Recaps

Li Yan and Sha LiFei learned that Chongqing Prefecture was caught in a struggle among rival jianghu factions, while an opera troupe accepted a dangerous performance for a thousand taels. The troupe returned at dawn with several dead, and Liu San said they had provoked the Dragon King.

• Opera troupes refused to perform for a man who had died violently until the Wu Troupe accepted the job for a thousand taels and help settling in Chongqing Prefecture.
• Bai Huan and Wang Dao Xuan explained that the Sichuan opera troupe carried statues of its patriarchs to protect itself from yin spirits.
• Liu San brought Li Yan and Sha LiFei breakfast and described the conflict among the Salt Gang, Gelaohui, Sichuan Chamber of Commerce, Cao Gang, and Raft Sect.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei heard that Chongqing Prefecture's West Traveling Beggar Gang was leaderless after its chief was beaten to death.
• The Wu Troupe returned with several dead performers, and Liu San said they had provoked the Dragon King.

Li Yan investigated the Wu Troupe’s possession and learned the Zhou family had used their performance to transfer a disaster. Wang Dao Xuan devised a plan to protect the troupe while they continued performing, as Li Yan’s Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet hinted at a connection to Dragon Girl’s commission.

• Liu San explained that the Sichuan-Shu Pai Sect Dragon King Huo Jiao was feuding with the Cao Gang over the Zhou family, and Li Yan hired Liu San to gather information from Rumor Inn.
• Li Yan practiced his mystical techniques while waiting for Liu San, but an old musician and a little girl arrived seeking help for possessed troupe members.
• Li Yan examined the sick performers and heard how the Zhou family had forced them to perform Dragon Slaying Platform on an ill-omened stage; his Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet trembled as he realized they had been made to bear a disaster.
• Wang Dao Xuan confirmed the Zhou family had shifted the disaster onto the troupe and warned that another performance could kill more of them.
• Wang Dao Xuan told the troupe to perform again with a reversed Bagua Mirror, use face-changing to appear as Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, fake deaths, and escape Chongqing Prefecture after their next show.

Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan dispelled the curse on the Wu Troupe and traced it to a Dragon King Temple ritual arranged through the Zhou family. As Li Yan followed the troupe to the Zhou residence, he spotted several familiar figures among the people inside.

• Li Yan used the North Emperor Calamity Removal Technique to remove the curse from the troupe members, and Wang Dao Xuan explained that a Calamity Shifting Method had transferred it to them.
• Li Yan planned to investigate the Raft Sect Dragon King, while Sha LiFei and Lu San went to a Rumor Inn to gather information.
• Sha LiFei learned that Liu San had been robbed by accomplices and was hiding at a broken temple south of the city; he and Lu San decided to find him and recover their money.
• Men from the Zhou family forced the recovering Wu Troupe out of its lodging and marched them away to perform, while other troupes realized the danger and some fled.
• Li Yan used the North Emperor Black Water Escape to follow the troupe to the Zhou residence, where he saw a mourning hall, a stage facing northwest, and the Cao Gang elder Han Kun and the Chen Family and Son among the guests.

Li Yan watched the Wu Troupe use a strange opera performance to survive the calamity at the Zhou residence, and a mysterious Yin Soul helped their face-changing deceive the Dragon King’s power. After learning about the Dragon Snake Token, Li Yan left to plan how to take it, but returned to find Liu San badly wounded.

• Li Yan overheard Han Kun and the others discuss the Cao Gang’s plans to persuade Raft Sect leader Huo Jiao to submit, while the Wu Troupe demanded permission to perform the ritual of breaking the stage.
• Mister Luo allowed the troupe to proceed, and the performers hid Wang Dao Xuan’s Bagua Mirror before beginning their opera as a fierce wind and foul mist gathered.
• The Wu Troupe changed into Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, and a mysterious Yin Soul used qi to make their disguise convincing as the Dragon King’s power passed over them.
• The Yin Soul told Li Yan that the Dragon King Temple’s leader carried the Dragon Snake Token, then vanished; Li Yan left to plan how to take it before departing.
• Li Yan returned to the residence and found Liu San lying in the main hall, drenched in blood and barely alive.

