Chapter Summaries

Chen Shi discovered that Iron Brush Old Man had died while he was attacking the talismans, then went to Huangyang Village and beat the godmother for harming the villagers and trapping the children. He freed the three children’s ghosts and left with Grandpa, warning the godmother to behave.

• Chen Shi realized Iron Brush Old Man was dead and dragged his and Zhao Ming’s bodies to the roadside before heading to Huangyang Village with Black Dog.
• Chen Shi confronted the godmother in the village temple and beat her manifested fat-headed statue for harming villagers and conspiring with outsiders.
• Chen Shi snapped off all ten fingers of the godmother’s bronze statue and freed the three children’s ghosts to return to their parents.
• Grandpa treated Chen Shi’s wounds and took him home in the wooden cart, while Chen Shi warned the godmother not to cause trouble again.

After Chen Shi’s heart illness killed him, Grandpa, Black Dog, incense, and a mysterious old woman helped pull him back from a fog-filled underworld. Chen Shi awoke in an unfamiliar room beside Grandpa and Black Dog, unsure where he was.

• Chen Shi’s heart illness returned during the night, and he died without being able to call for help.
• Chen Shi wandered through the underworld among the dead and saw monsters snatching people from the procession.
• Grandpa’s voice, drumbeats, and incense reached Chen Shi and urged him to follow them back.
• A gigantic Black Dog fought off the monsters, let Chen Shi climb onto its back, and carried him toward Grandpa’s calls.
• Chen Shi woke in a strange room where an old woman held a gong, paper talismans burned in a brazier, and Grandpa sat beside Black Dog.

Chen Shi recovered from death with Granny Sha’s help, then rested in an ancient corpse-nurturing villa with Grandpa. As they left, they met Prince Xiao, who recognized Grandpa’s Water-Fire Tempering and entered the villa to sleep in a heavily sealed coffin.

• Granny Sha and Grandpa revived Chen Shi, and Granny Sha refused to become his godmother despite asking for the Water-Fire Tempering art.
• Grandpa took Chen Shi by cart to Mirror Lake Villa so his cold body could recover, while Chen Shi wondered whether Black Pot was an ordinary dog.
• Chen Shi warmed and regained his strength inside a small upright coffin, and Grandpa confirmed he had stayed there before after suffering serious injuries.
• Grandpa explained that the villa belonged to death-fearing acquaintances who stored their bodies in coffins and followed strict rules about visitors and secrecy.
• Prince Xiao arrived in an ornate carriage whose horses turned to stone and whose coachman became a pottery figure, then praised Chen Shi’s Water-Fire Tempering.
• Prince Xiao entered a magnificent upright coffin as multiple layers of coffin lids sealed him inside.

After recovering, Chen Shi tested Jia Ma Talismans on himself and Black Dog, whose newfound speed caused chaos in Huangpo Village. He then visited Granny Sha to ask about abandoned mountain temples, leaving his purpose unexplained.

• Chen Shi learned Grandpa had thrown away his stale snacks, then received one tael of the four taels Grandpa found in his pocket.
• Chen Shi tied Jia Ma Talismans to his and Black Dog's legs, and both discovered the talismans let them move at extraordinary speed.
• Black Dog crashed through Old Man Zhou's wall, raced around the village and forest, and eagerly asked Chen Shi to make more talismans.
• Chen Shi visited Liu Fugui, but left disappointed when Liu Fugui treated him with fear and respect rather than friendship.
• Chen Shi brought Granny Sha gifts, fetched water, and did chores before asking whether there were abandoned, old mountain temples near Ganyang Mountain.

Granny Sha promised to tell Chen Shi where he could find a cultivation temple if he retrieved her lost bronze lamp from the River of Forgetfulness. She used Chen Shi as bait to draw a giant gu into swallowing him, but the fish snapped the rope and disappeared with him.

