Si Boxiu

Si Boxiu, commonly called Daoist Master Yuan Xiu, is an elder of Azure Pond Sect and a formidable master of talisman arts. One of the Three Yuans, he preserves his family’s interests through a mixture of protection, coercion and long-term planning. His treatment of Li Xuanfeng leaves a lasting obstacle to trust with the Li Family, while his final preparations support both Azure Pond’s next leader and the rise of Si Yuanli. His attempt to reach Golden Core ends in a terrifying failure. (Chapters 721, 847, 887, and 1288–1290)

Biography

The Surviving Yuan of Azure Pond

Boxiu’s expertise long predates his position among the great cultivators of Jiangnan. His Records of Talisman Crafting This Autumn, written when he was described as a peak Qi cultivator, circulate as a useful inheritance before he appears personally as a Daoist Master. As Yuan Xiu, he belongs to the Three Yuans alongside Ning Tiaoxiao, also known as Yuansu, and Yuanwu. His disputes with Yuansu do not erase their shared history. When younger cultivators later slight him, he remembers that his old companion would have answered such insolence directly. The passing of his peers makes his remaining authority feel increasingly precarious. (Chapters 101 and 846)

After Yuansu’s fall, Boxiu contests the disposition of the Xinyou Pristine Marsh Seal. Kan Xuyu, known as Zipei, interprets his claim as an attempt to take the Ning Family’s inheritance, while Pu Yu arranges a mediated recognition of the heir. Boxiu complies and brings Ning Heyuan to the ceremony. His later explanation to Ning Wan complicates the appearance of simple greed: the seal carries dangerous arrangements belonging to powers above the household, and he believes an unprotected Ning heir will be unable to keep it. He does not claim that this danger makes all his actions benevolent, but warns that possessing the artifact can be a death sentence. (Chapters 721–722, 729, and 1288)

Instrumental Protection of Li Xuanfeng

Boxiu’s management of Xuanfeng combines immediate protection with control over his future. He supplies Golden Drip Sacred Dew after Maha techniques injure Xuanfeng’s body and divine spirit, explicitly preparing him for further work. During the Great Ning Palace struggle, he commands Yuanli to hand Xuanfeng the Huai River Map and transmits its operating spell. The powerful archer becomes an indispensable instrument in an operation overseen by Daoist Masters, while Boxiu watches his own family’s promising descendant with private satisfaction. Xuanfeng understands that withdrawing from the assignment is not a genuine option. (Chapters 824 and 841–842)

The cost of that dependence becomes clearest in Boxiu’s later judgment of Xuanfeng’s death. He considers the man thoroughly used, his service to Jiangnan complete and his death politically timely, so he chooses not to intervene. Near the end of his own life, he admits to Ning Wan that he forced Xuanfeng to swallow a pill and cut off his path to Purple Mansion. Medicine and patronage have therefore preserved a useful subordinate without granting him an independent future. Boxiu understands that this conduct is one reason Li Ximing will not readily trust him. (Chapters 887 and 1288)

Anhuai Heaven and the Si Family’s Opportunity

Inside Anhuai Heaven, Boxiu seeks spell, sigil and formation knowledge rather than merely the wealth of the treasury. Buddhist interference provokes his anger, and he meets Nuzi and Five-Eyed with the Profound Yellow Dao Talisman and counterspells. The arrival of Chi Buzi changes the balance of the battle, but also sharpens Boxiu’s suspicion. Having himself spent nearly a century unable to cross the fourth-divine-ability threshold, he finds Buzi’s rapid attainment difficult to explain. He tests him by shouting Chi Wei’s name and then invoking other familiar identities, watching for a response before accepting their continued cooperation. (Chapters 845–849)