Li Yan’s group hid after Sha LiFei and Lu San rescued Liu San and freed more than a hundred children from the Evil Beggars, while Li Yan studied intelligence about Shu’s factions and strange incidents. At the broken temple, officials argued over the killings, and Liu Gan’s plan to exploit the case revealed a political scheme tied to the Prince’s estate.

• Sha LiFei explained that he and Lu San had rescued Liu San from the Evil Beggars, freed more than a hundred drugged children, and used firearms to kill the gang, prompting the authorities to hunt them.
• Li Yan told his companions to lie low, arrange sentries and escape routes, and remain alert near the Chongqing Thousand-Household Guard Office.
• Li Yan studied reports on Shu’s factions, strange incidents, and Treasure Hunters, then wondered whether the Treasure Hunters near the DZ Area planned to target the Dazu Rock Carvings.
• Wan BaoQuan examined the massacre at the broken temple, but Liu Gan insisted that the firearm killings be investigated and the unknown fighters captured.
• Liu Gan met Changsun Fengci and said he would use the case to drive court ministers’ allies out of Chongqing, while Wan BaoQuan secretly sent a Yamen Runner to follow Liu Gan.
• The Yamen Runner later dismissed his subordinates, hurried to the riverside, and began digging beside a reef, where the stench of corpses emerged.

After hundreds of eyeless children’s corpses were discovered by the Jialing River, the authorities launched a citywide search while Li Yan and his companions connected the killings to an evil practitioner seeking to borrow children’s luck. As Wan BaoQuan tried to investigate the government’s involvement, he found the prisoner dead and Zhao Dianbu cutting his own throat.

• Yuan A Qiu caught a yamen runner digging up a child’s corpse, and Wan BaoQuan’s junior fellow disciple found many more children buried along the riverbank.
• The authorities searched Chongqing, but Chu Qi used her soul-confusing technique to hide Li Yan and his companions from the soldiers.
• Li Yan learned that hundreds of eyeless children had been found, and Wang Dao Xuan identified the killings as part of a Shitilavana ritual to borrow luck and break through a realm.
• Dan Hezi explained the suspected sinister art to Governor Du Ling, while Wan BaoQuan reported that a government official had been arrested but refused to name accomplices.
• After Dan Hezi warned Wan BaoQuan that the Commandery Commandant Office might know more, Wan BaoQuan rushed to the prison and found the jailers dead, the prisoner beheaded, and Zhao Dianbu cutting his own throat.

After a prison massacre exposed a child-trafficking network, the Commandery Commandant Office seized control of the investigation and the struggle between the Shu King's faction and imperial officials intensified. Li Yan's group stayed out of the turmoil while the Wu Troupe completed its performance at the Zhou residence, but Wan BaoQuan arrived to confront the gathered families just as an eerie wind knocked them unconscious.

• Wan BaoQuan summoned the Commandery Commandant Office after Zhao Dianbu's prison massacre, and Luo Hai took control of the case from Du Ling.
• Liu Gan revealed that children had been sent to Linjiang Tower and implicated Wang Biao's men, then pointed Wan BaoQuan toward a young man surnamed Du and warned that the Emperor expected the factions to remain balanced.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei concluded that the political factions were fighting among themselves, while soldiers arrested Gelaohui and Sichuan Chamber of Commerce figures.
• The Wu Troupe completed its final performance at the Zhou residence and left safely, while Wang Dao Xuan told Li Yan the accumulated curse would erupt at dawn.
• Wan BaoQuan confronted Han Kun and the others at the Zhou residence, but a sinister wind made them collapse before they could explain themselves.

