Shen Duheng

Biodata

Power Progression

Historical attainments are listed before his recovery as a sword spirit.

Background / History

Early Life and Sect Leadership

Shen Duheng was raised from childhood to become a sect master, surrounded by seniors thousands of years old rather than companions his own age. He later suspected Ji Li had deliberately kept close companions away so that nobody would easily recognize an impersonation 134.

An exceptional cultivator from an aristocratic clan, he became the Sword Reverence Sect’s senior brother and young sect master. After he reached Spirit Transformation at twenty-seven, the previous sect master entered seclusion and entrusted the sect to him 106.

Ji Li’s Betrayal

Following the elders’ advice, Shen Duheng forged a spirit sword using sect materials, including a mysterious broken sword from the treasury. He then invited a spirit from the Heroic Spirit Cave, hoping to obtain the strongest spirit sword under heaven. That spirit, Ji Li, betrayed and killed him during a ritual, then appropriated his name, identity, and position as sect master 106 110.

Shen Duheng’s remnant soul escaped detection by hiding inside the broken sword incorporated into his weapon. Using a Secret Method, he shattered the void and escaped. He later told Shan Heyuan that this escape might have caused Shan’s crossing into the cultivation world 106 110.

Life with Shan Heyuan

The broken sword’s entry into Shan Heyuan’s Dantian left the two in a shared predicament: Shan needed cultivation before he could remove it. Shen Duheng agreed to clear his blocked meridians for 500,000 spirit beads, payable within three years. After gathering materials over six days and five nights, he subjected Shan to a painful medicinal hot-spring treatment that enabled him to cultivate 4 5.

Living with Shan in Jingzhishan Town, Shen selected the Spring Transformation Art, investigated his unusual ability to store living plants in his Dantian, and guarded his cultivation experiments. He also collected dangerous materials, including soil from beneath the Illusionless Tree, and oversaw Shan’s Foundation Establishment 8 13 37 44.

Once the broken sword became a lightning-struck wood sprout, Shen explained that they no longer needed to remain together. Despite initially discussing separate paths, he ultimately accompanied Shan to Sword Reverence City 53 55.

Revealing His Identity

Shen initially described himself only as a former Sword Reverence Sect disciple who had betrayed the sect and left. He distinguished his grievance against one person from the sect’s other disciples and supported Shan’s trade with Elder Qu Ying, while advising him not to join the sect 90.

After regaining a body through Nascent Soul Formation, Shen visited his old acquaintance Yang Ji and eventually disclosed his true identity and Ji Li’s usurpation. Shan pledged to stand with him. During Shan’s subsequent Core Formation, Shen spent the Spirit Stones he had reserved for a new sword to sustain the breakthrough 102 105 106 109.

In the West Jing Secret Realm, Shen fought the Realm Spirit while Shan removed Spirit Stones from the main formation. They escaped with the unconscious Realm Spirit, whom Shen sealed before Shan confined her within his Dantian Small World 116 117.

Partnership and Marriage

Inside Shan’s Dantian Small World, Shen advanced to Nascent Soul Middle Stage and helped construct an artificial spirit spring. Soon afterward, he confessed that his decision to accompany Shan, gather materials for him, and share his daily life had been motivated by love. Shan reciprocated, beginning their romantic relationship 131 132 133 134.

To evade pursuit, they disguised themselves as cousins and settled at Shen’s estate in Youcheng City, concealing their cultivation at Foundation Establishment. Shen began teaching Shan swordsmanship, then proposed with a pair of rings he had made. Their small wedding banquet included local friends and Shen’s hidden assistant, Zhuo Zheng 146 147 150.

Battles and Shan Heyuan’s Transformation

During a confrontation with Ji Li, Shen deliberately triggered his Spirit Transformation tribulation. Shan strengthened the lightning with the Heavenly Dao Principles of his Dantian Small World, turning the tribulation into a weapon against their enemy 158.

When Shan later needed a metal-element spiritual object, Shen refined and removed his own last left rib for him. After Shan transformed himself into a wooden bud, Shen rented a Spirit Plant garden for twenty years at three times the usual price, planted him in high-grade spirit soil, and kept watch throughout his recovery 168 169 170.

The pair eventually confronted Ji Li again. Fighting beneath Heavenly Tribulation, both suffered serious wounds; Shen nevertheless completed his breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage 179 181 182.

Visit to Earth

Shen accompanied Shan back to Earth, initially concealing himself while Shan reunited with his family. He tried console games, movies, takeout, and concerts, adapting to a world without cultivation civilization 185 186.

For his formal introduction to Shan’s parents, he altered his hair and wore modern clothes. Despite admitting some nervousness, he quickly won the family’s approval and agreed to accompany Shan on future visits home 187.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and broad-shouldered, with a narrow waist, long legs, and firmly defined muscles 93 134.
• Face: Handsome, with deep eyes, a high nose, and long, thick eyelashes; his appearance and manner initially suggest a young man in his twenties 13 150.
• Hair and clothing: Wears long hair and robes. His early clothing is dark red; he later practices swordsmanship in white robes 53 134 185.
• Bearing: Upright and imposing, with the cold, sharp presence of a sword cultivator 18 63.
• Scent: Carries a faint woody fragrance that Shan Heyuan finds distinctive and reassuring 13 151.

Personality

Shen Duheng is reserved and often expresses care through practical actions rather than explanations. He initially responds to Shan’s gratitude with curt instructions, yet buys him breakfast, waits at the village entrance after his travels, and helps manage their home. Open praise can embarrass him despite his indifferent tone 11 18 19.

