Li Zongbao

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Li Zongbao (李宗寶)
Alias(es)	“Foremost Person Below the Golden Core Stage” 2191 2325
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Joyful Sect; Council Hall special task force 1536 2639
Occupation/Role	Joyful Sect disciple, deputy leader of the Feathered Immortal Gathering, battlefield squad leader 1536 2469
Status	Alive; continues cultivating and pursuing Cai Zhuoxia’s resurrection 5219 5222
First Appearance	Chapter 1349 1349

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Foundation Establishment	1357	Reveals that he had suppressed his cultivation. He removes a top-grade spirit talisman from his head, releases its power into his body, and completes Foundation Establishment while trapping Qing Fengmin. 1357
Late Foundation Establishment	2427, 2462	His whip technique is described as placing him at the peak of late Foundation Establishment; he later modestly states that he has only just entered the late stage. 2427 2462
Golden Core	2934	Forms a Golden Core after discovering Cai Zhuoxia’s remains. His simultaneous joy and sorrow provide the enlightenment that had eluded him. 2934
Five Revolutions Golden Core fusion initiated	5220–5221	Receives the complete Nine Revolutions Golden Core technique and a Five Revolutions Golden Core from Xiao Hua. He stabilizes the first surge of chaotic magical power and begins assimilating the foreign core and its residual Will. 5220 5221

Appearance

Li Zongbao is initially described as graceful as jade, with a gentle manner that contrasts with his formidable cultivation. After deepening his understanding of the Mirror of Parting Emotions, his hair turns snow-white and his bearing becomes markedly colder. 1536 1561

• Snow-white hair following his emotional-cultivation breakthrough. 1561 2191
• Usually carries the whip-shaped Immortal-Piercing Whip in battle. 2324 5213
• Maintains a straight, composed posture even while protecting Gu Yu against sword cultivators. 5213
• During Golden Core formation, his eyes briefly become pale and pupil-less before emotion gradually returns. 2934

Personality

Li Zongbao is consistently courteous and restrained around fellow disciples. Despite reaching Foundation Establishment at an unusually young age, he acknowledges weaker disciples with a smile, treats his master Heng Ming with formal respect, and refuses to claim credit he believes belongs to others. 1536

The Mirror of Parting Emotions progressively makes him detached, severe, and disdainful of others. His coldness is not complete indifference: he protects Xiao Hua’s privacy, gives him blunt battlefield advice, and repeatedly assumes responsibility during retreats and crises. 2191 2329 2340 2469

Cai Zhuoxia remains the attachment he cannot sever. His inability to let go of her drives both his emotional turmoil and his later determination to seek a method to revive her. 2426 2934 5219

Abilities & Skills

Mirror of Parting Emotions

A Joyful Sect cultivation method centered on severing worldly attachments and mortal emotions in pursuit of the Dao.

• Deepens Li Zongbao’s emotional detachment and produces his white hair. 1561 1573
• Greatly enhances his cultivation, but leaves him increasingly cold and unfeeling. 1561 2191
• Can cause cultivation-method backlash during prolonged combat. 2454
• His attachment to Cai Zhuoxia prevents complete emotional severance. 2426 2798

Immortal-Piercing Whip

Li Zongbao’s principal weapon, a golden whip capable of producing dense, spiritual-energy-laden whip shadows.

• Routinely overwhelms Artifact Cultivators and Sword Cultivators; his battlefield strength earns him his reputation below the Golden Core stage. 2191 2325
• Can break sword light and destroy large numbers of flying swords through explosive releases of magical power. 2454
• Its full-force strike is comparable to an early Golden Core attack, though it cannot directly withstand Sword Transformation-level power. 2612
• Was damaged during the campaign in Million Meng Mountain and temporarily replaced with a ring. 2702
• Xiao Hua later refines it into a spirit artifact, restoring its destructive potential but contributing to instability in Li Zongbao’s cultivation. 2718 2804

Tactical Leadership

Li Zongbao is an effective field commander despite initially relying on individual strength.

• Uses morale and clear orders to prevent cultivators from falling into panic during a retreat. 2469
• Guides allied cultivators through the Sword Tomb’s caves and receives praise from Joyful Sect disciples for his leadership. 2462
• Publicly reveals Qin Jian’s death to restore the fighting spirit of more than ten thousand retreating cultivators. 2481
• Demonstrates political awareness of the Dao Sword Great Battle and the wider conflict among Daoist, Sword, and Soul Cultivator forces. 2745

Nine Revolutions Golden Core Cultivation

After failing to pursue the Nascent Soul path, Li Zongbao adopts a rare inheritance that cultivates the Golden Core rather than the Nascent Soul.

