Chen Wei

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Chen Wei spent two hundred years studying in the mortal realm, developing his clerical foundation by copying scriptures at a Daoist temple. He eventually comprehended the Dao through scholarship and ascended. His experiences studying and traveling also exposed him to street extortionists, knowledge he later used against Big Bear’s staged injury 1 12.

By the opening chapter, he had been in the Heavenly Court for one year and two months—equivalent to four hundred and twenty-five mortal years. During a three-month secondment at Bright Hall, he copied case files and archived jade slips, seeking a stable position rather than recognition. An advanced forging credential earned him a transfer to the Immortal Works Bureau, where Lu Beiwang immediately pressured him to approve a half-built cloud road. Recognizing that the signature could make him liable for a collapse, Chen Wei refused both the verification and a bribe, then sought a decision from their chief 1.

Appearance

• Youthful, handsome features: Appears as a young man whose looks rival Liu Yanchang’s; the Great Heavenly Venerable later notes his scholarly air 4 49.
• Robes: Wears blue robes early in the story and jade-green everyday robes as an immortal official 4 6 10.
• Folding fan: Carries a fan, which he closes or taps against his palm while arguing and reciting poetry 4 5.
• True Immortal eyes: After his breakthrough, concealed golden light appears in his eyes, accompanied by a faint transcendent quality 34.

Personality

Chen Wei is ambitious but strongly protective of his own safety. His initial goal is stability; later, he openly wants greater cultivation and a higher place in the Heavenly Court. He carefully distinguishes profitable opportunities from dangerous obligations: he refuses bribes that could saddle him with blame or karmic debt, but pursues officially approved merit income 1 3 20.

His deference is calculated rather than naïve. He flatters superiors, credits patrons for his achievements, and maintains a composed expression even when frightened. His praise can also be openly theatrical: he invents sentimental memories to make Yang Niansan’s excessively sweet tangyuan seem welcome and exaggerates Yang Jian’s favorable treatment when recounting their meetings 6 17 32 38 42.

He treats regulations as both working knowledge and protection. He challenges an inadequate confession at Flower-Fruit Mountain, yet refuses to investigate suspicious deaths outside his bureau’s jurisdiction. His principles are flexible where personal gain is concerned: after accepting looted Storage Bags, he supplies several justifications for conduct the narration explicitly describes as ordinarily punishable 10 14 45 46.

His caution does not prevent him from acting decisively. He ruthlessly counters Big Bear’s extortion, insists that his raid incur zero casualties, and later sincerely argues that ordinary demons should be given honest livelihoods rather than indiscriminately slaughtered 12 45 50.

Abilities & Skills

Scholarship, Poetry, and Argument

Chen Wei’s scholarship is the foundation of his cultivation and one of his principal tools in official life 1 4 5.

• Constructs tightly reasoned rebuttals against Liu Yanchang’s demand that incense offerings purchase divine favors 4 5.
• Composes an impromptu poem describing Mount Hua, the Treasure Lotus Lamp, and the Third Holy Mother’s purity 5.
• Uses polished reports, flattery, and public-service rhetoric to secure patronage and defend his decisions 32 42 47 50.

Administration and Technical Knowledge

His clerical experience gives him detailed knowledge of Heavenly Court regulations, records, and departmental procedure 1 3.

• Copies case files and archives jade slips; knows Heavenly Court regulations by heart after his Bright Hall secondment 1 3.
• Holds an advanced forging credential and proposes checking cloud-road nodes, spiritual-energy flow, formation inscriptions, and material safety before approval 1 2.
• Distributes merit among staff and public expenses, using tangible rewards to strengthen loyalty 20 32.
• Recognizes that interdepartmental assignments require both formal authorization and benefits shared with the officials handling them 19 20.

Divine Sense and Investigation

Chen Wei uses divine sense to inspect his surroundings and follow supernatural evidence 9 26.

• Detects a demonic trace at a hidden Water Eye while investigating the dried Mother-Child River 26.
• Questions motives rather than accepting convenient confessions, notably asking why Shen He supposedly attacked fruit trees instead of the monkeys he claimed to hate 10.
• Consults official records through Ma Muzhi before confronting True Immortal Ruyi 26.
• Limit: His Heavenly Immortal senses cannot detect the mysterious Monk’s arrival; Yang Niansan also notices his attempt to probe her with divine sense 9 23.

