Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu used the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture to locate Yinling settlements and gather information while trying to find Feng'an City. After hundreds of calculations pointed southeast, he became confident that was the direction to pursue.

• Chen Mu tested the Calculation Scripture by seeking a nearby Yinling gathering spot, but his first search led to an empty cliffside.
• Chen Mu met an underground-dwelling Yinling who said a valley settlement two hundred li away had vanished and the River of Forgetfulness had disappeared.
• Chen Mu concluded that Yinling rumors could not help him find Feng'an City, so he focused on practicing the Calculation Scripture.
• Chen Mu located two more Yinling settlements after repeated calculations, one southwest of Black Wind Gully and another far to the north.
• Chen Mu found that southeast had appeared in 223 of more than sixteen hundred calculations toward Feng'an City and decided the result was reliable.

Chen Mu encountered a powerful Horse-Faced Eagle Monster on his journey back to Feng'an City and discovered how to fuse his defensive techniques into Five Dragon Unity. He wounded the monster, but it escaped by exploding into Yin Nether Insects and scattering through the forest.

• Chen Mu used the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture to adjust his route toward Feng'an City, then was ambushed by black feathers in dense fog.
• Chen Mu survived the feather barrage inside his Five Dragon Manifestation and faced the enormous Horse-Faced Eagle Monster.
• The monster pinned Chen Mu with its Qi Mechanism and attacked with its wings, but Chen Mu resisted and realized its armor was Dharma Power.
• Chen Mu fused the Five Dragon Manifestation, Hundred Mile Qi Seal, Spiritual Light Protection, and Steel Skin into Five Dragon Unity.
• Chen Mu used the Giant Spirit God’s strength to break the monster’s Protective Qi Mechanism and sever its left wing.
• The Horse-Faced Eagle Monster turned into Yin Nether Insects and escaped into the forest while Chen Mu watched the River of Forgetfulness phantom.

Chen Mu strengthened his Five Dragon Scripture and refined his Five Dragon Unity technique while hiding in Thousand Lantern City after encountering a Horse-Faced Eagle Calamity Demon. After learning to include his departure time and travel conditions in his Nine Cups Calculation Scripture divinations, he found a promising plan to return to Feng'an City and prepared to set out.

• Chen Mu examined his Five Dragon Unity technique and decided to stay near Thousand Lantern City to cultivate before risking the journey to Feng'an City.
• Chen Mu moved seven or eight li upstream from the ruined stream and spent seven days cultivating the Five Dragon Scripture.
• Chen Mu reached Tier 5 in the Five Dragon Scripture and demonstrated Five Dragon Unity's powerful attacks and defenses.
• Chen Mu reconsidered his return route and began including travel time and safety conditions in his Nine Cups Calculation Scripture divinations.
• Chen Mu performed one hundred calculations and found that forty-three pointed southeast when he planned to depart at noon and travel up to six hundred li per day.

Shen Bu and Hu Mang evaded their bait-scattering duties while Chen Mu traveled through the wilderness and repeatedly encountered Calamity Demons. After a massive demon appeared on the grassland, Chen Mu fled and the Five Dragon Scripture neared the peak of Tier 5.

• Shen Bu and Hu Mang complained about scattering Longevity Wine, then used Shen Bu’s Divine Ability to throw away their jars and stayed outside Feng'an City to avoid scrutiny.
• Chen Mu subdued a flaming seven-headed bird Calamity Demon and decided to shorten his daily journey and adjust his calculations to avoid demons.
• Zhang Er asked Hu Mang to help him evade the wine-scattering mission, and the Long-bearded Middle-aged Man appeared with another jar and revealed that Shen Bu had been marked.
• A shattered Longevity Wine jar released pulses that summoned a vast White Mist and a powerful Calamity Demon across the grassland.
• Chen Mu sensed the danger, fled two hundred li, and saw that his Five Dragon Scripture had reached 9999/10000 of Tier 5.

Chen Mu struggled to find a safe route through the Calamity Demons toward Feng'an City, then met Li Wuyou in the wilderness and offered him Jade Dew. Li Wuyou’s face rotted after drinking it, and he revealed that he wanted to eat Chen Mu’s flesh.

