Chapter Summaries

Mo Hua captured and controlled several Zhang Family Iron Corpse elders in the Zhang Family Ancestor Portrait. Meanwhile, Yang Jishan organized a secret Dao Court operation in Nanyue City to suppress the Lu Family and raid the Corpse Mine.

• Mo Hua defeated a newly arrived zombie elder with Zhang Quan and Elder Song, then used the Spirit Pivot Formation to make it his puppet.
• Mo Hua captured two more Iron Corpse elders, controlled them with the Spirit Pivot Formation, and continued waiting for more Zhang Family elders to enter his Sea of Consciousness.
• Yang Jishan convened Dao Court commanders and allied cultivation forces in the Situ Clan hall to plan an operation against the Lu Family and Corpse Mine.
• Yang Jishan divided the force into one group to seal the Lu Family residence and another to rendezvous with Dao Soldiers outside the city and attack the Corpse Mine.

Yang Jishan organized the assault on the Lu Family's Corpse Mine using detailed maps and intelligence, then met Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, who revealed that their junior brother Mo Hua had gathered the information while imprisoned inside. Yang Jishan ordered the cultivators to rescue Mo Hua when they attacked the mine.

• Yang Jishan divided the cultivators into teams, distributed pills, and asked the Array Masters to help plan how to break the mine's defensive arrays.
• Young Master Yun identified the weak points and Array Eyes of the defensive arrays, and Yang Jishan ordered the Dao Soldier captains to remember his instructions.
• Yang Jishan questioned the reliability of the detailed intelligence, and Situ Fang said it came from two disciples of great clans before leaving to invite them.
• Situ Fang brought Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi to the hall, where Bai Zisheng explained that Mo Hua had gathered the intelligence after Lu Chengyun captured him and asked them to rescue him.
• Yang Jishan told the cultivators to help rescue Mo Hua if they encountered him in the Corpse Mine.

Mo Hua gathered the Zhang Family’s Iron Corpse elders in his Sea of Consciousness and set them against the Zhang Family Ancestor, who arrived as a Bronze Corpse. Meanwhile, Lu Chengyun sensed danger and tightened the Corpse Mine’s defenses as the planned assault on the Lu Family drew near.

• Lu Chengyun reviewed intelligence from Nanyue City, suspected that the Corpse Mine plot might have leaked, and ordered the mine’s defenses strengthened.
• Mo Hua turned the Zhang Family elders into eleven Iron Corpse puppets and arranged for them to ambush their ancestor in his Sea of Consciousness.
• The Zhang Family Ancestor entered Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness after his descendants disappeared and found the elders waiting for him.
• The elders attacked their ancestor, and Mo Hua controlled them from hiding while the Zhang Family Ancestor tried to break their assault with his Dao sound.
• The Zhang Family Ancestor transformed into a powerful Bronze Corpse, and Mo Hua sent the eleven Iron Corpses to fight him.

Mo Hua fought the Zhang Family Ancestor inside his Sea of Consciousness, using the Iron Corpses, careful observation, and a trap of Earth Fire Compound Arrays to overcome the Bronze Corpse’s many techniques. After wearing the wounded ancestor down and destroying its body, Mo Hua prepared to consume its remaining Divine Thought and wondered how much his Divine Consciousness would improve.

• Mo Hua studied the Zhang Family Ancestor’s fighting habits as the Bronze Corpse fought the eleven Iron Corpses, then used Water Prison Technique to help them wound it.
• The Zhang Family Ancestor unleashed Corpse Poison Technique and a White Bone Staff, forcing Mo Hua to reveal himself and burn away its poison Flood Pythons with Fireball Techniques.
• Mo Hua and the Zhang Family Ancestor pretended to negotiate while each secretly prepared a plan, but Mo Hua’s Earth Fire Compound Arrays destroyed the ancestor’s Giant Bronze Coffin and badly weakened it.
• The Zhang Family Ancestor charged Mo Hua in close combat, but Mo Hua evaded its attacks with Flowing Water Step and used techniques and Iron Corpses to wear it down.
• Mo Hua repeatedly bombarded the motionless Zhang Family Ancestor with Fireball Techniques until its body became black-tinged green smoke, then wondered how much Divine Consciousness he would gain by consuming it.

Mo Hua refined the Zhang Family Ancestor and its Iron Corpses while sealed inside the Little White Coffin, unaware that the Dao Court’s forces had failed to take the Corpse Mine. Lu Chengyun retained control of the Corpse King and Corpse Soldiers, while Mo Hua remained poised to emerge with his strength increased.

