Recaps

Chen Shi met Red Mountain Hall Master Yu Tiancheng, who praised his actions against the Tianmu Association and refined the Tianmu avatar’s power into a blood bead for him. When Wu Daozheng and Tianmu’s forces attacked, Red Mountain Hall rallied to fight, and Chen Shi followed as Yu Tiancheng and Red Mountain Empress battled them.

• Yu Tiancheng praised Chen Shi for avenging Zhao Kaiyun and promised to take responsibility for any trouble caused by destroying the Tianmu Association’s incense hall.
• Chen Shi summoned the captured Tianmu avatar, and Yu Tiancheng refined its extraordinary power into a blood bead that he gave to Chen Shi.
• Wu Daozheng arrived with Tianmu Association experts, clashed with Yu Tiancheng, and fled as Red Mountain Hall prepared for battle.
• Chen Shi followed the Red Mountain Hall fighters in a magically animated wooden cart while Black Pot chased after it.
• Tianmu attacked the talisman masters with her tongues, but Red Mountain Empress struck her and joined Yu Tiancheng in fighting Tianmu and Wu Daozheng.
• Chen Shi urged Yu Tiancheng to strike with all his strength, and Yu Tiancheng praised Chen Shi’s learning as Red Mountain Empress lunged back at Tianmu.

Red Mountain Hall and the Tianmu Association fought across the Min River until Xia Luoying and General Xia intervened, but Chen Shi’s presence and Black Pot’s strange power disrupted their attempts to identify him. The Tianmu Association and officials fled in fear, Black Pot fainted, and Chen Shi was left wondering about the dog’s origins.

• Red Mountain Empress and Tianmu fought in the Min River while Yutian City battered Wu Daozheng, and Cao Yunshen’s skippers stabilized the water to protect the riverbanks.
• Red Mountain Hall slaughtered Tianmu Association members along the banks until Xia Luoying ordered both sides to stop and demanded an accounting.
• Cen Xuefu and Xia Chuwen tried to settle the dispute by making Yutian City surrender Chen Shi, but Yutian City denied that Red Mountain Hall had an instructor by that name.
• General Xia, Xia Luoying, Cen Xuefu, Wu Daozheng, and the Tianmu Association all found themselves unable to remember Chen Shi’s name after looking toward Black Pot.
• Tianmu and Wu Daozheng fled in terror, Cen Xuefu and the others withdrew, and Black Pot fainted beside Chen Shi’s cart.
• Chen Shi carried Black Pot into the cart, then wondered where Grandpa had found the dog and imagined making money by breeding it.

Chen Shi taught Yutian City that the Red Mountain Hall’s methods for opening the Heavenly Gate were dangerously mistaken, then guided Gu Yunshu through the process and revived him. He revealed that Chen Yindu had taught him the correct method, including the need to lock the Heavenly Gate, leaving Yutian City stunned by how many cultivators had died from their errors.

• Red Mountain Hall’s members and the authorities repeatedly forgot Chen Shi’s name, so they could not pursue the arrest warrants against him.
• Chen Shi received a letter from Li Tianqing in Quanzhou and sent back news of his recovery, cultivation, and warning about people being sold in Gongzhou.
• Yutian City offered Chen Shi Red Mountain Hall’s Great Method of Crimson Blood Incarnation, but Chen Shi rejected using a second golden core and nascent soul as an external body.
• Yutian City showed Chen Shi the paralyzed Gu Yunshu and the spirit tablets of cultivators who had died attempting to open the Heavenly Gate.
• Chen Shi guided Gu Yunshu through opening the Heavenly Gate and emerging from the aperture in half an hour, restoring his ability to speak and move.
• Chen Shi explained that cultivators had to lock the Heavenly Gate to preserve their primordial yang, and Yutian City realized Red Mountain Hall had followed false methods.

Chen Shi taught Red Mountain Hall’s rune masters the correct cultivation methods, helping many advance, then opened his own Heavenly Gate. While exploring as a Golden Core, he discovered Black Pot entering another world through the kitchen stove and reading a ghost book.

