Recaps

Long Zilu contained the Phantom Demon Beast beneath a blood seal, but a fragment of black mist escaped and headed toward Tongzhi. As Lin Sheng prepared to activate his second mark and continued cultivating, Xiao Shi bought high-grade beast blood, drawing the attention of a shopkeeper and a one-eyed man.

• Long Zilu took five white teeth from the blood pillars and spared the Tongzhi and Shannan magistrates, who left Yangping Mountain after discussing the sacrifices the seal would require.
• The Phantom Demon Beast struggled against the blood seal, then a wisp of black mist escaped in a dry leaf fragment and traveled toward Tongzhi.
• Lin Sheng saw that his second mark had reached 95% progress, cultivated with pills and medicinal baths, and gave Xiao Shi a pill to help him attempt a breakthrough.
• Wang Dehai fled Lin'an County with a caravan, but bandits ambushed the travelers and captured them all.
• Xiao Shi bought the available high-grade Mortal Beast blood at Herbal Hall after failing to find turtle blood, while Shopkeeper Yang and a one-eyed man took an interest in him.

Xiao Shi was lured to Biantai Village by two robbers posing as hunters, who knocked him unconscious and looted Lin Sheng’s residence. Lin Sheng returned to find Xiao Shi gravely injured and his stored treasures gone, while Lin Hong and Xie Guilan were still away.

• Shopkeeper Yang persuaded Balong to rob Xiao Shi, promising to split the proceeds and have the Second Young Master take responsibility if trouble arose.
• After failing to find the beast materials he needed on Yonghua Street, Xiao Shi met two hunters selling Red Stone Ox meat and offering to take him to their village for ox blood.
• The hunters followed Xiao Shi into the residence, struck him from behind, and ransacked the rooms while Da Huang fled and later retaliated by biting one robber.
• Lin Sheng and Old Zhou returned and found Xiao Shi unconscious and bleeding, so Lin Sheng gave him a pill and sent Old Zhou to fetch a physician.
• Lin Sheng checked the neighboring courtyard for Lin Hong and Xie Guilan, then discovered that the robbers had taken his treasure notes, pills, and dried spirit beast meat.

After a black wild dog slaughtered porters on the Lin'an County border, Lin Sheng used Da Huang to track the bandits who had attacked Xiao Shi. Da Huang led him to a mountain camp where Balong and his men celebrated their stolen goods, leaving Lin Sheng poised to confront them.

• A black wild dog killed the porters and then collapsed after firing black mist toward a nearby wolf howl.
• Old Zhou told Lin Sheng that Xiao Shi’s injuries had stabilized, and Lin Sheng decided to use the Dark Star organization’s intelligence to find the attackers.
• Da Huang showed Lin Sheng a bloodstained scrap of cloth and led him out of Tongzhi County to track the bandits.
• Balong recognized the stolen dried meat as spirit beast meat and celebrated his haul of pills, banknotes, and provisions with his brothers.
• Balong’s men discussed their captured prisoners and the Eldest Young Master’s rumored ties to the Yuanyang Beast Sect, while Lin Sheng and Da Huang arrived outside their mountain camp.

Lin Sheng infiltrated Balong's bandit camp to recover his stolen goods and punish those who had targeted him. He killed Balong and the camp's bandits, then sent Da Huang to locate the goods, while Balong's claim of ties to the Tongzhi County government raised the possibility of further trouble.

• Two bandits on watch failed to notice Lin Sheng's approach until he killed them before they could sound the alarm.
• Lin Sheng entered the camp and demanded his stolen goods, the people who had tipped off his men, and compensation from Balong.
• When Balong refused, Lin Sheng killed the bandits who attacked him and defeated Balong in a brief fight.
• Balong begged for his life and claimed he served the Tongzhi County Magistrate, but Lin Sheng killed him anyway.
• Lin Sheng called Da Huang into the tent and sent it to sniff out where the stolen goods were kept.

Lin Sheng recovered his stolen money and valuables, discovered an underground prison beneath the bandit camp, and rescued Wang Dehai and hundreds of captives after wiping out the bandits. As Lin Sheng and Wang Dehai left in a carriage, Lin Sheng suspected the captives had been gathered for a powerful force, possibly connected to the authorities, but decided the bandits could not lead that force back to him.

