Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu completed the second tier of the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique and met Kui Tuo, a new neighbor who had joined the Jinghong Gang. After keeping watch on Kui Tuo overnight, Chen Mu decided the newcomer was probably harmless but planned to continue monitoring him.

• Chen Mu trained the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique and asked Jie Jia about Noble Clan techniques and the factions recruiting in Nanyang Prefecture.
• After several days of training, Chen Mu reached the technique’s second tier and demonstrated his improved balance.
• Chen Mu invited Kui Tuo into his home and learned that he had joined the Jinghong Gang as a boat master, where he was being made to practice a mysterious formation.
• Kui Tuo asked about the neighbors, unaware that Chen Mu used several nearby residences as safe houses.
• Chen Mu sent a Little Paper Man to watch Kui Tuo through the night and concluded that he was a reckless newcomer, though Chen Mu planned to keep monitoring him.

Chen Mu learned that Kui Tuo’s trip north was part of a major Jinghong Gang operation, then overheard Sikou Yu plotting to recover Ebony Wood and kill anyone in his way. Realizing Sikou Yu’s men were hunting for him, Chen Mu armed himself and decided to confront them.

• Chen Mu watched Kui Tuo’s home for five days and confirmed that his new neighbor had moved in by coincidence.
• Kui Tuo visited Chen Mu with Gold Cakes and revealed that the Jinghong Gang was sending him north with half the Boat Masters from every hall.
• Chen Mu went to Spring Breeze Tower and overheard Sikou Yu discussing the captured Dao Bone Boy, the Ebony Wood, and plans to find Chen Mu.
• Sikou Yu ordered his men to kill anyone who obstructed their search for the Ebony Wood, and Chen Mu heard the conversation from a secluded booth.
• Chen Mu summoned a Yin Soul Paper Figure, drew his Sleeve Sword, and decided to confront Sikou Yu and his men.

Sikou Yu used a Treasure Seeking Cicada to hunt for the Ebony Wood and planned to capture Chen Mu, torture him, and poison him into an idiot. Chen Mu infiltrated Spring Breeze Tower and knocked out its guards, but the cicada led Sikou Yu straight to him, leaving Chen Mu preparing to attack.

• Sikou Yu learned that the Treasure Seeking Cicada could sense Ebony Wood and ordered a night search, planning to capture Chen Mu alive and poison him into an idiot.
• Chen Mu heard Sikou Yu’s plans, disguised himself with a Pure White Mask, and used Spirit-Disturbing Smoke to silently knock out the Jinghong Gang guards at Spring Breeze Tower.
• Sikou Yu’s subordinate activated the Treasure Seeking Cicada, which chirped and pointed toward the door where Chen Mu stood.
• Sikou Yu mistook Chen Mu for a Jinghong Gang member bringing him the Ebony Wood and offered him three drops of Zhaodian Red.
• Chen Mu realized Sikou Yu was not going to understand his intentions and prepared to kill him.

Chen Mu fought Sikou Yu, whose family artifact protected him with an almost indestructible Spiritual Light. Chen Mu overwhelmed the barrier with the Five Ghosts Bag and killed Sikou Yu, while the black-clothed man fell unconscious in the Spirit-Disturbing Smoke.

• Chen Mu ambushed Sikou Yu with the Sleeve Sword, but Sikou Yu survived inside his Protective Spiritual Light and attacked Chen Mu with the Soundless Hand.
• Chen Mu repeatedly struck Sikou Yu and fired Iron Lotus Seeds, but the Spiritual Light deflected every attack.
• Chen Mu summoned the Five Ghosts with Five Ghosts Moving Mountains, draining his strength as they devoured Sikou Yu's weakened Spiritual Light.
• The Spirit-Disturbing Smoke knocked the black-clothed man unconscious, leaving Sikou Yu unable to get help.
• The Five Ghosts shattered Sikou Yu's Spiritual Light, pierced his chest, and made him vanish.

