An Ruyu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Wang Fujing brought An Ruyu into the Incense-Smelling Cult when she was three years old. Qingxuzi watched her grow into a Holy Maiden whose backing from the Mothers eventually gave her some ability to resist even him 243 330.

Her cultivation was tied to bearing the Great Dao of Limitlessness. Qingxuzi warned that this future required her to settle her mortal attachments personally. When Xue Wuya later mentioned the deaths of her parents, siblings, and other relatives, she answered, “I did it myself.” His involvement in severing her worldly ties was also connected to instructions from Blood Spirit Venerable Mother 243 306 311.

Despite her position, the Twelve Mothers were not a unified authority. An Ruyu questioned which Mother had issued particular decrees, concealed her dealings with different factions, and eventually declared her own ambition to become a Sect Master Sage. She also revealed that the Mothers sought reincarnated bodies 157 243 333.

Appearance

• Hair and eyes: Waist-length dark hair and bright, expressive eyes 156 243.
• Complexion: Fair, delicate skin and finely formed features, repeatedly compared to a painting 179 243.
• Clothing: Usually wears a plain, elegant white dress; also wears white boots 156 179.
• Expressions: Frequently smiles, tilts her head, or affects a blush while teasing or misleading others 161 189.
• Bearing: Can shift from languid ease to solemn, almost divine composure when using her powers 156 188.
• Personal details: Plays the qin and leaves a faint fragrance when departing 120 156.

Personality

An Ruyu uses charm as a tactical tool. She turns confrontations into flirtation, invents suggestive explanations for encounters, and disguises probing questions as casual conversation. Yu Tunzhou observes that she can turn a potentially lethal fight into street gossip within a few sentences 161 180.

Her apparent candor is often calculated. After initially deceiving Yu Tunzhou, she concluded that he would be difficult to fool twice but might become less guarded around someone he trusted. She therefore decided not to lie to him during their subsequent encounters until he became strong enough for her intended “hunt” 243.

She values an independent Martial Dao foundation rather than rapid advancement alone. At Form Refinement Perfection, she explains that opening the seven orifices is not the endpoint of martial development and urges Yu Tunzhou to forge a path belonging to himself 118 120.

Her warmth is not confined to manipulation. During the Human Emperor’s trial, she teaches weaving, reassures a child that everyone will someday have new clothes, and takes a sustained interest in tribal life. Yu Tunzhou notices that she seems genuinely content with its demanding, simple routine 338 340.

Abilities & Skills

Locking Down Heaven and Earth

An Ruyu’s pioneering Martial Dao transformation creates an area she calls “my heaven and earth,” cutting opponents off from the surrounding laws 120.

• Prevents affected opponents from drawing on external laws to execute External Scenery moves.
• Greatly weakens even Dao-Bestowed Divine Abilities while leaving her own abilities unaffected.
• Can constrain opponents above her cultivation realm unless they break through the lockdown.
• Is explicitly distinguished from a Divine Ability or secret art; it accompanies a transformation of her martial foundation 120.

Void and Spatial Arts

An Ruyu can make her presence nearly imperceptible and place herself beyond attacks by withdrawing into another world 187 188.

• Allows divine-weapon saber light to pass through her body during her earlier confrontation with Feng Yanleng 243.
• Resembles Mysterious Realm Concealment, a Dharma Aspect Divine Ability inherited from the Void Mother; this identification is Yu Tunzhou’s comparison 188.
• Banishes Yu Tunzhou into a nascent world of chaos with a finger strike.
• Fails to contain him when he uses the Dao of Wuji to tear open a return passage 188.
• Includes spatial movement that lets her keep pace with Yu Tunzhou while navigating the Heavenly Court 269.

Divine Descent Technique

The Incense-Smelling Cult’s fundamental technique allows An Ruyu to summon projections of the Twelve Mothers 307.

• Achieved initial success while still in the Chain Forming Realm; full mastery requires External Scenery 307.
• Summons the Azure Clouds Primordial Sovereign of the Eastern Peak, astonishing Daoist Shouguan 218.
• Uses tokens to call successive Mothers for protection, but four consecutive summons impose a severe drain 192.
• Depends on the summoned Mother’s cooperation: one projection withdraws rather than oppose her senior brothers.
• Does not provide absolute defense. Yu Tunzhou’s Vajra Bracelet destroys projections, and its strike grazes An Ruyu’s shoulder as the Void Mother helps her escape 192.

Dao of Changes and Divination

With the Luo River Diagram, An Ruyu reads fate, evaluates branching futures, and finds routes through dangerous restrictions 268 269 330.