• Lin Sheng collected his recovered banknotes, a chest of gold and silver, and dried meat before preparing to leave the emptied bandit camp with Da Huang.
• In the underground prison, Wang Dehai broke his hand trying to smash a cage stake, then attempted to hang himself, but Lin Sheng arrived and saved him.
• Wang Dehai told Lin Sheng about the upheaval in Lin'an County City and the fall of Town Mountain Tower, then asked what would happen to the prisoners.
• Lin Sheng broke open the cages and released the captives, then left the camp with Wang Dehai and Da Huang in a bandit carriage.
• While Wang Dehai ate, Lin Sheng wondered why the bandits had held so many people and suspected a powerful force, perhaps the authorities, stood behind them.

After a raid wiped out Balong’s stronghold and freed its prisoners, Guo Feng ordered his men to replace the captives for a mysterious ritual involving a blood-colored flesh egg. Lin Sheng returned to town, completed his second mark, and discovered he could combine two beasts’ powers at once.

• Second Young Master Guo learned that Balong’s stronghold was full of corpses and its prisoners were gone.
• Guo Feng ordered his men to find whoever had ruined his plans and replace the missing prisoners within seven days.
• Guo Feng visited the underground chamber, where the blood-colored flesh egg drained blood from his withered hand.
• Lin Sheng bought high-tier Mortal Beast blood and completed his second ring-shaped mark.
• Lin Sheng discovered that two beasts could now enter his body together, though their enhancements did not add up directly.
• Lin Sheng visited Xiao Shi, who had awakened but needed at least ten days to half a month to recover.

Lin Sheng learned that refugees had spotted a giant Red Stone Ox near Stream Bamboo Forest, but his search for it was interrupted when he discovered that Guo Feng was targeting him over the bandits he had killed. He arranged for Yellow Dog to escort Lin Hong and the others to Prefecture City, then asked about Guo Feng as he prepared to deal with the growing danger.

• Lin Sheng heard from Xiao Shi that the Red Stone Ox came from a village near the county town, and Old Zhou later reported sightings of a giant crimson ox at Stream Bamboo Forest.
• Two men followed Lin Sheng, so he captured and tortured them until they revealed they served Guo Feng and were investigating the deaths of Balong's bandits.
• Lin Sheng learned that Guo Feng's plans had been disrupted when he killed the bandits and freed their captives, then killed the two spies and left his residence.
• Lin Sheng hired Yellow Dog for two thousand taels to escort several people to Prefecture City, with the trip set to begin in two hours.
• Lin Sheng asked Yellow Dog about Guo Feng, and Yellow Dog said Guo Feng was formidable and rumored to have ties to the Yuanyang Beast Sect.

Lin Sheng learned that Guo Feng’s connection to the Yuanyang Beast Sect came through a discarded disciple, then arranged for Yellow Dog to escort his family out of Tongzhi County. To draw Guo Feng’s attention away from the carriages, Lin Sheng confronted his pursuers and went straight to Tian Yuan Pavilion, where he began forcing his way inside.

• Yellow Dog told Lin Sheng that Guo Feng had once saved a discarded disciple of the Yuanyang Beast Sect, and Lin Sheng paid him to escort his family to Linjiang Prefecture.
• Lin Sheng sent Lin Hong, Xie Guilan, and Xiao Shi away in two carriages with Yellow Dog, Old Zhou, and Wang Dehai.
• Lin Sheng noticed Guo Feng’s watchers, killed three attackers in the marketplace, and drew the pursuit away from the departing carriages.
• Lin Sheng put on a ghost-faced mask and went to Tian Yuan Pavilion to confront Guo Feng.
• Lin Sheng sent the two guards flying into Tian Yuan Pavilion when they tried to stop him.

Guo Feng tortured Gongsun Shou for the final step of the Blood Beast Method, then boasted that he had deciphered it and would soon create a spirit beast. Meanwhile, Lin Sheng stormed Tian Yuan Pavilion to confront Guo Feng, and the chapter ended as two late Muscle Forging martial artists attacked him.

