Chapter Summaries

Chi Xuan intervened when villagers tried to break He San’s arms to claim a reward for turning him in, then bought He San’s life and used Tu Shan Jun’s power to help him escape. Following Tu Shan Jun’s lead, Chi Xuan reached Long Hill and discovered a formation blocking his way into Rooster Crow Temple, where the plague’s source lay.

• Chi Xuan stopped villagers from beating He San and learned that famine had driven them to capture sick survivors for reward money.
• Chi Xuan gave the village chief fifteen taels of silver to buy He San’s life, then tried to send He San away.
• Tu Shan Jun used incense wish power to restore He San, and Chi Xuan directed him to Crimson Sheep Palace in Ji County.
• Chi Xuan reached Long Hill and learned from Tu Shan Jun that the source of the plague was inside the mountain, not underground.
• Chi Xuan approached Rooster Crow Temple to infiltrate it, but a formation blocked his path.

Chixuan infiltrated Rooster Crow Temple, killed its guards, and uncovered the source of its plague and sacrifices. He confronted Wan Yusheng, the inspector responsible, who defended the imperial court’s orders and urged Chixuan to serve the dynasty instead.

• Tu Shan Jun opened a hidden route through the temple’s formation, allowing Chixuan to slip into Rooster Crow Temple under concealment.
• Chixuan killed two Daoists in the rear courtyard and learned that the temple and county yamen stripped incense and faith power from people before disposing of them.
• Chixuan attacked the long-bearded Daoist and his disciples, killed them, and burned their bodies.
• Chixuan drained the incense and faith power from the temple’s statue, revealing stairs to an underground chamber with a chained, roaring creature.
• Chixuan confronted Wan Yusheng, who admitted the plague operation followed an imperial order and argued that Chixuan should join the court rather than oppose it.

Chi Xuan rejected Wan Yusheng’s offer to serve the imperial court and fought him in the mountain chamber, eventually cutting off his head. Wan Yusheng survived by transforming into a one-headed Ghost Chariot, and Chi Xuan began a Divine Descent as the battle continued.

• Chi Xuan refused Wan Yusheng’s offer of eternal life through service to the imperial court, and Wan Yusheng attacked him with his ritual sword.
• Chi Xuan saw through Wan Yusheng’s illusion, countered his sword strike, and gained the upper hand with his fire-aspect mana.
• Wan Yusheng changed into an incense official and summoned incense soldiers, but Chi Xuan’s Myriad Dharma Slash cut off his head.
• Wan Yusheng’s body transformed into a one-headed Ghost Chariot, and he charged Chi Xuan with his claws.
• Chi Xuan began a Divine Descent as Wan Yusheng lunged for his chest.

Chixuan defeated Wan Yusheng and discovered that the Great Cang Dynasty had deployed plague-bearing beasts across the realm. After a Chaofeng escaped its cage and attacked Chixuan, soldiers excavated Rooster Crow Temple, where the danger underground remained unresolved.

• Chixuan defeated Wan Yusheng, whose Yin Spirit activated the formation before Chixuan absorbed him into the soul banner.
• The iron-cage artifact exploded, releasing a powerful beast that Tu Shan Jun identified as a Chaofeng with incense-fire-tainted blood.
• Tu Shan Jun discovered the plague formula in Wan Yusheng's memories and told Chixuan that the Great Cang Dynasty had released many plague-bearing beasts.
• Chixuan sensed an opportunity for Foundation Establishment but was wounded when the Chaofeng attacked him.
• At Rooster Crow Temple, the county magistrate and the Imperial Envoy ordered soldiers to excavate the underground chamber, and the work continued until dawn.

Chi Xuan killed the alien beast and used a Foundation Establishment Pill and Tu Shan Jun’s Spirit Stones to break through to Foundation Establishment. As Chi Xuan stabilized his new Yin Spirit, Lu Wu opened the formation beneath Rooster Crowing Temple and faced the immense spiritual energy surging out.

• Chi Xuan killed the wounded alien beast, recovered from his injuries, and sensed that Rooster Crowing Temple lacked enough spiritual energy for Foundation Establishment.
• Tu Shan Jun supplied Chi Xuan with a platform of Spirit Stones and a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Chi Xuan condensed his mana, awakened his Yin Spirit, and completed his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.
• Lu Wu and Magistrate Xue’s soldiers excavated through the temple grounds until they uncovered the formation gate.
• Lu Wu used his command token to open the gate, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy poured out.

Chi Xuan revealed himself as Zhang Tianbao and took revenge on County Magistrate Xue for abducting Zhang Xincheng, while Lu Wu tried and failed to stop him. As Chi Xuan moved to kill Lu Wu, a group of cultivators arrived, and one recognized him as a Daoist priest.

