had prepared a Mysterious Yang Lifespan-Extending Pill capable of prolonging her life by nearly three hundred years, but she trusted that he would not force her to accept it 476.

Two years later, Xu Chuan informed their six children that Bai Jing had only half a month left to live. He had obtained a Mysterious Yang Lifespan-Extending Pill, but she again refused it. Her children pleaded with her, and Mingshu even offered to marry immediately so that Bai Jing could see her in bridal robes and prepare her hair and makeup, without changing her decision. Bai Jing explained that birth, aging, sickness, and death were the natural order, while Mingwei helped his siblings understand that she remained mortal at heart and did not want the immortal path imposed upon her 480.

Bai Jing also acknowledged that her earlier insistence on marriage had been too narrow-minded. Seeing Mingshu live freely now satisfied her, and she did not want her daughter to constrain herself for her mother's sake. When Mingxuan questioned why she would reject the chance to remain alive, Bai Jing distinguished between living as a person and merely being alive, insisting upon her right to choose 480.

Xu Chuan took Bai Jing and family members back to Dongxi. He restored the abandoned fields and courtyard with his powers and recreated scenes of their earlier family life, allowing her to share a final meal amid images of their children as they had been when young. Bai Jing comforted Mingshu, sang the lullaby she had used in their childhood, and walked through the village with Xu Chuan while recalling their life together. She died peacefully in his arms, asking him to “forget me not” 480.

During their final walk, Bai Jing recalled familiar villagers and the fields near which she and Xu Chuan had first met. As she weakened, their children gathered to bid her farewell. Because Mingwei was absent, Xu Chuan created an illusory likeness of him beside the others. Bai Jing expressed happiness at seeing her eldest son and wished that he and Ronghua would not spend their lives as she and Xu Chuan had 480.

Posthumous Remembrance

In accordance with Bai Jing's wishes, Xu Chuan did not announce her death or arrange a public funeral. Rather than bury her in the Xu Clan's Heroic Spirit Garden, he remained in Dongxi, initially preserving her body in an ice-crystal coffin 481.

During his mourning, Xu Chuan deliberately entered a Heart Demon Illusion in which he and a remembered image of Bai Jing lived together through nine imagined mortal lifetimes. He eventually recognized and broke the illusion, using the experience to deepen his understanding of life and death. These experiences helped bring his Origin Life-and-Death Seal to its current peak of perfection, including the ability to trap a victim in an illusory mortal lifetime 481.

Xu Chuan subsequently cremated Bai Jing and left her ashes in Dongxi 481. Her death remained unknown outside the household even much later; outsiders knew that Xu Chuan had a wife, but few had ever seen her 585.

Power Progression

Appearance

Bai Jing has delicate features 1.

• Her skin is described as resembling freshly peeled lychee flesh 23.
• She has a slender, swaying waist 23.
• As she aged, her hair became frost-white; she is shown wearing plain-colored silk while A-Li arranges it into a bun 93.
• Before her rejuvenation, frost and snow had touched her temples, and fine lines overlapped at the corners of her eyes 185.
• Xu Chuan's Rejuvenation Art restored her youthful beauty. Near the end of her life, she appeared only a little over thirty despite her nearly exhausted lifespan 185 476.

Personality

Bai Jing is affectionate toward her family but willing to voice her concerns. She questions Xu Chuan's decision to trade away his Jade Pear cultivation notes and worries that sending Mingxuan to a martial arts school might expose him to bullying 6 17. She also challenges Mingwei's demanding childhood training schedule, then supports it by ensuring he receives better meals 7.

Her concern extends beyond her own household. She helps refugees in immediate need, defends Mingshu when Xu Mao insults her, and uses her savings and the Xu family's growing influence to plan for the Bai Household's future 12 22 50.

Bai Jing is described as hardworking and kind from her first appearance. Even when Xu Chuan encourages her to rest, she dislikes remaining idle while other family members are already awake and working 1 12. Her filial generosity develops into long-term planning: she not only pays her father's immediate expenses but seeks lasting protection and opportunities for her birth family 50 93.

Her outlook initially reflects traditional expectations about marriage and descendants. She wants her children to establish families and worries especially about Mingshu's unmarried status. Over time, however, she accepts Xu Chuan's preference for their children to choose their own paths and becomes less attached to her earlier beliefs 44 93 108 132. She also shows practical concern for their dignity, reminding Xu Chuan to use their proper names in public now that they are older and hold important positions 132.

She regards herself as ordinary beside her exceptionally accomplished husband, but her affection for her children and grandchildren gives her life meaning. She laughs off Mingwei's concern that his sons' sparring might frighten her and enjoys walking with her grandsons 93. Her humor also appears when she mocks embellished stories about miraculous signs at her children's births, pointing out that she gave birth to them without noticing any such wonders 157.

Her concern for her birth family is consciously personal rather than impartial. When asking Mingwei to preserve the Bai Household, she acknowledges that her request might complicate the Xu Household's rules and describes it as the selfish wish of an ordinary woman. She also recognizes that Xu Chuan can be more hard-hearted than their eldest son 93.

Bai Jing's contentment predates her final years. She believes that descendants must have their own fortunes and that parents can best help by leaving property and sound clan rules, rather than worrying over hundreds or thousands of future generations 71. Like Yang Ronghua, she does not regard her lack of cultivation as a source of unhappiness, finding fulfillment in the love and care of her husband and family 108.

