Chapter Summaries

Wang Chen discovered that the dangerous Yongle Dungeon gave him opportunities to gain Human Virtue and strengthen his treasure, then encountered an arrogant prisoner and visited Zone E’s tavern. There, a jailer publicly challenged him over a rumor that he had colluded with a prisoner.

• Wang Chen killed a baleful snake with his Heavenly Dragon Vajra Palm, gained 3278 Human Virtue, and realized the dungeon could help him farm points.
• Wang Chen reached the remote prison cave in Zone E-9 and ignored the black-robed cultivator’s questions and demand for help.
• The next day, the black-robed cultivator apologized, but Wang Chen walked away without listening.
• Wang Chen visited the tavern at Little Yin Mountain, drank spirit wine, and listened for useful information from other jailers.
• A jailer loudly asked Wang Chen whether he had been punished for colluding with a prisoner, drawing the tavern’s attention to him.

Wang Chen confronted Old Blade after the veteran jailer mocked him in a tavern, then challenged him to a fight outside the city. Old Blade left after receiving a whispered warning, and Wang Chen departed with the tavern patrons newly wary of him.

• Old Blade provoked Wang Chen in front of the tavern’s jailers and patrons.
• Wang Chen insulted Old Blade and urged him to fight outside the city, while the tavern owner forbade a brawl inside.
• Old Blade prepared to accept the challenge, but a man whispered to him, and Old Blade left after threatening Wang Chen.
• Wang Chen finished his wine and peanuts, then strolled away as the tavern patrons speculated about his identity and reconsidered him as a newcomer.

Wang Chen thrived despite being isolated in Zone E-9, using the dungeon's dangers to strengthen himself while steadily cultivating. Old Demon Han praised Wang Chen's progress, but an earthquake interrupted their conversation.

• After Wang Chen humiliated Old Blade, guards across Zone E-9 avoided him, while Hu Qi and Old Blade openly showed their hostility.
• Wang Chen adapted to Zone E-9, resisting Yin Sha energy, consuming Evil Spirits and demon spirits for gains, and advancing his cultivation.
• Old Demon Han observed Wang Chen's rapid progress and praised his steadiness and talent.
• Wang Chen reflected on his difficult path and spoke with Old Demon Han about how a different upbringing might have made him a true disciple.
• The ground shook violently, cutting off Old Demon Han as he began to describe his past.

Wang Chen stayed in his cell with Old Demon Han after an earthquake collapsed the passage, then discovered that Han could walk through the sealing formation and seemed to command the tremors. As they shared food and wine, the boulders blocking the passage began to loosen.

• Wang Chen prepared to flee when the dungeon shook, but Old Demon Han urged him to stay, and the passage collapsed before he could leave.
• Wang Chen settled in to make tea, and Old Demon Han stepped through the formation to join him at the table.
• Wang Chen served Old Demon Han Spiritual Wine, Demonic Beast Meat, and hot pot, and Han reassured him that nothing would go wrong.
• The ground shook again, but after Old Demon Han cursed at the disturbance, the tremors stopped.
• Wang Chen noticed that the boulders blocking the passage were loosening and pebbles were falling.

Wang Chen watched Old Demon Han’s dispute with a powerful palace-clad Nascent Soul True Immortal, then left the Cave Dwelling and ran into Old Blade, Hu Qi, and Zhu Jiu. Old Blade attacked him, and Wang Chen struck him down with a Vajra Palm.

• Water and ice mysteriously broke through the rubble blocking the tunnel, allowing Yu Fei and two other women to enter the Cave Dwelling.
• The palace-clad woman confronted Old Demon Han and ordered Yu Fei to kill Wang Chen, but Old Demon Han stopped her sword and protected him.
• Old Demon Han agreed to leave with the women, and Wang Chen hurried out of the now-empty Cave Dwelling.
• Wang Chen encountered Old Blade, Hu Qi, and Zhu Jiu in the passage, and Old Blade lunged at him with a battle-cultivator technique.
• Wang Chen’s Vajra Palm struck Old Blade in the chest, caving it in and sending him flying.

Wang Chen fought Hu Qi, Old Blade, and Zhu Jiu after encountering them in the damaged Yongle Dungeon. He killed Zhu Jiu with the Dragon Abyss Sword and turned his killing intent toward Hu Qi as the fight continued.

