Chapter Summaries

Lu Quan'an’s party searched Desolate Village for Lu Chenxin and two missing soldiers, then left for safety while leaving supplies behind. Meanwhile, Lu Sheng learned that eight forbidden zones had appeared across the Northland and rode toward the one near Nine Links City and Yan Mountain City, as a smiling young gentleman arrived at Desolate Village.

• Lu Quan'an and Song Ge searched Desolate Village after Lu Chenxin, Dong Zi, and Xiao Lin vanished without a trace.
• Lu Quan'an led the group out of Desolate Village, leaving a horse, food, and water beside the well for the missing men.
• Hong Mingzi told the Red Whale Gang’s leaders that the Zhen Family had reported eight new forbidden zones across the Northland and sent Zhen Xun to address them.
• Lu Sheng was assigned the forbidden zone between Nine Links City and Yan Mountain City and rode there with twenty men.
• A smiling young gentleman in a green robe rode into Desolate Village on a black horse and asked whether it was the place.

Lu Sheng watched Zhen Yi confront a mysterious figure in the Desolate Village, then learned firsthand how dangerous the Zhen Family’s power was. After discovering a letter showing that his family had passed through the village, he raced after their convoy and saw red lanterns hanging from a carriage.

• Zhen Yi survived an axe splitting his head and entered the Desolate Village while Lu Sheng watched from the mountain.
• Lu Sheng brought twenty men to surround the village, then entered and found Zhen Yi, who ordered him to seal the area for ten days and warned him to tell Hong Mingzi not to be rash.
• Lu Sheng touched Zhen Yi’s black palm print on a windowsill, badly injured his finger suppressing its poison, and found a letter addressed to Lu Chenxin beside the well.
• Lu Sheng sealed off the village and rode toward Yan Mountain City, suspecting his family’s passage through the village was no coincidence.
• Lu Sheng caught sight of his family’s convoy and saw a large blood-red lantern hanging from one carriage, with two more visible inside.

Lu Sheng reunited with the Lu Family caravan and confronted a haunting red-lantern carriage linked to the painted boat and a missing family member. He stayed behind to fight the Lantern Woman, whose attacks hurt him while his strikes passed through her, and the battle continued with her location unknown.

• Lu Sheng joined the Lu Family caravan, learned that Lu Chenxin had disappeared at Desolate Village, and ordered everyone to continue toward Yan Mountain City.
• The abandoned carriage bearing a red lantern followed the caravan even after soldiers tied it to a tree, then appeared ahead on the road.
• Lu Sheng remained behind and taunted the Lantern Woman, claiming he had killed the female ghost from the painted boat.
• The Lantern Woman emerged from the carriage and struck Lu Sheng with her lantern while his blade passed through her body.
• Lu Sheng resisted the Lantern Woman's poison, burned through her red ribbons, and challenged her to attack again despite bleeding from her wounds.

Lu Sheng defeated the Red Lantern Woman despite suffering severe injuries, then learned that the Umbrella Woman and a voice from a well were plotting against the Zhen Family. He returned toward Yan Mountain City with Jade Lotus Seed and arranged for his family convoy to be escorted safely.

• Lu Sheng endured the Red Lantern Woman's attacks, seized her, and beat her to death, leaving the Red Lantern extinguished.
• At a manor, the Umbrella Woman discussed the Zhen Family's strength with a voice in a well and decided to wait before confronting Zhen Xun.
• Lu Sheng found an ordinary Silver Hairpin among the Lantern Woman's remains and used it to absorb a steady trickle of Yin Qi while treating his wounds.
• Jade Lotus Seed and two gang members found Lu Sheng on the road, and he told them the city was safe and directed them to the restricted area.
• Lu Sheng passed his family's convoy without being recognized, checked the road for further danger, and arranged for gang members to escort them into Yan Mountain City.
• Lu Sheng reached the Gold Jade Flower House with Jade Lotus Seed supporting him.

