Zhang Yunxi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Zhang Yunxi (张云溪)
Gender	Male
Age	Elderly; exact age unspecified 396 728.
Affiliation	Jade Hall Taoist Grounds; later accused by its surviving leadership of betraying the sect 406 418.
Occupation/Role	Yin-Yang practitioner, Great Master, and adviser to Luo Bin 589 675.
Cultivation Realm	Emergence from Darkness 1274.
Status	Alive in his latest documented encounter with Luo Bin 827.

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Great Master — documented rank	675 728	Identified as a Great Master of the Jade Hall Taoist Grounds. His principal limitation is the inheritance available to him, rather than his judgment or experience.
Emergence from Darkness — confirmed realm	1274	Explicitly confirmed to have attained this realm already; the chapter does not depict his breakthrough or establish when it occurred. His cultivation realm is distinguished from the strength of his individual techniques.

Background / History

Floating Tortoise Mountain

Zhang Yunxi spent years on Floating Tortoise Mountain and intervened on behalf of its people despite the personal danger. By the time Luo Bin parts from him on the cliff path, he is badly wounded. Luo Bin nevertheless regards him as someone willing to become involved in trouble for a just cause and seeks him out as a potential ally against Yuan Yinxin 394 396 675.

His Pure Brightness Disc suppresses the Tortoise Shell and purifies its life force, preventing further evil spirits from forming. When Luo Bin rejoins his group, Zhang questions him sharply about Shangguan Xingyue and the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds. He subsequently agrees to investigate Cabinet Mountain, recognizing that its ties to Floating Tortoise Mountain could expose it to a similar catastrophe 396 397.

Break with the Jade Hall Taoist Grounds

Returning to the Jade Hall Taoist Grounds after years away, Zhang reports what he has learned about the two mountains. The grounds’ leaders become interested in Luo Bin’s unusual inheritance, and their pursuit of it ends in a massacre when supernatural forces emerge through Luo Bin 406 408 414.

Zhang condemns his colleagues’ greed and urges Zhang Yunni to withdraw before the entire grounds is destroyed. Rather than abandon Luo Bin afterward, he concludes that the slaughter was not intentional and that Luo Bin may lack control over his powers. He advises him to conceal the inheritance and promises to help prevent another disaster 414.

Zhang and Luo Bin burn the bodies and leave together. Meanwhile, a surviving practitioner accuses Zhang of abandoning his sect, killing fellow disciples, and stealing a vital inheritance; a reward of Dark Frost Crimson Snow is offered for information about him 415 418.

Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds and Cabinet Mountain

Zhang helps Luo Bin seek the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist Grounds and accompanies him through its dangerous outer grounds. In the Heart-Peering Grounds, he deliberately avoids acknowledging an apparent threat because drawing Luo Bin’s attention to it could give his imagination something more dangerous to manifest 424 427 437 440.

He travels with Qin Tianqing and Luo Bin through traps and hostile Feng Shui layouts. Although he trusts Luo Bin’s competence, he objects when Qin presses him to study advanced Yang Calculation before mastering the necessary foundations. Zhang also shows immediate concern when a layout separates them from Luo Bin 445 446 448 467.

Back in Cabinet Mountain Village, Zhang narrowly avoids a fatal gunshot from Zhong Zhicheng’s room; the bullet strikes his right shoulder instead of his heart. Zhang Yunling removes the fragments and stitches the wound. While recovering, he helps Qin Tianqing assess her accusations against Zhong 482 483 484.

Yuan Yinxin later leaves Zhang’s consciousness severely fragmented. Emotion Flower Fruit restores him sufficiently to descend the mountain. After the final collapse, Zhang and Qin deliberately play opposing roles in a public disagreement, helping secure Shangguan Xingyue’s place with Qin’s group and settle the disciples’ loyalties. Zhang then departs with Luo Bin 535 538 539.

