Chapter Summaries

Zhang Chen brought his group to a local woman’s house and arranged for Feng Xiao Feng and Fu Jing to serve as bait while they investigated the town’s dangers. Across the street, a water creature took the form of a dead man and watched their house, eager to devour them.

• Zhang Chen controlled the terrified woman and had her lead the group to her clean, dilapidated house.
• Zhang Chen planned to conceal the group’s true strength, sent Feng Xiao Feng to investigate openly, and told Fu Jing to stay in the downstairs room as bait.
• Zhang Chen had Chong Ying help the woman wash using stored daytime water and asked Fu Jing to prepare dinner.
• Water poured from the faucet and portraits in an abandoned house across the street, where a creature formed from droplets transformed into the middle-aged man in a portrait.
• The creature watched steam rising from Zhang Chen’s house and said it wanted to eat everyone inside.

Zhang Chen sent Feng Xiao Feng to investigate the haunted house across the street, where the first human sacrifice had lived, but the River Demon trapped and possessed her. The chapter ended as Feng Xiao Feng turned against the Jailers with a water-coated light sword.

• Zhang Chen noticed that a window in the supposedly empty house across the street had opened and ordered Feng Xiao Feng to investigate it.
• Yang Yingxue thanked Zhang Chen and the others for coming to destroy the River Demon, then warned them that the house belonged to the first sacrificed girl and her dead parents.
• Zhang Chen realized Feng Xiao Feng's connection had been blocked and rushed to help her.
• Feng Xiao Feng entered the house, where rising water suppressed her light ability and forced her upstairs into a vast, dark cavern.
• A droplet passed through Feng Xiao Feng's light sword, entered her brain, and allowed the River Demon to possess her.

Zhang Chen investigated Feng Xiao Feng’s disappearance and suspected that a ghost had returned her under its control. After identifying where she had appeared by the Rang River, he prepared to confront whatever was hiding there that night.

• Zhang Chen searched the house across the street after Feng Xiao Feng vanished, but found only clear water wrapped in flesh and no trace of her.
• Feng Xiao Feng returned during dinner and claimed an evil entity had trapped her in a flooded house before she escaped near the Rang River.
• Zhang Chen examined Feng Xiao Feng’s body and found no trace of ghostly energy, then realized his ability could not detect a soul-based influence.
• Zhang Chen told Chong Ying to act normally around Feng Xiao Feng and prepare to restrain her without damaging her soul.
• Zhang Chen asked Feng Xiao Feng to mark where she had appeared by the Rang River, then concluded he could draw the hidden entity out that night.

Zhang Chen watched Feng Xiao Feng gain an A+-rank Water Attribute Full Body Transformation Ability by absorbing the dead of Pingrang Township, then followed her attempt to abduct Fu Jing. Feng Xiao Feng attacked Chong Ying, but Zhang Chen intervened and swallowed her exploding energy, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Zhang Chen watched water spread through his house as bloated corpses from across Pingrang Township gathered for Feng Xiao Feng.
• Feng Xiao Feng absorbed the corpses and their water, transformed into a new body, and gained an A+-rank Full Body Transformation Ability.
• Feng Xiao Feng entered Zhang Chen's house and tried to take Fu Jing to her benefactor, but Fu Jing's crystal spider bit her and trapped her in spider silk.
• Feng Xiao Feng detonated the lights she had planted, collapsing the house and injuring Chong Ying as she shielded Fu Jing.
• Feng Xiao Feng attacked Chong Ying, but Zhang Chen appeared with Yang Yingxue and stopped her light sword with his bare hand.
• Feng Xiao Feng caused the sword and water to form an unstable mass, but red tongues from Zhang Chen's palm swallowed it.

Zhang Chen lured Feng Xiao Feng and Jing Lai into a trap beneath Pingrang Township, using his blood to contaminate the cave and weaken Jing Lai. He and Chong Ying reached the cave too late to stop Jing Lai from taking over Feng Xiao Feng’s body, and the chapter ended as the possessed Feng Xiao Feng raised her head.

