Chapter Summaries

Li Banfeng explored Train Grandpa’s dream and learned that the senior had been trapped asleep in the Inner State after seeking materials for a new train. At Zhao Dajun Station, Li Banfeng met the Calculation Cultivator in his dream, while Train Grandpa warned that Zhao Dajun could no longer get out.

• Train Grandpa described his invisible, self-tracking train and revealed that he had been both a Travel Cultivator and a Craft Cultivator.
• Train Grandpa said he had gone to the Inner State for train materials, where birdmen had set him up and left him asleep.
• Train Grandpa corrected Li Banfeng’s belief about their location and stopped at Zhao Dajun Station, where Li Banfeng paid him to wait and act as a guide.
• Li Banfeng found Zhao Dajun calculating the best place to fish, and Zhao Dajun proudly showed him his dream home and his calculations on Teacher Lisha.
• Train Grandpa told Li Banfeng that Zhao Dajun could not get out and asked whether Li Banfeng still wanted to leave.

Train Grandpa guided Li Banfeng through Dream Tether Tower and explained how people became trapped in their dreams. Suspecting Li Banfeng had been sent by the Inner State to steal his train, he eventually agreed to help him escape and revealed that the outcome depended on whether Li Banfeng’s body or only his dream had entered the Inner State.

• Train Grandpa ended Zhao Dajun’s dream by making Teacher Lisha age, but Zhao Dajun quickly rebuilt the dream and fell asleep again.
• Train Grandpa showed Li Banfeng several people trapped in happy dreams and explained that they could not leave because they had left their hearts there.
• Train Grandpa accused Li Banfeng of seeking his train, and Li Banfeng defused his anger by declaring them brothers and asking him to stop talking about trains.
• Train Grandpa explained that the Inner State had tried to buy him off and obtain his train, then hinted that he could see the key Li Banfeng carried.
• Train Grandpa told Li Banfeng that if only his dream had entered the Inner State, he could help him escape, and said Li Banfeng would understand his real reason once he got out.

Train Grandpa showed Li Banfeng how to use the boundaries between dreams as exits from Dream Tether Tower and trained him in the footwork needed to cross them. As a Local Earth God approached, Train Grandpa prepared to distract it while Li Banfeng waited for one chance to escape.

• Train Grandpa carried Li Banfeng through several dreams and pointed out that the boundaries between them were Dream Tether Tower’s true exits.
• Li Banfeng repeatedly failed to pass through a widened boundary until he learned to use Train Grandpa’s charging footwork and succeeded once.
• Train Grandpa warned Li Banfeng to leave as soon as an opportunity appeared and to rest rather than take pills after returning to Pro State.
• Train Grandpa explained that Li Banfeng’s cultivation could rise during the journey and described the principle behind the sixth-level skill Cut Path Opening Road.
• When rustling revealed that a dog seeking to become a Local Earth God was nearby, Train Grandpa told Li Banfeng to board the train while he fought it.

Train Grandpa fought through Meng Qian’s dream and helped Li Banfeng escape, but Li Banfeng woke aboard a train in Black Stone Slope after sleepwalking on trains for three days. He heard Train Grandpa’s voice entrust him with the train and warn him never to give it to anyone.

• Train Grandpa defeated Meng Xuan and charged through waves of cultivators while carrying Li Banfeng toward the edge of Meng Qian’s expanding dream.
• Meng Qian failed to stop Train Grandpa, and he opened the dream boundary so Li Banfeng could escape.
• Li Banfeng struck the boundary and failed to pass through, but Train Grandpa blocked Meng Qian and Li Banfeng escaped using Unimpeded Travel.
• Train Grandpa told Meng Qian that Li Banfeng could leave whenever he wanted and did not need anyone’s permission.
• Li Banfeng woke on the Black Stone Slope train after riding trains in his sleep for three days.
• Li Banfeng heard Train Grandpa tell him to keep the train and never give it to anyone, even if Train Grandpa later asked for it.

After escaping Meng Qian’s dream, Li Banfeng returned home and learned that Train Grandpa had saved him, leaving him determined to rescue his brother. Meanwhile, Qiu Zhiheng learned that Lu Yuanhai had been struck by Green Flower’s method and might remain a fool, while Yao Lao urged him to abandon the failing Lu Family.

