Chapter Summaries

Qin He opened a sealed coffin and faced a Charm Corpse that used an illusion of a beautiful woman to bewitch him. He subdued the corpse with an improvised arsenal, though its male identity disgusted him, and the chapter ended with it finally falling silent.

• Qin He broke the coffin’s chains and opened it, releasing a Charm Corpse disguised as a beautiful woman.
• The Charm Corpse tried to bewitch Qin He, but he stabbed it with a crowbar and attacked it with Corpse Suppressing Nails.
• The Charm Corpse resisted the nails and revealed that it was a male corpse, enraging and repulsing Qin He.
• Qin He engraved Auspicious Talismans on a chopper and then on the hall’s weapons, using them to keep attacking the Charm Corpse.
• After Qin He rammed the last Wolf Tooth Club into the corpse, the Charm Corpse finally fell silent.

Qin He cremated the vicious corpses and gained a large haul of skills, cultivation, and rare items, while remaining unaware of the political storm gathering around Xu Xianchun. The chapter ended with two more corpses still awaiting cremation.

• Qin He pinned the Charm Corpse with Corpse Suppressing Nails, left it burning in the Corpse Burning Hall, and returned to the cell before Chang Wen inspected it.
• Chang Wen left the Imperial Prison and delivered a secret dispatch through a coded exchange at a pastry shop.
• Officials across the Great Li court submitted a wave of memorials accusing Xu Xianchun of failing to suppress the Di Barbarians and abusing his office.
• Qin He received rewards while cremating twenty-eight vicious corpses, including more than one hundred and twenty years of internal energy, over a hundred years of Dao Xing, the Thirty-Six Spirit Suppressing Forms, and a Lucky Doll.
• Qin He finished cremating the twenty-eight corpses, but two more corpses dragged from coffins remained to be burned.

After secretly burning twenty-eight corpses and setting the remaining two ablaze, Qin He slept through the night in the Imperial Prison Factory. The Corpse Burning Officials discovered the devastation and Tu Baishou concluded that a mysterious master had done it, leaving Qin He’s role undiscovered.

• After burning twenty-eight corpses, Qin He stopped because he was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.
• Wei Wu and the other Corpse Burning Officials arrived with food, woke the other workers, and left Qin He sleeping until they roused him.
• Qin He ate several buns and waited outside the cell as twenty Corpse Burning Officials opened the stone gate.
• The Officials found the Corpse Burning Hall blazing, its corpse platforms empty, and its coffins open, so Wei Wu sounded the alarm.
• Tu Baishou arrived and inspected the two corpses still burning, including the brutally pierced Charm Corpse.
• Tu Baishou concluded that a powerful, mysterious master had opened the coffins, carved corpse-suppressing Inscriptions, and burned thirty corpses without letting them rise.

Qin He discovered six Faceless Corpses linked to the supernatural incident involving the blood-red Fanged Ghost Head handkerchief, while Wei Wu questioned him about Horse Butcher. After burning one corpse, Qin He carried another Faceless Corpse back to investigate the handkerchief.

• Qin He predicted the Corpse Burners would be sent back after finishing their work, and Wei Wu later told them to prepare to leave.
• Li Ergou, Qian Mancang, and another Corpse Burner burned through their Corpse Suppressing Talismans while burning corpses.
• Qin He recognized a nearby corpse as a Faceless Corpse like Horse Butcher and found six in total.
• Wei Wu questioned Qin He about recognizing the corpses and threatened him, but Qin He denied having seen one.
• Qin He fell asleep, missed the Shadow Play Performance, and received only two years of Dao Xing for burning a corpse.
• Qin He picked up another Faceless Corpse to learn what the handkerchief bearing the Fanged Ghost Head was.

After finishing his work at the Corpse Burning Hall, Qin He left the Imperial Prison and explored the Capital City, where he saw the Restoration Society’s anti-eunuch proclamation. He collected his newly forged shovel and watched a shadow play, anonymously leaving the performers a silver ingot.

• Qin He burned two more corpses, finished his work at the Corpse Burning Hall, and left the Imperial Prison with the other corpse burners after Chang Wen promised their rewards might arrive later.
• Qin He collected his clothes, bathed, and read an Anti-Eunuch Proclamation signed by the Restoration Society before discarding it.
• Qin He visited Tie Sanqi’s blacksmith shop and paid half a tael of silver for his newly forged steel shovel.
• Qin He watched an old man perform the shadow play “Yue Wu Attacks the Yellow Dragon” and left a silver ingot in the performers’ tray without revealing himself.

