Chapter Summaries

Li Chu and Du Lanke entered Terror Valley to search for the Fuhuang Great Tomb, where the valley’s fear-inducing aura and strange creatures tested Du Lanke’s nerves. Li Chu found Blood Crystals by killing the valley’s Evil Spirits, and the chapter ended with him pursuing a group of fleeing walking trees.

• The Medicine Demon emerged from a pool after the White Bone Demon promised that the other demons would forgive him and not mock or roast him.
• Li Chu and Du Lanke entered Terror Valley to search for the Fuhuang Great Tomb, while Du Lanke struggled against the fear overwhelming him.
• Li Chu killed a corpse that turned out to be an Evil Spirit and collected a tiny Blood Crystal it dropped.
• A tree attacked Li Chu and Du Lanke with vine tentacles, but Li Chu cut it down and collected a larger Blood Crystal.
• More than a dozen nearby trees uprooted themselves and tried to flee, so Li Chu used the Sword Control Technique to chase them.

Mu Lan fought a terrifying ghost in Terror Valley and was badly wounded, but Li Chu and Du Lanke arrived and learned about the trial to choose Gaoqiao Cave’s new Holy Son. When Li Chu asked what Blood Demon Crystals were worth, Du Lanke revealed their enormous stash, leaving Mu Lan stunned.

• Mu Lan hid from a ghost, then attacked it with her talisman-covered bone knife and destroyed it after enduring bites to both thighs.
• Mu Lan collected a small Blood Demon Crystal, treated her wounds, and prepared to face approaching footsteps.
• Li Chu and Du Lanke emerged, and Mu Lan explained that she was a Gaoqiao Cave clanswoman participating in the trial to choose a new Holy Son.
• Mu Lan said her tribe had reported General Qin Zhenghu’s actions to Zhao Ge City and explained that Blood Demon Crystals held the power of Terror Valley’s ghosts.
• Li Chu asked how much the crystals were worth, and Du Lanke revealed a huge pile of them from his bundle.

Qingshan became trapped in Terror Valley and was tormented by the ghost of Huzi, whom he had murdered to steal his Blood Demon Crystals. Li Chu’s party then encountered the Fear-Eating King’s ghost, and Li Chu’s sword strike exposed and pursued it; at the valley’s altar, the Fear-Eating King discovered it was feeding on its own fear.

• Qingshan repeatedly returned to the same tree, realized he was trapped by a ghost wall, and encountered a headless corpse and an old ghost.
• The old ghost conjured Huzi from Qingshan’s chest, forcing Qingshan to remember killing his childhood friend and stealing his Blood Demon Crystals.
• The Fear-Eating King watched fear travel through the valley’s web of ghosts and noticed that Li Chu was destroying many of them in the east.
• Mu Lan guided Li Chu and Du Lanke deeper into Terror Valley, and Li Chu healed her injuries before instantly killing the ghosts they encountered.
• When Mu Lan suspected they had reached a ghost wall, Li Chu cut a vast path through the forest and half a mountain, exposing the old ghost and sending a Flying Fire Meteor after it.
• The Fear-Eating King sensed fear that did not empower it, then realized the fear belonged to itself.

The Fear-Eating King prepared to flee Terror Valley with the demon-body blood it had collected, but the Medicine Demon arrived with the Spirit-Communicating Demon Pearl and announced that the City of Immortal Slaughter would revive and move the Fuhuang Demon Body. The chapter left the Medicine Demon entering the great tomb, confident the briefly revived demon would defeat the powerful newcomers approaching Terror Valley.

• The Fear-Eating King decided to abandon Terror Valley and escape with its bucket of demon-body blood rather than risk confronting the approaching cultivators.
• The Fear-Eating King recalled its agreement with the City of Immortal Slaughter and worried that fleeing would cost it the promised Spirit-Communicating Demon Pearl.
• The Medicine Demon arrived and told the Fear-Eating King that the City of Immortal Slaughter planned to move the Fuhuang Demon Body using a temporary medicine that could revive it for fifteen minutes.
• The Medicine Demon handed over the Spirit-Communicating Demon Pearl, and the Fear-Eating King agreed not to obstruct the plan while warning him about the powerful enemy approaching from Gaoqiao Cave.
• The Medicine Demon entered the great tomb, confident that the revived Fuhuang Demon Body would be invincible and could use the approaching enemy as a blood sacrifice.

