Nine Evil Sect

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Nine Evil Sect (九邪教)
Alias(es)	Holy Church, as used by its members 142
Organization Type	Evil religious sect divided into nine lineages 336
Affiliation	Each lineage worships a different evil god; the Spirit Blood Lineage worships the Spiritblood True God 336
Occupation/Role	Blood-based cultivation, human sacrifice, covert infiltration, and attacks against martial factions and government forces 128 211 255 325
Area of Activity	Suining Prefecture and wider Qing Province, including Crossing Peak Stronghold and Qinggang County 128 264 325 349
Status	Active despite the destruction of several strongholds and the deaths of senior members; recruitment continues in Qinggang County 228 337 348 349
First Appearance	First documented mention in the provided material: reports of killings and disappearances 29

Background / History

Earlier Activity and Yin Xi’s Disappearance

The sect’s history extends back more than two centuries: Yan Wuyuan mentions an unnamed, exceptionally gifted Nine Evil Sect prodigy from that period. Its Benevolent Temple stronghold had also operated for over a century before being discovered 164 210.

More than a decade before the Golden Sun Temple crisis, Lu Quanan severely wounded Elder Yin Xi in Southern White Dragon Marsh. Abbot Xuanyi subsequently imprisoned Yin Xi in the temple’s Demon-Sealing Cavern, intending to use him to restore his son Xuanding’s ruined cultivation foundation. Yin Xi instead gradually possessed Xuanding through blood-and-flesh arts 255.

During Yin Xi’s prolonged concealment, the sect’s Altar Masters and Incense Masters operated independently without unified command. Xuanyi discovered the possession about a year before the crisis, but preserved Yin Xi and sacrificed monks in an attempt to regain control of his son. This allowed Yin Xi to take over the temple’s leadership 255.

Yunlin County Operations

Early reports connect the sect to village deaths, missing martial artists, and lost constables. Its activity gave the Heaven Patrol Office a pretext to intervene in local affairs otherwise protected by established families and officials 29.

At abandoned Stonebridge Village, Deacon Wang Gongqin manipulated a Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall raid into a sacrifice. He allowed the attackers to kill his followers so their blood qi could help refine a Blood Origin Pill, then revealed cultivation far above the reported third Qi-Blood level 42.

Wang later became a Grand Steward and participated in the Cloud Pattern Town uprising. The sect and mountain bandits subsequently attacked sites throughout Yunlin County, including the West City Armory 76 95.

Qi Shujian used his supposed seclusion to draw out the sect and its collaborators. His coordinated crackdown exposed the Zhang and Wang families, seized weapons and cultivation supplies, and dismantled the Red Tiger Gang. Wang Gongqin and Feng Haiyuan died during the operation, and Qi personally executed the fleeing Altar Master 98.

White Fish City and White Dragon Marsh

The sect established concealed bases in White Fish City and operated a Blood Pool in White Dragon Marsh. Altar Master Ye Jin used a manufactured Strange Ghost to murder Director Su Cheng’an, then sent it against Yi Yang. Yi Yang killed the creature, causing severe backlash to Ye Jin 130 142 164.

Yi Yang’s investigation uncovered an Incense Master near the marsh’s Blood Pool, where seventy or eighty drained bodies lay beneath the Water Eye. He later killed Wei Zhao, Ye Jin, and several local power brokers; both known sect bases in the city were sealed. Rampage Killer arrived to help collect blood essence, found the operation destroyed, and walked into an ambush when he attempted retaliation 150 151 159 164.

Lu Quanan later confirmed that the White Fish City Blood Pool had been destroyed and that the sect had lost several Altar Masters and an Incense Master 197.

Destruction of the Clearwind Ridge Stronghold

Yi Yang discovered an ancient underground altar beneath Benevolent Temple at Clearwind Ridge. After withdrawing without exposing his investigation, he returned with the Pacification Guard and Nether Spring Office. The assault freed dozens of kidnapped girls being held as blood sources 204 207 210 211.

The battle exposed Wu Family patriarch Wu Jiu as a sect member. It also revealed that “Blood Trace” was the supposedly dead former Pacification Guard Commander Ding Xiang. Wu Jiu and Blood Trace temporarily raised their strength through Blood-Burning Astral Sacrifice before fleeing the hall 214 215 228.

