What is the 'Renxiao' that Tuoba Danqing describes?

It's a person who lived past 120 years without becoming immortal. Forcibly extending their life with elixirs corrupts their obsession into a physical deformity, turning them into a blind, hairy monster.

Why does Li Huowang decide to show the tentacles under his mask?

Tuoba Danqing was testing him. Instead of dodging the question, Li Huowang weaponizes his own body horror as a misdirect—presenting the Black Tai Sui as a freakish but honest truth to shut down further scrutiny.

What does the 'Ren Wu' promotion mean for Li Huowang?

The Ren Wu rank grants him official access to the Office's internal economy, allowing him to trade Office-earned Yang Life Elixirs for rare artifacts. It also signals a higher level of trust (and scrutiny) from his superiors.

Why does Tuoba Danqing bring up the Heart-Element method for dispelling obsession?

It's a deliberate trap. He knows a Heart-Element is a rare and dangerous secret. Mentioning it within Li Huowang's hearing is a test to see if his "Brother Er" reacts with recognition or alarm.

What is the 'Bewilderment of a Heart-Element'?

It is the purest form of existential confusion, believed to be capable of overwriting a cultivator's stubborn obsession (执念). It is considered the simplest and best method to prevent a cultivator from becoming a Renxiao after forcing life extension past 120.

The Feast

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When he sensed that the sky outside the window was gradually darkening, Li Huowang, his mouth dry and tongue parched, finally slowed to a stop.

He touched his belly, recalling how the Black Tai Sui had genuinely helped him during his previous fight against the Renxiao.

Thinking through everything that had happened recently, he formulated a strategy in his mind for how to get along with the Black Tai Sui from now on.

Even though the Black Tai Sui was constantly occupying more of his body, it didn't seem to bear him any ill will. Since that was the case, he didn't need to treat it the same way he had treated Danyangzi.

Back then, he had strained every nerve to shake Danyangzi off. But with the Black Tai Sui, not only could he not get rid of it, he fundamentally couldn't live without it.

It was inside his body. A good relationship between the two of them would only bring benefits, not harm. Maybe once they got familiar enough, he could even persuade the thing to stop eroding his body.

"Dad?"

Li Huowang steadied his breath and touched his belly again. "Listen. From now on, your name is Li Sui. Before we find a way to solve the Heart-Element problem, let's try to coexist peacefully."

"We're both grasshoppers tied to the same rope. As long as you help me, I won't ignore you either. Let's both work toward an ending that benefits us both."

"Okay."

Hearing the response, Li Huowang was momentarily surprised. It could say 'okay' now. Looked like the primer books hadn't been wasted—it was already beginning to understand what it could say.

"Coo coo—" The familiar sound made Li Huowang instinctively look up at the roof beam. A pigeon was perched there, staring at him.

"Alright. When it's time to eat later, stay still." Li Huowang stood up, slung both his swords across his back, and walked out of the inn.

Same place as always. Same pattern—the voice arriving before the person. "Hahaha—aiyai, aiya, Brother Erjiu! Long time no see! How I've missed you!"

Tuoba Danqing walked in, his round, good-natured face beaming, followed by a row of maidservants carrying trays of fine food and wine.

After so many encounters, Li Huowang had already figured out this guy's routine. He sat down and started eating and drinking with him.

He didn't know if it was this man's peculiar habit or if all Supervisory Heavenly Office agents were the same—as if they couldn't talk without eating or drinking something first.

After several rounds of drinks and multiple courses, sensing the atmosphere was just right, Tuoba Danqing reached into his bosom and pulled out a token. He slid it across the table toward Li Huowang.

"Come, come, Brother Er, take a look at this. You did a damn fine job this time—I reckon even I couldn't have done it better."

Li Huowang picked up the token. When he saw the character Ren Wu on it, his eyes practically burned. He was one step closer to success.

"Come on, come on, what's there to stare at on a broken token? Eat, eat! Brother Erjiu, what exactly happened this time? Tell your big brother all about it!"

There was nothing to hide about this. Li Huowang tucked the token into his bosom and began recounting the events to Tuoba Danqing.

After telling the story, Li Huowang also voiced the confusion that had been gnawing at him. "Brother Tuoba, what exactly is the deal with that Daoist Renxiao? Why was it so strange?"

"Heh, what's so strange about that? If a person lives too long without achieving Dao-immortality, of course they turn into a baleful entity. Life, age, sickness, and death are the great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Trying to change fate and defy the heavens is never that simple."

"I've seen this kind of thing plenty, little brother. They're all deluded cultivators who forcibly extended their lives with Yang Life Elixirs and eventually became Renxiao."

"I just never expected it to cause such a big stir. A Renxiao raising other Renxiao—that's a first for me."

