Chapter Summaries

Yan Qing and his companions fought the damage-reflecting Evil Ghost Elites, and Yan Qing discovered their shared defenses made them a deadly counter to melee fighters. After he cut down nearly all of them, Ying Ru Shi arrived, killed the last survivor, and said they needed to talk.

• Yan Qing received Earth Vein Malice and Red Furnace Fire Essence from the Third Trial, strengthening his cultivation prospects and upgrading Bingzi Jiaolin.
• Yan Qing learned that the Evil Ghost Elites reflected damage and shared their Defense Barriers, making them difficult for ordinary attackers to defeat.
• Yan Qing charged into the elites and used two powerful blade-light attacks to shatter their barriers and cut nearly all of them down, badly injuring his hands in the process.
• The surviving Evil Ghost Elite fled toward the Le City County Princess, but Ying Ru Shi killed it with the Gui Cang Secret Sword.
• Ying Ru Shi put away her Relying on Heaven Sword after seeing Yellow Dog and told Yan Qing and the others that they needed to talk.

Ying Ru Shi explained that the emperor had ordered the Bu Liugu and Gai Lou clans exterminated and gave Yan Qing a token to help the survivors reach the Murong Family. After she left to take control of Shanwen Camp’s Bai Bao Guard, she heard the others accuse her of betrayal and realized they still did not trust her.

• Bu Liugu Zhen accused Ying Ru Shi of slaughtering people and suspected she was stalling, while Gai Louxian urged the others to trust her because she had helped them.
• Ying Ru Shi apologized to Jiang Nian and revealed that the emperor’s command to exterminate the Bu Liugu and Gai Lou clans could not be stopped while the previous commander lived.
• Ying Ru Shi said she could now command the remaining forty-three Bai Bao Guard members and gave Yan Qing a token for Murong Hui, advising them to travel north to Yanzi Military Town.
• Yan Qing asked whether the emperor would punish Ying Ru Shi for abandoning the mission, then allowed her to leave and take the Bai Bao Guard away.
• As Ying Ru Shi left the Zheng estate, she heard Bu Liugu Zhen, Gai Louxian, and Yellow Dog call for her death, and she accepted that they still saw her as an enemy.

Yan Qing intimidated Bu Liugu Zhen and Gai Louxian into keeping his identity secret, then arranged to travel with them and Night Four to Yanzi Military Town. Bu Liugu Zhen mistook Jiang Shi’s closeness to Yan Qing for love and asked him to take good care of her, leaving Yan Qing to silently accept the misunderstanding.

• Yan Qing recognized that the Qingshan Jian Wo Token seemed ordinary and gave it to Night Four to keep.
• Yan Qing threatened Bu Liugu Zhen and Gai Louxian with the Bingzi Jiaolin until they promised not to reveal his whereabouts.
• Yan Qing agreed to help Gai Louxian and Bu Liugu Zhen escape to Yanzi Military Town and told them to bring Night Four and the others.
• Yan Qing left Night Four behind to collect the secret realm’s spoils while the others prepared to depart.
• Bu Liugu Zhen asked Yan Qing to take good care of Jiang Nian, believing she had waited for Yan Qing, then walked away without correcting the misunderstanding.

Yan Qing left the secret realm and saw the devastation caused by the Evil Ghost Elite, then questioned Gai Louxian about their origins and the Mugong Forest Secret Realm. Back at the Thieves' Den, he completed two hundred runs of the Suppressor of Three Mountains and weighed whether to travel north to the Murong Family or west to Mugong Forest.

• Yan Qing emerged from the secret realm to find the military town strewn with corpses and realized he had killed seven people himself without feeling much.
• Yan Qing saw civilians trapped or killed beneath the rubble outside the town, including the family who ran the soup-and-bing shop, and turned back toward the military town.
• Yan Qing asked Gai Louxian about the Evil Ghost Elite and learned that the Shanwen Camp's core garrison was Mugong Military Town, home to the Mugong Forest Secret Realm.
• Yan Qing returned to the Thieves' Den, completed four more runs of the Suppressor of Three Mountains Secret Realm, and reached the two-hundred-run milestone.
• Yan Qing considered whether to travel north to the Murong Family or west to Mugong Forest.

