Chapter Summaries

Lu Sheng secured Shangyang Jiuli’s backing for Northland and rebuilt the Martial Alliance’s remaining forces while the region settled into an uneasy calm. The Red Workshop Master unexpectedly returned in a shared body with Ying Ying, leaving Lu Sheng with a rare chance to investigate how Anomalies survive.

• Shangyang Jiuli asked Lu Sheng to support anyone bearing her token, heard his report about Shangyang Ce and the missing Red Workshop Master and Ye Lingmo, and ordered him to investigate cautiously.
• After Shangyang Jiuli left, Lu Sheng distributed Yin Crane Nets among the Martial Alliance’s remaining forces, accelerating their cultivation while keeping his plans concealed.
• More than half a month passed as Northland’s factions withdrew and the region became unusually calm.
• Ying Ying emerged from a red flesh ball in a child’s body, attacked Lu Sheng, and was subdued and kept alive with a Yin Crane Net planted inside her.
• Ying Ying explained that she had absorbed the Red Workshop Master and that the two had been reborn together; Lu Sheng questioned whether Anomalies could truly be killed and resolved to study them.

Lu Sheng questioned Red Workshop Bai about his loot, bargained for her cooperation, and learned a puppet-control secret art. While reviewing urgent reports, he found an old warning that Ye Hongnan had vanished from Jade Pendant City.

• Lu Sheng had the little Umbrella Woman identify his loot and learned that the small book contained demon cultivation arts written in Spirit Script.
• Lu Sheng named his strongest Yin-Yang Fusion form Destroyer and persuaded Red Workshop Bai to cooperate in exchange for help restoring her strength.
• Red Workshop Bai explained that the Giant's Eye could be transplanted for a secret art, then traded her knowledge of puppet substitutes for the return of the remains.
• Lu Sheng learned the String Manipulation Art from Red Workshop Bai, though its use of silk threads made it difficult to apply.
• Lu Sheng reviewed reports from the territories under his Elders and discovered a month-old letter stating that Ye Hongnan had been missing for thirteen days.

Lu Sheng connected a missing Branch Leader with rumors of a mysterious mountain residence, while Duan Xichen visited the Tea Gang and asked Dong Qi about its past ghost incident. In the mountains, Zhang WuLang entered a strange house where a seated man demanded a joke, and another traveler arrived after Zhang disappeared.

• Lu Sheng suspected that the missing Branch Leader and reports of a mysterious residence in the mountains were connected.
• Dong Qi worried over the Tea Gang's withering tea trees and met Duan Xichen, who offered to cure them and asked about ghosts at the headquarters.
• Zhang WuLang, injured and lost in a storm, found a lit stone house in a remote mountain village and entered to seek shelter.
• A motionless middle-aged man repeatedly ordered Zhang WuLang to tell a joke, then the house plunged into darkness and Zhang vanished.
• Another muddy traveler approached the lit house, where the same voice again demanded, "Tell me a joke."

Xu Chuan Zhou led Red Whale Gang fighters into a mountain village to investigate disappearances, but a haunted stone house trapped them and dragged him inside. Lu Sheng learned that Xu Chuan Zhou and External Affairs Envoy Chen were missing, then received an urgent dispatch from Jade Pendant City that darkened his expression.

• Xu Chuan Zhou brought Red Whale Gang experts into the mountains to investigate a white light and found a deserted village with a glowing stone house.
• Xu Chuan Zhou and his men entered the house, where a figure disappeared and an enormous Glass Mirror stood in the main hall.
• The house sealed its doors and windows, extinguished every light, and trapped the group; Xu Chuan Zhou was later dragged back inside while shouting threats.
• Lu Sheng heard that Xu Chuan Zhou and External Affairs Envoy Chen had both disappeared after heading toward Jade Pendant City.
• A close guard delivered an urgent dispatch from Jade Pendant City, and Lu Sheng's expression darkened after reading it.

