Xie An

Biodata

Name	Xie An (谢安)
Alias(es)	Xie Bi'an — the name he compulsively writes and speaks while under White Impermanence's influence 43 157
Species/Race	Human 43
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jade Capital Academy; City God Department 42 153
Occupation/Role	Former owner of Fortune Shop in the Yinshan Black Market; Impermanence Yin Marshal/Yin Commander under the Yin Son of Heaven 14 204 205
Status	Alive; freed from Xie Bi'an's remnant consciousness and enfeoffed as the new Impermanence Yin Marshal 204 216
First Appearance	14

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Scavenger First Rank	14	Spent roughly ten years unable to accommodate a second Mythic Trait after mistaking his underworld-linked hat for a fortune-related material.
Scavenger Second Rank	37	Broke through while escaping the Yinshan Investigation Branch's attempted arrest after learning to follow a Netherworld-origin path.
Scavenger Third Rank	157	Advanced after obtaining the Impermanence Robe in Ganyang City; the hat, staff, and robe then began manifesting uncontrollably outside his body.
Scavenger Fourth Rank	152	Reached Fourth Rank by the time he entered Yuanming Wenju Heaven, carrying one Immortals' Cast-Off Husk and three fragmentary False God Ember origins.

Background / History

Xie An entered Jade Capital Academy as an exceptional talent. At Scavenger First Rank, the first Mythic Material he accommodated allowed him to contend with a Scavenger Third Rank opponent. However, that same material fixed his future path: every unrelated material he attempted—including fortune, Netherworld, Heavenly Palace, and Jade Void lineages—rejected him. The Academy Dean concluded that Xie An could only accommodate origins from the same source, then had parts of Xie An's memories altered to preserve his Dao heart. 153

Chu Yuliang, then a Seer, divined that the key to Xie An's fate lay in Yin Mountain City. The divination nearly cost Chu his life, but Xie An was sent there to seek his opportunity. Xie An spent five years in the city operating Fortune Shop and trying to follow the Wealth Department Divine-System Schema, believing the words on his Profit at First Sight hat indicated a fortune-related Trait. 14 15 153

The Yellow Wind Little Sage revealed that the hat instead belonged to the Netherworld's Yin Marshal system. Xie An realized that the “Yin Mountain” from the prophecy referred to the Yin Mountain Realm rather than Yin Mountain City, and he offered the Little Sage artifact-refinement knowledge, shop stock, and later Ascension Rituals in gratitude. 15

After advancing to Scavenger Second Rank, Xie An became a target of the Yinshan Investigation Branch and the Night Banquet Gang. The Branch feared that his Academy connections and link to the Ten Great Yin Marshals could expose its blockade and Aberrant-production scheme. He escaped an attempted capture, but was later ambushed by Blood Puppet, Night Owl, and Blood Hound. The Yellow Wind Little Sage saved him from the pursuit. 37 40 41

His near-death experience forced Xie An to confront his arrogance and overconfidence. Though severely burned and left with permanent facial scars, he pledged to repay the Yellow Wind Little Sage's life-saving favor. During their subsequent cooperation, he used the Mourning Staff and his Trait of Traversing Yin and Yang to create an underworld-styled written order; when asked to add “Bi” to his name, he unconsciously wrote “Xie Bi'an,” triggering White Impermanence's response. 42 43

Unable to leave the sealed Yin Mountain City normally, Xie An entered an unstable passage into the Yin Mountain Realm and escaped through spatial turbulence to Ganyang City. There he obtained the Impermanence Robe and advanced again, but the Ghost-Deity Origins began externalizing and eroding his identity. The Jade Capital City God later interrupted White Impermanence's assimilation, preserving Xie An's self-awareness and allowing him to return to Jade Capital Academy's City God Department. 153 157 158

In Yuanming Wenju Heaven, Xie An confessed that White Impermanence was gradually replacing his personality, body, and name. The Yellow Wind Little Sage suppressed the rampaging origins, while Zhou Yao—acting as the Yin Son of Heaven—repelled White Impermanence and planted a False Causal Seed that granted Xie An temporary freedom. 157 158 159

During the First Hall historical remnant, Xie An lost control at Ghost Gate Pass when Xie Bi'an's remnant consciousness took over. The possessor attacked Yellow Wind Little Sage and Kitty Head, then pursued the Soul-Reaping Command to complete White Impermanence's return. Zhou Yao defeated Xie Bi'an, stripped away his divine office, and enfeoffed Xie An as the new Impermanence Yin Marshal. 171 203 204

After regaining himself, Xie An retained guilt over the acts committed through his body. His new Yin Marshal authority allowed him, Yellow Wind Little Sage, and Kitty Head to move through the First Hall's restrictions while seeking the Sin Mirror. 205

In a later Mythic Echo centered on Chang'an, Xie An had been stranded for fifteen years and was living in hiding within a dilapidated temple. He resisted Wang Mang and Lin Changsheng's influence until Zhou Yao used the False Causal Seed to expel Lin Changsheng's parasitic will from Xie An's soul. 286 287

Appearance

Xie An is a slender, tall young man whose appearance increasingly reflects the Ghost-Deity Origins bound to him. He is commonly seen in white underworld-style attire and bears a pallid, stiffly smiling expression. 151 152

