Chapter Summaries

Lingxi told Fang Xuan that the Yin Puppet Sect had been destroyed centuries ago, but the Corpse Soul Powder suggested its remnants might still be active in Jinjiang City. Meanwhile, Tuoba Ren renewed his assault on PingLiao City, where Bai Zuo joined the defense after Water Monkey was badly beaten.

• Lingxi recounted the Yin Puppet Sect’s history and explained that the Martial Temple and hundreds of sects had secretly destroyed it.
• Fang Xuan insisted on investigating the sect’s possible remnants because seventeen Dragon Whale Army soldiers had vanished, then challenged Lingxi to spar with Ink Abyss.
• Drumbeats woke Fang Li as Tuoba Ren’s barbarian army attacked PingLiao City, and Fang Li ordered the defenders to use their artillery, arrows, and other defenses.
• Tuoba Ren climbed the city wall and struck Water Monkey down, breaking his broadsword.
• Bai Zuo caught Water Monkey, warned him about Tuoba Ren’s fierce saber technique, and charged into battle.

Tuoba Ren failed to kill Fang Li when Bai Zuo, Water Monkey, and two hidden Fourth Heavenly Gate martial artists protected him, then revealed that barbarian reinforcements were approaching PingLiao City. Meanwhile, Jinjiang City came under attack by Nether Soldiers, and Wei Yu learned that its defenses might not hold.

• Tuoba Ren drove Bai Zuo and Water Monkey away from Fang Li, but two Silver Spears forced him to dodge and two Fourth Heavenly Gate martial artists appeared beside Fang Li.
• Bai Zuo and Water Monkey returned to guard Fang Li, who taunted Tuoba Ren as the commander admitted his losses and announced that barbarian reinforcements had arrived.
• Fang Li saw Golden Crow and White Ze creatures approaching with a vast army as Tuoba Ren threatened to massacre PingLiao City.
• Nether Soldiers attacked Jinjiang City, killing its guards and triggering the city's alarm bells.
• Wei Yu woke to Dou Wei's warning, ordered the city-protecting formation activated, and learned that Nether Soldiers surrounded Jinjiang City and the formation might not last.

Fang Xuan and Lingxi discovered that a vast force of Nether Soldiers had surrounded Jinjiang City, while the city’s defenses buckled under their assault. With the city on the verge of falling, Wei Yu ordered Immortal Master Pan to deploy the Heavenly Soldiers and commanded Zhao Ye to execute those who tried to flee, along with their families.

• Fang Xuan and Lingxi learned that Nether Soldiers had surrounded Jinjiang City and went to assess the situation.
• Wei Yu asked Zhao Ye whether the city guards could hold Jinjiang City, and Zhao Ye said their fifty thousand troops faced at least a hundred thousand Nether Soldiers.
• The city-protecting formation collapsed, and Zhao Ye warned that the garrison could hold out for only three days.
• Wei Yu told the officials to seek their own escape, and most of them left the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Wei Yu summoned Immortal Master Pan, who agreed to deploy the first batch of Heavenly Soldiers in exchange for fresh corpses if they suffered losses.
• Wei Yu ordered Zhao Ye to kill anyone attempting to flee and deliver the corpses to Dou Wei, then ordered the families of the departed officials dealt with as well.

Wei Yu learned that the two Immortal Masters had vanished as Jinjiang City faced the threat of Madam Chu and her Nether Soldiers. Elsewhere, Xiang Jie and Fang Xuan’s associate traveled through Central Province to confront the demons, while advisers in Sea Province argued over whether to send three demon allies to aid PingLiao City.

• Wei Yu ordered Dou Wei to find the vanished Immortal Masters, fearing Madam Chu might attack Jinjiang City.
• Xiang Jie and a Plum Envoy traveled through Central Province, discussed the sudden appearance of demons, and prepared to confront Madam Chu and her Nether Soldiers.
• Sikong Jihuai and his advisers considered how to relieve PingLiao City as it faced the barbarian beast army while Jizhou City was surrounded.
• Chu Chong urged the advisers to trust Crimson Wood Flood Dragon and the other two Fifth Heavenly Gate martial artists because they held Fang Xuan’s token.

