Qi Wangyou

First meet

Qi Wangyou, the young sect master of the Hundred Herbs Sect, also known as Xuanxuan. Legend says she grew up surrounded by flowers in her childhood, exuding a natural fragrance from her body. Her botanical knowledge was extraordinary.

In her youth, she encountered a golden ox spirit and serendipitously obtained the Five Elements Pure Vase. This mystical vase harmonized the five elements and contained a dimension within. Wangyou used it to collect flowers to cure her mother's depressive illness, store water to nourish plants, and gather Qi for cultivation. Later, she joined the Five Elements Alliance after rescuing the master of the Azure Dragon Rudder.

Hundred Herb Sect

According to legend, before the Battle of the Immortals and Evils, the Innate Air flowed abundantly across the continents. From its essence sprang the Hundred Herbs, nourishing all living beings. Consuming these herbs granted sentience, allowing creatures to attune to the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth. In that era, countless beings cultivated the Dao over millennia without perishing. Yet after the Battle of the Immortals and Evils, spiritual Qi waned while demonic Qi surged. The Hundred Herbs withered, and the path to immortality grew treacherous. Today, most spirit plants are cultivated by cultivators or harvested from rare sanctuaries across the Three Continents. Among them, the Hundred Herbs Sect reigns supreme in nurturing spiritual herbs.

Founded by the common folk of Cangzhou, the Hundred Herbs Sect established its courtyard west of the mountain forests, spanning hundreds of acres. Bordered to the east by the Azure Dragon Rudder of the Five Elements Alliance and to the north by Luo Chamber of Commerce of Liangzhou, its proximity to both immortal and mortal realms kept demonic threats at bay. Nestled among mist-shrouded peaks, deep valleys, and bamboo groves cradling drifting clouds, the sect’s lands were blessed with pure, untainted Qi. Five distinct seasons graced the sect: eternal spring blooms, summer’s bountiful fruits, autumn’s golden harvests, winter’s medicinal fragrances, and a “long summer” of gentle breezes nurturing all life.

Over millennia, disciples gathered rare herbs from mountains and distant lands, cultivating them within the sect. Its collection of spirit plants once surpassed all others in the Three Continents, supplying both immortals and mortals alike. Unlike conventional sects, the Hundred Herbs Sect’s disciples cultivated not through esoteric arts but by ingesting herbs. Though lacking the martial prowess of typical immortal sects, their strength far surpassed ordinary humans.

Renowned for its spiritual herbs, the sect drew disciples from the Azure Dragon Rudder of the Five Elements Alliance, who practiced Wood Spirit spells and sought rare plants. However, the delicate spirit plants suffered under the volatile wood Spirit of their cultivation, prompting the sect to bar the Azure Dragon disciples. Resentment brewed, with each side accusing the other of greed and obstruction. Tensions erupted into a bloody clash across Cangzhou’s mountains, drawing demonic hordes to the carnage. After days of slaughter, the Five Elements Alliance’s central envoys intervened, quelling the conflict. The sects established a mountain stream as their boundary, vowing eternal non-aggression.

In recent centuries, the Hundred Herbs Sect declined. Its spirit plant reserves dwindled, disciples grew scarce, and demonic incursions battered its weakened defenses. Decades of recovery failed to restore its former glory. The current sect master, after marrying and fathering a daughter, watched his wife succumb to despair over the sect’s fate and their child’s burdened future. Bedridden with melancholy, she inspired her husband to name their daughter Wangyou (“Forget Worries”), with the childhood name Xuanxuan—hoping she grow like daylilies (xuancao) to ease her mother’s anguish.

Five Elements Pure Vase

In her childhood, Qi Wangyou often wandered the mountain forests, gathering flowers to plant in her mother’s courtyard, hoping the floral beauty might ease her mother’s melancholic illness. Over the years, no matter the season, the courtyard remained ablaze with never-fading blooms. By the time Wangyou grew older, the flowers had multiplied into an overwhelming kaleidoscope. Legends say her body carried a natural fragrance, as if she were perpetually bathed in a garden’s essence. Noticing her mother’s joy in the flowers, Wangyou began venturing beyond the Hundred Herbs Sect, determined to scour the world for rare blooms to cure her mother. Yet her father, fearing for her safety, forbade her from leaving Cangzhou’s mountains.

One day, while gathering flowers, Wangyou spotted a golden ox spirit lingering by a stream. Clad in dragon-scale armor, draped in a fiery mantle, and bearing a jade vase at its waist, the creature radiated majesty, unlike any devil. As Wangyou approached, the ox sniffed her curiously, drawn by her plant-like aura, then lunged to devour her. Terrified, she burst into tears.

Suddenly, vines erupted from the earth, binding the ox spirit. In its thrashing, the jade vase at its waist fell. Wangyou snatched the vase and held it protectively as tears splashed onto its inside. The vase erupted in radiant light, hovering before her like a loyal guardian. Its opening spun toward the ox, threatening to suck the beast inside. Panicked, the ox shattered the vines with brute force and vanished into smoke. The vase then dimmed, appearing ordinary once more.

