Chen Jianghe

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Transmigration and Early Livelihood

Before transmigrating, Chen Jianghe was a university painting student with excellent grades. He awakened in the body of a young Yun Household fisher-farmer three years before the opening chapter. The original owner was an orphan surnamed Chen, without a given name, whom a Yun Household elder had brought to Mirror Moon Lake because he possessed a spiritual root 1 42.

The household provided its new fisher-farmer with a water-element cultivation art, ten grains of spirit sand, and a Spirit-Nurturing Pill. In return, his entire first year’s fish harvest belonged to the household. Chen Jianghe subsequently lived aboard a fishing boat and cultivated beside his five-mu fishery at the lake’s outermost edge 1.

His bond with Xiao Hei changed his ambitions. Discovering a lifespan limit of 240 years convinced him to abandon risky competition in favor of patient cultivation. Rather than spend his savings on his own modest short-term gains, he bought Xiao Hei a Spirit-Opening Pill for 105 grains of spirit sand, hoping the tortoise’s advancement would benefit them both 1 6 7.

Old Gao and the Mutual Aid Alliance

Chen Jianghe initially maintained a small circle consisting of his neighbors Old Gao and Yu Daniu. Their annual gatherings at the Welcoming Inn provided cultivation advice and news. Old Gao’s warnings helped him avoid dangerous mining work, while his account of a disastrous youthful mining venture reinforced Chen Jianghe’s determination to remain under Mirror Moon Lake’s protection 1 4 11.

After Old Gao died, Chen Jianghe and Yu Daniu helped give him a water burial. Chen Jianghe refused a share of the spirit stones Gao Peiyao had inherited and cautioned her against risky temporary work 12.

During the Yun Household’s upheaval, he supported Gao Peiyao’s proposal for a Mutual Aid Alliance. Alongside Gao Peiyao, Yu Daniu, and Zhou Miaoyun, he swore a Heart Demon Oath to uphold its rules. The alliance aimed to help members obtain a Calamity-Breaking Pill upon reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining and eventually advance together into late Qi Refining 14 15.

Surviving the Yun Household Crisis

Chen Jianghe repeatedly avoided opportunities that threatened his safety. He declined recruitment for temporary spirit-farming work; the recruiters were later identified as human traffickers connected to the Lan Household’s deadly recruitment scheme. When Port No. 2 was attacked, he hid at the lakebed rather than remain above water to watch 2 20 26.

As the household lost territory and fisher-farmers fled, he advised his allies to stock supplies and minimize trips to port. He also encouraged Yu Daniu not to withdraw from the alliance when Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun began sidelining him for his lack of talisman aptitude 22 23.

Promotion to the Inner Waters

The Yun Household granted Chen Jianghe early entry into the Inner Waters as a Senior Fisher-Farmer. He welcomed the higher pay and richer spiritual energy, but valued the increased safety most of all. His assigned fishery was Sector C, Waters Number Twelve 29 30 32.

Raising Small Blue Fish initially exposed how heavily he depended on Xiao Hei: Chen Jianghe could not reliably stop the fingerlings from attacking one another, and his attempt to feed them caused several to turn belly-up. After he brought Xiao Hei over, the tortoise took charge of their care, freeing him to cultivate and practice spells 32 33 34.

When Xiao Hei became a spirit beast, Chen Jianghe discovered that their lifespans had actually been exchanged, rather than simply shared. His own limit rose to 360 years, while Xiao Hei’s displayed limit was 120 years. He consequently treated both his own cultivation and Xiao Hei’s survival as essential priorities 35.

Talisman Practice and Future Plans

After Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun left Mirror Moon Lake, the alliance’s annual gatherings ended, though its members could still correspond. Financial help from Yu Daniu allowed Chen Jianghe to repay debts, purchase a breakthrough pill, and begin studying talisman drawing earlier than planned 40 42.

Following his breakthrough to the fourth level of Qi Refining, he began drawing talismans as a second source of income. By thirty, he was satisfied with both his cultivation and his foothold in the Talisman Dao. He later devoted six hours each day to cultivation and the rest of his available time to talisman practice, aiming to become a Low-Grade Talisman Master within two years 43 49 50.

