Xu Yan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xu Yan (许言) 2
Alias(es)	Lin Yan, his registered Rogue Cultivator Alliance identity; Lin Dao, a name used during the Great Yan Ancient Mine expedition 38 191.
Species/Race	Human; acquires ancient demon true blood after seizing the Demon Embryo’s foundation 123.
Gender	Male 130.
Affiliation	Rogue Cultivator Alliance; Crimson Sun Sect as a Guest Elder; later controls the Blood Devil Immortal Bandits 38 144 221.
Occupation/Role	Independent cultivator, alchemist, body cultivator, and sword cultivator 6 40 124 210.
Spiritual Roots	Five-elements spiritual root 218.
Highest Attained Realm	Peerless True Immortal 221.
Status	Alive; ascends to the Immortal Realm in the finale 221.

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Opening the dantian	6 7	Practices the Spirit Guiding Art; energy released by the Green Pearl supplies the surge needed to open his dantian.
Peak first layer of Qi Refining	9	Du Fei identifies his cultivation through the Qi-Appraisal Technique.
Second layer of Qi Refining	17 18	Uses three Qi Gathering Pills, then spends three days stabilizing his enlarged dantian and stronger magic power.
Third layer of Qi Refining	33	After six months of cultivation supported by pills and Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Milk, a peaceful moment on snowy Golden Summit Peak triggers his breakthrough. Develops divine sense extending several dozen zhang.
Fourth layer of Qi Refining	50	Breaks through using the abundant spiritual energy of the Jade-Eyed Cold Toad; Gu Xiao guards him during the process.
Sixth layer of Qi Refining	64	Advances from the fourth layer after a month refining a second-tier Vermilion Wood Thunderfruit. Takes a healing pill beforehand to withstand its lightning power.
Eighth layer of Qi Refining	82	A Blood Demon Pill advances him two layers in three days. His magic power becomes comparable to that of Qi Refining perfection cultivators.
Ninth layer of Qi Refining	99	Takes two self-refined Yang-Nourishing Pills. His dantian more than doubles in size, and his magic power surpasses ordinary Qi Refining perfection cultivators.
Fire Lotus body refinement	111	Develops stronger, faintly lustrous bones and a physique he believes ordinary magic artifacts cannot injure.
Qi Refining perfection	112	Uses remaining Millennium Fire Lotus energy and Qi Gathering Pills. Divine sense extends beyond five hundred zhang.
Early Foundation Establishment	122	The Blood Refinement Grand Array draws vital essence from the Demon Embryo. Enters Foundation Establishment after more than a decade of cultivation.
Ancient Demon Nine Prohibitions — first level	124	Completes nine prohibition runes in his flesh, spending roughly half a year on the remaining eight. His physical strength exceeds what he expects from body cultivators at the same realm.
Middle Foundation Establishment	179 180 181 182	Uses a supreme-grade Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill with three Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pills. His resulting pressure is comparable to a half-step Golden Core cultivator.
Late Foundation Establishment	196 199	Advances through Green Pearl energy feedback, another Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill, and the Blood Pool’s vitality. Divine sense extends beyond 2,100 zhang, nearly matching an ordinary early Golden Core cultivator.
First sword-cultivator realm	210	Awakens sword intent after two years studying the Sword-Comprehension Stone and Purple Sun Sword Art. Fully comprehends Sword Intent Dragon Transformation.
Golden Core	221	Reaches the realm during his journey to the Endless Sea and defeats pursuers with the Five Elements Dao-Evolving Sword.
Spirit Transformation	221	Reaches the realm at one thousand years old. Destroys rival worlds’ Spirit Transformation cultivators, refines a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, and ascends to the Spirit Realm.
Peerless True Immortal	221	The finale ends with his arrival in the Immortal Realm, heralded by the Dao-Evolving Immortal Sect’s Immortal Ascension Platform thirty-two thousand years later.

Background / History

Xu Yan spends three years following Golden Light Daoist, hiding and fleeing rather than interacting with Fufeng Commandery’s cultivators. He secretly practices the technique on an incomplete beast-hide scroll for half a year, gaining little understanding of the wider cultivation world 2 6 10.

