Lu Qingchen

Biodata

Background / History

Lu Qingchen entered the Dao through sword cultivation. When Ning Xiang met him at seven, she insisted on becoming his disciple after being captivated by his appearance. Having no experience caring for children, he entrusted her upbringing to his eldest disciple, Su Lang 6 44.

Ten years before the maple-forest outing, Lu Qingchen was gravely injured while slaying the Great Demon Hundred-Eyed Demon Xi. He believed Ning Xiang had tirelessly nursed him, but her thoughts later revealed that Su Lang had provided the sustained bedside care while she appeared when Lu woke 44.

Two years before Ning Xiang’s restarted storyline, the Jiang household was destroyed. Lu Qingchen accepted its surviving daughter, Jiang Miaomiao, as a disciple because her father had been his friend. He gave her additional attention, medicinal pills, and the sword he had used early in his cultivation, explaining her weaker aptitude as the reason for this support 4 9.

Xie Feihong became his disciple after the boy’s father, a cultivator from neighboring Reflection Shadow Peak, died fighting a Great Demon. The sect leader assigned the orphaned boy to Lu Qingchen. Within less than half a year of Su Lang’s arrival, Lu’s eldest disciple had gained both Xie Feihong and Ning Xiang as younger fellow disciples 78.

Later recollections reveal that Ning Xiang’s involvement in saving Lu after the Hundred-Eyed Demon Xi battle extended beyond bedside care: he heard her say that she had stolen the sect’s supreme treasure, the Soul-Calming Pearl, to save him. After recovering, he told her to return it, but she denied knowing what it was 229.

Ning Xiang’s apparent lifelong devotion was also affected by outside coercion. Her recovered memories reveal that the Main System threatened to erase her if she loved anyone other than Lu Qingchen, punished her feelings for Su Lang, and erased memories of that relationship. Lu later recalls her explanation that she had been controlled into loving him and did not want to return to that prescribed attachment 111 229.

Previous Incarnation as the Qinghua Emperor

The Ghost Emperor eventually shows Lu Qingchen his forgotten past through a water mirror. He had been the Eastern Pole Qinghua Emperor, taking Xi Jing and Yinghuo as disciples before accepting Yuyi, a frail immortal whom other immortals bullied 229.

He initially taught Yuyi without distinction. After Tai Sui warned that Yinghuo might fall at Yuyi’s hands, however, he began withholding some instruction from Yuyi, despite doubting that the seemingly less talented disciple could threaten the War God Yinghuo 229.

• Six thousand years earlier: During the Immortal-Demon War, Xi Jing and Yinghuo intended to sacrifice themselves to the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation. Qinghua dispersed more than half his cultivation to sustain the formation and preserve them. Qin Ge’s recollection identifies this act with sealing the Demon God and states that the resulting damage required six thousand years of seclusion 229 231.
• Eight hundred and seventy-six years earlier: After Yuyi and the Heavenly Court’s gods drove Yinghuo to take her own life, Qinghua used his heart-soul as a catalyst to activate the Primordial Rebirth Mirror. At the cost of scattering his own soul, he secured Xi Jing’s and Yinghuo’s reincarnation 229.
• Present discovery: The Ghost Emperor describes Lu and Ning Xiang’s connection as spanning twenty thousand years. Lu is initially bewildered and cannot immediately absorb the full meaning of the revealed history 229.

Appearance

Lu Qingchen has an exceptionally handsome face, cool features, and a tall, elegant bearing frequently compared to jade 1 11.

• Clothing: White robes described as whiter than snow; his attire is impeccably arranged 11 40.
• Hair: Long, ink-black hair that falls like a waterfall 11.
• Eyes: Cold and deep, likened to an icy pool 1.
• Voice: Pleasant and resonant, despite Ning Xiang finding his lectures unbearably dull 16 43.
• During his prolonged illness: His face becomes noticeably pale and thin while he lies unconscious awaiting treatment and the retrieval of his soul 172.
• Underworld appearance: His soul retains his white-robed, unworldly appearance, but Ning Xiang notices a pronounced fragility beneath his usual elegant bearing 180.

