Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu discussed Soul Force and Body Tempering Techniques with Jie Jia, then studied a superior technique at home. Meanwhile, Zuo Sheng learned that White Tiger Hall was tracing Chen Mu’s Gentle Breeze Powder and ordered his men to watch over the investigation.

• Chen Mu joked with Jie Jia about the black spots on his feet, then asked about Noble Clan bloodlines and how to cultivate his newly formed Soul Force.
• Jie Jia explained the Roaming Soul and Armor Soul stages, while Chen Mu realized his Soul Force could roam through his body.
• A Jinghong Gang man told Zuo Sheng that Captain Zhang was investigating the source of Gentle Breeze Powder and had likely found Chen Mu’s operation.
• Zuo Sheng ordered men to watch Captain Zhang and alert him if White Tiger Hall made a move, intending to protect Chen Mu and gain his trust.
• Chen Mu studied the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique and compared it with the cruder Red Falcon and Black Tiger techniques.

Chen Mu discovered that the Jinghong Gang’s White Tiger Hall was targeting his medicine-making courtyard and decided to flee to their dock stronghold. After Lin Que’s raid collapsed into a deadly ambush, Chen Mu packed weapons and supplies and set off for the gang’s ship.

• Zuo Sheng learned that Lin Que was leading White Tiger Hall to raid the suspected Gentle Breeze Powder workshop and ordered his men to prepare.
• Lin Que led his crew to the courtyard, where he believed the powder was being made, but attackers from Zhu Yi Pavilion killed many of his men and forced him to flee.
• Chen Mu confronted the two men who had been watching his courtyard and discovered their connection to the gang’s plans.
• Chen Mu realized the Jinghong Gang could easily overpower him, so he packed his belongings and chose to hide aboard White Tiger Hall’s ship at its Luo River dock.
• Chen Mu filled his Five Ghosts Bag with weapons and supplies, then silently headed into the night.

Chen Mu killed the guards at the hidden dock and learned that Lin Que was leading a secret White Tiger Hall operation, then disguised himself as a gang member to infiltrate the group. His plan went awry when Lin Que boarded Chen Mu’s boat alone, leaving Chen Mu pretending to be an inept boatman as pursuers closed in.

• Chen Mu killed the warehouse guards and knocked out the last gatekeeper at the hidden dock.
• After questioning the gray-clad dock worker, Chen Mu learned that Lin Que was leading a secret White Tiger Hall operation and decided to infiltrate the gang.
• Chen Mu disguised himself as the gray-clad man and greeted Lin Que at the dock, but Lin Que boarded his boat while the other gang members took a different one.
• When Lin Que discovered Chen Mu could not row, Chen Mu claimed he worked for Lin Que’s brother-in-law, Zhang Yun, while pursuers approached behind them.

Chen Mu infiltrated White Tiger Hall’s ship, but Lin Que exposed and ordered him killed. Chen Mu struck down numerous gang members with Iron Lotus Seeds, leaving Lin Que to prepare for a fight while claiming Chen Mu belonged to Zuo Sheng.

• Lin Que questioned Chen Mu as they rowed toward the White Tiger Ship, and Chen Mu avoided meeting Zhang Yun to protect his cover.
• After reaching the ship, Chen Mu tried to slip into a cabin, but Lin Que accused him of being Zuo Sheng’s spy and ordered his men to throw him overboard.
• Chen Mu scattered Iron Lotus Seeds, injuring Zhang Yun, the three Hall Masters, and more than ten gang members.
• Lin Que drew his Short Blades and threatened to kill Chen Mu, deciding to frame the death as an ordinary clash between Jinghong Gang halls.

Chen Mu killed Lin Que and the remaining Boat Masters aboard a White Tiger Hall ship, then returned to Taohua Workshop. There, Zuo Sheng encountered him and realized his plans had been based on a mistaken assumption.

