Sun Yigao

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Scholar of the Sun Household

Sun Yigao grew up in Xiushui Village as Landlord Sun's scholarly son. His mother guarded his study time so closely that she discouraged other children from visiting and would not let him perform ordinary household chores. His father, Sun Changfu, privately offered guidance but usually avoided prolonged arguments with her. By fifteen, Yigao had already studied for ten years 9 20.

His connection with Lin Xiao began when his mother suddenly became confused and ill. After witnessing Lin Xiao remove water and mud from his clothes with a technique, Yigao agreed to let him investigate. He helped his father divert the spirit medium and persuaded his grandmother to leave his mother's care to him. Lin Xiao eventually purified the Yao Qi consuming her vital presence 10 11 12 13.

Joining the Lingxian Sect

Yigao publicly applied to join the Lingxian Sect during its first recruitment. His mother, having learned who saved her, accepted his interest in cultivation and stopped insisting that he pursue the imperial examinations 16 19.

Lin Xiao entrusted him with teaching the other disciples to read and understand their cultivation manuals. Yigao accepted modestly and still volunteered for the sect's communal mud-digging work. He initially studied the Peach Blossom Spring Myriad Void Instruction, later switching to the Original Essence Heart Sutra 20 57 79.

Green Field Mystic Realm and Alchemy

Lin Xiao selected Yigao as his companion for the Green Field Mystic Realm and cultivated intensively beside him before their departure. Inside, they gathered medicinal flowers, harvested timber, encountered outside cultivators, and defeated two Seventh Layer robbers. Yigao subdued his opponent without striking him, then helped protect both unconscious attackers before leaving 59 60 64 66 71.

When Lin Xiao later needed an antidote, Yigao refined a middle-grade pill under Liao Pantu's guidance. He exhausted his Spiritual Power during the second batch and converted Essence Blood into additional power to finish it, leaving himself weak enough to require recovery at home. His success convinced Liao Pantu of his exceptional alchemical talent 86 87 88.

With Lin Xiao's approval, Liao Pantu subsequently became Yigao's second master 95.

Examinations and the Village School

Yigao continued pursuing scholarship after becoming a cultivator. He traveled to the county seat for the examinations, inviting Lin Xiao and the others to stay in the courtyard his father had rented. He also accepted the cat demon Tuantuan as his first disciple 88 98 102 107.

By the opening of his private school, he was celebrated as the prefectural examination's top scorer. His influence with the county magistrate also secured Xiushui Village an exemption from miscellaneous taxes. The school began with fifteen pupils, including one girl, and Yigao invited Mo Yuanjiao to serve as martial instructor 161.

The school later became Lingxian Academy. When all its students passed the county and prefectural examinations, Yigao planned further expansion with financial backing from Qin Jianghe 412.

Sect Responsibilities and Medical Work

During Lin Xiao's seclusion, Yigao maintained his teaching schedule while studying cultivation arts and advancing his realm. He also monitored visitors approaching the sect: after recognizing Wei San as a trained martial artist with cultivation, he alerted Liu Yunan without abandoning his class. He later advised delaying the imperial court's proposal until the sect could better judge the situation 210 220 221 222.

His study of pills and Liao Pantu's medical collection gradually made him the sect's physician. Tong Jialiang became his first substantial patient, and Yigao continued treating him over several years. He eventually proposed treatment through the Heart-Questioning Road; when interference disrupted the road's trials, he helped examine the expelled candidates and report the emergency 302 328 412 427 429.

Enlightenment as Lingqing

After learning about the Heart-Rectifying Mirror, Yigao began noticing subtle changes in his reflection, particularly after finishing books. He increasingly studied near the mirror, remaining absorbed in reading despite surrounding activity 490 491.

He later entered enlightenment and underwent a Nascent Soul tribulation there. The Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation absorbed and weakened the lightning, while the Spiritual Qi approaching him transformed into Origin Qi. His breakthrough produced the Benevolent Heart Chapter and the Daoist title Lingqing 518 519.

While Liao Pantu remained in seclusion, Yigao temporarily assumed his morning and evening classes and regularly visited Azure Cloud Peak to answer disciples' questions 523.

