Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu used the Three Paths Curse to accelerate his Divine Embryo's Return to Origin, while Lan Zhang attacked Camp Hai with Red-Eyed Water Apes. The chapter ended with Chen Mu discovering that Camp Hai had been destroyed and its more than one hundred thousand Yinlings were gone.

• Chen Mu recruited over three hundred Yinlings in Thousand Lantern City and taught them the Three Paths Curse and his perfected Dew Gathering Incantation.
• Shen Yan explained that the Yinlings could gather Jade Dew from the River of Forgetfulness, allowing Chen Mu to recover his divine power and transmit the techniques quickly.
• Lan Zhang and the Eyeless Child decided to pressure Camp Hai into contacting Jigu City, then sent Red-Eyed Water Apes to attack it.
• Chen Mu had Flag G6 cast the Three Paths Curse together and absorbed Weak Water, strengthening his Divine Embryo's Return to Origin.
• Shen Yan warned Chen Mu that the Divine Embryo's progress had an inherent limit, and Chen Mu accepted that he could not complete it quickly.
• Chen Mu left Thousand Lantern City at dawn, saw Black Smoke rising over Camp Hai, and discovered that its more than one hundred thousand Yinlings had vanished.

After discovering that Camp Hai had been destroyed and its auxiliary soldiers scattered by Red-Eyed Water Ape attacks, Chen Mu searched for survivors and rescued Feng Qianli. He learned that the fleeing groups had been repeatedly ambushed, leaving his plan to return to the Netherworld in jeopardy.

• Chen Mu and Shen Yan found Camp Hai in ruins and concluded that its auxiliary soldiers had fled without organizing a defense.
• Chen Mu learned that Shen Yan’s plan to return to the Netherworld required the Medicine, Armaments, and Engineering Departments, so he set out to find them among the fleeing soldiers.
• Chen Mu followed the tracks east and northeast, but Water Ape attacks had scattered the auxiliary soldiers across the grassland.
• Chen Mu rescued Feng Qianli from a Red-Furred Water Ape, which fled after Chen Mu repelled its attack.
• Feng Qianli told Chen Mu that the fleeing soldiers had been ambushed repeatedly and that the Flame Carriage Department might have been among the groups traveling east.

Chen Mu and Shen Yan searched for the scattered Yinlings but found that key forces had vanished, leaving their return to the Netherworld uncertain. Chen Mu shifted to gathering the survivors in Thousand Lantern City, where he used them to cultivate and strengthen his Spirit Embryo.

• Chen Mu and Shen Yan searched through the night and gathered four groups of Yinlings, but found no trace of the main force.
• Shen Yan suspected the Ghost Soldiers had been deliberately taken away, while Chen Mu feared the elites had abandoned the ordinary auxiliary soldiers as bait for the Water Apes.
• Chen Mu and Shen Yan met Flag Commander Bai Qing, who confirmed that he had ignored the military order and said the Yin Wind Department had taken the Medicine Department with them.
• After five days of finding only scattered survivors, Chen Mu decided to stop searching personally and use the auxiliary soldiers to look for more Yinlings while he cultivated.
• The Yinlings gathered in Thousand Lantern City and activated the Three Paths Curse, allowing Chen Mu to draw Weak Water aura and make his Spirit Embryo prototype more complete.
• Chen Mu planted Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds in the remaining Yinlings, then asked Shen Yan for a better cultivation method and was told that his slow progress was due to his own lack of ability.

Chen Mu established a mountain outpost and continued strengthening his Divine Embryo while considering how to return to the Netherworld. Meanwhile, Hu Cheng learned a method to gather Yinling power, and Shen Yan tried to persuade Chen Mu to refine Ghost Gate Pass as Chen Mu chose to keep practicing the Calm Heart Scripture.

• Chen Mu sent search parties into the mountains and set up an observation post, while Yinlings prepared materials for barracks near Thousand Lantern City.
• Lu Jiu reported sensing Ghost Gate Pass, but Hu Cheng warned that recovering it could be dangerous and introduced the Mountain Bearing Scripture, which gathered people's power like a soul banner.
• Chen Mu asked Shen Yan about ways to return to the Netherworld, and Shen Yan described refining Ghost Gate Pass, contacting Hu Cheng, or risking a crossing through the River of Forgetfulness.
• Shen Yan hoped Chen Mu would practice the Jade Gate Curse so they could summon Ghost Gate Pass, but Chen Mu instead led the Yinlings in the Three Paths Curse and continued cultivating with the Calm Heart Scripture.