• Chen Shi told Granny Sha he hoped to find another temple and regain his divine embryo, but she insisted he could never cultivate again.
• After Chen Shi explained that he wanted to help his overworked grandfather, Granny Sha agreed to reveal the temple’s location if he recovered her bronze lamp from the River of Forgetfulness.
• Granny Sha bound Chen Shi with an iron chain and a hooked rope, then sent him into the Dejiang River to lure a giant gu that could travel between the Yin and Yang Worlds.
• A massive gu appeared, and Granny Sha tried to pull Chen Shi back to shore as it lunged at him.
• The gu snapped the rope and vanished underwater with Chen Shi, leaving Granny Sha fearing he had been killed.

Granny Sha tried to summon Chen Shi back from the Underworld while he searched the River of Forgetfulness for the bronze lamp she had lost. After discovering the lamp in the grasp of a colossal skeleton, Chen Shi heard Granny Sha’s drum and reached for it, causing the skeleton to stir.

• Granny Sha used her heart-blood to draw a Soul Summoning Talisman, then built an altar and opened a path toward the Underworld with King Wen’s Drum.
• Chen Shi escaped Great Gu’s mouth as both he and the fish became skeletons, then searched the riverbed for Granny Sha’s bronze lamp.
• A boy hiding inside a seashell sheltered Chen Shi from a thin, tall figure on a passing boat, which seized and swallowed another child.
• Chen Shi realized the children hiding in the shells were drowned ghosts and followed a distant lamp light through increasingly heavy riverbed pressure.
• Chen Shi found the bronze lamp in the hand of a colossal, bird-headed skeleton and heard Granny Sha call him back to the Yang World.
• Chen Shi grabbed the lamp’s sheep-horn handle, and the tall skeleton quivered and shook off its accumulated sediment.

Chen Shi fled the River of Forgetfulness with the copper lamp while Granny Sha fought the Underworld monsters to bring him back to the Yang World. He emerged safely with Great Gu, but the injured Yin messenger pursuing him also crossed over.

• Chen Shi stole the copper lamp from the awakened tall, thin skeleton and swam toward the surface as it pursued him.
• Granny Sha stepped onto the bluestone path and used her Supreme Eight Trigrams Body Protection Art to fight the Yin messengers and guide Chen Shi toward the Yang World.
• Chen Shi rode Great Gu through the turbulent river, evaded the skeleton inside the fish, and was swept across with them as the bluestone path collapsed.
• Granny Sha returned to the altar, believing Chen Shi had been lost, before Great Gu leaped from the river and spat Chen Shi onto the riverbank.
• The tall, thin skeleton crossed into the Yang World after Chen Shi, but Great Gu swallowed it and plunged back into the river.

Chen Shi returned the Ram Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp to Granny Sha, who recalled how her son Xiang Tianyu had died after she sent him into the Underworld for the Three Lives Stone. The next day, Granny Sha took Chen Shi into Ganyang Mountain to find an ancient temple, while Grandpa realized Chen Shi had concealed his trip to the Underworld and worried Granny Sha might endanger him again.

• Granny Sha embraced Chen Shi after he returned with the lamp, then remembered how Xiang Tianyu had died in the Underworld while seeking the Three Lives Stone for her.
• Granny Sha used the Ram Horn Heavenly Spirit Lamp to search the Underworld for her lost son, while Chen Shi went home and hid from Grandpa that he had already entered the Underworld.
• Grandpa learned from Black Pot that Chen Shi had lied about his journey and grew angry at both the boy and Granny Sha.
• Granny Sha fed Chen Shi and led him into Ganyang Mountain, where they offered incense to Granny Zhuang and received passage from a giant black snake spirit.

Chen Shi discovered the ruined Mountain Lord Temple hidden in Ganyang Mountain and made it his place to cultivate, befriending the mountain spirits as he restored it. After only a few days, he transformed his blood and saw sunlight from another world enter the hall, where he glimpsed a rising sun and wondered whether he could cross into that world.