Lu Sheng prepared to investigate Elder Xu’s disappearance in Clear Tea Town and strengthened Ning San before bringing him along. While questioning Red Workshop Bai about Anomalies, he learned of a dangerous type that drained people’s vitality and recognized signs he had encountered in the Tea Gang.

• After learning Elder Xu and the search party had vanished in the deep mountains, Lu Sheng ordered Ning San to meet him.
• Lu Sheng infused Ning San with inner qi, helping him break through and unlock greater strength, then ordered him to prepare for the trip to Clear Tea Town.
• The Umbrella Woman confronted Lu Sheng about his methods, and he asked her what Anomalies were and how they formed.
• Red Workshop Bai explained that some Anomalies drained the vitality of people nearby and said she had once fought them while protecting Ying Ying.
• Lu Sheng connected the Anomalies’ effects to the mirror from the Tea Gang and asked Red Workshop Bai about a mirror carved with a phoenix, fox, and cat.
• Red Workshop Bai recognized the description as possibly referring to a Glass Mirror.

Lu Sheng learned that the Three Saints Gate was an organization of Anomalies, then chose to conserve his remaining Yin Qi and prepared to travel to Clear Tea Town with an escort. In town, Yan Kai and Wan Hezi discussed the Unsmiling Master and the powerful Zhao Long as Lu Sheng’s Red Whale Gang procession arrived.

• Red Workshop Bai warned Lu Sheng that the Three Saints Gate was dangerous and that its Collection Envoys gathered essence qi.
• Lu Sheng decided not to spend his remaining Yin Qi on either internal skill and ordered a guarded trip to Clear Tea Town.
• Three days later, Wan Hezi arrived at a wine shop in Clear Tea Town and tried to pass himself off as a mysterious Daoist before recognizing Yan Kai and Duan Rongrong.
• Yan Kai told Wan Hezi he had come to investigate the Unsmiling Master, while Wan Hezi revealed that he was following Zhao Long of the Heart Wandering Society.
• Lu Sheng’s Red Whale Gang procession entered Clear Tea Town, and Yan Kai and Wan Hezi compared Lu Sheng’s strength with Zhao Long’s.

Wan Hezi learned that accepting the Dugu Family’s bounty could cost him his body and soul, while Lu Sheng investigated the disappearance of Red Whale Gang members in Clear Tea Town. After punishing Chen Zongtao for hiding what he knew, Lu Sheng prepared to investigate the Unsmiling Master’s killings in the deep mountains.

• Wan Hezi discovered that the Dugu Family’s bounty he had accepted carried a brutal penalty for failure, and Yan Kai proposed finding out what task he had taken on.
• Lu Sheng arrived at the Tea Gang headquarters and learned that Elder Xu Chuan Zhou and External Affairs Envoy Zhao Jiao Jiao were missing.
• Chen Zongtao admitted that he had seen Xu Chuan Zhou calling for help near a stone house but had fled in fear, and Lu Sheng ordered him punished under gang rules.
• Lu Sheng heard that the Unsmiling Master was rumored to kill anyone who failed to tell him a joke that made him laugh.
• Lu Sheng ordered his people to question Chen Zongtao fully before they went into the mountains to investigate.

Lu Sheng investigated the Unsmiling legend while Yan Kai arrived seeking his help with a dangerous figure tied to a bounty. Yan Kai revealed that the figure had also come to Clear Tea Town because of the legend.

• Lu Sheng examined a Red Dragon Calamity fragment but could not activate its power.
• Lu Sheng led the Red Whale Gang into the mountains to investigate the place Chen Zongtao had visited.
• Yan Kai, Duan Rongrong, and Wan Hezi encountered the gang and asked to meet Lu Sheng.
• Lu Sheng's presence overwhelmed the newcomers, and he welcomed Yan Kai as an old acquaintance.
• Yan Kai explained that Wan Hezi had accepted a bounty to investigate a dangerous figure, whom they had followed to Clear Tea Town in pursuit of the Unsmiling legend.