He plans eventually to leave the Yun Household, partly because an appearance unchanged for decades could attract suspicion. Qinghe Market becomes a possible destination because of its second-tier superior-grade spiritual vein and three resident Foundation Establishment cultivators 47 50.

Appearance

Chen Jianghe has delicate facial features and a youthful appearance that remains largely unchanged over seven years, although his bearing becomes calmer and more mature 1 26.

• Early clothing: Short, coarse fisher-farmer robes 3.
• Senior Fisher-Farmer uniform: A standard-issue silk robe bearing a silver cloud on the chest 36.

Personality

Chen Jianghe places survival above quick profit, prestige, and competition. His extended lifespan makes gradual improvement more attractive than dangerous shortcuts. He dislikes unwanted attention, resenting public praise when it exposes him without providing a tangible reward 1 5 30.

He is frugal rather than indiscriminately miserly. He carefully reserves money for necessities and avoids unnecessary market trips, but willingly buys Gao Peiyao an additional meal, gives presents to Yu Daniu’s children, and covers Yu Daniu’s share of a gathering when his friend cannot attend 6 9 36 48.

His approach to friendship combines calculation with loyalty. He recognizes the unequal benefits within the Mutual Aid Alliance, yet refuses to abandon Yu Daniu merely to secure Zhou Miaoyun’s favor. He also accepts that friendships require continued effort and that widening differences in status may eventually weaken them 14 22 42.

With Xiao Hei, he is playful and opportunistic. He imitates Yun Bufan’s grand promises to motivate the tortoise, bargains over pill rewards, and persuades Xiao Hei to call him “Master” rather than “two-legged beast” 7 35.

Abilities & Skills

Origin Returning True Water Art

A basic water-element Qi Refining art supplied by the Yun Household 1.

• Converts absorbed spiritual energy into magical power through his spiritual root and circulates it into his dantian 1.
• Includes the water spells that form his principal practical skill set 8 13.
• Provides no additional magical-power capacity, unlike advanced cultivation arts 27.
• His Five-Element Mixed Spiritual Root slows cultivation and creates a minor bottleneck when entering mid Qi Refining 5 43.
• Cultivation in the Inner Waters is at least 30% faster than in his former Outer Waters fishery 32.

Spirit-Turtle Mark and Lifespan Exchange

A tortoise-shaped mark on Chen Jianghe’s Spiritual Platform links him to Xiao Hei. A corresponding mark resembling Chen Jianghe exists on the tortoise’s platform 1 35.

• Sends messages to Xiao Hei through the mark before the tortoise becomes a ranked spirit beast 3 13.
• Gains two-way mental communication after Xiao Hei’s advancement 35.
• Concludes that the corresponding mark granted Xiao Hei the Three-Turn Demon Ascension Art, an unusual inheritance for a Black Crystal Mystic Tortoise 38 46.
• Cannot learn that art from Xiao Hei: attempts to transmit it produce only a blank 35.
• Sees Xiao Hei’s continued advancement as a means of further increasing his own lifespan 46.

Water Spells

• Minor Water-Control Technique: Produces silver threads of magical power to restrain and move fish. At the first layer, he can haul only one Big Blue Fish at a time; at the third layer, he later separates five Small Blue Fish fingerlings at once 1 3 32.
• Water-Avoidance Spell: Learned by age twenty as part of his water-element spell repertoire 8.
• Water Arrow Technique: Learned by age twenty; later provides a familiar spell for his talisman practice 8 47.
• Lesser Cloud-and-Rain Art: One of four spells he has mastered while at the second layer of Qi Refining 13.
• Body-Cleansing Technique: Used to wash away impurities expelled during his breakthrough to mid Qi Refining 43.

Water Escape Technique

His principal escape spell, learned after reaching the third layer of Qi Refining 27.

• At the third layer, his cultivation art supports approximately three uses before his magical power is exhausted 27.
• His mastery of the Minor Water-Control Technique helps him learn it quickly 27.
• Limited funds prevent him from accelerating practice with spirit stones or Qi-Restoring Pills 27.