The two open damaged wards together, and Boxiu later uses his talisman expertise to trigger a protected formation’s self-destruction rather than solve it in the usual way. Buzi’s refusal to remain bound to the Chi Family gives him another lesson: ability and bloodline do not guarantee that a cultivator will carry the obligations others expect. Returning to Azure Pond, Boxiu claims life-or-death healing seclusion, directs Yuanli to report promising True Essence cultivators and encourages the Si Family’s renewed ambitions. Yuanli’s ruthlessness seems suited to the changing situation, whereas Si Yuanbai’s moral rigidity and dangerous opposition frustrate him. Among the resources secured for the family is the Bright Truth Harmonizing Divine Pill later identified in his legacy. (Chapters 851, 886–887, and 1556)

An Uneasy Alliance with Zhaojing

Ximing’s Purple Mansion breakthrough requires Boxiu to recognize a new peer where Azure Pond once had a subordinate household. He presents the great lake as a congratulatory gift and apologizes for the harsh treatment inflicted during the Chi Family’s troubles. Ximing then chooses him for his first diplomatic visit, a courtesy that gives Boxiu considerable satisfaction. He discusses changes in spiritual auras, praises the service of Li Xizhi and proposes making him sect master, with access to the Pristine Gui Pool and the Moon Glazed Tree. The apparent generosity also draws the Li brothers more closely into Azure Pond’s interests. (Chapters 1021–1022 and 1048–1049)

Ximing answers politely without treating the promises as guarantees. Their geographical relationship makes stable cooperation desirable, but Boxiu still imposes limits: he warns against close dealings with Hengzhu Dao Gate, whose rivalries would endanger their alliance. When asked to heal Ding Weizeng, he also acknowledges a real limit to his own power. Orthodox Wood does not excel at restoring a damaged qihai, so he recommends Valley Water or Xiao Chuting’s Pit Water instead. The visit establishes useful communication between the families while leaving the new Daoist Master wary of the elder’s calculations. (Chapter 1050)

Preparing a Successor and a Final Attempt

With his lifespan nearly exhausted, Boxiu prepares to challenge Golden Core in the Southern Sea. His cooperation with regional families and Xizhi’s management of Stone Pond help arrange the necessary environment, but the fifth divine lineage he needs remains a subject of anxious speculation. Ning Wan’s emergence gives Azure Pond a possible successor. He warns her that leading the sect will make her responsible for more than the private fortunes of the Ning household: her family will become inseparable from Azure Pond’s wider obligations. His candid admission about Xuanfeng also explains why she may be better placed to maintain relations with the Lis. (Chapters 1244–1245 and 1287–1288)

He leaves more than advice. Tantai Jin, chosen through arrangements with Yuandao when he was six, has grown up as Boxiu’s student and reveres him deeply. Yuanli receives an extensive inheritance of medicines, wealth and connections, while Boxiu’s earlier insistence on delaying his breakthrough preserves opportunities whose significance only becomes clearer afterward. Xizhi later reveals that a private favor was meant to win the Li Family’s future assistance if Yuanli faced difficulty. The elder’s desire for continuity does not undo his coercive choices, but it leaves resources that outlast him and a successor capable of carrying the Si Family forward. (Chapters 1289, 1385, 1556, and 1600)

Failed Fruition and the Metallic Essence Demon

Boxiu’s last attempt brings his ingenuity and desperation together. His four Orthodox Wood divine abilities are supplemented by Falcon Finds Its Roost of Gathering Wood, intended to let a dominant wood power settle within an accommodating Intercalary Position. As he leaves the Pristine Gui Pool, his body sprouts roots, leaves and insects. He bites off his own index finger, rises into birdlike circling flight and draws Clear Dusk Rain through a dangerous borrowing of Du Qing’s inherent Pristine Water rank. At Stone Pond, he swallows the finger and produces a younger figure resembling himself. The two face one another as wood and water converge, but the younger form drains the old man’s remaining vitality. (Chapters 1288–1289)

