Chapter Summaries

Lu Sheng and his companions kept watch in Song Family Village, where several travelers arrived, including the skilled and curious Li Shunxi. When Ning San and Duan Meng'an failed to return from the latrine, Lu Sheng went out to search for them.

• Lu Sheng, Duan Meng'an, and Ning San stayed together to investigate the village’s nighttime disappearances.
• Song Yunjuan brought four wealthy young women and their guards to lodge, while Lu Sheng noticed that Li Shunxi practiced internal arts.
• Li Shunxi suspected the village was strange and recognized that Lu Sheng’s group had come deliberately to investigate.
• Ning San went to the latrine with Duan Meng'an after Lu Sheng warned them not to go alone.
• Lu Sheng found the door pushed open and blocked by someone, but saw no one outside when he forced his way out.
• After the candle kept going out in the wind and the two men did not return, Lu Sheng entered the dark courtyard to search for them.

Lu Sheng and Li Shunxi searched the village after several people went missing and found five of them unconscious in a cellar. They rescued the group and continued looking for the remaining missing people, while Li Shunxi fought off a series of Yin Bats.

• Lu Sheng met Li Shunxi in the rear courtyard and learned that several people, including Lu Sheng’s two brothers, had disappeared.
• Lu Sheng and Li Shunxi found five unconscious people, including Duan Meng'an, in a kitchen cellar and revived them with Li Shunxi’s blood-marked paper.
• Gong Ruqing and Gong Rumeng asked Lu Sheng and Li Shunxi to help locate their missing companions, and both men agreed.
• The group searched the master bedroom, where Li Shunxi struck down a Yin Bat that lunged at Gong Ruqing.
• Li Shunxi killed five more Yin Bats as the group searched the other rooms, and one bat nearly killed a guard with a bite to the neck.

Lu Sheng and Li Shunxi tried to lead the group out of Song Family Village, but the village’s strange illusions separated and endangered them. Li Shunxi’s group was attacked after Gong Ruqing appeared to become possessed, while Lu Sheng remained behind at the gate.

• Lu Sheng noticed Gong Rumeng was missing and revealed that a motionless woman in white had been following Gong Ruqing; the woman vanished when Li Shunxi threw a silver top at her.
• Li Shunxi identified the threat as a Mind Spirit and suspected the dead trees and a metal object were connected to the village’s formation, but Lu Sheng chose to test the village gate instead.
• The group found that they could not reach the gate, so Li Shunxi led Gong Ruqing and the guards toward the cellar while Lu Sheng stayed behind with Duan Meng'an.
• An illusion made Gong Ruqing and the guards vanish from Li Shunxi’s sight; he dispelled it with talismans and restored them, but realized he too had been caught by the illusion.
• Gong Ruqing suddenly attacked Li Shunxi with a short sword, wounded him, and stabbed a guard, while Li Shunxi hesitated to strike her with his antique-gold awl.

Lu Sheng killed Gong Ruqing while rescuing Li Shunxi, then fought a Corpse Spirit until it dissolved. The group discovered that the people around them were dead or supernatural, and Lu Sheng led them toward the kitchen as Gong Ruqing appeared again.

• Lu Sheng cut down the possessed Gong Ruqing and battled a Corpse Spirit, eventually destroying it with his Heart Piercing Palm after his saber shattered.
• Li Shunxi accused Lu Sheng of killing a living person, but Lu Sheng insisted that anything harmful to him was a ghost and had to die.
• Lu Sheng and the others found Ning San, two guards, and two young ladies unconscious in the cellar, then woke them and prepared to leave.
• The guards and young ladies turned out to be corpses or supernatural beings, and the severed Gong Ruqing appeared in the kitchen doorway to call after Li Shunxi.
• Lu Sheng ignored the apparitions and strode toward the kitchen door, with Li Shunxi, Duan Meng'an, and Ning San following.

