Chapter Summaries

Wang Ye pretended to trust Zhao Hai and arranged to discuss robbing the Treasure Pavilion that night, while privately trying to deduce Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang’s plan. He suspected the real supplies would conceal armed people who could strike the Heaven Group, but he remained unsure what safeguards Zhao Hai had prepared.

• Wang Ye told Zhao Hai to return at five that night so they could discuss robbing the Treasure Pavilion, and Zhao Hai agreed before leaving.
• Wang Ye reasoned that Zhao Hai was suppressing his suspicions because the Treasure Pavilion was crucial to the Celestial Court’s scheme.
• Wang Ye speculated that the genuine supplies might conceal people who would emerge inside the Heaven Group and attack it with Treasure Pavilion items.
• Wang Ye concluded that hidden experts could be monitoring the journey and ready to emerge if anything went wrong, though he hoped his guess was correct.
• Wang Ye reflected that losing to Zhao Hai could cost him his life, unlike losing to Zhang Ziliang, whose larger New Year war involved far more complicated problems.

Wang Ye joined Zhao Hai’s patrol to infiltrate the Treasure Pavilion, using the inspection to retrieve a spirit token and conceal his real trump cards. The patrol entered the village, where Zhao Hai began assigning the team to inspect the area.

• Zhao Hai explained that the patrol would inspect the Treasure Pavilion that night and offered Wang Ye five minutes to take what he could.
• Wang Ye insisted on retrieving a package himself, claiming it was rigged to explode if anyone else opened it, and Zhao Hai agreed to follow at a distance.
• Wang Ye disguised himself as Xiao Wang, joined the patrol, and slipped away during the team’s break outside town to retrieve a package containing a map and spirit token.
• Wang Ye secretly checked a mark on a tree that concealed a small storage container, then returned to the patrol while Zhao Hai followed him.
• Zhao Hai led the patrol into the village after presenting a gift to a gold-armored soldier, then assigned the members to inspect different areas.

Wang Ye’s attempt to infiltrate the Treasure Pavilion failed when Zhao Hai sensed a trap and called off the operation. The captured Wang Ye was taken toward the village’s deepest part, where Zhao Hai seized the energy items he had promised him.

• Zhao Hai grew suspicious of Wang Ye’s plan and ordered the operation canceled, but Wang Ye charged toward the Treasure Pavilion and was surrounded by the Star Lord and Arhat-level experts.
• The experts searched Wang Ye and found a storage container full of bombs, and Wang Ye admitted he had planned to hide the Pavilion’s supplies in a latrine pit before detonating them.
• Zhao Hai asked the Star Lord to let him interrogate Wang Ye, then revealed that Chu Tian was waiting for him in prison.
• The Star Lord suppressed Wang Ye’s energy with two nails, and Zhao Hai dragged him toward the deepest part of the village.
• Wang Ye protested as Zhao Hai removed the energy items from his sack.

Zhao Hai brought Wang Ye to the dungeon and offered him a place in Heavenly Court, but Wang Ye used their conversation to suggest a scheme to escape and raid the Treasure Pavilion. Zhao Hai realized Wang Ye had been using traces of blood and a tree to send a signal, then rushed away, leaving Wang Ye hoping his plan was still in time.

• Zhao Hai dragged Wang Ye into the dungeon, where Chu Tian recognized him as Ling Feng and raged against him.
• Zhao Hai offered Wang Ye a pill and a place in Heavenly Court, and Wang Ye eagerly agreed without taking the pill.
• Wang Ye secretly proposed that he and Zhao Hai kill the two Arhat-level experts, raid the Treasure Pavilion, and flee to Spirit Mountain.
• Zhao Hai questioned why Wang Ye was stalling, then realized his blood and the tree had been used to transmit a signal.
• Zhao Hai ordered the two experts to watch Wang Ye and kill him if anything seemed wrong, then hurried out of the dungeon.

Wang Ye’s allies arrived at the Scripture Depository town as Zhao Hai prepared to defend it, and the two sides faced off. Wang Ye exposed Zhao Hai’s limited support and reclaimed his stolen possessions, leaving Zhao Hai unable to retaliate.

