Chapter Summaries

Li Yan cultivated in an old mausoleum while his enemies prepared to smoke him out of the tomb. Sha LiFei and Lu San ambushed the attackers with explosives, but Yuan Zhetian and the sorcerers launched a counterattack up the mountain.

• Li Yan sent a rat to gather information, then continued cultivating the North Emperor Yin Mountain Method and North Emperor Yin Thunder Hand in the old mausoleum.
• Yuan Zhetian arrived with Xiao Yue, Daoist Bao, and Silver Flower Snake, who questioned a corpse and concluded that Li Yan had summoned ghosts to form a Ghost Wall.
• Yuan Zhetian ordered the bandits to smoke Li Yan out through the grave-robbing tunnels while Wang Dao Xuan, Sha LiFei, and Lu San prepared to defend the ridge.
• Sha LiFei fired a Bamboo Thunder Arrow that detonated the bandits’ gunpowder, causing a massive explosion among their horses.
• Lu San summoned his hawk to help carry Sha LiFei’s Fire Caltrop as Yuan Zhetian charged the ridge, followed by Xiao Yue and Daoist Bao’s swarm of giant hornets.

Sha LiFei and the others defeated Daoist Bao’s group, and Li Yan killed Daoist Bao before discovering that the hornet-filled gourd was a demon. Lu San befriended the Treasure Gourd, and the group set out for Mount Hua with their spoils and plans still ahead.

• Wang Dao Xuan used the Thousand Gold Body Protection Incantation and Soul Calming Bell to repel the hornets, while Sha LiFei killed Yuan Zhetian with an exploding Fire Caltrop.
• Xiao Yue bewitched the group with a soul spell, but Sha LiFei resisted and shot him; Lu San then finished him with his flying shuttle.
• Li Yan killed Silver Flower Snake and Daoist Bao, then learned that the hornets guarded a demon inside the gourd.
• Lu San spoke with the Treasure Gourd in Superior Language and accepted it as his companion after it agreed to follow him.
• Two days later, the group burned the bodies, gathered their spoils, and set out for Mount Hua with more than one hundred thousand taels.

Li Yan and his companions reached Mount Huashan, where they encountered scholar Yan Jiuling and began climbing the icy mountain road. When Lu San was surrounded by Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect Daoists, Li Yan fought their leader and their palm-thunder techniques collided, leaving both men stunned.

• Li Yan and his companions arrived at Mount Huashan during a crowded Social Fire celebration, where Troupe Leader Zuo explained the local customs and warned them about the snowy mountain road.
• Yan Jiuling recognized Li Yan and joined the group on their climb after Sha LiFei persuaded Li Yan to let him accompany them.
• Yan Jiuling entertained the group with historical stories about Mount Huashan until the icy path made him fall silent.
• Li Yan heard an argument ahead and found Lu San surrounded by four Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect Daoists, who accused the group of being Heretical Art Practitioners and attacked.
• Li Yan disarmed two Daoist boys and fought their leader, then met the Daoist's Palm Thunder with his own Yin Thunder Palm, stunning them both.

Li Yan received a vision from Mao Nv warning that Fei Yi was trying to reach the Drought Demon’s coffin on Mount Hua. He alerted the Daoist, who sent a paper crane for help, and Li Yan reflected on his duty as a Living Underworld Messenger before the group continued up the mountain.

• Li Yan defeated the Daoist’s Palm Thunder, and the Daoist accused Lu San’s eagle of stealing a fruit before Yan Jiuling vouched for the group.
• At Mao Nv Cave, the Daoist inspected the group’s registers, and Li Yan used his Underworld identity and connections to explain Lu San’s missing register.
• Li Yan’s token grew hot, and a vision showed Mao Nv, the Drought Demon’s coffin, and a six-legged Fei Yi using pinewood to approach it.
• Li Yan told the Daoist about the vision, and the Daoist sent a paper crane to report the danger and explained that Fei Yi could cause a devastating drought.
• Li Yan realized that concealing the warning out of spite could have brought disaster, while Yan Jiuling praised him and the group prepared to continue up Mount Hua.

Li Yan reached Mount Hua, where Yan Jiuling explained the ancient sacrificial rites connected to the Phoenix Gold Ornament and Jing XuZi rewarded Li Yan for warning about the Drought Demon. Yan Jiuling asked Li Yan to help his mad mother with the Fei Yi medicine, and the chapter ended with Manager Wan arriving alongside the Meishan Sect master and disciple.

