Chapter Summaries

After the Ghost Fox led them to a tomb, Lu San took in the Fox Immortal’s child and learned that mountain spirits were being captured and a dangerous presence was spreading through the forests. Li Yan strengthened his Soul Hooking Chain with Divine Fiend Energy, then accompanied Wang Dao Xuan to treat Old Liu and asked him about a Phoenix Gold Ornament.

• The Ghost Fox led Li Yan and the others to a tomb, where Lu San rescued a Little White Fox from the coffin.
• The old Ghost Fox warned that mountain spirits and monsters were being captured and that an ominous presence was spreading, prompting the foxes to head north.
• Li Yan absorbed the underworld’s Divine Fiend Energy into his Great Luo Dharma Body, strengthening and lengthening his Soul Hooking Chain.
• Li Yan warned Sha LiFei not to pursue Bai RuoXu yet, and Lu San began caring for the Little White Fox.
• Wang Dao Xuan performed a ritual that eased Old Liu’s corpse poison and Yin baleful energy, then offered to help him change his home and learn protective methods.
• Li Yan gave Old Liu silver and showed him a Phoenix Gold Ornament, asking whether he had seen it before.

Li Yan learned that the Chu Shaman Token might be connected to the vanished Life Controller Society of Jun Mountain, then traveled with Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei toward Yunyang Prefecture. Along the way, they witnessed local folk arts that helped people catch fish and bless the rice harvest, and a great city appeared as dusk fell.

• Old Liu identified the Phoenix Gold Ornament’s emblem with the vanished Life Controller Society, which had worshiped the gods of ancient Chu on Jun Mountain.
• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan joined Old Liu’s farewell banquet, where Old Liu explained the custom of becoming a wealthy family’s child’s godfather.
• Sha LiFei introduced a drunken boatman who claimed descent from the ancient Dragon Keeper Clan and offered to escort them to Yunyang Prefecture.
• The boatman demonstrated his arts by drawing fish to the skiff and summoning a Chinese alligator, impressing Li Yan despite the humble nature of his skills.
• The group watched folk Yin Yang Masters perform a Rice Transplanting Ritual to honor the God of Millet and bless the harvest.
• As dusk fell, a great city came into view in the distance.

Li Yan and his companions arrived in Yunyang Prefecture, where Han Kun met them and arranged lodging at the Jiangzhe Guild Hall. After Han Kun admitted that he wanted to learn who had harmed his disciple, he guessed that Li Yan was holding back because of the New-Style Gunpowder.

• Li Yan and his companions reached the West River Wharf, where rival groups of porters revealed that the Cao Gang's control was weakening.
• Han Kun met the group in the city and offered them a welcome banquet and a place to stay.
• Han Kun brought Li Yan and the others to the Jiangzhe Guild Hall, where Chen Jizu showed them to their rooms.
• Han Kun privately explained that the city was troubled by conflict between the Cao Gang and the Raft Sect, as well as the arrival of unfamiliar people.
• Li Yan warned Han Kun not to pursue the matter of his disciple, but Han Kun asked whether Li Yan's caution was due to the New-Style Gunpowder.

Li Yan learned that New-Style Gunpowder formulas and firearm blueprints had leaked, and warned Han Kun that the Heavenly Saint Sect might be stirring up trouble in Yunyang Prefecture. The next morning, Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan registered at the prefectural City God Temple, where Gu Hanzi arrived and left Li Yan uneasy about his intentions.

• Han Kun explained that New-Style Gunpowder formulas and firearm blueprints had leaked and that unknown forces had been buying them.
• Li Yan identified the Heavenly Saint Sect as a likely source of trouble, and Han Kun hurried away to warn the Cao Gang leader.
• Li Yan and his companions skipped Han Kun's brothel invitation and ate at Jiangzhe Guild Hall, while a Recommended Scholar watched their room and remarked on their Treasure Qi.
• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan saw signs of rising tension between the Cao Gang and the Raft Sect as they walked through Yunyang Prefecture to the City God Temple.
• Feng Yuanzi recognized Li Yan's black clerical certificate, welcomed him on Gu Hanzi's instructions, and arranged their registration.
• Gu Hanzi arrived at the Quiet Room, and Feng Yuanzi left Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan alone with him.