Chen Mu killed Sikou Yu and the black-clothed figure, then escaped Cheng Yi by acting like an unnerving corpse-eater. Back at home, he realized the Five Ghosts Bag had devoured Sikou Yu and that using Five Ghosts Moving Mountains could influence his emotions.

• Chen Mu killed the black-clothed figure, crushed the Silver Flying Cicada, and searched the corpse while Cheng Yi arrived looking for Sikou Yu.
• Chen Mu used the Five Ghosts Bag to dispose of the corpse and politely told Cheng Yi that he had arrived too late to find Sikou Yu.
• Cheng Yi fled, and Chen Mu used Black Smoke to clean the room before escaping through a window on a Roaming Soul.
• At the Chen Residence, Chen Mu regretted his reckless attack and resolved to build up more trump cards.
• Chen Mu discovered that the Five Ghosts Bag had eaten Sikou Yu and concluded that its devouring power stirred an intense hunger that could affect him.

A black-clad Armor Soul expert used an artifact to steal the child from the Jinghong Gang flagship, while Jin Wuduan realized the loss could cost him his position. Chen Mu learned the gang had blamed Cheng Yi for the disappearance and was delighted by the mistaken bounty, but Jie Jia still demanded payment to explain Protective Spiritual Light.

• A black-clad figure escaped the Jinghong Gang flagship with the child after incapacitating the guards and striking Jin Wuduan with an artifact.
• Jin Wuduan told Zuo Sheng that the child was tied to an important item sought by Seventh Miss and that he might lose his position as gang leader.
• A messenger reported that Young Master Yu had also gone missing at Spring Breeze Tower, and Jin Wuduan suspected the same Armor Soul expert had taken him.
• At the Chen Residence, Chen Mu asked Jie Jia about Protective Spiritual Light and learned that the Jinghong Gang was searching for a man in his forties with Armor Soul strength, a Bell Artifact, and the ability to Soul-Shatter.
• Chen Mu realized the gang had blamed Cheng Yi for Sikou Yu's disappearance and celebrated the bounty, while Jie Jia demanded payment for information and spotted the silver hidden in Chen Mu's Five Ghosts Bag.

Kui Tuo took his men to Liuliu Village for a night on Zhang Ye’s orders, only to find a terrifying threat waiting at the Earth God Temple. The chapter ended with Chen Mu learning from Jie Jia about the strength of Protective Spiritual Light.

• Kui Tuo and his men arrived at Liuliu Village and learned they would have to stay at the Earth God Temple.
• Kui Tuo’s men roasted a goat while he slept, and the food’s aroma reminded him of Chen Xiao’s cooking.
• Kui Tuo realized Scarface and the others were acting strangely, then saw what looked like Scarface’s severed head among the bones and fled.
• Jie Jia explained to Chen Mu that Protective Spiritual Light came from stimulating one’s bloodline and surpassed an Armor Soul in strength.

Chen Mu learned how Protective Spiritual Light could be overcome, reviewed how he had concealed his role in Sikou Yu’s death, and decided to stay indoors while improving his disguise. Meanwhile, Kui Tuo escaped Liuliu Village only to see its eerie scene repeat itself and encounter a terrifying child.

• Chen Mu asked Jie Jia about Protective Spiritual Light, and Jie Jia explained that incomplete Spiritual Light could be resisted until its magical artifact ran out of power or broken by sufficiently powerful Secret Arts.
• Chen Mu reviewed the precautions he had taken after killing Sikou Yu and concluded that investigators could not trace the crime back to him.
• Chen Mu decided to remain at home until his Shape Shift Technique advanced beyond tier 1, even though that meant he would not see Miss Yutao.
• Kui Tuo rushed out of Liuliu Village after spending the night trapped in a repeating path that led him back to the Earth God Temple.
• Kui Tuo saw the village scene repeat beneath the willow tree, and the child he had frightened turned its head around and grinned at him while urinating.

At the Malevolent Spirit encampment, Sikou Qing ended the reckless probing and ordered troops to train with the Sand Gathering Formation. A message from Jin Wuduan reported that Sikou Yu may have been killed and a child with a possible Dao Bone had been lost, prompting Sikou Qing to rush ahead toward Nanyang.

