Lord of Mysteries discussion

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

Ask me any* questions you have about the Lord of Mysteries novel, manhua or donghua (animation).
I can also try to avoid spoilers and customise the answer for you if you ask.

"Lord of Mysteries" a.k.a "Lord of the Mysteries" (诡秘之主) is a series written by author Cuttlefish That Loves Diving (爱潜水的乌贼) on Webnovel.
We call it LotM for short.

WARNING: Since it is in the mystery genre, pretty much everything can be a spoiler.
Even the title of the book is a mystery (It is only confirmed in Volume 7 about what a "Lord of Mysteries" is). The first page and every page of the wiki is a spoiler, the titles of some volumes are spoilers if you haven't read the preceding content, some of the art and memes you can find are spoilers, the map of the world has several major spoilers and if you translate my username you can get another spoiler.
Reddit might be ok as most of them do try to put spoiler warnings but its still better to read the novel before that.

Genres, themes and other stuff:

• Mystery (obviously, but not exactly like whodunnits and sleuths, the mystery kinda goes into everything)
• Fantasy with magic (secretly cultivation; there are magical people, creatures, objects and places)
• Isekai (different world, different times, why is the moon red?)
• Reincarnation (is it tho? Also there are more than one.)
• Historical (Victorian England and colonial setting with tons of research done by the author on the society and economy of that time)
• Action (there are fights with guns, fights between demigods and fights between deities; honesly, I still have trouble understanding some of them)
• Slice of life (the story does have slow, happy and chill moments, especially in the early volumes where he is just living, doing his job, his routine, eating food and stuff)
• Eldritch/cosmic horror (there are evil deities and other high level characters who are extremely powerful and can even influence concepts)
• Gore, violence and body horror (flesh and blood magic; beyonders who lose control tend to turn into monsters or die; use of guns and explosives, +more insane stuff that might be spoilers)
• Dark history, grim present and future(?) (some people are ingredients, some sacrifices were made and more have to be made)
• Many funny moments and mental remarks. (Klein lampooning is one of the best parts of the early volumes)
• Many tragic moments (spoiler: some people die)
• Romance (there is definitely some romance portrayed between some characters though this isn't central or abundant in the story)
• Multiple identities/personas (the MC has to pretend to be multiple different people and other important characters also have multiple identities)
• Travelling (MCs have to travel between multiple locations to meet their goals, basically around the world but mainly focused on one or two countries and many islands; some characters can teleport)
• Jobs? (People doing their job, studying to get better jobs, etc)
• "Police" activities but most of the paperwork is off-screen. Activities include: finding missing people, exorcising spirits, investigating suspicious things and more.
• "Detective" activities (cases include: finding a missing cat, finding a missing person or corpse, try not to get killed by a murderer or somebody who is backed by a country, catching adultery, being a bodyguard to a journalist and friend, finding a serial killer and trying to not get murdered, investigating yourself (and getting paid for it) and solving a grand conspiracy that might be connected to everything)
• Killing people and getting loot.
• Revenge (not main focus but very important for the first half of the first book)
• Some characters smoke and drink alcohol.
• Gambling and cheating.
• Depiction of poverty and other miserable conditions. (Its not too visceral or anything)
• War and suffering caused by it (Its not really detailed like a medieval but is crucial for the plot)
• Badass moments (I wanted to avoid using "aura farming". There are many moments in the series where characters display incredible power or intellect and most of the time they are not trying to look cool or anything. I mean the characters are not trying to be edgy but it might appear edgy and maybe it is a bit edgy but some of it has explanations and I just find myself very amused and smiling during those scenes. Even the one guy who is trying to be edgy cringes afterwards.)
• Life of aristocracy and tycoons (Lifestyle, work, parties and relationships of nobles and rich people are shown; Nope, the MC does not get promoted to a noble or anything)
• Breaking into places to steal things.
• Spirits and undead (There are many kinds of spirits, zombies, wraiths and similar entities. Dead people with strong resentmens haunt people as spirits or get turned into zombies due to improper burials or effects caused by things in the undead domain)
• Pirates and bounty hunters.
• Dozens of organisations (over half are called "secret organisations" but they're really not; it's not very that hard to keep track of them)
• The public knows very little about mysticism (Also a mystery)

Pros and stuff:

• This is waaayyy better than the hundreds of generic Isekai manga I wasted a lot of my time on.
• And the mystery is in basically everything. Sometimes it is difficult to be sure of whether someone is an enemy or ally; strong or weak until the end.
• Elaborate power system (not like those copy-pasted videogame menus or occasional random bullshit in cultivation) and it goes hand-in-hand with the story. Refer to reply #12 for the basics.
• I'll add another point for the power system. Because of the nature of pathways and sequences, every advancement is special and memorable with the MC. And since same sequences of the same pathways usually have the same abilities, this allows powerscaling and gives us clues to various things.
• Most victories depend on planning, playing smart and having resources.
• Most characters are smart and cunning or powerful. Even weak characters with some experience know how to play safe (except for a fraction of all pirates).
• Even some seemingly basic things are not what you might think they are.
• One of the tags is actually false! Its a diversion.
• The fun is in trying to figure out what did and will happen and then getting surprised or satisfied by the result.
• Ignoring the confusing parts leaves us with fire writing
  Spoiler
• The story will often remind you important details when a mystery is solved.
• Iconic quotes and moments.
• MC is very introspective and cautious but not annoyingly so.
• Some of the frustrating/annoying stuff do have explanations.
• Not a harem (book 1 at least), in fact the MC tries to avoid such relations like a true virgin gentleman.
• Churches aren't evil or weak (for the most part).
• LotM takes a lot of inspiration from cultivation stories (as it can be seen with the sequences, cogitation, spirituality and a few other stuff) but unlike them the characters aren't always overly proud, psychotic and trying to kill each other.
• You know that thing in some power fantasies where things get more imbalanced and earlier low-level things are just forgotten? That's not a big issue here.
• One Piece and Bloodborne references. There's also references to the SCP foundation, Doraemon, and more pop culture stuff.
• Those volume endings really get you.
• MC is not overpowered but maybe a bit lucky especially at the start but that is explained by fate, luck-related and other abilities of many characters as well as schemes.

Cons and other stuff:

• It's quite obvious that the author (of the book) favours some characters over others.
• Some of the fight scenes are a bit difficult to follow.
• A few characters who are supposed to be pretty strong are just careless.
• Some stuff is super predictable though most of it is not, so depending on your mentality you might not like it.
• There is actually a surprising amount of weird stuff that happens especially when taken out of context. (Refer to post #6 below)
• You might get a little frustrated from not understanding anything. Don't worry that happens to all of us. You are not stupid, some parts of the story are just confusing on the first read.
• A few opponents who are supposed to be very powerful are kinda stupid.
• It's called "Lord of the Mysteries", you gotta consume the material instead of complaining about stuff. Some mysteries take time. Not everything will be told to your face. Don't worry, you can ask for help.
• You might feel like this meticulously developed is not explored enough in the story. (To be fair, a story doesn't need to showcase the entire world to be good)
• A good chunk of the special creatures are just briefly mentioned or only shown as ingredients and not much went into their biology and habitat.
• You might find the MC to be a bit too cautious or smart like a gary-sue type character. Honestly, it isn't that noticable or annoying.
• You might find situations to be escalating a bit too fast towards the end of each volume.
• You might find some coincidences to be a little annoying but maybe they are not really just coincidences...

I am hoping for questions about the story, pathways, sequences, abilities, power system, potions, history, characters, organisations, deities, rituals, blessings, rules, artifacts, locations, languages, spirit world, tarot/blasphemy cards, etc, what ifs, basic stuff or tips for reading.
Maybe you could ask something to get yourself interested?

The first novel has 1394 chapters in 8 volumes and 38 bonus chapters in an extra volume. The second book has over 1100 chapters in 8 volumes. According to the author, the actual main story should end there.
You could also just read book 1 and stop there.
There used to be an old manhua with 60 chapters (it was kinda low quality) but I can't find chapters of it anymore on mangadex.
There is an ongoing manhua with superb art (for some reason Tencent could only afford one overworked and over-exploited artist).
The first season of the animation aired in mid 2025 and it includes 13 episodes but it skips one really interesting arc which be aired later as a special. Each episode is like 30 or 40 minutes long with beautiful art, animation and sounds but it has a few problems with pacing. Just like the first volume but in reverse.
There are many more seasons, specials and a movie announced to be out in a decade.
There is also a game but ain't no way my phone handling those graphics.