• Lin Que attacked Chen Mu with his twin blades, but Chen Mu dodged and countered with his Sleeve Swords, killing him.
• Chen Mu killed the three Boat Masters who tried to escape, then realized he did not know how to row the boat.
• Zhang Ye was overcome by Chen Mu's Spirit-Disturbing Smoke and died in a cabin.
• Zuo Sheng concluded that White Tiger Hall's move had not been connected to Gentle Breeze Powder and decided to leave.
• Chen Mu met Zuo Sheng outside the residence, and Zuo Sheng nervously excused himself after noticing blood on Chen Mu's shoes.

After fleeing Taohua Workshop, Chen Mu settled in Shanglin Ward and examined the treasures he had taken from Lin Que’s chest. Meanwhile, Jin Wuduan ordered the Jinghong Gang to investigate Lin Que’s death and keep the prefecture calm, while Zuo Sheng considered profiting from White Tiger Hall’s collapse.

• Chen Mu stayed hidden in a rented Wooden Tower after abandoning his home and stopped selling Gentle Breeze Powder, fearing the Jinghong Gang would pursue him.
• Chen Mu opened Lin Que’s chest and found 13,200 taels, property deeds, medicinal pills, and a mysterious gray stone.
• Chen Mu identified the red pills as possible qi-and-blood restoratives and recognized the brown pills as Ancient Blue Pills, which he planned to sell to Jie Jia.
• Jin Wuduan dismissed Zhu Yi Pavilion’s denial of responsibility, announced rewards for information about Lin Que’s death, and ordered the Jinghong Gang’s Hall Masters to restrain their men.
• Zuo Sheng suspected Chen Mu was connected to Lin Que’s death but decided not to provoke him, then considered joining forces with Zhang Ye to benefit from White Tiger Hall’s weakened state.

Chen Mu learned from Jie Jia that Soul Nurturing was far harder than he had thought and that quickening pills could taint an Armor Soul. He also discovered his strange stone was Ebony Wood and planned to use it to forge new swords, while Jie Jia confronted him about the reward for Lin Que’s death.

• Chen Mu lamented his lack of progress in cultivating Soul Force, and Jie Jia explained that martial artists had to cultivate an Armor Soul before turning one hundred, after decades of Body Tempering.
• Jie Jia identified the Dragon Transformation Pill as a medicine containing Zhaodian Red, which accelerated Body Refining but could taint an Armor Soul and prevent its owner from Opening Heavenly Gate.
• Chen Mu learned that Noble Clans distributed similar pills, limiting martial artists’ potential, and refused to use them.
• Jie Jia recognized Chen Mu’s stone as Ebony Wood, a material used to forge weapons, and Chen Mu decided to make two new Short Swords from it.
• Jie Jia told Chen Mu that the Jinghong Gang had placed a reward on Lin Que’s killer, and Chen Mu denied having any connection to the murder.

Chen Mu practiced the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique while staying in hiding from the Jinghong Gang, then went to the North Market to gather news. After hearing that the gang’s leader had defeated the Zhu Yi Pavilion’s master and that a strange Red Boat had vanished, Chen Mu returned to training and resolved to rely on his own effort to advance.

• Before Jie Jia left, Chen Mu gave him a White Porcelain Bottle containing six valuable Golden Sun Pills, only to learn that the pills were worth as much as one hundred and fifty taels.
• At home, Chen Mu practiced the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique and saw its first Proficiency entry appear on the Gray Wall.
• Chen Mu visited Xinyuan Teahouse, where he heard that Jin Wuduan had defeated Zhang Qinghe and that a strange Red Boat had disappeared with its passengers.
• For the next half month, Chen Mu focused on training, going out every five days to buy vegetables and hear the news.
• Chen Mu saw that his Jade-Eyed Golden Ape technique had reached 4140 Proficiency and vowed to keep working until he reached the top.

Chen Mu cultivated the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique to Muscle Strengthening and went to the Ghost Market ship to buy the White Ape Body Tempering Technique. After purchasing it, he examined three Secret Arts, only to find that they were vocal mimicry, sleep, and beauty-care manuals.

