Chapter Summaries

Li Yan learned that the Heavenly Saint Sect planned to guide a trapped flood dragon down the Ju River, then accepted an imperial mission to investigate it in Shennongjia. As his group reached Nanzhang County and met their local contact, Li Yan sensed something suspicious near an abandoned shrine.

• Fan He told Li Yan that Qin Zhihai of Tangya Tusi City had hired him to retrieve a piece of wood, and revealed that the Heavenly Saint Sect had found a trapped flood dragon near Shennongjia and intended to lead it down the Ju River.
• Li Yan sent word to Yu Longzi, spared Fan He in exchange for his cooperation, and returned the Soul Tablet to the old monk, who abandoned the ruined temple and departed.
• Li Yan and his companions left Xiangyang after learning that the Qingcheng Mountain treasure vault would open after the New Year; Li Yan said they would investigate the flood dragon and confront their enemies amid the rebellion.
• The group traveled through war-shadowed Nanzhang County and met Gong Qun, a secret agent from the Commandery Commandant Office, who shared reports about nearby strongholds and suspicious visitors from Shu at Water Mirror Manor.
• At the abandoned Xu Gong Shrine, Li Yan questioned whether Gong Qun had chosen the location himself, and Lu San released poisonous bees as a macaque burst from the woods.

Li Yan and his team prepared to enter Shennongjia while investigating who had exposed their journey, then fought off a bandit attack and revealed the Three Ghosts of Wu Prefecture behind it. The chapter ended with Li Yan destroying their explosive puppet before it could reach the ruined temple.

• Li Yan led the team to shelter in a ruined temple and questioned Gong Qun about who knew of their mission, suspecting a leak.
• Gong Qun described Shennongjia’s dangers and mentioned a hidden route into the forest, while Li Yan planted Five Directions Fengdu Banners around the temple.
• Rat One warned that a group was approaching, and Li Yan used a Chuling Paper Figure to spy on the bandits as they prepared to burn the forest and attack.
• Lu San unleashed his Poisonous Bees, driving off the bandits, but their leader was killed by a hidden attacker as Corpse Granny, Huang JiLang, and Long Kan emerged.
• Gong Qun identified the attackers as the Three Ghosts of Wu Prefecture, and Li Yan used the Cloud Thunder Divine Drum to break Corpse Granny’s possession spell.
• Huang JiLang sent an explosive puppet toward the temple, but Li Yan detected it and shot it apart in the forest.

Li Yan and his companions defeated an ambush by the Three Ghosts of Wu Prefecture, then learned that someone else was tracking them and decided to draw their pursuers out. Meanwhile, Protector Wang and Qin Zhihai pushed ahead with a plan to free a trapped flood dragon and flood Baokang County.

• Long Kan attacked Li Yan under cover of smoke while Corpse Granny and Huang JiLang stormed Xu Shu Temple.
• Sha LiFei killed Corpse Granny, Chu Qi destroyed Huang JiLang's puppet, and Wang Dao Xuan and Wu Ba killed Huang JiLang.
• Li Yan used Yin Thunder to stun Long Kan and killed him, then found letters linking the attackers to the Heavenly Saint Sect and a temple in the Snow Region.
• Gong Qun explained that mystical sects were collecting New Style Firearms and evading new restrictions, while Lu San reported that someone else had summoned the macaque watching them.
• Li Yan suspected Qin Zhihai was tracking them and resolved to lure out the pursuers; days later, Protector Wang and Qin Zhihai discussed digging a waterway to let a trapped flood dragon flood Baokang County.

Li Yan and his companions reached Dragon Pool Village while traveling toward Shennongjia and spent Mid-Autumn night with the villagers. As the village celebrated, Li Yan heard a woman crying, leaving the group facing a possible new mystery.

• Wang Dao Xuan, Gong Qun, Li Yan, Sha LiFei, and their companions crossed a rocky mountain slope and found an ancient temple that Wang Dao Xuan believed protected the area.
• Gong Qun led the group to Dragon Pool Village, where they learned that no babies had been born for two years and that Cloud Daoist had gone into the mountains and not returned.
• Li Yan caught a melon during the village's Mid-Autumn custom, and Zhou Huzi led the group to meet Village Chief Zhou, who agreed to guide them into Shennongjia.
• The group ate with Village Chief Zhou's family while villagers delivered winter-melon babies and the family performed a moon-worship ceremony.
• Wang Dao Xuan asked Sha LiFei to join him in making offerings for fallen comrades, while Li Yan paused to listen to a woman's crying.

