Chapter Summaries

Wei Wu got revenge on the monk and Daoist by forcing them to sculpt a figure from cow dung, using his newfound strength to beat them into submission. He left satisfied, while the monk and Daoist suspected that Great Immortal Green Ox had taught him his power.

• Wei Wu taunted the monk and Daoist and demanded they mold a figure from the cow dung.
• The Daoist claimed that demons had injured them, but Wei Wu pretended to treat their injuries by punching them repeatedly.
• The monk and Daoist gave in and agreed to perform a dung-sculpting demonstration.
• At Wei Wu’s direction, the monk and Daoist made a lifelike cow-dung statue of Great Immortal Green Ox.
• Wei Wu departed with the ox, and the monk and Daoist wondered whether they could gain teachings by worshipping the statue.

After escaping Aquina’s trap in the Heavenly Prison, Qin He reflected on the scheme and burned the demons who had attacked the Capital City. He ordered the Catfish Demon prepared as food and made room in the main furnace for Aquina, whom he expected to arrive.

• Wang Tie Zhu recognized the Catfish Demon as the thousand-year-old Dragon King of Dongting Lake’s prince consort.
• Qin He brooded over Aquina’s elaborate trap, his escape from the Heavenly Prison, and his victory over the demons who attacked the Capital City.
• Qin He told Wang Tie Zhu to prepare half the Catfish Demon’s head as soup and half with chili, then to attach the head to the corpse.
• Qin He ordered the Catfish Demon’s corpse burned in a side furnace because Aquina was coming to the main one.

Aquina met Shen Lian, Tu Baishou, and Gong Tianxing for a drunken farewell before setting out, trading insults and recalling their old grudges. After Aquina left without paying the bill, Qin He sneezed in the Corpse Burning Room and found Daoist and Buddhist figures in his Mysterious Little Notebook.

• Aquina mocked Shen Lian for being exiled, while Shen Lian claimed he had exposed Aquina’s spies and named them.
• Aquina and Gong Tianxing revealed their sworn brotherhood, prompting Shen Lian and Tu Baishou to list Aquina’s many past offenses.
• The four leaders argued over their intelligence forces, allies, and influence before Aquina raised a final toast and said farewell.
• Aquina left, then called back that he had forgotten his silver when Shen Lian demanded he pay the bill.
• Qin He sneezed while feasting, checked his Mysterious Little Notebook, and discovered that he had seen a Daoist and a monk.

Qin He rewarded a Taoist and a monk for establishing a new source of worship, then received Aquina, who asked to be cremated. After Aquina spoke of seeking liberation through the destruction of his soul, Qin He set him alight and ordered him to leave.

• Qin He sensed urgent prayers from a new Merit source north of the Capital City and rewarded a Taoist and a monk with cultivation insights and techniques.
• Qin He received more than ninety Merit from the Taoist and over a hundred from the monk after transmitting the rewards.
• Aquina arrived at the Corpse Burning Room, recognized Hui Miqiu, and asked Qin He about the Punishment Slave, who had been his friend.
• Aquina lay on the Corpse Burning Furnace and explained that he wanted his soul destroyed because he believed nonexistence meant liberation from suffering.
• Qin He refused to help destroy Aquina's soul, set him alight with Southern Ming Li Fire, and told him to leave.

After the Flying Fish Guard began executing Aquina’s followers in the Capital City, Wei Wu encountered Little Calf on the road north and discovered that it could speak. Little Calf used Wei Wu’s secret about the cow-dung statue to demand that he let it ride him.

• Shen Lian and Tu Baishou discussed Aquina’s death, and Tu Baishou ordered Ji Chenliang to execute everyone in Liu Changan’s circle except Liu Changan’s people.
• The Flying Fish Guard mobilized and killed suspected followers throughout the Capital City, while Shen Lian predicted Wei Wu would appear by dawn.
• Wei Wu traveled north with Little Calf and saw servants of the Northern Plains Immortal Clan fleeing after the demons failed to slay the dragon.
• Little Calf answered Wei Wu in human speech, revealing that it could talk.
• Little Calf threatened to tell its master that Wei Wu had made a statue of Great Immortal Green Ox from cow dung unless Wei Wu let it ride him.

Wang Shensuan tried to heal his damaged eyesight and mistook a Flying Fish Guard carrying a cow for a hallucination. At the East City Corpse Burning Facility, Qin He witnessed Aquina’s life and learned how the Di warrior abandoned his position and friends to answer King Di’s call to rebellion.