Hu Cheng settled rescued Yinlings while plotting to seize the Soul Summoning Banner, and Chen Mu considered how to find more survivors and return to the Netherworld. Shen Yan urged him to cultivate the Jade Gate Curse, unaware that Chen Mu had secretly nearly mastered it and discovered the danger Shen Yan’s plan posed.

• Hu Cheng welcomed more than three hundred rescued Yinlings into One-Line Sky and planned to use the Mountain Bearing Scripture to gain control of the Soul Summoning Banner.
• Chen Mu admired the new Wooden Towers in Thousand Lantern City and ordered Hong Xiu to build better quarters for him and the military inspector.
• Shen Yan pressed Chen Mu to cultivate the Jade Gate Curse and search for more Yinlings, while Chen Mu explained that most Camp Hai survivors had likely scattered or died.
• Chen Mu revealed that he had already sent teams to watch the Camp Hai ruins and hoped to find the Yin Wind and Medicine Departments or other survivors there.
• Chen Mu secretly checked his Jade Gate Curse progress at 8603 and realized that greater mastery would help him prevent Shen Yan from taking control of Ghost Gate Pass.

Chen Mu studied the Mountain Bearing Scripture Hong Xiu had found and used the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds to help Thousand Lantern City’s Yinling master it. With new teams able to fly and fight together, he sent them back out to search the mountains for survivors.

• Chen Mu activated his Divine Ability to rescue a group of Yinling who had been attacked by Demon Monsters, while Bai Qing’s group remained the only team still outside.
• Hong Xiu offered Chen Mu the Mountain Bearing Scripture in exchange for more people, revealing he had found it in the Ghost Soldier headquarters during the chaos at Camp Hai.
• Shen Yan explained that Lan Zhang had likely devised the scripture to gather Yinling strength and imitate the Soul Summoning Banner, while Chen Mu chose the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed as the foundation for its Mountain Seal.
• Chen Mu refined a Mountain Seal and taught the Mountain Bearing Scripture to three thousand Yinling, allowing them to resonate and use the Yin Wind Fire Bell secret art.
• Chen Mu formed teams of one hundred Yinling, gave their leaders Mountain Seals, and sent them out to search the mountains, including Hong Xiu.

Chen Mu led more than two hundred Yinling north to join the Yin Wind Department, overcoming a deadly illusion cast by Blue Fluorescent Worms. At One-Line Sky, the department assigned the newcomers to cultivate the Mountain Bearing Scripture and provide divine power.

• Chen Mu gathered more than two hundred Yinling and headed north after learning that the Yin Wind Department was searching for auxiliary soldiers.
• A giant tree repeatedly appeared in Chen Mu's path, and he realized it was a Divine Bewilderment illusion caused by Blue Fluorescent Worms.
• Chen Mu linked the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds of the group through Remote Sensing, breaking the illusion and revealing the insects as the sun set.
• Qiu Zhi led Chen Mu and the others to One-Line Sky, where he explained that the Yin Wind Department had relocated tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers to safety.
• Qiu Zhi assigned the newcomers to the Yin Wind Department and asked them to cultivate the Mountain Bearing Scripture and provide divine power, easing Chen Mu's fear that they would be sacrificed.

Chen Mu traveled with the Yin Wind Department as it relocated across Nether Demon Heaven, while worrying about Hu Cheng’s plans and Shen Yan’s proposal to summon Ghost Gate Pass. The department reached a grassland, where Hu Cheng’s camp received Ghost Gate Pass, leaving Chen Mu relieved and eager to tell Shen Yan.

• Lan Zhang sent the Soul Summoning Banner into the mountains and trusted that Hu Cheng’s Mountain Bearing Scripture would let the Yinlings infiltrate Jigu City's main camp.
• Chen Mu pretended to struggle with the Mountain Bearing Scripture when Qiu Zhi warned that the Yin Wind Department would soon relocate.
• Shen Yan urged Chen Mu to summon Ghost Gate Pass, but Chen Mu resolved to wait until his Jade Gate Curse surpassed Shen Yan’s skill.
• The Yin Wind Department left One-Line Sky with its auxiliary soldiers gathered into black clouds and burned through attacks from Demon Monsters as it crossed the mountains.
• At dusk, the black clouds descended beside a vast grassland, and a gray-white Ghost Gate Pass appeared in the camp.
• Chen Mu realized Hu Cheng had found Ghost Gate Pass and happily decided to tell Shen Yan.

Chen Mu learned that Hu Cheng had found Ghost Gate Pass and was using the Mountain Bearing Scripture to drain the camp’s Yin Spirit Divine Power while refining the Soul Summoning Banner. Chen Mu strengthened his own scripture to resist Hu Cheng’s extraction, while Shen Yan gave up on escaping and settled into using Chen Mu’s rocking chair.

