Hongjun

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Hongjun (鸿钧)
Alias(es)	Dao Ancestor; Old Ancestor Hongjun 6 21
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Heavenly Dao; Purple Cloud Palace 1 3
Occupation/Role	Spokesman of the Heavenly Dao; teacher of the Primordial World’s cultivators 1 3
Sanctuary	Purple Cloud Palace, established within chaos 1
Cultivation Realm	Dao Integration, beyond the ranks of ordinary Sages 26
Status	Alive; continuing his merger with the Heavenly Dao 42
First Appearance	Announces his sagehood in Chapter 1; appears physically in Chapter 2 1 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Sage	1	Announces that he has attained sagehood. His earlier acquisition of Jade Plate of Creation fragments enabled him to defeat Demon Ancestor Luohu and attain the Dao 3.
Dao Integration realm	26	Explicitly described as occupying a realm beyond Sagehood, only a hair below the Great Dao. Reaching this realm does not mean his merger with the Heavenly Dao is complete: that process later stalls and resumes after five disciples become Sages 34 42.

Background / History

Rise to Sagehood

Hongjun obtained numerous fragments of the Jade Plate of Creation through fortunate encounters. These fragments, originating from Pangu’s shattered treasure, enabled him to defeat Demon Ancestor Luohu and become a Sage. He subsequently established the Purple Cloud Palace within chaos and invited beings with destined affinity to hear the Great Dao 1 3.

His sermons also served his own cultivation. By teaching the Primordial World’s powerful beings, he gathered their fortune to accelerate his union with the Heavenly Dao. The Three Pure Ones were particularly important because of their Pangu origins and creation merit 2.

Establishing the Sage Order

After his first sermon, Hongjun appointed the King Father of the East to govern male immortals and the Queen Mother of the West to govern female immortals. Although the Demon and Witch factions did not openly defy him, they privately doubted that his appointees could enforce their authority 3.

During the second sermon, he accepted Laozi, Yuanshi, and Nuwa as disciples, and Zhunti and Jieyin as named disciples. He distributed primordial violet qi to all five, granted another strand to Hong Yun, and sent the final strand toward Kunlun Mountain 11.

That final strand was a deliberate attempt to draw Tongtian into conflict. Hongjun made it easy for other cultivators to follow, intending to turn its recipient into a target and pressure Tongtian into founding the Interception Sect to attain Sagehood. Tongtian instead rejected the qi, and Hongjun later recovered it 12 13 19.

Managing the Witch–Demon Conflict

Hongjun regarded the Witch Clan and Demon Tribe as expendable participants in the Heavenly Dao’s tribulation. He allowed their hostility to develop, intervening at the Purple Cloud Palace only when the Witches attempted to involve Laozi and Yuanshi in their rivalry 9.

When the Witches threatened to annihilate the Demon Tribe, Hongjun stopped the Twelve Ancestral Witches with a glance. He assigned the earth to the witches and the heavens to the demons, then prohibited further fighting for a thousand years 27.

After the third sermon, he told the assembled cultivators that becoming the leading force of heaven and earth could grant strength equal to the Sages. He withheld that the Heavenly Dao had already selected humanity for that position, encouraging the rival clans to pursue a supremacy neither could obtain 30 31.

Failed Treasure Distribution

Hongjun announced that his spiritual treasures would be available on the Treasure Distribution Cliff before his merger with the Heavenly Dao. Irritated by Tongtian’s continued absence, he placed the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords at the front of the cliff 31.

The swords attacked the approaching cultivators and prevented them from reaching the other treasures. Everyone eventually withdrew empty-handed, earning Hongjun widespread ridicule. He remained unaware of the distribution’s full failure even when his disciples later returned for help 31 40.

The Breathing Soil Negotiation

Hongjun’s Dao integration stalled because his intended Sages had not attained the Dao. Nuwa understood her destined task but lacked the necessary material. Ordinary divination and the Jade Disc of Creation failed to locate it, forcing Hongjun to expend his accumulated Heavenly Dao power. He discovered that Tongtian possessed the missing Nine Heavens Breathing Soil 34 35.

Hongjun personally visited Tongtian’s retreat, unknowingly negotiating with a peak Quasi-Sage physical avatar. His offer of the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords was rejected, and his subsequent intimidation failed when the avatar displayed Tongtian’s creation merit. Fearing Heavenly Dao punishment, Hongjun abandoned force and agreed to borrow the soil 36 37.

Tongtian demanded the Innate Five Directions Banners as payment. Hongjun accepted and additionally offered Sagehood, other treasures, and Taiyi’s future ownerless Chaos Bell if Tongtian would leave seclusion and become his disciple. Tongtian refused but handed over the soil. Hongjun departed having privately decided that Tongtian must eventually be eliminated 39 40.

Hongjun gave the soil to Nuwa and collected banners from Laozi and Yuanshi to meet his obligation. Nuwa created humanity and became a Sage; Laozi, Yuanshi, Zhunti, and Jieyin subsequently ascended as well. With five Sages established, Hongjun resumed his Dao integration and temporarily stopped watching Tongtian, mistakenly believing his independent cultivation path had already been severed 40 41 42.

Appearance

• Appears as an old man wearing hempen Daoist robes 2.
• Sits upon a purple-hued Cloud Bed in the Purple Cloud Palace 9.
• Maintains an aloof expression before his disciples; his voice is sometimes described as flat and mechanical 34 35.

