Xiao Shi

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Journey to Heaven-Controlling Valley

Xiao Shi came from the Northern River Xiao Lineage, a major power comparable to the Heavenly Martial Dynasty’s three great sects. Her great-grandfather had known the secluded master of Heaven-Controlling Valley, who promised to accept a talented Xiao descendant and make that descendant a renowned expert. Carrying her lineage’s hopes, she traveled a thousand miles to seek his instruction, accompanied by her coachman, Uncle Jiu 19 21.

During the journey, Xiao Shi forcibly brought Ye Qingyun along to tell her stories. When a bear demon and wolf demon attacked, Damao secretly suppressed them, allowing Uncle Jiu to drive them away. Xiao Shi initially dismissed the possibility that Ye Qingyun had protected them because she believed he was an ordinary mortal 19 20.

She agreed to release Ye Qingyun after he wrote down a shortened version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. His calligraphy surprised her, and his accompanying painting captivated her so completely that he had to remind her he was leaving 20.

Apprenticeship and Search for Ye Qingyun

At Heaven-Controlling Valley, Xiao Shi waited more than four hours for the secluded master to wake. He praised her aptitude and accepted her three ceremonial kowtows. While presenting her apprenticeship gifts, she accidentally revealed Ye Qingyun’s painting, which the master declared contained a supreme Great Dao 21.

After hearing about their journey, her master concluded that Ye Qingyun was a hidden expert. Xiao Shi and Uncle Jiu became embarrassed and frightened by their earlier treatment of him. The master accepted the painting in place of the other apprenticeship gifts and immediately took them to search for its creator 22.

Xiao Shi sent Uncle Jiu back to Northern River and spent seven days searching the market with her master. Remembering Ye Qingyun’s acquaintance with Old Huang, she obtained a lead from the storyteller’s teahouse and located his home on Floating Cloud Mountain 23.

Visit to Floating Cloud Mountain

On the mountain, Xiao Shi learned that Damao was a Demon King and heard his warning not to expose Ye Qingyun’s identity or disturb his mortal lifestyle. She then witnessed an azure dragon take flight. These encounters convinced her that Ye Qingyun’s apparent ordinariness had been deliberate, leaving her ashamed of having bullied him 23.

After another four-hour wait while Ye Qingyun napped, Xiao Shi introduced her master’s visit as an interest in his story and painting. Inside, she noticed the poem on a lotus painting and pointed it out to Shen Tianhua; reading it triggered his breakthrough 24 25.

Ye Qingyun later served them a meal during which Xiao Shi attained enlightenment and advanced to late-stage Origin Gathering. Both guests subsequently ate to uncomfortable fullness. After leaving, she proposed visiting regularly for further guidance, but accepted Shen Tianhua’s warning that repeated visits might disturb the secluded expert 26 27.

Confrontation with Bai Suyi

At the foot of Floating Cloud Mountain, Xiao Shi and Shen Tianhua encountered Bai Suyi. When Bai Suyi objected to Shen Tianhua belittling her teacher, Xiao Shi mocked the Nine Spirits Sect and challenged her. She revealed her Origin Gathering cultivation against Bai Suyi’s late-stage Spirit Opening cultivation, but the confrontation ended before a fight: a storm and a true dragon appeared, prompting Shen Tianhua to take Xiao Shi away 27 28.

Three Great Dynasties’ Threat

Xiao Shi later reported that Ye Qingyun’s dragon had annihilated a hundred thousand soldiers and that experts from the three great dynasties were approaching Floating Cloud Mountain. Her news prompted Shen Tianhua to intervene out of gratitude to Ye Qingyun. Xiao Shi eagerly accompanied him, excited to witness the confrontation 50.

Appearance

Xiao Shi is described as exceptionally beautiful when wearing women’s clothing, though that beauty is less apparent in her male disguise 21.

• Frequent male disguise: Wears men’s clothing because she dislikes the attention her appearance attracts 21.
• Delicate features: Ye Qingyun initially finds her familiar, but only recognizes her after hearing her name when she visits in women’s clothing 24.

Personality

Xiao Shi is willful and accustomed to being pampered, but she can recognize when she has gone too far. Although she initially forces Ye Qingyun to entertain her, she acknowledges that taking him any farther would be excessive and honors their agreement to release him 20.

She shows genuine respect toward her master, waiting patiently for him to wake and obeying his instructions even when uncomfortable. Her privileged upbringing has left her without practical cooking skills, however, and she feels aggrieved when Ye Qingyun dismisses her from the kitchen for getting in his way 21 26.

Her pride can turn confrontational: she openly mocks Bai Suyi’s weaker cultivation and welcomes the prospect of a fight. She is also impatient and drawn to excitement, traits Shen Tianhua explicitly finds troublesome 28 50.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Cultivation

• Late-stage Origin Gathering: Reaches this level during her meal at Ye Qingyun’s home 26.
• Cultivation display: Reveals her realm to intimidate Bai Suyi; their interrupted confrontation provides no demonstration of her combat techniques 28.
• Outstanding aptitude: Wins immediate approval from the Heaven-Controlling Valley master. Shen Tianhua later judges Bai Suyi’s considerable talent to be slightly inferior to hers 21 28.

Spiritual Awareness

• Sudden enlightenment: Experiences unusually clear perception and a faint radiance between her brows while eating, preceding her breakthrough 26.
• Spiritual-herb recognition: Identifies several rare herbs in Ye Qingyun’s courtyard despite her limited knowledge 24.
• Limits of perception: Appreciates Ye Qingyun’s paintings aesthetically but does not independently perceive the profound cultivation insights her master finds in them 21 25.

Relationships

• Shen Tianhua — Master who accepts her through his promise to the Xiao Lineage. She follows his guidance, while he criticizes her impatience and inability to settle down 21 50.
• Ye Qingyun — Initially her unwilling storyteller; later regarded as a hidden expert and benefactor after his meal enables her enlightenment and breakthrough 20 23 26.
• Uncle Jiu — Coachman and escort who risks his life to give her a chance to escape the attacking demons. She later sends him back to Northern River 19 21 23.
• Bai Suyi — Brief adversary whom Xiao Shi taunts over her sect and inferior cultivation; their threatened duel never takes place 28.
• Great-grandfather — His acquaintance with the Heaven-Controlling Valley master creates the opportunity for her apprenticeship 21.

Trivia

• Ye Qingyun initially mistakes the sound of her name for “vanish.” She corrects him: “Shi as in poetry” 20.
• Her master introduces himself as Mo Tianshu in Chapter 23, but is called Shen Tianhua from Chapter 24 onward 23 24.