Chen Ganliu

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Chen Ganliu (陈干六)
Alias(es)	Nan Sixing / Nan Si Xing, an assumed identity used while seeking entry to the Green Leaf Sect 33 34
Species/Race	Human cultivator; originally possessed only a half-formed, severed Spiritual Vein 26
Gender	Male 26
Affiliation	Chen Family; formerly an independent cultivator at Suiyang Immortal Market; disciple of Yun Susu of the Green Leaf Sect; later accepted Yao Hanshan's offer to enter the Orthodox Heavenly Demon Sect lineage 12 34 43
Occupation/Role	Talisman artisan, Magic Treasure trader, and chief examiner for the Green Leaf Sect's apprenticeship examination 12 35
Status	Alive; pursuing the White Sun Needles and a means to save Yun Susu 50
First Appearance	Chapter 2 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Qi Refining Layer One — Golden Essence Jade Liquid	3	Reached after three years of quietly cultivating the Azure Emperor Jia Yi Art following his rebirth; his first successful entry into cultivation in this life 3
Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist — Third Stage	10	Advanced rapidly through the martial manual by using his superior immortal True Qi as a foundation 10
Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist — Complete	29	Completed all five stages after several months of practice; the strengthened body may have aided his Qi cultivation 29
Qi Condensation Layer Two — Boiling Liquid into Qi	31	Broke through while refining the Wood Demon Pearl in seclusion at Talisman Collection Immortal Market 31
Qi Condensation Layer Two — Twenty-nine apertures opened	39	Thirty-six Green Leaf Spirit Talismans entered his body and forcibly opened twenty-seven apertures, which he later stabilized alongside his original two nasal apertures 39
Complete Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein; first Natal Spirit Talisman	45–46	Used the Heavenly Demon Vein Shifting Method to complete his formerly severed Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein and forge a Natal Spirit Talisman 45 46
Jia Wood Spirit Radiance Qi Vein; second Natal Spirit Talisman	49	Mad Zen's blade intent transformed a thread of spiritual energy into a second Spiritual Vein, allowing Chen to form another Natal Spirit Talisman 49

Background

Previous Life

Chen Ganliu first transmigrated into the body of a six-year-old illegitimate son of the Chen family. He initially sought literary fame, became known as a child prodigy, entered the imperial court, and eventually joined the Immortal Encounter Sect. 2

His cultivation aptitude was poor but not nonexistent: he possessed one Spiritual Vein in his previous life and entered cultivation through Daoist Five Willows of the Jade Mountain Sect, a branch of the Immortal Encounter Sect. He spent more than fifty years practicing talisman arts, which became both his greatest skill and the means by which he supported his household. 3 4

He never surpassed Qi Condensation Layer Two, Boiling Liquid into Qi. After leaving the Immortal Encounter Sect, he married his senior sister and Dao Companion, Nan Shiheng; their life in seclusion was marked by poverty, declining cultivation, and childlessness. He died at the age of eighty-six. 2 6 24

Rebirth and Departure from Chen Family Village

After dying, Chen returned to his six-year-old body with the memories and cultivation experience of his former life. Rather than pursuing scholarship again, he secretly practiced the Azure Emperor Jia Yi Art and attained Qi Refining Layer One three years later—far earlier than in his prior life. 3 4

He assisted the Daoist Spiritual Gate during a battle against an Evil Cultivator by disrupting the enemy's Black Dog Nails with a talisman hidden in a thrown brick. Spiritual Gate declined to take him as a disciple due to his apparent aptitude, but left him the Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist Manual. 6 7

Seeing no future in the Chen household, Chen left alone with saved silver and a wooden staff. He tamed an ordinary white deer using Binding Talismans and rode it toward Suiyang Immortal Market. 7

Suiyang Immortal Market

Chen supported himself through herb gathering, talisman sales, woodworking, and the refinement of low-grade Jade Talismans. His ability to build dwellings and craft talismans earned him a reputation as an Artisan Cultivator. 8 11 12

He established relationships with Chen Qing and Daoist Wu Chang, gaining a Peach Mountain Seal through trade and a Beast Skin Pouch as payment for building Wu Chang's house. 10 11

During the market's demonic calamity, Chen witnessed Ling Xiaozi murder another cultivator. He bluffed Ling into bribing him with Spirit Stones, Green Jade Stones, and the Cloud and Mist Banners, then fled Suiyang. 15

