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General Series and Character Reference
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, there is no easy English-based wiki source to provide a fully series synopsis or information on the canon at large. As such, this guide is based on my own understanding of the cdrama and how much of it translates into English, primarily from watching the show, referencing the appropriate Baidu entries, and familiarity with Chinese media laws surrounding live action period dramas. I have tried to be as factual as possible and provide context for why I may have interpreted something one way or another. If you have seen the show, are familiar with Chinese media laws, the xianxia genre, and/or have a decent understanding of Chinese and feel something is incorrect or needs adjustment, please feel free to comment in the notes.
Everything in this post contains spoilers.
Love Between Fairy and Devil
aka
苍兰诀
[Cang Lan Jue]
(It's about gardening)
Setting and Censorship
LBFAD is a modern xianxia cdrama. It mixes traditional xianxia tropes and expectations with western elements and relies on the watcher to be familiar with many of these as xianxia is a specific genre of fiction. Detailed information on the common terms and tropes for wuxia, xianxia, and xuanhuan (which overlap in terms of genre expectations) can be found here.
Because of Chinese Censorship laws about how morality is allowed to be portrayed in live action series, a lot of little changes were made in how various parts of the traditional cosmology is spoken about/referred to, as well as what kinds of beings and creatures inhabited what locations. The source material did not have to obey these restrictions as it was an original web-novel.
The world is primarily a fantasy ancient China that uses most of the traditional xianxia tropes and cosmology of the genre with the following changes:
Shuiyuntian, (Water Cloud Heaven) the Water Heavens/Heaven Realm
The Netherworld
The War Between Heaven and Hell and the Death of Chidi Nuzi
"Hatred is the origin of the Moon Tribe." "Only a tough general who never gives up on hatred is the key to survival of the Moon Tribe."
Yannv and Conghua were lovers in Shuiyuntian. They broke up and each side of matter blames the other for betraying them.
In the fallout of this, Yannv abandoned Shuiyuntian and crossed the Memory Loss River with her people to settle the Cangyan Sea. At this time, she set a rule that the Moon Tribe was forbidden to intermarry with fairies. Yannv also became the first to kill her emotions and take control of Hellfire. Because of the method developed to acquire it, and the potential for burning one's own primordial spirit to ash in the process, control of Hellfire became a 'forbidden art'.
From the time that the Moon Tribe was established, the fighting and wars between Shuiyuntian and the Cangyan Sea grew in fierceness. Every battle, every death, and every wound exchanged between them adding to the debt of hatred they had for each other. Over the millenia, Shuiyuntian began to gain the advantage. With the leadership of the first God of War, Chidi Nuzi, and the power of their soul-shattering arrows, Cangyan Sea began to lose ground and were unable to regain it fast enough to hold the line.
Dongfang Qingcang's father, desperate for some way to protect his people and return the suffering caused by Shuiyuntian, agreed to begin testing the people of the Cangyan Sea, particularly the royal bloodline, for the ability to control Hellfire. His two sons were the first to be tested and his eldest child, Dongfang Qingcang, was determined to have the gift for doing so. This broke his heart but his dedication to his people and the desperate state of the war, drove him to systematically killing each of Dongfang Qingcang's emotions and leaving only loyalty to the Moon Tribe. While Dongfang Qingcang was still a pre-pubescent child, he was subjected to torture and abuse for thousands of years and pushed into the despicable position of killing his own father as the final means to kill the Seven Emotions Tree and cause his Heart Sea to freeze over (these outcomes are both metaphorical and literal).
Dongfang Qingcang took the throne of the Moon Supreme while his father's body was still warm and became a child tyrant with the sole purpose of conquering the Three Realms and wiping out the fairies to avenge the Moon Tribe's ancient grudge. He spent several thousand years growing in power and mastering Hellfire and became a True Immortal in the process. He successfully recovered the lands that had been lost in the war and his Hellfire burned the fairies soul-shattering arrows before they could touch any of his people.
In the decisive battle that resulted in the death of the first God of War, Chidi Nuzi killed herself. She detonated her primordial spirit in an attempt to kill both herself and Dongfang Qingcang as she had no other way of defeating him. In doing so, she trapped 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers in stone within the Xuanxu Realm (the Realm of Mystery, which was often used as a battlefield between the two). Dongfang Qingfang, being a True Immortal, could not be killed. His body was not destroyed, but Chidi Nuzi's sacrifice was able to force his primordial spirit from his body and scatter it into seven parts long enough that the surviving fairies could imprison both his body and the pieces of his spirit within Haotian Tower. They used a powerful seal that required the strength of almost all senior immortals in Shuiyuntian to recharge on a regular basis.
To demoralize the enemy and bolster the moral of their own people, Shuiyuntian spread the lie that Dongfang Qingcang had died in that battle along with Chidi Nuzi. In the 30,000 years that followed, Cangyan Sea fell into infighting and Shuiyuntian was successful in taking over most of the territory Dongfang Qingcang had claimed prior to his defeat.
Hellfire
Until the end of the series, when a new power is 'discovered', Hellfire is considered the most powerful energy in the world. Someone with the power of Hellfire can defeat 10,000 heavenly soldiers by themselves. It is so powerful that wounds created by it never heal, even as far as remaining as a scar on the body of each reincarnation of the soul it burned. Only two people in history have ever been able to master it and make it a part of them to call on and control - Yannv and Dongfang Qingcang. Both of them had to kill their emotions to do so and it is believed that is the only way to maintain control of it.
In LBFAD, Dongfang Qingcang does eventually 'lose' his Hellfire, in the sense that his control becomes imperfect and he cannot always call on it at will, in the time after his Tree of Emotions has recovered. But the times that he does use it without any trouble are when it is thematically clear his sense of purpose and his emotions are not in conflict. There is evidence to support a reading that it is the fact that emotions are complicated and often conflicting that prevent a clarity of purpose and focus required to command such a dangerous power. Because there are only two people to successfully control it, and not many people with either the gift to try or the willingness to risk burning their primordial spirit to ash, there is very limited in-universe research on the topic. LBFAD does not provide a venue for exploring the topic within the bounds of the story being told.
At his canon point, Dongfang Qingcang still has perfect control over his Hellfire - his emotion tree has only just begun to recover and his Heart Sea is still fully frozen over.