• Granny Sha led Chen Shi through Ganyang Mountain’s spirits to the Mountain Lord Temple, which had appeared after an earthquake and lay hidden beneath a vast tree.
• Chen Shi found that the temple held dense, unusual incense power and that he could cultivate there, so he began cleaning and repairing the main hall while Granny Sha brought him food.
• Chen Shi returned the next day with offerings, befriended the mountain spirits, and spent five days restoring the temple with their help.
• Chen Shi found a huge turtle shell and an unopenable stone casket among the temple’s ruins, then continued burning incense as the temple’s extraordinary power accumulated.
• After cultivating in the temple, Chen Shi achieved the first sign of transforming true blood and saw sunlight from another world illuminate the hall.
• Chen Shi looked toward the other world’s rising sun and wondered whether he could cross through its radiance.

Chen Shi’s rapid cultivation left him dangerously hungry, so he was rescued by Granny Zhuang and the ginseng babies before hunting a Feng Xi for food. After cooking the spirit beast by a stream, he approached the long-fasting Xuan Shan with a roasted hind leg.

• Chen Shi learned that transforming his true blood consumed food so quickly that he risked starving if he could not replenish himself.
• Chen Shi collapsed from hunger on the mountain and was carried to Granny Zhuang’s tree hollow, where she fed him Ginseng Grass Fruits.
• Granny Zhuang recalled that thunder-fire had destroyed her main body roughly six thousand years earlier, frightening her as she remembered the event.
• After exhausting the food supplies of his family and nearby villages, Chen Shi went into the mountains to hunt.
• Chen Shi killed a Feng Xi, prepared and roasted its meat by a stream, and shared a hind leg with the watching Xuan Shan.

Chen Shi completed the transformation of his true blood, returned to Huangpo Village, and shared spirit beast meat with the villagers and his family. Meanwhile, Zhao Yue arrived in Huangyang Village with his relatives and Imperial Guards to investigate Iron Brush Old Man’s death, accusing the villagers of hiring assassins.

• The Great Serpent Xuan Shan ate Chen Shi’s roasted Feng Xi leg, then guided him through cultivation in his dreams until his true blood transformed.
• Chen Shi reached the Five Viscera Complete Truth stage and left the mountains with a pot full of spirit beast meat.
• Chen Shi distributed meat to Granny Sha, Grandma Yuzhu, and other villagers before returning home, where Grandpa welcomed him with new clothes.
• Grandpa told Chen Shi how he subdued a donkey that had become an evil entity and sold it back to the Wang family, prompting Chen Shi to wonder whether Black Pot could become one too.
• Liu Fugui was kicked into a ditch by a young man accompanying Zhao Yue, and he landed on a large white carp.
• Zhao Yue reprimanded his companions for mistreating villagers, then questioned Huangyang Village about Iron Brush Old Man’s death and accused them of hiring assassins.

Zhao Yue’s Imperial Guards tortured Yangcun’s villagers until a woman revealed that Chen Shi had killed Iron Brush Old Man and Steward Zhao Ming. The Zhao family ambushed Chen Shi on his way to the Mountain Lord Temple, but he broke their talisman trap and struck down Fu Shank.

• Zhao Yue threatened Yangcun’s villagers until Sanwang stood up to defend them, and He Lian Zheng killed him with the Three-Eyed Firearm.
• After Imperial Guards tortured a woman into confessing, Zhao Yue learned that Chen Shi of Huangpo Village had killed Iron Brush Old Man and Steward Zhao Ming.
• Sanwang’s ghost reached Chen Shi’s courtyard and tried to warn him, but Chen Shi mistook the encounter for a dream.
• The next morning, Fu Shank and three Zhao family Imperial Guards ambushed Chen Shi with talismans and confiscated his two Jia Ma Talismans.
• Chen Shi broke free of the Spirit Snake Talisman and shattered Fu Shank’s throat and neck with a swift strike.

Chen Shi defeated Fu Shank and two Zhao family Imperial Guards after they tried to capture him, then returned home and set out for Huangyang Village to find Third Young Master Zhao. The chapter left Chen Shi quietly entering the village, determined to settle the trouble himself and protect his grandfather and the villagers.