• Zhang Ye explained to Kui Tuo that the Jinghong Gang had sent them to clear Malevolent Spirits, and Kui Tuo resolved to buy more Ancestral Radiance Talismans.
• At home, Chen Mu studied the Marrow Cleansing Realm method, practiced building Proficiency, and enjoyed a meal.
• Sikou Qing learned that only one person had survived the Liuliu Village mission and ordered the troops to stop probing the seven Monster-level Malevolent Spirits and train with the Sand Gathering Formation.
• Qi Tingman delivered a Gray Falcon Message from Jin Wuduan, and Sikou Qing learned that Yu'er may have been killed and a child with a possible Dao Bone had been lost.
• Sikou Qing ordered Qi Tingman to accompany her ahead of the others and told Zhuo Yinghai to lead the remaining troops back to Nanyang.

Chen Mu stayed home to avoid the citywide search for Cheng Yi while Jie Jia and Kui Tuo discussed the dangers and disturbances around Nanyang. Elsewhere, Demon Ape Tushan killed a scout and fought off hundreds of soldiers, but Sikou Qing ordered the hunt for Cheng Yi and the Dao Bone Boy to continue.

• Chen Mu improved his Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique and considered making more Fasting Pills while staying inside amid the search for Cheng Yi.
• Jie Jia told Chen Mu that Nanyang was safer than the war-torn countryside and the dangerous sea, so Chen Mu decided to remain at home.
• Kui Tuo visited Chen Mu for lunch and told him about the Jinghong Gang recruiting people to purge Malevolent Spirits, leaving Chen Mu puzzled about the Noble Clans’ motives.
• Demon Ape Tushan killed a scrawny scout who had been sent to his home, then defeated a middle-aged man and hundreds of soldiers in Ningren Ward.
• Sikou Qing arrived at the scene, declined to pursue Tushan because it was the Zhou Family’s business, and ordered the search for Cheng Yi and the Dao Bone Boy to intensify.

Chen Mu evaded increasingly intense searches for Sikou Yu while completing another Marrow Cleansing with the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique. He decided to hide temporarily in a nearby garrison city and began preparing to travel there in disguise.

• Yamen runners searched Chen Mu’s home and showed him portraits of a middle-aged taoist and a young taoist boy, whom they wanted reported to the prefectural city yamen.
• After more than a month of relentless searches across Nanyang Prefecture, Chen Mu decided to leave, but waited for the searches to ease and finished training first.
• Chen Mu completed another Marrow Cleansing, transforming his physique before returning to his lean scholar’s form.
• Chen Mu asked Jie Jia about safer places to go, and Jie Jia recommended a garrison city about sixty li south of Nanyang Prefecture City.
• Chen Mu decided to hide in the garrison city while keeping his Shanglin Ward residence, and began improving his Shape Shift Technique for the journey.

Chen Mu left Nanyang Prefecture City to escape the searches, but the Jinghong Gang’s checkpoint and a bone-reading inspector threatened to expose his disguise. As he began changing back to his original face, Zuo Sheng appeared and scanned the line.

• Chen Mu left Shanglin Ward and passed the city guards’ identity checks at Jian'an Gate using the information Jie Jia had given him.
• Chen Mu discovered another checkpoint outside the gate, where the Jinghong Gang inspected travelers under Zuo Sheng’s supervision.
• Zhuo Rufeng taunted Zuo Sheng about Jin Wuduan’s troubles, and Zuo Sheng warned him to stop using the checkpoint to extort money lest the Imperial Envoy find out.
• Chen Mu overheard two disguised women discussing Old Liu Xing, a coroner who could identify people by their bones and had exposed the Thousand-Faced Man.
• Chen Mu realized his altered muscles might not match his bones and began adjusting his appearance back to his original face.
• Zuo Sheng emerged from the Wooden Shed and sternly scanned the line while Chen Mu was still changing his appearance.

Chen Mu tried to evade recognition at a checkpoint where Zuo Sheng and Old Liu Xing were searching for suspects, using Spirit-Disturbing Smoke to trigger a distraction. He escaped after Old Liu Xing dismissed him, but Zuo Sheng recognized his gait and identified him as Chen Mu.

