Shen Lang

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Shen Lang (沈浪)
Titles	Third Prince; later emperor of the reigning dynasty 183 186
Species/Race	Human, with the reigning dynasty’s dragon bloodline 183 184
Gender	Male
Age	Twenty when Daoist Chen identifies him in the Former Dynasty Tomb 183
Affiliation	Imperial family; Demon-Quelling Office 156 183
Occupation/Role	Nuo Master; later emperor 156 186
Cultivation	Peak Seventh Rank 23
Status	Alive; ascends the throne in the later history explained to Ye Qianfan 186
First Appearance	Chapter 22, “Going their separate ways,” in the provided material 22

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Peak Seventh Rank	23	Already at this level during the Fog Forest trial. No subsequent cultivation breakthrough is documented; he is still used as Ye Qianfan’s Seventh-Rank comparison later 99.

Background / History

Shen Lang is the reigning emperor’s Third Prince. He conceals his identity because the empress’s faction wants him dead so that the Fourth Prince can secure the position of Crown Prince. Beyond escaping pursuit, he wants genuine friends and brothers rather than the isolation associated with sovereign status 183.

His bearing and purple-gold aura lead Ye Qianfan to suspect a distinguished background well before the truth emerges. Shen Lang nevertheless presents himself simply as a worldly man who “covets power” and becomes a sworn brother to Ye Qianfan and Qian Fugui 65.

After the tomb incident, the imperial in-laws and Fourth Prince attempt to rebel and seize the throne, but the emperor kills them. Shen Lang subsequently succeeds to the throne, using burial treasures obtained with Ye Qianfan’s help to win over court officials. Remembering Ye’s rescue, he grants him the title Celestial Venerable Ye. The resulting incense offerings gradually reconstruct Ye’s divine soul and enable his immortal transformation 186.

Appearance

Shen Lang is a young man whose manner and bearing suggest nobility even while he hides his royal identity 65.

• Bangs: He sweeps them aside while boasting about Ye Qianfan’s accomplishments 109.
• Purple-gold aura: To Ye Qianfan’s perception, his surrounding light radiates an unusually strong air of nobility 65.
• Visible exhaustion: Heavy flute use leaves him pale; severe overexertion causes bleeding, vomiting, and eventual collapse 36 128 141.

Personality

Initially introduced as a playful rake, Shen Lang readily approaches Ye Qianfan and interprets his expressionless face and absent heartbeat as signs of hidden strength. His admiration sometimes becomes elaborate speculation: he concludes that Ye must be a secluded sect’s disciple despite having little evidence 22 59 63.

His carefree manner coexists with genuine fear and self-doubt. He calls himself cowardly and incapable, admitting that his hands might shake if he had to kill someone. Nevertheless, he volunteers for dangerous work when he feels he has contributed too little, including diving into the Ancient Well to retrieve the Evil God’s remains 81.

Brotherhood is a practical commitment for him, not merely a ritual. He refuses to let Fugui face the final trial alone, offers to remain beside Ye under threat of an arrow volley, and challenges Ye when he mistakenly believes Li Pu is being abandoned. Once the misunderstanding is resolved, he apologizes immediately 90 152 180.

He is also courteous and conscientious. He keeps holding open a foul-smelling yurt curtain rather than abruptly dropping it, and later refuses to abandon the Pavilion Chief’s concubine during an evacuation because she cared for him overnight 130 147.

Abilities & Skills

Bone Flute and Sound Bewitchment

Shen Lang’s principal combat ability is supernatural flute music. The Bone Flute is a soul-attacking Magic Treasure whose use requires at least Seventh-Rank cultivation 99.

• Distracting ghosts: His mournful music draws wandering ghosts into memories of their deaths, making them weep and forget to attack nearby humans 29 30.
• Rescue: A piercing note breaks the vine around Rich Merchant’s neck in the sinister temple 30.
• Slowing pursuit: The music restrains Crying Children and Ghost Infants long enough for his companions to run 139 141.
• Brief crowd disruption: He estimates that he can bewilder the Heavenly River Cult’s attackers for a few seconds, though reinforcements arrive before he plays 152.
• Limited endurance: During the Ghost Village trial, he states that he can sustain the effect for roughly half to one incense stick’s time 29.
• Overexertion: Prolonged use drains his spiritual or mental strength, causing nosebleeds, vomiting, and unconsciousness 36 128 141.
• Target limitations: His music slows rather than kills the Crying Children. It has no effect on Human Effigies whose eyes and ears are sealed beneath stone shells 139 178.

Protective Qi and Dragon Bloodline

Shen Lang possesses a powerful safeguard associated with his noble aura and imperial lineage 65 81 84.

• Claimed protection: Before entering the well, he says his purple qi should keep ordinary demons and ghosts away 81.
• Golden dragon manifestation: When the Empress Dowager attacks him, a golden dragon of protective qi erupts from his body, destroys the ghosts, and dispels their false palace and opera 84.
• Not constant immunity: Before the safeguard activates, he is entranced by the ghost opera and eats candle wax disguised as pastries 83 84.
• Imperial bloodline: Daoist Chen attributes the tomb’s awakening to Shen Lang’s powerful dragon blood and attempts to use it to awaken the Imperial Corpse 184.
• Unverified claim: Chen says Shen’s golden destiny can withstand the Netherworld River, but this assertion is part of his scheme and is not demonstrated 184.

Heavenly Eye and Yin-Energy Awareness

Shen Lang can open his Heavenly Eye through an incantation, allowing him to perceive the dense black mist surrounding the Evil Tree 32.

• He recognizes excessive yin energy from the unnatural coolness of Village Chief Qian’s courtyard 161.
• His perception differs from Ye Qianfan’s: he cannot initially see the red-clad ghost child and does not see the courtyard’s gray mist when Ye does 30 31 161.