In her final years, Bai Jing firmly accepts mortality. She prioritizes Mingwei's happiness over keeping him at home and refuses further lifespan extension despite her family's distress. Her decision reflects contentment with the mortal life she has lived rather than a wish to pursue endless cultivation, and she remains gentle with her children while insisting that her choice be respected 451 476 480.

Relationships

• Xu Chuan — Husband. They plan their family's future together and share an affectionate, teasing relationship; Bai Jing agrees to keep his Xiantian breakthrough secret 1 40. She credits him with fulfilling his wedding promise of peace, prosperity, and happiness 245. His lengthy absences sometimes leave her feeling that he is drifting away, but she continues to regard him as devoted and ambitious 87. He restores her youth, respects her eventual refusal of further lifespan extension, and recreates their old home for her final days. Their farewell is expressed through the shared phrase “forget me not,” and he leaves her ashes in Dongxi as she wished 185 476 480 481.
• Xu Mingwei (Shitou) — Eldest son. She supervises his studies and worries about the strain of his martial training 7. He gives her a fur coat made from a hunted beast's hide, moving her so deeply that she can hardly bear to wear it 16. He promises to preserve a branch of the Bai Household across generations 93. Bai Jing reassures him before his departure with Changfeng Xiaoyang; he later helps his siblings understand her refusal to prolong her mortal life 451 480. He is absent at her death, but Xu Chuan creates his likeness so that she can see all six children at her farewell 480.
• Xu Mingyuan (A Yuan) — Second son. She takes the initiative in arranging a prospective meeting with the Wu Household's daughter 44. He regularly provides her with personal spending money and savings, and accompanies other family members in attempting to persuade her to accept lifespan extension 50 480.
• Xu Mingxuan (Charcoal Head) — Third son. She worries about his welfare while he trains away from home 4 17. Their reunion after his frontier service is emotional, and he struggles to accept her decision not to extend her life 77 480. She urges him to marry and helps organize discussions for the talent contest through which he chooses Zhang Wanqing 78.
• Xu Mingshu (Xueji) — Daughter and fourth child. Bai Jing defends Mingshu against Xu Mao's insult 22. She repeatedly worries about Mingshu's marriage prospects, including proposing Li Zhi as a husband, which Mingshu refuses 93 96 108. Mingshu affectionately celebrates her rejuvenation and later offers to marry immediately if doing so will persuade her mother to accept a lifespan-extending pill. Bai Jing instead affirms her daughter's freedom to live as she chooses 186 480. Mingshu keeps watch outside the Dongxi courtyard with Mingxian while Xu Chuan mourns 481.
• Xu Mingxian (Yunnu) — Son and fifth child 93 480. Bai Jing warmly welcomes him after his return from Southern Heaven and listens to his family's accounts of their experiences there 376. He joins Mingyuan and Mingshu in trying to change her final decision and accompanies her back to Dongxi 480. He later restrains Mingshu from disturbing Xu Chuan's mourning 481.
• Xu Mingqing — Youngest son, born after Bai Jing's rejuvenation. His exceptional wood-element aptitude delights Xu Chuan 191. He is distressed by his mother's refusal of a lifespan-extending pill and initially wonders whether she no longer wants to remain with her children 480.
• Yang Ronghua — Daughter-in-law. Bai Jing helps care for her during pregnancy and praises her work managing the household 35 45. Ronghua discreetly gives Bai Jing privacy when Bai Fu needs to discuss his financial difficulties 50. Like Bai Jing, she initially finds contentment as an ordinary woman cherished by her husband 108. Bai Jing wishes her and Mingwei well before they leave together, and her courtyard becomes quieter after their departure 451 476.
• Wu Rushan — Daughter-in-law. Bai Jing comforts her over the decline of her birth household during the Year Sacrifice 108.
• Xu Dezhao — Grandson. Bai Jing helps welcome him into the family and spends time caring for him 43 50. She is moved to tears when he promises to protect her and later enjoys his company during walks 74 93. She approves of Shen Qingyi as his prospective bride 140.
• Xu Dewen — Grandson. Bai Jing laughs off Mingwei's concern about his sparring with Dezhao and accompanies both grandsons on a walk 93.
• Xu Deling, Xu Deyue, and Xu Chongfei — Younger descendants who share news of Southern Heaven with her after their return. Bai Jing affectionately teases Deling about remaining unmarried and warmly receives Deyue, Chongfei, and their spouses 376. Chongfei's accomplishments at a young age later inspire her praise for the household's increasingly talented generations 405.
• Bai Fu and Bai Hua — Father and younger brother. She gives Bai Fu financial help and encourages Bai Hua to seek a lasting place for their family under the Xu Household 50. After her parents die, she asks Mingwei to ensure that at least one Bai branch survives for future generations 93.
• A-Li — Longtime personal maid. Bai Jing chose her out of sympathy when she entered the household as a young girl. After twenty-one years of service, they share a warm rapport, reminiscing about the past and discussing their daughters' marriage prospects 93. A-Li is the first person shown reacting to Bai Jing's restored youth, recognizing her appearance from when they first met 185.

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