Man in Brocade

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Man in Brocade (锦袍男子)
Alias(es)	Brocade-robed man; Brother Murong 24 31
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Thousand Illusions Sect 24 41
Occupation/Role	Former personal disciple of the sect master; last successor of the Thousand Illusions Sect 35 41
Cultivation Realm	Third Realm, Jade Radiance 2 31
Status	Deceased. Continues acting within Cloudmist Village’s illusion without knowing he is dead, then vanishes after confronting that truth 41 46
First Appearance	Chapter 24 24

Background / History

The Man in Brocade was the Thousand Illusions Sect master’s personal disciple. He fell in love with his master’s wife and believed that she returned his feelings but remained with her husband because of his power and position. After promising to save her, he killed his master; the woman then disappeared 24 35.

He later learned that she was a demon fox who had deceived both men and stolen the Thousand Illusions Purple-Gold Bell, the sect’s supreme treasure. Without its leader or treasure, the Thousand Illusions Sect fell into ruin. The Man in Brocade regarded restoring the sect as his duty and saw the fox’s escape from the Heavenly Prison as his opportunity to recover everything he had lost 24.

Appearance

His wealthy, noble bearing contrasts with the worn condition of his clothing and his lack of money 34 37 41.

• Brocade robe — Its edges are faded white; by the end of the well expedition, it also bears a ragged tear 37 42 46.
• Gloomy expression — Ye Wuyou initially describes his face as cold and sinister 34.
• Jade pendant — Worn at his waist and repeatedly taken by Ye after his apparent deaths 34 36 37.
• Worn footwear and curling trouser hems — Expose the shabby details beneath his cultivated appearance 37.

Personality

The Man in Brocade is theatrical, proud, and intensely attached to his former standing. He recounts his betrayal as a dramatic tragedy and bonds with Tu Su over their shared desire to reclaim what they lost. When Ye questions why he alone seems unaffected by the village, he privately concludes that he must be an exceptionally gifted “chosen one” 24 36.

His suspicion and self-interest can turn murderous. He considers killing Ye if the midnight bell fails to confirm Ye’s account, dismisses the fate of other trapped people as irrelevant, and eventually presents killing his former companions as a mercy. Mortal lives mean little to him during this breakdown 35 37.

He nevertheless becomes a committed ally during the expedition beneath the well, spending his own blood to hold off attackers while Ye searches for their source. His later remorse is sincere: he acknowledges the disaster he caused and, after losing the treasure, considers abandoning immediate sect restoration to cultivate quietly in the hills 43 44 46.

Abilities & Skills

Third Realm Cultivation

His Vital Breath has substantially greater solidity and precision than Ye Wuyou’s First Realm cultivation 42.

• Projects cutting force capable of piercing Bai Lu’s chest or decapitating desiccated cultivators 37 42.
• Protects Ye from an underwater dragging force without accidentally injuring him 42.
• Overpowers Tu Su and throws the Second Realm body cultivator Xu Fang into a house 36.
• Remains vulnerable to Ye’s invisible Ghost Hands, which kill him before he can understand the attack 31 36 37.

Illusion Arts

As a Thousand Illusions Sect disciple, he can affect other people’s awareness even inside the village’s larger illusion realm 41.

• Leaves a gathered crowd blank-faced and sends its members home 41.
• Uses changing hand seals to attempt illusions against the desiccated cultivators beneath the well, but the technique fails 43.
• Cannot reliably resist stronger illusions: the demon fox drives him into a murderous hallucination, and the eyeball later makes him believe he has escaped a rooftop 27 45.

Blood-and-Vital-Breath Technique

An unnamed technique combines his blood with Vital Breath, incantations, and hand seals to attack numerous enemies at once 43.

• Cuts his own arm to supply blood for the technique 43.
• Creates razor-sharp threads extending dozens of yards, slicing through more than half the surrounding corpses 43.
• Turns the remaining threads into droplets that ignite the surviving attackers 43.
• Leaves him badly strained; a later blood-mist assault exhausts him without achieving the escape he believes he has secured 43 45.

