Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu failed to stabilize newly formed Yin Soul Monsters and struggled with dwindling White Jade Coins and Earth Spirit Vital Qi. Yuan Xian offered to take him to Great Li, but Chen Mu chose to go directly to Goose Sheep Dao, where he saw a chance to benefit from Yuan Xian’s plans to unleash Calamity Demons.

• Chen Mu tried to turn a Yin Nether Insect into a Yin Soul Monster, but the resulting black mist burst apart.
• Chen Mu discovered that the Soul Stabilizing Stake could delay Yin Soul Monsters’ deaths, though it could not prevent them, and he worried about his limited Yin Souls and White Jade Coins.
• Chen Mu searched Qutian and Yongmian Counties for Qi Refining cultivators but found none.
• Yuan Xian brought Chen Mu more than thirty thousand White Jade Coins and revealed that he had wiped out nearby Qi Refining cultivators.
• Yuan Xian urged Chen Mu to leave Dagan for the Great Li front line and offered to arrange his entry into Goose Sheep Dao’s Upper Courtyard.
• Chen Mu agreed to go to Great Li but rejected the front line, choosing instead to head directly to Goose Sheep Dao and privately anticipating the benefits of Yuan Xian’s Calamity Demon scheme.

Chen Mu left Dagan to infiltrate the Goose Sheep Dao Upper Courtyard, traveling with Yuan Xian to Southern Shu. After learning the infiltration plan, he began preparing to impersonate a spy at the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard.

• Chen Mu visited Luandu County before leaving and spotted Liang Dabao at Yicui Tower, where Liang mistook him for a nightmare from his scripture-reciting punishment.
• Chen Mu put his Heavenly Demon Body to sleep in the Statue Grotto-Heaven and departed through the Yellow Springs Crossing.
• Chen Mu confronted Li Buxian about helping Yuan Xian's plan and warned him that the Seven Emotions Power in the Yanyue Scripture could disrupt his mind.
• Chen Mu traveled with Yuan Xian to Southern Shu aboard a tower ship, where Yuan Xian explained that he would replace a spy in the Goose Sheep Dao's Yun Chong Lower Courtyard.
• Chen Mu decided to learn the Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark and asked to inspect the Water Repelling Bead refining method, noting that he had already advanced in its prerequisite techniques.

Chen Mu learned the Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark from Xu Zhou, despite discovering that casting the Tongyou Curse would become much harder at his assigned destination. He successfully invoked the mark on a teacup, impressing Xu Zhou as he began training under him.

• Xu Zhou warned Chen Mu that distance from a City God Dao Field would make the Tongyou Curse difficult to cast and that Chen Mu's assignment to Chongmei Mountain would be challenging.
• Chen Mu realized Yuan Xian had withheld the risks, but declined Xu Zhou's offer to help him make trouble for Yuan Xian.
• Xu Zhou guided Chen Mu as he used the Tongyou Curse to retrieve and learn the Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark in the Nine Netherless Hell.
• Chen Mu used the mark on a teacup, which sank into the Jade Belt River and created a large air bubble underwater.
• Xu Zhou introduced himself and his grandson Xu Chang, and Chen Mu introduced himself as Gongsun Sheng.

Chen Mu learned to form a Thread of Connection to the Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark and began using it to imitate Water Repelling Beads. After two pearls shattered during the process, Xu Chang revealed that Xu Zhou had deliberately withheld a crucial trick so he could keep extorting Yuan Xian.

• Chen Mu used his growing memory of the Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark True Intent Diagram to create a Thread of Connection and summon the mark without Xu Zhou's guidance.
• Xu Zhou explained that Netherworld Artifacts could store Ghost Mark power and offered to teach Chen Mu to make them.
• Xu Zhou showed Chen Mu how to layer Crimson-Eyed Ghost Marks and Tongyou Divine Power into Water Repelling Wave-Calming Clam pearls to imitate Water Repelling Beads.
• Chen Mu repeatedly infused and sealed pearls, but the first shattered after seventy-five marks and the second after fifty-three.
• Xu Chang told Chen Mu that Xu Zhou had withheld the trick because he wanted to keep extorting Yuan Xian.

Chen Mu learned Xu Zhou’s method for stabilizing layered Crimson-Eyed Ghost Marks and successfully refined a Netherworld Water Repelling Bead. As the tower ship neared Cloud Dream Marsh, Yuan Xian proposed a plan to use Li Moliang to infiltrate Yun Chong Lower Courtyard while Chen Mu studied artifact refining.

