Chapter Summaries

Chen Yan arrived at Shanxi Town’s gate, where a guard died after reporting that at least a hundred Skin-Peeling Puppets had entered the city. Chen Yan organized the town’s defenses and learned from Old Daoist Liu that a demon might be behind the ten thousand puppets; as the chapter ended, Chen Yan said he had a way to find it.

• Chen Yan killed the Skin-Peeling Puppets at the city gate, but the mortally wounded guard died after asking whether Shanxi Town could be defended.
• Chen Yan promised to defend the town and ordered Deng Hong to gather able-bodied men, Zhao Gang to collect Black Dog Blood and Rooster Blood, and Yuantong and Wu Guhan to lead a force against the puppets.
• Chen Yan asked Lin Wan and Feng Chan to help, then buried the guard while Old Daoist Liu explained that reinforcements would take at least half a month to arrive.
• Old Daoist Liu suspected a demon had caused the sudden appearance of ten thousand Skin-Peeling Puppets and warned that a complete-form demon could not be killed.
• Chen Yan learned the demon was likely not yet complete and said he had a way to find it, violet light glowing in his eyes.

Chen Yan rushed to Ping An Fang and found Facai had killed the Skin-Peeling Puppets threatening the old woman, then learned that the city’s defenders had eliminated all 108 puppets at the cost of 441 lives. At the county yamen, he discovered that the Spiritual Mountain Dao Sect might delay sending aid because it coveted the treasure left behind by a nearly mature demon.

• Chen Yan reached the old woman’s courtyard and found her, the little girl, and Facai safe, with two dead Skin-Peeling Puppets nearby.
• Chen Yan asked Deng Hong to guard the courtyard and provide sufficient compensation to the families of the 441 people killed in the attack.
• Yuantong reported that the demon-slaying squad had eliminated all 108 Skin-Peeling Puppets, and Chen Yan promised the fighters their deserved rewards.
• Cui Cheng explained that he had avoided entering Bai Yun Guan because he sensed danger and expressed sorrow over Junior Brother Li’s death.
• Chen Yan asked whether the Spiritual Mountain Dao Sect could send reinforcements, and Yuantong explained that the sects might prioritize claiming the Remains of Demon and Monster left by a nearly mature demon.

Zhan Yuming destroyed a group of Skin-Peeling Puppets but refused to warn Shanxi Town, while the puppets advanced on Mountain Creek City. Chen Yan and Old Daoist Liu prepared to defend the city and hunt the Skin-Peeling Demon, with Old Daoist Liu claiming he had a plan to defeat it.

• Zhan Yuming used the Five Thunder Spirit Sword Technique to destroy over a hundred pursuing Skin-Peeling Puppets, while the rest continued toward Shanxi Town.
• Zhan Yuming dismissed his junior sister’s plea to seek help, saying sacrifices might be necessary for the greater picture as he thought of the young man and the Remains of Demon and Monster.
• Chen Yan learned from Old Daoist Liu that a Skin-Peeling Demon could be hiding among Mountain Creek City’s hundred thousand residents and said he could find it.
• Chen Yan, Old Daoist Liu, and the others surveyed ten thousand Skin-Peeling Puppets surrounding Mountain Creek City as Deng Hong reported that residents had been evacuated but the city had only seven days of food.
• Old Daoist Liu promised Chen Yan that he had a clever plan to destroy the Skin-Peeling Demon once they found it.

Chen Yan led a force out of Shanxi Town to relieve Liu Xian'er and her group, who were trapped by a vast horde of Skin-Peeling Puppets. His blood-filled barrels devastated the attackers, and he split his men into teams to draw the horde away and rescue the survivors.

• Liu Xian'er and her companions fled toward Shanxi Town as Skin-Peeling Puppets overwhelmed them, and she called to Chen Yan for help from the city walls.
• Qin Chong begged Chen Yan to save Liu Xian'er, and Chen Yan ordered Yuantong to lead a flank attack while he drew the puppets' attention.
• Wu Guhan and Qin Chong joined the rescue force as Chen Yan entrusted the town's defense to Old Daoist Liu.
• Chen Yan led two hundred men through the opened gates and had them hurl barrels of processed Black Dog Blood and Rooster Blood into the horde, killing or crippling many puppets.
• Chen Yan charged into the puppets while Yuantong and Qin Chong attacked their flank, easing the pressure on Liu Xian'er and her companions.