Yan Shi Yi and his companion reached Chuan Tea Posthouse, where they rescued Young Lady Dong from soldiers abusing an order to arrest people surnamed Dong. After Young Lady Dong offered to help them, Yan Shi Yi asked for directions to Mugong Military Town and revealed his name before departing.

• Old Man Li watched Young Lady Dong rest at his posthouse as the Hundred Guard Cavalry and the unrest kept travelers away.
• Several soldiers caught Young Lady Dong, beat her, and prepared to take her away while threatening Old Man Li into silence.
• Yan Shi Yi charged the soldiers and killed all four with his saber, then freed Young Lady Dong.
• Young Lady Dong thanked Yan Shi Yi and his companion, offered to serve them, and gave them directions to Mugong Military Town.
• As Yan Shi Yi prepared to leave, Young Lady Dong asked his name, and he removed his hat and introduced himself.

Yan Qing reached Mugong Military Town with a masked alt, Yan Shi Yi, and prepared to destroy the Mugong Forest Secret Realm. After talking with Shang Xin Lei and Yaoshi Yuan about his displeasure over ordinary people being crushed by the powerful, he found their support for his coming calamity reassuring.

• Yan Qing arrived at the guarded Mugong Military Town and hid Yan Shi Yi and Night Four until nightfall.
• Yan Qing put Flame Mark Seven Stars Swords up for sale, then ate with Shang Xin Lei and Yaoshi Yuan.
• Shang Xin Lei and Yaoshi Yuan noticed Yan Qing’s low spirits, and he explained that the suffering of ordinary people had angered him.
• Yan Qing asked how they would react if he committed a great calamity, and both women said they would support him.
• Shang Xin Lei denied ever kicking Yan Qing, so he smacked her buttocks and declared he could kick her instead.

Yan Qing infiltrated Mugong Military Town with 'Night Four' and 'Yan Shi Yi' to investigate Qi’s brutal rule. After avoiding a patrol, he recognized how the town’s cruelty was stirring his urge to kill and resolved to hold on to his remaining hesitation.

• Yan Qing used Immortal Travel to reach an abandoned village, tie up 'Night Four' and 'Yan Shi Yi', and return to the Thieves' Den.
• 'Night Four' carried 'Yan Shi Yi' across the moat and over Mugong Military Town’s wall using the Ronin Rain Boots and Spider Crawl.
• Yan Qing used the Goldfish Goggles to scout the town, then stripped away noisy equipment as 'Night Four' moved through its crowded streets.
• 'Night Four' passed a banyan tree where dozens of corpses had been hung and later hid from a patrol in a narrow alley.
• Yan Qing reflected that Qi’s cruelty was fueling his desire to kill and thought of Ying Ru Shi, recently ennobled as the Prince of Lanling.

Yan Qing took Night Four and Yan Shi Yi into the Tombstone Mountain Secret Realm, where they cleared the front and middle forests and discovered that Buddhist relics could liberate its ghouls for Calamity Karma. He brought Yan Shi Yi to face the Saintess Echo, but the chapter ended just as the boss fight began.

• Yan Qing used Night Four's Divine Speed Herald ability to carry Yan Shi Yi past the guards and into the secret realm.
• Night Four burned through the spiderweb-covered front forest, defeated its ghouls, and found a Yaksa Mask in a chest.
• Night Four drew a Demonic Elder Ghoul away from the flames while Yan Shi Yi attacked it with Seven Steps Buddha Recitation and liberated it, gaining four points of Calamity Karma and reaching Level 12.
• Yan Qing found a Yaksa Spear in the middle-forest chest and brought Yan Shi Yi to the back forest's spider nest.
• Yan Shi Yi triggered the Saintess Echo boss battle by striking the Silk Ghoul Spirit, which counterattacked and broke the outer layer of his Mountain Heart Protecting Mirror.

