Chapter Summaries

Li Yan used the Goulian to identify Ma SanTong’s escaped demonic energy and uncover clues about a missing magical artifact, then helped Chongxu Zi investigate suspicious events at Azure Ox Temple. Following the hook token into the forest, they found Wu FaLuo’s corpse hidden inside a tree.

• Li Yan discovered that the Goulian’s vision had improved, examined the Owl Zuns and two wells, and traced escaped demonic energy to Ma SanTong and a stolen Qi Bag.
• Chongxu Zi welcomed Li Yan’s group into Azure Ox Temple, then admitted that Yuan Qing had acted suspiciously and that the Human Skin Pouch had vanished from the temple.
• Chongxu Zi explained that the Plague Taoist Jianghuai’s Human Skin Pouch had been split and suppressed in two places, and he asked Li Yan’s group to investigate in exchange for locations of Heaven’s Spiritual Treasures.
• Li Yan led the group east from the temple, following the hook token through the Medicine Field and into a dense forest.
• Li Yan cut open a hollow tree and revealed the decomposed corpse of Wu FaLuo, whom the group had captured in Shennongjia.

Li Yan and Chongxu Zi traced the deadly poisonous miasma to a hidden valley, where they discovered that Kumu and the Azure Ox Temple Abbot were behind the scheme. After entering the valley to investigate, they encountered several loose immortals from Wushan at an ancient cave.

• Li Yan and Chongxu Zi found Yuan Qing guarding the mountain path, and Chongxu Zi learned that his senior brother had fallen into demonic cultivation before striking Yuan Qing unconscious.
• The group found villagers and Salt Gang members dead or poisoned near the valley, and Long Yan'er made Gu Severing Pills that let them endure the miasma for an hour.
• Chongxu Zi left Lingfeng Zi outside with the Bamboo Strips, while Li Yan and the others took the pills and entered the fog-shrouded valley.
• Li Yan followed the Gou Die through the valley and shot the maddened Lu Jiu when he charged at the group.
• Li Yan led the group to an ancient cave, where Chongxu Zi spotted three loose immortals from Wushan emerging above the entrance.

Li Yan and his companions confronted Kumu, who had been corrupted by Ma SanTong’s demonic energy, and Li Yan killed him with the Soul Hooking Chain and Yang Thunder. They entered the cavern to find Ma SanTong’s true body, where ancient murals led Li Yan to suspect the Azure Ox Temple Abbot planned to consume demons and take their place.

• Li Yan drove off three Mount Wu Loose Immortals, while Wang MengSheng argued with his companions and revealed his plan to seize a treasure from the Azure Ox Temple Abbot.
• Kumu emerged from the cavern, warned Li Yan and the others to leave, and attacked Chongxu Zi after a disciple tried to stab him from behind.
• Li Yan and Chongxu Zi fought Kumu; Li Yan caught him with the Soul Hooking Chain and killed him with Yang Thunder and the Severing Dust Blade.
• Kumu’s scattered demonic energy possessed a Bai family disciple, but Long Yan'er and Chongxu Zi helped repel it; Li Yan explained that Ma SanTong’s true body remained inside a human-skin Qi Bag.
• Li Yan led the group into the cavern, where they found murals depicting Ancient Sorcery, and he began to suspect the Azure Ox Temple Abbot intended to consume demons and take their place.

Li Yan and Chongxu Zi found the Azure Ox Temple Abbot in an ancient Blessed Grotto-Heaven and discovered that Ma SanTong had corrupted him. Li Yan subdued the Abbot and helped stop Ma SanTong’s escape, but Wang MengSheng and another Wushan Loose Immortal arrived and threatened Li Yan’s companions.

• Li Yan led Chongxu Zi and the others through the fog, where an invisible creature killed a young Taoist before they reached a Stone Cauldron in a hidden Blessed Grotto-Heaven.
• The Azure Ox Temple Abbot emerged from the cauldron and claimed he had refined Ma SanTong’s demonic qi, but Li Yan exposed that the Abbot’s body had been turned into a puppet.
• The Abbot attacked Li Yan, who endured his strikes and used the Soul Hooking Chain to suppress him and send his soul to the netherworld.
• Ma SanTong’s Human Skin Pouch tried to seize the Abbot’s corpse, while the demon possessed several people; Long Yan’er restrained the corpse with her leather drum as Li Yan captured the demon.
• Long Yan’er collapsed after Ma SanTong was subdued, and Wang MengSheng and the Palace Dress Woman entered the cave and threatened Li Yan’s companions.