• Li Yan and his companions crossed the dangerous Thousand-Foot Crevice and followed Yu FengZi and Yu HanZi to Wangxian Temple.
• Yan Jiuling explained Mao Nv's legends and traced the Phoenix Gold Ornament to the Jing Shamans and ancient national sacrifices.
• Jing XuZi thanked Li Yan for passing on Mao Nv's warning, gave him a young Fei Yi as a reward, and promised him an early choice when the treasury opened.
• Yan Jiuling asked Li Yan to treat his mad mother, and Li Yan agreed to visit his family in Yiling after the group left Guanzhong.
• The next morning, Manager Wan arrived to see Li Yan with the master and disciple from the Meishan Sect.

Li Yan met Manager Wan at Wangxian Temple, learned that his plans to commission a magical saber had been delayed, and heard that officials behind the Fire Bear Gang might still target him. Yu FengZi invited Li Yan and his companions to tour Mount Hua, then drew Li Yan aside at Leap of the Falcon to discuss something in private.

• Manager Wan told Li Yan that Green Forest Heroes were searching for him, and Yuan Ba asked Li Yan to help his master obtain fifty jin of white copper for a Meishan Ancestral Altar.
• Manager Wan warned Li Yan that officials backing the Fire Bear Gang might have encouraged the bounty against him, but Li Yan said he planned to leave Mount Hua and travel the Divine Land.
• Yu FengZi invited Li Yan, Wang Dao Xuan, Sha LiFei, and Yan Jiuling to tour Mount Hua before the treasury opened, while Lu San chose to stay behind.
• The group watched Pure Yang Palace disciples practice swordplay and crossed Azure Dragon Ridge, where Sha LiFei admitted he was afraid of the cliffs.
• At Leap of the Falcon, Sha LiFei, Yan Jiuling, and Wang Dao Xuan refused to cross, while Li Yan followed Yu FengZi across the ropes and cliffs.
• Yu FengZi told Li Yan that he had brought him there because he needed to discuss something in private.

Li Yan visited a fearsome elder on Mount Hua, who agreed to help forge his saber from Shoushan Copper Essence and offered to remake his saber tassel if Li Yan obtained the Twelve Yuan Chen Coins. After planning his purchases, Li Yan joined the vault-opening ceremony, which ended with the Pure Yang Palace announcing that the vault would open shortly.

• Yu FengZi thanked Li Yan for sparing Yu ChenZi and led him to a reclusive elder who agreed to inspect Li Yan’s martial arts and arm.
• The elder recognized Li Yan’s Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin Sword Tassel as his Martial Grandfather’s work and recommended Shoushan Copper Essence for Li Yan’s saber.
• The elder said he could remake Li Yan’s tassel if Li Yan obtained the Twelve Yuan Chen Coins, then sent him away with instructions not to discuss their meeting.
• Li Yan returned to Wangxian Temple and listed the coins, metals, and other materials he hoped to buy at the vault.
• Li Yan accompanied Yu FengZi to Lotus Peak, where the Pure Yang Palace completed its ceremony and stabilized Mount Hua’s Innate Firm Qi.
• A high-ranking Daoist announced that the auspicious hour had arrived and ordered the vault opened.

Li Yan attended Mount Hua’s Opening Kiln Dharma Assembly, where Pure Yang Palace opened its sealed grottoes and brought out a vast store of Spiritual Materials. He entered the selection hall early as a Living Underworld Messenger and watched the imperial court claim materials for firearms and a great prison before the sects began choosing their treasures.

• Pure Yang Palace Daoists opened the cliffside grottoes and confirmed that the recovered Spiritual Materials were intact.
• Li Yan reassured Manager Wan and Quan Wanzhong that he would try to obtain the materials they wanted, then asked Zhao FaCheng to introduce the assembled sects and lineages.
• Jing XuZi let Li Yan enter with the first group, explaining that Living Underworld Messengers upheld the orthodox authority of Heaven and Earth.
• Inside the hall, the Mohist and military strategist elders presented the Ministry of Works’ list of materials, while a Legalist elder requested supplies to expand the great prison.
• The imperial court’s representatives collected their allotted materials and left, and Jing XuZi led the remaining cultivators into the rear hall to choose treasures.

Li Yan bought materials and ritual implements at Pure Yang Palace’s kiln-opening sale, then won the Shoushan Copper Essence and Twelve Yuan Chen Coins at auction. After returning to Wangxian Temple, he learned the coins could preserve spiritual power and wondered what other purpose they might serve as a saber tassel.