Personality

Lu Qingchen is restrained, exacting, and deeply committed to cultivation. He disciplines misconduct through confinement at Reflection Cliff and responds to Ning Xiang’s perceived laxness with predawn sword practice, lessons, and sect missions. He also recognizes genuine achievement: after discovering that she has mastered eight forms of the Fire Dance Sunflame Sword Art, he openly praises her improvement 3 14.

His apparent favoritism is more complicated than Ning Xiang assumes. He considers Jiang Miaomiao’s additional support necessary because of her weaker talent, while viewing his older disciples as capable of cultivating independently. His decision to spare Mingyuan likewise reflects concern for political consequences: the Demon Venerable’s death could destabilize the Demon Domain and bring war to the Cultivation Realm 4 12.

Ning Xiang gradually draws out a teasing, affectionate side beneath his reserve. He initially regards her supposed infatuation as a passing fancy, but later misses her company, blushes at her advances, retaliates playfully during a snow fight, and invites her sightseeing. His quiet care contrasts with their frequent disputes over training, writing, and money 4 22 34 36 40 43.

As his attachment deepens, his jealousy becomes conspicuous. He reacts coldly to Ning Xiang’s closeness with Su Lang, criticizes handsome performers she admires, and resents Zhu Yu’s access to her. Ning Xiang frequently mistakes these reactions for dislike rather than romantic insecurity 51 73 85 104 105. He also begins treating himself as committed to her before she has agreed to a relationship, rejecting female demon cultivators out of a self-imposed duty to remain faithful 90.

His romantic confidence coexists with poor judgment and vulnerability. He seeks courtship advice from Xia Buyan while initially disavowing “underhanded methods,” misreads Ning Pingzhang’s encouragement as permission to marry Ning Xiang, and is devastated when she explicitly rejects him. In the Underworld, his fear that she hates him leads him to offer his life rather than continue causing her distress 94 119 120 180.

Lu’s devotion increasingly manifests through concealed sacrifice. He takes Ning Xiang’s tribulation lightning onto himself despite serious injuries and later transfers the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation’s crushing pressure from her and Su Lang to his own body. He asks that his protection during her breakthrough be kept secret, especially from Ning Xiang 207 229.

After believing Ning Xiang lost, he experiences profound grief and recognizes how much of her care he had overlooked. The Ghost Emperor’s revelations encourage him to reconsider his assumption that her harsh words mean simple hatred. Following her return, his pursuit becomes bolder and more playful, although the birds’ concern that he might harm himself and his brief loss of patience suggest lingering emotional strain 229 230.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Lu Qingchen entered the Dao through the sword; Ning Xiang identifies him as the foremost swordsman in the original novel’s setting 6 40.

• Defeats Mingyuan in their earlier duel, leaving him badly injured by Canglang 8 9 11.
• Uses precise sword qi to freeze Nascent Soul demon monkeys 45.
• Secretly extracts a late-Nascent Soul Six-Eared Demon Monkey’s core during battle, killing it 45.
• Assesses his disciples’ sword technique and personally trains Ning Xiang 14 36 40.
• Fights Ning Pingzhang, another late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, across the sky and ground; their clash damages a mountain summit before Ning Xiang and Ning Hui intervene 51.
• Kills a Nascent Soul demon beast attacking him from behind by piercing its chest, freezing it from the heart outward, and shattering its body when he withdraws Canglang 123.
• After initially losing to Ning Pingzhang while injured, progresses to drawing with him and eventually defeating him in their repeated courtship-related duels 230.

Ice Techniques and Ice Talisman Formation

Lu Qingchen combines ice attacks with talisman formations. His Ice Talisman Formation took fifty years to develop specifically as a counter to Mingyuan 11.