The stronghold was ultimately destroyed. Reports credited the operation with killing five Incense Masters, including Wu Jiu and Ding Xiang; Deputy Commander Ning Xiong also died. The investigation additionally exposed Wu Fangxu as a sect member concealed within the Evil Punishment Office 224 228.

Golden Sun Temple Conspiracy

Yin Xi arranged the beast tide threatening Donglai County to draw Lu Quanan away. With the region’s elite fighters occupied, the controlled Golden Sun Temple attacked the Profound Sword Pavilion to seize its Xuannian Stone. He Dingbo’s betrayal of Pavilion Master Xu Yuhu was another part of the scheme 239 245 255.

Yi Yang detected a suspicious reaction from a prayer bead while accompanying Cangwu Mountain’s master, Zhao Xunge. He returned to Lu Quanan rather than confront the danger alone. The subsequent revelations established that Yin Xi, inhabiting Xuanding’s body, had been concealed through Zhao Xunge. Lu ultimately killed Yin Xi and stopped the plot 251 252 255 264.

Retaliation and the Wanfeng Ambush

Venerable Blood Mirage ordered Blood Butcher to eliminate those connected to Yin Xi’s death, particularly Yi Yang, and test Lu Quanan’s strength. Lu intercepted and killed the Dharma Body–bearing assassin before he could complete the mission 264 267 269.

At Wanfeng County, Blood Envoy Ye Hanqian impersonated Bamboo Creek Gate elder Xie Tinglan. Working with Shaman Kingdom conspirators, she used a staged sect attack and three concealed Incense Masters to lure Yi Yang into Western Suburbs Valley 288 289.

Yi Yang exposed the disguise and killed Red Scorpion, Demon Claw, and Shadow Stinger within ten breaths. Ye Hanqian harvested their blood to strengthen her Blood Body Manifestation, but Yi Yang ultimately killed her using Mysterious Abyss 290 314 325.

Crossing Peak and Qinggang County

At Crossing Peak Stronghold’s auction, five infiltrators used Spirit-Blood Divine Medicine to become monsters and attack Lin Qi. Although the defenders killed them within three breaths, the assault exposed the strongest fighters’ positions before a blood-red arrow and coordinated citywide attacks followed 325.

The Spirit Blood Lineage’s Grand Elder, Blood Illusion Venerable, fought the stronghold’s elite defenders in a monstrous form. Gu Zhaohuang ultimately killed him 332 336 337.

Later, Yi Yang tracked three Profound Connection Realm sect members and Shen Biluo toward Qinggang County. There, a Land God Temple served as a recruitment site for starving refugees. After infiltrating it, he witnessed more than a thousand people gathered around a blood pool and a Spiritblood True God statue. The presiding cult leader revealed himself as Zhang Yuan, a former Wei Family groom; the gathering’s outcome is not shown in the provided material 347 348 349.

Organization and Leadership

Lineages and Beliefs

• Nine lineages: Each worships a distinct evil god and follows its own branch of cultivation arts. Only the Spirit Blood Lineage is described in detail 336.
• Spirit Blood Lineage: Worships the Spiritblood True God and is responsible for the blood-refinement operations encountered at White Fish City, Benevolent Temple, and Crossing Peak Stronghold 325 336.
• Recruitment promises: Cultists offer relief, healing, wealth, and eternal life to people facing hunger, illness, and bereavement 348.
• Treatment of followers: Senior practitioners repeatedly sacrifice their own subordinates for cultivation resources or tactical advantage 42 288 290.

Hierarchy

Yi Yang’s dossiers give the following ascending sequence. Each promotion multiplies the followers and resources a member can command 197.

Rank	Documented Examples and Capabilities
Believer	Ordinary followers include impoverished people deceived into joining 33 197.
Steward / Deacon	Wang Gongqin holds this rank during the Stonebridge Village operation 42.
Grand Steward	Wang Gongqin’s later position 76.
Altar Master	Examples include Ye Jin and the unnamed Yunlin County Altar Master; both use Inner Qi–level power 98 142.
Incense Master	Documented practitioners range from early True Astral to True Astral completion 212 289.
Elder	Yin Xi is a Profound Connection Realm elder 250 264.

Additional titles include Ghost Envoy, Blood Envoy, and Grand Elder, but their precise placement within this sequence is not fully explained 33 264 289.