Practical Cultivation Knowledge

Shen Lang frequently supplies information that Ye Qianfan lacks 58 97 155.

• Monster capture: Explains that resisting monsters may detonate their dantian and kill the cultivator attempting to seal them 58.
• Spirit stones: Describes their use in cultivation, talent testing, and exchanges for methods or Magic Treasures 58.
• Monster valuation: Offers 100 spirit stones for the captured young flood dragon and says a mature one could exceed a thousand 58.
• Strength assessment: Estimates Eunuch He to be a second- or third-grade expert, while openly treating his explanation of the Ghost Village barrier as speculation 97.
• Life-and-Death Grass: Knows that it must be protected from light and air, then sealed in a bamboo tube with special water within an hour of exposure 155.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bone Flute / Long Flute — A snow-white magical flute used for supernatural music and physical defense. He strikes the monk’s reaching hand hard enough to leave it red and trembling 25 36 99.
• Jade pendant — Offers it to Ye Qianfan to pawn toward his debt; Ye declines because he has already arranged repayment 155.
• Divine Wood branch — Obtains a piece at Ye’s request and gives it to him. Ye later incorporates it into his puppet skeleton, gaining repairs and improved spiritual-energy absorption 156 166.

Relationships

• Ye Qianfan — Sworn brother and trusted companion. Shen initially knows him as “Ye Sheng,” repeatedly supports his plans, and is willing to die beside him. As emperor, he establishes Ye’s public veneration 22 65 152 186.
• Qian Fugui / Rich Merchant — Sworn brother. They defend the temple together; Shen later insists that Fugui must not undertake the final trial alone 36 65 90.
• Li Pu — Demon-Quelling Office teammate. Shen welcomes him onto the team, comforts him after a severe injury, and leaves him clothing and water while searching for a cure 156 180 181.
• Shang Xueli — Colleague and prospective recruiter. She gives him medicine during the Crying Child Cave crisis, then invites him to the Heavenly Suppression Office. He declines partly because joining would expose his identity 138 152 153.
• Daoist Chen — Enemy who exposes his identity as Third Prince and attempts to sacrifice him for his dragon body and blood 183 184.
• The reigning emperor — Father and predecessor. His suppression of the Fourth Prince’s rebellion clears the succession path for Shen Lang 183 186.
• The empress’s faction and Fourth Prince — Political threats. The faction seeks Shen’s death to secure the Fourth Prince’s claim to the Crown Prince position 183.
• Pavilion Chief’s concubine — Cares for him while he is unconscious. Shen cannot establish what happened overnight, but takes her with the escaping group rather than leave her in danger 147.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Fog Forest Trial

• Befriends Ye Qianfan while traveling through the fog and mistakes his unusual bodily condition for exceptional composure 22.
• Remains with the weaker travelers despite already being at peak Seventh Rank, saying he cannot stand the departing group either 23.
• Defends Ye’s decision to remain aboveground and confronts the monk who demands the Bagua Mirror after abandoning them 24.
• Physically blocks the monk’s attempt to seize Ye; their fight ends when the Tree Demon approaches 25.

Ghost Village Assessment

• Escorts Ye and Rich Merchant through wandering ghosts with his flute, then rescues the merchant from the temple’s tree 30.
• Helps defend the temple and collects corpse blood for the Blood Wine offering. He carries a false red veil in a staged betrayal that draws the pursuing crowd away from Ye 36 37.
• Accepts shelter from Ye when ghost fog leaves him without a safe house. His confidence in Ye eventually lets him sleep through the Evil God’s night of attacks 44 46.
• Investigates the Huang family genealogy and submerged spirit tablets, helping connect the village’s trial to its concealed history 51 52 59 73.
• Dives into the Ancient Well and becomes entranced in the Flooded Empress Dowager’s Tomb. His protective dragon destroys the ghosts, enabling him to retrieve the child’s bones 81 83 84.
• Defends the unresponsive Ye from the Night Watchman’s accusations, then falls into the Yellow Weasel Immortal’s illusion. After Ye wakes him, he notices inconsistencies in Ye’s explanation 88 89.
• Insists that the sworn brothers face the final burial step together 90.

Riverside Town and the Heavenly River Cult

• Joins the Demon-Quelling Office as a Nuo Master and investigates the Human-Head Tree with Ye and Li Pu 124 156.
• Helps expose the evidence of Mo Hechuan’s death and later raises the alarm when Mo attacks their companions 125 133.
• Uses his flute to protect the group in Crying Child Cave, continuing despite exhaustion until he collapses and Ye carries him 128 138 141.
• Refuses to abandon Ye during the final confrontation with the cult. Military School soldiers arrive before his planned flute diversion becomes necessary 149 152.
• Rejects Shang Xueli’s Heavenly Suppression Office invitation, concealing the fact that the transfer would endanger his hidden identity 153.

Former Dynasty Tomb

• Joins the Grade B expedition for Life-and-Death Grass and respects Ye’s authority as Station Chief 156 161.
• Helps repel the Human Effigies attacking Li Pu, then accompanies Ye through the pits to find the herb that may save their wounded teammate 178 180 181.
• Follows Ye’s copied footwork precisely and trusts him during repeated rescues from the surrounding effigies 181 182.
• Is identified as the Third Prince by Daoist Chen at the Netherworld River. Chen’s subsequent attempt to exploit his bloodline prompts Ye to shield him from a sword strike 183 184.

Notable Quotes

“I'm a coward, and I'm not very capable. My hands might shake if I had to kill someone, but I'm still brave enough to fish out a corpse!” 81

“If we're going in, we're going in together!” 90

“But he's our teammate! We can't just leave him here and forget about him!” 180