• Li Banfeng returned to the Evening Primrose office, checked that his surroundings seemed real, and went home to the Portable Abode after his cultivation exhausted him.
• Li Banfeng’s wife and the Portable Abode reacted angrily to his three-day absence, but his ballad calmed the house before Hong Ying could fight it.
• Li Banfeng prepared to recuperate in the Third Room and told his wife to seal him inside if anything unusual happened, explaining that he had fought Meng Qian, the leader of Dream Cultivators.
• Li Banfeng reviewed how Meng Qian had drawn him into a dream to obtain Train Grandpa’s Work Method, then vowed to rescue Train Grandpa.
• Yao Lao told Qiu Zhiheng that Lu Yuanhai had been struck by Green Flower’s method and that his disease focus could not be dispelled without an expert.
• Yao Lao urged Qiu Zhiheng to leave because the Lu Family’s eldest son was dead and Lu Yuanhai might remain a fool, while Qiu Zhiheng wondered whether the family could still be saved.

Duan Shaohong pushed Duan Shaoxia to make Zhang Huaiyi the Lu Family heir, but the plan took a sinister turn when Lu Yuanhai’s tears triggered an unknown change in Zhang Huaiyi’s body. The chapter ended with Zhang Huaiyi’s body occupied by another being, while Duan Shaoxia urged Qiu Zhiheng to find it an identity.

• Qiu Zhiheng failed to recover Lu Yuanshan’s businesses from Lu Maoxian, who demanded to deal with the Lu brothers directly.
• Duan Shaohong revealed that Zhang Huaiyi was Lu Dongliang’s son and persuaded Duan Shaoxia to bring him into the Lu Family as Yuanhai’s replacement heir.
• Duan Shaohong ordered Qiu Zhiheng to arrange a feast for Zhang Huaiyi to take the Lu surname, while Qiu Zhiheng doubted the plan could succeed.
• Duan Shaoxia introduced Zhang Huaiyi to the unwell Lu Yuanhai, and the two men held hands as Zhang Huaiyi promised to help his younger brother recover.
• As Lu Yuanhai wept, Zhang Huaiyi became emotional, lost control of his body, and could no longer speak or move.
• Duan Shaoxia took the changed Zhang Huaiyi to another room, where he said his new body hurt and could not contain him; she told him Qiu Zhiheng would find a way to establish his identity.

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu worked to protect Lu Chunying and Xiao Yeci as the Lu Family weakened, while Monkey Qiu faced pressure over the family’s future. The chapter ended with Monkey Qiu agreeing to Lu Chunying’s conditions and handing Li Banfeng control of the Lu Family’s newspaper business so he could spread news about Zhang Huaiyi.

• Qiu Zhiheng tried to leave the Lu Family, but Duan Shaoxia knelt and begged him to stay; Ma Wu delivered his bonus and warned him that the Lu Family might no longer offer protection.
• Ma Wu told Li Banfeng that Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai were gone, and they decided to discuss Lu Chunying’s future with her and Xiao Yeci.
• Lu Chunying initially refused to return to the Lu Family, but Xiao Yeci persuaded her to go if she could live outside Lu Mansion.
• Li Banfeng met Qiu Zhiheng at Carefree Dock and told him that Lu Chunying would return only if she did not have to live in Lu Mansion; Qiu Zhiheng agreed.
• Li Banfeng asked about Zhang Huaiyi and proposed taking over the Lu Family’s newspaper office; Qiu Zhiheng agreed, and Li Banfeng named the paper Evening Primrose.

Lu Maoxian tried to shame Monkey Qiu and sabotage Blood Blade Detective, but He Jiaqing traced the stolen reels to him and Ling Miaoying retaliated by screening an embarrassing film at Lu Maoxian’s banquet. The chapter ended with Ling Miaoying threatening to send the film, titled “Vigorous Old Lu Maoxian,” to cinemas.