Li Yan and the others discovered that a well and a Dragon Suppression Stake were trapping a Dragon Girl beneath Dragon Pool Lake, whose departure threatened to flood the village. After learning the truth from the Ancestor Temple, they prepared to enter Shennongjia and find the Daoist responsible, while the Dragon Girl sent Li Yan a mysterious jade tablet.

• Li Yan investigated a woman's cries near the Ancestor Temple and learned from Zhou Huzi that Cloud Daoist had ordered a well built two years earlier, when the village stopped having children.
• Wang Dao Xuan identified the well's connection to the lake, and Li Yan found a talisman-covered Dragon Suppression Stake pinning a huge, serpent-like rock beneath the water.
• Li Yan used the Spirit Communication Art in the Ancestor Temple and saw a vision of a Dragon Girl who had protected the village until a Daoist trapped her in the lake.
• Wang Dao Xuan explained that the Dragon Girl's return could cause a mountain flood, so Li Yan and the others planned to find the Daoist in Shennongjia and help resolve the danger.
• During the night, the Dragon Girl appeared in Li Yan's dream and sent him a dragon-patterned jade tablet by way of a water snake.

Li Yan and his companions entered Shennongjia with Village Chief Zhou’s hunters, hoping to find Cloud Daoist and learn why Dragon Girl had given Li Yan the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet. After they found signs that Cloud Daoist had been pursued by Donkey-Headed Ruffians, Li Yan led the group off the hunting path toward a cliffside vine ladder and uncovered a man-made pit.

• Village Chief Zhou gathered hunters and led Li Yan, Wang Dao Xuan, Sha LiFei, Lu San, Gong Qun, and the others through an ancient cave passage into Shennongjia after they completed the mountain-entry rituals.
• Village Chief Zhou explained Shennongjia’s dangers and taboos, while Li Yan examined the hunters’ crude map and learned that experts from the Heavenly Saint Sect and Ghost Sect might also be in the mountains.
• The group found a scrap of Cloud Daoist’s robe and large footprints that Village Chief Zhou identified as belonging to at least four or five Donkey-Headed Ruffians.
• Li Yan used his supernatural powers to track the creatures away from the hunting path, and the group followed their trail despite the hunters’ unease.
• At a steep cliff, Li Yan found vines leading downward and uncovered a man-made pit in the rock, while Wang Dao Xuan wondered if the site was the ancient Shennongjia Wood Ladder.

Li Yan rescued the bloodied Yun Lingzi from Donkey-Headed Wolves in the Shennongjia ruins. After Yun Lingzi explained his ties to Qingyang Palace, he revealed that the Dragon Girl and the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet were connected to an ancient Yangtze dragon and the missing Dragon Palace Water Mansion.

• Li Yan used the North Emperor Swift Travel Technique to descend the cliff and left the others to follow as they climbed down toward the ruins.
• Li Yan killed the Donkey-Headed Wolves attacking Yun Lingzi, then Yun Lingzi fainted after Li Yan identified himself and Village Chief Zhou.
• Village Chief Zhou and Li Yan's group treated Yun Lingzi in a cliffside cave, where Li Yan pressed him to explain his origins and the Dragon Girl.
• Yun Lingzi revealed that he was from Qingyang Palace and had driven the Dragon Suppression Stake into Dragon Pool Lake, triggering a backlash that left Dragon Pool Village without descendants.
• Yun Lingzi explained that the Dragon Girl came from the aura of the suppressed Jiang God Great Lord and said the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet might be connected to the escaped Dragon Palace Water Mansion.

Li Yan and his companions left Dragon Pool Village to search Shennongjia for the trapped flood dragon, following clues from Yun Lingzi. After encountering signs of the Heavenly Saint Sect and a scout demon bird, Li Yan secretly scouted ahead and found a sinister site piled with animal bones and human skulls.

• Yun Lingzi refused Li Yan’s dragon-shaped jade tablet, promised to pacify Dragon Girl with a ritual, and explained how to identify a powerful trapped flood dragon.
• Li Yan’s group left Dragon Pool Village and followed the Ju River’s source toward Echoing Forest Gully, using Lu San’s falcon to navigate the fog-bound forest.
• Wu Ba recognized the area near his destroyed tribe, and the group hid after a flying creature attacked their falcon.
• Lu San explained that the scout was a human-faced owl controlled by another wildling branch, which Wu Ba identified as a rival tribe associated with the Divine Kui.
• Li Yan used North Emperor Black Water Escape to scout west and found ancient caves, bunker ruins, and a mound of bones arranged with human skulls.