Qin He returned to the East City Corpse Burning Facility as a newly certified Corpse Burning Official, but the status coin quickly drew Liu Changan’s attention. Suspecting the facility was connected to An Baogu’s disappearance, Liu Changan ordered Gantuji to send men to kill everyone there.

• The Corpse Burners welcomed Qin He back and gave him the Gold Coin Token and five taels of reward silver sent by the Corpse Burning Hall.
• Qin He shared meat buns with the Corpse Burners and told Xu Changshou a guarded version of what had happened at the Corpse Burning Hall.
• Ling Zhonghai, Li Tie, and Gao Linkun offered congratulations, then told Qin He to rest instead of helping burn the nineteen corpses delivered by Flying Fish Guard agents.
• Qin He took a Marrow Cleansing Pill and an unfinished Strength Fruit, while the Corpse Burning Rooms began their work for the night.
• After hearing that Qin He had received a status coin, Liu Changan connected him to the room that had cremated Liu Cang and suspected the East City Corpse Burning Facility held hidden significance.
• Liu Changan told Gantuji to send two men to attack the East City Corpse Burning Facility and kill everyone inside.

After cleansing his marrow, Qin He washed in the canal and caught a large turtle on his way back to the Corpse Burning Facility. There he encountered Amintu, a Bayala assassin sent to attack the facility, and left him facing a turtle-shell strike.

• Qin He used a Marrow Cleansing Pill, which increased his inner strength and cultivation and refined his energies.
• Qin He washed the foul grime from his body in the canal, caught a large turtle, and headed back toward the Corpse Burning Facility.
• Gantuji sent Amintu to kill and Logu to observe near the Corpse Burning Facility, ordering them to retreat if the mission became too dangerous.
• Amintu charged toward the facility and encountered Qin He carrying the turtle.
• Amintu attacked Qin He, who vanished and reappeared in front of him with the turtle shell filling his vision.

Qin He killed and captured two Di Barbarians who had attacked him, then burned their bodies in the Corpse Burning Room. The white-haired zombie finally burned away, and Qin He learned Yu Jinjiang’s tragic history before receiving the Armpit Universe Technique.

• Amintu died after Qin He struck him, while Logu escaped and returned to the Di Barbarian nest.
• Qin He ambushed Logu outside the nest with an iron shovel and carried him back to the Corpse Burning Room.
• Qin He burned Amintu and Logu, collected their stolen valuables, and waited for the bodies to finish burning.
• The white-haired zombie burned away after eighteen hours, and Qin He watched Yu Jinjiang’s life through the Shadow Play Performance.
• Yu Wanglong killed Yu Jinjiang’s newborn son, then left Yu Jinjiang to starve and thirst to death.
• Qin He received the Armpit Universe Technique as a reward.

Qin He learned the Armpit Universe Technique and gained two rewards from the burned Di Barbarian spies. Meanwhile, Wei Zhongliang’s faction faced mounting impeachment over the Imperial Prison breach, and Cui Chengxiu proposed recalling Shen Lian to help contain the crisis.

• Qin He learned the Armpit Universe Technique and tested how much he could store beneath his armpit, finding that even a large water vat fit but the Corpse Purification Platform did not.
• Two Shadow Play Performances began as the Di Barbarian spies burned, rewarding Qin He with the Chaos Army Saber Technique and nine years of Dao Xing.
• Wei Zhongliang met with his trusted men in the Imperial Palace as impeachment memorials against Xu Xianchun and Prince Wei piled up.
• Tian Ergeng proposed arresting the impeachment leaders, but Wei Zhongliang rejected the plan as too risky.
• Cui Chengxiu advised Wei Zhongliang to dismiss Xu Xianchun and ask the emperor to recall Shen Lian, prompting objections from the gathered men.

After court officials recalled Shen Lian to curb Di Barbarian spies, Qin He celebrated his recent gains with a lavish feast for the Corpse Burners. As he set out for the Mass Grave, Yang Baitu offered him a risky private corpse-burning job, and Qin He accepted.

• Cui Chengxiu persuaded Wei Zhongliang to recall Shen Lian to the capital and remove Xu Xianchun from his post, and imperial edicts soon settled the court dispute.
• Qin He spent his reward and money taken from Di Barbarian spies on a feast for the East City Corpse Burning Facility.
• The Corpse Burners brawled over food and wine while Qin He, Xu Changshou, and the villainous trio watched a Shadow Play.
• Qin He prepared to visit the Mass Grave, but Yang Baitu stopped him and offered him payment to burn a relative's vicious corpse privately.
• Qin He accepted Yang Baitu's dangerous job, which was supposed to be completed before dark.

