Chapter Summaries

The Moon Devil King escaped Si Ming’s lightning prison and invaded his vacant body, hoping to take it over. He reached Si Ming’s sea of consciousness, where a radiant bodhisattva confronted him with an overwhelming spiritual force.

• Wan Ziling’s berserk assault and Liu Qingqing’s sword attacks created an opening for Si Ming to trap the Moon Devil King in a lightning prison.
• The gravely wounded Moon Devil King broke free with a demonic technique and fled into Si Ming’s empty body.
• The Moon Devil King endured the body’s searing light and rushed toward Si Ming’s sea of consciousness to claim it.
• The Moon Devil King found a sacred bodhisattva seated in Si Ming’s sea of consciousness, and its voice filled his mind with teachings and remorse.

Si Ming defeated the Moon Devil King and absorbed his soul origin, then escaped the Void Corpse Kun with Yuezheng Yao and Wan Ziling. Outside, they emerged into the midst of a battle between a nine-headed dragon and a gigantic fish, where Duanmu Die rescued them.

• Si Ming used the bodhisattva’s Buddhist weapon and chants to subdue the Moon Devil King, then sealed him in a golden lotus and absorbed his soul origin.
• Yuezheng Yao struggled to escape the Void Corpse Kun while carrying Si Ming and Liu Qingqing, and Wan Ziling awoke inside Liu Qingqing’s body in a violent, vengeful state.
• Si Ming restrained Wan Ziling and let her attack him, hoping to help her regain her senses, while he cut through the beast’s inner barriers with the Earth-Splitting Seal.
• Si Ming, Yuezheng Yao, and Wan Ziling escaped the Void Corpse Kun, only to be caught in the battle between a nine-headed dragon and a gigantic floating fish.
• Duanmu Die arrived on a flying brush and took the three aboard, while Si Ming complained that she had used them as bait.

Si Ming learned how Duanmu Die had helped him escape the Void Corpse Kun, and she restored Wan Ziling after her resentment drove her to attack him. Nether Jiuying defeated the transformed Devil Kun by self-destructing, then returned and prepared to depart after speaking with Duanmu Die, who asked Si Ming to help her find someone and deliver something.

• Duanmu Die gave Si Ming the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn as compensation and explained how she had used it to help him escape the Void Corpse Kun.
• Duanmu Die used a talismanic seal to calm Wan Ziling, then explained that her incomplete souls and spirits made her memories of torture trigger a dangerous mutation.
• The Void Corpse Kun transformed into a Heavenly Bone Devil Kun, but Nether Jiuying wrapped around it and self-destructed, annihilating it.
• Nether Jiuying reappeared after the attack, communicated silently with Duanmu Die, and concealed itself in the darkness.
• Duanmu Die told Si Ming that her mission was complete and that she should return, then asked him to help find someone and deliver something.

Si Ming discovered that the wordless book Duanmu Die had entrusted to him contained a martial art, confirming he was among the descendants she sought. Meanwhile, the Evil-Slaying Sword Sect’s Grandmasters battled the weakened Lord of Mysteries with a sword formation whose power grew with every strike.

• Duanmu Die told Si Ming to find the Si Lineage and give its descendants a wordless book, then departed with Nether Jiuying while her panicked attendant chased after them.
• Si Ming opened the book and found the martial art Shennong's Three Fists, realizing he was likely the bloodline descendant Duanmu Die sought.
• Wan Yebai, Wan Ziqiu, and Zhou Anping led the Evil-Slaying Sword Sect disciples against the Lord of Mysteries in a secluded valley.
• Wan Yebai warned Wan Ziqiu not to underestimate the weakened fiend, and the three Grandmasters waited until the Lord of Mysteries showed signs of fatigue before attacking.
• The Grandmasters formed the Evil-Butchering Sword Formation and used Total Extermination of Yao and Ghosts, taking turns to build the power of their lightning-infused sword strikes and sever the Lord of Mysteries' tentacles.

Wan Yebai destroyed the Lord of Mysteries and his fleeing Primordial Spirit fragments with the Evil-Slaying Sword Art, but the school soon discovered another clone had survived. The chapter ended with the clone trapped in a sword formation as Wan Yebai and the others rushed to stop it escaping.

• The Lord of Mysteries burst apart after Wan Ziqiu struck him, sending poisonous black fluid and dozens of Primordial Spirit fragments flying away.
• Wan Yebai used All Evils Fall Silent, All Wickedness Perishes to freeze the fragments and destroy them all.
• Wan Yebai ordered the disciples to tend to the wounded and camp overnight, while Wan Ziqiu celebrated the school's victory and his father urged him to focus on slaying evil rather than status.
• Wan Yebai reflected on his strained relationship with Wan Ziqiu and resolved to speak with him properly.
• A disciple spotted a smaller Lord of Mysteries clone trapped in a sword formation, and Wan Yebai, Wan Ziqiu, and Zhou Anping rushed over.