• Chen Mu told Shen Yan that he wanted to give Hu Cheng the Jade Gate Curse and asked him to help make the plan foolproof, leaving Shen Yan stunned and angry.
• Hu Cheng repeatedly activated the Mountain Bearing Scripture to draw Yin Spirit Divine Power from the camp and refine the Soul Summoning Banner, leaving Chen Mu worried about the lack of reserves.
• Chen Mu practiced the Mountain Bearing Scripture for three days, raising its experience to sixty-three hundred and learning to sever Hu Cheng’s forced connection.
• Chen Mu found Shen Yan calmly watering the vegetable patch while sitting in Chen Mu’s rocking chair, and teased him about giving up on escape.
• Shen Yan admitted that Chen Mu’s secret control technique left him no chance to flee, while Chen Mu joked that Heaven had revealed the Jade Gate Curse to him.

Chen Mu settled into his role as Flag Commander of Flag E4 at Camp You while learning why Jigu City was collecting Demon Monster corpses and secretly advancing his Jade Gate Curse. After the camp’s God Concealing Mist reacted to his attempt to sense the Flag You Ghost Gate Pass, he realized he might be able to gain experience by refining it, but risked drawing attention.

• Chen Mu saved Hong Xiu from a Strange Serpent head and continued guarding the auxiliary soldiers under Flag E4 at the Blood Sea beach.
• Shen Yan told Chen Mu that Jigu City was collecting Demon Monster corpses to make offerings to Lethe and refine twelve Soul Summoning Banners for City Lord Jian to reach the Nether Spirit realm.
• Chen Mu reviewed his Mountain Bearing Scripture and Jade Gate Curse progress, then teased Shen Yan about taking him outside to bask in the sun.
• Lan Zhang emerged from the blood light near the auxiliary soldier barracks and looked toward Camp You’s mountaintop.
• After more than twenty days at Camp You, Chen Mu sensed the Flag You Ghost Gate Pass and activated the Jade Gate Curse, triggering the God Concealing Mist to search the mountain.
• Chen Mu pretended to cultivate until the mist settled, then checked his Gray Wall and found that his Jade Gate Curse had advanced to Tier 3.

Chen Mu feared that the disaster at Ghost Gate Pass meant Bai Zhilang and Gong Huan had betrayed Jigu City, but the camp recovered and he gradually stopped worrying. As Camp You’s battle with the Multi-headed Flood Dragons continued, Chen Mu decided to trick Shen Yan into performing three thousand somersaults for the Yinlings in Thousand Lantern City.

• Gong Huan investigated the tremor at Ghost Gate Pass while a second personality within Bai Zhilang discussed killing him; the two later confronted each other, and Gong Huan considered surrendering before their fight began.
• Chen Mu watched the God Concealing Mist from his cabin, then saw Ghost Gate Pass explode and worried that his earlier interference had caused the disaster.
• A notice blamed the destruction and fighting on a Multi-headed Flood Dragons attack, but Chen Mu grew alarmed when he read that the Bottomless Pool had been destroyed and Flame Carriage Department soldiers were ordered to remain inactive.
• Shen Yan assured Chen Mu that Gong Huan could not betray Jigu City because of his Secret Technique Contract, and promised to perform three thousand somersaults if Bai Zhilang had defected.
• After watching Camp You for more than half a month and seeing no further signs of betrayal, Chen Mu decided to recruit Shi Dechun and Hong Xiu to help trick Shen Yan into performing for the Yinlings.

During half a year at Camp You, Chen Mu cultivated by night and worked by day while expanding Thousand Lantern City and gathering ingredients. He tasked Shen Yan with training three thousand Yinling to strengthen their origins and help perfect his Divine Embryo.

• Shen Yan oversaw the construction of more Wooden Towers in Thousand Lantern City, but Chen Mu realized they were running short on building materials.
• Chen Mu spent half a year protecting auxiliary soldiers during the day and cultivating at night as Camp You continued feeding Multi-headed Flood Dragons into the Bottomless Pool.
• Jia Zhang brought Chen Mu a basket of Blood Oysters, and Chen Mu rewarded him with the military merit he had earned that day.
• Shen Yan proposed making Jia Zhang one of their own so he could keep finding ingredients, but Chen Mu refused to risk causing trouble before Camp You's mission ended.
• Chen Mu transmitted the Three Yin Phosphor Fire Curse to three thousand Yinling and tried to impose a demanding cultivation schedule on them.
• Shen Yan objected that Chen Mu's schedule would exhaust the Yinling, then took charge of training them using his experience as a former supervisor.