Lu Sheng and his companions escaped the Ghost Array at Song Family Village, and Lu Sheng ordered the estate burned after killing the ghosts inside. A badly burned, tongueless scholar survived the blaze, while Lu Sheng explained how he had identified the estate’s inhabitants as ghosts.

• Lu Sheng fought a second Corpse Spirit while Li Shunxi, Duan Meng'an, and Ning San fled through the estate.
• Li Shunxi identified the withered tree as the Ghost Array’s core, and Duan Meng'an broke it so the group could reach the gates.
• Lu Sheng saved Song Yunjuan from a female ghost, then kicked her and cut her in two as the others watched in shock.
• Lu Sheng led the group outside and ordered the Red Whale Gang to fire flaming arrows into Song Family Village.
• Song Yunjuan emerged from the burning estate but struck an invisible barrier, and Lu Sheng knocked her back inside with his saber.
• A burned scholar crawled out of the estate, and Lu Sheng recognized him as human and ordered the gang members to treat him.

Lu Sheng and Li Shunxi returned to the burned Song Family Village, where its gates slammed shut despite the fire, revealing that it was a persistent anomaly. Li Shunxi explained anomalies and their connection to aristocratic families, while Lu Sheng’s ability to injure a Corpse Spirit drew his curiosity.

• Lu Sheng led the Red Whale Gang back to Song Family Village after the rain stopped and entered the charred estate with Li Shunxi.
• Li Shunxi told Lu Sheng that Song Yuncheng had no sister named Song Yunjuan and that strange events began after he found a black pill.
• Lu Sheng spotted a lock of black hair and fled with Li Shunxi when the estate gates slammed shut behind them.
• Li Shunxi identified Song Family Village as an anomaly that could not be destroyed and said his master had died in one.
• Li Shunxi explained that anomalies persisted within fixed boundaries and were treated as forbidden lands, then asked Lu Sheng about his inner art after learning he had injured a Corpse Spirit.

Lu Sheng explained the dangers of strange entities to Li Shunxi, restarted the iron mine’s operations, and reported on Song Family Village to the Red Whale Gang. The Gang Leader confirmed Lu Sheng as a full External Affairs Envoy, and Hong Mingzi later asked him to avoid escalating tensions with Gongsun Zhang Lan.

• Lu Sheng learned from Li Shunxi that ordinary experts could release their full inner force only once before needing a long recovery, and the two exchanged information about ghostly creatures.
• Lu Sheng ordered a separate road built to avoid Song Family Village, allowing the iron mine to resume operations after several incident-free days.
• At Red Whale Gang headquarters, Gongsun Zhang Lan challenged Lu Sheng’s failure to resolve the ghostly threat and argued that he should not inherit Wu San’s forces and businesses.
• External Affairs Envoy Zhang returned from Knot Dragon City injured but reported the movement patterns of the ghostly creature Flying Wu; the Gang Leader declared Song Family Village forbidden and confirmed Lu Sheng as a full External Affairs Envoy.
• Hong Mingzi asked Lu Sheng why Gongsun Zhang Lan opposed him, and Lu Sheng said he welcomed a chance to fight him but agreed to leave him some face.

Lu Sheng exchanged blows with Hong Mingzi and proved that his inner strength could rival the northern expert’s, though Hong Mingzi warned him that the Black Fiend Skill was dangerous and incomplete. Hong Mingzi offered to pass down the Red Zenith Heart Method by accepting Lu Sheng as his junior brother, leaving Lu Sheng to consider the proposal.

• Lu Sheng asked Hong Mingzi to test his martial strength, and the two exchanged several powerful blows.
• Hong Mingzi recognized Lu Sheng’s exceptional inner strength and learned that he had cultivated the Black Fiend Skill.
• Hong Mingzi warned Lu Sheng that the Black Fiend Skill’s later levels were theoretical and that its creator had died from its fire poison.
• Hong Mingzi offered to teach Lu Sheng the Red Zenith Heart Method by accepting him as his junior brother on behalf of his teacher, Mo Fei.

