Chapter Summaries

Li Yan used a display of precise martial skill to deter people seeking to build their reputations by challenging him, then prepared to uncover the hidden magic users monitoring him. The Shu King Residence’s gathered experts decided that Sect Master Wang would challenge Li Yan under the pretext of seeking instruction, while Li Yan left a paper figure in his room as a decoy.

• Li Yan pierced sunflower seed shells into bluestone to form the character “Li,” frightening off the young swordsman who had sought instruction.
• Li Yan sensed that someone was spying on him with magic and used the Dragon Snake Plate to frustrate the monitoring spell.
• A Black-Clothed Old Taoist and a child used the round-light technique to watch what appeared to be Li Yan reading in his room.
• The Face-Painted Weirdo and other unorthodox experts from the Shu King Residence discussed killing Li Yan and reclaiming the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl.
• Sect Master Wang agreed to challenge Li Yan openly under the guise of seeking instruction and kill him during their match.
• Li Yan left a paper figure with his aura sitting in his room as he prepared to counter the watchers.

Li Yan uncovered the Shu King Residence’s plot and crippled Bu Xu after rescuing the Spirit Medium from his life-draining scheme. The next day, Wang Han challenged Li Yan in public while hidden firearm-wielders prepared to shoot him, leaving their confrontation about to begin.

• Li Yan tracked Bu Xu to a warehouse, defeated his altar protection, and learned that the Shu King Residence had hired several sect leaders to target him.
• Bu Xu admitted that Wang Han would challenge Li Yan and that an explosive-laden boat had been prepared; Li Yan crippled Bu Xu, and the Spirit Medium later killed him before the inn burned.
• News spread that Wang Han, the Lotus Sect Master, would confront Li Yan, drawing a large crowd to the inn.
• Wang Han demonstrated his Transformed Strength by shaking melon-seed shells from a bluestone and called Li Yan outside.
• Li Yan emerged with the Severing Dust Blade as Wang Han faced him, while hidden Divine Firearm wielders aimed their guns from a distant inn.

Li Yan fought Wang Han, who used Spirit Possession Art to invoke Yang Wulang and wield the Five Warrior's Shadow Spear. The battle moved from the crowded street to the pier, where Wang Han's shifting illusions left Li Yan unable to distinguish the real spear wielder.

• In an attic, Ghost Painted Face ordered an attack, but the musketeer commander refused to fire in the crowded street and agreed to wait until the river.
• Li Yan and Wang Han agreed to fight to the death, and Wang Han invoked Yang Wulang with a burning talisman.
• Wang Han attacked Li Yan with the Yang Family Spear, while Li Yan retreated across rooftops toward the pier to avoid endangering bystanders.
• Ghost Painted Face and the musketeers decided to intercept the fighters at the river, while other pursuers followed Li Yan and Wang Han.
• At the pier, Li Yan used his Soul Hooking Chain, Severing Dust Blade, and Soul Severing Throwing Knife against Wang Han, who blocked the attacks with his spear.
• Wang Han combined the Five Warrior Eight Trigrams Staff with the Lotus Dharma Body, creating several confusing silhouettes as Li Yan struggled to identify the real one.

Li Yan killed Wang Han at the wharf and boarded a pleasure boat carrying the embattled Luo Family toward Ziyang. As he investigated the threats pursuing him, he discovered that an eerie song was coming from inside a chest aboard the boat.

• Li Yan used the Northern Emperor Body Protection Incantation and Yin and Yang Lightning to break Wang Han’s defenses, then killed him with his blade.
• Li Yan paid the inn waiter for his trouble and tried to find a boat to Yibin, but the boatmen refused to take him.
• Luo An invited Li Yan onto the pleasure boat, claiming he had information about people secretly plotting against him.
• Luo An explained that the Du Family had attacked the Luo Family and was spreading Li Yan’s reputation as part of a scheme; Li Yan agreed to travel with them as far as Ziyang.
• As Li Yan used his divine ability to investigate the boat, he heard a song coming from inside a wooden chest that his donkey was licking.

Li Yan discovered that the Luo family's Brocade Embroidery Armguard was a spirit-creature in the making and accepted it from Luo An. As the boat entered a dangerous stretch of the Tuo River, the Du family and the Black Fish Gang ambushed them, and Li Yan fought back underwater.

