Old Taoist

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Ji Chen is the ninth-generation inheritor of Clear Wind Temple, a sect whose origins trace back to Green City. The temple was founded more than 2,700 years earlier, and its successive patriarchs preserved a substantial body of Daoist teachings despite the sect’s modest size. 3 10

He reveres the temple’s founding patriarch, Cloud Deer True Man, an artifact refiner and peerless flying-sword cultivator. Cloud Deer True Man’s legacy includes the temple’s signature Flying Sword Art, the True Interpretation of Clear Wind Entering Subtlety. 3 10

In his own generation, Ji Chen had two senior brothers and a junior sister. His eldest senior brother, the expected heir of their master, died fighting a thousand-year great demon at Returning Dragon Ferry. His second senior brother was proud and narrow-minded, ultimately betraying the sect and joining the Corpse Refining Sect; this betrayal later brings White Bone Hall into conflict with Clear Wind Temple. Their junior sister had ordinary aptitude and a good heart, but was spoiled by their master and fellow disciples. 56

Ji Chen later takes in Zhou Yunzhi, a fifteen-year-old refugee from the Zhou Family, and brings him to Clear Wind Temple. Zhou Yunzhi becomes the disciple Qingyi, though he is secretly used as a pawn by White Bone Hall. 163

Ji Chen encounters the starving Shen Hui near a ruined temple. Intrigued by Shen Hui’s lighter, which he initially mistakes for an object containing earthly Sha essence, he nevertheless rescues Shen Hui from a Water Wraith and invites him to Clear Wind Temple in exchange for helping with chores. 1

Clear Wind Temple gains a reputation throughout Yongchang Commandery because of Ji Chen’s willingness to help officials and common people with supernatural problems. However, because excessive incense offerings would disturb the temple’s quiet cultivation, he arranges for the county government to screen requests and limits the temple’s descents from the mountain to twice a year. 20

Appearance

Ji Chen is a gaunt, gray-browed elderly Daoist. He commonly wears a faded gray cloth robe and mud-caked straw sandals, and carries a slender wooden sword box strapped across his back. 1 39

• Graying brows and an uneven beard. 1 17
• Pale, weathered Daoist robe, often described as worn from travel. 1 39
• Carries a long, narrow, dark sword box decorated with cloud patterns. 1 3 56
• His posture is ordinarily steady and composed, though he appears stooped and badly burned after the final battle at Clear Wind Temple. 1 248
• When later manifested as a spirit, he retains his recognizable elderly appearance, including what remains of his partially shorn beard. 253

Personality

Ji Chen is outwardly plainspoken and unhurried, but he is perceptive enough to recognize Shen Hui’s unusual potential almost immediately. He encourages steady foundations over flashy techniques, repeatedly warning Shen Hui not to overreach or rely on cultivation talent alone. 10 56

He is compassionate toward ordinary people and maintains a mental record of local demons and ghosts. Clear Wind Temple’s reputation grows through his willingness to help, though he restricts visitors to preserve the temple’s quiet cultivation environment. 20

As a master, Ji Chen is stern without being harsh. He permits Shen Hui to gain practical experience against heretics, corrects his tendency toward excessive violence, and teaches that retreat is preferable to dying pointlessly. 37 48 56

He also emphasizes that a proper Daoist should not focus solely on combat. After Shen Hui prepares for descending the mountain, Ji Chen insists that he learn talismans for healing and exorcism rather than merely pursuing methods for killing enemies. 37

Outside the temple, he can become demanding and particular, expecting Shen Hui to attend to him and treating local officials with little regard for their status. 44

Ji Chen is generally austere about food and cultivation, but Shen Hui’s cooking persuades him to end his long period of abstinence. He declares that he will no longer refrain from eating after tasting Shen Hui’s meal. 17

He is also sensitive to the dangers of Shen Hui’s rapid advancement. Ji Chen warns that Shen Hui’s fierce fire arts may gradually distort his temperament and disorder his mind. 56

Abilities & Skills

Talisman Arts

Ji Chen uses talismans with exceptional speed and precision.