Chen Yan and the Shadow Guards fought through the Skin-Peeling Puppets and rescued Liu Xian'er’s group, while Chen Yan stayed behind as a monstrous presence approached. He exposed the Skin-Peeling Demon’s hidden trump card—a giant spider demon—and faced it alone.

• Chen Yan led two hundred Shadow Guards against the Skin-Peeling Puppets, while Yuantong and Wu Guhan helped clear a path to Liu Xian'er and the survivors.
• Qin Chong and the others joined Liu Xian'er, and the group prepared to withdraw as more puppets swarmed the battlefield.
• Chen Yan stayed behind to cover the retreat, then watched dark clouds and life-draining black snow sweep toward him.
• Chen Yan used an Evil-Exposing Talisman to reveal an enormous spider demon hidden inside the clouds.
• Yuantong, Liu Xian'er, and the others recognized the spider as a great demon, while Chen Yan faced it alone and revealed that its arrival suited his trap.

Chen Yan fought the Skin-Peeling Demon’s hidden Spider Demon outside Shanxi Town, and pressure from the battle pushed his Dragon Step to perfection. After wounding the Spider Demon, he was caught in its poisonous black mist as its limbs swept toward him.

• The Skin-Peeling Demon summoned its Spider Demon to kill Chen Yan and break Shanxi Town’s defenses.
• Chen Yan fought the Spider Demon head-on, astonishing the defenders with his strength and skill.
• Under the Spider Demon’s pressure, Chen Yan’s Dragon Step broke through to perfection, letting him evade its attacks with greater speed.
• Chen Yan wounded the Spider Demon’s leg and abdomen with the Fish Dragon Saber, provoking its fury.
• The Spider Demon sprayed Chen Yan with black mist, leaving him weak as its sharp limbs swept toward him.

Chen Yan was poisoned and nearly killed by the Spider Demon, but invoked Emperor Guan’s power and slew it before collapsing. Old Daoist Liu rescued him as the Skin-Peeling Puppets surged toward Shanxi Town.

• The Spider Demon’s poisonous mist weakened Chen Yan, and it attacked him with all eight limbs.
• Chen Yan invoked Emperor Guan’s power, evaded the Spider Demon’s strikes, and killed it with successive saber blows.
• Chen Yan collapsed from his wounds and poison as Skin-Peeling Puppets rushed toward him.
• Yuantong, Wu Guhan, Qin Chong, Deng Hong, Lin Wan, and the others fought through the puppets to reach Chen Yan.
• Old Daoist Liu arrived on the Wind Thunder Evil-Slaying Sword, rescued Chen Yan, and ordered everyone to retreat as the puppets charged Shanxi Town.

After Chen Yan was poisoned in the battle against the Skin-Peeling Puppets, his allies sent him toward the inner city while trying to keep Shanxi Town’s defenses intact. The escort proved to be a trap: Cui Cheng was a Skin-Peeling Demon, but Chen Yan revealed that he had been waiting for it.

• Old Daoist Liu treated the unconscious Chen Yan and said his life was saved, though Spider Venom would delay his awakening.
• Cui Cheng offered to escort Chen Yan in the Seven Stars Chariot, and Liu Xian'er joined him while the others stayed to defend Shanxi Town.
• Cui Cheng diverted the chariot to a deserted clearing in the inner city and confronted Chen Yan, revealing his murderous intent.
• Cui Cheng’s skin peeled away to reveal a Skin-Peeling Demon, which dismissed the fainted Liu Xian'er and threatened Chen Yan.
• Chen Yan sat up and told the demon that he had known it was there.

Chen Yan and his companions cornered the Skin-Peeling Demon, but just as Old Daoist Liu trapped it in a sword formation, Zhan Yu Ming destroyed the formation with a lightning strike. The demon escaped, leaving Chen Yan’s group facing Zhan Yu Ming.