• Chi Xuan emerged from the formation with the strange beast’s corpse and revealed that he had killed Wan Yusheng.
• Chi Xuan identified himself to County Magistrate Xue as Zhang Tianbao, master of Red Ram Palace, and said he had come to avenge Zhang Xincheng.
• Chi Xuan killed County Magistrate Xue and captured his soul in the soul banner.
• Lu Wu challenged Chi Xuan but was wounded and lost his incense-power dharma body.
• Chi Xuan prepared to strike Lu Wu, but newly arrived cultivators blocked his attack, and one recognized him as a Daoist priest.

Crimson Xuan fought the Demon-Subduing Office after killing Lu Wu, while Chang Xun recognized him and tried to explain the situation. After defeating Gu Ling, Crimson Xuan spared him and left with the strange beast’s corpse, saying the imperial court had abandoned the Dao despite his former willingness to serve it.

• Crimson Xuan recognized Chang Xun and introduced himself to Gu Ling, the Demon-Subduing Office Commandant of Giant Ridge Prefecture.
• Gu Ling accused Crimson Xuan of violating Great Cang’s laws, and Chang Xun tried to persuade them that there had been a misunderstanding.
• Crimson Xuan attacked Lu Wu with Myriad Laws Slash, and Gu Ling failed to stop the sword qi from killing him.
• Crimson Xuan defeated Gu Ling in their spell battle, then struck again after Gu Ling ordered his subordinates to escape.
• Chang Xun begged Crimson Xuan to spare Gu Ling, and Crimson Xuan stopped his attack, took the strange beast’s corpse, and said the imperial court was without the Dao.

Chi Xuan avenged the victims imprisoned at Rooster Crow Temple, then returned to Red Ram Palace and found Zhou Hui gathering plague-stricken commoners. Zhou Hui proposed using Chi Xuan’s healing arts and their growing numbers to build a rebellion against the court, leaving Chi Xuan stunned by the scale of his plan.

• Chi Xuan released the prisoners at Rooster Crow Temple, and Tu Shan Jun explained that most were near death from their injuries and starvation.
• Chi Xuan led the freed prisoners into the sunlight, performed rites for those who died, and flew to Long County.
• Chi Xuan killed those involved in the trafficking scheme and asked Tu Shan Jun what cultivation he needed to help him return to the Little Wasteland Region.
• Tu Shan Jun told Chi Xuan that he would need to reach the Golden Core Grandmaster realm, and Chi Xuan planned to return to Red Ram Palace and cultivate in hiding.
• Chi Xuan returned to Red Ram Palace and discovered Zhou Hui had gathered five hundred seventy-two plague-stricken commoners.
• Zhou Hui urged Chi Xuan to heal and empower the commoners so they could seize counties, take Giant Ridge Prefecture, and eventually replace the court.

Chi Xuan agreed to lead the infected commoners and began cultivating the Incense Offering Dao with Tu Shan Jun’s guidance. As more people gathered at Crimson Ram Palace and their food ran low, Chi Xuan prepared to put their plan into action.

• Zhou Hui urged Chi Xuan to let the commoners gain power and fight for their survival, and Chi Xuan agreed to lead them.
• Tu Shan Jun taught Chi Xuan the Incense Offering Dao and gave him a black seal to suppress the believers’ voices and gather their incense offerings.
• Chi Xuan absorbed incense offerings from five hundred believers, refined the black seal, and formed a faint crimson-robed phantom behind him.
• Wanted notices appeared accusing Chi Xuan of murdering officials, while more than a thousand commoners gathered at the Daoist temple under Zhou Hui’s organization.
• When Zhou Hui reported that their food would run out within two days, Chi Xuan said he was ready to carry out their plan and ordered him to gather everyone who had received registers.

Chi Xuan set out with his followers to seize Ji County’s yamen and its grain, leaving Zhou Hui to stabilize the rear. He reached the yamen and recruited County Assistant Magistrate Li Yuanzhen into a plan to install him as county magistrate under a new identity.

• Chi Xuan told the twenty-three register-bearers that they would take the county yamen and distribute its grain, and Zhou Hui persuaded them to join.
• Chi Xuan traveled to Ji County with Zhao Jiang, Li Agou, and sixteen others while Zhou Hui stayed behind.
• County Assistant Magistrate Li burned the imperial court’s letter about Chi Xuan and resolved to wait for the Demon-Subduing Colonel.
• Chi Xuan appeared before County Assistant Magistrate Li, who feared for his life and explained his position.
• Chi Xuan offered Li Yuanzhen a true register, and Li accepted it and agreed to help make Chi Xuan the county magistrate under a clean identity.

Li Asheng took command of a garrison unit and proved his strength, while Chixuan sought to spread the faith among Ji City's influential households. Master Zhao declined to join despite being cured, but Yang Si agreed, and Chixuan prepared to pass him the true register.