Lu Sheng joined the Red Sun Sect under Hong Mingzi, received its Red Zenith Heart Method and pills, and learned about the gang’s rivals and his responsibilities as an External Affairs Envoy. As he left the docks, he attacked Gongsun Jing to provoke her uncle, Gongsun Zhang Lan, into finally fighting him.

• Lu Sheng accepted Hong Mingzi as his senior brother, joined the Red Sun Sect, and paid respects to its late master, Mo Fei.
• Hong Mingzi explained the sect’s place in the world, warned Lu Sheng about rival gangs and sects, and gave him the Red Zenith Heart Method and a month’s supply of Red Sun Pills.
• Lu Sheng prepared to return to Yan Mountain City with Ning San, Duan Meng'an, and several gang subordinates.
• Gongsun Jing confronted Lu Sheng at the docks and identified herself as Gongsun Zhang Lan’s niece.
• Lu Sheng struck Gongsun Jing with a palm attack, leaving her barely alive, then rode away, hoping Gongsun Zhang Lan would be forced to fight him.

Gongsun Zhang Lan blamed Lu Sheng for Gongsun Jing’s near-fatal injury and prepared a life-and-death challenge. Meanwhile, Lu Sheng advanced the Red Zenith Heart Method and used the modifier to transform Yin-Yang Guiding into the Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill, leaving him with a stronger and more balanced inner art.

• Gongsun Zhang Lan identified the Fire Poison Internal Art in Gongsun Jing’s wound and ordered a life-and-death challenge to be sent to Lu Sheng.
• Lu Sheng swallowed a Red Sun Pill at the Gold Jade Flower House and used Deep Blue to raise the Red Zenith Heart Method to its first level.
• Lu Sheng found that advancing the Red Zenith Heart Method depleted much of his other inner force and worsened the imbalance in his body.
• Lu Sheng used the black hair from Song Family Village to deduce Yin-Yang Guiding to the fourth level.
• Lu Sheng’s new skill absorbed the Black Tiger Jade Crane Skill, and he named the fused art the Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill.

Lu Sheng discovered that the Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill had become a devastating hidden weapon and accepted Gongsun Zhang Lan’s life-and-death challenge. He then visited Xuanwu Pavilion to focus his training and choose a hard skill, leaving the selection undecided as he ruled out techniques that needed medicinal assistance.

• Lu Sheng tested the Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill alongside the Blood Fiend Skill and found the Jade Crane force far more destructive.
• Duan Meng'an brought Lu Sheng Gongsun Zhang Lan’s challenge to fight to the death at Jiujian Gorge before sunset three days later, and Lu Sheng accepted.
• Lu Sheng asked Ning San to guide them to the duel, and Ning San agreed despite recognizing the danger.
• Lu Sheng went to Xuanwu Pavilion and decided to prioritize the Red Zenith Heart Method, keep the Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill as a trump card, and find a hard skill for defense.
• Lu Sheng inspected the hard-skill manuals and passed over those requiring medicinal assistance, leaving two shelves of options to consider.

Lu Sheng borrowed the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill and traveled to Jiujian Gorge to face Gongsun Zhang Lan. As the duel began, he launched himself from Bian Su’s pleasure boat toward the shore, where Gongsun Zhang Lan was readying his Profound Origin Palm.

• Lu Sheng borrowed the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill from Xuanwu Pavilion and returned home to prepare for the fight.
• Hong Mingzi and Old Wang went to Jiujian Gorge to watch Lu Sheng’s duel with Gongsun Zhang Lan, while Hong Mingzi worried that Fang Zhidong might keep him from intervening.
• Lu Sheng and Ning San hitched a ride on Bian Su’s pleasure boat, and Lu Sheng noticed that Bian Su was a woman disguised as a man whose companions seemed to have ulterior motives.
• Bian Su asked Uncle Tai whom she should entrust with her family heirloom, calling it a calamity that she could no longer safely keep.
• When the boat struck what seemed to be hidden reefs, Lu Sheng stamped the deck and hurled himself toward the shore as Gongsun Zhang Lan gathered force in his palms.