Dongfang Qingcang
Name
东方青苍 | Dongfang Qingcang
东方 Eastern
青 nature's color; green or blue; greenish black; youth; young (of people)
苍 dark blue; deep green; ash-gray
Meaning likely intended to be along the lines of, "Azure Blue/Green/Gray of the East", due to his name being one character off from the Azure Dragon of the East (东方青龙 ) one of the four Mythical Creatures that symbolize the Chinese constellations and four cardinal directions.
-
Like many immortals, particularly within the Moon Tribe, Dongfang Qingcang has no surname. His full (personal) name is Dongfang Qingcang. Orchid mistakes 'Dongfang' as a surname and it is likely treated as one within Shuiyuntian, and is also treated as such at later point in the series when visiting the mortal world, but once the story moves to the Cangyan Sea, neither Dongfang Qingcang's brother Xunfeng, nor his father, the prior Moon Supreme, are addressed using Dongfang as a surname. Additionally, his Baidu profile states that he has no surname and that is the primary series reference being used outside of watching the show.
History
Born the first of two sons, Dongfang Qingcang was favored by his father and the court for most of his early life. He regularly played with his father, kicking around the Cujo ball and practicing sword forms with laughter on his lips. When he was still young, likely between 2,000-6,000 years old (around the human equivalent of 10-12), it was discovered that he had the potential to wield Hellfire. Shortly after, his father went from loving and doting to cold and abusive. He experienced ritualized torture in the Fuju cave inter-spaced with regular fights with his father where his father attempted to force Daqiang to kill him. The torture was endured for 'thousands of years' until Dongfang Qingcang got to the point where he wasn't actually skilled enough to kill his father, but he was finally willing to not pull the blow. (Dongfang Qingcang would not learn that his father let him kill him rather than defend himself on that day until over 38,000 years later)
With the death of his father, the last of Dongfang Qingcang's emotions were killed: his emotional roots thoroughly withered and his Heart Sea frozen over. Thinking he had managed to kill his father out of his skill, he then went on to face the other lords and kings of the Cangyan Sea in battles as they challenged his claim to the throne and the title of Moon Supreme. While he had not even begun to master Hellfire, the fact that he could call on it at all put his power above that of all challengers. When all that dared to question him had been beaten, he was accepted as the Moon Supreme by the people of the Cangyan Sea.
From that time and to the time of his fateful defeat by Chidi Nuzi, Dongfang Qingcang mastered Hellfire and the arts of war. He took his soldiers to 'burn, kill, and steal' all over the Three Realms, conquering lands that had been lost to Shuiyuntian in the past and becoming an almost unstoppable force in his relentless march towards the heavens.
After his defeat by Chidi Nuzi, who could only wound and weaken him enough to be captured despite detonating her soul in a devastating suicide, Dongfang Qingcang's body was locked inside Haotian Tower. His primordial spirit, which had scattered and attempted to return to him, was also captured and a seal placed that prevented his primordial spirit and his body from being joined. Despite this, his primordial spirit, even scattered, was still powerful enough to attempt to break the seal on Haotian Tower and force the fairies of Shuiyuntian to regularly empower the seal over the course of the next 30,000 years. Meanwhile, the 100,000 soldiers under him were trapped as stone statues.
After 30,000 years, we come to the start of canon:
Dongfang Qingcang awakens to a kiss while his primordial spirit channels into him from the fairy kissing him. They are struck by lightning as his powers reawaken and return and when he next opens his eyes he finds himself in the body of that same fairy. They argue for a bit, but eventually figure out that to swap back they would need to kiss. They argue more about this but the kiss eventually happens and Dongfang Qingcang returns to full power. He attempts to choke the fairy to death and ends up choking himself in the process. She is freed and runs away and he then escapes Haotian Tower.
Dongfang Qingcang eventually realizes that he's been cursed to share the experiences of the fairy - a nameless orchid spirit - and should she die, he would die. This puts him in the position of having to watch over her and take care of her. As part of this, he finds a destiny book belonging to Chidi Nuzi. Chidi Nuzi's primordial spirit should have been turned to ash when she detonated herself, but a small piece of it was saved and entered the cycle of reincarnation where she spent 30,000 years experiencing life after mortal life of suffering and hardships. Unfortunately, while trying to figure out where Chidi Nuzi was in her cycle of reincarnation, the destiny book became badly damaged as Orchid fought with Dongfang Qingcang over it. Knowing that only her primordial spirit can unlock the spell holding his soldiers captive, Dongfang Qingcang is also forced to care for Orchid in an attempt to get her power to recover so she can fix the destiny book.
Between both goals - protecting himself and repairing the destiny book - Dongfang Qingcang spends the next week (10 days) living in Orchid's home being a very rude houseguest who becomes more and more supportive and helpful. He comes to the conclusion that to help Orchid regain her health and power, he has to nurture her heart, not just her body. So vows to 'make her the happiest woman in the world' (derogatory, threatening, with killing intent).
During the escape from Haotian Tower, when the curse was placed on him, his Seven Emotions Tree was given a spark of life by Orchid, who has the ability to heal any plant no matter how dead it appears to be. As he experiences emotions through Orchid, his own begin to recover and he starts to show signs of having a personality beyond just cold and distant. He also starts to (unknowingly) fall in love with Orchid.
At one point, in a completely unnecessary attempt to protect Dongfang Qingcang, Orchid grabbed Daqiang and jumped with him off of her home and into the Four Waters of the World that Shuiyuntian floats above. Under the water, she runs out of breath and Dongfang Qingcang has to come to her rescue and share his breath with her. After he has done so and she has pulled away from him, he pulls her back into another kiss. Immediately after they leave the water and Orchid runs off to get changed, the first, very tiny, very tentative, green buds of potential leaves sprout on his Seven Emotions Tree.
