Lin Xu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Second Life and Preparation

Lin Xu is a transmigrator living his second life. His previous-life memories awakened after his father disappeared, ten years before the opening chapter. Regretting a former life spent retreating from opportunities, he resolved to control his own fate rather than depend on others 1.

For ten years, he maintained a demanding routine of study, calisthenics, and meditation. He also taught himself talisman drawing from incomplete notes obtained from a retired Night Watch member, eventually earning about 500,000 through sales 1 5.

His mother opposed the Spirit Realm Trial because no more than thirty percent of participants returned alive. Lin Xu nevertheless rejected the Jiang Clan’s salaried offer, reasoning that dependence on a powerful family would not spare him the dangers of the Spirit Realm. Before his departure, his mother gave him a skill book left by his father 1.

Spirit Realm Trial and Peach Tree Village

On the way to the trial, Chen Hao’s hired thugs attempted to force Lin Xu into a lifetime contract with the Chen Consortium. When their leader, Wang Jie, threatened Jiang Wanqing, Lin Xu fought back and killed him. He continued to the trial after promising to make Chen Hao pay 2.

The trial placed him in Xuanwei Monastery as an outer disciple, with the objective of becoming a true disciple. He chose the gold-grade Bright Lamp Spirit-Kindling Art and used his accelerated comprehension to develop his cultivation and spellcasting 3 5 7 61.

While traveling toward Peach Tree Village, he encountered Liu Jiayao, an adventurer whose memories had been consumed by the Spirit Realm mist. Finding no surviving consciousness to recover, Lin Xu implanted false memories of loyalty and made him a follower 14 15.

Completing the hidden mission to investigate an unknown enemy earned Lin Xu inner-disciple status and responsibility for guarding Peach Tree Village. He strengthened its defenses, subdued captured Evil Eyes, and introduced enchanted farming tools and plant-growth artifacts to increase its production 24 40 46 56.

After refining more than two thousand Spirit Grain Pills, he earned the 200,000 merit points required for true discipleship. Daoist Xuanzhen approved his promotion, and the following ceremony completed his trial after more than half a month in the Spirit Realm 60 61.

Azure Cloud Mountain and Monastery Succession

Lin Xu targeted the demon-held spirit grotto as an independent foothold between Xuanwei Monastery and the dungeon. Unlike Peach Tree Village, it did not directly face the main front. After obtaining Azure Cloud Cave Abode, he made it the focus of his development efforts and brought the black tiger demon Hu Da under his command 75 82.

When a dungeon legion attacked Azure Cloud Mountain, he combined Evil Eye reconnaissance, mountain authority, and terrain-altering spells to organize its defense. His victory over the Manticore earned him appointment as master of the Incense Offering Hall 103 104 112.

Daoist Xuanzhen later died after killing the giant city lord and entrusted Lin Xu with the monastery’s jade seal. Li Xuanfeng and the surviving forces recognized Lin Xu as the new Monastery Master. He then led them into the dungeon to destroy its Dungeon Heart before the city could revive 137.

Taking control of the monastery expanded his responsibilities beyond his personal cave abode. He organized territorial sweeps and established outposts along the roads to suppress respawning monsters 142 150.

Meng City, Faith, and the Chen Lineage

Returning to reality as a powerful Daoist, Lin Xu bound Chen Hao as a mirror slave and defeated his level-three martial-artist protector. He subsequently cooperated with the Jiang Clan to establish influence in a city dominated by Chen Lingfeng 62 70.

During a cultist attack, he interrupted a blood sacrifice, saved a young girl, and purified the evil god’s lingering power. He later recognized that the invading orcs’ deaths were feeding additional sacrifices and widening the Spirit Realm passage, prompting him to target the ritual sites rather than continue fighting blindly 156 161.

He restored the girl as the hero Xu Yinyin, whose Divinely Inspired One talent could create priests. This encouraged him to establish a religious organization. His Lamp-Lighting Kindling Flame Dao was intended for his Spirit Realm population, while real-world citizens retained freedom of religious choice 171 175.

