Incense Fragrance Sect

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Incense Fragrance Sect (香取教)
Type	Religious sect / cult operating in Qingfeng Prefecture 25 127
Area of Influence	Qingfeng Prefecture; attempted to expand its teachings into Changfeng County 28
Leadership	A missing Cult Master; Left and Right Protectors; elders and hall masters 28 191
Status	Severely weakened after a government-led purge; scattered remnants, two elders, and a hidden protector remained active 210 215 220
First Appearance	Chapter 3: “Fierce Battle, Double Kill” 3

Doctrine and Public Teachings

The sect invokes the Unborn Venerable Mother, teaching that sincere offerings and incense can allow believers to return to the Vacuum Homeland and attain the Land of Ultimate Bliss after death. Its members present incense as a spiritual medium rather than an ordinary commodity. 108 166

Its teachings gain traction among impoverished commoners by offering spiritual comfort amid hardship, while also fostering intense loyalty toward the sect. 153 210

“Incense carries the divine will, money enters the sect's gate.
The Unborn protects, the Vacuum returns to the root.” 108

Organization

• Cult Master — Has not appeared publicly for a long time and reportedly does not manage sect affairs. His whereabouts are unknown; rumors range from cultivation deviation to capture or flight with the treasury. 28
• Left and Right Protectors — The highest known figures beneath the Cult Master. Even Elder Guan Xingtian did not know the Cult Master’s location, and believed the protectors might not know either. 191
• Elders — The sect originally had ten elders; only two remained after Prefect Wu Ziyuanxiu’s purge. 210
• Hall Masters — Regional leaders responsible for branches and local operations, including Ji Bochang and Duan Jin. 128 137
• Branch members and followers — Collect incense money, spread doctrine, intimidate merchants, and provide a mass base capable of obstructing official action. 108 128 210

Practices and Influence

Incense Money

The sect extorts “incense money” from businesses under the guise of religious offerings. In the Evergreen Sect’s Chaoyang Street territory, it first took five percent of profits, raised the share to ten percent after a previous deacon’s death, then demanded thirty percent along with incense offerings. 128 131

• Businesses that refuse payment may be surrounded by followers and prevented from operating. 128
• Victims have been beaten or publicly humiliated for resisting. 128
• Members frequently rely on their sect affiliation to eat and drink without payment. 131

Indoctrination and Civilian Shielding

The sect uses doctrine and mass belief as protection against retaliation. When Evergreen Sect elders confronted its headquarters over a murdered disciple, followers obstructed them; lacking evidence and unwilling to harm commoners, the Evergreen Sect ultimately paid to repair the damaged headquarters. 127 128

During the later purge, even after evidence of the sect’s crimes was made public, large numbers of believers begged the authorities to spare it. Remaining followers numbered in the tens of millions, and public resistance prevented a complete extermination. 210 215

Criminal Activities

An interrogation of a captured member revealed that the sect had engaged in kidnapping and mutilating children, human trafficking, slave sales, and other crimes since its founding. 210

Ji Bochang’s branch also held captives, including Su Qingqing, whom the sect had abused and forcibly drawn into its cult. Ji Bochang described ordinary people as livestock raised for “incense money.” 133 134

Background

Early Conflict and Changfeng County Expansion

The sect’s conflict with Lu Li began when its members pursued Zhao Hongyun and threatened Lu Li for opposing them; Lu Li killed Li Da and Li Er rather than yield. 3

After several members disappeared near Long-Abundance Mountain, Gao Huaiyi and Zhang Tianlong arrived in Changfeng County to investigate. They suspected the local herb gatherers and sought cooperation from the Huang and Wang families. 27

Gao offered the families protection, medicinal herbs, and an Inner-Qi Realm martial art in exchange for support against the county magistrate. His actual objective was to establish the sect’s teachings in Changfeng County, treating the loss of “a few commoners” as an acceptable price. 28

Conflict with the Evergreen Sect

The sect shared commercial territory near Chaoyang Street with the Evergreen Sect, Broken Mountain Sect, and Vajra Gate. Its extortion and the unresolved murder of an Evergreen deacon made the area particularly dangerous for Evergreen Sect personnel. 127 128

When Chang Wei demanded a thirty-percent profit share from Lu Li’s businesses, Lu Li refused. Lu Li subsequently defeated Hall Master Ji Bochang, destroyed the local branch, freed its captives, and burned the site. 131 133 134

The destruction of the branch and Ji Bochang’s death drove the sect into open cooperation with the Broken Mountain Sect against Lu Li and the Evergreen Sect. 137 178

Rebellion and Decline

Elder Guan Xingtian later met with rebel general Yang Kaishan and proposed disguising rebel soldiers as bandits to provoke Qingfeng Prefecture into deploying troops. Guan specifically ordered Lu Li’s capture or death. 191

Lu Li uncovered further evidence that sect members had infiltrated the bandits during the suppression expedition, confirming his belief that the sect’s rebellious intentions were undeniable. 198

Prefect Wu Ziyuanxiu then led government forces against the sect with support from the three major sects. The operation killed most of its senior members, including one protector, and reduced the organization to remnants protected largely by its civilian believers. 210 215

Relationships

• Lu Li — Principal enemy. He killed early sect members, destroyed Ji Bochang’s branch, exposed its rebel connections, and repeatedly fought its remnants. 3 134 191 221
• Evergreen Sect — Hostile rival. The sect extorted Evergreen businesses, killed at least one of its deacons, and repeatedly clashed with its disciples and elders. 127 128 137
• Broken Mountain Sect — Temporary ally against Lu Li and the Evergreen Sect, though their partnership was strained by mutual blame after failed operations. 137 178
• Prefect Wu Ziyuanxiu — Major enemy who used captured sect members and evidence of its crimes to justify a large-scale purge. 202 210
• Rebel Army — Covert collaborator. Elder Guan Xingtian proposed using rebel soldiers disguised as bandits to weaken Qingfeng Prefecture. 191
• Ji Bochang — Hall Master of a local branch; led extortion and captivity operations before Lu Li killed him and destroyed his branch. 128 133 134
• Elder Qi — First Elder who demanded accountability from the Broken Mountain Sect after the failed ambush of Blood Ghost. 178
• Elder Guan Xingtian — Elder who negotiated with Yang Kaishan’s rebel army and ordered Lu Li targeted. 191
• Elder Yun — Elder who rescued two injured sect members and confronted Lu Li before being defeated by Wu Ziyuanxiu. 221 222

Trivia

• Sect members are often associated with a distinctive pungent incense scent, which Lu Li repeatedly uses to identify them. 131 153 198 221
• Although it was described as Qingfeng Prefecture’s largest sect, its internal divisions and the Cult Master’s disappearance left many lower-ranking members uncertain about its future. 27 28
• Its followers’ devotion remained strong enough to impede the authorities even after the sect’s crimes were publicly proven. 210 215