Chapter Summaries

Li Yan disrupted the Du family's sacrifice and fought through Zuo ShouQuan's Walking Corpses until the Underworld captured the fleeing evil god. Following the traces to a cavern, he found signs that Zuo ShouQuan had been imprisoned there and discovered skulls that suggested a connection to the vanished Flying Head Liao tribe.

• Li Yan watched Zuo ShouQuan's Walking Corpses carry the Du family's living sacrifices to the opera stage, where the Du family prepared to perform a ritual.
• Li Yan killed the Du family members who were about to sacrifice the coachmen, then fought the Walking Corpses and drove the Du family's dead soldiers from the stage.
• Zuo ShouQuan appeared and cursed Li Yan, but Li Yan dispelled the curse and summoned the Underworld troops with the Soul Hooking Chain.
• The Underworld troops captured Zuo ShouQuan, and the Walking Corpses collapsed as Li Yan followed their trail to a distant quarry.
• Li Yan explored a cavern filled with skulls and bronze-spiked remains, recognized that someone had once suppressed the evil god, and suspected the cavern was connected to the Flying Head Liao tribe.

Li Yan discovered a hidden shrine to Zhang Xian and used its Po Jun banner to awaken and refine the Brocade Embroidery Armguard into the Thousand Thoughts, then destroyed the evil deity Zuo ShouQuan’s body. Meanwhile, in Luzhou, Zhao Xianda and Lushan Sect sorcerers surrounded the Du family residence over its alleged ties to the Ghost Sect, where they heard that the Old Ancestor had died.

• Li Yan found a stone inscription explaining that Zhang Yuanxiao and the Personal Cavalry Army had imprisoned the Flying Head Liao demon god, along with a Po Jun banner that made his Brocade Embroidery Armguard react.
• Li Yan wrapped the armguard in the banner, endured the surge of Yin Energy, and nurtured the armguard into the Thousand Thoughts, gaining enhanced protection and Yin Thunder abilities.
• Li Yan reached the cavern’s depths, identified Lu Xiujing’s Yuande Peach Wood Sword, and smashed open the stone egg containing Zuo ShouQuan’s reshaped body.
• Li Yan destroyed Zuo ShouQuan’s head, ending the threat posed by the evil deity.
• Zhao Xianda and Lushan Sect sorcerers surrounded the Du family residence in Luzhou, accusing the family of colluding with the Ghost Sect.
• A cry from inside the Du residence announced that the Old Ancestor had died.

Li Yan infiltrated the Du Family manor during the Commandery Commandant Office and Lushan Sect’s raid, sent the Du Family Old Ancestor to the underworld, and recovered a Celestial Decree. He reached Dazu to help Sha LiFei, whose worsening dreams left him in danger, and the jade tablet Dragon Girl gave Li Yan began to tremble again.

• Zhao Xianda and the Lushan Sect entered Du Manor after learning the Old Ancestor had died, subdued the family, and found corpses used as cauldrons in Third Master Chen’s secret passage.
• Elder Wang identified the Du Family Old Ancestor’s Head-Switching Evil Technique and the marks left by a Living Underworld Messenger, while the family revealed that several groups had already fled.
• Zhao Xianda and Elder Wang pursued the fleeing Du Family members, found a wrecked boat and corpses on the Tuo River, and suspected an expert skilled in thunder arts had attacked them.
• Li Yan recalled killing the Old Ancestor and capturing two groups of Du Family remnants, then traveled toward Dazu with a Celestial Decree in his Underworld Hook Document.
• Du Family remnants aboard a cargo ship decided to flee to the Southern Seas, while Li Yan reached Dazu and reunited with Lu San and the Yu family.
• Li Yan examined Sha LiFei, whose dreams had worsened, and noticed that Dragon Girl’s jade tablet began trembling again.

Li Yan followed Dragon Girl’s dream into Shitilavana, where he discovered that Sha LiFei was trapped in a fragile Stone Blockhouse and learned that a tower could protect him. After failing to enter through the Ksitigarbha temple at first, Li Yan reached Shitilavana himself and rescued Sha LiFei from the evil spirits.

• Dragon Girl’s dream showed Li Yan Sha LiFei trapped in a Stone Blockhouse while evil spirits and Corpse-Eating Birds attacked it, and the Jiang God Great Lord’s remnant helped complete the shelter.
• Li Yan learned that Sha LiFei’s shelter would not last and decided to enter Shitilavana to build a tower that could protect him during the ritual.
• Li Yan found the old monks dead in the Ksitigarbha temple and spent another day trying to enter Shitilavana through sleep.
• Li Yan finally reached Shitilavana, crossed the bone-strewn hills, and found Sha LiFei nearly driven mad inside the Stone Blockhouse.
• Li Yan grabbed Sha LiFei and pulled him back into the Stone Blockhouse as the evil spirits howled outside.