• Wang Shensuan removed his eye covering at dawn to treat his injured eyes with morning dew.
• Wang Shensuan saw a Flying Fish Guard approaching with Little Yellow Ox on his shoulders, then assumed he was hallucinating and covered his eyes again.
• Qin He saw Aquina’s life in the final Shadow Play Performance of the night.
• Aquina grew up as King Di’s slave and spent ten years in the Flying Fish Guard, becoming close with Shen Lian, Tu Baishou, and Gong Tianxing.
• When King Di summoned him to join the rebellion, Aquina abandoned his position and brotherhood in the Flying Fish Guard and answered his master’s call.

After A Qige vanished, suspicion over his fate spread through the Di Kingdom and King Di ordered Aquina to investigate. Aquina instead launched Dragonslaying knowing he was doomed, and the Black Robed Man judged his death as the result of suspicion, awarding the Cloud-Riding Mist-Walking Technique.

• Aquina rose to become Grand Commander of the Eight Shadow Divisions and helped King Di establish the Di Kingdom, but his growing power led King Di to become wary of him.
• After A Qige disappeared following a crushing defeat, rumors accused Aquina of conspiring with Shen Lian and the Flying Fish Guard to kill him.
• King Di ordered Aquina to investigate A Qige's disappearance, and Aquina went south knowing A Qige was dead and that King Di suspected him.
• Aquina launched Dragonslaying, trapping Qin He in the Heavenly Prison, but Qin He broke free and destroyed Aquina's chance of survival.
• The Black Robed Man declared suspicion the sharpest killing blade and awarded Aquina the Cloud-Riding Mist-Walking Technique.

Qin He reviewed the spells, pills, materials, and other treasures he had gained from the demons and ghosts who attacked the Capital City. After discovering that the Flower Grafting Technique could help him pursue the False Heavenly Court instigators, he resolved to continue the fight.

• Qin He admired the Cloud-Riding Mist-Walking Technique and recalled the immense haul he had already received from the previous night's attackers.
• Qin He assessed his cultivation, noting that he had exceeded the Mortal Body Realm's limits but could not break through under the Heavenly Dao's suppression.
• Qin He reviewed the powerful pills, Soul Capturing Needles, and techniques he had obtained, including arts for transforming weapons, mimicking auras, and evading through water.
• Qin He learned that the Catfish Demon had also provided Mysterious Yin Kui Water, enabling him to use the Mysterious Yin Water Evasion Technique.
• Qin He studied the Flower Grafting Technique and decided the battle was not over because the False Heavenly Court instigators had caused widespread death and destruction in his territory.

Qin He prepared to draw the Heavenly Court’s False Gods down to earth and strengthened himself with two Golden Marrow Pills. In the Imperial Palace, Liu Changan accused Wei Zhongliang of grave crimes, and the Chongzheng Emperor ordered an investigation while secretly showing killing intent.

• Qin He reasoned that he could not reach the Heavenly Court directly and decided to use the human-path demon immortals marked with Divine Envoy aura to lure its agents down.
• Qin He swallowed two Golden Marrow Pills, which strengthened and expanded his meridians and acupoints, raising his external force to fourteenth rank and magical power to Thirteenth Rank.
• Liu Changan presented the Chongzheng Emperor with a memorial detailing more than a hundred crimes Wei Zhongliang and Lady Ke Baba had committed.
• The Chongzheng Emperor ordered guards to seize Liu Changan, who warned that Wei Zhongliang posed a danger to the emperor.
• The Chongzheng Emperor ordered Wei Zhongliang to investigate Liu Changan and verify the memorial within three days, while privately revealing icy killing intent.

Chang Wen received a secret order to kill Wei Zhongliang during the Mid-Autumn Prayer Ceremony while Qin He learned Liu Changan had been arrested and prepared to confront the False Gods. Qin He left Wang Tie Zhu and Lamborghini to guard the house as he set out on the full moon.

• Chang Wen received a secret note ordering Wei Zhongliang's assassination during the Mid-Autumn Prayer Ceremony.
• Hui Miqiu told Qin He that Liu Changan had been arrested and was being held in the Southern Commandery's prison.
• Qin He explained to Wang Tie Zhu that Wei Zhongliang's corruption also helped prop up the Great Li court's fragile balance.
• Qin He confirmed the paper figures were ready and told Wang Tie Zhu and Lamborghini to guard the house while he dealt with the False Gods for seven days to half a month.

In Azure Sky, more than a hundred surviving False Gods waited for three Giant Demons to open a path into the Mortal Realm, but the demons’ auras vanished and their plan stalled. The False Gods argued over whether to descend themselves as they faced dwindling spiritual energy and lifespans.