With a beacon linking his territory to the Chen Lineage’s, Lin Xu moved against Chen Lingfeng. He helped deliver the fatal attack on Chen Lingfeng’s body, subsequently destroyed his soul, and seized Chen Lineage Village 182 187 188.

Industrial Development and Jiang Lineage War

Lin Xu incorporated a Zombie Mine instance into his territory to provide regularly refreshing monsters and resources. He also upgraded a captured Arcane Alchemy Matrix twice, creating an automated factory capable of producing five hundred alchemical items per day from blueprints and supplied materials 194 211.

He sought to build a longer-term base of support through schools, identifying talented, ambitious children from poor families as more valuable prospects than privileged recruits 214.

As the Jiang Lineage army approached, Evil Eye reconnaissance revealed hidden extraordinary troops, heavy cavalry, and aerial units. Lin Xu planned three mutually supporting bastions along the border. The enemy’s authority later clashed with his own, suppressing territorial Spiritual Qi and dispersing his fiery clouds before the battle 221 223 225.

Appearance

• Face: Described as handsome in his second life, in contrast to his ordinary appearance before transmigration 1.
• True-disciple attire: Wears a Daoist robe woven from spirit silkworm silk, with gold-thread evil-warding runes and a subtly woven Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation 63.
• Practical clothing choice: Continues wearing the robe in reality because its defensive spell offers protection that ordinary clothes lack 71.

Personality

Lin Xu is disciplined, ambitious, and fiercely protective of his independence. His refusal to accept a lifetime of dependence is rooted in both his previous-life regrets and his belief that supernatural danger makes a merely “stable” life unreliable. Even after gaining exceptional talents, he treats resources, preparation, and sustained effort as indispensable 1 4 9.

His ambition is tempered by caution. He avoids unnecessary confrontations, uses scouts to reduce uncertainty, and postpones opportunities he lacks the strength or resources to exploit. He repeatedly plans to succeed the monastery master, but initially builds his position through merit, production, and loyal followers rather than open rebellion 11 20 32 74.

He is also willing to manipulate minds and exploit vulnerability. He fabricates Liu Jiayao’s loyalty, binds Chen Hao’s soul, and secretly implants Dharma Seeds in mortally wounded cultivators whose weakened consciousness makes resistance unlikely. These followers become instruments of both military strength and political control 15 52 62.

His affection for his mother remains evident despite their disagreement over the trial. He comforts her after returning, brings her into his territory, and encourages her to rest and cultivate. He also comforts Yinyin after the loss of her parents 64 171 175 216.

Abilities & Skills

Focus, Wisdom Art, and Thought Overclocking

Lin Xu’s learning abilities allow him to analyze techniques, deduce spells, and reconstruct existing arts unusually quickly 4 7 43.

• Focus — gold: Makes concentration easier, increases cultivation speed by 200%, and increases comprehension by 100% 3.
• Wisdom Art and Thought Overclocking: Together help him comprehend Spirit Eye Technique at grandmaster rank without a corresponding skill book 7.
• Technical synthesis: Combines cultivation methods and develops new runic structures suited to particular followers or artifacts 28 34 56.
• Rapid study: Acquires expert-level artifact refining, formations, and talismans after an hour of analysis 46.

Lamp Cultivation and Soul Refinement

His foundational Bright Lamp Spirit-Kindling Art uses a spirit lamp to open the Divine Aperture, cultivate a personal spirit pool, and purify faith for cultivation 5.

• The basic art grants Soul Refining cultivation +30%, casting speed +30%, and skill consumption −15%, and permits the awakening of guardian deities 5.
• Uses Water and Fire Refinement and Deliverance to remove impurities and rebuild damaged spirit bodies 19.
• Tempers his own soul through alternating cold and heat, including Yin Dew, moonlight, and magical fire 10 41.
• Incorporates the Mystic Yin Soul Refining Scripture into his own system as the Soul-Cleansing Song of the Forgotten River 74.

Dharma Seeds and Guardian Deities

Dharma Seeds transmit the information contained in his cultivation art and establish followers who can develop into external incarnations 28.