• Chen Shi calmed Yutian City’s evil transformation, then taught Red Mountain Hall’s instructors how to lock the Heavenly Gate and cultivate the Golden Core.
• Chen Shi discovered that Black Pot’s new ability had affected memories, leaving him unable to recognize his own name.
• Chen Shi guided Red Mountain Hall’s rune masters, and several opened their Heavenly Gates while two reached the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Chen Shi healed, opened his Heavenly Gate in half an hour, and sent his black Golden Core out to explore.
• Chen Shi watched Black Pot enter green flames beneath the kitchen stove, fight monsters in another world, and return carrying a ghost book.
• Chen Shi wondered whether Black Pot’s mysterious past connected it to the palace in that other world.

Li Tianqing traveled to Gongzhou, where he encountered the mysterious ferrymen from the Underworld and the aged monk Kuzhu before discovering that Chen Shi was wanted for killing seventy-four people. He reunited with Chen Shi at the posthouse, where the chapter ended with news that Kuzhu had died.

• Chen Shi learned from Crane Boy that Hall Master Yu was struggling to suppress demonic corruption and had suffered several relapses.
• Li Tianqing reached Gongzhou by boat with Kuzhu and his young disciple; the boat was dragged into the Underworld, but Kuzhu’s Golden Body Buddha returned it to the Yang World.
• The boat girl warned Li Tianqing that Kuzhu’s death would be dangerous because he had lived beyond his appointed time, then vanished with the boat after they reached Gongzhou.
• Li Tianqing entered Gongzhou, saw Chen Shi’s wanted notice for killing seventy-four people, and realized people were forgetting Chen Shi’s name.
• Li Tianqing reunited with Chen Shi at the posthouse, where he also saw Kuzhu and his disciple arrive.
• During the night, someone announced that Kuzhu had died.

Chen Shi and Li Tianqing discovered that Chan Master Kuzhu’s golden body had begun leaking dust that transformed people into giant mushrooms, so they rushed to evacuate Gongzhou. Chen Shi ordered Red Mountain Hall to clear the city, and Yu Tiancheng took responsibility for the potentially fatal charge.

• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing discussed Black Pot’s origins and wondered whether the boat girl and her daughter had been watching them before they learned Chan Master Kuzhu had died.
• Chen Shi identified two apertures that Chan Master Kuzhu needed to seal, and Monk Wuchen confirmed that his master’s Heavenly Gate and navel were sealed.
• Monk Wuchen transported Chan Master Kuzhu’s golden body to Daxing Zen Temple, where a monk’s eyes popped out and mushrooms grew as dust sprayed from a pinhole in the body.
• Chen Shi learned that Chan Master Kuzhu’s golden body might have absorbed moonlight and ordered the Xiucai to leave Gongzhou, while Hu Feifei charmed them into following her.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing hurried to Red Mountain Hall and warned its members to evacuate the city, but Director Lu cautioned that the order could bring a death sentence.
• Yu Tiancheng ordered Red Mountain Hall to carry out Chen Shi’s evacuation order and said he would bear all the charges.

Chen Shi and Li Tianqing witnessed Chan Master Kuzhu’s demonic mutation spreading from Daxing Zen Temple, while Gongzhou’s officials abandoned the city and its people. As the city faced imminent disaster, Chen Shi proposed using Empress Shi Ji’s head to create a Ghost and God Domain before Kuzhu’s demonic domain consumed them.

• Director Lu persuaded Red Mountain Hall to warn the people of the coming demonic mutation, while Fei Tianzheng and other officials dismissed the warning and planned to punish Yutian City.
• A report confirmed Chan Master Kuzhu had entered nirvana, and Bailiff Tang arrived transformed by mushroom growth before erupting into a spreading infestation in Fei Tianzheng’s hall.
• The high officials fled or ordered their households to evacuate after colorful dust rose from Daxing Zen Temple, while Fei Tianzheng refused to warn the city’s residents.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing saw that Kuzhu’s golden body had broken and his mutated primordial spirit had formed a giant mushroom above the temple.
• Realizing the citizens could not escape Gongzhou, Chen Shi proposed activating Empress Shi Ji’s head to create her Ghost and God Domain before Kuzhu’s demonic domain spread.