Not long after that, Orchid's origin as an orchid spirit is called into question during the assignment ceremony that would determine her initial ranking among the Fairy Immortals. Guards attempt to capture her and a bracelet that Dongfang Qingcang secretly hid on her wrist activates a shield of Hellfire to protect her. She is then accused of being a spy for the Moon Tribe. In an attempt to prove she wasn't, she took off the bracelet. Immediately after, the Fairy Emperor chained her up and began publicly torturing her in an attempt to get answers that she didn't have. Being bound to her as he is, Dongfang Qingcang quickly became aware she was in danger and teleported to her. In the subsequent five minutes or so, he releases her from the chains, shields her with Hellfire, and then beings indiscriminately throwing Hellfire around the Fairy Court - hundreds of fairies are killed during this, though the most powerful among them remain alive. He stops his assault only because Orchid tells him to.
He then leaves Shuiyuntian with Orchid and takes her back with him to Cangyanghai. She becomes first his 'honored guest' and then quickly his prisoner because she refuses to cooperate with him in repairing Chidi Nuzi's destiny book. After some bodyswap shenanigans where the two of them have to pretend to be each other for three days because Orchid doesn't know how to use Daqiang's power to summon lightning for a quick swap back, Dongfang Qingcang heads to a secluded place in the nearby forest to wait for a thunderstorm and natural lightning. They are caught by Chengheng and Ronghao, who were looking for Orchid to save her. When it's revealed that Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang are in each other's bodies, Ronghao suggests killing Orchid's body to kill Dongfang Qingcang and taking Orchid's spirit back to Shuiyuntian to grow a new one for her. Since she's a plant spirit, they could basically plant her in soil and wait. Orchid chooses to save Dongfang Qingcang and runs over and kisses him just as lightning strikes their position. The swapback works, Dongfang Qingcang is once again too powerful for Chengheng and Ronghao to defeat, and Orchid has basically declared herself politically aligned with the Moon Tribe - all but proving the accusations of being an agent for them true.
This is Dongfang Qingcang's canon point for this journal.
Relationships
Orchid
The current bane of his existence and also the light of his life.
Orchid, a nameless orchid spirit, accidentally fell into his prison within Haotian Tower, accidentally united his scattered primordial spirit, accidentally revived his Seven Emotions Tree, accidentally switched bodies with him, and not-so accidentally freed him in the attempt to switch their bodies back. He immediately attempted to kill her for the crimes of being annoying, making his body cry, talking back, and being a fairy. He quickly found that trying to choke her also resulted in the sensation of himself being choked and he released her. She ran away, he shrugged it off and went to call Shangque, and likely would have never given her a second thought if he hadn't had wounds appear on his body from an unknown source and realized he would have to not only save her from whatever was hurting her, but also continue to protect her.
This resulted in him moving in with her and becoming a reluctant gardener for the most delicate and rare orchid in existance. He struggled to deal with the fact that he couldn't force her to do anything, had to follow her orders instead, feel everything she felt, and not be able to throw Hellfire at every problem she had because it would make her sad and he really, really, really hates feeling sad. Tears suck.
He also, unknowingly, had his Seven Emotion Tree begin to revive in small ways and start feeling things on his own. Mostly anger and frustration, but also satisfaction, the small joys of a good meal, and the discomfort of jealousy as he began to fall in love with the little flower demon.
Shangque
8,000 years prior to the battle that killed Chidi Nuzi and saw Dongfang Qingcang secretly imprisoned, Dongfang Qingcang came across the black dragon Shangque and 'rescued' him from the abusive situation he'd been in. Shangque was an orphan who had been 'taken in' by a series of people who only did so because his scales, bones, and blood were highly valuable commodities. He had been used in this fashion a few times before meeting Dongfang Qingcang and Shangque credits the Moon Supreme as having 'rescued' him when he took him as his servant. When Dongfang Qingcang escaped Haotian Tower, his first stop was the cliffs along the Memory Loss River where Shangque slept in waiting: to return his sword and serve him once more.
Shangque is both loyal and honest and Dongfang Qingcang regularly has him perform important and sensitive tasks, and asks him for advice or uses him as a sounding board for ideas. He treats Shangque as servant, bodyguard, advisor, and confidant, going so far as to letting Shangque be the only one who knows the full nature of the Xilan Heart Curse and how easy it would be to kill him with it. Dongfang Qingcang trusts Shangque will not betray him due to Shangque's nature and their long history.
WIP
Everything in this post contains spoilers.
Love Between Fairy and Devil
aka
苍兰诀
[Cang Lan Jue]
(It's about gardening)
Synopsis (from wikipedia)
Dongfang Qingcang, the Lord Devil, created chaos in the realm of the gods with his demon army. The Goddess of War, Chidi Nuzi, sacrificed her life to seal Dongfang Qingcang and his battalion. A prophecy predicts Dongfang Qingcang will be unsealed and only Goddess Xi Yun will be able to stop him. Goddess Xi Yun is reborn as Xiao Lanhua, but unwittingly sets him free. During Dongfang Qingcang's awakening, Xiao Lanhua unknowingly casts the "One Heart Curse". The curse links their experiences, sharing injuries, emotions, and death. Dongfang Qingcang protects Xiao Lanhua while he searches for a cure, but begins to fall in love with her.
Dongfang Qingcang, the Lord Devil, created chaos in the realm of the gods with his demon army. The Goddess of War, Chidi Nuzi, sacrificed her life to seal Dongfang Qingcang and his battalion. A prophecy predicts Dongfang Qingcang will be unsealed and only Goddess Xi Yun will be able to stop him. Goddess Xi Yun is reborn as Xiao Lanhua, but unwittingly sets him free. During Dongfang Qingcang's awakening, Xiao Lanhua unknowingly casts the "One Heart Curse". The curse links their experiences, sharing injuries, emotions, and death. Dongfang Qingcang protects Xiao Lanhua while he searches for a cure, but begins to fall in love with her.
Setting and Censorship
LBFAD is a modern xianxia cdrama. It mixes traditional xianxia tropes and expectations with western elements and relies on the watcher to be familiar with many of these as xianxia is a specific genre of fiction. Detailed information on the common terms and tropes for wuxia, xianxia, and xuanhuan (which overlap in terms of genre expectations) can be found here.
Because of Chinese Censorship laws about how morality is allowed to be portrayed in live action series, a lot of little changes were made in how various parts of the traditional cosmology is spoken about/referred to, as well as what kinds of beings and creatures inhabited what locations. The source material did not have to obey these restrictions as it was an original web-novel.
