Recaps

Qin Yan saved Zhang Zheyuan and Lu Yunyi from the resentful spirits in a ruined temple, then explained that they were Changgui left behind by a tiger demon. He defeated the tiger demon and began skinning it alive as the two martial artists watched in shock.

• Zhang Zheyuan and Lu Yunyi begged Qin Yan for help when the skeleton and other resentful souls threatened them.
• Qin Yan revealed his presence and captured more than twenty resentful souls in his Soul-Nourishing Pouch.
• Qin Yan told Zhang Zheyuan and Lu Yunyi that the spirits were Changgui created by a tiger demon, which soon arrived at the temple.
• The tiger demon attacked Qin Yan, who broke its foreleg with one saber strike and then battered it until its bones were smashed.
• Qin Yan cut open the defeated tiger demon and began tearing off its hide while Zhang Zheyuan and Lu Yunyi watched in shock.

After killing a tiger demon, Qin Yan strengthened himself by consuming its flesh and searched Misty Sword Mountain for another place rich in primal Qi. He negotiated three days of use of a weasel clan’s dwelling, discovered a hidden cave abode inside the mountainside, and left with three ancient items.

• Qin Yan skinned the dead tiger demon, shared its nourishing meat with Zhang Zheyuan and Lu Yunyi, and sent them away from Misty Sword Mountain.
• Qin Yan ate tiger meat until dark, increased his strength, spirit, and speed, and found the demon’s inner core among its remains.
• After noticing that his accumulated fortune had been used up, Qin Yan followed the places where primal Qi gathered deeper into the mountain.
• Qin Yan confronted the old weasel and her descendants, then secured permission to use their bamboo dwelling for three days.
• Qin Yan sensed a hidden space inside the mountainside, broke through a boulder blocking its entrance, and found a sword, a jade slip, and a cloud-patterned jade bead in the cave abode.
• Qin Yan left the cave abode and departed the area with the three items.

Qin Yan returned the mission items to Red Star Daoist and received an offer to refine the tiger demon’s inner core into a pill. He awakened the Cloud Luo Pearl, then consumed the finished pill and grew stronger while improving his concealment technique.

• Qin Yan gave Red Star Daoist the Soul-Nourishing Pouch and Talisman Treasure, then showed him the tiger demon’s inner core.
• Red Star Daoist praised Qin Yan and promised to refine the inner core into a pill using materials he supplied.
• Qin Yan restored the Cloud-Pattern Jade Pearl with his blood, discovered its inner space and learned it was the Cloud Luo Pearl, a spiritual artifact.
• Qin Yan found that the jade slip contained unreadable ancient script and decided to seek help learning it.
• Daoist Chen gave Qin Yan the Demon Tiger Origin-Forging Pill, which Qin Yan consumed to increase his strength, spirit, and speed limits and raise Panxin Realm to Proficient Level.

Qin Yan discovered that the Jade Turtle could absorb incense offerings, then learned that Red Star Daoist and Shuyunzi had successfully created one Ghost Cultivator. Red Star Daoist sent Qin Yan to Youzhou Prefecture to coordinate with the Demon-Suppressing Bureau and Imperial City Bureau, where Zhao Zhen agreed to help.

• Qin Yan saw golden incense offerings around Azure Sun Abbey’s statue and discovered that the Jade Turtle could absorb them.
• Daoist Chen told Qin Yan that Red Star Daoist and his senior uncle had begun developing a method of Ghost Dao cultivation, and warned him to keep it secret.
• Red Star Daoist and Shuyunzi explained that they had turned one Yin Soul—the black-bearded merchant from the abandoned temple—into a Ghost Cultivator, and suspected spiritual aptitude was required.
• Red Star Daoist gave Qin Yan a Demon Suppression token and ordered him to contact the Demon-Suppression Commandant of Youshan Prefecture and the Imperial City Bureau about condemned cultivators’ souls.
• Qin Yan brought the orders to Zhao Zhen, who agreed to cooperate and negotiate with the Imperial City Bureau while asking Qin Yan to stay in Youshan Prefecture.