• Guo Feng warned Guo Chun to stop scheming, then had servants dispose of Yang Fu’s body in the koi pond.
• Guo Feng tortured Gongsun Shou for the Blood Beast Method’s final step and claimed he had deciphered it himself.
• Lin Sheng fought his way through Tian Yuan Pavilion, killing or incapacitating more than twenty guards, including a powerful axe-wielding martial artist.
• Lin Sheng reached the rear courtyard and recognized Guo Feng, who offered to let him submit.
• Lin Sheng attacked Guo Feng, who summoned two late Muscle Forging martial artists; Lin Sheng activated Ape Demon Transformation.

Lin Sheng pursued Guo Feng into an underground passage and hall after defeating his guards, then fought the grotesque flesh egg Guo Feng unleashed. He poisoned the creature at close range, but the chapter ended before its fate was clear.

• Lin Sheng transformed with the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile and crushed the weapons of Guo Feng’s two guards, leaving both gravely wounded.
• Guo Feng fled through a secret passage, but Lin Sheng broke through the walls and endured the passage’s spear and crossbow traps without injury.
• In the underground hall, Guo Feng summoned a flesh egg from a pit and ordered it to kill Lin Sheng.
• The flesh egg’s tendrils pierced and restrained Lin Sheng, but the poison in his qi and blood withered their tips and let him tear free.
• Lin Sheng used the tendrils’ pull to rush toward the flesh egg and pressed both poisoned hands against it, shouting “Sever Soul!”

Lin Sheng killed Guo Feng but was trapped underground by the monstrous creature that emerged from the flesh egg. After battling its relentless regeneration, he nearly tore it apart and heard a voice reveal that its tail was its core.

• Lin Sheng battered the flesh egg until Guo Feng fed it a black porcelain bottle and urged it to attack.
• The flesh-egg monster struck Guo Feng dead, then split open to reveal a centipede-like creature covered in pale human hands.
• Lin Sheng activated Earth Affinity and entered the Tusk Mountain Boar imprint, shattering the creature’s head, but it regenerated and continued fighting.
• Lin Sheng fought the creature through the underground chamber, then smashed through the ground with it and tore its body nearly in two.
• An unseen speaker told Lin Sheng that the creature’s tail was its core and that destroying it would stop its regeneration.

Lin Sheng killed the centipede monster beneath Tian Yuan Pavilion, rescued the captive Gongsun Shou, and escaped Tongzhi County while Guo Hua and Brother Meng searched for the attacker. Outside the city, the dying Gongsun Shou taught Lin Sheng the Blood Beast Spirit Nurturing Method and named Liu Xin as a contact before he died.

• Lin Sheng poisoned the centipede monster with his venomous hand, killed it, and pulled Gongsun Shou from the underground prison.
• Lin Sheng escaped Tian Yuan Pavilion and slipped through Tongzhi County's closing gates while Brother Meng failed to catch him.
• After fleeing more than ten miles, Lin Sheng gave the wounded Gongsun Shou medicine, and Gongsun Shou woke and learned that Guo Feng was dead.
• Gongsun Shou taught Lin Sheng the Blood Beast Spirit Nurturing Method and told him to seek Liu Xin at the Yuanyang Beast Sect.
• Gongsun Shou died after finishing his instructions to Lin Sheng.

After burying Gongsun Shou, Lin Sheng integrated the Blood Demon Centipede and discovered its powerful defensive properties and Rapid Healing Talent. As he hurried toward Linjiang Prefecture to catch up with Xiao Shi and the others, Yellow Dog escorted Wang Dehai’s carriages out of the county and reacted to a sound approaching them.

• Lin Sheng buried Gongsun Shou without leaving a gravestone, then identified the centipede monster as a pseudo Spirit Beast called the Blood Demon Centipede.
• Lin Sheng integrated the Blood Demon Centipede, gaining a five-point Constitution boost, greater stamina and agility, and the Rapid Healing Talent.
• Lin Sheng tested his new resilience and healed a self-inflicted wound in about three breaths before setting off toward Linjiang Prefecture to catch up with Xiao Shi and the others.
• Yellow Dog forced Wang Dehai’s carriages through the county gate, reassuring Wang Dehai that he could handle any pursuers.
• Yellow Dog read a hidden booklet during the journey, then closed it and vanished from the carriage after hearing a sound as Da Huang barked.