• Zhang Chen healed Chong Ying, then used his Blood Domain to overpower Feng Xiao Feng and secretly marked her with his blood before letting her escape.
• Feng Xiao Feng returned to Jing Lai’s cave, where the little girl pulled Zhang Chen’s blood droplet from her and discovered she could not absorb it.
• Zhang Chen waited for the blood to erupt in the Rang River, then led Chong Ying and Fu Jing through the underground passage beneath the house where the deaths began.
• Jing Lai tainted the cave with Zhang Chen’s blood and released Feng Xiao Feng, then took control of her body as Zhang Chen’s group approached.
• Zhang Chen rushed into the cave and found Feng Xiao Feng kneeling with hollow eye sockets filled with water while she held her eyeballs in her hands.

Zhang Chen and Chong Ying defeated Jing Lai in Pingrang Township after exposing Feng Xiao Feng as a traitor named Gao Xiaobai. Zhang Chen swallowed Jing Lai, completed the mission, and secured a mysterious droplet before putting Fu Jing to sleep.

• Jing Lai attacked Zhang Chen with water spikes, but Zhang Chen pinned it down and discovered its core had fused with Feng Xiao Feng.
• Zhang Chen revealed that the prisoner was Gao Xiaobai, a traitor who had served as Jing Lai's pawn for five years, and restrained Jing Lai with his tongues.
• Jing Lai transformed into its water-droplet form and struck Zhang Chen, but Chong Ying trapped it in an illusion.
• Zhang Chen used the butcher's saber to separate Jing Lai from Feng Xiao Feng, then swallowed Jing Lai and completed the mission.
• Zhang Chen retrieved a mysterious solid-feeling water droplet from the Gluttonous Ghost's feeding space and stored it in his Cosmic Bag.
• Zhang Chen reassured Fu Jing and caused him to lose consciousness.

Zhang Chen exposed Feng Xiao Feng’s scheme, completed the mission involving Jing Lai, and returned to taking unknown missions with Chong Ying. Two months later, Wang Yizhi awoke and explained the water droplet’s powerful uses, advising Zhang Chen to save it for a later stage of his cultivation.

• Zhang Chen discovered that Feng Xiao Feng had conspired with Jing Lai and used information from Lian Yuxin to confirm her identity and past.
• Zhang Chen erased Fu Jing’s memories of the supernatural events and helped him return to his ordinary life with new career and romantic prospects.
• Zhang Chen brought the unconscious Feng Xiao Feng to Floating City’s law enforcement, then claimed the mission’s contribution points with Chong Ying and began searching for more missions.
• Zhang Chen and Chong Ying traveled across Huaxia Country for two months, finding that most unknown missions were deadly, while Wang Yizhi remained unconscious.
• Wang Yizhi awoke and identified Jing Lai’s water droplet as a rare treasure that could purify souls and aid Jailer Agents, telling Zhang Chen to save it for a later stage.

Zhang Chen and Chong Ying completed every unknown mission on the fifth floor and entered the sixth floor, where they examined a dangerous six-star case involving disappearances on Yunxi Mountain. The chapter ended when Zhang Chen was shocked by the title of the next mission.

• Wang Yizhi told Zhang Chen to finish all the remaining fifth-floor unknown missions before moving on, and Zhang Chen followed her advice with Chong Ying.
• Over four months, Zhang Chen and Chong Ying cleared every unknown mission accumulated on the fifth floor, earning Zhang Chen the nickname "Mission Maniac."
• A Ye Tower waiter confirmed they qualified for the sixth floor and warned them that its fourteen available unknown missions could be extremely dangerous.
• Zhang Chen and Chong Ying read the account of the Nanxing Town disappearances, in which plants attacked students and Jailer Nan Qu and his team vanished inside a thatched hut on Yunxi Mountain.
• Zhang Chen judged the mission likely to be a dead end, while Chong Ying sensed danger; after seeing its six-star rating and reward options, Zhang Chen turned to the next mission and recoiled in shock at its title.

Puhu destroyed a vengeful ghost at Xiawu Village, but a black corruption suddenly overtook him and he attacked a villager. Six years earlier, Wu Junjun became trapped in Sanxue Temple, where a mutated Puhu asked him for help.

