Dongxu Zi

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Early Life and the Seven Azure Cloud Disciples

Dongxu Zi was born near the end of the Elder Ancient Immortal Era and grew up amid the Dao-Demon War. Before finding a home, he lived through widespread slaughter and learned to fight to protect those he regarded as younger siblings. The Grand Ancestor rescued him and Su Xiaoqi from that existence, becoming their master and giving them somewhere to belong 335 429 516.

He became the second senior brother among the Seven Azure Cloud Disciples, with Chongming as his eldest senior brother and Hu Yun as his junior brother. He remembered his younger self as someone who overwhelmed the celebrated geniuses of his generation. Although he did not consider himself the most gifted or clever of his fellow disciples, he regarded himself as their best fighter 53 171 317 429.

Their master’s bodily integration with the Nine Hells shattered that earlier life. Chongming changed drastically and eventually joined the Devil Race, while other disciples died pursuing the plans that would shape the world’s future. Dongxu Zi survived with a profound sense of guilt, unable even to remember his master’s face despite retaining his reverence for him 429 515 516.

Sect Master

As leader of the Azure Cloud Sect, Dongxu Zi was acclaimed as the foremost cultivator of the age. His public Dao lectures drew crowds of inner disciples, and he administered major sect events, including a Grand Competition whose prizes included a Dao Artifact, a supreme cultivation method, and access to the Azure Cloud Secret Treasure 44 82.

His responsibilities also included protecting Hu Yun’s disciples and managing the consequences of their actions. After Hu Yun’s departure, he arranged the proceedings that formally installed Ouyang as Little Mountain Peak’s Acting Peak Master and cleared the peak’s debts 177.

Appearance

• Face and hair: An elderly Daoist with a youthful face, crane-white hair, and long white eyebrows reaching his chest 23.
• Formal clothing: A black Daoist robe, wooden hairpin, and fly-whisk 82.
• Immortal bearing: Dao resonance accompanies his movements; a seven-colored glow can flicker behind his head. His public entrance to a lecture includes wind, thunder, fragrance, and faint immortal music 23 82.
• Informal appearance: Can look like a scruffy old man wearing a riding jacket and carrying a palm-leaf fan, sharply contrasting with his ceremonial appearance 23.

Personality

Dongxu Zi alternates between solemn authority and irreverent familiarity. Before disciples he can embody the dignified leader of a sacred land; around Ouyang, he trades insults, complains about troublesome juniors, and even gets into fistfights. His intimidating reputation also does little to prevent Su Xiaoqi from twisting his ear or beating him when she is angry 23 177 235 240.

He is a patient but evolving teacher. Initially, he believed cultivators needed to discover their own Dao without excessive intervention. He later acknowledged that this neglected a teacher’s duty to nourish and guide students before they matured, and became notably attentive to Zhao Qiansun and Little Bie San 52 508 563.

His schemes are driven by the survival of the world rather than personal gain, but he accepts morally costly decisions and the possibility of sacrificing himself. He seeks to keep calamity’s losses bearable even when doing so requires the deaths of Great Cultivators who might otherwise survive 247 517 625.

Beneath his confidence lies grief over his master and fellow disciples. He secretly recites Buddhist rebirth scripture for the departed despite being a supreme Daoist expert. News of his master is one of the few things capable of destroying his composure: Ouyang’s teasing claim to have met the Grand Ancestor briefly provokes genuine killing intent 171 381 515 516.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation and Aptitude

Dongxu Zi’s strength rests on exceptionally complete foundations and a profound understanding of laws, not simply his nominal realm 232 567.

• His Tenfold Omnicompetence allows him to understand myriad arts, comprehend yin and yang, and accommodate diverse methods 626.
• The difference between him and other ninth-level Tribulation Transcendence cultivators is attributed to his deeper comprehension of laws 567.
• His reputation includes claims that he has touched the Immortal Gate; these are presented as rumors rather than a confirmed ascension 82.

Three Corpses Severing Method

The Three Corpses Severing Method is Dongxu Zi’s own cultivation Dao. His familiarity with severing aspects of the self makes Ling Feng’s explanation of a severed, conscious Heart Demon appear plausible to him 104.

• Distinguishes Good, Evil, and True Self 626.
• He initially severs Good and Evil but cannot determine how to sever his True Self 626.
• Ultimately realizes that severance followed by reunion naturally manifests the True Self 626.

One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones

This supreme technique produces two Daoists whose strength and aura equal Dongxu Zi’s own 317.

• Sword-bearing manifestation: Gentle expression and kindly demeanor 317.
• Saber-bearing manifestation: Cold expression and fierce killing intent 317.
• Coordinated combat: The three fight together against the Buddha formed by the Twenty-Four Bodhisattva Fruits 317.
• Reunification: The manifestations return between his brows, producing a blue lotus and enabling his later surge in cultivation 625 626.
• Teaching limit: Little Bie San can understand the technique superficially, but lacks the cultivation needed to grasp its essence 563.