Chen Shi borrowed Red Mountain Empress’s divine power to unleash Empress Shi Ji’s Ghost and God Domain across Gongzhou City, petrifying its inhabitants while Chan Master Kuzhu’s Demonic Domain took hold. As Red Mountain Empress’s power ran out, Chen Shi went to search for the rampaging Yutian City and encountered a mushroom-headed creature studying heavenly human transformation.

• Chen Shi used the Crane Boy’s divine power and Red Mountain Empress’s assistance to summon the Head of Shi Ji and spread its Ghost and God Domain.
• Yutian City, corrupted into a giant rabbit, fled the back courtyard as the Crane Boy pursued him.
• The Ghost and God Domain petrified people and things throughout Gongzhou City and beyond, while Fei Tianzheng and other powerful figures set out for Daxing Zen Temple to confront Kuzhu’s demonic primordial spirit.
• General Xia, Inspecting Official Zhang, Xu Ming, Gao Canghai, Yang Gui, Jiang Shouqing, and other officials also headed for Daxing Zen Temple.
• After Red Mountain Empress’s divine power was exhausted, Chen Shi left Li Tianqing and the Black Pot to guard her and went looking for Yutian City.
• Chen Shi found a mushroom-headed being beneath a giant mushroom, proclaiming that it had discovered the mystery of heavenly human transformation and eternal life.

Chen Shi fought mushroom demons in Yutian City, taught Red Mountain Hall talisman masters how to ward off the deadly dust, and worried that starvation would put the weakened Red Mountain Empress in danger. The chapter ended with three Golden Core mushroom demons charging him as he used the Haunted House Suppression Talisman to animate a house and ensnare them.

• Chen Shi and Instructor Wan’s talisman masters burned and chopped apart a mushroom creature that had once been Chan Master Kuzhu, then Chen Shi taught them the Dust Purification Talisman.
• Red Mountain Hall’s talisman masters told Chen Shi that a huge, muscular rabbit had repeatedly rescued cultivators from danger, and Chen Shi suspected it was Hall Master Yu.
• Chen Shi sent the talisman masters back to Red Mountain Hall to learn the protective talisman and guard the weakened Red Mountain Empress.
• Chen Shi searched Yutian City and realized that petrified food and growing mushroom infestations could drive the Tianmu Association and other factions to target the Empress.
• Three Golden Core cultivators appeared as giant mushroom creatures and charged Chen Shi, who used the Haunted House Suppression Talisman to turn a nearby house into a monster that trapped them.

Chen Shi defeated the mushroom cultivators and learned that Master Kuzhu was searching for a new spirit child, while Fei Tianzheng and the others failed to overcome the demon domain with the Gongzhou Earthly Record. Kuzhu then attacked Chen Shi, but an unknown force inside Chen Shi’s sea of consciousness repelled him, leaving Kuzhu fleeing in fear.

• Chen Shi used talismans and brain worms to make the three giant human-shaped mushrooms lose control, then killed the brain worms after the mushrooms collapsed.
• Chen Shi tested how a golden core could strengthen his attacks and wondered whether Master Kuzhu had become a demon seed.
• Fei Tianzheng, General Xia, and the others attacked Daxing Zen Temple with the Gongzhou Earthly Record, but Kuzhu’s mushroom-headed Buddha overpowered it and drove them away.
• Kuzhu told Monk Wuchen that he had found a more promising spirit child, then left to seek another candidate.
• Chen Shi found Yutian City transformed into a giant rabbit and watched him return to normal as Kuzhu’s spirit entered Chen Shi’s glabella.
• An unknown force inside Chen Shi’s sea of consciousness struck Kuzhu back out, badly injuring him and forcing him to flee.

Chen Shi brought the demonized Yutian City back to the Red Mountain Hall and reasoned that Chan Master Kuzhu had released a demon to fake his death while seeking a new body. Kuzhu escaped Chen Shi’s Sea of Consciousness and chose Li Tianqing as a second vessel, but Chen Shi anticipated the possession and prepared to attack him.