• Li Yan purchased fifty jin of white copper for Quan Wanzhong, decorative coins for Wang Dao Xuan, and supplies for Manager Wan and his team.
• Li Yan bought talisman paper, brushes, cinnabar, and Thunderstruck Wood while learning about strange incidents across the land and overseas.
• Li Yan won the Shoushan Copper Essence for twenty-two thousand taels and acquired the Twelve Yuan Chen Coins for more than ten thousand taels.
• Jing XuZi escorted the Orthodox Xuan Gate members out, and Li Yan later returned to Wangxian Temple with Wang Dao Xuan and the others.
• Li Yan examined the Twelve Yuan Chen Coins, and Wang Dao Xuan explained that Original Life Spirit Coins could store the power of spirit preservation.

Li Yan began secluded cultivation at Hua Mountain's Yang Gong Stone Chamber while soldiers searched the mountain for evidence against him. As nine Hua Mountain Divine Lamps appeared, an elder of Pure Yang Palace decided Li Yan's fate could help him complete Weapon Dissolution, and a mysterious figure of light entered Li Yan's tower.

• After bidding farewell to Manager Wan and Quan Wanzhong, Li Yan gave the Shoushan Copper Essence, Twelve Yuan Chen Coins, and Yao San's blades to the mysterious old man, who told him to return in five days.
• Yu FengZi arranged for Li Yan to cultivate at the Yang Gong Stone Chamber, while Lu San reported that soldiers had dug up the bodies at the Tang Mausoleum and blocked off Hua Mountain.
• Yan Jiuling arranged to seek help from Li Siyuan, and Li Yan promised to treat Yan Jiuling's illness once they reached Yichang.
• Li Yan began cultivating the second layer of the North Emperor Yin Mountain Method as Lu San and Wang Dao Xuan guarded the chamber.
• The Hua Mountain Divine Lamps appeared one by one, reaching nine, while Jing XuZi and an elder discussed Li Yan's potential and the elder's plan to undergo Weapon Dissolution.
• A humanoid figure of light entered the clouds and mist of Li Yan's second-layer tower.

Li Yan completed the second floor of his divine tower after enduring Geng Metal Qi, then learned it could strengthen his weapon techniques. At Wangxian Temple, he received a newly forged saber named Sever Dust, whose murderous aura triggered a strange vision that he instinctively cut through.

• Li Yan endured repeated attacks from Geng Metal Qi until it fused with his spirit, completing his tower but damaging his Great Luo Dharma Body and extinguishing one soul flame.
• Li Yan learned from Yu FengZi that Geng Metal Qi was a blessing that could improve blade and weapon control, and he discovered that he had endured it far longer than expected.
• Li Yan waited at Wangxian Temple as a mountain torrent damaged the roads and learned that the Pure Yang Palace abbot was gravely ill.
• The old craftsman presented Li Yan with a saber made from Shoushan Copper Essence and Hundred Refined Steel, embedding his Twelve Yuan Chen Copper Coins in its hilt and preparing a coin tassel from the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins.
• Li Yan grasped the saber, saw an illusion of a white-bearded Taoist attacking him, and instinctively slashed as Geng Metal Qi fused with the saber intent.
• The old craftsman named the saber Sever Dust and warned Li Yan not to tell anyone he had visited; afterward, he turned toward Pure Yang Palace and mourned his old friend.

Li Yan and his companions left Hua Mountain after Yan Jiuling used his official authority to clear the soldiers blocking their way, and the group shared a farewell drink before parting. As their paths diverged, allies and rivals across Guanzhong made their own plans, while Li Yan headed toward Ezhou and the chapter left Zhang YuanShang celebrating his birthday amid uneasy gatherings.

• Li Yan found the imperial troops still guarding the roads below Hua Mountain and prepared to break through with a spell.
• Yan Jiuling arrived with a governor's order, persuaded the soldiers to withdraw, and reunited with Li Yan and his companions.
• Li Yan and Yan Jiuling shared wine and said farewell, with Yan Jiuling heading toward the capital and Li Yan's group setting out for the martial world.
• Night Crying Man learned that Li Yan had left, Zhao Wan Fang prepared to go to the capital, and Li KongQing discussed Li Yan and other martial practitioners with the Young Lord of Chang'an Prince Manor.
• Yue Fachong left Chang'an with Zheng Xian's son and urged him to rely on his own strength, while Gu Chenzi departed with another child and warned him against causing trouble.
• Zhao the Donkey returned to the Mountain God Temple, where Feng GuNiang chose to stay and take the name Zhao FengShi; meanwhile, Zhang YuanShang prepared to host his sixtieth-birthday banquet after learning Li Yan had gone toward Ezhou.