• Zhao Hai ordered the Scripture Depository heavily guarded, but Lu Wu arrived and wondered whether Wang Ye had been killed.
• Meng Po, City God, Cui Jue, and Lu Dongbin appeared, joining the confrontation against Zhao Hai and Greedy Wolf Star Lord.
• Wang Ye arrived with Zhong Kui and revealed he was alive, while Lu Wu asked Greedy Wolf Star Lord to call the fight a draw.
• Wang Ye proposed that Zhao Hai secretly rob the Treasure Pavilion, then explained why he believed the Heavenly Court could bring only a few fighters to the town.
• Wang Ye took back the items Zhao Hai had stolen from him and pointed out that Zhao Hai did not dare fight back.

Wang Ye confronted Zhao Hai, who seemed prepared to escape with Greedy Wolf Star Lord, but Zhao Hai instead used the Heavenly Court’s Imperial Decree to seal her and revealed that he wanted to change masters. He explained that he had anticipated Wang Ye calling for backup, leaving Wang Ye wary and unsure what Zhao Hai’s real plan was.

• Wang Ye and Zhao Hai discussed the limits of intelligence without strength, while Greedy Wolf Star Lord argued that enemies should be killed instead of allowed to escape.
• Zhao Hai admitted defeat to Wang Ye but said he had prepared an escape plan for his stronghold and told Greedy Wolf Star Lord to get ready to leave.
• Zhao Hai used the Imperial Decree bearing the character “Seal” to incapacitate Greedy Wolf Star Lord at close range.
• Zhao Hai revealed that he wanted to change masters and presented Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s capture as a meeting gift to Wang Ye.
• Wang Ye questioned Zhao Hai’s motives, and Zhao Hai claimed he had foreseen Wang Ye calling for backup.

Zhao Hai revealed that he had planned his actions to join Heaven Group and help destroy the Heavenly Court, both for the thrill of proving his intelligence and to escape his position in the Heavenly Court. Wang Ye remained wary but offered Zhao Hai a chance to join by giving him a pill, and the chapter ended with Wang Ye stunned that Zhao Hai swallowed it without hesitation.

• Zhao Hai explained that he had studied Wang Ye and prepared for the situation after Wang Ye arrived in town, then knocked Greedy Wolf Star Lord unconscious again.
• Zhao Hai said he wanted to join Heaven Group and defeat the Heavenly Court because the challenge excited him and he feared becoming disposable once the Heavenly Court won.
• Zhao Hai admitted he expected Wang Ye to trick him into joining Heaven Group and kill him, while Wang Ye pointed out that Zhao Hai had just ambushed Greedy Wolf Star Lord, who trusted him.
• Wang Ye offered Zhao Hai a pill as a condition for considering his request, and Zhao Hai immediately swallowed it.
• Wang Ye questioned whether Zhao Hai was really himself or had switched places with a clone, still unable to trust him.

Meng Po revealed Zhao Hai’s identity and history, and Zhao Hai agreed to let Wang Ye take him to Ghost Gate Pass in hopes of joining Heaven Group. Zhao Hai then exposed the Treasure Pavilion as a trap with its valuables already removed, leaving Wang Ye to collect its meager leftovers before they traveled on.

• Meng Po explained that Zhao Hai was really Li Changgeng, a former Heavenly Court attendant whose cultivation Lu Qing had crippled in an ambush.
• Wang Ye agreed to take Zhao Hai to Ghost Gate Pass so Zhang Ziliang could decide whether Heaven Group would accept him, and Zhao Hai asked him to spare the unconscious Greedy Wolf Star Lord.
• Zhao Hai revealed that he had moved the Treasure Pavilion’s valuable supplies and left a killing formation and worthless decorations behind to lure out Wang Ye’s powerful backers.
• Wang Ye realized Zhao Hai had manipulated his expectations and worried that Zhang Ziliang might have been playing mind games with him too.
• Wang Ye made Zhao Hai retrieve the dusty, low-value items from the Treasure Pavilion while he checked them and stored them in his bag.