• Chen Shi killed Fu Shank and evaded the Imperial Guard's Zi Wu Zhan Xie Sword after the guard's collision with him proved fatal.
• Two Imperial Guards pursued Chen Shi through a cornfield with sword qi, but he ambushed and killed them after the Mountain Moving Talisman expired.
• Chen Shi collected talismans from the dead, left their silver behind, and wondered whether Sanwang's dream warning meant something had happened in Huangyang Village.
• Chen Shi returned home, changed his torn clothes, and told Heishuo he was going to kill someone.
• Chen Shi went to Huangyang Village, identified Third Young Master Zhao as his likely target, and vaulted over the southwest wall rather than enter through the village gate.

Chen Shi entered Huangyang Village and discovered that Sanwang had been killed while the villagers were being forced to prepare a meal for the Zhao Family’s party. When Zhao Yue realized Chen Shi had escaped corporal punishment and exposed himself, Chen Shi attacked, killing Zhao Yue and striking Zhao Xue'e as He Lian Zheng moved to stop him.

• Chen Shi left Fugui’s house and found the villagers injured and forced by Imperial Guards to prepare a banquet.
• Chen Shi saw Sanwang’s body outside the temple and steadied himself before entering.
• Chen Shi served the food to Zhao Yue, Zhao Xue'e, and the other Zhao Family disciples while He Lian Zheng watched him closely.
• He Lian Zheng ordered Chen Shi to taste every dish, and Chen Shi used the meal to assess his chance to strike.
• Zhao Yue noticed Chen Shi had no whip marks and alerted He Lian Zheng, who reached for his firearm.
• Chen Shi drove a chopstick through Zhao Yue’s head and stabbed Zhao Xue'e in the heart.

Chen Shi launched a sudden attack in the ancient temple and killed Zhao Yue, Zhao Xue'e, and the Zhao family guards despite He Lian Zheng's attempts to stop him. He ended the fight by killing the last Zhao family member, Zhao Rui, and left the provincial Zhao family with no survivors.

• Chen Shi killed Zhao Yue and Zhao Xue'e with chopsticks, then attacked the Imperial Guards as He Lian Zheng charged at him.
• Chen Shi killed several Imperial Guards and Zhao Yan in the temple's chaotic melee, using fists, chair legs, and a porcelain shard.
• An Imperial Guard's sword qi killed another Zhao family disciple, while He Lian Zheng struck Chen Shi with his Three-Eyed Firearm and blasted apart part of the temple wall.
• Chen Shi dodged He Lian Zheng's shots and sword qi, then slipped back inside the temple instead of fleeing through the opening.
• He Lian Zheng returned to the temple and saw Chen Shi kill Zhao Rui, leaving all six members of the Zhao family dead.

Chen Shi escaped He Lian Zheng’s sword attack and pursued him after the Imperial Guards scattered, determined to avenge the peasant He Lian Zheng had killed. When Floating Skulls lifted He Lian Zheng into the air at night, Chen Shi used the opening to kill him and leave.

• He Lian Zheng’s close-range sword Qi wounded Chen Shi, who escaped the temple by using a corpse to block He Lian Zheng’s view.
• Chen Shi fought past Imperial Guards as he fled, while He Lian Zheng stopped the pursuit and dismissed his men rather than face the Zhao family’s punishment.
• Chen Shi confronted He Lian Zheng about the peasant’s death and refused his offer of silver, following him as He Lian Zheng tried to walk away.
• After night fell, Floating Skulls emerged from the forest and one of them strangled and hoisted He Lian Zheng into the air.
• Chen Shi attacked He Lian Zheng while he was caught by the Floating Skull, killed him, and escaped before the other skulls could surround him.

During a deadly heart episode on the post road, Chen Shi encountered Prince Xiao, who taught him how to use the Big Dipper’s star talismans to temper his body and suppress the ghost hand. Chen Shi survived and mastered the Seven Refinements, but his newly refined true qi still vanished from his dantian.

