Tang Yao

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Tang Yao transmigrates into a novel as a minor cannon-fodder character bearing her own name. In the original plot, the body’s owner possessed an Innate Sword Bone but suffered from a damaged reputation and an unstable Dao heart. Unable to reach Golden Core, she eventually experienced Qi deviation, became a devil cultivator, and was killed by the female lead, Tang Xin 1.

The original owner was secretly female. Although the Tang Household had accepted female leaders before, her mother feared that her talent would not be sufficient to secure the succession and concealed her sex even from Tang Hua, the household head. Tang Yao inherits the original owner’s first fifteen years of memories and her public identity as the household’s young master 1.

Her arrival follows a drunken incident in which the original owner flirted with Jiang Yueyan. Tang Yao’s inherited memories reveal that collateral relatives had encouraged the drinking, leading her to suspect deliberate damage to her reputation. She resolves to avoid the original plot rather than accept its fatal outcome 1.

Appearance

• Features: Black hair and lively black eyes; repeatedly described as handsome and refined. In male attire, she has sword-like brows and starry eyes 1 2 28.
• Young-master attire: Fine robes with dark-gold or gilded cloud patterns, often paired with a high ponytail and jade crown 1 28.
• Profound Heaven Sect disguise: A pale-green, waist-cinched dress, low bun, waterdrop earrings, bamboo-style crystal hair ornament, and dark-green ribbons 2.
• Azure Cloud Sect attire: A blue-and-white disciple uniform, high ponytail, and sword at her waist, reinforcing her public appearance as a handsome young man 31.

Personality

Tang Yao is quick-witted, irreverent, and comfortable using deception to escape danger. She invents a sibling relationship with Chi Wang, exploits assumptions about her identity, and uses theatrical expressions to make her stories convincing. Her initial ambitions are practical: learn profitable talisman techniques, acquire resources, and stay alive 2 5 8.

Her preference for an easy life does not prevent her from taking risks for others. She abandons her plan to coast through the secret-realm trial to rescue Chu Song, protects Tang Xin from ostracism, and intervenes when Little Kui is abused. She also trains diligently enough to win the respect of disciples who initially reject her 9 23 24 32 33.

She has a mischievous, retaliatory streak. Her custom talismans favor humiliation and disruption, while her response to Tang Nan’s persistent teasing is a feigned confession followed by a punch 19 45 47.

Abilities & Skills

All-Element Spirit Root

Tang Yao’s luminous white spirit root combines different forms of Spiritual Qi and allows her to change their attributes at will 1.

• Produces Fire, Wood, Ice, and Lightning Spiritual Qi 1 2 10.
• Absorbs and purifies Devil Qi; she can also reverse the process and generate Devil Qi without immediately harming herself 5 18.
• Absorbs heavenly lightning for body tempering and cultivation 10.
• Allows her to manipulate spirit-root tests by supplying a single attribute. Her tests register high-grade Ice and later 100%-pure Fire 2 30.
• Initially appeared low-grade because the original owner’s elements mixed together during testing 1 2.
• Its ability to process Devil Qi leads Tang Yao to suspect it is a Chaos Spirit Root, but this identification remains her hypothesis 5.

Innate Sword Bone and Swordsmanship

Tang Yao is one of only two known Innate Sword Bone bearers identified at the beginning of the story, the other being Song Tinglan 1.

• Reproduces Wind Breaker, the Azure Cloud Sword Instruction’s first form, after watching Elder Yun demonstrate it once; her initial execution remains unpolished 32.
• Senses a sword restrained underground and experiences an instinctive connection with the Crimson Flame Sword 25.
• Channels Sword Qi and bird-shaped flames through the Crimson Flame Sword 27.
• Defeats Golden Core cultivator Mu Shixue while still below Golden Core herself 30 41.

Talisman Cultivation

Tang Yao enters the Profound Heaven Sect without knowing how to draw talismans, but learns by observing Chu Song and sensing the connection between Spiritual Qi and talisman paper 3 7.

• Creates a mid-grade Ice Flame Talisman by using Ice Spiritual Qi in a Flame Talisman pattern 7.
• Uses talismans for flight, invisibility, explosive attacks, and breaking through beast hordes 9 12 22.
• Supplies allies with talismans when the Fusang Secret Realm drains their spiritual power 20.
• Uses the Complete Collection of Talismans to produce numerous designs, including Crawling, Public Social Death, Reverse Sword-Riding, and Devil Sound Circling the Ears Talismans 19.
• Low-tier talismans have little effect against Golden Core opponents; her own Golden Core breakthrough permits mid-tier production through Shushu 43.

