Old Jia

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Early Ventures and Life at Cuiwei Lake

Old Jia traveled the cultivation world before settling into life at Cuiwei Lake. He tried learning talisman drawing because it was the cheapest craft, but suffered heavy losses. A later attempt to practice medicine nearly killed a patient, leading him to accept that he lacked talent for either profession 6.

His travels were less heroic than he claimed. After encountering Lei Household cultivators, he was kicked for being slow to pay their toll. He later retold the incident as a bloody battle in which he killed three opponents 17.

Old Jia was sixty when Zhou Ning arrived on Bamboo Creek Island, and the two remained neighbors for fifteen years. Unlike many poorer retainers, he earned enough through trade to own a Storage Bag and a green-leaf flying Law Artifact 8 16 80.

Purchasing Agent and Neighbor

Old Jia regularly traveled between Cuiwei Lake and Forget-Return Market, buying and reselling spiritual materials. He purchased much of Xu Qinghou’s medicine and supplied Zhou Ning with information about Luyou Island, Forget-Return Market, and Purple Palace Immortal City 6 8 23.

At Zhou Ning’s request, he obtained a Pure Heart Wisteria Flower in exchange for Clear Eyes Powder and ten jin of spirit rice. He warned that spending so much on a worldly martial art was wasteful, unaware that Zhou Ning intended to use the flower to open his Ancestral Aperture 8 9.

When the Beast-Taming Han Household began asking questions following Jia Tingwan’s work as a market guide, Old Jia handled the inquiries calmly but became uneasy. He moved his granddaughter to Bamboo Creek Island, where she became a Su Household retainer cultivating spirit lotus roots 26.

Zhou Ning’s Rise as an Alchemist

Old Jia initially regarded Zhou Ning’s alchemy ambitions as another costly mistake. Seeing him depart with his Pill Furnace, he assumed Zhou Ning had failed and was returning the borrowed furnace. The announcement that Zhou Ning had become an Alchemist and Su Household guest elder overturned that judgment 31 34.

He quickly sought a place for Jia Tingwan in Zhou Ning’s work, using Xu Qinghou as an intermediary. Tingwan initially performed minor tasks such as grinding medicine, but Zhou Ning eventually promised to let her observe pill refinement 36.

Old Jia also introduced Zhou Ning to two longtime rogue-cultivator acquaintances. Recognizing their willingness to prey on profitable targets, he explicitly warned them against attacking Zhou Ning, citing both the Su Household’s retaliation and an Alchemist’s likely life-saving measures 37.

The Guo Household Attack

During Guo Changying’s attack on Bamboo Creek Island, Old Jia used a First-Tier Superior-Grade Wood Vine Strangulation Talisman to interrupt her pursuit. The opening allowed Zhou Ning to bring Jia Tingwan into his courtyard’s protective formation 40 42.

When Guo Changying produced a Restriction-Breaking Talisman, Old Jia pleaded that the defenders were too poor to justify using it. He even presented Tingwan as an untreated, simple-minded granddaughter to make the group appear unworthy of the expense. After the attackers withdrew, he remained inside rather than join Zhou Ning’s counterattack 41.

Zhou Ning compensated him with a superior-grade Fire Crow Talisman. Old Jia also came away with a Golden Light Barrier Talisman, leaving him satisfied with the exchange 42.

Separation and Reunion

Over the following two years, Old Jia sold seized Guo Household belongings on Zhou Ning’s behalf. These transactions brought Zhou Ning approximately fifty Spirit Stones 65.

He later warned Zhou Ning that a Su Household elder had tampered with his courtyard formation. Before Zhou Ning left Bamboo Creek Island, Old Jia gave him a concealment-and-defense formation plate; Zhou Ning left a Jade Slip containing detailed alchemy insights for Tingwan in return 76 80.

During Zhou Ning’s years away, Old Jia wrote that he was delivering messages for the Su Household on the front lines rather than fighting. He was subsequently reported to be operating in the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range 93.

When they reunited at Little Willow Marsh, Old Jia had learned that Zhou Ning had reached Foundation Establishment and killed three Su Household Foundation Establishment cultivators. His former envy had given way to respect, while Tingwan’s position as Zhou Ning’s medicine apprentice reassured him about her safety 106.

Zhou Ning gave him the Spirit Condensation Pill he had wanted for much of his life, saying that he would rely on Old Jia to watch the untrustworthy Su Household. Deeply moved, Old Jia accepted the pill and finally broke through to Late Qi Refining 106.

Appearance

• Elderly, prosperous presentation: Initially described as dressed like a wealthy master, with facial hair he strokes or bristles when performing dignity or expressing anger 6 8 24.
• Cultivator’s bearing: Often arrives on his green-leaf Law Artifact with robes fluttering and hands behind his back, deliberately presenting the image of an immortal sage 8 65.
• Aging hair: His black hair becomes heavily streaked with white, then entirely white by the time he is over eighty 80 106.
• Renewed vitality: Black hair begins growing again after his Seventh-Layer breakthrough 106.