• Puhu suppressed a female ghost at the fish pond, then killed her when she attacked the villagers.
• Puhu began coughing up black matter and warned the villagers to flee before black arms emerged from his back and tore a doctor apart.
• Zhang Chen recognized a six-star mission in Jinxi County from six years earlier and wondered whether it was connected to the black-clothed man's death.
• Wu Junjun entered Sanxue Temple with his parents, and his jade Guanyin pendant broke as he crossed the entrance.
• Wu Junjun found himself alone in the Great Hero Hall as the pendant melted into black matter and a mutated old monk approached.
• Puhu appeared before Wu Junjun, asked him for help, and pressed his thumb to Wu Junjun's brow.

Zhang Chen learned that the six-star Jinxi County mission involved a Black Blood Hound avatar of the Celestial Hound, which Wang Yizhi had sealed inside Master Pu Hu after it killed Jailer Minister Ming Kong. Wang Yizhi urged Zhang Chen to return to Jinxi County and face it, but their conversation was interrupted when a Jailer Minister and a female Jailer entered the mission room.

• Zhang Chen read the account of the Jinxi County disappearances and realized they had happened during a seven-day school closure six years earlier.
• Zhang Chen suspected Wang Yizhi had been involved, and Wang Yizhi explained that a Black Blood Hound had followed his scent to Jinxi County.
• Wang Yizhi revealed that the Black Blood Hound killed Ming Kong and fatally injured Kong Jun before Wang Yizhi captured it and sealed it inside Master Pu Hu.
• Wang Yizhi told Zhang Chen that the Black Blood Hound could help him and suggested he accept the mission and return to Jinxi County.
• A Level 1 Jailer Minister and a female Level 2 Jailer entered the sixth-floor mission room, and the Jailer Minister snatched the book from Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen accepted the Jinxi County mission despite the Snake Emperor’s attempt to seize it, then rushed home after receiving a warning from Master Pu Hu. He entered the corrupted Sanxue Temple and found Master Pu Hu seated in the Great Hero Hall as the chapter ended.

• Zhang Chen tore off the Jinxi County mission form and refused to surrender it to the Snake Emperor, while A Zhu stopped the Snake Emperor from attacking him.
• Zhang Chen called his father and sent his parents away on a trip, then learned from Wang Yizhi that Pu Hu’s seal would fail if the monk’s life force ran out.
• Elder Wu directed Zhang Chen to Wu Junjun, who relayed Master Pu Hu’s warning to return to Sanxue Temple and avoid the temple if black matter remained at its entrance.
• Elder Wu sent Zhang Chen and Wu Junjun back to Jinxi County, and Zhang Chen asked Chong Ying to evacuate his relatives and friends.
• Zhang Chen entered Pu Hu’s independent space at Sanxue Temple and followed the spreading evil aura to the Great Hero Hall, where he saw Master Pu Hu meditating.

Zhang Chen tried to help Master Pu Hu suppress the Black Blood Hound, but Puhu revealed the burden he had borne for six years and entrusted Zhang Chen with protecting Jinxi County. After the Snake Emperor attacked and the Black Blood Hound broke free, Zhang Chen seized Puhu’s Soul Stone and faced the creature in a rage.

• Zhang Chen discovered that Master Pu Hu was using the Satan Statue and a damaged seal to contain the Black Blood Hound, so he used his blood energy to suppress the evil aura and called Liu Nuo for help.
• Zhang Chen examined Puhu’s body and found that most of it had been corroded and that cracks in two secondary seals were allowing black aura to escape.
• Puhu told Zhang Chen that he had endured the Black Blood Hound’s nightly attacks for six years and asked him to protect Jinxi County and fulfill an obsession shared with Kong Jun.
• The Snake Emperor bit Puhu’s neck, causing his life force to fade, while Wang Yizhi lost her ability to communicate with Zhang Chen.
• The Black Blood Hound broke free and attacked Puhu’s Soul Stone, but Zhang Chen forcibly split its jaws and tore the Soul Stone from Puhu’s chest.

