Chapter Summaries

Chen Shi buried Sanhe Village’s dead, helped a lost child reunite with his parents in the afterlife, and traveled with Ding Ding while selling talismans and preparing for the Green-robed Scholar’s revenge. On the fifth day, the Scholar returned in the form of a Thread-Pulling Worm, and Chen Shi demanded to know his name.

• Chen Shi named the captured Date Tree Godmother Little Jujube and used her power to bury the corpses in Sanhe Village with Ding Ding’s help.
• Chen Shi and Ding Ding reached Yanfeng Village, where Chen Shi found Xiaojun in a well and sent him and his long-dead parents to the afterlife with a Rebirth Talisman.
• Chen Shi regretted leaving the Green-robed Scholar’s twenty taels unpaid and explained to Ding Ding why talisman masters collected payment after completing a job.
• Chen Shi and Ding Ding left Yanfeng Village, and the villagers panicked after realizing the black dog had walked on two legs and spoken.
• Chen Shi practiced combat and defensive talismans while traveling with Ding Ding, waiting for the Green-robed Scholar to recover and seek revenge.
• On the fifth day, the Green-robed Scholar appeared in the sky as a Thread-Pulling Worm, and Chen Shi called out to ask his name.

Chen Shi fought the Green-robed Scholar, who attacked Soapberry Town with Ghost Chariots, and defeated him in the sky above the town. After giving the scholar’s stolen money to the townspeople for repairs, Chen Shi met Xinxiang prefectural commissioner Li Xiaozheng.

• The Green-robed Scholar unleashed his Ghost Chariot talisman over Soapberry Town, while the town’s eight daoists tried to stop the attacking ghost heads.
• Chen Shi fled toward the outskirts, summoned Little Jujube’s giant tree, and battled the Ghost Chariots as he climbed toward the Green-robed Scholar.
• Chen Shi struck down the Green-robed Scholar, destroying his blood gourd and Ghost Chariots, and avenged the victims of Sanhe Village.
• Chen Shi found that the scholar still owed him twenty taels, then gave the money pouch’s thousands of taels in silver notes to Ding Ding to help repair damaged homes.
• Li Xiaozheng introduced himself to Chen Shi as the prefectural commissioner of Xinxiang.

Chen Shi met Xinxiang Prefect Li Xiaozheng, who asked him to help explore the Great Ming treasure boat in exchange for a treasure and favors. After learning that Grandpa had left talismanic formations aboard the vessel, Chen Shi set off toward Ganyang Mountain with Ding Ding and Black Pot.

• Chen Shi suspected Li Xiaozheng had faked his death and might seek revenge for Li Tianxiu, but Li Xiaozheng apologized and offered him a deal to explore the treasure boat.
• Chen Shi rejected Li Xiaozheng's apology, saying their positions made them natural opponents, then agreed to join the expedition after the other clans had suffered losses.
• Li Xiaozheng explained that Li Tianqing had survived three disastrous Li family expeditions and revealed that Grandpa's talismanic formations surrounded a worshiped stone carved as a woman's head.
• Li Xiaozheng said he and Li Tianqing were the only survivors of their latest attempt, and identified the stone's tablet as naming Moon Roaming Star Lord, Mysterious Yellow Stubborn Stone, and Empress Shi Ji.
• Chen Shi extorted a hundred taels of silver from Soapberry Town's elders to prevent them from building him a living shrine, then rode with Ding Ding and Black Pot toward Ganyang Mountain.

Chen Shi discovered Grandpa’s hidden books, including notes on cultivation, experiments to resurrect him, and talisman creation, and learned how much Grandpa had struggled to save and care for him. In the Underworld, Chen Yindu continued guarding the passage to Chen Shi, keeping ghosts and deities from entering his body.

• Chen Shi searched the Chen family’s east wing and found a sealed jujube-wood box covered in unusual talismans.
• Chen Shi deciphered the box’s time-based talisman sequence and opened it, uncovering Grandpa’s books and research notes.
• Ding Ding tried to open the box herself, was swallowed by its monstrous form, and was released when Chen Shi unlocked it again.
• Chen Shi read Grandpa’s records of failed experiments to resurrect him and discovered that Grandpa had eventually succeeded.
• Chen Shi found Grandpa’s Treasure Mirror of Talisman Creation and recipe notes describing how he tried to cook meals Chen Shi would enjoy.
• Chen Yindu killed a Yama while guarding the passage to the Yang World, preventing Underworld ghosts and deities from entering Chen Shi’s body.