• Chen Yan revealed that he had never been poisoned and that he had brought Wu Guhan, Yuantong, and Old Daoist Liu to confront the Skin-Peeling Demon.
• Old Daoist Liu recalled how Chen Yan had sent him, Wu Guhan, and Yuantong after the disguised Cui Cheng while Deng Hong stayed behind to guard the city.
• Yuantong and Wu Guhan attacked the demon, and the Skin-Peeling Demon injured Yuantong and lost an arm while fighting off Wu Guhan’s Gu Worms.
• When the Skin-Peeling Demon tried to flee, Chen Yan struck it down, and Old Daoist Liu trapped it in the Profound Origin Return to True Sword Formation.
• Zhan Yu Ming summoned a bolt of lightning that shattered the sword formation, allowing the Skin-Peeling Demon to escape.
• Old Daoist Liu recognized Zhan Yu Ming and confronted him as the group prepared to pursue the demon.

Chen Yan confronted Zhan Yuming after accusing him of releasing the Skin-Peeling Demon and endangering the city. Chen Yan shattered Zhan Yuming’s spirit sword, revealed his Martial Grandmaster strength, and invoked Emperor Guan before bringing down a powerful slash, leaving the duel unresolved.

• Old Daoist Liu, Yuantong, and Wu Guhan confronted Zhan Yuming for deliberately letting the Skin-Peeling Demon escape, while Zhan Yuming taunted them and revealed that Situ Yun was heading toward the city gate.
• After an explosion and demon howls sounded at the city gate, Chen Yan arrived, sent Old Daoist Liu, Yuantong, and Wu Guhan to reinforce it, and stayed behind to face Zhan Yuming.
• Zhan Yuming mocked Chen Yan and attacked with the Five Thunder Spirit Sword Technique, but Chen Yan stopped the Peachwood Sword with his saber and shattered it.
• Chen Yan struck Zhan Yuming with overwhelming physical strength, sending him flying and prompting Zhan Yuming to realize Chen Yan was a Martial Grandmaster.
• Zhan Yuming summoned a golden-armored spirit with the Spirit Invocation Charm, but Chen Yan invoked Emperor Guan and formed an Azure Dragon Crescent Blade from golden prayer power.
• Chen Yan unleashed a furious slash at Zhan Yuming, whose face filled with horror as the blade descended.

Chen Yan defeated Zhan Yuming and refused True Master Zhengxiao’s demand to spare him. He killed Zhan Yuming despite the intervention, while fighting continued at the outer city gates.

• Chen Yan’s blade clashed with Zhan Yuming’s Guardian Divine General, and the battle’s shockwaves alarmed Old Daoist Liu, Yuantong, and Wu Guhan as they headed to defend the outer city.
• Chen Yan shattered the Guardian Divine General and defeated Zhan Yuming, leaving him badly wounded and pinned beneath his foot.
• True Master Zhengxiao appeared through a projection and asked Chen Yan to spare Zhan Yuming, offering to strip him of his True Disciple position and sentence him to a hundred years of reflection.
• Chen Yan refused, citing the dead civilians and soldiers, and attacked despite True Master Zhengxiao’s attempt to intervene.
• Chen Yan’s Fish Dragon Saber broke, but he used its broken blade to kill Zhan Yuming, then identified himself as Mountain Creek’s Chen Yan.

Chen Yan exposed Liu Xian'er as a member of the Rebirth Cult who had helped lure Spirit Prefecture's fighters into Zhang Yuanlin's scheme. Liu Xian'er confessed her role and factional ties, then waited for Chen Yan to decide her fate.

• True Master Zhengxiao's phantom incarnation vanished after striking Chen Yan, leaving a crack in Chen Yan's Fish Dragon Saber.
• Chen Yan discovered Liu Xian'er had been pretending to be unconscious in the Seven Stars Chariot and threatened to cut her down.
• Chen Yan accused Liu Xian'er of being the Plum Blossom Bandit and helping Zhang Yuanlin lure martial artists and cultivators to be turned into puppets.
• Liu Xian'er admitted she belonged to the Rebirth Cult and explained that Zhang Yuanlin had used the Skin-Peeling Method while the cult secretly nourished the Skin-Peeling Demon.
• Liu Xian'er revealed she was a saintess candidate from a rival faction to Wu Yan and that Wu Yan had used the Skin-Peeling Demon to eliminate her, then told Chen Yan to act as he wished.

Chen Yan forced Liu Xian'er to become a secret guard for the Heavenly Supervision Department, then hurried to the city gate as Skin-Peeling Puppets flooded Shanxi Town. He arrived carrying Zhan Yuming’s head, leaving Situ Yun and the defenders stunned.