• Li Yan found the spirit-creature within the Brocade Embroidery Armguard, learned of its maker Lin Mei, and accepted the armguard from Luo An.
• Li Yan warned the crew when two boats carrying men from the Du family and the Black Fish Gang appeared ahead and attacked with siege crossbows.
• Li Yan caught an iron spear and hurled it back, killing two bandits, then told Luo An to leave the chain in the boat's hull.
• Black Dragon demanded double payment from the Du family man before sending the Black Fish Gang into the river to sabotage the boat.
• Li Yan used North Emperor Black Water Escape to appear among the underwater attackers and slaughtered them as the river turned red.

Li Yan wiped out the Black Fish Gang, forced Du Ping to reveal a plot against the Luo family, and learned that Wu Yuqing had recognized him because she was a disciple of a Living Underworld Messenger. The chapter ended with Wu Yuqing suspecting that the Du family patriarch was the Ghost Sect fiend her master had discovered.

• Li Yan killed the Black Fish Gang and captured Du Ping, who revealed that the Du family had arranged to keep Wu Yuqing from returning home in Ziyang.
• Li Yan brought Du Ping aboard the Luo family's boat, warned the others that someone was watching them, and went to meet the awakened Wu Yuqing.
• Jin Cuilian, Qin Wanpei, the fire-gun guards' leader, and Ghost Painted Face agreed to ambush Li Yan at an abandoned village and use an incantation to restrain him before attacking.
• Wu Yuqing told Li Yan that she had noticed him in Ezhou because she belonged to the Bloodline Jade Emperor Sect and had been taught by a Living Underworld Messenger.
• Wu Yuqing said her late master had discovered a fiend from the Ghost Sect, and she suspected the Du family patriarch was that fiend.

Li Yan learned more about the Du family's suspected ties to the Ghost Cult, arranged to complete his Brocade Embroidery Armguard with Demon Suppression Coins, and named the resulting treasure Thousand Thoughts. When Ghost Painted Face ambushed the pleasure boat with an illusion and tried to obtain Li Yan's blood and hair for a curse, Li Yan escaped into the river to pursue the enemy.

• Wu Yuqing told Li Yan about a remote village linked to the Du family and the Ghost Cult, and explained how to finish refining the Brocade Embroidery Armguard.
• Li Yan and Wu Yuqing agreed to use Du Ping as an inside agent, strike the Du family's hidden members in Ziyang County, and get Wu Yuqing back to Yibin quickly.
• Luo family embroiderers embedded 108 Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins into Li Yan's armguard, and Li Yan named the treasure Thousand Thoughts.
• Yin mist and eerie opera music surrounded the pleasure boat, and Li Yan told Luo An to continue to Ziyang County without him.
• Ghost Painted Face attacked Li Yan amid shadow-puppet kites and illusions, then escaped with a few strands of Li Yan's hair after trying to strike his throat.
• Li Yan realized the attackers wanted his blood and hair for a curse, pretended to flee, and used Profound Water Escape to leap into the river.

Li Yan was pursued by "Ghost Painted Face" and trapped under fire from the Shu King's firearm squad while Qin Wanpei used Li Yan’s hair and blood to cast the Soul Loss Curse. After Li Yan escaped the mountain pursuit by exploiting the enemies’ mistaken belief that he still had his Celestial Decree, he concealed his trail and turned back toward the mountaintop.

• Li Yan chased "Ghost Painted Face" through the forest, but the Shu King's firearm squad ambushed him and kept him pinned down with gunfire.
• "Ghost Painted Face" delivered Li Yan’s hair and blood to Qin Wanpei, who began the Soul Loss Curse while Jin Cuilian guided the firearm squad’s attacks.
• Li Yan used the Great Luo Dharma Body to resist the curse, while Qin Wanpei’s attempts to extinguish the incense sticks repeatedly failed.
• Li Yan realized the group feared his Celestial Decree, so he shouted a summoning spell and used their alarm to flee; "Ghost Painted Face" and Jin Cuilian pursued him.
• Jin Cuilian sent a Cat Ghost after Li Yan, but it tracked a Chuling Paper Figure while Li Yan emerged from hiding and vanished toward the mountaintop.