Yellow Dog protected the fleeing group, and Lin Sheng reunited with them after killing Guo Feng. Yellow Dog warned Lin Sheng that Guo Hua could put him on the Black List, while Da Huang bit Yellow Dog and hid behind Lin Sheng.

• Yellow Dog ambushed and defeated four pursuers, then caught up with the carriages and frightened Da Huang.
• After the group stopped for the night, Yellow Dog killed a spotted leopard and cooked it for them.
• Lin Sheng arrived safely, confirmed that he had killed Guo Feng, and learned that Guo Hua might place him on the Black List.
• Yellow Dog explained the rewards for Black List criminals and warned Lin Sheng that martial artists and sects might pursue him.
• Da Huang bit Yellow Dog when he tried to pet it, then retreated behind Lin Sheng as Yellow Dog angrily complained.

A Black Wildcat’s gaze took control of a Black Python, which attacked and silenced a passing caravan before the story returned to Lin Sheng’s traveling party. Lin Sheng advanced his poison art and neared a Muscle Forging breakthrough, while Yellow Dog’s awkward attempt to inspect him ended in a humiliating misunderstanding.

• A Black Wildcat confronted a Black Python, whose eyes turned black as it fell under the wildcat’s control and the wildcat collapsed dead.
• The controlled Black Python attacked a caravan on the official road, and the travelers’ cries soon fell silent.
• Lin Sheng cultivated the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm with poisonous herbs and pushed it close to a breakthrough, though he remained short of late Muscle Forging.
• Lin Sheng joined Yellow Dog and the others by the bonfire, where Yellow Dog recognized that Lin Sheng was close to advancing.
• Yellow Dog suspiciously inspected Lin Sheng, then claimed he had wanted to see Lin Sheng’s bloodline characteristics, alarming the others.

During the journey, Yellow Dog explained bloodline talents, their rarity, and their importance to cultivation, while confirming that Lin Sheng showed no detectable bloodline power. After Yellow Dog went hunting for dinner, Lin Sheng reflected that the Mountain Sea Scroll might let him rival bloodline holders if he absorbed powerful spirit beasts.

• Yellow Dog examined Lin Sheng and found no detectable bloodline talent, then explained that his strength and rapid progress were unusual.
• Yellow Dog described innate and postnatal bloodlines, their rarity, and how powerful bloodline Lineages passed their talents down through descendants.
• Yellow Dog explained that bloodlines enabled access to true arts and the Bone Transformation realm, while most people without them struggled to advance beyond Blood Circulation.
• Yellow Dog said bloodline power likely originated from humans adapting to the blood of powerful exotic beasts, and that attempts to create bloodlines artificially usually failed.
• Yellow Dog went into the forest to hunt as sunset fell, ending his conversation with Lin Sheng.
• Lin Sheng considered that the Mountain Sea Scroll might compensate for his lack of bloodline talent, then began cultivating.

Lin Sheng broke through to Late Muscle Forging and tested the strengthened poison of his Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm. As the group neared Linjiang Prefecture, Yellow Dog explained the value of true techniques and described the prefecture’s three great powers, leaving Lin Sheng to consider where to join.

• Lin Sheng used poisonous withered-leaf grass to break through to Late Muscle Forging, then tested his improved strength, speed, reactions, and poison in the forest.
• Yellow Dog accepted Lin Sheng’s payment but chose to continue with the group to Linjiang Prefecture.
• Yellow Dog told Lin Sheng that Dark Star’s true techniques required high rank and many merit points, and advised him to join a sect or other major power.
• Yellow Dog explained that true techniques were vital for reaching Bone Transformation, a realm far beyond Blood Circulation.
• Yellow Dog named the three great powers of Linjiang Prefecture as the Situ Family, Tianxiang Sword Sect, and Yuanyang Beast Sect, and warned Lin Sheng to choose his true technique carefully.