• Chen Yan tricked Liu Xian'er into believing she had swallowed a deadly pill and ordered her to report information about the Rebirth Cult each year.
• Chen Yan shrank the Seven Stars Chariot, collected Zhan Yuming’s corpse, and headed for the city gate.
• Skin-Peeling Puppets poured through the collapsed gate as Old Daoist Liu, Yuantong, and Wu Guhan fought Situ Yun.
• Situ Yun taunted the defenders by suggesting Chen Yan had died fighting Zhan Yuming.
• Chen Yan appeared on the city wall carrying a headless corpse and threw Zhan Yuming’s head at Situ Yun’s feet.

Chen Yan killed Zhan Yuming and pursued Situ Yun, who unleashed his ghost army to escape. Chen Yan invoked Emperor Guan's Dharma Body and killed Situ Yun, while the ghosts of Situ Yun's wife and child turned against him and then departed in peace.

• Chen Yan declared Zhan Yuming guilty of aiding evil and killed him, then challenged Situ Yun.
• Situ Yun fled as Chen Yan attacked, while Yuantong, Wu Guhan, and Old Daoist Liu tried to stop him.
• Situ Yun released more than a thousand vengeful ghosts from his Soul Nurturing Ghost Jar, forcing Chen Yan's allies to defend themselves and giving Situ Yun a chance to escape.
• Chen Yan invoked Emperor Guan's Dharma Body, destroyed the ghosts and Skin-Peeling Puppets near him, and caught up to Situ Yun.
• Situ Yun summoned the ghosts of Cui Lan and their child, but they attacked him instead of stopping Chen Yan.
• Chen Yan struck Situ Yun dead, and the ghosts of Situ Yun's wife and child thanked him before fading away.

After killing Zhan Yuming and Situ Yun, Chen Yan rallied the survivors and prepared for the Skin-Peeling Demon’s arrival. The demon appeared close to its complete form, and Chen Yan summoned Saint Guan’s Dharma Body to confront it as the chapter ended.

• Chen Yan reassured Old Daoist Liu that he did not regret killing Zhan Yuming and Situ Yun, and Old Daoist Liu promised the Heavenly Supervision Department would protect him.
• Chen Yan learned that the inner city remained defended but roughly six thousand Skin-Peeling Puppets were still gathering, then promised rewards and compensation to the surviving soldiers.
• Old Daoist Liu warned that the Skin-Peeling Demon had not been dealt with, and Chen Yan spotted its demonic lotus emerging over the outer city.
• Old Daoist Liu and Chen Yan agreed to follow their contingency plan, and Chen Yan assigned Yuantong, Wu Guhan, Deng Hong, Qin Chong, Lin Wan, and Feng Chan their duties.
• Chen Yan summoned Saint Guan’s Dharma Body, which leapt toward the black lotus and roared for the demon to die.

Chen Yan broke the demonic lotus and fought the Skin-Peeling Demon, then lured it into an ambush where he, Old Daoist Liu, Yuantong, and Wu Guhan used Supreme Firmament Five Thunder Talismans to summon heavenly thunder. The demon survived the lightning strike, but Chen Yan finished it with a powerful slash.

• Chen Yan shattered the demonic lotus with repeated slashes, exposing the nearly fully formed Skin-Peeling Demon.
• Chen Yan fought the demon to a standstill before weakening and fleeing, drawing it from the inner city toward the outer city.
• Chen Yan stopped and revealed that the time had come as Old Daoist Liu, Yuantong, and Wu Guhan joined him to surround the demon.
• Chen Yan and the others activated four Supreme Firmament Five Thunder Talismans, summoning heavenly thunder that badly wounded the Skin-Peeling Demon.
• Chen Yan struck the wounded demon with a powerful slash, killing it.

After killing the Skin-Peeling Demon, Chen Yan discovered that his merit had risen to 22,403, enough to unlock two Upper Fortunes of Great Luck. Before he could open them, True Master Yuxuan of the Spiritual Mountain Dao Sect arrived and attacked, declaring that he would take Chen Yan back to the mountain for killing Zhan Yuming.