• Chen Shi fled the floating skulls with the Jia Ma Talisman’s speed, but the bloody case at Huangyang Village triggered a severe heart episode as other sui pursued him.
• Red shoes appeared across the road and further disoriented Chen Shi until Prince Xiao arrived in a lantern-lit carriage, scattering the evil sui.
• Prince Xiao explained the talismanic structures within the Big Dipper stars and guided Chen Shi to step on Tian Shu, refining his bones and easing the pain.
• Chen Shi followed the shifting star talismans through the seven stars, refining his blood, sinews, muscles, skin, true qi, and spirit as the ghost hand loosened its grip.
• After the heart pain vanished, Chen Shi tried to gather his qi and blood into his dantian, but his true qi dissipated; Prince Xiao wondered whether Master Chen had never taught him these methods.

Chen Shi accompanied Prince Xiao to Wuwang, a city where lies were punished, and learned that his seemingly ordinary Grandpa Chen Yindu had once become a nearly invincible cultivator through persistence. The chapter ended as a mysterious woman in red arrived to meet Prince Xiao and flirted with Chen Shi.

• Chen Shi told Prince Xiao how he had fought the Zhao Family’s assassins and pursued their leader, and Prince Xiao praised his cultivation technique and chivalrous nature.
• Prince Xiao offered to escort Chen Shi home after finishing his business, and encouraged him by telling the story of Chen Yindu’s rise from a poor cultivator to a mighty figure.
• Chen Shi realized Prince Xiao’s story was about his grandfather and worried that the aging Chen Yindu needed someone to care for him.
• Prince Xiao brought Chen Shi to Wuwang, a lively city of ghosts where anyone who lied had their tongue pulled out.
• At a teahouse, Prince Xiao identified their arriving guest as a woman in red, who sat beside Chen Shi and asked whether he wanted to sleep with her.

Chen Shi waited in Wuwang City while Prince Xiao went to face Jin Hongying and the Divine Machine Battalion, then watched a fierce bombardment strike a mountain outside the city. As dawn approached, Chen Shi fled by carriage and discovered the damaged Hongyi Cannon and talisman-marked cannonballs that had fired on Prince Xiao.

• Jin Hongying demanded that Prince Xiao return the Divine Machine Battalion's stolen treasure, and Prince Xiao refused before leaving to meet her in battle.
• Chen Shi learned that Wuwang City punished lies by pulling out the liar's tongue and realized it was a Ghost and God Domain governed by truth.
• Chen Shi watched lightning bombard a mountain for over an hour, where a tiny flash of cold light tried to intercept the strikes.
• As dawn neared, Chen Shi escaped Wuwang City in Prince Xiao's carriage, which sped over the crowd and out through the city gate.
• Chen Shi found a severed Hongyi Cannon and talisman-marked cannonballs along the road and realized the lightning had been cannon fire aimed at Prince Xiao.

Chen Shi found Prince Xiao gravely wounded after his swords had defeated the Divine Machine Battalion, and rescued him from the mountain. He brought Prince Xiao to Mirror Lake Villa for protection and recovery, then turned his thoughts to the Hongyi cannons and ascending the throne.

• Chen Shi saw the Divine Machine Battalion soldiers and Hongyi cannons destroyed along the road, then witnessed Jin Hongying flee after Prince Xiao cut down a colossal goddess with his sword.
• Chen Shi climbed the stone pillar and found Prince Xiao unconscious, but Prince Xiao’s two sentient swords initially threatened him.
• Chen Shi used incense to calm the swords, checked that Prince Xiao was alive, and carried him down from the pillar with help from the long sword’s scabbard.
• Chen Shi took Prince Xiao to Granny Zhuang, whose Ginseng Grass Fruit stabilized him but could not heal his severe thunder and spell injuries.
• Chen Shi brought Prince Xiao to Mirror Lake Villa and placed him in his coffin, where the long sword joined him and the small sword kept watch outside.
• Chen Shi concluded that Mirror Lake Villa could protect Prince Xiao from Jin Hongying and looked toward the carriage, thinking about the cannons and ascending the throne.