Lu Sheng and the Red Whale Gang searched a ruined village for the Unsmiling Master while encountering the Heart Wandering Society, which was pursuing the same target. The ancient inscription at the village entrance suggested Joyful Village might never have been an ordinary settlement.

• Lu Sheng let Yan Kai, Duan Rongrong, and Wan Hezi travel with the Red Whale Gang after learning they feared Zhao Long of the Heart Wandering Society.
• The Red Whale Gang encountered Zhao Long’s party in the forest, and both groups passed without fighting while seeking the Unsmiling Master.
• At the ruined village, Zhao Long’s party said the Unsmiling Master appeared only at night, and one of his men’s killing intent left Wan Hezi nearly choking before Xu Chui intervened.
• Lu Sheng and the others searched the decayed stone houses but found no recent traces of Elder Xu or his companions.
• The group uncovered a stele reading “Joyful Village” in ancient traditional Song script, and Lu Sheng wondered whether the village had ever been meant for people to live in.

Lu Sheng identified the village’s stone stele as the key to Unsmiling Master and withdrew the Red Whale Gang, intending to return at the right time. When Yan Kai and Wan Hezi entered the village on their own, the fog lifted and they encountered a scar-faced man and several scholars sheltering from the rain.

• Lu Sheng read the stone stele, ordered the Red Whale Gang to leave the village, and said he would return when the time was right.
• The Tea Gang found the man who had spread the rumor dead, while Lu Sheng remained in town and Zhao Long stayed missing.
• Yan Kai, Wan Hezi, and Duan Rongrong returned to the village, but Wan Hezi entered alone and vanished into the fog.
• Yan Kai followed a figure resembling Wan Hezi into a stone house, where the fog dispersed and heavy rain began.
• Chen Zi Guang, Xu Pei, and their bookboy arrived seeking shelter, and Yan Kai met a scar-faced man and Wan Hezi inside the house.

Yan Kai, Duan Rongrong, and Wan Hezi sheltered from the storm in a ruined village, where Duan Rongrong revealed that a lookalike had tried to lure her into the fog. In Clear Tea Town, the Unsmiling Master resumed its attacks, and the chapter ended with Lu Sheng confronting the approaching Zhao Long.

• Yan Kai and his companions took shelter with Sun Chan Kuang and two scholars, then retired to the ruined house's side rooms.
• Duan Rongrong told Yan Kai that she had seen someone exactly like him running deeper into the village, and Wan Hezi urged Yan Kai to leave in the morning.
• Lu Sheng learned that the Unsmiling Master had claimed another victim and that Zhao Long, Yan Kai, and the others had disappeared.
• After a Red Whale Gang member vanished, Lu Sheng ordered the gang to withdraw from Clear Tea Town, where the killings then seemed to stop.
• Dong Qi encountered two identical Unsmiling Masters in her home and fled as Lu Sheng rose to face Zhao Long.

Lu Sheng fought Zhao Long after Zhao Long mistook him for a threat to the Heart Wandering Society’s passage. Lu Sheng overwhelmed him with a monstrous transformation, but Zhao Long escaped his grasp and attacked with a powerful cicada form.

• Lu Sheng and Zhao Long clashed after Zhao Long accused him of destroying the Three Saints Mirror and threatening the passage.
• Dong Qi ran to Lu Sheng for protection as the Unsmiling Masters merged and charged into the courtyard.
• Zhao Long pretended to accept Lu Sheng’s promise not to interfere, then suddenly attacked him.
• Lu Sheng transformed into a five-meter-tall, Serpent-level creature and knocked Zhao Long unconscious.
• Zhao Long used Cicada Molt to escape Lu Sheng’s grasp, transformed into an insect-like form, and wounded Lu Sheng with Cicada Wing Flying Dragon Nine Heavens.
• Lu Sheng’s wounds began healing as he prepared to fight Zhao Long’s renewed attack.

