Chapter Summaries

Qin Ming used his Sha-infused pig-slaying saber to kill ghosts and Liao Jun, then spent the proficiency points he gained to perfect Fire Sand Palm. After driving off the female ghost, he collapsed from his injuries, and Pei Heng said he could not be saved.

• Qin Ming killed a specter with his pig-slaying saber and gained a hundred free proficiency points, then killed Liao Jun after Liao Jun crashed his carriage while fleeing.
• Qin Ming slew more ghosts, accumulated eight hundred free proficiency points, and used them to cultivate Fire Sand Palm to perfection.
• Qin Ming fought the female ghost and her specters, but they possessed him and began draining his Qi and blood.
• Qin Ming struck himself with Fire Sand Palm, then stabbed himself with the pig-slaying saber to blast the ghosts out and force the wounded female ghost to retreat.
• Pei Heng examined the badly injured Qin Ming and said he could not be saved, while some onlookers eyed the banknotes he carried.

After Qin Ming killed Liao Jun, the survivors turned against him and fought over the valuables they believed he carried. As Embroiderer moved the gravely wounded Qin Ming beneath a tree, he secretly swallowed the Centipede Spirit Pearl.

• The survivors discovered Liao Jun’s corpse, and the yamen officers demanded that Pei Heng surrender Qin Ming for killing an imperial official.
• Wang Bo and Huo Zheng turned the crowd against the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy, seeking Qin Ming’s silver, pig-slaughtering knife, and other treasures.
• Pei Heng persuaded the crowd to wait until Qin Ming died before dividing his silver, while Huo Zheng claimed the knife and Huo Lan demanded Li Shengnan’s Cold Iron Saber.
• Huo Zheng’s pressure and Pei Heng’s anger caused Pei Heng to collapse unconscious, leaving him as the only Flesh Refining Realm expert among the survivors.
• Embroiderer dragged Qin Ming beneath an ancient tree, where he secretly put the Centipede Spirit Pearl in his mouth.

Qin Ming recovered from the Fire Poison, reached Great Accomplishment in Savage Bull Strength, and awoke to find Li Shengnan and the others injured while the crowd tried to seize his treasures. He killed the constables and Wang Bo, crippled the Huo family and the Tiger Martial Arts Academy, and turned on the local gentry who had coveted his banknotes.

• Wang Bo ordered the constables to seize Qin Ming's treasures while Huo Lan and Huo Lin blocked Li Shengnan and Lu Liu from intervening.
• Li Shengnan wounded Huo Lin, but Huo Zheng struck her down and Huo Lan took her Cold Iron Saber; the constables then tried to kick the Embroiderer aside.
• Qin Ming awoke after the Centipede Spirit Pearl suppressed the Fire Poison and his Savage Bull Strength reached Great Accomplishment, then killed the constables and Wang Bo.
• Qin Ming struck Huo Zheng, Huo Lan, and Huo Lin, then beat down the Tiger Martial Arts Academy's fighters.
• Qin Ming confronted the local gentry and families who had wanted his banknotes and declared that they could all die.

Qin Ming slaughtered the people who had plotted against him and the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy, then set off with his companions for Qingyang County. After they left, the female ghost in red returned to the forest and used the corpses to heal herself.

• Qin Ming killed the Li Lineage, the local squires, and most of the other attackers, refusing their pleas and rejecting Huo Zheng's offer to sacrifice himself for the Tiger Martial Arts Academy.
• Qin Ming slapped Ye Wei for pleading on the Tiger Martial Arts Academy's behalf, then spared him after warning him to think before speaking; Li Shengnan exposed Huo Zheng's past, and Embroiderer killed Huo Lan.
• Qin Ming killed Huo Zheng, Huo Lin, and the remaining members of the Tiger Martial Arts Academy, then dissected the corpses and gathered the valuables with his companions.
• Qin Ming shared loose silver with his fellow disciples, while Pei Heng agreed to tell others that ghosts had killed the people of Qingshan Town and offered to introduce Qin Ming to his junior brother in Qingyang County.
• At daybreak, Qin Ming and the others left for Qingyang County; afterward, the female ghost in red returned, absorbed resentment from the remains, and merged with Huo Lan's bones to recover.