Li Yan destroyed Qin Wanpei’s firearm squad, defeated the old Taoist, and learned that the King of Shu was gathering spellcraft experts while searching for the Elixir of Immortality. He then fought “Ghost Painted Face” and Jin Cuilian, revealing his lightning-charged Soul Hooking Chains as he turned the battle against them.

• Li Yan ambushed the firearm squad, killed its soldiers, and injured Qin Wanpei despite being struck by pellets and pursued by the Taoist’s fire dragon.
• Qin Wanpei revealed the King of Shu’s search for immortality and gave Li Yan a token and written plea to protect his younger disciples; Li Yan killed him and took his belongings.
• “Ghost Painted Face” and Jin Cuilian arrived, and “Ghost Painted Face” attacked Li Yan with iron fans and bizarre martial arts while Jin Cuilian unleashed poison powder.
• “Ghost Painted Face” gained the upper hand and reached for a firearm, but Li Yan revealed his lightning-charged Soul Hooking Chains and struck him with a thunderous blow.

Li Yan killed Ghost Painted Face and Jin Cuilian, then reached Ziyang County and learned that the Bloodline Jade Emperor Sect would not fully support the Luo family against the Du family. After offering the Luo family a cache of Fire God Spears, he went to the Beggar Meat Stall, where a familiar voice sounded from inside.

• Li Yan used the Soul Hooking Lightning Rope to kill Ghost Painted Face and Jin Cuilian, then found a letter describing the Ghost Opera Troupe's revival.
• Li Yan arrived at Anfu Inn and heard Taoist Qingfeng refuse to risk the Bloodline Jade Emperor Sect in the Luo family's conflict with the Du family.
• Li Yan told Wu Yuqing he was leaving, criticized Taoist Qingfeng's caution, and departed with Luo An.
• Luo An revealed that Wu Yuqing planned to seek help from the Lushan Sect through the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce, and Li Yan offered the Luo family his seized Fire God Spears.
• Li Yan went to the Beggar Meat Stall to find Du Ping and heard someone inside complain about boiling mutton.

Li Yan encountered the Chengdu Tycoon, suspected to be Erlang God reborn, but the mysterious man left after hinting that the River God Sovereign had fled and might have left clues near Nanchong. After learning Du Ping had been targeted by Du family members and Daoists, Li Yan set out for their hideout, intending to question them before heading to Nanchong.

• Li Yan entered a butcher’s courtyard, recognized the Chengdu Tycoon, and joined him for lamb and a drinking game.
• Li Yan exposed his suspicions by calling out Erlang-themed drinking-game phrases, and the Chengdu Tycoon stopped playing and prepared to leave.
• Li Yan showed the jade pendant from Dragon Girl and asked about the River God Sovereign; the Chengdu Tycoon said the Sovereign had fled and that there might be clues near Nanchong, then vanished.
• The butcher kept the blessed lamb and warned his workers not to speak about the encounter, while Li Yan returned upstairs to Du Ping.
• Du Ping told Li Yan that a boy from the Du family’s second branch and two Daoists had come looking for him, but the Chengdu Tycoon’s glare had driven them off.
• Li Yan learned that one Daoist was the abbot of a nearby Mountain God Temple, then drank mutton soup and headed out to investigate.

Li Yan raided a Du Family gathering in a ruined Mountain God Temple, then entered the Yin Bureau to investigate a mission tied to Zuo ShouQuan’s demonic qi. There, he overheard the Five Paths General complain that mortals had smeared his reputation, leaving Li Yan with a startling underworld scandal to consider.

• Du Yuanguang and two Daoists planned to kill Lo Family Madam Wu and make Du Ping die in an accident, while using Li Yan’s whereabouts to draw the Shu King Residence after him.
• Li Yan ambushed the Du Family’s dead soldiers outside the temple with his Flintlock Firearm and scattered-shot pellets, then retreated into the forest when witchcraft began inside.
• Li Yan accepted a Yin Bureau mission and found Black Well Blood Water connected to the escaped demonic qi.
• The Five Paths General arrived to capture Zuo ShouQuan’s demonic qi, but another figure reminded him that Yin Law barred him from returning to the human world.
• The Five Paths General protested that mortals had turned him into a bandit and a lecherous ghost, and Li Yan realized he was overhearing a juicy scandal.