Lu Sheng defeated Zhao Long and discovered a mysterious passage hidden inside the Unsmiling Master’s crystal bead. Zhao Long died when Lu Sheng tried to control him, and Lu Sheng left off attempting to save Dong Qi.

• Lu Sheng fought Zhao Long in his Yang Extremity State, overwhelmed his speed with a crimson blast, and finally dragged him from underground.
• Lu Sheng spared Zhao Long and tried to control him with his inner Qi, but Zhao Long died as the attempt met powerful resistance.
• Lu Sheng found a black crystal bead inside the Unsmiling Master and saw a winding passage hidden within it.
• Lu Sheng decided to conceal Zhao Long’s death and found Dong Qi buried and barely alive in the rubble.
• Lu Sheng pressed his hand to Dong Qi’s forehead and sent his inner Qi into her body to try to save her.

Lu Sheng followed the trail of the Unsmiling Master to Small Mountain Village, then studied the black bead until it opened into a mysterious passage. He chose not to enter, and the passage vanished, leaving him to prepare for another opportunity.

• Lu Sheng healed Dong Qi with his inner qi, ordered the battlefield cleared, and led his men toward Small Mountain Village to find the source of the Unsmiling Master.
• Lu Sheng found the village empty and ordered Xu Chui to station guards there while the Red Whale Gang searched for clues to Zhao Jiao Jiao and the Three Saints Mirror.
• Lu Sheng returned to headquarters and spent two days observing the black bead, discovering that it changed at the first quarter of the Rat hour when heated with inner qi.
• Lu Sheng opened the bead and entered its passage, where he found two steles bearing lists of sorrowful words and sensed a dangerous, unfamiliar aura.
• Lu Sheng decided the passage was too risky to enter without preparation, returned to the secret chamber, and watched the bead and passage disappear.

Lu Sheng consolidated the Red Whale Gang’s rule over the Northland and built up the Red Sun Sect, whose new disciples and Tian Yuan recruits helped restore peace and prosperity. As a snow disaster worsened, Shangyang Jiuli invited him to choose a cultivation branch at the Hundred Veins Assembly, and Lu Sheng asked Ying Ying what she knew about it.

• Lu Sheng’s growing reputation drew Martial Alliance experts into the Red Whale Gang and Red Sun Sect, where one Tian Yuan expert broke through a long-standing bottleneck after receiving a secret art.
• The Red Sun Sect held a recruitment competition, and Ouyang Qi reported that 262 candidates had passed the preliminary selection despite the worsening snow.
• Lu Sheng explained that he would use the Yin Crane Net to bind the sect’s disciples and gradually absorb their cultivated internal energy.
• Lu Sheng received a note from Shangyang Jiuli inviting him to choose a universal cultivation method at the Hundred Veins Assembly in Heaven Gazing City.
• Lu Sheng asked Ying Ying about the Hundred Veins, and she said that she knew of them.

Lu Sheng accepted Shangyang Jiuli’s invitation to attend the Hundred Veins Assembly and began arranging his wedding to Chen Yunxi, who chose to marry as an equal wife and decided to practice martial arts. The chapter ended with Lu Sheng learning that Zhao Jiao Jiao had been found gravely wounded and going to see her.

• Ying Ying explained the Hundred Veins Alliance, and Lu Sheng decided to attend its assembly in the Central Plains while bringing Chen Yunxi with him.
• After learning the assembly would be held in three months, Lu Sheng accepted the invitation and ordered wedding preparations to begin.
• Chen Yunxi rejected the position of principal wife, explained that she would marry Lu Sheng as an equal wife, and told Chen Daozao she wanted to practice martial arts.
• Lu Sheng approved Chen Yunxi’s choice and instructed Sun Mingzhen to arrange the wedding without excessive extravagance.
• Jade Lotus Seed reported that Zhao Jiao Jiao had been found unconscious with 128 bite wounds, and Lu Sheng went to see her.

