Recaps

Yan Qing and his companions found powerful treasures in the Cute Pet Park, then strengthened his Ascension Dragon Attendant and planned to challenge third-transformation experts. At the Hot Spring Cabin, Ying Ru Shi told Yan Qing that she wanted them to part ways after Murong Hui left.

• Yan Qing chose Three-Flower Lady at the Cute Pet Park and received the Accumulated Avalanche card after the calico cat brought it to him.
• Murong Hui lured a puppy out with sausage and obtained a True Spirit Jade, which she broke apart and shared with Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi.
• At midnight, Yan Qing's Puppet Slot expanded; his group killed a marked demon team, obtained a Flame Inheritor, and used Accumulated Avalanche to raise the Ascension Dragon Attendant's attributes to 4200/3200.
• Murong Hui rushed into the cabin's hot spring, and Ying Ru Shi and Yan Qing discussed Murong Hui's departure and whether she would be safe outside.
• Ying Ru Shi told Yan Qing that after Murong Hui left the next day, they should go their separate ways.

The Northern Heralds saw Bandage Person’s Foundation Establishment Pill reward improve, while Ying Su prioritized capturing Ying Ru Shi and planned to postpone dealing with Bandage Person. Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi argued over whether to separate as they evaded the Bai Bao Guard.

• The Skeleton Scroll upgraded Bandage Person’s reward to a Rare Foundation Establishment Pill that let its holder remain alive and intact for 600 seconds after fatal damage, enraging the Northern Heralds.
• Ying Su ordered Wei Weiwei and Ru Luojing not to attack Bandage Person first and to focus on capturing Prince of Lanling, while he assessed the threat posed by Bandage Person’s growing number of controlled demons.
• Ying Su decided to let Murong Hui leave and postpone pursuing Bandage Person until after Prince of Lanling was captured, reasoning that Ying Ru Shi remained the priority.
• Ying Ru Shi urged Yan Qing to split up so the Bai Bao Guard would focus on her, but Yan Qing questioned whether she was informing him or asking him to discuss the decision.

Ying Ru Shi tried to distance herself from Yan Qing, but he challenged her to explain her decision and demanded repayment for saving her. A prank by Murong Hui exposed Ying Ru Shi, who retaliated by tackling Murong Hui back into the hot spring.

• Yan Qing asked Ying Ru Shi whether she was speaking as Ying Ru Shi or as White Fox, but Murong Hui called her away before she answered.
• Murong Hui warned Ying Ru Shi that Yan Qing would be angry if she pushed him too far, and Ying Ru Shi struck her with the Relying on Heaven Sword after they argued.
• Ying Ru Shi returned to the main hall and told Yan Qing that they should split up, saying she owed him too much and did not want to keep relying on him.
• Yan Qing argued that saving her meant she owed him repayment, leaving Ying Ru Shi flustered.
• Murong Hui used electricity to destroy Ying Ru Shi's clothes, and Ying Ru Shi tackled her into the hot spring as Yan Qing watched.

Yan Qing soaked in the hot spring and struggled to suppress his imagination before Ying Ru Shi arrived to offer him the Relying on Heaven Sword. Realizing she intended to repay him and face the Fourth Mission alone, he dragged her into the spring instead of accepting her plan.

• Yan Qing tried to calm himself in the hot spring and thought about Yaoshi Yuan and Shang Xin Lei before Ying Ru Shi entered.
• Ying Ru Shi offered Yan Qing the Relying on Heaven Sword as thanks for saving her and Murong Hui, asking him to lend it to her during the Fourth Mission.
• Yan Qing realized Ying Ru Shi was preparing to risk her life in a heroic sacrifice, despite knowing he had hunted Ying Le and would stand with her.
• Yan Qing grabbed Ying Ru Shi's hand and pulled her into the hot spring.

Yan Qing confronted Ying Ru Shi over her plan to leave him and face danger alone, then persuaded her to stay and repay him by working with him. Their conversation ended with Murong Hui trapping them in the hot spring overnight, and both prepared to go after her.