• Mo Hua bound and roasted the Zhang Family Ancestor’s remnant Divine Thought, then added the surviving Iron Corpses to the Molten Fire Array and began refining them.
• Yang Jishan’s forces attacked the Lu Family and Corpse Mine, but Lu Chengyun unleashed the Corpse King, Iron Corpses, and Walking Corpses, forcing the Dao Court’s forces to retreat after heavy losses.
• Lu Chengyun sent a Corpse Tide toward Nanyue City, forcing Yang Jishan to divide his forces between defending the city and surrounding the Mine Mountain.
• At a council, Yang Jishan explained that the Corpse King coordinated the zombies into disciplined Corpse Soldiers capable of matching Dao Soldiers.
• Lu Chengyun resolved to keep the Corpse King and Spirit Pivot Formation, believing Mo Hua had been consumed, while Mo Hua continued refining the Zhang Family inside the sealed coffin.

Mo Hua refined the Zhang Family Zombies’ Evil Thoughts and raised his Divine Consciousness to the Thirteen-Pattern Peak while practicing the Spiritual Pivot Array. Outside the Corpse Mine, Yang Jishan’s forces disrupted Lu Chengyun’s corpse control, but the Ten Thousand Corpse Array continued producing Zombies as Mo Hua awoke in the Stone Hall.

• Mo Hua meditated through the Evil Thoughts he had consumed, refined them with the Dao Stele, practiced the First-Grade Twelve-Pattern Spiritual Pivot Array, and strengthened his Divine Consciousness.
• Yang Jishan and Young Master Yun examined the Zombies and identified the Absolute Array on their heart meridians, then devised a way to disrupt Iron Corpses with Second-Grade Spirit-Disrupting Arrays.
• Yang Jishan’s Dao Soldiers used Spirit Swords to slow the Iron Corpses and destroy the Walking Corpses’ array patterns, forcing Lu Chengyun to retreat into the Corpse Mine.
• An elderly Array Master identified the Ten Thousand Corpse Array and warned that someone might be using Lu Chengyun to raise a Dao Sin.
• Lu Chengyun activated the Ten Thousand Corpse Array and believed it would let him endlessly refine corpses and strengthen himself and the Corpse King.
• Mo Hua awoke in a secret chamber after refining the Zhang Family Zombies’ Evil Thoughts, and his Divine Consciousness reached the Thirteen-Pattern Peak.

Mo Hua escaped the coffin with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi, then joined the forces besieging the Corpse Mine. After learning the Dao Court’s battle was stalled by the Ten Thousand Corpse Array, Mo Hua revealed that he knew it well.

• Mo Hua’s divine sense reached the Thirteen-Pattern Peak, but he remained trapped in the coffin as fighting raged outside.
• Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi found Mo Hua, freed him, and learned that Lu Chengyun had tried to sacrifice him to the Visualization Diagram, which Mo Hua had consumed.
• Mo Hua destroyed the altar and coffin, kept the now-blank Visualization Diagram, and escaped the Corpse Mine with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi after a fight with Corpse Cultivators.
• At the mountain cave, Mo Hua met Yang Jishan, who recognized him through Yang Jiyong and welcomed him warmly.
• Mo Hua overheard Yang Jishan’s forces discussing how to break the Ten Thousand Corpse Array and said he was fairly familiar with it.

Mo Hua explained how destroying the Spirit Stone stores would cripple Lu Chengyun’s Ten Thousand Corpse Array, and the Dao Court’s forces carried out the first strike. Lu Chengyun realized his array was failing and suspected an unseen expert had trapped him in a larger plan.

• Mo Hua marked the sealed Spirit Stone stores on the Stone Hall map and explained how their destruction would cut off the Ten Thousand Corpse Array’s supply.
• Mo Hua sketched a simplified array diagram, and Young Master Yun judged it credible enough for Yang Jishan to approve the plan.
• Mo Hua told Bai Zisheng that they would weaken Lu Chengyun and eventually turn the Corpse King against him.
• Yang Jishan led a feint while two teams of cultivators destroyed a Spirit Stone storehouse, releasing its spiritual energy and weakening the array.
• Lu Chengyun sensed the loss of the Spirit Stones, realized the Ten Thousand Corpse Array would soon fail, and wondered who had discovered his secrets.

After Lu Chengyun’s Spirit Stone supply was destroyed, Mo Hua helped Yang Jishan defeat the Corpse Soldiers by identifying how the Iron Corpses controlled them. Lu Chengyun escaped to Grave Mountain, where Mo Hua used Derivation Calculation to estimate that the Corpse King still commanded about forty Iron Corpses and five thousand Walking Corpses.

