Chapter Summaries

Li Yan helped uncover a child-kidnapping scheme tied to the Evil Path’s Life Borrowing Breakthrough Method, while Manager Wan took the captured trafficker to the City God Temple. Later, Li Yan visited Zhao the Donkey and learned that a Treasure Hunter had invited him to seek the ominous Mountain Tai Sui near Xianyang City.

• Li Yan returned to the village with three drugged children, and the villagers revived them with Raw Licorice Water.
• Manager Wan identified the kidnappers’ purpose as the Evil Path’s Life Borrowing Breakthrough Method, and the captured woman revealed that Butcher Two had directed her to deliver children to Menggu Village.
• Manager Wan took the woman toward the City God Temple and told Li Yan, Sha LiFei, and Wang Daoyou to leave the matter to him.
• Li Yan visited Zhao the Donkey at the Mountain God Temple and saw a rat-faced Treasure Hunter leave after asking Zhao to join a search.
• Zhao the Donkey told Li Yan that the search concerned Mountain Tai Sui, an ominous object said to lie in the Mass Burial Grounds outside Xianyang City.

Li Yan learned that the Mountain Tai Sui at the Mass Burial Grounds was an inauspicious treasure the westbound beggars planned to claim on the Double Ninth Festival. Meanwhile, Chen FaKui used a ritual puppet to begin a scheme near Shangyi Village, where it vanished from Zhu TieDan’s back.

• Zhao the Donkey explained that Heavenly Spiritual Treasures could be inauspicious and described how the Mountain Tai Sui formed at a mountain’s ley-line nexus.
• Zhao the Donkey revealed that the Mass Burial Grounds’ Mountain Tai Sui had been corrupted by Yin Energy and that the westbound beggars’ leader planned to seize it on the Double Ninth Festival.
• Li Yan lost interest in the treasure and shared food and stories with Zhao the Donkey by a hillside bonfire.
• Outside Xianyang, Zhou PeiDe agreed to help Chen FaKui pursue the treasure in hopes of saving Zhou Bai, while Yuan Qu arranged for men to be sent to Menggu Village.
• Chen FaKui performed a ritual that animated a wooden puppet, then ordered Zhu TieDan to carry it to the outskirts of Shangyi Village.
• Zhu TieDan reached Shangyi Village, where the puppet disappeared from his back.

Chen FaKui sent a puppet to the Wan Family Residence and used it to seize Wang Dao Xuan’s Living Soul, forcing him to lure Li Yan out. After Chen FaKui sensed a warning from the ancestor, he gathered Yuan Qu and his men inside a protective circle as frost and mysterious footprints spread around them.

• Zhou PeiDe waited with armed disciples on the Official Road, expecting Li Yan to chase after him, while Zhu TieDan carried Chen FaKui’s puppet away from Shangyi Village.
• Chen FaKui guided the puppet past the Wan Family Residence’s wards and used the Soul Calling Technique to make Wang Dao Xuan answer its call.
• Wang Dao Xuan collapsed unconscious, and Sha LiFei raised the alarm as lights came on across the courtyard.
• Zhu TieDan reached Chen FaKui’s altar and collapsed after Chen FaKui said he had borrowed the man’s human aura and Life Flame to break through the formation.
• Chen FaKui sealed the puppet in a gourd and told Yuan Qu that Wang Dao Xuan’s Living Soul was restrained, so Li Yan would have to come looking for him.
• After three divination throws landed yin, Chen FaKui warned that the ancestor was sending a warning and drew a protective circle around his men as fierce winds, cold, frost, and dense footprints appeared.

Master Chen FaKui and Yuan Qu fled after a supernatural warning and the discovery that Xianyang authorities were closing in, while Zhou PeiDe was arrested at the city gate. At dawn, Sha LiFei arrived to tell Li Yan that the Daoist had been ambushed.

• Master Chen FaKui identified the apparition as a Social Order Netherworld Soldier and warned Yuan Qu that the City God Temple had discovered them.
• Yuan Qu entered his secret tunnel, killed his subordinates, and found Constable Guan WanChe’s men waiting at his residence.
• Yuan Qu returned to Master Chen FaKui and agreed to follow him, while Zhou PeiDe discovered his men had left and was arrested at the city gate.
• After spending the night drinking with Zhao the Donkey, Li Yan was awakened by Sha LiFei, who reported that the Daoist had been ambushed.