Li Yan confronted Wang MengSheng and the Sacred Maiden of the Incense Smelling Sect, who relied on the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl and her immobilizing spell to overpower him. After the Stone Cauldron strengthened his Great Luo Dharma Body and restored his ability to summon Yin Soldiers, Li Yan attacked the Two Immortals of Mount Wu and struck down Wang MengSheng, leaving them swallowed by darkness.

• Wang MengSheng demanded that Li Yan surrender the Soul Hook, while the Sacred Maiden of the Incense Smelling Sect immobilized the people in the room with her Worship Buddha Incense Offering Spell.
• Li Yan recovered from the spell and summoned Yin Soldiers, but Wang MengSheng struck him and shielded himself with the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl.
• Li Yan's Great Luo Dharma Body absorbed the Stone Cauldron's Spiritual Charm, healing its cracks and allowing him to sense and summon the Yin Soldiers again.
• Li Yan used lightning from the Soul Hooking Chains to charge the Two Immortals of Mount Wu and break through their defenses.
• Li Yan severed Wang MengSheng's right hand, which held the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, and the Yin Soldiers swallowed Wang MengSheng and the Sacred Maiden of the Incense Smelling Sect in darkness.

Li Yan’s group defeated the One-Eyed Taoist with help from Meng ChangGui, but the Salt Gang and Shu King Residence moved to suppress the affair and recover the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl. After Yu Longzi rescued the group, Li Yan decided to keep the pearl and prepare to leave under warning that Shu was full of hidden dangers.

• The One-Eyed Taoist unleashed the Soul Severing Technique, but Meng ChangGui arrived and killed him with the Underworld’s power.
• Meng ChangGui warned that the Salt Gang, the Shu King Residence, and a naval force had arrived in Fengdu.
• At the Yi Divination Sect, Cheng YuanXing forced the Shu King Residence’s eunuch to soften his demands, while Chongxu Zi kept the blame on the dead Mount Wu Loose Immortal.
• Cui Song learned that the Yi Divination Sect would not openly intervene and sent Li Yan a warning to leave at once.
• Li Yan’s group received the letter in their valley while their boat remained detained, and Yu Longzi revealed that he had secretly rescued their people and belongings.
• Li Yan refused to surrender the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, and Yu Longzi warned the group to be cautious as they traveled through Shu.

Li Yan and his companions left Fuling for Chongqing Prefecture, where they avoided bandits and prepared to travel disguised as a Yang Opera Troupe. The group reached a mountain ridge at night and saw a fire burning across the way.

• Li Yan gave Fast Boat Zhang silver and a copy of Essentials of Tong Xuan before they parted, and Fast Boat Zhang decided to settle in Xiangyang.
• A caravan led by Master Lu was ambushed on the Lychee Ancient Road, but Sha LiFei and Wu Ba killed the bandits and asked the merchants for directions to Chongqing Prefecture.
• Li Yan's group learned that local factions were fighting and chose to disguise themselves as a Yang Opera Troupe, using costumes, cloaks, and Nuo masks to conceal their identities.
• Li Yan learned from Old Woman Bai Huan that Long Yan'er might never recover because her Natal Gu had been damaged.
• Wang Dao Xuan spotted flames blazing on a mountainside as the group reached a ridge at night.

Li Yan and his companions entered a Lolo village, helped its people resist a former Tusi’s attack, and then continued their journey. Two days later, they reached Chongqing Prefecture, where Sha LiFei recognized Chaotian Gate as a major wharf.

• Long Yan'er explained Lolo customs as Li Yan’s group approached the village, where a Su Ni examined them and welcomed them as guests.
• The villagers hosted Li Yan’s group during a fire ritual, and Lu San noticed that someone was driving wild animals down from the mountain.
• After the Su Ni’s ritual revealed an attack, villagers carried in a man injured by Black Sand Palm, and Li Yan treated him with Hidden Strength and a healing pill.
• The white-haired Old Woman explained that the former Tusi was trying to reclaim power, and Sha LiFei advised the villagers to present a Ten Thousand People Umbrella to the Chongqing Prefecture office.
• Li Yan’s group camped overnight, traveled for two more days, and arrived at Chongqing Prefecture, where Sha LiFei pointed out Chaotian Gate.

