Chen Jingchou

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Chen Jingchou and Elder Jiang belonged to the same generation of Demon-Slaying Envoys. Both initially considered themselves talented enough to cultivate Grotto-Heaven Methods, only to abandon those methods and start again with Blessed Land Methods. Despite appearing younger, Chen is several years older than Jiang; Jiang’s aged appearance resulted from a severe demonic injury that shortened his lifespan 60.

After entering the Inner Landscape Realm, Chen cultivated at the Prince of Yan’s Cold Abyss Well. This opportunity greatly accelerated his progress and preserved a slim possibility of reaching the Divine Treasury Realm. He nevertheless remained stalled at a bottleneck for years 60 61 64.

Chen personally survived the previous hundred-year demonic calamity. Its devastation shaped his desire to nurture cultivators capable of reaching the Divine Treasury Realm, whose strength he considers essential to protecting humanity 64.

Appearance

• An ordinary-looking man with a middle-aged appearance, despite being over a century old 60.
• Still appears to be in his prime beside the visibly elderly Elder Jiang 60.

Personality

Chen is proud of the Demon-Slaying Envoys’ independence and openly defies officials who attempt to treat him as a subordinate. When Sun Ying challenges him over Yuan Guanshan’s death, he responds with mockery, refuses to surrender Lu Guan’s credit, and boasts that he could defeat Sun with one hand 48.

He enjoys teasing others and cultivating a reputation for discernment. His recruitment of Lu Guan is motivated by genuine appreciation of talent, but also by the prospect of being remembered as the man who recognized that talent early. His imagination repeatedly turns Lu Guan’s mastery of the Prince of Yan’s saber art into speculation about secret royal parentage—even after Yu Qianqian explains how Lu learned it 47 48 61.

Chen is notorious for beating weaker cultivators under the pretext of teaching them. Nevertheless, he provides substantial guidance afterward, leaving those same cultivators both resentful and grateful. His preference for overwhelming weaker opponents is also practical doctrine: he considers advantages in cultivation far more dependable than attempting heroic victories across realms 65 66.

His humor disappears when civilians are slaughtered. At the Luo Household massacre, he becomes visibly furious and prepares to pursue the responsible tiger demon even at the risk of provoking a wider conflict 67.

Abilities & Skills

Pacify Mountains and Rivers

Chen’s Blessed Land Mystery forcibly seals the Qi of heaven and earth within an area, with its effectiveness dependent on his cultivation 65.

• Selective suppression: Seals Yuan Guanshan’s access to external Qi while leaving Lu Guan free to use it 45 46.
• Divine Ability suppression: Disrupts attacks that depend on external Qi, including Lu Guan’s Celestial Person One Saber Slash 65.
• Higher-realm advantage: Particularly effective against weaker cultivators; it is central to Chen’s standing among the Gold-Token Demon-Slaying Envoys 65 66.
• Limited equal-realm advantage: Does not provide the direct physical enhancement of Mountain-Bearing Bones, leaving Chen unable to overcome Lu Guan’s defenses during their First-Layer spar 65 66.
• Numerical weakness: Multiple opponents can share the suppression. Two demons once exploited this to counterattack and nearly kill him, after which he became careful to count his opponents before fighting 81.

Primordial Unity Qi Palm

A Divine Ability Chen has cultivated to perfection, forming blue-and-white Qi into an expanding palm print 65.

• Produces a palm strike approximately the size of a millstone 65.
• Fails to injure Lu Guan when Chen restricts himself to the Inner Landscape Realm’s First Layer; this does not establish its effectiveness at Chen’s full cultivation 65 66.

Heaven-Supporting Divine Palm

A Divine Ability that gathers vast streams of heaven-and-earth Qi through Chen’s raised fingers, condensing them into an exceptionally dense palm attack 72.

• Used alongside Pacify Mountains and Rivers to strike down Lu Guan at his own request 72.
• Reveals Chen’s Eighth Heaven cultivation 72.

Divine Thought and Qi Control

• Communicates through Divine Thought and flies by manipulating the Qi of heaven and earth 68 72.
• Conceals himself beneath the clouds with other cultivators while observing Lu Guan’s pursuit of Fourth Master Yin 68.
• Incorporates surrounding Qi into physical attacks, including the surprise punch that opens his spar with Lu Guan 65.