• Chen Mu completed his transformation practice and cultivated the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique to Muscle Strengthening.
• Chen Mu decided to buy the White Ape Body Tempering Technique and traveled to the Ghost Market ship under the identity of Yang Zhi.
• Chen Mu bought the White Ape Body Tempering Technique from the Evil Ghost Mask shopkeeper for six hundred taels.
• The Evil Ghost Mask shopkeeper offered Chen Mu three Secret Arts, and Chen Mu examined the Phoenix Dance Technique, the Scripture of Ultimate Bliss, and the Golden Wind Jade Dew Wonderful Method.
• Chen Mu discovered that the three Secret Arts taught vocal mimicry, ways to fall asleep, and beauty care.

After nearly being lured onto the Ghost Ship, Chen Mu dug an underground shelter and stocked it with supplies. Jie Jia explained that powerful Yin Soul Monsters were breaking through Exorcism Artifacts amid the chaos across Great Liang, so Chen Mu decided to strengthen his Five Ghosts Bag.

• Chen Mu bought the Golden Wind Jade Dew Wonderful Method and nearly jumped into the river after the Red Boat’s ghostly lure, but his Yin Soul Paper Figures cleared his mind.
• Finding every boatman and guide gone, Chen Mu returned home and decided to stay inside and prepare for danger.
• Chen Mu used the Five Ghosts Bag to dig a hidden underground shelter and moved food and other supplies into it.
• Jie Jia told Chen Mu that stronger Yin Soul Monsters were breaking through Exorcism Artifacts and that some cities had become Ghost Domains.
• Chen Mu chose to focus on mastering the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation so the Five Ghosts Bag could help protect him.

Chen Mu dug an underground channel from the Luo River to his pond so he could stock it with fish for the Five Ghosts Bag. Meanwhile, Zhang Ye allied with Zuo Sheng, Sun Fu grew suspicious of Chen Mu’s role in past events, and Jie Jia delivered Chen Mu a pair of ebony Short Swords.

• Chen Mu ordered a hundred water jars and dug a more than ninety-meter underground passage from his pond to the Luo River, letting river water and fish flow in.
• At Four Seas Tower, Zuo Sheng praised Zhang Ye and proposed an alliance, which Zhang Ye welcomed as protection against being pushed aside.
• Sun Fu learned that Zhang Ye had traveled with a scholar surnamed Chen and suspected Chen Mu, Zhang Ye, and Zuo Sheng might be connected to the White Tiger Hall’s troubles.
• Chen Mu filled vats and trays with fish and fish floss rice balls after spending the day practicing the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation.
• Jie Jia delivered two ebony Short Swords to Chen Mu, who tested their sharpness on the stone table and paid him in silver.

Chen Mu practiced the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation until he created three Yin Soul Paper Figures, while the Jinghong Gang welcomed Sikou Qing and Sikou Yu back to Shangyang Island. After taking a break at a teahouse, Chen Mu ran into Little Daoist Cheng Ming, who recognized him by the scent of his Fasting Pills.

• Chen Mu studied the Golden Wind Jade Dew Art, discovered it had been written by a Flower Picking Bandit, and practiced the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation until he created three Yin Soul Paper Figures named Spring, Xia, and Winter.
• Jin Wuduan and the Jinghong Gang's senior members welcomed Sikou Qing and Sikou Yu, who arrived on a giant eagle at Shangyang Island.
• Sikou Yu asked about Lin Que's death and Zhu Yi Pavilion, while Sun Fu suspected that Zuo Sheng might be planning to silence him.
• After a month of practicing, Chen Mu took a day off at Xinyuan Teahouse, where Cheng Ming recognized him by the smell of his Fasting Pills and ate his osmanthus cakes.

Chen Mu helped Cheng Ming reunite with Cheng Yi, then returned home and considered improving his disguise. Meanwhile, Sun Fu told Sikou Yu about the suspicious circumstances surrounding Lin Que’s death, and Sikou Yu tasked him with finding a fist-sized Gray Stone.