Li Yan and his companions used a secret passage to enter Chongqing Prefecture while avoiding the city gates and scrutiny. They rented a dilapidated residence on Rice Flower Street, set up watches, and Li Yan began inspecting the goods taken from the three Wushan Earth Immortals.

• Liu San guided Sha LiFei, Li Yan, and their masked group from Chaotian Gate Wharf to a warehouse where Gelaohui men demanded twenty taels per person for passage.
• Li Yan paid the fee and led the group through an underground passage into the city, refusing a Gelaohui offer to investigate Baleful Intent at Third Master Chen’s residence.
• Liu San found the group a large abandoned residence on Rice Flower Street, where Sha LiFei paid him and asked him to return the next day.
• Li Yan discovered a corpse in the rear courtyard well and told the group not to drink its water, while Lu San sent rats to watch their surroundings.
• Li Yan unpacked the belongings taken from the three Wushan Earth Immortals and began inspecting them.

Li Yan examined the relics taken from the dead earth immortals, advanced his Great Luo Dharma Body, and developed the force-deflecting Undying Imprint Method. As the group settled in Chongqing and discussed Dragon Yan'er’s plight, a Zhou family servant arrived seeking a Sichuan Opera troupe for a suspicious nighttime funeral performance.

• Li Yan sorted the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl, Nether Iron blades, prophecy books, and Tantric scroll, then gave Yi Prophecy and Luo Apocrypha to Wang Dao Xuan to study.
• Li Yan observed that his Great Luo Dharma Body had grown stronger and tested the Undying Imprint Method by transferring a palm strike’s force into the ground.
• Li Yan marked possible destinations on a map of Sichuan and Shu, then found Wang Dao Xuan and handed him Wang MengSheng’s books.
• Bai Huan told Li Yan that Dragon Yan’er wanted help laying her dead master and senior brother to rest, and said the group might be able to help after the Bo Prefecture Yang Family fell.
• Sha LiFei and Wu Ba brought water, and the group gathered around a fire to share a meal.
• A Zhou family servant announced a doubled payment for a Sichuan Opera troupe to perform at a funeral that night, and an acrobatic troupe leader questioned his story.

Li Yan and Sha LiFei learned that Chongqing Prefecture was caught in a struggle among rival jianghu factions, while an opera troupe accepted a dangerous performance for a thousand taels. The troupe returned at dawn with several dead, and Liu San said they had provoked the Dragon King.

• Opera troupes refused to perform for a man who had died violently until the Wu Troupe accepted the job for a thousand taels and help settling in Chongqing Prefecture.
• Bai Huan and Wang Dao Xuan explained that the Sichuan opera troupe carried statues of its patriarchs to protect itself from yin spirits.
• Liu San brought Li Yan and Sha LiFei breakfast and described the conflict among the Salt Gang, Gelaohui, Sichuan Chamber of Commerce, Cao Gang, and Raft Sect.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei heard that Chongqing Prefecture's West Traveling Beggar Gang was leaderless after its chief was beaten to death.
• The Wu Troupe returned with several dead performers, and Liu San said they had provoked the Dragon King.

Li Yan investigated the Wu Troupe’s possession and learned the Zhou family had used their performance to transfer a disaster. Wang Dao Xuan devised a plan to protect the troupe while they continued performing, as Li Yan’s Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet hinted at a connection to Dragon Girl’s commission.

• Liu San explained that the Sichuan-Shu Pai Sect Dragon King Huo Jiao was feuding with the Cao Gang over the Zhou family, and Li Yan hired Liu San to gather information from Rumor Inn.
• Li Yan practiced his mystical techniques while waiting for Liu San, but an old musician and a little girl arrived seeking help for possessed troupe members.
• Li Yan examined the sick performers and heard how the Zhou family had forced them to perform Dragon Slaying Platform on an ill-omened stage; his Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet trembled as he realized they had been made to bear a disaster.
• Wang Dao Xuan confirmed the Zhou family had shifted the disaster onto the troupe and warned that another performance could kill more of them.
• Wang Dao Xuan told the troupe to perform again with a reversed Bagua Mirror, use face-changing to appear as Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, fake deaths, and escape Chongqing Prefecture after their next show.

Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan dispelled the curse on the Wu Troupe and traced it to a Dragon King Temple ritual arranged through the Zhou family. As Li Yan followed the troupe to the Zhou residence, he spotted several familiar figures among the people inside.

