Yu Daniu

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• Build: Sturdy and exceptionally tall, already exceeding 190 centimeters at sixteen 4.
• Height: Grows to just over two meters, standing a head above other people in the port marketplace 9.
• Complexion: Dark-skinned 4.
• Voice: Rough and booming 4.

Personality

Yu Daniu is honest, straightforward, and good-natured, but his carefree manner conceals a strong sense of inferiority. His poor spiritual-root aptitude and lack of success in fish farming leave him acutely embarrassed when his allies discuss their ambitions. After failing at talisman-making, he considers withdrawing rather than remaining dependent on their support 12 16 21.

He is generous to those who help him. Once his circumstances improve, he offers Chen Jianghe substantially more than the single spirit stone he owes him, and later provides another eight spirit stones with his wife's approval. He does not hold Zhou Miaoyun's earlier treatment against her, though he stops taking the initiative to help her 30 40 42.

His family's standing becomes a major source of anxiety. Despite Yun Huizhen's reassurance that their children's Spiritual Roots do not matter to her, he broods over his eldest son's approaching test because his future cultivation support depends on producing children with Spiritual Roots 48 49.

History

Fisher-Farmer and Lan Household Survivor

Yu Daniu comes from a family with living parents, a younger brother, and a younger sister. The Yun Household recruits him as a Fisher-Farmer because he possesses a Spiritual Root, placing him in waters west of Chen Jianghe's. He and Chen Jianghe enter the household's service in the same year 1 12.

While taking temporary work for the Lan Household, he narrowly avoids its massacre of the recruited fisher-farmers by returning home to visit his family partway through the job. At the next gathering with Chen Jianghe and Old Gao, he recounts the attack and the involvement of three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators 2 4.

Wang Kui's Debt and Old Gao's Death

Yu Daniu repeatedly lends spirit sand to his neighbor Wang Kui, losing fifty grains and receiving abuse when he refuses another loan. Old Gao's harsh criticism of the incident leads to an argument at their annual gathering. The following year, Yu Daniu hesitates outside the Welcoming Inn before entering to apologize; he and Old Gao reconcile 8 9.

Old Gao later helps him advance with a spirit stone. After Old Gao dies, Yu Daniu joins Chen Jianghe and Gao Peiyao for his water burial and refuses an offer to share the inherited spirit stones 12 13.

Mutual Aid Alliance

Amid upheaval in the Yun Household, Yu Daniu supports Gao Peiyao's proposal to turn their information-sharing arrangement into a Mutual Aid Alliance. He recognizes both the immediate protection of staying together and the potential benefits of supporting Gao Peiyao's greater cultivation talent. Zhou Miaoyun joins as the fourth member 14 15.

Unable to identify a promising profession, he accepts Zhou Miaoyun's talisman-making instruction. Their agreement requires him to keep the inheritance private and, if successful, let her sell his talismans for thirty years in exchange for half the proceeds. Gao Peiyao lends him two spirit stones to help fund the attempt 16 17.

After more than three months, he still cannot draw even an unranked Clothes-Cleaning Talisman. The attempt consumes nearly all his borrowed funds and savings, leaving twelve grains of spirit sand. He considers leaving the alliance, but Chen Jianghe persuades him to remain through the crisis and lends him a spirit stone for necessities 21 24.

Information Gathering

Determined to contribute, Yu Daniu begins gathering news at Port No. 1. He informs the alliance that the Bai Household has seized Linyun Mine, killed the Yun Household's Third Elder, and driven other elders into retreat. He also reports the flight of numerous junior and senior fisher-farmers 23.

Chen Jianghe publicly acknowledges the value of this information while warning him that approaching fleeing cultivators is dangerous. Although the others thank him, Zhou Miaoyun continues to regard information gathering as an inadequate basis for lasting mutual benefit 23 26.

Yu Daniu subsequently identifies supposed travel brokers offering passage to Qinghe Market as human traffickers connected to the Lan Household's recruitment of temporary laborers. He warns his fellow alliance members rather than confronting the traffickers 26.

Marriage into the Yun Household

Yu Daniu is one of three junior fisher-farmers who satisfy both the household's aquaculture requirements and its cultivation-entry condition during a special selection. He chooses to become one of seven live-in sons-in-law recruited by the Yun Household 28 29.