Jade Hall Unrest and Xiao Ke’s Interference

Zhang returns to address unrest at the Jade Hall Taoist Grounds, where the Red Armor Taoist Abbey has become involved. Luo Bin and Chen Zu later find him injured. Even then, Zhang uses the problem as an opportunity to train Luo Bin, asking how they might drive the intruders away without killing them 551 556 566.

The marks inflicted on Zhang’s face prove to be more than injuries. Xiao Ke, also known as Mr. Yin Yue, has used talisman marks and red threads to influence his judgment. Nine threads are eventually extracted from his face, and Zhang recognizes that they had sealed his “nine bones.” His clarity largely returns once they are removed 577 585.

Zhang subsequently participates in the effort against Xiao Ke, risking himself and drawing Golden Peace Temple into the affair. He continues guiding Luo Bin afterward, but deliberately leaves him room to develop methods beyond Zhang’s own 589 597 614.

Three Perils Mountain and Six Yin Mountain

Zhang accompanies Luo Bin and Hu Jin through Three Perils Mountain. His deductions help them assess Miao affairs, unusual Gu, and the threat posed by the Corpse King. When Taoist arts need a suitable Feng Shui setting, he entrusts the arrangements to Luo Bin rather than insisting on his own seniority 675 689 705 728 731.

He later uses Mountain-Reading Pathfinding to locate the fissure leading into Valley Ravine and reunite with Luo Bin. After more than six months in the region, Zhang, Luo Bin, and Hu Jin escape together. Zhang’s habit of switching off his phone in the wilderness allows him to contact Shen Dong and obtain news of the Six Yin Mountain attack and Chen Zu’s disappearance 758 759.

Zhang urges patience rather than an impulsive rescue attempt. He nevertheless joins the subsequent investigation, searches Lu Li’s hidden residence with Luo Bin, and uses his compass to confirm that the Fierce Prison has dispersed 760 772.

As Luo Bin’s problems become increasingly dangerous, Zhang’s ability to intervene safely diminishes. Luo Bin begins withholding matters that might draw him into fatal danger. Zhang accepts his wish for independence but makes clear that he remains willing to help 827.

Appearance

• Elderly appearance: Described as an elderly gentleman, with graying hair visible from behind 396 661 728.
• Facial injuries: After the Jade Hall conflict, he wears a veil over his injured face. The scars and talisman marks are later linked to Xiao Ke’s interference 566 577.
• Nine concealed threads: Nine red threads are removed from his face, restoring the clarity that the associated marks had impaired 585.

Personality

Zhang is compassionate without being indiscriminately trusting. He initially interrogates Luo Bin about his dangerous associations, but changes his assessment when Luo Bin’s distress shows that the temple massacre was not deliberate. His decision to remain involved combines sympathy with practical responsibility: abandoning an uncontrolled power could lead to another disaster 396 414 415.

He is usually composed, decisive, and attentive to small details. His caution extends from conserving phone power to warning Luo Bin that a familiar companion’s loyalties may have changed. He does not equate restraint with passivity; he is willing to enter dangerous situations when intervention is necessary 418 632 759.

His moral opposition to greed coexists with a willingness to use strategy and deception. He condemns killing for treasure, yet accepts Qin Tianqing’s manipulation when it serves the immediate crisis. Their coordinated double act requires no prior discussion, demonstrating Zhang’s ability to understand another strategist’s intentions 414 538 539 675.

Abilities & Skills

Yin-Yang Arts and Feng Shui

An experienced Great Master whose judgment often exceeds the breadth of his inherited techniques 675 705 827.

• Uses Mountain-Reading Pathfinding and Feng Shui analysis to find a route into Valley Ravine 758.
• Recognizes valuable ritual implements and unusual inheritances, including the significance of Luo Bin’s compass and the Five Thunder Pestle 397 759.
• Understands elemental relationships in Feng Shui arrangements, including how water nourishes wood 591.
• Acknowledges when Luo Bin’s Primordial Calculation is better suited to a task than his own arts 728.

Physiognomy

Reads faces and bodily signs to assess temperament, condition, and hidden trouble.

