Chapter Summaries

Zhang Lingshan and his companions arrived in crowded Jiang City, where the local Demon Suppression Division could not accommodate them. Xue Hongshuang arranged lodging at his home, and Zhang set out with Ma Dongge and Xue Fei to inspect the Auction Item Selection Event.

• Zhang Lingshan and his companions reached Jiang City and found the Demon Suppression Division too crowded to host them.
• Ma Dongge reunited with Xue Hongshuang, who offered them rooms at his family home and arranged for a physician to examine Zhao Changfeng.
• Xue Hongshuang left to help the Demon Suppression Division maintain order and assigned his son Xue Fei to guide the visitors around the city.
• Yu Yun and Xiao Wei stayed behind to rest while Zhang Lingshan, Ma Dongge, and Zhu Hao accompanied Xue Fei.
• Xue Fei offered a choice between the market and the Auction Item Selection Event, and Zhang Lingshan chose to visit the selection event.

Zhang Lingshan visited the South Sea Auction House, where he bought four pages of the Staff Demon's Manual and chose the Blood Shadow Blade. Later, Li Ziming appeared in Jiang City and confronted him, but Zhang Lingshan's attack was redirected onto a Viscera Refining expert whose Kidney Water Qi Membrane began dissolving his hand.

• Zhang Lingshan brought the fragment of the Staff Demon's Manual to the auction selection event, and the appraiser told him a complete set could earn him an item from the third floor.
• Zhang Lingshan spotted the Blood Shadow Blade and decided he wanted it despite Xue Fei warning him that it was a dangerous scam.
• Zhang Lingshan bought four pages from different Staff Demon's Manual copies and paper and brushes, then returned home with Ma Dongge, Xue Fei, and Zhu Hao.
• Li Ziming spotted Zhang Lingshan near River Wind Teahouse, appeared behind him, and greeted him as his little brother.
• Zhang Lingshan recognized Li Ziming and attacked, but Li Ziming vanished as a tall, thin man appeared in his place and was seized instead.
• The tall, thin man's Kidney Water Qi Membrane trapped Zhang Lingshan's right hand and began dissolving its flesh as Zhang Lingshan recognized the opponent's Viscera Refining strength.

Zhang Lingshan met Li Ziming again in Jiang City and accepted his invitation to River Wind Teahouse, where Li Ziming offered him rare tea and proposed that he become a Yellow Turban Warrior. The chapter ended with Zhang Lingshan hearing Li Ziming’s offer, while the fate of his response remained unknown.

• Xue Fei summoned the City Guards after Huang Fu tried to provoke Zhang Lingshan, and Li Ziming used a bronze token to settle the confrontation.
• Li Ziming invited Zhang Lingshan and his companions to River Wind Teahouse, and Zhang agreed after Xue Fei urged him to go.
• Xue Fei and Zhu Hao stayed on the first floor to enjoy the teahouse’s services while Zhang Lingshan and Ma Dongge followed Li Ziming to the fifth floor.
• Li Ziming served Zhang Lingshan and Ma Dongge expensive tea and pastries, and Zhang gained more than 50,000 Energy Points from his tea.
• Li Ziming offered Zhang Lingshan one of his two remaining positions as a Yellow Turban Warrior and said he could also accept Ma Dongge.

Zhang Lingshan rejected Li Ziming’s offer to become his Yellow Turban Warrior, took all the Six Viscera Cakes, and left River Wind Teahouse. Li ordered Huang Fu to secretly test Zhang’s strength, while the Red Name Palace Lord’s group met Zhiyin Chan Shi to discuss their plans involving He Qianshou’s Wordless True Scripture.

• Ma Dongge explained that Netherworld Nine Sons could recruit Yellow Turban Warriors, and Li Ziming offered Zhang Lingshan and Ma Dongge rapid advancement if they joined him.
• Zhang Lingshan refused Li’s yearlong promise, claiming he was already at Half-Step Viscera Refining and needed only Heart Fire Ethereal Qi to break through.
• Zhang ate all the Six Viscera Cakes, gained more than 180,000 Energy Points, and left with Ma Dongge.
• Li told Huang Fu to arrange a hidden test of Zhang’s abilities, even if the test killed him.
• At River Gazing Tavern, Mei Yuhuan and her companions discussed Li Ziming and their search for He Qianshou’s Wordless True Scripture before Zhiyin Chan Shi arrived.

Mei Yuhuan’s allies failed to find He Qianshou, who killed Old Huang the Calculator and headed for the South Sea Auction House with the Wordless True Scripture. Meanwhile, Zhang Lingshan practiced recreating the Blade Demon’s Manual before a snake demon lured him out of Jiang City, where he uncovered the watcher behind the attack.

