Li Baiyi

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Life in the Capital

Li Baiyi grew up in the capital and served as a fifth-rank chiliarch of the Demon-Slaying Bureau. He had visited several prominent Buddhist temples and learned about Buddhist history from a Bureau guest elder. Before becoming trapped himself, his knowledge of Ruin Realms came from accounts rather than firsthand experience 25 27.

He socialized with noble-family scions in the capital’s brothels and enjoyed the prospect of outshining them with impressive language. His family possessed a saber passed down through generations, which he offered to Xu Chunliang 24 25.

The Pearl Buddha Maiden

After meeting Xu Chunliang in a brothel and becoming trapped with him in a Ruin Realm, Li Baiyi proposed an alliance. His knowledge of Ruin Realms made him the stranded group’s initial source of guidance, and he advocated exploring rather than relying indefinitely on the protective Buddhist light 20.

He unsuccessfully tried to stop the green-clad swordswoman from attacking the Pearl Buddha Maiden. During the deadly game that followed, he watched Xu Chunliang’s decisions, advanced alongside him without verbal coordination, and joined his attack. When the chanting stopped and immobilized them, recitation of the Heart Sutra restored their movement 21 22 23.

After the Buddhist light was destroyed, Li Baiyi repeatedly dodged the black-haired eerie’s attacks. He continued using evasive movements even after the immediate threat had passed, stopping only after encountering the motionless Xu Chunliang and reassessing the danger 23 24.

The Pagoda Forest and the Pearl

The pair escaped a grove where monk-faced worms killed Brother Axe and Brother Dao, then discovered a hillside covered in black pagodas. Li Baiyi recognized their inscriptions as Buddha Script and questioned whether the realm originated from the legendary age when Buddhas ruled the world 24 25.

When eighteen rotten Buddha guardians emerged, Li Baiyi initially fled but returned rather than abandon Xu Chunliang. Each man destroyed one guardian’s palm before the guardians overwhelmed them with a hellish illusion. Xu Chunliang broke free and rescued the unconscious Li Baiyi 26 27.

Li Baiyi recalled an ancient saying connecting a pearl held in the mouth with freedom to come and go. Xu Chunliang gave him the Pearl Buddha Maiden’s pearl to test it. The pearl entered his body, granted Buddhist power, and revealed a route eastward 27 28.

Naihe Bridge and Escape

At Naihe Bridge, the pearl’s light protected Li Baiyi from human centipedes. In one subsequently erased sequence, he jumped into the monster-filled river to rescue Xu Chunliang. After the rollback, Xu Chunliang instead seized him by the ankle and used his protected body as a weapon to force a passage across the bridge 29.

Beyond the bridge, a giant Buddha collapsed into a swarm of Human Worms. Xu Chunliang hurled Li Baiyi toward the exposed skeleton, where he entered Moon Glow Grade and shattered its skull. The skeleton pierced his heart with a jade-white finger and then destroyed his corpse. Xu Chunliang’s ensuing use of deathly power and suicide triggered another rollback 30 31.

On the revised attempt, Xu Chunliang threw Li Baiyi back toward safety and confronted the skeleton himself. Li Baiyi tried to rejoin him and later attacked the small Buddhist being that invaded Xu Chunliang’s body, but could not intercept it. Both ultimately escaped the realm 31 32.

Afterward, Li Baiyi intended to return to the capital to investigate the pearl. He also promised to arrange a meeting between his sister and Xu Chunliang and to keep their Ruin Realm encounter secret 32.

Appearance

• White robes: Introduced as a white-robed swordsman and described as a dashing young master 20 23.
• Black hair: Noted for his stylish hair; Xu Chunliang pulls some out while dragging him away from the pagoda forest 27.
• Pearl manifestation: After acquiring Buddhist power, a luminous pearl appears between his brows when protecting him. At rest, it recedes into a glowing, lotus-seed-shaped speck 29 30.
• Temporary white pupils: His pupils turn pure white while the pearl first reveals the eastern route, then return to black 28.

Personality

Li Baiyi is sociable, observant, and cautious. He patiently explains Ruin Realms to Xu Chunliang, notices openings for cooperation, and maintains a reassuring expression despite his private worries. His caution does not prevent him from acting when he sees a chance to help 20 22.