Wan BaoQuan and Dan Hezi enlisted Li Yan and the masked Wu Troupe to investigate the Zhou family curse, but Li Yan’s ritual revealed a connection to the Raft Sect Dragon King and a hidden demonic force. The underworld then issued Li Yan a mission to capture the Female Yaksha, while he overheard a startling discussion about the Jiang God Great Lord and Manifest Saint True Lord.

• Dan Hezi identified the Zhou family’s affliction as a Raft Sect curse and joined Wan BaoQuan in seeking help from the Wu Troupe.
• Li Yan agreed to aid Wan BaoQuan on the condition that the troupe’s identities remain secret.
• Li Yan performed the North Emperor Calamity Removal Technique at the Zhou residence, driving the curse from its victims before a strange howl and the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet’s reaction signaled danger.
• Dragon Girl showed Li Yan a vision of the Raft Sect Dragon King praying over a jade disc beside the missing Young Master Du, who appeared to have absorbed demonic energy.
• Li Yan’s hook warrant drew him into an underworld mission to capture the Female Yaksha, and he overheard officials discussing the Jiang God Great Lord, Manifest Saint True Lord, and the Dharma Realm.

After Li Yan learned that the Dragon King Temple was tied to the curse and a larger scheme, he led the authorities to find the escaped Du Family young master. The assault on the temple ended with Liu Gan and two men dead, while a sinister presence awakened inside.

• Li Yan learned that Manifest Saint True Lord had reincarnated and that the Dragon King Temple was where the missing Du Family young master could be found.
• Wan BaoQuan brought the information to Liu Gan, who mobilized soldiers and cannons to surround the Dragon King Temple.
• The Shu King Residence's Confucian-robed old man recalled Zhao Changsheng's connection to the Raft Sect and ordered his people to withdraw, then resolved to have Huo Jiao killed.
• Liu Gan threatened the Raft Sect with cannon fire, but Li Yan restrained him while Wan BaoQuan urged the raft-dwelling families to let them reach the temple.
• Li Yan charged into the Dragon King Temple, followed by Liu Gan and the others, and three gunshots sounded inside.
• Black mist surged from the temple, and Liu Gan and two men were found decapitated as Li Yan sensed a sinister consciousness awakening.

Li Yan and the imperial forces confronted Huo Jiao and the demon hidden in the Dragon King Temple after the Underworld soldiers failed to capture them. As Huo Jiao fought to hold them back, Li Yan rushed into the temple to stop the demon from escaping.

• Several Raft Sect members entered the eerie Dragon King Temple and were killed, while Li Yan, Dan Hezi, and Wang Dao Xuan sensed the temple's unnatural forces.
• Li Yan summoned Underworld soldiers, who destroyed the temple's outer buildings but could not enter the Dragon King Hall, where a divine artifact was hidden.
• Huo Jiao emerged looking unnaturally young, ordered the Raft Sect to rebel, and was challenged by his followers over the missing children.
• Huo Jiao invoked the Dragon King and fought Li Yan, enduring his thunder attacks and a flintlock shot before using a mystical power to blast black smoke and phosphorous fire at him.
• Hearing that the demon was close to escaping, Li Yan charged into the temple while Sha LiFei, Lu San, and the garrison soldiers fired at Huo Jiao to hold him back.

Li Yan captured the Female Yaksha demon essence and freed the Dragon King from Huo Jiao’s enslavement, stripping Huo Jiao of his divine protection and leading to his death. The Chongqing crisis ended with Du Ling’s arrest, while Wan BaoQuan learned that the mysterious Profound Sect figures had left.

• Huo Jiao rampaged through the soldiers and fought off Wan BaoQuan and Dan Hezi while Li Yan searched the Dragon King Temple.
• Li Yan discovered that Huo Jiao had enslaved the decaying Dragon King and found the Female Yaksha demon essence hiding above him with the Dragon Snake Plate.
• Li Yan trapped the Female Yaksha with Soul Hooking Chains and summoned a Netherworld Divine General to take it away, freeing the Dragon King.
• The Dragon King statue shattered, Huo Jiao lost his divine protection, and Sha LiFei shot him as his body rapidly aged and decayed.
• Luo Hai read the imperial decree arresting Du Ling, and Wan BaoQuan questioned him about the antique that had been used to frame his family.
• Wan BaoQuan learned that the Profound Sect figures had left Chongqing Prefecture and warned his junior brother not to pursue them.