Chen Mu investigated his secret arts, accepted Jia Zhang’s strange vitality-enhancing ingredient, and decided to make Jia Zhang one of his own. Jia Zhang’s possession by Niu Sanmiao was exposed, and Niu Sanmiao revealed he had been preparing to devour Chen Mu.

• Chen Mu reviewed his progress in the Yellow Springs Guide and Jade Gate Curse while teaching the Three Yin Phosphor Fire Curse to a Yinling.
• Jia Zhang brought Chen Mu a living, carrot-like ingredient that tasted like fresh meat and supposedly strengthened vitality and energy, and Chen Mu traded military merits for it.
• After Chen Mu left, Niu Sanmiao, possessing Jia Zhang, discussed devouring Hong Xiu and Shi Dechun, while Jia Zhang wanted a share of the meal.
• Chen Mu startled Jia Zhang and Niu Sanmiao by peeking through the barracks window, then returned and said he wanted to make Jia Zhang one of his own.
• Chen Mu tried to plant a Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed in Jia Zhang, but Niu Sanmiao took control and revealed his identity and his long-running plan to devour Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu realized Niu Sanmiao had been fattening him with vitality-enhancing ingredients and demanded to know who he was.

Chen Mu fought and destroyed the Blood God Son possessing Jia Zhang, then realized the enemy was likely the Ox-Head Monster who had targeted him before. As blood-red clouds and Blood God Sons ravaged Camp You, he suspected the camp’s leadership had turned to the Blood Scripture and knew he could no longer stay.

• Niu Sanmiao revealed himself as a Blood God Son and attacked Chen Mu, corroding his Protective Spiritual Light and resisting his initial techniques.
• Chen Mu trapped Niu Sanmiao’s Blood Shadow Body in River of Forgetfulness Water and destroyed it with Nine Nether Azure Flame, Soul Seizing Yuan Returning, and Five Ghosts Moving Mountains.
• Chen Mu recognized the dead Jia Zhang as a possessed victim and concluded that Niu Sanmiao was probably the Ox-Head Monster who had pursued him in Thousand Lantern City.
• Chen Mu suspected Bai Zhilang and Gong Huan had allied with Nether Demon Heaven, then resolved to leave Camp You.
• The God Concealing Mist turned blood-red as Blood God Sons attacked across Camp You, and Chen Mu watched them kill Ghost Soldiers while fearing the camp would be devoured.

Lan Zhang traded the Soul Summoning Banner and Ghost Gate Pass to City Lord Jian as Blood God Sons attacked Camp You. Chen Mu rescued Yinlings by planting Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds in them, then unleashed Myriad Ghosts Bearing Mountain to turn the camp’s survivors into a vast cloud of Black Smoke.

• Lan Zhang revealed that some Ghost Soldiers were City Lord Jian’s hidden Dao Soldiers, then sent the Soul Summoning Banner to Ghost Gate Pass, which vanished with it.
• Chen Mu fled toward Thousand Lantern City with over two hundred followers and used Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds to rescue the remaining Yinlings under his command.
• Chen Mu discovered that Blood God Sons blocked escape underground and killed most Ghost Soldiers who tried to break through the blood mist by air.
• Chen Mu decided to create chaos and spread Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds among Yinlings in the Auxiliary Soldier Camp, including Flag B2’s Dark-faced Flag Commander.
• Chen Mu activated Myriad Ghosts Bearing Mountain, gathering rolling Black Smoke into a cloud that covered much of Camp You and stunned the Blood God Sons.

Chen Mu used Myriad Ghosts Bearing Mountain and Hundred Mile Qi Seal to break the Yinlings out of the Blood Cloud surrounding Camp You. After splitting the Black Smoke to escape, he was singled out by a powerful Blood Cloud and fled across the blood sea, where he hid in Thousand Lantern City as it searched for him.

• Chen Mu endured the strain of activating Myriad Ghosts Bearing Mountain and used Hundred Mile Qi Seal to shield the Black Smoke from the attacking Blood God Sons.
• Chen Mu led the Yinlings through the Blood Cloud and out of the encirclement around Camp You.
• Lan Zhang gathered the Blood God Sons into a vast Blood Cloud and attacked, but Chen Mu split the Black Smoke into scattered groups that fled in every direction.
• A powerful Blood Cloud pursued Chen Mu, who gathered the Yinlings into Thousand Lantern City and used Vertical Rainbow Light to flee.
• Chen Mu ran out of strength and fell into the blood sea, then entered Thousand Lantern City before a school of fish could reach him.
• The Blood Cloud searched where Chen Mu had fallen, roared in frustration, and flew away.