The world is primarily a fantasy ancient China that uses most of the traditional xianxia tropes and cosmology of the genre with the following changes:
Shuiyuntian, (Water Cloud Heaven) the Water Heavens/Heaven Realm
Most of the immortals and gods are in-universe referred to as fairy immortals (仙子) rather than gods (神) - even those with titles that indicated a status as a god, or share the same name and role as actual gods - because the fairies of Shuiyuntian are in conflict with the male lead of the story and referring to them as actual gods under the purview of the of the Jade Emperor would have bad connotations. There is no "Jade Emperor" as a title, either. There is an Emperor of Shuiyuntian. Shuiyuntian and the fairies are, however, synonymous with the Celestial Court.
Yungmengze, (Lit. "Cloud Dream" Pond/Lake)the Mortal Realm/Human WorldThe Mortal Realm plays much the same role in LBFAD as it does in other xianxia settings. The gods of the Heavens visit it for fun and tribulations. While no outright worship of deities is referenced in LBFAD (though there is a line at one point where a certain immortal of Shuiyuntian is sentenced to have his name stricken from the books and worship of him forbidden), that the mortals worship various gods and spirits and have temples for them can be assumed as part of the genre expectations.
Cangyanghai, (Blue Salt Sea) home of the Moon Tribe/Earth Realm/Demon RealmThe biggest change is that the Netherworld equivalent in LBFAD is separate from both the traditional Underworld and Demon Realm portrayals. Cangyan Sea is the home of the Moon Tribe. Moon Tribe is a common way of referring to the Demon/Devil race that is the opposite of the gods in the Celestial Heavens when the Demon/Devil race is not Inherently Evil(tm). Cangyan Sea, as home to the in-world Demon/Devil race, holds a mixed role of the traditional Demon Realm and a more westernized concept of Hell - not as the underworld/realm of the dead or a place of punishment, but as the opposite of Heaven and the angelic beings within. The Cangyan Sea shares similarities with westernized idea of angels leaving heaven and becoming demons and devils: in LBFAD, the Moon Tribe was created when Yannv (the first Moon Supreme) led her people out of Shuiyuntian and across the Memory Loss River (which separates the Yellow Springs/Underworld/Diyu from rest of the three realms) to make a life in the Cangyan Sea. The setting also shares similarities story-wise with the Hades/Persephone Myth: Dongfang Qingcang is the Lord of Hell and Orchid is the nature goddess that he steals away and drags across the Lethe (Memory Loss River) and imprisons (briefly) in his castle before making her his Queen. The Cangyan Sea is actively volcanic and is where Hellfire originates. It is also the home of many other types of fire, including some that can never be doused.
The Netherworld
The afterlife prior to reincarnation, and all it's associated realms, are largely kept to the bottom of the Memory Loss River and is not a part of any other realm. Because of it's existence on the edge of all realms, its possible to hide within the waters of the Memory Loss River without actually entering any of the associated netherworld realms hidden in its depths.
Evil Realm(s)
There is no realm for evil beings. Evil is embodied in the Evil Spirit, which can be created by sacrificing the Primordial Spirits of various beings and cultivating their pain in a specific cauldron. This is the method of spreading pain and suffering preferred by the primordial evil, Tai Sui. While all beings can commit terrible actions, none are inherently evil except Tai Sui.
Other Realms
Many other realms and dimensions exist outside of the Three Realms and can be entered or used as needed by various gods, devils, spirits, and humans. They are part of the cosmology, but not as important to the continued existence of the world as the Three Realms.
The River of Stars and the Destruction of Heaven
Existing outside the Three Realms, the Destruction of Heaven (lit. "The Ruins of Ten Thousand Heavens") is the place that exists past the River of Stars (the Milky Way) and those who cross over to it have no way of returning to the Three Realms without outside guidance. The Destruction of Heaven is the endless depths of space that exist outside of time and over which the Three Realms have no sway.
The War Between Heaven and Hell and the Death of Chidi Nuzi
"Hatred is the origin of the Moon Tribe." "Only a tough general who never gives up on hatred is the key to survival of the Moon Tribe."
Yannv and Conghua were lovers in Shuiyuntian. They broke up and each side of matter blames the other for betraying them.
In the fallout of this, Yannv abandoned Shuiyuntian and crossed the Memory Loss River with her people to settle the Cangyan Sea. At this time, she set a rule that the Moon Tribe was forbidden to intermarry with fairies. Yannv also became the first to kill her emotions and take control of Hellfire. Because of the method developed to acquire it, and the potential for burning one's own primordial spirit to ash in the process, control of Hellfire became a 'forbidden art'.
From the time that the Moon Tribe was established, the fighting and wars between Shuiyuntian and the Cangyan Sea grew in fierceness. Every battle, every death, and every wound exchanged between them adding to the debt of hatred they had for each other. Over the millenia, Shuiyuntian began to gain the advantage. With the leadership of the first God of War, Chidi Nuzi, and the power of their soul-shattering arrows, Cangyan Sea began to lose ground and were unable to regain it fast enough to hold the line.
Dongfang Qingcang's father, desperate for some way to protect his people and return the suffering caused by Shuiyuntian, agreed to begin testing the people of the Cangyan Sea, particularly the royal bloodline, for the ability to control Hellfire. His two sons were the first to be tested and his eldest child, Dongfang Qingcang, was determined to have the gift for doing so. This broke his heart but his dedication to his people and the desperate state of the war, drove him to systematically killing each of Dongfang Qingcang's emotions and leaving only loyalty to the Moon Tribe. While Dongfang Qingcang was still a pre-pubescent child, he was subjected to torture and abuse for thousands of years and pushed into the despicable position of killing his own father as the final means to kill the Seven Emotions Tree and cause his Heart Sea to freeze over (these outcomes are both metaphorical and literal).
Dongfang Qingcang took the throne of the Moon Supreme while his father's body was still warm and became a child tyrant with the sole purpose of conquering the Three Realms and wiping out the fairies to avenge the Moon Tribe's ancient grudge. He spent several thousand years growing in power and mastering Hellfire and became a True Immortal in the process. He successfully recovered the lands that had been lost in the war and his Hellfire burned the fairies soul-shattering arrows before they could touch any of his people.