• Creates rune-inscribed ice blades that link into a cage 11.
• Reforms the formation when Mingyuan’s summoned Qiongqi-like beast tears openings in it 11.
• Freezes demon beasts solid with icy radiance from Canglang 45.
• Limit: Mingyuan escapes the formation using the Netherworld Flame 12.
• Unconfirmed trait: Ning Xiang wonders whether his ice powers indicate a mutated ice spiritual root; the passage does not confirm it 45.

Hearing Ning Xiang’s Thoughts

Lu Qingchen unexpectedly begins hearing Ning Xiang’s inner monologue after a brief disturbance in his sea of consciousness 1.

• Recognizes thoughts that contradict her spoken declarations of devotion 1 4.
• Learns her belief that their world is a novel and that he is one of Jiang Miaomiao’s prospective romantic partners 4.
• Discovers practical explanations behind gifts and memories he had interpreted as proof of her affection 44.
• Learns that her unusual condition involved an aphrodisiac, although he does not immediately establish how she obtained it 48.
• Hears her comparisons between his female admirers and characters from Legend of the White Snake, which he recognizes after reading storybooks himself 90.
• Unexplained scope: The supplied chapters do not establish the ability’s origin, range, or whether he can hear anyone besides Ning Xiang.

Paper Spirit Art

Lu Qingchen created the Paper Spirit Art, which all his disciples on Solitary Light Peak know 9.

• Sends a paper puppet identical to himself to investigate Ning Xiang at Reflection Cliff 4.
• Uses the puppet to converse with and observe her remotely 4.
• Limit: The paper body cannot eat, much to his irritation when offered hot pot 4.
• The technique is recognizable enough for Mingyuan to associate a Paper Fox with him 9.

Spiritual Sense and Protective Spells

Lu Qingchen uses spiritual sense for observation and detection, alongside defensive magic 1 6 44.

• Watches Ning Xiang and Yu Tingchao spar from a distance 6.
• Detects hostile presences and forms a watery spiritual shield around himself and Ning Xiang 44.
• Casts a Soundproofing Spell to prevent visitors from disturbing her sleep 48.
• Can pass the protective array at Lingling Cottage that Ning Xiang uses to keep others out 49.
• Inscribes his divine-sense trace into Ning Xiang’s Communication Talisman, restoring his contact after its removal 85 104.
• Uses a gust of wind to push away female demon cultivators who attempt to take his arms 90.
• Uses magic to hold Ning Xiang against him during his brief awakening; Shaowei releases her after Lu loses consciousness again 174.

Nine Shao Music

Lu Qingchen transmits pure, elegant music into Ning Xiang’s ears to steady her mind during the demon-monkey battle 45.

• Counters the distress caused by the piercing cries of two Nascent Soul demon monkeys 45.
• Ning Xiang recognizes the music as Nine Shao Music, associated with the secluded Nine Shao Gate; his connection to that sect remains unexplained 45.
• Later participates in a meeting that connects the Great Demons’ massacre of Su Lang’s uncle’s household to their theft of the Nine Splendors Phoenix-Felling Flute and Nine-Shao Melody score. The group plans for Su Lang to broadcast the melody to calm afflicted cultivators, but this discussion does not explicitly explain Lu’s own acquisition of the music 104.

Secret Art for Transferring Harm

With Shaowei’s guidance, Lu Qingchen uses a Profound Heaven Sect secret technique to divert the heavenly lightning of Ning Xiang’s Nascent Soul tribulation onto himself 207.

• Endures the diverted lightning throughout her twenty-one-day breakthrough, despite preexisting injuries from fighting demon beasts 207.
• The lightning does not weaken because his cultivation is higher; its impact on his primordial spirit produces suffering proportionate to his own cultivation 207.
• Later uses the secret art again to transfer the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation’s pressure from Ning Xiang and Su Lang to himself 229.
• Cost: The technique inflicts severe pain and worsens his injuries. He describes the formation’s pressure as vastly more agonizing than the tribulation lightning he previously endured 229.