• Yan Qing scolded Ying Ru Shi for deciding to split up without considering his wishes, and she admitted she had wanted to resist Ying Le on her own.
• Yan Qing told Ying Ru Shi he cared about her and demanded that she stop leaving secretly or trying to sacrifice herself.
• When Ying Ru Shi offered him the Relying on Heaven Sword as repayment, Yan Qing refused and asked her to help with Thieves' Den missions instead.
• Ying Ru Shi agreed to repay Yan Qing, then teased him by suggesting an intimate repayment in front of Black Wolf and Red Snake.
• Murong Hui blocked the hot spring door and left Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi inside for the night, so they set out to hit her.

Murong Hui convinced Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi that leaving the Land of Gathering Demons would expose her to the assassin, so she stayed and urged them to help kill him. After Murong Hui fell asleep, Yan Qing called Ying Ru Shi to the windowsill, where she wondered nervously whether he might make a move on her.

• Murong Hui explained that the assassin could track and outlast her if she tried to flee, and that she could not contact her grandmother for help.
• Murong Hui asked Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi to help her kill the assassin, and they agreed.
• Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi teased each other over Ying Ru Shi's habit of refusing to ask her friends for help, until she threw pillows at them and called them to bed.
• Yan Qing took the first watch while Murong Hui slept beside Ying Ru Shi, then quietly beckoned Ying Ru Shi to the windowsill.
• Ying Ru Shi sat with Yan Qing in the dark and wondered whether he might want her to give in to him.

Ying Ru Shi let Yan Qing apply ointment to her scarred arms, and his care helped her admit how much she wanted him to understand and protect her. As she lay beside Murong Hui, she heard Yellow Dog confess that he had fallen in love with the White Fox.

• Ying Ru Shi showed Yan Qing her scarred arms and said she had no right to embrace anyone with them.
• Yan Qing applied Red Snake’s White Jade Flawless Paste to Ying Ru Shi’s arms, and she lost her temper and bit his neck.
• Ying Ru Shi licked the bite mark, then pulled away when she realized how closely they were pressed together.
• Yan Qing told Ying Ru Shi he would fight the Bai Bao Guard for her and encouraged her to ask for what she wanted.
• Ying Ru Shi returned to bed feeling sweet as she watched Yan Qing, while Yellow Dog muttered that he had fallen in love with the White Fox.

Ying Ru Shi overheard Yan Qing confess that he wanted her most and planned to tell her his feelings, but she struggled with whether to take the first step. The next day, she cautiously encouraged him while the group prepared to hunt Third Rank Demons and investigate Puppet Cards.

• Ying Ru Shi overheard Yan Qing worry that he was falling for her, then heard him resolve not to give up and to confess if she took a step toward him.
• Ying Ru Shi took over the night watch and told Yan Qing she did not think he was fickle, leaving him puzzled about her remark.
• The next morning, Yan Qing explained that the group would venture deeper into the Land of Gathering Demons to fight Third Rank Demons and gather information about Puppet Cards.
• Murong Hui asked Yan Qing to help with her sock, and he poked her foot instead.
• Yan Qing pinched Ying Ru Shi's cheek and told her to smile more, prompting her to silently make up her mind.

Yan Qing discovered a way to exponentially stack Puppet attributes but lacked enough Accumulated Avalanche cards to use it. The appearance of the True Demon and Eight Demons revealed a daily challenge that could reward a Mysterious Supernatural Ability, leaving the group to face a dangerous new opportunity.

• Yan Qing and his companions defeated a Six Demons team, then fled the approaching Bai Bao Guard while he inspected the Puppet Cards they had won.
• Yan Qing realized that combining Storm Inheritor, Yin Yang Lantern, and Accumulated Avalanche could duplicate and stack Puppet attributes, but he did not know how to obtain enough Avalanche cards.
• As the Bai Bao Guard caught up, Yan Qing, Murong Hui, and Ying Ru Shi hurried toward the Teleportation Gate and shared water while on the run.
• The Demon Dragon appeared above the Land of Gathering Demons, and Murong Hui explained that the True Demon and Eight Demons had arrived on the sixth day.
• Yan Qing received a daily Transformation Card offering a Mysterious Supernatural Ability to the player who contributed most to killing the He Hua Zi Zai Tian True Demon.