Li Yan heard about unrest and dangerous missions in Ezhou, then agreed to investigate the deaths at Purple Canopy Mountain while traveling toward Yichang. He and Wang Dao Xuan learned that Lu San’s travel documents would be issued once the Wanted Order was withdrawn, and Centurion Wang said the order would be handled by the next day.

• Gu Hanzi explained Ezhou’s political troubles and offered Li Yan missions with rewards that could include access to Wudang’s Three Great Mysterious Realms.
• Li Yan rejected the dangerous Azure Dragon Mountain mission and agreed to investigate the deaths and strange events at Purple Canopy Mountain in Dangyang County.
• Gu Hanzi promised to arrange Lu San’s travel document as soon as the Commandery Commandant Office withdrew the Wanted Order.
• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan saw Tujia people from the Qin Clan protesting after river bandits repeatedly stole their tax grain and tribute goods.
• Centurion Wang told Li Yan that Chiliarch Huang was ill but had ordered the Wanted Order withdrawn, with the paperwork expected by the next day.

Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan avoided the violence erupting in Yunyang Prefecture, heard Luo RuLie recount his overseas voyages, and decided to leave the city after receiving their ordination certificates. That night, a tiny spirit creature was caught outside Lu San’s room, and a stranger rushed over to plead for its release.

• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan fled the streets as Yunyang Garrison soldiers began arresting people amid the unrest.
• At the Jiangzhe Guild Hall, Li Yan learned that Luo RuLie had returned from overseas and listened to him describe foreign lands, strange creatures, and maritime trade.
• Li Yan planned to leave Yunyang Prefecture after collecting their ordination certificates, then visit Yichang and Purple Canopy Mountain Blessed Grotto-Heavens.
• Li Yan studied the North Emperor Scripture and practiced blade control with a copper ball before going to bed.
• A small bark-skinned spirit creature crept to Lu San’s room and was surrounded by hornets from the Demon Gourd.
• Wang Dao Xuan identified the creature as a Mu Ke, and a stout stranger hurried over asking them to spare it.

Li Yan and his companions learned that Lin Yu had discovered Dragon Qi on Azure Dragon Mountain, where a dangerous beast had been causing people to disappear. After leaving Yunyang, they boarded a boat at East River Ferry, while Chen Yuanqing arrived looking for Lin Yu.

• Chen Yuanqing questioned Lin Yu, who admitted he had secretly learned Treasure Hunting and could see Treasure Qi.
• Lin Yu said he had seen Dragon Qi and a Dragon Shadow on Azure Dragon Mountain and suspected a dragon had fallen there in ancient times.
• Li Yan revealed that Azure Dragon Mountain was tied to a City God Temple mission involving missing commoners and vanished Meishan Dharma Sect experts.
• Chen Yuanqing decided to send Lin Yu to the capital, while Li Yan and his companions prepared to leave Yunyang.
• Han Kun gave Li Yan a token for a boatman at East River Ferry and warned that the Raft Sect was inspecting travelers.
• Li Yan and his companions boarded the boat and sailed away; Chen Yuanqing then arrived at the ferry, angrily searching for Lin Yu.

Li Yan and his companions traveled to Azure Dragon Mountain with Fast Boat Zhang and Lin Yu, who had secretly followed them to seek a hidden Heavenly Spiritual Treasure. After Lu San discovered signs of moving dead people, the group climbed the mountain and found ritual remnants near the summit.

• Zhang ShuiSheng, known as Fast Boat Zhang, warned Li Yan and his companions that the river routes had become dangerous.
• Lu San summoned Chinese Alligators, and Lin Yu emerged from the river after secretly following the group with a treasure-tracking artifact.
• Lin Yu explained that he wanted to see Azure Dragon Mountain’s hidden treasure, while Li Yan cautioned him about the risks of following them.
• Fast Boat Zhang brought the group to Azure Dragon Mountain, where Lin Yu said the treasure appeared only at certain times and was concealed by a configuration.
• Lu San learned from animals that dead people moved around the mountain at midnight, and Wang Dao Xuan reasoned that any jiangshi would be on the Yin side.
• Li Yan found half a Yellow Talisman beneath a tree near the summit, beside an overturned Pottery Bowl and scattered incense ash.

