Yunzhong Zi

Yunzhong Zi was a qi-cultivating adept residing in the Jade Pillar Grotto on Zhongnan Mountain and a wandering immortal of the Chanjiao (Enlightened Teaching) sect. Observing ominous demonic energy surging over the capital city of Chaoge, he entered the royal palace to present a colossal quince-wood sword intended to subdue the fox spirit Daji; unfortunately, King Zhou, misled by slanderous counsel, ordered the sword burned, causing the exorcism to fail. Later, he adopted the infant Leizhenzi—who had descended from heaven amid thunderclaps—on Mount Yan, fed him an immortal apricot to sprout the Wind-and-Thunder Wings, trained him in martial arts, and dispatched him to rescue King Wen through the Five Passes. During the Investiture of the Gods campaign, Yunzhong Zi likewise aided the Zhou forces in breaking enemy formations. Because he remained wholly devoted to expelling demons and protecting the virtuous, he escaped mortal peril and was hailed as the 'Immortal of Virtue and Good Fortune', embodying in the narrative the compassionate, righteous Daoist sage who safeguards the Dao.