Vermilion Bird’s Li Fire

Through Vermilion Bird and the Crimson Flame Sword, Tang Yao employs Li Fire against devil-aligned enemies 12 27.

• Suppresses Chi Wang’s Devil Qi and forces him to stop targeting Chu Song 12.
• Burns the corrupted Fusang Flowers and the valley’s puppets 27.
• Her strength in Free and Unfettered Valley is temporarily magnified tenfold by the presence seeking her help; those feats do not represent her unaided Foundation Establishment strength 26 27.

Disguise and Deception

• Uses makeup experience from a previous side job to make herself resemble Chi Wang and reinforce her false claim of kinship 5.
• Enters the Profound Heaven Sect as Tang Xiaocao while concealing her Tang Household identity 6 16.
• Draws on knowledge of the novel to recognize threats, including the Spirit-Devouring Blood Formation 21.
• Recognizes that her foreknowledge is becoming unreliable when events occur early or diverge from the original story 16 21 37.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Crimson Flame Sword — A sword formed from Vermilion Bird’s Li Fire, ranked third on the sword rankings. Tang Yao uses it in Free and Unfettered Valley, and its recognition of her becomes public during the Azure Cloud Sect competition 25 27 41.
• Black devil sword — Freed from underground restraints by Tang Yao. It initiates a contract by touching blood left at Taotie’s bite wound; it is later absent from her sea of consciousness alongside Taotie 25 28.
• Complete Collection of Talismans — An ancient book bought for her by Jiang Yueyan, containing a palace space and the artifact spirit Shushu. Its second level unlocks at Golden Core 17 19 43.
• Book space — Provides refuge and allows her to observe the outside after channeling Spiritual Qi into the book. She cannot move through the surroundings while remaining inside 47.
• Elder Yuan’s storage ring — Contains pills, devil plants, and Devil Artifacts, many of which she feeds to Little Kui 19 24.
• Sect Jade Slip — Used for messages, sect information, and purchases through the exchange pavilion 14.
• Image-Recording Stone — Used to record the black-clad conspirator while disruptive talismans leave him crying, laughing, and crawling 47.

Relationships

• Tang Hua — Father of the original owner and head of the Tang Household. Initially frustrated by her reputation, he later recognizes her as the household’s hope and cooperates with her investigation of the leaked travel route 1 41 43.
• Tang Xin — Adopted younger sister and the original novel’s female lead. The original owner abused her, leaving lasting distrust. The transmigrated Tang Yao instead protects her at the sect and stops Tang Yi’an from insulting her; Tang Xin later rallies the guards to protect Tang Yao’s breakthrough 1 31 32 42 46.
• Chu Song — Close friend and fellow infiltrator. They enter the Profound Heaven Sect in female disguises, share trial rewards, and repeatedly protect one another. His numerous messages help explain what happened during her disappearance 2 9 12 28.
• Vermilion Bird / Little Red — Contracted divine beast, adviser, and protector. He assists with combat, concealment, transport, and cultivation knowledge, and demands that she consult him before accepting more companions 28 29 30 42 43 46.
• Jiang Yueyan — Profound Heaven Sect senior brother and the target of the original owner’s drunken advances. He buys her ancient book while she is Tang Xiaocao, but remains hostile toward her publicly male Tang Yao identity 1 15 17 38 50.
• Chi Wang — Devil infiltrator deceived into believing she is his half-sister. She uses that belief to recover Chu Song’s token, then defeats him and warns him against further attacks on Chu Song 5 9 12.
• Shushu — Contracted spirit of the Complete Collection of Talismans. Produces talismans for Tang Yao but resents being tasked with humiliating novelty designs 19 43.
• Little Kui / Taotie — Abused Devil Beast whom Tang Yao names, feeds, and comforts. He establishes an unequal Master-Servant Contract through superior mental power, without her prior agreement 24.
• Ren Linfeng — Azure Cloud Sect master and her teacher. Supports her appointment as head disciple, praises her progress, and expects her eventually to surpass him 30 36 37.
• Elder Yun Feng — Advocate and sword instructor. Defends her against hostile elders and disciples while emphasizing the need to build a solid foundation 29 32.
• Xiao Linyu — Initially antagonistic, but becomes her admirer after their ordeal in Free and Unfettered Valley. Calls her “Boss” and repeatedly urges her to join the Beast Taming Sect 17 22 28 34.
• Mu Shixue — Fellow Azure Cloud Sect disciple and tournament rival. Tang Yao challenges her tolerance of Tang Xin’s ostracism, then urges Ren Linfeng to investigate her condition after their match 32 41.
• Ji Yu — Azure Cloud Sect senior whom she encounters while lost near his hot spring. Their meeting is marked by teasing and embarrassment; he returns her to Long Mountain Residence by flying sword 33 34.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Profound Heaven Sect Trials