After Wang Dao Xuan’s Living Soul was seized by Chen FaKui, Manager Wan explained that they had seven days to locate it and sent Li Yan to seek help from Wu Lao Si at the Longsheng Opera House. Li Yan and Sha LiFei entered the theater, where Wu Lao Si agreed to meet them after the performance.

• Sha LiFei told Li Yan that Wang Dao Xuan had collapsed, and Manager Wan’s divination confirmed that his Living Soul had been seized.
• Manager Wan identified Chen FaKui as the culprit and explained that the White Ape Gang had been wiped out while Zhou PeiDe was imprisoned.
• Manager Wan said Wu Lao Si could locate Wang Dao Xuan’s Living Soul and warned Li Yan to find it within seven days and avoid fighting Chen FaKui at night.
• The Longsheng Opera Troupe announced a free three-day run of Drunkenly Beating the Demon Monkey, drawing a crowd that complained about the choice.
• Li Yan presented Manager Wan’s Visiting Card to a Willow Gate servant and asked to meet Wu Lao Si.
• The servant brought Li Yan and Sha LiFei inside, saying Wu Lao Si would meet them after the show, then hurried off to warn Troupe Leader Luo.

Li Yan and Sha LiFei sought out Wu Lao Si to learn how to save Wang Dao Xuan, while a theater troupe staged a mocking play against the Zhou family. Wu Lao Si revealed that the object involved was a Soul Summons Document, but its dangers and the rescue plan remained unclear.

• Luo ShiHai’s troupe performed a play that ridiculed the Zhou family, delighting the audience and stirring up resentment against them.
• Li Yan noticed Wu Lao Si lacked the lingering Yin energy he expected from a practitioner of Crossing Yin, then accepted an invitation to meet Luo ShiHai but prioritized saving Wang Dao Xuan.
• After the performance, Li Yan and Sha LiFei followed a page backstage to Wu Lao Si’s quarters and explained their predicament.
• Wu Lao Si said he owed Manager Wan his life and warned that a blade would be of little use in resolving the matter.
• Wu Lao Si uncovered a sealed wooden box and identified the ominous token inside as a Soul Summons Document.

Wu Lao Si explained that his Hook Writ bound him to the Underworld and that he would risk his life to help Li Yan locate the Living Soul trapped in the Wandering Soul Jar. After Li Yan promised to fulfill Wu Lao Si’s final requests, they prepared to perform the rite outside Xianyang, while Luo ShiHai learned that a Jiangzuo Sorcerer was after the opera troupe’s treasure and decided to act that night.

• Wu Lao Si explained the Hook Writ, his failed mission, and why crossing over again would kill him.
• Wu Lao Si asked Li Yan to return his remains to Fengyang County and restore the Hook Writ to his lineage’s altar in the Qinling Mountains, and Li Yan agreed.
• Wu Lao Si agreed to perform the Underworld Crossing Art that night to determine the Living Soul’s location, and he listed the items they needed.
• Wu Lao Si warned Luo ShiHai that a Jiangzuo Sorcerer had tried to steal the treasure nurtured by the Grandmaster Statue and urged him to stay vigilant.
• Luo ShiHai decided to take action that night, while Li Yan and Sha LiFei dug a pit beneath an Old Locust Tree by the Wei River.

Wu Lao Si used the Underworld Crossing Art to enter a coffin while Li Yan and Sha LiFei prepared to watch over him until dawn. In Xianyang, the Tai Xing Cart and Horse Company attacked the Iron Saber Gang, while the chapter ended as Yin Wind rose at Wu Lao Si’s burial site.

• Wu Lao Si instructed Li Yan and Sha LiFei to open the coffin only if its bell rang by dawn, then sealed himself inside with the hook document.
• Li Yan and Sha LiFei buried the coffin, arranged six oil lamps, and prepared to repel anything drawn by the Yin Wind.
• Luo ShiHai and the Tai Xing Cart and Horse Company attacked the Iron Saber Gang’s Blacksmith Shop, crippling its members while searching for Zheng HeiBei and You LaoSi.
• The attackers overlooked the room where You LaoSi was performing a ritual, then withdrew without finding him.
• You LaoSi dismantled his altar and crept toward Zheng HeiBei’s room, apparently planning to exploit the gang’s injuries.
• At Zi Hour, Yin Wind rose beside the river, and Li Yan urged Sha LiFei to scatter spirit money.