Golden Light Daoist discovers his hidden cultivation and intends to use his blood essence as a medicinal catalyst. Xu Yan attempts to escape rather than submit. By the Daoist’s death, he has survived the ordeal and obtained access to the man’s possessions, but the mysterious Green Pearl also leaves him fearful of powers he does not understand 2 3 5 6.

With neither a sect nor a lineage, Xu Yan identifies himself as a rogue cultivator. His incomplete Spirit Guiding Art only contains methods through the fifth Qi Refining layer, making a replacement technique an early priority 6 33.

Appearance

• Youthful appearance: Initially wears ragged clothing and is mistaken for an ordinary beggar by passing cultivators 9.
• Stern expression: Described as a stern-faced young man even after reaching Foundation Establishment 40 130.
• Daoist robes: Wears azure Daoist robes; light shines from his body when he reveals his body-refinement power 124.
• Eyes: His powerful divine sense gives his eyes a radiant, lightning-like appearance 33 122.
• Disguises: Frequently assumes a middle-aged appearance or wears stolen sect and demonic clothing to conceal his identity 38 80 88 134.

Personality

Xu Yan is cautious, observant, and protective of his secrets. He evaluates strangers before trusting them, avoids battles beyond his strength, and worries that powerful cultivators might discover the Green Pearl. He rejects the prospect of becoming Qi Yun’s provisional disciple because close contact with a Foundation Establishment perfection cultivator could expose it 9 10 32 33.

His restraint is tactical rather than submissive. He invokes Alliance rules against Wu Hua’s intimidation, uses apparent weakness to bait Ye Yun, and conceals his strength when cooperation offers a better chance of survival. He also holds grudges, pursuing the cultivators who nearly killed him long after their ambush 45 65 90 180.

Early acts show limited compassion and concern for fair exchange: he heals Lin Rongfu after receiving his reward and initially declines Gu Xiao’s extra payment. During the Ancient Ruins Battlefield massacre, however, he accepts harvesting cultivators’ blood essence as a means of survival. He subsequently kills across factional lines, enslaves useful opponents, and treats others’ lives as resources for advancement 30 51 78 81 184 185.

Xu Yan places independence and the pursuit of the Dao above institutional loyalty. He regards Crimson Sun Sect membership as mutual exploitation rather than belonging, and continues calling himself a rogue cultivator despite his unmistakably demonic techniques 130 145 191.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation Arts

• Spirit Guiding Art: His initial cultivation method. The complete art can support cultivation to Qi Refining’s peak, but his inherited half-scroll stops at the fifth layer 6.
• Taiyi Five Elements Art: His later core method. After cultivating it, his magic power rises to more than five times its previous amount 53.
• Resource demands: The Taiyi Five Elements Art requires several times the spiritual energy needed by ordinary cultivators; his five-elements spiritual root compounds the demands of advancement 82 97 218.

Redfire Burning Art

A fire technique he cultivates to full perfection before choosing to study the Purple Sun Sword Art 84.

• Uses fire spells to destroy the attacking Horse Mountain Stronghold bandits 28.
• Combines Six-Flame Fusion, defensive equipment, and an explosive pill to defeat Wu Hua 63.
• Instantly casts Nine-Flame attacks against sect disciples and a spirit spider 78 79.
• Exceeding his safe output during a five-flame burst badly damages his meridians 79.

Purple Sun Sword Art

An inherited sword divine ability created by Daoist Purple Sun. Kong Xuan’s memories provide explanations that accelerate Xu Yan’s understanding 84.

Form	Function	Documented limits or mastery
Sword Qi Like Rain	Releases destructive sword light and countless strands of sword qi.	Its early test cuts a fissure over ten zhang deep and nearly one hundred zhang long. Xu Yan can use it only three times at his then-current cultivation, and it nearly breaks his Greenedge Sword 85.
Sword Qi Shield	Forms a defensive sword-qi shield roughly one zhang across.	Comprehended during half a year of practice 210.
Sword Intent Dragon Transformation	Uses sword intent to turn sword qi into a powerful sword dragon.	Requires first-realm sword cultivation. Once understood, Xu Yan judges it capable of threatening a False Core cultivator 210.