Li Yan and his companions discovered an Old Zombie wearing forbidden military armor on Azure Dragon Mountain, then hid and prepared a trap for the group approaching them. The newcomers appeared to be displaced refugees accompanied by Barbarians, and the reason for their presence remained unknown.

• Li Yan’s group followed the Western Xuan Lineage’s tracking smoke and found a villager’s corpse used as bait, with a bite wound that Wang Dao Xuan identified as the work of a powerful zombie.
• Li Yan beheaded an Old Zombie hidden beneath dead leaves, and the group discovered it wore military White Tiger Mountain Pattern Armor reserved for Guerilla Generals.
• The falcon warned Lu San that about ten people were approaching from the foot of the mountain, and Li Yan told Lin Yu to keep the night’s events secret if he wanted to live.
• Sha LiFei prepared a gunpowder Fire Caltrop, while Lin Yu used a powder inherited from his master to mask its smell; the group hid the trap beneath the zombie and concealed themselves with Wang Dao Xuan’s formation.
• A group dressed like mountain folk arrived beneath the full moon, and Li Yan recognized them as displaced refugees accompanied by Barbarians.

Li Yan and his companions discovered Heavenly Saint Sect members and Tusi forces torturing Meishan Sect sorcerer Mister Tian, then intervened to save him. As the attackers fled, a huge scaled beast burst from the earth and killed two of them, leaving Li Yan facing an unknown danger.

• Li Yan learned that the Heavenly Saint Sect and Tusi forces had joined together amid unrest over the court’s policies in Yunyang, and Lin Yu urged him to save Mister Tian.
• Li Yan attacked the group before they could kill Mister Tian, defeating their spear-wielding fighter and cutting down several others while poisonous bees disrupted their formation.
• A Xiangxi sorcerer tried to summon a buried zombie, but a gunpowder trap exploded and killed him and two guards when they uncovered its broken head.
• The surviving attackers fled, and Li Yan killed one with a flying knife while another held Mister Tian hostage.
• A scaled beast erupted from the ground, bit one fleeing man in half, and struck the other into a tree.

Li Yan and his companions defeated a powerful earth dragon, rescued Tian QiLang, and learned the Heavenly Saint Sect was seeking Dragon Essence to revive its leader. After securing the beast’s remains, they followed Lin Yu to a hill, where mysterious lights rose from the ground.

• The earth dragon attacked the group, but Lu San’s poisonous bees and Sha LiFei’s Bamboo Thunder Arrow weakened it long enough for Li Yan to restrain and kill it with the Severing Dust Blade and Yin Thunderbolts.
• Wang Dao Xuan sealed the earth dragon’s powerful soul in the Wandering Soul Jar, and Lin Yu preserved its hide while the group gathered its remains.
• Tian QiLang thanked Li Yan and explained that the Heavenly Saint Sect had captured him while seeking Dragon Essence near Azure Dragon Mountain to revive its leader.
• Li Yan offered Tian QiLang the earth dragon’s skeleton, and Tian QiLang agreed to keep the group’s actions secret while sending most of the remains to the City God Temple.
• Lin Yu spotted the dragon-shaped Treasure Qi and led Li Yan and the others to a hill, where they saw white Spiritual Light rising from the ground.

Li Yan and his companions recovered a dinosaur-egg Heavenly Spiritual Treasure, then chose a dangerous shortcut toward Jingzhou. In Xiangyang, they learned that the Heavenly Saint Sect had led the people of the Jingchu Mountain Area in rebellion and that southwestern chieftains had also turned against Da Xuan.

• Lin Yu used fire and his calculations to draw the Spiritual Lights together, and Li Yan led the group to uncover a jade-like dinosaur egg fossil.
• Li Yan absorbed some of the treasure’s fortune, reigniting his soul fire, then preserved the remaining fortune by placing the egg in a leather pouch.
• Tian QiLang left to warn the City God Temple in Yunyang Prefecture, while Li Yan and the others sailed on and Lin Yu parted from them at Wudang County.
• Li Yan agreed to take the shortcut through dangerous waterways and allowed Wang Dao Xuan to advise Fast Boat Zhang about supernatural threats in exchange for the boatman’s help.
• At Xiangyang, Sha LiFei learned that the Heavenly Saint Sect had led a Jingchu rebellion and that southwestern chieftains had rejected Da Xuan’s authority.