Li Yan and his companions reached Zouma Town, where he hoped to learn about the extraordinary Li TieZui, and found the inns packed because of a storytelling rivalry. They secured rooms at the Jin Prefecture Guild Hall, where Xie ZhengYuan recognized Li Yan as the famous Young Hero Li of Ezhou.

• Sha LiFei returned Liu San’s thousand taels and encouraged the crippled beggar to start a new life; Liu San discovered that he had awakened a Body Mystical Power.
• Li Yan’s group traveled toward Zouma Town while news spread that the imperial army’s campaign against the tusi chiefs was advancing and the new governor would also suppress bandits.
• Li Yan explained that Zouma Town was famous for its storytellers and told the group to rest, gather information, and avoid trouble.
• The group learned that the town’s inns were full because Li TieZui and KuaiBan Liu were competing, and Li Yan recognized Li TieZui as one of his targets.
• Li Yan presented a bronze tablet at the Jin Prefecture Guild Hall, and Xie ZhengYuan welcomed the group after recognizing Li Yan as Young Hero Li of Ezhou.

Li Yan examined the Dragon Snake Plate and the books he had taken from Huo Jiao and Young Master Du, uncovering their ties to water deities, forbidden arts, and the Eight Great Cold Forests. After deciding to investigate a nearby Buddhist grotto, he fell asleep and dreamed of an ancient submerged temple marked “Dragon Girl.”

• Xie ZhengYuan recognized Li Yan’s rare merchant guild plate, assured him the guild hall would protect his privacy, and hosted the group.
• Li Yan and his companions ate at the guild hall, and they discussed asking the merchant guild for information the next morning.
• Li Yan studied the Dragon Snake Plate and Huo Jiao’s books, learning about the plate’s concealment and water-evasion powers and the Four Dukes Sect.
• Li Yan burned Huo Jiao’s evil Mysterious Female Art and examined Young Master Du’s scriptures, recognizing their illustrations as the Eight Great Cold Forests and connecting them to the Great Luo Dharma Realm.
• Li Yan considered visiting the nearby Dazu Rock Carvings, then fell asleep and dreamed of a submerged temple bearing the words “Dragon Girl” as a colossal creature passed through it.

After Dragon Girl showed Li Yan a dream of a snake demon receiving human sacrifices, he asked Xie ZhengYuan to investigate river sacrifices and help him find a storyteller and a Treasure Hunter. As Li Yan went to hear a tale about the Manifest Saint True Lord, Long Yan'er and Sha LiFei left the guildhall together, followed secretly by Lu San.

• Dragon Girl's dream showed Li Yan a giant snake demon swallowing children offered as living sacrifices, but the demon sensed the divination and ended the dream.
• Li Yan watched Xie ZhengYuan practice XinYi Quan, then learned that a Buddhist procession was honoring children killed near Chongqing Prefecture.
• Li Yan asked Xie ZhengYuan to introduce him to Li TieZui, find a reliable Treasure Hunter, and investigate places where people still performed river sacrifices; Xie ZhengYuan agreed to help.
• Li Yan described publicity methods to Xie ZhengYuan, who recorded them as a valuable technique for the Xie family.
• Long Yan'er lamented losing her Natal Gu and her ability to use techniques, but Sha LiFei encouraged her to enjoy life, and they left the guildhall together.
• Lu San followed Long Yan'er and Sha LiFei while Wang Dao Xuan stayed behind, and Li Yan entered a teahouse with Xie ZhengYuan as a storyteller began a tale about the Manifest Saint True Lord rescuing his mother.

