Chapter Summaries

As Little Sable prepared to break through into the Other Shore Realm, a rare Primordial Thunder Tribulation formed over the Imperial Palace. The Moth Ancestor identified the tribulation and assured Qin He that Little Sable should be able to survive it.

• Qin He rushed to the Imperial Palace hall when Little Sable's breakthrough aura erupted and found it asleep as its three-tailed Illusory Shadow faced the coming tribulation.
• Ink-black clouds gathered overhead, filled with Primordial Era visions that pressed down on Little Sable.
• Qin He failed to wake Little Sable and asked the Moth Ancestor what made the tribulation unusual.
• The Moth Ancestor explained that it was a rare thunder tribulation from the Primordial Era, then said the Jade Clear Brocade Mink should be capable of passing it.

Qin He prepared to move Little Sable away from Lin City before its tribulation struck, while trying to learn more about the Nine Great Demon Spirits and the Shifting Technique. As the tribulation clouds gathered, he left for a barren mountain beyond the city.

• Qin He asked the Moth Ancestor about the Sable Demon Clan's Natal True Fire, but it said it did not know.
• The Moth Ancestor warned Qin He not to let Little Sable undergo its tribulation inside Lin City as thunder and dark clouds engulfed the city.
• Qin He used the great hall's formation patterns to make the hall appear as an earthen hill, and the Moth Ancestor recognized the technique as a flawed Shifting Technique.
• Qin He asked the Moth Ancestor to help perfect the technique, but it began to explain what the Shifting Technique was before abruptly stopping.
• The Moth Ancestor went back to sleep after warning Qin He that a calamity awaited him, and Qin He flashed away toward a barren mountain one hundred and fifty li beyond the city.

Qin He watched Little Sable endure a terrifying primordial lightning tribulation as he considered the fallen state of the world and the coming search for the Upper Realm. Little Sable remained strong through the tribulation’s climax, while Lang Qing’s fate remained unknown.

• Qin He arrived as primordial lightning struck, and he saw Little Sable’s clear Illusory Shadow withstand the early bolts with ease.
• Qin He reflected that the Eastern Lands World and the Abyss World had declined, and suspected the Upper Realm had declined less severely.
• Qin He planned to seek a path to the Upper Realm after the Great Cause of Exterminating Spirits ended, then visit Spirit Vulture Palace and Domain Gate Palace.
• Qin He recalled that Lang Qing had been missing for eight years and that he had sent Ma Fei to find him three years earlier.
• The lightning tribulation reached its climax, but Little Sable’s figure stayed clear and its howls remained strong, leaving Qin He confident it would endure.

Qin He toured the Four Great Continents, where the supernatural had been largely eradicated and the Immortal Green Ox Temples spread his teachings. He returned to Domain Gate Palace seeking a way to find Mount Lingjiu, and Cui Xuan revealed a possible method whose success depended on Qin He.

• Qin He investigated the Four Great Continents for traces of Spirit Vulture Palace and found that the route to the Upper Realm had been severed.
• Qin He spent three years touring the continents as the supernatural faded and the Immortal Green Ox Temples spread the Spirit Crossing Sutra.
• Qin He returned to Domain Gate Palace and asked Cui Xuan for help finding Mount Lingjiu.
• Cui Xuan explained that Mount Lingjiu had vanished after the campaign against the supernatural and that the Heavenly Gods had sealed the passage to the Lower Realm.
• Cui Xuan said there was another way to search for Mount Lingjiu, but it depended on whether Qin He could accomplish it.

Qin He agreed to trade merit for a Heavenly God’s help in reaching Spirit Vulture Palace in the Upper Realm, hoping to take himself and the Spirit-Slaying Army beyond the lower realm. The Heavenly God revealed that the right time was the day of the Seven Stars Alignment, while the right place would depend on Qin He proving his sincerity.

• Qin He agreed with Cui Xuan and Cui Yan to offer merit in exchange for a god’s help reaching the Upper Realm.
• Qin He reflected that the Abyss Lower Realm was a supernatural prison, his cultivation had reached its ceiling, and the Spirit-Slaying Army increasingly wanted to ascend.
• Seven days later, Cui Xuan told Qin He that a Heavenly God had accepted the deal in exchange for achieving minor completion of a Golden Body through merit.
• Qin He met the Masked Heavenly God, agreed to the price, and learned that Spirit Vulture Palace could be sought only at a special time and place.
• The Masked Heavenly God named the day of the Seven Stars Alignment as the right time and said he would reveal an approximate direction after Qin He demonstrated his sincerity.

