Chixinzi

Biodata

Name	Chixinzi (赤心子)
Alias(es)	Green-Robed Person; “Zhang Jiubao” (disguise); Cheng Zhi (possessed host)
Species/Race	Human; later reconstructed as a living puppet
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Immortal Puppet Sect; later serves as He Ping’s living puppet
Occupation/Role	Puppet cultivator, schemer, infiltrator, and intelligence-gatherer
Status	Destroyed by He Ping in the Narcissus Cave Abode, then refined into an active living puppet 113 124 385
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 20; appears by name in Chapter 31 20 31

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Living-puppet practitioner	91	Had already modified portions of his body and could alter his appearance repeatedly through living-puppet arts. 91
Possession of Cheng Zhi	110	Uses the Mud Sect’s Black Mud Grade technique to seize Cheng Zhi’s body, but is weakened and separated from his strongest puppets. 110 113
He Ping’s living puppet	124	After his defeat, He Ping refines his corpse into a living puppet. Chixinzi reports retaining roughly thirty percent of his memories at first. 124
Red Corpse Secret Devil Puppet fusion	324	He Ping dismantles and recombines Chixinzi with the Red Corpse Secret Devil Puppet, substantially improving his body and combat utility. 324
Ten Transformations Myriad Phenomena True Qi	347	Following He Ping’s Dao-entry advancement, Chixinzi gains true qi and greater transformative capabilities; his magical power and cultivation surpass their former state. 347
Numinous-essence reconstruction	385	Functions without a true mind or soul; an artificial numinous essence modeled on his former memories and personality directs his behavior. 385

Background

Chixinzi was a disciple of the Immortal Puppet Sect and once served Wu Yousheng closely for nearly ten years. He described Wu Yousheng as volatile and abusive, teaching him sect techniques only on occasion. During this period, Chixinzi learned the sect’s claim that its founding ancestor had been a puppet rather than a human. 81

Seeking the Life-Stealing Bone Bowl and the Cheng family bloodline connected to the Narcissus Cave Abode, Chixinzi manipulated Cheng Family Ranch from the shadows. He spread news of the bowl, arranged the destruction of the family, and intended to control the surviving Cheng siblings. Cheng Yujiao’s intelligence and cultivation talent threatened to expose him, so he had her eliminated while preserving Cheng Zhi as the more manageable final bloodline. 20 110

He took Cheng Zhi as a disciple and used him to pursue the bowl and gain access to the cave abode. During Cheng Zhi’s flight into Four Peaks Mountain, Chixinzi appeared as his benefactor and warned him about the ghost-faced man, who was Chixinzi’s junior brother. 32

Chixinzi initially treated He Ping as a fellow disciple and possible partner, exchanging information and puppet arts while plotting around the Life-Stealing Bone Bowl, the One-Horned Mountain Demon, and the Sanyuan Devil Palace. Their cooperation was always strained by mutual suspicion; both expected the other to betray them when the Narcissus Cave Abode’s treasures came within reach. 43 47 81 82

At Tongji Platform, Chixinzi possessed Cheng Zhi through the Black Mud Grade and attempted to seize the Nine-Orifice Immortal Fetus and the complete Seed Demon Technique. He destroyed Cheng Yujiao’s Crimson Fiend Corpse with a partially refined Mountain Demon inner core, tried to escape through One Wisp Merges with Spirit, and attempted to use the inner core’s explosion against He Ping. He Ping redirected the core, destroyed Cheng Zhi’s body, burned away the possession technique, and crushed Chixinzi’s skull. 110 113

He Ping later recovered and refined Chixinzi into a living puppet. Although the puppetized Chixinzi lacked a true soul, it retained portions of his memories, judgment, cultivation experience, and calculating personality. It became one of He Ping’s principal agents, conducting reconnaissance, impersonations, negotiations, and overseas operations. 124 244 385

Appearance

Chixinzi’s outward form changes frequently through possession, living-puppet modification, and disguises. His most recognizable appearance is a huge green-robed figure wearing a carved wooden bird mask. 32

• Exceptionally burly, broad-shouldered, and wide-waisted. 32
• Usually wears loose, flowing green robes that remained dry even after moving through heavy rain. 32
• Commonly conceals his face behind a wooden bird-shaped mask; he also uses other masks and false faces. 32 91
• Possessed a strange prosthetic right hand that felt like neither iron nor wood. 32
• His voice is harsh and grating, compared to scraping bone or grinding teeth. 40
• After fusing with the Red Corpse Secret Devil Puppet, he appears crowned with multiple skulls, with dim blood flames burning in their empty eye sockets. 324

Personality

Chixinzi is patient, proud, and intensely calculating. He prefers indirect control, fabricated identities, planted agents, and temporary alliances over fair confrontations. He repeatedly treats allies and disciples as expendable instruments, most clearly when he sacrificed the woman in red to delay Cheng Yujiao. 82 110

He is highly confident in his own planning and knowledge of the cultivation world, but his ambition often makes him underestimate hidden variables—particularly He Ping. His schemes against the Cheng family and his attempted seizure of the Nine-Orifice Immortal Fetus both collapse because opponents anticipate or overturn his plans. 82 113

As a living puppet, he remains shrewd, articulate, and capable of independent judgment despite lacking a genuine soul. He continues to gather intelligence and manage operations for He Ping across distant regions. 244 385

Abilities & Skills

Living-Puppet Arts

Chixinzi was an experienced practitioner of the Immortal Puppet Sect’s body-modification techniques before becoming a living puppet himself.