• Lu Liang and Lu Thirteen wondered why Calamity Demons had become less frequent around Feng'an City, while Liu Tong ordered Hu Mang to scatter a hundred more jars of Longevity Wine.
• Chen Mu failed to calculate a safe route toward Feng'an City and decided to head southeast, relying on his strengthened Five Dragon Scripture to fight through any Calamity Demons.
• Li Wuyou approached Chen Mu’s campfire, introduced himself as a lost traveler, and asked to warm himself.
• Chen Mu gave Li Wuyou a gourd of Jade Dew, which caused Li Wuyou’s chin and throat to rot away.
• Li Wuyou asked Chen Mu for flesh to satisfy his hunger.

Chen Mu encountered the bizarre Li Wuyou in the wilderness and fled after surviving his attacks. Li Wuyou then appeared before Liu Tong, who recognized the rumored King Wuyou and was eaten.

• Chen Mu destroyed Li Wuyou with Five Dragons Unity, but the scholar reappeared unharmed and attacked him.
• Chen Mu escaped Li Wuyou by using Yin Spirit Divine Power and Yin Wind Evasion, abandoning his plan to hunt Calamity Demons.
• Liu Tong questioned Hu Mang about the Longevity Wine, then secretly watched him exchange a Qi Eating Bag with a Soul Grinding Department agent.
• Liu Tong suspected a conspiracy involving the Secret Intelligence Department and Soul Grinding Department, and wondered whether someone had sabotaged the bait and killed the agents.
• Li Wuyou appeared before Liu Tong, who recognized him as King Wuyou before the scholar ate him.

Lu Liang and Lu Thirteen suspected that the scholar linked to Feng'an City's missing Yinlings was King Wuyou, possibly kept alive by Old Ghost Xiao. Meanwhile, Chen Mu fought Li Wuyou through a relentless pursuit and discovered that each time he killed him, Li Wuyou returned stronger.

• Lu Liang ordered Lu Thirteen to proceed with distributing the Eastern Extreme Longevity Scripture despite the risks of giving Lu Da influence over the city.
• Lu Liang and Lu Thirteen connected reports of missing Yinlings and a white-robed scholar to King Wuyou, then suspected Old Ghost Xiao of keeping him alive.
• Li Wuyou attacked Chen Mu in the mountains, and Chen Mu escaped underground using his Yin Spirit Divine Power.
• Li Wuyou pursued Chen Mu underground and rammed him back to the surface, where Chen Mu seized his wrist and hurled him into a cliff.
• Chen Mu used Giant Spirit God to smash Li Wuyou's face and scatter his body into black ash, but another uninjured Li Wuyou appeared immediately afterward.
• Chen Mu realized he had killed Li Wuyou seventeen times, that each return made Li Wuyou stronger, and that his Yin Spirit Divine Power was nearly exhausted.

Li Wuyou hunted people in Feng'an City while Chen Mu struggled to contain him in the Netherworld and restore his strength. After defeating an Ape Calamity Demon to replenish his power, Chen Mu realized Li Wuyou feared the River of Forgetfulness.

• Li Wuyou killed a bearded man who tried to flee Feng'an City and ate his heart after the man's companions escaped.
• Chen Mu kept Li Wuyou trapped in a sphere of River of Forgetfulness Water, but his divine power and supplies were nearly exhausted.
• Chen Mu used the Calculation Classic to locate a Calamity Demon and flew to its mist-covered territory.
• Chen Mu's Five Dragon Manifestation tore apart and devoured the Ape Calamity Demon, restoring his Yin Spirit Divine Power.
• Li Wuyou appeared on a distant hill, and Chen Mu realized he had kept his distance because he feared the River of Forgetfulness.

Lu Liang and Lu Thirteen struggled to defend Feng'an City from the multiplying King Wuyou until Chen Mu arrived and fought him. After discovering countless Li Wuyous across the city, Chen Mu drew their attention and saw them charge at him.

• Lu Thirteen stopped Lu Liang from attacking King Wuyou and reported that twelve groups of Ghost Soldiers sent through Yellow Springs Crossing had vanished.
• Ten days later, Lu Liang and Lu Thirteen fought a powerful Li Wuyou on Feng'an City's wall until Chen Mu struck it down and faced the weakened Lu Liang.
• Chen Mu learned that Li Wuyou had grown stronger after he killed seventy-three copies over more than twenty days.
• Chen Mu used Divine Listening and discovered Li Wuyous of varying strengths throughout Feng'an City.
• The Li Wuyous across the city turned toward Chen Mu and charged at him after he asked Lu Liang where the nearest River of Forgetfulness was.

