Yao Lao

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Background / History

Clan Origins and Betrayal

Yao Lao belongs to the Yao Clan, one of the Ancient Eight Clans. His original Dou Di bloodline was extremely thin, leading to his expulsion from the clan. Despite this background, he became renowned as the foremost Alchemist in the Central Plains 21 187.

He founded Starfall Pavilion in the Central Plains and was known as Venerable Yao. He also spent time at the Pill Tower, where his alchemical skill earned him a Pill Gathering championship 94 100 143 190.

Before taking Xiao Yan as his disciple, Yao Lao taught Han Feng, whom he treated as his own son. Han Feng ultimately betrayed him and killed his teacher in pursuit of the Flame Mantra, leaving Yao Lao to survive as a Soul Body 100 109 143.

Discovery and Apprenticeship

Yao Lao hid inside Xiao Yan’s inherited ring, absorbing more than half of the spiritual energy Xiao Yan drew in during soul cultivation. After identifying the source of his slow progress, Xiao Yan confronted him. Yao Lao emerged, introduced himself, and offered to teach him alchemy, but deferred explaining his own origins 4.

Xiao Yan formally accepted Yao Lao as his master. As a welcoming gift, Yao Lao transmitted the Flame Mantra, an evolving cultivation method he had obtained by chance and named himself. Although it began at Yellow Tier Low Grade, its ability to grow by devouring Heavenly Flames persuaded Xiao Yan to cultivate it 5.

Training Xiao Yan

In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Yao Lao combined hands-on alchemy instruction with combat training. He deliberately delayed Xiao Yan’s departure from the Dou Zhe stage to protect his foundation after an unusually rapid breakthrough. Within five months, Xiao Yan became a Second-Rank Alchemist and achieved minor mastery of the Earth Tier Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, exceeding his teacher’s expectations 8.

Yao Lao also served as Xiao Yan’s combat safeguard. After Xiao Yan defeated She Mo and was left severely weakened, Yao Lao’s Bone Spirit Cold Flame killed three Da Dou Shi opponents. He later supplied the power that allowed Xiao Yan to confront the Dou Wang He Qian with a Dou Emperor-level aura 15 17.

During their stay in the Small Valley, Yao Lao performed nearly eighty percent of the work of building a house after Xiao Yan pretended to know nothing about construction. He prepared Burning Blood medicinal liquid to accelerate his disciple’s cultivation, then prescribed ten third-rank magical-beast hunts per day after Xiao Yan reached Da Dou Shi. The hunts were intended to temper Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi and obtain an ingredient for the Blood Lotus Pill 19 25.

After a month of hunting, higher-ranked magical beasts began gathering in the area, including fourth-rank beasts. Yao Lao ordered Xiao Yan to stop rather than continue exposing himself to the increasing danger 25.

Heavenly Poison Swamp and Slumber

Yao Lao’s advice about controlling Xiao Yi Xian’s woeful poison body helped direct Xiao Yan toward the Netherworld Poison Flame in the Chu Yun Empire. He prepared specialized antidote pills before the expedition 21 22.

When a neurotoxin trapped Xiao Yan in hallucinations, Yao Lao could neither get a response from him nor take control of his body. Instead, he shielded him from the swamp’s black vines for four hours. The forest consumed soul force at more than one hundred times the normal rate, nearly exhausting him 31 32.

Before falling asleep, Yao Lao granted Xiao Yan access to the ring and left instructions for using its antidote pill, Naling, and stored Bone Spirit Cold Flame. Xiao Yan promised to find a way to restore his soul force 32.

His slumber lasted several years. During this period, Xiao Yan continued cultivating independently, used resources from his collection, and identified Han Feng as his treacherous former disciple. Xiao Yan also selected cultivation methods and Dou Techniques from Yao Lao’s collection for Qing Lin 84 94 100 109.

Awakening and Resurrection

Xiao Yan eventually restored Yao Lao’s soul with medicinal liquid, taking particular care because his teacher had fallen asleep while protecting him. Upon awakening, Yao Lao was astonished to discover that Xiao Yan had advanced from Nine-Star Da Dou Shi to Nine-Star Dou Zong in only about two or three years. He also met Heavenly Fire Venerable, another Soul Body whom Xiao Yan intended to resurrect 141.