Sikong Jihuai sent Yue Zhenting, Instructor Ning, and Chu Chong with a hundred thousand elite soldiers to reinforce Fang Xuan at PingLiao City after learning that a Fifth Heavenly Gate martial artist had joined the beast army. In Jinjiang City, Fang Xuan and Lingxi uncovered Sima Weiyu’s ties to the Yin Puppet Sect and agreed to hunt down the Evil Creature and the corpse-puppet maker.

• Sikong Jihuai received an urgent letter reporting that the beast army had attacked PingLiao City and that Commander Fang needed aid.
• Chu Chong demanded troops to reinforce Fang, and Sikong Jihuai ordered Yue Zhenting, Instructor Ning, and Chu Chong to lead a hundred thousand soldiers north.
• A force of ten thousand corpse puppets drove the Nether Soldiers out of Jinjiang City after two days of street fighting.
• Fang Xuan told Lingxi that Sima Weiyu had secret ties to the Yin Puppet Sect and that they should bring the hidden enemy into the open.
• Fang Xuan agreed to face the Evil Creature outside Jinjiang City, while Lingxi took responsibility for destroying the corpse puppets inside it.
• Lingxi suggested corpse puppets could help unify the Nine Provinces, but Fang Xuan rejected ruling through wicked means.

Wei Yu learned that Immortal Master Pan wanted three thousand young boys in exchange for making fifty thousand Heavenly Soldiers, just as an army arrived to attack the Nether Soldiers. Fang Xuan confronted Madam Chu as she withdrew, wounded her with his sword, and prepared to press the attack.

• Wei Yu agreed to find three thousand young boys for Immortal Master Pan, who promised to create fifty thousand Heavenly Soldiers.
• Dou Wei reported that a new army was attacking the Nether Soldier camp north of Jinjiang City.
• Madam Chu decided to withdraw after judging the attacking army too strong, but Fang Xuan appeared and blocked her escape.
• Fang Xuan attacked Madam Chu with Ink Abyss and the Great Wilderness Cloud Shattering Sword, cutting through her blood-red barrier and wounding her.
• Fang Xuan covered himself in blue flames and prepared to continue attacking Madam Chu.

Fang Xuan defeated Madam Chu’s steward and nearly killed her, but Xiang Jie stopped him because the Martial Temple needed her alive. At Madam Chu’s residence, Du Lu revealed she carried no evil demon aura, leaving Jinjiang City’s true events in doubt as Fang Xuan asked about the Martial Temple and the battle in Shang Jing City.

• Fang Xuan unleashed Samadhi True Fire and sword intent against Madam Chu, destroying her steward and overpowering her.
• Xiang Jie and Du Lu arrived and persuaded Fang Xuan to spare Madam Chu for the Martial Temple’s investigation.
• Madam Chu defended her actions in Jinjiang City and claimed Xiao Hong’s evil demon aura came from elsewhere.
• Madam Chu invited Fang Xuan, Xiang Jie, and Du Lu to her residence, where Xiang Jie introduced Fang Xuan to Du Lu.
• Du Lu said Madam Chu carried no evil demon aura and suspected something was fishy about Jinjiang City.
• Fang Xuan asked Xiang Jie about the Martial Temple, Shang Jing City, and the battle between the Goddess of War and the Great Witch.

Fang Xuan and the Martial Temple elders purged the evil demonic aura from Xiao Hong and learned it had grown stronger after she stayed at Wei Yu’s residence in Jinjiang City. They entered the city, where Fang Xuan ordered the Dragon Whale Army to halt its attacks while he investigated the still-active corpse puppets, then asked about Pan Tai Pass.

• Xiang Jie explained that the Martial God had freed the nine temple keepers from Shang Jing’s seal, and the group decided to watch Madam Chu while they investigated Jinjiang City.
• Du Lu used his furnace to expel the evil demonic aura from Xiao Hong, and Madam Chu accepted blood-colored pills and agreed to leave her Nether Soldiers under the Martial Temple’s authority.
• Xiao Hong said her strength had increased after she stayed at Wei Yu’s residence, prompting Xiang Jie and Du Lu to suspect Jinjiang City was the source of the evil aura.
• Fang Xuan gave Du Lu a wisp of divine fire, then entered Jinjiang City with Xiang Jie and Du Lu and met One Line Sky at the Dragon Whale Army’s command post.
• One Line Sky reported that the army had taken East City but was still facing powerful forces and active corpse puppets, so Fang Xuan ordered the troops to camp and await further instructions.
• Fang Xuan asked One Line Sky about the situation at Pan Tai Pass.