Lu Sheng survived a devastating attack, arranged protection for the Forbidden Zone, and visited his family after they safely moved into Yan Mountain City. Back at the flower house, he considered how to survive stronger enemies and realized that Yin Qi might let him raise martial arts directly.

• A physician removed Lu Sheng's poisoned, decaying flesh and gave him Red Snake Powder and a prescription while Jade Lotus Seed watched.
• Lu Sheng told Jade Lotus Seed that an old enemy had threatened his family and ordered him to guard the Forbidden Zone for ten days.
• Ning San reported that Lu Quan'an and the rest of the family had reached East River Abode safely, so Lu Sheng rode there to see them.
• Lu Sheng reassured Lu Quan'an that he would handle Chen Xin's matter, then returned to the flower house to recover and consider how to strengthen himself.
• Lu Sheng recalled how Yin Qi had advanced a martial art without consuming essence, qi, or spirit, and summoned Deep Blue to inspect the Red Zenith Heart Method.

Lu Sheng used Yin Qi to advance the Red Zenith Heart Method and learned the Seven Days Heaven-Swapping Saber from Hong Mingzi. Hong Mingzi explained that immortal aristocratic families, anomalies, and demons possess a lethal power called Restraint, which also protects them from harm.

• Lu Sheng used the Modifier to raise the Red Zenith Heart Method to its sixth layer, strengthening his inner Qi, then resolved to gather more Yin Qi and hunt ghosts.
• Lu Sheng visited Hong Mingzi aboard the Red Whale Ship and asked how to fight fast-moving ghosts.
• Hong Mingzi taught Lu Sheng the Seven Days Heaven-Swapping Saber, a heavy-weapon technique powered by the Red Zenith Heart Method’s force of Tremor.
• Lu Sheng asked what made aristocratic families and demons stronger, and Hong Mingzi said they were immortal and could only kill one another.
• Hong Mingzi explained that Restraint was a lethal, protective power surrounding fully formed anomalies, demons, and aristocratic families, and that ordinary martial artists could neither resist nor attain it.

Lu Sheng investigated mounting ghostly violence around Yan Mountain City while considering how to survive entities protected by Restraint power. He tested Restraint wine and traveled to Shanbao Hall to inspect newly arrived antiques.

• Lu Sheng learned that Lu Chenxin's body had been found with three others and ordered that his family not be told yet.
• After a rockslide cleanup revealed mangled bodies, Lu Sheng told Jade Lotus Seed to conceal the truth and warned the gang to avoid unnecessary travel.
• Disappearances and gruesome attacks spread around Yan Mountain City, and the Zhen Family retaliated against the ghostly organization with fires and destruction.
• Lu Sheng bought wine and tested a drop of Restraint wine, discovering that his cultivation could barely withstand one-tenth of a dose.
• Lu Sheng went to Shanbao Hall to inspect a batch of newly arrived gray goods.

Lu Sheng searched Shanbao Hall for Yin Qi and used a jade bracelet to advance the Red Zenith Heart Method to its seventh level, strengthening his defenses against poison and ghosts. After testing his new Blood Web, he prepared to join the upper ranks aboard the Red Whale Ship and arranged to retrieve Lu Chenxin’s corpse.

• Lu Sheng searched two chests of antiques at Shanbao Hall and found Yin Qi in a gold-threaded red jade bracelet.
• Lu Sheng bought the bracelet and absorbed its Yin Qi after returning to the Flower House.
• Lu Sheng used the Modifier to raise the Red Zenith Heart Method to its seventh level and gained the Blood Web.
• Lu Sheng tested the Blood Web and found it could resist poison and buffer attacks, but remained inadequate against ghosts.
• Jade Lotus Seed told Lu Sheng that the Gang Lord had summoned all upper ranks to the Red Whale Ship, and Lu Sheng agreed to go.
• Lu Sheng ordered Jade Lotus Seed to bring Lu Chenxin’s corpse to him so he could take it back to his family.