The Medicine Demon revived the Fuhuang Demon Body, which broke out of its mountain tomb and confronted Li Chu. After the demon body killed the Medicine Demon and vanished through a shattered void, Li Chu turned his attention to the Fear-Eating King, who tried to talk his way out of danger.

• The Medicine Demon placed the Resurrection Demon Medicine in the Fuhuang Demon Body’s nostril, and its first heartbeat shook the mountain and Terror Valley.
• Li Chu sent Mu Lan and Old Du to wait while he went alone toward the Fear-Eating King’s altar.
• The Fuhuang Demon Body awoke, followed the Medicine Demon’s instructions, and smashed through the mountain to emerge above Terror Valley.
• The Medicine Demon urged the Fuhuang Demon Body to kill Li Chu, but the demon body slapped the Medicine Demon off its shoulder and killed him.
• The Fuhuang Demon Body shattered the air and disappeared, leaving Li Chu facing the Fear-Eating King.
• Li Chu recognized the Fear-Eating King and raised the Chunyang Sword as it pleaded to be spared.

Li Chu defeated the Fear-Eating King and brought a large haul of Blood Demon Crystals to Gaoqiao Cave to negotiate a trade. Elder Shi Chen explained the crystals’ risks and offered Gaoqiao Cave’s most precious possession, an immortal art, in exchange.

• Li Chu killed the Fear-Eating King, caught its demon pearl, and reunited with Du Lanke and Mu Lan.
• Medicine Demon returned to White Bone Demon and the Formless Demon, who blamed him for losing the Fuhuang Demon Body and disrupting the City of Immortal Slaughter’s plan.
• Mu Lan led Li Chu and Du Lanke to Gaoqiao Cave, where Elder Shi Chen praised her harvest and learned the visitors had brought a far larger pile of Blood Demon Crystals.
• Elder Shi Chen explained that Blood Demon Crystals could cause severe backlash and madness, and said Gaoqiao Cave could not afford Li Chu’s requested payment in gold and silver.
• Li Chu began to leave, but Elder Shi Chen stopped him and offered Gaoqiao Cave’s most precious possession: an immortal art.

Elder Shi Chen revealed that the Gaoqiao clan’s tree transformation came from a fragment of the Eight-Nine Profound Art, and Li Chu traded Blood Demon Crystals for its method. After studying it overnight, Li Chu transformed into a tree, but the Dao Seal flooded him with wood Qi until he learned to control his shape.

• Elder Shi Chen explained that his clan’s ancestor had learned the tree transformation from Huai Zu and offered its heart method and seal formula in exchange for Blood Demon Crystals.
• Li Chu accepted the trade and received the Eight-Nine Profound Art method, despite Elder Shi Chen warning him that mastering its Dao Seal could take decades.
• Li Chu studied the art through the night, then tried to transform in the forest by channeling the Dao Seal.
• The Dao Seal drew in overwhelming amounts of wood Qi, causing Li Chu’s tree form to grow wildly until he released the excess Qi and restored a normal shape.
• Shi Chen’s granddaughter noticed an unusually handsome tree in the forest, and Elder Shi Chen realized it was Li Chu.

Li Chu returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple after discovering he could transform into an unusually handsome tree, while a treasure tree in White Jade Capital unexpectedly bloomed. At the temple, Yu Qi'an identified Li Chu’s black pearl as a flawed Spirit-Communicating Demon Pearl, and Little Fatty Dragon took over Yu Qi'an’s chess game and won.