• Tall pointed white hat inscribed with “Profit at First Sight” in blood-red characters. 151
• Paper-pale face and a fixed, eerie smile. 151 152
• Severe burn scars across his forehead, cheeks, and chin following the battle at Brightlight Building. 42
• White Impermanence Robe, Mourning Staff, and Soul-Snaring Rope can manifest alongside his hat. 152 158

Personality

Xie An was initially proud of his Five Great Academies background and underestimated the dangers of Yin Mountain City. After nearly dying to Blood Puppet's group, he openly acknowledged that his arrogance had “capsized [his] boat in the gutter” and became more cautious. 40 42

He is persistent and resourceful, enduring years of failed advancement, a citywide manhunt, inter-realm displacement, and repeated assaults on his identity. He repays favors seriously: he offered his shop's resources to the Yellow Wind Little Sage, later sold a trace of Ghost-Deity Origin aura to fund the Little Sage's advancement, and remained deeply deferential toward those who saved him. 14 15 162

White Impermanence's influence makes him increasingly gloomy, temperamental, and merciless toward ghosts and monsters; at its worst, it leaves him indifferent to human life. Xie An fears this erosion precisely because he recognizes those impulses as alien to his original self. 157

Abilities & Skills

Traversing Yin and Yang

Xie An's first Mythic Trait is tied to the Wealth-at-First-Sight Hat, despite his original misconception that it was a fortune Trait. It lets him access a shadowy “dark side” of reality associated with the Netherworld. 15 42

• Moves through the shadow-side world and passes through physical walls. 39
• Alters his perception of the environment into a corpse-pale, mist-filled underworld aspect. 39
• Can manifest shadow-space and the image of the Profit-at-First-Sight Hat when activating the Trait. 42
• Risks being forcibly overridden by White Impermanence when linked to the name “Xie Bi'an.” 43

Spatial Ability and Wind Arts

At Scavenger Second Rank, Xie An possessed spatial methods and high-order Wind Arts sufficient to injure Blood Puppet, a Scavenger Fourth Rank Mythic Walker. 41

• Used his abilities during the Brightlight Building ambush to damage Blood Puppet and destroy surveillance equipment. 40 41
• The exertion left him severely injured and unable to continue fighting effectively. 41

Ghost-Deity Origins

Xie An carries four Ghost-Deity Origins associated with White Impermanence. They initially behaved more like external parasites than fully integrated Mythic Traits. 152 153

• Wealth-at-First-Sight Hat — Immortals' Cast-Off Husk-quality Ghost-Deity Origin. 152
• Mourning Staff — fragmentary False God Ember-quality origin; can produce strips of spirit paper used as Impermanence Edicts. 42 152 162
• Impermanence Robe — fragmentary False God Ember-quality origin acquired in Ganyang City. 152 157
• Soul-Snaring Rope — fragmentary False God Ember-quality origin manifested with White Impermanence's other regalia. 152 158
• Before his enfeoffment, the origins could awaken uncontrollably, distort his personality, and enable Xie Bi'an to seize his body. 157 171

Impermanence Yin Marshal Authority

After Zhou Yao stripped Xie Bi'an of his divine office, Xie An was invested as the new Impermanence Yin Marshal. 204

• Commands the four Ghost-Deity Origins as extensions of himself. 205
• Functions as a “walking pass” through the First Hall's Netherworld restrictions. 205
• Possesses an orthodox divine office while remaining incomplete enough to avoid the immediate danger of fully reviving White Impermanence. 217

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Profit-at-First-Sight Hat — Xie An's first Ghost-Deity Origin and the source of his connection to White Impermanence. 15 152
• Mourning Staff — white wooden staff wrapped in withered willow branches and spirit money; emits ghostly wails and can provide paper for edicts. 42
• Impermanence Robe — underworld-origin robe acquired after his escape from Yin Mountain City. 152 157
• Soul-Snaring Rope — White Impermanence-associated Ghost-Deity Origin. 152
• Impermanence Edicts — paper slips drawn from the Mourning Staff and carrying traces of Ghost-Deity Origin aura. 162

Relationships

• Yellow Wind Little Sage — Advancement benefactor, rescuer, and eventual companion. Xie An entrusted him with Fortune Shop's resources, was saved by him during the Night Banquet Gang pursuit, and later cooperated with him in the First Hall. 15 40 205
• Zhou Yao — Initially met as a fellow Jade Capital Academy student from Yin Mountain City; Zhou later freed Xie An from Xie Bi'an, enfeoffed him as Yin Marshal, and became someone Xie An addresses with marked deference. 152 204 218
• White Impermanence / Xie Bi'an — The ancient Yin Marshal whose Ghost-Deity Origins selected Xie An as a vessel. Xie Bi'an attempted to assimilate or replace him until Zhou Yao destroyed the remnant consciousness and reassigned the divine office. 157 158 204
• Chu Yuliang — Former Seer and Academy teacher who divined Xie An's connection to Yin Mountain City and arranged his transfer there; Xie An reveres him as “Prophet.” 152 153
• Kitty Head — Companion in Yuanming Wenju Heaven and the First Hall. Xie An deeply regrets harming her while possessed; she ultimately forgives him. 203 205
• Jade Capital City God — Intervened to halt White Impermanence's assimilation of Xie An after he returned to Jade Capital Academy. 158
• Lin Changsheng — In the Chang'an Mythic Echo, Lin's will parasitized Xie An's soul for more than a decade before Zhou Yao forcibly removed it. 286 287