Personality

Hongjun presents himself as an impartial teacher offering opportunities through “destined affinity,” but privately manipulates those opportunities to advance his merger with the Heavenly Dao. His dispatch of primordial violet qi toward Tongtian and his encouragement of Witch–Demon competition both conceal predetermined outcomes 12 31.

He treats most cultivators as ants or pawns rather than people owed explanations. His indifference extends to Hong Yun’s death, which interests him mainly as a sign of the approaching escalation between the two clans 9 25 29 30.

Tongtian’s refusal to follow the expected path repeatedly breaks Hongjun’s composure. His frustration produces spiteful decisions, threats, and eventually murderous intent. Nevertheless, he retreats when acting would jeopardize his Dao integration, whether through excessive use of Heavenly Dao power or backlash for killing someone with great merit 28 31 37 40.

Abilities & Skills

Dao Teaching

• His first sermon fills the palace with violet qi and Great Dao resonances, rapidly improving the listeners’ cultivation 2.
• Explains three routes to Sagehood: force, severing three corpses, and merit. He ranks force highest in strength but declares it no longer viable under the changed laws of heaven and earth 10.
• Teaches that each Innate Spiritual Treasure can sever one corpse, with stronger treasures producing stronger corpses; each treasure can only be used once 10.

Sermon	Subject	Duration	Chapters
First	Dao of Great Luo	Three thousand years	2
Second	Quasi-Sage cultivation and the Corpse-Severing Method	Three thousand years	10
Third	Dao of Sages	One thousand years	27 29

Sage-Level Pressure

• Forces the assembled powers at the Purple Cloud Palace, including the Ancestral Witches, to bow under his pressure 9.
• Halts the Twelve Ancestral Witches with a glance when they are about to destroy the Demon Tribe 27.
• Uses a trace of oppressive aura to threaten Tongtian during negotiations, but withdraws it when confronted with his creation merit 36 37.

Divination and Divine Sense

• Investigates distant events and attempts to divine Tongtian’s circumstances from the Purple Cloud Palace 2 9.
• Uses the Jade Disc of Creation to strengthen his probing and manifest laws against protective restrictions 28.
• Cannot penetrate the combined concealment of Tongtian’s Sage Dao Field and Chaos Bead through his ordinary methods 28 34.
• Eventually locates the breathing soil by exhausting his accumulated Heavenly Dao power; using that power before completing integration risks damaging his cultivation 34 35.

Heavenly Dao Integration

• Gathers the fortune of sermon attendees to accelerate his union with the Heavenly Dao 2.
• Depends on the intended Sages attaining the Dao; their delayed ascensions stall his own progress 34 42.
• Believes completing the Heavenly Dao’s laws will close the path of proving the Dao by force, unless a cultivator possesses a Chaos Supreme Treasure capable of assisting them 11.
• As the Heavenly Dao’s spokesman, would suffer especially severe backlash for killing a being with great merit 44.

Remote Observation

• Uses the Water-Mirror Technique to observe the devastation of the Three Immortal Islands from his palace 5.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Jade Plate / Jade Disc of Creation — Reconstructed from fragments of Pangu’s treasure, which originally contained the three thousand Great Daos. It supports Hongjun’s cultivation and divination but remains an incomplete Chaos Supreme Treasure 3 28 34.
• Primordial Violet Qi — Distributes seven strands as foundations of Sagehood. He manipulates the strand sent toward Tongtian and retrieves it after its rejection 11 12 19.
• Four Immortal-Slaying Swords — Places them on the Treasure Distribution Cliff, unintentionally blocking access to all other treasures. Later offers them to Tongtian in exchange for the breathing soil 31 36.
• Innate Five Directions Banners — Owns two himself, obtains two from Laozi and Yuanshi, and identifies Minghe as the holder of the remaining banner. Promises the set as payment for borrowing the soil 39 40.
• Nine Heavens Breathing Soil — Obtains from Tongtian and gives to Nuwa so she can create humanity and attain Sagehood 40 41.

Relationships

• Tongtian / Xu Tong — Intended disciple and increasingly hostile opponent. His repeated absences, rejection of violet qi, and concealed cultivation frustrate Hongjun’s plans; Hongjun ultimately marks him for elimination 2 12 40.
• Laozi — Formal disciple. Hongjun protects him from Witch–Demon karmic entanglements and later demands his Innate Five Directions Banner 9 11 40.
• Yuanshi — Formal disciple. Receives primordial violet qi and reluctantly surrenders his banner when Hongjun requests it 11 40.
• Nuwa — Disciple whose creation of humanity is essential to the intended sequence of Sage ascensions. Hongjun secures the material she needs to complete it 11 34 41.
• Zhunti and Jieyin — Named disciples. Each receives primordial violet qi and later becomes a Sage through founding the Western Teachings and making vows to the Heavenly Dao 11 42.
• King Father of the East and Queen Mother of the West — Appointed governors of male and female immortals respectively 3.
• Hong Yun — Recipient of a strand of primordial violet qi, but not accepted as a disciple. Hongjun shows little concern over his death 11 25.
• Witch Clan and Demon Tribe — Rival factions he manipulates toward the Heavenly Dao’s tribulation while preventing either from ending the conflict prematurely 9 27 31.
• Demon Ancestor Luohu — Earlier enemy defeated with the aid of the Jade Plate of Creation fragments 3.

Notable Quotes

“From this day forth, the witches shall rule the earth, and the demons shall rule the heavens! For a thousand years, the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe shall not fight again!” 27

“You want to ignore worldly affairs and cultivate in peace? Hmph, nothing comes that easily.” 40