Qin Yan used his Grade B Scripture Repository opportunity to study annotations on ancient script, then translated a jade slip containing the legacy of the Tai Xuan Immortal Sect. He discovered that modern martial cultivation could absorb the same primordial Qi once used for immortal cultivation, and the chapter left him comparing the two eras’ paths.

• Qin Yan exchanged his Grade B book opportunity for permission to read the Scripture Repository’s annotations on ancient script.
• Qin Yan memorized nearly fifty books explaining the ancient era, the disappearance of immortals, and the rise of modern martial cultivation.
• Qin Yan returned to his residence and translated the jade slip, learning that it contained the Tai Xuan Immortal Sect’s legacy and the account of its final-generation disciple, Chen Changsheng.
• Qin Yan translated the Tai Xuan True Scripture and the sect’s arts, formations, talisman techniques, beast taming, artifact forging, and alchemy.
• Qin Yan compared the Tai Xuan True Scripture with modern martial methods and concluded that people who reached the Marrow-Washing Realm could absorb primordial Qi.

Qin Yan studied the Tai Xuan Immortal Sect’s cultivation inheritance, discovered that he could not cultivate immortality, and resolved to develop his Mind-Spirit Power, blood and Qi, and Human Magnetic Field instead. Zhao Zhen and Song Huan then recruited him to escort the prisoner Pi Sanqiu as bait for the criminals who might try to rescue him.

• Qin Yan translated the Tai Xuan Immortal Sect’s records and learned how ancient Ghost Cultivators and modern Innate Dao Cultivators differed.
• Qin Yan tried cultivating the Tai Xuan True Scripture, but the primordial Qi became blood and Qi rather than spiritual power.
• Qin Yan realized he could develop his Mind-Spirit Power and Human Magnetic Field alongside his physical strength.
• Zhao Zhen introduced Song Huan, who offered a crippled First Realm prisoner for the Demon-Suppressing Bureau’s operation.
• Zhao Zhen and Song Huan explained that Pi Sanqiu’s accomplices might attack during his escort because they wanted to save him and recover a hidden treasure map.
• Qin Yan suspected he was being used as bait, learned that three Qi Origin Realm criminals might intervene, and agreed to the mission.

Qin Yan escorted the crippled Pi Sanqiu toward Azure Sun Abbey while refusing to be swayed by his promises about the treasure. When attackers came for Pi Sanqiu, Qin Yan swiftly crippled both of them, leaving the escort in control.

• Qin Yan taunted Pi Sanqiu about his suffering and dismissed his claims that the treasure could make them wealthy.
• Pi Sanqiu tried to tempt Qin Yan and the escorting soldiers with the location of the Treasure Map, but Qin Yan ordered that he be given no food or water.
• A group plotting to seize Pi Sanqiu and his treasure prepared an ambush, while attackers struck Zhao Zhen and Song Huan in the distance.
• Qin Yan sensed two more attackers approaching the prison carts and warned the escorting soldiers to prepare for an attack.
• Peng Ao and Scorpion-Needle Woman attacked Qin Yan, but he blocked Peng Ao's poison and crippled both attackers within three breaths.

Qin Yan joined Zhao Zhen and Song Huan’s battle against three masked fighters, then used close-range tricks and a hidden attack to cripple Xiong Yue. The other fighters were stunned by Qin Yan’s victory as Zhao Zhen praised him.

• Qin Yan crippled the two men who tried to free the prisoners and ordered the escorting officers to guard them.
• Qin Yan reached Zhao Zhen and Song Huan as they fought Mo Zhi and two other men in black, and he told them he had already dealt with the would-be rescuers.
• Zhao Zhen asked Qin Yan to hold off Xiong Yue while he fought Mo Zhi, then unleashed his Black Mountain Barbarian Force against the elder.
• Qin Yan dodged Xiong Yue’s twin axes and used close-range attacks, a dagger, and lime powder to create an opening.
• Qin Yan’s hidden attack injured Xiong Yue, and he followed up by kicking him down and crippling his spine with the dagger.
• The other men in black stared in shock at Qin Yan’s swift victory, while Zhao Zhen praised him.