His later return to the devastated market brought him into contact with the Mind-Wandering Zen Blade, initially purchased as the seemingly worthless Wang Chan Blade. The sentient weapon exposed him as a scapegoat in a plot against the Immortal Encounter Sect. 22 24

Green Leaf Sect and the Demonic Lineage

After escaping from Jiang Ningxue and Xie Zhanrou, Chen entered the Green Leaf Sect under the false name Nan Sixing. Yang Xuesheng arranged for Yun Susu of Dragon Cloud Cave to accept him as a disciple. 33 34

At the sect, Chen served as an examiner during the disciple recruitment examination. When challenged by Li Sizhong, he demonstrated the Heart Talisman Technique by drawing all thirty-six Green Leaf Spirit Talismans in midair, inadvertently opening dozens of apertures. 35 39

Nan Shiheng later mistook him for a demonic infiltrator and attacked him. Jiang Ningxue and Xie Zhanrou intervened, took Chen from Green Leaf Mountain, and offered him discipleship under their master, Yao Hanshan. Chen accepted immediately in exchange for security and further cultivation opportunities. 43

Personality

Chen is intensely practical and survival-oriented. His experiences across multiple lives make him suspicious of sudden opportunities, careful with wealth, and quick to hide his cultivation, possessions, or true origins when disclosure could endanger him. 8 15 19

He is also unusually diligent. Even as a child without enough paper or ink, he practiced talisman arts by using willpower as a brush and air as talisman paper; he repeatedly chooses seclusion and disciplined cultivation over comfort or reputation. 3 31 42

Despite his caution, Chen is capable of compassion and loyalty. He assists those in danger, worries for Daoist Wu Chang after the Suiyang calamity, and seeks the White Sun Needles partly to save Yun Susu. 6 18 50

He does not hold rigid distinctions between orthodox and demonic cultivation. Faced with Yao Hanshan's lineage, he accepts discipleship because continued cultivation matters more to him than sectarian prejudice. 43

Abilities & Skills

Azure Emperor Jia Yi Art

Chen's principal cultivation method is a complete direct-transmission art of the Immortal Encounter Sect. His Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein is naturally suited to its Jia Wood-aligned True Qi. 3 8

• Enabled his early breakthrough to Golden Essence Jade Liquid after three years of cultivation 3
• Produces True Qi far stronger than the internal energy cultivated through the Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist 10
• Cannot be practiced without rest indefinitely; over-refinement risks internal damage and divergent meridians 3 4
• Its use risks exposing his connection to the Immortal Encounter Sect's direct lineage 24 26

Talisman Arts

Chen's most developed discipline is talisman crafting. Decades of prior-life practice gave him mastery of the Twelve Talismans of the Profound Gate and allowed him to comprehend the Heart Talisman Technique. 3 39

• Twelve Talismans of the Profound Gate — Includes Thunder, Fire, Seal, Bind, Still, Control, Mountain, Light, Startle, Conceal, Gather, and Illusion Talismans for defense, ghost warding, demon repulsion, and travel 3
• Heart Talisman Technique — Allows him to draw talismans directly in the air without paper, ink, or a brush 3 36 39
• Green Leaf Spirit Talismans — Learned the introductory set of thirty-six talismans shortly after entering the Green Leaf Sect 36 40
• Scent Sniffing Talisman — Produces a fragrance from his nasal cavity that can disorient the souls of living beings 36
• Natal Spirit Talismans — Talismans resonant with his Spiritual Veins; stronger than ordinary Green Leaf Spirit Talismans and capable of generating True Qi from within apertures 41 45 49

Heavenly Demon Vein Shifting Method

A forbidden demonic art recorded in the White Emperor's Discourse Collection. It uses demon inner cores and refined spiritual energy to create or repair Spiritual Veins. 28

• Chen used the Wood Demon Pearl to refine seven threads of spiritual energy 37 38
• Completed his severed Spring Bloom Spiritual Vein through the method 45 46
• Cultivated demonic energy, giving him the basis to disguise himself as a demon in the future 42 47
• The process is unstable and difficult; multiple threads of energy dissipated during refinement, while one repeatedly showed dangerous abnormalities 38 42

Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist

A five-stage martial arts manual given by Spiritual Gate. Its complete power is only comparable to Qi Refining Layer One, but it strengthens Chen's body and gives him a close-range option. 7 10 29