• Xu Chang helped Chen Mu pressure Xu Zhou into explaining how Netherworld Artifacts kept multiple Ghost Pattern layers from interfering with one another.
• Chen Mu practiced Xu Zhou’s method and refined a stable bead containing three layers of Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark.
• After more than half a day of work, Chen Mu successfully refined a Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark Water Repelling Bead and recovered from the effort with a Jade Dew Bead.
• Chen Mu studied Xie Wen’s Water Repelling Bead Artifact Refining Technique and complained that Yuan Xian had not warned him that the Tongyou Method became difficult to use far from Dagan.
• Yuan Xian revealed that Li Moliang could hide in Chen Mu’s Thousand Lantern City Cave Heaven and follow him into Cloud Dream Lower Courtyard, and Chen Mu agreed to the plan.

Chen Mu suspected Yuan Xian was using him to deal with Xu Zhou, then discovered that Xu Chang had vanished along with Xu Zhou from the departing ship. After infiltrating the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard, Chen Mu resumed cultivating and anticipated using the coming Calamity Demons to refine his Spirit Apertures.

• Chen Mu challenged Yuan Xian’s suggestions to kill Xu Zhou or turn him with a Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed, suspecting Yuan Xian wanted him to eliminate a rival at the Spirit Venerable Hall.
• Five days later, Chen Mu said goodbye to Xu Zhou and the boy Xu Chang, but Yuan Xian insisted Xu Zhou had no grandson, and Chen Mu found both of them gone from the ship.
• Half a month later, Chen Mu completed another Spirit Aperture tempering at Chongmei Mountain after entering the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard using Li Moliang’s appearance and Identity Jade Token.
• Chen Mu reflected on Xu Chang’s possible connection to the Dragon Locking Institute and planned to catch Calamity Demons that Yuan Xian might send into Goose Sheep Dao territory.

Chen Mu learned about Li Moliang’s Water Repelling Bead work at Yun Chong Lower Courtyard and discovered that Jade Dew Beads could ease the damage caused by the Crimson-Eyed Ghost Mark. He began studying the bead-refining technique and completed the Water Repelling Talisman, preparing to attempt his first refinement soon.

• Li Moliang explained the Golden Pearl Clam farms, the short lifespan of imitation Water Repelling Beads, and the need for Chen Mu to take over his monthly delivery to Huang Jian.
• Li Moliang revealed that refining one bead each month and using Longevity Wine had left him severely weakened, but Chen Mu gave him a Jade Dew Bead that soothed his Yinhun and promised to keep him refining beads.
• Chen Mu practiced the Dark Cloud True Method and noticed that his control over Primal Chaos Qi had improved.
• Chen Mu studied the Water Repelling Bead artifact-refining technique, focusing first on the Water Repelling Talisman and then the Wave-Stabilizing Talisman.
• After half a month, Chen Mu completed the Water Repelling Talisman and planned to buy materials and attempt a bead refinement once the Wave-Stabilizing Talisman reached the beginner stage.

Disguised as Li Moliang, Chen Mu delivered Water Repelling Beads and learned that thirty-six Dragon Pinning Stakes had been planted beneath Chongmei Mountain to destroy its Earth Veins. He planned to capture the Calamity Demon when it reached the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard, but Yuan Xian redirected it away from the area to protect Chen Mu.

• Chen Mu successfully passed as Li Moliang before Huang Jian and received an increased payment for the Water Repelling Beads.
• Li Moliang told Chen Mu that thirty-six Dragon Pinning Stakes had been planted to fuse with Chongmei Mountain’s Earth Veins.
• Chen Mu decided to put the approaching Calamity Demon into the Five Ghosts Bag when it reached the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard.
• A Calamity Demon killed another black-robed man as Yuan Xian’s group tried to guide it toward Yunze Lake.
• Yuan Xian ordered the group to lead the Calamity Demon to Dianhe Gorge instead, keeping it away from the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard because of the Heavenly Demon Spirit Seed’s influence.

Chen Mu discovered that Yuan Xian had diverted the Calamity Demon away from Yun Chong Lower Courtyard to protect him, thwarting his plan to capture it for cultivation. He arranged for Yuan Xian to hear that he had left Chongmei Mountain, hoping the Dragon Locking Institute would resume its attack on Yun Chong Lower Courtyard, while Yuan Xian remained wary of Li Moliang and Gongsun Sheng.

