Elder Long

Biodata

Background / History

Elder Long was once a powerful cultivator from the upper realm. At his peak, he could suppress an entire stretch of heaven and earth with a raised hand. After becoming a spirit body, his strength diminished, but he retained his knowledge and experience 4 5.

Ye Feng met him after obtaining the Spirit-Fusing Mirror. During that encounter, Ye Feng blocked light refracted from a blood moon with his body, earning the mirror’s recognition. Elder Long subsequently became a source of guidance in Ye Feng’s rise 27.

His long-term goal is to reconstruct his physical body. He promises that, once restored, he can replace the flesh Ye Feng lost through castration, although he acknowledges privately that it would not be the original body part 4.

Personality

Elder Long prioritizes survival over pride. He repeatedly urges Ye Feng to endure Jiang Yantian’s abuse rather than confront an opponent far beyond Ye Feng’s strength. His caution also extends to himself: he refuses to expose his presence when discovery could lead to the Spirit-Fusing Mirror being seized 2 5 23.

He is encouraging but sometimes overconfident. He recognizes Jiang Yantian’s extraordinary talent, yet confidently assures Ye Feng that his guidance will allow Ye Feng to surpass him. His certainty about the forbidden land’s treasures also leads him to accept misleading evidence and explanations, helping Jiang Yantian’s deceptions succeed 10 18 26 27 28.

Abilities & Skills

Spiritual Perception

His spirit body gives him exceptional perception within the Death Qi-filled Spirit-Imprisoning Forbidden Land 18.

• Treasure detection: Locates valuable treasures whose presences are concealed by Death Qi 18.
• Illusion navigation: Guides Ye Feng through the forbidden land’s illusions without encountering danger 25.
• Presence recognition: Recognizes the auras associated with the Bitter Bamboo Seedling and God-Slaying Spear 27 28.
• Identification limits: Sensing a treasure’s presence does not necessarily reveal its contents or authenticity. Residual auras and disguised substitutes deceive him during the expedition 26 28.

Formation Expertise

Before becoming a spirit body, Elder Long was a sixth-grade array master 27.

• Reveals concealed runic restrictions and teaches Ye Feng how to attack them 25.
• Directs Ye Feng through taboo arrays beyond Ye Feng’s unaided ability 27.
• Relies on Ye Feng to supply spiritual power and carry out the restriction-breaking process 25 27.

Alchemy and Medical Knowledge

Elder Long was formerly a ninth-grade alchemist 27.

• Identifies the Flesh Spirit Pill as an alternative means of restoring Ye Feng’s lost body part 5.
• Explains that refining it requires at least a fifth-grade alchemist and a thousand salamanders as medicinal catalysts 5.
• Warns that the pill is difficult to refine and offers little incentive to alchemists capable of making it 5.

Cultivation Guidance

He advises Ye Feng on cultivation, opportunities, and maintaining a stable Dao heart 4 10.

• Encourages Ye Feng to turn hatred into motivation rather than abandon cultivation 2 4.
• Recognizes that Jiang Yantian could become invincible throughout the lower realm’s Nine Provinces upon reaching early Spirit Transformation 10.
• Predicts rapid advancement through forbidden-land opportunities, but these promises are not documented as fulfilled 5 28.

Clarity Technique

The Clarity Technique searches for traces of another person’s presence on a suspected killer 22.

• Elder Long uses it to investigate whether Jiang Yantian killed Hua Jiao 22.
• It finds no trace of Hua Jiao on him, despite Jiang Yantian later privately admitting that he killed her and devoured her soul 22 23.

Limitations

• Reduced strength: His spirit-body condition prevents him from exercising his former power 5 32.
• Risk of exposure: Revealing himself before powerful cultivators could endanger both him and Ye Feng 2.
• Unable to possess Ye Feng: In his weakened condition, he cannot take over Ye Feng’s body to intervene 32.
• No answer to the Nine Nether Fine Steel Chain: He cannot overcome the artifact’s resistance to techniques 32 34.

Equipment / Items

• Spirit-Fusing Mirror — A secret treasure from High Antiquity that houses his spirit body. Elder Long explains that spirits separated from their original bodies ordinarily must possess someone or perish; lodging within the mirror allows him to persist without doing so 4 18.

Relationships

• Ye Feng — Protégé and confidant. Ye Feng initially trusts his guidance wholeheartedly and later describes him as the only person who understands the humiliation and injustice Ye Feng suffers. Their trust does not prevent disagreements: Ye Feng resents his detached encouragement during the kowtowing ordeal and later accuses Jiang Yantian without consulting him 5 6 32 37.
• Jiang Yantian — Threat to both Elder Long and Ye Feng. Elder Long admires his talent but increasingly fears his unpredictable methods. Jiang Yantian knows about the hidden spirit and plans to destroy him and seize the treasure once Ye Feng is no longer useful 10 17 34.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Ye Feng’s Punishment and Recovery

• Ye Feng calls for Elder Long’s help when Jiang Yantian moves to carry out the castration. The attack is initially blocked by Luo Xingcai, not Elder Long 1 2.
• After the punishment, he explains that intervening would not have changed the outcome and could have exposed the mirror 2.
• He restores Ye Feng’s hope by promising bodily restoration, then persuades Ye Feng to endure a humiliating apology to preserve access to the forbidden-land trial 4 5 6.

Hua Jiao’s Death

• He agrees to investigate Jiang Yantian with the Clarity Technique, but discovers no evidence 22.
• After Jiang Yantian privately confesses and demands that Ye Feng insult Hua Jiao’s memory, Elder Long urges compliance for survival and promises help with secluded cultivation afterward 23.

Spirit-Imprisoning Forbidden Land

• His plan is to mark treasure locations while Ye Feng remains with the group, then retrieve them after separating without attracting attention 18.
• Once Ye Feng is isolated by Jiang Yantian’s illusion, Elder Long guides the treasure hunt. Neither realizes that Jiang Yantian has already looted the sites and prepared humiliating substitutes 19 25 26.
• He mistakenly connects the missing treasures to the “columns of water” falling from above. His support for Ye Feng’s theory encourages Ye Feng to catch and drink what is actually part of Jiang Yantian’s prank 26 27 28.
• He identifies a disguised low-grade weapon as a God-Slaying Spear Fragment, though he later notices something is wrong. At the final site, Ye Feng swallows the supposed Innate Dao Physique Pill before he can intervene, exposing the hunt as a deception 28.
• When Jiang Yantian subsequently traps Ye Feng near the closing exit, Elder Long is powerless against the chain. For the next entry, he advises staying near the entrance rather than risking another attack 31 32 34.

Return to the Sect

• Elder Long urgently tries to stop Ye Feng from publicly accusing Jiang Yantian of dereliction of duty 36.
• After learning that Ye Feng acted without consulting him, he calls the accusation impulsive and falls silent. Jiang Yantian then defeats Ye Feng’s evidence by demonstrating his Shadow Replacement Technique 37.

Notable Quotes

“Young friend, steady your Dao heart!” 10

“Young friend, there's no need to grieve. You should broaden your horizons. Once you're strong enough, no one will dare speak to you like this.” 32