Ailin

Biodata

Geography & Environment

• Rebuilt county seat: Present-day Ailin occupies a converted military encampment, not the original town site. Armored soldiers dominate its streets, and guards inspect documents and waist tokens at the gates 32.
• Old City: The former county seat remains a contaminated ruin used for patrols and monster-clearing operations 33 55.
• Contaminated countryside: Although cultivators sealed the calamity’s fissures, demonic energy remained embedded in the mountains, rivers, soil, and water 29.
• Dead forests: Beyond the rebuilt city’s sparse weeds and small trees, the landscape becomes dark and lifeless, with slopes covered in blackish-brown dead stumps 34.
• Poor cultivation conditions: Spiritual energy is scarce and impure energy abundant. Around the Old City, cultivators must filter out demonic energy carefully to avoid their cultivation running wild 38 81.

Notable Locations

Administration & Population

Military and Sect Authorities

Azure Mystic’s outer branch and the Wu army jointly contain demonic remnants, seal contaminated areas, and prevent both civilian incursions and demonic beasts escaping 29.

Unlike the hereditary Military Households, County Commandant Li can leave after completing his posting and receive promotion and rewards from the imperial court 63.

Military Households

After the original population was devastated, Wu authorities relocated people from surrounding commanderies and counties to repopulate Ailin. These settlers formed the bulk of its current Military Household population 55.

Military Household registration is hereditary. Residents are forbidden to leave the county, and their descendants must continue garrisoning the region and fighting demonic beasts 50 55. The rebuilt city’s limited civilian population consists chiefly of soldiers’ families and permanently settled laborers 29.

This confinement fuels resentment toward both the Wu court and Azure Mystic. Puxin exploits that despair by promising deliverance, winning followers among civilians and military officers alike 62 64.

History

Chunji’s Suppression — Xianxi Year Fifteen

Master Chunji established Little Hidden Temple after registering with Azure Mystic’s local Hall Department. He declined to involve its three Qi Refining cultivators in handling the Demon Sword, fearing that its value as a sword blank would provoke greed and expose them to corruption 51 52.

The sword was destined to trigger a Demon Calamity every seven years. Chunji sacrificed his life to suppress its first eruption in Xianxi Year Fifteen, sparing Ailin that year 48.

Destruction and Reconstruction — Xianxi Year Twenty-Two

Seven years later, the Demon Calamity struck Ailin. Earthquakes shattered the town and surrounding mountains; fissures more than ten zhang wide released ink-black demonic energy. Vegetation withered, while exposed people and livestock went mad 29 48.

Azure Mystic’s powerful cultivators suppressed the disaster and sealed the fissures, but the original town and its outer sect branch had been destroyed. A new county seat and outer branch were established to contain the lingering contamination 29 32.

Jiang Che later discovers through Puxin’s memories that, after being imprisoned and mistreated by the Wang Clan’s steward, Puxin embraced the Demon Sword as his “Master,” slaughtered the clan, and summoned the calamity in Ailin Old City 66.

Renewed Crisis — Xianxi Year Twenty-Nine

The next seven-year interval coincides with Jiang Che’s assignment. Shortly after his arrival, Du Yongchang reports increasing numbers of demonic creatures and signs of a True Demon 32 48.

At Little Hidden Temple, the reinforcements join a costly siege. Only four of thirteen previous Registered Disciples have survived; by the operation’s conclusion, six of the seventeen Registered Disciples in Jiang Che’s contingent have died. The True Demon is slain, and the remaining monsters around the temple are cleared over four days 34 42.

The danger continues through coordinated patrol ambushes. Company commanders collaborating with Demon Monsters act under orders linked to Hundred-Man Commander Zhang Guilu and the mysterious “Master,” whom Jiang Che identifies as Puxin 55 58 60 62.

Two threats then unfold within the rebuilt city:

• Hall Department: The Demon Sword’s fiend possesses Steward Wei and fights Du Yongchang, Steward Pang, and County Commandant Li 63.
• East City: Puxin’s followers obstruct the Azure Mystic disciples. Jiang Che uses Buddhist teachings and the Tin Staff to weaken Puxin, allowing Hu Yan to kill him 64 68.

The Demon Sword is ultimately suppressed, its evil spirit destroyed, and the sword sealed. Ailin survives the threatened second destruction 75 76 79.

Aftermath

Chunhui of White Dragon Temple arrives seeking Chunji’s reincarnation. Daoist Jifang finds the newly born reincarnated child, Chen Ji, first; Chen Ji and the sealed sword are subsequently assigned to Evening Rainbow Peak 75 77 79.

Du Yongchang, Steward Pang, and County Commandant Li hold a public banquet for those who contributed to the city’s defense. Jiang Che receives particular recognition for his role in saving Ailin 79 80.

During the following two months, no further disturbances occur. Demon Monster numbers in the Old City fall sharply, and formerly hazardous patrols become routine assignments. Jiang Che and the surviving Registered Disciples depart after completing their terms 81 84.

Sect Assignments & Recruitment

• Year-round reinforcement missions: Ailin assignments remain posted at Verdant Mist Hall because the local branch is persistently short-handed 29.
• High rewards, high mortality: Generous merit and contribution rewards attract desperate or ambitious disciples, but returning teams often bring back only about half their members unharmed 29.
• Temporary disciple service: Jiang Che’s assignment lasts three months. Reinforcements assemble in Xuanxia Town under the participating disciple with the highest cultivation and seniority 32.
• Strict travel deadline: Teams must cover the eight hundred li to Ailin within seven days; missing the deadline carries execution under military orders 32.
• Punitive senior postings: Qi Refining cultivators may be sent to Ailin as punishment, while temporary elite reinforcements are encouraged through substantial rewards 29 32.
• Relaxed local admission: The outer branch accepts applicants readily, relaxes age restrictions, and offers more Registered Disciple places than other branches 29 55.
• Unequal risk allocation: Local commanders preserve their own Outer Disciples by assigning dangerous probing missions to reinforcements from the main sect 38.

Textual Notes

• Survival estimates differ: The initial account states that fewer than one in ten inhabitants survived the original calamity. A later account gives fewer than one in a hundred out of a population exceeding one hundred thousand 29 55.