Li Yan rescued Sha LiFei from Shitilavana, discovered clues about an old Qiang monk, and returned to prepare for Sha LiFei’s awakening ritual. During the ritual, Sha LiFei faced the evil spirits while Li Yan built a three-level palace to shelter him, and Li Yan again sensed something watching from the sky.

• Li Yan freed Sha LiFei from the evil spirits’ influence and explored the five-level Stone Blockhouse, finding signs that its builder had been a Qiang shaman who also practiced Buddhism.
• The Stone Blockhouse collapsed, and Li Yan drove back the surrounding evil spirits before leaving Shitilavana; he sensed something watching him from the sky as he departed.
• Li Yan returned to Bamboo Grove Abode, where Lu San prepared a Soul Return Grass sachet and explained that Sha LiFei would use it during the ritual to try to awaken his supernatural ability.
• Lu San began the outdoor ritual as Li Yan and Sha LiFei entered Shitilavana, where Li Yan built a three-level palace and Sha LiFei braced himself against the approaching spirits.
• Li Yan entered the palace while Sha LiFei endured the evil spirits’ pressure, and Li Yan again felt that something was watching from above.

Li Yan used the North Emperor Yin Mountain Method to restore the pressure Sha LiFei needed to complete his ritual, angering Shitilavana’s guardians until a bolt from the Thunder Department intervened. Sha LiFei awakened a Body Mystical Power, while Li Yan discovered his warrant had gained a Thunder Manor Token and suspected Heaven had assigned him another duty.

• Li Yan sensed Dakinis watching from the sky as Sha LiFei endured the ritual, and two of Sha LiFei’s Three Life Fires changed color.
• The Dakinis sent golden-lotus-like light to disperse the evil spirits, threatening to interrupt Sha LiFei’s ritual, so Li Yan used the North Emperor Yin Mountain Method to summon Yin Energy again.
• Li Yan’s technique drew the Lion-Faced Dakinis and the phantom Cremation Ground into view, but a bolt of thunder struck his palace tower and altered his warrant.
• Sha LiFei’s final Life Fire changed color, completing the ritual before he collapsed and vanished from Shitilavana.
• Back at the Bamboo Grove Abode, Sha LiFei demonstrated his improved saber skills and awakened Body Mystical Power, while Li Yan found a Thunder Manor Token on his warrant.

Li Yan and his companions reached Dragon Phoenix Ancient Town and reunited with Wang Dao Xuan, who had been investigating rumors of a supernatural encounter. His report pointed them toward a possible human sacrifice and the Dragon Daughter Temple, while Li Yan reflected on the purpose of the Thunder Manor Token from Heaven.

• Li Yan learned from the boatman that Dragon Phoenix Town was crowded because Guangde Temple was holding a series of Buddhist rituals, then left the boat with Sha LiFei and Lu San.
• An old passenger warned the boatman that Li Yan’s group were wanted by the Shu King Residence, and Li Yan’s party entered town in disguise.
• Li Yan and his companions met Wang Dao Xuan at Qingyuan Tower, where the inn’s staff secretly speculated that the Twelve Yuan Chen might all exist.
• Li Yan praised Wu Ba’s efforts and promised to arrange for him to study Eight Extremes style under the Evergreen Society.
• Wang Dao Xuan explained that a missing former fisherman had claimed to encounter the Night Dragon King and a bridal River Corpse, leading Li Yan to suspect a human sacrifice connected to the Dragon Daughter Temple.
• Li Yan examined his arrest warrant and reasoned that the Thunder Manor Token from Heaven might be used to apprehend those who violated Heavenly Laws by secretly descending to the mortal realm to reincarnate.

Li Yan’s group traveled to White Creek Village after learning that Chen San Bang and the other Demon Hunters had been captured there. Feng Lao Hai revealed that the village’s salt smugglers had used the madman as bait to lure out the Dragon Worship Sect, leaving Li Yan to confront the danger they had uncovered.