Notable Members

Member	Position	Documented Role or Fate
Venerable Blood Mirage / Blood Illusion Venerable	Spirit Blood Lineage Grand Elder	Yin Xi’s master; had cultivated at Profound Connection perfection for forty years and possessed three divine powers. Killed by Gu Zhaohuang 264 336 337.
Yin Xi	Elder	Possessed Xuanding, controlled Golden Sun Temple, and orchestrated the beast tide conspiracy. Killed by Lu Quanan 255 264.
Blood Butcher	Assassin	Profound Connection expert with a Blood Demon Dharma Body. Killed by Lu Quanan 269.
Ye Hanqian	Blood Envoy	Profound Connection expert who impersonated Xie Tinglan and commanded blood-seed-controlled Incense Masters. Killed by Yi Yang 289 290 314.
Wu Jiu	Senior member; counted among the five slain Incense Masters	Wu Family patriarch and late True Astral expert. Killed by Yan Wuyuan 214 224 228.
Ding Xiang / Blood Trace	Incense Master	Former Pacification Guard Commander secretly operating within the sect. Killed during the Clearwind Ridge operation 228.
Li Chen	Incense Master	Mid True Astral practitioner who defended the Clearwind Ridge altar. Killed by Yi Yang 212 214.
Mo Huairen	Incense Master	Oversaw the altar and activated its evacuation plan during the raid 210 212.
Red Scorpion, Demon Claw, Shadow Stinger	Incense Masters	Served Ye Hanqian under blood-seed control. All killed by Yi Yang in Western Suburbs Valley 290.
Ye Jin	Altar Master	Created the Strange Ghost that murdered Su Cheng’an. Killed during Yi Yang’s White Fish City crackdown 142 159.
Wang Gongqin	Deacon, later Grand Steward	Former Golden Sun Temple disciple who stole its treasured saber. Killed by Yi Yang 44 76 300.
Feng Haiyuan	Sect operative	Imprisoned in South City Prison and killed by Yi Yang during the Yunlin upheaval 88 98 150.
Zhang Yuan	Qinggang cult leader	Former Wei Family groom who presides over the Land God Temple gathering 349.

Abilities and Cultivation Practices

Blood Seeds

• The sect’s core demonic art extracts a martial artist’s accumulated cultivation and condenses it into a blood seed. Consuming one grants part of the victim’s strength 128.
• Ye Hanqian implants blood seeds in subordinates and activates them remotely to issue commands and compel attacks 288 290.
• Yi Yang suspects that the apparent shortcut to cultivation carries an undisclosed cost; the records he reads do not establish that cost 128.

Blood Pills and Blood Pools

• Wang Gongqin condenses slain followers’ blood qi into a Blood Origin Pill 42.
• Blood pills are also produced by draining captives’ vitality. Benevolent Temple holds dozens of kidnapped girls as living blood sources 211.
• An earlier Altar Master, Blood Asura, slaughtered two villages and used more than two hundred lives to refine blood pills 206.
• Blood Pools support large-scale collection and ritual use of human blood 164 197 239.

Temporary Power Enhancement

• Sect secret arts can temporarily raise cultivation at the cost of destroying the practitioner’s foundation and preventing further advancement 115.
• Blood-Burning Astral Sacrifice raises Wu Jiu and Blood Trace from late True Astral to temporary realm completion, but begins damaging their meridians during the battle 215.

Strange Ghost Creation

• Ye Jin spends three years, extensive medicinal and spiritual materials, and a third-inner-qi-completion martial artist’s corpse to create a Strange Ghost of comparable combat strength 142.
• The creature has a compressible body, exceptional speed, tough protective tissue, and rapid healing 141.
• Destroying it inflicts severe mental and physical backlash on its creator 142.

Possession and Mental Influence

• Yin Xi dissolves his body and spirit into Xuanding through blood-and-flesh arts, gradually taking over his host 255.
• He Dingbo’s unnatural red eyes suggest that sect influence intensified the jealousy behind his betrayal of Xu Yuhu 245.
• Sect arts allow Ding Xiang to create a Soul-Bone Blood Blade, giving him access to mental-domain techniques while still in the True Astral Realm 232.