Lu Sheng and Gongsun Zhang Lan fought a deadly duel, escalating from palm strikes and saber attacks to Gongsun’s forbidden Soul Locking Spear. After Lu Sheng revealed a new technique and charged with overwhelming speed, their weapons collided in a blast of internal force, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Lu Sheng and Gongsun Zhang Lan exchanged fierce blows, and both recognized the other's formidable skill.
• Lu Sheng struggled against Gongsun's superior technique, but their trump cards injured both fighters when their palms collided.
• Gongsun Zhang Lan revealed the Soul Locking Spear, prompting Hong Mingzi to move to intervene while Fang Zhi Cave blocked him.
• Gongsun wounded Lu Sheng with the poisoned spear and claimed the poison would kill him, but Lu Sheng's wound closed without showing the predicted effects.
• Lu Sheng's body expanded as he activated a new technique, then attacked at more than twice his previous speed.
• Gongsun raised the Soul Locking Spear to block Lu Sheng's powerful slash, and their weapons collided in an explosive shockwave.

Lu Sheng defeated and killed Gongsun Zhang Lan in their duel, then promised Fang Zhi Cave he would leave the Gongsun Family alone. After tending to his wounds, he returned to the pleasure boat and offered Bian Su help if she needed it.

• Lu Sheng overwhelmed Gongsun Zhang Lan with a final barrage of palm strikes and killed her in the river.
• Fang Zhi Cave knocked Zhang Huishu unconscious and asked Lu Sheng to spare the Gongsun Family, and Lu Sheng agreed after Hong Mingzi explained their circumstances.
• Lu Sheng cut the poisoned flesh from his waist, sealed the wound, and declined to take the deputy gang leader position for now.
• Lu Sheng visited Bian Su on the pleasure boat, offered her help at the Gold Jade Flower House, and instructed Ning San to assist her before leaving.

After recovering from his injuries, Lu Sheng dealt with Flying Eagle Hall’s defiance and the East Mountain Association’s gambling dispute while tracking the dangers facing the Gongsun Family. He stayed in Yan Mountain City and continued training, but found the strongmen helping him practice could no longer hit hard enough.

• Lu Sheng met Jade Lotus Seed and ordered him to publicize Flying Eagle Hall’s failure to report the gambling-house dispute, making the hall answer for its own conduct.
• Flying Eagle Hall eventually sought Lu Sheng’s help against the East Mountain Association, and he settled the dispute after the gambler repaid the money he had truly lost.
• Lu Sheng learned that Fang Zhi Cave was escorting Zhang Huishu south while enemies of the Gongsun Family pursued them, so he sent experts to investigate her whereabouts without intervening personally.
• Lu Sheng remained in Yan Mountain City, reading and practicing martial arts while informants tracked Zhang Huishu.
• Lu Sheng trained his Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill by having strongmen strike him, but Duan Meng'an reported that the available men were too exhausted to help him progress.

Lu Sheng passed the Yearly Examination in thirty-fifth place and agreed to help Bian Su return to the Central Plains and reclaim control of her family in exchange for half its medicinal herb profits. After arranging an escort, he learned that his family was preparing to move to Yan Mountain City and that Lu Yingying had been seen with a young scholar.

• Lu Sheng discovered that he ranked thirty-fifth in the Yearly Examination and learned that he had to attend the academy's sacrificial ceremony.
• Bian Su offered Lu Sheng a seven-hundred-year-old Blood Tree Flower in exchange for an escort home, and Lu Sheng negotiated for fifty percent of her family's annual profits.
• Lu Sheng ordered Copper Eagle and Iron Eagle to escort Bian Su to the Central Plains with fifty skilled men after settling the East Mountain Association matter.
• Qiao'er told Lu Sheng that his family had prepared to move from Nine Links City to Yan Mountain City and that Chen Yunxi and Song Zhenguo had both sought him out.
• Qiao'er told Lu Sheng that she had seen Lu Yingying walking with a young scholar near Old Tang Garden.