Qin He searched Beiyin Ridge for clues related to the Masked Heavenly God’s transaction, sweeping the mountains with thousands of clones. When his forces cornered a Yaksha, Lamborghini recognized the creature’s bow as one used by Lang Qing.

• Qin He arrived at Beiyin Ridge with Ma Fei, Lamborghini, and Little Sable to investigate the location named by the Masked Heavenly God.
• Qin He sent thousands of clones across the mountain range to search it thoroughly and drive out its demons and ghosts.
• Qin He’s sweep devastated the supernatural creatures hiding in Beiyin Ridge.
• A cornered Yaksha protested that its clan had never harmed humans and prepared to fight back.
• Lamborghini recognized the Yaksha’s bow as one that Lang Qing had used.

Qin He learned that Yaksha had found Lang Qing’s bow at a ruined temple on Mount Yin and went there with Ma Fei and Lamborghini. They reached a vast Evil Miasma that Yaksha said ebbed every twelve years, leaving Lang Qing’s fate unresolved but bringing their search closer to the Spirit Vulture Palace.

• Lamborghini subdued Yaksha, and Ma Fei took the bow from it.
• Qin He recognized the bow as a clue to Lang Qing, who had vanished twelve years earlier while searching for the Spirit Vulture Palace.
• Qin He used an illusion technique to force Yaksha to reveal that it had found the bow at a ruined temple deep within Mount Yin.
• Qin He withdrew his phantom clone and led Ma Fei and Lamborghini toward the temple.
• The group encountered thick Evil Miasma more than a hundred li from their destination, and Yaksha explained that it ebbed every twelve years.

Qin He and his companions entered the vast Evil Miasma Qi, which corroded vitality and severely hindered sight and divine sense. They pushed toward its core and found a towering rock shaped like a giant.

• Qin He plunged into the Evil Miasma Qi with Ma Fei, Little Sable, and Lamborghini following, and the miasma began corroding their vitality.
• Ma Fei, Little Sable, and Lamborghini used their powers to defend themselves from the miasma while Qin He examined its ancient, unusual aura.
• Qin He flew above the miasma to survey the region and check for signs of a trap, then returned and continued toward its core at low altitude.
• The group navigated rugged terrain and black thornbushes as the sinister winds and miasma obscured their surroundings.
• Ma Fei and Lamborghini spotted a giant-like shape, and Qin He identified it as a rock more than ten zhang tall.

Qin He and his companions entered a vast formation whose Array-Born Stones depicted beings trapped in agony and despair. As they neared their target, the statues grew denser and their influence threatened the group, though each resisted it in a different way.

• Ma Fei identified the first grotesque stone figure as an Array-Born Stone and explained that formation patterns had reshaped the terrain.
• Qin He warned the group not to act rashly and led them onward to investigate the formation.
• The group found more statues depicting humans and other beings in unbearable pain, and Ma Fei admitted that their despair was affecting him.
• After traveling for half a day, Qin He and the three beasts reached a region crowded with statues, where Lamborghini and Ma Fei recited the Calming Incantation, Little Sable's Dust-Whipping Pearl protected it, and Qin He drove away the emotions with his breathing.

Qin He and his companions followed an ancient road through the Array-Born Stones to a vast temple guarded by colossal stone beasts. After the yaksha warned them that no one who climbed the stairs had returned, Qin He sent several avatars ahead.

• Ma Fei spotted buried floor tiles, and Lamborghini Bull uncovered more, revealing a road through the Array-Born Stones.
• Qin He and the others followed the path and reached a huge temple at the foot of a mountain.
• Lamborghini Bull cursed the towering gatekeeper statues for dwarfing his divine statues.
• Ma Fei asked whether the temple was meant for worship, and the yaksha said a great terror had once struck Beiyin Ridge and that no one who went up the temple stairs had returned.
• The yaksha begged to be released, but Ma Fei told it they would protect it if it behaved.
• Qin He swept out a hand and sent several avatars rushing up the stairs.