• Duan Shaohong confronted Duan Shaoxia and Qiu Zhiheng over a newspaper article exposing the Lu Family’s plans for Zhang Huaiyi, while Qiu Zhiheng left without arranging the banquet.
• Lu Maoxian ordered a hanger-on to humiliate Zhang Bochun and hired Ghost Hand Gate to steal reels of Blood Blade Detective Four.
• He Jiaqing learned that six reels had been stolen, sent Ling Miaoying to question Xie Juncong, and discovered that Lu Maoxian had ordered the theft.
• He Jiaqing concluded that Lu Maoxian was acting with a powerful patron and told Ling Miaoying to strike back to expose the patron.
• At Lu Maoxian’s banquet, Lu Maoxian had Zhang Bochun beaten and threatened before the assembled Lu Family members, then an unseen force trapped the performers backstage.
• Ling Miaoying arranged for a compromising film of Lu Maoxian to play at the banquet and threatened to release a longer version called “Vigorous Old Lu Maoxian” in cinemas.

Duan Shaohong begged Duan Shaoxia to let her take Zhang Huaiyi away, while Lu Maoxian’s attempt to kill Ling Miaoying at the Shadow Play Building turned into a trap. Ling Miaoying confronted Lu Maoxian and left him badly wounded, despite He Jiaqing’s order to spare his life.

• Duan Shaohong begged Duan Shaoxia to let her take Zhang Huaiyi away, but Duan Shaoxia insisted he remain in Lu Mansion and allowed Duan Shaohong to stay temporarily.
• After Ling Miaoying’s film exposed Lu Maoxian’s private activities, Lu Maoxian ordered Xu Huairong to poison the film company and Lin Zhixiao to kill everyone inside.
• Xu Huairong’s poison left the company’s people blank-eyed, and Lin Zhixiao’s men attacked them while searching the building.
• Lu Maoxian discovered that the apparent Shadow Play Building and its occupants were part of Ling Miaoying’s trap, and Ling Miaoying and Tu Yinghong appeared before him.
• Ling Miaoying’s allies struck Lu Maoxian with an arrow and severed his forearm as his guards failed to reach them, and Ling Miaoying accused him of burning the company and threatened to kill him.

Ling Miaoying failed to kill Lu Maoxian and moved the Shadow Play Building, while Li Banfeng sought a sixth-level soul to feed Wife and advance his cultivation. After Wife devoured a robber, Li Banfeng discovered that a glove had vanished from their Portable Abode.

• Lu Maoxian returned to his mansion wounded, and Ling Miaoying told He Jiaqing that he had cut off Lu Maoxian's hand and killed several of his subordinates.
• Ling Miaoying ordered Tu Yinghong to move the exposed Shadow Play Building, then entered it with her before it vanished into the night.
• Li Banfeng learned that Wife needed a fresh sixth-level soul to advance his House Cultivator cultivation and ease the imbalance with his Travel Cultivator cultivation.
• Li Banfeng read that Lu Maoxian had been badly hurt, then captured a robber who tried to steal his money and brought him to Wife, who devoured the man's soul.
• Li Banfeng noticed his glove was missing, and Wife discovered that it had vanished from the sundries cabinet.

Li Banfeng caught the glove stealing his wallet, then forced it to accept his rules and sign a contract before using it as his magical treasure. At the Lu Family estate, Duan Shaoxia refused to meet Lu Dongchun, who had come to discuss Lu Maoxian’s affairs.

• Li Banfeng found the glove sneaking toward the storage chest and beat it until it spat out his wallet.
• The glove offered to serve Li Banfeng by stealing valuables, but he rejected its terms and ordered Wife and Old Teapot to discipline it.
• Li Banfeng made the glove agree to accept whatever compensation he chose and take a contract fingerprint.
• Duan Shaohong begged Duan Shaoxia to let him take Huaiyi away, but she remained silent.
• Qiu Zhiheng told Duan Shaoxia that Lu Dongchun had arrived to discuss the old master's affairs, and Duan Shaoxia refused to see her.

Lu Dongchun secured Qiu Zhiheng’s promise to represent the Lu Family in seeking revenge against the Ling Family, while Ling Miaoying’s attempt to take over Ma Wu’s business was stopped by Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng’s gloves stole Ling Miaoying’s pistol and Tu Yinghong’s Iron Rulers, but the Iron Rulers vanished when the gloves set them down.

• Duan Shaoxia refused to meet Lu Dongchun but told Qiu Zhiheng to support her father’s revenge, and Qiu Zhiheng agreed to go as a Lu Family member.
• Ling Miaoying confronted Ma Wu at the theater and tried to recruit him, but Li Banfeng appeared and forced Ling Miaoying to leave.
• Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode with Ling Miaoying’s Spiritual Object pistol and wallet, which the gloves had stolen.
• Ling Miaoying and Tu Yinghong discovered that their pistol and Iron Ruler were missing and blamed Li Banfeng.
• The gloves spat out the Iron Rulers, but they melted into the floor; when Li Banfeng asked about the commotion, the gloves claimed they had dreamed of him.