Chen Mu used the Eastern Extreme Longevity Scripture’s spread among Feng'an City’s people to summon vast Yin Spirit Divine Power, flood the city with River of Forgetfulness Water, and trap Li Wuyou’s clones. He remained stranded on the riverbank under Li Wuyou’s watch, prepared an escape route to Outer Heaven, and reached the limit of the Five Dragon Scripture.

• Chen Mu learned that Lu Liang had given everyone in Feng'an City a copy of the Eastern Extreme Longevity Scripture and used their Spirit Seed rhythms to cast Myriad Ghosts Bearing Mountain.
• Chen Mu struck Li Wuyou with a kick, then summoned River of Forgetfulness Water to engulf Feng'an City and sweep Li Wuyou’s clones south toward the river.
• Chen Mu and Lu Liang remained by the River of Forgetfulness while Li Wuyou watched from beyond the bank, and Chen Mu tested how Nine Nether Azure Flame protected an object from the river water.
• Chen Mu ordered the construction of a Ghost Gate Pass so the group could dive into the river and escape to Outer Heaven if needed.
• After another night of nightmares about Li Wuyou, Chen Mu saw Feng'an City’s people gathering Oblivion River Stones and building the pass, then discovered that his Five Dragon Scripture had reached its limit.
• Chen Mu manifested five black dragons over the River of Forgetfulness, frightening the nearby Yinlings, and found that the complete manifestation could contend with Divine Fetus Yin Spirits.

Chen Mu searched for a way to escape Li Wuyou and Qingyang City's conflict, then learned that Feng'an City had nearly completed Ghost Gate Pass and planned to move to Outer Heaven. The chapter ended with Hu Mang, Shen Bu, Zhang Er, and Wen Han discussing a Secret Intelligence Department order to sabotage the pass, while Wen Han resisted their hints that he should help.

• Chen Mu reviewed his secret arts, worried about his dwindling White Jade Coins, and considered leaving Feng'an City to find a way back to the living world.
• Lu Liang told Chen Mu that attempts to evade Li Wuyou through the River of Forgetfulness had failed, and that escaping to Outer Heaven through Ghost Gate Pass was their best option.
• Chen Mu tried drawing Li Wuyou into the river, but the demon vanished and reappeared unharmed, repeating its demand for his heart and liver.
• After months of work, Feng'an City's Yinlings completed Ghost Gate Pass, and Chen Mu felt hopeful that they could use it to reach Outer Heaven.
• Hu Mang, Shen Bu, Zhang Er, and Wen Han discussed their order to keep Feng'an City by the river and damage Ghost Gate Pass, then pressured Wen Han to help despite his protests.

Chen Mu and the Feng'an City forces agreed to hand Ghost Gate Pass to Shang Yang in exchange for his protection while they built another route to Outer Heaven. Shang Yang accepted a scripture containing the Jade Gate Curse, though the story left open whether Chen Mu’s offer was genuine.

• Lu Liang and Lu Thirteen told Chen Mu that Qingyang City had surrounded them, likely waiting to exploit the City Lord’s return, and Chen Mu ordered the Ghost Soldiers to defend Ghost Gate Pass.
• Shang Yang refused Qingyang City’s order to destroy Ghost Gate Pass, killed the attendant sent to threaten him, and revealed his plan to claim the pass for himself.
• Shang Yang attacked the camp and destroyed Chen Mu’s Thatched Cottage before demanding control of Ghost Gate Pass and offering to take the others to Outer Heaven.
• Chen Mu, Lu Liang, and Lu Thirteen agreed to give Shang Yang the pass if he protected them while they built another one.
• Chen Mu handed Shang Yang the Eastern Extreme Longevity Scripture, claiming it contained the Jade Gate Curse needed to control Ghost Gate Pass.

Chen Mu defeated Shang Yang after Shang Yang betrayed him, but Li Wuyou’s group destroyed Ghost Gate Pass, leaving Chen Mu’s route to Outer Heaven blocked. Shang Yang revealed that Qingyang City’s spies had concealed themselves with Breath-Sealing Stones, and Chen Mu learned that Old Ghost Xiao was targeting Feng'an City to cultivate the Nether Spirit King.