As a teacher, he combines patience with demanding instruction. He recognizes that cultivation problems cannot always be solved through another person’s advice, allowing Shan to assess his own path. During combat practice, however, he promptly exposes weaknesses rather than indulging an impressive-looking strategy 75 82.

He is protective without treating Shan’s ambitions as disposable. He encourages Shan to pursue the academy opportunity, supports business with the Sword Reverence Sect despite his own history, and stays close when Shan’s unusual Spiritual Power attracts danger 53 90 94.

In romance, Shen is direct about his feelings but respects Shan’s request for time to think. His composed exterior also conceals inexperience: Shan is his first lover, and sharing a bed leaves him less calm than he initially appears 133 134 141.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship and Sword Intent

Shen combines overwhelming offensive strength with precise control, remaining dangerous even when his cultivation is below its former peak 58 114.

• Cuts heavy branches with an ordinary beginner’s spirit sword 21.
• Clears an entire courtyard at ground level with one stroke, stopping the force exactly at its walls 58.
• Immobilizes a patch of Ghost Bud Grass through Sword Intent without drawing his sword 74.
• Uses sound to locate Shan during a plant-and-formation ambush, then knocks him down with a strand of Sword Intent 82.
• At Nascent Soul Early Stage, can defeat an ordinary Spirit Transformation Early Stage opponent 114.
• Teaches Shan swordsmanship, including Questioning the Sword 147 160.

Divine Sense and Tracking

His Divine Sense can exceed the level suggested by his displayed cultivation 73.

• Sweeps an entire mountain to locate suitable Spirit Plants; Shan estimates its strength at least at Nascent Soul Late Stage 73.
• Combines divination with Spiritual Power patterns to produce silver directional runes for finding someone 103.
• Uses rapid movement and sword flight to transport Shan and pursue spirit fire 26 107.

Runes, Seals, and Heavenly Dao Principles

Shen possesses the technical skill to support experiments involving Shan’s Dantian Small World 130 132.

• Carves and links runes with Spirit Stones to construct an artificial spirit spring 132.
• Seals the Realm Spirit’s cultivation at Nascent Soul and later reinforces her confinement with another twenty-one seals 117 133.
• Comprehends Heavenly Dao Principles inside Shan’s small world and incorporates them into sword strikes against Tribulation Lightning 143.

Cultivation Guidance and Medicinal Treatment

His guidance accounts for Shan’s unusual constitution rather than relying solely on conventional assessments of aptitude 7 8.

• Clears Shan’s severely blocked meridians using spirit medicines, minerals, Demon Beast materials, and a hot spring 5.
• Selects the Spring Transformation Art to suit Shan’s aptitude as a planter 8 25.
• Guards cultivation breakthroughs and tests involving living plants inside Shan’s Dantian 13 15 44.
• Supplies Spirit Stones of multiple attributes throughout Shan’s three-day Core Formation 108 109.

Disguise and Concealment

• Alters hairstyles, facial appearance, and his own bones to establish a disguise as Shan’s older cousin 146.
• Suppresses his apparent cultivation to Foundation Establishment while living in Youcheng City 146.
• Conceals himself from ordinary sight during Shan’s initial reunion with his family on Earth 185 186.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Original spirit sword — Forged from sect materials and inhabited by Ji Li. It was shattered during the events surrounding Ji Li’s betrayal 106 110.
• Broken sword — A treasury artifact incorporated into his original weapon; sheltered his remnant soul and enabled his escape through the void. It was never truly his lifebound sword, and its unresolved secrets prevented perfect compatibility 110.
• Ordinary spirit sword — Used for combat and precise cutting despite its modest grade 21 58 111.
• Natal spirit sword — By the time he teaches Shan in Youcheng City, Shen confirms that he has his own natal weapon 147.
• Communicator — Given to him by Shan to make contact easier during his absences 77.
• Wedding rings — A pair he made and used to propose to Shan 150.
• Youcheng City estate — Held under a false identity established thirty years earlier; provides a refuge for the couple 146.

Relationships

• Shan Heyuan — Initially his debtor and the bearer of the broken sword, later his closest companion, cultivation partner, student, and husband. Their support becomes reciprocal when Shan provides the resources for Shen’s Nascent Soul Middle Stage breakthrough 4 5 131 150.
• Ji Li — His former sword spirit and principal enemy. Ji Li killed him, seized his identity, and occupied his position as Sword Reverence Sect master 106 110.
• Yang Ji — An old acquaintance indebted to Shen for kindness shown to his clan. Offers to risk his life for Shen and undertakes to make him a spirit sword, but warns about the consequences of failed revenge 102 105.
• Zhuo Zheng — A trusted assistant handling affairs behind the scenes. Continues to address him as sect master and receives a place at the main table at his wedding 150.
• Realm Spirit — Initially an opponent in the West Jing Secret Realm. Shen defeats and seals her, then reinforces her confinement inside Shan’s Dantian Small World 116 117 133.
• Shan Heyuan’s family — Welcomes him after meeting him on Earth, with Shan’s father explicitly accepting him into the family 187.

Notable Quotes

“My name is Shen He. My courtesy name is Duheng.” 105

“If I weren't in love with you, I wouldn't have come with you to Sword Reverence City, collected materials you liked, bid on spirit soil for you, or lived with you day after day.” 133

“All right. Whenever you want to go back, I'll go with you.” 187