Chen Shi studied the Treasure Mirror of Creation and discovered that the created being Xiao Wu had repeatedly gone out of control before Grandpa suppressed it at Ganyang Mountain. After Madam Huali arrived, Chen Shi asked about Xiao Wu, and she urgently warned him to flee because Ganyang Mountain had been polluted.

• Chen Shi practiced drawing talisman monsters beneath the willow tree while Black Pot killed each creature that escaped his papers.
• Chen Shi read Grandpa’s records of Xiao Wu’s increasingly dangerous rampages and learned it had been suppressed at Ganyang Mountain ten years earlier.
• Madam Huali and the Two Elders of the Xia Family struggled against Huangtu Ridge’s immense pressure, and Chen Shi helped Madam Huali reach the willow tree to offer incense.
• Madam Huali played her pipa, forcing the Two Elders of the Xia Family to retreat from the willow tree.
• Chen Shi asked Madam Huali about Xiao Wu, and she said Ganyang Mountain was polluted and ordered him to leave immediately.

Madam Huali warned Chen Shi that Created Being Xiao Wu was a deadly creature that might be sealed beneath the stone boat, where incoming experts could accidentally free it. Chen Shi prepared to travel with Li Xiaozheng and Li Tianqing toward the Great Ming Treasure Ship after a strange light rose from the mountain.

• Madam Huali recounted how Created Being Xiao Wu slaughtered rogue cultivators and Sky Listeners in Jinshan, and urged Chen Shi to attend the Rogue Cultivator Gathering for safety.
• Chen Shi declined Madam Huali's invitation, and she left with Ding Ding, who kissed him and promised to wait until he came of age.
• Chen Shi suspected Xiao Wu was sealed beneath the stone boat and worried that the experts heading there would break his Grandpa's talisman formation.
• Li Xiaozheng arrived with Li Tianqing, and Chen Shi wagered that Li Xiaozheng would climb the yellow earth slope; Li Xiaozheng stepped onto it, and Li Tianqing agreed to wash Chen Shi's clothes for five days.
• A rosy light rose from the direction of the stone boat, and Chen Shi, Li Xiaozheng, Li Tianqing, and Black Pot set out for the Great Ming Treasure Ship.

Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, and Li Xiaozheng traveled through Ganyang Mountain toward the stone boat, encountering poisonous spirit herbs and a Sky Listener who began monitoring Chen Shi after he spoke about killing one. They found a sailor’s corpse from the True King Era and concluded that the stone boat’s Ghost and God Domain could only be unlocked by triggering it and restoring the Dejiang River.

• Chen Shi identified the gray-clothed figures as poisonous monkshood spirits, and the group detoured as they passed the poisoned corpses of members of several great families.
• Li Tianqing explained that Sky Listeners served the true gods, and Chen Shi’s questions prompted an apostle to send a paper crane calling for reinforcements to watch him.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing prepared with speed talismans as they passed stone figures trapped by the expanding Ghost and God Domain.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing found an unpetrified corpse bearing a True King Navy token and recognized it as a sailor from the stone boat who had drowned in the dried riverbed.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing concluded that the stone boat had sealed the sailors and the Dejiang River in time, and that triggering the Ghost and God Domain was necessary to restore the river and unlock it.

Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, and Li Xiaozheng reached the stone boat and watched the noble families use powerful arts to explore it. When Chen Shi’s grandfather’s talismanic formation triggered a terrifying clash and the boat’s Ghost and God Domain began expanding, Chen Shi charged toward the boat to stop it.

• Li Xiaozheng said he could slow the stone boat’s petrifying domain for three quarters of an hour, and Chen Shi and Li Tianqing continued toward the boat with him and Black Pot.
• Chen Shi saw the Thirteen Noble Families’ experts use treasures and secret arts to enter the stone boat, including the Xia Family’s ancestral god Xia Zhengong, who took on a temporary body and boarded.
• A tremendous clash within the boat struck the Zhang Family’s Void Mirror and nearly shattered Chen Shi’s Golden Core, while Li Xiaozheng identified the force as Chen Shi’s grandfather’s talismanic formation.
• Li Xiaozheng recounted how Chen Shi’s grandfather had slaughtered his way through Western Capital ten years earlier, terrifying even powerful cultivators.
• Thunder shattered Xu Changsheng’s Great Dream Cloud Technique, and the expanding Ghost and God Domain brought the Dejiang River back to life, causing people to flee.
• Chen Shi charged toward the stone boat and called for Li Xiaozheng to join him in resolving its domain.