Li Yan and Sha LiFei protected Wu Lao Si’s Underworld Crossing ritual from restless spirits and a powerful snake while Zheng HeiBei’s gang came under attack. Wu Lao Si awoke with the location of the evil cultivator and abducted children, then died after sensing a presence, leaving Li Yan to ride ahead toward the old tomb.

• Li Yan and Sha LiFei scattered road-opening money to repel Lonely Souls and Wild Ghosts, then Li Yan held off a large snake until it returned to the river.
• The Tai Xing Carriage Company attacked the Iron Saber Gang, and Liu JinCheng rebuked Zheng HeiBei for provoking them.
• Zheng HeiBei discovered that his gold bars had been stolen, fled through a hidden passage, and was later exposed as having run away.
• After the rooster crowed, the bell rang and Li Yan and Sha LiFei opened the coffin, where Wu Lao Si awoke covered in frost.
• Wu Lao Si revealed that the evil cultivator and several abducted children were in an old tomb a hundred li to the southwest, then knelt toward the south and died.
• Li Yan told Sha LiFei to report to the City God Temple and prepare Wu Lao Si’s remains, then rode toward the tomb to keep the demon from escaping.

Sha LiFei sought Daoist Qing YangZi’s help to rescue Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan’s Living Soul from Chen FaKui, then returned with two Daoists to the ancient tombs. Li Yan failed to locate Chen FaKui and spotted Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei approaching in disguise.

• News spread that Zheng HeiBei had fled Xianyang after Tai Xing Carriage Company crippled many Iron Saber Gang fighters, leaving the injured at Wang Yao’s clinic.
• Sha LiFei visited Qing YangZi at the City God Temple and asked for help against Chen FaKui, who held Wang Dao Xuan’s Living Soul.
• Qing YangZi told Sha LiFei to return at the Si Hour so he could send help at night, when the She Ling Soldiers could safely pursue Chen FaKui.
• Sha LiFei collected Wu Lao Si’s remains and returned to the temple, where Qing YangZi assigned Daoist Luo MingZi and Zhao FaCheng to accompany him.
• Li Yan searched the ancient tombs but could not find Chen FaKui, then spotted Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei riding toward him in disguise.

Li Yan tracked Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei to Chen FaKui’s tomb, where they had abducted children, and joined Sha LiFei, Luo MingZi, and Zhao FaCheng to plan a rescue. Zhao FaCheng would draw Chen FaKui’s attention while Luo MingZi infiltrated the mountain, but Chen FaKui appeared to be preparing another ritual as the chapter ended.

• Li Yan spotted Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei carrying abducted children toward the mountain and followed their scent without confronting them.
• Sha LiFei, Luo MingZi, and Zhao FaCheng found Li Yan, who reported that the Iron Saber Gang had been wiped out and that Chen FaKui’s helpers were at the tomb.
• Zhao FaCheng identified the mountain as Taiyin Star Land and warned that Chen FaKui had prepared its ancient tombs to detect intruders.
• Luo MingZi proposed that Zhao FaCheng lure Chen FaKui into a confrontation while he climbed the mountain to rescue the children, destroy the altar, and seize the Wandering Soul Jar.
• Inside the tomb, Chen FaKui approached the twelve unconscious children and told Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei to take off their clothes.

Li Yan learned an Invisibility Technique from Luo MingZi and joined him in climbing toward the tomb to stop Chen FaKui’s Excessive Sacrifice. As Zhao FaCheng raised a signal for reinforcements, Chen FaKui noticed the Nine Yuan Sect’s presence and sent animated wooden puppets into the mountain mist.

• Chen FaKui covered Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei with blood-colored talismans and prepared them to borrow the power of Yin souls for the coming raid.
• Luo MingZi taught Li Yan an Invisibility Technique using yarrow, then set out with him to stop the sacrifice before Zi Hour.
• Zhao FaCheng and Sha LiFei established a ritual altar, and Zhao FaCheng sent a burst of Gang qi skyward to summon aid.
• Luo MingZi used a superior concealment spell as Li Yan led him up the mountainside toward the tomb.
• Chen FaKui sensed the Nine Yuan Sect’s Order Talisman, performed a ritual, and sent animated wooden puppets into the mountain mist.