Qin Yan and his allies defeated Mo Zhi and the short assassin, captured their souls, and returned to camp with Pi Sanqiu. After secretly delivering the prisoners and souls to Red Star Daoist, Qin Yan heard him promise Pi Sanqiu eternal life as a Yin soul.

• Qin Yan helped Song Huan kill the wounded short man in black, while Zhao Zhen defeated Mo Zhi.
• Qin Yan captured the two dead men's souls in the Soul-Nourishing Purification Bottle, then killed the badly injured Xiong Yue and captured his soul on Zhao Zhen's order.
• Qin Yan taunted Pi Sanqiu, who offered his treasure map in exchange for his life, and sewed Pi Sanqiu's mouth shut when he would not stop pleading.
• Zhao Zhen and Song Huan secretly handed the prisoners and captured souls to Red Star Daoist, who praised Qin Yan for killing a Xiantian martial artist.
• Red Star Daoist told Pi Sanqiu to memorize a cultivation technique before he turned him into a Yin soul and granted him eternal life.

Qin Yan investigated the corpse of Lei Hezhou, who revealed that a huge River Demon had wrecked his boat and eaten everyone aboard. He then launched Heavenly Pool Snowflake Salt as a luxury product, and it quickly gained popularity among Qinghe Town’s wealthy families.

• Wang Qing told Qin Yan that a corpse found in the river had strong resentment and might become a Vengeful Ghost.
• Qin Yan awakened Lei Hezhou’s consciousness, and Lei Hezhou recalled that a four- or five-zhang River Demon had smashed his boat and devoured its passengers.
• When Lei Hezhou became violent at the thought of dying, Qin Yan shattered his soul and had the Zheshen Ghost consume its Yin Qi.
• Qin Yan inspected the refined salt at Shi Hu’s workshop and set luxury, medium, and ordinary prices, instructing Shi Hu to keep the operation secret.
• Qin Yan supplied Shopkeeper Wang of the Abundant Harvest Tower, whose promotion helped Heavenly Pool Snowflake Salt find a market among Qinghe Town’s wealthy merchants and prominent families.

Qin Yan’s Heavenly Pool Snowflake Salt brought in nearly ten thousand taels, while a giant fish monster terrorized the Cypress Water River and attacked a cargo ship in Qinghe Town. Officials suspended shipping and fishing as they sought help from a Grandmaster, and Wen Qinsi tried to draw Qin Yan into a business partnership over the salt.

• Qin Yan watched the fish monster smash a cargo ship at the Qinghe Town docks and devour its crew, but he arrived too late to stop it.
• The giant black fish continued hunting people, sinking a fishing boat and eating those who fell into the river.
• Qin Yan told Lu Chi that killing the nearly five-zhang-long monster would require a Grandmaster or stronger, so the officials would need to request an imperial court Attendant.
• Wen Qinsi suspended shipping and fishing along the river until the monster was dealt with, while the officials reported the threat up the chain.
• Wen Qinsi invited Qin Yan to partner with him to sell Heavenly Pool Snowflake Salt throughout Great Li, but Qin Yan claimed his supply was small and he was short of money after paying a Third Realm mighty figure to refine a pill.

After learning that Qin Yan had killed an Innate Martial Artist above his level, Wen Qinsi decided not to provoke him. Qin Yan sought Red Star Daoist’s help against the Cypress Water River monster, but Red Star Daoist lent him the Bloodthirsty Spear instead, leaving Qin Yan wary of the abbey’s Ghost Dao research.

• A raven delivered Wen Qinsi a report that Qin Yan had killed an Innate Martial Artist, so Wen Qinsi ordered his people not to make an enemy of him and to cooperate with the Demon-Suppressing Bureau against the river monster.
• Qin Yan told Daoist Chen about the Cypress Water River monster and asked Red Star Daoist to intervene.
• At Azure Sun Abbey, Qin Yan saw Pi Sanqiu among the Yin Souls being taught the Ghost Dao and learned that Red Star Daoist could not leave his research to fight the monster.
• Red Star Daoist lent Qin Yan the Bloodthirsty Spear, explaining that it could drain the monster’s blood essence if it struck.
• Qin Yan left Azure Sun Abbey uneasy after seeing the criminals’ corpses and reflecting on the abbey’s grim Ghost Dao research.