Cultivation Knowledge

• Explains that Refining Essence into Qi—not Great Li’s three Martial Dao realms—is the original prerequisite to the Inner Landscape Realm 64.
• Knows that Inner Landscape cultivation methods were obtained from demons and fiends, while cultivation aristocratic clans withhold the prerequisite methods 64.
• Gives Lu Guan practical cultivation guidance that saves him years of independent comprehension 66.
• Explains that acquiring Divine Treasury Realm methods and higher methods requires sufficient merit, a provincial governor’s recommendation, and an available place 83.

Relationships

• Lu Guan — Recruit, beneficiary, and cultivation junior whom Chen later acknowledges as a fellow Daoist. Chen helps him survive Yuan Guanshan, recruits him with a silver token, provides a healing pill, and guides his cultivation. Their relationship includes competitive sparring and frequent teasing 45 48 49 64 66.
• Yu Qianqian / Commandery Princess Luyang — Addresses him as “Uncle Chen” and brings him to Lu Guan’s aid. Chen escorts her home despite her protests, making her comply with a flick to the forehead 45 49.
• Prince of Yan — Chen acts on the prince’s instructions when arranging Lu Guan’s stay at the Cold Abyss Well. He previously benefited from the same cultivation site 61.
• Elder Jiang — Longtime contemporary who shared his unsuccessful attempt at a Grotto-Heaven Method. They exchange familiar insults and discuss Lu Guan’s prospects 60 61.
• Sun Ying — Fellow defender of You Province and frequent target of Chen’s mockery. They clash over the political consequences of killing Yuan Guanshan, and Chen later needles him about Lu Guan’s achievements 48 73.
• Yin Jing and Ailao Mountain’s demons — Enemies familiar with Chen’s dangerous Mystery and preference for overwhelming weaker foes. Yin Jing arranges a superior, numerically advantaged force specifically to kill him in the chessboard battle 68 81.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Rescuing and Recruiting Lu Guan

• Arrives in Qianqiu County with Yu Qianqian and prevents Yuan Guanshan from drawing on the Qi of heaven and earth. Rather than stop the wounded Lu Guan from fighting, he challenges him to prove himself by killing the ape 45 46.
• Witnesses Lu Guan kill Yuan Guanshan with Celestial Person One Saber Slash and recognizes him as an exceptional prospect for the Demon-Slaying Envoys 47.
• Offers Lu Guan immediate Silver-Token entry and counters Sun Ying’s fears of demonic retaliation by announcing the Prince of Yan’s Divine Treasury breakthrough 48.
• Leaves Lu Guan a Jade Dew Pill, which heals his broken ribs and external wounds overnight, and arranges the local aftermath before departing with Yu Qianqian 49 50.

Cultivation Guidance and Sparring

• Brings Lu Guan to the Cold Abyss Well on the Prince of Yan’s instructions and witnesses his unexpectedly rapid Inner Landscape breakthrough 61 63.
• Restricts himself to the First Layer for a spar, but cannot penetrate Lu Guan’s Mystery-enhanced defenses. Lu Guan ends the exchange before Chen can bring his higher cultivation into play 65 66.
• Later agrees to demonstrate Pacify Mountains and Rivers at full strength. Without being told about Lu Guan’s Dao Field, he supplies the encounter that allows it to record his Mystery 72.

Luo Household Massacre

• Identifies the massacre as revenge for Luo Tianshui’s killing of an Ailao Mountain tiger demon and prepares to hunt down the culprit 67.
• Follows Lu Guan’s pursuit with other cultivators, stopping them from intervening so they can witness a Grotto-Heaven cultivator’s strength. He remains ready to suppress Fourth Master Yin if necessary 68.
• Watches in disbelief as Lu Guan reaches the Fourth Heaven during the battle 69.

Heaven and Earth Chessboard Battle

• Explains the chessboard’s origin, its division into Heaven and Earth Boards, and the wager underlying You Province’s contest with the demons 75.
• Becomes the target of one Ninth Heaven demon and three Middle Inner Landscape demons, deliberately selected to counter him through both superior cultivation and numbers 81.
• Fights on the fiercest battlefield within the chess game. His battle’s outcome is not established in the provided account 81.

Notable Quotes

“We heed deployments, not summons, and take it upon ourselves to sweep the world clean of monsters and fiends—that is what it means to be a Demon-Slaying Envoy!” 48

“Crossing realms downward is true immortal cultivation!” 66

“Only those in the Divine Treasury Realm can protect more of the human race during the hundred-year calamity!” 64