Du'e Zhenren

Du'e Zhenren was a reclusive Daoist cultivator residing in Western Kunlun. According to the Investiture of the Gods, Li Jing—the future Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King—once ascended the mountain to study the Dao but left before attaining immortality, later serving as the military governor of Chentang Pass. Zheng Lun, a general under the Marquis of Ji Province, however, received Du'e Zhenren's complete transmission: the technique of expelling two vital breaths from his nasal cavities, whereby a single snort could seize an enemy’s soul. During the Investiture War between Shang and Zhou, disciples of Du'e Zhenren became embroiled in the dynastic conflict; Zheng Lun’s signature 'snorting' ability, inherited from his master, made him a formidable general in the Shang army. Bearing the name Du'e ('One Who Transcends Calamity'), the immortal embodied the ideal of delivering beings from suffering and tribulation—his disciples’ divergent fates thus mirror the profound moral choices faced by all sentient beings amid the cosmic trials of the Investiture era.