• Lian Peng warned Li Yan and the others that Chen San Bang and his Demon Hunters had been captured in White Creek Town while investigating the madman.
• Li Yan’s group crossed the river and followed Lian Peng into the mountains, where Salt Gang members welcomed them into White Creek Village.
• Feng Lao Hai explained that he had opposed the Salt Gang’s plan to pledge allegiance to the Shu King Residence and had been driven out.
• Feng Lao Hai brought out the madman and revealed that he had deliberately released him as bait to draw out the people he feared.
• Feng Lao Hai admitted that he had not expected to attract Wang Dao Xuan and Li Yan, and said the Dragon Worship Sect was beyond the village’s power to challenge.

Li Yan learned from Feng Lao Hai that the Dragon Worship Sect had ties to Qiang Spirit Mediums and was likely retaliating against White Creek Village, so they used a hidden waterway to draw the sect out. At the river, Li Yan found the Dragon Daughter Temple and a sinister array of sacrificial corpses, entered Dragon Girl’s vision, and began a calamity-removal ritual with Wang Dao Xuan.

• Feng Lao Hai recounted witnessing the Dragon Worship Sect’s founding and identified its leader as an old monk accompanied by a Monkey-Head Girl.
• Feng Lao Hai asked Li Yan to help destroy the sect, explaining that its retaliation had brought repeated attacks and funerals to White Creek Village.
• Li Yan and Feng Lao Hai led a disguised fleet along a hidden waterway, where Li Yan sensed the Dragon Daughter Temple beneath the river.
• Li Yan discovered lifelike corpses in red wedding robes arranged around the temple and understood they formed a Ghost Marriage suppression array.
• Dragon Girl drew Li Yan into a vision of the temple, where he recognized the bronze flower basket in her hands as her divine artifact.
• Li Yan returned to the boat and asked Wang Dao Xuan to help perform the North Emperor Calamity Removal Technique as bubbles, fog, and the stench of corpses rose from the river.

Li Yan destroyed the Water Monkey that sustained the River Corpse formation and recovered the divine flower basket from the ruined Dragon Daughter Temple. He and his allies ambushed a Dragon Worship Sect force, routed it with coordinated attacks, and sent hawks after the fleeing survivors.

• Li Yan and his allies broke the River Corpse formation by destroying the Water Monkey hidden beneath the river, then Li Yan retrieved the flower basket from the Dragon Daughter Temple and entrusted it to Wu Ba.
• Wang Dao Xuan predicted that the Dragon Worship Sect would return, so Li Yan led the group into the forest to ambush its approaching cavalry.
• Lu San's Tiger's Roar threw the Dragon Worship Sect riders into disarray, killing the Black-Clothed Old Woman and prompting a red-haired Daoist to attack with fire-crow kites.
• Wang Dao Xuan's wind spell drove the kites skyward, and Sha LiFei shot them apart with his firearm, scattering netherworld fire among the sect members.
• Sha LiFei and Wu Ba hurled a Fire Caltrop into the enemy ranks, killing or wounding many Dragon Worship Sect members and forcing the survivors to flee.
• Li Yan ordered the group to pursue, and Lu San sent hawks after the fleeing sect members.

Li Yan and the Salt Gang reached the Dragon Worship Sect’s village, where Wang Dao Xuan discovered the sect was trying to turn the Sichuan River Water Mansion Dragon King into a puppet. As Wang Dao Xuan performed a ritual to awaken the Dragon King, the enemy emerged, and Li Yan and Wu Ba held them back.

• Li Yan’s group followed Lu San’s map to a perilous Dragon Killing Ground, where they found the Dragon Worship Sect’s village empty of people.
• Wang Dao Xuan realized the sect was refining the Sichuan River Water Mansion Dragon King into a puppet and prepared a ritual to awaken the deity.
• Wang Dao Xuan began reciting the Dragon King Precious Edict while Li Yan’s group guarded the altar, and the village’s winds grew violent as the Dragon King stirred.
• The sect’s fighters rushed out to stop the ritual, but the gale knocked down their weaker members.
• Li Yan used his Soul Hooking Chains to immobilize attackers while Wu Ba cut through them with his axe, forcing the enemy’s experts to retreat.

Li Yan and his allies destroyed a Dragon Worship Sect stronghold after Wang Dao Xuan freed the Sichuan River Water Mansion Dragon King, then defeated the sect’s fighters and uncovered plans to destroy Water God temples. As the survivors worried about the sect’s wider power, Feng Lao Hai offered Li Yan a way to keep the Shu King Residence from retaliating.

