He would have been expected to be the crown prince of his father, the Busabo Khan Murong Fuyun, as the oldest son of his wife Princess Guanghua of the Sui dynasty, but was bypassed, and in 635, with Tuyuhun under attack by Tang, he headed a group of nobles who surrendered to Tang and was subsequently created khan to succeed his father (who was killed in flight).
In 607, Emperor Yang started considering conquering Tuyuhun, after his official Pei Ju convinced him that it would be easy to do so.
In 608 and 609, Emperor Yang launched major attacks on Tuyuhun, taking over its lands and forcing Murong Fuyun to flee.
However, on the way back to Tuyuhun lands, Ni was assassinated, and Murong Shun returned to Sui, which, in later years, began collapsing as it was engulfed by agrarian rebellions.
His son Murong Nuohebo the Prince of Yan succeeded him, and managed to survive the crisis with aid from the Tang general Hou Junji.