• Old Blade transformed into a tiger and Zhu Jiu used crushing spells against Wang Chen, but Wang Chen's Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon Dharma Image injured Zhu Jiu.
• Hu Qi launched his natal throwing knife at Wang Chen, who knocked it aside with a finger.
• Old Blade and Zhu Jiu attacked together, but Wang Chen used Shrink Ground into Inch to evade Old Blade and appear beside Zhu Jiu.
• Wang Chen's Dragon Abyss Sword pierced Zhu Jiu's chest, killing him and earning Wang Chen 600 Heavenly Merit.
• Wang Chen caught the returning sword and unleashed killing sword intent at Hu Qi, nearly disrupting Old Blade's control of his natal Magic Treasure.

Wang Chen killed Hu Qi and faced Old Blade, who surrendered before transforming into a powerful tiger beast when Wang Chen refused to spare him. Their battle continued through a tunnel to Old Demon Han’s Cave Dwelling, where Wang Chen struck Old Blade with Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, but the wounded beast retaliated with his tail and a storm of Wind Blades.

• Wang Chen severed Hu Qi’s hand and killed him with a net of Sword Light, earning 700 Heavenly Merit.
• Old Blade surrendered, but Wang Chen refused and dismissed his threat that True Person Sun would track him with Heavenly Secret Art.
• Old Blade activated Tiger Beast Transformation, gaining quasi-Golden Core power and attacking Wang Chen with enhanced strength and defense.
• Wang Chen withdrew and led Old Blade through the tunnel to Old Demon Han’s Cave Dwelling.
• Wang Chen struck Old Blade with Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, but Old Blade survived and lashed out with his tail as thousands of Wind Blades appeared.

Wang Chen defeated Old Blade with the Lovesickness Sword, then searched Yongle Dungeon for an escape route. After joining a group of prison guards, he continued searching amid their arguments.

• Wang Chen blocked Old Blade’s Wind Blades and tiger-tail strike with his Resplendent Shield Armor, then counterattacked with a sword strike called Longing, the Lovesickness Sword.
• The sword awakened Old Blade’s memories of Chun Ni and severed his fighting will; Old Blade acknowledged his defeat and died, turning to ashes as Wang Chen gained 800 Heavenly Merit.
• Wang Chen recited the Rebirth Incantation, concealed himself with Heavenly Secret Talismans, and recovered and burned the corpses of Hu Qi and Zhu Jiu after taking their valuables.
• Wang Chen searched Yongle Dungeon, opened a blocked tunnel, and joined a group of prison guards looking for a way out.
• The prison guards argued and complained as they searched together, though the group had fairly good luck.

After surviving the Yongle Dungeon disaster, Wang Chen was questioned by the Prison Department and then assigned to guard the Demon Cave. He arrived underground and received his identification token from Changsun Yong, leaving his new post ahead of him.

• Wang Chen escaped to the surface with the other jailers and was detained in Yongle Immortal City while the Prison Department investigated the dungeon attack.
• Wang Chen heard rumors that two Nascent Soul True Immortals had attacked the dungeon and that some prisoners had escaped or been killed.
• Two Prison Department clerks questioned Wang Chen beside a Bi Xie statue, and he truthfully denied involvement while concealing what he knew about Old Demon Han.
• The Prison Department kept Wang Chen for several more days, then conscripted him to guard the Demon Cave.
• Wang Chen returned underground through a secret passage and met Changsun Yong, who gave him an identification token for his new post.

Wang Chen began his banishment in the Demon Cave, enduring dangerous conditions and exhausting prison-guard duties. During a night patrol, he and an elderly guard encountered an imprisoned Great Demon-level Mountain Ghoul, which attacked the cell bars and then insulted them.

• Wang Chen learned that the Demon Cave was a grim, perilous prison where Yin Sha energy and evil qi corroded the guards.
• Changsun Yong assigned Wang Chen to inspect formation nodes, deliver meals to imprisoned monsters, and take night patrol shifts.
• An elderly prison guard showed Wang Chen how to use a Green Sun Lamp and warned him not to let it go out.
• The guards illuminated the cell of a Great Demon-level Mountain Ghoul, which lunged at them but was stopped by the talisman-covered bars.
• The Mountain Ghoul recovered from the shock and shouted an insult at the elderly guard, who laughed.

Wang Chen completed his first night inspection of the Demon Cave under the old jailer’s guidance, encountering dangerous prisoners and learning the patrol route. Afterward, he hosted the old jailer in his quarters and shared his spirit wine.