Fang Xuan investigated the mysterious army near Pan Tai Pass and prepared to take Jinjiang City, where he and his companions uncovered the Yin Puppet Sect’s corpse puppets. They found the captive Lingxi beneath an abandoned well, leaving Fang Xuan and the others poised to rescue him.

• One Line Sky told Fang Xuan that a mysterious army had devastated Red Eyebrow Army troops near Pan Tai Pass, and Fang Xuan ordered the Spider Web to investigate.
• Fang Xuan told One Line Sky to leave the northern counties alone until they took Jinjiang City and expanded through Central Province.
• Fang Xuan, Xiang Jie, and Du Lu saw rows of corpse puppets in Jinjiang City and confirmed that their refining methods came from the Yin Puppet Sect.
• A hooded man held the injured Lingxi captive and planned to refine him into a corpse puppet, while Lingxi cursed Fang Xuan to come save him.
• Du Lu carried Wei Yu to an abandoned residence, where Fang Xuan knocked Wei unconscious after Wei begged for mercy and blamed Pan Hong.
• Fang Xuan, Xiang Jie, and Du Lu heard Lingxi shouting from beneath the well and realized where he was being held.

Fang Li and the Dragon Whale Army struggled to hold PingLiao City against the barbarian beast army while waiting for reinforcements. The Crimson Wood Flood Dragon, the Yun Xin Lion, and Shadow Fiend arrived ahead of the main force on Fang Xuan’s orders, turning the battle in PingLiao City’s favor.

• Fang Li reviewed the defenders’ losses after three days of attacks and explained that the barbarian beast army was likely waiting for reinforcements before making a final assault.
• Fang Li reassured Water Monkey that their reinforcements would arrive first, just as a new flock of demonic beasts approached the city.
• Water Monkey and the defenders fought off the beasts until a Fifth Heavenly Gate flood dragon and a flaming lion attacked the beast army and broke its formation.
• Shadow Fiend appeared beside Fang Li and introduced himself, identifying the two demonic beasts as the Crimson Wood Flood Dragon and the Yun Xin Lion.
• Shadow Fiend told Fang Li that Fang Xuan had sent them ahead to help and that the remaining reinforcements were following behind.

Fang Xuan reached Pan Hong as he tried to refine Lingxi into a corpse puppet and freed Lingxi from its restraints, though the seal on its Dantian Qi Sea remained. Pan Hong summoned the sleeping corpse puppets, but Xiang Jie and Du Lu arrived to report they had destroyed every puppet outside.

• Fang Xuan passed through the underground plaza of corpse puppets while Xiang Jie and Du Lu stayed behind to destroy the army.
• Pan Hong coated the bound Lingxi with strange substances and began a ritual to turn it into a corpse puppet.
• Fang Xuan appeared in the room and struck Pan Hong with Ink Abyss, but Pan Hong vanished from sight and survived.
• Fang Xuan broke Lingxi's restraints and pulled out its light needles, but he could not remove the seal binding its Dantian Qi Sea.
• Pan Hong revealed his grotesque appearance and used an ancient banner to summon the sleeping corpse puppets.
• Xiang Jie and Du Lu rushed in and told Fang Xuan they had destroyed every corpse puppet outside.

Fang Xuan and his companions confronted Pan Hong after destroying the corpse puppets, only to discover that Pan Hong was an intelligent corpse puppet of formidable strength. As Xiang Jie and Du Lu fell back, Fang Xuan unleashed the Heart Burning Flame Palm against him.

