Lingu Rao

Lingu Rao, known as the Raozi Scorpion, spent much of his career guarding the Southern Sea before returning to the center of Azure Pond Sect politics. He was a quiet but forceful strategist who acted when delay threatened to leave his family weaker. (Chapters 782, 824–827, 1009, 1358)

Biography

A veteran who reads the southern tide

Rao had once been famous, like his father Lingu Xia, but decades spent guarding the Southern Sea left him little known inland. When he joins Li Xuanfeng to investigate the transformed waters above Chengshui Tomb, he recognizes the lineage history behind the anomaly and questions why a powerful Daoist Master would reshape the region. Their investigation reveals a wider political arrangement, and Rao understands that the devil cultivators’ new sects may eventually be accepted as orthodox. Years later, as the Lingu Family loses influence and Si Yuanli delays taking a side, Rao acts after Li Yuanqin’s allies strike at the Chi Family. He defeats Ning Hejing and exposes the hidden flow of information, forcing Si Yuanli to enter the conflict rather than let the Lingu and Li families continue to absorb the losses. (Chapters 782, 824–827, 1009)

A failed return from the grotto heaven

Rao later insisted on acting alone despite Kuiqi’s warning that the coming decades were poor for a breakthrough. When he entered a grotto heaven, the Old Sword Immortal intervened to save him, but the rescue ultimately failed; Kuiqi ordered Rao’s remains sent back to the Lingu Family. The exact circumstances of his final death are not recounted. (Chapter 1358)

Appearance and personality

Rao is a middle-aged cultivator of unremarkable appearance, with a gourd at each side and rattan armor. He is modest in manner and rarely makes a show of his reputation, but his judgment is sharp and he will act decisively when his family’s position is at stake. (Chapters 782, 1009)

Abilities and cultivation

Rao is a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator. He fights with a curved blade and carries spirit scorpions in his gourds; in his confrontation with Ning Hejing, their stings help disable the captive after Rao injures him in little more than ten exchanges. His exact breakthrough method and the circumstances of its failure are not described. (Chapters 826, 1009, 1358)

Relationships

• The Lingu Family: Rao acts to prevent the family’s influence from being stripped away and dies while trying to advance its prospects. (Chapters 1009, 1358)
• Li Xuanfeng: They investigate Chengshui Tomb together and coordinate their actions during the conflict. (Chapters 824–828)
• Lingu Xia: His father was more renowned than Rao and had once been a celebrated cultivator. (Chapter 782)

Items

Rao carries a pair of gourds containing spirit scorpions, wears rattan armor, and uses a curved blade. The items are not given individual names. (Chapters 782, 826, 1009)