Yan Qing used Night Four’s hanging-silk exploit and Yan Shi Yi’s backstabs to defeat the Spider Woman despite her deadly Steel Execution attacks. He left the secret realm with the Spider Woman dead and her final cries calling for Fu Xiang.

• Yan Qing sent Yan Shi Yi out of the clearing, drawing the Spider Woman’s aggro to Night Four on a tombstone.
• Night Four used a rope between tombstones to hang above the Spider Woman, while Yan Shi Yi repeatedly backstabbed her from behind.
• The Spider Woman activated Steel Execution at half health, nearly breaking Yan Shi Yi’s defenses and revealing her close-range attack and cooldown pattern.
• Yan Qing had Night Four attack the air to trigger Steel Execution while Yan Shi Yi struck the Spider Woman during her cooldown.
• Yan Qing cut the Spider Woman’s karma meter to zero and used Bingzi Jiaolin’s Overturning the Heavens to defeat her as she tried to recover her health.
• The dying Spider Woman sobbed and called out, “Fu Xiang.”

After defeating the Spider Silk Corpse Spirit: Saintess Echo, Yan Qing gained powerful rewards and recognized how much luck and preparation the victory had required. He left the Mugong Forest Secret Realm and declared war on Ying Le by targeting Qi’s wealthiest military town.

• Yan Qing gained 27 Calamity Karma, raised his level to 23, and comprehended Advanced Swordsmanship and Secret Technique: Floating Boat.
• Yan Qing examined his rewards, including Disaster Averting Peach Wood, a Secret Technique Research Book, and Annihilation Ring, and recognized the relic’s potential for devastating group attacks.
• Yan Qing realized the victory had depended on specific relics, tactics, and timing, despite seeming like an easy fight.
• Yan Qing decided not to have Yan Shi Yi challenge more secret realms for now and left the Mugong Forest Secret Realm as its time limit ended.
• Yan Qing headed toward Mugong Military Town, intending to punish Qi for tolerating the tyranny of a Foundation Establishment True Person.
• Yan Qing declared war on Ying Le.

Ying Ru Shi realized that the Calamity Successor had destroyed the Tombstone Mountain Secret Realm to draw Qi Kingdom’s forces toward him and challenge Ying Le’s tyranny. As he neared the City of Evernight, Ying Ru Shi prepared to leave her residence, but an imperial decree ordered her to accompany Ying Le on his personal expedition against him.

• Ying Ru Shi concluded that Yellow Dog was likely the Calamity Successor and learned he had fought his way toward the City of Evernight, declaring that not everyone would let Ying Le act as he pleased.
• Yaoshi Yuan hesitated outside Yan Qing’s room, then went to prepare for a secret realm expedition while her maids teased her about missing him.
• Ying Ru Shi withdrew into her room, tormented by the voices of the dead, until a messenger reported that the Calamity Successor was less than thirty li from the City of Evernight.
• Ying Ru Shi resolved to go out, but an imperial decree ordered her to accompany Ying Le on his personal expedition to suppress the Calamity Successor, Yasha.

Ying Le led eight hundred Bai Bao Guards on a personal expedition to confront the Calamity Successor, while Ying Ru Shi tried to persuade her aunt to stop killing and accept a peaceful resolution. As the army charged toward the Calamity Successor, Ying Ru Shi asked for one chance to negotiate his surrender.

