Chapter Summaries

Diao Chan became Lord of the City of the Wrongfully Dead and imposed new rules while its Ghost Generals tried to discover who supported her. As Nie Xiaoqian and Diao Chan trained for Ji Shu’s return, Ji Shu and Yan Chixia reached the Gate of Two Realms, which Ji Shu tore open.

• Diao Chan took the throne of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, announced standardized new rules, and received the army’s acclaim.
• Pan Jinlian questioned Number Two about Diao Chan’s rise, and he warned her that someone behind Diao Chan was beyond her power to provoke.
• Pan Jinlian, An Lushan, Cheng Yaojin, and other Ghost Generals secretly discussed the mysterious figure supporting Diao Chan and resolved to keep investigating.
• Nie Xiaoqian and Diao Chan cultivated the Dark Heavenly Demon Great Law with Number Seven and the others, determined to improve themselves for Ji Shu.
• Ji Shu and Yan Chixia arrived at the Gate of Two Realms, and Ji Shu tore open a huge breach in it.

Ji Shu left Lan Ruo Temple and journeyed east, while Xiahou Sword stubbornly pursued him in hopes of becoming his disciple. The chapter ended when a hairy man in a padded coat spotted Ji Shu and attacked.

• Ji Shu and Yan Chixia left the City of the Wrongfully Dead, and Yan Chixia agreed to stay behind and train Pang Yong and Xia Bing as his disciples.
• The next day, Ji Shu departed from Lan Ruo Temple, and Xiahou Sword set off after him despite being refused as a disciple.
• Ji Shu continued traveling through a chaotic world of warring states and rampant demons, while Xiao Qing remained behind and Xiao Wei and the Flying Lizard were kept captive.
• At a crossroads, Xiahou Sword caught up with Ji Shu, who denied being his master and vanished, leaving Xiahou Sword to continue chasing him east.
• A strange, hairy man wearing a padded coat saw Ji Shu, howled, and pounced at him.

Ji Shu defeated Daoist Yan after rescuing an injured woman, then used the Mind Bewitching Technique to learn Yan Wuluo’s cultivation methods and the secrets of his sect. After discovering the Summoning Technique could call Zhao Gongming, Ji Shu killed Yan Wuluo, whose soul fled.

• Ji Shu knocked the Wolf Demon unconscious, but an injured woman in white and Daoist Yan soon appeared.
• Daoist Yan attacked Ji Shu with the Three Absolute Sword, but Ji Shu caught it between two fingers and bound him with a golden rope.
• Ji Shu struck Yan Wuluo down and used the Mind Bewitching Technique to learn his techniques, incomplete cultivation manual, and sect history.
• Yan Wuluo revealed that the Summoning Technique could summon the Altar Divine Sect’s Patriarch, Zhao Gongming, and Ji Shu decided to avoid the Heavenly Court for now.
• Ji Shu took Yan Wuluo’s Three Absolute Divine Sword and slapped him to death; Yan Wuluo’s soul emerged and tried to flee.

Ji Shu saved Xin Shisi Niang, learned the Wolf Demon's techniques and history, and killed both the Wolf Demon and Yan Wuluo. Xin Shisi Niang brought Ji Shu to her hidden home in an ancient temple, where her flirtatious sister took an interest in him.

• Ji Shu used a fire dragon to kill Yan Wuluo, then questioned the Wolf Demon and learned the Wolf Claw Hand, the Tiger Soul Technique, and the story of his escape from the Monster Realm.
• After learning that the Wolf Demon had served a Tiger Demon by capturing scholars' souls, Ji Shu killed him with the fire dragon.
• Ji Shu healed Xin Shisi Niang with his true qi, and she introduced herself and offered to repay his life-saving kindness.
• Xin Shisi Niang invited Ji Shu to her home, and he agreed to visit the ancient temple where he could cultivate his newly learned arts.
• Ji Shu saw through the temple's illusion and discovered a hidden paradise behind its ruined main hall.
• Xin Shisi Niang's coquettish sister appeared, was told to respect Ji Shu, and privately grew curious about him.

