Xu Taiping

Biodata

Power Progression

The Setting Sun Glow Art divides pre–Gate Opening cultivation into Dew Condensation, Frost Transformation, and Ice Formation. These are stages of true-qi development, not separate major realms 16.

His later development follows several parallel tracks: cultivation realm, martial physique, blood qi body tempering, blade and sword domains, and mastery of techniques. Physical stages and temporary borrowed power are therefore distinguished from permanent cultivation breakthroughs 1608 1853 2193 3001.

• Post-breakthrough development: After another month following Gate Opening, he can meditate instead of sleeping, go half a month without food, and execute all 108 punches of Charging Ox Breaks the Formation 38.
• Early bottleneck: He obtains the Setting Sun Glow Art’s second level but has not fully mastered it at that point. Access to the third level requires inner-disciple status, making the Seven Peaks Selection essential to his early advancement 48.
• Early prospective goal: Lingyue believes a treasure nourished by the three-hundred-year-old fire spirit mushroom could bring him to the peak of Qi Refining before the selection; the proposed benefit is not an accomplished breakthrough in that passage 49.
• Dhyana Seal cultivation aid: A Buddhist Dhyana Seal increases his cultivation speed more than tenfold. He spends seven years cultivating in seclusion inside the Dragon-Trapping Tower 719.
• Combat strength versus realm: Spectators judge his combat strength comparable to the Heaven Questioning Realm well before his later Half-Immortal advancement. Their suggestion that he seeks the Ultimate Dao Realm is an interpretation, not a separate confirmed breakthrough in that scene 1868.
• Ultimate-state preparation: The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage explains that refining thirteen sufficiently powerful life-bound immortal weapons or treasures before Dao Integration can bring divine essence toward its ultimate realm. Xu Taiping undertakes weapon refinement for this purpose 3001 3019 3041.
• Dao Integration chronology: A later conversation discusses preparing another breakthrough into Dao Integration from the Ultimate Realm state and refers to a previous breakthrough's benefits. The supplied passages do not establish a complete chronology for those repeated preparations 3214.
• Fifth-level blade domain remains prospective in the cited scene: The Water-Cutting Blade's spirit says Blade Devouring could soon raise his domain to the fifth level; the passage does not itself confirm that advancement 3080.

Background / History

Xu Taiping grew up believing that his parents had died several years before his grandfather. His childhood included gathering herbs, falling down a hillside, and surviving days trapped by jackals without food or water. His grandfather remained his emotional anchor throughout these hardships 2. Much later, he learns that Xu Zhian was his adoptive grandfather and that his earliest years were spent among refugees rather than entirely within the family history he remembered 3940 4031 4032.

He initially sought immortality to cure his grandfather’s illness. At the old man’s sickbed, he swallowed a saved Spirit Bone Pill and promised to protect a soybean seed and his grandfather’s secret. His grandfather died that night, while Taiping’s name appeared on the Azure Profound Sect’s Spirit Bone Stele 2.

On the seventh day of mourning, his uncle Xu Erniu and his aunt sold him to the White Household for thirty taels. Dugu Qingxiao and Zhao Linglong arrived before he was taken away. Qingxiao paid gold worth three thousand taels of silver to redeem him and tore up his indenture, allowing Taiping to leave his relatives behind 3 4 5.

At Dragon Gate Hall, Elder Black Dragon identified his aptitude as White Bone, disqualifying him from immediate admission to the Seven Peaks. Taiping chose three years of cultivation below the mountain rather than departure. Qingxiao guaranteed that the Seventh Peak would accept him if he passed the selection, and Linglong helped settle him at Green Bamboo Abode 7 8.

After three years of preparation, he competed in the selection assemblies, overcame outer disciples, and defeated Ye Xuan in the Sword Inquiry. The Immortal Law Bureau's register subsequently records him as an official disciple of the Seventh Peak 72 91 100 144. His later life includes prolonged cultivation in the Dragon-Trapping Tower and Golden Court Grotto-Heaven, major contests across the heavens, and military leadership on the Heaven-Demon Battlefield 719 1692 1853 3748.

Biological Parents and Refugee Childhood

A gray-robed old Daoist reveals that Taiping is not Xu Zhian's biological grandson, but an orphan whom Xu Zhian found and brought home. The Daoist's own reincarnated form was related by blood to a previous incarnation of Xu Zhian, explaining why he had given Xu Zhian a Spirit Bone Pill. He also states that Taiping's biological parents were ordinary mortal-bone people, not exalted cultivators 3940 3941.

Through scenes associated with a Divine Soul Mark given by the Demon Ancestor, Taiping recognizes his biological parents. They had fled their hometown during an upheaval and joined other refugees. When bandit soldiers threatened the group, his parents lured them away and died without revealing the others' hiding place. Taiping was not yet three months old 4031.

The surviving refugees buried his parents and undertook to raise him. An old scholar initially led more than sixty people toward Great Qian, repeatedly finding ways to evade soldiers. Over the next three or four years, successive groups of refugees cared for Taiping and entrusted him to others whenever they could no longer keep him safe. Some principles he had attributed to his grandfather had actually been taught to him during this flight 4031 4032.

His recovered memories reach a young physician who cared for him at age four. When marauding soldiers found them, the physician told Taiping to play dead and covered the child with his own body 4032.

Appearance

• Childlike stature: Stands less than five feet tall during his confrontation with the Tiger Wraith 24.
• Expressive eyes: Lin Buyu recognizes his eyes and steadfast gaze despite a cloth covering half his face 45.
• Treatment-related emaciation: By the sixth day of marrow cleansing, he is pale, thin, and at least ten jin lighter; this is a temporary consequence of the treatment 15.
• Battle injuries: After killing the Demon Tiger, wounds and bloody scabs cover his body, including his face 47.
• Lean adolescent build: At the Four Mountains Assembly, his lean frame and somewhat delicate face make him look younger than the heavily muscled martial cultivators around him 72.
• Growth after three years: Zhao Linglong observes that he has become much taller and sturdier while retaining his familiar eyes and brows 80.
• Gentle everyday bearing: Among friends after the Mysterious Wasteland trials, he appears as a clear-eyed young cultivator with a gentle smile and lingering youthful spirit, markedly different from his fierce battle presence 1241.
• Altered identities: Uses disguises, including a Human-Skin Mask, and eventually reveals his true appearance to the companions who knew him as Zhang Wuyou 709 1581.
• Physique transformations: Can enlarge his body and manifest dragon scales and horns. His Immaculate blood qi transformation turns his scales lustrous white; his later True Dragon Divine Being Body can display fine red scales and dragon horns, although he can normally conceal these features 1608 3391.