• Wu Ba nearly charged into the village, but Li Yan stopped him while Wang Dao Xuan’s ritual unleashed the Dragon King’s wrath and reduced the stronghold to ruins.
• The Dragon Worship Sect’s survivors attacked, but Li Yan, Wu Ba, Lu San, and Sha LiFei fought back; Li Yan killed Granny Yuan and the lama leading the enemy group.
• The remaining fighters fled into the mountains, and Li Yan’s group found letters revealing that the Dragon Worship Sect had branch halls across Shu destroying Water God temples.
• Li Yan concluded that the sect sought to cause floods so the Jiang God Great Lord could regain incense offerings, and the group burned the stronghold.
• Feng Lao Hai told Li Yan he knew a way to make the Shu King Residence swallow its grievance and asked whether Li Yan dared to do it.

Feng Lao Hai explained how Zhai TianBao and the eldest prince had exploited the King of Shu’s obsession with the Elixir of Immortality, and Li Yan agreed to help eliminate their hired fighters. Li Yan’s group headed to Suining, where rumors spread that Rooster Daoist and the Twelve Yuan Chen had arrived and would face a coalition backed by the Divine Fist Society.

• Feng Lao Hai told Li Yan that Zhai TianBao and the eldest prince were driving the conflict to secure the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl and win the King of Shu’s favor.
• Feng Lao Hai rallied his followers to reclaim the Salt Gang, while Li Yan agreed to kill the experts Zhai TianBao would send after them.
• At the Fu River ferry, the Demon Hunters parted ways with Li Yan’s group and planned to leave Sichuan.
• Li Yan rejected hiding in the wilderness and chose to travel openly to Suining, where he planned to tell Guangde Temple about the Dragon Worship Sect.
• At a roadside teahouse near Suining, Wang Cripple said the disciples of defeated martial artists had joined forces and invited the Divine Fist Society to challenge Rooster Daoist and the Twelve Yuan Chen.

Li Yan and his companions traveled to Suining County, where the Luo family offered them a residence and local toughs delivered an unanswered challenge. The next morning, Li Yan received a visit from the spy who had secretly investigated Zhao Changsheng.

• In a teahouse, a Blind Old Daoist offered his sword-bearing youth a choice between murdering a fat man for five taels and finding a lost cow for ten large coins, and the youth chose the cow.
• Wang Dao Xuan cast a divination that he interpreted as advising flexible action, while Li Yan and his companions prepared to travel to Suining County.
• Luo JunAn arrived with riders to escort Li Yan to a Luo family residence, explaining that the family had regained its footing after the Du family fell apart.
• In Suining County, Senior Brother Lu's men sent Li Yan a letter, but Wu Ba returned it through a corridor pillar, and Li Yan refused to hear their message.
• Li Yan and his companions settled into Ruifu Residence, and the next morning a servant brought Li Yan a visiting card from the spy who had investigated Zhao Changsheng.

Chiliarch Tian warned Li Yan that Lu Sheng had appeared in Shu and was likely conspiring with the Shu King over the Nine Cauldrons. As Li Yan’s group prepared to counter the threat, Zou Shaohai of the Divine Fist Society challenged him, setting a public Jianghu gathering for the next day.

• Chiliarch Tian told Li Yan that Zhao Changsheng had surfaced in Lingnan and that a Daoist named Lu Sheng, trusted by the Shu King, might be working with him.
• Li Yan informed Wang Dao Xuan and the others about the Nine Cauldrons, and they agreed not to infiltrate the Shu King Residence recklessly.
• Zou Shaohai demonstrated his Firm Strength by piercing a stone lion with a leaf, then challenged Li Yan after Li Yan managed to loosen and remove it.
• Zou Shaohai announced that he would meet Li Yan at Looking River Tower at You Hour the next day to settle complaints brought by several Shu sects.
• Luo JunAn explained that the gathering would follow Shu’s Jianghu customs, and Li Yan welcomed the chance to bring in allies and make the event lively.

At Looking River Tower, Zou Shaohai hosted Li Yan and the factions with grievances against him to settle their disputes according to martial-world rules. A blood letter ended one accusation, but Wang Kun challenged Li Yan over his father’s death, and the Lushan leader disputed Li Yan’s account of their duel.

• Zou Shaohai gathered the Divine Fist Society and grieving factions at Looking River Tower, warning everyone to let him manage the proceedings.
• Li Yan arrived with the Luo family, Lushan, Yi Divination, Azure Ox, the Gelaohui, and his Twelve Yuan Chen, then exchanged ceremonial verses with Zou Shaohai before entering the tower.
• Mu Feiyun accused Li Yan of killing his master, Qin Wanpei, but Qin’s blood letter instructed his disciples to let the matter rest, and Mu Feiyun agreed to leave it settled.
• Wang Kun identified himself as the son of Wang Han and accused Li Yan of killing his father.
• Li Yan said Wang Han had died in an honorable life-and-death duel outside Five Streams Town, while the Red-Head Dharma Master challenged his account and invoked Jianghu Rules.