• Shang Yang took the Ghost Gate Pass scripture and attacked Chen Mu, but Chen Mu survived his blows and overwhelmed him with the Five Dragon Scripture’s manifestation qi mechanism.
• Li Wuyou’s doubles destroyed Ghost Gate Pass before the River of Forgetfulness phantom erased them, leaving Chen Mu furious that he could no longer reach Outer Heaven.
• Chen Mu accused Shang Yang and Lu Liang of allowing Qingyang City spies to remain among Feng'an City’s people, then demanded an investigation into how they had hidden their auras.
• Shang Yang identified the spies’ Breath-Sealing Stones and explained that he had used them with his Seventy-Three Refined Holes secret art to conceal his aura.
• Shang Yang revealed that Old Ghost Xiao intended to use people to cultivate the Nether Spirit King and had surrounded Feng'an City to target City Lord Lu.
• Chen Mu realized Qingyang City would likely sabotage any rebuilt Ghost Gate Pass, while Shang Yang silently resented Chen Mu for forcing him to recite the Longevity Scripture and binding him with the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed.

After the Ghost Gate Pass was destroyed, Chen Mu tested Zhang Er’s Breath-Sealing Stone and found it could hide him from Li Wuyou’s aura lock. He began preparing to flee, but the stones were too slow to make in sufficient numbers to save everyone in Feng'an City.

• Chen Mu ordered Lu Liang and Shang Yang to find the maker of the Breath-Sealing Stones, hoping the stones could help them escape Li Wuyou’s pursuit.
• Lu Liang’s men brought Zhang Er and Shen Bu to Chen Mu; Shen Bu explained that sealing secret arts restricted teleportation, and Zhang Er said each stone concealed an aura for only fifteen minutes.
• Zhang Er made a Breath-Sealing Stone, and Chen Mu used it to vanish from Li Wuyou’s sight and teleport away from the boulder.
• Zhang Er said he could make only nine stones a day, so Chen Mu used the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed to grant him mastery of the Mountain Bearing Scripture and increase his ability to make them.
• Chen Mu realized that the stones might let a small group escape, but Feng'an City’s other Yinlings remained at risk while the city rebuilt the Ghost Gate Pass.

Chen Mu adapted the Secret Record of Embroidered Methods to use Yin Spirit Divine Power, allowing him to borrow Zhang Er's Breath-Stopping Supernatural Ability. As Qingyang City threatened Feng'an City's plans to build Ghost Gate Pass, Chen Mu and Lu Liang prepared to help the city's Yinlings escape the River of Forgetfulness.

• Chen Mu found the Secret Record of Embroidered Methods and used it to successfully seal a trace of Zhang Er's blood within himself, hoping to gain Zhang Er's Breath-Stopping Supernatural Ability.
• Chen Mu considered secretly removing Feng'an City's Yinlings to ruin Qingyang City's plans to find the Nether Stone.
• Lu Liang revealed that he was secretly building a second Ghost Gate Pass and would drag Feng'an City's Yinlings into Nine Netherless Hell if escape became impossible.
• Chen Mu offered Lu Liang the Secret Record of Embroidered Methods, explaining that he could let everyone temporarily borrow Zhang Er's Divine Ability.
• After deciding that Qingyang City would not let Ghost Gate Pass be completed, Chen Mu and Lu Liang planned an escape and hoped to shake off King Wuyou's pursuit.

Chen Mu evacuated Feng'an City’s camp through the River of Forgetfulness while monitoring the group for spies, as Lu Chengshan confronted Xiao Jingbai over their competing schemes. Five days later, Chen Mu killed someone he suspected of leaking information, leaving Lu Liang afraid to reveal that the apparent danger had partly been his own plan.

• Chen Mu warned Lu Liang that he would monitor the camp during their escape and kill anyone who leaked information, even if they were one of Lu Liang’s trusted men.
• Chen Mu used the God Concealing Mist, Breath-Stopping Supernatural Ability, and Mountain Bearing Scripture to send the camp’s Yinlings into the River of Forgetfulness and escape with Lu Liang, Shang Yang, and the others.
• In Qingyang City, Lu Chengshan revealed to Xiao Jingbai that Yin Mountain Prefecture had recruited him and that King Wuyou was being taken to the prefecture; Xiao Jingbai discovered his connection to King Wuyou had vanished and hurled Lu Chengshan from the hall.
• Lu Chengshan and Lu Zhongjun found the ruined camp two days later and waited five more days for Lu Thirteen to contact them and report the group’s location.
• At the bottom of the River of Forgetfulness, Chen Mu killed a hidden Yinling he suspected of leaking information, while Lu Thirteen failed repeatedly to contact Lu Chengshan and Lu Liang stayed silent about his part in the scheme.