"Forcibly extending life with Yang Life Elixirs eventually turns you into a Renxiao?" Li Huowang was genuinely shocked. Did that mean the Yang Life Elixir was completely useless?

"Not entirely. Normally, one hundred and twenty is the threshold. The closer you get to one hundred and twenty, the weaker the elixir's effect becomes. Once you pass one hundred and twenty, you need to find a way to dispel the obsession in your heart. Otherwise, forcibly using the elixir will only turn you into a Renxiao."

"Every sect has its own methods—some good, some bad. But don't expect anyone to just tell you for free. They guard that kind of knowledge tightly."

"Of course, there are some methods that everyone knows about, but the ones everyone knows about are the hardest to accomplish. For instance, using the Bewilderment of a Heart-Element to dispel obsession is the simplest and best method."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's finger gave an almost imperceptible twitch.

"But think about it—living Heart-Elements are incredibly dangerous. On top of that, you have to constantly guard against others trying to snatch them away. It's a method that's as good as saying nothing, wouldn't you say?"

Having said that, Tuoba Danqing continued his rambling complaints, like an old friend shooting the breeze.

As he drank, Tuoba Danqing seemed to remember something and slapped his own forehead. "Ah, look at my brain! Brother Er, since you're already a Ren Wu, you should head to the capital to report your promotion."

"From now on, when you go to the Ministry of Rites, you can also exchange Yang Life Elixirs earned within the Office for supplies. There's a huge variety, and some things you can't find in the black markets outside. But remember, it has to be Yang Life Elixirs earned within the Office. Outside ones won't work."

"The capital?" The mention of the Supervisory Heavenly Office's headquarters immediately put Li Huowang on edge. "No rush. I haven't earned much. I'll exchange things when I have more."

"Hehehe, Brother Er is different from most, isn't he? Other people, the moment they find out, they rush to the capital without stopping. You're always trying to avoid it. Hehehe."

Tuoba Danqing raised his cup, tipped his head back to drain it, then scooted his stool closer to Li Huowang, his eyes hazy with drink. "Little brother, since we're such good friends, it's not too much for me to ask a question, is it?"

"Brother Tuoba, feel free to speak."

He chuckled and pointed a finger at the copper coin mask on Li Huowang's face. "Why are you always wearing this thing? Is there something you're hiding underneath?"

Just then, Red Center suddenly appeared beside Li Huowang. "This old bastard has been testing you since he walked in. Watch out."

Hearing this, the atmosphere immediately grew tense. Li Huowang understood that no matter how sweetly spoken the other party was, the moment his identity was exposed, everything would be over.

Seeing that Li Huowang wasn't responding, Tuoba Danqing immediately lightly slapped his own cheek. "Aiyai, aiyai, your big brother's mouth ran away with him. Drunken loose talk. Don't take it amiss, Brother Er. I'll fine myself three cups."

Li Huowang knew this was a feigned retreat. If he didn't address this today, there would be even more trouble later.

Thoughts flashed through his mind. Li Huowang pressed his hand to his belly and began to dry-heave. "It's nothing. If Brother Tuoba wants to see, I'll tell you. I have some things that tend to come out, so I need something to seal them in."

Before long, two sticky black tentacles slowly extended from either side of the mask. What was even more peculiar was that two double-pupiled eyeballs were wrapped around those tentacles.

The sight made Tuoba Danqing's eyelids twitch. "Alright, alright. You can put those away now."

He took a bite of food to steady his nerves, then looked at Li Huowang with a somewhat uneasy expression. "Brother Er, I won't ask what cultivation method you're practicing, but aren't you afraid of falling into devil's madness, mixing so many different things?"

Li Huowang used his fingers to stuff the tentacles back into his mouth, then forcibly swallowed them down, suppressing his nausea. "It's fine."

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Reading Guide Decoding

0332 – Coexistence and Counterfeit

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

This chapter is a treasure trove for worldbuilding. First, the concept of the Renxiao is formally explained. "Renxiao" is a folk term for a person who has lived miserably into extreme old age, becoming a blind, hairy, pitiful creature. The novel weaponizes this: if a cultivator doesn't achieve immortality and simply forces their way past 120 with life-prolonging pills, they don't become wise—they become this. It's a brutal inversion of the "long life" dream, turning it into a biological and spiritual horror.

Next, Tuoba Danqing outlines a key pillar of xianxia mythology: the distinction between the body's age and the soul's "obsession" (执念). In Daoist cultivation, a long life isn't just a matter of accumulating years; it requires purging attachments. The stronger the obsession, the more impossible transcendence becomes. That's why the Heart-Element's "Bewilderment" is so valuable—it's not a drug; it's a kind of existential confusion that can overwrite a dying cultivator's stubborn will to cling to life. It's horrifying and brilliant.