• Zhiyin searched for the Wordless True Scripture with gold powder but found no trace within a hundred li, then left as Red Name and White Skirt went to investigate.
• Mei Yuhuan ordered a young subordinate to take off his clothes after the others had left.
• He Qianshou grew impatient with Old Huang the Calculator’s attempt to arrange the scripture’s stone slabs, killed everyone in the courtyard, and rode toward Jiang City to sell the scripture at the South Sea Auction House.
• Zhang Lingshan studied his scattered demon-manual pages and practiced writing the character “blade” to recreate the first page of the Blade Demon’s Manual.
• A snake demon drew Zhang Lingshan through a dark passage into the wilderness and attacked him, but he broke free and subdued it.
• Zhang Lingshan escaped the snake demon’s venom and suddenly appeared behind the observing Huang Fu, who fled in shock at his speed and strength.

Zhang Lingshan killed Huang Fu and the Snake Demon, then brought both corpses to the Xue Family residence in Jiang City. He learned that Li Ziming had a powerful four-viscera Yellow Turban Warrior protecting him and planned to ask Xue Hongshuang how to recover the treasures inside the Snake Demon’s spatial body.

• Zhang Lingshan subdued Huang Fu, tested how his Viscera Refining organs healed, and killed him by destroying his heart.
• Zhang Lingshan searched Huang Fu and the Snake Demon, found a Staff Demon's Manual, and carried both corpses into Jiang City.
• Huang Fu revealed that Li Ziming was secretly protected by a four-viscera Yellow Turban Warrior who had comprehended Intent.
• Zhang Lingshan entered the Xue Family residence and showed the Snake Demon and Huang Fu’s corpse to Xue Hai, Ma Dongge, and the others.
• Zhang Lingshan asked Ma Dongge to help find a way to open the Snake Demon’s internal space, and they agreed to consult Xue Hongshuang.

Tong Gang confronted Ma Dongge and Zhang Lingshan over the Void Serpent’s corpse, fearing the serpent’s belly held a secret letter that could expose him. Zhang Lingshan revealed his strength in battle, and Tong Gang unleashed his Fire Gold Spear Shatter as the fight escalated.

• Tong Gang learned the Void Serpent had been killed and carried to Xue Hongshuang’s home, then led the Red Cloak Guards there.
• Xue Hongshuang introduced Ma Dongge, who identified himself as the one who brought the corpse, while Zhang Lingshan drew Tong Gang’s attention.
• Tong Gang claimed the Void Serpent for the Demon Suppression Division and ordered Wu Zheng and Li Qi to seize Zhang Lingshan.
• Zhang Lingshan struck Li Qi with Cutting Intent, making both Li Qi and Wu Zheng retreat and feign injury.
• Tong Gang attacked Zhang Lingshan with his spear, but Zhang Lingshan judged his Piercing Intent weaker than his own and recovered quickly from a wound.
• Tong Gang rose into the air and unleashed his Fire Gold Spear Shatter.

Zhang Lingshan survived Tong Gang’s attack and received guidance from Mister Cang on breaking through the limits of his Qi and Blood Furnace. He retrieved the Void Serpent’s Pouch Space and tried to refine it, ending with the pouch burrowing into his palm.

• Tong Gang’s attack left Zhang Lingshan badly wounded, but Zhang survived and recovered while Mister Cang’s intervention forced Tong Gang and his guards to retreat.
• Mister Cang advised Zhang Lingshan to break his attachment to the Qi and Blood Furnace, gave him Tong Gang’s transformed Small Spear, and explained how to find the Void Serpent’s Pouch Space.
• Zhang Lingshan carefully removed the Pouch Space from the Void Serpent and decided to refine it rather than cut it open for its contents.
• Back in his room, Zhang Lingshan fed pills to restore his energy and poured qi and blood into the Pouch Space until it began beating and burrowed into his palm.

Zhang Lingshan refined the Pouch Space, found and studied the manuals inside, and comprehended Shocking Intent, which improved his spiritual power. He brought his complete Blade Demon's Manual to the South Sea Auction House, where Ren Kaiming valued Zhang’s newly written page highly and offered him a guaranteed payment of three pieces of South Sea Jade.