• Pan Hong raged after finding that Xiang Jie and Du Lu had destroyed his corpse puppets, and Fang Xuan attacked him with the Kunwu Sword Array.
• Pan Hong charged toward the restrained Spirit Rhinoceros, but Fang Xuan pierced his heart with Ink Abyss; Pan Hong survived and revealed that he was a sentient corpse puppet.
• Pan Hong explained that he had once been Yan Yuda's corpse puppet and boasted that he had reached Fifth Rank Martial Venerable strength.
• Pan Hong knocked aside Xiang Jie and Du Lu and nearly struck them, but Fang Xuan stopped him with another sword attack.
• Fang Xuan told Xiang Jie and Du Lu to fall back, gathered the Samadhi True Fire, and struck Pan Hong with the Heart Burning Flame Palm.

Fang Xuan used Samadhi True Fire to burn Pan Hong, but the corpse puppet survived, while the Dragon Whale Army seized Jinjiang City. One Line Sky ordered Wei Yu’s wicked confidants executed and found renewed purpose in the Dragon Whale Army as he watched Fang Xuan’s fight.

• Fang Xuan struck Pan Hong with Samadhi True Fire, which burned his soul and forced him up through the ground, but demonic energy preserved his bones and kept him alive.
• Fang Xuan, Xiang Jie, Du Lu, and the others emerged above ground as Pan Hong steadied himself in the air, badly burned but still living.
• After Fang Xuan appeared, One Line Sky ordered the Dragon Whale Army to attack, and the soldiers swept into Jinjiang City while its corpse puppets stood motionless.
• One Line Sky’s forces captured Jinjiang City in less than half an hour, and the city’s officials surrendered Wei Yu’s close confidants.
• One Line Sky ordered the guilty confidants killed and their heads displayed in the square, then watched Fang Xuan fighting above the city and understood the Dragon Whale Army’s purpose.

Pan Hong summoned an evil demon, which possessed his body and attacked Fang Xuan and the Martial Temple envoys. Fang Xuan sent Xiang Jie and Du Lu to protect the Dragon Whale Army and clashed with Demonic Pan Hong in a fierce sword battle.

• Pan Hong shed his flesh and summoned an evil demon, while Lingxi warned Fang Xuan that its aura matched the restraint inside him.
• The demon possessed Pan Hong and transformed him into Demonic Pan Hong, who attacked Xiang Jie and Du Lu with a bone chain.
• Fang Xuan used Ink Abyss to break the bone chain, then told Xiang Jie and Du Lu to withdraw and protect the Dragon Whale Army.
• Demonic Pan Hong charged Fang Xuan, who unleashed his sword arts and Samadhi True Fire in a blazing Sword River.
• Fang Xuan's Sword River collided with Demonic Pan Hong's attack, filling the battlefield with blinding light.

Fang Xuan unleashed the Great Wilderness Cloud Shattering Sword against Demonic Pan Hong, devastating Jinjiang City but failing to kill him. Demonic Pan Hong survived the attack and vowed to kill Fang Xuan rather than abandon his long-awaited undertaking.

• Demonic Pan Hong recognized Fang Xuan’s Samadhi True Fire as a threat and summoned six bone chains to attack him.
• Fang Xuan evaded the chains and struck with the Great Wilderness Cloud Shattering Sword, impressing Lingxi, Xiang Jie, and Du Lu.
• Fang Xuan’s sword shattered Demonic Pan Hong’s defensive barrier and pierced his body, leaving a vast abyss in Jinjiang City.
• Demonic Pan Hong crawled from the abyss badly injured, revealed his resolve to continue his undertaking, and prepared to fight Fang Xuan again.

Pan Hong's Demon Confinement Curse sealed Fang Xuan's inner force, leaving Xiang Jie and Du Lu to face the demonic enemy alone. As Pan Hong moved to kill them, Fang Xuan raised one finger and cleaved downward, opening a crack in the sky.

• A black curse inscription passed through Fang Xuan's sword and sealed his Dantian Qi Sea, extinguishing his inner force and Samadhi True Fire.
• Xiang Jie caught the falling Fang Xuan while Du Lu joined him, and they resolved to hold Pan Hong off as Fang Xuan sought help in Gui City.
• Pan Hong dismissed their efforts and promised to turn Lingxi into a corpse puppet after killing them.
• Xiang Jie and Du Lu attacked Pan Hong together, but he broke their weapons and sent them crashing down.
• Xiang Jie unleashed the Overlord Spear while Du Lu restrained Pan Hong, but the spear only pierced Pan Hong's chest by an inch.
• As Pan Hong sent his bone chains toward Xiang Jie, Fang Xuan raised his hand and cleaved downward, splitting the sky.