Personality

Taiping’s defining trait is persistence rather than confidence in his natural talent. He answers his poor aptitude by increasing his training hours, endures debilitating medicinal treatments, and resumes his Gate Opening breakthrough immediately after his first attempt collapses. His grandfather’s teachings remain central to his resolve 15 16 35 37.

He is observant and cautious without becoming passive. He recognizes his aunt’s financial motives, notices that Liu Qingmei’s clean shoes contradict her account of fleeing wolves, and leaves the Tiger Wraith’s possessions untouched until he can inspect them safely 3 20 28.

His generosity depends on trust, while his dealings remain precise. He honors his agreement with Lingyue without surrendering more than promised, welcomes White Rainbow to eat freely, and charges the unfamiliar Old Nine only seven Merit Coins despite being offered three hundred 10 28.

Taiping strongly rejects predation and corruption. Liu Qingmei’s account of Lu Chen’s abuse fills him with indignation, and he refuses the Tiger Wraith’s offer to become a ghost servant. Against enemies who continue threatening others, he follows his grandfather’s principle of answering evil with evil and kindness with kindness 22 24 27.

His later ordeals extend this endurance to extreme spiritual and physical suffering. He refuses to release the Red-Haired Blade Ghost even under repeated mutilation, declaring himself able to endure a year of torment within the domain. Against the Book of Life and Death, he keeps fighting an imagined opponent after both arms break, holding his blade in his teeth 259 1327.

Loyalty becomes a central motive for his cultivation. He treats the Seventh Peak as the family he lacked in childhood and resolves to protect its members rather than retreat before threats. He similarly accepts the possible cost of using his rare Life-Replenisher opportunity to save Lin Buyu 452 836.

Despite his rising strength, he does not regard power or easier advancement as sufficient reasons to abandon his conscience. He explains to Lingyue that cultivation would lose its meaning if he ceased to be the same Xu Taiping who lived at Green Bamboo Abode. He judges that continuity by whether he can still affirm his life-and-death choices with a clear conscience 1862.

He also resists interpretations that would erase his ordinary origins. When assured that he is not a fallen immortal's reincarnation, he is relieved, preferring to remain the once-hungry village boy rather than an exalted being's mortal incarnation 2934.

As a commander, he seeks genuine acceptance rather than merely enforcing obedience. He wants the Five Emperors' Army's generals to accept him wholeheartedly so that their forces can reach their greatest strength. The later necessity of sacrificing familiar battle generals for a fleeting opening weighs heavily on him 3750 3921.

Abilities & Skills

Setting Sun Glow Art

His principal early cultivation method produces Crimson Dawn True Qi, supports rapid recovery of true qi, and develops increasingly powerful ice-based protection 18 19 25.

• Protective qi: At Ice Formation, withstands the Tiger Wraith’s Sword Qi without injury, although the protective layer shatters 26.
• Freezing: Can freeze water, coat attacks in ice, and freeze a Demon Wolf solid with an arrow 25 26.
• Enhanced senses: Before Frost Transformation, can distinguish a sparrow five hundred meters away and identify nearby beasts by sound within a li 16.
• Internal vision: Can inspect his Qi Sea after reaching Gate Opening 37.
• Limitations: White Bone aptitude still makes his early advancement slow. Improperly releasing true qi during his first Demon Wolf fight causes severe swelling and loss of control, which he corrects by circulating the art 17 48.

Green Ox Fist

A fist art purchased for thirty Merit Coins, chosen for its compatibility with the Setting Sun Glow Art and its affordability 18.

• Ox Horn Crashes the Mountain: Delivers eight times the force of an ordinary Green Ox Fist move at full power 18.
• Charging Ox Breaks the Formation: Delivers a sustained barrage whose punches grow stronger while true qi lasts 18 26.
• Ice application: Crimson Dawn True Qi adds accumulating ice to each blow, freezing the Tiger Wraith’s possessed body 26.
• Progress: Initially exhausts his reserves after using each ultimate move once; after reaching Gate Opening and training for a month, can complete the 108-punch sequence 19 38.
• Weakness: The barrage leaves him depleted afterward. The Demon Tiger deliberately endures the sequence and counterattacks when it ends 26 46.
• Continued refinement: Uses an improved Ox Horn Crashes the Mountain against the Red-Haired Blade Ghost, although the ghost's blade qi overwhelms it 259.
• Mountain-Splitting Force integration: Embeds Mountain-Splitting Force in all 108 punches against the Gurong strongman Zeba, damaging the bones beneath his extremely tough flesh 1370.
• Lifelong practice: Continues practicing daily after becoming a formal disciple. His nearly perfect demonstration in the Martial Armory gives an ordinary martial fist art the might of a high-level martial dao technique 1928.
• Connection to his beginnings: Returns to the Green Ox Fist stance when confronting the unresolved inner trial surrounding Dong Cangzi, linking his present self to the boy who first began martial cultivation 3619.

Piercing Willow Arrow

An archery technique purchased for ten Merit Coins. It improves eyesight and steadiness through true qi and teaches the user to empower arrows 18.

• Kills a Demon Wolf with a forehead shot from five hundred meters away 20.
• Develops freezing effects alongside his Crimson Dawn True Qi 20 26.
• Cannot initially overcome the Tiger Wraith’s direct sword defense, forcing him to rely on deception and traps 24.

Ice Breath Technique

A spell taught by Lingyue and largely mastered during the month following his Gate Opening breakthrough 35 38.

• Converts breath into ice and works with the Setting Sun Glow Art 35.
• Lingyue explains that a Qi-Gathering Pill could supply enough energy for him to freeze an area more than ten zhang across in one breath 35.
• Its ordinary requirements exceed his early reserves; the pill-assisted application is presented as a way to temporarily overcome that limitation 35.
• The Spirit Bone Stele later elevates his Frost Breath Art into the Frost-Killing Art, an Immortal Rank great divine ability 2437.

Seven-Kill Blade

A saber art purchased after reaching Gate Opening to compensate for his lack of mid-range offensive power 38.

• Has more or less mastered it by the time Lu Chen visits Green Bamboo Abode 38.
• Before acquiring it, his saber attacks rely on true qi and timing rather than formal saber training 26.

Wind Shadow Step

A two-move movement technique found among the Demon Tiger’s stolen treasures 48.

• Taiping says he learned it the previous day when Bai Yu sees him rush out of Green Bamboo Abode 48.
• Fills a longstanding gap in his skills: earlier movement manuals had been too expensive to purchase 19 48.