Finally, the Supervisory Heavenly Office is fleshed out. It's a bureaucracy with ranks (like Ren Wu), it's connected to the Ministry of Rites, and it has an internal economy where Office-earned Yang Life Elixirs are the currency of choice for accessing rare artifacts unavailable in the "ghost markets." This gives the Office a tangible, political weight, grounding the cosmic horror in a system of mundane power and privilege.

Cuo Jin Dan

A pill containing a concentrated dose of Yang Life Elixir doses; Tuoba Danqing mistakenly uses this term during his drunken ramble.

Chapter Overview

Alright, buckle up, folks—this chapter is a masterclass in tension and maneuvering. Li Huowang has just finished processing the Renxiao incident, and he comes to a very important, very pragmatic decision: the Black Tai Sui isn't Danyangzi. It's a parasite he can't live without, so he might as well try to domesticate it. He officially names it "Li Sui" and proposes a tentative alliance. But the real meat of the chapter is the dinner with Tuoba Danqing. What starts as a friendly, boozy catch-up quickly turns into a psychological fencing match. Danqing drops a massive lore bomb about the nature of Renxiao and Yang Life Elixirs, casually probing Li Huowang's deepest wounds, and then finally—finally—demands to know what's under the mask. Li Huowang's solution? Show him the grossest, most unsettling truth he can physically produce. It's a brilliant, horrific misdirect, and it works perfectly.

Key Plot Points

Li Huowang formally names the Black Tai Sui "Li Sui" and establishes a new, pragmatic policy of coexistence with the entity inside him. They are now, in his words, "grasshoppers tied to the same rope."
Tuoba Danqing arrives for their routine debriefing and delivers Li Huowang's promotion token (Ren Wu), signaling his official advancement within the Office.
During their meal, Danqing explains a critical piece of world lore: forcibly extending life past 120 with Yang Life Elixirs inevitably turns a cultivator into a Renxiao, unless they can first dispel their inner obsession.
The most dangerous (and "best") method to dispel that obsession, according to Danqing, is using the "Bewilderment of a Heart-Element"—a bombshell of information that rattles Li Huowang.
Danqing subtly pressures Li Huowang about his constant wearing of the copper coin mask. Red Center confirms this is a deliberate, probing interrogation.
Li Huowang decides to preempt the suspicion by "showing" the truth: he lets the Black Tai Sui's tentacles and eyes emerge from under the mask, presenting his parasitic horror as a grotesquely physical explanation. The gamble pays off.

Reading Guide

If you're reading this for the first time, pay very close attention to the subtext. Tuoba Danqing is not a friendly drunk. His "lapses in judgment" (like asking about the mask) are calculated. His "slips of the tongue" (like mentioning the Heart-Element) are traps. He's treating this as an interrogation disguised as a banquet. This is a test, and Li Huowang passes it with a masterful show of visceral body horror. The chapter perfectly balances the long-form lore drop (explaining the world's rules about lifespan and obsession) with the immediate, intimate threat of being exposed. It's a character piece for Li Huowang's new, pragmatic ruthlessness: naming his parasite and weaponizing it to keep his secrets safe.

Quick Q&A

Lore recap (TL;DR) drawn from this chapter's Cultural / Xianxia Notes — same text as the FAQ structured data on this page.

What is the 'Renxiao' that Tuoba Danqing describes?: It's a person who lived past 120 years without becoming immortal. Forcibly extending their life with elixirs corrupts their obsession into a physical deformity, turning them into a blind, hairy monster.
Why does Li Huowang decide to show the tentacles under his mask?: Tuoba Danqing was testing him. Instead of dodging the question, Li Huowang weaponizes his own body horror as a misdirect—presenting the Black Tai Sui as a freakish but honest truth to shut down further scrutiny.
What does the 'Ren Wu' promotion mean for Li Huowang?: The Ren Wu rank grants him official access to the Office's internal economy, allowing him to trade Office-earned Yang Life Elixirs for rare artifacts. It also signals a higher level of trust (and scrutiny) from his superiors.
Why does Tuoba Danqing bring up the Heart-Element method for dispelling obsession?: It's a deliberate trap. He knows a Heart-Element is a rare and dangerous secret. Mentioning it within Li Huowang's hearing is a test to see if his "Brother Er" reacts with recognition or alarm.
What is the 'Bewilderment of a Heart-Element'?: It is the purest form of existential confusion, believed to be capable of overwriting a cultivator's stubborn obsession (执念). It is considered the simplest and best method to prevent a cultivator from becoming a Renxiao after forcing life extension past 120.