• After Kuzhu fled Chen Shi’s Sea of Consciousness, Yutian City transformed into a rabbit and nearly attacked Chen Shi before Chen Shi calmed him by calling him Hall Master Yu.
• Chen Shi speculated that Kuzhu had targeted exceptional scholars, including Chen Shi and Li Tianqing, to obtain a new body, and that Kuzhu had secretly released a demon to conceal his survival.
• Chen Shi brought Yutian City to the Red Mountain Hall and used his divine shrine to refine the evil nature in Yutian City’s Primordial Spirit.
• Kuzhu returned to Daxing Zen Temple injured and decided to target a second vessel after failing to seize Chen Shi’s body.
• Five days later, Kuzhu entered the Red Mountain Hall and possessed the apparent Li Tianqing, but the figure was actually Chen Shi in disguise; the real Chen Shi struck at him with sealing talismans.

Chen Shi and Li Tianqing’s attempt to trap Chan Master Kuzhu ended with a mysterious hand restraining him inside Chen Shi’s Sea of Consciousness, though the demon domain remained. As the city starved and the mushroom plague worsened, Chen Shi set out with Li Tianqing and Black Pot to find food, only to encounter Kuzhu’s young disciple.

• Chen Shi’s sealing talismans began to fail until a bony hand appeared beneath his forehead and pulled Chan Master Kuzhu back, leaving everyone unsure whether the Great Ascension monk had died.
• Granny Sha and the others speculated that Kuzhu might have reincarnated before and wondered whether someone in Xijing had told him about Chen Shi and Li Tianqing.
• Chen Shi realized Kuzhu was not the demon seed because the demon domain still surrounded Gongzhou City, and he hoped the rogue cultivators gathering nearby would help defeat the true demon seed.
• As food ran short and mushroom giants overran the city, Chen Shi decided to seek food at the Cao Lao Association with Li Tianqing and Black Pot.
• A young monk stepped out in front of the boys and asked whether his master, who had tried to seize their bodies, had died at their hands.

Wuchen revealed how Kuzhu had forced his disciples through deadly trials before Chen Shi and Li Tianqing continued to the Cao Lao Association’s main altar. There, they discovered Gongzhou’s officials planned to eat Granny Minjiang, and Cao Yunshen’s attempt to help her escape ended with his death.

• Chen Shi tricked Wuchen into kneeling, and Wuchen celebrated his freedom before recounting Kuzhu’s lethal trials and his own survival.
• As mushroom giants surrounded Wuchen, he used a Golden Body Buddha to fight them off, while Chen Shi and Li Tianqing escaped and continued to the Cao Lao Association.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing ate in the main altar’s back kitchen, then tried to carry a giant fish out while Black Pot clouded Governor-General Yan’s suspicions.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing overheard Cao Yunshen reluctantly agree to let the officials eat Granny Minjiang after Fei Tianzheng and the other leaders threatened him.
• Cao Yunshen warned Granny Minjiang to flee and called for the floodgates to open, but Fei Tianzheng crushed him and led the officials away to feast.

Chen Shi rescued the wounded Granny Minjiang by hiding her in a bowl, but Xia Luoying’s border troops discovered him and nearly killed him. Monk Wuchen arrived in time to defeat Xia Luoying and the soldiers, then left after declaring his debt to Chen Shi repaid.

• Fei Tianzheng killed Cao Yunshen, while Granny Minjiang fled toward the Minjiang River and was pursued by Xia Luoying’s border troops.
• Chen Shi used a Fish Summoning Talisman and a Taotie Devouring Heaven Talisman to conceal Granny Minjiang inside a porcelain bowl and carry her away.
• Xia Luoying recognized Chen Shi, ordered him to break the bowl, and attacked when he saw the black fish’s image remained intact.
• Chen Shi fought off several soldiers but was gravely wounded by their firearms and nearly struck by another pellet.
• Monk Wuchen blocked the pellet, defeated Xia Luoying, killed the firearm-wielding soldiers, and left after saying he had repaid his debt to Chen Shi.