• Zhang Lingshan refined the pouch by sacrificing qi and blood, then spent days emptying and sorting its contents while his Energy Points restored his qi and blood.
• Zhang Lingshan found a sealed black envelope with encrypted writing, but found no manual for improving mental strength among the pouch’s contents.
• Zhang Lingshan studied six pages of the Staff Demon's Manual, endured the staff shadow’s attacks, and recorded Shocking Intent on the Panel, gaining spiritual power from the breakthrough.
• Zhang Lingshan wrote a new page of the Blade Demon's Manual, assembled it with the other thirty-five pages, and took the complete set to the South Sea Auction House.
• Ren Kaiming recognized Zhang Lingshan’s newly written page as exceptionally valuable and offered a guaranteed three pieces of South Sea Jade for it, while the remaining pages would let Zhang choose items on the third floor.

Zhang Lingshan traded the Blade Demon's Manual, Tong Gang's spear, and assorted weapons through Ren Kaiming to obtain South Sea Jade and funds for manuals, while Ren Kaiming decided he was worth investing in. After studying the manuals at the Xue Family, Zhang learned that He Qianshou had arrived and went to meet Tong Gang, first copying the Black Leather Envelope's contents.

• Ren Kaiming explained the auction value of South Sea Jade, and Zhang Lingshan exchanged the first page of the Blade Demon's Manual for three pieces and selected the Blood Shadow Blade.
• Zhang Lingshan traded Tong Gang's small spear for ten pieces of South Sea Jade, sold assorted weapons, borrowed five million taels from Ren Kaiming, and bought discounted manuals.
• Ren Kaiming gave Zhang Lingshan auction listings and answered his questions, then explained to Ren Dong why he believed Zhang was worth befriending and supporting.
• Zhang Lingshan returned to the Xue Family and checked his mental-strength progress while preparing to study the manuals.
• Ma Dongge told Zhang Lingshan that He Qianshou had arrived in Jiang City, and Xue Hongshuang informed him that Tong Gang was waiting in the Main Hall.
• Zhang Lingshan copied the contents of the Black Leather Envelope before going out to meet Tong Gang.

Zhang Lingshan traded Tong Gang the unopened Black Leather Envelope for fifty pieces of South Sea Jade, then learned it was dangerous Black Scale Demon Serpent skin. He accompanied Mister Cang and Zhao Changfeng to meet River City's richest man, Xu Zhongyin, and was told to examine what felt wrong with his body as they entered Xu's hall.

• Tong Gang tried to reclaim his Golden Spear and the Black Leather Envelope, but Zhang Lingshan demanded fifty pieces of South Sea Jade for the envelope and handed it over after Tong Gang paid.
• Mister Cang explained that the envelope was Black Scale Demon Serpent skin that could mark anyone who opened it, and said Tong Gang's dealings suggested he was doing evil.
• Mister Cang asked Zhang Lingshan to handle the Bright Jade Pearl before leaving, and Zhao Changfeng explained that Heaven Flipping Hand Xu Zhongyin had promised a reward for delivering it.
• Zhang Lingshan, Mister Cang, and Zhao Changfeng went to Xu Zhongyin's estate, where the gates opened by themselves and red bricks formed a path to a golden hall.
• As the hall doors opened, Mister Cang told Zhang Lingshan to contemplate what felt wrong with his body because it would help him break his attachments.

Zhang Lingshan absorbed his Qi and Blood Furnace into his heart, refining the Heart Fire Solid Viscera and strengthening his body before entering Xu Zhongyin’s hall with Mister Cang and Zhao Changfeng. After receiving South Sea Jade as a reward, Zhang Lingshan was expelled from the residence and suspected that its power, rather than Xu Zhongyin himself, was behind the hall’s impossible effects.

• Zhang Lingshan compressed his swelling Qi and Blood Furnace, then used stat points to advance the Black Boar Nine Transformations and survive the surge of qi and blood.
• The Qi and Blood Furnace entered Zhang Lingshan’s heart, whose powerful beats refined his Heart Fire Solid Viscera and further strengthened his constitution.
• Mister Cang led Zhang Lingshan into the great hall, where Zhao Changfeng mistook Xu Zhongyin’s projected image for a person and knelt before it.
• Mister Cang entered the stone pillar and fought Xu Zhongyin’s phantom beneath the hall before the phantom returned and offered rewards for the Bright Jade Pearl.
• Xu Zhongyin gave Zhao Changfeng a Hand Token and Zhang Lingshan a pouch containing at least a hundred pieces of South Sea Jade, then forcibly sent them out of the residence.
• Zhang Lingshan and Zhao Changfeng landed outside the Red Gate Compound, and Zhang Lingshan suspected the residence itself held Xu Zhongyin’s power.