• Mo Hua identified the Iron Corpses controlling the Walking Corpses, and Yang Jishan ordered Dao Soldiers to kill three of them, throwing much of the corpse horde into disarray.
• Mo Hua continued advising Yang Jishan on how to counter the Corpse Mine’s formations and Corpse Cultivators as Lu Chengyun’s forces lost ground.
• Lu Chengyun tried to escape, but Mo Hua recognized him; Mo Hua then discovered Earth-Splitting Arrays in the Stone Hall that could collapse the mine and bury its occupants.
• Lu Chengyun activated the remaining Earth-Splitting Arrays and fled the Corpse Mine under cover of a Corpse Tide, while Yang Jishan led the cultivators in pursuit.
• At Grave Mountain, Zombies emerged from the ground, forcing Yang Jishan to camp outside; Mo Hua examined their array patterns and estimated that about forty Iron Corpses and five thousand Walking Corpses remained under the Corpse King’s control.

Yang Jishan urged the cultivators to reveal their trump cards and used Mo Hua’s calculations to prepare for the assault on Grave Mountain. After Mo Hua inferred that Lu Chengyun had refined the remains of Little Spirit Hidden Sect’s elders, Yang Jishan received a terrifying vision of a Zombie-led catastrophe and allowed Mo Hua to join the battle.

• Yang Jishan warned the cultivators that failure to kill the Corpse King could bring severe punishment and a devastating Corpse Tide, then revealed his family’s Sunset Spear.
• The cultivators disclosed their hidden weapons, pills, formations, and other trump cards, and Yang Jishan organized their use.
• Mo Hua mapped Grave Mountain’s Array Techniques and nearby corpse forces, then realized Lu Chengyun may have refined the remains of Little Spirit Hidden Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Mo Hua asked to join the assault so he could see Lu Chengyun die, and Yang Jishan agreed after Mo Hua mentioned his concealment technique.
• Yang Jishan saw a vision of Lu Chengyun dead and the gathered cultivators destroyed by a massive Zombie commanding thousands of corpses; after allowing Mo Hua to come, the vision vanished.

The Dao Court forces fought their way to Lu Chengyun and the Corpse King, only to discover that killing Lu Chengyun could unleash a catastrophic Dao Sin. As Lu Chengyun gloated that his survival kept the Corpse King controlled, the Corpse King suddenly pierced his chest from behind.

• Yang Jishan led the Dao Court forces in a day-long assault through Grave Mountain, where they found Lu Chengyun guarded by the Corpse King and dozens of Iron Corpses.
• Lu Chengyun tried to refine the Corpse King into a Bronze Corpse, and Yang Jishan's Sunset Spear badly wounded it but failed to kill it.
• Old Man Wen stopped Yang Jishan from killing Lu Chengyun after noticing the Corpse King's blood turning faintly gold and realizing its death could release a Dao Sin.
• Yang Jishan ordered the cultivators to capture Lu Chengyun alive, but the Corpse King recovered and returned to his side.
• Lu Chengyun claimed that his survival kept the Corpse King from unleashing a city-wide Corpse Tide, then the Corpse King suddenly stabbed through his chest from behind.

Mo Hua wrested control of the Corpse King from Lu Chengyun and helped Bai Zisheng kill him, but Lu Chengyun’s death triggered the Corpse King’s awakening as a Dao Sin. Mo Hua suppressed its corrupted aura and forced it to kneel, leaving the corpse horde and the cultivators bowing before him.

• Lu Chengyun discovered that Mo Hua had overwritten his Spirit Pivot Evil Array and taken control of the Corpse King, while Mo Hua explained that he had learned the Spirit Pivot Formation by watching Lu Chengyun draw it.
• Bai Zisheng struck Lu Chengyun with the Returning Dragon Spear and killed him after the Corpse King seized him.
• The Corpse King devoured Lu Chengyun, began awakening as a Dao Sin, and summoned the zombies across Grave Mountain and Nanyue City to attack the cultivators.
• Mo Hua used the Spirit Pivot Formation and the earth’s Dao Rhyme to restrain the Corpse King as it charged at him.
• Mo Hua commanded the Corpse King to kneel, and the Iron Corpses and zombies across Nanyue City submitted to him.

After suppressing the Corpse King, Mo Hua persuaded Yang Jishan to burn the zombies after they helped rebuild Nanyue City's mines and provide for the people they had left behind. The Dao Court backed Mo Hua's plan, and confiscated wealth from the corrupt Chief Administrator and Lu Family funded construction of a large, safer mine shaft.