• Chen Mu questioned Cheng Ming about running away, and Cheng Yi arrived to take him home.
• Cheng Yi thanked Chen Mu, who watched the brothers leave before enjoying the gifted pastries and taking some home.
• Chen Mu reviewed his Shape Change progress and considered making Fragrance Condensing Pills with a less delicate scent.
• Sun Fu told Sikou Yu that Lin Que’s belongings had disappeared and described clues suggesting the killer had looted the White Tiger Hall ship.
• Sikou Yu promised to protect Sun Fu and reward him if he found the Gray Stone, which was about the size of two fists.

Sikou Yu and his men used a scent-tracking insect to search Taohua Workshop for Chen Mu, but his many former residences led them in circles. Meanwhile, Chen Mu discovered that the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique’s breathing method restored his focus as he practiced the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation, and the searchers left without finding him.

• Sikou Yu followed the Soul Locking Insect through Chen Mu’s old residences, finding one abandoned courtyard after another.
• Chen Mu discovered that the Red Falcon Divine Intent Diagram and breathing method cleared his mind and helped him recover while cultivating.
• Sikou Yu grew tired of searching and went to the Red Boat, leaving Sun Fu and two men to continue tracking Chen Mu.
• The Soul Locking Insect briefly reacted near Chen Mu’s residence, then pointed away, and Sun Fu abandoned his attempt to investigate.
• Chen Mu heard what he thought was someone calling his name, dismissed it as an illusion, and resumed chanting the incantation.

Chen Mu continued concealing his abilities while training the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation and worrying about the Five Ghosts Bag’s growing need for fish. On the Luo River, Sikou Yu connected Qingfeng Temple’s spirit-driving rituals to artifact refining and began suspecting the Daoist boy’s senior martial brother had killed Lin Que.

• Jie Jia questioned Chen Mu’s scallion-like fragrance, and Chen Mu explained that he had taken a Fragrance Condensing Pill to repel Soul Locking Insects.
• Three days later, Chen Mu used his Divine Intent to recover mental energy faster and advance his Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation, while worrying about the fish needed to feed the Five Ghosts Bag.
• Sikou Yu warned Sun Fu that Zuo Sheng had formed a Roaming Soul and had become the Jinghong Gang’s second strongest expert, leaving Sun Fu afraid of being discarded for failing to find Ebony Wood.
• Sun Fu recalled a riverside house in the willow grove that the Soul Locking Insect had once approached, but Sikou Yu interrupted him to ask about the people who had come to Nanyang with the Zuo Family.
• After hearing that the Daoist boy was Feng Ren’s disciple from Qingfeng Temple, Sikou Yu recognized the temple’s altar rituals as artifact-refining practices and suspected the senior martial brother could have killed Lin Que.
• Sun Fu tried to report his discovery in Shanglin Ward, but Sikou Yu angrily demanded to know why he had not shared the information earlier.

Sikou Yu concluded that Chen Mu had been silenced by Zuo Sheng to protect a senior brother from Qingfeng Temple, while Chen Mu secretly bought meat and used his paper figures to scout. After Sun Fu lost Sikou Yu’s favor, he decided to investigate the suspicious house again to find evidence about the Ebony Wood.

• Sikou Yu blamed Zuo Sheng for silencing Chen Mu and ordered his men to find Master Cheng Yi, the senior brother from Qingfeng Temple.
• Chen Mu bought charcoal-grilled pies, then arranged a cautious delivery of four pigs to a rented courtyard so he could feed his Yin Soul Paper Figures and cultivate.
• Chen Mu used his paper figures to check the delivery site and surroundings, then returned to his riverside home and reflected on the figures’ scouting abilities.
• Sun Fu obtained portraits of Master Cheng Yi and Little Daoist Cheng Ming from Boss Zhen and gave them to Sikou Yu, who assigned the search to a burly man.
• After realizing Sikou Yu no longer trusted him and spotting one of Zuo Sheng’s men, Sun Fu decided to hire a thief to investigate the house where the Soul Locking Insect had reacted strangely.