As war spread through the southwest, Li Yan and his companions traveled down the Han River and learned of unrest involving the Raft Sect. Suspecting the clashes might be connected to the rebellion, Li Yan sent a warning to Yunyang before the group entered a dangerous mountain waterway toward Zhu Family Fortress.

• Sha LiFei reported that the Heavenly Saint Sect had seized Zhushan County, while Tusi forces and unrest had spread across the southwest.
• Li Yan and his companions traveled down the crowded Han River and heard that the Raft Sect leaders Wei Lao Ba and Black Fish Head were fighting over control of a tributary.
• After imperial water troops cleared the blocked waterway, Li Yan suspected the Raft Sect clashes might be deliberate and could be tied to the rebellion.
• Li Yan sent a letter to Chiliarch Huang at the Yunyang Commandery Commandant Office warning of the Raft Sect's suspicious activity.
• Fast Boat Zhang guided the group into a mountain waterway toward Zhu Family Fortress, where riders on the riverbank shouted at them to leave.

Li Yan and his companions uncovered the Raft Sect’s plot to block the waterway with hidden reefs and fire mechanisms, then attacked the men operating them. The chapter ended as a red-robed foreign monk arrived with armed followers and summoned a terrifying divine image.

• Sha LiFei killed Raft Sect men who admitted they had been ordered to stop travelers and mentioned charred corpses from an escort agency’s passage.
• Li Yan’s group entered the foggy mountain waterway, where Lu San discovered suspicious pits and heard that the monkeys’ king had been killed and their wine stolen.
• Fast Boat Zhang halted the boat when the current revealed hidden reefs, and Lu San found boulders deliberately placed in the river.
• Lu San’s fish exposed a Dragon Fire mechanism, and Li Yan sent his Chuling Paper Figure and Lu San’s poisonous bees to attack white-robed men carrying fire weapons.
• Li Yan climbed the mountainside and identified the bamboo-tube weapons as crude Netherworld Fire Muskets, while their flames killed some of the bees and men.
• A red-robed foreign monk arrived beating a hand drum, followed by white-robed gunmen, as a horrifying divine image rose behind him.

Li Yan and Lu San fought an Esoteric Buddhist monk and his white-robed allies near the mine tunnels, then discovered evidence that the operation involved phosphate ore and a hidden prison. The chapter left Li Yan and his companions inside a mine filled with the corpses of emaciated prisoners.

• Li Yan broke the monk’s curse and fought him with the Severing Dust Blade and Soul Hooking Chain while Lu San’s poisonous bees distracted the white-robed men.
• Lu San shot the monk with a bone club firearm, and Li Yan burned him with a Netherworld Fire Musket after the monk tried to escape.
• A centipede emerged from the monk’s corpse and was devoured by Lu San’s spirit beasts.
• Li Yan and his companions explored the mine tunnels, where Sha LiFei identified phosphate ore that could be used to make firearms.
• Li Yan led the group into a deeper tunnel lit by poisonous fluorite, where they found a prison full of corpses.

Li Yan and the others uncovered a miners’ prison, weapons workshop, and dangerous dragon-vein site before blasting a passage through the river and reaching Zhu Family Fortress. There, Village Chief Zhu YuCheng warned them that filthy things haunted the river at night, while Li Yan learned the village itself also had a problem.

• Li Yan and his companions found the imprisoned miners, a strange goddess statue, firearms, and a Thunderbolt Fire Scripture at the mine.
• Wang Dao Xuan identified the site as a killing dragon vein where evil Yin energy was leaking into the river, and Sha LiFei found powder kegs to clear the blocked waterway.
• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan burned the miners’ corpses, and the group carried away the weapons before navigating the dangerous river bends.
• At Zhu Family Fortress, Li Yan reported the miners’ captors to Village Chief Zhu YuCheng and warned him that the village had its own problem.
• Village Chief Zhu YuCheng warned Li Yan that filthy things emerged from the river at night.

Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan investigated the strange deaths and disappearances in Zhu Family Fortress, tracing them to an old Confucian scholar’s use of Apocryphal Prophecy. After Wang Dao Xuan ordered the village to expose the truth and inspect the ancestral graves, Li Yan returned to the riverbank and learned that Sha LiFei and Lu San had found a New-Style Gunpowder formula and firearm blueprints.

• Sha LiFei and Lu San opened the old manual and discovered a New-Style Gunpowder formula and firearm blueprints.
• Village Chief Zhu told Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan that river pirates from the village had killed everyone aboard a passenger boat, after which strange deaths and disappearances began.
• Wang Dao Xuan linked the village’s misfortunes and villagers’ dreams of cursed ancestors to Apocryphal Prophecy used to disturb their ancestral graves and unsettle their minds.
• Village Chief Zhu reported that dozens of villagers had dreamed of their ancestors cursing them, and Wang Dao Xuan ordered him to reveal the matter publicly and take him to the ancestral graves the next day.
• Li Yan returned to the riverbank, where Sha LiFei told him about the gunpowder formula and firearm blueprints.

Li Yan and his companions investigated the curse afflicting Zhu Family Fortress, discovered that a scholar had corrupted an ancient burial-ground seal, and helped the villagers end the immediate danger. As they resumed their journey, Wang Dao Xuan warned that Great Xuan faced a far greater upheaval driven by the changing Human Path.

• Li Yan explained that the Thunderbolt Fire Scripture required securing permission, preparing for its former owners’ retaliation, and finding a Daoist craftsman, while Sha LiFei identified a way to make New-Style Gunpowder.
• Wang Dao Xuan and Li Yan stopped three entranced villagers from walking into the river, and Wang Dao Xuan persuaded the crowd that their fear of ancestral ghosts had been manipulated.
• Li Yan found ancestral graves flooded with foul water, and Wang Dao Xuan traced the disturbance to a shattered Azure Dragon Stone Statue that had let baleful energy reach the graves.
• Wang Dao Xuan concluded that an arrogant scholar had broken the ancient seal and used Apocryphal Prophecy to curse the village, then arranged to divert the baleful energy into the river and calm the graves.
• Li Yan and his companions left Zhu Family Fortress by boat as Jingmen garrison soldiers rode toward the village, and Wang Dao Xuan reflected on the looming calamity facing Great Xuan.

Li Yan and his companions reached Yichang City, where war and unrest had brought heavy scrutiny to travelers and martial practitioners. Yu Lingzi recognized Li Yan through a letter from Gu Hanzi and welcomed the group, whose arrival ended at a damaged City God Temple under repair.

• At the Zhu Family Fortress mine, a white-bearded elder ordered Bai RuoXu to contact Red Woman and pass Zhao Changsheng a message promising him a treasure.
• Li Yan and his companions thanked Fast Boat Zhang, parted from him at Yichang’s dock, and entered the city after soldiers verified their black Daoist credential.
• The group learned that Yuan Qun had stabilized the defense of Yunyang City while the imperial court prepared to suppress the Heavenly Saint Sect and rebellious tusi.
• Yu Lingzi recognized Li Yan as the visitor expected through Gu Hanzi’s letter and escorted the group into Yichang.
• Yu Lingzi led the hungry travelers through the city toward the City God Temple, where they found part of its façade collapsed and workers repairing it in the rain.

Li Yan and his companions learned that Yichang’s City God Temple had been damaged amid unrest, dwindling forces, and rumors blaming the court for failed crops. Yu Lingzi asked them to investigate the village behind the attack, and Li Yan agreed to help after handling another matter in Yichang.

• Yu Lingzi brought Li Yan’s group to the Changfeng Inn, where he explained that Iron Corpse Nong Da and Demon Monk Ga Ma had been wanted criminals killed by Li Yan.
• Yu Lingzi described Yichang’s worsening crisis: spies and sorcerers were gathering, evil spirits were troubling the region, and the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect lacked enough people to respond.
• Yu Lingzi said villagers had smashed the Land God Temple and attacked the City God Temple after their rice seedlings withered and rumors blamed the imperial court; he asked Li Yan’s group to help settle the unrest.
• Li Yan agreed to help after completing another matter in Yichang, while Yu Lingzi promised rewards and True Martial Tokens for their earlier deeds.
• Wang Dao Xuan told Li Yan to visit the Yan Residence and said he would prepare at the inn; Li Yan warned Sha LiFei and Brother Lu to stay with him, then left alone.
• An Old Beggar playing the erhu watched Li Yan leave, revealing crimson pupils.