After refining a body for Heavenly Fire Venerable, Xiao Yan prepared superior materials for Yao Lao: the blood essence of a Dou Zun-level Flame Lizardman, an eighth-tier Bone-Growing Blood-Melting Pill capable of summoning five-colored pill lightning, and Heavenly Fire Venerable’s former Dou Zun-level skeleton. Xiao Yan secretly placed safeguards in all three materials as a precaution against betrayal. The refinement took more than twice as long as Heavenly Fire Venerable’s, ending with Yao Lao’s soul fully merging with the skeleton 142.

On the fifth day after the merger, Yao Lao awakened in his new body at Nine Revolutions Peak Dou Zun, only one step away from Half-Saint. He thanked Xiao Yan for restoring him to life. Xiao Yan then handed over Han Feng’s captured soul, allowing Yao Lao to confront the disciple whose betrayal had caused him so much pain 143.

Yao Lao advised Xiao Yan to seek greater opportunities in the Central Plains. Recognizing that Xiao Yan had mastered most of his lifetime’s knowledge and could already refine eighth-tier pills, he considered his apprenticeship complete. As a graduation gift, he erased his soul imprint from the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and gave it to Xiao Yan, despite the adverse effect on his own strength 143.

Return to Starfall Pavilion

Yao Lao returned to the Central Plains to settle old grudges and restore Starfall Pavilion, intending to provide Xiao Yan with a faction’s support when he arrived. He also promised to establish a space wormhole connecting the Central Plains to Xiao Gate and supplied a spatial scroll that would open the passage 143 148.

After returning to his position as pavilion master, Yao Lao frequently spoke of the disciple still gaining experience outside. Xiao Yan eventually opened the scroll and traveled through the completed wormhole, reaching Starfall Pavilion with his companions after about ten days. Yao Lao and Venerable Feng welcomed them, and Xiao Yan asked for help relocating the Xiao Clan to the pavilion 173 174 176.

By this reunion, Yao Lao had adapted to his refined body, recovered his former peak strength, and improved beyond it. Xiao Yan gave him a Heaven Tier Cultivation Technique to accelerate his approach to Half-Saint. Yao Lao recognized that the claimed discovery in ancient ruins was another of his disciple’s evasions, but accepted the gift without pressing him about its source 175.

Half-Saint Breakthrough and Bloodline Renewal

After switching to Xiao Yan’s cultivation method and cultivating in seclusion, Yao Lao reached Half-Saint. He credited the scroll with greatly shortening the time needed for the breakthrough 187.

During Xiao Yan’s absence, Yao Lao initially hoped that his disciple would hear about the Fire Flood Dragon Ruins and benefit from them. After learning that Heavenly Flames had been stolen there, he instead feared for Xiao Yan’s safety and cultivation foundation. Xiao Yan concealed his own involvement and reassured him that he had remained in seclusion 181 187.

Xiao Yan subsequently gave Yao Lao an emerald-green substance presented as a pill that could improve cultivation speed. In reality, it had been condensed from Yao Tian’s Dou Di bloodline. It awakened Yao Lao’s faint ancestral bloodline and raised its grade to the level Yao Tian had possessed, among the Yao Clan’s top three. This transformation greatly increased his future potential and made advancement to Dou Sheng far more attainable. Master and disciple tacitly agreed not to discuss the substance’s true nature 187.

Pill Tower and Later Support

Yao Lao informed Xiao Yan that the Pill Tower had invited him to assist in subduing the Three Thousand Burning Flame, and that Xiao Yan might receive an opportunity to attempt it. He explained the ninth-ranked flame’s importance and its ability to grant the Three Thousand Star Body 175.

He escorted Xiao Yan to Sacred Pill City and introduced him to the Pill Tower’s three giants, who were his old acquaintances. When Xiao Yan entered the Star Domain alone, Yao Lao remained outside and instructed him to crush the Spatial Jade Slip he had provided if he needed immediate assistance 190 191.

Yao Lao continued serving as a source of support and information at Starfall Pavilion. Xiao Yan reported his successful refinement of the Three Thousand Burning Flame while concealing his new Dou Sheng strength. Later, Yao Lao informed him that Zi Yan had returned to Ancient Dragon Island to help stabilize her clan, and arranged for Feng Xian to gather intelligence on developments in the Central Plains during another of Xiao Yan’s absences 196 209 283.