• The old jailer used the cell’s Thunder rune to punish the Mountain Ghoul, then showed Wang Chen the punitive runes on the bars.
• The old jailer led Wang Chen past numerous prisoners and warned him about a demon lord imprisoned in a cell at Yongle Immortal City.
• The white-robed demon lord read a letter delivered by the old jailer’s Paper Crane, turned to Wang Chen, and smiled eerily, but Wang Chen remained unfazed.
• The old jailer warned Wang Chen not to provoke a graceful woman in another cell, and Wang Chen left when she introduced herself as Hua Li.
• After finishing the inspection, Wang Chen returned to his quarters with the old jailer and treated him to spirit wine.

Wang Chen learned how the old jailer had survived decades in the Demon Cave before a wormhole appeared and interrupted their farewell. After the old jailer left, Wang Chen encountered more wormholes throughout the Demon Cave, whose strange presence remained unexplained.

• The old jailer told Wang Chen he had survived forty-eight years in the Demon Cave by spending his wages on Meridian Clearing and Evil Banishing Pills, and urged him to live well.
• Wang Chen followed the old jailer for two more days, learning the Demon Cave’s layout, formation nodes, prison cells, and inmates.
• A wormhole appeared in a rock wall, and Wang Chen pulled the old jailer away from it before the old jailer left.
• Wang Chen tested the wormhole by throwing a Spirit Stone into it, then left without entering.
• Two days later, Wang Chen found another wormhole and studied it without discovering how it worked.
• Wang Chen continued finding wormholes and learned from other jailers that they were appearing in locations throughout the Demon Cave.

Wang Chen killed a monster that emerged from a wormhole, but the wormhole swallowed him and sent him to a vast, desolate graveyard. As he prepared to explore, a skeleton attacked him from beneath the ground.

• Wang Chen heard that veteran guard Lu Yanyi had gone missing and later noticed that the wormholes had vanished.
• While patrolling a secret passage, Wang Chen encountered a wormhole glowing with strange light and a blue-faced monster emerged from it.
• Wang Chen broke the monster’s claw, beheaded it with the Dragon Abyss Sword, and gained 826 points of Human Virtue.
• A black hole suddenly dragged Wang Chen through and deposited him in a vast graveyard beneath a gray sky.
• When Wang Chen tried to leave the graveyard, a skeletal claw seized his ankle, so he pulled the skeleton from the earth and struck it with his fist.

Wang Chen was pulled into a wormhole graveyard and slaughtered its skeletal legion, earning a large amount of Human Virtue. The wormhole vanished and returned him to the passageway, leaving him to confirm that the dungeon run had been real.

• Wang Chen smashed the first skeleton and watched more skeletons emerge from the ground around him.
• Wang Chen used Mystic Fire Flying Crows and Heavenly Dragon Vajra Palm to destroy waves of skeletons and gain Human Virtue.
• Wang Chen discovered that an air-restriction ward prevented him from flying out of the skeletons’ reach.
• Wang Chen unleashed Nine Heavens Divine Thunder across the graveyard, replenishing his Mana from the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil as he attacked.
• An irresistible force carried Wang Chen back to the passageway, where he confirmed through the Cultivation Panel that his Human Virtue had increased.

Wang Chen reunited with Lu Yanyi, who gave him a protection talisman and shared his prison-guard knowledge before leaving the Demon Cave. Later, Wang Chen was suddenly teleported away again from the place where he had found a wormhole.

• Wang Chen noticed that time seemed to pass much faster in the wormhole space than in the Demon Cave and kept the discovery to himself.
• Wang Chen saw Lu Yanyi in the dining hall, where the aged prison guard avoided explaining his disappearance.
• Lu Yanyi told Wang Chen he was leaving the Demon Cave, gave him a peachwood protection talisman, and passed on his prison-guard experience through voice transmission.
• After Lu Yanyi left, Wang Chen continued his patrols and hung the talisman at his waist.
• Wang Chen returned to the former wormhole site and suddenly vanished as he was teleported away again.

Wang Chen fought through his second run of the wormhole space dungeon, defeating waves of flying zombies with divine thunder, flames, his Dragon Abyss flying sword, and his palm strikes. After the surviving zombies fled underground, the dungeon expelled him, leaving him hoping for more opportunities to return.