Lu Sheng discovered that the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill’s heated, dry practice requirements might conflict with his Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill, and he investigated Song Zhenguo’s aptitude for martial arts. Song Zhenguo quickly sensed qi while practicing the Azure Pine Single-Minded Art, leaving Lu Sheng surprised by how readily he took to internal cultivation.

• Qiao'er told Lu Sheng that Lu Yingying had been spending time with a wealthy, gentle scholar, and Lu Sheng decided to look into their relationship.
• Lu Sheng found instructions in the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill manual requiring medicinal oil and a dry, heated body, and suspected his Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill had prevented him from sensing qi.
• Song Zhenguo visited Lu Sheng and asked him to test his aptitude after failing to find a suitable martial academy.
• Lu Sheng took Song Zhenguo to a woodland clearing and agreed to teach him an introductory internal method if he kept it secret, stopped if it caused discomfort, and joined the Red Sun Sect.
• Lu Sheng taught Song Zhenguo the opening of the Azure Pine Single-Minded Art, and Song Zhenguo soon reported feeling a thin thread of qi circulating through his chest and abdomen.

Lu Sheng accepted Song Zhenguo as a disciple and arranged training suited to his abilities, then reconsidered his ambitions during East Mountain Academy’s sacrifice ceremony. Meanwhile, the Lu Family’s convoy continued toward Yan Mountain City and approached a desolate village to find lodging.

• Song Zhenguo stabilized his introductory qi sense, joined the Red Sun Sect, and received instruction in the Azure Pine Single-Minded Art and a customized external move from Lu Sheng.
• Lu Sheng took the property deed Song Zhenguo offered as his apprenticeship gift and ordered gang members to investigate Lu Yingying’s close acquaintance.
• At the sacrifice ceremony, Lu Sheng decided that pursuing an official post through the examinations was not worth doing.
• Lu Quan'an and Uncle Zhao led the Lu Family convoy toward Yan Mountain City, worrying about the journey and Lu Sheng’s propensity to cause trouble.
• Lu Quan'an spotted a lonely village beside the road, and the convoy headed there to seek lodging for the night.

Uncle Zhao’s group found an abandoned village where the Lu Family camped for the night before continuing toward Yan Mountain City. At Clear Water Sluice, Chen Yunxi proposed to Lu Sheng, but he rejected her because he could not give her the life she wanted.

• Uncle Zhao’s soldiers searched the silent village, found no one, and prepared its sound houses for the Lu Family to use overnight.
• Lu Quan'an organized the family’s camp, sent a rider to Yan Mountain City to report their delay, and arranged for the household to gather supplies.
• Lu Chenxin and Lu Tianyang discussed their plans for the journey and lamented Sun Bajun’s absence.
• At Clear Water Sluice, Chen Yunxi told Lu Sheng that she felt safe with him and asked him to marry her.
• Lu Sheng returned Chen Yunxi’s ring and refused, saying he could not give her the life she wanted.

Lu Sheng rejected Chen Yunxi, then advanced his Red Zenith Heart Method to the fifth layer at the cost of worsening his lung yin. In a separate scene at a desolate village, Lu Chenxin wandered toward a mysterious figure drawing water from a well and disappeared before dawn.

• Lu Sheng told Chen Yunxi that choosing him would not be good for her and left, while she watched him go with tears in her eyes.
• Lu Sheng used the Modifier to raise the Red Zenith Heart Method from the fourth layer to the fifth, exhausting his reserves and aggravating his cough.
• Lu Sheng took a Blood Tree Flower tonic pill, reflected on the dangers and costs of cultivation, and planned to begin practicing the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill.
• Lu Chenxin left the Mud House at night to relieve himself, then noticed a black-robed figure repeatedly drawing water from the village well and pouring it back.
• Lu Chenxin approached the figure despite his growing fear, and by dawn Lu Tianyang found him missing from the Mud House.