Zhang Chen defeated the Black Blood Hound and rebuilt Master Pu Hu’s body, but could not restore his brain, so he brought Liu Nuo and Pu Hu to Tianfu City for help. Meanwhile, Ao Huang plotted to provoke Zhang Chen into attacking him, and A Zhu handed Chong Ying a letter to deliver to Zhang Chen.

• Evil Mouth Lao Jun recovered inside the Soul Stone but found he could not leave, so he watched Zhang Chen fight the Black Blood Hound.
• Zhang Chen tore apart the Black Blood Hound’s occupied body, forcing the demon dog to escape, then used blood energy to rebuild Puhu’s body.
• Zhang Chen realized his own brain template could not restore Master Pu Hu’s memories and neural state, so he brought Liu Nuo and Puhu to Tianfu City Jailer Headquarters for help.
• Ao Huang and A Zhu discussed luring Zhang Chen into a trap so they could kill him and claim the Night Marrow Crystal.
• Chong Ying used her Butterfly Charm to make Er Wa leave Jinxi County, then A Zhu gave her a letter to deliver to Zhang Chen.

Qing Gui persuaded Tengu to help stop the Faceless One and Old Man Ksitigarbha, while Zhang Chen prepared to confront the Snake Emperor after learning of his vile actions. Zhang Chen and Chong Ying isolated his old school from the outside world, setting the stage for their meeting.

• Qing Gui told Tengu that Black Woman was imprisoned and warned that Old Man Ksitigarbha might uncover their past, then persuaded Tengu to join his plan to infiltrate the jailers.
• Tengu agreed to help stop the Faceless One and Old Man Ksitigarbha, but said he intended to kill Black Woman himself.
• Evil Mouth Lao Jun awakened within Zhang Chen's Soul Stone and offered to help, but Zhang Chen insisted on settling his personal grudge against the Snake Emperor first.
• Chong Ying delivered a letter inviting Zhang Chen to meet the Snake Emperor and the woman beside him at his alma mater, and she agreed to accompany him.
• Zhang Chen and Chong Ying evacuated the students from the school, then Zhang Chen unfolded his Blood Energy Space to seal the grounds off from the outside.

Zhang Chen confronted Snake Emperor Ao Huang and his mysterious companion, while Chong Ying drew the woman away to fight separately. Zhang Chen and Ao Huang battled on the school grounds, and Zhang Chen finally landed a deep blow on Ao Huang’s transformed arm.

• The Snake Emperor and the mysterious woman arrived on the rooftop, and Zhang Chen drew his butcher’s blade to attack them.
• Ao Huang recalled being defeated in the Hundred Man Ranking tournament by a cloaked fighter whose regenerative power reminded him of Zhang Chen’s blood abilities.
• The woman’s arm diverted Zhang Chen’s blade, and Ao Huang struck him, but Zhang Chen regenerated from a pool of blood.
• Chong Ying challenged the woman and led her away, leaving Zhang Chen to fight Ao Huang one-on-one.
• Zhang Chen used Black Coffin, but Ao Huang overwhelmed him with his speed and brute force, crushing much of his body before Zhang Chen healed.
• Zhang Chen withdrew his barrier and used his blood control to slow Ao Huang, then struck his transformed right arm deeply with the butcher’s blade.

Zhang Chen fought Ao Huang and struggled against the Snake Emperor’s immense strength, crushing domain, and Python Gold Sword. After Ao Huang escaped his apparent defeat by molting into a younger, faster form, Lao Jun urged Zhang Chen to merge his ability.

• Chong Ying agreed to stay behind and watch her sister while trusting Zhang Chen to defeat the Snake Emperor.
• Zhang Chen wounded Ao Huang, but Ao Huang summoned the Python Gold Sword and overpowered Zhang Chen with its crushing domain.
• Zhang Chen escaped Ao Huang’s sword strike through advanced spatial traversal and counterattacked in White Ghoul form.
• Zhang Chen split Ao Huang’s body, but discovered it was a shed form as Ao Huang emerged from a golden snake egg with the transformed Python Gold Sword.
• Ao Huang cut Zhang Chen’s side and retreated beyond his Devouring Domain, revealing a youthful form and the overwhelming strength of rank thirty-nine.
• Lao Jun told Zhang Chen to regain his calm and try merging Lao Jun’s ability.

