Daolord Laya
Daolord Laya is a male cultivator of the Starflow race who guides Ji Ning and Ninedust through ancestral sites in Starflow River. Seeking better odds for his final breakthrough, he borrows the Stone Censer of Reunion and attempts the Daomerge, but fails.
Biography
Guide of Starflow River
Laya meets Ning and Ninedust after they have wandered Starflow River for hundreds of thousands of years. His race has accumulated generations of knowledge about hidden ruins, and he offers to lead the two outsiders toward sites that may contain opportunities. He uses nine runes to open a concealed void door into Thundersouth Palace, demonstrating both inherited access and personal mastery of the route. (Chapters 1064–1066)
Trials and the stone censer
Inside the ruins, Laya confronts dangerous guardians and a soul illusion that deceives him without his awareness. He candidly admits that his Dao-heart was not strong enough to prevent infiltration. When Ning acquires the Stone Censer of Reunion, Laya recognizes that its effects may improve his Daomerge prospects and asks to borrow it. Ning agrees, giving the Starflow leader the best chance available. (Chapters 1067–1071)
Failed Daomerge
Laya begins the Daomerge immediately. His Flower of Eternity fails during the initial blooming stage, causing his soul and truesoul to crumble. Facing certain death, he reflects on a lifetime spent protecting and raising the Starflow race rather than reacting with denial. His failure later serves as a clear example of the Daomerge's earliest and most decisive failure point. (Chapters 1071–1072 and 1286)
Appearance and personality
Laya is a yellow-robed man. He is hospitable to rare visitors, protective of his race's accumulated knowledge, and honest about fear and weakness: he admits uncertainty about the Daomerge and acknowledges the failure of his Dao-heart against the illusion. His final concern for the Starflow people shows that collective duty shaped his cultivation. (Chapters 1064–1072)
Abilities and cultivation
Verge-level cultivation
Laya is a Fourth-Step Daolord at the Verge, one step from either eternity or death. His failure occurs during the Flower of Eternity's initial bloom, meaning his Dao cannot stabilize into an Eternal Emperor's path. The Stone Censer improves cultivation conditions but cannot guarantee success. (Chapters 1065 and 1070–1072)
Nine-rune gateway
He condenses nine mysterious runes from Immortal energy and sends them into the void, producing ripples that open a door to hidden Thundersouth Palace. The technique depends upon the Starflow race's inherited knowledge of local relics and functions as access rather than a direct attack. (Chapter 1066)
Limits of the Dao-heart
An illusion enters his soul and truesoul without him recognizing it, even though he believes himself awake. Laya's own diagnosis is that his Dao-heart is insufficiently strong. This explicit weakness matters because inner stability is vital to his approaching Daomerge. (Chapter 1068)
Relationships
- Ji Ning: Guest and benefactor who explores with Laya and loans him the Stone Censer. (Chapters 1064–1072)
- Ninedust Sectlord: Fellow explorer who accompanies Laya through the Starflow ruins. (Chapters 1064–1072)
- Starflow race: The people Laya spends his life protecting and advancing. (Chapters 1064–1072)
Items
- Stone Censer of Reunion: Borrowed from Ning to improve the conditions of Laya's Daomerge attempt. (Chapters 1069–1072)