Fang Zelin

Biodata

Power Progression

Fang Zelin initially lacks a reliable framework for identifying his cultivation realm; the table therefore distinguishes named stages from documented techniques and breakthroughs 41 68.

Background / History

Transmigration and disability

Fang Zelin comes from a parallel world whose history closely resembles that of his adopted Earth. A natural disaster leaves him unable to walk, and he lives on government assistance while using a wheelchair. His longtime friend Jiuchuan knows about his disability but not his transmigration 1.

He hires a housekeeper to help with cleaning, rubbish disposal, and meals. Before his cultivation changes his circumstances, he avoids considering romance because he does not want to burden another person 13 45.

Entering Seeking the Dao

At Jiuchuan's urging, Fang Zelin begins playing Seeking the Dao. Its convincing physical sensations make him question whether it is merely a game. Stranded beside the turbulent Yongding River, he risks entering the water with a tree trunk to rescue a drowning child despite being unable to swim 1 2.

He joins a martial arts school in Anzi County specifically to test whether its training can work on Earth. His success in sensing Qi Force there establishes a connection between the two worlds. After receiving a Daoist cultivation method, he turns his attention toward immortality 10 11 13 15.

Establishing Yingping Peak

A white elk rewards Fang Zelin's explanation of the Dao with spirit rice seedlings. Rather than seeking further gifts, he returns to Yingping Peak to plant them and cultivate 22 23.

The retreat gradually develops into a cabin, spirit-rice fields, and medicinal gardens. He plants ginseng and other herbs, discovers a ginseng spirit, and surrounds the peak with a Soul-Bewildering Formation before a planned two-year seclusion 134.

Appearance

• Build and features: Tall and slender, with handsome features and an increasingly ethereal bearing as his cultivation develops 52 109.
• Eyes: Frequently described as carrying a spiritual gleam; in modern clothing, his features include sword-like brows and starry eyes 52 184.
• Hair: Wears long hair secured with a wooden hairpin, including a simple taiji topknot 37 61.
• Clothing: Often wears layered robes and wide sleeves. One outfit combines a black lower garment, white inner robe, and green outer robe embroidered with bamboo shoots 100 104.
• Cultivation-related changes: Ginseng liquid makes his skin noticeably fairer and more delicate 103.
• Characteristic belongings: Commonly travels with a sword on his back and a gourd at his waist 163.

Personality

Fang Zelin is cautious without being indifferent to suffering. He notices inconsistencies in apparent victims' stories, exposes disguised skeleton spirits with a fabricated tavern name, and insists on investigating an accusation against a local squire before deciding whether to intervene 39 40 105 106.

He values restraint and reciprocity. He stops himself from seeking additional rewards after obtaining spirit rice, secretly repays a village's hospitality with protective magic and rain, and leaves a protective incantation for Wu Biling in return for her earlier gift of pastries 22 95 244.

His approach to cultivation becomes increasingly patient and contemplative. He enjoys scenery, food, and wine rather than treating every journey as a race for opportunities. He regards observing the workings of heaven and earth as cultivation, and ordinary dismissive remarks about immortals no longer provoke his anger 104 113 158 240 241.

Despite his growing reputation, he remains self-reflective and rejects the idea that the immortal sects should depend on him alone. His gentleness has limits: Guangchengzi's death drives him to pursue the responsible Devil Race cultivator with open killing intent 296 318 414.

Abilities & Skills

Qi Refining and Spiritual Power

• Draws Spiritual Qi into his surroundings through cultivation; nearby spirit rice, animals, and Bearing the Heavens can benefit from its presence 23 49 68.
• Uses Spiritual Power to lighten his body and strengthen ordinary weapons, allowing a chopping knife to split rock 47.
• Initially cannot sense Spiritual Qi on Earth despite successfully developing Qi Force there 28.

Swordsmanship

• Practices the Wind-Riding Sword Art, using wind to enhance agility and sword power 28 51.
• Adapts the art's principle to redirect lightning through his newly forged sword, though the lightning first injures his hand and disrupts his Spiritual Power 51.
• Reproduces the extraordinary sword strike he once sensed at Falling Stream Mountain during combat with a Devil Race great cultivator 101 397.
• Studies the Sword Riding Technique devised by Bearing the Heavens and teaches it to Ancient Cloud Temple's disciples 220.
• Travels on Bearing the Heavens fast enough that cultivators using Golden Light Traversing the Earth struggle to keep up 318.