Li Yan questioned Li TieZui about the Gray-robed Mad Monk and learned of a frightening encounter that had driven the storyteller to retire. Suspecting Qingcheng Mountain held more answers, Li Yan planned to investigate there, while Lu San arrived with a possible way to help Sha LiFei.

• Li Yan visited Xie ZhengYuan’s teahouse and waited for Li TieZui while listening to a story about Manifest Saint True Lord.
• Sha LiFei and Long Yan'er explored Zouma Town, where Long Yan'er watched embroiderers and argued with Sha LiFei about what she should do with her life; Lu San secretly watched them.
• Li Yan confronted Li TieZui about the Gray-robed Mad Monk, and Li TieZui tried to strike him with an iron fan before Li Yan disarmed him with the Undying Imprint Method.
• Li TieZui revealed that he had traced the Gray-robed Mad Monk to Zhaojue Temple, heard that he had been a Living Underworld Messenger, and later dreamed of the monk warning him not to speak of him.
• Li Yan concluded that Qingcheng Mountain might know more about the Gray-robed Mad Monk, then returned to the inn, where Lu San said he had a way to help Old Sha.

Li Yan’s team split up to handle Sha LiFei’s dangerous awakening ritual, the Bai family’s commission, and the investigation into living sacrifices connected to the Dragon Girl. Li Yan set out with the Bai family while Lu San and Sha LiFei waited for a Treasure Hunter, and Wang Dao Xuan investigated a wealthy family’s feng shui.

• Lu San proposed a dangerous ritual to awaken Sha LiFei’s divine ability, and Sha LiFei eagerly agreed despite the low odds.
• Li Yan divided the team’s tasks, then learned from Xie ZhengYuan that three families near Chongqing Prefecture were suspected of performing living sacrifices.
• Li Yan departed for Chengdu with the Bai family, while Wang Dao Xuan and Wu Ba went to investigate the suspected families in disguise.
• Two days later, Lu San and Sha LiFei received Falcon Li Dong’s messages and prepared to meet an old and young Treasure Hunter who had arrived at the guild hall.
• Wang Dao Xuan examined a wealthy family’s feng shui, declared the situation very bad, and tried to leave.

Wang Dao Xuan investigated the strange deaths and disappearances in Old Bear Village, where a harmful feng shui arrangement and sinister village customs were connected to the Mountain God Temple. After uncovering the elders’ deception, he confronted them at Tiger Killing Pass and began declaring his identity.

• Wang Dao Xuan used jianghu tricks and a prophetic poem to frighten Old Bear Village’s clan elders into explaining their troubles.
• Wang Dao Xuan entered the village with Wu Ba and noticed its guarded residents, missing livestock, and yin qi beneath the Meng family residence.
• The Meng clan chief revealed that the village’s ancestors had built a Mountain God Temple and made offerings there, while livestock died and children wandered into tombs.
• Wang Dao Xuan learned that the villagers placed their ancestors’ spirit tablets in the temple and that young men had been killing themselves at Tiger Killing Pass.
• At the temple, Wang Dao Xuan discovered tombs and offerings tied to the village’s sinister customs, then accused the elders of bringing disaster upon themselves.
• The elders drew short blades as Wang Dao Xuan raised his Coin Sword and began, “I, the Rooster...”

Zhao Xianda covered up Wang Dao Xuan’s destruction of Old Bear Village while spreading the name Youji, and Li Yan’s group continued toward Chengdu as they learned of new dangers and personal trials. The chapter ended with Sha LiFei reading Li Yan’s warning and asking Senior Yu whether the anticipated treasure would appear that night.

• Zhao Xianda identified Old Bear Village as the Ghost Fish Gang, handed the case to the Enforcement Hall, and ordered the jianghu to hear that Youji had punished the bandits.
• Wang Dao Xuan told Wu Ba that his family had fallen victim to an evil entity and that he sought the Dao to prevent others from suffering the same fate.
• Li Yan received Falcon Li Dong’s report about Wang Dao Xuan’s actions and ordered him to investigate the suspected Dragon God cult in secret until their group reunited.
• Li Yan warned Long Yan'er that reforming her Natal Gu could be fatal, and she said she would return if she succeeded.
• Falcon Li Dong delivered Li Yan’s letter to Sha LiFei, who was recovering from poisonous bee stings near Ba Yue Mountain, and Sha LiFei asked Senior Yu if the expected treasure would appear that night.