Lu Sheng attended a Red Whale Gang gathering where Zhen Xun ordered Northland’s factions to investigate the Red Workshop and track conspicuous outsiders. Afterward, Hong Mingzi warned Lu Sheng that the Zhen Family seemed unstable, leaving him troubled about the dangers ahead.

• Lu Sheng arrived at the Red Whale Ship and learned that Hong Mingzi had summoned the region’s major faction leaders.
• Hong Mingzi introduced Zhen Xun, who instructed the factions to find forces connected to the Red Workshop and report unusual outsiders in the Five Great Cities.
• The faction leaders agreed to Zhen Xun’s demands, and the gathering ended as they prepared to organize informants.
• Hong Mingzi privately told Lu Sheng that the Zhen Family was acting with unusual urgency and advised him to prepare for major changes.
• Lu Sheng left the ship worried that trouble within the Zhen Family could threaten Northland’s stability.

Lu Sheng returned to Yan Mountain City with Lu Chenxin’s corpse and found that Wang Yanyu had poisoned Lu Tianyang’s late-night snack. After the family saw Chenxin’s remains, Lu Sheng agreed to help them settle in the city, though his father had not yet chosen a business.

• Lu Sheng brought Lu Chenxin’s corpse to the Lu Estate after confirming it had not been disturbed.
• Wang Yanyu mourned Chenxin, accused Lu Quan'an, and tried to force herself on Steward Zhao before Lu Sheng arrived and had her taken away.
• Lu Hong revealed that Wang Yanyu had poisoned Lu Tianyang’s late-night snack with Jiaohua Poison, but Uncle Zhao had discovered it in time.
• Lu Sheng told Lu Quan'an that Chenxin was dead, and the family inspected the badly decayed corpse.
• Lu Quan'an explained that the Lu Family had moved from Nine Links City because the city’s decline had ruined their prospects, and Lu Sheng offered to help them settle in Yan Mountain City.

After warning Lu Quan'an about an approaching famine, Lu Sheng found two destitute sisters marked by strange traces of Yin Qi and hired them to work at the Gold Jade Flower House. He then trained the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill and refined his Blood Web control, planning to use the Modifier to advance the defensive skill.

• Lu Sheng urged Lu Quan'an to stockpile grain because famine was likely next year, then left the city market feeling weary about his struggle to protect people.
• Lu Sheng noticed two ragged beggar girls at a soup dumpling stall and learned they had fled famine, refused charity, and carefully tracked their debts.
• Lu Sheng discovered the sisters' faces and bodies were covered in pustules and sensed traces of Yin Qi within them.
• Lu Sheng offered the sisters work tending flowers at the Gold Jade Flower House, and they eagerly accepted.
• Lu Sheng trained the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill until it reached the beginner stage, then practiced controlling his seventh-level Blood Web with a huge iron lump.
• Ning San called Lu Sheng to eat, and Lu Sheng planned to use the Modifier to advance the defensive skill.

Lu Sheng destroyed a ghost that entered his bedroom and discovered that the Liu sisters knew about it and could attract supernatural beings. Liu Qin began explaining their past, leaving Lu Sheng confused about what the sisters were and why they drew ghosts.

• Lu Sheng learned that the Liu sisters, Liu Qin and Liu Caiyun, were outsiders whose family had died, and he noticed a strange discoloration on Liu Qin’s arm.
• Liu Qin told Liu Caiyun that the supernatural beings pursuing them would return soon and that staying at Lu Sheng’s estate could endanger everyone there.
• Lu Sheng spotted a pale hand by his bed, smashed the bed, and trapped the attacking shadow with his Blood Web technique.
• Lu Sheng picked up a cold pink sachet left behind by the ghost and absorbed its Yin Qi.
• Liu Qin and Liu Caiyun recognized the sachet and hurried to warn Lu Sheng, who took them to a secluded courtyard and demanded an explanation.
• Liu Qin expressed relief that Lu Sheng knew how to deal with ghosts and began recounting the sisters’ past.