Expanding the Academy Abroad

Yigao proposed carrying Lingxian Academy beyond Xiushui City and Pusi Kingdom, beginning in Huanyou Nation. He wanted his disciples to experience building an academy together rather than rely on arrangements made by their seniors. Lin Xiao approved, while Qin Jianghe obtained the cooperation of Huanyou's ruler, Zhao Yunzhong 591 592.

A month later, Yigao departed with five disciples and chose impoverished Greenwood Township as their first destination. They changed into coarse hemp clothing and concealed their Lock Rings to appear ordinary. Yigao selected two neighboring houses for the academy and joined the construction work without using techniques, leaving practical decisions—such as whether to accept villagers' help—to his disciples 592 594 595.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and slender at fifteen 10.
• Bearing: Described as having a gentle countenance and upright posture 16.
• Early clothing: Wore a long robe when first seen fetching water, with his sleeves rolled up 9.
• Travel disguise: Changed into coarse hemp clothing and concealed his Lock Ring while establishing the Greenwood Township academy 592.

Personality

Yigao is gentle, modest, and considerate. Despite his education, he initially described himself as only barely qualified to teach basic literacy. He readily shared cloth with poorer fellow disciples and preferred restraining and hypnotizing an attacker to beating him. Even afterward, he worried about the unconscious robbers' safety and sheltered them beneath a tree 20 32 71.

His kindness is supported by unusually firm convictions. Lin Xiao explained that Yigao passed the Heart-Questioning Road unimpeded because his thoughts were pure and upright and his mind exceptionally steadfast. Liao Pantu later credited his smooth cultivation progress to a character that had never wavered 210 592.

He treats cultivation and scholarship as means of fulfilling his ideals, not as ends in themselves. He encourages students to find their own purposes rather than copy his, and remains conscious that magical convenience can cause cultivators to lose touch with ordinary life 139 267 594.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation Methods and Insight

Yigao progressed from the sect's original cultivation manual to the Original Essence Heart Sutra, eventually developing his own branch 20 57 79 519.

• Peach Blossom Spring Myriad Void Instruction: Practiced it before changing methods and continued teaching it to newer members 79.
• Original Essence Heart Sutra: Benevolent Heart Chapter: Independently created during his Nascent Soul enlightenment 519.
• Daoist title—Lingqing: Comprehended during the same breakthrough; Daoist titles provide direction in cultivation and help cultivators understand bottlenecks 519.
• Extensive mastery: By his departure for Huanyou Nation, he had mastered the sect's thousands of cultivation methods, becoming the first person besides Lin Xiao and Liao Pantu to do so 591.

Alchemy and Medical Treatment

Yigao's alchemical talent emerged while he was still at Qi Refining Seventh Layer 86 88.

• Early achievement: Produced a middle-grade detoxification pill on his second batch under Liao Pantu's guidance 86 88.
• Formal proficiency: Became a second-rank Alchemist after more than a year of instruction 377.
• Advanced refinement: Later produced high-grade Spirit Absorption Pills with Liao Pantu's guidance, though these remained difficult for his unaided skill 539.
• Clinical practice: Examined patients, administered treatment, and explained progress and precautions to caregivers 302 328.
• Treatment limitation: Repeated uses of the Heart Purification Technique failed to alleviate Tong Jialiang's condition 427.

Cultivation Arts and Research

Liao Pantu encouraged Yigao to study all four cultivation arts, and he showed aptitude beyond alchemy 210.

• Cross-disciplinary research: Worked with Liao Pantu on combining alchemy with other arts, beginning with Liu Qin's recuperation Pill Formula 464.
• Agricultural pills: Developed pills to nourish crops, treat plant diseases, and alter soil attributes to suit different plants 474.
• Independent experimentation: Investigated ideas after mastering existing formulas, supported by the sect's medicinal supplies 412.

Law Techniques and Divine Sense

Yigao uses techniques for restraint, concealment, rescue, and observation 71 136 221.

