Chapter Summaries

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.

Lin Sheng met Qi Ning, who revealed herself as the Dark Star Blazing Star Emissary Thousand Faces, and asked about the Phantom Demon Beast and his prospects for joining a sect. On her recommendation, he traveled to Wanhua City to visit the Seven Forms Sect and, after finding its headquarters nearly deserted, spotted someone as he neared the mountainside.

• Lin Sheng recognized Qi Ning as Thousand Faces, and she examined his cultivation in the Ape Fetus Technique and Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm.
• Qi Ning told Lin Sheng that Dark Star had spread word about the Phantom Demon Beast and that the Lin'an authorities would respond.
• Qi Ning warned Lin Sheng that joining the major powers would be difficult and recommended the Seven Forms Sect, giving him a Concealment Art to hide his qi and blood.
• Lin Sheng gathered intelligence on the Seven Forms Sect, learned about its seven courtyards and Sect Master Ouyang Bing, and decided to visit.
• Lin Sheng traveled for three days to Wanhua City, climbed toward the Seven Forms Sect headquarters, and finally saw someone near the mountainside.

Lin Sheng passed the Seven Forms Sect’s martial assessment despite being outmatched in strength by Lu Tie, then learned that his bloodline talent was low. Lu Tie explained that the sect’s seven courtyard arts combined into the hidden Seven Forms True Martial and began revealing its founding history.

• Zhang Yuanshan guided Lin Sheng to the Hall of External Affairs and described the Seven Forms Sect’s seven courtyards.
• Lin Sheng paid the assessment fee, and Lu Tie tested his strength and speed before declaring that he had passed.
• Steward Wang tested Lin Sheng’s blood and found only a thin trace of ape-type bloodline, which Lu Tie called lowest of the low.
• Lu Tie assured Lin Sheng that the sect did not place high requirements on bloodline talent and explained that its seven courtyard arts formed the Seven Forms True Martial.
• Lu Tie began telling Lin Sheng about the Seven Forms Sect’s founding ancestor.

Lin Sheng joined the Seven Forms Sect’s Qingniao Institute and became Xie Qingyun’s personal disciple, then began cultivating its Green Winged Bird-based technique. After moving his companions to Wanhua City, he struggled to find enough suitable beast blood and resolved to seek a reliable source and a way to earn money.

• Lu Tie explained the Seven Forms Sect’s history and its founder’s creation of the Seven Forms True Martial, and Lin Sheng chose the quieter Qingniao Institute over the crowded Golden Origin Courtyard.
• At Qingniao Peak, Xie Qingyun confirmed Lin Sheng was seventeen and made him her fifth personal disciple.
• Lin Sheng spent four days practicing Qingniao Chasing Star Finger but made little progress, so he went to Wanhua City to find suitable avian beast blood and meet Wang Dehai and the others.
• Lin Sheng rented two courtyards, settled Wang Dehai, Xiao Shi, Old Zhou, Lin Hong, and the others, and sent three men to search for high-grade avian beast blood.
• Lin Sheng absorbed the gathered blood but obtained enough for only one beast, then recognized that he needed a steadier supply and a way to make money.

Lin Sheng joined Qingniao Institute and began cultivating Qingniao Chasing Star Finger, using an Azure Feather Pill to break through to its first level. He then sought stronger bird-type beasts in Wanhua City and learned that Myriad Beasts Hall had a Ghost Face Black Plover priced at eighteen thousand taels of silver.

• Lin Sheng assimilated a Crimson Feather Eagle and improved his cultivation of Qingniao Chasing Star Finger under Xie Qingyun's guidance.
• Lin Sheng struggled to sense the technique's rhythm until an Azure Feather Pill helped him activate his first acupoint and enter the first level.
• Lin Sheng failed to open a second acupoint after taking his remaining Azure Feather Pill, then decided to seek suitable bird-type beasts in Wanhua City.
• At Myriad Beasts Hall, Yang Niu told Lin Sheng that the requested Azure Windbirds and Void Songbirds were unavailable but offered a Ghost Face Black Plover for eighteen thousand taels of silver.

Lin Sheng accepted a Dark Star commission to kill the Blood Circulation Practitioner Luo Hu and spent the following days preparing through intensive cultivation. He broke through to major completion in Tendon Forging with the Ape Fetus Technique, then set out to test his improved strength.

• Lin Sheng chose a Gray Star commission to kill the Red-haired Bandits' leader, Red-haired Ghost Luo Hu, despite the base woman's warning that two Gray Star Emissaries had died attempting it.
• The base woman registered the task and told Lin Sheng that the client wanted to meet him at No. 175, Shuixiang Street.
• Lin Sheng returned to his residence, trained with medicinal preparations, and planned to strengthen the Ape Fetus Technique and Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm before confronting the bandits.
• After seven days of intensive cultivation, Lin Sheng shattered the Ape Fetus Technique's bottleneck and reached major completion in Tendon Forging.
• Lin Sheng tested his new agility by leaping onto a roof, then vanished to test his strength.