• Predicts a fatal outcome involving the Immortal Cauldron and the Human Emperor’s Three Corpses 219 220.
• Guides Yu Tunzhou around Immortal restrictions in the Heavenly Court, slowing their pursuers 269.
• Foresees the appointed time and place of Mo Shougui’s death and identifies Yu Tunzhou as someone outside the world’s fate who might alter it 323.
• Cannot consistently read Yu Tunzhou. The Heavenly Court’s proximity to the Great Dao and his special condition temporarily make him more accessible to her divination 268.
• Fails to foresee his ability to sever Xue Wuya’s Blood Sea Undying Body 314.
• Seeks the Human Emperor’s Three Rankings to further obscure her own fate from Dao Lords 284.

Human Emperor Inheritance

An Ruyu possesses One Qi Breaks Ten Thousand Methods, manifested as purple, flame-like Qi carrying the resonance of the void 216.

• Offers it as a means of temporarily relieving pressure from the Immortals and Gods Portals 216.
• Combines it with an Investiture of the Gods fragment to draw out the Benevolent Corpse and briefly suppress the Malevolent Corpse 221.
• Possesses a core Gang Qi method continuing the Spark Instruction.
• Receives a gift from the Benevolent Corpse and learns the method for wielding the Three Rankings of Heaven, Earth, and Man 221.

Formation Mastery

An Ruyu learned the Blood River Killing Formation directly from Blood Spirit Venerable Mother 314.

• Builds a formation that anchors a Nine Netherworlds rift and feeds source Qi to Xue Wuya 313.
• Conceals a contingency that lets her seize control despite his own knowledge of formations.
• Reclassifies Xue Wuya as the formation’s enemy, turning its blood mist against his regenerated body.
• Uses the similarity between the formation’s power and his own to inhibit his recovery, creating an opening for Yu Tunzhou 314.

Other Techniques

• Thunder Method: Displays a faint spark of lightning and guides Yu Tunzhou to the Mirror of Good and Evil to obtain an inheritance 107.
• Primordial Spirit tempering: Enters the Heavenly Court’s black wind tide to refine the Primordial Spirit central to her cultivation path 243.
• Poison resistance: Claims that the Old Mothers’ protection makes ordinary poisons ineffective against her 339.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Luo River Diagram — An ancient book and supreme divine weapon of the Dao of Changes. Supports divination and navigation through restrictions. In the Heavenly Court, she can barely bring its power to Peak External Scenery; she later offers it to Yu Tunzhou in exchange for help opening the Human Emperor’s innermost coffin 218 268 269 327 333.
• Azure Clouds Mountain-Subduing Seal — Used to trap Yu Tunzhou underwater. She also uses a jade-green seal against Ao Lie and Feng Yanleng; a protective great seal activates automatically when she is vulnerable 94 97 108 243.
• Heavenly Court Fragment — Grants access to the Heavenly Court ruins and reacts to another fragment, enabling her to locate Yu Tunzhou in Pinghu County 243.
• Investiture of the Gods fragment — Obtained from the Northern Plains grotto-heaven secret realm; used during the awakening of the Benevolent Corpse 221.
• Mother-summoning tokens — Assist her successive invocations of the Mothers, without eliminating the technique’s cost 192.
• Earth Ranking — Obtains the gilded scroll while pursuing a plan to use the Human and Earth Rankings to interfere with the Heaven Ranking 323 330.

Relationships

• Yu Tunzhou — Target, rival, and recurring ally. She retains the address “Young Hero Guo” after discovering that his claimed name, Guo Jing, was false. Their relationship mixes mutual suspicion, assistance, flirtation, and strategic debts; no established romantic partnership is confirmed 161 243 314 333.
• Qingxuzi — Senior cult authority who conveys the Mothers’ decrees, warns her about mortal attachments, and later recognizes her growing independence 243 284 330.
• Wang Fujing — Brought her into the cult as a child. Qingxuzi later tells her to deal with him as part of settling her worldly ties 243.
• Xiaoyu — Maid who resembles An Ruyu in face and build; gathers cult records and receives instructions to investigate Yu Tunzhou 157 243.
• Feng Yanleng — Martial rival whom she calls “Sister Feng.” Their earlier duel demonstrates An Ruyu’s improved void arts before Old Mo interrupts 107 243.
• Old Mo / Mo Laoliu — Takes An Ruyu and Feng Yanleng toward the Divine Capital by raft. His account of Yu Tunzhou’s struggle deepens her interest in him 243.
• Earth-Surging Mother — Orders Yu Tunzhou captured alive and offers Dragon Gate intelligence. Later accuses An Ruyu of deception during a summoned descent 156 192.
• Blood Spirit Venerable Mother — Teaches her the Blood River Killing Formation and bargains with her over the Yuan Tu Sword. An Ruyu summons an avatar through the Blood River True Pool 314 323.
• Xue Wuya — Supposedly recruited to kill Yu Tunzhou and sever her worldly attachment; actually maneuvered into a formation-backed ambush 307 313 314.
• Human Emperor — Blood ancestor and source of her inherited methods. Her pursuit of his relics culminates in seeking access to his innermost coffin 221 332 333.