• Chen Mu learned that Yuan Xian had sent the Calamity Demon to Dianhe Lower Courtyard because he feared it would endanger Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu searched Dianhe Lower Courtyard but found no trace of the Calamity Demon, which he believed the Dragon Locking Institute had already dealt with.
• Chen Mu concluded that he needed to make Yuan Xian restart the plan against Yun Chong Lower Courtyard and told Li Moliang to report that he had left.
• Chen Mu gave Li Moliang Jade Dew Beads in exchange for passing the news to Yuan Xian, then hid in another Cave Dwelling on Chongmei Mountain.
• Yuan Xian questioned whether Gongsun Sheng had truly left and told Li Moliang he would have to wait before leaving Chongmei Mountain.

Chen Mu refined his Divine Aperture, advanced his Dark Cloud True Method, and raised Kuishui Yinlei to Tier 5 while waiting for a Calamity Demon. Lian Xi and Huang Jiu agreed to exploit collapsing Earth Veins, Yuan Xian refused to send the demon to Yun Chong Lower Courtyard, and Chen Mu set out after his Five Ghosts Paper Figure detected it at Yunze Lake.

• Chen Mu completed another Divine Aperture refinement, preserved some Primal Chaos Qi, and advanced his Dark Cloud True Method beyond six thousand experience.
• Lian Xi told Huang Jiu that demons were accelerating Earth Vein changes, then proposed using the Two Forms Genesis Magic Restriction to sacrifice lower courtyards; they negotiated a deal to divide the gains.
• Yuan Xian refused the main academy's order to drive the Calamity Demon to Yun Chong Lower Courtyard and continued toward Yetai Mountain, suspecting Gongsun Sheng wanted the demon.
• A Spirit Venerable appeared through a dark cavity and asked Yuan Xian whether anyone at Yun Chong Lower Courtyard made him wary.
• Chen Mu demonstrated his newly attained Tier 5 Kuishui Yinlei, then learned from his Five Ghosts Paper Figure that a Calamity Demon had appeared at Yunze Lake and rushed out to find it.

Chen Mu hunted the Yin Nether Insects on Three Leaf Island, but the Calamity Demon there behaved strangely and its insects were swept away by an unseen force. Meanwhile, Lian Xi’s attempt to bind Chen Mu’s Qi Mechanism failed, and Huang Jiu confronted him over his broken guarantee.

• Chai Song fled Three Leaf Island on a Wave-Calming Boat, but Chen Mu struck him unconscious with lightning after the Yin Nether Insects surrounded him.
• Lian Xi told Huang Jiu that his Nightmare Victory Curse Method would soon trap the strange Demon and conceal their blood sacrifice, while Huang Jiu questioned his confidence.
• Chen Mu used Little Paper Men to lure more than a hundred Yin Nether Insects into his Five Ghosts Bag while the Calamity Demon remained dormant.
• A Nine Ferocious Cat Heads Calamity Demon attacked Chen Mu, then flickered between ferocity and stupor as he fought it and tried to collect its insects.
• The Calamity Demon burst into Yin Nether Insects, but an icy force swept them away before Chen Mu could capture them.
• The cloud under Lian Xi’s control burst apart and cracked the Bronze Incense Burner, prompting Huang Jiu to accuse him of breaking his guarantee.

Chen Mu gained a large increase in Primal Chaos Qi from his Yinhun and advanced the Dark Cloud True Method, accelerating his cultivation while draining his savings. Yuan Xian continued directing Calamity Demons toward Yunzhe Lake and devised a plan to get one into the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard, while Huang Jiu and Lian Xi prepared to exploit the chaos for their own cultivation.

• Chen Mu absorbed the Primal Chaos Qi produced by his twelve hundred Yinhun and calculated that it would greatly shorten his River Chariot cultivation.
• Yuan Xian concluded that Gongsun Sheng had captured the missing Calamity Demon, but ordered Yuan Xia to keep following the Spirit Venerable's orders and drive more Calamity Demons toward Yunzhe Lake.
• Yuan Xian sent Yuan Xia to find a concealed Calamity Demon at Nanxian Mountain and help it infiltrate the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard.
• Huang Jiu dismissed Lian Xi's worries about losing a Calamity Demon and urged him to use the incident as cover while they sacrificed Yama and refined Primal Chaos Qi.
• Half a month later, Chen Mu's Dark Cloud True Method advanced to Tier 4, but he had only four or five hundred White Jade Coins left and began looking for a way to earn more.