Limitations and Soul-Related Vulnerability

Lu Qingchen’s strength does not prevent spiritual suppression, attacks upon his heart, or the separation of his soul from his body 73 124 135 150.

• Is abducted while cultivating and awakens bound, unable to use spiritual power 73.
• Recognizes a false Ning Xiang in an illusion, but is nevertheless pierced through the chest and has his heart seized by the apparition 124.
• Hanying identifies powerful ghostly energy coiled around his heart and warns that it prevents him from safely using spiritual power. She attributes energy of this strength to the Hundred Ghosts King 135.
• Is explicitly warned that forcing his spiritual energy into use could cause his soul to perish and his body to dissolve 139.
• While existing as a soul in the Underworld, cannot safely touch Ning Xiang because his ghostly chill could harm her 181.

Power Progression

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Canglang Sword — His bonded treasure, used for combat and sword flight. Its blade is described as shining like an autumn moon over a cold river. It displays its own dislike of Ning Xiang but obeys Lu’s reprimands 1 11 43. During the later Beast Tide, Lu physically intercepts its attack on Ning Xiang, allowing its icy sword qi to cut his palm rather than injure her 229.
• Robe of Law — A crudely made, rune-embroidered robe presented by Ning Xiang but secretly produced by her system. Lu accepts it despite its flaws, frustrating her planned rejection scene 19 20.
• Nine-Turn Pill Scripture — A rare alchemy text he acquires and gives to Ning Xiang, recognizing that her fire spiritual root and extraordinary flame suit alchemy 22.
• Heaven-Question Stone — Used to access the gossip forum and investigate fiction inspired by himself and Ning Xiang 30 36.
• Merfolk Canopy — Drawn closed to block the morning light while Ning Xiang sleeps 48.
• Illusory Spirit Mountains and Seas Map — Given to him by Ning Xiang immediately before she enters the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation. The map, originally her tournament prize, can transport its user across the Three Domains 104 229.
• Pure-Nurturing Pill — A rescue medicine used to preserve his body while his soul is absent. Its required ingredients are blood-burning red lotus from the Ten Thousand Demons Cave, jade-leaf stoneheart grass from White River Valley, and azure marrow withered-and-flourishing wood from Returning Cloud Ridge. Shaowei instructs Ning Xiang to prepare it as a medicinal bath heated continuously with the Red Lotus Karmic Flame 150 172.
• Soul-Calming Pearl — The sect’s supreme treasure, stolen by Ning Xiang to save him after his earlier injury. He subsequently tells her to return it; it is not established as his personal possession 229.
• Primordial Rebirth Mirror — Used by his former incarnation, the Qinghua Emperor, to secure Xi Jing’s and Yinghuo’s reincarnation through the sacrifice of his heart-soul. Its present possession or availability to Lu is not established 229.

