Tianyan Sect

Biodata

Power Progression

The sect’s documented growth concerns its leadership and combat strength rather than a cultivation realm of its own.

History

Ancient Sect and Erasure

The Tianyan Sect specialized in divining the heavens and claimed there was nothing it did not know. The Immortal Realm’s stability nevertheless made precise divination difficult—even for its strongest experts. To overcome this limitation, the sect pooled its resources to forge a supreme treasure capable of divining the Myriad Worlds and manifesting projections of the Immortal Realm 152.

The ancient sect master also opposed escaping the Final Tribulation by tearing apart heaven and earth. During a period of upheaval, he merged the Way of Destiny into the Immortal Realm’s underlying Great Dao and its attached Small Worlds. Thereafter, damaging those worlds’ Great Dao incurred backlash of fortune. Several Immortal Venerables came to the sect demanding an explanation 392 409.

Records recovered by Xu Changxing describe the newly forged treasure drawing several Immortal Venerables into battle. The sect was erased and the treasure’s original body shattered. Tian Zhu later explained that the sect’s highest experts had been erased at the level of the rules, removing knowledge of their names and appearances. A secret realm sealed outside the Three Realms preserved knowledge that the Tianyan Sect had existed 152 160.

Surviving Legacy

Before its destruction, the Tianyan Pearl had projected itself into the Myriad Worlds. These projections survived the loss of its original body, preserving a route through which a recognized successor could open the Heavenly Gate and inherit the sect’s legacy. Only an immortal could inherit the Tianyan Sect 152 154.

Xu Changxing encountered this legacy in the sect’s secret realm. Its sword guardians, Tian Zhu and Wan Ren, were broken immortal swords rather than surviving disciples. Tian Zhu awaited someone recognized by the Tianyan Pearl, but also controlled part of its power and obstructed Xu Changxing’s succession. Xu eventually slew him, after which his connection to the Pearl became clearer 160 165 167.

The Tianyan Sect Illusion

Special simulations allowed Xu Changxing to enter an apparently intact Tianyan Sect. His first documented visit ended on the fourth day when an enormous finger destroyed both him and the sect. Later visits provided longer periods of cultivation: the entry point remained fixed, while the destruction occurred progressively later as his cultivation increased 203 218.

The illusion concealed lethal “Weirdness.” Questioning Daoist Wuchen about its nature caused him to perform divinations, after which crimson light drained Xu Changxing’s vitality. A later attempt revealed a hell-like Great Dao beneath the sect’s peaceful exterior; its crimson power could penetrate spatial barriers. Even after reaching Golden Immortal, Xu initially found no abnormality in the illusion’s ordinary Great Dao Rules 227 276 278.

Repeated simulations exposed the forging of the Tianyan Pearl and the struggle to preserve it through its tribulation. Xu eventually awakened High Person Sanshou, Immortal Lord Leyou, and Daoist Wuchen. Wuchen’s awakening required the Immortal Music Flaw-Cleansing Art. When the sect’s defenses collapsed during the Pearl’s emergence, the awakened elders restrained themselves rather than preventing Xu from confronting the remaining lightning 294 324 383.

Reappearance in the Immortal Realm

After the illusion became reality, Immortal Lord Leyou recognized Xu Changxing as the new sect master because he wielded the Tianyan Pearl. Leyou retained his memories of that simulated life 388.

The sect reappeared in the Immortal Realm as ranges of immortal mountains surrounding a gate inscribed with its name in Great Dao Laws. At least a dozen sects answered the summons of its three Immortal Monarchs. Several thousand immortals assembled outside, and the elders admitted their disciples after rebuilding the Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation 389 391.

The returning sect faced an alliance organized by Green Lotus Immortal Monarch. It concealed its headquarters while its elders supported Feng Yuan’s Taiyi breakthrough and gathered imprints of their enemies’ pasts to strengthen the Tianyan Pearl. Later, Xu Changxing overpowered the Myriad Immortals Alliance, allowing the sect to return openly from the void and settle on the former ruins of the Immortal Music Pavilion. Other immortal sects sent envoys, while the Alliance tacitly accepted its return 391 395 400 401 454 458.

A subsequent confrontation ended with Xu killing Immortal Lord Zihao. Immortal Lords Lanyu and Jiuxu signed a new Peace Treaty and swore not to avenge him 481.

Relocation and the Grotto-Heaven Campaign

The Tianyan Sect later dismantled its defenses, packed its movable treasures, and relocated to a Grotto-Heaven at the Bottom of the Abyss. The destination was unaffected by fluctuations in the Immortal Realm’s laws, offering a potential refuge from the Final Tribulation 498.

Its disciples helped expand the Grotto-Heaven and received cultivation feedback from its growing Great Dao. Within thirty years, it expanded another million li, numerous lower-level cultivators broke through, and Zhike attained Taiyi 502.

The Myriad Immortals Alliance sought to seize this refuge. Its campaign of public condemnation condensed into a Law that strengthened Alliance cultivators and suppressed Tianyan Sect cultivators within the Immortal Realm. Despite this advantage and the Alliance’s preparations, the Tianyan Sect won the ensuing campaign. Observers began treating it as the likely foremost power associated with the Immortal Realm—even though its headquarters had already left that realm 501 502 512.

Afterward, Xu Changxing and Daoist Wuchen began inviting entire sects into the Grotto-Heaven to prepare for the Final Tribulation 515.

Alternate Simulation Outcomes

These outcomes occur in simulations and do not form a single continuous history.