Chen Mu struggled to refine complete Water Repelling Beads, then chose to sell Crimson-Eyed Ghost Pattern Beads while preparing to demonstrate his legitimate crafting skills. After receiving Li Moliang's White Jade and materials, he resumed cultivation and planned to use Water Repelling Beads to gain a place at E'yang Mountain and access Goose Sheep Dao's Ferry Boats.

• Chen Mu failed to refine another complete Water Repelling Bead and decided to earn White Jade by selling Crimson-Eyed Ghost Pattern Beads as water-repelling beads.
• Li Moliang gave Chen Mu more than two thousand White Jade and a chest of Gold Sand Jade Powder in exchange for the prospect of future Jade Dew Beads.
• Chen Mu sold five Crimson-Eyed Ghost Pattern Beads at Hundred Refinements Hall and used his improved finances to rent a boat and catch a Flying Immortal Fish.
• Chen Mu decided to raise his Dark Cloud True Method proficiency and gradually sell proper Water Repelling Beads to improve his chances of being transferred to E'yang Mountain.

Chen Mu used the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture to search for Flying Immortal Fish and later for Yinhun, with its strange predictions proving unexpectedly accurate. As a Yin Soul Monster appeared east of Chongmei Mountain, he recognized the signs of a Blood Sacrifice Demon and feared Yun Chong Lower Courtyard was in danger.

• Chen Mu failed to find Flying Immortal Fish on Yunze Lake and discovered that the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture could produce information by focusing on natural objects, though his first result only predicted a Great Wind.
• On Three Leaf Island, Huang Jiu and Lian Xi trapped a strange demon inside the Profound Yin Demon Slaying Spell and discussed preparing the Two Forms Genesis Magic Restriction.
• Chen Mu completed his Ninth Divine Aperture Tempering and realized the Outermost Spell Talisman could rotate backward, but he lacked enough Primal Chaos Qi to continue.
• Chen Mu used the Nine Cups Calculation Scripture to locate Yinhun and received a prediction that thirty thousand were twenty li east of Chongmei Mountain.
• Chen Mu confirmed the prediction with the True Hearing Technique, saw a pillar of Black Light release Black Smoke Balls, and suspected someone had used a Blood Sacrifice Demon to summon a Yin Soul Monster.

Chen Mu recognized the Black Light Pillars around Chongmei Mountain as gateways releasing Yin Soul Monsters and moved to capture them while avoiding whoever had caused the invasion. At the mountain summit, Huang Jiu's attempt to collect Primal Chaos Qi faltered, and he sent Lian Xi to investigate; Chen Mu found the eastern gateway unguarded and prepared to seize the opportunity.

• Chen Mu recognized the Black Light Pillars as resembling the event at Mist Smoke Mountain and suspected a plot behind the attack.
• Chen Mu brought Li Moliang into Thousand Lantern City, identified the creatures as Yin Soul Monsters, and decided to capture them in his Five Ghosts Bag.
• Huang Jiu's Two Forms Genesis Magic Restriction stopped producing Primal Chaos Qi, so he blamed Lian Xi and ordered him to find the flaw.
• Chen Mu concealed himself near the eastern Black Light Pillar, prepared his defenses, and used the Yama Heavenly Son Order to capture a newly emerged Yin Soul Monster.
• After detecting no guard near the gateway, Chen Mu fixed his attention on the stream of Yin Soul Monsters and prepared to capture more.

Huang Jiu and Huang Jian tried to seize the Primal Chaos Qi by luring Lian Xi into the Earth Vein, but damage to the Magical Prohibition disrupted their plan. As Chen Mu gathered Yin Soul Monsters, he helped Li Moliang guide fleeing disciples toward a gap in the barrier and hurried to hide the monsters he had captured.

• Huang Jian told Huang Jiu that Lian Xi had been lured into the Earth Vein and that their hidden measures would let Huang Jiu claim the Primal Chaos Qi.
• Lian Xi activated a second core of the Two Forms Genesis Magic Restriction and drew Primal Chaos Qi from the cave.
• Chen Mu saw a Wave-Calming Boat crash into an invisible Magical Prohibition and sent Li Moliang to guide disciples toward a gap in the barrier.
• The spell patterns in Huang Jiu's attic began burning away, disrupting the generation of Primal Chaos Qi and alarming Huang Jiu and Huang Jian.
• Chen Mu expanded the Yama Heavenly Son Order to capture Yin Soul Monsters, while Li Moliang used fake figures to lead fleeing disciples toward him.
• Chen Mu spotted the approaching disciples and rapidly stored the subdued Yin Soul Monsters in the Five Ghosts Bag.

