Chapter Summaries

Qin He returned to Pass City after beating Dao Bu Er and reported a fabricated account of encountering the Fugitive of Sin Organization near the Moro River, hoping to draw Sin City’s attention toward Guoxia Ravine. He then brought his spoils to Hu Fu’s Grocery Store and sold Dao Bu Er’s sword for 120 spirit stones, leaving Hu Fu to collect payment from Dao Bu Er.

• Qin He slapped Dao Bu Er into the air, took his longsword, and entered Pass City as the onlookers backed away.
• Qin He told Shen Gonglan that he had encountered the Fugitive of Sin Organization west of the Moro River and collected a reward of ten spirit stones.
• Qin He gave a detailed but fabricated account of the encounter to a minor official and said he had left evidence near Guoxia Ravine.
• Qin He unloaded his spoils at Hu Fu’s Grocery Store and offered Hu Fu Dao Bu Er’s longsword.
• Hu Fu agreed to buy the sword for 120 after Qin He said Dao Bu Er would settle the bill.

After finding his old lodgings ransacked, Qin He moved into a better house and received a letter of introduction for temporary work at the Corpse Burning Chamber. Ge Yanbing left for the city gates, while Qin He prepared to return to work as a Corpse Burner.

• Qin He returned to his lodgings, found them ransacked by thieves, and rented a detached building beneath the City Pass.
• Qin He wondered where Da Yajin was and prepared to ask around about him.
• Ge Yanbing visited Qin He and gave him a letter of introduction from Master Tai for Steward Huang at the Corpse Burning Chamber.
• Ge Yanbing told Qin He that Ma Da and Ma Er had returned, Liu Shan had gone to find Master Tai, and he was leaving the city that night.
• Ge Yanbing warned Qin He to say little about anything he saw amid the unrest, then left.
• Qin He decided to take the letter and return to work as a Corpse Burner.

Qin He used a letter from Ye Tai and a bribe to secure work as a Corpse Burner under Steward Huang. The chapter ended with Qin He discovering that his assigned workspace had been abandoned for years, with a broken furnace and ruined bellows.

• Qin He bribed Xie Dading to pass his letter of introduction to Steward Huang.
• Steward Huang hired Qin He as a Corpse Burner and explained the job's rules, pay, and reduced wages during his first month.
• Steward Huang ordered Xie Dading to show Qin He the Corpse Burning Chamber and explain its rules.
• Xie Dading pointed Qin He to a workspace and hurried away without explaining much.
• Qin He found the Corpse Burning Furnace broken and the animal-hide bellows chewed apart by rats.

Qin He repaired the Corpse Burning Chamber and began cremating the bodies delivered that day. He recognized one corpse as the Demon Cultivator he had helped escape Guoxia Ravine, and wondered why it had later been executed.

• Qin He cleaned the Corpse Burning Chamber, repaired its furnace, and made a pull-rod bellows.
• Armored soldiers delivered several corpses, and Xie Dading assigned Qin He a headless body to prepare for cremation.
• Qin He recognized the corpse as the Demon Cultivator he had helped in Guoxia Ravine, who had escaped with the Night Watchmen before being executed.
• Qin He carefully stitched the Demon Cultivator's severed head back on and restored color to its face.
• Qin He placed the corpse in the furnace and burned it.

Qin He witnessed the fate of a Grizzly Bear Spirit who was executed after revealing Guoxia Ravine, then received a dangerous demonic banner as his reward. He was left alarmed by the cursed item, which he could neither use nor safely sell.

• The Grizzly Bear Spirit was captured and sent to Sin City when the Divine Court sought reinforcements during the polar night.
• After surviving Sin City and escaping the Fugitives of Sin with Qin He's help, the Grizzly Bear Spirit lost its belongings and struggled to make a living.
• The Grizzly Bear Spirit revealed Guoxia Ravine's hidden site to an examiner, and Shen Gonglan killed it with one stroke.
• The Black Robed Man awarded Qin He a Beginner Black Demon Banner that could imprison and transform living beings into demonic servants.
• Qin He realized the banner was too dangerous to use or sell and feared carrying it.