Qin He accepted a job to cremate Old Master Liang, whose corpse had become a supernatural threat. After completing the cremation, Qin He learned through the Shadow Play Performance that Old Master Liang’s death had been calculated and connected to Liang Shijie, though the cause remained mysterious.

• Yang Baitu brought Qin He to Little Liang Town to handle Old Master Liang’s corpse for Liang Shijie.
• Qin He saw Old Master Liang standing in his coffin, sensed the supernatural energy around him, and knocked him down with the Spirit Suppressing Seal.
• Liang Shijie refused to explain the circumstances of his father’s death and asked Qin He only to cremate the corpse.
• Qin He burned Old Master Liang’s corpse while the Liang Family gathered to mourn.
• The Shadow Play Performance revealed that Old Master Liang’s death was calculated and linked to Liang Shijie’s illness after his favored concubine, Li Yue, died of venereal disease.

Qin He learned that an evil thing had driven Old Master Liang to suicide and was turning his corpse into a vicious corpse, but the Liang Family refused to cooperate with his investigation. After Qin He and Yang Baitu left, Qin He saw deathly energy gathering over the Liang residence, while a convoy of Plague Corpses arrived at the Corpse Burning Facility.

• Old Master Liang hanged himself after suspicion and rumors about his venereal disease became unbearable, and the evil thing stirred his corpse’s Resentful Energy and Malevolent Energy.
• Qin He concluded that the Liang Family remained in danger because Old Master Liang’s corpse would soon become a vicious corpse, but he chose not to pursue the investigation after the family dismissed him.
• Laifu gave Qin He and Yang Baitu ten taels of silver, and Qin He received a Beginner Bronze Skin Iron Bone Art reward.
• Yang Baitu apologized for the meager payment and offered Qin all fifteen taels; Qin accepted eight and agreed to take only half of future tea money.
• Qin He saw deathly energy gathering above the Liang residence as he and Yang Baitu left, then returned to the Corpse Burning Facility to find a convoy of Plague Corpses arriving.

Qin He burned two plague victims and learned through their Shadow Play Performance how Xianyun Temple had exploited the epidemic with overpriced Talisman Water and claims that only sincere worshippers would survive. After the couple’s souls were judged, Qin He received two Plague Pills.

• Qin He covered his mouth and nose before the Flying Fish Guard delivered thirty-six corpses to the Corpse Burners.
• Qin He purified and burned the young couple’s bodies, then used Corpse Suppressing Nails when they sat up in the furnace.
• Qin He’s Shadow Play Performance showed how plague spread through Fang County after its magistrate fled and abandoned the people.
• The couple bought Talisman Water from Xianyun Temple, but after their money ran out, they relied on worship and died despite their prayers.
• The Soul-Snatching Shadow Lamp drew out the couple’s souls, the Black Robed Man recited a verse about the Plague God, and Qin He received two Plague Pills.

Qin He accidentally swallowed a Plague Pill whole, endured its fierce medicinal power, and fooled his coworkers into mistaking his fart for Dragon Saliva Incense. As the plague worsened, Ling Zhonghai selected Corpse Burners for a dangerous assignment in Fang County, and Qin He tried to get himself chosen.

• Qin He swallowed a Plague Pill without reading its instructions, and the Corpse Eating Immortal Skill suppressed its medicinal power while granting him three years of inner force.
• Qin He blamed the foul smell in the Corpse Burning Room on incense, and Xu Changshou and the Villain Trio crowded around the door to inhale what they thought was Dragon Saliva Incense.
• Qin He rested through the day, then burned two Plague Corpses that brought him twelve years of Dao Xing.
• A Flying Fish Guard courier delivered an order requisitioning ten Corpse Burners to build a temporary facility in Fang County and burn corpses there.
• Ling Zhonghai began naming the ten Corpse Burners, while Qin He hoped to be chosen and then staggered, sending his ash bucket crashing into Ling Zhonghai's forehead.

Qin He was sent to Fang County with Xu Changshou and the other Corpse Burners after provoking Ling Zhonghai, then reassured the group that Dragon Saliva Incense would protect them from the plague. On the journey, Qin He asked Wei Wu about the Charm Corpse, leaving Wei Wu to wonder whether Qin He was connected to the mysterious expert at the Corpse Burning Hall.