Zhang Lingshan settled into the Precious Jade Pavilion and began experimenting with damaging the Heart Fire furnace to control his Qi and Blood Flame. Meanwhile, Zhiyin Chan Shi revealed characters from the Wordless True Scripture to He Qianshou, then disappeared with the scripture after stunning him.

• Zhang Lingshan returned to the Demon Suppression Division with Ma Dongge and learned that He Qianshou had left after meeting Zhiyin Chan Shi from Little Thunder Sound Temple.
• Zhang Lingshan and his group settled into the Precious Jade Pavilion, where Zhang Lingshan entered seclusion to study his Heart Fire furnace.
• Zhang Lingshan used Heavenly Eye, Cutting Intent, and Shocking Intent to damage the furnace, discovering that repeated attempts made it more illusory and gradually strengthened his mental power.
• Zhiyin Chan Shi met He Qianshou on a pleasure boat and used the Stone Slab Scripture to reveal floating, fragmented characters from the Wordless True Scripture.
• The characters overwhelmed He Qianshou, and when he recovered, Zhiyin Chan Shi and the bamboo basket containing the Stone Slab Scripture had vanished.

He Qianshou lost the Wordless True Scripture after Zhiyin Chan Shi and White Skirt outwitted him, then mobilized the Demon Suppression Division and his own subordinates to hunt them down. While Black Lotus began teaching Wu Fangfang the Azure Lotus Heart Sutra, Zhiyin Chan Shi and his allies escaped Jiang City through East Gate.

• He Qianshou chased an illusory Zhiyin Chan Shi underwater, then wrecked the pleasure boats in anger before the City Guards confronted him.
• He Qianshou went to the Jiang City Demon Suppression Division, where Chen Jianshou sent its members to search for the Wordless True Scripture and its thieves.
• He Qianshou returned to Precious Jade Pavilion, discovered Zhang Lingshan had reached Half-Step Viscera Refining, and sent him, Ma Dongge, and Zhu Hao to search for the thieves.
• Black Lotus appeared in Wu Fangfang's room after putting Xiao Wei and Yu Yun to sleep, then began teaching Wu Fangfang the Azure Lotus Heart Sutra.
• Zhiyin Chan Shi, Mei Yuhuan, White Skirt, and Red Name rejected fleeing to Fengdu and left Jiang City through East Gate in disguise.

Red Name and her allies found the real Wordless True Scripture slab and escaped He Qianshou, while Zhang Lingshan completed his breakthrough to Qi and Blood Long Rainbow. The chapter left Zhang Lingshan surrounded by Demon Suppression Division men, one of whom stabbed him and demanded the treasure he supposedly found.

• Zhiyin Chan Shi identified a fake stone slab, and White Skirt carried it away to lure He Qianshou from the real slab.
• He Qianshou found the decoy, while Zhang Lingshan abandoned the chase to continue refining his Heart Fire Ethereal Qi in a cave.
• Zhiyin Chan Shi retrieved the real stone slab, and Mei Yuhuan, Red Name, and White Skirt helped him escape He Qianshou.
• Zhang Lingshan shattered his Qi and Blood Furnace, gained the Qi and Blood Long Rainbow constitution, and destroyed the cave with a blood-colored strike.
• Four Demon Suppression Division men surrounded Zhang Lingshan, claimed He Qianshou was seriously injured, and one stabbed him while demanding his supposed treasure.

Zhang Lingshan used his newly refined Qi and Blood Long Rainbow to kill Esoteric Sect members while searching the mountain forest for the Wordless True Scripture. After learning that the Esoteric Sect’s members were protected by a Demon God, he reunited with Xue Hongshuang and set out to find Tong Gang.

• Zhang Lingshan discovered that four disguised Esoteric Sect members had poisoned him, refined away the poison, and killed them with fiery pebbles.
• Zhang Lingshan decided to search for the Wordless True Scripture to sell, and used Heavenly Eye to survey the factions fighting across the mountain forest.
• Zhang Lingshan killed several Esoteric Sect hunters who attacked or followed him, then observed that the Esoteric Sect was numerous and hunted others while the other factions searched for the Stone Slab Scripture.
• Zhang Lingshan rescued Xue Hongshuang from a pointed-mouthed Esoteric Sect attacker, who revealed that the sect had a Demon God before Zhang Lingshan killed him.
• Xue Hongshuang told Zhang Lingshan that he had been separated from his Little Banner Tong Gang, and Zhang Lingshan told him to hide while he went to find Tong Gang.