Li Yan defeated the Du family’s headless puppets and learned that they served Zuo ShouQuan and had been following orders from the Ghost Cult. After sending the intelligence to his companions, he set out with Du Yuanguang for Severed Head Mountain, while Sha LiFei remained troubled by recurring dreams of Shitilavana.

• Li Yan identified Zuo ShouQuan’s curse behind the headless attackers and killed the bodies controlling the flying heads.
• Li Yan captured Du Yuanguang, who explained the Du family’s sacrifices at Stone Dragon Village and their dealings with the Ghost Cult.
• Du Yuanguang revealed that the Du family sent silver to Xiangxi and sacrificed fifty people each year to avoid becoming headless themselves.
• Falcon Li Dong arrived with a secret letter, and Li Yan sent back his findings before deciding to go to Stone Dragon Village and Severed Head Mountain.
• Near the Dazu Rock Carvings, Sha LiFei told Lu San that he had dreamed of Shitilavana again and suspected the monks had set him up.

Sha LiFei learned that Shitilavana trapped the old monks in recurring nightmares and began forging a protective weapon as he resolved to pursue his ambitions and reunite with Long Yan'er. Meanwhile, Wang Dao Xuan received news that Jiang God Great Lord had reincarnated and set out to confront the person behind a village incident rather than rush into the village.

• The old monks told Sha LiFei that Shitilavana was real, explained its dangers and benefits, and revealed that they had spent years failing to master the Lord of the Corpse Forest Method.
• Falcon Li Dong brought news that Yan XiaoGe was safe and had found a mechanism needing Sha LiFei's protection; Sha LiFei identified it as a fangshi mechanism and decided to forge a protective weapon.
• While forging through the night, Sha LiFei resolved to keep pace with Li Yan and find Long Yan'er, entered a focused state, and slept peacefully until nightfall.
• Sha LiFei finished the protective weapon, and Falcon Li Dong carried it north after dawn.
• In Nanchong, a Demon Hunter asked Wang Dao Xuan to rescue people trapped in a village after his group ignored Wang Dao Xuan's warning and took the job themselves.
• After reading Sha LiFei's letter about Jiang God Great Lord's reincarnation, Wang Dao Xuan decided to gather information and led the Demon Hunter toward the person behind the incident.

Wang Dao Xuan uncovered that the Hee family’s son had been afflicted by a yin ghost, not a zombie, and traced the scheme to a Daoist linked to the Dragon Worship Sect. After saving the young master, he persuaded Hee Master to report the culprit, bringing county officials, soldiers, and Demon Hunters together to confront the danger.

• Wang Dao Xuan explained that Nanchong’s excellent feng shui likely concealed a man-made Corpse Raising Ground, and he and Chen San Bang confronted Hee Master about the supposed zombie.
• Hee Master recounted how his son had met a black-haired creature, fallen ill, and been warned by the suspicious Daoist Purple Cloud that a Black Hairy Zombie was hunting him.
• Wang Dao Xuan identified the creature as a hair ghost and diagnosed the young master as being afflicted by a yin ghost; he buried him in a coffin with five grains to force the entity out.
• Wang Dao Xuan exorcised the yin ghost, and the young master recovered; Hee Master then revealed that Purple Cloud had worshiped an image of the Dragon King.
• Wang Dao Xuan urged Hee Master to report the source of the trouble, and the county magistrate mobilized Yamen Runners, garrison soldiers, and local Demon Hunters.

Centurion Liu led Nanchong’s forces to investigate a village where a demon practitioner had stirred up zombie attacks, and the group discovered signs of a deadly Flying Fire Zombie. Wang Dao Xuan recognized that the village was trapped in an Entrap Dragon Formation, and as the party tried to retreat, Chen San Bang charged inside to save his companions while another Demon Hunter was seized by a shadow.

• Centurion Liu hurried the soldiers, yamen runners, Demon Hunters, and Iron Buddha Sect monks toward the ruined village, hoping to earn merit by uncovering the demon practitioner behind Nanchong’s disturbances.
• The group found Lao Wai’s half-torn body, and Yu Qing identified charred footprints as evidence of a Flying Fire Zombie that had killed his master and fellow disciples.
• Yu Qing urged everyone to flee, but Centurion Liu barred the Demon Hunters from leaving until Yun Tong calmed the dispute and persuaded the group to withdraw for the night.
• Chen San Bang charged into the village to search for his missing companions, and Wang Dao Xuan explained that the site was a Yin Fiend Land with an Entrap Dragon Formation that activated after dark.
• A Demon Hunter tried to escape what seemed to be a Ghost Wall, but a black shadow snatched him into the air and dropped half his body back to the ground.