An old monk performed a midnight rite over a blackening heart, then put it in a sachet and burned his hut. Li Yan and his companions reached Shangjin City in Ezhou, where they rested before continuing toward Yunyang Prefecture; gongs and drums sounded before dawn.

• At Zi Hour, an old monk bowed to a heart as Yin Wind and ghostly apparitions filled the forest, then took the heart and set his hut ablaze.
• Wang Yong brought Li Yan, Sha LiFei, Wang Dao Xuan, and Lu San to Shangjin City and told them the Canal Gang and Raft Sect were fighting over Yunyang Prefecture's wharves.
• Li Yan declined Wang Yong's offer to escort them onward, and the group entered Shangjin City after Li Yan showed the guards his Daoist credential.
• Li Yan and his companions rented adjoining rooms at an inn, where Li Yan examined the Severing Dust Blade and considered his plans for training in Yichang.
• As dawn approached, gongs and drums sounded through Shangjin City's streets.

Li Yan and his companions were drawn into the investigation of a massacre at Hu YuanWai’s residence after local authorities asked them to check for sorcery. Just as they found no traces of spellcasting and prepared to leave, Li Yan’s gou-die turned scorching hot and thick fog rose around them.

• Li Yan and his companions heard of a nighttime murder but chose to avoid getting involved and went out for Three Delicacies Soup the next morning.
• At the Old Shop of the Wu Family, Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan learned that Madam Wu worshiped a Household God taught to her family by an Immortal Elder.
• Soldiers searching the city questioned Li Yan’s group about the massacre of Hu YuanWai’s family, and County Magistrate Guo LuQing later asked them to examine the residence for signs of sorcery.
• Li Yan found no unusual scents, and Wang Dao Xuan found no traces of spellcasting on the victims, so Sha LiFei prepared to leave with the group.
• Li Yan’s gou-die suddenly grew scorching hot as thick fog rose around them.

Li Yan accepted an optional Underworld mission involving the demon Yuan ZiMei, then used its information to identify Demon Arts behind Hu YuanWai’s family killings. The investigation led the authorities to a temple in Shangjin City where foxes reacted violently, and the culprit remained to be found.

• Li Yan read the Underworld’s account of Yuan ZiMei and accepted a mission to track her escaped demonic qi for a high-grade strand of Celestial Qi.
• Li Yan examined Hu YuanWai’s corpse and told County Magistrate Guo to summon a coroner because the body held a hidden clue.
• The coroner opened the heart, revealing black rot and worms, and Li Yan identified the cause as the Fox Heart Art, which had driven Hu YuanWai to kill his family and himself.
• Li Yan advised County Magistrate Guo to search for foxes and listen for their wailing, warning that the practitioner might have accomplices.
• County Magistrate Guo summoned Qin Centurion, who closed Shangjin City’s gates and led soldiers carrying captured foxes through the streets.
• The foxes reacted with fury when the soldiers passed a temple, identifying it as the place connected to the culprit.

Li Yan investigated the Hu family murders, uncovered Coal Essence linked to New-Style Gunpowder, and learned the White Dragon Temple bandits had used the robbery as a smokescreen. After Qin Centurion died and Monk Ku Xin escaped, Han Kun arrived and revealed the dead centurion had been his eldest disciple.

• Qin Centurion led soldiers into White Dragon Temple, where bandits killed him with phosphorus fire and several others slit their own throats as Monk Ku Xin escaped through a secret passage.
• Li Yan discovered a hidden room beneath Hu YuanWai's garden containing Coal Essence, absorbed its blessing fortune, and concealed its identity from County Magistrate Guo.
• Li Yan explained his Living Underworld Messenger mission to his companions and gave Sha LiFei Coal Essence, warning him that it could explode and might be used in New-Style Gunpowder.
• Lu San offered to use his fox connections to help search for the demonic monk, and Li Yan agreed that building ties with the creatures could help the investigation.
• Han Kun visited Li Yan and revealed that he was leaving his Xianyang Cao Gang post to become an elder in Yunyang Prefecture.
• Han Kun asked who had killed the Hu family, then disclosed that Qin Centurion had been his eldest disciple.