Divine Sense and Soul Techniques

• Great Azure Soul-Tempering Art: An exceptionally intricate divine-sense cultivation method inherited through Kong Xuan’s memories. Xu Yan studies it using the ancient cultivator’s insights 104.
• Divine-sense attacks: Masters a divine-sense attack technique after a year of practice and later overwhelms Spirit Sword Sect Qi Refining disciples through divine-sense pressure 109 126.
• Soul-Annihilating Demon Needle: Kills Shang Fang while a demon-finger attack distracts his protectors 204.
• Detection limits: The Netherworld Domain restricts his perception, and a black humanoid creature evades his divine sense despite its severed arm remaining detectable 210 212.
• Soul searching: Has not cultivated a soul-searching technique when questioning captives in the Netherworld Domain 208.

Ancient Demon Body Refinement

The Ancient Demon Nine Prohibitions is a nine-level body-refinement secret art associated with Xuan Hua, progenitor of the Ancient Demon Race 123 124.

• The first level inscribes nine prohibition runes into the flesh 124.
• Its completed first level produces immense blood-and-qi power and visibly luminous flesh 124 126.
• Its circulation lets Xu Yan detect subtle disturbances in the Great Yan Ancient Mine’s hidden killing formations 172 175.
• His physique remains vulnerable to the mine’s powerful formation attacks 172.

Annihilation Demon Finger

A demonic divine ability Xu Yan studies in the Ancient Demon Race’s Sacred Pavilion 123.

• Kills Li Xiaotian before he can join forces with Shang Fang 130.
• Finishes Ye Yun after a Slaughter Formation grievously wounds him 180.
• Uses Xuan Wuchang’s essence blood to overpower the elders’ combined Yin-Yang Wheel 204.

Concealment and Disguise

• Great Void Breath-Concealing Art: Suppresses outward magic-power fluctuations, allowing Xu Yan to hide his presence and cultivation 60 64 85.
• Thousand Illusions Mirage Art: Masters the acquired first three levels after more than ten days of study. Alters appearance, physique, and aura for up to two hours, concealing him from cultivators below Golden Core 134.
• Impersonation: Uses stolen Spirit Sword Sect robes, demonic artifacts, and Xuan Wuchang’s appearance to exploit factional assumptions 80 88 185.
• Improvised deception: Identifies Daoist San Zui as another impostor by testing him with an invented shared history 88.

Bloodfiend Shadow-Escaping Steps

A Bloodfiend Gate core secret art powered by essence blood, divine sense, and magic power 60.

• Initial mastery costs Xu Yan five years of lifespan 60.
• Uses it to intercept and pursue an escaping demonic elder 70.
• Obtains the complete art from the Myriad Arts Pavilion through a disguised ambush 134.
• At greater mastery, travels one thousand zhang in an instant 135.
• Greater mastery consumes five times the introductory stage’s essence blood; perfection would consume ten times as much 135.

Ancient Demon Slave Talisman

An Ancient Demon Race secret art that gives control over a branded being’s life 118.

• Requires rare essence blood from demon beasts carrying at least six spirit-demon bloodlines and is difficult to master 118.
• Successfully brands Xuan Wuchang after catching him off guard 183 184.
• Lets Xu Yan consume the captive’s essence blood and lifespan for forbidden techniques instead of paying the full cost himself 184.
• Allows a branded captive to be placed in a Spirit Beast Bag 184.
• Becomes central to his escape tactics, combat reserves, and use of Xuan Wuchang as a false “clone” 184 188 204.

Alchemy and Crafting

• Receives recognition as a first-tier, low-grade alchemist under the identity Lin Yan 40.
• Refines Seven-Absolute Demon-Quelling Pills to win his wager against Wu Hua 48.
• Produces two marked Yang-Nourishing Pills with the Azure Flood Dragon Furnace 99.
• Refines a supreme-grade Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill for his Foundation Establishment breakthrough 179.
• Acquires the Artifact Cauldron Secret Canon to support his sword-forging plans and ultimately forges the Five Elements Dao-Evolving Sword 181 221.