Before Xiao Yan departed for the Great Thousand World, Yao Lao warned him that the higher world would be more dangerous and expressed his enduring pride in him. After Xiao Yan’s eventual victory over the Heavenly Evil God and subsequent wedding, Yao Lao and Venerable Feng were left to handle the Great Thousand World’s affairs while Xiao Yan traveled with his wives 304 479.

Appearance

Yao Lao initially manifests as an illusory elderly man when emerging from the ring 4.

• Hair: White 4.
• Body: Initially transparent, reflecting his existence as a Soul Body; later restored to a physical body through Xiao Yan’s refinement 4 142 143.
• Movement: Can transform into a streak of light to return to the ring while in soul form 8.
• After resurrection: Continues to appear as an elderly man when welcoming Xiao Yan to Starfall Pavilion 174.

Personality

Yao Lao is proud of his alchemical expertise. He dismisses Pill King Gu He as insignificant beside him and confidently predicts that Xiao Yan can become a top grandmaster under his instruction. Xiao Yan’s unusual reactions and rapid learning repeatedly leave him exasperated or astonished 5 7 8.

As a teacher, he prioritizes a stable foundation over fast advancement and intervenes when training becomes genuinely dangerous. His pride in Xiao Yan grows into the belief that he is helping create a legend capable of overturning the continent’s expectations 8 15 25.

He trusts his disciple more readily than his disciple trusts him. He accepts Xiao Yan’s explanation for knowing the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations and initially appears convinced by Xiao Yan’s excuses about their interrupted communication. He later reveals that he had noticed the deliberate blocking of his senses but chose not to investigate 15 19 143.

Yao Lao is affectionate, teasing, and willing to overlook his disciple’s secrets. He jokes about Xiao Yan’s relationships and readily recognizes dubious explanations without demanding the truth. His acceptance of the Heaven Tier cultivation method reflects his view that Xiao Yan’s loyalty matters more than the secrets he keeps 26 143 175 283.

His generosity is demonstrated by his unhesitating surrender of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, a treasure that had accompanied him for years. Although Han Feng’s betrayal left deep bitterness and grief, he regards Xiao Yan as a second chance to have a truly exceptional disciple and remains openly proud of him 143 304.

Abilities & Skills

Soul Force and Power Transfer

Yao Lao retains substantial power despite initially existing without a physical body 4 17.

• Soul pressure: At their first meeting, Xiao Yan estimates his soul force to be at least comparable to a Fifth-Rank Alchemist’s, possibly higher 4.
• Borrowed combat strength: Can channel power from the ring into Xiao Yan, temporarily granting Dou Emperor-level strength 17 23.
• Protection: Creates a layer of white light that shields Xiao Yan from the Heavenly Poison Swamp’s vines 31.
• Limits: Cannot instantly increase Xiao Yan’s soul force or directly resolve the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle’s possession attempt within his body 23.
• Exhaustion: Severe soul-force depletion forces him into deep sleep; Xiao Yan later awakens him with medicinal liquid 32 141.

Bone Spirit Cold Flame

Yao Lao formerly possessed the bone-white Bone Spirit Cold Flame, which he used to protect Xiao Yan. It ranks eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking 15 143.

• Kills three Da Dou Shi opponents when Xiao Yan is too weakened to defend himself 15.
• Burns attacking mercenaries to ash while Xiao Yan draws on his power 17.
• Leaves a portion stored in the ring for Xiao Yan to use during his slumber 32.
• Erases his soul imprint and transfers the flame to Xiao Yan as a graduation gift after his resurrection, temporarily affecting his own strength 143.
• Advises Xiao Yan to implant his own soul imprint and nurture the flame until it ceases resisting before devouring it with the Flame Mantra, reducing the risk of backlash 143.

Alchemy

Yao Lao provides practical instruction, medicinal preparations, and pill-refinement expertise 8 19 22.