Sword Dao and Fly-Whisk Combat

Dongxu Zi channels Sword Qi and powerful, law-bearing attacks through his fly-whisk 53 316.

• Makes the whisk straighten like a longsword and sends a vast streak of Sword Qi toward the moon, which appears to split 53.
• Releases hidden Dao resonance and sword insights across the Azure Cloud Sect, giving its sword cultivators an opportunity to cultivate 53.
• Shatters enormous Buddha statues with individual whisk strikes 316.
• His initial exchanges against the combined giant Buddha fail to damage it, demonstrating the limits of confronting a sacred land’s collective foundations alone 317.

Suppression and Sealing

Dongxu Zi can immobilize cultivators, seal their internal powers, and isolate large areas with Dao resonance 313.

• Subdues a Spirit Division Realm Buddhist cultivator with a casual downward press, without visibly stirring his surrounding True Essence 312 313.
• Suppresses an opponent’s Divine Soul and True Essence simultaneously 313 319.
• Seals White Elephant City off from the outside, blocking attempts to send distress signals 313.
• Uses the “seal” character he previously bestowed on Bai Feiyu to shut the God-Sealing Treasure Books and bind deities within their golden bodies 624.

Heaven and Earth Prison

A large-scale confinement technique founded on the True Self of the Three Corpses Severing Method and incorporating the Power of Laws of living beings 629.

• Turns heaven and earth into a prison around the False Immortals 629.
• According to Dongxu Zi, requires two true Immortals to break by force 629.
• Can alternatively be broken by killing him, a vulnerability he openly explains to his trapped enemies 629.

Dao Instruction and Supporting Arts

• Dao instruction: Guides Bai Feiyu toward understanding his Great Dao and teaches Zhao Qiansun to reinforce unstable foundations 232 233 234 508.
• Formation operation: Activates the Spirit-Gathering Grand Formation for lectures and Little Bie San’s cultivation, and powers a Teleportation Gate with Spirit Stones 82 334 511.
• Spatial movement: Transports others into Beyond Heaven and sends Bai Feiyu directly back to Little Mountain Peak 247 624.
• Soul manipulation: Splits Ling Feng’s Divine Soul and places half into a miniature map of the realm 429.
• Sun true fire: Burns the remains of the slain False Immortals to ash 630.

Restrictions and Limits

• Tribulation Transcendence cultivators are forbidden from entering the Mortal World. Dongxu Zi uses a Paper Substitute to intervene without entering personally 424.
• He cannot safely attack Immortals hiding within the Mortal Worlds while they hold those worlds’ inhabitants hostage 547.
• Even after his later empowerment, he admits that thirty-four half-step Immortal opponents exceed what he can handle alone and calls Chongming for help 628 629.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Fly-whisk — His customary weapon and implement for Sword Qi, True Essence attacks, cloud travel, and formations. It is visibly notched after the confrontation surrounding Ouyang’s departure for the Nine Hells 52 53 232 247 316.
• Buddhist Rebirth Sutra — Kept in his sleeve and recited for Hu Yun and later before the Demon Beast Egg left by Hu Yan 171 381.
• Realm map — Used when discussing the world with Ouyang; a miniature map also receives half of Ling Feng’s Divine Soul 335 429.
• Beyond Heaven — A pure-white space left by his master, used for discussions that must remain secret 247.
• Paper Substitute — A gift from Chen Changsheng, converted into a manifestation of himself to intervene in the Mortal World 424.
• Twelfth-Grade Merit Golden Lotus — Removes it from Ouyang and takes custody after learning that Ouyang has selected one of his future disciples as its inheritor 336.
• Fishing Rod — Wields it during the falling-heavens crisis, dragging the Great Whale and opening a path for Chongming. He later sends it and a Storage Bag toward the Azure Cloud Sect 628 631.