Li Yan’s group discovered the Shen Kui and Human-Faced Owls guarding the former tribal grounds, then sought help from the Jing Ren to evade them. The Jing Ren led the group to an underwater cave as night fell and the Shen Kui began to awaken, while a huge white-furred leader raised a banner and the Heavenly Saint Sect answered with a dragon-like roar.

• Li Yan observed the Shen Kui and Human-Faced Owls and learned that they cooperated, patrolled the area, and spoke Superior Language.
• Li Yan’s group discussed the danger of the Shen Kui and the Heaven Saint Sect, then followed Wu Ba’s suggestion to seek the Jing Ren through their underground tunnels.
• Li Yan found the Jing Ren, captured a Yao that was attacking them, and helped Lu San and Wu Ba negotiate with the frightened creatures.
• The Jing Ren agreed to help after Li Yan promised they might heal their wounded deity, then led the group to a deep pool hiding a cave entrance.
• Li Yan confirmed the cave was safe and the group entered before nightfall; the Shen Kui emerged as a towering white-furred leader raised a banner and the Heavenly Saint Sect roared from the south.

Li Yan and his companions followed the Jing people through Shennongjia’s caves and found the wounded mountain god Zou Yu, whom they helped cure of Jiao Gu. After learning about the dangers in the region, they rested with the Jing people, and Zou Yu began using its mountain-god ability to show them distant places.

• The Jing people guided Li Yan and his companions to a cavern where they discovered the injured Zou Yu, a benevolent beast worshiped by the tribe.
• Lu San translated Zou Yu’s account of the Heavenly Saint Sect’s attacks, Bai Gong’s rise, and the poisonous Flood Dragon, while Li Yan’s group treated Zou Yu’s Jiao Gu infection.
• The Jing people applied herbal medicine to Zou Yu’s wound, and Zou Yu explained that it could show the group the Flood Dragon’s location after resting.
• Sha LiFei shared mooncakes with Zou Yu, and the Jing people presented the group with a Head Top One Pearl herb.
• After Zou Yu recovered overnight, Li Yan volunteered to go first, and Zou Yu touched his forehead to begin a spirit journey over the surrounding mountains.

Li Yan uncovered the Heavenly Saint Sect’s plans near Shennongjia and learned that an armed troop was approaching the mountain where Zou Yu lay recovering. He sent Gong Qun and Lu San to deliver the intelligence, then prepared to defend the mountain with Wang Dao Xuan, Sha LiFei, and Wu Ba as the enemy army drew near.

• Li Yan used Zou Yu’s mountain-god vision to discover the Shen Kui Tribe’s ruins, evidence of a battle, a lake holding the Trapped Flood Dragon, and commoners digging a waterway toward it.
• After Zou Yu fell asleep from using his power, the Jingren warned that a Heavenly Saint Sect troop was approaching, and Li Yan ordered Lu San to escort Gong Qun back with the intelligence.
• Li Yan stayed behind to protect Zou Yu and planned to use the Five Directions Fengdu Banner formation while Sha LiFei and Wu Ba prepared Earth Fire Thunders along the mountain approach.
• Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan placed the formation banners and prepared an altar as Sha LiFei directed the Jingren to bury the explosives in the forest.
• When scouts announced the enemy’s arrival, Li Yan put on his Earth Dragon Hide armor and prepared to guard the mountain pass as the several-hundred-strong army approached.

Guo Xiu led the Long Xiang Army to capture a mountain god, but their scout discovered Li Yan guarding the mountain. After Li Yan defeated and captured Wu FaLuo, Guo Xiu ordered the army into the forest to kill him, where concealed explosives erupted.

• Guo Xiu and the Long Xiang Army reached the mountain and prepared an ambush to draw out its mountain god.
• Li Yan spotted Wu Yishi approaching and told Sha LiFei to wait while he lured the army into the forest.
• Li Yan fought Wu Yishi, used the Soul Severing Throwing Knife to bring him down, and captured him for questioning.
• The traveling peddler identified Li Yan, and Guo Xiu ordered the Long Xiang Army to enter the forest and shoot him.
• Tiny Jing people ignited hidden fuses as the army entered the forest, triggering a deafening explosion.

Li Yan’s team used Earth Fire Thunders to cripple the Long Xiang Army’s vanguard, but Guo Xiu’s forces cleared the remaining explosives and advanced on the mountain. Li Yan narrowly escaped You San’s gunfire and was forced back by the army’s experts, then destroyed a Tongtian Sect Taoist’s soul-targeting paper knife as the battle continued.