• Ying Le summoned Ying Ru Shi onto her war chariot and told her she would hand Qi over once she defeated the Gold Badge Divine Arrestor and resumed her Dao Path to Foundation Establishment.
• Ying Le recounted her past romance with Yuan Hong, who died in a secret realm battle, and advised Ying Ru Shi to seek love while she could.
• Ying Ru Shi urged Ying Le to stop killing people to condense luck and offered to persuade the Calamity Successor to surrender.
• A messenger reported that the Calamity Successor had arrived twenty li outside the county city, and Ying Le drove the chariot forward with the Bai Bao Guards.
• Ying Le said she had thrown the cat to its death because it would not become tame, and Ying Ru Shi insisted that people were not livestock and begged for a chance to persuade the Calamity Successor.

Fu Shang and his forces trapped 'Yan Shi Yi' on Mount Ram's Horn, expecting to kill the hunted 'Yaksa' and claim the credit. 'Yan Shi Yi' welcomed the chance to fight the assembled commanders and generals, and the battle erupted.

• Fu Shang held back his troops despite the fire on the eastern mountain, while the army adjutant urged him to seize the credit for killing 'Yaksa.'
• Fu Shang explained that 'Yaksa' targeted commanders to rout armies and had likely been searching for the right leaders to strike.
• 'Yan Shi Yi' found Fu Shang, who revealed that he had used himself as bait and replaced his personal guard with powerful generals.
• 'Yan Shi Yi' said killing the gathered commanders and generals would be easier than fighting through the two hundred thousand troops outside.
• Fu Shang ordered the attack, and a major battle began on Mount Ram's Horn.

Yan Qing repaired his relics after defeating Fu Shang and the other commanders, then faced Ying Le and eight hundred Bai Bao Guards. He transformed two treasures with Calamity Karma and charged into the formation, beginning a battle whose outcome remained unknown.

• Yan Qing reflected on winning the prolonged battle through endurance and repaired his damaged relics.
• As Ying Le's army approached, Yan Qing took four Third-Turn rare treasure relics and saw Ying Le leading eight hundred Bai Bao Guards.
• Yan Qing used Earth Vein Malice to obtain the Earthly Fiend Record of Through-Glow and spent twenty Calamity Karma to transform it and the Heavenly Dipper Talisman of Creation's Circulation.
• The troops recognized the masked Yan Qing as Yaksa and learned that Fu Shang and the other commanders had fallen.
• Yaksa ran into the charging Bai Bao Guard formation, meeting the strongest army in the world head-on.

Yan Qing’s 'Yan Shi Yi' faced the Bai Bao Guard’s coordinated attack after his string of victories made him underestimate the army. He used the secret technique Willow Leaf Float to escape a seemingly inescapable spear formation and counterattacked with his Asura Weapon.

• Yan Qing reflected on how his overpowered alt had won seven battles and routed Qi Kingdom’s forces, leaving him overconfident.
• The Bai Bao Guard encircled 'Yan Shi Yi' and struck from every direction with black-lightning spears that threatened to break his defenses.
• 'Yan Shi Yi' activated Willow Leaf Float, spinning through the spear formation while shrinking his hit area and evading the attacks.
• Yan Qing explained that Willow Leaf Float was cheap because its rapid spinning made it unusable for people experiencing it from a first-person perspective.
• 'Yan Shi Yi' swung his sword and launched the Asura Weapon technique Flame Mark Seven Stars Annihilation.

Yan Qing strengthened Yan Shi Yi’s Asura Token, but Yan Shi Yi struggled to break through the Bai Bao Guards’ formation. He found a way to disrupt their advance by killing their horses and charged toward Ying Le’s imperial carriage.

• Yan Shi Yi’s Crimson Slaughter Value surpassed 200, and Yan Qing used the Asura Token enhancements to improve Flame Mark Seven Stars Annihilation.
• Yan Shi Yi attacked the Bai Bao Guards, but his blade barely pierced their armor and reflected damage cost him a third of his health.
• The Bai Bao Guards kept their formation and surrounded Yan Shi Yi, while Qi Kingdom’s generals believed he was doomed.
• Ying Ru Shi believed Yan Shi Yi would break through, and the formation began to falter as Bai Bao Guards fell from their horses.
• Yan Qing realized Yan Shi Yi was killing the warhorses, breaking the formation and charging toward Ying Le’s carriage, still three hundred paces away.