The Twelve Zodiacs of the Esoteric Sect ambushed Chen Xi and the Demon Suppression Division in the mountain forest, and the battle turned against the Division when Tong Gang betrayed them and killed Wu Feng. Zhang Lingshan arrived and killed Tong Gang, leaving both sides stunned as the battle continued.

• Chen Xi confronted Ox, Horse, Dragon, and Snake while the Demon Suppression Division fought the Esoteric Sect’s forces to a near standstill.
• Snake’s poison killed a Red Cloak Guard, but the Division rallied as Wu Feng broke through to the Three Viscera Realm.
• Tong Gang stabbed Wu Feng, then attacked the Division’s subordinates and revealed that he had joined the Esoteric Sect.
• The Esoteric Sect pressed its advantage as the Division’s survivors gathered in a desperate defensive circle.
• Zhang Lingshan appeared, crushed Tong Gang’s knees with his red-cloud aura, and killed him with a single punch.

Zhang Lingshan defeated the Esoteric Sect fighters alongside Chen Xi, then followed a Heavenly Eye resonance to a cave where Zhiyin Chan Shi was assembling the Wordless True Scripture. He smashed the scattered scripture slabs before they could be joined, leaving Zhiyin Chan Shi furious as he struck him.

• Zhang Lingshan killed Snake and helped Chen Xi fight the Esoteric Sect, while Old Horse used a devastating kick before dying from the strain.
• Chen Xi promised Zhang Lingshan viscera-refining materials, and Zhang Lingshan collected the Esoteric Sect corpses before leaving for Jiang City.
• Zhang Lingshan sensed the Wordless True Scripture through his Heavenly Eye and rushed toward its location, destroying a host of ghosts in a dark valley and absorbing their energy.
• Zhang Lingshan reached the golden mountain cave and punched apart the Stone Slab Scripture just as Zhiyin Chan Shi was about to assemble it.
• Zhiyin Chan Shi roared at Zhang Lingshan in fury, and Zhang Lingshan answered with a punch.

After escaping the mountain cave, Zhang Lingshan returned to Jiang City, sensed a hidden ghost near Wu Fangfang, and advanced his Flowing Cloud Art so powerfully that he burst through the Demon Suppression Division’s roof. He then followed the injured He Qianshou to a joint inquiry, where the prefects investigated the disastrous ambush and Zhang Lingshan feared He Qianshou’s blame might reach him too.

• Zhang Lingshan failed to catch a streak of light escaping Monk Zhiyin’s shattered head, collected the Stone Slab Scripture pieces, and rode back to Jiang City.
• Zhang Lingshan returned to Precious Jade Pavilion, questioned Yu Yun and Xiao Wei, and sensed that a powerful ghost had recently been near Wu Fangfang.
• Zhang Lingshan deduced the Flowing Cloud Art, accidentally smashed through the Pavilion’s roof during his training, and apologized to the Demon Suppression Division guards.
• A messenger summoned He Qianshou to meet the prefects, and Zhang Lingshan followed him to the Council Hall.
• Xue Hongshuang told Zhang Lingshan that Tong Gang had betrayed Chen Xi’s team, Wu Feng and many Scarlet Guards had died, and the three prefects were furious.
• Zhang Lingshan learned the prefects’ names and factions, then worried that He Qianshou might be forced to take the blame and drag him into the inquiry.

At the Jiang City Demon Suppression Division, Taishu Yan and his colleagues tried to pin last night’s losses on Chen Xi and then make Zhang Lingshan a scapegoat. Zhang Lingshan revealed his strength and invoked Kong Dagui’s name, forcing Taishu Yan to turn the blame on Zhao Mingxu, who was arrested.

• Yuan Tu questioned Chen Xi, but surviving guards testified that Tong Gang and Wu Feng had died fighting the Esoteric Sect rather than betraying the Division.
• Taishu Yan punished Chen Xi for negligence instead of deciding whether Tong Gang had defected, while Zhao Junshan injured Chen Xi with a display of force and then gave him a medicinal pill.
• A bearded middle-aged official accused He Qianshou of causing the ambush by producing the Wordless True Scripture and summoned Zhang Lingshan to answer questions.
• The official ordered Zhang Lingshan seized as an Esoteric Sect culprit, but Zhang Lingshan moved too quickly for the attackers, grabbed them, and denounced the Jiang City Demon Suppression Division for making him a scapegoat.
• Zhang Lingshan threatened to report He Qianshou’s conduct to Kong Dagui, and Taishu Yan, fearing the consequences, ordered Zhao Mingxu arrested instead.
• Zhang Lingshan released the two men he had seized and urged them to carry out Taishu Yan’s order, so they took Zhao Mingxu into custody.