Spirit Talisman Drawing

Chen Jianghe draws on his university painting background when learning the Talisman Dao 42 44.

• At the fourth level of Qi Refining, his magical power supports three low-grade talisman-drawing attempts, but mental fatigue is a stronger practical restriction 45 47.
• Without a First-Tier Talisman Dao Inheritance, he is limited to talismans matching his water-element cultivation art 47.
• He has entered the Talisman Dao but is still working toward becoming a Low-Grade Talisman Master 50.

Aquaculture and Swimming

• Strong swimmer: His water-element cultivation and fisher-farmer livelihood make him comfortable in the lake 7.
• Recognized fish producer: Earns praise from Yun Bufan and Yun Wu; his second batch of Small Blue Fish includes three that have become spirit beasts 3 40.
• Reliance on Xiao Hei: Privately admits that his own fish-farming experience is limited. Xiao Hei suppresses aggression, manages feeding, and accounts for much of his exceptional yield 11 32 34.

Equipment / Items

• Fishing boat / Black Canopy Boat — Serves as both his home and workspace 1 50.
• Worn peachwood talisman brush — Bought for one spirit stone to begin talisman practice; eventually loses its remaining bristles 42 45.
• Replacement talisman brush — Obtained after the first brush wears out, using spirit stones and completed talismans as payment 45.
• Talisman paper and spirit ink — His principal consumable materials for practicing and producing talismans 42 47.
• Water Escape Talisman — Given to him by Zhou Miaoyun as emergency protection during the Yun Household crisis 22.
• Peace Talisman and medicinal sachet — Purchased during his visit to Yu Daniu following the birth of his son 38.
• Yun Household Magazine — A borrowed jade-slip reference covering regional geography, cultivation crafts, treasures, pills, and spirit beasts; later returned through Yu Daniu 46 47 48.

Relationships

• Xiao Hei — Spirit pet, lifespan-exchange partner, and indispensable aquaculture assistant. Chen Jianghe supplies awakening and cultivation pills while protecting the tortoise’s unusual abilities from attention 1 7 35 47.
• Yu Daniu — Neighbor, alliance co-founder, and increasingly close friend. Chen Jianghe supports him against isolation within the alliance; Yu Daniu later provides eight spirit stones that help fund Chen Jianghe’s cultivation and talisman studies 22 23 40 42.
• Old Gao — Elder neighbor and trusted source of cultivation experience. His warnings shape Chen Jianghe’s cautious outlook; Chen Jianghe helps arrange his water burial and later returns a borrowed spirit stone to Gao Peiyao 1 11 12 14.
• Gao Peiyao — Old Gao’s granddaughter and fellow alliance founder. Chen Jianghe recognizes both her stronger aptitude and the alliance’s tendency to favor her advancement. They part when she leaves Mirror Moon Lake 9 14 42.
• Zhou Miaoyun — Talisman practitioner and alliance co-founder. She lends him two spirit stones and gives him a Water Escape Talisman, but he refuses to let her investment dictate his treatment of Yu Daniu. He repays her before her departure 22 42.
• Yun Bufan — Yun Household young master whose praise helps Chen Jianghe gain recognition. Chen Jianghe dislikes being publicly singled out and criticizes Bufan’s failure to address the deaths of exploited fisher-farmers 3 5 40.
• Wang Kui — Habitual borrower whose demands Chen Jianghe firmly refuses. Wang Kui later adopts a friendlier manner after learning that Chen Jianghe has become a Senior Fisher-Farmer 6 36.
• Yun Huizhen and her children — Yu Daniu’s family, whom Chen Jianghe visits with gifts. The children address him as “Uncle” 48 49.
• Yun Huixiang — Yun Huizhen’s younger sister, introduced as a possible marriage prospect. She wants a husband at least at late Qi Refining, while Chen Jianghe has no intention of marrying into the Yun Household 48 49.

Notable Quotes

“Provided I can stay alive, my cultivation comes first, and Xiao Hei comes second. Nothing else matters.” 35

“I induced qi into my body and stepped onto the immortal path at fourteen. Fifteen years have passed, and I’ve finally broken through to the mid Qi Refining stage.” 43