Relationships

• The Grand Ancestor — Master and rescuer. Dongxu Zi credits him with giving himself and Su Xiaoqi a home; his inability to remember the man’s face is a lasting source of anguish 429 515 516.
• Chongming — Eldest senior brother and later Demon Venerable. Their political conflict never fully erases their familial bond; Dongxu Zi becomes openly relieved and unusually obedient when Chongming comes to protect him 429 629 630.
• Hu Yun — Junior brother. Dongxu Zi mourns his departure, continues protecting his disciples, and helps carry out the older generation’s long-term plans 171 177 429 625.
• Su Xiaoqi — Youngest junior sister and one of his last surviving companions from the old Azure Cloud Sect. She fiercely challenges his secrecy and warns that she will kill him if he treats Ouyang as a pawn 171 177 247.
• Ouyang — Junior disciple whom he watched grow up. Their relationship combines insults, fighting, mutual concern, and disagreement over how much the older generation should sacrifice 235 336 428 561.
• Ling Feng — Eldest disciple, raised by Dongxu Zi personally. His connection to Lin Feng and later integration with the Mortal World place him at the center of Dongxu Zi’s negotiations with Chongming 104 401 419 425 429.
• Bai Feiyu — Recipient of his Dao guidance. Dongxu Zi admires his achievements but later disables his God-Sealing Treasure Books to prevent the Divine Dao from ruling alone 234 484 624.
• Hu Tutu — Inducts her into the sect, lights her everlasting lamp, and later assigns daily Dao lessons and homework after her Nascent Soul breakthrough 24 240.
• Zhao Qiansun — Inherits both Dongxu Zi’s and Hu Yun’s legacies. Dongxu Zi considers him half a disciple, respects his refusal to join the sect, and subsequently teaches him with particular care 401 402 508.
• Little Bie San — Informal student whose diligence and extraordinary comprehension win his affection. Dongxu Zi eventually teaches the monkey nearly everything he knows 511 563.
• Hu Yan — Longstanding acquaintance who cultivated peacefully within the Azure Cloud Sect. Their final exchange combines blunt teasing, gratitude, and shared understanding of loss 381.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Ouyang and the Coming Calamity

Dongxu Zi warns Ouyang that their generation may face another catastrophe and recounts the devastation of the Dao-Demon conflict a thousand years earlier. His subsequent Sword Dao demonstration appears to cleave the moon, and he plucks a star for Ouyang before falling asleep 53.

His protection of Ouyang also takes a more secretive form. He draws out an Elder Ancient Era Great Heavenly Sacrificer to lure away Ouyang’s soul, explaining privately that the intervention will let Ouyang truly become a living being of this world, as Hu Yun once had. Su Xiaoqi condemns the possibility of using him as a pawn, while Chen Changsheng later refuses Dongxu Zi’s proposed hundred-year wait and sets a ten-year deadline for Ouyang’s return 247 293.

Conflict with Great Spirit Mountain Temple

Dongxu Zi accompanies Ouyang to investigate Hui Zhi and the Buddhist establishment. He suppresses the cultivator controlling White Elephant City, then holds off the temple’s strongest defenders while Ouyang proceeds inside 313 317 318.

During the ensuing dispute, he condemns methods that enslave ordinary people’s minds and proposes that Buddhist monks accompany Ouyang east. He brings the Conservative Faction to the Azure Cloud Sect, approves their settlement on Questioning Sword Peak, and prompts Ci Hang to name their new path Zen Buddhism 324 331 334.

Ling Feng and the Dao-Demon Negotiations

Dongxu Zi negotiates with the Demon Venerable over a war ten years in the future, explicitly distinguishing that conflict from the Great Calamity. Ling Feng’s replacement of Li Taibai’s reincarnation as the one destined for Dao Integration becomes central to those talks 425.

The confrontation exposes the Demon Venerable as Chongming, Dongxu Zi’s eldest senior brother. Dongxu Zi divides Ling Feng’s soul, and the eventual exchange involving Ling Feng and Xie Xinzhi ends with Chongming threatening to kill him in ten years. Dongxu Zi privately answers that they should die together 429 433.

Holding Back the Falling Heavens

When the Demon Realm begins pressing down on the Cultivation World, Dongxu Zi calls on the Great Cultivators to rise and hold back the sky. He seals Bai Feiyu’s God-Sealing Treasure Books, explaining that the Divine Dao cannot be allowed to reign alone, then sends Bai Feiyu home rather than letting him shoulder the crisis further 622 623 624.

This is the culmination of plans laid through the deaths of four of his fellow disciples. Dongxu Zi unites the Three Pure Ones, manifests his True Self, and gathers the laws and Dao resonance of cultivators across the world 625 626.

After trapping thirty-four False Immortals, he summons Chongming, who slaughters them. Dongxu Zi destroys their remains with sun true fire. When Chongming turns toward the remaining threat of the Demon Realm, Dongxu Zi accepts the prospect of death and sends the Fishing Rod and a Storage Bag back toward the Azure Cloud Sect 628 629 630 631.

Notable Quotes

“Tell me, why would someone who cares deeply about others cultivate the Dao? To watch everything they cherish disappear one after another, then live on alone for so long?” 336

“Yes, I'm old. But I can't die yet. The new Seven Azure Cloud Disciples haven't grown up. Until then, I still have to watch over them for Hu Yun!” 429

“Everyone, those willing to hold back the falling sky, please rise!” 622