NovelPantheon

Daoist Wu

Painter and high-level cultivatorexact realm unspecifiedWang Zhice

Daoist Wu is the Painting Sage of Emperor Taizong's era, an artist whose portraits became entangled with the deaths of the Pavilion of Ascending Mist's celebrated ministers. (Chapters 195, 680, and 730)

Biography

Escape, return, and defeat

After completing portraits of Taizong's great subjects, Daoist Wu becomes convinced that he too will die and secretly escapes the capital. Centuries later he returns beside Wang Zhice and acts as his side's “eyes” during the confrontation with Xu Yourong. His emergence from a painted gray wall initially signals Xu's defeat, but the sudden activation of the Li Palace grand array denies him a counterattack and knocks the brush and palette from his hands. He survives bloodied and furious, then travels with Wang Zhice rather than resuming a public political role. (Chapters 195, 1083–1084, 1093, 1097, and 1119)

By the end of the story, Daoist Wu and Wang Zhice are living at Sangharama Temple. He paints its walls while they attempt to reproduce the lost murals and restore the Buddhist lineage, turning the art once bound to an imperial death scheme toward preservation. (Chapters 1151 and 1182)

Appearance and personality

When he fled the court, Daoist Wu's formerly spirited appearance had become white-haired and fearful. After his later defeat he sits covered in blood, openly cursing the sky; his paintings are described as simple or deliberately crude in stroke but audacious in color. (Chapters 195, 1097, and 1111)

Abilities and cultivation

Daoist Wu can enter or emerge through a painted wall and provide remote visual intelligence, making him an important observer in Wang Zhice's plan. His brush and concealed palette are integral to this art, but the Li Palace array can interrupt the working before he counters. The source does not specify his cultivation realm or fully explain how the painted passage functions. (Chapters 1083–1084 and 1093)

Relationships

  • Wang Zhice: Daoist Wu returns as Wang Zhice's ally, travels with him after the failed operation, and later works beside him at Sangharama Temple. (Chapters 1095, 1119, and 1182)
  • Xu Yourong: His intervention initially defeats Xu's position, but her side's use of the Li Palace array leaves him injured and unable to counterattack. (Chapters 1083–1084 and 1097)

Items

  • Brush and palette: Daoist Wu carries a brush and a palette concealed in his sleeve. Both fall when the grand array disrupts his technique. (Chapter 1084)