NovelPantheon

Ji Zheng

Fanxu dhyana xiu and sect elderXuan Kong Temple

Ji Zheng is a fanxu elder raised entirely within Xuan Kong Temple. His profound but sheltered cultivation makes him stronger than his companion Dai Tao in a direct contest, while leaving him poorly prepared for pursuit, deception, and Zuo Mo's deliberately repetitive trap.

Biography

Great Peace City and Mo Cloud Sea

Ji Zheng accompanies Dai Tao in pursuit of Zuo Mo, A Gui, and Ceng Lian'er after discovering traces of pure shen power. A lifelong temple disciple and cultivation fanatic, he has almost no worldly tracking experience, so the trio repeatedly misdirects the two elders. When they finally locate their targets, Ji Zheng uses citywide dhyana light to force them into the open and survives their coordinated counterattack, though A Gui wounds him. He continues the chase before fully recovering, attracted by the chance to comprehend shen power in combat. Zuo Mo conditions him through repeated, low-risk exchanges; once Ji Zheng relaxes his guard and becomes absorbed in finally encountering shen power, Ceng Lian'er fires the Little Mo Treasure Cup into his forehead. The lightning explosion kills him and drives Dai Tao to flee. (Chapters 665–670, 672–676, 678–679, and 684)

Shen-Power Ruins and the Great-Sect War

Ji Zheng's death continues to shape later events without implying that he survives them. Zuo Mo measures later threats against the fanxu elder he killed, while the valuable materials taken from Ji Zheng remain part of his forging resources. Years afterward, seven of Ji Zheng's Incense Fire Ling Wish Beads are incorporated into a three-flanged shen staff forged for Zong Ru. His posthumous role is therefore twofold: his defeat proves that a fanxu can be killed, weakening Xuan Kong Temple's authority, and his unfinished materials are repurposed within Mo Cloud Sea's shen-device work. (Chapters 716 and 807)

Appearance and personality

Ji Zheng has a shiny bald head, prayer beads, monk robes, and a cold, granite-like face. Rather than a harmonious monastic air, he gives off a murderous severity that inspires fear. In combat his kasaya releases sutra characters, and the Great Authority Vajrapani Dhyana Body covers him in intimidating golden light. (Chapters 665 and 668)

He is expressionless, decisive, disciplined, proud, and almost wholly devoted to cultivation. His pure dhyana heart quickly regains calm under pressure, but his secluded life gives him little practical experience outside the temple. Desire for a complete shen inheritance and the exhilaration of new comprehension eventually narrow his attention enough for an ambush to succeed. (Chapters 665–668 and 676)

Abilities and cultivation

Ji Zheng is a fanxu whose foundation is stronger than Dai Tao's. His palm and shouted “Muh” freeze the air across hundreds of li while dhyana light sweeps a city. He uses a golden lotus and chanting to suppress fighting spirit, the Great Authority Vajrapani Dhyana Body for direct defense, the Sutra Sea Kasaya to create an ocean of sutra characters, and the Mortal Thought Bead to arrest an incoming moon attack. (Chapters 667–668)

These powers withstand a coordinated assault by Zuo Mo, A Gui, and Ceng Lian'er, but they are not without limits. A Gui's strange shen power wounds him, the Buddha Relic saves him from the immediate consequences, and his injuries remain suppressed rather than healed during the pursuit. Most decisively, experience and attention fail where cultivation does not: repeated bait makes him complacent, and fixation on Zuo Mo prevents him from noticing Ceng Lian'er using the Little Mo Treasure Cup. (Chapters 668–670, 672, and 676)

Relationships

  • Dai Tao: Dai Tao is his fellow Xuan Kong Temple elder and calls him shixiong. Ji Zheng is stronger in direct cultivation, while Dai Tao is only somewhat more worldly; Dai Tao abandons the fight in terror after Ji Zheng dies. (Chapters 665–668 and 678)
  • Xuan Kong Temple: Ji Zheng was born to temple disciples, raised with its focused resources, and became one of its revered elders. His death shocks the sect, demoralizes its reinforcements, and becomes a strategic crisis. (Chapters 665, 678–679)
  • Zuo Mo, A Gui, and Ceng Lian'er: He hunts the trio for their shen power. A Gui first wounds him, Zuo Mo designs the conditioning trap, and Ceng Lian'er delivers the fatal strike with Zuo Mo's talisman. (Chapters 665–670 and 672–676)

Items

  • Sutra Sea Kasaya: An eighth-grade talisman whose living sutra characters form a defensive sea accompanied by massed chanting. It is overcome during the trio's first coordinated attack. (Chapter 668)
  • Mortal Thought Bead: An eighth-grade bead that freezes Ceng Lian'er's moon attack in place. Its later disposition is not separately stated. (Chapter 668)
  • Buddha Relic: The relic saves Ji Zheng after A Gui's shen-power strike, but does not immediately restore him to full health. (Chapters 669–670 and 672)
  • Incense Fire Ling Wish Beads: Ji Zheng carries seventeen rare beads and appears to have intended to complete an eighteen-bead bracelet. Zuo Mo takes them after his death and later uses seven in a shen device for Zong Ru. (Chapters 678 and 807)
  • Little Mo Treasure Cup: This belongs to Zuo Mo, not Ji Zheng. Ceng Lian'er uses it to kill him after he lets down his guard. (Chapters 676 and 678)