Chen Mu escaped after the Prohibition at Chongmei Mountain collapsed, then hid among the shaken survivors while concealing his identity. He discovered that his captured Yin Soul Monsters supplied ample Primal Chaos Qi, but his Divine Aperture Talisman needed time to recover between tempering sessions, leaving him on track to finish in under four years.

• Lian Xi's cave Prohibition collapsed, and the blast destroyed the Black Light pillars around Chongmei Mountain.
• Chen Mu fled underwater after seeing a bolt of lightning approach, carrying four thousand three hundred Yin Soul Monsters in his Five Ghosts Bag.
• Chen Mu wore Li Moliang's face among the survivors on Red Stone Island as Elder Lian and supervisor Huang Jiu investigated the disaster.
• Chen Mu realized the Divine Aperture Talisman could not recover from daily Spirit Aperture tempering, despite the Five Ghosts Bag producing enough Primal Chaos Qi.
• Seventeen days after a tempering session, Chen Mu estimated that recovery took half a month to twenty days and that he could complete River Chariot cultivation in under four years.

After the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard was abandoned, Chen Mu relocated with its disciples to E'yang Mountain, where he found an opportunity to settle in. He left Li Moliang behind and built himself a secluded home using a building from Thousand Lantern City.

• Chen Mu helped harvest the dying Golden Pearl Clams at Yunze Lake and reflected that the Yun Chong Lower Courtyard was finished.
• Chen Mu sent Li Moliang back toward Dagan, then watched the remaining disciples begin relocating from Chongmei Mountain.
• Chen Mu arrived at E'yang Mountain with the relocated disciples and learned that newcomers had to build their own residences.
• Chen Mu chose a secluded wooded hill and used Finger Points to Steel to raise a platform for a two-story Wooden Tower from Thousand Lantern City.

Chen Mu settled into life at E'yang Mountain, discovered a profitable market for Water Repelling Beads, and sold off his stored Crimson-Eyed Ghost Pattern Beads. Meanwhile, Huang Jiu and Lian Xi identified Li Moliang as a possible threat but decided to focus on rebuilding their Two Forms Genesis Magic Restriction.

• Chen Mu reviewed his cultivation priorities and decided to focus on Spirit Aperture tempering, the Dark Cloud True Method, and Water Repelling Bead refinement.
• Chen Mu explored E'yang Mountain's Market and learned that the Hundred Items Pavilion paid high prices for Water Repelling Beads.
• Chen Mu sold three Crimson-Eyed Ghost Pattern Beads to the Short Fat Boss and realized he could earn White Jade Coins by selling more.
• Chai Song identified Li Moliang as connected to the demons' escape from Three Leaf Island, and Huang Jiu and Lian Xi discussed whether to kill him.
• Chen Mu sold his accumulated Crimson-Eyed Ghost Pattern Beads around the Market, bringing his total to 7,014 White Jade Coins, and decided to sell only genuine Water Repelling Beads from then on.

Chen Mu perfected his Water Repelling Bead refining technique and learned that the Affairs Office was raising Twenty-Four Solar Terms Turtles with the beads. He suspected the turtles were being cultivated to provide materials for Ferry Boat construction and decided to seek work at Hundred Refinements Hall.

• Chen Mu sold five Crimson-Eyed Ghost Pattern Beads to Lei Hong despite deciding he should stop selling them after his sales had lowered the price.
• Chen Mu reached the limit in the Artifact Refining Technique for Water Repelling Beads, allowing him to refine high-grade beads in an hour with guaranteed success.
• Chen Mu sold a high-grade Water Repelling Bead to Lei Hong, who told him another Lower Courtyard would be disbanded and that the Affairs Office was feeding the beads to Twenty-Four Solar Terms Turtles.
• Lei Hong explained that the turtles could acquire the properties of what they ate, and Chen Mu suspected the Affairs Office wanted their shells for Ferry Boat construction.
• Chen Mu decided to stop selling Water Repelling Beads at the Market and approach Hundred Refinements Hall to get involved in Ferry Boat construction.