The Anye Beast King ambushed Wan Yebai, possessed him, and tried to use his identity to corrupt the Evil-Slaying Sword School. Wan Yebai died resisting, but the Beast King revived in his body and prepared to fool Wan Ziqiu; elsewhere, Si Ming returned to the Glazed Temple and reunited with Si Jingyu and her companions.

• Wan Yebai killed one of the Lord of Mysteries' fleeing subsidiary Primordial Spirits and began returning as night fell.
• The Anye Beast King ambushed Wan Yebai and revealed that he had manipulated the Lord of Mysteries to lure him away from Righteous Qi Peak.
• The Anye Beast King possessed Wan Yebai, intending to impersonate him and corrupt the Evil-Slaying Sword School from within.
• Wan Yebai resisted the possession and stabbed himself through the chest, dying with his resolve intact.
• The Anye Beast King revived in Wan Yebai's body, absorbed his memories and cultivation, and answered Wan Ziqiu while pretending to be his father.
• Si Ming returned to the Glazed Temple and met Si Jingyu and her companions, who told him the trouble at the Heavenly Martial Alliance had settled.

Si Ming showed the wordless book to Si Jingyu and Si Huaruo, but each perceived different contents, leaving him puzzled about the book and his parentage. After the others saw only blank pages, they set the mystery aside to test the effects of the two cultivation techniques.

• Si Jingyu explained that she had rooted out minor conspirators in the Heavenly Martial Alliance while leaving its hidden schemers untouched.
• Si Ming gave Si Jingyu the wordless book, but she could not see its writing.
• Si Huaruo read a different scripture, the Heavenly One River Diagram, while Si Ming saw Shennong's Three Fists.
• Si Jingyu teased Si Huaruo with the possibility that she and Si Ming were siblings, frightening Si Huaruo into defending their family ties.
• Si Ming asked Si Shuiyun and others to inspect the book, but they saw blank pages, so the group postponed investigating and planned to test the techniques.

Si Ming practiced Shennong's Three Fists for seven days, greatly improving his stamina and strength, while Ke Chajing urged Hao Shuai to pursue his own goals instead of comparing himself with others. After hearing that the Anye Beast King had been slain, Si Ming learned from Wan Ziling that her wish remained unfulfilled because she could still sense the Beast King was alive.

• Si Ming practiced Shennong's Three Fists while Hao Shuai mocked its plain movements and Ke Chajing explained their profound meaning.
• Ke Chajing told Hao Shuai that Si Ming had trained nonstop for seven days and encouraged him to focus on his own progress.
• Si Ming finished practicing and found that his stamina had doubled and his strength had increased by thirty percent.
• Abbot Fahong told Si Ming that the Evil-Slaying Sword School had reported the Anye Beast King's death.
• Wan Ziling insisted the Anye Beast King was still alive and explained that her karmic connection let her sense his death and the change in her resentment.
• Si Ming realized that a temporary killing would not fulfill Wan Ziling's wish, and that he could not trick her into believing the Beast King was permanently dead.

Si Ming and Si Jingyu concluded that the Evil-Slaying Sword School’s unusual message about the Anye Beast King might have been intended for Si Ming, and they decided to visit the school themselves. Before heading to the Righteous Qi Palace, Si Huaruo discussed the Heavenly One River Diagram’s demanding cultivation requirements, and Si Jingyu proposed an alternative plan.

• Fahong agreed that Si Jingyu and Si Ming should personally deliver the warning to the Evil-Slaying Sword School and investigate its intentions.
• Si Jingyu reasoned that the school’s special notification might have been meant for Si Ming, either to request help or to tell him to stop pursuing the Beast King.
• Si Ming agreed to visit the Evil-Slaying Sword School and then return to the Righteous Qi Palace to meet Senior Wu Xiu, Murong Wu, and Chen Shimi.
• Si Huaruo complained that the Heavenly One River Diagram required at least Spirit Transformation cultivation, and Si Ming encouraged her.
• Si Jingyu offered a different suggestion as Si Ming planned for everyone to head to the Righteous Qi Palace.

Si Ming, Wan Ziling, and Liu Qingqing traveled toward the Righteous Qi Palace while Wan Ziling taught Liu Qingqing the Five Elements Spirit-Refining Formula. The group stopped at a crowded inn, where Si Ming paid the innkeeper for the customary one-room arrangement and heard his shameless offer of aphrodisiacs.

• Si Jingyu sent her group ahead while Si Ming and Wan Ziling traveled more slowly toward the Righteous Qi Palace.
• Wan Ziling taught Liu Qingqing the Five Elements Spirit-Refining Formula to strengthen her spirit and improve her Divine Arts and archery.
• Liu Qingqing learned the formula’s basics during the journey, aided by the soul power she had received from Shang Yu’s remnant soul.
• At a remote town’s inn, the innkeeper claimed only one room remained, and Wan Ziling agreed to share it with Si Ming.
• The innkeeper explained that innkeepers routinely used the one-room excuse to encourage traveling jianghu couples, and Si Ming paid him five taels.
• As Si Ming headed upstairs, the innkeeper offered him Tathagata Great Buddha Rod and Guanyin Disrobing Powder.

Si Ming stopped Wan Ziling from turning vengeful again and learned that her existence depended on an obsession that would eventually destroy her. After dreaming of her past as a celebrated sword champion, Wan Ziling woke and prepared to continue traveling with Si Ming.

• During the night, Si Ming sensed hostile Qi and used the Taiyi Scripture of Deliverance from Sin to suppress Wan Ziling's transformation into a vengeful ghost.
• Wan Ziling explained that her obsession kept her remnant soul alive but also made her deterioration inevitable, and she asked Si Ming to kill her if she became beyond saving.
• Wan Ziling dreamed of winning the Eastern Martial World tournament and insisting that she wanted to set an example for women rather than please men.
• In the morning, Si Ming checked that Wan Ziling was well and told her to speak up if anything felt wrong; she agreed, and they prepared to set out.

Si Ming tried to ease Wan Ziling’s worries by telling jokes, and she laughed before thanking him for everything he had done. She said she had no wishes left beyond what had already been settled, leaving Si Ming concerned by her sudden calm and gratitude.

• Si Ming suggested that Wan Ziling could slow her transformation into a vengeful ghost by relaxing and embracing positive emotions.
• Si Ming told Wan Ziling several jokes, and Liu Qingqing joined in until Wan Ziling finally laughed.
• Wan Ziling thanked Si Ming for saving her, helping the Evil-Slaying Sword School, and dealing with the Anye Beast King.
• Wan Ziling said Si Ming could wait until he was more confident before confronting the Anye Beast King, but Si Ming warned her not to sound as if she were saying farewell.
• Wan Ziling said she had no other wishes because the Evil-Slaying Sword School had survived and her younger brother could protect himself.

Si Ming took Wan Ziling to Fangping City’s Zhongyuan Festival to help her enjoy her birthday and relax. The chapter ended with Wan Ziling tasting candied hawthorn and finding it sweet, while Liu Qingqing secretly bit some too.

• Si Ming learned Wan Ziling’s birthday was the fifteenth day of the seventh month and suggested celebrating it.
• Liu Qingqing pointed out that Wan Ziling’s birthday fell on the Ghost Festival, so Si Ming took her to Fangping City.
• Wan Ziling recalled that her father had stopped taking her to temple fairs when she was eight because she had to practice swordsmanship.
• Si Ming bought Wan Ziling a candied hawthorn skewer and encouraged her to enjoy the festival.
• Wan Ziling tasted the candied hawthorn and called it sweet, while Liu Qingqing secretly bit off a piece.
• Si Ming bought himself a skewer and enjoyed its sweet-and-sour taste.

Si Ming and Wan Ziling shared tanghulu at the Ghost Festival, and Wan Ziling chose not to visit her family because she did not want to disturb their lives. They then joined a lantern-riddle game at a Buddhist pagoda.

• Wan Ziling praised the old man's tanghulu, and he explained how he made the sugar coating.
• Wan Ziling realized that her red necklace had eaten most of her tanghulu, so Si Ming traded skewers with her and sang a song about happiness and reunion.
• Si Ming asked whether Wan Ziling wanted to see her family, but she declined because she did not want them to grieve for her again.
• Si Ming led Wan Ziling to a lantern-riddle pagoda, paid the entrance fee for them, and entered with her to compete for prizes.

Si Ming and Wan Ziling solved every lantern riddle on the pagoda’s ninth floor, though Wan Ziling answered the final riddle that stumped him. They exchanged their tassels for a carved wooden hairpin chosen for Liu Qingqing and left the remaining tassels with the novice monk.

• Si Ming and Wan Ziling climbed the pagoda, solving increasingly difficult lantern riddles as they went.
• On the ninth floor, Si Ming solved the riddles about a young married woman and the character 演.
• Si Ming failed to solve the final riddle, “七九,” and Wan Ziling explained that it referred to “talking recklessly” in the Song of the Nine Nines.
• Si Ming collected the lantern tassels and took Wan Ziling to exchange them for prizes.
• Si Ming chose a carved wooden hairpin for Liu Qingqing and gave all his remaining tassels to the novice monk.

Si Ming gave Wan Ziling a hairpin and joined her in watching the Ghost Festival parade, where she briefly set aside her sadness. When the Ghost Gate opened, the Underworld seized Wan Ziling’s soul, and she began to give in to its call to return.

• Si Ming gave Wan Ziling the hairpin as a birthday present and put it in her hair, while Liu Qingqing bit him from within their shared body.
• Wan Ziling told Si Ming a joke her father had once shared, then spoke about how he had encouraged her to take breaks from sword training.
• Si Ming took Wan Ziling to watch the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts, and she enjoyed the festive crowd.
• The Ghost Gate opened and Nether Qi bound Wan Ziling’s soul, dragging her out of Liu Qingqing’s body.
• Wan Ziling resisted at first, but thoughts of sparing Si Ming from danger and the welcoming call of the Underworld weakened her resolve.

Wan Ziling was nearly dragged through a ghost gate before Si Ming pulled her back, and she spent the night at a temple fair with him while borrowing Miss Qingqing’s consciousness. Meanwhile, Si Jingyu visited the Evil-Slaying Sword School, secured an agreement for cooperation with the Heavenly Martial Alliance, and heard how the school had defeated the Anye Beast King.

• Wan Ziling saw Wan Yebai among the ghosts, but ghostly hands dragged them both toward the gate until Si Ming pulled her back and the sun blocked the gate’s grasp.
• Si Ming took Wan Ziling to the temple fair, held her hand, and encouraged her to enjoy the night and forget her troubles.
• Wan Ziling asked Miss Qingqing whether she liked Si Ming, then attributed her own racing heart and flushed face to Qingqing’s consciousness and asked to borrow it for a few more days.
• Wan Yebai welcomed Si Jingyu and her party to the Evil-Slaying Sword School and discussed the school joining the Heavenly Martial Alliance as an equal partner.
• Wan Yebai and Si Jingyu’s groups agreed to cooperate under the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
• Wan Yebai credited Sima with weakening the Anye Beast King before the Evil-Slaying Sword School defeated him again.

Si Jingyu told Wan Yebai that Si Ming was trapped by the Son of the Dragon Devil and the Moon Devil King, then gathered help to rescue him. Wan Yebai stayed behind to conceal his identity and pursue his own plans; at daybreak, Si Ming returned to the inn and learned a friend was waiting.

• Si Jingyu explained that the Six Paths Sect had hired Si Ming to eliminate the Son of the Dragon Devil, who had joined forces with the Moon Devil King and trapped Si Ming inside a gigantic demonic beast.
• Wan Yebai and the Evil-Slaying Sword School pledged to help rescue Si Ming, but Si Jingyu persuaded the injured Wan Yebai to remain behind.
• Wan Yebai accepted the decision, planning to conceal his injuries and continue seeking power while Si Jingyu and her companions left the mountain.
• At daybreak, Si Ming and his companions returned to the inn, where an attendant told him a friend was waiting in a private room upstairs.

Si Ming told Wan Ziling that one of her family members might have been replaced by the Anye Beast King, and she lost control as she feared her father was the likely victim. Si Ming and Liu Qingqing tried to keep her from becoming a vicious spirit, and Wan Ziling steadied herself by focusing on revenge against the Beast King.

• Hao Shuai delivered Si Ming a letter, and Si Ming learned that one of Zheng Jingyuan, Zhou Anping, Wan Ziling's younger brother, or Wan Yebai might have been replaced by the Anye Beast King.
• Si Ming told Wan Ziling about the suspected replacement and said Wan Yebai was the most likely, causing her to break down and unleash baleful Qi.
• Si Ming used talismans and the Supreme One Sin-Removing Formation to restrain Wan Ziling, while Liu Qingqing bound her as she went berserk.
• Si Ming reminded Wan Ziling of her wish to kill the Anye Beast King and her father's purpose in founding the Evil-Slaying Sword School.
• Wan Ziling regained focus through her hatred of the Beast King, and Liu Qingqing urged her to keep the promise to borrow her body for a few more days.

Wan Ziling confirmed that the Anye Beast King had taken her father Wan Yebai’s body and spent her remaining time sharing memories with Si Ming before asking him for courage and kissing him. Meanwhile, the Anye Beast King worked to fuse his powers and resolved to eliminate Wan Ziqiu, unaware that his inherited blood connection made him vulnerable.

• Wan Ziling told Si Ming that her father had died and that the Anye Beast King had replaced him, while Si Ming warned her that another transformation could be fatal.
• Si Ming sent Hao Shuai to deliver a letter about Wan Ziling’s revelation to Si Jingyu.
• Wan Ziling spent four hours telling Si Ming stories about her family and her childhood.
• Wan Ziling asked Si Ming for courage, kissed him, and then told him they should leave.
• The Anye Beast King reflected on his progress combining the Power of Anomalies and the Evil-Slaying Sword Essence.
• The Anye Beast King decided he needed to get rid of Wan Ziqiu to eliminate the blood connection that could allow him to be killed for good.