Practical Skills

• Hunting and traps: Uses terrain, concealed wooden spikes, pits, and bait to defeat opponents stronger than himself 17 24 26 27.
• Herb cultivation: Maintains three mu of medicinal fields and grows nine-leaf white perilla to cover sect dues 14 15 16.
• Pill refinement: Refines two Qi-Gathering Pills under Lingyue’s instructions, controlling furnace heat and ingredient timing 34 35.
• Cooking: Prepares Yellow Sheep and hosts meals for White Rainbow, Old Nine, and visiting sect officials 28 29 30.
• Comprehension: His understanding of cultivation methods impresses Purple Sun True Lord despite his poor physical aptitude 13.
• Sword forging: Continues forging swords as well as practicing his techniques during the long years spent in Golden Court Grotto-Heaven 1692.
• Tactical deception: Conceals reserves, employs clones, and manipulates an opponent's expectations. His apparent helplessness against Zeba conceals the qi and blood he releases at the moment needed to coordinate with Dugu Qingxiao 1370 1371.

Possible Illuminated Dao Heart

Lingyue suspects that Taiping possesses an illuminated Dao heart during his breakthrough. The supplied passages present this as her assessment, not a confirmed diagnosis 36.

• The narration emphasizes that his strongest support is the unyielding will formed under his grandfather’s guidance, rather than this possible innate quality 37.
• His later resistance to the Book of Life and Death similarly draws on remembered teachings and relentless self-improvement, rather than passive reliance on an innate gift 1327.

Great Sage Fist and Later Fist Arts

Taiping develops martial arts far beyond his original Green Ox Fist. His Great Sage Fist includes defensive forms, momentum-building attacks, and thunderflame applications, while his later arsenal includes the Ancestral Sage Fist and Heaven-Shaking Fist 637 1025 1174 2458 3418.

• Baxia Form: Reaches the ultimate realm, gathering the force of heaven from more than ten li around Butterfly Valley beneath his fist and breaking a Spirit Refining opponent's palm force 637.
• Heaven-Rending Stance: Builds increasingly powerful fist momentum through hundreds of exchanges against Xiong Tai 1025.
• Mountain-Splitting Force: Delivers concealed destructive force capable of killing Xiong Tai despite the Blood Spider Curse and damaging Zeba's internal skeletal structure through his defenses 1025 1370.
• Mountain-Bearing Form: Provides immediate defense without a buildup. He experiments with a merged version that manifests a golden Bull Demon phantom 1144.
• Raging Thunder Form: Channels fist force accumulated over nearly a thousand punches into a concentrated attack 1149.
• Thousand-Armed Guanyin-like technique: During training in the Infernal Blade Prison, destroys hundreds of Sand King Worms. Lingyue wonders whether it expresses the Great Sage Fist's true intent, but her interpretation is not confirmed there 1174.
• Heaven-Bearing Stance: A defensive application of the Ancestral Sage Fist, used with his enhanced physique 1926 2458.
• Heavenly Wrath Style: Manifests a multi-armed divine figure. During the battle with Qing He, a fusion increases its arms from six to eight and brings him to the threshold of its ultimate-realm application 2607.
• Heaven-Shaking Fist, Heaven-Touching Stance: Later unleashes ultimate-realm fist might with this stance. By the Flame Emperor Treasury encounter, he can do so without requiring Overlord's Breath 3418 3440.

Blade Arts and Blade Domain

Taiping's later blade cultivation includes the Demon-Slaying Blade, Life-Taking Blade, and Annihilating Blade Art, supported by a domain that can suppress attacks, influence enemy movement, and protect others 802 1848 1867 3069 3516.

• Demon-Slaying Blade forms: Uses Crane-Listening Stance against Mo Yachu's beasts and possesses the force-overwhelming Chaotic Cicada Stance 802 933.
• Unceasing Blade Domain: Awakens its power when Mo Yachu's merged beast breaks free of his Eight-Zhang Blade Domain, allowing him to sever its arm 802.
• Crossing the Gods: Combines blade force, mountain spirit domain power, and his enhanced physique as the powers of heaven, earth, and man. He later explicitly wields the Life-Taking Blade's Crossing the Gods Style at the Ultimate Realm 1608 1848.
• Domain perception and suppression: His domain slows an opponent's movements, working especially well with the Lotus Eye's perception 1867.
• Dragon-Slaying Form: Burns the bull Demon Emperor to ashes during the seventh act of the Scroll of Time 1957.
• Unity Blade Form: Changes to the Life-Taking Blade's Unity Blade Form when warned of a strike descending from Outer Heaven 2303.
• Returning to the Sea, Burying the Blade: His fourth-level domain technique; later destroys White Bone Blade Demons 2329 3080.
• Spirit Bone Stele refinement: The stele elevates the Demon-Slaying Blade to a peerless-grade martial dao technique and corrects shortcomings in its Dao-Integration, Rending, and Burning forms. Taiping estimates their ordinary applications can approach eighty percent of an ultimate-realm strike 2437.
• Ultimate Realm Burning Blade: Unleashes the complete Burning Blade Style using his Great Sage Dragon Whale body, three drawn Demon-Sealing Swords, and Overlord's Breath 2455.
• Blade Devouring: The Water-Cutting Blade can devour slain Blade Demons and strengthen his blade domain 3080.
• Annihilating Blade Art, Demon-Slaying Style: Combines his Heaven-Hunting Great Sage physique with the Ten Emperors Scripture and fused intent and edict powers in a powerful blade strike 3516.
• Heaven-Opening Form: Destroys Liu Dong Cang's treasures and cleaves his body in two 3604.
• Limits: Powerful enemies can still shatter his domain. The Blood Demonic General breaks it during his escape with Old Daoist Huang, and the dragon-shadow monster destroys it while trapping other cultivators 2458 3069.

Sword Cultivation and Hidden Sword Art

His sword cultivation becomes publicly apparent at the Golden Scale Assembly when golden sword qi rises from him and holds back descending Heavenly Light Sword Shadows 824.

• Soul-driven weapons: Uses his soul to control dozens of treasure weapons, including Kunwu, Human Sovereign, and the broken Po Jun Sword, against Abyssal Demonic Beasts 1614.
• Hidden Sword Art: Greatly improves the weapons' killing power; beasts that previously required several weapons to surround them can be opposed by a single weapon 1614.
• Thirteen hundred Dragon Divine Swords: A host of Dragon Clan swords comes to his aid. Their leader warns that wielding all thirteen hundred through his soul could scatter his soul and spirit 1614.
• Sword-move analysis: Uses the Hidden Sword Art as a means of unraveling Su Chan's sword moves 1870.
• Sword Domain: Manifests a vast host of golden-armored warriors formed from resolve to face death. Their eventual fusion into golden sword light pierces Su Chan's domain and body 1889.
• Borrowing swords: While fighting Su Lian, calls to his master, martial uncles, and fellow Azure Profound disciples to lend him their swords, prompting points of light to appear within the sect's gray mist 2665.

Physique and Blood Qi Body Tempering

Taiping's martial cultivation combines the Flame Emperor Body Tempering Art, progressively stronger dragon-related physiques, and a separate blood qi body-tempering system 1133 1608 1853.