Qin He finished his shift at the Corpse Burning Chamber and walked home under curfew, carrying a lamp from Xie Dading. He heard a noise from Hu Fu's Grocery Store and discovered that Dao Bu Er had broken in to steal his saber and other goods.

• Qin He received another heretical reward, the Black Demon Banner, and fretted over his lost cultivation.
• Xie Dading paid Qin He for burning corpses and gave him a lamp to help him pass the City Guard.
• Qin He walked through Sin City under curfew and heard a hard snapping sound from Hu Fu's Grocery Store.
• Dao Bu Er used Misty Incense to deepen Hu Fu's sleep and broke into the grocery store.
• Dao Bu Er planned to steal back his saber and take the store's other goods.

Dao Bu Er tried to rob Hu Fu’s shop but became trapped inside and was chased off after Qin He’s diversion drew the City Guards. While Hu Fu pursued him, Qin He broke into the shop and found a hidden Black Wood Box, leaving before anyone returned.

• Dao Bu Er removed the talisman from his saber and packed valuables from Hu Fu’s shop, but a shout woke Hu Fu and he discovered the front door had been locked.
• Hu Fu attacked Dao Bu Er inside the shop, while Qin He watched the fight from a nearby dead tree.
• When the City Guards approached, Dao Bu Er smashed through the door and fled into the darkness as Hu Fu chased him.
• Qin He entered the unattended shop, searched Hu Fu’s bedroom, and uncovered a Black Wood Box hidden beneath a meditation cushion.
• After the chase ended, Hu Fu returned to the shop and screamed that he would never forgive Dao Bu Er.

Qin He discovered that Hu Fu's Purple Gold Alms Bowl was an Artifact Storage Space that worked despite Sin City's spatial suppression, and he used it to store his belongings. Meanwhile, Dao Bu Er escaped the city patrols with his longsaber and stolen wealth, but suspected Mo Sanfeng had exposed him.

• Qin He opened the Black Wood Box and found a Purple Gold Alms Bowl with a tiny sword floating inside.
• Qin He reached through the bowl's rippling water patterns, retrieved the sword, and realized the bowl was an Artifact Storage Space usable without Origin Power.
• Qin He tested the bowl by storing his treasure sword, Four-Unlike, and his other belongings, then tied it beneath his armpit; he discovered that stored objects could not be wider than the bowl's opening.
• Dao Bu Er hid in an abandoned thatched hut beneath Pass City after escaping Hu Fu and the city patrol guards with his longsaber and some of Hu Fu's wealth.
• Dao Bu Er worried that his face would bring trouble in Sin City and suspected Mo Sanfeng had shouted to expose him.

After learning that Hu Fu had lost the Purple Gold Alms Bowl and was searching for Dao Bu Er, Qin He investigated his missing companions and prepared better equipment for burning corpses. The City Guard then brought him several of their own dead and asked him to cremate them quietly.

• Qin He heard that Hu Fu had discovered the Purple Gold Alms Bowl was stolen and had mobilized the City Guard to search for Dao Bu Er.
• Qin He checked the City Pass and the homes near North Teahouse but found no sign of Da Yajin, Ge Yanbing, Ma Da, or Ma Er.
• Qin He ordered a portable Corpse Burning Furnace, a leather raft, charcoal, and other supplies.
• The City Guard delivered four cartloads of corpses and offered Qin He extra pay to cremate them discreetly and return the ashes.
• Qin He uncovered one corpse and realized that seven or eight City Guard soldiers had died.

Qin He subdued a corpse that mutated in his chamber, but other corpses across the yard also transformed and attacked. A Divine Bridge Realm expert arrived after the City Guard joined the battle.

• Qin He examined an intact corpse, discovered its black eyes, and triggered its mutation by opening one eyelid.
• Qin He shattered the corpse’s venomous aura with Lion’s Roar and subdued it with a golden needle.
• Mutated corpses attacked workers in other chambers, killing two temporary workers and two permanent Corpse Burners while gravely wounding another.
• The City Guard broke into the yard and joined the fight against the mutated corpses.
• A powerful explosion silenced the corpses as a Divine Bridge Realm expert arrived.