• Wang Chen stamped the ground to draw out his opponents, and three winged zombies emerged from a grave and attacked him.
• Wang Chen destroyed two flying zombies with Nine Heavens Divine Thunder and sliced the third apart with the Dragon Abyss flying sword.
• Dozens of flying zombies burst from their graves and overwhelmed Wang Chen with a storm of corpse claws, piercing the first two layers of his Resplendent Shield.
• Wang Chen engulfed himself in flames and sent the Dragon Abyss flying sword through the zombies, killing most of them as they attacked or fled.
• Wang Chen smashed the few zombies that landed with Heavenly Dragon Vajra Palm, and the last survivors retreated into their graves.
• The wormhole space expelled Wang Chen, who hoped he would get another chance to enter.

On his rest day in Yongle Immortal City, Wang Chen encountered Yu Fei, the Joyous Union Sect cultivator whose prison escape had led to his banishment to the Demon Cave. Yu Fei tried to offer him a dao companion and ask a favor, but Wang Chen refused, and she left without his agreement.

• Wang Chen left the Prison Department on his monthly rest day and enjoyed breakfast amid the bustle of Yongle Immortal City.
• Yu Fei, disguised as another cultivator, joined Wang Chen and revealed herself as the Joyous Union Sect prisoner who had escaped from the dungeon.
• Yu Fei asked whether Wang Chen wanted a dao companion and offered to introduce him to her junior sister, but Wang Chen told her he would rather have Yu Fei herself as his companion.
• Yu Fei said she had sworn not to surrender her virginity before forming her Nascent Soul, and Wang Chen recognized that she was teasing him.
• Yu Fei asked Wang Chen for a favor, but he refused to help, so she left without securing his promise.

Wang Chen enjoyed a day off eating and drinking in Yongle Immortal City before Wan Ying, a Joyous Union Sect cultivator, approached him with a request to help a demon imprisoned in the Demon Cave. He refused to risk another punishment and questioned why the sect needed him, leaving Wan Ying’s motives and the demon’s situation unresolved.

• Wang Chen spent his monthly rest day sampling Yongle Immortal City's food and ended his evening feast at Rong Ji.
• Wan Ying visited Wang Chen and introduced herself as a Joyous Union Sect disciple who wanted to meet him.
• Wang Chen asked whether Yu Fei had sent Wan Ying, but Wan Ying said she had come on her own and hoped to earn the freedom to choose her cultivation partner.
• Wan Ying revealed that the Joyous Union Sect wanted Wang Chen to help a demon imprisoned in the Demon Cave survive.
• Wang Chen refused, citing the danger of interfering with prison affairs, and challenged Wan Ying to explain why the sect needed his help.

Wang Chen began his three-day duty guarding the West Sha Eye, learning to navigate its dangerous baleful winds and reaching the enormous vortex to record it. As an Evil Spirit ambushed him on his retreat, the dense Yin Sha energy made his Nine Heavens Divine Thunder fail.

• Wang Chen received a three-day mission to guard the West Sha Eye and traveled through the underground passage to its safe house.
• Wang Chen used the safe house to wait out the baleful wind, then explored the area and learned to recognize the wind's pattern.
• By the third day, Wang Chen reached the Sha Eye, recorded it with an Imprint Stone for one hundred breaths, and retreated.
• An Evil Spirit ambushed Wang Chen as he withdrew, but its first pounce missed.
• Wang Chen tried to cast Nine Heavens Divine Thunder three times, but the dense Yin Sha energy interfered with his spells as the Evil Spirit closed in.

Wang Chen killed an Evil Spirit and discovered it dropped a Purest Yin Qi Bead, then used the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil to capture dozens more. He collected eight additional beads and retreated to the safe house, leaving the Baleful Intent Eye’s Evil Spirits as a promising source of treasure for his coming days of guard duty.

• Wang Chen destroyed an ambushing Evil Spirit with repeated Heavenly Dragon Vajra Palm strikes and collected a Purest Yin Qi Bead.
• Wang Chen realized the bead could let him resume refining Nine-Revolutions Pure Yang Beads and advance his body-tempering cultivation.
• Dozens of Evil Spirits surged toward Wang Chen, and he cast the Heavenly Net to Punish Evil to trap them.
• Wang Chen drained the trapped Evil Spirits and collected eight Purest Yin Qi Beads from the net.
• Wang Chen resisted the urge to hunt more Evil Spirits and retreated toward the safe house.