• Chen Mu spotted Zuo Sheng at the checkpoint and tried to avoid Old Liu Xing’s inspection without drawing suspicion.
• Chen Mu knocked Wrench Brother and Fierce General Brother unconscious with Spirit-Disturbing Smoke, prompting their guards to rush in and causing a brief commotion.
• Zuo Sheng swiftly subdued the lead guard and restored order, while Chen Mu abandoned his attempt to escape under Zuo Sheng’s watchful gaze.
• Old Liu Xing ordered Chen Mu to approach, but Chen Mu criticized him, then bowed and walked away when the old man dismissed him.
• Zuo Sheng noticed the departing scholar’s familiar build and gait, recognized the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique, and realized he was Chen Mu.

Chen Mu escaped detection at the checkpoint using his improved Shape Shift Technique, but Zhuo Rufeng followed him and falsely accused him of conspiring with Zuo Sheng. When Zhuo Rufeng tried to seize him, Chen Mu revealed himself and stabbed him.

• Zuo Sheng questioned Old Liu Xing about whether he could detect disguises, while Zhuo Rufeng suggested Cheng Ming’s companions should be investigated and chose the Silver Boots Guard as a target.
• Chen Mu realized his second-tier Shape Shift Technique could maintain his altered face indefinitely and evade Old Liu Xing’s inspection.
• Chen Mu headed for the Lanhe Ferry Crossing, but Zhuo Rufeng confronted him and insisted he was Chen Mu, a friend of Zuo Sheng, Zhang Ye, and Cheng Ming.
• Zhuo Rufeng accused Zuo Sheng of secretly helping criminals escape and demanded that Chen Mu cooperate with him.
• Chen Mu used a cloud of red mist to disorient Zhuo Rufeng, then stabbed him through the chest and admitted he was Chen Mu.

Chen Mu settled into life in Lijiang Garrison City, where he developed a Breathing Method to advance the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique. After hearing rumors about a battle and fire in Nanyang Prefecture City, he concluded the search connected to Sikou Yu’s death had ended but chose to remain in Lijiang.

• Chen Mu built a thatched pavilion in his courtyard and reflected on why he had left Nanyang Prefecture City.
• Chen Mu used insights from the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique to devise a Breathing Method for cultivating Divine Intent and the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique.
• After a month of practicing the method in his daily movements, Chen Mu saw his Proficiency advance and relaxed at Lijiang Tower.
• Chen Mu overheard conflicting rumors about a huge fire and a battle in Nanyang Prefecture City, and wondered whether Cheng Yi had been found.
• Chen Mu decided the search following Sikou Yu’s death had ended, but stayed in Lijiang City to continue training with the protection of the Five Ghosts Bag.

Jin Wuduan fought Cheng Yi, who later learned from Wu Yin how Thousand Mechanism Tokens appeared during great upheavals. In Lijiang Garrison City, Chen Mu completed a new cultivation breakthrough and saw the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Divine Intent.

• Jin Wuduan drove Cheng Yi away from the Jinghong Gang flagship after a fierce fight, while Zuo Sheng worried that the gang could not withstand Cheng Yi's attacks.
• Cheng Yi recovered in an abandoned residence, then confronted Wu Yin and accused him of revealing his whereabouts.
• Wu Yin told Cheng Yi that Thousand Mechanism Tokens appeared amid great upheavals and gathered in places with many Malevolent Spirits, explaining why factions were recruiting scouts.
• Chen Mu studied an ancient medical text and discovered that his Shape Shift Technique could change his height and build as well as his face.
• Chen Mu completed a breakthrough, saw a black band beneath his navel, and perceived the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Divine Intent in his mind.

Chen Mu mastered the Jade-Eyed Golden Ape Body Tempering Technique and began cultivating the White Ape technique to speed up his Soul Force growth. Meanwhile, Jin Wuduan suspected Cheng Yi had infiltrated the Jinghong Gang, while Zuo Sheng denied involvement in Zhuo Rufeng’s disappearance.

