Ku Lan

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ku Lan (枯兰)
Alias(es)	Umbrella Girl; “Benevolent Omen” (self-proclaimed)
Species/Race	Evil Omen ghost
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Zheng Que's Ghost Servants; the Underworld
Occupation/Role	Ghost Servant; Yin Messenger
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 53

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Tongue-Pulling Hell, Second Level	53	Her Yin Energy settled at the second level after Zheng Que judged her in the Underworld. 53
Tongue-Pulling Hell, Fourth Level (peak)	58	Zheng Que increased her Yin Energy; she broke through the third level and stabilized at the peak of the fourth. 58
Tongue-Pulling Hell, Fifth Level	61–62	After absorbing Yin Energy from slain ghosts and receiving Zheng Que's aid, she reached the fifth level. 61 62
Tongue-Pulling Hell, Sixth Level	145	By the Ghost Bride incident, Ku Lan was at the sixth level; she had previously approached Scissor Hell before being sealed for decades. 145
Tongue-Pulling Hell, Seventh Level	161	Zheng Que helped her break through in the Underworld. 161
Tongue-Pulling Hell, Eighth Level	196	Zheng Que rapidly raised her Yin Energy to the eighth level. 196
Scissor Hell	313	Using Yin Energy from slain ghosts, Zheng Que raised Ku Lan across the Tongue-Pulling Hell threshold into Scissor Hell. 313
Tongue-Pulling Hell, Ninth Level	325	Touching splintered wood drained her Yin Energy and forcibly reduced her from Scissor Hell to the ninth level of Tongue-Pulling Hell. 325
Scissor Hell, Fourth Level	361	Zheng Que restored and raised her cultivation to the fourth level of Scissor Hell. 361
Scissor Hell, Seventh Level	532	Her gains during the ghost tide raised her from the fourth to the seventh level. 532
Scissor Hell, Eighth Level	581	Zheng Que used remaining Yin Energy to raise her to the eighth tier. 581

Background / History

Ku Lan claimed that, 179 years before her judgment, she was hunted by an evil cultivator and retaliated by dismembering him. She went on to kill almost daily—primarily cultivators—while sincerely believing that every victim had wronged her. Her confessed crimes included massacring an entire family and “helping” female cultivators become symmetrical. 53

When Zheng Que brought her before the Underworld, he condemned her enormous murderous karma and offered conditional reprieve: she would avoid the Eighteen Levels of Hell only by faithfully serving him. Ku Lan accepted, was absorbed into the Life and Death Book, and emerged as Zheng Que's Ghost Servant. 53

She initially presented herself as compliant and courteous, but immediately sought to undermine Qing Li and privately planned to exploit Zheng Que's predicted future immortality for herself. 54 After earning merit by slaying ghosts, she received an Imperial Conferment and became a Yin Messenger. 60

Ku Lan later reunited with her old friend Luo Fuyu, the Ghost Bride, revealed to be her mistress while Ku Lan served as a dowry maid. She colluded with Luo Fuyu to harvest Zheng Que's Yang Energy, falsely impersonated Qing Li, and repeatedly tried to conceal her role. Zheng Que confronted her in the Underworld and compelled her to confer an Imperial Edict upon Luo Fuyu as an opportunity for atonement. 144 146 150

Appearance

Ku Lan usually manifests as a graceful young woman in black, carrying a black silk umbrella. Her refined, almost painterly appearance contrasts sharply with the malicious intent visible in her expression. 53

• Pale, haggard, exquisitely delicate face. 53
• Dark hair arranged in an elaborate cloud-like bun, with loose strands framing her face. 53
• Bright crimson hair ribbons tied in auspicious knots. 53
• Black robe, black skirt, and black silk umbrella; the umbrella is also her alternate form. 53 55
• Can twist or rotate her body in unnatural, fluid ways without moving her hands from the umbrella handle. 53 54
• Following her Yin Messenger conferment, her form became more solid and solemn; her robe gained ink-colored trim and she received a black Service Token. 60
• Her Red Attire transformation changes both her clothing and umbrella into blood-red forms. 259 566

Personality

Ku Lan is eloquent, ceremonious, and outwardly submissive toward Zheng Que, Qing Li, and other figures of authority. She routinely addresses Zheng Que as “Young Master” or “my Lord,” offers elaborate thanks for his aid, and readily presents herself as a loyal subordinate. 53 62 160

Her politeness masks an intensely violent and self-serving nature. She rationalizes mass murder as righteous punishment, calls herself a “Benevolent Omen,” and proposes killing Qing Li or slaughtering all future captured ghosts to solve Zheng Que's problems. 53 60 She is ambitious, manipulative, and persistent in trying to harvest Zheng Que's Yang Energy despite repeated failures and warnings. 54 146 164

Ku Lan is also highly resilient and battle-minded. She endures attacks that would destroy ordinary ghosts, adapts quickly under pressure, and possesses much greater practical combat experience than Qing Li despite their matching cultivation at Scissor Hell's fourth level. 133 414

Abilities & Skills

Object-Self Duality

Ku Lan's innate species talent grants her both a human form and an umbrella form. 55