If you have already read or watched it or are in the process, start your post with where you are currently at.

There is no OP for season 1
Here is the ED:

I might post more stuff here which might include spoilers.
You can also post memes but be sure to cover up the spoilers.

Noticed how I haven't given any major spoilers or plot points yet?

My goal is to get people interested in what I am interested in and also to have fun.

*By "any", I meant the actual lore and writing of the series. We shall NOT discuss about the author's fetishes, understood? Also I don't know everything.

**Don't ask me how I know anything.

 

[BakedBanana]

Do you think the Lord of Mysteries MC would rather have cake or pie?

 

[mylovenovels]

Do you think the Lord of Mysteries MC would rather have cake or pie?

What if both

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

Do you think the Lord of Mysteries MC would rather have cake or pie?

In the novel, the MC likes pie from Desi bay and dislikes food with too much sugar.

This just means he prefers pie over cake.
But he likes delicacies so if it is some special cake then he would try it.

I am eating fried banana right now.

 

[yogurtman250]

Honestly, I'm quite surprised you have the guts to make an AMA before you even hit 100 messages here.

Is it Yuri or yaoi?

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

Honestly, I'm quite surprised you have the guts to make an AMA before you even hit 100 messages here.

Is it Yuri or yaoi?

How should I put it....?
It kinda has all of it though most of it is not on-screen.

The novel itself is not erotic, it's just that a lot of weird stuff happens.
The animation also has some good frames.

There is:

Spoiler: Content

• Normal sex (implied).
• Cheating (one guy is found dead after doing the deed; another caught on camera; one guy writes his casanova deeds in his diary and it is circulated throughout the continent).
• Wet dreams (one is a premonition of danger and the other is mentioned in a funny scene).
• Friends with benefits (book 2)
• Yuri (not really, it's more like sisterhood depending on the second wet dream and one lesbian cop who likes big pairs).
• Yaoi (not really, this is mostly generated by the fandom but there are a few gay characters).
• There is like one bi character but it's more like... freaky.
• Genderbending (this is an important for part of the plot; m2f and f2m included; this isn't funny and is actually about identity and stuff).
• There is one artifact—A mirror that can answer questions in exchange for answering one of it's questions and it often exposes people's sexual desires and orientation.
• Technically you could say that there are some sugar daddy and sugar mommy like characters.
• Also some characters can make anything pregnant and some others can make anybody want to get pregnant.
• Crossdressing (for serious purposes of course).
• Mpreg (book 2 only, its a major threat).
• Some characters can change their gender at will.
• There is a pathway dedicated for seduction ("The taste of a demoness ain't bad."— Roselle Gustav)
• Enslavement (Pulling the soul out of an individual to enslave them, not really used, there is some actual slavery shown in the story but it isn't used like that Isekai kind of slavery.)
• Mind control (I don't think this is ever used in an erotic way, but there are several different ways to control other people in the story).
• Taking over other people's bodies.
• There are multiple organisations whose entire motto is "Be freaky".
• Some priests are weird.
• There is whole country filled with playboys and another with "barbarians" who do "unspeakable things" to victims after bombing them.
• There is this one guy who is a weaker and French-ish version of Jeffrey Ep$+e1n. So there some depictions of sexual trafficking but no explicit violence.
• Some characters have multiple bodies and 'They' might have given birth to themselves.
• Some characters can force others into genderbending with just their presence.

Some characters are the literal embodiments of degeneracy, fertility, pregnancy and horniness.

There is actually a lot more things that are super weird if you think about it. Like giving birth to a child who IS the parent, evil deities trying to kill people and take over them by impregnating people, talking to an unborn foetus (who has reincarnation powers) and making it do child labour, etc

Dang, that's a lot.
Ok I know this might sound concerning but it really isn't that bad, trust me.

Wait, didn't I specifically request not to ask about this? Ah, whatever.

Sorry I am not aware of all the customs here. I would be thankful if you could like give me a list of all the basics under my profile, senior.

 

[Cosmism]

(book 2)

I consider what you call book 2 a different novel. I couldn't really get into the sequel. The first book was enjoyable enough for me. It was certainly very unique and had excellent world-building and plenty of suspense and climactic moments but wasn't one of my favorite webnovels. It also used up all my freakyness tolerance for the next several years, so that's that.