Yan Qing unleashed Blood-Drinking Herald’s Sword Sacrifice to escape the Bai Bao Guard’s crushing encirclement, destroying Flame Mark Seven Stars Annihilation in exchange for overwhelming temporary power. He left the chapter bursting out from beneath the pile of soldiers and warhorses, ready to resume his fight against Ying Le’s army.

• Yan Qing recognized the Bai Bao Guard’s chained attacks, defenses, reflected damage, and coordinated thinking as they blocked his advance with infantry and cavalry tactics.
• The Bai Bao Guard trapped 'Yan Shi Yi' beneath shields, soldiers, and warhorses, while Ying Le and the watching generals praised Yaksha as the strongest beneath Foundation Establishment.
• Pinned down and near defeat, Yan Qing decided to use his remaining trump card rather than end his journey there.
• 'Yan Shi Yi' activated Sword Sacrifice, destroying Flame Mark Seven Stars Annihilation and gaining a 200-point vitality bonus and life absorption for thirty minutes.
• Yan Qing erupted from the pile of soldiers and warhorses, sending Bai Bao Guard fighters flying.

Yan Shi Yi fought through the Bai Bao Guard and reached the imperial carriage, but Ying Ru Shi stopped him ten paces from Ying Le. Ying Le ordered the pinned Yan Shi Yi to surrender.

• Yan Shi Yi used his overwhelming qi and blood to break through the Bai Bao Guard’s cavalry and chain traps.
• Yan Qing crippled the giant Bai Bao by cutting their Achilles tendons and pressed on toward Ying Le’s carriage.
• Yan Shi Yi defeated the three coachmen by targeting their knees and closed to within thirteen paces of the carriage.
• Ying Ru Shi leaped from the carriage and struck Yan Shi Yi down before he could reach Ying Le.
• Ying Le praised Ying Ru Shi and told the pinned Yan Shi Yi to surrender.

Ying Le tried to recruit Yan Qing, but Ying Ru Shi subdued him and condemned him for destroying the Tombstone Secret Realm. She challenged him to choose between a fleeting reputation as a hero and a lifetime spent making amends.

• Yan Qing agreed to surrender temporarily, but Ying Le demanded that he discard his advanced Defensive Token, revealing that she had recognized it.
• Ying Ru Shi took control of the confrontation, pinning Yan Shi Yi with her sword and applying Suppression, which left him vulnerable to being killed.
• Ying Ru Shi asked for his real name, and Yan Qing gave her the name Yan Shi Yi; she asked to call him Yan.
• Ying Ru Shi accused Yan of devastating Mugong Military Town and causing widespread suffering, arguing that his actions were not righteous.
• Yan mocked Ying Ru Shi's ideals, and she answered that heroes could make mistakes if they brought greater good and made amends.
• Ying Ru Shi asked Yan whether he wanted to be a hero for a moment or for a lifetime.

Ying Ru Shi tried to persuade Yan Qing to surrender, while he challenged her view of justice and affirmed that she had done nothing wrong by choosing to survive and seek power. Ying Le then offered to stop the purge if Yan Qing submitted, leaving his decision unresolved.

• Yan Qing questioned whether failing to kill Ying Le made his resistance meaningless, and criticized Ying Ru Shi for expecting justice to come only through submission or a powerful champion.
• Ying Ru Shi asked whether she had been wrong, and Yan Qing told her that submitting to someone stronger was the correct way to survive and that she had done nothing wrong.
• Encouraged by Yan Qing's understanding, Ying Ru Shi urged him to surrender and use his potential to change the world rather than die.
• Ying Le accused Yan Qing of advancing toward City of Evernight to draw her attention away from the purge of the thirty-eight great clans.
• Ying Le offered to stop the purge if Yan Qing submitted, saying she wanted Ying Ru Shi to get her wish.