Ji Shu stayed with Xin Shisi Niang’s fox-demon family and cultivated the Three Absolute Sword Techniques and Fatal Talisman with astonishing speed. Xin Shisi Niang confessed that she liked him and kept Hu Mei from disturbing his cultivation, but Hu Mei became even more eager to pursue him after witnessing his talent.

• Xin Shisi Niang introduced Ji Shu to her family, who treated him warmly after learning he had defeated the Wolf Demon and Daoist Yan.
• Ji Shu spent the night in the Xin family’s guest bedroom, mastered the Three Absolute Sword Techniques, and began cultivating the Fatal Talisman.
• Hu Mei came to seduce Ji Shu, but Xin Shisi Niang blocked her and insisted that he must not be disturbed.
• Pressed by Hu Mei, Xin Shisi Niang admitted that she truly liked Ji Shu and ordered her sister to leave him alone.
• Hu Mei and Xin Shisi Niang watched Ji Shu cultivate, were stunned by how quickly he mastered his arts, and Hu Mei resolved to seek a marriage with him.

Ji Shu cultivated the Mysterious Origin Divine Mandate Technique and forged a Divine Human Destiny, reaching the point where he could ascend to the Heavenly Court. Meanwhile, Xin Shisi Niang guarded him from Hu Mei’s advances.

• Xin Shisi Niang warned Hu Mei not to compete with her for Ji Shu, and Hu Mei agreed while secretly planning to pursue him.
• Xin Shisi Niang caught Hu Mei lurking outside Ji Shu’s room and began guarding his entrance; Old Man Xin forbade Hu Mei from interfering with her sister’s marriage prospects.
• Ji Shu used the Supreme Immortal Scripture to condense Mysterious Gate True Qi and began cultivating the Mysterious Origin Divine Mandate Technique.
• Ji Shu sent his Primordial Spirit into the void and drew Pure Qi of the Nine Heavens into his Mysterious Gate to forge a Divine Human Destiny.
• Ji Shu perfected the technique in two or three days and realized that a sufficiently solid Divine Human Destiny allowed him to ascend and become an Immortal Official.
• Ji Shu suspected that Heavenly Court positions were monopolized by powerful families and their descendants, explaining why Yan Chixia struggled to forge a Divine Human Destiny.

Ji Shu perfected the Tiger Soul Technique and created new cultivation arts before agreeing to take Xin Shisi Niang as his maidservant. After they departed together, Hu Mei secretly set off into the forest, and Ji Shu began gathering books in a city while Xin Shisi Niang tried to fulfill her new duties.

• Ji Shu perfected the Tiger Soul Technique and created cultivation arts based on the Myriad Laws Dao Sword and the Supreme Immortal Scripture.
• Old Woman Xin urged Ji Shu to marry Xin Shisi Niang, and Ji Shu eventually agreed to take her as his maidservant.
• The Xin family celebrated Xin Shisi Niang’s departure, while Old Man Xin advised her to seize the chance to become Ji Shu’s wife.
• Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang left the Xin family, and Hu Mei followed them into the forest after they had gone.
• In a bustling city, Xin Shisi Niang showed Ji Shu local sights and food, while he paid an innkeeper to gather books on Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Ji Shu left the inn with Xin Shisi Niang after Chu Yu and Feng Sheng both tried to approach her, while she made clear that she wanted to remain Ji Shu’s maidservant. Ji Shu recognized Feng Sheng as possibly the scholar from Xin Shisi Niang’s story, leaving with her as Chu Yu’s men investigated his background.

• Xin Shisi Niang served and massaged Ji Shu, while Chu Yu introduced himself and offered to take her into his family; she ignored him and left with Ji Shu.
• Angry at being rejected, Chu Yu ordered a servant to investigate Ji Shu’s family background.
• Feng Sheng watched the inn, tried to greet Xin Shisi Niang when she went to buy wine, and was ignored.
• After waiting for hours, Feng Sheng stopped Ji Shu and asked him to let him redeem Xin Shisi Niang, saying he had fallen in love with her.
• Ji Shu told Feng Sheng to ask Xin Shisi Niang, and she insisted that she would remain Ji Shu’s maidservant and would not go with anyone else.
• Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang left the inn together.