Chen Mu persuaded Lu Chengshan to arrange his return to the Mortal World by claiming a curse was destroying his cultivation. After Feng'an City began building a new city in the Southern Liang Mountains, Shang Yang explained that Living Gods had to remain at City God Dao Fields to draw Yinhun from the Mortal World into the Netherworld.

• Lu Liang confessed that Feng'an City had used the conflict with Qingyang City as a diversion while Chen Mu was missing, and promised to resolve his Living God matter.
• Lu Chengshan offered Chen Mu command of Ghost Soldiers and access to secret techniques, but Chen Mu claimed he was Shen Yan, a Jigu City camp supervisor whose cultivation was being ruined by a curse.
• Lu Chengshan agreed to arrange Chen Mu's God Enfeoffment so he could travel to the Mortal World, while Lu Liang suspected Chen Mu's story was only partly true.
• Feng'an City's Yinlings built the outline of a new city in the Southern Liang Mountains after Lu Chengshan received the Yin Mountain Prefecture Enfeoffment.
• Shang Yang told Chen Mu that Living Gods served as the cores of City God Dao Fields, drawing Yinhun into the Netherworld and remaining stationed at their posts.

Chen Mu learned how the Deification Contract bound Living Gods to their Dao Fields and found a way to evade the restrictions. With Lu Liang’s help, he arranged for Le Dian to guard the same Dao Field so Chen Mu could return to the Mortal World without becoming trapped.

• Chen Mu learned from Shang Yang that yin souls were the dead drawn into the Netherworld and that Dao Fields bound their Living Gods to both their people and the land.
• Shang Yang explained that two Living Gods could hold Contracts for the same Dao Field, allowing one to enter while the other avoided being bound.
• Chen Mu spent a month in Feng'an City questioning Shang Yang about Living Gods and watching the Yinling build the city.
• Lu Liang presented Chen Mu with a Deification Contract for Xiaowa Town and a second signed Contract showing that Le Dian would guard the Dao Field in his place.
• Chen Mu signed the Contract using Shen Yan's name and gave it the Qi Mechanism of his Heavenly Demon True Form.

Chen Mu crossed the River of Forgetfulness with Le Dian and the Feng'an City Ghost Soldiers, reaching the Bridge of Helplessness and meeting Divine Lord Meng. Meanwhile, Qingyang City's Xiao Jingbai ordered Pei Jiang to sabotage Feng'an City's Deification Contracts, and Pei Jiang sent Qian Huan to pursue the paired Contracts in the mortal world.

• Xiao Jingbai approved Pei Jiang's plan to tamper with a Feng'an City Deification Contract and send new Nether Spirit Primordial Embryos into the Netherworld.
• Lu Liang explained to Chen Mu that his Contract and Le Dian's matching Contract would guide them to the same Training Ground, and Chen Mu set out across the River of Forgetfulness with Le Dian and over a hundred Ghost Soldiers.
• Pei Jiang tasked Qian Huan with finding a Nether Spirit Primordial Embryo and using a Soul Locking Bell to locate the two matching Deification Contracts.
• Chen Mu followed the Contract's pull through the mist and reached the Bridge of Helplessness, where Yin Nether Insects queued toward a shore covered in fiery red flowers.
• Le Dian identified the imposing, puppet-like guardian of the bridge as Divine Lord Meng, who presided over reincarnation and guarded every Bridge of Helplessness.

Chen Mu and his companions reached the White Jade Ghost Gate, where Qian Huan tried to send Chen Mu through without Divine Lord Meng’s protection. Chen Mu exposed the attempt, kicked Qian Huan into the gate, and left Qian Ning to face punishment as the group prepared to enter the mortal world.

• Qian Huan caught up with Chen Mu’s group on the Bridge of Helplessness and claimed he and Qian Ning had come from Baojiang City to enter the mortal world.
• After Le Dian verified Qian Huan’s token, the group received Divine Lord Meng’s protection and followed the Yin Nether Insects through the fog to the White Jade Ghost Gate.
• Qian Huan urged Chen Mu to enter the gate, but Chen Mu recognized that Qian Huan was trying to disrupt his protection and strand him inside.
• Chen Mu weakened Qian Huan with Black Smoke and kicked him through the Ghost Gate, then tore up Qian Ning’s Deification Contract and ordered him to recite the Eastern Extreme Longevity Scripture.
• Chen Mu told Le Dian that Qian Huan had likely come after them and that being trapped in a mortal-world Training Ground for a hundred years was a merciful sentence.