Night Watcher

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Night Watcher (守夜人)
Species/Race	Human-derived guardian lineage; some members later became undead or corrupted beings 427 679
Gender	Varies; both male and female Night Watchers appear 188 195 533
Affiliation	Humanity; historically the Divine Court 427
Occupation/Role	Humanity's shield against darkness, Evil Gods, and other hostile entities 167 427
Status	Extant but severely diminished; the succession path was described as broken, while surviving, undead, and corrupted Night Watchers continue to appear 188 294 603
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 167; physically appears in Chapter 185 167 185

Background / History

In ancient records, Night Watchers emerged whenever heaven and earth underwent great upheaval. They walked through darkness and corpses carrying bronze gongs, guarding humanity until dawn. Their purpose was not literally to “watch the night,” but to protect humans wherever darkness existed. 167 185

The Night Watchers and Spirit Eliminators were originally two branches of humanity’s defenders within the Divine Court. Night Watchers served as humanity’s shield, guarding against darkness, while Spirit Eliminators served as its spear by exterminating Malevolent Spirits, Ferocious Oddities, and similar threats. 427

Their history is tied to the origin of the world’s human bloodlines. Ancestors from the True World entered the corrupted world to purify its malevolent energy, became trapped there, and gradually merged with its original inhabitants; the lineages of both Night Watchers and Spirit Eliminators arose from this union. 679

During an ancient war, the Spirit Eliminators betrayed humanity under pressure from the Heavenly Dao Palace, extracting their Imperial Blood of Destiny and replacing it with ghostly blood. The Night Watchers continued resisting the darkness and the powers that sought to erase them. 427

After the City God disappeared and the Netherworld was sealed, Night Watchers ceased appearing openly. Explorers later found their corpses and bronze gongs outside the Netherworld’s gates. A dying Night Watcher later told Jiang Dao that the path to becoming a new Night Watcher had been broken, making every remaining member irreplaceable. 167 188 189

Appearance

Night Watchers commonly appear in tattered black robes, carrying a bronze gong and hammer and wearing an identifying token. Their bodies often bear the effects of prolonged battle, blood loss, death qi, or corruption. 185 294 300

• Tattered black robe and black felt hat or hood. 185 300
• Bronze gong in the left hand and hammer in the right. 185 188
• Black waist token inscribed with “Night Watch”. 185 189
• Gaunt, scorched, blood-stained, or corpse-like body in weakened members. 185 188 294
• Dense white corpse hair can cover a Night Watcher who appears dead or undead. 294 300
• Some members manifest in radically different states, including a half-withered, half-flourishing female form with opposing life and death auras. 371

Abilities & Skills

Gong Resonance

A Night Watcher’s gong produces a supernatural resonance that interacts with heaven and earth. The gong itself is not the true source of this power; its effectiveness depends on the wielder being a Night Watcher. 189

• Disperses sacrificial chants, temple-offering auras, and lullaby-like effects that place humans into deep sleep. 188
• Breaks apart or suppresses manifestations of Evil Gods and returns stolen faith power to their victims. 185 188
• Disperses darkness, mist, Yin energy, and hostile spiritual influences. 199 533
• Calms unstable minds and suppresses rampaging killing intent and blazing sun energy. 294
• Can weaken powerful remnants such as the Ghost Demon and interrupt enemy attacks. 330 331
• Its use may drain the Night Watcher’s Imperial Blood of Destiny, causing severe bleeding and eventual death. 188 189

Imperial Blood of Destiny

Night Watchers possess Imperial Blood of Destiny, a power linked to humanity’s destiny and luck. It is their principal defense against Evil Gods, but its expenditure is costly. 188

• Causes attacks from an Evil God to dissipate upon contact with the Night Watcher’s blood. 188
• Allows the bearer to oppose entities that Jiang Dao considered too dangerous to confront directly. 188
• Is described as originating from all living beings and returning to all living beings. 189
• Excessive loss leaves a Night Watcher exhausted, dying, or unable to continue guarding humanity. 188 189

Persistence Beyond Death

Several Night Watchers continue acting despite appearing long dead. Their condition is uncertain even to experienced Spirit Eliminators. 294 300 302

• A corpse-haired Night Watcher walked the land with apparent rigor mortis while still responding to threats. 300
• One such Night Watcher destroyed a Netherworld Hall masked figure despite being believed to be a corpse. 301 302
• The Ghoul Spirit Monkey identified the corpse-like Night Watcher as alive rather than merely moving by instinct. 302
• A Night Watcher retaining a trace of spirit may potentially be revived by washing away corpse hair with the Elixir of Rebirth and placing them in a blood-colored coffin. 333

Black Chains and Black Flames

A corpse-like Night Watcher demonstrated an offensive technique independent of the gong. 302

• Summons dense black chains that bind a target across the sky. 302
• The chains withstand and destroy attacks formed from the world’s primal energy. 302
• Black flames erupt from the restraints and can incinerate a powerful enemy completely. 302

Life-and-Death Absorption

A female Night Watcher encountered in the Endless Ruins manifested seven-colored divine light and extraordinary absorption abilities. 371 372

• Absorbs hostile attacks through a seven-colored defensive light. 371
• Drains the vitality and essence of opponents, rapidly withering part of a Celestial Beast’s body. 371 372
• Defeated and absorbed the essence of a Celestial Beast that Jiang Dao could not overcome alone. 372
• Required vital blood from Jiang Dao to suppress her death qi, showing that even a powerful Night Watcher can be weakened by corruption or decay. 372