Relationships

• Ning Xiang — Direct disciple and developing romantic attachment. Her thoughts challenge his assumptions about her devotion; his growing care appears through gifts, personal instruction, protectiveness, and a desire for her company 4 22 34 36 43 48. He later asks her to become his Dao companion, seeks her father’s permission to marry her, and becomes openly jealous of other suitors 69 94 104 112. She explicitly rejects his courtship and says she feels only master–disciple affection, but still risks herself to preserve his body and retrieve his soul 120 150 167 181. He reciprocates through severe, often concealed sacrifices during her tribulation and the Beast Tide. After learning of their ancient connection and waiting for her return, he renews his pursuit; their later sword lesson develops into kisses and a private romantic encounter. A completed marriage is not established 207 229 230.
• Jiang Miaomiao — Disciple and daughter of a deceased friend. His early attention to her fuels Ning Xiang’s accusations of bias, but he later coldly rebukes her for ending seclusion early 1 4 48. Jiang subsequently condemns him as unsuitable for Ning Xiang after seeing female demon cultivators pursue him, and suggests Su Lang as a better match. During Lu’s illness, she also announces her own plan to court him and become Ning Xiang’s master’s wife 90 172.
• Su Lang — Eldest disciple, praised for steadiness and trusted with Ning Xiang’s childhood care and expedition responsibilities 6 16 44. His closeness to Ning Xiang increasingly provokes Lu’s jealousy, although master and disciple cooperate in protecting her. Su Lang summons Lu when her dangerous Nascent Soul Formation begins, and Lu later takes the formation pressure intended for both Su Lang and Ning Xiang 51 73 85 207 229.
• Xie Feihong — Second disciple. Lu assigns him internal sect duties and repeatedly encounters him absorbed in novels or fanfiction about his master 16 22 30. The sect leader placed Xie under Lu’s care after the death of the boy’s father 78.
• Yu Tingchao — Disciple whose talent Lu appreciates. He assigns Yu to the secret-realm expedition and expects Ning Xiang to help look after him 6 16 24. Yu later becomes a romantic rival: Lu tries to interrupt his time with Ning Xiang, while Yu vows to challenge his master after assuming Lu has mistreated her. After Yu’s apparent death, Lu offers to visit the Underworld himself once three months have passed 119 174 184.
• Mingyuan — Demon Venerable and combat rival. Lu develops a formation specifically against him and fights him over Ning Xiang, but ultimately permits him to leave to prevent wider conflict 11 12. Their competing attachment to Ning Xiang continues through the Demon Domain arc, although they also attend the same strategic discussions concerning the Great Demons, her missing soul fragment, and the Soul-Calming Pearl 68 104.
• Zhu Yu — Demon King and prominent romantic rival. Lu resents Zhu Yu’s closeness to Ning Xiang, the removal of his divine-sense trace from her Communication Talisman, and the support Zhu wins from her friends through generous gifts. Zhu attempts to undermine Lu by arranging for numerous beautiful female cultivators to tempt him 85 90 104 105.
• True Lord Shaowei — Fellow sect cultivator and co-leader of the expedition to the Purple Tenuity Domain 36 49. Shaowei helps organize Lu’s medicinal treatment, guides the secret technique that diverts Ning Xiang’s tribulation lightning onto Lu, and recognizes the seriousness of his concealed affection 172 174 207.
• Ning Hui — Ning Xiang’s second brother, who addresses Lu as Uncle-Master and teases him about his closeness to Ning Xiang 46.
• Ning Pingzhang — Ning Xiang’s father and Lu’s senior martial brother. He attacks Lu after finding Ning Xiang in his arms, rejects Lu’s marriage proposal, and later imposes repeated duels as tests of his suitability. Even after Lu begins winning, Ning Pingzhang continues inventing objections to the match 51 94 230.
• Ghost Emperor — Underworld ruler who permits Ning Xiang to search for Lu’s soul because his allotted lifespan has not ended. Later refuses to promise Ning Xiang’s resurrection in exchange for Lu’s life, reveals his former identity and her sacrifices, and assures him that she will return 180 229.
• Caiwei — Receives her father’s Communication Talisman from Lu after he finds it beneath Pagoda Mountain’s cliffs. She initially mistakes the practical gesture for romantic interest 105.
• Xiangxiang and Little Lu — Birds kept in his courtyard. Their attachment and disruptive antics repeatedly undermine his preference for quiet 14 16 21 46. Together with Xingu and Hezhen, they later follow him out of fear that his grief will lead him to take his own life. He briefly loses patience and sends all four back to Chengfeng Courtyard, then regrets his reaction 229 230.
• Xi Jing, Yinghuo, and Yuyi — Disciples of his former incarnation, the Qinghua Emperor. He sacrifices cultivation and ultimately his own soul to protect Xi Jing and Yinghuo, while Tai Sui’s warning causes him to withhold some teachings from Yuyi 229.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Original Fate and the Restart

• In Ning Xiang’s reenacted original ending, Lu condemns her as a demoness and drives Canglang through her heart after her meridians and cultivation have already been destroyed 1.
• Following the restart, he punishes her for accusing Jiang Miaomiao of meeting a demonic cultivator, but his newfound access to her thoughts begins disrupting the expected storyline 1 2.
• Her running commentary causes him to avoid Jiang Miaomiao’s anticipated embrace rather than complete the romantic scene 2 3.