Lin Sheng met Cao Ying and Cao Luan after accepting their mission to kill the Red-haired Ghost, Luo Hu, and learned detailed intelligence about the bandit gang. When Cao Luan challenged Lin Sheng for not being a Blood Circulation Practitioner, Lin Sheng grabbed him by the neck.

• Lin Sheng finished digesting Cold Condensation Grass, strengthening his Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, then left to meet his client.
• Cao Ying told Cao Luan that Ghost Face had accepted their mission, while Cao Luan doubted the assassin could avenge their father.
• Lin Sheng arrived at Cao Ying's home, where she shared intelligence about Luo Hu and the Red-haired Bandits.
• Cao Ying said she had an item that might help locate Luo Hu and went inside to retrieve it.
• Cao Luan accused Lin Sheng of deceiving them because he was not a Blood Circulation Practitioner, and Lin Sheng seized him by the neck.

Lin Sheng accepted Cao Ying’s mission to hunt the Red-haired Bandits after discovering the Jade Moth and receiving her Snow Silver Moth for tracking Luo Hu. While Lin Sheng prepared to leave for Pingshan County, Cao Luan secretly took a locked-away cylindrical object and slipped into the night, determined to avenge their father himself.

• Lin Sheng crushed the Jade Moth’s jade casing, learned the insect could sense qi and blood, and stopped Cao Luan from taking it back by force.
• Cao Luan accused Lin Sheng of being only a Muscle Forging martial artist, but Cao Ying accepted him for the mission and gave him the Snow Silver Moth to track Luo Hu.
• At his residence, Lin Sheng inspected the Snow Silver Moth, considered its perception-enhancing value, and decided to set out for Pingshan County the next day.
• Cao Ying went to sleep while Cao Luan cleaned up, then secretly unlocked a room and took a cylindrical object.
• Cao Luan left the courtyard in the darkness, vowing to punish Lin Sheng if he deceived them and to kill Luo Hu himself.

Lin Sheng agreed to take Cao Luan to Pingshan County for an additional two thousand taels, while a Phantom Demon Beast’s demonic seed spread through a pack of mountain wolves as Song Yan and an armored man hunted it. After reaching Pingshan County, Lin Sheng went to a tavern instead of immediately searching for the Red-haired Bandits, frustrating Cao Luan.

• Lin Sheng met Cao Luan outside Wanhua City and agreed to bring him to Pingshan County for two thousand taels of silver, warning him that he had only one life.
• On the road, Lin Sheng killed a bandit leader, and the surviving bandits fled and left behind a horse for him.
• A gray rabbit carrying the Phantom Demon Beast’s demonic seed infected a pack of mountain wolves, turning them into shriveled corpses before the wolf leader vanished.
• Song Yan and an armored man examined the remains and set off to pursue the demonic seed before it could consume more flesh and blood.
• After four days of travel, Lin Sheng and Cao Luan reached Pingshan County, and Lin Sheng dismissed Cao Luan’s suggestion to search randomly with the Snow Silver Moth.
• Lin Sheng took Cao Luan to a tavern and feasted, while Cao Luan grew angry and then backed down when Lin Sheng’s dangerous aura intimidated him.

In Pingshan County, Wu Shan learned that Lin Sheng and Cao Luan were asking about the Red-haired Bandits and ordered them watched. Elsewhere, Mo Shan and Song Yan destroyed a Phantom Demon Beast, which survived by possessing a field mouse; after two days in Pingshan County, Cao Luan reclaimed the Snow Silver Moth from Lin Sheng and unknowingly attracted pursuers.

• Sun Mazi reported to Wu Shan that a young peak Muscle Forging Practitioner and a Body Tempering boy had asked about the Red-haired Bandits, and Wu Shan ordered his men to watch them.
• Mo Shan and Song Yan ambushed and destroyed a Phantom Demon Beast that had been draining the life from villagers in a mountain village.
• After Mo Shan and Song Yan left, the demon seed escaped through a corpse and possessed a field mouse before fleeing into the mountains.
• Cao Luan confronted Lin Sheng after two days of waiting in Pingshan County and demanded the Snow Silver Moth back.
• Lin Sheng returned the small jade gourd containing the Snow Silver Moth and walked away, while several watchers began following Cao Luan.

Lin Sheng captured two men following him and tried to learn where Luo Hu was, but one died by poison and the other gave up no useful information before Lin Sheng killed him. Meanwhile, Sun Mazi abducted Cao Luan and sent him to Boss Wu’s residence for interrogation, leaving Lin Sheng unaware that his companion had been taken.

• Lin Sheng lured two Red-haired Bandits watchers into an abandoned courtyard and subdued them.
• Lin Sheng demanded to know where Luo Hu was, but the peddler threatened him and the thin man tried to poison himself rather than reveal anything.
• Lin Sheng absorbed some of the poison with the Three Corpses Soul Severing Palm, tortured both men, and killed them after they refused to talk.
• Lin Sheng reasoned that the Red-haired Bandits likely had connections in Pingshan County’s seat and headed off to check on Cao Luan.
• Cao Luan tested the Snow Silver Moth, found no sign of the Red-haired Bandits, and decided to search the eastern district before leaving the city.
• Sun Mazi disguised as a flatbread peddler drugged and abducted Cao Luan, then ordered two men to take him to Boss Wu’s other residence for interrogation.