Qin He burned the mutated corpse before White Yama could inspect it, then endured White Yama's interrogation and pressure without revealing his secrets. After White Yama left, Xie Dading ordered Qin He to burn two corpses that night, giving him a chance to earn more spirit stones.

• Qin He hurriedly moved the mutated corpse into the furnace and burned it to erase evidence of how he had subdued it.
• White Yama entered the damaged Corpse Burning Chamber and questioned Qin He about the mutation and why he had come there.
• White Yama pressured Qin He and accused him of hiding the truth, but left without finding concrete evidence.
• After White Yama suppressed the turmoil, Xie Dading arrived and ordered Qin He to burn two corpses that night.

Qin He collected and repaired the Mutated Corpse, then used Shadow Play to learn how Liu Yanting was killed by a Stitched Monstrosity while patrolling Sin City's walls. He received a Soul-Eye Fossil and wondered whether the monster was connected to the experiments at the Fugitive of Sin camp.

• Qin He found the Mutated Corpse badly damaged by White Yama, carried it back, and repaired it.
• Shadow Play identified Liu Yanting as a City Guard captain who had been killed during a night patrol.
• Liu Yanting had spotted a Stitched Monstrosity on the city walls, and its many eyes had stolen his soul.
• Qin He received a Soul-Eye Fossil that could be polished into a mirror capable of revealing hidden souls and phantom demons.
• Qin He suspected the Stitched Monstrosity might be connected to experiments at the Fugitive of Sin camp and noted that the government office was concealing the deaths.

Qin He received a Three Suns Body Tempering Pill while cremating corpses and used it to purge the yin and evil taint that had weakened his body. After enduring the pill’s effects through the night, he expelled a mass of foul substances and collapsed into deep sleep.

• Qin He cremated another corpse and received a Three Suns Body Tempering Pill as his reward.
• Qin He returned to his residence, swallowed the pill, and endured its scorching power as it burned away the yin and evil energy in his body.
• Qin He’s body expelled evil aura, Yin Energy, Demonic Energy, and foul matter over the course of two hours.
• Qin He drained his water, fell to the ground, and sank into deep sleep.

As Sin City prepared for the extreme night, its leaders gathered to discuss a Thousand-Eyed Demonic Soul that had infiltrated the city and killed a patrol squad. Hu Tiancheng ordered intensified reconnaissance and revealed that a Divine Envoy would soon arrive to investigate a prophecy of one hundred thousand Heavenly Demons.

• As the extreme night approached, panic spread through Sin City after news emerged that a Thousand-Eyed Demonic Soul had killed seven members of a city patrol squad.
• Hu Tiancheng appeared before Gong Cang, Zhuang Lou, Lei Ze, Qi Heng, Bai Qi, and Shen Gonglan and asked for details about the attack.
• Lei Ze reported the patrol squad's deaths, and Bai Qi said evidence from a captured Netherflame Beast cub supported the identification of the attacker as a Thousand-Eyed Demonic Soul.
• Hu Tiancheng ordered Shen Gonglan to conduct saturated reconnaissance and determine within seven days whether the Thousand-Eyed Demonic Soul was the main force of the coming extreme night.
• Hu Tiancheng told the leaders that the Bureau of Astronomy had foretold the arrival of one hundred thousand Heavenly Demons and that a Divine Envoy would soon come to investigate.

Shen Gonglan ordered the City Patrol Division to finish its reconnaissance in the Netherlands within five days before a Divine Envoy arrived in Sin City. Da Yajin, Ge Yanbing, and Liu Shan received an even harsher three-day deadline and considered hiring Qin He to help.

• Shen Gonglan learned that most reconnaissance routes had not reported back and ordered three more routes deployed, shortening the deadline to five days.
• Shen Gonglan told the Captains that a Divine Envoy was coming to Sin City and warned them to clean up their affairs.
• Da Yajin received Xiao Wujiu's message cutting the reconnaissance deadline to three days and angrily complained to Ge Yanbing and Liu Shan.
• Ge Yanbing sent a reply by Six-Winged Bee while Liu Shan and Da Yajin worried that they could not finish in time.
• Ge Yanbing and Liu Shan proposed hiring Qin He, but Da Yajin protested that he could not afford Qin He's price.