Supreme Sensitivity and Dharma Eyes

• Supreme Sensitivity is described as sensing heaven, earth, and all things; Fang Zelin uses it to extend Divine Sense into his sword and investigate his spirit-rain spell 60 72.
• Sees through a skeleton spirit's apparent silk shawl to recognize the venomous snake beneath 56.
• Uses Dharma eyes to perceive ghosts and examine supernatural presences 319 352.
• His perception has limits: he cannot determine whether a Devil Race cultivator's human appearance is genuine or a disguise 319.

Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique

• Produces Spiritual Qi-bearing rain that nourishes spirit rice and medicinal herbs 72 158.
• Can be used to repay hospitality by watering a village's fields 95.
• Its spirit rain distinguishes Fang Zelin's modified spell from the Dragon King's ordinary cloud-and-rain method 72.

Water Weapons and Exorcising Incantations

• Shapes river or stream water into swords, chains, and other weapons; an unreinforced water sword can split a large stone 157.
• Adds seal-script characters from the Slay Evil and Suppress Baleful Intent Incantation to strengthen the weapons against evil entities 157.
• Preserves prepared characters in Spiritual Qi-rich Clear as Empty wine for later use 158.
• Deploys nearly two thousand golden water swords in battle against a demon army 191.
• Powerful defenses can break the swords and disperse their characters, as demonstrated by Lord Lingyuan's scale shield 191.
• Uses a golden water chain to bind and suppress Leng Sizhao's giant fox Primordial Spirit 185.

Spatial Techniques, Flight, and Form Transformation

• Universe in the Sleeve: Uses sleeve storage and develops gourds capable of taking in hostile Law Techniques. The manual describes subduing all arts as a full-mastery capability, not an initial accomplishment 171 301 305 326.
• Riding Clouds and Mist: Escapes a ground-collapse technique during battle 191.
• Size at Will: Studies a technique that changes bodily size and corresponding strength according to cultivation, later deriving a Divine Ability from it 171 377.
• Dharma Form: Channels its Spiritual Power into Bearing the Heavens for a major sword strike. It later suffers contamination by Devil Qi and filth 397 402.

Protective Magic and Formations

• Places peace and warding spells on villages and the martial arts school's main hall 95 134.
• Uses the Soul-Bewildering Formation to conceal Yingping Peak in mist: boats can pass through the area without reaching the peak 134.
• The formation is not absolute; a fisherman whose previous life contained many good deeds manages to enter 331.

Pill and Artifact Refining

• Knows medicinal properties through years of gardening and conversations with the ginseng medicine boy 317.
• Uses the Calming Incantation to settle the restlessness disrupting his Calming Pill refinement 340.
• Completes three Heaven-Mending Pills during a Lightning Tribulation 402.
• Refines gourds using heavenly lightning and the Heaven and Earth Technique to attempt creating internal space 342.
• Seals disciples' flying swords inside gourds so their power can continue accumulating before release 345.
• Provides more than a hundred healing pills for injured cultivators at Rising Tide Valley 399.

The Law Follows One's Words

• Masters the Divine Ability after receiving the collective insights preserved by ancient Daoists 462.
• The old Daoist explains its origin in merging with the Dao 462.
• After mastering it, Fang Zelin states that he can take the long-secluded Daoists out to visit the modern immortal sects 462.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bearing the Heavens Sword — Spiritually intelligent sword forged over three months from ore found on Ten Thousand Blades Peak. It flies independently, cultivates alongside him, and stores Spiritual Qi for powerful releases 49 50 51 132.
• Wine gourd — Carries his wine and serves as a reservoir for prepared exorcising seal-script characters 158 163.
• Clear as Empty — Spiritual Qi-rich wine suitable for preserving incantations; Fang Zelin also shares it with fellow cultivators and offers a hundred-year-old portion at Jiuchuan's grave 158 169 362.
• Comprehensive Regulations of the Underworld Bureau — Contains underworld rules and spells, including material he uses to develop demon-suppressing techniques 68 157.
• Spell-absorbing gourds — Apply Universe in the Sleeve to capture hostile techniques. Early versions have limited durability because their material lacks age and spirituality 301 326.
• Demon-Slaying Calabash — An artifact credited by Yunzi with killing countless monsters and becoming feared among them 421.
• Five Directions Flags — A major collaborative refining project requiring years of preparation, coordinated disciples, and sustained Spiritual Power; completed after refinement 433 434.
• Spirit rice and medicinal gardens — Supply food and herbs for his cultivation and refining work at Yingping Peak 22 134 316.