• Reached the third stage in just over ten days due to his immortal True Qi 10
• Completed all five stages within several months 29
• Can project the force of a punch several feet and produce visible mist from the strike 29
• Cannot match genuine high-level cultivation arts or Magic Treasures 10

Seventy-Two Transformations Insect Art

A low-grade transformation art from the White Emperor's Discourse Collection, intended to let Chen infiltrate demonic territory. 42

• Can eventually transform the user into various demonic insects 42
• Chen has cultivated demonic energy but cannot yet complete an insect transformation due to insufficient cultivation 47
• Requires at least Qi Refining Layer Eight for unrestricted use 42
• Transformation severely reduces magical power, making it unsuitable for direct combat 42

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mind-Wandering Zen Blade / Mad Zen — A sentient Immortal Encounter Sect flying blade first acquired as the Wang Chan Blade. It saved Chen from a fatal fall, forcibly carried him through Body-Sword Unity, follows him persistently, and later created his Jia Wood Spirit Radiance Qi Vein. 22 25 49
• White Emperor's Discourse Collection — The long-sought White Emperor legacy. It contains the Heavenly River Sword Canon, True Water spells, the Heavenly Demon Vein Shifting Method, and the Seventy-Two Transformations Insect Art. 27 28 42
• Brocade Paired Warriors — Twelve brocade handkerchief Magic Treasures made by Xie Zhanrou. Each can become a Divine General after being infused with enough True Qi; Chen has successfully activated one. 44 46
• Cloud and Mist Banners — Six banners acquired from Ling Xiaozi. Chen intends to merge Illusion Talismans into them to supplement their cloud and mist effects. 15
• Soul Stirring Banner — The strongest of eleven Magic Treasures Chen recovered from storage treasures in Blazing Light Cave; he later refined it using the Three Soul Stirring Talismans. 18 20
• Peach Mountain Seal — A common Mountain Talisman-derived Magic Tool traded from Chen Qing, capable of exerting several thousand jin of force. 10
• Talisman White Deer / Talisman Black Donkey — Travel Magic Treasures used to speed his journeys after his original tamed white deer. 18 19 29
• Beast Skin Pouch — A low-grade storage Magic Treasure given by Daoist Wu Chang as payment for building a wooden house. 11 12

Relationships

• Nan Shiheng — His Dao Companion in his previous life. In the present, she does not recognize him and initially views him as a demonic threat, though she later hears his account and cautiously considers his offer to help Yun Susu. 24 43 50
• Yun Susu — Chen's Green Leaf Sect master at Dragon Cloud Cave. Her severe injuries motivate Chen's search for the White Sun Needles. 34 41 50
• Yu Qinghong — Senior sister under Yun Susu who teaches Chen the full Green Leaf Spirit Talisman set and the secret method for creating Natal Spirit Talismans. 34 40 41
• Jiang Ningxue — Yao Hanshan's disciple and Chen's senior sister after he accepts the Orthodox Heavenly Demon Sect lineage. She first captures him over Mad Zen, later protects him and gives him rare demon insects. 26 43 44
• Xie Zhanrou — Jiang Ningxue's junior sister and Chen's fellow disciple under Yao Hanshan. She captures Chen from Green Leaf Mountain and gifts him the Brocade Paired Warriors. 26 43 44
• Chen Qing — Rogue cultivator, trading partner, and temporary housemate at Suiyang Immortal Market. The two travel together for safety following the demonic calamity. 10 19
• Yang Xuesheng — A powerful acquaintance who initially presents herself as a Fox Immortal. She helps Chen obtain the Wood Demon Pearl, sponsors his entry into the Green Leaf Sect, and is later known there as his Little Uncle-Master. 29 30 34 48
• Daoist Wu Chang — Jade Mountain Sect cultivator and veteran Suiyang merchant who pays Chen with a Beast Skin Pouch for carpentry work. His fate after the Suiyang calamity remains unknown to Chen. 11 18
• Spiritual Gate — He declines to accept Chen as a disciple but rewards his help against the Evil Cultivator by teaching him the Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist Manual. 6 7
• Yao Hanshan — Master of Jiang Ningxue and Xie Zhanrou, former owner of Mad Zen, and Chen's accepted new master in the Orthodox Heavenly Demon Sect lineage. 25 43