• Dragon Whale Physique: Can be raised to the ultimate realm and later to its Great Sage Body, producing enormous increases in size and physical power 1608 2455.
• Blood qi turns: Each turn has four stages, ending in the Immaculate Realm before advancement to the next turn. First-turn perfection is the commoner golden body; the second turn is the overlord golden body 1853.
• Overlord Power: Amplifies the killing power of fist techniques, producing at least a threefold increase in the cited battle 1857.
• Great Sage stages: In ascending order, these are Mountain-Shaking, Earth-Shaking, Supporting the Moon, and Heaven-Supporting. The Heaven-Hunting Great Sage assesses Taiping at Earth-Shaking when explaining the system 3001.
• True Dragon Divine Being Body: Can manifest dragon scales and horns or conceal them. He uses its dragon aura to support the Ten Emperors Scripture's battle-formation methods 3391.
• Flame Emperor inheritance: Accepts a divine pact requiring him to repay the world through protecting it before ascending. The inheritance is intended to fuse his True Dragon Divine Being Body and inner furnace with the Flame Emperor's body-tempering origin law 3442.
• Ultimate Dao physique: His Shangqing ultimate Dao physique withstands Liu Dong Cang's nascent soul self-detonation without injury. Later, his ultimate Dao divine being true dragon body breaks through Zhechen's edict restraint 3604 3680.
• Dao body furnace: Uses his body as a furnace while Lady Jade Mother's blows help melt Shoushan Copper. The process is effective but leaves him badly wounded 3780.

Movement, Clones, and Transposition

• Star-Transposing Step: Continues practicing it during his years in Golden Court Grotto-Heaven. Its ultimate technique, Endless Horizon, allows extremely rapid closing movement; its theoretical utmost spans from arm's reach to the ends of the earth 1692.
• Form- and Shadow-Transposition: Exchanges positions with others. Tai Bai Eclipse Power extends it beyond his ordinary range when he rescues Ping'an 2986.
• Wind-Thunder Treading Stars Step: The Spirit Bone Stele fuses and extrapolates his Form- and Shadow-Transposition Step and Star-Transposing Step into an Immortal Rank great divine ability, potentially refinable as a life-bound divine ability after Dao Integration 2437.
• Mysterious Origin Avatars: Employs avatars for prolonged training and weapon refinement. Six simultaneously help refine his prospective life-bound divine weapons 1988 3019.
• Primordial chaos clone: Uses a clone of this kind in battle with Su Lian, although her thunderclap body traps it 2665.

Divine Soul, Lotus Eye, and Deduction

• Life-Replenisher: Lingyue identifies him as a Life-Replenisher who may be able to help Lin Buyu within the river of light and shadow. His rare opportunity to enter that river is valuable, and he initially resolves to reach Transformation to pursue this possibility 836.
• Lotus Eye: Located in his left eye and occupied by a Yin God. It can unleash One Glance, a Thousand Years, associated with reversing time, and also slows what he sees, revealing openings in extremely rapid attacks 1867.
• Advance visions: During his battle with the ox-headed Ghost Warden, the Lotus Eye shows a spear throw and axe strike before they occur, allowing him to evade them 3276.
• Lesser deductive power: With the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage's guidance, directs killing intent toward discovering the griffin Blightbone's death acupoint. A vision of its fall with its tail severed leads to a successful coordinated attack 2791.
• Enhanced control: Greater divine soul power makes his control over techniques, true essence, and qi and blood markedly more precise, supporting rapid healing and finer use of the Hidden Sword Art 2050.
• Resistance to possession: His mind and body resist the Otherworldly Evil God. Memories and mental appearances of his loved ones help pull him back to consciousness 2200.

Scriptures, Edicts, and Borrowed Powers

• Cloud-Riding Scripture: Refines his true essence and qi and blood; heightened divine soul control lets him perceive its minute operations 2050.
• Ten Emperors Scripture: Supports battle formations and the use of magic power alongside his martial physique. Its refined magic power raises his physical strength by at least thirty percent in one documented application 3391 3418.
• Earth Fire Burning the Heavens Finger: An Immortal Rank great divine ability produced by the Spirit Bone Stele's fusion of Great Sun Golden Crow Finger and Five-Element Origin-Returning True Fire Art 2437.
• True dragon forbidden domain: Erases the thunder around him during his battle with Su Lian, but he can sustain it only briefly 2665.
• Tai Bai Eclipse Power / Shi'ang Power: A destructive power usable through his spells, divine abilities, martial techniques, and true dragon power. It can restore his true essence, divine essence, and qi and blood to their peak while greatly enhancing attacks 2915 2986.
• Buddhist healing: Uses Buddhist mudras to heal injuries. Lady Jade Mother explains that the Buddhist Kingdom's power can repair his body across cultivation realms 3780.
• Blood Oath: A Divine Being Power that turns his pupils radiant gold and multiplies the might of his blade light 3971.
• Time-Borrowing Method: Summons Ni Zhao during the struggle against the Jade Emperor. No future Thirteenth Seat appears in the cited attempt 4038.
• Late combat edicts: Uses the Frost Heaven Sealed Domain Edict defensively and Form- and Shadow-Transposition Edicts to escape through spatial vortices 4038.