• Li Chu reassured Elder Shi Chen, then complained that his tree form remained too striking to serve as a disguise.
• A Daoist boy discovered a Glazed Treasure Flower blooming on White Jade Capital’s treasure tree and ran to alert the Sixth Elder.
• Li Chu and Old Du returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple and found Yu Qi'an and Li Maoqing playing a prolonged, dismal game of Go.
• Yu Qi'an handed his endgame to Little Fatty Dragon so he could examine the black pearl Li Chu had obtained from an Evil Spirit.
• Yu Qi'an identified the pearl as a flawed Spirit-Communicating Demon Pearl that could summon demons from the Demon Land once a day.
• Little Fatty Dragon took Yu Qi'an’s place at the board, and Li Maoqing announced that he had lost.

Chen Huaji was left to investigate a village woman’s mysterious killing after his colleagues dodged the case, while Li Chu tested the Spirit-Communicating Demon Pearl. He summoned a towering bull-headed giant, which demanded to know who it should hit.

• Chen Huaji’s colleagues congratulated him on his expected transfer back to Hangzhou Prefecture.
• A villager asked Chen Huaji to investigate a river where his ducks and dog had died and his wife had gone mad and killed Old Wang.
• Brother Zhang, Brother Li, and brother Zhao each made excuses and left Chen Huaji to handle the case alone.
• Li Chu infused the Spirit-Communicating Demon Pearl with spiritual power and discovered he could summon countless demon creatures.
• Li Chu summoned a one-hoofed, bull-headed giant, which asked him who it should hit.

Li Chu summoned and killed a demon creature, then returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple and heard Chen Huaji describe a deadly river and a strange cave on Shilun Mountain. Chen Huaji ended his account by revealing that he had found an eerie deep pool inside the cave.

• Li Chu summoned the One-Hoofed Giant and killed it with the Chunyang Sword, gaining experience.
• Li Chu returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple, where Little Fatty Dragon beat Yu Qi'an and Li Maoqing at chess while Old Du studied the Eight-Nine Profound Art.
• Chen Huaji visited Li Chu and explained that river water near Shilun Mountain had killed livestock and driven people mad.
• Chen Huaji said an Old Blind Man had directed him to the moonlit Demon Shadow Cave, where he found a barren landscape beyond the passage.
• Chen Huaji told Li Chu that he had discovered an eerie deep pool inside the cave.

After Chen Huaji reported that a captive would be sacrificed at Demon Shadow Cave, Li Chu set out to rescue them with Old Du. While waiting near the cave, Li Chu encountered Medicine Demon and Thousand-Hand Demon pursuing a Black Light Sable, killed Thousand-Hand Demon, and faced Medicine Demon again.

• Chen Huaji told Li Chu that a captive was due to be refined in a furnace in three days, and Li Chu agreed to rescue them.
• Li Chu, Old Du, and Chen Huaji traveled to the mountains near Demon Shadow Cave and waited for nightfall.
• Li Chu sensed familiar demonic auras as Medicine Demon and Thousand-Hand Demon chased a Black Light Sable, which escaped after biting Medicine Demon.
• Medicine Demon identified Li Chu as the Little Daoist Priest who had killed him before, while he and Thousand-Hand Demon argued about Li Chu and the Thousand-Hand Demon's crimes.
• Li Chu struck with his Red Dragon and killed Thousand-Hand Demon, then Medicine Demon asked whether Li Chu would kill him immediately or go through the motions.

Li Chu and his companions entered Demon Shadow Cave, where the demons gathered to prepare an array against him. As Li Chu confronted them, Old Du discovered that the captive Medicine Lady might be connected to the earlier red fog and Sheep Slaughter Cave, and secretly left her bound.

• Thousand-Hand Demon and Medicine Demon emerged from the pool after being killed by Li Chu, and Thousand-Hand Demon attacked Medicine Demon for mocking him.
• The demons identified Li Chu from descriptions of his azure robe and handsome, expressionless face, while Hundred-Eye Demon spotted him entering Demon Shadow Cave.
• Li Chu entered the cave with Old Du and Chen Huaji, noticed the many eye murals and red fog, and found a woman bound beside a pill furnace.
• Li Chu sent Old Du to rescue the woman and Chen Huaji to support him, then rushed toward footsteps in the fog.
• The woman revealed that she was a precious medicine, and Old Du suspected she was Medicine Lady before secretly putting her talismans back in place.
• Li Chu encountered Medicine Demon, who challenged him as the demons began forming an array.