• Mr. Zhuang explained that the Corpse King had only reached the threshold of Dao Sin and that its submission to Mo Hua had created an opportunity for him.
• Mo Hua directed the zombies back into Mine Mountain, then returned to his Cave Abode and slept while the other cultivators recovered.
• Yang Jishan asked Mo Hua what he intended to do with the corpse horde, and Mo Hua said the zombies should be burned after helping build a mine shaft for Nanyue City's rogue cultivators.
• Mo Hua gained Yang Jishan's approval and the support of the Dao Court cultivators for his plan to use the walking corpses to repair and expand the mines.
• Yang Jishan and the Dao Soldiers confiscated millions of Spirit Stones from the Chief Administrator and Lu Family, and the funds were left in Nanyue City for the mine project.
• Mo Hua began constructing a large mine shaft connecting several mines, with the zombies providing the manpower.

Mo Hua designed and oversaw the construction of a large mine shaft, using simple, durable array techniques suited to poor Mine Cultivators. After teaching Young Master Yun the Spirit Pivot Formation and recruiting his help, Mo Hua revealed a plan to use animated wooden oxen and horses to transport ore and ease the miners’ labor.

• Mo Hua designed practical mine-shaft arrays with Bai Zixi and Dao Court Array Masters, then explained to Young Master Yun why the arrays needed to be simple, sturdy, and easy to repair.
• Mo Hua confirmed that he had drawn the Spirit Pivot Formation on the Corpse King and offered to teach it to Young Master Yun in exchange for help drawing arrays.
• Young Master Yun learned the Spirit Pivot Formation while helping Mo Hua prepare arrays, and he shared knowledge of Second-Grade arrays and some Yun Family techniques in return.
• Mo Hua sent the Corpse King, Iron Corpses, and tens of thousands of Walking Corpses to excavate the connected Mine Mountains, completing the mine shaft after more than a month.
• Mo Hua took Young Master Yun to a workshop and revealed wooden ox-and-horse puppets that would use Spirit Pivot Formations to carry ore and reduce the Mine Cultivators’ toil.

Mo Hua completed the mine improvements in Nanyue City, helped restore the Mine Cultivators’ livelihoods, and watched Jinhua Street’s corrupt businesses be dismantled. As the city’s remaining zombies were cremated, he buried the Little Zombie that had helped him, giving it a quiet resting place.

• Mo Hua tested the Wooden Oxen and Flowing Horses with the help of zombies, and kept the Little Zombie nearby to assist with repairs and other chores.
• More than ten days later, Mo Hua and Young Master Yun had finished the puppets, and Situ Shen organized the Mine Cultivators to resume work in safer, improved mine shafts with better pay and protections.
• Situ Shen abolished Jinhua Street, freed the brothel workers, and punished those who had exploited and harmed them; he then warned Mo Hua that people’s conduct could change when they entered positions of power.
• Qing Lan thanked Mo Hua and joined Situ Fang, while Elder Su apologized to Mo Hua and expressed hope that no one would again be forced into the pleasure quarters.
• Mo Hua used the Corpse Burning Array to cremate Nanyue City’s zombies, but drained the Little Zombie’s Corpse Qi and buried it on a quiet hill on Grave Mountain.

Mo Hua ordered the Corpse King to die, and the Corpse Burning Array finally reduced it to ash. Mr. Zhuang discovered that the Corpse King's corrupted Dao Rhyme had merged into Mo Hua's Karma, leaving him with a dangerous hidden power whose future effects remained uncertain.

• Yang Jishan and the other cultivators failed to burn the Corpse King, so Mo Hua inspected it and found a wisp of twisted Dao Rhyme protecting it.
• The Corpse King’s Dao Rhyme appeared in Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness, but it feared him because the Corpse King had submitted to his command.
• Mo Hua ordered the Corpse King to die, and the Corpse King withered to ash as the Corpse Burning Array consumed it.
• Mo Hua consulted Mr. Zhuang, who explained Karma and advised him to keep his Dao Heart clear and strengthen his Divine Consciousness.
• After Mo Hua left, Mr. Zhuang and Old Kui realized that the corrupted Dao Rhyme might nurture a Dao Sin within Mo Hua, though it could also protect him from other evils.

Mo Hua helped Instructor Yan resolve Little Spirit Hidden Sect’s old grudge and encouraged him to bury its elders in Immortal City and rebuild the sect. After saying farewell to Nanyue City, Mo Hua departed with Mr. Zhuang, who said it was time for Mo Hua to reach Foundation Establishment.