Immortal Arts

His documented techniques include transformation, rapid movement, restraint, and wind manipulation 3 10 11 12 26.

• Transformation: Assumes a mortal farmer’s appearance for an incognito inspection and transforms into a clear breeze when leaving Western Liang’s palace 10 26.
• Wind-Averting Spell: Barely stabilizes his cloud against the astral winds raised by Yang Chan’s procession 3.
• Restraint: Seals Shen He’s major acupoints, uses a Silencing Spell, and suppresses the wounded Big Bear’s demonic power 10 11 12.
• Astral wind: Knocks a fish demon to his feet with a gesture, then casts him into mountains a hundred li away 26.
• Limits: Ordinary immortal energy cannot permanently revive Flower-Fruit Mountain’s poisoned trees. Taibai Jinxing can immobilize him effortlessly, while Yang Jian and the Great Heavenly Venerable overwhelm him with their power 6 10 41 49.

Command and Indirect Warfare

Chen Wei favors manipulation, visible deterrence, and low-risk operations over frontal combat 42 43 45.

• Presents Pang Long’s discord strategy to Yang Jian as a way to weaken the demons without sacrificing heavenly troops 39 42.
• Assigns deployment to Pang Long, logistics to Ma Muzhi, and logistical training to Xiao Yan 43.
• Leads a thousand-soldier raid that drugs the guards, loots supplies, and leaves Lion Camel Ridge weapons behind to implicate a rival faction 45.
• Anticipates a possible attack on his own supply depot and supports placing Kang Anyu there as protection 45.
• Achieves demon infighting without losing a heavenly soldier, earning Kang Anyu’s acknowledgment 47.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Heavenly Immortal token — Official bureau credential that enables his Heavenly Immortal registration and bodily transformation 7.
• Auspicious Cloud — Bestowed by Taibai Jinxing; carries him rapidly to Mount Potalaka. Chen Wei notices a faint cool fragrance and wonders whether a woman previously used it 13.
• Jade Bottle of spiritual water — Delivered by Muzha on Guanyin’s instructions. Its sweet dew restores Flower-Fruit Mountain’s withered orchard and produces immortal fruit 14.
• Voice-transmission jade talisman/slip — Used to communicate with Ma Muzhi about tribute income and investigative records 20 26.
• Jade pendant given to Yang Niansan — An ordinary spirit-stone piece. Chen Wei presents it as a gift from his master’s wife that calms the spirit and dispels evil miasma; the stated provenance is part of his reassuring speech 22 31.
• Jade pendant received from Yang Niansan — A return gift carved with water patterns and containing powerful spiritual energy. He initially protests its value, then quickly stores it in his sleeve 31.
• Life-saving brocade pouch — Left by Yang Niansan with instructions to open it at a critical moment; its contents are not revealed in the supplied passages 43.
• Standard-issue immortal sword — Carried at his waist during the supply raid and seized when supernatural thunder shakes the camp 45 49.
• Storage Bags — Accepts two bulging bags of raid spoils from Chu Feng under the pretense that they are Chen Wei’s misplaced belongings 45 46.