Chen FaKui sent Yuan Qu down the mountain empowered by a Spirit Medium spell while Li Yan and Luo MingZi advanced through the Ghost Wall toward the altar. Li Yan’s Invisibility Technique failed against Chen FaKui’s Wooden Puppets, and he drew their attention as the puppets closed in to attack him.

• Chen FaKui used a talisman to fill Yuan Qu with Yin Energy and ordered him to disrupt the spellcasting below the mountain.
• Luo MingZi explained the Ghost Wall to Li Yan as they passed through the forest’s Lonely Souls and Wild Ghosts.
• Li Yan recognized the possessed Yuan Qu racing past, and Luo MingZi identified his condition as a Spirit Medium technique.
• A Wooden Puppet called to Li Yan in Sha LiFei’s voice, and Luo MingZi warned him not to answer its Soul Calling Technique.
• Li Yan abandoned his Invisibility Technique to draw the puppets’ attention while Luo MingZi followed in concealment.
• Li Yan used the Demon Suppression Coin to scatter the ghosts, but a Wooden Puppet dressed as an old Sheng lunged at his head.

Li Yan fought through Chen FaKui’s puppets and found the tomb, but Zheng HeiBei’s Spirit Medium attack badly injured him before Luo MingZi intervened. As Luo held Zheng HeiBei back, Li Yan entered a hidden tunnel to reach the ritual altar, while Yuan Qu charged down the mountain toward Zhao FaCheng and Sha LiFei.

• Li Yan destroyed Chen FaKui’s attacking puppets while following Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei’s scent to the opened tomb entrance.
• Zheng HeiBei ambushed Li Yan with Spirit Medium strength and broke his arm, forcing Luo MingZi to reveal himself and draw Zheng’s attention.
• Chen FaKui released several powerful Yin Souls into Zheng HeiBei, while Li Yan healed and spotted a tunnel leading toward the tomb.
• Li Yan crawled into the tunnel to reach the ritual altar as Luo MingZi faced the possessed Zheng HeiBei.
• At the foot of the mountain, Zhao FaCheng summoned soldiers and horses while Sha LiFei watched, and Yuan Qu charged down toward them in Spirit Medium form.

Zhao FaCheng and Sha LiFei fought Yuan Qu while Luo MingZi battled Zheng HeiBei, both of whom had been empowered and clouded by Yin Souls. After the fighters killed Yuan Qu and Zheng HeiBei, Luo MingZi rushed toward the tomb but found Chen FaKui performing a bloody ritual at the altar.

• Zhao FaCheng summoned Yin soldiers, but Yuan Qu broke through them and lost control of his mind under the Spirit Medium method.
• Sha LiFei tripped Yuan Qu, and Zhao FaCheng struck him with incense-offered rice and fire before Sha LiFei severed his arm.
• Zhao FaCheng prepared Black Dog Blood while Sha LiFei led Yuan Qu on a chase, then drenched him in it and helped kill him with the Guanshan Knife.
• Luo MingZi severed Zheng HeiBei's leg and broke his spine with a Hidden Strength strike that scattered the Yin Souls possessing him.
• Luo MingZi charged toward the tomb and saw Chen FaKui cutting bloody marks into his forehead and chanting at the ritual altar.

Li Yan and Luo MingZi killed Chen FaKui and saved Wang Dao Xuan, but Chen FaKui’s dying curse triggered a strange change in Wu Lao Si’s Hook Writ. The black imprint remained on Li Yan’s hand and appeared on his Great Luo Dharma Body, leaving Luo MingZi unable to explain what had happened.

• Chen FaKui threatened to detonate the gunpowder in the tomb, but Li Yan knocked the candle from his hand and Luo MingZi stabbed him while Li Yan beheaded him.
• Chen FaKui used his dying will to curse Li Yan, whose pain subsided after the Hook Writ burned his hand and left a black mark.
• Luo MingZi dispelled the curse as She Ling Soldiers arrived, then warned Li Yan that becoming a Living Underworld Messenger without being an Underworld Messenger was serious trouble.
• Wang Dao Xuan awoke after Luo MingZi restored his soul and was told to rest while his spiritual sense recovered.
• Luo MingZi asked Li Yan to check whether the Hook Writ mark remained, and Li Yan found the same imprint on his Great Luo Dharma Body.