Sha LiFei, Lu San, and the Yu family followed a spirit into a hidden gathering where mountain spirits drank from a pond beneath a green-haired Tea Immortal. After drinking the pond water, they watched the spirits exchange treasures and waited for their chance to trade.

• Yu ShanGen guessed that the Tea Immortal was an ancient tea tree spirit and explained that it could only be approached through an exchange.
• Sha LiFei, Lu San, Yu ShanGen, and Yu Bao used the Treasure Hunters' human-evasion technique to follow a spirit into the tea plantation.
• Lu San identified an ancient tree-root spirit, and the group followed a white-flamed tea picker through a Ghost Wall into a moonlit mountain path.
• Sha LiFei saw Lu San's spirit pets and other mountain spirits gather around a glowing pond where a green-haired old man sat on a Stone Platform.
• Lu San, Little White Fox Chu Qi, Sha LiFei, Yu ShanGen, and Yu Bao drank from the pond, then watched a burly spirit offer a lingzhi mushroom to the Tea Immortal in exchange for leaves.

Sha LiFei and his companions traded ritual objects for Spirit Tea from the Tea Immortal, then escaped before their greed could provoke it further. Li Yan received their reports, assigned the Twelve Yuan Chen titles, and was preparing to meet Bai Huan when something crashed through the roof.

• Sha LiFei exchanged ritual objects for abundant Spirit Tea, but Lu San stopped him when the Tea Immortal's eyes turned bloody, and the group escaped its collapsing illusion.
• Sha LiFei gave the Yu family the secret location of the Tea Immortal, and Old Man Yu agreed to process the tea over forty-nine days.
• Li Yan read the reports and learned that Sha LiFei and Lu San were searching near the Dazu Rock Carvings while Wang Dao Xuan investigated zombie activity in Nanchong.
• Li Yan ordered his companions to use Twelve Yuan Chen titles, assigning Sha LiFei Wu Ma and Lu San Xu Dog while Wang Dao Xuan used Rooster of You.
• Li Yan prepared to meet Bai Huan, but roof tiles suddenly shattered above him.

At Dragon Spring Post, Li Yan learned that Long Yan'er needed rare venomous insects to condense a new Natal Gu and went out to gather information. He followed two Monk Sect brothers into the night and watched them prepare an ambush as a carriage bearing a huge stone coffin approached.

• Li Yan gave food to a hungry child hiding on the roof, then learned that Master Xiaoyue was coming to see Wu Chao Yun and Wu Xing Yu, who had absorbed their divine astral energy.
• Bai Huan told Li Yan that Long Yan'er planned to condense a new Natal Gu at West Ridge Snow Mountain but still needed rare venomous insects, so Li Yan left to ask around.
• At a tavern, Li Yan overheard two men discussing a plan from the royal residence and their willingness to risk offending the Yellow Mausoleum Sect.
• Li Yan followed the two men, identified them as Monk Sect brothers, and saw them conceal themselves beside the official road on Dragon Spring Mountain with short spears ready.
• A carriage creaked toward the brothers through the darkness, carrying a huge stone coffin.

Li Yan followed Fa Kong and Fa Se as they seized an ancient Stone Coffin from the Yellow Mausoleum Sect, then watched a zither-playing occult master and a masked spellcaster kill the monks and take control of it. The masked figure ordered armed men to move the coffin, while the old woman departed to investigate disappearances near the Marquis Wu Shrine.