• The chapter described Azure Sky as a ruined remnant of a vast heavenly complex, damaged by immense forces and bearing marks like gigantic claws.
• More than a hundred False Gods gathered before a Heavenly Gate, waiting for the three Giant Demons they had sent toward the Mortal Realm to activate a guiding formation.
• The Giant Demons’ auras disappeared within a few dozen breaths, and an hour passed without the formation activating.
• The False Gods blamed Great Immortal Green Ox for the failure and argued over whether to descend to the Lower Realm in their true bodies.
• The chapter recounted how the Heavenly Court shattered ten thousand years earlier, leaving a little over a hundred survivors who later used the Demonic Sect’s method to devour the Golden Dragon of Fortune and prolong their lives.

The False Gods waited for the Giant Demons’ connections to return, then saw an anomaly produce twin moons that they believed signaled the appearance of Immortal Destiny. Driven by hope and fear of being beaten to it, they descended through the South Heaven Gate to investigate, and Shang Zhan followed.

• Shang Zhan silenced the False Gods’ complaints and told them to wait for the Giant Demons’ descent formation to activate.
• The South Heaven Gate sensed the Giant Demons’ auras again, and the False Gods assumed their connections had merely been interrupted.
• A blood-red moon appeared beside the silver moon, and the False Gods recognized the Overlapping Moons as a sign that Immortal Destiny had appeared.
• The False Gods rushed through the South Heaven Gate to seek Immortal Destiny in the Lower Realm.
• Shang Zhan overcame his hesitation and descended after them, leaving only several too-weak False Gods behind.

Shang Zhan and more than a hundred False Gods descended into the Lower Realm and discovered they had been lured into the Heavenly Prison. Qin He revealed that he had used Paper Soldiers and stolen auras to trick them, then set the prison ablaze with Southern Ming Li Fire.

• Shang Zhan arrived in the Lower Realm and recognized the Paper Soldiers and Giant Demon auras as a trap inside the Heavenly Prison.
• The False Gods realized they had been deceived and found the Heavenly Prison Grand Formation surrounding them.
• Qin He appeared in a Flying Fish Robe and explained how he had used the Flower Grafting Technique and Illusionary Breath Technique to lure them down.
• Qin He mocked the False Gods, then hurled blue flames that ignited the logs, lamp oil, coal, and Paper Soldiers.
• The False Gods recognized the Southern Ming Li Fire and scrambled to move.

Qin He used Southern Ming Li Fire, Shape-Shifting, and his Big Black Shovel to devastate the False Gods inside their barrier, shocking their leader Shang Zhan with his strength and techniques. After Shang Zhan began to introduce himself, Qin He struck again, leaving more False Gods dead and the survivors trapped behind their shield.

• Qin He engulfed the False Gods in Southern Ming Li Fire, killing more than twenty before the survivors formed a protective barrier under Shang Zhan's direction.
• Qin He struck the barrier with a fireball, but it held, and both he and Shang Zhan recognized the other as a serious threat.
• Qin He used Shape-Shifting to enter the barrier disguised as the sinister old man, then swept the Big Black Shovel through the False Gods and killed more than ten.
• Shang Zhan attacked Qin He, but Qin He shifted away, prompting Shang Zhan to realize Qin He possessed true Shape-Shifting and combat strength at the first level of the True Essence Realm.
• Qin He gave Shang Zhan a string of false names and titles, then attacked again before Shang Zhan could finish introducing himself.
• Qin He's shovel killed eight more False Gods and smashed several of them against the barrier.

Qin He fought Shang Zhan and overwhelmed the False Gods trapped inside the protective shield. With their numbers badly reduced, Shang Zhan moved to hold Qin He back while ordering the survivors to break through the gap above the Heavenly Prison.

• Shang Zhan attacked Qin He, but their first clash showed that Qin He could match and surpass his strength.
• Qin He and Shang Zhan fought fiercely, and their attacks killed or injured many False Gods caught in the cramped shield.
• Tuo Tuo called for the False Gods to replace their energy shield, but Qin He used Shape-Shifting to appear among them and attack with Shovel-Blade Storm.
• Qin He killed Tuo Tuo and further decimated the False Gods, while Shang Zhan realized their numbers had fallen too far.
• Shang Zhan charged into the shield to intercept Qin He and ordered the remaining False Gods to break open the gap above the prison.

Qin He held off Shang Zhan and the False Gods at the prison’s opening, using Shape-Shifting and the Southern Ming Li Fire to keep them trapped while he waited for the flames to consume them. Outside, the Emperor’s Moon Festival Dharma Assembly appeared to proceed normally until chief eunuch Wei Zhongliang suddenly collapsed.