Li Yan learned that the Hell Writ marked him for an uncertain role in the Netherworld, then received the consecrated Cloud Thunder Divine Drum and discovered it could strengthen his Hidden Strength and repel spirits. The chapter ended when Liu San summoned him to the Zhang Clan Martial Hall, where he heard that Zhou Pan planned to retire by washing his hands in a golden basin.

• Luo MingZi told Li Yan to investigate the source of his Hell Writ and seek advice from a senior Living Underworld Messenger.
• Luo MingZi warned Li Yan to avoid the coming conflict at the Mass Burial Grounds and said he could observe the ritual to restore the mountain god.
• Manager Wan consecrated Li Yan's Cloud Thunder Drum, and Li Yan tested its power, finding that it amplified his cultivation and could frighten spirits and living people.
• Manager Wan explained how to use the drum's stored spirit and warned Li Yan that its power consumed considerable energy.
• Liu San arrived from the Zhang Clan Martial Hall and told Li Yan that Zhou Pan intended to retire, prompting Li Yan to question whether he could escape their unsettled grudges.

As Zhou Pan prepared to Wash His Hands in a Golden Basin, Li Yan rejected the Zhang family’s offer to join the Divine Fist Society, insisting that he was also one of Zhou’s victims. Zhou Pan’s ceremony began amid the Zhou family’s decline, with Xianyang’s prominent figures arriving as onlookers wondered whether anyone would challenge him.

• Old Donkey Head explained that a Jianghu figure could Wash Their Hands in a Golden Basin only after settling every grudge and swearing to stay out of Jianghu affairs.
• Zhang ShiTong told Li Yan that the Zhou family would be allowed to leave Xianyang if it surrendered territory, though Luo ShiHai still demanded that Zhou Pan hand over the murderer from the past.
• Zhang ShiTong offered Li Yan a place in the Divine Fist Society, but Li Yan refused, saying he was one of Zhou Pan’s victims too.
• On the day of the ceremony, the Zhou family’s remaining disciples prepared as former allies stayed away and the family’s decline drew spectators.
• As Zhou Pan’s Washing Hands in a Golden Basin began, prominent Xianyang figures arrived, while the crowd waited to see whether anyone would cause trouble.

Li Yan attended Zhou Pan’s Washing Hands in a Golden Basin ceremony and asked whether Zhou Pan had been involved in his father’s death. Zhou Pan denied it, but Li Yan named Anqing Hall and Lu Gongyuan, and Zhou Pan’s expression changed.

• Li Yan arrived at the Zhou family residence with the Zhang family and Sha LiFei, where constable Guan WanChe confronted him about his father’s past.
• Guan WanChe warned Li Yan to take care of himself, then entered the residence as the guests gathered for Zhou Pan’s retirement ceremony.
• Zhou Pan appeared worn down by his family’s disputes and announced he would leave Xianyang after washing his hands in the golden basin.
• Zhou Pan offered Luo ShiHai his relative Zhou LuoHai, who was to be taken by Guan WanChe and punished for his offenses, and Luo ShiHai accepted the red band signifying no objection.
• Li Yan stood up and asked Zhou Pan whether he had been involved in his father’s death.
• Li Yan accused Zhou Pan of involvement through Anqing Hall and Lu Gongyuan, and Zhou Pan’s expression changed.

Li Yan accused Zhou Pan of helping lure Li Yan’s father into a deadly ambush, but Zhou Pan claimed the target was a Maitreya Sect rebellion base and refused responsibility. Before their confrontation could escalate, a scarred survivor arrived to seek revenge for his family, and Li Yan recognized the physician accompanying him as the Cockscomb Snake.

• Li Yan accused Zhou Pan of betraying his father to Lu Gongyuan and helping cover up the deaths at Anqing Hall.
• Zhou Pan admitted assisting the authorities against Lu Gongyuan and said the brothel was a Maitreya Sect branch hall, but denied responsibility for Li Yan’s father’s death.
• A scarred young man and a blue-robed physician entered after the young man’s men forced their way into the Zhou Family Martial School.
• The scarred young man said Zhou Pan’s disciples had murdered his parents and tried to violate his sister, and he confessed to killing the disciples and their families in revenge.
• Guan WanChe ordered the Yamen Runners to arrest the scarred young man, who denounced the authorities and spoke of rebellion.
• Li Yan recognized the physician behind the scarred young man as the Cockscomb Snake.