• Qin He angered Ling Zhonghai by dumping ash on him and insulting him, so Ling sent Qin He and Xu Changshou to Fang County.
• Xu Changshou confronted Qin He in the carriage, but Qin He said Xu would have been sent regardless because the others had plotted against him.
• The convoy passed starving refugees on the road to Fang County, and the Corpse Burners grew quiet as they considered the danger of the plague mission.
• Xu Changshou asked whether Dragon Saliva Incense would protect them, and Qin He confidently assured the group it could prevent and treat the plague.
• Wei Wu rebuked the cheering Corpse Burners, and Qin He asked him about the Charm Corpse; Wei Wu withheld what he knew and later wondered if Qin He was the mysterious expert.

The Flying Fish Guard convoy reached plague-stricken Fang County and began setting up a temporary Corpse Burning Facility. Qin He resisted sabotaging the Soul-Capturing Lamp, then made himself indispensable by taking over the other Corpse Burners’ fire-lighting until they accepted that he was having another fit.

• Wei Wu ordered the Corpse Burners to set up a temporary facility, and the first convoy of corpses arrived after dark.
• Qin He resented the Soul-Capturing Lamp for suppressing the corpses’ rewards but decided not to destroy it because that would cross his moral line.
• Qin He seized Crippled Li’s kindling and lit his furnace, claiming that the fire had to be started properly.
• Qin He went from furnace to furnace, inventing rules about posture, ceremony, and the Fire God Star as he lit fires for the Corpse Burners.
• The Corpse Burners realized Qin He was having another fit and began asking him to light their fires to avoid arguing with him.

Qin He finished burning corpses and assessed the modest gains he had earned, then fell asleep exhausted. At Xianyun Temple, Yuwen Jing led the Flying Fish Guard to confront the Bat Demon, but the demon turned the worshippers against them and forced Yuwen to order a retreat.

• Wei Wu watched Qin He set fires around the camp and ordered the guards to stay alert because the Fang County plague investigation had uncovered troubling evidence.
• After the rooster crowed, Qin He stopped work, ate his buns, and found that he had gained fifteen years of inner strength, twenty years of Dao Xing, and the Sparrow Steps skill.
• At Xianyun Temple, crowds worshipped a supposed Mountain God whose statue belonged to a nonhuman deity, while the Flying Fish Guard prepared to attack the Bat Demon occupying the temple.
• Yuwen Jing learned that the Bat Demon had replaced the temple's original immortal and commanded his arrest teams to infiltrate the temple and kill it.
• The Bat Demon revealed itself through its voice and bewitched the worshippers, who turned on the Flying Fish Guard, so Yuwen Jing ordered his forces to form up and withdraw.

After recovering from burning more than sixty corpses, Qin He learned that the arrest squad had suffered heavy casualties at Xianyun Temple on Puyun Mountain. He returned to his usual corpse-burning routine that night, but disappeared before Liu Sanjin could show him his fire.

• Qin He woke after sleeping all day and heard from Xu Changshou that the arrest squad had fought at Xianyun Temple and suffered many casualties.
• A Western City duty constable explained that Xianyun Temple had once honored a benevolent white crane before mountain bandits occupied it.
• Qin He reflected on the varied strengths and conduct of the world's self-proclaimed wild gods.
• That night, Qin He rested after lighting his own corpse instead of helping the other Corpse Burners.
• Liu Sanjin lit a corpse lying down and looked toward Qin for approval, but found that Qin He had disappeared.

Qin He commandeered a Little Calf and rode it toward Xianyun Temple, accidentally hitting a monk on the way. At the temple, Cao Heizhi and the Bat King continued their scheme to spread plague, collect Merit, and rob the people of Fang County.

• Qin He found an untethered Little Calf and used the Ox Riding Technique to make it carry him toward Puyun Mountain.
• The Little Calf embraced its newfound speed and sent a bald monk flying on a dark mountain road, so Qin He urged it to flee.
• At Xianyun Temple, the Bat King raged over a shortage of Merit while Cao Heizhi said they had already tricked all the nearby villagers.
• Cao Heizhi’s gang had joined forces with the Bat King to spread the Fang County epidemic and exploit the suffering people for Merit and wealth.

Cao Heizhi continued feeding captives to the Bat King, which demanded more Merit and vital essence. He lured Qin He and his ox into the secret chamber, where a fight broke out, leaving Cao Heizhi hoping the Bat King would be satisfied enough to leave.

• The Bat King devoured two young men but complained that they had too little vital essence.
• Cao Heizhi searched the mountain for more victims while worrying that the Flying Fish Guard would return.
• Cao Heizhi met Qin He, a spirited young man riding an ox, and tricked him into going up the mountain to meet the Bat King.
• Cao Heizhi brought Qin He and the ox into the secret chamber and locked the door behind them.
• A scuffle and the Bat King's roars sounded from inside the chamber as Cao Heizhi hoped the meal would improve its mood.