Dao Ancestor

Overview

The Dao Ancestor (道祖) is the supreme patriarch and absolute founder of Daoism. As one of the patriarchs of the Three Teachings (三教祖师) alongside the Most Holy Teacher and the Buddha, he exists at the absolute pinnacle of cultivation (the 15th Realm). He is the creator and highest authority of Bai Yujing (白玉京), the supreme Daoist institution that governs the Qingming Heaven.

Despite possessing unfathomable magical power, the Dao Ancestor rarely interferes directly in the mundane affairs of the world, choosing instead to delegate the governance of the Qingming Heaven to his three primary disciples. He spends much of his time observing the Dao from his legendary Lotus Grotto-Heaven (莲花小洞天), quietly awaiting the inevitable day when he and the other two patriarchs must disperse their Dao (散道) to save the universe from collapse.

Cultivation & The "One"

The Dao Ancestor's enlightenment and the foundation of Daoist philosophy stem from his encounters with the primordial origin of the universe.

In ancient times, he perceived the absolute origin point—the "One" (一). Over the course of his existence, the Dao Ancestor personally witnessed this "One" a total of three times, witnessing the universe's mechanics and the earliest evolution of the Great Dao. However, even with his supreme 15th-Realm capabilities, the Dao Ancestor could not physically capture it. Ultimately, he forcefully named this ungraspable origin the "Dao" (道), establishing the famous philosophical principle that "the Dao produces the One, and the One produces all things."

Major Events

The Riverside Pact

Recognizing that 15th-Realm entities continuously expanding their influence in their respective worlds would inevitably lead to an uncontrollable "Dao Assimilation" (道化) that could unravel reality, the Dao Ancestor took the lead. He gathered the patriarchs of the Three Teachings at a riverside in ancient times to establish a 10,000-year pact (万年之期). This agreement set the rules for their eventual sacrifice to preserve the human world.

Governance of Bai Yujing

While he founded Bai Yujing, he handed its century-by-century rotational governance over to his disciples: Kou Ming, Yu Dou, and Lu Chen. He maintains a largely hands-off approach to their decisions. For instance, when his second disciple, Yu Dou, proposed a radical plan to refine the entirety of Bai Yujing into a natal artifact to serve as an ultimate cage for slaughtering extraterrestrial demons, the Dao Ancestor remained ambiguous, neither explicitly supporting nor opposing the extreme measure.

Releasing Zhang Fenghai

When the brilliant Daoist prodigy Zhang Fenghai was imprisoned in Yanxia Cave by Yu Dou for ideological conflicts, the Dao Ancestor personally intervened behind the scenes. He promised Zhang Fenghai that if he could win the upcoming three-teachings debate, he would be permitted to formally leave the Bai Yujing registry and establish his own sect without further persecution.

The Lotus Grotto-Heaven

The Dao Ancestor resides within a secluded dimension known as the Lotus Grotto-Heaven (莲花小洞天). Although it is officially categorized as one of the traditional thirty-six minor grotto-heavens, its internal scale defies logic. Legends claim that a single lotus leaf floating within this grotto-heaven is larger than the entire capital city of the Great Li Dynasty in the Haoran Heaven.

Relationships

• Kou Ming (寇名): His eldest disciple and the First Headmaster of Bai Yujing. A grand Daoist who spends millennia meticulously mapping the heavens.
• Yu Dou (余斗): His second disciple. Known as "True Invincible," he is a fiercely strict martial Daoist who ruthlessly enforces Bai Yujing's laws.
• Lu Chen (陆沉): His third disciple. An eccentric and carefree Daoist who serves as the Third Headmaster.
• Shan Qing (山青): The Dao Ancestor's closed-door disciple (关门弟子) and one of the designated "young top ten" prodigies of the Qingming Heaven.

References

• 剑来2：虎尾猿星客, 第四章 — 天亮: Supports the existence of the Dao Ancestor's Lotus Grotto-Heaven and describes the staggering size of a single lotus leaf within it.
• 剑来25：天地皆同力, 第四章 — 十四境修士: Identifies the Daoist Shan Qing as the closed-door disciple of the Dao Ancestor.
• 剑来33：城头刻新字, 第九章 — 真正的持剑者: Supports his role in discovering the primordial "One", naming it the "Dao", and his leadership in establishing the 10,000-year pact at the riverside to prevent the inevitable "Dao Assimilation" (道化) of the 15th-Realm patriarchs.
• 剑来34：山中何所有, 第六章 — 刻字: Supports his ambiguous stance regarding Yu Dou's plan to refine Bai Yujing into a cage for extraterrestrial demons, and his residence in the Lotus Grotto-Heaven.
• 剑来43：青帝常为主, 第五章 — 青帝常为主: Supports his personal promise to Zhang Fenghai, offering him freedom from Bai Yujing's registry if he wins the three-teachings debate.