• Finds the incomplete inheritance in Million Meng Mountain through a jade slip previously given by Xiao Hua. 5219
• Receives the complete Nine Revolutions Golden Core technique from Xiao Hua. 5220
• Uses a Five Revolutions Golden Core to advance toward strength comparable to a Spirit Severing cultivator, despite the danger of inheriting another cultivator’s demonic obstructions. 5220

Equipment

• Immortal-Piercing Whip — His signature whip-shaped artifact and later a spirit artifact. 2191 2718
• Top-grade spirit talisman — Used to release his suppressed cultivation and form his Foundation Establishment foundation. 1357
• Qiankun Ring — Used after the Immortal-Piercing Whip is damaged. 2702
• Message talisman — A talisman he previously gives to Xiao Hua, which later confirms their acquaintance. 1561

Relationships

• Heng Ming — His master. Li Zongbao is deeply respectful toward Heng Ming, who guides his cultivation and discusses the Mirror of Parting Emotions with him. 1536
• Zhuo Hui — His uncle-master and supporter. Zhuo Hui appoints him deputy leader of the Feathered Immortal Gathering and later relies on his battlefield ability. 1536 2462
• Cai Zhuoxia — His enduring love and greatest attachment. Her presumed death shapes his cultivation, while finding her remains triggers his Golden Core formation; he spends later years seeking a way to resurrect her. 2426 2934 5219
• Xiao Hua — Former acquaintance, battlefield comrade, and later benefactor. Li Zongbao initially manipulates Xiao Hua into joining his squad, but they develop mutual trust; Xiao Hua refines his whip, assists his Golden Core formation, and gives him the complete Nine Revolutions Golden Core method. 2326 2718 2934 5220
• Xiao Mao — Battle companion. Li Zongbao reluctantly accepts Xiao Mao’s covert support against superior swordsmen and later fights alongside him in the Council Hall’s special task force. 2454 2481
• Gu Yu — A sword cultivator he protects from the Void Sky Sword Sect. Gu Yu has feelings for him, but Li Zongbao remains emotionally tied to Cai Zhuoxia. 5213 5219

Background and History

Hundred Zhang Peak

Li Zongbao first appears at Hundred Zhang Peak alongside Cai Zhuoxia, where he questions Xiao Hua about Shang Hua Ming and shows particular interest in Tianqi. His stated concern with the suspicious circumstances around Tianqi suggests he has motives beyond merely escorting Cai Zhuoxia. 1349 1351

When Qing Fengmin’s blood-shadow form threatens the group, Li Zongbao reveals that he had concealed his true cultivation. He traps the demon with a net-shaped artifact, activates a top-grade spirit talisman, and advances to Foundation Establishment within Hundred Zhang Peak. 1357

Mirror of Parting Emotions

After reaching Foundation Establishment, Li Zongbao remains outwardly humble and is appointed deputy leader for the Feathered Immortal Gathering. Heng Ming regards the Mirror of Parting Emotions as central to his future cultivation. 1536

Following an emotional epiphany, Li Zongbao’s hair turns white and his personality becomes noticeably colder. He explains that his comprehension of the Mirror of Parting Emotions has deepened, but the technique increasingly suppresses his emotions. 1561

Dao Sword Great Battle

During the Dao Sword Great Battle, Li Zongbao becomes renowned throughout the Three Cultivation Kingdoms as the strongest cultivator below the Golden Core stage. His Immortal-Piercing Whip devastates enemy formations, and even opposing sword cultivators learn to fear his name. 2191 2555

He places Xiao Hua under his command and draws him into a campaign against Qin Jian. Although initially calculating and manipulative, Li Zongbao becomes a dependable battlefield leader, directing cultivators during retreats and working with Xiao Hua and Xiao Mao to rally allied forces. 2326 2469 2481

The war also exposes the limits of his individual strength. When overwhelmed by several powerful swordsmen, he must accept Xiao Mao’s assistance and recognizes that personal cultivation alone cannot control a battlefield involving thousands of combatants. 2454

Golden Core Formation and Later Cultivation

Li Zongbao’s damaged cultivation path is linked to the incomplete spirit artifact Xiao Hua once refined for him. The artifact affects his lifespan and prevents him from easily advancing toward Nascent Soul. 2804 5220

When he finally finds Cai Zhuoxia’s remains in Luyang, joy at her intact body and sorrow at her injuries give him the insight needed to form his Golden Core. The resulting celestial phenomenon disrupts much of Luyang until Xiao Hua evacuates the affected mortals and protects the Cai family. 2934

Centuries later, Li Zongbao remains devoted to two pursuits: cultivation and discovering a way to revive Cai Zhuoxia. After Xiao Hua returns, he receives the complete Nine Revolutions Golden Core technique and begins fusing a Five Revolutions Golden Core to gain the strength needed for that search. 5219 5220

Notable Quotes

“Zhuoxia... she is the only one I cannot let go of!” 2426

“Cultivation, and searching for a way to resurrect Zhuo Xia!” 5219

Trivia

• Li Zongbao’s reputation as the foremost cultivator below the Golden Core stage becomes so widespread that Cui Hongshen once considers him an ideal to pursue. 2325
• He initially considers himself capable of dominating the Dao Sword battlefield, but later recognizes the inadequacy of individual strength in a large-scale war. 2454
• Despite his famous detachment, he rarely speaks playfully; Xiao Hua notes one such rare moment when Li Zongbao calls his opportunities “practically **** luck.” 5219