• Chen Yan recovered the Human Skin Mask, learned it was called Thousand Faces and could copy a person’s appearance, cultivation, and memories, then ordered the remaining Skin-Peeling Puppets purged.
• Chen Yan checked the Heavenly Book of Merit and found he had earned 22,403 points, including 10,000 for killing the Skin-Peeling Demon.
• Deng Hong told Chen Yan that the Spiritual Mountain Dao Sect had arrived, and Chen Yan went to meet the visitors at the city gate.
• Old Daoist Liu introduced Chen Yan to True Master Yuxuan, a powerful cultivator of the Refining Essence into Qi realm.
• True Master Yuxuan lunged at Chen Yan and announced that he would take him back to the mountain for killing a true disciple of the Daoist Sect.

Jade Profound Son attacked Chen Yan to avenge Zhan Yuming, but Chen Yan blocked his first Five Thunder Spirit Sword strike. As Jade Profound Son prepared to kill him with a stronger attack, Wei Shanhe arrived, destroyed the swords, and struck Jade Profound Son down.

• Jade Profound Son tried to seize Chen Yan, but Chen Yan met his attack with his immense strength.
• Jade Profound Son sent a Peachwood Spirit Sword at Chen Yan, and Chen Yan used Emperor Guan’s protection and his blade to shatter it.
• Jade Profound Son launched three spirit swords, while Old Daoist Liu, Yuantong, Wu Guhan, Lin Wan, Qin Chong, Feng Chan, and others tried to intercept them and were overwhelmed.
• Wei Shanhe arrived with his Azure Dragon Fangtian Halberd and destroyed the three spirit swords before they could reach Chen Yan.
• Wei Shanhe punched Jade Profound Son, annihilating his Five Thunder Spirit Swords and sending him crashing to the ground as Chen Yan wondered if Wei Shanhe was Innate.

Wei Shanhe arrived in Shanxi Town, defeated Jade Profound Son, and promoted Chen Yan to Pacification Commissioner of Xiangxi Commandery. Chen Yan accepted the appointment and learned he would receive reinforcements and broad authority, though Xiangxi Commandery’s troubled situation and the presence of Mount Lao Daoist Sect made the assignment daunting.

• Wei Shanhe arrived and struck down Jade Profound Son for attacking a Heavenly Supervision Department Flying Fish Guard, forcing him and the Daoist disciples to leave.
• Wei Shanhe praised Chen Yan for killing Zhan Yuming and Situ Yun, then promoted him to Silver-Rank Flying Fish Guard and Pacification Commissioner of Xiangxi Commandery.
• Wei Shanhe explained that the Superintendent had chosen Chen Yan because the department was weak in Xiangxi Commandery and its previous Pacification Commissioner had died mysteriously.
• Chen Yan asked that Liu Fujing, Yuantong, Wu Guhan, Lin Wan, Feng Chan, Qin Chong, Deng Hong, and the other contributors be rewarded, and Wei Shanhe promised rewards and pensions for the defenders.
• Wei Shanhe exchanged guarded words with Old Daoist Liu about the Heavenly Supervision Department’s debt to him and an item he could retrieve.
• Wei Shanhe told Chen Yan that three thousand Prefectural Army troops and other rewards awaited him, granted him full authority in Xiangxi Commandery, and urged him to act boldly.

Chen Yan received Marshal Wei Shanhe’s support for his new post in Xiangxi Commandery, including a thousand soldiers, the Dragon Sparrow Saber, and a mysterious whetstone. Touching the stone revealed Patriarch Bodhidharma’s legendary saber slash, advancing Chen Yan’s Blood Fiend Saber Technique to Transcendent.

• Xu Ji delivered Wei Shanhe’s thousand Yiling Prefecture Army soldiers and the Heavenly Supervision Department’s rewards to Chen Yan.
• Chen Yan ordered Xu Ji and the soldiers to help Chief Banner Deng clear the remaining Skin-Peeling Puppets, intending to judge their strength by their casualties.
• Chen Yan examined the Dragon Sparrow Saber, replaced his broken Fish Dragon Saber with it, and put his old weapon away.
• Chen Yan touched the giant whetstone and used soul force to witness Patriarch Bodhidharma sharpen and swing a blade.
• Bodhidharma asked Chen Yan whether he understood, and Chen Yan’s Blood Fiend Saber Technique advanced to Transcendent as the stone lost its sharpness.