• Li Yan recognized the Stone Coffin as an ancient object like the one connected to the Guest in the Mist and watched Taoist Wu lead the Yellow Mausoleum Sect caravan through the night.
• Fa Kong and Fa Se ambushed the caravan, fought through the disciples, and tried to seize the coffin after Taoist Wu warned them that it contained a dangerous evil thing.
• The Stone Coffin released Yin Energy, incapacitating Taoist Wu and turning the disciples against one another, so Fa Kong and Fa Se used Vajra Pestles to suppress it and fled with the coffin.
• Pei Yu Fang intercepted the monks and revealed that they had been used to conceal the true culprit; a masked spellcaster appeared, killed Fa Kong, and burned his body.
• Pei Yu Fang bound Fa Se with zither strings and tore him apart, while the masked spellcaster burned his remains; Pei Yu Fang explained that the coffin might hold clues to the Dragon Palace Water Mansion and the Elixir of Immortality.
• Pei Yu Fang left to investigate disappearances near the Marquis Wu Shrine, and the masked spellcaster ordered dozens of armored men carrying Fire God Spears to work.

Li Yan investigated reports of a murder at Marquis Wu Shrine while seeking clues about the Lute Worm. He found that a Demon Hunter had been killed, the authorities were concealing the truth, and Zhu Chen was an occultist who had also come looking for the Lute Worm.

• Li Yan learned that the King of Shu’s armed force was tied to a search for the Elixir of Immortality and the Dragon Palace Water Mansion, then returned to Dragon Spring Post to ask Bai Huan about the Lute Worm.
• Bai Huan said the Lute Worm might be a Strange Beast described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and Li Yan decided to investigate the shrine.
• Li Yan traveled to Marquis Wu Shrine and searched its halls, but found no sign of the Lute Worm or anything suspicious.
• Soldiers carried out the corpse of a Demon Hunter, and Li Yan recognized that the man had been killed rather than slain by a mountain leopard as the constable claimed.
• Zhu Chen challenged the constable’s account and persuaded the other scholars to investigate the shrine, while Li Yan realized Zhu Chen was an occultist seeking the Lute Worm.

Li Yan joined Zhu Chen and a group of scholars investigating the deaths at Marquis Wu Shrine, where a mysterious creature lured victims away with lute music. Demon Hunter Tang Ling arrived with the Lute Demon Pei Yu Fang, and they planned to hunt the Lute Worm that night while also targeting the disguised Faceless Young Master.

• Li Yan accepted Zhu Chen's invitation to investigate the strange deaths at Marquis Wu Shrine and followed the scholars to question Daoist Ling Yun.
• Daoist Ling Yun explained that tomb robbers and later victims had been found as skin sacks, and that one survivor had heard lute music before his companion vanished.
• Tang Ling of the Meishan Sect arrived as the new Demon Hunter, accompanied by the Old Woman who had played the lute the previous night.
• Tang Ling announced that he would capture the beast that night, while Zhu Chen and the scholars chose to remain at the shrine.
• Tang Ling privately identified Zhu Chen as the Faceless Young Master and agreed with Pei Yu Fang to capture him while hunting the Lute Worm.
• Tang Ling reasoned that the Lute Worm had awakened as a tomb guardian and said they would likely need Pei Yu Fang's ritual lute to capture it.

Li Yan, the Faceless Young Master, Pei Yu Fang, and Tang Ling followed the bewitched Young Master Wang from Marquis Wu Shrine to a grave mound. There, a strange insect emerged from the earth, revealing the Lute Worm they had been tracking.

• The Faceless Young Master knocked the scholars unconscious, changed into nightclothes, and pursued Li Yan, while Li Yan hid with Profound Water Escape.
• Li Yan used Spirit Communication Art to investigate the shrine and realized the Lute Worm's music bewitched people with spiritual nature.
• Pei Yu Fang's qin attack exposed the Faceless Young Master, and he and Li Yan exchanged accusations and refused to trust one another.
• Tang Ling spotted Young Master Wang leaving the shrine in a trance, and the others followed him to the hills behind it.
• Young Master Wang collapsed beside a crumbling grave mound, and a large, strange insect crawled out of the earth.