Relationships

• Meng Jiuchuan — Longtime friend who introduces him to Seeking the Dao and later establishes Great Qian. Fang Zelin attends the dynasty's founding and eventually visits his grave with fine wine 1 211 362.
• Bearing the Heavens — Sword companion and cultivation partner. Responds to his guidance, develops techniques, and becomes visibly jealous when he creates a water sword 61 132 157 220.
• Old Daoist of Seeking Dao Mountain — Gives him access to Daoist cultivation and later entrusts him with the ancient insights into The Law Follows One's Words 15 462.
• Fishing Old Man Zhou — Repeatedly meets him on Seeking Dao Mountain, even when Fang Zelin cannot remember earlier visits 66 102 276.
• Yunzi — Fellow cultivator of Rising Tide Valley, companion in investigations, and helper in his pill-refining studies. They later discuss choosing a larger location for Yingping Peak together 264 279 316 433.
• Zhenke — Junior cultivator and traveling companion whose growth he encourages; she later becomes a sect leader and remains concerned about his injuries 226 231 431.
• Tianxi — Yao companion who accompanies him through his long sea cultivation. When he asks her to stop acting as his maid and choose her own future, she elects to remain with him 354 376.
• Ginseng medicine boy — Tends his medicinal grounds, teaches him herb properties, and supplies ingredients for pill refining 134 317 340.
• Tiger and deer yao — Observe his cultivation and refining work. After immortal seekers repeatedly disturb Yingping Peak, he invites them to help on his mountain 158 433.
• Qingyun — Cultivator who recognizes him at Jade Void Mountain and welcomes him as an honored guest 169.
• Daoist Lü — Fellow cultivator with whom he discusses dynastic fortune and the future protection of the immortal sects 211 414.
• Chu Xike — Earth acquaintance who seeks an opportunity to apologize for an earlier encounter, pushes his wheelchair, and invites him to a meal 52.
• Ran Ziming — Painter who creates his portrait. Fang Zelin promises to grant him a request if they meet again and he receives the painting 109 460.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Forging Bearing the Heavens

Fang Zelin spends nearly two months climbing Ten Thousand Blades Peak, only to find a seemingly empty summit. Beneath a scorched patch, he uncovers two pieces of unusual ore that break his Spiritual Power-enhanced woodcutting blade. Three further months of forging produce the intelligent sword that becomes his principal companion 49 50 51.

Seeking Fellow Cultivators

His early travels combine sightseeing with a search for immortals and cultivation knowledge. He senses a remnant sword strike at Falling Stream Mountain, meets a Daoist through the Spiritual Power in his pouch, and later reaches Jade Void Mountain after rescuing its cultivators from demons 101 117 169.

Although respected as a powerful practitioner, he remains largely self-taught and recognizes the gaps in his knowledge of immortal-sect history 248.

Great Qian and Mortal Rule

Fang Zelin witnesses Great Qian's founding and the roughly fivefold increase in human karmic fortune that accompanies it. Before leaving, he warns Meng Jiuchuan against pursuing immortality merely to retain power 211.

After his long sea seclusion, he finds that more than eight hundred years of the dynasty's thousand-year fortune have elapsed. When imperial descendants later appeal to his friendship with their ancestor, he does not accept that friendship as sufficient reason to preserve the dynasty indefinitely 376 418.

Strengthening the Immortal Sects

His influence extends beyond personal combat: he teaches sword riding, considers distributing usable artifacts to weaker disciples, and writes Dao inscriptions that students from multiple sects travel to study 220 326 386.

The conflict with the Devil Race brings severe injuries and corruption to his Dharma Form. He uses heavenly lightning and then the Pill Furnace's Woven Fire to suppress its Devil Qi and filth, and later confirms that his injuries have fully healed 402 431.

Recovering the Memories of Seeking Dao Mountain

Fang Zelin repeatedly returns to Seeking Dao Mountain while forgetting earlier encounters, leaving its residents familiar to him without clear recollection. The old Daoist eventually warns him of forces plotting against cultivators 66 102 276.

His mastery of The Law Follows One's Words restores those missing memories. He then offers to bring the secluded Daoists out to see the contemporary cultivation world 462.

Notable Quotes

“Now I have a cultivation method and spirit rice. That's already enough. I mustn't be greedy.” 22

“As fellow cultivators, it is our duty to vanquish demons and uphold the righteous path. There is no need for thanks.” 264

“We can't rely on me alone for something like this.” 414