Reflection Cliff and Mingyuan

• Lu investigates Ning Xiang’s changed behavior through a paper double, learning her claims about the novel’s plot 4.
• He later confronts Mingyuan at the bottom of Reflection Cliff, places himself between the Demon Venerable and his disciple, and deploys his custom Ice Talisman Formation 11.
• After Mingyuan escapes, Lu releases him for the sake of political stability and lets Ning Xiang return without punishment 12.

Training, Gifts, and Literary Retaliation

• Lu imposes a demanding training routine, then discovers Ning Xiang’s swordsmanship is substantially better than he realized 14.
• His acceptance of her imperfect robe defeats a system quest requiring him to reject her, prompting her revenge prank with a bird named “Little Lu” 20.
• After discovering her bestselling novel portrays him as a humiliated “runaway little husband,” he demands revisions and 70 percent of her royalties. He later enforces the arrangement after learning that another 300,000 copies have sold 23 42.
• During a classroom debate over fanfiction pairings, he orders Bai Yueguang to retain only Xiang Ning and Ye Fan—the fictional counterparts of Ning Xiang and himself—before yielding to Ning Xiang’s objection 41.
• Despite initially dismissing popular fiction, he later reads enough storybooks to recognize Ning Xiang’s references to Legend of the White Snake. He does not know that many bestselling works were written by her under other pen names during his lessons 90.
• During the Eastern Sea journey, he recognizes that Su Lang has written an assignment for Ning Xiang despite their nearly identical handwriting, but accepts that Su’s work is substantially more readable than her own 106.

Growing Attachment and the Maple-Forest Attack

• Lu misses Ning Xiang during the secret-realm expedition and seeks her out after her return 34 35.
• Their personal sword practice develops into a snow fight; her joke about growing white-haired together moves him to let the snow fall on them both 40.
• A sightseeing trip to Redleaf Valley ends in an ambush by controlled demon monkeys. Lu shields Ning Xiang, urges her to escape, and defeats the late-Nascent Soul attacker 43 44 45.
• Afterward, he discusses security with Ning Hui and True Lord Fuming 46.

Aphrodisiac Incident and Demon Domain Expedition

• The system forces Ning Xiang to prepare aphrodisiac-laced tea for Lu, but she accidentally drinks it herself. Lu comforts her during her confused condition and protects her sleep the following morning 46 47 48.
• Hearing her thoughts reveals the aphrodisiac’s involvement. He investigates the tea and suspects someone has targeted her, promising to find the culprit without suspecting that she prepared it 48 49.
• Following unusual activity reported by the Heavenly Chaos Mirror, Lu prepares to investigate the Purple Tenuity Domain. He and Shaowei lead the expedition, accompanied by Ning Xiang, Su Lang, Ning Hui, Jiang Miaomiao, and other disciples 30 49.
• On the journey, his jealousy over Ning Xiang holding Su Lang’s hand leads him to ask whether she will “take responsibility for her master.” His embrace is interrupted by Ning Pingzhang, whose ensuing attack forces a serious duel between the two late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators 51.
• While Ning Xiang is transformed into a fluffy creature, he attempts unsuccessfully to message or signal her. Ning Pingzhang misreads his interest as attraction to the Demon King, creating another misunderstanding 60.
• Lu explicitly proposes becoming Dao companions after returning to the sect, but Ning Xiang’s sudden transformation into a Pallas’s cat interrupts her response 69.
• He is later abducted while cultivating and awakens bound with his spiritual power suppressed. Ning Xiang, Jiang Miaomiao, Bai Yueguang, and Su Lang are caught in the same suggestively arranged trap 73.