Moments later, Wangyou heard groans across the stream—a wounded cultivator lay collapsed. Filling the vase with water, she crossed to offer him a drink. Before he could thank her, he fainted. Realizing he had cast the vine spell to save her, Wangyou gathered herbs to dress his wounds and dragged his limp form toward the Azure Dragon Rudder. At dusk, she knocked on their gate with a stone and hid, watching as disciples carried him inside before slipping home, relieved.

Later, Wangyou placed flowers from the vase in her mother’s room. Within days, her mother’s illness vanished. The sect master, astonished, sought answers from the Danding Peak. Elder Crane dispatched Dan Ge to investigate. After studying the vase, Dan Ge declared it a celestial artifact—the Five Elements Pure Vase—capable of harmonizing the five elements and purifying all things. Flowers stored within it cured melancholy by balancing one’s Qi. Yet when others tried using it, the vase lay inert, obeying only Wangyou.

Using the vase’s water to nourish herbs, Wangyou revitalized the sect’s gardens. Disciples scoured the Three Continents for rare plants, expanding their collection. Within years, the Hundred Herbs Sect flourished anew.

Forget Worries

Rumors spread through the Azure Dragon Rudder of the Five Elements Alliance: a girl often appeared along the mountain stream boundary, wielding a mystical vase to water plants. Wherever she walked, Wood Spiritual Qi flourished, amplifying the efficacy of cultivation.

Soon, a peculiar sight emerged at the border—cultivators from both sects abandoned their duties to trail the girl. Qi Wangyou paid them no mind, even crossing into the Azure Dragon Rudder territory to debate cultivation philosophies. “All life thrives in nature. Why set boundaries to stifle their growth?” she chided, rebuking the disciples for their crude techniques that harmed plants. Under her guidance, they found their stagnant practices suddenly coalescing, their connection to Wood Spirit deepening. Astonished, they demanded to know how she understood their sect’s methods. Wangyou simply replied, “There’s no secret—I merely understand the herbs.”

When the disciples reported this to the Azure Dragon Master, he stormed to the border, furious at Wangyou’s defiance of ancestral rules, and summoned the Hundred Herbs Sect Master. The sect master arrived in a rage, accusing the Azure Dragon disciples of harassing his daughter. As tensions flared between the factions, Wangyou intervened, scolding both sides for betraying the natural order. Tears streaming down her face, she clutched the Five Elements Pure Vase. Her tears splashed into the vase, stirring ripples that summoned rain from its mouth, drenching the cultivators. The drizzle quelled their fury. Suddenly, the Azure Dragon Master recognized the vase. Memories flooded back: his near-fatal battle against the golden ox spirit, the child who had seized the artifact and driven the monster away, saving his life. Humbled, he dismissed his disciples and bowed deeply to Wangyou, thanking her for his survival. Wangyou, in turn, thanked him for defusing the conflict.

Seizing this truce, the two leaders abolished the mountain stream boundary and buried their feud. The Azure Dragon Rudder pledged to teach the Hundred Herbs Sect cultivation techniques, while the sect shared its botanical wisdom in return. Wangyou, now formally apprenticed to the Azure Dragon Master, began training under his guidance—a bridge between two worlds.

Evaluate fellow daoist

About Wu Xingzhi: Don’t be fooled by Senior Brother’s carefree demeanor, always sipping spirit wine. When he comes to me for sobering herbs, his face twists in agony. Perhaps he drinks to numb the grief of losing his friend. But no amount of spirit wine seems to lift his spirits—it only harms his health…

About Du Lingyuan: Senior Sister always seems melancholic, much like Mother… Ah, maybe sending her flowers as lovely as herself might cheer her up!

About Mu Hu: Big Tiger is so fluffy and adorable! Whenever I bring him some spirit herbs, he eats them so noisily and starts snoring loudly—ha, hardly acting like a senior brother at all!

About Hua Qinrui: The peach trees in Senior Sister Hua’s hall, along with those on Five Elements Mountain, look nothing like ordinary Three Continents peach trees. When I asked where they came from, even she couldn’t answer. How mysterious…

About Nangong Sheng: When Junior Brother loses his temper, his fire spiritual energy runs wild, scorching nearby plants. What a waste. I must urge him to master his emotions—lest he harms both others and himself.

About Li Cheng Yun: Fellow Daoist Li is lively and adorable, seemingly never knowing what weariness is, like the sunflowers of West Continent that forever bloom. (Hesitantly adds) If only... if only she could be like those sunflowers and only speak occasionally... Hmm? You've never heard sunflowers talk? Look, that one in the corner is reciting the Mind-Cleansing Mantra right now.

About Li Man:

Fellow Daoist Li never wavers in his lofty aspirations; his Dao heart is resolute. Yet he often finds time to help me water the spirit herbs. I know he feels indebted, but... if he keeps watering them like this, they really will drown...