• Sha LiFei’s overloaded Earth Fire Thunder devastated the Long Xiang Army’s Vanguard Battalion, killing dozens and gravely wounding many more.
• Guo Xiu ordered the Long Xiang Army to clear the remaining Earth Fire Thunders, and his soldiers repeatedly triggered them from a distance until Sha LiFei’s mines were spent.
• You San used his Eye Mystical Power to shoot at Li Yan from afar, forcing Li Yan and Sha LiFei to take cover behind a rock.
• Li Yan used Profound Water Escape to approach You San, but You San saw through the technique and fired as Long Xiang Army reinforcements attacked.
• Two spear-wielding brothers and other fighters forced Li Yan to retreat toward the mountaintop while You San continued shooting at him.
• A Tongtian Sect Taoist sent a Paper Knife Soul Severing Technique around Li Yan’s cover, but Li Yan caught and destroyed it, making the Old Taoist vomit blood.

Li Yan and his companions defeated the Long Xiang Army fighters who attacked the mountain, then Li Yan ambushed the army’s formation and turned its cannon against it. The army fled in panic, while Guo Xiu escaped with a Yellow Talisman.

• Yuan Xiang, Gao Xuan, Gao Cheng, the One-Eyed Strongman, and their allies attacked Li Yan, but Sha LiFei and Wu Ba intervened.
• Li Yan used the Soul Hooking Lightning Rope to kill Gao Xuan, Gao Cheng, and the One-Eyed Strongman, while Wu Ba and Li Yan killed You San, Lan Qing, and Yuan Xiang.
• Li Yan used Profound Water Escape to approach the Long Xiang Army, then threw Thunder Fire Pills into its formation.
• Guo Xiu used the Jade Emperor Lamp to break Li Yan’s escape technique, revealing him beside the army’s cannon.
• Li Yan ignited the cannon’s fuse, blasting through the army’s firearm troops, then cut down soldiers and killed Feng Lei.
• The remaining Long Xiang Army soldiers fled down the mountain, and Guo Xiu escaped with a Yellow Talisman.

After the battle, Li Yan spared Wu FaLuo and learned that strange forces and factional strife had thrown Sichuan’s Xuan Gate into turmoil. As danger stirred nearby, Yun Lingzi and Dragon Pool Village freed the Dragon Girl, while Li Yan slipped into another dream.

• Sha LiFei and Wu Ba brought the Tiger Crouching Cannon to the mountain, while Li Yan performed a rite to send the battlefield’s dead onward.
• Li Yan freed the captive Wu FaLuo, who explained that he had been framed after a fire at Qingyang Palace and had found apparent possession and disorder in Sichuan’s sects.
• Li Yan spared Wu FaLuo, who headed southwest, then sensed Baleful Intent as the Shen Kui Tribe attacked Guo Xiu’s remaining soldiers and killed Guo Xiu.
• Gong Qun left Dragon Pool Village with a promise to send intelligence, while Yun Lingzi began the dragon-sacrifice ritual with the villagers.
• The villagers pulled out the final Dragon Suppression Stake, and Yun Lingzi declared that Dragon Girl was merciful as the lake grew calm.
• Li Yan’s eyelids twitched beside the fire, and he slipped into another dream.

Li Yan learned from the Dragon Girl’s vision that the Dragon Palace Water Mansion might reveal why the Jiang God Great Lord’s aura had changed, while old conflicts had also created the Trapped Flood Dragon. As fighting continued between the Shen Kui Tribe and the Heavenly Saint Sect, the sect learned Li Yan was in Shennongjia and planned to use Zou Yu to kill him.

• Li Yan dreamed of Dujiangyan’s construction and saw dragon qi flow into Shennongjia, then woke and realized the Dragon Girl had shown him the vision.
• Li Yan explained to Sha LiFei that the Dragon Girl had formed from the souls of sacrificial girls and had settled in Shennongjia, and he suspected she wanted them to investigate the Dragon Palace Water Mansion.
• Li Yan connected the Trapped Flood Dragon to dragon qi released during Great Song-era unrest and suspected Zhao Changsheng and the current turmoil in Shu were involved.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei heard cannon fire as the Heavenly Saint Sect’s Demon Army fought the Shen Kui Tribe, while Li Yan wondered what Huang LiuShi was doing.
• The Demon Army leader stopped a soldier from attacking Yu Heizi, who revealed that Li Yan had destroyed the Long Xiang Army and that Bai Gong had killed Guo Xiu.
• The Heavenly Saint Sect’s Right Minister and Qin Zhihai discussed Li Yan’s arrival, and the Right Minister proposed redirecting Bai Gong toward Zou Yu to eliminate Li Yan.

Master Lu and the Ghost Sect advanced a plan to exploit the Dragon Leading Canal and the Heavenly Saint Sect’s resurrection ritual, while Li Yan and his companions were pinned down by Human-Faced Owls. The chapter ended with the birds still circling and Sha LiFei realizing they were delaying the group for a Shen Kui Tribe attack after nightfall.