Qin Ming studied Xingyi Fist and Wandering Dragon Step while considering the martial arts and dangers awaiting him in Wangjing Prefecture. In Qingshan Town, Ninth Boss and Yan Yangtian believed the ghost had left, but Yan Yangtian spotted something behind Ninth Boss.

• Huo Lan revived as a skeleton, struggled to suppress the vengeful spirit inside her, and fled into the forest to recover before hunting Qin Ming.
• Qin Ming practiced Xingyi Fist and Wandering Dragon Step and weighed which martial arts to cultivate from the manuals he had acquired.
• Qin Ming examined his Wangjing Prefecture token and recalled that Elder Wei required him to reach the Bone Refining Realm and attain Silver Bone before reporting there.
• Ninth Boss and Yan Yangtian hid in Qingshan Town after a ghost killed Ninth Boss's men, and Yan Yangtian warned Ninth Boss not to turn around.

Qin Ming and his companions arrived in Qingyang County, where Pei Heng reunited with his junior brother Xiong San and reported their encounter with ghosts. After demonstrating Qin Ming’s martial arts, Pei Heng secured him a place as a reserve member of the Demon-Hunting Team, and Qin Ming resolved to earn an official position.

• Yan Yangtian captured the Ninth Boss in an alley, making both men vanish without a trace.
• Qin Ming arrived in Qingyang County with Pei Heng, Li Shengnan, Lu Liu, and Embroiderer, and showed his progress in several martial arts.
• Wild Wolf Gang members recognized Embroiderer and hurried to report her whereabouts to Incense Master Yan.
• Pei Heng reunited with Xiong San at the county yamen and told him about the ghosts and the destruction of Qingshan Town.
• Qin Ming demonstrated Fire Sand Palm at the Perfection Realm, impressing Xiong San with his ability to fight Ghost Monsters.
• Xiong San named Qin Ming a reserve member of the Demon-Hunting Team, and Qin Ming decided to pursue an official position for its martial arts and opportunities to kill ghosts.

Yan Yue-Ren ordered the Wild Wolf Gang to abduct Embroiderer after learning she was in Qingyang County. Li Shengnan stopped the kidnappers, but a Flesh Refining Realm expert approached her.

• Yan Yue-Ren learned that Embroiderer had been spotted and ordered his men to capture her unharmed.
• Qingmu told Yan Yue-Ren he was a Demon-Hunting Team reserve member and gave him pills to reach the Late Flesh-Refining Realm.
• Qin Ming rented a house with Embroiderer and welcomed Li Shengnan as a housemate.
• Qin Ming left to look for spirit medicines and a Horizontal Training Martial Art.
• Wild Wolf Gang members drugged and abducted Embroiderer, but Li Shengnan cut down the three kidnappers.
• Li Shengnan faced an approaching Flesh Refining Realm expert.

Li Shengnan was gravely injured while defending the unconscious Embroiderer from the Wild Wolf Gang, and Xiong San arrested the gang members before secretly killing them in the water dungeon. Embroiderer remained in a coma that might never end as Qin Ming, unaware of the crisis, went to the black market and asked about body-hardening martial arts.

• The bald Wild Wolf Gang leader struck Li Shengnan, who was badly injured while trying to stop him from taking Embroiderer.
• Pei Heng and Xiong San arrived; Xiong San gave Li Shengnan a Qi-Blood Pill and had the gang members arrested.
• Lu Liu and the physicians discovered that Embroiderer had overdosed on a knockout drug and might never wake up without a miracle or spiritual medicine.
• The bald leader revealed that Yan Yue-Ren had ordered the abduction and was the county magistrate's brother-in-law; Xiong San killed the prisoners and ordered the yamen runners to conceal it.
• Qin Ming browsed the black market, bought Qi-Blood Powder and tiger meat, and asked a stallkeeper whether he had body-hardening martial arts.

Qin Ming bought the incomplete Iron Body Shirt manual, sold unwanted martial arts, and gathered herbs and supplies in the Black Market. After several groups of bandits ambushed him on his way out, he killed them all and returned home with his spoils, only for his smile to freeze when he entered.