Chen Shi, Li Tianqing, Li Xiaozheng, and Black Pot boarded the Great Ming treasure ship and navigated its dangerous interior to reach Empress Shi Ji Temple. As Chen Shi began breaking the temple’s talismans, Xu Changsheng and Zhang Wenshu arrived, and the ship set sail toward the underground river beneath the True King’s Tomb.

• Chen Shi and his companions entered the treasure ship’s ghost and god domain, and Li Tianqing led them aboard before their limited time ran out.
• Li Tianqing guided the group through the ship’s halls, fields, and livestock pens, warning them about deadly seals and hazards.
• Chen Shi reached Empress Shi Ji Temple and began breaking the talismans with help from Li Tianqing and Black Pot.
• Xu Changsheng arrived with Xu family descendants, while Zhang Wenshu came with Zhang family members and prepared to use the Void Mirror.
• The treasure ship launched into the Dejiang River and headed toward the underground channel beneath the True King’s Tomb.

Li Xiaozheng faced the thirteen noble families while Chen Shi secretly repaired the talisman formation around the Head of Shi Ji. After Yang Shuo exposed him, Chen Shi activated the array, took the stone head into his small temple, and escaped amid the chaos, but the black dog raced away ahead with Shi Ji.

• Li Xiaozheng apologized to the assembled noble families, and Li Xiaoti warned him that the Li family would have to share the treasure ship and that his inspector post was at risk.
• Chen Shi repaired the damaged talismans while Li Tianqing realized what he was doing and the noble families gathered around the temple.
• Jiang Pingyun and Fei Qiqi recognized Chen Shi and provoked speculation about his abilities and the Western Capital Butcher.
• Yang Shuo challenged Chen Shi, so Chen Shi unleashed the talisman formation, which annihilated Yang Shuo.
• Chen Shi used his small temple to capture the Head of Shi Ji, and Shi Ji possessed him briefly to summon golden-armored beings that disrupted the gathered experts.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing fled with the black dog, but the dog ran ahead carrying the large-headed doll and outpaced them.

Created Being Xiao Wu appeared at Empress Shi Ji Temple, killed Li Xiaozheng and the other surviving experts, and vowed to kill his father and younger brother Chen Tang. Meanwhile, Chen Shi and Li Tianqing rode the Great Ming Treasure Ship into a dark underground river and reached a lit dock, where stone figures and an inverted coffin approached.

• Li Xiaozheng considered killing the wounded survivors for the treasure ship, then snapped Li Xiaoti's neck and attacked Fei Qiqi.
• Created Being Xiao Wu killed Li Xiaozheng, Ma Guangji, Xu Changsheng, and the other fleeing experts, then spoke of killing his father and Chen Tang.
• The Great Ming Treasure Ship entered a mountain and traveled through a closing underground passage as Chen Shi and Li Tianqing feared the experts might catch them.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing lit all their incense and prayed for the head of Shi Ji to wake, but it remained asleep.
• The ship reached a pearl-lit mountain dock, where Chen Shi and Li Tianqing saw towering stone figures and an inverted black coffin moving toward them along a chain.

Chen Shi and Li Tianqing discovered that the Great Ming Treasure Ship was carrying the True King’s resurrected soldiers and coffins through the True King’s Tomb. The True King’s corpse remained dead, but his final wish sent the ship home as Chen Shi recovered the West King’s Jade Seal and the maps of all fifty provinces; the ship then burst out onto the Dejiang River.

• Chen Shi realized the stone soldiers were reviving and suspected that the True King had used the Water-Fire Tempering Art, while the West King’s Jade Seal began to glow in his hand.
• Great Ming soldiers revived, loaded hundreds of coffins onto the treasure ship, and prepared it as the vessel sailed through the tomb.
• Chen Shi and Li Tianqing saw the True King seated on his throne and discovered that his severed head had been stitched back onto his corpse.
• The West King’s Jade Seal flew into the True King’s hand, and his voice told the soldiers they were going home; the jade seal then gathered the maps of all fifty provinces as Chen Shi chased after it.
• Chen Shi caught up with the speeding treasure ship, which emerged from the Ganyang Mountain range onto the Dejiang River, and Li Tianqing and Chen Shi leaped into the water to escape being carried toward the Sea of Darkness.

Chen Shi discovered that the West King's Jade Seal could grant divine titles when he appointed Little Jujube as Black Mountain Lord, and Scholar Zhu recognized the seal’s connection to Prince Xiao. As Sky Listeners reported Chen Shi’s actions, a mysterious young man intercepted their message and prepared to hunt them.