• Li Yan used the North Emperor Calamity Removal Technique to remove the curse from the troupe members, and Wang Dao Xuan explained that a Calamity Shifting Method had transferred it to them.
• Li Yan planned to investigate the Raft Sect Dragon King, while Sha LiFei and Lu San went to a Rumor Inn to gather information.
• Sha LiFei learned that Liu San had been robbed by accomplices and was hiding at a broken temple south of the city; he and Lu San decided to find him and recover their money.
• Men from the Zhou family forced the recovering Wu Troupe out of its lodging and marched them away to perform, while other troupes realized the danger and some fled.
• Li Yan used the North Emperor Black Water Escape to follow the troupe to the Zhou residence, where he saw a mourning hall, a stage facing northwest, and the Cao Gang elder Han Kun and the Chen Family and Son among the guests.

Li Yan watched the Wu Troupe use a strange opera performance to survive the calamity at the Zhou residence, and a mysterious Yin Soul helped their face-changing deceive the Dragon King’s power. After learning about the Dragon Snake Token, Li Yan left to plan how to take it, but returned to find Liu San badly wounded.

• Li Yan overheard Han Kun and the others discuss the Cao Gang’s plans to persuade Raft Sect leader Huo Jiao to submit, while the Wu Troupe demanded permission to perform the ritual of breaking the stage.
• Mister Luo allowed the troupe to proceed, and the performers hid Wang Dao Xuan’s Bagua Mirror before beginning their opera as a fierce wind and foul mist gathered.
• The Wu Troupe changed into Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, and a mysterious Yin Soul used qi to make their disguise convincing as the Dragon King’s power passed over them.
• The Yin Soul told Li Yan that the Dragon King Temple’s leader carried the Dragon Snake Token, then vanished; Li Yan left to plan how to take it before departing.
• Li Yan returned to the residence and found Liu San lying in the main hall, drenched in blood and barely alive.

Li Yan’s group hid after Sha LiFei and Lu San rescued Liu San and freed more than a hundred children from the Evil Beggars, while Li Yan studied intelligence about Shu’s factions and strange incidents. At the broken temple, officials argued over the killings, and Liu Gan’s plan to exploit the case revealed a political scheme tied to the Prince’s estate.

• Sha LiFei explained that he and Lu San had rescued Liu San from the Evil Beggars, freed more than a hundred drugged children, and used firearms to kill the gang, prompting the authorities to hunt them.
• Li Yan told his companions to lie low, arrange sentries and escape routes, and remain alert near the Chongqing Thousand-Household Guard Office.
• Li Yan studied reports on Shu’s factions, strange incidents, and Treasure Hunters, then wondered whether the Treasure Hunters near the DZ Area planned to target the Dazu Rock Carvings.
• Wan BaoQuan examined the massacre at the broken temple, but Liu Gan insisted that the firearm killings be investigated and the unknown fighters captured.
• Liu Gan met Changsun Fengci and said he would use the case to drive court ministers’ allies out of Chongqing, while Wan BaoQuan secretly sent a Yamen Runner to follow Liu Gan.
• The Yamen Runner later dismissed his subordinates, hurried to the riverside, and began digging beside a reef, where the stench of corpses emerged.

After hundreds of eyeless children’s corpses were discovered by the Jialing River, the authorities launched a citywide search while Li Yan and his companions connected the killings to an evil practitioner seeking to borrow children’s luck. As Wan BaoQuan tried to investigate the government’s involvement, he found the prisoner dead and Zhao Dianbu cutting his own throat.

• Yuan A Qiu caught a yamen runner digging up a child’s corpse, and Wan BaoQuan’s junior fellow disciple found many more children buried along the riverbank.
• The authorities searched Chongqing, but Chu Qi used her soul-confusing technique to hide Li Yan and his companions from the soldiers.
• Li Yan learned that hundreds of eyeless children had been found, and Wang Dao Xuan identified the killings as part of a Shitilavana ritual to borrow luck and break through a realm.
• Dan Hezi explained the suspected sinister art to Governor Du Ling, while Wan BaoQuan reported that a government official had been arrested but refused to name accomplices.
• After Dan Hezi warned Wan BaoQuan that the Commandery Commandant Office might know more, Wan BaoQuan rushed to the prison and found the jailers dead, the prisoner beheaded, and Zhao Dianbu cutting his own throat.