Wang Dao Xuan and the others entered an abandoned Qiang village, where they encountered a Flying Zombie and learned the settlement might be the legendary Ghost Qiang. An armed group fleeing the zombie reached their ambush, and their escape revealed an ancient golden mask resembling a Sanxingdui artifact.

• The Flying Zombie attacked the soldiers as they entered the village, killing two before the group reached an open platform.
• Wang Dao Xuan questioned Wa Saji and learned the village lacked the White Stone God worship of ordinary Qiang settlements and might be the fabled Ghost Qiang.
• Gunfire alerted Centurion Liu to other people in the village, and he ordered the soldiers and Demon Hunters to set an ambush.
• A group led by Demon Monk Duoji arrived while fleeing the Flying Zombie, with Chen San Bang and several Demon Hunters held captive.
• Duoji's chanting weakened the Flying Zombie, and new-style firearms blasted off its right arm before it vanished.
• Centurion Liu's soldiers opened fire on the group, but Duoji's chant disrupted them and the survivors escaped; a crossbow bolt knocked an ancient golden mask from one man's bag.

Wang Dao Xuan’s group uncovered the Dragon Worship Sect’s link to the Jiang God Great Lord and survived the Flying Zombie’s attack, while reinforcements later subdued the creature and found an ancient Shu cavern. After receiving Wang Dao Xuan’s report, Li Yan prepared to rendezvous with them, but sensed figures in the darkness and challenged them to fight.

• Wu Ba broke the black-robed Daoist’s leg, but the Daoist threw the Golden Mask to a Black Clothed Man, who escaped with the remaining yao.
• The Flying Zombie killed Centurion Liu, and Wang Dao Xuan had Wu Ba keep the injured Daoist alive before the group withdrew at dawn.
• After two days of interrogation, the Daoist revealed that the Dragon Worship Sect worshiped the Jiang God Great Lord, sought the Golden Mask, and had caused the Nanchong corpse calamity and the Hee family’s misfortune.
• Iron Buddha Sect monks used sutras, a consecrated iron net, and Vajra Pestles to subdue the Flying Zombie, then discovered an underground cavern filled with ancient Shu artifacts.
• Wang Dao Xuan sent Li Yan a report about ancient Shu, the Jiang God Great Lord, and Erlang, and Li Yan decided to rendezvous with the others.
• Li Yan sensed shadowy figures in the darkness and challenged them to fight.

Li Yan fought Hui Yuan and eight monks sent by the Shu King Residence to seize the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl. He killed them all, then sensed that the residence had sent more pursuers and continued onward.

• Hui Yuan and eight Vinaya monks surrounded Li Yan and demanded that he surrender the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl on behalf of the Shu King Residence.
• The monks used the Nine Linked Rings Formation and a mantra to suppress Li Yan’s mystical powers, while Hui Yuan revealed his Buddha Eyes to paralyze him.
• Li Yan resisted Hui Yuan’s Buddha Eyes with the Great Luo Dharma Body and killed the monks before defeating Hui Yuan.
• Li Yan sensed more pursuers approaching from the darkness and left without stopping.

Li Yan followed a Du family sacrificial procession into an abandoned village, where the family prepared to offer their hired drivers to Zuo ShouQuan. As the Du family began its ritual, the Gou Die in Li Yan’s arms grew hot, signaling that he had finally found a clue to the demonic aura.

• Li Yan discovered cart tracks leading toward Decapitation Village and identified the procession as belonging to the Du family.
• Li Yan overheard Third Master Chen confirm that the hired drivers were being taken as sacrifices, then followed the group into the mountains using North Emperor Black Water Escape.
• Third Master Chen led the procession into the village’s ancestral hall while the drivers settled in, and Du family members entered a hidden tunnel beneath a bed.
• The Du family drugged the drivers with wine, tied them up before an altar, and prayed to a statue of Zuo ShouQuan.
• Li Yan searched the village for the source of the Yin Energy but found no demonic aura until the Gou Die in his arms grew hot.