• After Chen Shi stamped Little Jujube with the West King's Jade Seal, Li Tianqing explained that the seal could confer titles, so Chen Shi appointed Little Jujube Black Mountain Lord.
• Little Jujube went to Black Mountain, where the local godmothers and spirits recognized the seal on its backside, accepted its authority, and offered it incense.
• Chen Shi watched Little Jujube take charge, then showed Scholar Zhu the seal; Scholar Zhu said it should have belonged to Prince Xiao and broke down crying.
• The Sky Listeners recorded Chen Shi’s possession of the seal and his conferral of divinity, then sent their report toward Xinxiang Provincial City.
• A tall young man caught and ate the Sky Listeners’ paper crane, then told the Sky Listeners that he remembered their taste.

Created Being Xiao Wu returned to Huangpo Village, learned that Chen Yindu had died, and mourned at his grave. Meanwhile, Chen Shi activated the West King's Jade Seal, discovered how it empowered his temple and Map of Mountains and Rivers, and began cultivating with new divine embryos at a speed that surpassed a first-rank Purple Jade Divine Embryo.

• Created Being Xiao Wu devoured the Sky Listeners, then learned from Old Lady Wuzhu that Chen Yindu was dead and knelt at his grave in grief.
• Chen Shi offered incense to the West King's Jade Seal and used it to view the Western Ox Continent through the Map of Mountains and Rivers, including places where deities held power.
• Chen Shi stored the jade seal in his small temple and burned incense there, strengthening the temple and causing a second divine shrine to appear.
• Chen Shi drew the sacred-tree maiden into the temple, named her Sangyu, and used her and the head of Shi Ji as divine embryos for cultivation.
• Chen Shi's golden core advanced with startling speed, surpassing Li Tianqing's Purple Jade Divine Embryo and leaving Li Tianqing wondering whether Chen Shi had regained the Innate Dao Embryo.

Created Being Xiao Wu returned to Huangpo Village and was mistaken for Chen Tang, so Chen Shi welcomed him home for dinner. Though Xiao Wu had come intending to kill Chen Shi, the boy’s longing for a father softened him, and he agreed to stay for a couple of days.

• Chen Shi decided not to use the West King's Jade Seal to grant Sangyu a title, recognizing that her natural fief needed no interference.
• Old Lady Wuzhu mistook Created Being Xiao Wu for Chen Tang and struck him with her cane, prompting Xiao Wu to mistake Chen Shi for his nephew and plot revenge.
• Chen Shi invited Xiao Wu to eat, and defended Black Pot when Xiao Wu ordered the dog away from the table.
• Xiao Wu claimed he had been imprisoned and could not return for Chen Yindu’s funeral, and Chen Shi’s anger softened enough to serve him food.
• As Chen Shi showed his yearning for a father’s affection, Xiao Wu remembered his own childhood and postponed killing him.
• Xiao Wu resolved to kill Chen Shi but changed course when Chen Shi asked him to stay, agreeing to remain for a couple of days.

Created Being Xiao Wu planned to kill Chen Shi but grew moved by his suffering and kindness, then slaughtered the Sky Listener Deacons sent to investigate Huangpo Village. He killed the Xinxiang Venerable, discovered Chen Shi’s file, and left wondering whether Chen Shi resembled him more than Chen Tang.

• Created Being Xiao Wu joined Chen Shi in stealing melons and fishing, then helped deliver fish to the villagers while plotting to kill Chen Shi and the others that night.
• Created Being Xiao Wu learned about Chen Shi’s painful Azure Ghost Hand and his own divine-embryo scar, and felt sympathy for him as Chen Shi practiced and went to sleep.
• Seven Sky Listener Deacons arrived to investigate the missing apostles, but Created Being Xiao Wu devoured six and killed the seventh after Huangtu Ridge pinned him down.
• Scholar Zhu told Created Being Xiao Wu that Old Dad had truly died after escaping into the underworld, and Created Being Xiao Wu flew off to cut down the Sky Listeners’ ears.
• Created Being Xiao Wu killed the Xinxiang Sky Listener Venerable and found the Sky Listeners’ records of Chen Shi’s deeds, which reminded him of himself more than Chen Tang.

Created Being Xiao Wu learned that his resurrection may have coincided with Chen Shi’s death, then returned to Huangpo Village with Chen Shi and visited the mountain’s deities and spirits. He nearly revealed his identity and killed Chen Shi, but Chen Shi called him “Dad,” and Xiao Wu abandoned his murderous intent as they headed home together.