Li Yan negotiated with Huang Wenzhong for help tracking Monk Ku Xin, securing a promise to clear Lu San’s wanted status in exchange for Lu San’s aid. After Lu San released the captured foxes and called them into the forest, an old fox appeared among eerie green fires as dusk fell.

• Han Kun explained that his murdered disciple Qin Xuhua had served as a Centurion, and the Commandery Commandant Office arrived to question Li Yan about the case.
• Huang Wenzhong questioned Li Yan about the criminals’ sorcery and their interest in coal and stone, but Li Yan denied knowing more and offered Lu San’s help tracking Monk Ku Xin.
• Li Yan bargained with Huang Wenzhong to have Lu San’s wanted status cleared, and Huang Wenzhong agreed that Lu San had acted justly against Qiao Sanhu’s bandits.
• The Commandery Commandant Office released its captured foxes, and Lu San spoke with them before they scattered into the woods while his falcon circled overhead.
• As the search party waited until dusk, Centurion Liu challenged Lu San’s methods, and an old fox appeared on a hillside amid drifting green ghost fires.

Li Yan and the others followed Lu San into the mountains to find the village sheltering the escaped monk, while the Commandery Commandant Office and Enforcement Hall joined the expedition. They fought off Rampaging Soldiers and came under arrow fire as the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect’s troops arrived.

• Lu San negotiated with a Ghost Fox, which agreed to lead them to the village in exchange for the death of the person who killed its fox immortal and the return of the fox immortal’s heart.
• Chiliarch Huang Wenzhong assembled two hundred elite fighters, and Lu San led the party through the forest toward the village.
• Lu San warned that the village had hidden sentries and Yin Souls, so Chiliarch Huang waited for three Daoists from the Enforcement Hall to arrive and prepare a ritual.
• Rampaging Soldiers attacked, and Li Yan used the Northern Emperor Body Protection Incantation and Yin Thunder Palm to disrupt and destroy them while Wang Dao Xuan fought beside him.
• Li Yan warned the group of incoming arrows and blocked them with his saber as the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect’s troops arrived and the Yin Wind rose.

Li Yan and the Commandery Commandant Office raided a hidden Heavenly Saint Sect village, uncovering a large gunpowder and weapons workshop. After finding Monk Ku Xin concealed in the ancestral hall, Li Yan confronted him as he unleashed a demonic power, and the chapter ended with underworld chains ringing in the darkness.

• Li Yan and the others held still as the She Ling Soldiers swept through the mountain village, leaving the Heavenly Saint Sect members unconscious.
• Chiliarch Huang ordered the village searched, and Li Yan saw that refugees, including elderly people and children, had been caught in the raid.
• The Commandery Commandant Office found a secret gunpowder workshop and weapons production site, revealing a source for explosives sold across several prefectures.
• Li Yan followed the warming Wanted Order to the ancestral hall and exposed Monk Ku Xin, who had hidden inside a pillar.
• Monk Ku Xin attacked with a Netherworld Fire Musket, then drew power from a shriveled heart and tore out a soldier's heart.
• Li Yan invoked the underworld command, extinguishing the flames as chains rang out and a shrill woman's voice vanished.

Li Yan and his companions returned the Fox Immortal’s heart and the monk’s corpse to the mountain foxes, then followed them to an ancient Chu ritual site for the Old Fox Immortal’s funeral. There, they discovered the Fox Immortal had been killed by a powerful new-style musket, and Li Yan suspected Bai RuoXu was involved.

• Li Yan told Chiliarch Huang that the monk’s corpse and the Fox Immortal’s heart must be given to the foxes, then took a special robe hidden inside the pillar.
• Li Yan and his companions left the stockade after completing their task, and Gu Hanzi resolved to have them verified and entered into the records.
• Lu San negotiated with the Ghost Fox, which invited the group to the Old Fox Immortal’s funeral; the foxes and other beasts led them to an ancient Chu ritual site.
• Wang Dao Xuan identified the ruins as a mountain-god ritual site, and the group found the Fox Immortal’s enormous remains with wounds that Sha LiFei recognized as musket damage.
• The old fox placed the Fox Immortal’s heart into the corpse, but it failed to awaken; Li Yan realized the Fox Immortal’s essence and Divine Soul had already been sacrificed to Yuan ZiMei.