Personality

Old Jia is shrewd, profit-conscious, and quick to revise his principles when money is involved. He underprices Zhou Ning’s Clear Eyes Powder to increase his margin and later admits privately that the money for his farewell formation plate came from amounts skimmed off purchases for Zhou Ning. During the Lei Household–Jade Countenance Sect war, he first hopes for fiercer fighting to raise the value of his stockpiled pills, then prays for peace when high prices destroy his purchasing-agent business 8 26 80.

He prizes survival over displays of courage and understands how easily wealthy but weak cultivators attract predators. His caution coexists with vanity: he invents martial exploits, enjoys looking like an enlightened elder, and publicly counsels Xu Qinghou against envy before going home to agonize over Zhou Ning’s success himself 17 31 34.

His affection for Jia Tingwan drives both his protectiveness and his impatience. He spends heavily on her education, pushes her toward a profitable craft, and shields her from danger. Beneath his opportunism, he can recognize genuine loyalty: Zhou Ning’s promise to stand by Xu Qinghou moves him to offer a thirty-percent discount, while the gift of the Spirit Condensation Pill brings him to tears 24 31 36 40 106.

Abilities & Skills

Market Brokerage and Appraisal

Old Jia’s main livelihood is sourcing and reselling cultivation supplies 8 23.

• Obtains medicines ranging from Spirit Essence Pills to the breakthrough-assisting Three Flowers Pill 9 17 29.
• Recognizes the value of medicinal materials, talismans, and Law Artifacts, including Zhou Ning’s damaged Pill Furnace 22 24 31 42.
• Arranges repairs and sales of seized equipment, including a Storage Bag, flying fork, and black flying boat 65.

Divine Sense

As a Middle-Stage Qi Refining cultivator, Old Jia can extend Divine Sense to inspect people and nearby residences 17 29.

• Checks on Zhou Ning during his apparent breakthrough attempt 17.
• Detects the Bewildering Tracks Array protecting Zhou Ning’s courtyard 29.
• Cannot penetrate that array’s gray-white mist 29.

Law Artifact Flight

Old Jia travels using a green-leaf flying Law Artifact 8.

• Makes regular journeys between Cuiwei Lake and Forget-Return Market 23.
• Cannot sustain full-speed flight for long because of its spiritual-power cost 8.
• Stops at a reef to fish after slowing his flight, concealing the practical reason behind an air of leisurely wisdom 8.

Talisman Use and Threat Recognition

Old Jia can deploy powerful purchased talismans despite having failed to become a talisman maker himself 6 40.

• Uses a Wood Vine Strangulation Talisman to interrupt Guo Changying’s attack 40 42.
• Recognizes her Restriction-Breaking Talisman and immediately understands its danger to the courtyard formation 40 41.
• His cultivation does not make him an elite combatant: two coordinated Fifth-Layer Su Household shadow guards are stated to be capable of defeating him at the Sixth Layer 34.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Green-leaf flying Law Artifact — His regular means of transport 8 23.
• Storage Bag — Holds his trading goods, flying artifact, folding stool, and fishing rod 8.
• Wood Vine Strangulation Talisman — Superior-grade talisman worth three hundred jin of spirit rice; consumed during Guo Changying’s attack 40 42.
• Fire Crow Talisman — Superior-grade replacement given by Zhou Ning after the attack 42.
• Golden Light Barrier Talisman — Additional defensive talisman gained from the distribution of spoils 42.
• Concealment-and-defense formation plate — Given to Zhou Ning as a farewell gift; Zhou Ning estimates its value at at least ten Spirit Stones 80.
• Spirit Condensation Pill — Gifted by Zhou Ning and used to overcome his longstanding cultivation bottleneck 106.

Relationships

• Jia Tingwan — Granddaughter and the focus of his hopes for the family. He funds her training, moves her away from potential danger, and persistently seeks alchemy instruction for her 24 26 36 65.
• Zhou Ning — Longtime neighbor, customer, and eventual benefactor. Their relationship develops from small purchases and skeptical advice into mutual assistance; Zhou Ning ultimately enables his breakthrough 8 31 80 106.
• Xu Qinghou / Scholar Xu — Neighbor and regular customer whom he advises about money, patronage, and cultivation. He purchases Xu’s breakthrough pill and briefly considers entrusting his descendants to him 9 29 34.
• Su Household — His employer and ruling power at Cuiwei Lake. He understands its control over retainers, serves as a wartime messenger, and is later asked by Zhou Ning to monitor it 31 93 106.
• Old Wang and the cultivator surnamed Lu — Longtime acquaintances from his travels. He introduces them to Zhou Ning but warns them against treating the Alchemist as prey 37.

Notable Quotes

“Life is but thirty thousand short days. Why must one strive to be first in everything?” 8

“Don't look down on yourself because of someone else's achievements, and don't sink into despair from here on!” 34

“You're counting on me? I'm counting on you!”
— To Jia Tingwan 43

“Let this old man indulge once more in the madness of youth! My temples are touched with frost, but what of it!” 106