• Instruction: Guides Xiao Yan from a complete beginner to a Second-Rank Alchemist in five months; Xiao Yan can also successfully refine some third-rank pills during this period 8.
• Burning Blood: Prepares a medicinal liquid that improves cultivation speed, though applying it is painful 19.
• Poison protection: Refines the sixth-grade Hundred Solutions Pill specifically for consuming the Netherworld Poison Flame 34.
• Assessment: Identifies the black stone taken from Xiao Yi Xian as a seventh-rank Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle magic core 23.
• Pill Gathering: Previously won the Pill Tower’s Pill Gathering championship through his alchemical skill 190.
• Body-refinement knowledge: Leaves Xiao Yan instructions identifying the minimum requirements for restoring a Soul Body to life: three Heavenly Flames, seventh-rank magical-beast blood essence, a Dou Zong body, and a Bone-Growing Blood-Fusing Pill 141.

Cultivation and Technique Instruction

Heavenly Flame and Poison Knowledge

Yao Lao knows every listed Heavenly Flame except the mysterious first-ranked flame. His knowledge helps him distinguish Xiao Yan’s black flame from known Heavenly Flames and plan preparations for flame consumption 7 22.

• General preparation: Recommends a Blood Lotus Pill, ice spirit cold spring, and Naling. He explains that these aids are intended for flames ranked below sixteenth and offer little help against higher-ranked flames 22.
• Poison Pill Method: Transmits a method that condenses accumulated toxins into a Poison Pill, controlling—but not curing—the woeful poison body 21.
• Required ingredients: Three Heavenly Flames, a seventh-rank Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast magic core, and bodhi body-transforming saliva 21.
• Alternative suppression: Explains that the Netherworld Poison Flame can reduce the toxins responsible for the poison body’s eruption 22.
• Experience and limits: Has fought a previous bearer of the woeful poison body. He knows that a sealing art can delay its eruption but does not know the art himself 21 22.
• Poison Dou Qi: Warns that it erodes its practitioner’s body and can distort temperament, making its apparent advantages dangerous even to advanced cultivators 20.
• Three Thousand Burning Flame: Identifies its ninth-place ranking and explains that successfully refining it can grant the Three Thousand Star Body. He also advises that Xiao Yan requires higher-ranked Heavenly Flames for substantial further cultivation gains 175.

Spatial Abilities

• Space wormhole construction: Establishes a passage between Starfall Pavilion and Xiao Gate, opened from Xiao Gate with the spatial scroll he leaves Xiao Yan. The route remains useful years later 143 173 248.
• Half-Saint travel speed: Escorts Xiao Yan from Starfall Pavilion to Sacred Pill City in half a day. Without using the Nine Nether Wings, Xiao Yan is slower than him at that time 190.
• Emergency support: Provides Xiao Yan with a Spatial Jade Slip to summon assistance during his attempt to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame 191.

Dou Di Bloodline

Yao Lao’s original Yao Clan bloodline was exceptionally weak. The substance Xiao Yan condensed from Yao Tian’s bloodline reawakened it and raised its grade to match Yao Tian’s former level, among the clan’s top three 187.

• Potential: The strengthened bloodline greatly improves his prospects of reaching Dou Sheng and raises his eventual cultivation ceiling beyond that of an ordinary One-Star Dou Sheng 187.
• Immediate realm: The bloodline transformation occurs after his Half-Saint breakthrough; it is not itself described as an immediate advancement to Dou Sheng 187.

Power Progression

Equipment / Items

• Black ring — His former dwelling and storage space; originally a keepsake left to Xiao Yan by his mother. During Yao Lao’s slumber, Xiao Yan can withdraw items but cannot store new ones inside 2 4 32 111.
• Naling — Keeps a small supply for Heavenly Flame consumption and leaves it available to Xiao Yan before sleeping 22 32.
• Hundred Antidotes Pill / Hundred Solutions Pill — The prepared antidote is called the Hundred Antidotes Pill in his final instructions and the sixth-grade Hundred Solutions Pill when Xiao Yan consumes it 32 34.
• Black Demon Cauldron — A Heavenly Cauldron that he obtained only after considerable effort. He considers giving it to Xiao Yan as a graduation gift but decides against it because Xiao Yan already possesses two Heavenly Cauldrons 98 143.
• Xuan Heavy Ruler — Previously given to Xiao Yan. On reaching Starfall Pavilion, Xiao Yan notices similarities between the pavilion’s energy fluctuations and the ruler, but its possible origin there remains his speculation 174.
• Spatial / Wormhole Scroll — Left with Xiao Yan to open the passage from Xiao Gate to Starfall Pavilion 143 148 173.
• Heaven Tier Cultivation Technique — A gift from Xiao Yan that Yao Lao adopts to accelerate his Half-Saint breakthrough 175 187.
• Spatial Jade Slip — Given to Xiao Yan for emergency assistance during his entry into the Pill Tower’s Star Domain 191.
• Han Feng’s soul — Delivered to him in a jade bottle after his resurrection, leaving the traitorous disciple’s fate in his hands 143.