• Fires a Purification Talisman fast enough to save Shen Hui from a Water Wraith mid-attack. 1
• Pins the Yin Sha infesting the Liu Family Old Residence to a beam with a yellow talisman. 43
• Identifies, disperses, and repurposes lingering yin energy, such as the Water Wraith’s condensed pearl. 1
• Possesses broad knowledge of miscellaneous talisman scripts and directs Shen Hui to study healing and exorcistic talismans before descending the mountain. 10 37

Five Elements Arts

Ji Chen is proficient in the Five Elements and considers these spells no weaker than his swordsmanship.

• Teaches Shen Hui the Lesser Five Elements Art and explains the elemental paths cultivated by Clear Wind Temple’s disciples. 10
• States that his Five Elements spells remain sufficient for combat even without relying on his sword box. 56
• Uses his cultivation to protect himself from threats beneath the Golden Core realm. 56
• Possesses enough practical understanding of elemental meridians and cultivation methods to assess Shen Hui’s use of Metal Qi and his progress in the Five Elements arts. 44

Swordsmanship and Flying Sword Arts

Clear Wind Temple’s signature Flying Sword Art descends from Cloud Deer True Man, and Ji Chen is a highly accomplished wielder.

• Carries and relies on a sword box associated with his flying sword. 1 56
• Demonstrates sword-flight at a level Shen Hui identifies as characteristic of a Golden Core cultivator. 145
• Fights with overwhelming speed and precision even while under the pressure of his own Golden Core cultivation. 156 157
• Retains formidable combat power even after his flying sword is taken away. 156

Spiritual Perception and Cultivation Knowledge

Ji Chen possesses extensive practical knowledge of cultivators, demons, sects, and dangerous techniques.

• Keeps track of demons and ghosts throughout Yongchang Commandery. 20
• Recognizes the Yin Soul Sect’s soul-banner methods and warns Shen Hui of their danger. 37
• Detects Shen Hui’s advancement, elemental meridian use, and unusually rapid cultivation progress. 10 44
• Can perceive even a mosquito within three chi while meditating at peak Foundation Establishment. 55
• Explains the strengths, limitations, and cultivation requirements of Clear Wind Temple’s Flying Sword Art, Lesser Five Elements Art, Aura Observation Art, Sword Wielding Art, talisman scripts, Crane Form, and Snake Form. 10
• Understands that each disciple’s elemental affinity determines which branches of the Lesser Five Elements Art they can cultivate effectively. 10

Golden Core Combat

After returning from Green City Mountain, Ji Chen displays power characteristic of a Golden Core True Person.

• His sword light travels with an altitude, speed, and brilliance far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator can ordinarily achieve. 145
• His protective astral fiend disperses three Fire Ghosts with a single burst of force, without allowing them to touch his robes. 156
• Can fight Shen Hui’s body even after losing access to his flying sword, demonstrating that his Five Elements arts and Golden Core protection are independently formidable. 156 157

Spiritual Existence and Body Loss

After the destruction of his physical body, Ji Chen remains capable of communicating and advising Shen Hui as a spirit.

• Is summoned from the Soul-Searching Gourd in the form of green smoke. 253
• Retains his memories, cultivation knowledge, and awareness of the Clear Wind Temple crisis despite lacking a physical body. 253
• Discusses the possibility of having Shen Hui reconstruct his body, but warns him not to rush the process while the world remains threatened by demons and the temple’s spiritual energy has been exhausted. 230 253

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sword Box — A long, dark case with cloud patterns, used in connection with Ji Chen’s flying sword. He entrusts it to Shen Hui as an emergency safeguard. 1 56
• Flying Sword — Ji Chen’s primary weapon prior to its loss during the conflict at Clear Wind Temple. 145 156
• Purification Talismans — Used to eradicate or restrain yin entities and evil Sha. 1 43
• Clear Wind Temple teachings — Ji Chen safeguards the temple’s inherited arts, including the Lesser Five Elements Art, Aura Observation Art, Flying Sword Art, talisman scripts, and movement techniques. 10