Ma Wu agreed to help the Lu Family confront Ling Miaoying, while Li Banfeng prepared for the coming battle and explored how his House and Travel abilities might work together. Just as he left the Portable Abode, he found himself in a factory with Bai Qiusheng, who was taking photographs.

• Lu Dongchun asked Ma Wu to help avenge her father, and Ma Wu agreed after discussing the matter with Li Banfeng.
• Ma Wu recruited Huo Ling from Qiu Luoye to strengthen the group preparing to confront Ling Miaoying.
• Li Banfeng wondered whether his House Cultivator trait could enhance Ride a Horse and Admire Flowers, and he trained his eyesight by studying photographs.
• Li Banfeng noticed that Wife sounded weak, but he continued training and prepared to join the night’s operation.
• Ma Wu distributed Spiritual Objects and magical treasures, while Qiu Zhiheng brought Lu Chunying to meet Lu Dongchun.
• Li Banfeng left the Portable Abode and found himself in a factory, where Bai Qiusheng was taking photographs.

Li Banfeng searched for the missing key at Black Stone Slope and hurried to return to Green Water City, while Lu Maoxian’s family prepared to ambush Ling Miaoying and establish the Lu Family’s flag. The chapter left Li Banfeng racing after a freight train and He Jiaqing secretly warned that Ling Miaoying was meeting the Guanfang Envoy at Yue Lai Restaurant.

• Li Banfeng found no key at the newspaper office, confirmed that no outsiders had visited, and ordered a list of everyone who had entered.
• Lu Chunying challenged Lu Dongtang’s insults at the Lu Family gathering, while Monkey Qiu restrained Lu Dongtang and Lu Yuanxin prepared to leave.
• Lu Maoxian told Lu Dongtang to avoid quarreling with Lu Chunying and revealed his plan to use revenge against Ling Laosan to establish the Lu Family’s flag and target the main family.
• Lu Dongtang told the gathered Lu Family members to surround the roads and exits after Ling Laosan’s dinner with the Guanfang Envoy at Yue Lai Restaurant.
• Li Banfeng learned that the only train toward Green Water Bay had left at five, then ran off to chase it after refusing to buy a projector.
• Wan Jinxian told He Jiaqing that the Lu Family planned to attack Ling Miaoying, and He Jiaqing cut off their connection when He Haisheng returned.

Li Banfeng raced back to Carefree Dock and found Ling Miaoying and Tu Yinghong searching for the Iron Ruler and pistol. Their ambush turned into a fight, and Li Banfeng wounded Ling Miaoying with a technique that left him badly drained.

• Li Banfeng ran along the railroad tracks, boarded a freight train, and jumped off at the Green Water Bay border to hurry back to Carefree Dock.
• Ling Miaoying and Tu Yinghong slipped away from the Floating Life Book Chamber and used a Music Box to put Carefree Dock's guards to sleep.
• Ling Miaoying and Tu Yinghong searched Li Qi's room for the Iron Ruler and pistol but found neither.
• Li Banfeng returned to Carefree Dock, and the Thread-Pulling Earring warned him that someone was in his room.
• Ling Miaoying set a silk trap and used a projector image to open the door, but Li Banfeng recognized the danger and attacked with a howl that injured Ling Miaoying's hearing and vision.
• Li Banfeng rushed out to confront Ling Miaoying, evaded his ambush, and made Ling Miaoying's belly burst open, though the technique left Li Banfeng nearly collapsing.

Li Banfeng defeated Ling Miaoying by dragging him into the Portable Abode, where Wife devoured him, and then returned to Carefree Dock with Ling Miaoying’s head. He told Ma Wu he needed to invent a story about Ling Miaoying’s death so the Lu family would believe he had put up more of a fight.