Relationships

• Yang Chan / Yang Niansan — Deputy, benefactor, and admirer. His defense of the Third Holy Mother draws her interest; she later arranges his merit prize and recommends him for the river campaign. He realizes she is a woman but mistakenly identifies her as the Third Holy Mother’s maid, remaining unaware that she is Yang Chan herself 4 5 16 33 35 38 42.
• Ma Muzhi — Fellow townsman, colleague, and Deputy Official. Supports Chen Wei’s investigations, manages logistics, and helps him navigate official relationships 5 7 20 43 45.
• Taibai Jinxing — Senior patron. Establishes the opportunity for Chen Wei’s bureau appointment, approves his fruit-tribute proposal, and praises his administrative skill 6 7 15 32.
• Li Yin — Superior and political rival. Initially organizes the bureau, but becomes hostile toward Chen Wei’s private access to Taibai Jinxing, objects to his competition entry, and plots after his Vanguard promotion 7 13 32 43.
• Yang Jian — Campaign commander and Yang Chan’s elder brother. Disapproves of his sister’s support for Chen Wei, then recognizes Chen Wei’s composure and political usefulness, granting him thirty thousand troops 38 41 42.
• Xiao Yan — Unaffiliated immortal recruited into the bureau. Receives a share of merit and is assigned to learn logistics under Ma Muzhi 23 32 43.
• Pang Long — Recruited strategist. Develops the discord plan and coordinates Chen Wei’s troop deployment 39 43.
• Kang Anyu — Yang Jian’s trusted general, assigned to assist and supervise Chen Wei. His Golden Immortal strength protects the supply depot, and he later recognizes the success of Chen Wei’s strategy 45 47.
• Chu Feng — Heavenly general whose sleeping-powder proposal wins Chen Wei’s favor. Delivers the looted Storage Bags and receives an invitation to Chen Wei’s Flying Boat 45.
• Great Heavenly Venerable / Zhang Tian — Meets Chen Wei as Yang Niansan’s uncle without being recognized as the Jade Emperor. Tests his composure and questions him about the demon campaign 49 50.
• The Monk — Mysterious Buddhist figure encountered at Flower-Fruit Mountain. Praises Chen Wei and promises to guide his descendants, but refuses to accept him as a disciple 9 14.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Mount Hua and Official Appointment

• Defends the gods against Liu Yanchang’s transactional view of worship and declares particular reverence for the Third Holy Mother, unknowingly speaking before Yang Chan in disguise 4.
• Impresses her further with an impromptu poem and exchanges introductions with “Yang Niansan” 5.
• Receives Taibai Jinxing’s praise and becomes Chief Official of the newly established Folk Customs and Morals Inspection Bureau, with Ma Muzhi as deputy 6 7.

Flower-Fruit Mountain and Fruit Tribute

• Captures Shen He with the poisonous pills, rejects the convenient claim that he acted alone, and refuses Xiahou Lie’s Merit Gold Brick bribes 10 12.
• Uses Guanyin’s sweet dew to restore the orchard, while leaving Xiahou Lie and Big Bear’s suspicious deaths to departments with the appropriate authority 14.
• Proposes purchasing surplus spiritual fruit as Heavenly Court tribute. Yang Niansan secures Jade Pool approval, while Ma Muzhi negotiates a twenty-percent share of the tribute merit 15 20.
• Plans to split half that share among the three senior bureau members and use the other half to facilitate the assignment through the Heavenly Court 20.

Western Liang and the Merit Prize

• Investigates the Mother-Child River’s disappearance, traces the obstruction to True Immortal Ruyi, and pressures him with the threat of an official search 26 27.
• Recognizes that Xuanzang’s reassurance has not dispersed Queen Yulin’s tribulation aura. With Yang Niansan, persuades Zhu Bajie to escort her to Spirit Mountain 30.
• Reports the waterways reconnected and the kingdom’s resentment cleared. The bureau receives five thousand years of merit, which he distributes among personnel and public expenses 32.
• Wins one hundred thousand years of merit for a ninth-place painting of a chick eating rice, enabling his True Immortal breakthrough 33 34 43.

Heaven-Reaching River Campaign

• Joins Yang Jian’s expedition intending to remain behind the front lines and collect a safe share of military merit 36 41.
• Receives the Vanguard appointment after presenting Pang Long’s plan, interpreting Yang Jian’s instruction to proceed gradually as permission for a prolonged, cautious campaign 42 43.
• Leads the supply raid that frames Lion Camel Ridge and helps provoke fighting between the Three Demons and the Five Great Demon Sages 45 47.
• Accompanies the unidentified Jade Emperor on an outing and advocates reorganizing lesser demons into honest work. Afterward, directly challenges Yang Niansan’s familiar claim that she is seeking advice “for a friend” 49 50.

Notable Quotes

“Our offices may be humble, but we must keep heaven's laws and regulations firmly in mind.” 1

“The Heavenly Court had never been about fighting and killing to see whose magic was stronger. The Heavenly Court was about immortal relationships and worldly etiquette.” — Chen Wei’s reflection on distributing tribute benefits 20

“We're here tonight to set fires and frame someone else, not risk our lives! I have only one requirement: zero casualties! No delays. We grab the loot and run!” 45

“We must assign them honest livelihoods and guide them onto the proper path.” 50