Qin Yan tested his Bloodthirsty Long Spear and prepared a baited boat to confront the giant black fish in the Cypress Water River. After learning the fish commanded Water Changgui who dragged victims underwater, Qin Yan followed the spirits toward the fish’s location.

• Qin Yan used a pig to test the Bloodthirsty Long Spear and discovered it drained blood and strengthened him.
• Ye Xian told Qin Yan the Cao Gang was losing money while boats remained idle, and Qin Yan asked for boats and bait to hunt the monster.
• The giant black fish killed Li Laosan and used Yin Souls to drag more people underwater, then ordered the spirits to find additional victims.
• Qin Yan learned that fishermen had vanished and suspected the fish had created Water Changgui from the souls of its victims.
• Qin Yan sent a baited boat into the river, but the Water Changgui capsized it and the chain suddenly went slack.
• Qin Yan followed the Water Changgui along the riverbank toward the giant black fish.

Qin Yan and the townspeople hooked a giant black fish and Qin Yan wounded it with the Bloodthirsty Spear, but it devoured the Changgui and broke free. As the fish attacked Qin Yan on the river, he countered with a slash that cut through its scales and exposed its organs.

• Qin Yan found the deep river bend where the water monster was hiding and directed Head Constable Feng and the others to prepare bait.
• The giant black fish swallowed a hooked water buffalo, and the people on the bank pulled the chain while Qin Yan used yang force to drive away the Changgui.
• Qin Yan hurled the Bloodthirsty Spear into the fish's eye, but the wounded fish swallowed the Changgui and grew stronger until it snapped the chain.
• Qin Yan tracked the fish by the spear's magnetic field as it devoured underwater creatures to replenish its strength.
• The giant black fish leaped at Qin Yan, who used Heart Burst and Indestructible Diamond to power an Eight Desolations Slash that cut through its scales and exposed its organs.

Qin Yan killed a giant Nether River Fish and brought its body back to Qinghe Town, where its meat, bones, scales, and inner core became valuable prizes. After confirming the meat was safe to eat, he arranged its sale and pulled a long tendon from the fish to use as a bowstring.

• Qin Yan dragged the slain Nether River Fish ashore and refused the Bloodthirsty Spear's power as it absorbed the creature's Qi and blood.
• Feng Constable and the townspeople praised Qin Yan, and dozens of oxen and horses hauled the fish through Qinghe Town.
• Wen Qinsi and his steward discussed the fish's valuable inner core and Qin Yan's growing reputation.
• Qin Yan refused to sell the inner core to Lu Yunqing and Lu Wanqiu, but asked them to test the fish meat for poison.
• Lu Wanqiu confirmed that the meat was safe and nourishing, and Qin Yan set prices for the meat and bones.
• Qin Yan pulled a long tendon from the fish and decided to have it made into a bowstring.

Qin Yan shared the fish demon’s meat with the people who helped defeat it, strengthening his standing in Qinghe Town. Wen Qinsi recognized that Qin Yan’s influence had grown beyond his control and began to fear him.

• Lu Wanqiu thanked Qin Yan for selling the fish demon’s flesh and bones to the Rising Cloud Medicine Shop, and revealed she was the third legitimate daughter of the Lu Lineage.
• Qin Yan ordered Qin Xiaoyi to send some fish demon meat to the county yamen and distribute the rest among his men and everyone who had helped.
• Qin An gave each helper at least one jin of meat, and merchants quickly offered them silver to buy it.
• People in Qinghe Town praised Qin Yan’s generosity, while local powerful families complained that he had given away valuable demon beast meat.
• Wen Qinsi saw that Qin Yan had become widely respected and realized that the local officials, military officers, and powerful families were aligned with or deferential to him.

Qin Yan returned the Bloodthirsty Spear to Red Star Daoist, discussed the dangers and inevitability of the Ghost Dao, and continued building his influence in Qinghe Town. The chapter left him supporting Huang Chao’s studies and watching his companions grow stronger.

