Chapter Summaries

Patriarch Tian returned to Dustpan Village with Li Yan and the others, where they uncovered his brother’s involvement in grave robbing and found evidence that someone had tampered with the Tian ancestral graves. The group also identified the Bamboo Strips recovered by Li Yan as an ancient text titled the Classic of Mountains and Seas Spiritual Responses, though its contents remained unread.

• Patriarch Tian brought Li Yan and the others to Dustpan Village, where villagers warned him that outsiders had been staying at the Tian ancestral residence.
• Patriarch Tian’s guards caught Wu JinGui and his men at the residence, and Liu YiZhong disabled the grave robbers when they tried to flee.
• The grave robbers confessed that Tian Family’s Second Master had hired them to rob Chu Tombs, and Sha LiFei exposed a disciple who had helped outsiders tamper with the ancestral graves.
• The disciple revealed that a group of Miao People had coerced him, and Wu JinGui identified their damaged lungs and hands as signs of kiln workers.
• Wang Dao Xuan found a tunnel leading to the Tian ancestral graves, where stones wrapped in red cloth had been placed to strengthen the Yansheng Curse.
• Tian Wei examined Li Yan’s Bamboo Strips, identified their writing as Zhiying Script, and read the title as the Classic of Mountains and Seas Spiritual Responses.

Li Yan accompanied Patriarch Tian and Tian Wei to Wuchang to register for the arena challenge, settle the Tian family’s affairs, and seek out Master Lin. After helping capture a foreign fugitive, Li Yan entered the E Prefecture Merchant Guild’s meeting hall and sensed that two people there concealed their presence.

• Tian Wei identified the bamboo strips as a valuable lost Chu witch-ritual song and promised to introduce Li Yan to Master Lin, who studied Zhiying Script.
• Li Yan inspected a robbed Chu tomb while Wang Dao Xuan performed rites at the Tian family graves; Tian Wei explained the dangers and taboos surrounding several ancient tombs.
• Cheng Jue questioned Li Yan about the Miao People and kiln workers, asked him to keep the matter secret, and warned that an unseen mastermind had targeted the Tian family.
• Patriarch Tian, Tian Wei, and Li Yan traveled to Wuchang, where Patriarch Tian rejected Tian Wei’s suggestion to invite an opera troupe while the threat remained unresolved.
• Li Yan knocked down a fleeing red-haired foreigner with a roof tile, and Patriarch Tian led the group into the E Prefecture Merchant Guild Hall.
• Inside the guild’s meeting hall, Li Yan recognized Zhang XiaoShan among the martial artists and noticed that two people concealed their presence.

Li Yan attended the E Prefecture Merchant Guild meeting and learned that the guild would distribute firearm quotas among merchant fleets and jianghu factions, with the last fifty decided by challenge bouts. Wu Honglin later offered Li Yan a letter of introduction to arcane craftsmen, while privately investigating ominous incidents in Wu Prefecture and a possible plot against the Prince.

• Patriarch Tian brought Li Yan to the guild meeting, where Li Yan confronted Shi Chen and learned that the gathering concerned the imperial court’s new rules for commercial permits and firearms.
• Wu Honglin divided the guild’s five hundred firearm quotas among its escort fleet, major factions, and other groups, reserving fifty for challenge bouts.
• Patriarch Tian apologized that Li Yan would have to win quotas through the bouts, while faction leaders kept their distance after learning of Li Yan’s past conflicts.
• Wu Honglin hosted Patriarch Tian and Li Yan, apologized for his family’s earlier conduct, and promised to introduce Li Yan to arcane craftsmen staying in Wu Prefecture City.
• After Li Yan and Patriarch Tian left, Wu Honglin questioned a subordinate about the Jiangxia Barbarians and suspected that supernatural disturbances were being staged to target the Prince.
• Li Yan and Patriarch Tian walked through the lively streets and entered the still-open Western Clocks shop.

Li Yan and Patriarch Tian found Patriarch Tian’s estranged second brother ill and facing ruin after a carefully planned business fraud. Li Yan connected the second brother’s troubles, the third brother’s scandal, and a curse targeting the family, concluding that someone was forcing the Tian family to do something rather than trying to destroy them outright.

• Patriarch Tian bought brass pocket watches for Li Yan, Sha LiFei, Lu San, and Wang Dao Xuan before leading them to his second brother’s home.
• The group found the second brother’s gate defaced and learned he was hiding inside, ill and burdened by debts and threats.
• Patriarch Tian apologized for his past treatment of his brothers, and he and his second brother reconciled.
• The second brother explained how a supposed customer cheated him through a Han Embroidery deal, and Li Yan identified the scheme as the work of the Bee Sect.
• Patriarch Tian learned that his third brother was also facing blackmail and business ruin, and Li Yan pointed out that all three brothers had been targeted through their weaknesses.
• Li Yan concluded that the people behind the attacks were forcing the Tian family rather than seeking to destroy it.

Li Yan uncovered signs that Tian Han might be connected to the forces threatening the Tian family and urged Patriarch Tian to report the matter to the Enforcement Hall. After leaving the family at the merchant guild, Li Yan raced to warn Baotong Chan Temple, fought off Meishan Dharma Sect archers, and reached the temple gate, where his tally began trembling.

• Li Yan explained that the Tian family was being held hostage to pressure someone close to them, and Patriarch Tian and Tian Wei recalled that Tian Han had mysteriously persuaded them to abandon plans concerning his life.
• Li Yan warned Patriarch Tian that Tian Han might be possessed or reincarnated, and Patriarch Tian decided to report the matter to the Enforcement Hall.
• Patriarch Tian moved his family to the merchant guild while Li Yan escaped Wu Prefecture City using an armored horse talisman and headed for Baotong Chan Temple.
• Li Yan evaded a Night Owl sent to track him, but three western Hunan sorcerers intercepted him with enchanted arrows; he crushed the arrows and recognized the Meishan Dharma Sect's methods.
• Li Yan reached Baotong Chan Temple and told a great monk at the gate that he had come to deliver a warning, but his tally began trembling before he could explain.

Li Yan visited Baotong Chan Temple to warn Cheng Jue about the danger facing the Tian family, then revealed that spirit communion had shown him the temple Buddha weeping blood and the Four Symbols turning evil. With the temple’s leaders’ permission, he began a ritual to seek more clues from the Buddha statue, leaving the result unknown.

• Li Yan saw a vision of the temple Buddha weeping blood as the Four Symbols Divine Beasts turned into evil creatures.
• Li Yan met Cheng Jue and learned that the Tian family, the Xu Family Troupe, and Tian Han were caught in a larger scheme involving several groups of attackers.
• Li Yan told Cheng Jue that his vision showed the Four Symbols tainted by evil, and Cheng Jue explained that Baotong Chan Temple’s spirit-communion monks had been ambushed and killed.
• Cheng Jue brought Li Yan to Abbot Mingzhu and the Great Hero Hall, where they found the Buddha statue shedding blood-like tears.
• Li Yan prepared a Soul Guiding Lamp, a basin of clear water, and the Tally Writ, then stepped into the ritual and saw everything go dark.

Li Yan uncovered that the demonic people planned to disrupt the Four Symbols and the region’s ley lines, threatening earthquakes and floods across the three cities. The authorities mobilized against the plot, while Li Yan guarded the Tian family and learned that their benefactor, Mister Zhou, had stolen items from the Prince’s treasury.

• Li Yan saw an illusion revealing the troubled Four Symbols and described their locations to Mingzhu and the monks at Baotong Chan Temple.
• Senior Brother Tonghai identified the Tortoise and Snake Mountains, the Barbarian King Tomb, and the Western Zhou Ancient Mine as targets in a plot to disrupt the land’s ley lines and cause a catastrophe.
• Mingzhu mobilized Baotong Chan Temple’s Martial Monks, and city forces arrested the Bee Sect swindlers and their accomplices while soldiers searched the Tortoise and Snake Mountains.
• Li Yan returned to Wu Prefecture City to protect the Tian family, and Cheng Jue assigned Huide and several Martial Monks to assist him.
• The Tian family recalled that Mister Zhou had treated them unusually well and had once stolen items from the Prince’s treasury.

Li Yan discovered that Tian Han was the latest incarnation of a sorcerer who had lived as the Tian brothers’ father and later as Zhou Changshi, and learned that demons were hunting him for a possible Red Mohe treasure. The Tian family chose to protect Tian Han, while Li Yan turned to his other duties in Wuchang City and planned to meet Master Lin at dusk.

• Li Yan examined the Tian family genealogy and learned that the family’s ancestor had been entrusted with a Red Mohe, which Patriarch Tian remembered seeing on his father before it vanished.
• Li Yan connected Zhou Changshi’s rise to the death of Patriarch Tian’s father and concluded that the father had seized another body before being reborn as Tian Han, who was now the monk Bu Kong.
• Patriarch Tian and his family refused to report Tian Han, and Li Yan warned them that he was assigned to hunt Returning Yang Ones and could not promise to spare him.
• The next morning, Baotong Chan Temple’s monks told Li Yan that they had cleared Yansheng Curses and that soldiers were targeting the Barbarian King Tomb and the Liangzi Lake Kiln Sites.
• Li Yan learned Master Lin would arrive around dusk, then left the E Prefecture Merchant Guild to visit Xuan Gate craftsmen, beginning with Master Yuan.

Li Yan searched Wu Prefecture City for an artisan to forge firearms, armor, and weapons, then persuaded Master Lu to consider the job by offering secret firearm blueprints. Hu Ming revealed that he and Master Lu would agree only if Li Yan obtained a certain treasure from the Royal Palace of Wu Prefecture.

• Li Yan visited Master Yuan, who rejected him because Xiong BaoDong had once helped him.
• Li Yan learned that Master Zheng was occupied with the merchant fleet's warships and that the other artisans were working under him.
• Li Yan found Master Lu preparing to leave Wu Prefecture and met Hu Ming, a lay disciple of the Doumu Institute.
• Li Yan presented his plans for firearms, earth-dragon armor, and other equipment, but Master Lu initially refused to make the New Style Firearm.
• Li Yan offered secret-method blueprints, and Master Lu agreed to consider the work after discussing the risks with Hu Ming.
• Hu Ming named a treasure in the Royal Palace of Wu Prefecture as their condition.

Li Yan arranged for Master Lu to pursue materials and a suitable site for crafting a New Style Firearm, then moved the Tian family from Hanyang to safety in Wu Prefecture. He visited Jianghan Academy to meet Master Lin, where the Jiang Xiang Sect master challenged the claim that Tonghai had broken the demonic practitioners’ formation.

• Hu Ming asked Li Yan to mediate with the Prince of Wu Prefecture for access to a Crystal Altar, and Master Lu agreed to craft an artifact if the materials were obtained.
• Master Lu chose Yuquan Temple’s Zhuodao Spring as the place to refine the artifact, and Li Yan agreed to request access through Baotong Chan Temple.
• Li Yan brought the Tian family from Hanyang to the E Prefecture Merchant Guild, then learned that Cheng Jue was away and Abbess Mingzhu had gone to the Prince’s residence.
• Li Yan, Tian Wei, and Lu San went to Jianghan Academy to visit Master Lin, where they met the Jiang Xiang Sect master at a banquet by Moon Pond.
• Master Lin asked Li Yan about breaking the demonic practitioners’ formation, and the Jiang Xiang Sect master scoffed that Tonghai lacked the ability to do so.

Li Yan and Lu San learned about the Life Controller Society and translated an ancient covenant from Lu San’s bamboo slips, while Master Lin asked them to search for a beast that might cure his son. The chapter ended with the Prince arriving to invite Master Yu in person.

• Master Yu explained that a deadly formation had taken shape and refused to help until Baotong Chan Temple and the royal palace invited him publicly.
• Master Lin identified Li Yan’s Phoenix Gold Ornament as a token of the nearly vanished Life Controller Society and described its history and lost shrines.
• Lu San showed Master Lin his bamboo slips, which proved to be an ancient covenant between witches and spirit mediums and mountain and river spirits.
• Master Lin translated the slips into a handbook for Lu San and asked him to find the legendary beast Wan Yan, whose flesh and blood might cure Master Lin’s son.
• Tian Wei reported that the Prince had come in person to invite Master Yu.

Li Yan learned that Yu LanShan had been sent to aid the prince and uncover the danger around the Barbarian King Tomb, while the Dragon Boat Festival events and martial tournament had been moved forward. After arranging help to forge the mystical artifact, Li Yan left with Sha LiFei, and Wang Dao Xuan cast a hexagram warning that unwelcome visitors were coming.

• Master Lin explained Yu LanShan’s origins and abilities, then learned that a blood sacrifice at the Barbarian King Tomb had turned the area into a place of extreme evil.
• Vice President Zhao told Li Yan that the martial tournament would begin in three days as part of an expanded festival program ordered by the prince’s residence.
• Wang Dao Xuan warned Li Yan that the White Tiger’s baleful force might threaten Turtle Mountain and that the tournament could be part of the Feng Shui scheme.
• Li Yan visited Baotong Chan Temple, where Cheng Jue described the danger of a Corpse Immortal or Drought Demon and agreed to help arrange the artifact materials and a forging site.
• Li Yan returned to the guild and left with Sha LiFei to find Master Lu, while Wang Dao Xuan cast a hexagram and concluded that those approaching bore no good intentions.

Li Yan prepared for the Tortoise Mountain challenge while refining his martial arts, and Wang Dao Xuan identified the mountain’s Five Elements arrangement as part of Yu LanShan’s plan against the White Tiger Evil. At the arena, Zhang XiaoShan asked Li Yan to kill someone in the upcoming match.

• Master Lu agreed to forge full-body soft armor for Li Yan, while Sha LiFei sought his advice on remodeling a firearm.
• Li Yan warned Hu Ming that E Prefecture City held hidden dangers, and Hu Ming assured him that the Jin Prefecture Merchant Guild could protect itself.
• Li Yan trained with Yin and Yang Thunder, repeatedly injuring and repairing his body with the Great Luo Dharma Body until his martial power increased and the jadeified dinosaur egg lost its Spiritual Charm.
• Wang Dao Xuan explained that Yu LanShan had placed a Five Elements arrangement across Tortoise Mountain, with Central Earth serving as its key and possible weakness.
• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan reached the arena, where Zhang XiaoShan asked Li Yan to beat someone to death during the challenge match.

Li Yan asked Zhang XiaoShan to guide him in exchange for killing the dangerous Yang Yun, Flowery Snake, whom the Raft Sect had brought to the tournament. After Zhang XiaoShan helped Li Yan improve the way he combined his boxing styles, the Prince of Wu Prefecture arrived and the arena match was about to begin.

• Zhang XiaoShan explained that the tournament had become more dangerous after factions hired outside fighters, including the Raft Sect's Yang Yun, who had harmed one of his disciples.
• Zhang XiaoShan asked Li Yan to kill Yang Yun, and Li Yan agreed in exchange for guidance with his boxing.
• Li Yan and Zhang XiaoShan sparred inside a screened tent, where Zhang XiaoShan demonstrated his Eight Trigrams Willow Leaf Cotton Palm, Integrated Strength, and Nine Section Strength.
• Zhang XiaoShan coached Li Yan to unite his boxing styles through spirit and repeated sparring until Li Yan found a way to overcome the flaws between them.
• Li Yan showed Zhang XiaoShan his Heavenly Thunder Demon Subduing Hammer, but Zhang XiaoShan declined to test it and told him to save it for Yang Yun.
• A horn announced the Prince of Wu Prefecture's arrival, and Zhang XiaoShan warned Li Yan not to hold back in the Punitive Sacrifice arena match.

Li Yan watched the firearm-slot competition begin at Guishan, where the first match ended with King Yaozi defeating an escort from the Xingye Escort Agency. Li Yan was then matched against the Raft Sect’s Flowery Snake Yang Yun, whose scarred, scaled neck suggested he had cultivated the Longevity Immortal Treasury’s secret art.

• Zhang XiaoShan explained that the fighting matches had no restrictions on methods, and Prince of Wu Prefecture’s order made fighters responsible for life and death.
• Yu LanShan performed a Feng Shui ceremony at the ring, and Wang Dao Xuan said the ritual was gathering divine power to help suppress the White Tiger.
• King Yaozi used Mantis Saber and a returning twin-saber attack to defeat the Xingye Escort Agency’s escort and win the first match for the Porters Guild.
• The Merchant Guild announced that Li Yan would face the Raft Sect, and Flowery Snake Yang Yun entered the ring to challenge him.
• Li Yan noticed that Yang Yun’s ulcerated, scale-like neck showed he had cultivated the Longevity Immortal Treasury’s secret art.

Li Yan defeated and killed Flowery Snake Yang Yun after exposing the danger of his demonic cultivation and overcoming his snake attacks with lightning. As the next match began, the Enforcement Hall questioned Pai Head Shi Chen about who had introduced Yang Yun.

• Li Yan recognized that Flowery Snake Yang Yun cultivated the sinister Yin Embryo Longevity Technique and challenged him to fight.
• Yang Yun attacked with magic snakes and poisoned darts, but Li Yan held his defense while waiting for an opening.
• Li Yan used the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin Sword Tassel to scatter the snakes, then struck Yang Yun with Northern Emperor Yin Lightning and killed him.
• Li Yan destroyed the remaining iron-skinned snakes, warned that Yang Yun's corpse needed to be burned, and won the second match.
• The third match began between the Gelaohui's Lowly Third Master and a fighter from the Four Seas Carriage Guild, while the Enforcement Hall asked Pai Head Shi Chen who had introduced Yang Yun.

Li Yan exposed a demonic plot to sabotage the Yu King Palace’s formation, though the conspirators’ leader remained hidden. As Wu Honglin investigated Wu Jiu Cheng’s death, Master Cheng Jue identified a sinister Cat Ghost technique at the Wu residence.

• Shi Chen’s subordinate revealed that Wu Jiu Cheng had recommended Flower Snake, prompting the Enforcement Hall to search the mountain for demonic spies.
• Prince of Wu Prefecture dismissed Vice President Zhao’s accusations against Wu Honglin and warned his son to balance the martial world, Buddhist school, and Daoist sect.
• The merchant guild and Enforcement Hall captured infiltrators who had tried to sabotage the Yu King Palace’s formation nodes, and Zhang XiaoShan learned that Wu Jiu Cheng’s concubine had directed the plot.
• Li Yan continued studying the fighters and training his fist technique with Zhang XiaoShan as the arena’s baleful aura flowed toward Qingchuan Pavilion.
• At the Wu family residence, Cheng Jue found cat paw prints through Wu Jiu Cheng’s room and identified them as traces of the Cat Ghost technique associated with his concubine, Liu Niang.

The Enforcement Hall and Wu Honglin uncovered how Liu Niang had infiltrated Wu Prefecture City, while Li Yan’s allies guarded the Tian family against attacks. Li Yan refined a force-rebounding technique during training, then learned that Tian Han was a returning yang one and that the pursuer was Po Liu Han Ba Ling.

• Cheng Jue suspected the Ghost Sect was behind the infiltration and warned that the enemy might be targeting the grain routes and the campaign’s logistics.
• A Leather Gate peddler tried to spy on the merchant association, but Lu San kicked him down; the man killed himself before he could be questioned.
• Branch Master Liu ordered the Meishan Dharma Sect Three Brothers to wait for Heavenly Saint Sect reinforcements, find the Earth Position Altar, and expose the man hiding on Mount Mulan.
• Li Yan used Zhang XiaoShan’s Hidden Strength to test his Undying Imprint Method, which absorbed and rebounded some of the force.
• A Martial Monk told Li Yan that Mount Mulan’s people had targeted Tian Han because he was a returning yang one, and identified their leader as Po Liu Han Ba Ling.

Li Yan built his reputation at the Wuchang martial competition by defeating unusual arts and securing four places for his group, while the Enforcement Hall warned him about Po Liu Han Ba Ling. On the final day, he faced Wu Qu of the Hua Guang Sect, and they prepared to test their Pigua and Eight Extremities skills.

• The Enforcement Hall told Li Yan that Po Liu Han Ba Ling had resurfaced and might meet the Tian family, asking Li Yan to question him if they crossed paths.
• Li Yan defeated Qin Gulu's smoke illusions and hidden blades, prompting the Acrobatic Arts Sect elder to concede without losing face.
• Li Yan heard that the merchant guild had remained safe, Sha LiFei was helping Master Lu prepare artifacts, and Po Liu Han Ba Ling had vanished after leaving Mount Mulan.
• Li Yan forced a Transformed Strength Form-Intention Fist expert out of the arena and secured all four places for his group.
• On the final day, Wu Qu of Cangzhou recognized Li Yan's Pigua as the Ma Family style, and the two took stances to test their skills head-on.

Li Yan fought Wu Qu to a draw in their opening exchanges, then defeated him by using Yin Thunder to overcome the Hua Guang Martial Method’s defenses. After the arena battles ended, a divine general appeared at Qingchuan Pavilion, and Li Yan used a gou register to glimpse two golden-armored divine generals guarding the Yangtze.

• Li Yan and Wu Qu traded powerful Eight Extremities and Red Fist techniques until Wu Qu invoked Counter Strike and sent Li Yan flying with a shoulder strike.
• Li Yan used North Emperor Yin Thunder Palm to disrupt Wu Qu’s Divine Soul, followed with a barrage of lightning-imbued attacks, and made Wu Qu concede.
• Wu Qu invited Li Yan to drink at Golden Phoenix Pavilion before they noticed a pillar of fire and Baleful Intent converging on Qingchuan Pavilion as a divine general emerged.
• The remaining arena matches ended, and the martial artists left Tortoise Mountain while Li Yan traveled by boat with Wang Dao Xuan.
• Li Yan used a gou register and an incantation to reveal two enormous golden-armored divine generals standing atop the Tortoise and Snake Mountains.