• Opens followers’ Divine Apertures and enables ordinary militiamen to become level-one Daoists 57.
• Transfers understanding directly into another person’s consciousness, saving Liu Jiayao years of meditation practice 16.
• Allows awakened followers to distribute subordinate Dharma Seeds 57 82.
• Reinforces loyalty and faith, but does not make them absolute 86.
• Implantation can provoke resistance from an independent consciousness; stronger recipients are more difficult to convert 52.

Illusions and Mental Manipulation

Lin Xu uses lamp-based illusions to disable enemies or alter their perception and memories 15 16 48.

• Makes gray wolves attack one another rather than confront him 16.
• Creates false memories, including Liu Jiayao’s fabricated history of loyal service 15.
• Lures ghosts into visions that fulfill their lingering obsessions, drawing them into his lamp 48.
• Uses his lamp’s inner radiance to dispel hostile illusions and mental disturbances 10 19.

Spirit Eye and Reconnaissance

His grandmaster Spirit Eye Technique supports supernatural perception and the examination of threats and resources 7 14 123.

• Uses paper figures to scout routes through dangerous wilderness 20.
• Attaches his consciousness to Evil Eyes to observe distant locations 112.
• Develops an Evil Eye cultivation art capable of seeing through barriers and Soul-Devouring Mist 34.
• Coordinates wide-area surveillance through Qiuqiu and other Dharma Protector Evil Eyes 40 41 221.

Spirit Lamp Prayer Art

The true-transmission Spirit Lamp Prayer Art supports wishes made through the lamp, with valuable resources sacrificed to produce results 60 93 145.

• Obtains the Mountain Lord Seal by wishing for the most useful item in a treasure chest 92.
• Accelerates the consolidation of authority with Incense Fire Heaven Silver 93.
• Wishes for the most valuable contents of a golden treasure chest 145.
• Uses five summoning scrolls to obtain twenty-five corpse drivers 194.

Territorial Authority

His mountain and lord authorities connect his power to his territory and its Spiritual Qi 100 103 104.

• Strengthens allied forces and summons an eagle yaoguai to Azure Cloud Cave Abode 103.
• Rapidly replenishes magical power from gathered Spiritual Qi 104.
• Amplifies terrain-altering spells, enabling the formation of hard granite defenses 104.
• Uses Source Fire to construct a spirit-rune road linking territories 176.
• Can be opposed by another authority: the Jiang Lineage’s bronze seal suppresses local Spiritual Qi during their clash 223.

Crafting, Agriculture, and Healing

Lin Xu applies magic to production as well as warfare 46 56 117.

• Enchanted tools: His early plow enchantments raise ox-driven plowing speed to nearly three times normal 46.
• Essence-Gathering Treasure Bottle: Creates a self-charging artifact with plant growth +100%, allowing beginners to cast its growth spell using stored Spiritual Qi 56.
• Pill refining: Produces more than two thousand Spirit Grain Pills for merit exchange 60.
• Specialized equipment: Crafts mining tools and a complete range of magical farming implements 90 117.
• Treatment: Uses Rejuvenation Art, removes accumulated poison, and stabilizes damaged souls with his lamp 34 51.

Combat Magic and Mobility

• Offensive magic: Uses lamp flames, wind blades, and later Fire Meteor attacks 62 84 221.
• Mobility: Travels on clouds and Wind Fire Wheels 62 161.
• Fire Magic Book: Acquires a legendary flame mage’s text to address the limited destructive power of his available Daoist arts 142.
• Cultivation restriction: At the time he obtains the book, Sword Control Technique remains unavailable to him because it requires the Object Manipulation Realm 142.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ice Heart Jade Pendant — Phoenix-patterned jade given by Jiang Wanqing before the trial. Conceals his presence in the Yin Locust Forest; later resonates with a dragon-patterned pendant found in Chen Lineage Village 3 11 188.
• Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp — His principal early cultivation artifact and a medium for soul refinement, illusions, spellcasting, and Dharma Seed work 5 7 16.
• Glazed Spirit Lamp — Purifies the evil god’s residual rune after he destroys a cultist; the absorbed divine power begins an incomplete transformation of the lamp 156.
• Soul-Guiding Bell — Grants soul-refining spell effects +15% and magical power consumption −5%; attracts wandering souls and incomplete spirit bodies 9.
• Soul-Nourishing Talisman and Pagoda — House and nourish spirit bodies; the pagoda stores his subdued Yin soldiers 9 14.
• Profound Light Eight Trigrams Robe, Yin Soldier Command Flag, Cloud-Treading Shoes, and Azure Blade Soul-Pacifying Sword — Listed among his equipment by level four 34.
• Precious Radiance Spirit-Tempering Cauldron — A large refining artifact he creates with formations for both spirit fire and spirit water 87.
• Mountain Lord Seal — Grants authority over a spirit mountain’s domain and accelerates its consolidation 92.
• Monastery jade seal — Entrusted to him by Daoist Xuanzhen immediately before his succession 137.
• Wind Fire Wheels — Flying equipment used while locating sacrificial rituals in reality 161.
• Three-Headed Lizard Dragon egg — Obtained from a golden chest and put away because he could not yet care for it 137.
• Magic Garden model and Age of Empires dungeon scroll — Seized from Chen Lineage Village 188.