Command and Battle Formations

• Azure Dragon Commander authority: Can raise his companions' cultivation by one tier on command after their Azure Dragon Tokens advance to yellow grade 1025.
• Battle-intent cultivation: Uses the Ten Emperors Scripture and dragon aura to support battle-formation methods 3391.
• Commander-in-chief: Directs the Five Emperors' Army and later coordinates embattled human formations while personally holding off enemy generals 3748 3750 3920.
• Thousand Arms Divine Being Dharma Aspect: Holds off and kills dozens of Different People battle generals while simultaneously handling incoming battlefield messages 3920.
• Defensive Battle Formation: Orders the regrouped Human Race Army to reform its defenses during the crisis at Yeyuan City 3921.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Earth Treasury Fruit: The soybean inherited from his grandfather. It nurtures treasures from spiritual energy and houses Lingyue’s remnant soul; its first documented crop provides Spirit Crystals 9 10.
• Gourd Fruit seed: Produced by burning the Earth Treasury Fruit’s stalks. Its next crop can yield three gourds whose treasures depend on the nourishment supplied 48 49.
• Spirit Crystals: Greatly accelerate his cultivation after marrow cleansing 10 16.
• Oxhorn Hardwood Bow and arrows: Purchased with his martial manuals; used for true-qi-enhanced archery 19 20.
• Refined Steel Wild Goose Feather Saber: Purchased for self-defense; later passages call his weapon a Fine Steel Saber 19 26 46.
• Flying-sword magic artifact: Taken from the Tiger Wraith. Responds to his will, consumes substantial true qi, and has only two uses remaining when examined 33.
• Copper pill furnace: Taken from the Tiger Wraith; expands from a palm-sized object into a stove-sized furnace. Used for pill refinement, then cracks apart during Seed Burning 34 35 48.
• Qi-Gathering Pills: Two refined with Lingyue. One is consumed for his breakthrough; one remains available during his subsequent month of training 35 38.
• Bronze/Mystic Spirit Mirror: Provides scripture lectures, information, and access to purchases from the sect armory 12 13 18.
• Bone flute: Given by Zhao Linglong to summon nearby spirit birds 8.
• Dust-Seeking Incense: Reveals evidence of Lu Chen’s abuse of Liu Qingmei; Taiping initially intends to bring that evidence to Liu Zijin 23 39.
• Northwind Pearl: Obtained from the Demon Tiger. Not immediately useful to Taiping, but suitable nourishment for an offensive treasure from the Earth Treasury Fruit 47 49.
• True Fire Talisman — consumed: Bought for two thousand Merit Coins and used to complete the Earth Treasury Fruit’s second transformation 48.
• Flood Dragon Token: A gift from A Meng, useful for purifying spiritual energy in the Wilderness Ancient Ruins. Huang Que instructs him to bind it with blood within seven days 329.
• Nine Prefectures Wanderer Token: Given by Huang Que after his return from the Nine Prefectures 329.
• Dragon-Trapping Tower: A major cultivation treasure coveted by the Qi Household's ancestor. Taiping spends seven years cultivating inside it and later uses its projection to suppress Liu Dong Cang 708 719 3604.
• Dhyana Seal: A Buddhist blessing that increases his cultivation speed more than tenfold 719.
• Human-Skin Mask: Alters his appearance while he acts under concealed identities 709.
• Shentu Bow: Upgraded within an Earth Fruit from a spirit treasure into a supreme-grade immortal weapon, emerging with an arrow case and three feathered arrows. Lingyue suggests eventually refining it into a Natal Treasure; that refinement is not confirmed in the cited scene 863. He later uses it against the Jade Emperor's falling edicts 4038.
• Seal of Life and Death: A treasure Lingyue recommends refining into a Natal Treasure before considering the Shentu Bow 863.
• One-Leaf Book mark: Appears on his right palm after his soul's journey through the Great Void 836.
• Water-Cutting Blade: Has acknowledged him by his encounter with Shang Jiu. It later becomes a Great Dao Divine Weapon and reveals Blade Devouring, which can strengthen his blade domain 384 3045 3080.
• Demon-Sealing Swords: Drawn from his Qi Mansion to amplify his available power. He uses three together against the Blood Ancestor and later refers to five still undrawn reserves in another battle 2455 2607.
• Kunwu Sword: Entrusted to him by Fairy Zhu Songyu to deliver to the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord. He passes it to the elder when Po Jun shatters; it later fights among his soul-controlled weapons 1592 1614.
• Human Sovereign Sword: One of his major soul-driven swords. It can also briefly enhance battle intent and qi and blood 1614 3391.
• Po Jun remnants: The broken sword remains among the weapons he controls after its destruction in the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord's attack 1592 1614.
• Hidden Immortal Wine: Supplies power during the Golden Court crisis and supports his use of numerous Immortal and Dragon Divine Weapons 1592 1614.
• Thunder Sound Banner: Chosen in the True Martial Great Emperor's Martial Armory for its call to martial artists to bear it against the Nine Abysses. His clone later uses it to pierce the lion Demon Emperor's throat 1922 1957.
• Azure Luan Ring: Defends against a Demon Emperor's sandstorm and unleashes the Sea-Splitting strike, severing the eagle Demon Emperor's claw and wing 1957.
• Dragon-Slaying Stele: Thrown to him by Xiahou You as a refuge during an overwhelming attack from Outer Heaven 2303.
• Blade of Guicang, Dragon Vault Armor, Heaven-Flipping Seal, Rusty Lion Sword, Chengying Sword, and Longyuan Sword: Six divine weapons assigned to his Mysterious Origin Avatars for life-bound refinement 3019. The Blade of Guicang's Edict Power later helps conceal his combat strength 3685.
• Earth Fruit Willow Branch: Obtained at the Jade Terrace, where he also finds that nutrients for planting the Earth Fruit have been prepared 2995.
• Kun Scale Gauntlets: Their Earth Subduing and Sea Binding powers can double fist might and trap opponents without consuming his Divine Marrow, Dao Essence, or essence blood. Their Reflection Power exposes flaws in his martial techniques 3441.
• Shoushan Copper: Acquired from a mysterious stranger and later melted within his Dao body furnace with Lady Jade Mother's assistance. A little less than half is melted during the documented session 1928 3780.
• Black Prison Token: Receives Ninth Madam's communications, including news that Black Prison is about to address the Chaos Star Domains 3604.
• Primordial Chaos Pearl: A single circulation cycle restores his expended combat strength and improves his five-inch Void Insight cultivation, without completing the next breakthrough 3713.
• Heavenly Sound Bell: Used to help escape the Jade Emperor's attack during the contest for Heaven's Will 4038.