In the decisive battle that resulted in the death of the first God of War, Chidi Nuzi killed herself. She detonated her primordial spirit in an attempt to kill both herself and Dongfang Qingcang as she had no other way of defeating him. In doing so, she trapped 100,000 Moon Tribe soldiers in stone within the Xuanxu Realm (the Realm of Mystery, which was often used as a battlefield between the two). Dongfang Qingfang, being a True Immortal, could not be killed. His body was not destroyed, but Chidi Nuzi's sacrifice was able to force his primordial spirit from his body and scatter it into seven parts long enough that the surviving fairies could imprison both his body and the pieces of his spirit within Haotian Tower. They used a powerful seal that required the strength of almost all senior immortals in Shuiyuntian to recharge on a regular basis.
To demoralize the enemy and bolster the moral of their own people, Shuiyuntian spread the lie that Dongfang Qingcang had died in that battle along with Chidi Nuzi. In the 30,000 years that followed, Cangyan Sea fell into infighting and Shuiyuntian was successful in taking over most of the territory Dongfang Qingcang had claimed prior to his defeat.
Hellfire
Until the end of the series, when a new power is 'discovered', Hellfire is considered the most powerful energy in the world. Someone with the power of Hellfire can defeat 10,000 heavenly soldiers by themselves. It is so powerful that wounds created by it never heal, even as far as remaining as a scar on the body of each reincarnation of the soul it burned. Only two people in history have ever been able to master it and make it a part of them to call on and control - Yannv and Dongfang Qingcang. Both of them had to kill their emotions to do so and it is believed that is the only way to maintain control of it.
In LBFAD, Dongfang Qingcang does eventually 'lose' his Hellfire, in the sense that his control becomes imperfect and he cannot always call on it at will, in the time after his Tree of Emotions has recovered. But the times that he does use it without any trouble are when it is thematically clear his sense of purpose and his emotions are not in conflict. There is evidence to support a reading that it is the fact that emotions are complicated and often conflicting that prevent a clarity of purpose and focus required to command such a dangerous power. Because there are only two people to successfully control it, and not many people with either the gift to try or the willingness to risk burning their primordial spirit to ash, there is very limited in-universe research on the topic. LBFAD does not provide a venue for exploring the topic within the bounds of the story being told.
At his canon point, Dongfang Qingcang still has perfect control over his Hellfire - his emotion tree has only just begun to recover and his Heart Sea is still fully frozen over.
Dongfang Qingcang
Name
东方青苍 | Dongfang Qingcang
东方 Eastern
青 nature's color; green or blue; greenish black; youth; young (of people)
苍 dark blue; deep green; ash-gray
Meaning likely intended to be along the lines of, "Azure Blue/Green/Gray of the East", due to his name being one character off from the Azure Dragon of the East (东方青龙 ) one of the four Mythical Creatures that symbolize the Chinese constellations and four cardinal directions.
-
Like many immortals, particularly within the Moon Tribe, Dongfang Qingcang has no surname. His full (personal) name is Dongfang Qingcang. Orchid mistakes 'Dongfang' as a surname and it is likely treated as one within Shuiyuntian, and is also treated as such at later point in the series when visiting the mortal world, but once the story moves to the Cangyan Sea, neither Dongfang Qingcang's brother Xunfeng, nor his father, the prior Moon Supreme, are addressed using Dongfang as a surname. Additionally, his Baidu profile states that he has no surname and that is the primary series reference being used outside of watching the show.
[“东方”非姓氏，全名无姓，别名“大强” "Dongfang" is not a surname, the full name has no surname, and the alias is "Daqiang"]
Soundbites
Age
We are never given Dongfang Qingcang's canon age, but we know he is at least 38,000 years old at the start of canon:
- Voice sample of (mostly non-spoilery) lines can be watched on youtube here. He almost always speaks in the same even, coldly bored tone regardless of most situations.
- Character Theme: Son of Cangyan Sea
- Battle Theme: Cut Off Love
Age
We are never given Dongfang Qingcang's canon age, but we know he is at least 38,000 years old at the start of canon:
- At the start of the show it was established that he had been trapped in Haotian Tower for 30,000 years.
- Later in the show, Shangque, his right-hand/bodyguard/general says that he has been with Dongfang Qingcang for 38,000 years, ever since Dongfang Qingcang rescued him and took him into his service. We are never told when in Dongfang Qingcang's life this occurred, but it was likely after Dongfang Qingcang became Moon Supreme due to the circumstances surrounding how he became Moon Supreme: anyone Dongfang Qingcang showed emotional connections to were removed from his service, usually through death.
- Dongfang Qingcang looked to be around the human equivalent of 10-12 years old for the duration of the "thousands of years" his father tortured him in the Fugu cave, which occurred in the lead up to taking over as Moon Supreme.
Personality (from Baidu)
(my translation, using several online translation tools and my own limited understanding of Chinese)
The Time Without Love
Dongfang Qingcang, as the most powerful being in the Three Realms, is effectively a God among gods. He is naturally talented at magic and martial abilities and has honed both over the course of thousands of years. His most significant achievement in such arts being the mastery of Hellfire, making it a part of himself to call on and control at all times. It is so suffused with his being that when he uses his qi for even the most basic of tasks, his qi lights up with its flames. His immortal root is yang based and specifically of the element of fire. This gives him control over fire that is not Hellfire, as well as lightning and thunder, all of which will react to his moods.
In addition to his unique ability wield Hellfire, as a Devil and True Immortal, he has the general run of powers common to gods and immortals in xianxia settings. This is everything from being able to survive without food, water, or sleep for effectively eternity, to teleportation, to the manipulation of matter for the creation of mundane items, to shapeshifting, to telepathy and sending his consciousness into dreams, to being able to sense and determine the type/source/power of various beings immortal, mortal, or somewhere between. [Because of the Xilan Heart Curse, he has begun to feel hunger and the need for sleep again, because Orchid is not strong enough to go without and he feels what she feels.]
Additionally, as a true Immortal, he is only able to be killed by his own efforts. His body is indestructible and his primordial spirit cannot be destroyed, only scattered, by outside forces. He stands outside the cycle of reincarnation and cannot reincarnate. For him to die, he would have to completely exhaust or burn his primordial spirit to ash. [Because of the Xialan Heart Curse, this is only true when attempting to harm him directly. Killing Orchid would also kill him, since he is now bound to share all her experiences.]