• May vanish beneath any umbrella or attach herself to one, converting it into her umbrella form. 55
• Used this ability to evade Qing Li's binding rope and to relocate beneath other red umbrellas during battle. 54 133
• Her black silk umbrella can protect against unusual spiritual threats, including resisting the Soul-Calling Banner's soul-hooking effect. 252

Ghost Skills

Ku Lan possessed three documented ghost skills shortly after joining Zheng Que. 55

• Symmetry — Forces a target's head to rotate in synchronization with Ku Lan's own movement; she used it to twist Qing Li's head backward. 54 55
• Division — Creates identical clones. Ku Lan survives as long as at least one clone remains. 55
• Blood Weeping — In human form, disrupts an opponent's soul through crying; in umbrella form, blood seeps across the canopy to interfere with incoming attacks. 55

Yin Messenger Authority

After receiving Zheng Que's Imperial Conferment, Ku Lan became a Yin Messenger. 60

• Can perceive ghosts associated with Tongue-Pulling Hell. 60
• Can identify such ghosts. 60
• Can seal such ghosts. 60
• Gained the Ghost Wall ghost skill upon conferment. 60

Yin Arts

• Yin Consumption — Rapidly restores her condition by devouring Yin Energy. 55 108
• Red Attire — Sacrifices one Yin art to temporarily enhance all aspects of her strength; her human and umbrella forms turn red while active. 55 259
• Evil Strength — Greatly increases physical force; enabled her surprise attack on Qing Li. 54 55
• Ghostly Fire — Power created after she devoured the pill fire that once refined her. 55
• Maiden Yang-Stealing Art — A Yin art acquired from Luo Fuyu to harvest Yang and nourish Yin. It repeatedly fails against Zheng Que, whose fate and destiny resist it. 259 565

Spell Arts

Ku Lan obtained powerful spell arts from Luo Fuyu and later gave them to Zheng Que. 167 168

• Soul Explosion Technique 168
• Phantom Escape Technique 168

Equipment / Items

• Black Silk Umbrella — Ku Lan's signature weapon and alternate body under Object-Self Duality. 53 55
• Service Token — A black token marked with “Service,” received with her Yin Messenger conferment. 60
• Red Attire — Her transformed scarlet robe and blood-colored umbrella state, created through the Red Attire Yin art. 259 566

Relationships

• Zheng Que — Her master and Underworld Lord. He judged her crimes, made her service the condition for avoiding hell, repeatedly raised her cultivation, and conferred her as a Yin Messenger; Ku Lan nevertheless continues plotting to exploit him for power. 53 60 164 581
• Qing Li — Fellow Ghost Servant and bitter rival. Ku Lan attacked her immediately after joining Zheng Que, frequently slanders her to their master, and once proposed replacing her as Zheng Que's primary ghost servant. 54 60 119
• Luo Fuyu — Ku Lan's old friend and mistress; Ku Lan is Luo Fuyu's dowry maid. Luo Fuyu taught her the Maiden Yang-Stealing Art and supplied her with spell arts. 145 150 167 259
• Shu Yunying — Fellow Ghost Servant and competitor. Both attempted to seize the splintered wood, which caused Ku Lan's cultivation to collapse; Shu Yunying then kicked her away from it. 325
• Mu Xiangu — Fellow Ghost Servant whom Ku Lan portrays as a threat when reporting events to Zheng Que, exaggerating her own role in protecting him. 300
• Xue Shuangzi — Ku Lan taught her the Maiden Yang-Stealing Art and later manipulated her with promises of another method. The two considered joining forces against Zheng Que but abandoned the plan because of his strength. 565 566

Story Role / Major Arcs

Recruitment and Conferment

Ku Lan enters the story as a captured Evil Omen whose extensive confession shocks Zheng Que. Her sentence binds her to Zheng Que's service, and she becomes one of his earliest Ghost Servants. 53 Her early rivalry with Qing Li establishes the internal conflict among Zheng Que's servants. 54 60

Ghost Bride Conspiracy

Ku Lan secretly reconnects Zheng Que with Luo Fuyu and attempts to use the Ghost Bride's Yang-harvesting art to gain strength and eventual independence. Her deception is exposed, though Zheng Que retains her usefulness by ordering her to confer an Imperial Edict on Luo Fuyu. 144 146

Underworld Advancement

Zheng Que repeatedly uses the Life and Death Book and accumulated Yin Energy to raise Ku Lan from Tongue-Pulling Hell to Scissor Hell. She also performs punishments in Tongue-Pulling Hell, which strengthens and stabilizes her soul. 196 277 313

Blood Pass Operations

Following the ghost tide, Ku Lan is assigned to a Spirit Stone mine and later helps manage resource collection in Blood Pass. She forces human cultivators to gather Five Baleful Ghost-Eye Orchids, killing those who resist or delay. 516 565 Her attempt to seize splintered wood demonstrates that her hunger for power remains unchanged, even when it costs her cultivation. 325

Trivia

• Ku Lan insists that she is a “Benevolent Omen,” despite admitting to killing people almost daily for 179 years. 53 146
• Zheng Que considers Ku Lan exceptionally troublesome in combat because her Evil Omen nature, Imperial Conferment, umbrella transformations, and numerous techniques make her difficult to destroy. 133
• Her practical combat ability exceeds Qing Li's despite both being at the fourth level of Scissor Hell during their sparring comparison. 414