• Wen Qinsi realized Qin Yan’s influence over Qinghe Town made opposing him risky, though he still wanted to profit.
• Qin Yan returned the Bloodthirsty Spear to Red Star Daoist, who praised his strength and urged him to keep his cultivation secret and safeguard the fish demon’s inner core.
• Qin Yan told Red Star Daoist that the Ghost Dao’s emergence was inevitable, but warned that its practitioners could become corrupted and prey on the living.
• Huang Chao thanked Qin Yan for his support and said he planned to attend an academy in Youshan Prefecture after taking the autumn provincial examination.
• Qin Yan recruited accountants and distributed fish demon meat, while Zong Xiaoshan and the others grew stronger; Zong Xiaoshan was expected to reach the Qi Origin Realm within a month or two.

Qin Yan was sent to Youshan Prefecture to help handle its growing demon crisis and learned he had been promoted to Commandant Patrol Envoy. Zhao Zhen also arranged rare materials for Qin Yan’s commissioned bow, and Qin Yan was left preparing to work with master smith Ou Lie.

• Zhao Zhen told Qin Yan to seek out master smith Ou Lie and said Qin Yan would be temporarily transferred to Youshan Prefecture because the Demon-Suppressing Bureau lacked personnel.
• Qin Yan reviewed his growing strength, left Zong Xiaoshan, Qin Xiaoyi, and Di Feng in charge of Qinghe Town, and ran to Youshan Prefecture.
• Zhao Zhen appointed Qin Yan acting Commandant Patrol Envoy, a sixth-rank official, citing his strength and accumulated merits.
• Zhao Zhen explained that Youshan Prefecture faced frequent dangerous incidents and had lost two members of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau.
• Zhao Zhen gave Qin Yan rare ink gold for his bow and confirmed that Qin Yan had brought the fish demon’s sinew for its bowstring.

Qin Yan traveled to Ten Thousand Weapons Manor and encountered An Wuxia, a wanted murderer whom the Imperial City Bureau had been tracking. Qin Yan stopped An Wuxia’s surprise attack and struck him down in front of the gathered crowd.

• Qin Yan and Ma Futong arrived at Ten Thousand Weapons Manor, where merchants and jianghu fighters had gathered for a weapons sale.
• Wang Gui of the Imperial City Bureau told Qin Yan that the wanted criminal An Wuxia was in the crowd and was believed to be at the peak of the Qi Origin Realm.
• Qin Yan learned that An Wuxia had slaughtered a merchant’s family and committed other murders, then went to confront him without waiting for reinforcements.
• An Wuxia attacked Qin Yan with quick, ruthless strikes, but Qin Yan easily stopped him.
• An Wuxia tried another low blow, and Qin Yan thrust two fingers into his eye sockets and kicked him between the legs, leaving him helpless.

Qin Yan subdued An Wuxia and revealed his rank as a Commandant Inspector of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau, forcing Third Master Ou to back down. At the Ten Thousand Weapons Manor, Qin Yan met Old Manor Lord Ou to commission a bow, and the old smith recognized the demon materials Qin Yan had brought.

• Wang Gui explained that Qin Yan was arresting a notorious bandit, but Third Master Ou objected to Qin Yan's harsh methods until Ma Futong revealed Qin Yan's rank.
• Third Master Ou apologized, and Qin Yan left Wang Gui to arrest and bind An Wuxia.
• Qin Yan and Ma Futong followed the steward into the manor, where Ma Futong revealed that Qin Yan had crippled a peak Qi Origin Realm expert in a few moves.
• Old Manor Lord Ou apologized for Third Master Ou's rudeness, then asked Qin Yan what materials he had brought to make a bow.
• Old Manor Lord Ou recognized the fish demon sinew as the main spinal sinew of a Grandmaster-level demon and eagerly prepared to begin work.

Qin Yan arranged for Old Master Ou to forge a divine bow, then visited Cloud Glow Temple and grew suspicious of its strange statue. He planned to return that night to investigate.

• Old Master Ou agreed to forge Qin Yan a divine bow and use the demon’s teeth to make arrowheads.
• Old Master Ou scolded Third Master Ou for provoking Qin Yan and ordered him to hand over his businesses and work on his temper.
• Qin Yan visited temples in Youshan Prefecture and secretly absorbed their incense wish power with his jade turtle.
• Qin Yan visited Cloud Glow Temple, where a young Daoist identified its unfamiliar statue as Yuan You True Lord, a deity governing life, death, and reincarnation.
• Qin Yan found no incense wish power around the statue and, suspecting something was wrong, decided to return that night to investigate.