After a prison massacre exposed a child-trafficking network, the Commandery Commandant Office seized control of the investigation and the struggle between the Shu King's faction and imperial officials intensified. Li Yan's group stayed out of the turmoil while the Wu Troupe completed its performance at the Zhou residence, but Wan BaoQuan arrived to confront the gathered families just as an eerie wind knocked them unconscious.

• Wan BaoQuan summoned the Commandery Commandant Office after Zhao Dianbu's prison massacre, and Luo Hai took control of the case from Du Ling.
• Liu Gan revealed that children had been sent to Linjiang Tower and implicated Wang Biao's men, then pointed Wan BaoQuan toward a young man surnamed Du and warned that the Emperor expected the factions to remain balanced.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei concluded that the political factions were fighting among themselves, while soldiers arrested Gelaohui and Sichuan Chamber of Commerce figures.
• The Wu Troupe completed its final performance at the Zhou residence and left safely, while Wang Dao Xuan told Li Yan the accumulated curse would erupt at dawn.
• Wan BaoQuan confronted Han Kun and the others at the Zhou residence, but a sinister wind made them collapse before they could explain themselves.

Wan BaoQuan and Dan Hezi enlisted Li Yan and the masked Wu Troupe to investigate the Zhou family curse, but Li Yan’s ritual revealed a connection to the Raft Sect Dragon King and a hidden demonic force. The underworld then issued Li Yan a mission to capture the Female Yaksha, while he overheard a startling discussion about the Jiang God Great Lord and Manifest Saint True Lord.

• Dan Hezi identified the Zhou family’s affliction as a Raft Sect curse and joined Wan BaoQuan in seeking help from the Wu Troupe.
• Li Yan agreed to aid Wan BaoQuan on the condition that the troupe’s identities remain secret.
• Li Yan performed the North Emperor Calamity Removal Technique at the Zhou residence, driving the curse from its victims before a strange howl and the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet’s reaction signaled danger.
• Dragon Girl showed Li Yan a vision of the Raft Sect Dragon King praying over a jade disc beside the missing Young Master Du, who appeared to have absorbed demonic energy.
• Li Yan’s hook warrant drew him into an underworld mission to capture the Female Yaksha, and he overheard officials discussing the Jiang God Great Lord, Manifest Saint True Lord, and the Dharma Realm.

After Li Yan learned that the Dragon King Temple was tied to the curse and a larger scheme, he led the authorities to find the escaped Du Family young master. The assault on the temple ended with Liu Gan and two men dead, while a sinister presence awakened inside.

• Li Yan learned that Manifest Saint True Lord had reincarnated and that the Dragon King Temple was where the missing Du Family young master could be found.
• Wan BaoQuan brought the information to Liu Gan, who mobilized soldiers and cannons to surround the Dragon King Temple.
• The Shu King Residence's Confucian-robed old man recalled Zhao Changsheng's connection to the Raft Sect and ordered his people to withdraw, then resolved to have Huo Jiao killed.
• Liu Gan threatened the Raft Sect with cannon fire, but Li Yan restrained him while Wan BaoQuan urged the raft-dwelling families to let them reach the temple.
• Li Yan charged into the Dragon King Temple, followed by Liu Gan and the others, and three gunshots sounded inside.
• Black mist surged from the temple, and Liu Gan and two men were found decapitated as Li Yan sensed a sinister consciousness awakening.

Li Yan and the imperial forces confronted Huo Jiao and the demon hidden in the Dragon King Temple after the Underworld soldiers failed to capture them. As Huo Jiao fought to hold them back, Li Yan rushed into the temple to stop the demon from escaping.

• Several Raft Sect members entered the eerie Dragon King Temple and were killed, while Li Yan, Dan Hezi, and Wang Dao Xuan sensed the temple's unnatural forces.
• Li Yan summoned Underworld soldiers, who destroyed the temple's outer buildings but could not enter the Dragon King Hall, where a divine artifact was hidden.
• Huo Jiao emerged looking unnaturally young, ordered the Raft Sect to rebel, and was challenged by his followers over the missing children.
• Huo Jiao invoked the Dragon King and fought Li Yan, enduring his thunder attacks and a flintlock shot before using a mystical power to blast black smoke and phosphorous fire at him.
• Hearing that the demon was close to escaping, Li Yan charged into the temple while Sha LiFei, Lu San, and the garrison soldiers fired at Huo Jiao to hold him back.