• Chief Constable Lao met Zhao Jiang, the newly appointed squad leader, whose four disciplined companions stood apart from the county constables.
• Commander Li appointed Li Asheng centurion, and Wang Laidong challenged him; Li Asheng knocked Wang unconscious with one punch.
• Chixuan visited Master Zhao, claimed a powerful patriarch could grant magical power, cured his illness, and left without securing his agreement to join the faith.
• Chixuan approached Yang Si at the Yang residence, and Yang Si agreed to join the faith so he could protect what remained of his family’s affairs.
• Chixuan agreed to pass Yang Si the true register.

Chi Xuan expanded the Scarlet Heaven Society and helped Ji County recover, but a looming drought drove him to plan irrigation from the Long River and seize Long County. Meanwhile, Demon-Subduing Colonel Chu Ge arrived in Ji County to investigate Chi Xuan, and County Deputy Li Yuanzhen met with the Daoist in crimson robes after sending him toward Red Goat Palace.

• Chi Xuan gave Yang Si a true talisman seed and a sculpture of the Scarlet Heaven Lord, and Yang Si began worshipping it.
• Chi Xuan recruited more believers, and Tu Shan Jun felt his strength and Dao begin to advance as the society spread through Ji County.
• Chi Xuan worried that drought would destroy the crops, so Tu Shan Jun proposed diverting the Long River and advised him to seize Long County.
• Demon-Subduing Colonel Chu Ge questioned Li Yuanzhen about Chi Xuan and revealed that Chi Xuan was also known as Zhang Tianbao.
• Li Yuanzhen sent Constable Lao and Squad Leader Zhao to guide Chu Ge to Red Goat Palace, then went to meet the Daoist in crimson robes.

Chi Xuan arranged irrigation work to feed Ji County’s people while avoiding a confrontation with the court’s demon-subduing captains, then struggled with how little had changed despite his growing power. As the captains searched Red Ram Temple, Captain Chu began a spell using Chi Xuan’s birth details.

• Chi Xuan gave Li Yuanzhen irrigation plans and told him and Zhou Hui to organize labor, while warning them not to harm the demon-subduing captains.
• Chi Xuan gave Zhou Hui a scripture to study and slipped away from the county yamen.
• Chi Xuan healed a dying young man through a Divine Lord statue, even though the family did not belong to his society or offer incense-fire wish power.
• Chi Xuan saw that poverty, corruption, and hunger persisted in Ji City and told Tu Shan Jun that his power frightened him.
• At Red Ram Temple, the demon-subduing banner officers failed to find Chi Xuan, so Captain Chu burned a waist token and used Chi Xuan’s birth details in a spell.

Zhao Jiang and Zhou Sheng disrupted the Demon Subduing Yamen’s spell as Chu Ge’s party pursued Chi Xuan. After Huang Ci gravely wounded a little girl to force Zhou Sheng to reveal Chi Xuan’s whereabouts, Zhou Sheng fled with her, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Zhao Jiang secretly sent a warning to Zhou Sheng after recognizing that the ash figure resembled the Grand Master.
• Zhou Sheng gathered villagers to block the ash figure, and a stronger cultivator’s interference caused the tracking spell to collapse.
• Chu Ge’s party detained Zhou Sheng and two others, while Zhou Sheng refused to reveal where Chi Xuan was hiding.
• Huang Ci wounded A-Jiao and threatened to let her die unless Chi Xuan appeared, despite Chu Ge ordering him to stop.
• Zhou Sheng used incense-fire Dharma power to shield A-Jiao and fled with her as Huang Ci urged him to run.

Zhou Sheng carried the mortally wounded A-Jiao to the county seat, exposing Chi Xuan’s presence to the court’s Demon-Subduing officials. Chi Xuan saved her with a spirit pill and confronted the officials watching from above, while their scheme threatened his growing support.

• Zhou Sheng fled with A-Jiao in his arms as Zhao Jiang tried to follow, but Constable Lao stopped him and Huang Ci killed two captured bandits.
• Lieutenant Chu seized Huang Ci and flew toward the county seat with him and Mingyang, while Zhao Jiang admitted to himself that fear had kept him from acting.
• Zhou Sheng reached the city walls and begged his brother Zhou Hui to save A-Jiao, revealing that he believed the Great Mage could help her.
• Huang Ci denounced Chi Xuan before the people of Ji City, causing the incense-and-faith power gathering for him to fade.
• Zhou Hui struck Zhou Sheng for risking their plans, but Chi Xuan praised Zhou Sheng, gave A-Jiao a spirit pill and talisman, and challenged the three officials above to come down.