Qin He and his companions climbed the temple’s stairs, where spiritualized Array-Born Stones attacked and his clones cleared the way. After several clones vanished beyond his perception, Qin He suspected spatial-level power and decided they could not continue until they found a way to disperse the evil miasma.

• Qin He led Ma Fei and Lamborghini up the steps while his clone scouted ahead into the evil miasma.
• A stone-statue head and other animated fragments fell from above, and Ma Fei stopped the head with his power.
• Qin He explained that the Array-Born Stones had developed spiritual intelligence but were eroded by the evil miasma, while his clones destroyed them with Purple Cloud Divine Thunder.
• Qin He and his companions continued upward as the animated stones fell around them.
• Qin He discovered that several of his clones had vanished and could no longer be sensed.
• Qin He suspected spatial-level power had severed his connection to the clones and said they needed to disperse the evil miasma before proceeding.

Ma Fei used a Jade Bottle to absorb the Evil Miasma Qi, but it nearly lost control when it reached its limit. Qin He stabilized it, then had the group deploy fifteen bottle- and jar-type artifacts to clear the core area.

• Ma Fei activated his Jade Bottle, which rapidly drew in the surrounding Evil Miasma Qi.
• The Jade Bottle neared its capacity and began to shake as its black patterns flickered.
• Qin He stabilized the Jade Bottle with a golden palm and returned it to Ma Fei.
• Qin He, Lamborghini, and Little Sable brought out fifteen bottle- and jar-type artifacts to absorb the Evil Miasma Qi.
• The artifacts cleared much of the miasma, revealing light and expanding the group's view of the core area.

Qin He and his companions uncovered a vast, ominous Buddhist temple beneath the baleful miasma, but their search for his missing avatars revealed nothing. Qin He concluded that this was the right place but not the right time, and ordered those willing to follow him to gather there in eighteen years for a perilous attempt to reach the Upper Realm.

• Qin He and his companions saw the sprawling temple and its unsettling statues and carvings after the bottle-type treasure cleared the baleful miasma.
• Lamborghini asked whether Qin He could sense his missing avatar, but Qin He could not, and Ma Fei warned that the miasma was closing in again.
• Qin He sent more avatars to scout the temple and searched around the High God statues, but they found nothing before the miasma returned.
• Qin He reasoned that spatial power had severed his avatars and that the place was right but the timing was wrong.
• Qin He ordered those willing to accompany him to gather there in eighteen years, warning that the attempt to reach the Upper Realm could end in death or failure.

Over eighteen years, Qin He led the effort to eradicate supernatural beings in the Abyss World and prepared to reach the Upper Realm through Mount Yin. As he waited without news from the Upper Realm, his experiences in countless shadow plays deepened his cultivation until he seemed to return to mortal simplicity.

• Qin He raised the rewards for hunting supernatural beings to tenfold and sent the Spirit-Slaying Army across the four continents and into the Sea of Fury.
• Qin He personally destroyed a secret supernatural den as the spirit-hunting teams uncovered hidden supernatural beings.
• The Spirit-Slaying Army found no supernatural beings or their lackeys in the final five or six years, leaving the Abyss World nearly free of them.
• Qin He consulted the Domain Gate Palace and learned Mount Yin was highly likely to contain the passage to the Upper Realm, though the gate might be guarded or seized by supernatural beings.
• Qin He spent three years trying to contact the Upper Realm through merit but received no response.
• Qin He immersed himself in shadow plays and the mortal world, becoming increasingly unfathomable and appearing to have no cultivator's aura.

After eighteen years of preparation, Immortal Green Ox’s forces gathered at Mount Yin as the Seven Stars Alignment revealed a phantom mausoleum above the sealed Nether Temple. The chapter ended with Zhu Ganglie identifying it as Floating Mausoleum Mountain, the place the Spirit-Slaying Army had sought for ages.

