Chen Du

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Chen Du grew up in Earth Sage Temple and accompanied his master down the mountain to perform rituals from childhood. Their tradition drew on folk practices rather than a formally registered Daoist lineage; neither had received a ritual register 1 2 26.

After a mudslide, the mountain villages relocated with government assistance, but his master refused to leave. The old Daoist died three years before the opening events, leaving Chen Du to maintain the temple with his cat, Side-Swept Bangs, as his companion 1.

Before genuine cultivation became possible, Chen Du helped adapt the temple to modern visitors by suggesting that two meditation rooms become inexpensive guest rooms. Ritual work and feng shui consultations nevertheless remained its principal income 6.

Appearance

• Wears plain Daoist robes, often carrying or drawing a longsword when confronting supernatural dangers 1 22 36.
• His priestly clothing, secluded temple, spirit cat, and treasure tree help convince Yunzhi that he is an extraordinary cultivator 6.

Personality

Chen Du is cautious, observant, and skilled at maintaining composure while frightened. When Yunzhi first appears, he has neither magic power nor martial skills, but uses ambiguous Daoist answers to suggest that he is an experienced cultivator. He continues preserving this image while privately investigating how cultivation actually works 2 3 8.

His caution does not exclude kindness. He shelters Yunzhi from heavenly lightning, discourages her habitual kneeling, and helps her understand modern society. He also rejects killing Shu Yidu merely for discovering his deception, although he keeps the bookworm restrained until he can safely trust him 3 6 7 37.

He treats cultivation as something to test rather than accept blindly. He compares Yunzhi’s explanations with ancient writings, distinguishes reliable Essence Platforms from uncertain images, and develops a human qi-refining method when her yao-based method proves unsuitable 19 20 22. His ambition grows alongside his confidence: lacking an established teacher, he resolves to become a pioneer rather than wait for someone else to lead 22.

Abilities & Skills

Spiritual Perception

Chen Du can directly perceive spiritual qi and examine its movement and qualities 1 22.

• Sees spiritual radiance that ordinarily requires his concentration, distinguishing it from the fruit’s later naked-eye glow 13.
• Perceives different kinds of spiritual energy, but initially can guide only five-elements spiritual energy into his body 22.
• Uses spiritual vision to investigate disturbances on the mountain 22.

Essence Fire and Qi Refinement

His Essence Fires refine spiritual energy into usable magic power. Because Yunzhi’s absorption method depends on yao instincts, he develops his own approach to guiding and breathing in qi 22 35.

• Uses spirit fruits as a concentrated energy source while working out the refinement process 22.
• Cultivates beneath the Three-Pearl Tree, which gathers surrounding qi and improves local cultivation conditions 35.
• Forms a small pool of spiritual power, largely through the fruits rather than ordinary practice 35.
• Does not establish that the thousand-plus indistinct platforms are genuine; he considers a faulty visualization or a connection to the seal among the possibilities 22.

Earth Sage Seal Commands

By writing instructions on a suitable vessel and stamping it with the Earth Sage Seal, Chen Du can call on the mountain’s spiritual energy without first mastering conventional spells 25 26.

• Terrain and objects: Breaks stone, summons stone slabs, excavates buried caskets, and creates stone furniture 26 28 44.
• Plants: Accelerates ordinary grass growth, opens flowers, and relocates an ancient peach tree from the summit to the temple courtyard 26.
• Restraint and protection: Produces talismans for binding, bodily protection, and suppressing demons 27 37 44.
• Territorial limit: Cannot retrieve objects from a neighboring mountain; his talismans lose their effect outside his own mountain 28.
• Vessel limit: Ordinary paper fails, while stone can shatter under excessive spiritual energy. Spiritual jade holds substantially more power 26 28 44.
• Unsuccessful commands: Cannot force the treasure tree to fruit, turn stone into gold, or simply summon every sealed treasure from underground 26.

Five-Elements Breath Technique

Chen Du develops a simple technique for releasing the five-elements qi he refines 35.

• Uses fire-element qi to ignite paper 35.
• Uses water-element qi to extinguish fire and produce mist or dew 35.
• Its demonstrated effects differ from Yunzhi’s sleep- and illusion-inducing breath 35.

Treasured Sword Use

Chen Du can summon the treasured sword into his hand and channel magic power through it 32 33.

• The sword initially appears blunt and unremarkable 24.
• When supplied with magic power, it emits intense cold and causes frost to form nearby 33.
• Can cut paper without directly touching it 33.
• Chen Du suspects its ready obedience is connected to his seal 33.

Dream Observations

Chen Du experiences dreams in which he observes conversations he would not otherwise hear 8 41 49.

• Witnesses Yunzhi sending a magical message to an old friend, then questions her about it afterward 8 9.
• Observes Jiang Xi’s discussions with Nan and Bei, learning that they seek cultivation guidance rather than intend him harm 41 49.
• Does not fully understand or voluntarily control these experiences; he feels uneasy about the resulting eavesdropping 41.