He initially cultivates Xu Chunliang’s friendship because he suspects him to be blessed with extraordinary fortune. This develops into genuine loyalty: although they have known each other for less than a day, he regards Xu Chunliang as a brother and risks his life rather than leave him behind 24 26 29.

He also enjoys boasting and theatrical language. Xu Chunliang’s deliberately unsettling speech about treating life and death as toys impresses him rather than deters him; he immediately asks to reuse it when showing off in the capital. Nevertheless, his gratitude is sincere: after receiving the pearl, he apologizes for benefiting from Xu Chunliang’s opportunity and offers his sword and further treasures in return 25 28.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Li Baiyi uses sword qi and coordinated killing moves in close combat 22.

• Cuts off a rotten Buddha guardian’s palm 26.
• Shatters the giant skeleton’s skull with moonlight-like sword radiance upon entering Moon Glow Grade in an erased sequence 31.
• Names a powerful technique, Flying Immortal from Beyond Heaven, which he believes can defeat the skeleton; its execution is not shown 31.
• Uses his sword’s rebound against the ground to propel himself toward Xu Chunliang 32.

Movement and Energy Sensitivity

His evasive technique combines rapid rolls, flips, and changes of position 23.

• Xu Chunliang considers the technique sophisticated enough to observe and secretly learn from 23.
• Senses a nearby person through his natural sensitivity to energy despite darkness so complete that he cannot see his own hand 23.
• Can misjudge whether danger remains: he continues dodging an imagined strand of black hair after the threat has ceased 23 24.

Buddhist Pearl Inheritance

The Pearl Buddha Maiden’s pearl grants Li Baiyi part of a Buddhist legacy 28.

• Route perception: Shows him a road, river, and Buddha to the east, pointing the pair toward the exit 28.
• Scripture transmission: Passes an obscure Buddhist scripture into his mind, which he recites while traveling 28.
• Protective light: Manifests on his forehead and releases Heart Sutra incantations and golden light, scorching a human centipede on contact 29.
• Shared protection: Shields Xu Chunliang while he wields Li Baiyi as an improvised weapon 29.
• Impact resistance: Reduces injuries from collisions with monsters and the ground, but does not prevent the skeleton from killing him in the erased sequence 31 32.

Knowledge of Ruin Realms and Buddhist Lore

Li Baiyi supplies information that guides the pair’s exploration, while acknowledging the limits of his experience 20 27.

• Explains Ruin Realms’ unpredictable appearances and high mortality 20.
• Recognizes Buddha Script by its snake-like characters; he does not demonstrate an ability to read it 25.
• Describes the capital’s Dust-Sweeping Formation, created through the sacrifice of 36,381 people to seal it against Ruin Realms 27.
• Recounts several reported escape methods and recalls the ancient saying that leads them to test the pearl 27.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Elegant Heart Sword — His exceptionally sharp sword. Xu Chunliang borrows it to fight the Buddha guardians, carve a wooden saber, and later test his altered bones. Li Baiyi offers to give it away, but Xu Chunliang returns it 27 28 32.
• Pearl Buddha Maiden’s pearl — Given to him by Xu Chunliang and absorbed into his body. It becomes the source of his Buddhist abilities rather than remaining a separate carried item 27 28 29.

Relationships

• Xu Chunliang — Fellow Bureau officer and survival companion. Li Baiyi’s initial interest in his apparent good fortune develops into loyalty and repeated efforts to protect him. He calls Xu Chunliang “brother-in-law,” although no marriage is established 24 25 29 32.
• Unnamed younger sister — His fifteen-year-old sister, whom he describes as educated, courteous, gentle, graceful, and sensible. He repeatedly proposes introducing her to Xu Chunliang as a prospective wife 24 25 32.
• Buddhist guest elder — A Bureau elder whose explanation of Buddha Script enables Li Baiyi to identify the inscriptions in the pagoda forest 25.

Notable Quotes

“Today I’ll go crazy with you. If you die first, don’t blame me for turning tail and running without collecting your corpse!” 26

“Brother-in-law, wait for me! I’m coming to save you!”
“Or die with you!” 29