Qin Yan investigated the strange Cloud Glow Temple and discovered that its Yuan You True Lord statue housed a Wild God feeding on incense offerings. After breaking the deity’s manifestation, he fought Old Daoist Yuanhai, who was left badly injured and unable to resist Qin Yan’s speed.

• Qin Yan entered Cloud Glow Temple at night and noticed the statue’s unnatural gaze and divine glow.
• Yuan You True Lord trapped Qin Yan in a purgatory-like space and attacked him, but Qin Yan broke its manifestation with his domain and a punch.
• Qin Yan recognized Yuan You True Lord as a Wild God stealing incense offerings, and the deity called for Yuanhai.
• Old Daoist Yuanhai arrived and attacked Qin Yan, who struck him through the statue and temple building.
• Qin Yan broke Yuanhai’s leg and left him shocked by the gap between their abilities.

Qin Yan subdued Yuanhai and Yuan You True Lord at Cloud Glow Temple, uncovered the brothers’ evil god-making scheme, and retrieved a jade slip containing the Ghost-Taming technique. After destroying Yuan Zhen, he left the story with Zheshen absorbing a streak of golden light from the Yin Soul.

• Qin Yan used God-Driving to seize Yuan You True Lord, while Yuanhai killed himself by disintegrating his own divine soul.
• Yuan You True Lord revealed that Yuanhai had hidden the treasure inside a stone statue outside the prefectural capital, and Qin Yan found Yuanhai Notes and learned how the brothers created their false god.
• Qin Yan told Zhao Zhen that Cloud Glow Temple had been creating Yin Souls and purged the temple with the Imperial City Bureau’s help.
• Qin Yan forced Yuan Zhen to lead him to the statue, smashed it, and found the jade slip called Ghost-Taming.
• Qin Yan scattered Yuan Zhen’s soul with a blood-Sha attack, and Zheshen absorbed the remains, including a streak of golden light.

After the Zheshen Ghost reached Ghost Spirit Level and demonstrated his new soul-targeting ability, Qin Yan studied the divine ability God-Driving and used it to summon a vengeful ghost. Hua Zhen told him that the merchant Cao Zhizhang had abducted and killed her, and Qin Yan promised to seek justice for her.

• The Zheshen Ghost absorbed Qin Yan’s Blood Qi, broke through to Ghost Spirit Level, and showed that his new Fold-Life Hell could attack souls.
• Qin Yan broke free of Fold-Life Hell and judged that the Zheshen Ghost’s ability could threaten people with weak resolve.
• Back in the prefectural city, Qin Yan studied God-Driving and used its Ghost-Taming ability to summon a vengeful ghost.
• The ghost identified herself as Hua Zhen and said Cao Zhizhang had abducted and violated her before killing her and dumping her body in a well.
• Qin Yan promised Hua Zhen he would seek justice and asked her to explain what had happened.

Qin Yan persuaded Tao Wang to help bring down Cao Zhizhang by exposing the women and bodies hidden at his residence, while arranging a share of the seized fortune. The chapter ended with constables raiding Cao Zhizhang’s home and Cao Zhizhang collapsing after his crimes were revealed.

• Qin Yan met Tao Wang at the Drunken Immortal Tower and told him that Cao Zhizhang was responsible for murder and the imprisonment and abuse of women.
• Qin Yan showed Tao Wang Hua Zhen and described the secret chamber and other evidence he had uncovered at the Cao residence.
• Tao Wang agreed to help and proposed involving the assistant prefect, dividing Cao Zhizhang’s assets among them and other officials.
• Qin Yan sent the Zheshen Ghost to follow Tao Wang and kill him if he proved disloyal.
• The next morning, Tao Wang led constables to surround the Cao residence, where they found imprisoned women and bodies in a sealed well.
• Cao Zhizhang collapsed as Qin Yan watched the raid unfold.