• Alters his face and identity with unusual speed, using different appearances at different meetings. 91
• Uses puppet prosthetics and modified organs to endure conditions that would harm an ordinary cultivator, including poisonous contamination in the Immortal Palace ruins. 291
• As a living puppet, can continue acting after catastrophic bodily damage and can dissolve damaged components into shadows. 309
• Is immune to Yangquan Zi’s attempt to steal his fortune, lifespan, and fate through the Human Lamp Great Method because he is no longer truly alive. 257
• His posthumous mind is an artificial construct based on retained memories and soul-force, rather than a genuine soul. 385

Seed Demon Technique

Chixinzi possesses secret methods of the Seed Demon Technique and pursued its complete entry method within the Narcissus Cave Abode.

• Can transmit a controlling evil art through eye contact, making it difficult to guard against. 40
• Used the technique to stiffen Wumeizi’s movements during their confrontation. 103
• Possessed and traded portions of the technique, including the refining method for the Death Demon. 91
• Sought the complete, true entry method at Tongji Platform, indicating that his prior knowledge was incomplete. 110

Puppet Combat Arts

Chixinzi fields a diverse collection of puppets and puppet-derived weapons.

• Severed Ghost Hands — Hundreds of puppet hands can seize incoming artifacts and weapons; they were effective against Gongpilu’s Phantom Spikes. 133
• Red-Scaled Earth-Armored Centipede Dragon — A red-scaled puppet capable of geomagnetic flight, tunneling, stone-breaking, and resisting ordinary weapons. 82
• Golden Essence Mystic Bees — Swarming puppet insects that can intercept weapons and strike opponents with poisonous needles. 133
• Paper Doll Spirit Puppets — Fully perfected versions can host curse spirits and form large-scale illusion formations. 256
• Heart-Piercing Lock — A technique that tears open a target’s chest to seize what lies within, used to finish Sheng Qingzhi and previously wound Cheng Tianyou. 60 112

Formations, Talismans, and Evasion

Chixinzi supplements his puppet arts with seals, talismans, and escape methods.

• Eight Element Bone Locking Method — Sealed Yangquan Zi, though the latter later broke free through the Human Lamp Great Method. 256 257
• Seven Emotions Bewildering God Grand Formation — Uses curse spirits to invade targets’ minds, distort their senses, and trap them in delusion. It incapacitated every cultivator on Flat-Top Mountain. 256
• Spirit-talisman chains — Can form a black, green-glowing binding chain designed to restrain demons and living souls. 58
• Garment Armor Evasion — Split from his robe to deceive He Ping and create an opening for escape. 40
• One Wisp Merges with Spirit — Converts his body into innumerable talismans and reforms elsewhere; his attempt to use it at Tongji Platform was ultimately countered. 113

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wooden bird-shaped mask — His most recognizable mask and part of his green-robed identity. 32
• Milo Blade — Used against Cheng Yujiao and later exchanged as part of a deal with He Ping. 47 110
• Severed Ghost Hands — Puppet prosthetic hands used for capture, defense, and artifact interception. 46 133
• Red-Scaled Earth-Armored Centipede Dragon — Armored combat and traversal puppet. 47 82
• Golden Essence Mystic Bees — Golden swarming puppet insects with venomous needles. 133
• Mountain Demon inner core — An incompletely refined magical artifact used to destroy Cheng Yujiao’s corpse; it could be released but not reliably retrieved. 113
• Red Corpse Secret Devil Puppet — Later fused with Chixinzi’s living-puppet body. 324
• Nine Baleful Thunderburst Pearls — Used five at once against Yangquan Zi, destroying his paper lantern and forcing him to flee. 257

Relationships

• He Ping — Fellow Immortal Puppet Sect disciple, uneasy collaborator, and eventual killer. He Ping later refines Chixinzi into his living puppet and employs him as a long-range agent. 43 113 124 244
• Wu Yousheng — Former master. Chixinzi served him for nearly a decade and learned sect lore and techniques under harsh treatment. 81
• Cheng Zhi — Disciple and pawn. Chixinzi cultivated him as the Cheng family’s final accessible bloodline, then possessed his body during the battle for Tongji Platform. 32 110
• Cheng Yujiao — Cheng Zhi’s sister and a victim of Chixinzi’s schemes. He had her killed after deciding she was too perceptive to manipulate. 110
• Cheng Tianyou — Target of Chixinzi’s long-term Cheng-family scheme and later an enemy who survived a previous Heart-Piercing Lock wound. 110 112
• Lou Chongxiao — Temporary companion and source of information concerning the Merchant Beetle Seal and Cloud Heaven Dao Palace. 270 293
• South Sand Fishing Elder — Travels with Chixinzi and Lou Chongxiao through the Southern Frontier and into the Immortal Palace ruins. 270 292
• Yangquan Zi — Dao-entry adversary. Chixinzi seals him with the Eight Element Bone Locking Method and later drives him away with Nine Baleful Thunderburst Pearls. 256 257

Notable Quotes

“Once, when he was in a good mood, he chatted with me while drinking. Halfway through, he told me that the founding ancestor of the Immortal Puppet Sect was not a human, but a puppet.” 81

“The sun and moon slip away; the years do not wait for us.” 108

Trivia

• Chixinzi spent time in the Eastern Sea as a pirate after achieving some success in cultivation. 124
• He frequently impersonates the pirate chief Zhang Jiubao and uses that identity to misdirect enemies and manipulate overseas factions. 161 246
• He is particularly skilled at borrowing other powers to create conflict while profiting from the resulting chaos. 246
• His living-puppet condition lets him retain practical knowledge and personality, but his apparent consciousness is ultimately a constructed imitation rather than true continued life. 385