• Qin Ming bargained with the old Daoist and bought the incomplete Iron Body Shirt manual for five hundred taels, then sold his unused martial arts manuals.
• Qin Ming gathered the herbs for Iron Body Shirt and bought aged medicinal herbs, attracting the attention of people watching for wealthy targets.
• Several groups ambushed Qin Ming in a dark alley, but he killed them all and gained points for Savage Bull Strength.
• Qin Ming searched the corpses, collected their valuables, and dissected them before leaving the alley.
• News of the dismembered corpses spread through Qingyang County, while the old Daoist wondered whether Qin Ming could master Iron Body Shirt.
• Qin Ming returned home with his gains, but his smile froze as he stepped through the door.

After finding Embroiderer unconscious and Li Shengnan badly wounded in a Wild Wolf Gang attack arranged by Yan Yue-Ren, Qin Ming was persuaded not to seek immediate revenge and focused on the Demon-Hunting Team assessment. Xiong San tested Qin Ming’s strength and Sha Weapon, explained the limits of his Iron Body Shirt technique, and opened a hidden passage to show him something.

• Qin Ming found Embroiderer unconscious and Li Shengnan gravely injured after the Wild Wolf Gang attacked their home to seize Embroiderer.
• Xiong San warned Qin Ming that Yan Yue-Ren’s connections made an immediate attempt at revenge dangerous, and Li Shengnan urged Qin Ming to wait until he could join the Demon-Hunting Team.
• Xiong San arranged for a woman to care for Embroiderer and told Qin Ming he had killed the Wild Wolf Gang attackers.
• At the yamen, Xiong San tested Qin Ming’s Fire Sand Palm and Butcher’s Knife against a ghost trapped in a Human-Skin Bag, then confirmed Qin Ming’s strength exceeded the Mid-Stage Flesh-Refining Realm.
• Xiong San explained that Qin Ming’s incomplete Iron Body Shirt came from Shaolin Temple and could be cultivated safely, though incomplete copies usually yielded little progress.
• Xiong San turned a vase, causing two bookshelves to part and reveal a hidden passage.

Xiong San recruited Qin Ming to pursue a place on the Demon-Hunting Team and assigned him to investigate ghost fog in Qingshan Town. Yan Yue-Ren learned of Qin Ming's connection to Xiong San but dismissed the threat of revenge and planned to join the same team.

• Xiong San showed Qin Ming case files documenting deadly ghost incidents, including ghost fog that destroyed Gaochao Village.
• Xiong San asked Qin Ming to join the Demon-Hunting Team and eventually become its captain to counter the county magistrate's attempt to seize control of it.
• Xiong San explained how Sha Weapons, powerful blood Qi, and certain inner cultivation arts could kill ghost monsters.
• Xiong San assigned Qin Ming to investigate Qingshan Town's ghost fog and rescue survivors during the assessment, promising to support his request for a fire-attribute inner art.
• Chen gave Qin Ming chicken soup for the injured Embroiderer.
• Yan Yue-Ren learned that Xiong San had killed his men and that Qin Ming was Xiong San's martial nephew, but planned to join the Demon-Hunting Team anyway.

Qin Ming merged Tiger Fist with Xingyi Fist and joined the Demon-Hunting Team's expedition to Qingshan Town, where a Ghost Fog concealed the female ghost he had wounded. As the team entered town, the ghost recognized Qin Ming and rushed to confront him.

• Qin Ming merged Tiger Fist into Xingyi Fist, raising the latter to Minor Mastery, then continued training his stance and Iron Body Shirt.
• At the Qingyang County yamen, Yu Qing challenged Qin Ming's place on the team, while Xiong San defended him and refused to make him withdraw.
• Yu Qing and Yan Yue-Ren secretly planned to kill Qin Ming in Qingshan Town and use the deaths of other team members to discredit Xiong San.
• The county magistrate, Xiong San, the Demon-Hunting Team, and the twelve assessment candidates traveled to Qingshan Town to rescue people and investigate its Ghost Fog.
• Yang Zhi described the Ghost Fog as low-grade, while Qin Ming suspected the injured female ghost had been recovering there by possessing people and draining their Qi and blood.
• The red-clad female ghost sensed Qin Ming entering Qingshan Town, recognized him, and rushed out through the Ghost Fog to attack him.

Qin Ming and the Demon-Hunting Team entered Qingshan Town’s Ghost Fog, where they were attacked by rising corpses, Wraiths, and a Corpse King. After improving his martial arts while fighting, Qin Ming dodged an ambush by the Red-Clad Female Ghost, but the Corpse King attacked him and revealed its body had no organs.