Li Chu destroyed the Eight-Demon Immortal-Slaughtering Array and defeated the eight demons of Demon Shadow Cave, then learned they could revive in a deep pool. He obliterated the pool with a massive sword strike, and Chen Huaji later told the villagers that Shilun Mountain’s evil spirits were gone.

• The eight demons activated the Eight-Demon Immortal-Slaughtering Array around Li Chu, but he remained able to wield his sword despite the power of immortal slaughter.
• Li Chu vaporized Medicine Demon and cut down White Bone Demon before striking down the remaining demons as they crowded toward the cave exit.
• Li Chu and Du Lanke found a bound woman whom Du Lanke identified as Medicine Lady from Shanbei Village.
• Medicine Demon and White Bone Demon revived in the deep pool, and White Bone Demon revealed that the pool could endlessly restore their demon bodies.
• Li Chu told Chen Huaji and Du Lanke to retreat, then unleashed a sword strike that pierced and destroyed much of Shilun Mountain and its deep pool.
• After daybreak, Chen Huaji told the villagers that the evil spirits on Shilun Mountain had been driven out.

The Eight Demons argued over their failed plans before the City Lord reminded them it was New Year's Eve. At Virtuous Cloud Temple, Li Chu and the others celebrated with a festive dinner, ending with Li Maoqing discovering a fish scale in his dumpling.

• The Eight Demons blamed one another for their failure until the City Lord declared it was New Year's Eve, and they exchanged New Year greetings.
• Li Chu and Du Lanke returned to Virtuous Cloud Temple and learned Wang Longqi had taken Little Fatty Dragon out for a meal.
• Fox Girl questioned Wang Longqi and Little Fatty Dragon, then nearly struck them with a rolling pin after learning they had visited Spring Full Pavilion.
• Little Koi served dumplings at the temple's New Year's Eve dinner, where Li Chu found a copper coin in one and Li Maoqing found a fish scale.
• The temple residents jokingly offered Li Maoqing blessings of romance, children, fortune, longevity, and family happiness.

On New Year’s Day, Diviner Zhang used magic to let a grieving mother see her dead son Abao, then demanded five taels for another visit within forty-nine days. A strange figure confronted her in the woods and offered her a chance to avenge a Soul Gu Master, whom it said a Little Daoist Priest had killed in Divine Luo City.

• Abao ate fish prepared by his soaked, eerie-looking mother, while she urged him to eat more and told him he could live well without her.
• When the lantern flame went out, Abao vanished and the fish on the table became whole again; his mother wept and begged Diviner Zhang for another chance to see him.
• Diviner Zhang said Abao’s soul would remain for forty-nine days and offered another visit if his mother gathered five taels of silver.
• On the mountain path, a voice accused Diviner Zhang of exploiting the grieving mother, and she explained that the mother’s guilt over Abao choking on a fishbone had left her with no will to live.
• A wooden figure emerged from the woods and asked Diviner Zhang whether she wanted revenge for a Soul Gu Master allegedly killed by a Little Daoist Priest in Divine Luo City.
• Diviner Zhang recognized the figure as the Wood Man King of the Crescent Moon Sect.

Li Chu accepted Zhen Yougan’s request to find Styx Heart Grass in Ming-Water Valley, unaware that Wood Man King had chosen the same valley as the setting for an ambush. As the Heart-Destroying Demonic Sound began, the Spider Demons prepared to capture Li Chu and take revenge.

• Zhen Yougan asked Li Chu to find Styx Heart Grass in Ming-Water Valley to save his ill wife, and Li Chu accepted the commission.
• Wood Man King persuaded Diviner Zhang to help kill Li Chu using her Soul-Detention Technique and the God-Striking Whip, planning to exploit Ming-Water Valley’s Heart-Destroying Demonic Sound.
• Li Chu, Du Lanke, and Zhen Yougan reached the Sisters Inn outside Ming-Water Valley and agreed to stay the night after a shopkeeper warned them about the sound.
• The Spider Demons recognized Li Chu, and the Spider Demon from the Water Wild Plains urged her sisters to seize him and take revenge once the demonic sound weakened him.
• Night fell, and the Heart-Destroying Demonic Sound began to ring through the Southern Border.