Organization and Members

Leadership

• Xu Changxing — Inheritor of the ancient legacy and current sect master. He controls the Tianyan Pearl and frequently delegates administration to the elders while cultivating 388 401 478.
• Daoist Wuchen — Renowned divination expert and one of the three Immortal Monarchs awakened from the illusion. He directs concealment, strategic deductions, and later recruitment planning 218 383 451 515.
• High Person Sanshou — Senior alchemist and one of the three awakened Immortal Monarchs. He supplies immortal pills and strongly favors confronting the Alliance 292 383 454.
• Immortal Lord Leyou (Zhu Anyang) — One of the three awakened Immortal Monarchs. He helps recover disciples, rebuild defenses, and coordinate the sect’s plans 292 383 391 400.
• Immortal Lord Muling — Powerful elder who assists the sect against the Alliance. In simulations, he helps its members escape into the void and later commands its emergency evacuation 417 462 475.
• Feng Yuan — Taiyi elder whose tribulation was protected by Xu Changxing and the senior elders 395 400.
• Zhike — Becomes a Supreme Elder after attaining Taiyi within the expanding Grotto-Heaven 502.

Ranks and Contributions

• Core discipleship grants access to restricted locations and some assignments otherwise available to elders. Xu earned this status through accumulated sect points when Wuchen and Sanshou would not accept him as a disciple 277.
• Sect merit and points govern access to resources, including the Scripture Repository and Great Dao comprehension sites 203 247.
• Pill refining is a major contribution route. Xu used ordinary refining assignments, Ageless Golden Cores, and later Immortal Sacred Body Pills to earn points and establish his standing 203 247 292.
• Golden Immortal elders administer individual peaks and help select incoming sects 394 515.

Abilities and Techniques

Heavenly Divination

The sect’s defining discipline encompasses stellar observation, destiny, and deductions concerning the Myriad Worlds 152 218.

• The Star-Gazing Art works alongside the Myriad Knowledge Immortal-Congealing Art, allowing a cultivator to project the stars within the Primordial Spirit and perceive their movements 218.
• Wuchen can anticipate enemy returns and schemes, including a returning Immortal Monarch’s arrival and Zihao’s planned ambush 409 478.
• Wuchen’s divination is also a strategic deterrent: Alliance leaders sought secluded locations to conceal their formation preparations from him 502.

Myriad Knowledge Immortal-Congealing Art

This cultivation technique forms a central part of the sect’s inheritance. Tian Zhu and Wan Ren guarded its first volume in the intact sect 165 203.

• Supports projection through the Primordial Spirit; a sect elder demonstrated a projection of the Heavens and Myriad Worlds during instruction 212 213.
• Provides a foundation for stellar divination 218.
• Assists comprehension of the Way of Destiny 247.

Formation Arts

The sect combines Great Dao Patterns, valuable materials, and the Tianyan Pearl to construct and conceal its defenses 391.

• The rebuilt Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation hides the sect’s mountains behind mist when empowered by the Pearl 391.
• Wuchen maintains a linked formation within his Daoist Field to conceal the sect’s traces 451.
• Emergency arrangements can include teleportation into a protected void interstice or evacuation through a Space-Time Formation 409 475.
• These defenses are not absolute: sufficiently powerful groups of Immortal Monarchs can breach them 409 475.

Grounds and Cultivation Facilities

Treasures and Guardians

• Tianyan Pearl — The sect’s supreme divination treasure, forged from immortal jade and a hundred Great Daos. Its projections survived the original body’s destruction, and its restored form became Xu Changxing’s Life-Bound Magic Treasure 152 284 401.
  • Deduces the Myriad Worlds and draws on Heaven and Earth Origin to supply simulation cultivation rewards 401.
  • Reveals the Immortal Realm’s underlying Great Dao and can improve by absorbing Great Dao fragments 402 403.
  • Excels at untangling Great Dao Laws rather than direct combat 509.
• Tian Zhu and Wan Ren — Immortal swords that guarded the stele bearing the Myriad Knowledge Immortal-Congealing Art. Their killing intent hindered disciples who had not yet become immortals 203.
• Sword Tomb — Contains broken sword bodies gathered by Tian Zhu from countless parallel planes 160.

External Relationships

• Myriad Immortals Alliance — Ancient persecutor and principal rival. Their conflict includes the sect’s erasure, renewed campaigns after its return, negotiated peace, and the failed attempt to seize its Grotto-Heaven 481 501 512 532.
• Immortal Music Pavilion — Connected to the Tianyan Sect through its founding patriarch and returning elders. Eighty percent of the gathered immortals chose to follow the elders when the sect reappeared; the Tianyan Sect later settled on the Pavilion’s former ruins 389 458.
• Tribes at the Bottom of the Abyss — Peaceful neighbors and a source of recruits. Sect disciples teach Daoist Arts and compensate tribes with valuable materials when accepting talented children 501.
• Moonflower Sect — Initially cultivated closer relations without openly committing to the conflict. After the Tianyan Sect’s victory, its leaders considered seeking refuge; it was later selected for a relocation invitation 458 512 515.
• Lingyun Sect and Baizhe Mountain — Selected alongside the Moonflower Sect for relocation into the Tianyan Sect’s Grotto-Heaven. Both accepted the invitation 515.

Unresolved Mysteries

• The elders’ Weirdness — Xu suspected that Sanshou and Leyou were transferring their affliction outside themselves, and that freeing them might expose the enemy behind it. This initially led him to suspend further special simulations 334.
• The illusion’s underlying nature — After its transformation into reality, Xu speculated that it was connected to the “one that escaped” from the fifty Great Daos. This remained his interpretation rather than a confirmed explanation 388.
• The erasure of Tianyuan — Immortal Venerable Zhili acknowledged that the Alliance’s ancient erasure of Tianyuan and the Tianyan Sect had blurred memories. He also discovered that another event after his slumber had erased Tianyuan’s traces again, but refused to explain the old conflict 532.