Even without Hellfire, he can still be considered the most powerful immortal/demon in the Three Reams as he is able to resist and carry the Evil Spirit without injury until he chooses to use it, when other powerful immortals of Shuiyuntian are shown to be injured by it immediately and will go as far as not touching even the smallest amount directly when there is a chance to do so.
These are his powers up to this canon point. Full power listing can be found here (semi-WIP because there's a lot to cover)
Notes: The element of his immortal/spiritual root being fire is headcanon, but canon compliant as we are never given his spiritual origin outside of being a member of the Moon Tribe. As a genre convention, all immortals have a spiritual root consistent with their origin, particularly if they are enlightened yao (i.e. plants can usually be counted on to be a wood or water root). Born immortals - those that did not have to cultivate to reach immortality and are part of an immortal race - have the potential to have any type of spiritual root. When born immortals cultivate their power, they obtain the strongest results through cultivating with elements, activities, and energy types that match their spiritual roots. Dongfang Qingcang became a true Immortal within 8,000 years of meeting Shangque (his general) while most other immortals have not been able to become a True Immortal even after 30,000 years. Based on his powers, abilities, and the fire-related imagery he is associated with, it is a safe guess that his spiritual root is based in fire.
[断情绝爱期
拔情绝爱，没有七情六欲不懂感情，故谁也不放在心上。法力三界第一无敌手，因而对人对事肆无忌惮，霸道强势，自视甚高唯我独尊，高高在上蔑视他人。
除了战斗时会有些许兴奋和对无法掌控的事生气外（七情树已复苏），其他时候面冷、情绪淡漠、漫不经心，还有些口嫌体正直。对于自小背负为月族报仇的艰巨使命、被拔情绝爱的东方青苍来说，他的冷酷背后是无边的孤独。
爱好读书，一个人呆着时总是书不离手，擅长弹琴。儿时喜欢做木工雕刻东西，和父亲踢蹴鞠等。
恢复七情中
七情树刚开始复苏发芽，常常不懂小兰花话中的深意。吃醋心痛却不自知，误以为是受同心咒被小兰花的心绪所影响。虽然爱生气却也很好哄 ]
(my translation, using several online translation tools and my own limited understanding of Chinese)
The Time Without Love
(pre-canon/start of canon)
The removal of love, (he is) without the seven emotions and six desires, (he does not) understand feelings, (he does not) treat them seriously (with any importance).
The removal of love, (he is) without the seven emotions and six desires, (he does not) understand feelings, (he does not) treat them seriously (with any importance).
He is the most powerful and invincible being in the Three Realms, he acts without honor or principles towards others (nothing is taboo for him) , he is domineering and powerful, thinks very highly of himself and puts himself first, and looks down on others (treats them with contempt)
While he gets excited during a fight and angry about things he has no control over ( because his tree of emotions has awakened), at other times he is cold-faced, emotionally indifferent, careless, and somewhat unrighteous/unethical. For Dongfang Qingcang, who has been shouldering the arduous mission of avenging the Moon Tribe since he was a child, and has only known betrayal by those who loved him, underneath his cold demeanor is an endless loneliness.
He likes reading and always keeps books in hand when he is alone. He is good at playing the guqin.
When he was a child, he enjoyed woodworking, woodcarving, and playing Cuju (form of soccer) with his father.
When he was a child, he enjoyed woodworking, woodcarving, and playing Cuju (form of soccer) with his father.
Restoring the seven emotions
(in the first arc)
His Seven Emotions tree has just begun to revive and sprout, and (he) often does not understand the deep (emotion-based) meaning of what Orchid talks about. Feeling jealous and heartbroken but unaware of it, he mistakenly believes his own feelings were due to Xilan Heart Curse and he was only being affected by Orchid's moods.
His Seven Emotions tree has just begun to revive and sprout, and (he) often does not understand the deep (emotion-based) meaning of what Orchid talks about. Feeling jealous and heartbroken but unaware of it, he mistakenly believes his own feelings were due to Xilan Heart Curse and he was only being affected by Orchid's moods.
Although he is (often) angry, he is also easy to coax.
This is Dongfang Qingcang's personality at his current cannon point:
He is often moody, angry and frustrated with his situation and experiencing emotions he has not felt for over 30,000 years and cannot control. He has begun to experience emotions of his own that he does not recognize as originating with him and he often cannot 'hold on' to them. He reverts back to a near-emotionless state more often than not and cannot understand how emotions are anything but a hindrance and distraction.
He is, however, easy to 'coax'. Because he has no emotional attachment to any particular strategy, he will often take the easiest route to his goal. He uses overwhelming force to quickly eliminate his enemies so there isn't a drawn out fight and defaults to overwhelming force, violence, and destruction as his first choice for approaching a problem. When faced with being unable to force an issue through threats or violence, which isn't often outside of Orchid and the Xilan curse, he will often declare 'forget it' and attempt to find another way to get what he wants that is less troublesome.
---
After his emotion tree recovers further, his full personality emerges and he acts as a strict ruler with a strong sense of honor and fairness, but is often playful and a bit mischievous with those he is close to. He trusts more and attempts to begin mending his relationship with his brother, he sees value in sympathy and kindness and, while he is still a pretty murderous about his enemies, he is more open to exploring other solutions first and doesn't just jump to violence as the best option. He is willing to humble himself.
Powers and AbilitiesHe is often moody, angry and frustrated with his situation and experiencing emotions he has not felt for over 30,000 years and cannot control. He has begun to experience emotions of his own that he does not recognize as originating with him and he often cannot 'hold on' to them. He reverts back to a near-emotionless state more often than not and cannot understand how emotions are anything but a hindrance and distraction.
He is, however, easy to 'coax'. Because he has no emotional attachment to any particular strategy, he will often take the easiest route to his goal. He uses overwhelming force to quickly eliminate his enemies so there isn't a drawn out fight and defaults to overwhelming force, violence, and destruction as his first choice for approaching a problem. When faced with being unable to force an issue through threats or violence, which isn't often outside of Orchid and the Xilan curse, he will often declare 'forget it' and attempt to find another way to get what he wants that is less troublesome.