Story Role / Major Arcs

First Encounters and the River Pursuit

A retrospective account reveals that An Ruyu was ordered to investigate the Human Emperor’s false tomb and kill Yu Tunzhou. Before recognizing him, she met him in the Heavenly Court ruins under his alias “Guo Jing” and falsely introduced herself as Feng Yanleng. His refusal to travel with her prevented an immediate opportunity to act 243.

In Pinghu County, she led an attack on the county office and gravely wounded its Gold-Wielding Guard commander. Her Heavenly Court Fragment then led her to “Young Hero Guo,” whose companion helped her deduce his true identity 243.

Yu Tunzhou escaped into the Three Passages River, beginning a seven-day pursuit downstream. Her attempt to seal him underwater was disrupted by a dragon toad. At a later banquet, she tore out Ao Qingxiao’s dragon sinew, offered it to Yu Tunzhou, and warned the East Sea Dragon Palace of the cult’s coming reckoning. She subsequently intervened against Ao Lie’s ambush 94 97.

Martial Dao and the Eternal Dragon Gate

An Ruyu became a benchmark for Yu Tunzhou’s development. After his victory over Xie Lintian, she demonstrated Locking Down Heaven and Earth and explained why matching her realm was insufficient to match her foundation. She invited him to show his own Martial Dao at the Eternal Dragon Gate one year later 118 120.

Before the contest, she warned him that Tantai Mingyu, Xiao Yanzhi, and Jiang Fengyang might unite against him. Within the Dragon Gate trials, she disclosed the cult’s interest in Dragon Race fortune, divine weapons, hidden legacies, and the Human Emperor’s remains 161 180.

During the contest, she banished him into chaos but conceded after his return. Their later clash forced her to summon several Mothers; the Vajra Bracelet shattered their projections, and she escaped into the void 188 192.

Eastern Wilderness and Floating Hill Mountain

An Ruyu joined Yu Tunzhou, Lin Yueheng, and Xuanfa against the Nan Household, helping disrupt its connection to the Nine Netherworlds. She revealed that a failed attempt to sever the Human Emperor’s Three Corpses lay behind the crisis beneath Floating Hill Mountain 215 216.

Her preparations did not let her control the Immortal Cauldron as expected. Nevertheless, she awakened the Benevolent Corpse with her inherited method and Investiture fragment, receiving instruction in the Three Rankings alongside Yu Tunzhou 220 221.

Return to the Heavenly Court

An Ruyu used the Luo River Diagram to guide the injured Yu Tunzhou through dangerous halls and restrictions while powerful pursuers closed in. She found an escape passage, warned him against acting rashly on the Immortal-Slaying Platform, and later led him toward the Jade Pool as the Zhou Heaven Star Battle Grand Formation activated 268 269 273.

Afterward, she warned Qingxuzi that the Peerless Imperial Lord might be directing the approaching turmoil. Knowing that Dao Lords could interfere with her fate, she sought the Three Rankings as additional protection 284.

Xue Wuya’s Ambush and the Three Rankings

An Ruyu claimed that her feelings for Yu Tunzhou prevented the Mothers’ descent and asked Xue Wuya to kill him. She then led Xue Wuya into the corrupted Human Emperor Grotto-Heaven and induced him to bind himself to a formation she controlled 307 311 313.

When Yu Tunzhou attacked, she reversed the Blood River Killing Formation against its supposed master. The ambush crippled Xue Wuya, though part of his Primordial Spirit escaped. An Ruyu counted this as only one-third repayment of Yu Tunzhou’s Heavenly Court debt and named Emperor Tianshun as another intended target 314.

Her next operations included warning Yu Tunzhou of Mo Shougui’s fated death, obtaining the Earth Ranking, and preparing action against Tianshun before he could further merge with Human Dao Fortune. She then asked Yu Tunzhou to help open the Human Emperor’s innermost coffin 323 330 333.

The Human Emperor’s Trial

Within the trial, An Ruyu taught the Taicang tribespeople to make cloth and adapted readily to everyday labor. A year of shared farming, weaving, and cooking softened her former hostility with Yu Tunzhou 338 339.

The pair eventually concluded that the trial involved the real Dragon Lord imprisoned through reincarnation and tested allegiance between him and the Human Emperor. An Ruyu firmly rejected the possibility of renewed cooperation between the two ancient figures. After three years in the trial world, she and Yu Tunzhou were transported to the Immortal Heaven’s central hub and reunited with Han Wuj iu 340.

Notable Quotes

“Only by forging a path no one has walked before can one qualify to pursue a higher realm in the future.” 120

“There are some things I only dare say here. Once we leave the Dragon Gate, Young Hero Guo, you must watch your mouth. Remember, gods stand three feet above your head.” 180

“Young Hero Guo, might I have a chance of entering your heart?” 333