Relationships

• Grandfather / Xu Zhian — Raised and guided him; left the Spirit Bone Pill and soybean seed. His final charge to prove the worth of mortal bones drives Taiping’s cultivation 2 15 16. Later revealed to be his adoptive rather than biological grandfather 3940. His remembered presence repeatedly helps Taiping withstand spiritual crises 1865 2200.
• Biological parents — Ordinary mortal-bone refugees who died drawing bandit soldiers away from their companions. Taiping recognizes them through recovered scenes of his infancy 3941 4031.
• Refugee caregivers — Successive groups protected and raised him until age four, passing him to others when necessary. Their teachings account for some principles he had remembered as his grandfather's 4031 4032.
• Xu Erniu and his wife — Second uncle and aunt in the family that raised him. Sell him into slavery for thirty taels, then attempt to claim the money paid for his redemption 3 4.
• Dugu Qingxiao — Redeems him from the White Household and guarantees him admission to the Seventh Peak if he passes the selection 4 5 7. Later consistently addressed as Second Senior Brother. Their bond becomes one of mutual protection, and after their reunion in the Yellow Springs ruins each affirms that he will not let the other die before him 1682 3296.
• Zhao Linglong — Protective senior-sister figure who escorts him below the mountain, helps him settle in, and gives him practical guidance and supplies 7 8. She is especially important to him because she was the first person in Qingxuan to treat him as family; he regards her as the older sister he had always wanted 442.
• Chu Lingyue / Fairy Lingyue — Mentor and trusted companion. Supplies his marrow-cleansing prescription, guides his cultivation, and saves him from the heavenly demon. Asks him to call her “Sister Lingyue”; no formal discipleship is established 9 11 12 33 37. Remains involved in his later cultivation, treasure refinement, and dangerous decisions, including his determination to save Lin Buyu and preserve his own conscience 836 863 1862.
• White Rainbow — Spirit-eagle friend whom he calls Uncle White. Helps with purchases and arranges Old Nine’s visit to secure protection for him 18 19 28 30.
• Bai Yu — White Rainbow’s son; transports Taiping and becomes his friend. Initially jealous of his father’s attention to Taiping, but gains deep respect after the Demon Tiger’s defeat 39 41 46. Taiping promises that they will confront the Peacock King together, although Bai Yu later leaves to seek revenge while Taiping is absent 189 329.
• Old Nine / Ninth Uncle / Lü Daoxuan — Secretly observes and admires his resourcefulness, then intervenes with sect officials on his behalf. Tells White Rainbow that he would accept Taiping as a personal disciple and teach him swordsmanship if he reaches Gate Opening within two years 28 30 32. Later passages establish Lü Daoxuan as Taiping's master; Taiping remembers their first meeting as the trouble caused by Raging Wind Hall disciples at Green Bamboo Abode 1937 2005 3742.
• Liu Qingmei — Her account and evidence of Lu Chen’s crimes prompt Taiping to seek justice for her and protect her sister 21 22 23.
• Liu Zijin — Qingmei’s younger sister. Taiping seeks an opportunity to deliver evidence away from Lu Chen and watches over her hunt; he describes them as friends when Bai Yu teases him about romance 39 41. Their later farewell follows his killing of Lu Chen 189.
• Lin Buyu — Fellow recruit who recognizes his disguised appearance and privately judges Lu Chen and Mo Jun inferior to him 5 45. He later calls her his closest friend in Qingxuan apart from his senior brothers and sisters 500. Learning that repeated Liberation by Violence could erase her existence, he resolves to use his Life-Replenisher potential to save her 836. They are together during the finale's confrontation with the Jade Emperor 4044.
• Lu Chen — Fifth Peak disciple responsible for Qingmei’s death. Taiping initially conceals what he knows and intends to expose him 22 23 38 39. Later kills him 189.
• Ping'an — Monkey companion who calls him Eldest Brother and travels with him and Bai Yu 146 189 975. Taiping later uses Tai Bai Eclipse Power to exchange positions with him during a rescue 2986.
• Huang Que — Associate connected with the Immortal Law Bureau and a friend of Qingxiao. Verifies Taiping's history, helps deliver letters, and provides information and tokens 144 146 329 500.
• A Meng — Senior who gives him the Flood Dragon Token and warns him about the Wilderness Ancient Ruins. Taiping later draws important insight from observing his swordsmanship 329 1889.
• Red-Haired Blade Ghost / Blade Ghost — Initially an overwhelming torturer who demands release from the Ghost-Sealing Talisman 259. Later supervises Taiping's Infernal Blade Prison training, guides his avatars, and supplies protective blade intent during the Ghost Warden battle 1174 1988 3276.
• Shang Jiu — A dangerous blade opponent whose contest also concerns Qingxiao's life. After learning Taiping's name and recognizing the Water-Cutting Blade's allegiance, he reveals that both he and another elder had been deceived about earlier deaths 382 384.
• Duan Xiaoyu — Regards Taiping as her eldest brother. Seeing an image of her torture fills him with extraordinary fury 746.
• Lu Rushuang — Martial aunt who recognizes the severity of the trials behind his improvement and supports him during the Golden Scale Assembly 719 742.
• Chu Xiaoxiao — Calls him Eldest Brother and repeatedly wagers her savings on his victories 713 742 2381.
• Dongfang Yuejian — Trusted ally who supports him with sword formations, accompanies dangerous expeditions, and is among those whose safety motivates his breakthroughs and rescues 2125 2322 2515. His clone Xu You later travels the mortal realms of the Five Heavens with her 3946.
• Master Xuanzhi — Buddhist ally who protects him against the blade strike from Outer Heaven and fights alongside him in later expeditions 2303 2322 2402.
• Xiahou You — Repeatedly assists him in the Lower Realm and beyond. He later invokes her kindness when intervening for a Xiahou Clan disciple 2303 2854 3563.
• Qi Haitang and Xiang Nantian — Trusted senior allies who reunite with him during the Outer Heaven attack. Finding a way to rescue them is one of his chief reasons for going to Tusita Palace 2303 3085.
• Heaven-Hunting Great Sage — Senior martial guide who teaches him to direct lesser deduction, assesses his physique, and explains ultimate-state preparation and life-bound weapon refinement 2791 3001 3019.
• Old Daoist Huang — Companion whom Taiping protects while he refines Immaculate Island's fortune, then carries out of the Blood Demonic General's reach 3069.
• Feng Tianxing / Heavenly Journey Ancestor — Treats Taiping as a brother after Taiping helps awaken him from his reincarnated form. Taiping recognizes his assistance to both himself and his friends in the Immortal Burial Ruins 2661.
• Ao Yan — Defeated dragon opponent to whom Taiping offers hometown wine. Ao Yan acknowledges that, without the ancient human-dragon feud, they might have become good friends 2641.
• Su Chan — Senior fellow disciple turned adversary. Taiping challenges the reasoning behind his betrayal and ultimately defeats him in their major blade-and-sword confrontation 1843 1889.
• Xiao Huang and Yan Xuanling — Rivals who acknowledge their defeats and promise future challenges; Taiping welcomes the prospect of facing them again 3127 3436.
• Lady Jade Mother — Senior housed within his gourd who helps temper his body and melt Shoushan Copper, while explaining the healing power of the Buddhist Kingdom 3780.
• Ye Lingxu — Ally who promises to answer Taiping's call after their joint effort to shatter a stone mountain, giving him a jade jue to summon assistance 3209.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Establishing a Foothold Below the Mountain

• Plants his grandfather’s soybean and awakens Lingyue, agreeing to reserve two of its three pods for her in exchange for guidance 9.
• Overcomes his initial inability to absorb spiritual energy through marrow cleansing, Spirit Crystals, and sustained cultivation 14 15 16.
• Funds his survival and weapons through medicinal herbs and hunting, while learning that outer disciples must earn enough merit to remain in the sect 7 14 18.

The Tiger Wraith and Sect Negligence

• Learns of Qingmei’s abuse and attempts to report the Tiger Wraith, only for Raging Wind Hall disciples to demand seventy percent of his harvest for protection 22 23.
• Prepares a last stand after the wraith threatens the water supply sustaining both his medicine garden and courtyard barrier 24 25.
• Forces the wraith into a pit, exploits its exposed yin soul’s weakness to liquor, and destroys it despite threats of the Tiger King’s revenge 26 27.
• Repairs the blocked spring afterward. White Rainbow and Old Nine then arrange closer official protection for Green Bamboo Abode 28 30.