• Created Being Xiao Wu found that Chen Shi’s death occurred just days after his own resurrection and suspected his actions had kept Chen Yindu from returning home in time.
• Created Being Xiao Wu discovered that the stone tablet at Huangtu Ridge contained a boundless void, then saw that Chen Shi’s small temple had awakened the Ganyang Mountain Lord.
• Chen Shi took Created Being Xiao Wu to pay respects to Chen Yindu and the mountain spirits, while Xuan Shan, Granny Zhuang, Green Goat, and Hu Xiaoliang recognized Xiao Wu and feared him.
• Hu Xiaoliang and Green Goat gathered Xuan Shan, Granny Zhuang, and Granny Sha to rescue Chen Shi, but Granny Sha told them Chen Shi and Xiao Wu had already left.
• As Chen Shi and Created Being Xiao Wu walked home, Chen Shi called Xiao Wu “Dad,” causing Xiao Wu to retract his claws and invite Chen Shi to go home with him.

Chen Shi received visits from two new county magistrates and advised them to ease their exploitation of the people, while Created Being Xiao Wu concealed his true identity. Granny Sha and the others attacked Xiao Wu after she revealed he was not Chen Tang, and Xiao Wu left Chen Shi behind, bound for Xijing.

• Xinxiang Magistrate Wu Guangfu and Lei Magistrate Cui He visited Chen Shi and praised his counsel to govern gently by taxing the people less harshly.
• Chen Shi warned Li Tianqing not to reveal his past crimes to Chen Tang, while villagers began to regard him with awe.
• Granny Sha revealed that Chen Tang was actually Created Being Xiao Wu, and Hu Xiaoliang, Granny Sha, Granny Zhuang, the Green Goat, and Xuanshan attacked him.
• Created Being Xiao Wu repelled the attackers, admitted to Chen Shi that he was not his father, and departed after scraping Chen Shi's nose.
• Created Being Xiao Wu headed toward Xijing, wondering who had removed Chen Shi's Innate Dao Embryo.

As Created Being Xiao Wu approached Western Capital to avenge the child scholar, officials resigned and the city panicked as people vanished and their corpses appeared in the sky. Meanwhile, Chen Shi learned that Xinxiang scholars would travel to Gongzhou for the examinations and opened Madam Huali’s invitation to a Rogue Cultivator Gathering at Mist Ridge.

• Tang Muhe’s observers spotted suspended corpses approaching Western Capital, and Yan Xianshi discovered that their master was Chen Yindu’s created son, Chen Wu, also called Xiao Wu.
• Yan Xianshi resigned as Prime Minister Grand Scholar, and the Eastern Depot Superintendent and several other officials also submitted resignations.
• As corpses and disappearances mounted, Yan Xianshi and Eunuch Feng concluded that Xiao Wu was targeting people connected to the old case of the child scholar’s stolen Innate Dao Embryo.
• Yan Xianshi arranged for Xinxiang scholars to take their examinations in other provinces because the prefect’s position remained vacant.
• Li Tianqing told Chen Shi that Xinxiang scholars would have to travel to Gongzhou, and Chen Shi opened Madam Huali’s invitation and found a rogue cultivator token and directions to Mist Ridge.

Chen Shi left Huangpo Village to attend the Rogue Cultivator Gathering and the provincial examinations, but his journey through Gongzhou exposed him to rampant brutality and deception. After reaching Gongzhou provincial city, he was tricked into pressing his thumbprint on a forged indenture, and the tavernkeeper ordered his men to seize him.

• Li Tianqing revealed that Prince Xiao had given him a rogue cultivator token, and he and Chen Shi planned to meet in Gongzhou before traveling to the Rogue Cultivator Gathering.
• Chen Shi studied under Scholar Zhu, graduated from his tutelage, and left Huangpo Village after the villagers saw him off.
• In Fei County, Chen Shi reclaimed his stolen belongings, fought off bailiffs, and fled when the magistrate pursued him with a Myriad Souls Banner.
• Chen Shi warded his wooden cart with Clam Demon talismans in Min County, where it devoured several thieves who tried to rob him.
• After reaching Gongzhou provincial city, Chen Shi accepted a supposed offer of work from a fellow townsman, pressed his thumbprint on a paper, and learned the tavernkeeper had turned it into an indenture.
• The tavernkeeper called for his men to seize Chen Shi after he protested that the indenture had been forged.