Relationships

• Xiao Yan — Disciple and recipient of his instruction, resources, and protection. Xiao Yan nevertheless fears another betrayal like the possession attempt he suffered from a different Soul Body in his previous life; he conceals techniques and develops the Demon Fury Fire Lotus as a safeguard against Yao Lao 4 5 19 25. Xiao Yan later awakens and resurrects him, avenges him by killing Han Feng, and gives him the cultivation method and bloodline enhancement that improve his future prospects. Yao Lao declares his apprenticeship complete, gifts him the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, and provides Starfall Pavilion as a base of support. His willingness to surrender the flame deeply moves Xiao Yan, although Xiao Yan continues to conceal aspects of his strength and activities 141 142 143 175 187 196. Before Xiao Yan leaves for the Great Thousand World, Yao Lao tells him that he will always be the disciple of whom he is proudest 304.
• Xiao Yi Xian — Indirect beneficiary of his medical knowledge. He supplies Xiao Yan with the Poison Pill Method and an alternative means of suppressing her woeful poison body. He later meets her when Xiao Yan brings his companions to Starfall Pavilion 21 22 174.
• Burning Flame Valley — Previously refused his request to examine the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations, making Xiao Yan’s knowledge of the technique especially surprising to him 15.
• Han Feng — Former disciple whom Yao Lao treated as a son. Han Feng betrays and kills him while seeking the Flame Mantra. After Xiao Yan defeats Han Feng, he preserves the traitor’s soul and gives it to Yao Lao, reopening the emotional wounds of the betrayal 100 109 143.
• Venerable Feng / Feng Xian — Old friend and fellow senior figure at Starfall Pavilion. They welcome Xiao Yan together, and Yao Lao later asks Feng Xian to gather intelligence for his disciple. The two are eventually entrusted with the Great Thousand World’s affairs during Xiao Yan’s travels 174 283 479.
• Starfall Pavilion — Faction he founded and returns to lead after resurrection. He restores it as a source of support for Xiao Yan, who is recognized as its young pavilion master 143 176.
• Yao Clan — His birth clan, which expelled him because of his weak Dou Di bloodline. Xiao Yan later strengthens that bloodline using power taken from Yao Tian 187.
• Heavenly Fire Venerable — Meets him after awakening from slumber. Heavenly Fire Venerable stands guard during Yao Lao’s body refinement, while his former skeleton becomes one of the materials used for Yao Lao’s resurrection 141 142.
• Pill Tower — Former host of his alchemical activities and the organization whose Pill Gathering he once won. Its three giants are old acquaintances, and it invites him to assist with the Three Thousand Burning Flame 175 190.
• Qing Lin — Benefits from cultivation methods and Dou Techniques that Xiao Yan selects from Yao Lao’s collection. Yao Lao later meets her at Starfall Pavilion 84 174.
• Xiao Clan — Xiao Yan seeks Yao Lao’s help in relocating the clan to Starfall Pavilion, relying on his protection and the wormhole connection he establishes 148 174.

Notable Quotes

“Your aptitude is decent, little fellow. With my personal instruction, I believe it won't be long before you become a top grandmaster of alchemy.” 5

“But for a while, I'm afraid you'll have to walk this road alone.” 32

“At last, I'm alive again...” 143

“Besides, you have far too many secrets, little fellow. If I stayed by your side, I'm afraid you wouldn't be too happy about it, would you?” 143

“Little fellow, that world should be far more dangerous than the Dou Qi Continent. You must act carefully up there. I believe in you, and I'm proud of you. No matter what happens, you will always be the disciple I'm proudest of.” 304

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