The Fifth Elder grants each selected man ten spirit stones and ten Qi-Blood Pills, with departure for Heart of the Lake Island scheduled three days later. Yu Daniu initially tells the group that he received five spirit stones, then privately reveals the full amount to Chen Jianghe. Chen accepts only the one stone owed to him and advises Yu Daniu to retain the rest for married life 30.

His wife gives birth to a son within their first year of marriage. As the first of the seven recruited husbands to father a child, he receives five spirit stones and three Qi-Blood Pills from the household 36 37.

Prosperity and Family Pressure

Six years after marrying into the household, Yu Daniu has four sons and a fifth child on the way. His unusually large family makes him prominent at Mirror Moon Lake and earns substantial cultivation support from the Yun Household 39.

The household promises him a Calamity-Breaking Pill for advancement to late Qi Refining if three of his children possess Spiritual Roots. This reward remains conditional; the children must reach six years old before their Spiritual Roots can be tested 37 40.

After Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun leave Mirror Moon Lake, the alliance's annual gatherings end, though the alliance itself remains intact. Yu Daniu instead invites Chen Jianghe to spend New Year's Eve with his family. By the later visit, his fifth son has been born, and Yun Xiaoniu's approaching Spiritual Root test weighs heavily on him 42 45 48 49.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation

• Practices the Origin Returning True Water Art, the same cultivation method as Chen Jianghe 1.
• Has poor innate aptitude due to his Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root 1 16.
• Benefits from access to Heart of the Lake Island and cultivation resources supplied by the Yun Household 30 39.
• Travels by flying sword with his eldest son when visiting Chen Jianghe 40.

Information Gathering

• Collects timely reports from junior fisher-farmers at Port No. 1 during the Yun Household's crisis 23.
• Provides intelligence on military losses, fleeing workers, and fraudulent recruitment 23 26.
• Risks robbery by approaching cultivators preparing to flee the household's territory 23.

Fish Farming

• Works as a Yun Household Fisher-Farmer but has only mediocre talent for raising Big Blue Fish 1 12.
• Earlier earnings amount to roughly fifty grains of spirit sand per year before expenses 12.
• Eventually meets the aquaculture requirements used in the household's special selection 28.

Talisman-Making Attempt

• Receives Zhou Miaoyun's inheritance covering first-tier mid-grade talismans and below 21.
• Cannot produce the basic unranked Clothes-Cleaning Talisman after more than three months and abandons the craft 21.
• Remains prohibited from passing the inheritance to others without Zhou Miaoyun's permission 16 23.

Equipment & Items

• Flying sword — Used to travel with Yun Xiaoniu 40.
• Storage pouch — Carries the spirit stones he offers Chen Jianghe 40.
• Qi-Blood Pills — Receives ten upon selection as a live-in son-in-law and another three after his first son's birth 30 37.
• Cultivation-world knowledge jade slip — Lends Chen Jianghe a Yun Household reference text, requesting its return on New Year's Eve 45 48.

Relationships

• Chen Jianghe — Closest friend and fellow recruit. Supports Yu Daniu during his failed talisman-making attempt and prevents his withdrawal from the alliance; Yu Daniu later reciprocates with financial help and family hospitality 21 24 40 48.
• Old Gao — Neighbor and cultivation adviser. Their argument over Wang Kui's debt is resolved before Old Gao's death; his gift helps Yu Daniu reach the Second Layer early 4 9 12 13.
• Gao Peiyao — Ally and Old Gao's granddaughter. Lends him two spirit stones for talisman-making; he later contributes five spirit stones toward her journey to the Tian Nan Sect and worries about her safety 16 42 48.
• Zhou Miaoyun — Ally and talisman-making instructor. Distances herself after his failure; he recognizes her status-consciousness without developing an active grudge 16 22 26 42.
• Wang Kui — Neighbor who owes him an uncollectible debt of fifty grains of spirit sand 8 12.
• Yun Huizhen — Wife and a direct-line Yun Household cultivator. Approves his financial help to Chen Jianghe and values her family's well-being over whether their children possess Spiritual Roots 40 41 49.
• Yun Huixiang — Younger sister-in-law. He explores a possible match between her and Chen Jianghe, then drops the idea after learning that she looks down on Chen's prospects 48 49.

Children

All five children are sons and bear the Yun surname 40 47.