The result is an uncontrolled Metallic Essence demon whose power terrifies the surrounding Daoist Masters. Ning Wan escapes with Tantai Jin, and the Underworld’s judiciary binds and slays the transformed being. Lu Jiangxian judges the design imaginative but fatally unstable: the four Orthodox Wood Daos dominate, while the vacant Gathering Wood position offers no support for the arrival he has envisioned. His death also strips Xizhi of a protector and leaves Stone Pond afflicted by violent changes in wind and weather. Suiguan later recognizes the ruthlessness and resolve behind the attempt, but Boxiu’s final completion of five divine abilities never becomes a successful Golden Core attainment. (Chapters 1290, 1292, 1299, and 1490–1492)

Appearance and personality

Boxiu is an aged, stern-faced man with thick eyebrows and a rigid manner. He habitually wears Azure Pond’s formal first-tier Purple Mansion attire and stands with his hands behind his back. Unlike cultivators who conceal old age, he makes no effort to hide it, speaking in a hoarse voice as his remaining lifespan dwindles. The shriveled frame revealed during his last attempt makes his physical exhaustion unmistakable. (Chapters 729, 758, 847, and 1287–1288)

His solemnity coexists with pride, biting sarcasm and extensive political calculation. He despises Buddhist interference, appreciates useful descendants and can show courtesy to a new peer without surrendering leverage. His grief for lost companions and concern for successors are real, but he is willing to sacrifice another cultivator’s prospects to preserve family and sect interests. Near death, that contradiction becomes unusually explicit: he recommends Ximing as a valuable ally while acknowledging the act that made Ximing distrust him. (Chapters 758, 828, 846, 887, and 1288)

Abilities and cultivation

Orthodox Wood Divine Cultivation

Boxiu cultivates Orthodox Wood, the firm wood associated with the union of Jia and Yi. It is as solid as stone and close to metal in nature, rather than a power that readily produces growth. He therefore does not possess the healing advantages often associated with other Wood Virtue lineages. When Ximing asks for help repairing Ding Weizeng’s qihai, he explains this limitation and directs him toward more appropriate water powers. (Chapter 1050)

His four Orthodox Wood Daos are Back Facing South, Position Following Exclusivity, Words of Hidden Perception and Wood Forms Square. Words of Hidden Perception stirs before a Buddhist attack, giving him warning to defend himself. His Body Divine Abilities also confer exceptional hardness: biting through his own finger produces thunder, sparks and violet lightning. He spends nearly a century stalled before his fourth divine ability, finally reaching late Purple Mansion after Chi Wei’s death. The strength of his Orthodox Wood foundation later makes it difficult to accommodate a different formal position during Fruition Attainment. (Chapters 846–847, 1288, and 1290)

Profound Yellow Dao Talisman and Counterspells

Boxiu’s talisman expertise extends from the elementary techniques recorded in his early notes to formidable Purple Mansion applications. His Profound Yellow Dao Talisman responds to incantations and divine mana, casting a veil that dims Buddhist radiance and draws scattered spiritual light into itself. It can send golden chains toward an opponent and support the sealing of powerful targets. His threats to Nuzi include binding a dharma body and forcing reincarnation; his later intervention against the Thunder Island cultivator demonstrates an actual seal in the great void. (Chapters 101, 758, 846–847, and 1244)

His defenses also include a counterspell formed as milky-white qi. He catches an incoming technique, closes his hand around it and throws the qi aside, unravelling the attack. Five-Eyed then finds himself unable to remember how to reproduce that spell. These applications show control over hostile magic as well as brute suppression, but the talisman remains a tool he activates rather than an additional cultivation realm. (Chapter 846)

Formation, Sensing and Battlefield Direction

Boxiu studies sigils and formations closely enough to manipulate damaged nodes with Buzi and assess the restrictions protecting valuable techniques. When opening an inner formation would require prolonged work, he chooses a different objective: placing his talisman in its center and causing self-destruction. The decision demonstrates expertise directed toward denying or exposing a treasure, rather than a guarantee that every protected inheritance can be safely obtained. (Chapters 849 and 851)