Liu Qin and Liu Caiyun accepted Lu Sheng’s offer to stay and work for him, but Lu Sheng overheard that they were being hunted over the Giant Spirit Blood. He then advanced the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill to its first level with the Modifier and medicinal soup.

• Liu Qin told Lu Sheng that her family had been destroyed, and she and Liu Caiyun claimed their ghost-sensing ability had made them targets.
• Lu Sheng offered the sisters shelter, treatment, and work as his assistants, and they gratefully accepted.
• Liu Caiyun revealed that their pursuers would not stop until the Giant Spirit Blood was found, and Liu Qin warned her not to speak of it.
• Lu Sheng overheard the sisters’ conversation and realized that a force was hunting them rather than their constitution attracting ghosts.
• Lu Sheng endured strikes from the Red Whale Gang’s Lishi and entered the beginner stage of the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill.
• Lu Sheng used Deep Blue and medicinal soup to raise the Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill to the first level.

After strengthening his body, Lu Sheng visited the Red Whale Gang’s Weaponry Department amid the escalating conflict between the Zhen Family and Red Workshop. He bought a pair of massive sabers he renamed Ghost Head Sabers and prepared to test them on a wooden dummy.

• Lu Sheng learned that Zhen Xun and the Zhen Family were fighting Red Workshop and its hidden ally, the Red Chamber, while the Red Whale Gang suffered injuries and deaths.
• Lu Sheng asked Elder Duan at the Weaponry Department for a suitable weapon and decided that sabers suited his martial intent.
• Elder Duan showed Lu Sheng the oversized Double Blades Lonely Moon, and Lu Sheng found that he could wield both comfortably.
• Lu Sheng bargained Elder Duan down to twenty taels for the sabers, then renamed them Ghost Head Sabers.
• Elder Duan led Lu Sheng to a testing room and challenged him to chop a tough Keng Wood dummy in half.

Lu Sheng tested his new twin blades and returned to training, while a confrontation between Zhen Yi and the Umbrella Woman unfolded in Locust Smoke Town. At his training ground, Lu Sheng noticed the Liu Qin sisters practicing and began explaining their flawed dagger techniques.

• Lu Sheng repeatedly hacked at a Keng Wood dummy with his twin blades, leaving it badly damaged before paying the accountant and returning home.
• Lu Sheng planned to focus on improving the Red Zenith Heart Method, which had reached its seventh level.
• In rainy Locust Smoke Town, Zhen Yi met the Umbrella Woman outside Hu Mansion, and the two advanced toward a fight.
• Lu Sheng watched the Liu Qin sisters practice at his training ground and approached them after noticing their crude dagger movements.
• Liu Qin told Lu Sheng that she and Liu Caiyun had only copied moves they had secretly watched, and Lu Sheng explained that their move was just one variation in a larger sequence.

Lu Sheng trained Liu Qin and Liu Caiyun in basic saber techniques while strengthening his own martial arts and searching unsuccessfully for Yin Qi. After receiving an assignment to clear the remains at Song Family Village, he entered the ruined village with Xu Chui and began investigating its abandoned buildings.

• Lu Sheng taught Liu Qin and Liu Caiyun basic Red Whale Saber Art moves, and the two women began treating him like a master.
• Lu Sheng raised his Nine Rivers Iron Chain Skill to its third layer but found no Yin Qi in the antiques or warehouse items he searched.
• Lu Sheng learned that Zhen Yi had been badly wounded and received orders to clean up the ghostly remains at Song Family Village.
• Lu Sheng took Xu Chui into the village while the other gang members guarded the perimeter.
• Lu Sheng inspected a hanging female corpse, found no Yin Qi on it, and entered the master bedroom, where he saw scattered clothes and grayish-white powder.