Ji Shu killed the men Chu Yu sent to ambush him, then used his flying sword to slay Chu Yu from afar, leaving the Chu Family wary of anyone surnamed Ji. As Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang continued their journey, they met Zhi Qiu Yi Ye, a Kunlun Sect disciple, at a ruined temple.

• Feng Sheng failed to catch up with Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang after Xin Shisi Niang rejected his drunken advances.
• More than a dozen men ambushed Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang, and Ji Shu captured the survivors and learned that Chu Yu had sent them.
• Ji Shu sent the Sword in Stone flying back to the city, where it beheaded Chu Yu, and the Chu Family later ordered its descendants to treat people surnamed Ji with respect.
• Xin Shisi Niang became even more attentive to Ji Shu and concealed her face from outsiders as they traveled and collected books.
• At a ruined temple, Ji Shu welcomed a hungry traveler to share his food, and the man introduced himself as Zhi Qiu Yi Ye, a disciple of the Kunlun Sect.

Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang met Zhi Qiu Yi Ye, a Kunlun Sect disciple who demonstrated his Taoist powers and joined them on their travels. After two days on the road, Zhi Qiu Yi Ye offered to teach Ji Shu martial arts and Taoist techniques.

• Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang learned about Zhi Qiu Yi Ye's Kunlun Sect training and his struggles to earn money while traveling.
• Zhi Qiu Yi Ye demonstrated a spell that moved a small hill to the temple gate, impressing Xin Shisi Niang.
• The next morning, Zhi Qiu Yi Ye asked to travel with Ji Shu and Xin Shisi Niang, and Ji Shu agreed.
• The three traveled together for two days, with Zhi Qiu Yi Ye eating at their expense.
• Zhi Qiu Yi Ye offered to teach Ji Shu martial arts and Taoist techniques so he could protect himself.

Ji Shu encountered Fu Qingfeng and her companions while they were fleeing the monster Pudu Cihang, the National Preceptor of Great Ming. After Pudu Cihang attacked, Ji Shu revealed his overwhelming swordsmanship, wounded the demon, and pursued it underground.

• Zhi Qiu Yi Ye promised to teach Ji Shu Daoist techniques as two beautiful riders passed their carriage on the road.
• The riders returned bloodied, with Fu Qingfeng carrying an elderly man, and asked Ji Shu's group to let them pass.
• Pudu Cihang attacked the travelers with Buddhist power, and Zhi Qiu Yi Ye tried to shield Ji Shu and the others.
• Fu Qingfeng revealed that Pudu Cihang was a monster who wanted to devour them, and Pudu Cihang transformed into a vast Buddha body to strike them down.
• Ji Shu's sword severed Pudu Cihang's Buddha head and exposed its centipede form, which escaped underground.
• Ji Shu used Earth Escape to pursue the Centipede Demon, while Zhi Qiu Yi Ye realized that Ji Shu far surpassed him and felt embarrassed about offering to teach him.

Ji Shu returned after defeating the Centipede Demon and revealed that he had captured its Primordial Spirit, Demon Core, and hide. Grateful for his rescue, Fu Tianchou and his daughters urged him to enter the Ming court as National Preceptor, but Ji Shu did not agree.

• Fu Qingfeng and the others thanked Zhi Qiu Yi Ye and Xin Shisi Niang, then learned about Ji Shu through Xin Shisi Niang's admiring stories.
• Ji Shu used the Earth Evasion Technique to catch the Centipede Demon, destroyed its body, and trapped its Primordial Spirit in the Mystic Fire Mirror for later interrogation.
• Ji Shu returned with the Centipede Demon's Demon Core and hide, and Fu Qingfeng, Fu Yuechi, Fu Tianchou, and the others bowed to thank him for saving them.
• Fu Tianchou asked Ji Shu to emerge from seclusion and save the Ming Dynasty, but Ji Shu remained silent.
• Fu Qingfeng urged Ji Shu to go to the capital and become National Preceptor, while Fu Yuechi showed her support, but Ji Shu refused to agree.

