Tao Yúan

Tao Yuan is the ruthless leader of the Tao family

Personality
Tao Yúan, when he first appeared seemed like both sadistic and malevolent. He heavily believs in the doctrine of Tao/Dao, even raising his children with this doctrine, instead of showing them love and care, he tough them to be cruel and emotionless. However it is later revealed that he is a much more deep person that, due to his familys long historie of beeing shuned, 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 theese spirits on him, by wearing an armour made out of memory tablets. He can use theese 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 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 Yoh Asakura, 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