Tournament Jealousy and the Marriage Proposal

• Lu tries to restore his divine-sense trace in Ning Xiang’s Communication Talisman after Zhu Yu removes it, but she unintentionally ignores the request while seeking Su Lang’s help with her tournament introduction 85.
• He warns Ning Xiang that suspicious participants have entered the Spirit Fighting Tournament and urges her to withdraw and return to the sect. Her suggestion that he talk to her father is mistakenly interpreted as willingness to tell her parents about their relationship 87.
• Attending to protect her, he rejects two female demon cultivators’ advances. Jiang Miaomiao nevertheless concludes that he is unfaithful and unsuitable for Ning Xiang, while Zhu Yu plots to send still more women to tempt him 90.
• Lu recognizes the suspicious ease of Ning Xiang’s early victories as the Demon King’s obvious favoritism rather than an ordinary demonstration of her strength 91.
• After four tournament contestants are murdered and their golden cores removed, Lu discusses the investigation with Ning Pingzhang and Shaowei. He refuses Shaowei’s suggestion that Ning Xiang use her influence over Zhu Yu to obtain assistance, unwilling to expose her to danger 94.
• Jealousy prompts him to seek an official marriage arrangement. Misunderstanding Ning Pingzhang’s general encouragement, he declares that he and Ning Xiang share mutual affection and asks for her hand; her father angrily orders him out 94.
• He participates in the later investigation of mind-controlling gu, the Great Demons’ theft of the Nine-Shao artifacts, and Ning Xiang’s divided soul. Afterward, he restores his contact in her talisman and forcefully kisses her upon seeing the mark Zhu Yu left on her lip 104.
• He tries to take Ning Xiang back to the Profound Heaven Sect, but she wishes to remain in the Purple Tenuity Domain for two years of experience. Her parents prevent him from taking her away 105.

Eastern Sea Courtship, Rejection, and Injury

• During a late-night encounter, Lu presses Ning Xiang to acknowledge his wish to become her cultivation partner. She seeks to preserve their master–disciple relationship; he says he is willing to wait 111 112.
• He follows Xia Buyan’s advice on courting her, despite first claiming that he would not use underhanded methods. His attempt to interrupt her breakfast with Yu Tingchao only earns her irritation 119.
• Ning Xiang confronts Xia Buyan over the ill-received romantic gesture and states that she no longer feels romantic affection for Lu. He overhears, asks her to confirm it, and is devastated when she says she has moved on 120.
• He leaves to fight demon beasts on Tianxuan Island. Later, while distraught over Ning Xiang’s abduction, he fights ruthlessly and kills a Nascent Soul attacker with Canglang 120 123.
• An illusion presents a seemingly repentant Ning Xiang who asks to become his cultivation partner. Though he recognizes the deception and attacks, the apparition pierces his chest and seizes his heart 124.
• Hanying identifies ghostly energy around his heart, suggests Zhu Yu’s Dark Yin Water-Reflecting Mirror could awaken him, and warns that he cannot safely use spiritual power until the energy is removed. Even while concerned for Ning Xiang, he is restrained from joining an attack because forcing his power could destroy both soul and body 135 139.