Chen Shi escaped with Granny Minjiang after the garrison discovered Xia Luoying’s death, but an old beggar trapped him and his allies in a vast sea. Granny Sha and the Five Lakes Rogue Cultivator’s brothers intervened, freeing them and sending the beggar crashing into the mushroom forest before the Golden Body Buddha.

• Chen Shi left the site of the battle with Granny Minjiang, while the garrison found Xia Luoying dead and reported the loss to General Xia.
• Governor-General Yan discovered that mushroom infection had spread among officials and soldiers, and he saw his household execute infected servants even as he secretly removed a mushroom from his own head.
• An old beggar attacked Chen Shi with his broken bowl, trapping him and the people from Red Mountain Hall in a sea where Granny Minjiang’s true form appeared.
• The old beggar captured Li Tianqing and the others in the sea, but Granny Sha and the Five Lakes Rogue Cultivator’s brothers attacked him and took his bowl.
• Chen Shi used a new bowl and the Taotie Devouring Heaven Talisman to draw Granny Minjiang back inside, while the old beggar was thrown into a mushroom forest and confronted by the Golden Body Buddha.

The old beggar fought the Golden Body Buddha demon at Daxing Zen Temple while the Green-robed Musician and Prince Xiao watched from Gongzhou City. Back at Red Mountain Hall, Chen Shi rescued Granny Minjiang and used a talisman to shrink Red Mountain Empress’s true form, then realized talismanry might be cast as spellcraft.

• The old beggar battled the Golden Body Buddha, was injured, and watched his tattered bowl break when it failed to stop the demon.
• Granny Sha, the Green Goat, and the bearded man feared the demon would grow into a true Demom God, while the Green-robed Musician declined to intervene.
• Prince Xiao entered Gongzhou City’s demonic domain, rented a room, and watched the battle as Sky Listener Apostles monitored him.
• Chen Shi rescued Granny Minjiang, who mourned Hall Master Cao and recalled watching him grow up and leave for the provincial capital.
• Chen Shi used Black Pot’s blood and a Taotie Devouring Heaven Talisman to shrink Red Mountain Empress’s Blood Taisui form into a basin.
• Yutian City asked whether Chen Shi could cast talismanry as a spell, and Chen Shi glimpsed a new path.

Chen Shi discovered how to turn talismans into spells, while Yutian City arranged for Li Tianqing and Wok to take Red Mountain Empress and Granny Minjiang away from Red Mountain Hall. As they escaped the city, the demonic mutation intensified, and the Golden Body Buddha transformed Gao Canghai and members of the Gao family into mushrooms.

• Chen Shi pondered whether talismans could be cast as spells, then tested fire and water spells that grew more powerful but became difficult to control.
• Yutian City decided that Li Tianqing and Wok should escort Red Mountain Empress and Granny Minjiang away, while he drew the city’s pursuers after himself.
• Red Mountain Empress and Granny Minjiang hid inside their true forms in Wok’s monstrous carriage, and Wok guided it out of Red Mountain Hall with Li Tianqing and Chen Shi aboard.
• Yutian City lured giant mushrooms and ravenous people away, allowing the carriage to leave the main altar unnoticed.
• Li Tianqing witnessed a Golden Body Buddha attack near the Moon-Gazing Tower and instantly seize and transform Gao Canghai.
• The Golden Body Buddha transformed the Gao family’s cultivators into mushroom creatures and gathered them into a halo as the demonic mutation accelerated.

As the Golden Body Buddha transformed Gongzhou City’s survivors into mushrooms, Chen Shi practiced talisman-derived spells by the Minjiang River and mastered techniques resembling the noble families’ cultivation arts. More than ten days later, the Buddha began to ripen ahead of schedule, and Granny Sha and her companions realized the rogue immortals were waiting for it to become a demon.

• The Golden Body Buddha turned people across Gongzhou City into mushrooms, while officials and troops fled or were transformed.
• Li Tianqing took Chen Shi and Black Pot outside the city to a village on the Minjiang River, where Granny Minjiang recognized Cao Yunshen’s old hometown.
• Chen Shi practiced water spells with Granny Minjiang’s help and learned to control the river, then demonstrated spells resembling the five noble families’ arts.
• Chen Shi tried the Taotie Swallowing Heaven Method, but his vital blood ran short and a tree stump buried him before Li Tianqing rescued him.
• After more than ten days, the Golden Body Buddha stopped hunting survivors, spread white hyphae underground, and vented colorful streams from its mushroom head.
• Granny Sha and her companions watched the Buddha ripen early, and the Green Goat said the rogue immortals were waiting for it to become a demon.