Li Chu discovered that a Soul-Detention formation was targeting him while Spider Demons entering his room lost their souls in its flames. Diviner Zhang and Wood Man King repeatedly tried to seize Li Chu’s soul, but their God-Striking Whip destroyed the souls of three Spider Demons instead, leaving Li Chu to study the strange formation.

• Du Lanke heard the Heart-Destroying Demonic Sound, fainted in the inn, and suspected it was a den of thieves.
• Li Chu listened to the demonic sound and heard an old woman call his name while Second Spider entered his room and abruptly lost her soul.
• Diviner Zhang began a Soul-Detention ritual with Wood Man King, but the God-Striking Whip shattered a woman’s soul instead of Li Chu’s.
• Eldest Spider entered Li Chu’s room and also became a soulless body, so Li Chu projected his primordial spirit and saw the green soul-fire formation surrounding him.
• Seventh Spider was burned away by the formation, and Wood Man King destroyed her soul with the whip before complaining that the spell had caught three women rather than Li Chu.

Li Chu followed the soul-binding spell to the Wood Man King and Diviner Zhang, where the God-Striking Whip broke against his primordial spirit. He killed the Wood Man King and then Diviner Zhang, leaving the reason for the Wood Man King’s unexpectedly low Experience Points uncertain.

• The Three Spiders tested Li Chu by throwing a dog, a sheep, and fish into his room, while each creature’s Divine Soul was drawn into Diviner Zhang’s spell.
• Diviner Zhang summoned Li Chu’s primordial spirit, and the Wood Man King struck him with the God-Striking Whip.
• The God-Striking Whip snapped against Li Chu, who then killed the Wood Man King and his puppet with a Flying Fire Meteor.
• Li Chu noticed the Wood Man King had yielded fewer Experience Points than expected, suggesting he might have escaped death through a fallback.
• Diviner Zhang tried to bargain for her life by offering her soul-manipulation methods, but Li Chu killed her with the Chunyang Sword.

Li Chu retrieved the Styx Heart Grass from the Nether Water after defeating the Spider Demons and learning that an Old Blind Man had sent Zhen Yougan to find him. After a monk entered the river and was killed by a mysterious White Clad Woman, she wondered whether immortals truly existed in the Human Realm.

• Li Chu freed Third Spider, then killed her and the other Spider Demons with the Chunyang Sword.
• Du Lanke and Zhen Yougan awoke, and Zhen Yougan revealed that an Old Blind Man had instructed him to summon Li Chu.
• Li Chu descended into the Styx, collected two stalks of Styx Heart Grass, and returned to the riverbank.
• Two monk brothers watched Li Chu; the little mustache entered the Nether Water to gather grass while his eight-shaped-brows junior stayed behind.
• A White Clad Woman crushed the little mustache into blood mist, then wondered aloud whether immortals existed in the Human Realm.

After helping Boss Zhen cure his wife, Li Chu and Du Lanke learned that the Qi clan had opened a secret realm linked to the revived Fuhuang Demon Body and was recruiting cultivators to enter it. Chen Huaji planned to join the expedition, and Li Chu decided that he and Du Lanke would go as well.

• Boss Zhen gave Li Chu and Du Lanke thirty thousand taels after his wife recovered from drinking the medicine made from Styx Heart Grass.
• Li Chu noticed crowds of cultivators flying out of Qitian City, but he and Du Lanke continued along the street until they met Chen Huaji.
• Chen Huaji explained that a giant had shattered Wanren Mountain and opened a secret realm believed to contain the legacy of Chen Fuhuang and treasures of the ancient Huaxu Kingdom.
• Chen Huaji said the Qi clan was paying cultivators five hundred taels to enter the secret realm and help with a task that involved giving something one chop.
• Chen Huaji headed to join the expedition, and Li Chu persuaded Du Lanke that Virtuous Cloud Temple should go investigate too.