Ji Shu interrogated Pudu Cihang and learned that the demon had helped hollow out the Ming Dynasty under the backing of the Green Lion Demon and Li Jing. After studying Pudu Cihang’s Buddhist techniques, Ji Shu mastered them with astonishing speed, leaving his companions in awe.

• Fu Tianchou gathered books for Ji Shu as he and the others continued following him and urging him to serve as the National Preceptor.
• At Youlai Inn near Yanmen Pass, Ji Shu drew Pudu Cihang’s Primordial Spirit from the Mystic Fire Mirror, confused his mind, and learned several techniques and the Buddhist Essence Qi Absorption Method.
• Pudu Cihang revealed that he had devoured nearly all the Ming Dynasty’s officials, murdered the emperor, hidden the nation’s wealth, and acted with support from the Green Lion Demon and Li Jing.
• Ji Shu sent Pudu Cihang back into the Mystic Fire Mirror and began cultivating his newly learned techniques, while recognizing the need to conceal his aura from powerful beings.
• Ji Shu mastered the Life-Claiming Buddhist Chant and other Buddhist techniques with extraordinary speed, astonishing Pudu Cihang and drawing Zhi Qiu Yi Ye, Fu Qingfeng, Fu Yuechi, and Xin Shisi Niang to watch.
• Zhi Qiu Yi Ye questioned Ji Shu about his cultivation, and Ji Shu confirmed that it was his first time practicing those techniques, deepening everyone’s awe of him.

Ji Shu continued east to find a place rich in Spiritual Essence, while Fu Tianchou and his family parted from him. He and his companions stopped in a mountain hollow and found a temple where they could rest and cultivate.

• Fu Tianchou invited Ji Shu to visit the capital and promised to recommend him as National Preceptor, then left with Fu Qingfeng, Fu Yuechi, and the others.
• Fu Yuechi asked Fu Qingfeng whether they would see Ji Shu again, while Fu Qingfeng struggled with her longing for him.
• Zhi Qiu Yi Ye admired Ji Shu’s self-discipline and resolved to follow his example by cultivating more diligently.
• Ji Shu stopped the carriage in a mountain hollow rich in Spiritual Essence, and Xin Shisi Niang hunted a wild boar and prepared their meal.
• Xin Shisi Niang led Ji Shu and Zhi Qiu Yi Ye to a temple beneath a waterfall, where they found a spacious interior and a stone statue of the Immovable Wisdom King.

While Ji Shu cultivated in the temple, Haitang and Baili invited him into a strange doorway in the murals on Meng Longtan’s orders. He uncovered their plan and the fairy realm’s secrets, but the mural resisted his attempts to seize the fairy maiden within it.

• Zhi Qiu Yi Ye mistook a mural’s apparent movement for a hallucination, then resolved to work harder after seeing Ji Shu cultivate.
• Ji Shu formed a golden Buddhist foundation and began shaping a Buddha statue in his own image.
• Haitang and Baili appeared and tried to lead Ji Shu through a new doorway in the mural to meet Meng Longtan.
• Ji Shu used his upgraded Mind Bewitching Technique to question them and learned Meng Longtan wanted to capture outsiders as substitutes for himself and that Auntie ruled the fairy realm.
• A fairy maiden tried to pull Haitang and Baili back into the mural, but Ji Shu cut the streams of light and then failed three times to remove the maiden from the painting.

Ji Shu perfected the Buddhist Essence Qi Absorption Method, strengthened his cultivation, and entered the Wall Painting world with Haitang. They reached the palace and found Meng Longtan inside a room, where an unsettling scene was unfolding.

• Ji Shu woke Xin Shisi Niang and Zhi Qiu Yi Ye and told them to guard the two captives while he cultivated outside the Wall Painting.
• Ji Shu perfected the Buddhist Essence Qi Absorption Method, created a refined method, and increased the strength of his Primordial Spirit and cultivation.
• After several days of repelling attacks, Ji Shu entered the Wall Painting world with Haitang as his guide.
• Haitang encountered Peony in the palace and warned her to stay quiet; Peony recognized Ji Shu as the mysterious expert and followed them.
• Haitang opened a room on the palace's third floor, revealing Meng Longtan amid an unsettling scene.