After expelling strange contaminants from his body, Qin He burned his ruined house, cleaned up, and felt his strength greatly improve. At the Corpse Burning Chamber, he learned that the City Patrol Division had executed every prisoner ahead of a Divine Envoy’s arrival, leaving him to burn five bodies before dawn.

• Qin He woke in filth, found strange worm corpses among the contaminants expelled from his body, and burned down his house to erase the traces.
• Qin He washed, rented a new residence, and noticed that his strength, stamina, eyesight, reactions, and defenses had greatly improved.
• Qin He arrived at the Corpse Burning Chamber and found the courtyard crowded with corpses and supplies as Xie Dading ordered him to burn five bodies before dawn.
• Qin He inspected the beheaded prisoners and asked Gu Fei why so many had been executed.
• Gu Fei told Qin He that the City Patrol Division had executed every prisoner ahead of a Divine Court Divine Envoy’s visit to Sin City.

Qin He finished burning the five corpses and decided to seek more work to take advantage of the rising number of deaths in Sin City. He offered to help Xie Dading burn corpses, leaving Xie surprised by the request.

• Qin He burned two corpses together, purified the remaining three, and received a Demon Essence Pill and Essence Restoration Pills as rewards.
• Shadow Play told Qin He that the City Patrol Division was executing nearly every prisoner, including innocent people, during its purge.
• Qin He considered using steam-powered equipment to run multiple corpse-burning furnaces, but realized there was no time to build it.
• Qin He burned corpses as quickly as possible, then went to Xie Dading and offered to take any extra bodies off his hands.
• Xie Dading was stunned when Qin He said he wanted to help burn corpses.

Qin He cremated seven corpses and received several rewards, including a valuable Profound Yellow Pill and a Shadow Glide Talisman. After returning the bone ash, he offered to take on even more work, leaving the other corpse burners both friendlier and doubtful of him.

• Qin He brought back three corpses and cremated them alongside the corpses Xie Dading had prepared.
• Qin He received two Boiling Blood Pills, a Profound Yellow Pill, the Spirit Sacrifice Great Law, and a Shadow Glide Talisman as rewards for burning seven corpses.
• Qin He ate one Boiling Blood Pill and put away the remaining Pill and other rewards.
• Qin He carried out seven buckets of bone ash and returned one each to Xie Dading, Gu Fei, and another corpse burner.
• Qin He offered to burn seven corpses a night and invited the others to pass their work to him, prompting their friendly but skeptical reactions.

Qin He lent Gu Fei five spirit stones in exchange for a month of labor and help with corpse burning. Afterward, Ma Da and Ma Er found Qin He and urgently asked him to save Master Tai.

• The City Patrol Division collected the ashes and announced that there would be no corpse burning that night, leaving Gu Fei worried about lost income.
• Gu Fei asked Qin He to lend him five spirit stones so he could buy supplies before prices rose further.
• Qin He agreed to lend Gu Fei five spirit stones in exchange for a month of replenishing coal and oil, assisting with corpse burning, and keeping their arrangement secret.
• Qin He gave Gu Fei the spirit stones and left the corpse burning ground.
• Ma Da and Ma Er stopped Qin He and told him that Master Tai was in life-or-death trouble and needed his help.

Qin He initially refused to help Da Yajin in the Nether Soil caverns, but agreed after Ma Da and Ma Er revealed that Da Yajin could help him escape Sin City. He set a condition that he would abandon the trip if the danger became too great.

• Qin He refused to go with Ma Da and Ma Er to help Da Yajin in the Nether Soil caverns.
• Ma Da explained that the City Patrol Division had executed three of Da Yajin’s men and was threatening Da Yajin’s life.
• Qin He reconsidered when Ma Er reminded him that Da Yajin had recommended him to the Corpse Burning Facility.
• Ma Da and Ma Er revealed that Da Yajin had a way to escape Sin City and could reserve Qin He a limited slot.
• Qin He agreed to join the trip but warned that he would leave if they faced great danger.