His investigative and command methods are similarly deliberate. Golden runes gather in his pupils while shouted names test Buzi’s reactions, and divine messages carry orders and artifact incantations to Xuanfeng across the battlefield. Clear Hearing is also attributed to him, though its particular operation is not known. His authority amplifies these techniques by giving him capable subordinates; the Huai River Map’s transfer and use depend on Xuanfeng’s cooperation, not solely on Boxiu’s personal presence. (Chapters 841–842, 849, and 1293)

Gathering Wood and the Final Fruition Design

The fifth divine ability Boxiu completes near the end of his life is Falcon Finds Its Roost of Gathering Wood. Gathering Wood favors accumulation and accommodation, whereas Orthodox Wood is an Orthodox Position inclined toward fullness. His plan makes the latter resemble a falcon arriving to settle within the former’s Intercalary Position. It is a structural supplement to his established divine cultivation, but completing the five abilities does not establish that they have been perfectly integrated. (Chapters 1290 and 1492)

The final design combines that symbolic movement with Pristine Water borrowing and the finger-swallowing transformation. His circling flight represents the Gathering Wood approach; the method by which he draws Clear Dusk Rain remains uncertain. Lu Jiangxian suspects that the finger action imitates an ancient predecessor’s attainment, but cannot identify its full origin. The attempt fails because the four Orthodox Wood Daos overpower the unsupported Gathering Wood position, leaving a demonic transformation instead of an attained Golden Core. (Chapters 1288–1290)

Power progression

Relationships

• Ning Tiaoxiao: Yuansu, his quarrelsome old companion among the Three Yuans. Their disputes coexist with ties Boxiu feels acutely after Yuansu’s death. (Chapters 846 and 1288)
• Si Yuanli: A capable descendant whose ruthlessness suits Boxiu’s plans and who inherits resources, contacts and safeguards prepared before his death. (Chapters 887, 1385, and 1556)
• Si Yuanbai: A descendant whose rigid principles and dangerous confrontation with Chi Wei anger Boxiu. (Chapter 887)
• Li Xuanfeng: A subordinate he protects, directs and exploits, ultimately admitting that he forced a pill upon him which destroyed his Purple Mansion prospects. (Chapters 824, 841, 887, and 1288)
• Li Ximing: A new Daoist Master whom he courts as an ally while recognizing that his treatment of Xuanfeng prevents easy trust. (Chapters 1021–1022, 1048–1050, and 1288)
• Li Xizhi: A useful sect administrator and beneficiary of a covert favor intended to secure future assistance for Yuanli. (Chapters 1049 and 1385)
• Ning Wan: The new Daoist Master he counsels to take responsibility for Azure Pond, warning her about the seal and the obligations of sect leadership. (Chapters 1287–1288)
• Tantai Jin: His student from childhood, selected through arrangements with Yuandao and deeply attached to him. (Chapter 1289)
• Chi Buzi: A powerful junior whose identity and rapid cultivation he tests, then whose independence from the Chi Family he acknowledges. (Chapters 847, 849, and 886)

Items

• Huai River Map: Entrusted to Xuanfeng through Yuanli on Boxiu’s instructions; he also supplies its operating spell. (Chapters 841–842)
• Geng Metal Triple Qi Pill: A gift from Qiushui that he gives to Xuanfeng as a reward. (Chapter 758)
• Bright Truth Harmonizing Divine Pill: Obtained during Anhuai Heaven and included among the resources supporting the Si Family’s later prospects. (Chapter 1556)
• Profound Yellow Dao Talisman: His signature suppression and sealing tool, also used to trigger a protected formation’s self-destruction. (Chapters 846–847 and 851)
• Records of Talisman Crafting This Autumn: His early authored notes, later studied by Li Tongya. (Chapter 101)
• Golden Drip Sacred Dew: A medicinal drop he supplies to heal Xuanfeng before assigning further work. (Chapter 824)