Anomaly Talent Seizure

• Eventually acquires a divine ability capable of stripping an Anomaly of its innate talents 221.
• Restores the wooden Anomaly’s awareness, then forcibly takes its realm-shaking ability 221.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mysterious Green Pearl — Hidden between his brows and later within his sea of consciousness. Absorbs spiritual power and deadly corpse poison, feeds energy back to him, and destroys Kong Xuan’s invading remnant soul. Revealed as a supreme divine-sense treasure 5 7 25 84 196.
• Lin family Mask — A skin-like heirloom received for rescuing Lin Rongfu’s granddaughter. Cannot be placed in a Storage Bag; Xu Yan wears it while covertly observing the Zhuliu City battle 30 32.
• Blood-Colored Pill Furnace — Extracts blood essence from corpses and refines the Blood Demon Pill 78 81.
• Azure Flood Dragon Furnace — A Spirit Artifact furnace used for marked Yang-Nourishing Pills and the supreme-grade Five-Phase Essence-Consolidating Pill 99 179.
• Black Tortoise Shield — Defends him against Wu Hua and later sect pursuers; destroyed during the battle against three disciples 63 79.
• Flying swords — Progresses from Wu Hua’s mid-grade black sword to captured high-grade Greenedge Swords and a supreme-grade blood-red Spirit Artifact, called Blood Shadow and Blood Concealment in the provided passages 63 80 181 182 210.
• Ten Thousand Demons Bell — Taken after defeating Chen Lie. Absorbing Chen’s soul makes it stronger than an ordinary supreme-grade magic artifact; serves both combat and disguise purposes 88 90.
• Azure Leaf Boat — Captured from sect disciples and refined to improve his mobility 79 80.
• Sword-Comprehension Stone — Taken from Yang Ren. Contains the intent of a second-realm sword cultivator approaching human-sword unity and enables Xu Yan’s first sword-realm breakthrough 162 210.
• Ancient Remnant Formation — Protects his cave abode from even Danyangzi’s Golden Core divine sense; costs ten middle-grade spirit stones per month 162.
• Great Sun Golden Blade Talisman — A powerful third-tier talisman that gives him confidence when dealing with the Crimson Sun Sect 133 165 191.
• Spirit Beast Bag — Holds the enslaved Xuan Wuchang and the wooden, parrot-shaped Anomaly 184 185.
• Calamity-Averting Yuan Magnetism — Stolen during the Great Yan Ancient Mine expedition while he impersonates Xuan Wuchang 190 191.
• Blood Gu Token — A sinister token linked to a distant Blood Hall. Xu Yan investigates it as its seal gradually dissolves 210 211 213.
• Five Elements Dao-Evolving Sword — A long-term forging goal requiring rare elemental materials and lightning tribulation. Eventually completed using resources from the Blood Devil Immortal Bandits 85 213 221.

Relationships

• Golden Light Daoist — Former traveling companion and would-be sacrificer. His possessions and incomplete cultivation scroll become Xu Yan’s early inheritance 2 5 6 10.
• Du Fei — Early traveling companion who introduces him to the cultivation world; his talismans prove crucial to Xu Yan’s survival 9 16 25.
• Du Jinlong — Du Fei’s father, a rogue cultivator who acknowledges Xu Yan’s help and accompanies him to Qi Yun’s ceremony 16 18.
• Li Tieniu — Captured bandit turned guide and subordinate; helps locate Wang Jinbiao’s secret passage and gathers herbs for Xu Yan 28 33.
• Lin Rongfu and his granddaughter — Xu Yan rescues the granddaughter, receives their family legacy, and heals Lin Rongfu 29 30.
• Gu Xiao — Grateful client whose son Xu Yan saves. Guards his breakthrough and pays him a bonus 50 51.
• Wu Hua — Rival alchemist who tries to block his mission and loses their wager; later killed by Xu Yan in combat 45 48 63.
• Wang Liu and Chen Lie — Ambushers responsible for his near-fatal poisoning. Xu Yan tracks them down and kills both 25 64 65 88.
• Kong Xuan — Ancient Dao Derivation Sect master whose remnant attempts to seize him. The Green Pearl destroys the soul, leaving Xu Yan its memories and cultivation insights 83 84.
• Daoist San Zui — Formation seller and later wary ally. Both impersonate demonic cultivators and cooperate to reach the ancient teleportation array 14 88 90.
• Ji Heng and Li Xiaotian — Powerful sect enemies who covet his advantages; both are killed before Xu Yan leaves the Ancient Demon Abyss 126 130 133.
• Danyangzi — Crimson Sun Sect patriarch who recruits him with an oath and promises of freedom. Xu Yan later realizes the patriarch intends to sacrifice rogue cultivators for the sect’s survival 144 194 195 196.
• Li Changfeng — Crimson Sun Sect intermediary and expedition leader. His pursuit of a supposed Blood Core unwittingly allows Xu Yan to advance inside the Blood Pool 149 173 199.
• Ye Yun — Fellow Guest Elder who covets Xu Yan’s pills; killed after Xu Yan lures him into a Slaughter Formation 166 180.
• Xuan Wuchang — Enslaved cultivator used as an essence-blood reserve, hidden assistant, and scapegoat. Xu Yan restores his strength by feeding him slain cultivators 184 185 188 204.
• Shang Fang — Spirit Beast Mountain cultivator initially spared after Li Xiaotian’s death; later killed because Xu Yan blames him for being tracked 130 191 204.
• Wooden Anomaly — A potentially awakening asset Xu Yan keeps sealed; ultimately deprived of its innate ability 185 221.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Separation Valley Market and Horse Mountain