• Spiritual Power threads: Bound a Seventh Layer cultivator before the opponent could respond 71.
• Hypnosis Technique: Put the restrained attacker to sleep during a moment of surprise; the technique is less useful against a focused mind 71.
• Eye-Obscuring Law: Concealed unconscious attackers and later obscured his actions from students while sending a message 71 221.
• Air-Stepping Technique: Caught Wei Dagui above a river and carried him safely to shore; also used it while rushing toward the village entrance during an attack 136 234.
• Divine Sense: Detected and monitored a suspicious visitor while continuing to teach 220 221.

Scholarship and Teaching

Yigao combines academic instruction with moral discussion, physical education, and practical experience 161 267 591.

• Literacy instruction: Taught nearly all the early sect members to read and understand their cultivation methods 20 88.
• Adapted teaching materials: Removed cultivation portions from manuals while retaining ideas suitable for ordinary students 220.
• Book collection: Donated personal books to the sect library and compiled excerpts and insights for students' supplementary reading 377.
• Enrollment policy: Accepted pupils of either sex and initially limited expansion according to the number of available teachers 161 377.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Peachwood sword — Carried when he charged outside the sect's barrier during the attack on Xiushui Village 234.
• Peach Leaf Pendant — Wore one for protection after Tuantuan's attack and supplied pendants to his companions 100.
• Lingxian Sect uniform — A defensive Law Artifact; he changed into it after dense vegetation damaged his ordinary clothes in the mystic realm 64.
• Icefield Spirit — Bonded with him through heart's blood and Divine Sense. Liao Pantu also supplied a Storage Bag containing provisions to feed it 373.
• Lingqing's three Law Treasures — A green bamboo brush, a wordless book, and a white jade seal engraved with “Lingqing.” Generated following his enlightenment and later given to him; their specific functions are not described 519 522.
• Lock Ring — Used by his traveling group; he concealed the rings' appearance without removing them 592.
• Sound Transmission Talismans — Used to notify Liu Yunan about Wei San and the Heart-Questioning Road emergency 221 429.

Relationships

• Lin Xiao — Sect master, first master, and close friend. Saved Yigao's mother, cultivated beside him before the mystic-realm expedition, and supported his educational ambitions. Yigao later helped save Lin Xiao by refining an antidote 13 58 60 87 88 139 591.
• Liao Pantu — Second master and alchemy mentor. Supplied formulas and books, pursued research with him, and regarded his eldest disciple's steady character with pride 95 302 464 592.
• Sun Changfu — Father, also called Landlord Sun. Supported his son's friendships and arranged accommodation for his examination trip 10 12 98.
• Auntie Sun — Mother. Initially sheltered him from chores and distractions; after her recovery, supported his cultivation. Continued expressing affection through meals even when he rarely needed food 9 19 195.
• Fang Tuantuan — First disciple, a cat demon formerly associated with the Fang household. Later assisted with his teaching responsibilities; Yigao recommended Tuantuan for an illness investigation because of healing knowledge and experience among ordinary people 107 381 523.
• Mo Yuanjiao — Colleague and the school's martial instructor. Admired Yigao's steadfastness and helped educate his pupils 161 210.
• Qin Jianghe — Fellow sect member and financial supporter of the academy. Backed expansion and research supplies and coordinated with Huanyou Nation before Yigao's journey 412 592.
• Tong Jialiang — Long-term patient whose difficult condition prompted repeated treatment attempts and research 302 412 427.
• Wen Yuejun — Eldest of the five disciples accompanying him to Greenwood Township; took the initiative to accept villagers' help with construction 595.

Notable Quotes

“I studied for my ideal, and I cultivate for my ideal, but my ideal itself isn't cultivation.” 139

“Reading ten thousand books is no match for traveling ten thousand miles.” 591

“Having cultivation and magic power certainly makes things easier, but with time, it is easy to lose touch and forget to keep our feet on the ground.” 594

Trivia

• Villagers call him Mr. Sun because he holds the scholarly degree of xiucai and teaches locally 327.
• Sect elders sometimes call him a “top scholar,” despite his parents repeatedly explaining that placing first in the academy examination does not confer that title 474.
• At fifteen, he already exceeded the Shangyang Sect's maximum recruitment age of twelve, despite his exceptional aptitude 52.