Relationships

• Shen Hui / Qingxuan — Master and disciple. Ji Chen rescues Shen Hui, accepts him into Clear Wind Temple, teaches him cultivation, and repeatedly offers guidance and protection. He entrusts Shen Hui with the Sword Box, later warns him not to rush into reconstructing bodies, and continues advising him after his own death. 1 10 56 253
• Clear Wind Temple disciples — Their master and disciplinarian. Their lack of structure during his absence shows how heavily they depend on his guidance. 135
• Qingyi / Zhou Yunzhi — A disciple whom Ji Chen rescued from the destruction of the Zhou Family and brought to Clear Wind Temple at fifteen. Qingyi later struggles with his hidden identity as a pawn planted by White Bone Hall. 56 163
• Cloud Deer True Man — Founding patriarch of Clear Wind Temple, whom Ji Chen reveres as the source of the sect’s flying-sword lineage. 3
• Second Senior Brother — Ji Chen’s former martial brother, whose betrayal and defection to the Corpse Refining Sect endanger Clear Wind Temple. 56
• Jinghui — His fourth disciple. Her death and cremation form part of the tragedy surrounding Ji Chen’s deranged return to the temple. 146 154 157
• Jingming — His second senior disciple and a highly perceptive member of the temple lineage. She is later summoned alongside Ji Chen from the Soul-Searching Gourd. 10 253

Story Role / Major Arcs

Taking in Shen Hui

Ji Chen saves Shen Hui from a Water Wraith with a Purification Talisman, judges him suitable to enter Clear Wind Temple, and gives him a place at the temple despite Shen Hui’s origins as a starving beggar. 1

Guiding Shen Hui’s Cultivation

He formally introduces Shen Hui to the sect’s history and lineage, then provides access to the Lesser Five Elements Art after Shen Hui enters the Dao. Ji Chen advises Shen Hui to prioritize a stable foundation and defensive capability before pursuing more dangerous or advanced arts. 3 10

He also teaches Shen Hui that a cultivator must balance combat techniques with healing, exorcism, movement, and practical knowledge. His guidance shapes Shen Hui’s later use of both orthodox and unusual arts. 10 37

Descent from the Mountain

Ji Chen travels with Shen Hui to investigate supernatural incidents, including the Liu Family Old Residence and Qishan Sect heretics. He observes Shen Hui’s abilities closely, allowing him to fight when the experience is valuable but remaining ready to intervene. 39 42 48

During these journeys, he also reveals his more demanding side. He expects Shen Hui to serve him at the courier station and treats officials as servants when he is acting under the identity of Scholar Li. 44

White Bone Hall and the Sword Box

After Shen Hui encounters Corpse Refining Sect cultivators, Ji Chen reveals the history of his generation and the betrayal that led to the sect’s present enemies. Nearing a possible Core Formation breakthrough, he entrusts Shen Hui with the Sword Box and warns him to value survival over pride. 55 56

Golden Core Return and Fall of Clear Wind Temple

Ji Chen returns to Clear Wind Temple as a Golden Core cultivator, but in a visibly deranged state with blood-red eyes. His return is associated with violence, the deaths of temple disciples, and a search for the Sword Box. In one such episode, he kills two men who defy him and reacts furiously when told that the Sword Box cannot be found. 145 146 247

The subsequent conflict between Ji Chen and Shen Hui’s body involves the use of the Sword Box and Ji Chen’s flying sword. Ji Chen’s Golden Core protection proves extremely difficult to overcome, but the battle ultimately ends with his physical body being destroyed and decapitated. 154 156 157 248

Spiritual Remnant and Body Reconstruction

After the destruction of his body, Ji Chen remains within the Soul-Searching Gourd as a spiritual remnant. Shen Hui later summons him and Jingming to discuss the fall of True Person Lingsu, the events at Green City Mountain, and the future of Clear Wind Temple. 253

Shen Hui asks whether he should reshape Ji Chen’s physical body. Ji Chen instead questions Shen Hui’s plans and warns him not to rush into reconstructing bodies for the temple’s dead disciples. He supports Shen Hui’s decision to descend the mountain and purge demons, while emphasizing self-preservation and the responsibility to protect the lineage. 253

By this point, the temple’s spiritual energy has been exhausted, and Shen Hui recognizes that the sect may eventually need to find a new mountain gate. Ji Chen’s continued guidance therefore becomes part of Shen Hui’s effort to preserve and rebuild Clear Wind Temple rather than merely restore its former body. 253

Notable Quotes

“All things in this world, useful or useless, depend on the heart. Fear it, and it becomes a vengeful ghost demanding your life; use it well, and it can be a fine medicine.” 1

“If you truly encounter a life-threatening situation, fleeing is nothing shameful.” 56

“Cultivation that reaches the heavens cannot defeat the treachery of the human heart; a sword may topple a city, yet it cannot guard against petty villains.” 253