Gate Opening and the Heavenly Demon

• Refines Qi-Gathering Pills and attempts to transform his dantian into a Qi Sea; his first assault fails under overwhelming pain 35.
• Continues the breakthrough while Lingyue confronts the heavenly demon. He succeeds, but she exhausts herself and returns to the Earth Treasury Fruit to recover 36 37.
• Resolves to become less dependent on her protection and trains almost continuously during her absence 37 38.

Pursuit of the Demon Tiger

• Encounters Liu Zijin and Lu Chen at his home, then uses a hunting trip with Bai Yu to reach the area of their planned tiger hunt 38 39 41.
• Pursues the wounded Demon Tiger for seven days and nights without food or water 46.
• Survives its final counterattack, breaks its neck with a headbutt, and decapitates it. Keeps the head and stolen treasures while giving Bai Yu the body in exchange for transport home 46.

Second Transformation of the Earth Treasury Fruit

• Uses proceeds from the tiger’s hoard to buy a True Fire Talisman and transform the Earth Treasury Fruit into its Gourd Fruit stage 47 48.
• Agrees to reserve one gourd for Lingyue and considers nourishment that will produce an offensive treasure and a cultivation aid 49.
• Waits five days for the Fire-Patterned Python to leave Bamboo Creek Valley before preparing to seize the three-hundred-year-old fire spirit mushroom. The supplied account of this particular retrieval ends at the preparation stage 49.

Seven Peaks Selection and Admission

• Enters the Four Mountains Assembly after three years of preparation, ignoring mockery of his youthful appearance 72.
• Reunites with Linglong, Qingxiao, Ziyan, and Buyu before his match with Gongsun Sheng. Qingxiao intervenes when Gongsun attempts to intimidate him 91.
• Faces Ye Xuan in the Sword Inquiry and defeats him, securing official admission to the Seventh Peak despite his White Bone aptitude 100 144.
• Moves toward life within the peak, touring a new compound with Linglong and Qingxiao 118.
• Later kills Lu Chen and promises to help Bai Yu confront the Peacock King 189.

Blade Ghost Ordeal and Protecting the Seventh Peak

• Refuses the Red-Haired Blade Ghost's demand to undo the Ghost-Sealing Talisman, enduring repeated mutilation within the blade domain 259.
• Returns from the Nine Prefectures with A Meng's Flood Dragon Token, only to learn that Bai Yu has gone after the Peacock King 329.
• Fights Shang Jiu in a contest involving both his own life and Qingxiao's, then receives information challenging his understanding of earlier deaths 382 384.
• On returning to Qingxuan, uses Moon Perching Pavilion's barrier to repel First Peak Lord Jin Yue's attack and crushes the dantians of the disciples who came to provoke the Seventh Peak. The act deliberately establishes that the peak now has another defender 411.
• Resolves to win the Seven Peaks Chief title because doing so will prevent the First Peak from taking over his home peak 452.

Youyun Heaven and the Golden Scale Assembly

• Coordinates with Huang Que while entering Youyun Heaven and remains connected to the major Buddhist temples through earlier assistance at Vairocana Temple 500 751.
• Cultivates in the Dragon-Trapping Tower for seven years with the Dhyana Seal's aid, surviving the Qi Household's pursuit 708 719.
• Competes in the Golden Scale Assembly at Half-Step Spirit Refining, overcoming opponents through unusually pure reserves and highly refined martial arts 713 719 791.
• Awakens the Unceasing Blade Domain's power against Mo Yachu and later reveals his sword cultivation under the pressure of the contest for the crown 802 824.
• Becomes known as the Golden Scale Champion, a title recognized by the Pearl Relic House Master when his true identity is revealed much later 1581.
• Learns of Lin Buyu's endangered existence and resolves to reach Transformation so that he can attempt to save her as a Life-Replenisher 836.

Mysterious Wasteland Trials and the Eight Soul Seals

• As Azure Dragon Commander, empowers his companions when threatened by the Zhou Family's coalition with Worship Moon Pavilion and other enemies 1025.
• Develops his physique and fist arts through dangerous contests and Infernal Blade Prison training 1133 1144 1149 1174.
• Undertakes the Mysterious Wasteland Tower's trials to help Mysterious Wasteland Heaven, retaining his gentler nature among friends despite his fierce combat presence 1241.
• Endures the Eight Demon Emperors' Soul Seals while the Book of Life and Death consumes his fortune, lifespan, qi and blood, and true essence. By fighting an imagined embodiment of the book and improving through combat, he reclaims his life 1327.
• Coordinates with Qingxiao through a Spirit Mirror during the fight against Zeba, revealing concealed power at the decisive moment and urging his senior brother to strike 1370 1371.

Golden Court Grotto-Heaven and the Primordial Lord

• Travels under the alias Zhang Wuyou, then reveals himself to companions who have shared mortal danger with him. He also accepts a sword embryo to deliver to Qu Shuang's descendant if he survives 1581.
• Battles the Primordial Lord's servants through repeated reversals of time. When Po Jun shatters, gives Kunwu to the Azure-Eyed Evil Lord as Fairy Zhu Songyu had entrusted him to do 1592.
• Combines heaven, earth, and human power within Crossing the Gods, then uses Hidden Immortal Wine and the Hidden Sword Art to fight waves of Abyssal Demonic Beasts 1608 1614.
• Receives the aid of thirteen hundred Dragon Divine Swords, whose leader warns him of the spiritual cost of wielding them all 1614.
• Breaks into the Transformation Realm, forming a Golden Core and unexpectedly strengthening his bloodline and martial foundations 1623.
• Spends prolonged years cultivating and forging swords within the grotto-heaven, advancing his blood qi tempering to the second-turn golden body 1692 1853.

Su Chan and the True Martial Sword Champion

• Challenges Su Chan's justification for betraying True Martial Heaven and Qingxuan rather than accepting his account of being helpless before greater powers 1843.
• Employs ultimate-realm blade arts, Overlord Power, the Lotus Eye, the Hidden Sword Art, and exceptionally deep reserves throughout their confrontation 1848 1857 1867 1870.
• Ultimately pierces Su Chan's Sword Domain and body after his golden-armored warriors overcome the demonic army 1889.
• Enters the True Martial Great Emperor's Martial Armory as True Martial Sword Champion and selects the Thunder Sound Banner 1922.
• Enters the Scroll of Time, where Lü Daoxuan's clone Eldest appears as Mister Da. In the seventh act, kills three Demon Emperors and witnesses Yun Jiang's fall 1937 1957.