Yan Qing considered the value of the Profound supernatural ability reward and the difficulty of defeating He Hua Zi Zai Tian True Demon alone. After reaching the southwestern Land of Gathering Demons, he learned that one of the Eight Demons was nearby and weighed whether to challenge it.

• Yan Qing concluded that a supernatural ability could give a mortal an overwhelming advantage, but its long-term value depended on the ability and the player’s build.
• Yan Qing decided he needed to personally kill He Hua Zi Zai Tian True Demon to obtain the Profound supernatural ability, rather than leave the reward to Night Four.
• Yan Qing considered using strange-race Puppets with Soul Scatter against the True Demon, but rejected the plan because its Defense Barrier and area attacks would likely stop them.
• Yan Qing worried that he lacked the Fourth Rank core activation cards needed to assemble a powerful lineup for the True Demon.
• Yan Qing arrived with Ying Ru Shi and Murong Hui in the southwestern Land of Gathering Demons, where Murong Hui pointed out a nearby one of the Eight Demons and Yan Qing asked if they could take it on.

Yan Qing and his companions defeated Mountain Ridge Stone Demon by keeping their distance while Soul Dragon Attendants wore down its enormous health. The demon’s reward offered a choice of puppet-related accessories, including a Blood Demon Sect Exchange Order that could reveal fourth-transformation puppets.

• Murong Hui and Yan Qing found Mountain Ridge Stone Demon, and Yan Qing chose to fight it despite Murong Hui and Ying Ru Shi’s nerves.
• Mountain Ridge Stone Demon’s opening attacks killed most of Yan Qing’s puppets and injured the three companions, but Ascension Dragon Attendant survived.
• Yan Qing kept Mountain Ridge Stone Demon more than one hundred paces away while four Soul Dragon Attendants steadily depleted its health.
• Mountain Ridge Stone Demon fell after several minutes, and Yan Qing, Murong Hui, and Ying Ru Shi celebrated together.
• The demon’s reward presented three accessory choices: Ascension Altar, Jade Pure Bottle, and Blood Demon Sect Exchange Order.

Yan Qing chose a fast-growing monster lineup over other powerful accessories and Puppet Cards, using the Alchemy Daoist to ascend the Six-Eared Macaque. He left with Qiongqi and Ascension Six-Eared as the core of a snowball strategy built around killing enemies and consuming Puppet Cards.

• Yan Qing rejected the Ascension Altar and Jade Pure Bottle, then chose the Blood Demon Sect Exchange Order to search for a core puppet.
• Yan Qing selected the Alchemy Daoist from the first set of Puppet Cards because it could provide an immediate, stable ascension.
• Yan Qing chose Qiongqi from the second set, boosted it with his final Accumulated Avalanche, and activated the Six-Eared Macaque.
• Yan Qing realized Qiongqi could gain Blood Sacrifices by killing enemies while the Six-Eared Macaque made allied monsters consume Puppet Cards for stats.
• Yan Qing used the Alchemy Daoist to ascend the Six-Eared Macaque into Ascension Six-Eared, whose ascension trait matched its stats to the strongest allied puppet.

Yan Qing, Murong Hui, and Ying Ru Shi learned that the Skeleton Scroll was offering Yan Qing an increasingly valuable Foundation Establishment Pill, prompting Lu Fang to propose that they avoid the Bai Bao Guard and focus on improving the reward. Murong Hui then offered to become Yan Qing’s subordinate so she could participate in the Land of Gathering Demons activities.

• Murong Hui asked Yan Qing whether they should hunt the Eight Demons, and Yan Qing suggested they try before midnight.
• Lu Fang approached the group and offered to relay the Bai Bao Guard’s proposal, then explained that the Skeleton Scroll had displayed Yan Qing’s Foundation Establishment Pill reward.
• Lu Fang suggested that Murong Hui and Yan Qing avoid clashing with the Bai Bao Guard while Yan Qing worked to raise the pill’s grade, and Murong Hui promised to remember his favor.
• Murong Hui and Ying Ru Shi explained that Lu Fang hoped to build ties with Yan Qing because of his potential to become a Foundation Establishment True Person.
• Yan Qing revealed that Night Four was the other Skeleton Scroll participant, and Murong Hui offered to become his subordinate so she could participate too.