Equipment / Legacy

• Bronze Gong — Primary Night Watcher implement; channels the wielder’s resonance to dispel darkness, suppress Evil Gods, and purify hostile influences. 185 188 533
• Bronze Hammer — Used to strike the gong. 185 189
• Night Watch Token — A black, extremely heavy waist token marked with “Night Watch”; Gu Yun’s token also bore “Ancient Cloud” on its reverse. 185 189
• Black Jade Bracelets — Four bracelets are required to open a Night Watcher inheritance site. They are associated with treasures buried to stabilize dragon veins. 250 461
• Celestial Punishment Seal — The supreme inheritance of the Night Watchers; Jiang Dao used it to weaken a corrupted Night Watcher and restore its intelligence. 532 603
• Supreme Killing Weapon — A heaven-defying weapon jointly forged and sealed by Night Watcher Sovereigns and Spirit Eliminator Sovereigns. It can only be wielded by Night Watchers. 513 532

Relationships

• Humanity — The people Night Watchers exist to protect; their Imperial Blood of Destiny is tied to humanity’s collective destiny. 185 188
• Spirit Eliminators — Originally their allied branch within the Divine Court, but the Spirit Eliminators later betrayed humanity and became servants of the Heavenly Dao Palace. 427
• Evil Gods — Primary enemies; Night Watchers can disperse their manifestations, deny them faith, and resist their attempts to consume humanity. 185 188
• Heavenly Dao Palace / Higher Will — Hostile powers associated with the ancient suppression and attempted extermination of Night Watchers. 178 199 427
• Netherworld — Allied with the Night Watchers in an ancient war against Malevolent Spirits and Ferocious Oddities. 334
• Jiang Dao — Witnessed Gu Yun’s final battle, inherited his gong, hammer, and token, later attempted to revive another Night Watcher, and received the Celestial Punishment Seal inheritance. 188 189 333 532
• Ji Sheng — A Night Watcher Sovereign whose projection restored Undying Beings to their former Night Watcher identities; he later intervened directly to protect Jiang Dao’s group. 531 690

Story Role / Major Arcs

Gu Yun’s Final Watch

A Night Watcher later identified through his token as Gu Yun appeared in a frozen village and confronted a white, thirty-meter figure feeding on human faith. He rejected its offer to end humanity’s hunger and cold in exchange for their souls, broke its influence with his gong, and awakened the villagers. 185 189

Gu Yun later destroyed a thousand-armed Evil God manifestation threatening another town. The battle exhausted his Imperial Blood of Destiny; after revealing the history of the City God, Netherworld, Evil Gods, and Night Watchers to Jiang Dao, he died and left behind his gong, hammer, and token. 188 189

The Corpse-Haired Night Watcher

A decayed Night Watcher appeared in the mist and used gong resonance to calm Jiang Dao when his killing intent and blazing sun energy spiraled out of control. The figure ignored Jiang Dao and vanished without leaving a trace. 294

The same or a similar corpse-haired Night Watcher later appeared in Linglong Town. When the Corpse Refinement Sect and a Netherworld Hall operative attempted to seize its body, it shattered the blood coffin trapping it and incinerated the masked attacker with black chains and flames. 300 301 302

Jiang Dao later encountered this Night Watcher battling an Evil God and Ancestor Fengyun near the Old Buddha Temple. Its gong also weakened the Ghost Demon, allowing Jiang Dao to destroy it. 323 331

The Endless Ruins Night Watcher

A female Night Watcher intervened when a Celestial Beast overwhelmed Jiang Dao. Her seven-colored divine light absorbed the creature’s attacks and essence, defeating it with ease. 371 372

She exchanged the Thousand Tribulation Spirit Slayer technique and the Celestial Beast’s corpse for Jiang Dao’s vital blood, which she needed to suppress her death qi. 372

The Reappearance of Night Watchers

Ji Sheng’s projection appeared during the conflict over the supreme killing weapon. His presence caused Undying Beings who had abandoned their former identities to revert into Night Watchers, though they had only three days left to live after returning. 531

Another female Night Watcher defended Qianyuan City from seven Evil Gods. Her gong dispersed their attacks and frightened the surrounding deities, whose response confirmed that surviving Night Watchers remained priority targets. 533

A Night Watcher enslaved by the World Divine Tree later appeared as a monstrous, death-filled creature capable of massacring God-Kings. Jiang Dao used the Celestial Punishment Seal to weaken it and restore its awareness. 603

Notable Quotes

“Night Watchers don't guard the night, but the humans within the darkness. Wherever there is darkness, Night Watchers will appear.” 185

“A small price of faith, yet it demands their souls. The price paid is eternal sleep, an endless dream state, where they are drained dry and consumed by you.” 185

“The Night Watchers guard humanity's darkness and battle all who create darkness. As long as darkness persists, the Night Watchers' fighting spirit will never cease.” 531

Trivia

• Night Watchers’ gongs can be destroyed; Jiang Dao found twisted and shattered examples within their inheritance site. 473
• Their remains and artifacts are highly coveted by Spirit Eliminators, sects, deities, and the Netherworld Hall. 248 300 461
• A Night Watcher’s aura is associated with Extreme Yang power, which caused Jiang Dao to be mistaken for a possible remnant Night Watcher on more than one occasion. 194 385