As spores spread through Gongzhou, the Golden Body Buddha’s mushroom Pure Land began to rot, while Chen Shi appointed Granny Minjiang as the Minjiang Dragon King to secure food. The starving group hid inside a snail shell when Tianmu Association members and Gongzhou officials arrived to search for them.

• The Green-robed Musician and other free cultivators watched the Golden Body Buddha as its spores filled Gongzhou and the demon seed began absorbing nourishment from the rotting mushroom Pure Land.
• Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, and Black Pot found that their food and the local wildlife had turned to stone, leaving them desperately hungry.
• Chen Shi used the West King's Jade Seal to appoint Granny Minjiang as the Minjiang Dragon King, granting her command over the river and its aquatic life.
• Granny Minjiang summoned fish from the Minjiang, allowing Chen Shi and his companions to cook and eat their fill.
• Tianmu and Wu Daozheng led Tianmu Association members to the village, where they discovered the group's meal remains and began searching.
• Chen Shi used the Taotie Swallowing Heaven Method to hide himself, his companions, and the wooden cart inside a snail shell as Fei Tianzheng and Xia Chuli arrived.

Chen Shi and his companions escaped the officials’ village and rescued Granny Minjiang from Tianmu and Wu Daozheng’s attack. As the demonic domain vanished and the mushroom Pure Land collapsed, Fei Tianzheng killed Wu Daozheng and ordered the officials to cover up their crimes.

• Chen Shi overheard Fei Tianzheng and the other officials decide to eliminate the Tianmu Association, the Cao Lao Association, the Yan Lao Association, and the Red Mountain Hall, then escaped the village with help from Yan Hao.
• Chen Shi and his companions found Granny Minjiang fighting Tianmu, Wu Daozheng, and three incense masters, and Red Mountain Empress and Chen Shi’s group joined the battle.
• Granny Minjiang and Red Mountain Empress defeated Tianmu, while Chen Shi and Li Tianqing killed the three incense masters.
• The mushroom Pure Land collapsed, the demonic domain began to vanish, and Fei Tianzheng killed the injured Wu Daozheng before declaring that the officials had to cover up their crimes.

The rogue cultivators discovered that the Golden Body Buddha had been hollowed out and used as nourishment by an immature demon that escaped underground. As Chen Shi fled toward Gongzhou City, the demon revealed herself as Ying Rumeng and left with Monk Wuchen, warning him that something inside Chen Shi was terrifying.

• The Golden Body Buddha rotted and collapsed after the green goat punctured it, revealing that its body had been consumed by fungal threads leading underground.
• The child in the book case and the Green-robed Musician inspected the Buddha and learned that the demon had escaped through a tunnel toward the Minjiang River.
• Madam Huali explained that the demon was immature and would travel the mortal world to absorb demonic nature, while the rogue cultivators scattered to pursue it.
• The green goat collected Chan Master Kuzhu’s empty skin, and Madam Huali left with Ding Ding after the goat teased her as Young Master Chen’s little sister-in-law.
• Chen Shi fled toward Gongzhou City on Granny Minjiang’s head as Black Pot assessed whether it could stop the officials pursuing them.
• Ying Rumeng departed with Monk Wuchen, revealed that she feared the thing inside Chen Shi, and erased a spell cast at them before urging him to hurry away.

Granny Sha and the others fought off Gongzhou’s officials to protect Chen Shi, but an old beggar abducted him and killed him. Chen Shi’s death released the being sealed inside his body, who broke the old beggar’s neck and unleashed a hundred-mile demonic domain.