Yan Qing, Murong Hui, and Ying Ru Shi chose to stay together despite the Bai Bao Guard’s threat, and Ying Ru Shi described her plans after leaving the Land of Gathering Demons. Yan Qing spoke casually about spending time with Red Snake and Black Wolf, leaving Ying Ru Shi devastated and questioning whether his love for her had been a lie.

• Murong Hui admitted that she felt disappointed about Yan Qing’s chance to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, and Yan Qing teased her until she cheered up.
• Ying Ru Shi decided to remain with Yan Qing and Murong Hui rather than hide from the Bai Bao Guard, and Yan Qing agreed to keep walking beside her.
• Ying Ru Shi said she would stay in the Thieves' Den and complete missions until she could openly remove Ying Le from the throne.
• Yan Qing told Ying Ru Shi that he planned to shop with Red Snake in Jiangnan City and spend time reading with Black Wolf.
• After Yan Qing left the snack shop, Ying Ru Shi cried while eating Black Chocolate and wondered whether Yan Qing had lied about loving her as her pupils turned into vertical slits.

Yan Qing grew “Qiongqi” by feeding it Blood Sacrifice-enhanced Puppet Cards, while Ying Ru Shi risked herself to help it survive battles. After Yan Qing invited her to travel with him, Ying Ru Shi wondered whether he had ever truly loved her.

• Yan Qing used Blood Sacrifices to raise the Puppet Cards’ stats, letting “Qiongqi” devour them and grow stronger while the group protected it in battle.
• After a difficult fight, Yan Qing found a Vengeful Ghost Puppet Card and fed “Qiongqi” another Blood Sacrifice, pushing its stats past 10,000.
• Yan Qing warned Ying Ru Shi that she was fighting too dangerously, but she said she wanted to help him reach his goal and improve his Foundation Establishment Pill.
• At a snack shop, Yan Qing asked Ying Ru Shi whether she would stay at Thieves' Den and invited her to visit Jiangnan City with him; she agreed to discuss it later.
• After Yan Qing walked away, Ying Ru Shi concluded that he had not considered spending a day alone with her and quietly questioned whether he had ever truly loved her.

Yan Qing and his companions fought a party of mechanical demons whose thunderous deathrattle paralyzed their puppets and left Yan Qing exposed to a sweeping attack. Ying Ru Shi, overwhelmed by resentment and love for Yan Qing, took the blow meant for him and was gravely wounded.

• Yan Qing's group struggled against six mechanical demons after their Sacred Shields prevented Qiongqi from killing one immediately.
• A mechanical demon's Deathrattle Thunderstorm paralyzed the nearby puppets, and a battle-blade mechanism used a sweeping attack that threatened Yan Qing.
• Ying Ru Shi's buried resentment surged as she imagined Yan Qing leaving her behind, and she rushed to protect him.
• At the Demon Gathering Camp, Ying Le questioned Xi Yan about his family and granted his deceased mother permission to enter the Xi ancestral hall.
• Ying Le argued with the apparition of her mother about past accusations and wondered whether Ying Ru Shi could truly hate someone else.
• Ying Ru Shi pulled Yan Qing out of the blades' path and took the attack, suffering a nearly fatal wound as Qiongqi was also badly damaged.

Ying Ru Shi recovered after taking a blow for Yan Qing, then fought alongside him and the others to defeat the demons. She resolved to treat Yan Qing as a friend, but he pulled her into the Dimensional Bookstore and asked her to explain herself.

• Ying Ru Shi realized the Bingzi Jiaolin could heal her and restored herself after Yan Qing handed it to her.
• Ying Ru Shi, Yan Qing, Murong Hui, and the others killed the six demons, and Ying Ru Shi felt her sword skill improve.
• Murong Hui hugged Ying Ru Shi and scolded her for risking her life, prompting Ying Ru Shi to appreciate their friendship and reconsider her feelings for Yan Qing.
• Ying Ru Shi urged Murong Hui to lead them onward, but Yan Qing took her into the Dimensional Bookstore and asked her to explain what she had done.