Tang Yao leaves for the Profound Heaven Sect to learn talisman cultivation before reporting to the Azure Cloud Sect. She meets Chu Song, who also intends to acquire the sect’s teachings before joining another sect, and proposes disguises to conceal their identities 2.

Her effort to secure enough points for inner-sect admission instead makes her stand out. She breaks through during the physical trial, places first in that round, and creates an Ice Flame Talisman during the second. Her plan to coast through the final trial collapses when she finds Chu Song besieged by Demon Beasts during his tribulation 4 6 7 8 9.

After rescuing him and tempering herself with heavenly lightning, she accepts that a personal-disciple placement is effectively unavoidable. The pair later ambush Chi Wang, divide his points, and eliminate him from the trial. Tang Yao subsequently appears in direct-disciple robes under her Tang Xiaocao identity 10 12 15.

Ancient Book and Fusang Secret Realm

During a trip to Myriad Ancient City, Jiang Yueyan buys Tang Yao an unusual ancient book. Inside it, she encounters the fading devil general Elder Yuan, promises to take him to the Yuan Household someday, and receives his storage ring. She then contracts the book’s spirit, Shushu 17 18 19.

In the Fusang Secret Realm, Tang Yao identifies a formation that sacrifices cultivators and drains their spiritual power. She helps organize a ranged assault on the flower at its center, but a spatial rift pulls her and Xiao Linyu into Free and Unfettered Valley 21 22.

There she discovers Little Kui’s abuse, the extraction of his blood, and the flowers’ absorption of both Devil Qi and Spiritual Qi. After acquiring involuntary contracts with Taotie and the devil sword, she destroys the corrupted flowers, wounds the Medicine God’s weakened soul form, and frees the Flower Spirit from its suffering and reincarnation cycle 24 25 27.

Azure Cloud Sect Head Disciple

Returning to her male public identity, Tang Yao reports to the Azure Cloud Sect. Several elders oppose her appointment because of her reputation, but a test revealing a 100%-pure Fire Spirit Root and Foundation Establishment Great Perfection reverses their stance 28 29 30.

She earns the new disciples’ respect through swordsmanship and daily training. She also protects Tang Xin from exclusion and helps answer other disciples’ cultivation questions 32 33 36.

When a Beast Taming Sect distress signal appears nearby, Tang Yao insists on accompanying Ren Linfeng. They rescue Chu Song, Xiao Linyu, and other disciples from devil humans identified as Moon Worship Cult remnants 36 37.

Tournament Victory and Qi Household Ambush

Tang Yao wins the Azure Cloud Sect’s new disciple competition after defeating Mu Shixue and receiving Tang Xin’s concession. Her victory and the Crimson Flame Sword’s recognition rapidly replace her old reputation with widespread acclaim 41.

On the journey home for Tang Hua’s hundredth birthday, five Golden Core cultivators from the Qi Household attack her party. With Vermilion Bird holding them back, she initiates her own Golden Core tribulation above their airship. The vessel is destroyed, and she survives the breakthrough 42 43.

Tang Household Investigation and Sun Household Scheme

Tang Yao concludes that the ambushers knew the household’s route and privately informs Tang Hua of the Qi Household’s involvement. Investigating the Third Elder, she witnesses a clandestine exchange with a black-clad man, steals his Storage Bag, and records his humiliation under her talismans 43 46 47.

At the birthday celebrations, Sun Yin repeatedly approaches her on a family assignment and eventually collapses into her arms. Sun Yuanshan then accuses Tang Yao of improper conduct and demands an engagement between them. Jiang Yueyan’s arrival and public criticism further complicate the accusation 48 49 50.