• Granny Sha used her bamboo basket and Eight Trigrams Formation to delay Gongzhou’s officials, then dragged Fei Tianzheng and three others into the Underworld and escaped with Chen Shi’s pursuers close behind.
• Yutian City, the Green Goat, and Hu Xiaoliang joined the fight to protect Granny Minjiang and the others, but Granny Sha discovered that Chen Shi had vanished from Granny Minjiang’s back.
• Granny Sha tracked Chen Shi’s soul with green smoke, but the trail disappeared, and she concluded that Chen Shi was dead.
• An old beggar revealed that he had abducted Chen Shi and struck between his eyebrows, causing Chen Shi to collapse and die.
• The being inside Chen Shi’s body awoke after his death, snapped the old beggar’s neck, and unleashed demonic energy that darkened the sky across a hundred miles.

A demonic presence emerging from Chen Shi’s body invaded Gongzhou, causing practitioners to lose control of their instincts and unleashing a slaughter along the Minjiang. After devouring the city’s officials and overpowering the Heavenly Sun Child, “Chen Shi” faced a gathering of rogue cultivators who prepared to attack together.

• Granny Sha hurried Prince Xiao toward Black Pot as the demonic influence awakened the bearded man’s beastly instincts and sent him chasing Yutian City.
• Granny Sha ignited the fire lotus in Yan Jiuling’s heart, but “Chen Shi” tore out and destroyed his heart, devoured his banner’s souls, and swallowed his Primordial Spirit after the underworld emissary failed to save him.
• “Chen Shi” drained the souls from the Myriad Souls Banners and killed the Gongzhou high officials, while the underworld emissary rescued Gu Ping’an’s Primordial Spirit.
• The Heavenly Sun Child attacked “Chen Shi,” was sent crashing into the city wall, and had his three lifetimes exposed as the green-robed musician and rogue cultivators joined the fight.
• Dao Qianqiu announced that the rogue cultivators would unite against the demon, but “Chen Shi” struck him away for reciting poetry.

“Chen Shi” overwhelmed the rogue cultivators trapped in his demonic domain while Granny Sha used the Underworld map to locate Chen Shi’s soul and sent Black Pot to rescue him. The chapter ended with Black Pot racing across the Underworld toward the soul’s location.

• Wuchen and Ying Rumeng watched a vast demonic domain spread over Gongzhou, and Ying Rumeng warned that a powerful demon resided inside Chen Shi.
• “Chen Shi” attacked the rogue cultivators, swallowed Han Gongwang’s primordial spirit, and forced Daoist Cao, Duke Changping, and Rogue Cultivator Yuanshan into desperate fights.
• Feng Feihua, Liu Santong, and Luan Haozhi tried to pierce “Chen Shi” with Feng Feihua’s golden needle, but he evaded it and flicked it away.
• Heavenly Sun Child tried to flee the demonic domain but was dragged back into Gongzhou as the rogue cultivators suffered mounting casualties.
• Granny Sha and Prince Xiao found Li Tianqing and Black Pot, then Granny Sha used Chen Shi’s clothes and the Ram Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp to locate his soul in the Underworld.
• Black Pot leaped through the flames into the Underworld and galloped across a marsh toward Chen Shi’s soul.

After Chen Shi died, he was swept into a marsh in the underworld, where he discovered white lotuses strengthened souls and were being harvested by living children. He escaped the giant ghost guarding the marsh with Black Pot, while Little Dingxiang was punished at Taiping Gate for giving him a lotus and resolved to try rescuing him again.

• Chen Shi wandered through the underworld marsh, met the dead Wu Daozheng, and watched living boys and girls descend in skiffs to gather white lotuses.
• Little Dingxiang gave Chen Shi a white lotus before she was hauled back to the Yang World, and a giant ghost appeared after a child fell into the marsh.
• Chen Shi ate the lotus and then gathered and ate many more, strengthening his soul and discovering talismanic scripts within his brow that resembled the seals on Uncle Xiao Wu.
• The giant ghost caught Chen Shi stealing its lotuses, but Black Pot charged in and drove it away before carrying Chen Shi off.
• At Taiping Gate, a woman whipped Little Dingxiang for giving away a Soul-Returning Lotus, and Little Dingxiang wondered whether she could rescue Chen Shi on her next trip to the underworld.