Blood Transformation

• Blood Body Manifestation: Ye Hanqian uses her slain subordinates’ blood to become a towering flesh-and-blood monster whose severed arm regrows almost immediately 290.
• Spirit-Blood Divine Medicine: Transforms martial artists into monstrous attackers. Five True Astral completion suicide fighters use it during the Crossing Peak auction assault 325.
• Blood Demon Dharma Body: Blood Butcher’s manifested form; it fails to overcome Lu Quanan’s binding vines 269.

Dark Arts, Poison, and Disguise

• Incense Masters and higher-ranking members combine martial arts with dark arts; some employ poison and venomous parasites 33.
• Demon Claw uses poisoned fingers, while Shadow Stinger carries a poisoned dagger 290.
• Cultists impersonate disciples of legitimate sects to blend into crowds 237.
• Thousand Illusions Mask, found among Ye Hanqian’s belongings, is a top-tier true-art disguise technique. At perfection, it can evade observers whose divine sense has not perfected its second realm 295.

Ten Thousand Blood Demon-Transformation Ritual

• Sect operatives prepare a blood pool and runic formation in the Beast Ridge Mountains under an elder’s orders, intending to use a blood sacrifice in Donglai County 239.
• Activating the formation sends an unseen pulse through the mountains; the Demon-Sealing Cavern’s restraints then begin to weaken 239.

Symbols and Ritual Objects

• Membership mark: A circular brand containing a winding snake pattern, observed on a bandit’s inner forearm and the Strange Ghost’s wrist 55 141.
• Altar emblem: Nine intertwined serpents facing outward around a human heart. Benevolent Temple’s four-zhang-wide version has obsidian eyes and deeply carved scales 204.
• Spiritblood idol: A palm-sized, three-headed, six-armed statue immersed in golden blood. It invades Yi Yang’s mind, demands submission, and offers power and protection for loyalty. A second example is found among Ye Hanqian’s possessions 260 295.
• Blood talismans: Retain recognizable yin baleful energy even after being partly burned, allowing Yi Yang to trace fleeing sect members 347.

Known Strongholds

Location	Function and Condition
Stonebridge Village Ancestral Hall	Hideout and sacrificial trap used by Wang Gongqin 42.
Wei estate and Ye Jin’s residence, White Fish City	Concealed urban bases; both wiped out and sealed by the Heaven Patrol Office 159.
White Dragon Marsh Blood Pool	Blood-collection site associated with an Incense Master and scores of drained victims; later confirmed destroyed 164 197.
Benevolent Temple, Clearwind Ridge	Century-old underground stronghold with prison cages, concealed chambers, and an evacuation passage; destroyed in the joint raid 204 211 212 228.
Beast Ridge Mountains ritual site	Blood pool and formation used for the Ten Thousand Blood Demon-Transformation Ritual 239.
Golden Sun Temple	Legitimate sect covertly taken over by Yin Xi rather than an openly acknowledged Nine Evil Sect base 255.
Land God Temple, Qinggang County	Recruitment and ritual site containing a cellar, blood pool, and Spiritblood True God statue; active at the latest documented gathering 348 349.

Relationships

• Heaven Patrol Office — Principal institutional enemy. Its investigations destroy sect bases, expose collaborators, and rescue sacrificial captives 98 128 211 228.
• Yi Yang — Repeatedly disrupts sect operations and kills its members, prompting senior leadership to order his assassination 264 290.
• Lu Quanan — Wounds Yin Xi, later kills him, and eliminates Blood Butcher. His presence constrains the sect’s overt activity in Suining Prefecture 128 255 269.
• Shaman Kingdom conspirators — Cooperate with Ye Hanqian in the Wanfeng ambush; Shaman Kingdom forces also participate in the wider Crossing Peak crisis 288 289 340.
• Wu Family — Supplies concealed members and True Astral fighters. Its patriarch’s exposure leads to the family’s destruction and confiscation of its holdings 214 224 227.
• Zhang and Wang families of Yunlin County — Provide local support; the Wang family’s storehouse contains silver, weapons, pills, and other sect supplies 98.
• Golden Sun Temple — Initially imprisons Yin Xi, but becomes his instrument after Xuanyi refuses to destroy the threat possessing Xuanding 255.
• Profound Sword Pavilion — Targeted by Yin Xi’s scheme to steal the Xuannian Stone through a controlled Golden Sun Temple assault 255.