Treasure-Sealing Knowledge

He knows that the Thousand Illusions Purple-Gold Bell is a vessel for the eyeball, rather than the source of its power. Normal use requires a secret sect formula, which he withholds from Ye 41.

• Can transfer the eyeball into another container possessing spiritual essence 41 44.
• Extracts it from the demon fox’s body and temporarily seals it in Lin Qingqing’s tracking bell 44.
• Warns that the substitute vessel is inadequate for lasting containment; it subsequently cracks and shatters 44 45.

Equipment / Items

• Jade pendant — His only recovered possession during several encounters in the village. Ye’s drawer accumulates identical pendants, indicating repetition beyond the Man in Brocade’s remembered three days 35 36 37.
• Demonic-aura tracking bell — Borrowed through Ye from Lin Qingqing and used as a temporary container for the eyeball 41 44.
• Written address — His final message to Ye before vanishing. Ye memorizes it, but its destination and purpose are not explained in the provided chapters 46.

Relationships

• Ye Wuyou — Initially an enemy, then an uneasy investigative partner. Ye repeatedly kills him within the village’s distorted reality, later secretly places a soul-wisp on him to help resist the eyeball, and finally remembers his parting address 31 36 37 41 46.
• Qingqiu Demon Fox / his master’s wife — Former love and principal target of revenge. Her deception led him to kill his master and helped bring about his sect’s destruction 24 31.
• His master — The Thousand Illusions Sect leader whom he killed in the belief that he was rescuing the man’s wife 24.
• Tu Su — Companion in the pursuit of the fox. They agree that Murong will take the bell and Tu Su the fox; later, he attacks Tu Su for accepting village life and binding a chick as his spirit beast 24 36.
• Bai Lu — Traveling companion whom he knows as a Joyous Union Sect cultivator. When she no longer recognizes him in the village, he eventually kills her during his breakdown 34 37.
• Xu Fang — Opponent during the village confrontation. Xu attacks him to protect the villagers but is overpowered and injured 36 37.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Pursuit of the Demon Fox

The Man in Brocade joins Tu Su and Bai Lu in following Heavenly Prison jailers toward the Cloudmist Mountains. Under the fox’s illusion, he slaughters villagers while believing he is confronting his hated former lover. When Ye later kills the fox before she can be interrogated about the bell, he attacks Ye in fury and is instantly killed by Ghost Hands 24 27 31.

Cloudmist Village’s Repeating Reality

He reappears in an apparently restored village, remembering the massacre but not what followed. Familiar companions now consider themselves villagers, and every attempted departure ends with him losing consciousness at midnight and waking back inside the settlement 34 35.

His investigation of Ye’s midnight-bell account ends when the ringing turns him blank and hostile, prompting Ye’s unseen hand to twist his body apart. He appears again, attacks Tu Su and Xu Fang, and kills Bai Lu. Another fatal encounter with Ye briefly makes him realize that he himself may be unreal 36 37.

Expedition Beneath the Well

After finding Ye apparently awake from the illusion, he cooperates in locating its source. Ye secretly marks him with a soul-wisp before they descend through the eastern village well into a charred, ruined space 41 42.

He holds off the desiccated cultivators while Ye locates the eyeball inside the demon fox. After its capture, he seals the object and pleads to keep it, promising Ye access to the resources of a restored Thousand Illusions Sect 43 44.

The temporary bell breaks. Their attempted escape proves to be another illusion, and Ye ultimately ends the immediate crisis by swallowing the eyeball 45.

Final Recognition

Afterward, the Man in Brocade speaks hopefully of cultivation, drinks with Ye, and a fresh start. At the well’s exit, however, Ye crosses a barrier that he cannot pass. His memories return, and he realizes that he has been dead all along. Before vanishing, he writes down an address for Ye 46.

Notable Quotes

“Restoring the glory of our Thousand Illusions Sect is a duty we cannot shirk!” 24

“So I'm the one who isn't real. Every day, even tomorrow...” 37

“Of all the treasures within the Thousand Illusions Sect, whatever share I have, you shall have as well. I can swear a heart demon oath on these words!” 44