Lu Sheng treated Zhao Jiao Jiao and ordered precautions while preparing to strengthen the Red Sun Sect before leaving the Northland. Elsewhere, the White Wolf King learned that Zhao Long was dead and that someone knew who had seized the Three Saints Gate passage, while Lu Sheng began studying newly acquired Spirit Focus martial arts in seclusion.

• Lu Sheng healed Zhao Jiao Jiao enough for her to explain that she had fought a winged, black wild-ox-like Weird Beast whose blood was freezing cold, though she could not remember where she encountered it.
• Lu Sheng told Jade Lotus Seed to monitor Zhao Jiao Jiao for abnormalities, continue searching for precious medicine, organize information on the Martial Alliance, and secure the Northland during his wedding.
• Lu Sheng arranged to enter seclusion to fuse martial arts from the Heavenly Origin members who had joined the Red Sun Sect, intending to use his remaining Yin Qi to increase his strength before leaving the Northland.
• In a dark forest, the White Wolf King learned that Zhao Long was dead and the Three Saints Gate passage had not been recovered; a Heart Wandering Society man offered to identify who had seized it.
• Lu Sheng entered his secret chamber with more than ten Spirit Focus martial arts manuals and began examining them.

Lu Sheng searched for martial arts to address his lack of mobility and long-range options, then chose Bright Void Skill as a foundation for a lightness skill suited to his heavy body. He began training it in the secret chamber, using his inner qi to heal the strained muscles as he practiced.

• Lu Sheng reviewed his martial arts and decided he needed a lightness skill and a long-range attack technique to complement his strength.
• He rejected Thousand Extremes Devil Shadow and Jade Void Step because their weight and other requirements did not suit him.
• Lu Sheng realized he could use Yin Qi to create a lightness skill for his physique and summoned Xu Chui to bring manuals from the martial arts repository.
• He examined the manuals and selected Bright Void Skill for its speed and flexible movement.
• Lu Sheng practiced Bright Void Skill, repeatedly using inner qi to restore his strained leg muscles as he learned its awkward footwork.

Lu Sheng memorized several movement skills, then used the Modifier to derive the Bright Void Skill into a powerful new art that transformed his legs. He tested its Earth Stomp in the snow and, after spotting a colossal white wolf, launched himself after it.

• Lu Sheng memorized the Bright Void Skill’s footwork and raised it to the Third Layer, then learned the Cloud Bow Method and several other movement skills.
• Lu Sheng derived the Bright Void Skill through its Tenth Layer, gaining Earth Stomp and increasingly powerful agility effects.
• Lu Sheng continued deriving the skill to the Twentieth Layer, transforming his legs into armored limbs and unlocking an Unknown special effect.
• Lu Sheng concealed his transformed legs and went alone to Spirit Sparrow Peak to test the skill.
• Lu Sheng saw a gigantic white wolf race across the snowy mountains, used Earth Stomp to launch himself into the air, and chased after it.

Lu Sheng traded a Divine Weapon Shard for a thirty-thousand-year Four Spirits Flower from the White Wolf King, hoping to use it to strengthen himself. After Lu Sheng left, the White Wolf King failed to persuade the Ice Fox King to retaliate against the Shangyang Family and departed in anger.

• Lu Sheng pursued the White Wolf King and asked what power it could offer him.
• The White Wolf King explained its three ways of granting power, and Lu Sheng chose a heavenly treasure in exchange for his Divine Weapon Shard.
• Lu Sheng traded the shard for a thirty-thousand-year Four Spirits Flower and watched the White Wolf King leave for Ice Sea Island.
• The White Wolf King met the Ice Fox King and urged him to retaliate against the Shangyang Family.
• The Ice Fox King refused to act and told the White Wolf King to return, so the White Wolf King left in anger.