Seeking Buddha Fate and Resisting the Evil God

• Prepares to leave Qingxuan for an extended period while continuing efforts connected to saving Buyu 1988 2005.
• Attempts a crucial breakthrough into the Heaven Shocking Realm during the pursuit of Buddha fate, with his companions' lives also at stake 2125.
• Uses the Heavenly Dao Power-Borrowing Edict to draw upon Divine Man Jufu's strength against the Otherworldly Evil God 2193.
• Resists possession with the aid of the people who appear in his mind, especially his grandfather. Awakens gripping the Buddha Statue's neck, and the Lotus Eye states that he has strangled the Evil God 2200.
• Survives a subsequent strike from Outer Heaven through the intervention of Xuanzhi, Xiahou You, Yun Shiliu, Qi Haitang, and Xiang Nantian 2303.

Immortal Burial Ruins and Dragon-Slaying

• Enters Crimson Heaven with a Great Sage physique and fights alongside Dongfang Yuejian and Xuanzhi 2322.
• Uses his fourth-level Blade Domain and receives extensive refinements to his martial arts and divine abilities from the Spirit Bone Stele 2329 2437.
• Battles the Blood Ancestor and the monster formed from the dragon shadow, Yuanlingzi, and the Blood Ancestor, relying increasingly on martial dao and special qi and blood circulation 2455 2458.
• Has the Eight Soul Seals removed after sixty years of cultivating under their restrictions, obtaining an enormous increase in available power 2551.
• Defeats Ao Yan and offers him hometown wine despite their opposing sides in the ancient human-dragon conflict 2641.
• Calls on Qingxuan's swords while resisting Su Lian's thunderclap body 2665.
• Is later recognized as the Dragon-Slaying Chief who sealed Xingtian's divine sense in the Southern Heavenly Gate Ruins and brought the Great Contest between humans and dragons to an end 3128.

Upper-Realm Preparation, Mount Buzhou, and Tusita Palace

• Learns from the Heaven-Hunting Great Sage how to develop his physique and bring divine essence toward its ultimate state through life-bound weapon refinement 3001.
• Uses six avatars to refine divine weapons and greatly deepens his divine essence during the Mount Buzhou period 3019 3041.
• Wields the Water-Cutting Blade as a Great Dao Divine Weapon, pouring his remaining fighting strength into a tremendous strike 3045.
• Goes to Tusita Palace partly to find a way to rescue Qi Haitang and Xiang Nantian 3085.
• Protects Old Daoist Huang on Immaculate Island as the Otherworldly Evil God's blood mist engulfs it, escaping the Blood Demonic General through the final opening 3069.
• Discovers Blade Devouring and hurries to aid Ping'an and Elder Huang in Annihilation Land, with the awakened Xiaoyu carrying him onward on hundreds of flying swords 3080.
• Defeats Xiao Huang and openly identifies himself as a disciple of Zhenwu Qingxuan 3127 3128.

Yellow Springs, Chaotic Stars, and the Flame Emperor

• Fights the ox-headed Ghost Warden for information about Qingxiao and discovers that the Lotus Eye can show its attacks in advance 3276.
• Reunites with Qingxiao in the Yellow Springs Hell Ruins, reaffirming their mutual commitment as brothers 3296.
• Appears at the Chaotic Stars Assembly after breaking into the Heaven-Connecting Realm from the Ultimate Realm state 3355.
• Receives acknowledgment from Xiao Huang and Yan Xuanling as a rival they intend to challenge again 3436.
• Enters the Flame Emperor Treasury as chief, obtains the Kun Scale Gauntlets, and accepts the Flame Emperor's inheritance and duty to protect the world before ascending 3439 3441 3442.
• Endures 108,600 punches to comprehend the Flame Emperor's martial dao body-tempering origin law 3442.

Half-Immortal Advancement and the Heaven-Demon Battlefield

• Defeats Liu Dong Cang, survives his nascent soul detonation, and leaves the captives and wounded survivors to be handled through the Flame Court 3604.
• Confronts Dong Cangzi and recognizes an unresolved knot in his heart. Returns to the Green Ox Fist before seizing the Half-Immortal inheritance 3619 3620.
• Develops five-inch Void Insight cultivation and an ultimate Dao true dragon body capable of breaking Zhechen's edict restraint 3680 3713.
• Affirms his prior bond with the Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Army when asked to choose an army on the Heaven-Demon Battlefield 3697.
• Defeats Demonic General Yi Weng and declares that he will meet the remainder of the Blood Hoof Army on the battlefield 3722.
• Takes command of the Five Emperors' Army, facing challenges from generals who doubt him and seeking their wholehearted acceptance rather than their expulsion 3748 3750.
• Fights the Different People at Yeyuan City, killing enemy battle generals while directing human formations. The deaths of familiar allies, including Lei Xiao, Zhai Mo, and Gongshu Nanxing, make the cost of buying a brief opening deeply personal 3920 3921.

Origins, Heaven's Will, and the Finale

• Learns that Xu Zhian adopted him and that his biological parents were ordinary mortals whose experiences before his adoption were unusually perilous 3940 3941.
• Recovers the history of his parents' sacrifice and the refugees who repeatedly protected him, recognizing that his survival and moral upbringing were the work of many ordinary people 4031 4032.
• Battles the Jade Emperor while both sides' power declines. Summons Ni Zhao through the Time-Borrowing Method and prepares an array with him under the protection of the Frost Heaven Sealed Domain 4038.
• At the climax, a child bearing his own childhood face takes up the Water-Cutting Blade and pierces the Jade Emperor's chest. The Jade Emperor's body explodes, and the child smiles at Taiping and Lin Buyu before fading 4044.
• Thanks his childhood self as golden pillars of light descend upon him and the other survivors 4044.

Notable Quotes

“Grandpa said diligence can make up for a lack of talent. If they practice four hours a day, I'll practice eight. If they practice eight, I'll practice sixteen. One day, I'll catch up!” 16

“Grandfather said to answer evil with evil and repay kindness with kindness. Never bargain with a tiger for its skin or wallow in the same filth.” 27

“As long as I live, you won't stop. As long as you live, I won't stop. We both know that.” 46

“Back then, I couldn't save Grandpa, but today, I will protect them.” 452

“Buyu is my closest friend in Qingxuan, apart from the senior brothers and senior sisters of our Seven Peaks.” 500

“Of course I know that following your advice would make my own cultivation much easier, Sister Lingyue. But then, would Xu Taiping still be Xu Taiping?” 1862

“When I can confirm that, in each of those choices concerning life and death, I could make my choice with a clear conscience, I can also confirm this. Xu Taiping is still Xu Taiping.” 1862

“Ping'an, don't worry. Leave everything to your eldest brother.” 2986

“My surname is Xu, my given name Taiping. I am a disciple of the True Martial Heaven Azure Profound Sect in the Lower Realm.” 3355

“Thank you for your hard work, Little Taiping.” 4044

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