Li Yan and Zou Shaohai settled the dispute over Wang Han’s death by persuading Wang Kun to abandon revenge and preserve his family’s martial inheritance. As the factions celebrated their reconciliation, Zou Shaohai questioned Li Yan about Tang Ling, and the gathering was interrupted by smoke rising from the western mountain.

• Zou Shaohai offered Wang Kun protection and training if he let the grudge go, and Wang Kun accepted him as his temporary master.
• The Divine Fist Society and Li Yan’s party celebrated the settlement with a banquet, strengthening Li Yan’s standing in Sichuan’s martial world.
• Zou Shaohai asked Li Yan about the missing Meishan Sect disciple Tang Ling, and Li Yan said Tang Ling had left with the Faceless Young Master.
• Zou Shaohai warned Li Yan to avoid the Faceless Young Master, then the guests noticed thick smoke rising from the mountain to the west.

Li Yan and his companions learned that the Shu King Residence was plotting against him, then attacked its hidden stronghold in Suining and forced a eunuch to reveal that someone planned to kill Li Yan at Lingquan Temple. The chapter ended as news spread that monsters were causing trouble at the temple, where a fire had already broken out.

• Li Yan saw Lingquan Temple burning from Looking River Tower, then discussed the spreading unrest in Shu with Zou Shaohai.
• Li Yan agreed to accompany Zou Shaohai to Guangde Temple to warn Zen Master Zhitong about the Dragon Worship Sect, then led his companions to attack the Shu King Residence's hideout.
• Li Yan and his companions stormed the Oil Press Workshop, defeated its guards, and dismantled the formation concealing the compound.
• Li Yan questioned a captured eunuch, who revealed that Prince Cheng had ordered the operation and that a killing attempt was planned for the Buddhist Dharma Assembly at Lingquan Temple.
• After Li Yan's group left, a crowd gathered as people cried that monsters were causing trouble at Lingquan Temple.

Constable Wei Feng struggled to contain the panic after a Water Python rampaged near Lingquan Temple, while Li Yan connected the monster to the Dragon Worship Sect and went to Guangde Temple with Zou Shaohai. There, the abbot revealed that the Dragon Worship Sect leader was his martial uncle.

• Constable Wei Feng drove off the ruffians beating people from the Shu King Residence at the Oil Press Workshop, then organized the response to the corpses and injured brought back from Lingquan Temple.
• Li Yan recognized the dead Water Python as the creature he had sensed in a dream and wondered whether it was connected to the Shu King Residence's plan to lure him to Lingquan Temple.
• Li Yan told Sha LiFei and the others to rest while he went alone to Guangde Temple with Zou Shaohai the next day.
• Zou Shaohai told Li Yan that a mysterious old monk had escaped after drawing the snake monster out, and might have been the Dragon Worship Sect leader.
• Zen Master Zhitong told Li Yan and Zou Shaohai that the Dragon Worship Sect leader was his martial uncle.

Li Yan learned that Lang Wu, the Dragon Worship Sect leader, had been hiding at Lingquan Temple, and Guangde Temple and the martial world agreed to help hunt the sect. After returning to Suining with a Buddhist treasure and assurances of protection, Li Yan reunited with his companions, who prepared to celebrate the Winter Solstice and chose his Twelve Yuan Chen title.

• Zen Master Zhi Tong and Huiming explained Lang Wu’s history and how the Dragon Worship Sect leader had concealed himself at Lingquan Temple while sheltering the fugitive monk Chen Jue.
• Li Yan identified Lang Wu as the leader of the Dragon Worship Sect, warned that the Shu King Residence might be involved, and received a blessed agarwood prayer-bead treasure from Zhi Tong.
• Zhi Tong pledged to contact Mount Emei and Mount Qingcheng to help destroy the Dragon Worship Sect, while Zou Shaohai agreed to mobilize the Shu Divine Fist Society.
• Li Yan and Zou Shaohai returned to Suining, where Zou offered to help Li Yan if he entered Chengdu Prefecture and the two parted ways.
• Li Yan told his companions about the mountain meeting, and they agreed they had been right to stand against the Shu King Residence and planned to enjoy the Winter Solstice.
• Sha LiFei revealed his real name was Sha Guangsheng, Wang Dao Xuan shared his birth name, and Li Yan chose Chen Dragon as his Twelve Yuan Chen title.