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

I consider what you call book 2 a different novel. I couldn't really get into the sequel. The first book was enjoyable enough for me. It was certainly very unique and had excellent world-building and plenty of suspense and climactic moments but wasn't one of my favorite webnovels. It also used up all my freakyness tolerance for the next several years, so that's that.

Would you like to know a little secret of mine?

I also stopped at the end the end of book 1 and haven't finished book 2.

What do you think of my spoiler-free-ish and out of context explanation? yogurtman was overwhelmed.

 

[Cosmism]

Would you like to know a little secret of mine?

I also stopped at the end the end of book 1 and haven't finished book 2.

What do you think of my spoiler-free-ish and out of context explanation? yogurtman was overwhelmed.

Fantastic. It's just pretense. Yogurtman will be ravenously devouring LoTM like it's his favorite fermented dairy product within a fortnight. /j

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

Fantastic. It's just pretense. Yogurtman will be ravenously devouring LoTM like it's his favorite fermented dairy product within a fortnight. /j

You know him well? I am new here.

 

[Cosmism]

You know him well? I am new here.

No, I'm goofing off.

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

Lord of Mysteries basics
Here is some basic information:

Shortened names:

• CF = Cuttlefish That Loves Diving (the author)
• ASG = Ancient Sun God
• CW = The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for blessings
• PGA = Primordial god almighty
• MGoD = Mother Goddess of Depravity
• MToD = Mother Tree of Desire

---

Power system
The power system is based on characteristics (which people obtain from potions) and authorities or symbolisms.

Potions:
People get permanent abilities from drinking potions with certain characteristics. Those who do so are called "Beyonders".
Every potion has a formula, main ingredients and supplimentary ingredients.
Drinking a potion which was made correctly is the safest way to gain powers and advance in sequence but they still come with risks which can be minimised by cogitation and the acting method.
All potion formulas and names originate from the Blasphemy slate (which is a very important and legendary item).
A pure characteristic can be considered equivalent to all main ingredients of a single potion.

Sequences:
Sequences correspond to the level of a characteristic in an item, creature or potion.
Sequences go from 9 to 1; the lower the number, the higher the sequence and power.
So we can say that a person became sequence 9 or gained sequence 9 abilities after drinking a sequence 9 potion.
Advancing in sequence also increases health and lifespan.
Every pathway has 9 sequences. There is more and you don't need to put much effort to figure it out. In the animation they just tell it straight to you that the pathways lead to divinity.

Spoiler: Major spoiler for early Vol 2

You can probably guess this (especially after reading the author's note at chapter 130 which mentions "220 jobs"): There is a sequence 0 for every pathway which corresponds the position of a "true deity".
A seq 0 is supposed be the embodiment of certain concepts and they have full and partial authority on certain things including their own pathway along with some "symbolism" which is the most important and powerful thing they can have.
Seq 0s are immortal and the only limits to Their powers are consequences and their own imagination (along with a very important plot device).
Even after death they can resurrect multiple times.
Just their name and image alone can create special effects.
They can hear their true and honourific names from around the world.

Sequence 9, 8 and 7 are considered to low sequences.
At sequence 7 or 6 a qualitative change would alter your biology in some way.
Sequence 6 and 5 are mid sequences.
Sequence 4 and above are considered high sequence demigods.
Seq 4 and 3 are also called saints and they can live for centuries.
Starting from seq 3, beyonders can choose honourific names/titles which can be used to hear prayers from followers.
Sequence 2 and 1 are called angels and it is only at this stage one can have a good chance of surviving against attacks from deities. They can also act like a deity but with less power.
Seq 2 and above are respectfully referred to with deitial pronouns which in English are just normal pronouns but with the first letter capitalised (a 'he' becomes 'He', 'she' becomes 'She' and 'they' become 'They')
They might also have some authority over a certain concept depending on the pathway.
It is kinda impossible to kill a seq 1 through normal or physical methods.

Pathways:
There are 22 standard pathways to choose from. These pathways are based on the 22 major arcana tarot cards with some changes.
Every pathway has sequences ranging from 9 to 1 and once you pick a pathway starting with a sequence 9 potion, switching to another pathway or skipping a level is risky as it could lead to losing control and turning into a monster, death or something else.