• Meets Du Fei, acquires cultivation supplies, and advances to the second Qi Refining layer 9 15 18.
• Survives Wang Liu and Chen Lie’s ambush when the Green Pearl consumes the corpse poison 25.
• Establishes a secluded base at Horse Mountain, destroys attacking bandits, and secures the Lin family heirlooms through a rescue bargain 28 30 33.
• Uses surviving bandits to gather ordinary medicinal herbs for alchemy practice while conserving spirit stones 33.

Ascendant City and Revenge

• Registers with the Rogue Cultivator Alliance as Lin Yan and turns alchemy into a source of income and status 38 40.
• Defeats Wu Hua in an alchemy wager, saves Gu Feng, and obtains funds for a new cultivation technique 48 50 51.
• Kills Wu Hua in combat, advances through the stolen Thunderfruit, and executes Wang Liu before pursuing the remaining ambusher 63 64 65.

Ancient Ruins Battlefield

• The Six Sects’ massacre pushes him toward Blood Demon Pill refinement and deliberate hunting of cultivators 78 80 81.
• Gains Kong Xuan’s memories and the Purple Sun Sword Art after surviving attempted body seizure 84.
• Defeats Chen Lie, adopts a demonic disguise, and cooperates with San Zui to reach the contested teleportation array 88 90.

Ancient Demon Abyss

• Refines Yang-Nourishing Pills, tempers his body with the Millennium Fire Lotus, and reaches Qi Refining perfection 99 111 112.
• Explores the Ancient Demon Race’s ruins, seizes the Demon Embryo’s foundation, and learns its body-refinement and demonic techniques 118 122 123 124.
• Kills Ji Heng and Li Xiaotian, then leaves the kingdom to avoid sect retaliation 130 133.

Crimson Sun Sect and Great Yan Ancient Mine

• Joins the Crimson Sun Sect for shelter and resources, but discovers that its promised freedom is unreliable 144 149 165.
• Refines breakthrough pills, kills Ye Yun, and advances to middle Foundation Establishment 179 180 182.
• Enslaves Xuan Wuchang, impersonates him during mass killings, and steals the Calamity-Averting Yuan Magnetism 184 185 190 191.
• Survives the sect’s blood-sacrifice scheme by absorbing the Blood Pool’s vitality and reaching late Foundation Establishment 196 199.

Netherworld Domain and Finale

• Awakens sword intent, investigates Kunwu and the Blood Gu Token, and secures enough iron essence ore for his planned sword 210 211 213.
• Takes control of the Blood Devil Immortal Bandits, forges the Five Elements Dao-Evolving Sword, and claims the ancient Dao Derivation Sect’s inheritance 221.
• Over centuries, seizes the Anomaly’s ability and learns that six other worlds intend to exploit and refine the Azure Spirit Realm 221.
• Destroys their Spirit Transformation cultivators, ascends to the Spirit Realm, and eventually arrives in the Immortal Realm as a Peerless True Immortal 221.

Notable Quotes

“Truly, I am a rogue cultivator, certainly not a demonic cultivator!” 130

“Our transaction is complete. Neither of us owes the other anything now. Helping your grandfather took no more than a lift of my hand.” 30

“If I can't beat them, I'll just have to join them!” 88

“After more than a decade of cultivating the Dao, I have finally entered Foundation Establishment!” 122