Lin Sheng chose Yuanyang Beast Sect as his best prospect after Yellow Dog explained the sects’ entry requirements and the value of their spirit beasts. When bandits ambushed the convoy, Yellow Dog pursued their leader while Lin Sheng protected the carriages and killed most of the attackers, leaving the remaining bandits fleeing.

• Yellow Dog explained that Lin Sheng could enter Tianxiang Sword Sect or Yuanyang Beast Sect, but faint bloodline power would make becoming a true disciple difficult.
• Lin Sheng decided to seek entry into Yuanyang Beast Sect, hoping to use Gongsun Shou’s connection and gain access to spirit beast blood.
• As the convoy traveled toward Linjiang Prefecture City, bandits led by Du Hu sprang from the forest and attacked.
• Yellow Dog swiftly cut down dozens of bandits and pursued Du Hu as the remaining attackers turned on the convoy.
• Lin Sheng used stones and the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm to kill the bandits who approached the carriages, then returned after the survivors fled.

Lin Sheng revealed that he had cultivated the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm to its third level, astonishing Yellow Dog after the bandits were defeated. Yellow Dog then pursued Du Long for his hidden wealth, but Du Long’s trap failed when Yellow Dog revealed his formidable strength and smashed through the secret chamber door.

• Lin Sheng ordered Old Zhou and Wang Dehai to search the bandit corpses and warned them not to touch the poison-blackened bodies.
• Yellow Dog returned with the unconscious Du Long and a tiger beast, then was poisoned while searching a corpse before forcing the poison out with his qi and blood.
• Yellow Dog recognized Lin Sheng’s Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, and Lin Sheng admitted he had reached its third level and late Muscle Forging.
• Lin Sheng absorbed the high-grade Mortal Beast tiger, while Yellow Dog took Du Long away to force him to reveal his hidden savings.
• Du Long led Yellow Dog to a secret chamber, then triggered poison mist and crossbows in an attempt to kill them both.
• Yellow Dog destroyed the crossbow mechanisms, transformed his arm into a scaled claw, and shattered the chamber’s stone door.

Yellow Dog failed to get what he wanted from Du Long, who died before he could be questioned, while Lin Sheng’s party continued toward Linjiang Prefecture. On the road, Yellow Dog explained how mind and spirit mattered in the higher Martial Way realms, and Du Long’s corpse was transformed by a Black Python into a scaled, clawed creature that sped away.

• Yellow Dog escaped Du Long’s secret chamber unharmed, but Du Long died before Yellow Dog could question him, so Yellow Dog searched the camp and left empty-handed.
• Lin Sheng’s party divided the spoils from the bandits, and Yellow Dog caught up with their carriages in a grim mood.
• A Black Python killed the bandits fleeing Du Long’s camp, absorbed their blood, then possessed Du Long’s corpse and transformed it into a scaled creature with black claws.
• As the carriages traveled toward Linjiang Prefecture, Yellow Dog told Lin Sheng that Bone Transformation and Divine Form required mind and spirit as well as physical strength.
• Yellow Dog explained that Bone Transformation changed a cultivator’s natural endowment to better absorb primordial qi, while mind and spirit helped suppress the beastly instincts that could arise during cultivation.

Lin Sheng and Yellow Dog were pursued by Du Long, now transformed into a black-scaled monster they identified as the Phantom Demon Beast from Yangping Mountain. Yellow Dog fought the regenerating creature while Lin Sheng left to warn others, and the monster began unleashing a stronger attack.

• Yellow Dog teased Da Huang with a black pellet, but Da Huang soon became frightened by something pursuing the carriages.
• Lin Sheng ordered the drivers into the woods, then split off with Yellow Dog to draw the pursuer away from the others.
• Lin Sheng and Yellow Dog recognized the pursuer as the dead bandit leader Du Long, possessed by the Phantom Demon Beast.
• Du Long knocked Lin Sheng flying, while Yellow Dog transformed and struck the monster apart, but it regenerated from black mist.
• Yellow Dog blocked Du Long from attacking Lin Sheng and told him to find help; Lin Sheng left as the monster released a much larger mass of black mist.