Chi Xuan confronted Demon-Subduing Commandant Chu Ge outside Ji City after Chu Ge used a little girl to force him to appear. As their battle shook the ground, wavering believers weakened Chi Xuan’s incense power, but he launched a blazing sword strike anyway.

• Tu Shan Jun warned Chi Xuan that the banner officer practiced a concealed demonic art, while Chu Ge introduced himself and apologized for the girl’s danger.
• Chi Xuan sent Zhou Hui, his brother, and the child into Ji City before facing Chu Ge, as believers began hiding their Red Heaven Society scriptures.
• County Magistrate Li ordered the constables and garrison soldiers to assemble at the city gate, and Zhou Hui gathered the soldiers stationed on the wall.
• Chi Xuan and Chu Ge fought outside the city, with Chu Ge using earth-attributed mana to withstand Chi Xuan’s fire and sword attacks.
• Chi Xuan took to the air and prepared his Ten Thousand Dharma Slash, but wavering believers weakened his incense power before he unleashed it.

Chi Xuan overwhelmed Chu Ge and the Demon Subduing Yamen officers, revealing strength far beyond what the imperial court expected. He spared Chu Ge and subdued Ming Yang, then moved to capture Huang Ci after Huang Ci offered to reveal the cause of the disasters and proposed a great undertaking.

• Chu Ge used earth defenses against Chi Xuan, but Chi Xuan's crimson sword strike shattered them and left Chu Ge gravely wounded.
• Chi Xuan knocked Chu Ge unconscious without killing him, intending to keep his true strength concealed from the imperial court.
• Chi Xuan crushed the banner officer Ming Yang into a pit, then faced Huang Ci, who offered to recruit him and reveal the cause of the disasters.
• Chi Xuan distrusted Huang Ci's offer and attacked him with Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts, intending to capture him and inspect his memories.

Chi Xuan defeated Demon-Subduing Captain Chu and brought him to the Scarlet Heaven Society’s temple beneath the county yamen, where Chu discovered a living incense-born divine body. Chi Xuan kept Chu imprisoned to prevent him from dying before the court learned what had happened.

• Chi Xuan used a talisman to erase the battle’s magical aftermath and flew away with three captives as Zhou Hui and Li Yuanzhen reconsidered their plans.
• Chu Ge awoke bound by black-iron restraints and learned that Ming Yang remained unconscious while Huang Ci was still imprisoned.
• Chi Xuan brought Chu Ge before a living incense-born divine body, which Tu Shan Jun had created using the method of nurturing evil.
• Chu Ge questioned why Chi Xuan had become a rebel, then realized Chi Xuan had anticipated his attempt to kill himself.
• Chi Xuan told Chu Ge he would remain imprisoned for several days and that the divine body would prevent his death.

Crimson Mystic left Chu Ge trapped in the Daoist temple while Tu Shan Jun strengthened his control over Ji County’s incense offerings and prepared Crimson Mystic to refine the county into his Daoist ground. As the suns dimmed and spiritual energy dwindled, the county yamen recruited laborers to divert the Long River, while crimson-headbanded people began gathering in Long County.

• Crimson Mystic blocked Chu Ge from leaving the temple and escaped with an earth-escape technique, while Chu Ge was led deeper into the underground temple and reunited with Ming Yang.
• Tu Shan Jun formed the Eight Pillars Trapping Baleful Intent Qi-Locking Formation, allowing Crimson Mystic to draw on Ji County’s incense offerings as his power grew.
• Tu Shan Jun noticed that the suns were dimming and warned that dwindling spiritual energy left little time for his unfinished Dao and Crimson Mystic’s limited dharma power.
• Er Zhu signed up for the county yamen’s paid labor project to connect the Long River to an irrigation channel, and other residents followed.
• Three months later, the channel was nearly complete, while people wearing crimson headbands gathered in Long County and drew the yamen’s attention.

Three years later, the Eagle Wolf Escort Agency’s shipment of three hundred sticks of god-offering incense was ambushed by cultists seeking to steal it. Li Datong used Lord Scarlet Heaven’s ghost-commanding power to defeat them, and the escort party later encountered a young man from the Demon Suppression Office.

• Lu Huai traveled with the Eagle Wolf Escort Agency and hoped to become a full member after the current escort run.
• Lin Hong and his cultists prepared to rob the escort shipment, while an Incense Master led the attack at Canglin Tavern.
• The cultists poisoned the tea, but Li Datong recognized the danger and gave spirit-talisman pellets to the poisoned escort members.
• The man in white demanded the three hundred sticks of god-offering incense, and Li Datong fought him and his followers.
• Li Datong summoned an evil ghost with Command Ghost, which killed the Incense Master and helped rout the attackers, though several escort members died.
• After burying their dead and continuing their journey, the escort party met a young man who identified himself as being from the Demon Suppression Office.