After Zhao Hai joined Wang Ye’s group, he urged them to hurry because Zhang Ziliang’s declaration of war left the Heaven Group little time to prepare. Wang Ye struggled with the company of Zhao Hai and Lu Wu as they continued toward Ghost Gate Pass.

• Wang Ye and Meng Po searched Zhao Hai and Greedy Wolf Star Lord but found no hidden person or storage container.
• Zhao Hai joked that the Treasure Pavilion’s energy items were poisoned, then said the Heaven Group needed to act quickly against the threat following Zhang Ziliang’s declaration of war.
• Lu Dongbin, City God, and Cui Jue departed, while Meng Po and Lu Wu stayed with Wang Ye to protect him.
• Wang Ye asked Meng Po to teleport them back, but she explained that her finger door only worked over short distances.
• Lu Wu offered to draw a long-distance teleportation array but demanded several rare materials, so Wang Ye walked away rather than agree.
• Zhao Hai borrowed paper and a pen to write mysterious symbols, and Wang Ye gave up trying to understand his thinking.

Wang Ye brought Zhao Hai to Ghost Gate Pass and checked with Zhang Ziliang before letting the surrendered man enter. Zhao Hai revealed that powerful figures had already sensed his surrender and that he would die when the King awakened unless he broke the deadlock, then Wang Ye escorted him to the Heaven Group branch.

• Near Ghost Gate Pass, Wang Ye borrowed a local man's phone and told Zhang Ziliang what had happened with Zhao Hai.
• Zhang Ziliang decided to let Zhao Hai enter, treating his surrender as a challenge to their contest of intelligence.
• After the group entered the city, Zhao Hai claimed the hammer and supernatural items had hidden people, but Wang Ye drew his blade and Zhao Hai admitted he had been joking.
• Zhao Hai said the King of the Heavenly Court, the Buddha of Spirit Mountain, and the Dao Ancestor of the Dao Sect had retained awareness, and that he would die when the King awakened unless he broke the deadlock.
• Wang Ye led Zhao Hai toward Zhang Ziliang's office at the Heaven Group branch while Meng Po followed and Lu Wu slipped away.

Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang compared their assessments of the Heaven Group’s enemies and discussed plans for the coming New Year. Zhang Ziliang rejected a retreat into the shadows, claiming he could not bear the sacrifices it would require, while Zhao Hai challenged his supposed kindness with examples of past losses.

• Zhao Hai gave Zhang Ziliang his analysis of the Heaven Group’s problems, and Zhang said Zhao Hai had underestimated how bad the situation was.
• Zhao Hai described the Heavenly Court’s vast resources and the hidden lines he had planted there, suggesting they could be used to ambush revived enemies or establish a false outpost.
• Zhang Ziliang proposed that Wang Ye impersonate a minor Heavenly Court leader, prompting Wang Ye to draw his Ghost Messenger Blade and silence them.
• Zhao Hai warned that the Heavenly Court would likely attack on New Year’s Day while Spirit Mountain waited for an opening.
• Zhang Ziliang argued that the Heaven Group should abandon its current setup and preserve a small group of elites by moving into the shadows, but Zhao Hai questioned his claim that he could not bear the sacrifices.
• Zhao Hai reminded Zhang Ziliang that he had sacrificed people in the Buddha Kingdom battle and at Scavenger City in the Wasteland.

Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang negotiated an alliance against Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Court, then Zhang Ziliang briefly tried to have Zhao Hai killed. Zhao Hai revealed his hidden operatives and plans, securing a place in the Heaven Group while warning Zhang Ziliang that he had sensed three killing intentions.

• Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang discussed exploiting Spirit Mountain’s turmoil, avoiding a direct clash with the Heavenly Court, and cooperating where their interests aligned.
• After they shook hands on their deal, Zhang Ziliang decided Zhao Hai had little value and suggested killing him, while Wang Ye began dragging Zhao Hai away.
• Zhao Hai pointed out that Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s snake had disappeared, Chu Tian was still in the dungeon, and the dungeon guards’ escape seemed suspicious.
• Zhao Hai revealed that the snake had been his informant, that the guards had killed Chu Tian and framed Spirit Mountain, and that he had planted operatives in the Heavenly Court.
• Zhang Ziliang welcomed Zhao Hai into the Heaven Group and called him Great-Grandfather after Zhao Hai demanded respectful language and said he had sensed three killing intentions.

After recovering his hammer, Wang Ye rested while Liang Zhi Shui built a reputation in Ghost Gate Pass by staging safe encounters with ghosts. Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai then revealed their refined New Year Plan, which left Wang Ye with no written assignments and the freedom to act as circumstances required.

• Wang Ye returned home exhausted after Zhao Hai defeated him in their contest, then inspected the recovered hammer and reflected on the cost of exposing several experts.
• Liang Zhi Shui patrolled Ghost Gate Pass in cute children's clothes, becoming popular despite the lack of supernatural incidents.
• Liang Zhi Shui secretly brought weak ghosts into the city, staged encounters, and killed them to impress residents and teach them about ghost threats.
• Zhang Ziliang called Wang Ye to his office, where Zhao Hai was working at a desk beside Zhang Ziliang's.
• Zhao Hai said he and Zhang Ziliang had revised the New Year Plan and raised its success rate from thirty percent to forty percent.
• Zhang Ziliang explained that Wang Ye's plan sheet was blank because they wanted him to rely on his adaptability and mobility at the scene.

Wang Ye learned that Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang would go to Shangjing for the New Year campaign, leaving him to guard Ghost Gate Pass. As the city celebrated the Heaven Group’s promise of a respite from Supernatural Incidents, Wang Ye decided he would redo Ghost Gate Pass’s defenses himself, just as someone appeared behind him.

• Wang Ye confronted Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang over making him come in person, and Zhao Hai explained that the New Year campaign would begin in three days.
• Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang told Wang Ye they would go to Shangjing and wanted him to guard Ghost Gate Pass, where they expected attacks and a future spy battle.
• Wang Ye left after rejecting their plans, while Zhang Ziliang pointed out that Zhao Hai had angered the Heaven Group’s boss.
• The Heaven Group announced that no Supernatural Incidents would occur on New Year’s Day, and the announcement brought hope and celebration to the streets.
• Wang Ye considered his distrust of Zhao Hai and Zhang Ziliang and resolved to redo Ghost Gate Pass’s defenses himself.
• A figure appeared behind Wang Ye as he sat on a rooftop overlooking the city.

Wang Ye prepared Ghost Gate Pass for a possible New Year attack while Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai secretly made their own preparations. When no enemy appeared at midnight, Zhang Ziliang warned that Maitreya might target Jiangning City first, leaving Wang Ye to wonder what plans and guarantees the two schemers were hiding.

• Wang Ye urged Liang Zhi Shui to protect Ghost Gate Pass during the New Year, then disappeared for two days to improve his strength.
• Wang Ye returned on New Year's Eve looking like an ordinary person, while Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai had also left secretly.
• Wang Ye waited outside Ghost Gate Pass with Xiao Si as Heaven Group's eleven cities welcomed the New Year and Liang Zhi Shui patrolled the streets.
• After three hours passed without an attack, Zhang Ziliang told Wang Ye that Maitreya might target Jiangning City first and that he had sent reinforcements there.
• Wang Ye questioned whether Zhao Hai could be trusted, and Zhang Ziliang guaranteed him before Zhao Hai revealed that he had been listening on speakerphone.

Wang Ye confronted Maitreya and Lingshan’s force at Ghost Gate Pass, learning that they had come to kill him. He used grenades and a foul-smelling bomb to disrupt their advance, then met an Arhat’s attack head-on as a black phantom merged with him.