Lin Sheng fought the Phantom Demon Beast after it pursued him through the mountain forest, then resisted its attempt to possess him by unleashing earth power and the Three Corpses toxins. He drove the beast’s consciousness from his body and restored his control, but his battered body was near collapse, so he possessed the Blood Demon Centipede to recover.

• Black Scale sent part of its body after Lin Sheng while Yellow Dog stayed behind to fight the monster.
• The Phantom Demon Beast attacked Lin Sheng, and he transformed by possessing the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile and Blood Demon Centipede before charging and crushing its body.
• When the Phantom Demon Beast attacked again with tentacles, Lin Sheng used Three Corpses Severing Soul to poison them, but the beast’s mist entered his body and began taking control.
• Lin Sheng drew on Earth Affinity and released the three toxins, then canceled Blood Demon Centipede possession to overwhelm the Phantom Demon Beast as his body weakened.
• Lin Sheng’s consciousness trapped the Phantom Demon Beast until its black mist vanished, and he possessed the Blood Demon Centipede again to restore his blood and qi.

After surviving a deadly fight with a Phantom Demon Beast demon seed, Lin Sheng traveled with Yellow Dog and his companions to Linjiang Prefecture City. Yellow Dog explained that the weakened demon seed was unlikely to pose an immediate threat, and the group entered the vast city, where Yellow Dog hurried off and Lin Sheng settled the others at an inn.

• Lin Sheng used Rapid Healing to recover from severe injuries, rejoined the carriages, and ate spirit beast meat to restore his strength.
• Yellow Dog caught up with Lin Sheng, described his own costly fight with a Phantom Demon Beast demon seed, and accepted Lin Sheng’s offer of compensation.
• Yellow Dog explained that the demon seed was weaker than a true Phantom Demon Beast and advised reporting it through the organization after they reached Linjiang Prefecture.
• Lin Sheng’s group traveled on and arrived at the imposing Linjiang Prefecture City, where they entered without an inspection.
• Yellow Dog told Lin Sheng that the Prefecture City branch was at Shuitian Pavilion and left to handle his own matters, while Lin Sheng found an inn for his companions.

Lin Sheng traveled to Yuanyang City to seek Liu Xin’s help in joining the Yuanyang Beast Sect, where he witnessed the sect’s influence and powerful beasts. Liu Xin agreed to recommend him for the outer sect, and Lin Sheng was told to return the next morning to enter the mountains.

• Lin Sheng learned that recruitment for the Yuanyang Beast Sect had passed, then left Linjiang Prefecture City for Yuanyang City.
• Lin Sheng visited Yuanyang Pavilion and waited several days to meet Liu Xin, offering the name of Gongsun Shou as a connection.
• Liu Xin recalled his close bond with the deceased Gongsun Shou and promised to help Lin Sheng once.
• Lin Sheng asked to join the Yuanyang Beast Sect, and Liu Xin agreed to recommend him for the outer sect without an assessment.
• Liu Xin told Lin Sheng to return the next morning so someone could lead him into the mountains.

Lin Sheng was rejected as an inner sect candidate by the Yuanyang Beast Sect and received only outer sect offers from it and the Tianxiang Sword Sect, which required him to abandon his martial arts. He chose to keep his cultivation and, after returning to Linjiang Prefecture, went to the Fine Rain teahouse to meet Qi Ning.

• Liu Xin arranged for Lin Sheng to be escorted into the Yuanyang Beast Sect, where Steward Sun examined him and judged his bloodline too weak for the inner sect.
• Fang Yun explained that Lin Sheng could only join as an outer sect disciple and that becoming a true disciple required a strong bloodline or Bone Transformation; Lin Sheng declined to stay.
• Lin Sheng traveled to Tianxiang City, but its assessment also offered him only outer sect status and required him to replace his current martial arts with the sect's techniques.
• Lin Sheng decided to postpone joining a sect, continue cultivating the Ape Fetus Technique and Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, and seek resources through the Dark Star channels.
• The next day, Lin Sheng entered the Fine Rain teahouse and asked the middle-aged woman to tell Qi Ning he had arrived.