Ritual Knowledge and Research

• Knows practical ritual work, feng shui, talisman drawing, and aspects of Buddhist, Daoist, and folk cultivation traditions 2 4 6 26.
• Finds a passage attributed to Chen Tuan that corroborates the progression from essence to fire, refined qi, and a qi sea 19.
• Obtains a translation of Greater Earth Evasion through Shu Yidu, but plans to have Yunzhi test it before attempting it himself 39.
• Questions Shu Yidu about ancient cultivators and asks him to record remembered essence-gathering methods 42.

Equipment & Resources

• Earth Sage Seal — Inherited from his master. Displays a miniature image of the mountain with black and white dots associated with sealed entities and objects; also supplies the authority behind his command talismans 1 5 23 38.
• Jade and stone talismans — Portable vessels for protection, restraint, and attacks against demons. His prepared jade commands include “Mountain Spirit Body Protection,” “Slay Demons and Exterminate Fiends,” and “Suppress Demons and Subdue Devils” 27 44.
• Treasured longsword — Retrieved from a sealed stone casket; Chen Du also entrusts it to Yunzhi for dangerous assignments 24 31 45.
• Three-Pearl Tree and spirit fruits — A courtyard tree he provisionally identifies with the legendary Three-Pearl Tree. Its fruits support cultivation, while the tree itself concentrates qi 13 35.
• Bronze bell — A palm-sized object recovered from a sealed stone box. Its accompanying plaque identifies it as a treasured gift to an earlier temple cultivator 38.
• Heavenly Palace on a Leaf — A treasure associated with a small jade jar unearthed on the mountain; Chen Du studies it after returning to the temple 44 46.
• Electric tricycle — Used for transport before his confinement; later offered to Yunzhi for errands 5 7 33.

Relationships

• His master — Raised and instructed him at Earth Sage Temple. Chen Du remains attached to the temple partly out of respect for the old Daoist’s refusal to abandon its inheritance 1 4.
• Side-Swept Bangs — His female black-and-white cat, raised from kittenhood. She is his closest everyday companion, becomes capable of speech, and studies cultivation with his encouragement 1 7 19.
• Yunzhi — An ancient yao who mistakes him for an immortal expert. She becomes his helper and intermediary with the outside world, while her lessons provide his first usable cultivation guidance. He later gives her protective equipment and warns her not to endanger herself pursuing the escaped demon 6 19 22 45.
• Shu Yidu — A bookworm spirit who knows Chen Du initially bluffed Yunzhi. Chen Du employs him as a translator and cultivation adviser in exchange for food, shelter, and protection, while restricting him to the study 36 37.
• Door God — A formerly suppressed spider yao whom Chen Du binds to temple service. After it repeatedly protects him, he rewards it with a spirit fruit and permission to move throughout the temple 31 32 47.
• Jiang Xi / Xixi — A spiritually gifted young woman seeking guidance. Chen Du considers the value of a human assistant, accepts her as a cleaning volunteer, and later asks her to accompany Yunzhi to a jade market 42 43 46 49.
• The great black-and-white-qi demon — A dangerous escaped opponent that resists resealing and destroys its original jade tablet. Its continued presence drives Chen Du to strengthen the temple’s defenses and seek better talisman materials 44 45 49.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Spiritual Qi Revival and Yunzhi’s Arrival

• Notices denser qi, his cat’s emerging intelligence, and a strange tree growing overnight in the courtyard 1.
• Bluffs his way through Yunzhi’s arrival, then discovers that the seal-linked restriction prevents him from leaving the mountain 2 3 5.
• Turns Yunzhi’s fear of his supposed power into a working arrangement: she handles chores and errands while he searches for cultivation knowledge 6 10 15.
• Discourages her from using magic to obtain money or recover burial goods taken during the excavation of her tomb 15 16.

Becoming a Cultivator

• Learns foundational cultivation principles by joining Yunzhi’s lesson for his cat 19.
• Uses spirit fruits to build ten Essence Platforms, ignites their fires, and begins devising his own qi-refining method 20 21 22.
• Investigates the mountain’s seals and discovers how to turn the Earth Sage Seal into a practical source of supernatural authority 23 24 25 26.

Building the Temple’s Defenses

• Has Yunzhi investigate supernatural disturbances, then binds the captured spider yao as the temple’s Door God 28 31 32.
• Uncovers Shu Yidu in the study and gains access to hidden knowledge preserved in old books 35 36 37.
• Draws increasing attention from visitors, including Jiang Xi, while trying to control what outsiders learn about the temple 33 42 43.

The Great Demon Threat

• Attempts to renew a powerful demon’s seal, but an opposing force interrupts the process and allows it to escape 44.
• Survives through the combined protection of the Door God, his talismans, and Yunzhi’s sword attacks; the demon destroys its original sealing tablet before fleeing 44 45.
• Temporarily closes the temple after news of an enormous injured panda raises suspicions about the demon’s movements 48.
• Arranges a jade-market trip to obtain jinyu, spiritual jade suitable for stronger talismans 46 49.

Notable Quotes

“Spiritual energy has only just begun to revive in this era. I haven't found any sign that anyone has gone ahead of me, and there's probably no one to teach me, either. Then I'll walk at the front.” 22

“Stand up to speak. People don't kneel these days.” 3