• Li Banfeng wounded Tu Yinghong, who fled, then used Homesickness Like An Arrow to drag Ling Miaoying into the Portable Abode.
• Li Banfeng unlocked the Portable Abode with the key beneath his bed, and Wife devoured Ling Miaoying while the glove swallowed his projector.
• Tu Yinghong returned to Carefree Dock but left without investigating Li Banfeng’s empty room, while Lu Chunying and the others learned Ling Miaoying was missing.
• Ma Wu and his companions went to Carefree Dock, where Li Banfeng emerged from the washroom and showed Ma Wu Ling Miaoying’s head.
• Li Banfeng told Ma Wu he had not yet made up a story about Ling Miaoying’s death and needed to make him seem to have exerted more strength.

After Ma Wu presented Ling Miaoying’s head to Qiu Zhiheng and secured help for his new business, Li Banfeng worried about the Portable Abode’s changed behavior and fell asleep. He woke to find Ling Miaoying confronting the glove inside the Portable Abode.

• Li Banfeng coached Ma Wu on a cover story that credited Ling Miaoying’s death to a secret Local Earth God, and Ma Wu presented the head to Qiu Zhiheng, Lu Chunying, and Tan Fucheng.
• Ma Wu and Qiu Zhiheng agreed that Qiu and Lu Chunying would visit Black Stone Slope to help Ma Wu and Li Banfeng with their business connections.
• Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode, questioned why it had moved to Black Stone Slope, and decided not to risk bringing the key inside.
• The glove secretly took the projector to the Fifth Chamber, where it showed an image of Ling Miaoying that appeared to pursue the glove.
• The glove’s cries woke Li Banfeng, who opened the Fifth Chamber door and saw Ling Miaoying gripping the glove.

Li Banfeng inspected Ling Miaoying's magical treasures, befriended a projector that could animate people in film, and watched it stage a fight. After the phonograph woke, she took him to the sixth floor and revealed that Benevolent Heart could help him withstand a life-and-death blow, leaving him eager to learn how to use it.

• Li Banfeng extinguished the projector's candle, freeing the glove from Ling Miaoying's image, then asked the projector to follow him.
• The projector approved Li Banfeng's film, displayed a woman who fought the glove, and explained that it charged for productions in film and materials.
• Li Banfeng paid the projector with film, and the phonograph woke and sent the others out so she could speak with him.
• The phonograph took Li Banfeng to the sixth floor and explained that Benevolent Heart could help him withstand a life-and-death blow.
• Li Banfeng asked the phonograph to teach him the skill before he went to buy groceries.

Li Banfeng struggled to master Benevolent Dwelling Heart while Wife tested his defenses, and Lu Chunying foiled Lu Yuanju’s attempt to attack her with medicinal powders. After leaving the Portable Abode to resume his Travel Cultivator training, Li Banfeng fell into a lake filled with oil.

• Li Banfeng tried to use Benevolent Dwelling Heart by imagining himself as a sturdy Steam Train, but Wife’s steam and opera attack exposed weaknesses in his defense.
• Li Banfeng sparred with Wife for two days, struggled to activate the technique quickly, and decided to go outside to gather footage and resume his training.
• At Bai Le Men, Lu Dongtang’s son offered tea to Lu Chunying in thanks for her avenging Lu Maoxian, and Lu Chunying returned the courtesy by serving Lu Dongtang tea.
• Lu Yuanju tried to scatter three kinds of Entry Medicine powder on Lu Chunying, but Lu Chunying dodged and blew the powders back onto Lu Yuanju, leaving her gravely injured.
• Duan Shaoxia praised Lu Chunying and urged Qiu Zhiheng to bring her home, but Lu Chunying politely delayed moving back.
• Li Banfeng stepped outside the Portable Abode and plunged into a vast lake filled with oil.

Li Banfeng was stranded on an Oil Lake after the Portable Abode brought him there, and he escaped the burning lake with help from the Judge's Brush. He met the oily middle-aged master of the place, who revealed that the lake and island were pimples on his face.

• Li Banfeng realized the Portable Abode had sent him to the Oil Lake after he muttered about the Oil Pot, and he washed himself on a small island.
• Li Banfeng tried to reach shore using the Judge's Brush, the Tang Blade, and a projector boat, but a spark ignited the lake's surface.
• Li Banfeng escaped the flames by diving into the oil, and the Judge's Brush carried him to shore.
• A middle-aged man stopped Li Banfeng and invited him to talk, revealing that the oily ground belonged to him.
• The man squeezed a pimple on his nose, causing the island to fly away and the Oil Lake to turn red, and Li Banfeng realized he had climbed onto the man's face.