• The cultivation world spent eighteen years preparing for Immortal Green Ox to lead the sect into the Immortal Realm.
• The Seven Stars Alignment shook the world and revealed a phantom mausoleum above Mount Yin as the Nether Temple began chanting.
• Fahai said the chant was not Sanskrit and identified the temple as a Netherworld shrine dedicated to the True God of Dharma.
• Wang Tie Zhu said the myriad demons had been defeated and driven out during the Mythological Era, while Qin He thought of the Shore Flowers in his Mustard Seed Space.
• Zhu Ganglie recognized the revealed mausoleum as Floating Mausoleum Mountain, which the Spirit-Slaying Army had searched for without success.

Qin He and the army reached the real Heroic Spirit Mountain as a rift opened between Nether Temple and Mount Yin, revealing the Evil Spirits and Demonic Beasts awaiting them. Zhu Ganglie led the charge, and Qin He sent the three armies into the bloody battle.

• Qin He watched Floating Mausoleum Mountain draw near and saw the countless graves covering it beneath golden clouds.
• The army saw the blood-written name Heroic Spirit Mountain on the cliff, and Zhu Ganglie explained that it held warriors who had died in battle.
• Zhu Ganglie declared that those who died in battle would become heroic spirits and urged the army to fight together.
• A rift opened between Nether Temple and Mount Yin, revealing countless scarlet eyes and the shapes of Evil Spirits and Demonic Beasts.
• Zhu Ganglie charged into the rift, Old Ape followed, and Qin He led the one hundred thousand believers and soldiers after them.

Qin He woke in Sin City with no memory of a fierce battle and a fragment of Great Black Shovel embedded in his shoulder. After Ye Tai found and sold him to the Night Patrol Division, Qin He became a Night Watchman in the deadly city beside the Demon Abyss.

• Qin He remembered the battle only through a black iron shard from Great Black Shovel lodged in his shoulder, since he had lost his memory of what happened.
• Ye Tai found the wounded Qin He in the wilderness, fed him porridge, and brought him back to Sin City.
• After two days of care, Ye Tai sold Qin He to the Night Patrol Division, where he became a Night Watchman.
• Qin He learned that Ye Tai was a human trafficker who supplied replacements to the Night Patrol Division.
• Sin City’s history and brutal conditions were described, including two past destructions and the constant danger faced by its Night Watchmen.

Qin He traveled into the gorge wilderness as a Night Watchman, crippled by the loss of his Dao foundation and unable to use his storage spaces or cultivation abilities. After a creature escaped his attack, he collected its Scale Armor and continued searching for resources and a way to recover.

• Qin He left the City Pass with the Night Watchmen, carrying all his equipment because he could no longer access his storage spaces.
• Qin He reflected that the battle that cost him his memory had destroyed his Dao foundation, leaving him unable to retain spiritual power and making his body vulnerable to hunger and cold.
• Qin He chose to remain a Night Watchman because the Shadow Play and its corpse-cremation rewards offered his best chance to break his predicament.
• Qin He spotted a red glimmer and hurled his great sword at a creature, but it fled after being wounded and left behind pieces of Scale Armor.
• Qin He collected the Scale Armor to trade for resources, then pulled his sword free and continued deeper into the wilderness.

Qin He hunted Green-eyed Cold Crows and a Three-eyed Demon Ape during his night patrol, then used his Jade Tablet to register that he had reached Cold Crow Valley. As he considered where to go next, a white beam rose in the distance, signaling that a Night Watchman had died.

• Qin He shot down four Green-eyed Cold Crows and left after taunting their leader.
• Qin He entered the gorge and killed a Three-eyed Demon Ape by repeatedly striking it with his great sword.
• Qin He pressed his Jade Tablet against a black stone stele to record his arrival at Cold Crow Valley.
• Qin He saw a white beam shoot into the sky from the distant wilderness and realized a Night Watchman had died.

Qin He rushed toward a white light and killed a powerful camel-shaped Demonic Beast that was devouring a corpse. He examined its poison arrows and looked forward to profiting from the creature and its prey.

• Qin He raced toward the white light, eager to reach the corpse before the evil creature could ruin it.
• Qin He attacked the camel beast with his great sword, wounding it but breaking the weapon in half.
• The camel beast fired poisoned bristles at Qin He, but he dodged in close and stabbed its skull through its lower jaw.
• Qin He picked up a Bristle Poison Arrow and judged that the third-grade evil creature would still earn him a tidy profit after the cost of his broken sword.