• Mo Hua ignored the Corpse King's Sinful Shadow whenever it appeared in his Sea of Consciousness, while the shadow surfaced less often over time.
• Mo Hua returned the ashes of Little Spirit Hidden Sect's elders to Instructor Yan and explained how Instructor Yan's past teachings had helped bring about the sect's revenge and recovery of its Array Techniques.
• Mo Hua urged Instructor Yan to bury the elders in Immortal City and rebuild Little Spirit Hidden Sect by teaching Array Techniques, and Instructor Yan began to embrace the plan.
• Instructor Yan left for Immortal City with Mo Hua's Array Manuals, Spirit Pivot Formation diagrams, supplies, and greetings for Mo Hua's friends and family.
• After seeing Instructor Yan off, Mo Hua said farewell to Elder Su, Situ Fang, Qing Lan, and Yang Jishan, then set out with Mr. Zhuang and their companions.
• Mr. Zhuang told Mo Hua they were heading south because it was time for Mo Hua to reach Foundation Establishment.

Mo Hua worried that his divine sense bottleneck would make Foundation Establishment difficult, but Mr. Zhuang urged him to keep practicing and move forward step by step. After Mo Hua left Nanyue City, the cultivators realized he might be Mr. Zhuang’s disciple, but their attempts to uncover his identity failed, and the Emaciated Elder nearly suffered a fatal backlash from calculating Mo Hua’s Karma.

• Mo Hua discussed his Thirteen-Pattern Peak divine sense and his difficult path to Foundation Establishment with Mr. Zhuang, who advised him to continue without distraction.
• Mo Hua resumed drawing arrays, while the cultivators remaining in Nanyue City debated the hidden figure who had led them to suppress the Corpse Mine.
• The cultivators connected Mo Hua, the Little Array Master, to Mr. Zhuang and suspected Mr. Zhuang had been in the carriage when Mo Hua left, but they could not clearly remember Mo Hua’s name or appearance.
• The Emaciated Elder used borrowed calculation artifacts to investigate Mo Hua’s past, but a terrifying presence in the concealed mist forced him to stop.
• The Emaciated Elder discovered that one of his divination coins had cracked while protecting him, and realized that calculating Mo Hua’s Karma had nearly killed him.

As memories of Mo Hua’s deeds faded beneath a mysterious mist, dangerous outsiders arrived in Nanyue City to investigate the dead Dao Sin and the person who had disrupted its creation. The city found peace, honored Mo Hua without knowing he was leaving, and Mo Hua set out toward Foundation Establishment.

• The emaciated elder, Young Master Yun, and Yang Jishan gradually forgot Mo Hua and the events surrounding the Corpse Tide, though fragments of his deeds remained.
• Four strange cultivators arrived near Nanyue City, discussed the failed Dao Sin and a mysterious daoist, and the old crone found a Little Zombie in a grave and claimed it as her child.
• The Sword-Box Elder explained that the old crone was a Corpse Cultivator who had refined her dead son, while the Pale Youth’s attempt to take the Little Zombie provoked her into attacking him.
• Demon Sect cultivators gathered around Nanyue City but avoided interfering, and the city’s cultivators gradually returned to peaceful lives.
• Elder Su watched Shuisheng persist in learning Array Techniques, while Mine Cultivators celebrated improved livelihoods and created Ink Immortal Child Portraits to honor and pray for Mo Hua.
• Mo Hua rode Little White along a mountain road toward Foundation Establishment, unaware that the Mine Cultivators’ wishes had entered his Karma.

Mo Hua learned that Mr. Zhuang was taking the group to Great Lishan, where five Five Elements Absolute Arrays could help him develop a path of supporting others’ combat. The carriage continued south toward Dragon Spring Waterfall as Mr. Zhuang rested, leaving the group on the way to the Third-Grade Great Lishan State Boundary.

• Mo Hua asked where the group was going and learned they were headed to Great Lishan, where he might have an opportunity to strengthen his Divine Consciousness and pursue Foundation Establishment.
• Mr. Zhuang explained that Great Lishan held five Absolute Arrays, one for each element, and that their Five Elements Array Technique strengthened five-elements Lingli.
• Mr. Zhuang warned Mo Hua that his weak background and lack of combat advantages meant he should support others’ killing and conquest rather than compete with powerful cultivators head-on.
• Bai Zisheng promised to protect Mo Hua and treat him as one of the Bai Family, while Mr. Zhuang acknowledged his good intentions.
• Mr. Zhuang said Great Lishan was a remote Third-Grade State Boundary with only a few Golden Core Cultivators, then told Mo Hua he wanted to see Dragon Spring Waterfall again.
• Mo Hua agreed to wake Mr. Zhuang when the carriage neared the waterfall, and Mr. Zhuang fell asleep as they continued south along the Sishui.