Relationships

• Liu Zhi / Mother Lin — His mother. Initially opposes the trial out of fear of losing him, but later visits his territory and begins exploring cultivation 1 175 216.
• Lin Xu’s father — Disappeared ten years before the opening chapter. Left behind the skill book his mother gives Lin Xu before the trial 1.
• Jiang Wanqing — Classmate, political partner, and developing romantic attachment. Gives him the phoenix pendant, helps with territorial affairs, and entrusts him with the Jiang Clan’s talisman legacy 3 70 182.
• Jiang Yelei / Elder Jiang — Jiang Clan elder and ally whom Lin Xu addresses as “Grandpa.” Provides political guidance, development advice, and a rare talisman-brush blueprint 70 182.
• Daoist Xuanzhen — Monastery master who approves Lin Xu’s true discipleship, appoints him Incense Offering Hall master, and entrusts him with the succession seal 60 112 137.
• Li Xuanfeng — Initially a senior true disciple who delivers Lin Xu’s inner-sect promotion. Later recognizes him as Monastery Master and serves under him 24 137 221.
• Liu Jiayao — Memory-erased adventurer made into a loyal follower and Dharma protector through Lin Xu’s mental intervention 15 27.
• Chen A’niu — Dharma protector whose scholarly strengths complement Liu Jiayao’s martial role 27.
• Qiuqiu — Evil Eye Dharma Protector named by Lin Xu. Leads reconnaissance and helps awaken additional Evil Eye protectors 34 40 103.
• Yan Jingshu / Ghost Bride — Heroic ghost follower and trusted subordinate. Risks her life to wound the black tiger demon and later commands ghost forces for Lin Xu 52 74 82 86.
• Hu Da — Subdued black tiger demon who assists with mining, military operations, and capturing corpse-refining material 82 204.
• Li Yingqiu — Real-world adventurer who becomes a subordinate and intermediary for trade, recruitment, and real-world planning 84 95 112 171.
• Meng Yaoguang and Meng Yaohua — Twin followers who assist with crafting and the transmission of Dharma Seeds 56 58 82.
• Xu Yinyin — Rescued girl whom he restores as a hero. Becomes a devout believer and offers a means of training priests 156 171.
• Xia Jingyi — Night Watchers inspector involved in his dealings with the organization. Later offers 20,000 Source Fire, which he accepts while refusing her proposal to hatch a Yellow Dragon egg 157 174 204.
• Chen Hao — Enemy who arranges the pre-trial coercion attempt. Lin Xu later binds him as a mirror slave tied to the Lin Lineage’s survival 2 62.
• Chen Lingfeng — Leader of the Chen Lineage and dominant political rival in Meng City. Lin Xu ultimately kills him and seizes his Spirit Realm village 70 187 188.
• Zhang Meng — Underworld subordinate who brings gifts, provides information, and recommends recruits 71 183.

Notable Quotes

“My fate can only be in my own hands!” 1

“Did I work this hard just to be someone else’s ox and horse?” 1

“In the Spirit Realm, magic is a productive force.” 46

“Those students from humble families who are ambitious, grateful, and talented are my true foundation!” 214