• Wang Ye detected Lingshan’s force approaching Ghost Gate Pass and recognized Maitreya, five Arhats, and three Bodhisattvas among them.
• Maitreya said he had brought the group to kill Wang Ye, whose name had been sent back by a fallen incarnation.
• Wang Ye pretended to be a Lingshan spy and claimed Long-Eared Buddha had been his master, but Maitreya ordered the attack.
• Wang Ye threw grenades and a stink bomb into the charging group, briefly slowing them with its stench.
• An Arhat summoned the Immovable Wisdom King to attack Wang Ye, who merged with a black phantom and struck back with black flames.

Wang Ye summoned Meng Po and Lu Wu to confront Maitreya’s forces at Ghost Gate Pass, but discovered the enemy had used powerful avatars as a decoy. He learned Jiangning was in danger and realized Mount Ling had likely targeted a more vulnerable location instead of attacking Ghost Gate Pass.

• Wang Ye fought an Arhat to a draw, and Maitreya called on the others to attack him together.
• Wang Ye summoned Lu Wu and Meng Po, prompting Maitreya to withdraw rather than fight them.
• Wang Ye blocked Maitreya’s group from leaving and demanded they stay for two hours, so they appeared to comply.
• Wang Ye noticed the group had not truly engaged him and ordered Meng Po and Lu Wu to attack.
• Maitreya and the other Arhats and Bodhisattvas turned out to be avatars, while the Arhat who had fought Wang Ye escaped through a crack in the air.
• Wang Ye called Zhang Ziliang, who warned that Jiangning was in danger before hanging up.

Wang Ye, Meng Po, and Lu Wu reached Jiangning City, where Heaven and Spirit Mountain were fighting the Heaven Group. Wang Ye hid to watch for an opening as Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai discussed the sacrifices and loneliness behind their plans.

• Meng Po assured Wang Ye that Ghost Gate Pass was safe and used Lu Wu's soul crystal to help them teleport toward Jiangning City.
• Wang Ye and his companions arrived to find Heaven and Spirit Mountain's forces battling the Heaven Group, which had suffered heavy casualties.
• Wang Ye decided to hide with Meng Po and Lu Wu and watch the battle for an opportunity.
• Heaven Group Superhumans began grabbing enemies and self-destructing while Jiangning's residents mistook the explosions for New Year fireworks.
• Zhang Ziliang told Zhao Hai that the dead were his own people, and Zhao Hai argued that friendship was a shackle before admitting Zhang might be right.

Wang Ye opened a portal to the Ghost Market and brought a horde of ghosts to disrupt the Lingshan and Heavenly Court armies, giving the Heaven Group time to recover. In the ensuing chaos, he joined Zhong Kui in overpowering an Arhat.

• Wang Ye asked Meng Po to open and maintain a finger door to the Ghost Market, then returned with a flood of ghosts pursuing him.
• Wang Ye declared the Ghost Clan an ally of the Heaven Group, charged into the enemy ranks, and disguised himself among the cannon fodder.
• The ghosts rampaged through the armies, forcing the Bodhisattvas to fight them at close range while the Heaven Group regrouped and retreated.
• Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai watched the enemy formation collapse and acknowledged Wang Ye's unpredictable contribution.
• Wang Ye struck an Arhat with the Town Suppression Art and joined Zhong Kui in beating him while he was unable to gather his energy.

Maitreya believed the Heaven Group’s forces were cornered, but Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai revealed they still had defenders for Shangjing. Du Ziren confronted Baosheng Buddha above the city, while Heavenly Court deployed a pagoda against the ghosts on the battlefield.

• Maitreya told Zhao Hai that Shangjing would fall and questioned why he had joined the Heaven Group, but Zhao Hai said he wanted to help bring down Heavenly Court.
• Zhang Ziliang and Zhao Hai insisted they still had someone capable of defending Shangjing, leaving Maitreya wondering whether the Daoist Sect had sent reinforcements.
• Baosheng Buddha approached Shangjing, where Du Ziren appeared and challenged him, then attacked from within a cloud of black mist.
• Maitreya argued that Jiangning would still fall, and a Heavenly Court leader summoned a golden pagoda that sucked Ghost Generals and Half-King ghosts inside.
• Wang Ye spotted the pagoda and coveted it, deciding it looked better than the hammer he had just picked up.