Cao Luan used the corrosive weapon his father left him to escape Sun Mazi and fight through the Red-haired Bandits’ compound, but Zhou Quan disarmed and captured him. As Wu Shan prepared to question Cao Luan, a powerful newcomer broke through the courtyard gate.

• Cao Luan pretended to remain unconscious, then injured Sun Mazi when he tried to steal the bundle and killed him with the weapon’s black mist.
• Cao Luan killed several bandits with the weapon as he tried to escape, but Wu Shan and Zhou Quan arrived and identified him as someone seeking Luo Hu.
• Zhou Quan dodged the weapon’s black mist, used a bandit as a shield, and snatched the weapon from Cao Luan after breaking his wrist.
• Wu Shan stopped Zhou Quan from taking Cao Luan away before questioning him, and a newcomer smashed through the courtyard gate and entered.

Lin Sheng rescued Cao Luan from Wu Shan and the Red-haired Five Devils, killing Zhou Quan and the men who attacked him. Wu Shan led Lin Sheng and Cao Luan to the Green Bamboo Forest, where the Snow Silver Moth confirmed Luo Hu was hiding beneath a courtyard.

• Lin Sheng killed Zhou Quan in the courtyard, then killed the dozen Red-haired Bandits who charged him.
• Wu Shan fled with Cao Luan, but Lin Sheng caught up, wounded him with a poisoned flying knife, and forced him to lead the way to Luo Hu.
• Lin Sheng let Wu Shan guide him out of Pingshan County while Cao Luan followed with his short rod.
• Wu Shan led Lin Sheng and Cao Luan to a courtyard in the Green Bamboo Forest and revealed an underground space beneath it.
• Cao Luan released the Snow Silver Moth, which flew toward the courtyard and confirmed Luo Hu was inside the underground space.

Lin Sheng survived Wu Shan’s trap and confronted Red-haired Ghost Luo Hu in the underground passageway. Though Luo Hu’s saber strikes badly wounded him, Lin Sheng’s poisonous blood and rapid regeneration turned the fight in his favor, and he demanded Luo Hu’s possessions as the chief’s life faded.

• Wu Shan trapped Lin Sheng in the study with crossbow bolts, but Lin Sheng broke through the passageway wall and caught him.
• Luo Hu appeared, and Lin Sheng dropped Wu Shan before crushing him beneath his boot.
• Lin Sheng transformed and fought Luo Hu, whose nimble footwork and Crimson Tiger Demonic Saber repeatedly wounded him.
• Luo Hu realized Lin Sheng’s blood was poisonous and launched Demonic Tiger Annihilation, but Lin Sheng drove his hand into Luo Hu’s chest and seized his heart and spine.
• Lin Sheng’s wounds rapidly healed, and he demanded that Luo Hu hand over everything he owned as Luo Hu’s strength ebbed.

Lin Sheng killed Luo Hu, survived Nether Ghost Bee venom, and searched Luo Hu’s underground lair for treasure. After finding a hidden chamber and taking its valuables, he left the ruined courtyard with Cao Luan.

• Lin Sheng failed to save Luo Hu from the accumulated poison, then emerged from underground and handed Luo Hu’s corpse to Cao Luan, who recognized him as Ghost Face.
• Lin Sheng touched Nether Ghost Bee venom and repeatedly tore away the poisoned flesh until his rapid healing purged it.
• Lin Sheng searched the underground hall and discovered a hidden chamber concealed above the walls.
• Lin Sheng took more than ten thousand taels in banknotes, red silk, scarlet pills, and an enormous tiger pelt from the chamber.
• Lin Sheng returned to Cao Luan and left the purple bamboo grove with him.

Lin Sheng returned to Wanhua City after completing his mission, accepted Cao Ying’s offer to become an Attendant, and collected his Dark Star reward. After checking his gains and returning to the Seven Forms Sect, he met Senior Sister Bai Qing and decided to look for a suitable Spirit Beast.

• Cao Ying thanked Lin Sheng for protecting Cao Luan, gave him three thousand taels and a matured Jade Moth, and invited him to become an Attendant in her reopened business; Lin Sheng agreed to receive twenty percent of its future monthly profits.
• After Lin Sheng left, Cao Ying scolded Cao Luan for taking their father’s Nether Staff and warned him not to disrespect Lin Sheng again.
• Lin Sheng claimed his mission reward at the Dark Star headquarters, where the middle-aged woman ordered a short man to investigate what had happened in Pingshan County.
• Lin Sheng returned home, checked on Lin Hong, Xie Guilan, Wang Dehai, and Old Zhou, and examined his money, Jade Moth, pills, and red silk before resting.
• At the Qingniao Institute, Lin Sheng learned that Xie Qingyun was away and met her fourth personal disciple, Bai Qing, who examined his martial progress and invited him to spar.
• Lin Sheng left the institute and returned to Wanhua City to search for a suitable Spirit Beast.