Ying Ru Shi joined Yan Qing’s Calamity Organization and learned that its team skills could link their fates. Yan Qing promised to risk his life alongside her, and Ying Ru Shi pressed him to prove his promise to stay with her forever.

• Ying Ru Shi argued that the danger was worth taking and insisted that she should handle the risky task.
• Yan Qing invited Ying Ru Shi to join the Calamity Organization, and she accepted, learning about Immortal Travel and the Concentric Lock.
• Ying Ru Shi offered to give up her place if Yan Qing needed it, but he refused and said he had taken her request to stay together forever seriously.
• Yan Qing explained that the Concentric Lock would make him risk his life the next time Ying Ru Shi gambled hers, and he told her he trusted her.
• Ying Ru Shi asked whether Yan Qing meant to stay with her even after they left the Land of Gathering Demons, and he said yes.
• Ying Ru Shi cornered Yan Qing by a bookshelf and asked him to prove it.

After Ying Ru Shi took a severe blow to protect Yan Qing, he realized she might be in love with him and tested her feelings by holding her hand. He decided he would not let her go, but his attempt to escalate their intimacy ended with her pinning him against a bookshelf.

• Ying Ru Shi pressed close to Yan Qing after shielding him, and he reconsidered whether her actions meant she liked him.
• Yan Qing took Ying Ru Shi's hand and interlaced their fingers, and she responded by weaving her fingers through his.
• Yan Qing decided he would not let Ying Ru Shi go, though he remained unsure whether he truly liked her.
• Yan Qing slipped his hand into Ying Ru Shi's soft armor, and she grabbed his throat and pinned him against a bookshelf.
• Ying Ru Shi scolded Yan Qing for rushing things, while he defended himself by saying he thought she wanted stronger proof.

Yan Qing, Ying Ru Shi, and Murong Hui spent the night fighting demons so Qiongqi could absorb Puppet Cards, and Yan Qing acquired Bai Ze to accelerate their growth. After returning to the Hot Spring Cabin, a chaotic bathing session ended with Yan Qing suffering a nosebleed while Murong Hui sat on him, and Ying Ru Shi pulled her away.

• Ying Ru Shi and Yan Qing ended their private conversation when Murong Hui called for them, and Ying Ru Shi told Yan Qing not to act recklessly in front of her.
• Yan Qing and the others spent the night killing outskirts monsters while keeping Qiongqi out of battle, and Yan Qing obtained the Bai Ze Puppet Card with a trait that boosted attribute-increasing Transformation Cards.
• Yan Qing placed Bai Ze in a Puppet Slot, and after midnight the puppets revived and the group gained a fourth slot before teleporting to another region.
• At the Hot Spring Cabin, Ying Ru Shi offered to cook while Murong Hui proposed that the group bathe together, and Ying Ru Shi unexpectedly agreed.
• Murong Hui accidentally tore Ying Ru Shi's top during play-fighting, then sat on Yan Qing to feed him a beef ball, prompting his nose to bleed as Ying Ru Shi pulled her away.

Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi shared a tender moment while he applied ointment to her injured hands, and he promised to accept and care for her no matter how badly she was hurt. The chapter ended with them resting together, while an author’s note complained that a computer power supply had exploded and jokingly blamed the Double-Rest Cult.

• Murong Hui teased Yan Qing, got beaten twice, and received a warning from Ying Ru Shi about keeping appropriate boundaries with him.
• Yan Qing took his night watch while Qiongqi, Bai Ze, and Ascension Six-Eared guarded the sleeping group.
• Yan Qing tried to provoke Ying Ru Shi, then retrieved ointment and persuaded her to let him apply it without looking at her hands.
• Ying Ru Shi relaxed against Yan Qing as he treated her hands, and he promised to stitch her back together no matter how tattered she became.
• Ying Ru Shi cuddled into Yan Qing and imagined spending their lives together.
• The author reported that a computer power supply had exploded and jokingly blamed the Double-Rest Cult.