• Gives a detailed assessment of Min Nan’s temperament from his eyes, brows, and facial shape 815.
• Notices that Luo Bin’s complexion indicates a loss of yang energy 812.
• His scrutiny makes Luo Bin feel that lies would be exposed; this is Luo Bin’s impression, not an established infallible lie-detection power 396.
• Has limits: he does not detect Bai Wei’s impending cultivation deviation before Luo Bin identifies it 615.

Deduction and Strategic Planning

Combines experience, observation, and knowledge of supernatural factions.

• Infers repeated Gu refinement from Luo Bin’s brief explanation of his methods 705.
• Identifies Taoist origins and possible ranks from clothing and limited information 728.
• Recognizes the significance of artifacts that restrain a worm as though it were a human soul 689.
• Coordinates with Qin Tianqing to manage a volatile group without an open confrontation 538 675.

Ritual Defense and Combat

Uses ritual objects and positioning rather than relying solely on physical force.

• Suppresses and purifies the Tortoise Shell through the Pure Brightness Disc 396.
• Throws a Jade Coin toward a threat behind him without turning around 770.
• Uses Bronze Clubs during the confrontation involving Bai Guanli 735.
• Reacts quickly enough to avoid a shot through the heart, although he is still wounded in the shoulder 482.

Teaching and Guidance

Acts as a mentor while treating Luo Bin as a friend and equal, not a formal disciple 589.

• Uses real disputes and investigations to develop Luo Bin’s adaptability 566 766.
• Protects Luo Bin’s concentration during a cultivation bottleneck and discourages excessive instruction that might restrict him to Zhang’s methods 614.
• Teaches Hu Jin fortune-telling 749.
• Warns against using the first divination hexagram on oneself when it cannot meaningfully resolve the problem 827.

Equipment / Items

• Pure Brightness Disc — Suppresses the Tortoise Shell and purifies the life force that would otherwise produce evil spirits 396.
• Compass — Confirms that the Fierce Prison has dispersed after the investigation of Lu Li’s residence 772.
• Bronze Clubs — Used directly during the encounter with Bai Guanli 735.
• Jade Coin — Thrown as a defensive attack against a presence behind him 770.
• Talismans — Uses one on a closed door during the White Buddha Temple investigation 572.
• Mobile phone — Preserved for emergencies by switching it off during wilderness travel 759.

Relationships

• Luo Bin — Close friend, traveling companion, and informal student. Zhang protects him, guides his development, and consistently treats him as an equal. Luo Bin increasingly worries that Zhang will risk his life over dangers beyond his inheritance’s limits 415 589 614 827.
• Qin Tianqing — Ally and fellow strategist. Zhang challenges his teaching decisions but cooperates with him during the Cabinet Mountain crisis and its aftermath 467 538 539.
• Hu Jin — Traveling companion and recipient of his fortune-telling instruction. Hu Jin repeatedly expresses admiration for Zhang’s insight 706 749 759.
• Chen Zu — Established acquaintance and source of underworld-market assistance. Chen supports Zhang during his recovery and helps mobilize information against Xiao Ke 418 566 587.
• Wen Qing and Wen Chang — Jade Hall Taoists who accompany him into Floating Tortoise Mountain and later help pack the grounds’ useful possessions before departure 406 566.
• Shangguan Xingyue — Initially a dangerous adversary whose actions nearly kill Zhang and another Taoist. Zhang later supports the arrangement that places her under Qin Tianqing’s protection after she helps the group escape Cabinet Mountain 396 455 538.
• Xie Qing — Close friend from Nanping. Xie loses an eye confronting Long Phu and subsequently seeks Zhang’s help 566 774.
• Xiao Ke / Mr. Yin Yue — Enemy who injures Zhang and covertly impairs his judgment through facial talisman marks and nine red threads 577 585.

Notable Quotes

“You killed for treasure, as ruthless as a demon, only to encounter a true demon. This was heaven’s unseen retribution.” 414

“You want to face certain problems independently. That’s good. But if the hidden danger is too great, you still need to tell me. I’ll help you whenever you need.” 827