• Master Lu overruled Qin Zhihai’s objections and ordered him to deliver a message to Bai Gong while the Dragon Leading Canal was completed for Dragon Walking.
• Qin Zhihai used a Nuo dance and a leopard to send the message, while Master Lu traveled to Shennong Peak and reported the plan to Huang LiuShi.
• Huang LiuShi revealed that the Ghost Sect intended to use demonic energy to control the Heavenly Saint Duke and seize the opportunity to restore the Ghost Sect’s power.
• Li Yan and his companions were attacked by Human-Faced Owls, which summoned birds and hurled stones at them from overhead.
• Wang Dao Xuan cursed one of the Human-Faced Owls, allowing Li Yan to kill it, but the remaining birds stayed to hold the group in place until nightfall.

Li Yan and his allies prepared to defend their mountain against the Shen Kui Tribe, while Li Yan arranged to use the Luo Feng Examination and Summoning Great Method against Bai Gong. As night fell, the Shen Kui and a horde of beasts charged toward them, and the chapter ended as the attack began.

• Li Yan suspected the Shen Kui Tribe's strange origins and planned to use the Five Directions Fengdu Banners and the Luo Feng Examination and Summoning Great Method to capture Bai Gong.
• Lu San returned and agreed to use Zou Yu's fur to create a Mountain Ghost Restriction that would keep beasts away, while Sha LiFei and Wu Ba prepared the cannons.
• Li Yan explained the ritual to Wang Dao Xuan, then set up the Fengdu Command Token and ritual flag as Lu San and Sha LiFei prepared their defenses.
• At Baokang County, Gong Qun marked the Heavenly Saint Sect's location, and General Yu Longzi ordered twenty thousand troops to march while warning that a great thunderstorm was coming.
• At dusk, Bai Gong appeared at the Ancient People Ruins, and the Shen Kui, wild beasts, and black smoke surged toward Li Yan and his allies' mountain.

Li Yan, Lu San, Sha LiFei, and Wu Ba defended their mountaintop from a beast horde led by the Shen Kui Tribe, using explosives, firearms, and Yin Department soldiers and horses. After Li Yan killed two Coffin Beasts and the attackers withdrew, Divine Overlords and enslaved savages appeared below the mountain.

• Li Yan and Lu San sensed the approaching horde, and Li Yan used the Chuling Paper Figure to see countless beasts gathering below the mountain.
• The Earth Fire Thunders killed small animals but failed to stop the fierce beasts, while Lu San's Mountain Ghost Restriction held back most of the pack.
• The Shen Kui Tribe sent Donkey-Headed Wolves, Coffin Beasts, and Yin Wind up the slope, and Sha LiFei wounded many wolves with the Tiger Crouching Cannon.
• Wang Dao Xuan summoned the Yin Department's soldiers and horses, which scattered the Demons and Monsters, while the Coffin Beasts broke through their defense.
• Li Yan used heavenly thunder and the North Emperor Yin Thunder Palm to kill both Coffin Beasts as Sha LiFei, Lu San, and Wu Ba fought off the remaining attackers.
• The beasts fled and silence returned to the mountaintop, but Divine Overlords and enslaved savages appeared in the forest below.

Li Yan used the Luo Feng Examination and Summoning Great Method to capture and condemn Bai Gong, ending the assault on the mountaintop. After recovering, he sensed danger to the northwest, while imperial troops outside Shennongjia prepared a ritual altar to deal with the Black Scale Lord and an unexpected thunderstorm began.

• Wu Ba explained that Bai Gong had killed the other mountain gods, leaving the Wild Men, Mountain Ghosts, and Shan Du bound to obey it.
• The creatures attacked the mountaintop with clubs and stones, damaging the Tiger Crouching Cannon, while Wang Dao Xuan’s ritual and Lu San’s bone flute helped repel the assault.
• Li Yan opened the Luo Feng altar, summoned Yin soldiers, defeated Bai Gong’s Rampaging Soldiers, and captured Bai Gong’s soul.
• Li Yan tortured and judged Bai Gong, sending its soul to the netherworld and freeing the Wild Men, Mountain Ghosts, and Shan Du from its control.
• Li Yan warned that Bai Gong’s corpse might become an evil creature, then rested after closing the altar and felt uneasy as he looked northwest.
• Outside Shennongjia, Yu Longzi and the imperial troops prepared a tall ritual altar to confront the Black Scale Lord, but an early thunderstorm surprised Yu Longzi.