• Chen Mu used his Dark Soul Force to stir scorching sand with his bare hand, then enjoyed a meal and missed Old Man Jie.
• Jin Wuduan and Zuo Sheng discussed Cheng Yi’s five-day silence and suspected he might have joined the Jinghong Gang to search for the taoist boy and the Thousand Mechanism Token.
• Jin Wuduan warned Zuo Sheng to restrain his violence, mentioned Lin Que and Zhuo Rufeng, and said he would try to mediate with Old Zhuo.
• After exploring Lijiang Garrison City, Chen Mu returned home and entered seclusion to cultivate the White Ape Body Tempering Technique.
• Chen Mu discovered that the White Ape technique immediately placed him at Muscle Strengthening, but added little because his arms had already been trained by other techniques.
• Chen Mu concluded that he could not stack Armor Soul through overlapping techniques and hoped the White Ape and Black Tiger techniques could still add Soul Force.

Zhuo Yinghai investigated his son Zhuo Rufeng’s disappearance and learned that a disguised scholar named Chen Jia had been seen near the checkpoint. Meanwhile, Chen Mu trained his footwork in Lijiang Garrison City, where Zhuo Yinghai’s search eventually led.

• Zuo Sheng explained his whereabouts on the day Zhuo Rufeng disappeared, and Old Liu Xing revealed that a scholar at the checkpoint had altered his appearance through bone shaving and flesh filling.
• Old Liu Xing identified the scholar as Chen Jia, a twenty-three-year-old from Liangpu County, and Jin Wuduan promised to help Zhuo Yinghai track him down.
• After Zhuo Yinghai left, Jin Wuduan praised Zuo Sheng for clearing himself, though Zuo Sheng insisted he had done nothing.
• In Yongtong Ward, Chen Mu practiced navigating an obstacle course and reflected that his improved speed and balance would help him survive.
• At Lanhe Ferry Crossing, Zhuo Yinghai questioned a Jinghong Gang member, who said the man in the portrait had gone to Lijiang Garrison City.

Chen Mu investigated why Soul Force grew slowly and discovered that copying Divine Intent diagrams barely increased his drawing Proficiency, suggesting the diagrams were inaccurate. Meanwhile, Zhuo Yinghai and Li Jun found a lead on the man who killed Zhuo Feng and prepared to ambush him in Yongtong Ward.

• Chen Mu wondered why Soul Force appeared rapidly after mastering a Body Tempering Technique but grew slowly through further nurturing.
• Zhuo Yinghai asked Li Jun to find the suspected killer, and Li Jun promised to search Lijiang Garrison City.
• Chen Mu counted his dwindling funds, rejected the Dragon Transformation Pill, and tried drawing Divine Intent diagrams to understand them.
• Li Jun's subordinate traced a scholar named Chen Jia to a courtyard in Yongtong Ward, matching the suspected killer's name, hometown, and timing.
• Li Jun urged Zhuo Yinghai to rest while he gathered experts to prepare an ambush.
• Chen Mu copied the Divine Intent diagrams from his manuals and concluded that they were shoddy goods after earning almost no drawing Proficiency.

Zhuo Yinghai’s search for Chen Jia in Lijiang Garrison City failed, while Chen Mu quietly left for Nanyang Prefecture City. On the riverboat, the two met without recognizing each other, and Chen Mu gave his name as Mu Chen.

• Zhuo Yinghai and Li Jun raided a residence but found it empty, while Chen Mu watched the search from afar with a Yin Soul Paper Figure.
• Zhuo Yinghai waited in ambush at Li Jun’s private residence and killed a thief who had mistaken it for a place to steal from.
• Li Jun learned the dead man was a local habitual thief, and Zhuo Yinghai decided to return home after hearing his concubine had given birth to twin sons.
• Chen Mu boarded a ship for Nanyang Prefecture City, believing the searchers would not expect him to return there.
• Zhuo Yinghai met Chen Mu on the ship, asked his name, and heard him introduce himself as Mu Chen.