• Yan Yue-Ren and the others pursued a ghostly figure into Qingshan Town, where drained bandit corpses and the town’s dead began to rise and attack them.
• Qin Ming discovered he could earn Free Attribute Points by killing the dried corpses and used them to reach Perfect Mastery in Savage Bull Strength and Greater Mastery in Wandering Dragon Step.
• A Corpse King appeared among the corpses, while Wraiths emerged from the Ghost Fog and Qin Ming began killing them for more Free Attribute Points.
• The Red-Clad Female Ghost attacked Qin Ming from behind, but he evaded her with Wandering Dragon Step; she retreated into the fog and promised to return.
• The Corpse King lunged at Qin Ming, who dodged and slashed its belly open, only to find that it had no internal organs.

Qin Ming was poisoned by the Corpse King while fighting through the Ghost Fog, but he hid in the academy granary and used Glutinous Rice to suppress the poison while advancing his Iron Body Shirt. After recovering enough to resume hunting dried corpses, he faced the Corpse King again and was confronted by Huo Lan, whose body the Red-Clad Female Ghost had possessed.

• Qin Ming broke free of the Red-Clad Female Ghost's Ghost Howl, but the Corpse King pierced his Heart-Guard Mirror and poisoned him with its claws as he fled into the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy.
• Qin Ming hid beneath Glutinous Rice in the granary, where it absorbed and suppressed the Corpse Poison while his Iron Body Shirt proficiency increased.
• Qin Ming spent his remaining Free Attribute Points to raise Iron Body Shirt to Minor Mastery, strengthening his defense and helping him force the poison from his body.
• Yu Qing, Yang Zhi, and Xiong San waited outside Qingshan Town and worried that Qin Ming's prolonged absence meant something had gone wrong.
• Qin Ming resumed killing dried corpses and Wraiths to gain Free Attribute Points, but the Corpse King caught up and resisted his attack.
• Huo Lan appeared with the Red-Clad Female Ghost possessing her, seized control through her hatred of Qin Ming, and challenged him to die.

Qin Ming advanced Iron Body Shirt to Greater Mastery and killed Huo Lan’s vengeful spirit and the Corpse King, but he realized the Red-Clad Female Ghost remained alive. After escaping the receding Ghost Fog, he encountered a strange man who called him “Little Junior Brother.”

• Yan Yue-Ren and his group fled Qingshan Town after seeing Qin Ming battle the Ghost Entities, then blamed him for provoking them when they reached safety.
• Yu Qing dismissed Xiong San, who rushed back into the Ghost Fog to search for Qin Ming.
• Qin Ming used Free Attribute Points to advance Iron Body Shirt to Greater Mastery, trapped Huo Lan’s claws, and smashed her vengeful spirit against the Corpse King until she was destroyed.
• Qin Ming killed the Corpse King with Tiger Fist and gained three hundred Free Attribute Points; a bead beside Huo Lan’s corpse then gave him two hundred more before crumbling to ash.
• Qin Ming cleared out nearby dried corpses and noticed the Ghost Fog and Wraiths had vanished, then hurried toward the outskirts when he sensed danger.
• A long-haired man appeared ahead of Qin Ming and greeted him as his Little Junior Brother.

Qin Ming killed Yan Yangtian in Qingshan Town, but the Ninth Boss of Clearwind Stronghold pursued him until Xiong San intervened. Two days later, Qin Ming exposed Yan Yue-Ren’s role in the failed assessment before the county yamen, where Yan Yue-Ren challenged him to a fight to the death over the Demon-Hunting Team position.

• Qin Ming perfected Iron Body Shirt and used the Butcher's Knife to kill Yan Yangtian, then fled Qingshan Town as a black-robed Ghost Entity sent dried corpses after him.
• Xiong San struck the black-robed pursuer, identified him as the Ninth Boss of Clearwind Stronghold, and carried Qin Ming to safety outside town.
• Qin Ming told Xiong San that Yan Yue-Ren had led the group into danger, so Xiong San brought him to the county yamen two days later to confront Yu Qing.
• Qin Ming recounted the events in Qingshan Town and presented the Corpse King's nails and bead powder as proof, but Yan Yue-Ren denied his account.
• Xiong San proposed a fight to the death to decide who earned the Demon-Hunting Team position, and Yan Yue-Ren accepted and challenged Qin Ming.

Qin Ming killed Yan Yue-Ren with Fire Sand Palm and won the permanent post in the Demon-Hunting Team, while Xiong San regained his former position. Yu Qing learned that Qin Ming might have the missing Register and decided to strike first, as the Wild Wolf Gang also plotted revenge in secret.

• Qin Ming dodged Yan Yue-Ren’s attacks, shattered his broadsword, and killed him with one Fire Sand Palm strike.
• Xiong San argued that Qin Ming deserved the permanent post and asked Yu Qing to restore his former position; Yu Qing accepted both demands.
• Yu Qing ordered a search for the missing Register, but his Registrar said Yan Yue-Ren had never handed it over.
• The Wild Wolf Gang’s Military Advisor persuaded the gang leader to seek secret revenge against Qin Ming rather than confront him openly.
• After Yan Yue-Ren’s room yielded no Register, Yu Qing questioned Wu Yong, who claimed Qin Ming might have it, then ordered Wu Yong strangled.
• Yu Qing resolved to strike first because the Register could cost him his Black Gauze Cap.

The Red-Clad Female Ghost recovered some strength as her elder sister ordered the Ghost Entities to spread across Qingyang County. Meanwhile, Qin Ming received gifts and a house from local Lineages, stayed indoors to cultivate while enemies plotted against him, and was finally summoned by Xiong San to choose an Internal Cultivation Manual.

• The Red-Clad Female Ghost told her elder sister that a mortal with a Sha Weapon had injured her, and the elder sister gave her Yin Qi before ordering the Ghost Entities to swallow Qingyang County.
• Qin Ming checked on the Embroiderer and learned that Li Shengnan was recovering; he also told Lu Liu and Pei Heng that he had killed Yan Yangtian.
• Local gangs and Lineages visited Qin Ming with gifts, and Li Yuanqing gave him a courtyard while secretly suspecting he possessed Wandering Dragon Step.
• Xiong San warned Qin Ming that the Wild Wolf Gang might target him, while Li Yuanqing, the Wild Wolf Gang, and Yu Qing waited for him to leave his courtyard.
• After Qin Ming stayed indoors cultivating for seven days, Xiong San arrived with news that officials had come to let him choose an Internal Cultivation Manual.

Qin Ming chose the dangerous Fire Poison Art and cultivated it through the night, discovering it was a seventh-rank martial art and rapidly raising his mastery. At dawn, he headed to report to the Demon-Hunting Team, where the other members were already waiting and Yang Zhi was preparing to confront him.

• At the Inner Office, Qin Ming met Gao Da, a messenger from Wangjing Prefecture, and chose the Fire Poison Art over two other fire-attribute manuals despite its deadly risks.
• Qin Ming returned to his courtyard and began cultivating the Fire Poison Art, using the Fire Poison already formed by his perfected Fire Sand Palm.
• Qin Ming drew the Fire Poison through his meridians into his Dantian and discovered that the art was seventh-rank.
• After absorbing all the Fire Poison from Fire Sand Palm, Qin Ming used his remaining Free Attribute Points to advance the Fire Poison Art to Greater Mastery.
• Qin Ming tested the art’s black flame on a potted plant, which withered and burned to ash, and found that his Fire Poison damage bonus had increased.
• At dawn, Qin Ming set out to report to the Demon-Hunting Team as Yang Zhi complained about his delay and prepared to confront him.

Qin Ming defeated Yang Zhi with the Fire Poison Art, forced him to submit, and took charge of the Demon-Hunting Team. While studying its case files, Qin Ming learned that supernatural incidents were growing more frequent and found a strange case from the previous day inside the city.

• Qin Ming confronted Yang Zhi over his attempt to impose rules and challenged his authority as temporary captain.
• Yang Zhi attacked Qin Ming, but Qin Ming’s palm strike filled Yang Zhi’s arm with Fire Poison and forced him to beg for his life.
• Qin Ming drew the Fire Poison out of Yang Zhi, spared him, and asked the Demon-Hunting Team whether anyone objected to Qin Ming taking charge.
• Qin Ming reviewed the case files and found that nearly all recorded supernatural incidents were unresolved, with recent cases describing towns and villages swallowed by Ghost Fog.
• Qin Ming ruled out the most dangerous cases and spotted a strange supernatural incident that had occurred in the city the previous day.