Hua Mao failed to find the stone in Chen Mu’s residence and gave Sun Fu a pair of Fasting Pills, which convinced Sun Fu that Chen Mu was hiding there. Before Sun Fu could report his discovery, a Little Paper Man captured him, while a disguised figure slipped away from Spring Breeze Tower.

• Sun Fu hired Hua Mao to search a scholar’s residence, but Hua Mao found only traps and a basket of Fasting Pills, then returned the money pouch and left.
• Sun Fu went to Spring Breeze Tower, where he revealed that he believed Chen Mu lived in the residence and planned to use the gray stone to make Sikou Yu capture him.
• A Little Paper Man appeared on Sun Fu’s shoulder, turned into Black Smoke, and made him vanish.
• Several burly men arrived intending to interrogate Sun Fu and hand him over to Zuo Sheng, but they discovered he was gone.
• A fleshy-faced burly man passed the group as a Little Paper Man escaped from the scene, then he quietly disappeared into the night.

Chen Mu investigated the men who had been watching him, then focused on training and expanded the abilities of his Yin Soul Paper Figures. Jie Jia explained that the rudimentary Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique had no matching Secret Art, leaving Chen Mu to keep practicing and see what insights he could uncover.

• Chen Mu killed Sun Fu after deciding his claim that Zuo Sheng had ordered the investigation was a lie, and he later learned that the Jinghong Gang was searching for a taoist under Sikou Yu.
• Chen Mu avoided further involvement in the search, disguised himself to visit North Market, and ordered meat after teasing Boss Qi by claiming he could make his pies.
• Chen Mu raised the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation to tier 5, created the Autumn Paper Man, and increased the Five Ghosts Bag's transport range to eight meters.
• Chen Mu demonstrated that he could use the Five Ghosts Bag to hide silver in different places, confusing Jie Jia.
• Jie Jia told Chen Mu that the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique was too rudimentary to have a matching Secret Art, and Chen Mu decided to keep practicing.

Chen Mu used the Little Paper Man to monitor the Jinghong Gang and learned its members blamed Zuo Sheng for Sun Fu’s death, then refined his disguise technique. A new round of recruitment by the Jinghong Gang and the Tangshan Army made him suspect unrest might reach Nanyang Prefecture, so he decided to stockpile grain.

• The Jinghong Gang members worried that they had failed to find their target and believed Zuo Sheng had sunk Sun Fu in the river.
• Chen Mu listened to the gang members through his Little Paper Man while eating at Spring Breeze Tower, then decided the Sun Fu matter was over and considered visiting again.
• Chen Mu used the Five Ghosts Bag and Shape Shift Technique to change his clothes and face quickly, then trained the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation at home.
• Chen Mu visited the South Market and saw notices that the Jinghong Gang was recruiting and the Tangshan Army was hiring instructors.
• Chen Mu worried that Great Liang’s unrest might spread to Nanyang Prefecture and turned back into the market to stockpile grain.

As Nanyang Prefecture City filled with martial artists recruited by the Tangshan Army and Jinghong Gang, Chen Mu stayed home and cultivated. He advanced the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation, discovering its powerful devouring ability, but chose to resume training his Body Tempering Technique.

• Chen Mu stockpiled necessities and avoided the growing disorder as the Tangshan Army and Jinghong Gang continued recruiting martial artists.
• After a month of cultivation, Chen Mu summoned a fifth paper figure and learned that the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Incantation could advance beyond Tier 5.
• Chen Mu activated the incantation's Divine Intent Diagram and discovered that the five ghosts could devour objects, though using the ability drained him.
• Chen Mu tested the Five Ghosts Moving Mountains Secret Art, finding that it could bite through an excellent saber and that the ghosts' transport range had grown to nine meters.
• Chen Mu resisted the urge to keep cultivating the incantation and decided to return to training the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique.