Chapter Summaries

Po Liu Han Ba Ling defended Lotus Creek Temple and its wounded nuns against the Heavenly Saint Sect and Tusi City attackers, but Protector Wang wounded him with a firearm and Qin Yuner killed him. The attackers escaped with the Red Mohe as Wu Prefecture reinforcements approached, while the relic was carried into the fog and taken by an unseen figure.

• The Heavenly Saint Sect and Tusi City forces attacked Lotus Creek Temple, and Po Liu Han Ba Ling confronted them to protect the people inside.
• Po Liu Han Ba Ling unleashed Firm Strength, killing the Eldest Fu Brother and Granny A Lang before cutting through the attackers.
• Protector Wang shot Po Liu Han Ba Ling with a firearm loaded with iron fragments, leaving him gravely wounded and unable to destroy the Red Mohe.
• The Meishan Dharma Sect Three Brothers sent the Red Mohe away by Night Owl as the attackers fled from the approaching Wu Prefecture Garrison Vanguard Camp.
• Qin Yuner cut off Po Liu Han Ba Ling's head, and the Black Jade Guanyin statue cracked inside Lotus Creek Temple.
• At Yuquan Temple, Li Yan learned of the attack while Master Lu prepared ritual implements, and an unseen figure retrieved the Red Mohe from the Night Owl.

Elder Ge Lai Chong awakened the Imperishable Bone beneath the Barbarian King Tomb, restoring Huang LiuShi’s soul to a zombie body as the Zen Sect and garrison forces moved against the site. Huang LiuShi prepared to leave with the Red Mohe while cannon fire struck the mountain.

• Elder Ge Lai Chong led the Jiangxia Barbarians to the tomb and used blood sacrifices to prepare to awaken the supposed White Tiger Saint King.
• Ge Lai Chong entered the Corpse Raising Ground and found the unfinished Imperishable Bone, which had been created as a vessel for a Ghost Sect member.
• Ge Lai Chong used a white bead, a bronze talisman, incense, and a Prayer Flag to restore Huang LiuShi’s soul inside the Imperishable Bone.
• Huang LiuShi learned that the Zen Sect had surrounded the Barbarian King Tomb and accepted the Red Mohe before preparing to break out.
• The Zen Sect monks located the White Tiger Evil’s source, and the garrison commander ordered cannons to fire on the mountain.

After the Ghost Sect escaped the ruined Barbarian King Tomb, its pursuers split up to retrieve the Blood Jade Cong and track them down. Huang LiuShi took charge of the southwestern Ghost Sect and summoned the East Lake Old Ancestor, while Li Yan and Sha LiFei prepared to return to Wu Prefecture City before Lu San arrived with a request from Baotong Chan Temple.

• Master Tong Xuan learned from the captured Li Hai that the Ghost Sect had taken an Imperishable Bone toward the ancient mine to obtain a Blood Jade Cong, so the pursuers divided their forces.
• Qin Yuner and Protector Wang confronted the Meishan Three Brothers in a ruined temple, where Ge Lai Chong arrived with Huang LiuShi, the Ghost Sect’s new commander for the southwest.
• Huang LiuShi used a Bagua Mirror to detect Baotong Chan Temple’s search ritual, then led the group to East Lake and summoned the suffering East Lake Old Ancestor.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei inspected their upgraded firearm and armor, then packed to leave Yuquan Temple for Wu Prefecture City.
• Lu San arrived at Yuquan Temple and told Li Yan and Sha LiFei that Baotong Chan Temple wanted his help communicating with the wild men of Shennongjia.

Li Yan learned that the Ghost Sect had resurrected an Old Ghost and that the Heavenly Saint Sect had captured monsters for its evil cultivation. He helped Lu San save a human yaksha from execution, and the chapter left Wu Ba staying with their group.

• Cheng Jue told Li Yan that the Red Mohe had helped the Ghost Sect resurrect an Old Ghost from the Imperishable Bone, while Zhao Changsheng's schemes had been exposed.
• Cheng Jue explained that the captured wild man was likely one of the human yakshas descended from the mountain yakshas of Shennongjia, and Lu San questioned him in Superior Language.
• Lu San learned that the Heavenly Saint Sect had attacked the yaksha tribe and taken its members for blood sacrifices, while Li Yan warned Cheng Jue that the sect was also slaughtering monsters to cultivate the Longevity Evil Art.
• When Cheng Jue said the Enforcement Hall would usually eliminate wild creatures, Lu San asked to keep the yaksha, and Li Yan persuaded Cheng Jue to allow it.
• Li Yan arranged to shave the yaksha so he could enter the city, and the group found him eating voraciously and weeping after losing his hair.
• Lu San welcomed the yaksha, and Li Yan shortened his name, Wu Ba Hu Ba Lu Ba, to Wu Ba.

After the Tian family’s funeral, Li Yan and his companions worked with the Wu Prefecture military to form an alliance with the Giant Turtle Master. The alliance exposed a plot to attack grain ships, and Lu San began sharing information about Master Lin’s search for “Wan Yan.”

• Wang Dao Xuan cremated Po Liu Han Ba Ling’s corpse, and the Tian family held a private funeral and banquet to thank Li Yan and his companions.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei planned to rest in Ezhou, train with the New Style Firearm, and later visit Mount Wudang and Fengdu.
• Centurion Liu Teng brought Li Yan and the others to the Jiujiang Sentry Ship, where military commanders asked Lu San to contact the Giant Turtle Master.
• Lu San summoned the Giant Turtle Master, who revealed that a cultivator had poisoned the river and that the Camphorwood Great King and the Yangtze Old Ghost planned to attack grain ships.
• The Giant Turtle Master gave Commander Cheng Xuan a ritual horn so the military could contact him and offered to help oppose the great demons.
• After the alliance was formed, Lu San told Li Yan that the Giant Turtle Master had found information about the “Wan Yan” Master Lin was seeking.

Li Yan and his companions learned that a Wanyan had attacked Alligator Dragons near Dragon Spring Mountain, so they traveled to Jiangxia under the pretext of helping Shen Jinghong arrange his father’s funeral. After arriving at Jiangxia Pier, they witnessed a gang attack a restaurant and recognized Cao Gang Elder Han Kun among the people who emerged.

• Lü San told Li Yan that Giant Turtle Master had heard of a Wanyan near Dragon Spring Mountain, a sensitive area watched by the Tomb Guard Army.
• Li Yan arranged to travel to Jiangxia and agreed to help Shen Jinghong with his father’s funeral after Wang Dao Xuan assessed the strange corpse.
• Li Yan’s group boarded a boat with Shen Jinghong and his servants, while Sha LiFei teased Wu Ba about his fear of the river.
• The group reached Jiangxia Pier and saw tattooed men surround a small restaurant and charge inside.
• Han Kun emerged from the restaurant and warned that Old Eighth Wei was picking a fight.

Li Yan witnessed a Cao Gang clash with the Raft Sect, warned Han Kun and Lei Po Shan about dangers in the Yangtze, and accompanied Shen Jinghong to Shen Family Dam. There, he learned of the Shen family's Late Tang Dynasty Black Cloud Capital heritage and found the village filled with funerals.

• Han Kun's Cao Gang disciples shot down Raft Sect members, and Lei Po Shan drove their tattoo-faced leader away with the Yue Family's Six Harmonies Spear.
• Li Yan met Han Kun and Lei Po Shan, learned why the Cao Gang was transporting grain, and warned them to guard against demons and evil spirits in the river.
• Han Kun decided to recruit ritualists and asked Lei Po Shan to make inquiries as Li Yan departed for Jiangxia with Shen Jinghong and Sha LiFei.
• At Jiangxia, Shen Jinghong learned that the Shen family's second and third branches were restless, and Li Yan questioned the family's armed guards.
• Shen Jinghong explained that his family descended from Yang XingMi's Black Cloud Capital, and Li Yan recognized the guards' swords as remnants of its military tradition.
• Li Yan arrived at Shen Family Dam and saw that nearly every household was holding a funeral.

Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan accompanied Shen Jinghong to the Shen family residence, where they found his father and elder brother dead and the household divided over control of the family. Shen Jinghong won the support of the household guards by proposing aid for the grieving village, and Wang Dao Xuan began arranging his father's corpse in the posture of Seated Ascension.

• Shen Jinghong encountered the orphaned Gou Wa and ordered a servant to take the boy in and make arrangements for him.
• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan entered the Shen residence and found two open coffins, with Shen Jinghong's father dead and seated upright with his eyes open.
• Shen Jinghong's uncles tried to seize control of the household and ordered the Black Cloud Guard to capture him, but Li Yan broke the sword leader's arm and stopped them.
• The Old Woman rebuked her two sons for dividing the family and asked Shen Jinghong how he would handle the Shen family's crisis.
• Shen Jinghong proposed using the family's funds to relieve the village and arrange funerals, winning the support of the swordsmen while his uncle refused to accept the decision.
• Li Yan urged the family to lay the dead Master Shen down, and Wang Dao Xuan directed them to arrange his corpse in the posture of Seated Ascension.

Wang Dao Xuan discovered that Master Shen’s attachment was a Gilded Copper Key, which led Li Yan and the Shen family to uncover his secret research into the Black Cloud Longsword Secret Method. As Wang Dao Xuan prepared to pacify Master Shen’s soul, the Second Master’s son secretly returned to his courtyard, apparently excited by the discovery.

• Wang Dao Xuan bound Master Shen’s corpse and used the hearts of a dead cat and crow to reveal that the corpse reacted when Jia Shi approached with the Gilded Copper Key.
• Wang Dao Xuan determined that the key was Master Shen’s attachment, and Shen Jinghong asked Li Yan to find what it opened.
• Li Yan found a black sandalwood chest in Master Shen’s study and opened its HuaQi Lock with the key.
• Shen Jinghong identified letters in DaoDou Script as secret orders and reports about searches near Liangzi Lake, and he recognized the map as part of Master Shen’s attempt to recover the Black Cloud Longsword Secret Method.
• Shen Jinghong declined to pursue the search, while Sha LiFei speculated that treasure lay near Liangzi Lake; Wang Dao Xuan began arranging the ritual to pacify Master Shen’s soul.
• The Second Master’s son returned to his courtyard with barely contained excitement.

Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan completed the ritual to settle Shen YuanWai’s spirit, while Shen Jinghong began arranging a public funeral and relief for the villagers. Shen Jingcan secretly told his master about the rumored treasure, revealing that the old man belonged to the Maitreya Sect, which was searching for a way into the ghost city.

• Wang Dao Xuan performed the Hell Breaking Lamp Ritual and told Shen Jinghong that Shen YuanWai’s spirit was at peace.
• Li Yan planned to investigate in secret for Wan Yan while Lu San set rats to watch the Shen residence.
• Shen Jingcan slipped out to meet his master at the Dragon Daughter Temple and told him about the rumored treasure and map.
• Shen Jingcan’s master reported the lead to the Maitreya Sect’s Branch Master, who said they still needed a way into the ghost city and warned the sect to lie low after Zhao Changsheng’s return.
• Before dawn, Shen Jinghong arranged communal food, promised the villagers their relief payments and work at the Kiln Site, and invited an opera troupe.

Li Yan and his companions investigated Liangzi Lake while Daoist Wang and Shen Jinghong organized the Shen family funeral. A report about strange deaths near Bai He Wan led Li Yan’s group north, where they encountered an eerie figure in the forest.

• Li Yan took Lu San and Wu Ba by boat across Liangzi Lake, but Lu San’s summoned fish scattered after sensing that the waters belonged to another creature.
• A Shen family servant warned Li Yan about dangerous rainwater, abandoned Kiln Sites, and Gu Pots around the lake.
• Shen Jinghong arranged his father’s seven-day funeral with Daoist Wang while Sha LiFei questioned carpenters and learned that people near Bai He Wan had been bitten by an enormous beast.
• Shen Jinghong’s Second and Third Branch relatives tried to interfere with the funeral funds, but the old madam ordered them confined and threatened to expel them if they caused more trouble.
• After Shen Jingcan proposed searching for their uncle’s hidden treasure, Sha LiFei sent Li Yan a message about Bai He Wan by falcon.
• Li Yan’s group landed on the northern shore and headed through the forest toward Bai He Wan, where Wu Ba sensed a wild beast and Li Yan spotted a shadow waving at them.

Li Yan, Lu San, and Wu Ba discovered that a Man-Bear had been controlled by the lingering soul of an Esoteric Buddhist monk, then continued to an inn where Li Yan recognized the guests as grave robbers. The chapter ended with the group lodging there and suspecting the newcomers might pose a threat.

• Wu Ba chased down and killed the Man-Bear, then nearly ate its brain before Lu San stopped him and reprimanded him.
• Li Yan removed the Man-Bear's jeweled Tibetan Silver collar and followed the Little White Fox to an abandoned Kiln Site and a nearby cave.
• Li Yan drove off the monk's Yin Soul with his Soul Hooking Chain and found the monk's corpse, a Tibetan letter, magical artifacts, and an eerie Thangka.
• Li Yan destroyed the monk's Vajra Pestle, Prayer Wheel, and human-skin drum, kept the letter and Thangka, and burned the remains.
• Lu San found an inn on the Official Road, and Li Yan, Lu San, and Wu Ba went there for food and rooms.
• Li Yan noticed that the inn's occupants reeked of earth and identified them as grave robbers.

Li Yan discovered that two groups of grave robbers had been summoned to Bai He Wan and learned they were seeking the tomb of Wu Youxu. He followed them with Lu San and waited outside the village, where Shen Jingcan arrived with an Old Taoist.

• Li Yan questioned the inn waiter and learned that the Bai Clan had recently driven off the Jiangxia Barbarians after a deadly attack.
• Li Yan and Lu San used rats to watch the two groups, then Li Yan followed their leaders into the forest with a Chuling Paper Figure.
• Wang Lao Bie and Third Master Chen revealed that the Bai Clan had separately hired them and that both had half of a gilded bronze plaque linked to Wu Youxu.
• Li Yan decided to wait for the grave robbers to locate the tomb and planned to capture its Tomb Guardian Beast if it was a Wan Yan.
• Li Yan and Lu San tracked the two groups to Bai He Wan, then saw Shen Jingcan arrive with an Old Taoist.

Li Yan and Lu San discovered that the Old Taoist and Shen Jingcan were heading to Bai He Wan, where the Bai family was gathering tomb robbers to search Liangzi Lake for a mausoleum containing the Mohist Mechanism Arts. Shen Jingcan returned to Shen Family Dam to involve his relatives, while Li Yan suspected a trap and decided to watch from concealment.

• Li Yan hid from the Old Taoist's unusual Spiritual Sense and warned Lu San that Bai He Wan seemed suspicious.
• The Old Taoist and Shen Jingcan reached Bai He Wan, where a farmer secretly alerted the Bai family to their arrival.
• Bai Weng Hai showed Wang Lao Bie and Third Master Chen the Rat-Chasing Pill and explained that the tomb of Wu Youxu and Wang Su might contain the lost Mohist Mechanism Arts.
• Bai Weng Hai arranged for Wang Lao Bie and Third Master Chen to search Liangzi Lake's North Bank, while secretly plotting to use Shen Jingcan and the Shen family as part of his scheme.
• Elder Wu persuaded Shen Jingcan to bring his family into the search, and Shen Jingcan borrowed Bai Blacksmith's boat to return to Shen Family Dam.
• Li Yan sensed that someone was setting a trap and told Lu San to remain hidden and observe.

Wang Lao Bie and Third Master Chen searched around Liangzi Lake for the treasure while Li Yan discovered that Bai He Wan Village sheltered Maitreya Sect followers. As the Shen family branches rode off to pursue their own treasure hunt, the tomb robbers found an iron vein and recognized it as the Iron Dome.

• Wang Lao Bie and Third Master Chen suspected the Bai family village was a bandit stronghold, agreed to cooperate until they found the treasure, and sent their men to search the hills.
• Li Yan learned from Lu San that Bai Weng Hai was leading the villagers in a Maitreya Sect ritual, and he warned Wang Dao Xuan through Lu San.
• Sha LiFei delivered the warning to Wang Dao Xuan and left for Wu Prefecture City to report the Maitreya Sect, while Shen Jinghong dismissed his departing relatives and focused on reopening the kiln and selling porcelain.
• Shen Jingcan led the Second and Third Branches toward the treasure, and Third Master Shen planned to seize it and frame Shen Jingcan's master afterward.
• Wang Lao Bie and Third Master Chen found a hill where their compasses spun and sank, but their Luoyang Shovels struck hard iron; Third Master Chen recognized the formation as the Iron Dome.

Third Master Chen and Wang Lao Bie deduced that the tomb entrance lay beneath Liangzi Lake, while Bai Weng Hai secretly planned to sacrifice people to awaken a Divine Embryo for the Ming King. As Li Yan approached the lake in the storm, Bai He Wan’s divers found the entrance, but a massive underwater creature attacked the boats.

• Third Master Chen explained Iron Domes and determined that Gaochang’s sunken Gold-Water Tomb had an underwater entrance beneath Liangzi Lake.
• Third Master Chen warned Wang Lao Bie that Bai He Wan intended to use them as sacrifices, and the two prepared a plan.
• Bai Weng Hai ordered the village to gather weapons and boats, then told Temple Keeper Wu to bring the Shen family into the tomb as sacrifices for the Divine Embryo.
• Li Yan led Lu San and Wu Ba toward the lake to watch the Maitreya Sect and investigate the strange activity.
• Wang Lao Bie found the tomb entrance and persuaded Bai Weng Hai’s men to dive first; two entered the cavern and encountered a moving, black-liquid-covered wall.
• A diver surfaced to report the cavern, but a huge creature dragged him underwater and smashed a boat, forcing Wang Lao Bie to leap to safety.

Li Yan retrieved a piece of the injured Wan Yan while a ghostly mist swallowed the tomb robbers and drew people into a place of baleful intent. Lu San confronted the Black Head Great King at an ancient shrine, and the figure answered him in Superior Language.

• A Wan Yan attacked the boats, swallowed a lit gunpowder bundle, survived the blast, and fled toward the center of the lake.
• Bai Weng Hai led his people into the tomb, while Wang Lao Bie and Third Master Chen followed with some men left behind to guard the boats.
• Li Yan used North Emperor Black Water Escape to enter the lake and retrieve flesh blasted from the Wan Yan's cheek.
• A ghostly mist filled the lake, revealed the shadow of a city, and swallowed the tomb robbers and Li Yan as Lu San failed to summon help from the fish and shrimp.
• Lu San took Wu Ba to a hillside shrine, threatened the Black Head Great King, and heard the figure reply in Superior Language.

Lu San learned that Li Yan had been trapped in the ghost city beneath Liangzi Lake, and Wang Dao Xuan devised a ghost opera to lure the ghosts away and rescue him. Meanwhile, the Shen family entered the tomb of Anping Prince Wu Youxu and encountered strange mechanisms and ghostly reflections.

• Lu San negotiated with the Black Head Great King, then escaped with Wu Ba as the Shen family arrived at the lake entrance.
• Temple Keeper Wu and Bai Blacksmith led the Shen family into the tomb, where they found corpses, a disarmed mechanism, and bronze mirrors that multiplied their reflections.
• Lu San rode to Shen Family Dam and told Wang Dao Xuan that Wan Yan had provoked the lake’s trapped ghosts, pulling Yan XiaoGe into the formation.
• Wang Dao Xuan offered Master Wu five thousand taels to perform a ghost opera, and Master Wu reluctantly agreed.
• Wang Dao Xuan warned the troupe to finish the performance no matter what they saw as they prepared to perform on the ominous Yin Stage.

Wang Dao Xuan and the opera troupe performed a ghost opera to draw the spirits from Liangzi Lake while Lu San entered the ghost city of Gaochang County to find Li Yan. Lu San found Li Yan, who revealed that the city was a living tomb guardian beast and led him to Lu Ban’s Flying Wooden Magpie as a way out.

• Wang Dao Xuan consecrated five spirit tablets, and Master Wu’s troupe performed the Breaking the Stage ritual before beginning Mulian Opera.
• The lake stirred, ghosts gathered around the stage, and Lu San rode the lake’s Wild God into the ghost city of Gaochang County.
• Lu San searched the ruined city, endured the sounds of the dead, and found the remains of the Late Tang Dynasty Xuan Troops.
• The Strange Beast Wan Yan emerged at a crossroads, and Li Yan killed it before reuniting with Lu San.
• Li Yan explained that the ghost city was alive and that leaving by the ground would provoke an attack, then showed Lu San Lu Ban’s Flying Wooden Magpie in the government office.

Li Yan and Lu San escaped the sinking ghost city by lifting a vine tower with a heated balloon, while Sha LiFei learned that a sect planned to send Black Sky Mingwang into the mortal world. At the Water God Temple, poisoned Maitreya Sect elders were interrupted as the Divine Embryo began to awaken, and Elder Wang revealed his allegiance to the Golden Horde Wolf Country.

• Li Yan ignited the balloon above the vine tower with gunpowder, and he and Lu San rose above the ghost city as it sank beneath the lake.
• Li Yan and Lu San fought off grasping corpse tendrils while Wang Dao Xuan, Wu Ba, and the opera troupe watched them rise into the sky.
• On the Jinshui River, Tong Huan told Sha LiFei that the Dakini Sect intended to bring Black Sky Mingwang into the mortal world and place him in a Great Xuan prince’s household.
• At the Water God Temple, Maitreya Sect elders tried to use the Divine Embryo to revive Chen Youliang, but they were poisoned as black mist gathered around the infant.
• Elder Wang revealed that he was the former Dark Eagle Guard member Bu ErGuDe, disrupted the black mist, and watched the infant’s eyes turn pitch-black.