---
After his emotion tree recovers further, his full personality emerges and he acts as a strict ruler with a strong sense of honor and fairness, but is often playful and a bit mischievous with those he is close to. He trusts more and attempts to begin mending his relationship with his brother, he sees value in sympathy and kindness and, while he is still a pretty murderous about his enemies, he is more open to exploring other solutions first and doesn't just jump to violence as the best option. He is willing to humble himself.
Dongfang Qingcang, as the most powerful being in the Three Realms, is effectively a God among gods. He is naturally talented at magic and martial abilities and has honed both over the course of thousands of years. His most significant achievement in such arts being the mastery of Hellfire, making it a part of himself to call on and control at all times. It is so suffused with his being that when he uses his qi for even the most basic of tasks, his qi lights up with its flames. His immortal root is yang based and specifically of the element of fire. This gives him control over fire that is not Hellfire, as well as lightning and thunder, all of which will react to his moods.
In addition to his unique ability wield Hellfire, as a Devil and True Immortal, he has the general run of powers common to gods and immortals in xianxia settings. This is everything from being able to survive without food, water, or sleep for effectively eternity, to teleportation, to the manipulation of matter for the creation of mundane items, to shapeshifting, to telepathy and sending his consciousness into dreams, to being able to sense and determine the type/source/power of various beings immortal, mortal, or somewhere between. [Because of the Xilan Heart Curse, he has begun to feel hunger and the need for sleep again, because Orchid is not strong enough to go without and he feels what she feels.]
Additionally, as a true Immortal, he is only able to be killed by his own efforts. His body is indestructible and his primordial spirit cannot be destroyed, only scattered, by outside forces. He stands outside the cycle of reincarnation and cannot reincarnate. For him to die, he would have to completely exhaust or burn his primordial spirit to ash. [Because of the Xialan Heart Curse, this is only true when attempting to harm him directly. Killing Orchid would also kill him, since he is now bound to share all her experiences.]
Even without Hellfire, he can still be considered the most powerful immortal/demon in the Three Reams as he is able to resist and carry the Evil Spirit without injury until he chooses to use it, when other powerful immortals of Shuiyuntian are shown to be injured by it immediately and will go as far as not touching even the smallest amount directly when there is a chance to do so.
These are his powers up to this canon point. Full power listing can be found here (semi-WIP because there's a lot to cover)
Notes: The element of his immortal/spiritual root being fire is headcanon, but canon compliant as we are never given his spiritual origin outside of being a member of the Moon Tribe. As a genre convention, all immortals have a spiritual root consistent with their origin, particularly if they are enlightened yao (i.e. plants can usually be counted on to be a wood or water root). Born immortals - those that did not have to cultivate to reach immortality and are part of an immortal race - have the potential to have any type of spiritual root. When born immortals cultivate their power, they obtain the strongest results through cultivating with elements, activities, and energy types that match their spiritual roots. Dongfang Qingcang became a true Immortal within 8,000 years of meeting Shangque (his general) while most other immortals have not been able to become a True Immortal even after 30,000 years. Based on his powers, abilities, and the fire-related imagery he is associated with, it is a safe guess that his spiritual root is based in fire.
History
Born the first of two sons, Dongfang Qingcang was favored by his father and the court for most of his early life. He regularly played with his father, kicking around the Cujo ball and practicing sword forms with laughter on his lips. When he was still young, likely between 2,000-6,000 years old (around the human equivalent of 10-12), it was discovered that he had the potential to wield Hellfire. Shortly after, his father went from loving and doting to cold and abusive. He experienced ritualized torture in the Fuju cave inter-spaced with regular fights with his father where his father attempted to force Daqiang to kill him. The torture was endured for 'thousands of years' until Dongfang Qingcang got to the point where he wasn't actually skilled enough to kill his father, but he was finally willing to not pull the blow. (Dongfang Qingcang would not learn that his father let him kill him rather than defend himself on that day until over 38,000 years later)
With the death of his father, the last of Dongfang Qingcang's emotions were killed: his emotional roots thoroughly withered and his Heart Sea frozen over. Thinking he had managed to kill his father out of his skill, he then went on to face the other lords and kings of the Cangyan Sea in battles as they challenged his claim to the throne and the title of Moon Supreme. While he had not even begun to master Hellfire, the fact that he could call on it at all put his power above that of all challengers. When all that dared to question him had been beaten, he was accepted as the Moon Supreme by the people of the Cangyan Sea.
From that time and to the time of his fateful defeat by Chidi Nuzi, Dongfang Qingcang mastered Hellfire and the arts of war. He took his soldiers to 'burn, kill, and steal' all over the Three Realms, conquering lands that had been lost to Shuiyuntian in the past and becoming an almost unstoppable force in his relentless march towards the heavens.
After his defeat by Chidi Nuzi, who could only wound and weaken him enough to be captured despite detonating her soul in a devastating suicide, Dongfang Qingcang's body was locked inside Haotian Tower. His primordial spirit, which had scattered and attempted to return to him, was also captured and a seal placed that prevented his primordial spirit and his body from being joined. Despite this, his primordial spirit, even scattered, was still powerful enough to attempt to break the seal on Haotian Tower and force the fairies of Shuiyuntian to regularly empower the seal over the course of the next 30,000 years. Meanwhile, the 100,000 soldiers under him were trapped as stone statues.
After 30,000 years, we come to the start of canon:
Dongfang Qingcang awakens to a kiss while his primordial spirit channels into him from the fairy kissing him. They are struck by lightning as his powers reawaken and return and when he next opens his eyes he finds himself in the body of that same fairy. They argue for a bit, but eventually figure out that to swap back they would need to kiss. They argue more about this but the kiss eventually happens and Dongfang Qingcang returns to full power. He attempts to choke the fairy to death and ends up choking himself in the process. She is freed and runs away and he then escapes Haotian Tower.
Dongfang Qingcang eventually realizes that he's been cursed to share the experiences of the fairy - a nameless orchid spirit - and should she die, he would die. This puts him in the position of having to watch over her and take care of her. As part of this, he finds a destiny book belonging to Chidi Nuzi. Chidi Nuzi's primordial spirit should have been turned to ash when she detonated herself, but a small piece of it was saved and entered the cycle of reincarnation where she spent 30,000 years experiencing life after mortal life of suffering and hardships. Unfortunately, while trying to figure out where Chidi Nuzi was in her cycle of reincarnation, the destiny book became badly damaged as Orchid fought with Dongfang Qingcang over it. Knowing that only her primordial spirit can unlock the spell holding his soldiers captive, Dongfang Qingcang is also forced to care for Orchid in an attempt to get her power to recover so she can fix the destiny book.
Between both goals - protecting himself and repairing the destiny book - Dongfang Qingcang spends the next week (10 days) living in Orchid's home being a very rude houseguest who becomes more and more supportive and helpful. He comes to the conclusion that to help Orchid regain her health and power, he has to nurture her heart, not just her body. So vows to 'make her the happiest woman in the world' (derogatory, threatening, with killing intent).
During the escape from Haotian Tower, when the curse was placed on him, his Seven Emotions Tree was given a spark of life by Orchid, who has the ability to heal any plant no matter how dead it appears to be. As he experiences emotions through Orchid, his own begin to recover and he starts to show signs of having a personality beyond just cold and distant. He also starts to (unknowingly) fall in love with Orchid.
At one point, in a completely unnecessary attempt to protect Dongfang Qingcang, Orchid grabbed Daqiang and jumped with him off of her home and into the Four Waters of the World that Shuiyuntian floats above. Under the water, she runs out of breath and Dongfang Qingcang has to come to her rescue and share his breath with her. After he has done so and she has pulled away from him, he pulls her back into another kiss. Immediately after they leave the water and Orchid runs off to get changed, the first, very tiny, very tentative, green buds of potential leaves sprout on his Seven Emotions Tree.
Not long after that, Orchid's origin as an orchid spirit is called into question during the assignment ceremony that would determine her initial ranking among the Fairy Immortals. Guards attempt to capture her and a bracelet that Dongfang Qingcang secretly hid on her wrist activates a shield of Hellfire to protect her. She is then accused of being a spy for the Moon Tribe. In an attempt to prove she wasn't, she took off the bracelet. Immediately after, the Fairy Emperor chained her up and began publicly torturing her in an attempt to get answers that she didn't have. Being bound to her as he is, Dongfang Qingcang quickly became aware she was in danger and teleported to her. In the subsequent five minutes or so, he releases her from the chains, shields her with Hellfire, and then beings indiscriminately throwing Hellfire around the Fairy Court - hundreds of fairies are killed during this, though the most powerful among them remain alive. He stops his assault only because Orchid tells him to.
He then leaves Shuiyuntian with Orchid and takes her back with him to Cangyanghai. She becomes first his 'honored guest' and then quickly his prisoner because she refuses to cooperate with him in repairing Chidi Nuzi's destiny book. After some bodyswap shenanigans where the two of them have to pretend to be each other for three days because Orchid doesn't know how to use Daqiang's power to summon lightning for a quick swap back, Dongfang Qingcang heads to a secluded place in the nearby forest to wait for a thunderstorm and natural lightning. They are caught by Chengheng and Ronghao, who were looking for Orchid to save her. When it's revealed that Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang are in each other's bodies, Ronghao suggests killing Orchid's body to kill Dongfang Qingcang and taking Orchid's spirit back to Shuiyuntian to grow a new one for her. Since she's a plant spirit, they could basically plant her in soil and wait. Orchid chooses to save Dongfang Qingcang and runs over and kisses him just as lightning strikes their position. The swapback works, Dongfang Qingcang is once again too powerful for Chengheng and Ronghao to defeat, and Orchid has basically declared herself politically aligned with the Moon Tribe - all but proving the accusations of being an agent for them true.
This is Dongfang Qingcang's canon point for this journal.
Relationships
Orchid
The current bane of his existence and also the light of his life.
Orchid, a nameless orchid spirit, accidentally fell into his prison within Haotian Tower, accidentally united his scattered primordial spirit, accidentally revived his Seven Emotions Tree, accidentally switched bodies with him, and not-so accidentally freed him in the attempt to switch their bodies back. He immediately attempted to kill her for the crimes of being annoying, making his body cry, talking back, and being a fairy. He quickly found that trying to choke her also resulted in the sensation of himself being choked and he released her. She ran away, he shrugged it off and went to call Shangque, and likely would have never given her a second thought if he hadn't had wounds appear on his body from an unknown source and realized he would have to not only save her from whatever was hurting her, but also continue to protect her.
This resulted in him moving in with her and becoming a reluctant gardener for the most delicate and rare orchid in existance. He struggled to deal with the fact that he couldn't force her to do anything, had to follow her orders instead, feel everything she felt, and not be able to throw Hellfire at every problem she had because it would make her sad and he really, really, really hates feeling sad. Tears suck.
He also, unknowingly, had his Seven Emotion Tree begin to revive in small ways and start feeling things on his own. Mostly anger and frustration, but also satisfaction, the small joys of a good meal, and the discomfort of jealousy as he began to fall in love with the little flower demon.
8,000 years prior to the battle that killed Chidi Nuzi and saw Dongfang Qingcang secretly imprisoned, Dongfang Qingcang came across the black dragon Shangque and 'rescued' him from the abusive situation he'd been in. Shangque was an orphan who had been 'taken in' by a series of people who only did so because his scales, bones, and blood were highly valuable commodities. He had been used in this fashion a few times before meeting Dongfang Qingcang and Shangque credits the Moon Supreme as having 'rescued' him when he took him as his servant. When Dongfang Qingcang escaped Haotian Tower, his first stop was the cliffs along the Memory Loss River where Shangque slept in waiting: to return his sword and serve him once more.
Shangque is both loyal and honest and Dongfang Qingcang regularly has him perform important and sensitive tasks, and asks him for advice or uses him as a sounding board for ideas. He treats Shangque as servant, bodyguard, advisor, and confidant, going so far as to letting Shangque be the only one who knows the full nature of the Xilan Heart Curse and how easy it would be to kill him with it. Dongfang Qingcang trusts Shangque will not betray him due to Shangque's nature and their long history.
Xunfeng
WIP
Prior Moon Supreme
WIP
Lord Changheng
WIP
Chidi NuziWIP