Preserving His Body and Retrieving His Soul

• Qin Ye explains that three rare ingredients are required to refine a Pure-Nurturing Pill. The medicine can prevent Lu’s body from decaying, but his soul must still be retrieved from the Underworld when its gate opens forty-nine days later 150.
• Ning Xiang obtains the blood-burning red lotus despite the Red Lotus Karmic Flame burning through her spiritual barrier and scorching her soul. Qin Ge and her third brother travel to obtain the jade-leaf stoneheart grass 153 167.
• Shaowei brings the Pure-Nurturing Pill and assigns Ning Xiang to prepare Lu’s medicinal bath, continuously heating it with the Red Lotus Karmic Flame 172.
• Lu briefly awakens, kisses Ning Xiang, and insists that her safety matters most before losing consciousness again. Shaowei confirms that the treatment will preserve his body for two months while they await the Ghost Gate 174.
• Before departing, Ning Xiang promises to bring back his soul and return with him to Solitary Light Peak, while teasing that he can officiate her future wedding 178.
• The Ghost Emperor allows her to search because Lu’s allotted lifespan has not ended. After rejecting a false Lu offering an idealized quiet life, she encounters the real Lu, who asks whether she hates him and points her sword toward his own heart 180.
• Ning Xiang persuades him to return by mentioning potential suitors and repeatedly confirming that she wants him back. He promises her all his spirit stones and insists on leaving with her, although his soul’s chill prevents him from touching her safely 181.
• After Yu Tingchao’s apparent death, Lu offers to go to the Underworld himself once three months have passed, hoping to help Ning Xiang recover him 184.

Concealed Protection During Ning Xiang’s Breakthrough

• Su Lang seeks Lu’s help when Ning Xiang unexpectedly attempts Nascent Soul Formation while deeply distressed by memories of Zhu Yu’s death. Lu judges that her condition gives her little chance of survival 207.
• Under Shaowei’s guidance, he secretly diverts bolt after bolt of tribulation lightning onto himself throughout the breakthrough, despite already being gravely injured 207.
• He refuses to stop and instructs Shaowei not to tell Ning Xiang. She successfully forms her nascent soul without knowing the extent of his intervention 207.

Beast Tide, Ancient Memories, and Ning Xiang’s Return

• When Ning Xiang appears surrounded by ghost qi and Canglang attacks her again, Lu intercepts the sword with his hand. She tends his wound and gives him the Illusory Spirit Mountains and Seas Map before entering the Demon-Subduing Sword Formation with Su Lang 229.
• Lu uses the secret art to transfer the formation’s overwhelming pressure from the two disciples onto himself. Their disappearance within its light leaves him terrified and grief-stricken 229.
• He searches Tangli Cottage, Chengfeng Courtyard, the classroom, Redleaf Valley, and the rest of the sect, finding reminders of Ning Xiang but no trace of her 229.
• In the Underworld, he offers his life for her return. The Ghost Emperor instead proposes a game, which Lu loses, and challenges his belief that Ning Xiang’s harsh words mean she simply hates him 229.
• A water mirror reveals both Ning Xiang’s painful sacrifices to save him and his own forgotten history as the Qinghua Emperor. The Ghost Emperor assures him that she will return, but leaves the question of her acceptance to Lu himself 229.
• Lu returns to help rebuild the sect and resolves to wait for her 229.
• After Ning Xiang returns, he continues seeking her hand despite Ning Pingzhang’s shifting objections. His repeated duels with her father progress from defeat while injured to draws and eventual victories 230.
• The sect’s need for recruits leads Ning Xiang to write a deliberately fictional, melodramatic “rags-to-riches” biography under Lu’s name. Contrary to his expectations, the prospectus attracts numerous applicants, including cultivators specifically asking to become his disciples 230.
• A later visit ostensibly to test Ning Xiang’s swordsmanship becomes flirtatious. He guides her hand, responds to her sword threat by reminding her that she saved his life, and kisses her; the encounter develops into private intimacy 230.

Notable Quotes

“Stand behind me and protect yourself.” 11

“Do I need to sacrifice my reputation to earn spirit stones?” 36

“Then I shall wait and see how you move me with that heart full of sincerity.” 36

“Once we're back at the Profound Heaven Sect, let's become Dao companions. I'll speak to your parents.” 69

“No. Go yourself if you want. We can't put Xiangxiang in danger.” 94

“Do you hate me that much?” 180

“I am willing to exchange my life for Ning Xiang's return.” 229

“You saved my life in the first place. If you want it, go ahead and take it.” 230

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