Ying Ru Shi struggled with Yan Qing's desire to be with her, Black Wolf, and Red Snake, while worrying that choosing sides could break apart their group. Murong Hui appeared to congratulate Ying Ru Shi and offer to give the couple space, but Ying Ru Shi realized that this version of Murong Hui was only a delusion born from her own wishful thinking.

• Ying Ru Shi confronted Yan Qing about his feelings for Black Wolf and Red Snake and learned he would not choose just one partner.
• Ying Ru Shi lay awake worrying that competing with Black Wolf and Red Snake could tear apart the Thieves' Den and hurt Yan Qing.
• Murong Hui asked Ying Ru Shi if she and Yan Qing were together, and Ying Ru Shi shyly confirmed it.
• Murong Hui admitted she liked Yan Qing and offered to stay out of the couple's way, but Ying Ru Shi recognized that she was imagining this conversation.

Yan Qing used Blood Sacrifice and his growing Puppet lineup to prepare for the Land of Gathering Demons’ powerful bosses, while Ying Ru Shi reflected on her disillusionment and her real feelings for him. The group reached the White Mane Lion King, one of the Eight Demons, ready to fight.

• Yan Qing used White Marsh and Blood Sacrifice to boost his Puppets, making his lineup strong enough for repeated battles as he worried about defeating the He Hua Zi Zai Tian True Demon.
• Yan Qing and Murong Hui shared pastries at a cake shop while Ying Ru Shi remembered that her happy encounter with Murong Hui had been a hallucination.
• Ying Ru Shi recognized that Murong Hui likely liked Yan Qing, then watched Yan Qing secretly flirt with her while keeping up appearances around Murong Hui.
• Yan Qing chose to fight the next Eight Demons sooner rather than spend more time developing, and he let Murong Hui and Ying Ru Shi play at a Puppet Cage claw machine.
• Yan Qing, Murong Hui, and Ying Ru Shi arrived at a plaza where the White Mane Lion King was bathing in a fountain.

Yan Qing and his allies fought the White Mane Lion King while twenty Bai Bao Guard charged into the plaza. After Ying Ru Shi helped bring down the Lion King, Qiongqi used Myriad Hearts to kill the Bai Bao Guard, leaving Yan Qing's side victorious.

• Yan Qing sent Qiongqi, Baize, and Ascension Six-Eared to fight the White Mane Lion King, then held Ying Ru Shi back until its bloodfire raised its attack power.
• Ying Ru Shi joined the battle and used the Shadow Spider Boots to spin and strike the White Mane Lion King repeatedly.
• Murong Hui spotted twenty Bai Bao Guard charging toward them, and Yan Qing used Bingzi Jiaolin's blade light to slow their advance at the cost of severe injuries to his arms.
• Ying Ru Shi helped defeat the White Mane Lion King, and Yan Qing carried her away as Qiongqi charged the Bai Bao Guard.
• Qiongqi struck the lead Bai Bao Guard, and Myriad Hearts shared the damage among all twenty, causing their hearts to explode.

Yan Qing chose an offensive accessory and learned that the Bai Bao Guard had begun killing the Eight Demons. Ying Su’s forces killed the Mantis General and split up to hunt the remaining demons as Ying Su prepared to control where the final battle with Yan Qing would take place.

• Yan Qing chose Heaven and Earth Unrivaled Blade for Qiongqi, then declined to use the Relying on Heaven Sword while Ying Ru Shi bandaged his injured arms.
• Yan Qing, Ying Ru Shi, and Murong Hui investigated a distant tremor and realized the Bai Bao Guard were attacking Mantis General.
• Ying Su used Myriad Hearts · One to kill Mantis General with a single spear strike after the Bai Bao Guard weakened it with volleys of arrows.
• Ying Su ordered the one hundred and eighty Bai Bao Guard to split into four teams and target the other Eight Demons.
• Ying Su concluded that Yan Qing would target the True Demon after the Eight Demons fell and resolved to choose the location of their final battle.