Lu Sheng and Xu Chui investigated a charred corpse and encountered Zhuo Wenyu of the Red Chamber, who wanted the object concealed in its mouth. Lu Sheng returned after leaving and brutally defeated Zhuo Wenyu, then questioned her about Spirit Demon Possession.

• Lu Sheng and Xu Chui examined the melted alchemy furnace and charred corpse, and Zhuo Wenyu arrived and warned Lu Sheng not to touch its mouth.
• Zhuo Wenyu identified herself as a Red Chamber member and asked for the round metal object hidden in the corpse; Lu Sheng let her take it and left with Xu Chui.
• After hearing Zhuo Wenyu speak with a sinister voice about using him to send a signal, Lu Sheng returned and demanded the object and her valuables.
• Lu Sheng struck Zhuo Wenyu twice with his massive blades, overwhelming her even after she transformed through Spirit Demon Possession.
• Lu Sheng lifted the injured Zhuo Wenyu and asked what she was and what Spirit Demon Possession meant; she was shocked that he did not know about them.

Lu Sheng spared the injured Zhuo Wenyu in exchange for the small tripod and a future supply of Yin Qi-infused burial objects, then burned Song Family Village and returned to his residence. He used the gathered Yin Qi to begin deriving a new inner method with Deep Blue.

• Lu Sheng negotiated with Zhuo Wenyu, trading the small tripod for a promise that she would find him burial objects and help him obtain a steady supply.
• Zhuo Wenyu gave Lu Sheng a piece of flesh he could burn to contact her, and they agreed to meet at Song Family Village using three stones as a signal.
• Lu Sheng and Xu Chui set fire to Song Family Village, then returned to the Red Whale Ship, where Lu Sheng reported the mission to Hong Mingzi.
• Lu Sheng returned to the Gold Jade Flower House, entered his Quiet Room, and called up Deep Blue to derive a martial art.
• Lu Sheng selected the Red Zenith Heart Method's new derivation option.

After breaking through and naming his new martial art the Red Zenith Nine Fiends Skill, Lu Sheng sought an opponent to test his strength and went to find Li Shunxi. He discovered Li Shunxi drunk and broken after his father’s execution, then offered help while asking for information about dangerous supernatural beings.

• Lu Sheng’s Red Zenith Heart Method advanced to the eighth layer, and he named its fused form the Red Zenith Nine Fiends Skill.
• Lu Sheng decided to find an opponent to test his strength and went to Yan Mountain City to seek Li Shunxi’s advice.
• Lu Sheng found Li Shunxi drunk in a tavern, carried him to the Woad Wine House, and asked what had happened.
• Li Shunxi revealed that his father had been framed and executed, his family scattered, and people close to him had betrayed him.
• Lu Sheng assured Li Shunxi he had not come to arrest him, offered help, and asked for information about nearby ghosts, aberrations, fiends, or demons.

Lu Sheng learned that Li Shunxi’s father had been framed after investigating the Carefree King’s bloody sacrifices and helped Li Shunxi flee with travel money. After killing a watcher who threatened him, Lu Sheng tested his resistance to restrained-force poison and found he could neutralize seven bottles before exhausting his inner qi.

• Li Shunxi told Lu Sheng that the Carefree King had likely orchestrated bloody sacrifices across the Northland and that his father had been framed for investigating them.
• Lu Sheng lent Li Shunxi more than a hundred taels, and Li Shunxi left to avoid implicating him.
• A hidden watcher warned Lu Sheng against helping Li Shunxi, then attacked him with a poisoned needle.
• Lu Sheng smashed through the wall, killed the green-robed old man, and ordered Xu Chui to cremate the body without leaving traces.
• Lu Sheng poured poison from seven bottles onto his palm and neutralized it, then stopped before testing the eighth when his internal force ran out.