• Qin He used Shape-Shifting to strike down four False Gods as Shang Zhan charged toward the prison.
• Shang Zhan’s slash struck a small defensive formation Wei Wu had placed over the opening, and he turned back to protect his soldiers from Qin He.
• Qin He guarded the opening and waited as the Southern Ming Li Fire continued burning, while Shang Zhan hesitated to use his hidden trump card.
• The Emperor held a Moon Festival Dharma Assembly at Guangyuan Temple with the Flying Fish Guard providing security.
• After the ceremony, Wei Zhongliang collapsed with foam spilling from his mouth.

After Wei Zhongliang’s death, the Donglin Party destroyed the Eunuch Faction and persuaded Chongzheng to abolish the Factory Supervisors and Grain Supervision Teams. When Jiangnan’s powerful families seized their assets, the Golden Dragon of Fortune faded, and Divine Calculation Wang declared Great Li finished.

• The Flying Fish Guard found Di Kingdom spies at Guangyuan Temple, who confessed to poisoning Wei Zhongliang, and Chongzheng ordered their execution and Wei’s burial with honors.
• After Donglin officials beat Cui Chengxiu to death and received only light punishment, they led a court-wide campaign to investigate and destroy the Eunuch Faction.
• Xu Xianchun and Tian Ergeng committed suicide, and Donglin members filled the vacant posts as officials across the empire arrested Eunuch Faction members.
• Chongzheng abolished more than five thousand Factory Supervisors and Grain Supervision Teams in Jiangnan after Donglin officials promised greater tax revenue.
• Jiangnan’s landlords, powerful clans, and merchants looted the supervisors’ silver vaults, grain stores, and fleets, while the Golden Dragon of Fortune faded and Divine Calculation Wang declared Great Li finished.

Qin He defeated Shang Zhan after three days and three nights of fighting, destroying the Heavenly Prison in the process. He left the ruins and looked toward the Capital City, where something made him curse in surprise.

• Qin He summoned Purple Firmament Profound Seal lightning and struck Shang Zhan, collapsing the Heavenly Prison’s formation and laying waste to the surrounding land.
• Shang Zhan asked why Qin He fought so desperately, and Qin He said he wanted a world without him before setting him alight with Southern Ming Li Fire.
• Shang Zhan cursed Wei Wu with Chaos of Yin and Yang, but Qin He sealed him with Corpse Suppressing Nails as he burned to death.
• Qin He’s Lucky Doll crumbled after taking a fatal blow in his place, leaving him injured but preserving his strength.
• Qin He left the Heavenly Prison ruins and looked toward the Capital City, then cursed in surprise.

After returning from the Heavenly Prison Grand Formation, Qin He learned that the Donglin Party had taken control of the court and that the loss of Jiangnan’s grain and military funds threatened a revolt at the front lines. Wounded and exhausted, he refused to intervene and chose to rest while Great Li moved toward collapse.

• Qin He lay in the Corpse Burning Facility, exhausted and injured after learning that Chongzheng had surrendered and the Donglin Party had taken control of the court.
• Wang Tie Zhu massaged Qin He's temples while Hui Miqiu explained that the front lines faced unpaid wages, lost supplies, and a likely upheaval within a month.
• Hui Miqiu reported that Donglin had purged more than 180 members of the Eunuch Faction and left the new emperor powerless.
• Qin He refused to interfere in court affairs, told his companions to let the situation burn, and went to sleep so he could recover from his injuries.

After Wei Zhongliang’s assassination left the front lines without grain or military pay, Chongzheng’s orders worsened the crisis and turned the Imperial Army into a force that plundered civilians. Li Chuang gained popular support, seized supplies from wealthy families, and expanded his army to a million before launching three campaigns.

• Chongzheng learned that the southern grain and military pay had been destroyed and that replacing them would take a year, then imprisoned the Minister of Revenue.
• Chongzheng ordered the front-line and frontier generals to raise grain locally, prompting Imperial Army troops to surrender or flee and plunder civilians west of Tongguan Pass.
• Li Chuang raised the banner of “Equal Field and Tax Exemption” and spread the ballad “Welcome King Chuang; when King Chuang comes, no grain tax,” drawing people into his army.
• Li Chuang’s forces grew to eight hundred thousand men as he took supplies from princes, meritorious nobles, great landlords, and powerful clans across the three provinces west of Tongguan Pass.
• At the beginning of December, Li Chuang divided his million-strong army into three routes to attack Tongguan Pass, the Central Plains, and Huguang and Jiangnan.