Recaps

Chen Shi dismantled Young Master’s allies, built the Heavenly Court, and learned that Nannan was tied to the Underworld’s former Yama. After advancing to Nascent Soul, he entered the Underworld to seek the Judge’s Brush, but Uncle A Zhuo’s swarm captured him and Empress Shi Ji.

• Chen Shi rescued Nannan and the women of Rouge Alley, sheltered them in Hu Village, and learned from Zhuge Jian that Young Master’s network reached the Tianmu Association and Luban Gate.
• Chen Shi recruited Situ Wen and Zhuge Jian into the Heavenly Court, killed Du Shenshou and Shopkeeper Qiu, and appointed King Zheng as Yudu’s deity before escaping the city.
• Chen Shi and the spirits of Ganyang Mountain learned that Nannan had once been a Yama and might be the escaped crescent moon from the Yama Primordial Palace.
• Chen Shi recruited Lord Wuwang and agreed to retrieve the missing Judge’s Brush tip, then cultivated until his Golden Core produced a Nascent Soul.
• Chen Shi, Granny Sha, and Black Pot traveled toward Hanging Rock Island, but A Zhuo’s presence forced them to seek a boat across Lake Danan and enter the Underworld through a Qi Zhen Altar.
• Chen Shi seized the Youquan Youlong Sword during the battle over the dragon-shaped treasure, discovered it was not the Judge’s Brush head, and bonded with it before entering the mist to continue his search.
• Chen Shi crossed the Sea of Nanming with Empress Shi Ji, who absorbed the underwater bones to rebuild her body, but Uncle A Zhuo’s poisonous swarm overwhelmed them and carried them off.

Chen Shi defeated the Banshan Sect’s pursuit, reunited with old allies, and built up the Heavenly Court while investigating the haunting of the Temple of Emperor Guan. In Qingzhou, he and Li Tianqing uncovered the Wan family’s cultivation of sentient herbs with evil spirits and ordinary people, and Li Tianqing led Lord Guan in a deadly assault on the thirteen medicine envoys.

• A Zhuo took Chen Shi to capture Xue Daoren, helped him rescue Shi Jingming’s family, and reunited him with A Ying, Qiao Wei, and Qiao Hu.
• Chen Shi killed the Banshan Sect cultivators who pursued him, escaped their array with the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony canopy, and defeated Baili Mu with Saintess Xuan’s help.
• A Zhuo drove off the Fuzheng Pavilion experts, then told Chen Shi how he had become an Underworld marshal alongside Chen Yindu and warned him about the supreme ghost and god.
• Chen Shi restored Granny Sha’s youth with a Ginseng Grass Fruit, recruited Shao Jing to manage the Heavenly Court’s funds, and returned the Judge Dragon Whisker Brush to Lord Wuwang, who vanished into the Underworld.
• Chen Shi traveled to Qingzhou to investigate the attacks on Li Tianqing, and they discovered that the Wan family’s medicine fields used evil spirits and ordinary people to cultivate sentient spiritual herbs.
• Chen Shi dismantled the God of Wealth Temple and left Qingzhou while Li Tianqing defied Li Xiaoguang and rode to the Wan Manor as the Red Horse Bandit.
• Lord Guan controlled Li Tianqing and killed Li Xiaoguang and the thirteen medicine envoys at the Wan Manor, after which the Wan family’s treasures followed him away.

Chen Shi traveled to Xijing for the imperial examinations, survived attacks on the road, and reunited with Chen Tang and his mother Ayu. After learning that Ayu's soul was imprisoned in the Underworld, he recruited Zhong Kui to force the messengers who offered her rescue to cooperate.

• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing distributed the Wan family’s treasure as the Red Horse Bandit, and Li Tianqing joined Heavenly Court.
• Chen Shi entered the True King's Tomb, memorized the Xiao Lang Emperor Chapter Art, and brought out a Talisman God Heavenly Mechanism that later severely injured Sun Yisheng.
• Created Being Xiao Wu fought the noble-family ancestors in Western Capital and retreated after exposing their strength.
• Chen Shi destroyed Cao Chuting’s artillery force, taught traveling scholars cultivation methods, and led them safely into Western Capital.
• Chen Shi reunited with Chen Tang and Ayu, then learned that Ayu’s soul had been imprisoned in the Underworld while searching for him.
• Chen Shi took charge of Guangji Treasury, defeated officials sent to provoke him, and supplied weapons to his allies after senior ministers intervened on his behalf.
• Chen Shi advanced his cultivation and sought Zhong Kui, but Zhong Kui overpowered his companions and forced them to flee through the Underworld.
• Chen Shi returned with Nannan, gained Zhong Kui’s assistance, and asked him to beat the boatman and his daughter until they agreed to help rescue Ayu.

Chen Shi fought the Young Master’s allies, challenged the corruption of the Palace Examination, and won his father’s support. When the Immortal Bridge Blessed Land plunged into the Underworld, Chen Shi led a group of licentiates out while carrying an unconscious woman.

• Chen Shi killed Shen Hongniang and her hall masters, then rejected Saintess Xuan’s offer and Yulingzi’s demand that he yield the top scholar contest.
• Chen Shi and Yulingzi confronted the noble youths at Qixia Temple, where Chen Shi killed the scions who possessed stolen divine embryos and Yulingzi dealt with the remaining witnesses.
• Created Being Xiao Wu helped Chen Shi recover in a Lesser Heavens and taught him about the Zhou Tian Grand Ceremony, while Eunuch Feng offered to protect his bid for top scholar.
• Chen Shi defeated Chen Tang in a spar, secured his father’s support, and entered the Palace Examination despite the Young Master’s pressure.
• Chen Shi exposed the spell examination’s unfairness by hitting every target with gravel, then passed the talisman examination and helped the ghostwriting clerk Cheng Qi advance in cultivation.
• Shui Xuanzhi and Fan Peng’s raid on the Chen Mansion failed when Chen Tang wounded Shui Xuanzhi, and Chen Shi continued through the examinations as officials secretly maneuvered candidates toward him.
• The Immortal Bridge Blessed Land fell into the Underworld as a white-clothed fairy defeated the Fifth Army forces and the ancestors of the noble families, leaving hundreds of scholars trapped.
• Chen Shi could not harm the unconscious woman who fell beside him, then led more than two hundred licentiates through the Underworld and found that its apparent mountains were enormous Buddha statues with glowing red eyes.