Zhang Chen used Lao Jun's power to fight Snake Emperor Ao Huang, forcing A Zhu to end the conflict by offering a cure for the injured Jailer. After Chong Ying went to check that they had left, Zhang Chen collapsed from the strain, while A Zhu explained to Ao Huang why they could not risk attacking him again.

• Zhang Chen formed a mouth in his palm and used it to bite down on Ao Huang's Python Gold Sword, then cut off Ao Huang's leg and struck him with a time domain and a massive purple-patterned tail.
• Ao Huang shed his damaged body and attacked Zhang Chen again, but Zhang Chen's own injuries and the burden of Lao Jun's body left him close to losing his initial release state.
• A Zhu gave Zhang Chen a dark teal bead containing a cure for the injured Level 1 Jailer and accepted responsibility for the ambush plan, then left with Ao Huang after he released his initial release state.
• Zhang Chen sent Chong Ying to follow them, then collapsed and fell asleep when the White Ghoul form released.
• A Zhu told Ao Huang that Zhang Chen was likely protected by powerful figures, including Elder Wu, and that risking a fight over the Night Marrow Crystal was not worthwhile.

Hu Yun and his wife were trapped in their residential complex as the Black Blood Hound slaughtered the residents, then escaped to a burial ground to seek a suitable body. It found Kong Jun’s preserved corpse and placed a black bead in its mouth, beginning to collapse as storm clouds gathered.

• Hu Yun drove to County Second Middle School and reunited with his wife, Zilan, after the disaster there.
• Hu Yun and Zilan returned to their complex, where a black creature killed Captain Wang and devoured residents in the building.
• The Black Blood Hound revealed that it needed a high-quality physical body and searched a burial ground outside Jinxi County.
• The Black Blood Hound found Kong Jun’s preserved corpse in a redwood coffin and recognized it as a suitable body.
• The Black Blood Hound spat a black bead into Kong Jun’s mouth, and its own body began to disintegrate as rain fell over Kong Jun’s tomb.

After Evil Mouth Elder advised Zhang Chen on developing his Ghoul abilities, Wang Yizhi warned him that the Black Blood Hound was hunting for a powerful body. Zhang Chen and Chong Ying searched Jinxi County, where Zhang Chen found fresh traces of the Hound and suspected a Tianfu City Jailer might be in danger.

• Zhang Chen cooked dinner while Evil Mouth Elder outlined plans to redirect his mental power toward strengthening his brain and teach him to wield the elder’s true body.
• Wang Yizhi warned Zhang Chen that the Black Blood Hound needed a special blood realm treasure in its split body and urged him to find and kill the Hound before it acquired a suitable body.
• After eating, Zhang Chen sent Chong Ying to search Jinxi County’s old district while he searched the new district.
• Zhang Chen found warm blood and black mucus near the residential complex where the Hu Yun couple had died, indicating the Black Blood Hound had recently fed.
• Zhang Chen called Tianfu City Jailer Headquarters to confirm it was safe, then suspected the Black Blood Hound might be targeting a Jailer.

Zhang Chen revived Master Pu Hu with the Snake Emperor Gallbladder, then rushed to Kong Jun’s grave and confronted the Black Blood Hound possessing his corpse. Qing Gui intervened and killed the hound, then asked Zhang Chen for help with something.

• Zhang Chen gave Liu Nuo the Snake Emperor Gallbladder, and she used it to restore Master Pu Hu’s brain and awaken him.
• Master Pu Hu told Zhang Chen that Kong Jun’s body had been buried on the mountain near Qixin Village, so Zhang Chen hurried there.
• Zhang Chen found Kong Jun’s grave opened and the Black Blood Hound absorbing the Satan Statue’s demonic energy; the hound emerged in Kong Jun’s body and attacked him.
• The Black Blood Hound wounded Zhang Chen with its advanced space ability, while Chong Ying arrived and prepared to fight beside him.
• Qing Gui froze time, compressed the Black Blood Hound into a black bead, and gave it to Zhang Chen as a meeting gift.
• Qing Gui told Zhang Chen he needed his help with something.