Tao Yúan

Tao Yuan is the ruthless leader of the Tao family

Appearance
Tao Yúan is a tall and very muscular man, who has tattooed the Tao Family symbol onto his back. He has a long black goatee and a black exaggerated mustache. Yúan is commonly seen wearing traditional Chinese yellow robes, however it is just to cover, that he wears a large amour of the Tao Family ancestor's' memorial tablets that is used to generate his large oversoul Dà Dào Wáng.

Personality
Tao Yúan, when he first appeared seemed like both sadistic and malevolent. He heavily believes in the doctrine of Tao/Dao, even raising his children with this doctrine, instead of showing them love and care, he thought get them to be cruel and emotionless. However it is later revealed that he is a much more deep person that, due to his family's long history of being shunned, has lost all trust to people outside of his family.

Spirit

 * See More: Tao Family

His spirits are that of 2000 years of the Tao Family who have been unable to leave to the afterlife because of there treatment of those they saw nearest. He carries these spirits on him, by wearing an armor made out of memory tablets. He can use these tablets to generate an oversoul shaped like a large sized version of himself, or he gather the souls in the Bâo-Lèi Sword and create a huge, scaled, Shénlóng-like dragon complete with Tao Yúan's head (with his exaggerated mustache & beard) and four sets of claws

Engraving the Tao Family name into history once more
When Yúan became the head of the Tao Family he decided that it was time for the Tao Family to once be again recognized by world, and saw the Shaman Fights as a fit way to do so.

Going against the Tao Family
Yúan is first seen during the flash back sequences of Tao Ren and Lee Bailong, both times in shadow. He is first truly seen, while Ren is fighting Asakura Yoh, when Jun confronts her father and asks him to let go of Ren, or he would wind up destroying himself. However towards this question he just laughs and proceeds to "punish" her by sealing her in a dungeon for the ten days it takes Ren to return home after his fight with Yoh.

To meet Ren, Yúan creates an army of Jiang Shi from freshly killed corpses which Ren disposes of with little difficulty. When Ren and Yúan face off Ren cannot wound his father even with the Golden Vorpal Dance

Anime/Manga Difference
In the english anime, Yúan is referred to as the uncle to Jun and Ren instead of their father, who's dead is the reason of Yúans hatred towards humans. Also in the english anime, instead of following the way of Tao, he just says: "Destroy or be destroyed"

Family

 * See More: Tao Family

Tao Yúan is part of the Tao Family, an ancient 2000 year old chinese family.

Trivia

 * En is just another translation of Yúan