Fang Xuan destroyed Pan Hong and lifted the restraint on Lingxi, while his sword strike also cracked the sky. After the Dragon Whale Army captured Jinjiang City, Fang Xuan ordered the gathered corpse puppets burned.

• A little girl noticed a crack in the Mountains and Rivers of the State of the Nine Provinces scroll, and the old man found that the sky depicted in it had split open.
• Fang Xuan used the three strands of Sword Qi in his body to annihilate Pan Hong, and the strike cleaved open the sky above Jinjiang City.
• Lingxi confirmed the restraint had been lifted, treated Xiang Jie and Du Lu, and recalled encountering a stronger evil demon in the forbidden zone of the Primordial Secret Realm.
• The Dragon Whale Army gathered the corpse puppets in East City, and Xiang Jie suggested they could be controlled and used as an army.
• Fang Xuan rejected using the corpse puppets and ordered the Dragon Whale Army to burn them all.

Fang Xuan and the Dragon Whale Army prepared to expand into Central Province after defeating the barbarian forces at PingLiao City. The chapter ended with Wang Haoze asking Fang Li to send troops to rescue Ji Province, which had been besieged by the barbarians.

• Xiang Jie and Du Lu said farewell to Fang Xuan and returned to Jing Province to report the evil fiend to the Martial Temple.
• News spread that the Dragon Whale Army had defeated the beast army at PingLiao City and Tuoba Ren had died in battle.
• Fang Li proposed sending two hundred thousand Dragon Whale Army soldiers to take Pan Tai Pass, though Yue Zhenting warned that a major advance could provoke Great Qian, Wan Province, and Red Eyebrows.
• Wang Haoze arrived at Fang Li's camp after crossing the Qiao Mountain Range and said Gu Kaizhi had sent him to seek aid.
• Wang Haoze told Fang Li that Ji Province had been besieged for more than half a month and begged him to send troops before Ji Province City fell.

Wang Haoze sought Sea Province’s aid against the barbarian invasion, and Fang Li demanded garrison rights over Dragon City and a ten-thousand-li trade route in exchange. After Wang Haoze used Gu Kaizhi’s golden seal to accept the terms, Fang Li ordered troops to move out.

• Fang Li told Wang Haoze that the Dragon Whale Army had already defeated Tuoba Ren’s hundred-thousand-strong force and refused to send aid without concessions.
• Fang Li demanded garrison rights over Dragon City and a ten-thousand-li trade route, then ordered the army to prepare to leave when Wang Haoze hesitated.
• Wang Haoze left the camp, considered Ji Province’s plight, and decided to use Gu Kaizhi’s golden seal to accept Fang Li’s demands.
• Wang Haoze returned to the tent and presented Gu Kaizhi’s golden seal, authorizing him to make the deal.
• Fang Li and Wang Haoze stamped the agreement, and Fang Li ordered the army to march for Lanqing City and Yue Zhenting to send another two hundred thousand troops to PingLiao City.

Fang Li led the Dragon Whale Army north to threaten Lanqing City and draw the barbarian army away from Ji Province City, while arranging a coordinated counterattack with Wang Haoze. Elsewhere, Emperor Wuzong learned that he was a Person of Calamity, and Sikong Jihuai began carrying out Fang Li’s plan to win over Ji Province through trade and cultural influence.

• Fang Li explained to Wang Haoze that capturing Lanqing City would threaten the barbarians’ supply line and force them to abandon the siege of Ji Province City; he sent Wang back to coordinate a counterattack using the Dragon Whale signal.
• The Dragon Whale Army marched north at full speed as Fang Li wrote in his carriage.
• Mister Wei told Emperor Wuzong that he, like himself, was a Person of Calamity, and warned that the barbarians’ advance south could eventually bring conflict with Great Qian.
• Sikong Jihuai received Fang Li’s letter and asked Zhou Guwu to use Spider Web to publicize Sea Province and support cultural infiltration in Dragon City.
• Sikong Jihuai anticipated that Fang Li’s plan would make people in Ji Province admire the Dragon Whale Army and consider submitting to it.