The 22 pathways are (with seq 9 names only):

• Seer
• Marauder
• Apprentice
• Spectator
• Sailor
• Bard
• Reader
• Secret supplicant
• Sleepless
• Corpse collector
• Warrior
• Hunter
• Assasin
• Savant
• Mystery pryer
• Monster
• Arbiter
• Lawyer
• Planter
• Apothecary
• Prisoner
• Criminal

Rituals:
To go from seq 6 to 5 and every advancement after that, a ritual is needed to either guarantee safety or help some kind of process.
Note that a lot rituals involve something like killing or other cruel acts or drinking the potion under specific conditions.

Spirituality:
Spirituality is basically mana or spirituality in the cultivation genre.
Every magical action requires some amount of spirituality. Everything magical or living has some amount spirituality. Beyonders, related items and creatures of higher sequences have higher spirituality.
Spirituality can be recovered by resting, eating food and other means. It can be controlled by cogitation and can be used for some basic actions almost everyone can do like spirit vision, divination and a few other little tricks.
Not regulating or not having enough spirituality could cause exhaustion and even loss of control.

Honourific names:
Honourific names are short titles or descriptions of a high-level being (seq 3 or above) or deity which can be used to get Their attention when pronounced in a mystical language without any obstructions.
At least three different ones must be said consecutively in order for it to work.
Speaking in mystical languages must be done carefully as it could accidentally point to something other than your target. So it is better to avoid ambiguous ones and stick to official ones selected by the entity.

Acting method:
The acting method involves trying to 'act' according to the name of the potion in daily life and other times while following certain principles and vague sensations typically using the newly gained abilities from the potion untill it is properly digested.
What the acting method does is that it tricks the characteristic to integrate with the actor.
Better digestion lowers the risk of losing control.
For example, if you drink a sequence 9 hunter potion then you have to act like a hunter. To act like a hunter you can just do what you normally expect hunters to do along with following certain principles like understanding the prey, observing and using the environment, hunting prey stronger than yourself, figure out what can and cannot be eaten in the wild, staying calm and being patient.

Once you do a certain amount of acting then the potion will fully digest so you no longer have to continue acting. Fully digesting a potion allows one to use their abilities to their maximum while having a lower risk of losing control which also makes the next advancement safer.

Then if you drink the next potion you have to act according to it's name. So if you go from a sequence 9 Arbiter to a sequence 8 Sheriff then now you have to act like a sheriff to digest the Sheriff potion.
It is possible to do the acting beforehand to the digest the potion sooner.

 

[Itsukimoto]

What do you think of the character Melissa-nya?

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

What do you think of the character Melissa-nya?

Well I think she is a wonderful, cute, hardworking and smart younger sister who can still smile even with their poor situation and after what happened in the story.

 

[Dverin_Oshiban_Duren]

Here is a table for all sequences of the 22 pathways. For now it is limited to only the low sequences.
Seq 9 is typically also used as the name of the pathway.
Some sequences can have ancient names different from modern names.

Warning: knowing the names of most sequences early can be a spoiler, especially for the Seer pathway but honestly it doesn't matter after you're done with volume 4 of the first book.

Seq 9	Seq 8	Seq 7	Seq 6	Seq 5	Seq 4	Seq 3	Seq 2	Seq 1	Seq 0
Seer	Clown	Magician	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Marauder	Swindler	Cryptologist	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Apprentice	Trickmaster	Astrologer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Spectator	Telepath	Psychiatrist	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bard	Light supplicant	Solar high priest	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sailor	Folk of rage	Seafarer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Reader	Student of Ratiocination	Knowledge keeper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Secret supplicant	Listener	Shadow ascetic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sleepless	Midnight poet	Nightmare	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Corpse collector	Gravedigger	Spirit medium	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Warrior	Pugilist/gladiator	Weapon master	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Assassin	Instigator	Witch	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hunter	Provoker	Pyromaniac/fire mage	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mystery pryer	Melee scholar	Warlock	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Savant	Archaeologist	Appraiser	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Monster	Robot	Lucky one	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lawyer	Barbarian	Briber	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arbiter	Sheriff	Interrogator	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Planter	Doctor	Harvest priest	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Apothecary	Beast tamer	Vampire	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Criminal	Unwinged angel	Serial killer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Prisoner	Lunatic	Werewolf	-	-	-	-	-	-	-