Ji Shu killed Meng Longtan and Auntie after Auntie’s sentient scepter exposed her control over Meng Longtan, then toured the Painted World with its flower immortals. He returned to the plaza, where Zhu Xiaolian and Hou Xia demanded that he release Auntie.

• Meng Longtan attacked Ji Shu with true fire, but Ji Shu killed him with Buddha’s Palm and captured the light that fled his body, which Peony recognized as Auntie’s scepter.
• Auntie arrived and offered Ji Shu the flower immortals in exchange for her scepter, but Ji Shu beheaded her and trapped her Primordial Spirit in the Mystic Fire Mirror.
• Auntie claimed to be the Peacock King of the Buddhist sect as the flames burned her, and Ji Shu decided to interrogate her after weakening her further.
• Ji Shu ordered Haitang and Peony to continue showing him the Painted World, and Cui Zhu, Yun Mei, Ding Xiang, and the other flower immortals joined the tour.
• After Ji Shu returned to the plaza, Zhu Xiaolian demanded Auntie’s release, and Hou Xia accused Ji Shu of bullying women.

Ji Shu explored the Painted World, freed the Sea-Calming Beast, and reached the Seventh Heaven to use its lava to strengthen the Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Array. After several days, he destroyed the spiritual consciousness inside the scepter and continued claiming its power.

• Ji Shu killed Hou Xia and Zhu Xiaolian with Sword Qi, then smashed the Golden Armored Warrior into the ground with Buddha's Palm.
• Ji Shu toured the Three Immortal Islands with Shaoyao and Peony, but found no core and learned that only Bewitching Auntie knew what lay there.
• Ji Shu freed the Sea-Calming Beast and used Water Escape to cross the ocean to the Seventh Heaven with Shaoyao and Peony.
• Ji Shu defeated the attacking Xingtian Beasts and drew lava into the Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Array in the City Lord Seal.
• Ji Shu used the strengthened array to refine the scepter, and after several days destroyed the spiritual consciousness at its core.

Ji Shu completely refined the scepter and the Painted World's Living Spring Source, gaining control over the entire Painted World. He gathered the murals into a scroll and left the temple with Xin Shisi Niang and Zhi Qiu Yi Ye planning to rest before departing.

• Ji Shu destroyed the obstructing spiritual will, completely refined the scepter, and used it to travel with Shaoyao and Peony to the Living Spring Source.
• Ji Shu used the scepter to brand the Living Spring Source with his aura, gradually gaining control over the Three Immortal Islands and then the entire Painted World.
• Ji Shu discovered that Shaoyao and Peony were spirits bound to the Painted World and that their true bodies were its immortal herbs.
• Ji Shu left the Painted World, gathered the murals from the temple walls onto the scepter, and sealed them into a glowing scroll containing the Lesser World.
• Ji Shu saw a blade of grass from the Painted World wither into soil outside its power, while Xin Shisi Niang and Zhi Qiu Yi Ye marveled at the scroll.
• Ji Shu told Xin Shisi Niang and Zhi Qiu Yi Ye they would rest in the temple for half a day before leaving.

Ji Shu settled in a coastal city and learned that the counterfeit Peacock King knew many complete techniques and the Vajra King Art, which could lead to immortality. Meanwhile, Ma Liang and Immovable Wisdom King discovered that the Painted World was missing, unaware that Ji Shu had taken it and was using it to cultivate.

• Ji Shu carried the Painted World scroll because it could not be stored in the City Lord Seal, then continued east with his companions.
• Ma Liang and Immovable Wisdom King found the temple stripped of its murals and realized the Painted World had vanished.
• Ma Liang demanded that Immovable Wisdom King return the Painted World within three months, while Immovable Wisdom King searched for it and feared for Peacock King inside.
• Ji Shu used the Mind Bewitching Technique on Peacock King and obtained more than a dozen techniques and the Vajra King Art from her.
• Ji Shu settled in a coastal city, entered the Painted World to cultivate, and Xin Shisi Niang kept watch over the scroll as Shaoyao, Peony, and the others lived freely.