Chen Mu woke badly injured in Thousand Lantern City after using the Mountain Bearing Scripture, and Shen Yan explained how the camp had been rebuilt and how they had saved him. As Chen Mu recovered at a startling pace, he realized that the Heavenly Demon True Form was healing his human body, suggesting it possessed an unknown ability.

• Chen Mu woke in a medicinal bath, mistook it for a pot meant to stew him, and fell asleep again.
• Shen Yan told Chen Mu that ten Soul Guiding Lanterns lit Thousand Lantern City and that the Medicine Department had helped save his life.
• Chen Mu blamed Shen Yan for trusting Gong Huan, while Shen Yan defended his judgment and said Chen Mu would have to rely on his own recovery.
• Chen Mu learned Shen Yan had recognized his living Qi Refining body, then discovered the Five Ghosts Paper Figures had kept Shen Yan away while he was unconscious.
• Chen Mu recovered rapidly despite severe injuries and realized a cool aura from the Heavenly Demon True Form was repairing his body faster than his mana or Jade Dew essence could.

Chen Mu recovered from his injuries by absorbing what returned through his Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds and resolved to train Thousand Lantern City's Yinling so they could safely use Yellow Springs Crossing. Shen Yan explained that Return Vitality Soup could accelerate their cultivation, leaving Chen Mu eager to keep improving his Culinary skill.

• Chen Mu realized the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds had returned with something that helped heal his injuries, though he kept the matter secret from Shen Yan.
• Chen Mu asked Shen Yan about returning to the Netherworld through Yellow Springs Crossing, then decided to train the city's five or six thousand Yinling to become Ghost Soldiers and reduce the danger.
• Chen Mu accepted that returning might take years and focused on recovering while planning to strengthen the auxiliary soldiers.
• Shen Yan explained that Yinling needed fire refining and replenishment to awaken their Divine Abilities, and that ordinary cultivation with Jade Dew could take about fifty-three years.
• Shen Yan identified Return Vitality Soup as a potent Precious Medicine that could replenish Yinling's origin and speed their cultivation of Ghost Pattern.
• Chen Mu connected the soup's potency to his Seven Revolutions Feast Origin Curse and decided to keep grinding Culinary.

Chen Mu discovered that his Seven Revolutions Feast Origin Curse could produce potent Return Vitality Soup without medicinal herbs, while Shen Yan organized Thousand Lantern City’s Yinling and their cultivation. After recovering, Chen Mu’s Divine Embryo was greatly improved, and he learned the Heavenly Demon Curse incantation, which he planned to use on Shen Yan.

• Chen Mu made Return Vitality Soup from Mutant Beast meat and River of Forgetfulness Water, and Pu Lu confirmed its vital energy far surpassed Awakening Spirit Soup.
• Shen Yan organized the thousands of Yinling into banners and departments, recording their age and aptitude to tailor their cultivation schedules.
• Chen Mu urged Shen Yan to give the Yinling enough rest while jokingly avoiding responsibility for managing them himself.
• More than half a month later, Chen Mu’s wounds healed, and his Heavenly Demon True Form returned to normal.
• Chen Mu discovered that returned Heavenly Demon Spirit Seeds had filled and repaired much of his Divine Embryo, which revealed the Heavenly Demon Curse incantation to him.
• Chen Mu suspected the curse’s claims about freedom and transformation were a deception, then decided to use it on Shen Yan.

Chen Mu accidentally planted a Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed in Shen Yan by reciting the Heavenly Demon Curse, then moved to a remote island to establish a hidden base. Back in Thousand Lantern City, he discovered the Yinling auxiliary soldiers were cultivating with such intense dedication that he started training out of competitive spite.

• Chen Mu recited the Heavenly Demon Curse, unknowingly planting a Spirit Seed in Shen Yan despite Shen Yan's flawless Origin Spirit.
• Shen Yan realized the Spirit Seed had entered his mind, and Chen Mu considered how dangerous it would be to disguise the curse in widely circulated scriptures before deciding not to spread it.
• Chen Mu flew far from Camp You and settled on a small island in the Blood Sea, where he sent Ghost Soldiers to investigate and had a thatched cottage built.
• Chen Mu raised five pillars to form the Minor Three Talents Light Blocking Restriction, concealing his island so he could safely use the Exquisite Jade Disk.
• Chen Mu saw thousands of Yinling auxiliary soldiers cultivating under the Three Yin Phosphor Fire Curse and, frustrated by their diligence, sat down to grind Jade Gate Curse experience.