Chapter Summaries

Li Banfeng learned more about Hong Ying and the gramophone’s wartime feud as he searched for a place to build the Portable Abode’s station and managed Mountain Pulling Master’s residence. After hearing that Bei Wushuang and Pan Dehai might be heading toward war, he urged Meng Yuchun to prepare and asked her to teach him her boundary technique.

• Hong Ying and the gramophone argued over their past battle and the Peddler before Li Banfeng woke and asked what had happened.
• Li Banfeng chose the tunnel near Mountain Pulling Master’s residence as a station site and hid the Portable Abode’s key there for ten days.
• Li Banfeng entered the residence, reunited with Mountain Wolf, and learned its Strange Monsters were eating better since Mountain Pulling Master’s departure.
• Li Banfeng rewarded Mountain Wolf and the other residents with merit from the Local Earth Seal.
• Meng Yuchun told Li Banfeng that Bei Wushuang and Pan Dehai’s conflict might stem from the Insect Plague at Sea Eat Ridge and warned that their war could threaten nearby territories.
• Li Banfeng pressed Meng Yuchun to share her boundary technique, and she identified it as the Shut-in Cultivator Eighth Layer Skill, Close Doors and Windows.

Li Banfeng learned why his moving Portable Abode made Meng Yuchun’s House Cultivator skill impossible to use and considered how Pan Dehai’s war with Bei Wushuang could expose his secrets. While strange behavior spread through Meng Yuchun’s territory, Pan Dehai arrived and Li Banfeng confronted him over spying on a pair of mountain eagles.

• Meng Yuchun explained how House Cultivators formed and expanded a boundary by scattering blood around a house and letting it resonate with the home.
• Li Banfeng realized the Portable Abode’s constant movement prevented him from completing Close Doors and Windows, then weighed whether to help Bei Wushuang avoid a defeat that might reveal the truth about the deed contracts.
• He Yuxiu and You Tao discussed their intimate relationship, while Yellow Butterfly and Red Butterfly abruptly objected to their relationship with Meng Yuchun.
• Li Banfeng found Toad, Mountain Wolf, and Eagle upset because Two-Faced Sheep had eaten grass in his territory, so he ordered them to hide inside his underground house while he searched the area.
• Li Banfeng found Pan Dehai and accused him of watching Male Eagle and Female Eagle, then berated him when he denied it.

Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun heard Pan Dehai’s case for joining forces against Bei Wushuang, but Li Banfeng rejected Pan’s plan to use them as bait. After a staged confrontation fooled Bei Wushuang’s spies, Li Banfeng approached Bei Wushuang with news that Pan Dehai was trapped.

• Pan Dehai told Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun that Bei Wushuang had helped Huang Xiliang create the Plague Mosquitoes and proposed killing Bei Wushuang.
• Pan Dehai proposed that Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun distract Bei Wushuang while he stole Bei Wushuang’s contract deed, but Li Banfeng refused to serve as bait.
• Li Banfeng secretly signaled Meng Yuchun, who pretended to argue and fight with Pan Dehai so Bei Wushuang’s spies would report that Pan was trapped.
• Li Banfeng found Bei Wushuang and told him that Meng Yuchun had trapped Pan Dehai, presenting the chance to strike at him.

Li Banfeng helped Meng Yuchun and Pan Dehai lure Bei Wushuang into a trap, where Pan Dehai subdued him and asked who had ordered him to spread pests across Sea Eat Ridge. Bei Wushuang detonated his hump in a powerful Sound Cultivation Technique, leaving Pan Dehai motionless and Li Banfeng badly hurt as Wife prepared to use the Portable Abode’s whistle to reach him.

• Bei Wushuang dismissed Li Banfeng’s warning about Pan Dehai, but vanished after learning that Meng Yuchun and Pan Dehai had begun fighting.
• Pan Dehai used the Virtuous Prestige Technique against Meng Yuchun while Bei Wushuang prepared to attack from hiding.
• Li Banfeng splashed golden juice onto Bei Wushuang, letting Meng Yuchun locate and trap him.
• Pan Dehai and Meng Yuchun attacked Bei Wushuang with boundary lines and virtue techniques, and Pan Dehai took the camel bell and demanded to know who had ordered the pest outbreak.
• Bei Wushuang detonated his hump with Blood Splatter Roaring Sound, injuring Li Banfeng and stunning Meng Yuchun while Pan Dehai remained motionless.
• The Portable Abode told Wife to use its whistle to sing to Li Banfeng, saying he would be able to hear it.

After Bei Wushuang escaped Pan Dehai’s attack, Li Banfeng tracked him toward his hidden residence and hoped to seize his contract. Bei Wushuang escaped again after fighting Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Eyed Fish, while Pan Dehai and the two women pursued him, leaving the residence behind.

• Bei Wushuang fled the battlefield, and Pan Dehai followed him to discover the location of his residence.
• Wife’s song restored Li Banfeng’s sight and hearing, and he used Hundred Flavors Exquisite to track Bei Wushuang and Pan Dehai.
• Zhang Wanlong gathered the scattered flesh and blood and prepared to plant a precious seed with Little Genzi and He Yuxiu nearby.
• At his sand-pit entrance, Bei Wushuang fought Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Eyed Fish, then escaped through a hidden sand tunnel opened by his Sound Cultivation technique.
• Pan Dehai pressured Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Eyed Fish to guide him through the tunnels, but Bei Wushuang escaped, and the three pursued him.

Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu defeated the badly wounded Bei Wushuang and took his pack, while Pan Dehai chased a cucumber decoy. Li Banfeng found Bei Wushuang’s iron deed and changed Mountain Pulling Master’s name to Li Furong, but the gramophone asked how he planned to handle the deed.

• He Yuxiu told Li Banfeng that the Bei Wushuang pursued by Pan Dehai, Gao Shuxia, and Hundred-Eyed Fish was Zhang Wanlong’s cucumber decoy, while the real Bei Wushuang was still underground.
• Bei Wushuang emerged with a pack and trapped Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu in quicksand, but Li Banfeng escaped and He Yuxiu struck Bei Wushuang with sand.
• Li Banfeng countered Bei Wushuang’s sound techniques, and he and He Yuxiu blinded and killed the wounded Local Earth God before fleeing with his pack.
• Pan Dehai failed to find the cucumber decoy after it vanished, then grabbed Gao Shuxia and Hundred-Eyed Fish and took them back toward Bei Wushuang’s residence.
• Zhang Wanlong ate the returned cucumber, while Li Banfeng took Bei Wushuang’s pack to the Portable Abode and found the iron deed inside.
• Li Banfeng had Wife change Mountain Pulling Master’s name on the deed to Li Furong, then paused when the gramophone asked what he would do with it.

Li Banfeng kept Bei Wushuang’s contract hidden to prevent the territory from breeding Demon Monsters, then buried it again after Pan Dehai left. With the station complete, he learned that the Guanfang Envoy was pressuring the Lu Family and targeting the Black Stone Slope book and newspaper business, and he headed to Green Water City to respond.

• Li Banfeng’s wife explained that removing Bei Wushuang’s Local Earth Seal could unleash cultivation and lead to Demon Monsters, and she took the injured Thread-Pulling Earring in to recuperate.
• Li Banfeng thanked Zhang Wanlong, Genzi, and He Yuxiu for their help and gave them pills, while He Yuxiu explained that Local Earth God contracts could be exchanged in the Inner State for a hundred years of lifespan.
• Meng Yuchun agreed to oversee Li Banfeng’s territory and help gather news about Bei Wushuang, while Li Banfeng withheld the truth about Bei Wushuang’s fate.
• The cook reported that Pan Dehai had searched for Bei Wushuang’s contract and left without finding it, so Li Banfeng later returned the contract to Bei Wushuang’s territory and stored its cultivation in his own Local Earth Seal.
• After the station was completed, Luo ZhengNan told Li Banfeng that the Guanfang Envoy was seeking Bai Le Men and showing interest in the Black Stone Slope publishing business, and Li Banfeng set out for Green Water City.

Ma Wu explained how the Guanfang Envoy’s freight increases were crippling his and the He Family’s businesses, so Li Banfeng asked Shen Rongqing to help them use her network. Shen Rongqing agreed after consulting He Jiaqing, who told her to pass along a message about hoping Li Banfeng and the He Family would stay well.

• Ma Wu told Li Banfeng that Jiang Mengting had guarded her reputation under their contract and asked him to take her in, but Li Banfeng declined to discuss it and focused on the business crisis.
• Ma Wu explained that the Guanfang Envoy had raised freight charges against his businesses and the He Family, while favoring the Chu Family.
• Li Banfeng rejected Ma Wu’s proposal to sell Bai Le Men and told him to ask Shen Rongqing to meet, claiming he wanted to catch up.
• Shen Rongqing consulted He Jiaqing, who told her to greet Li Banfeng with “Long time no see.”
• Li Banfeng asked Shen Rongqing to let his businesses use her channels, and He Jiaqing approved the arrangement after she relayed the request.
• He Jiaqing told Shen Rongqing to ask Li Banfeng out again and say that he hoped Li Banfeng and the He Family would stay well.

Li Banfeng helped restore business across Pro State and gathered allies at Ma Wu’s Song Festival, while Qin Xiaopang revealed a dangerous side effect of his rapid cultivation. At a banquet, Duan Shaoxia and Zhang Xiuling pledged to defend Bai Le Men from the Guanfang Envoy, and Li Banfeng arranged for Xiao Yeci to shelter two women arriving in Green Water City.

• Li Banfeng persuaded Ma Wu to hold a Song Festival, which drew most of the invited guests and celebrated the recovery of regional business.
• Qin Xiaopang told Li Banfeng that the Intestine Roller Silkworm left him constantly hungry, and Li Banfeng gave him money and asked him to investigate Second Boss.
• Li Banfeng and Ma Wu discussed the timid He Haijian and considered how to bring He Yuxiu safely back to Green Water City.
• Duan Shaoxia and Zhang Xiuling pledged to support Lu Chunying and keep Bai Le Men in Pro State hands, while urging the Lu Family to end business with the Chu Family.
• Li Banfeng told Xiao Yeci to house an older sister and a younger sister who were coming to Green Water City.

Li Banfeng helped He Yuxiu return to the He Family’s main residence while using Luo ZhengNan’s sound equipment to neutralize the spies watching it. He then learned Chu Huaijun had given Three Heroes Gate’s Big Gold Seal a pair of Judge’s Brushes, prompting He Jiaqing to seek them back.

• Li Banfeng moved He Yuxiu into Lu Chunying’s home, where she vowed to defend everyone there because of what Seventh Brother had done for her.
• Li Banfeng and He Yuxiu used Luo ZhengNan’s generator and radar equipment to put three spies near the He Family residence to sleep, then He Yuxiu returned home and ordered Sheng Shanzhou to resume his duties and cut ties with the Chu Family.
• Cao Zhida reported that a young man from Three Heroes Gate was seeking tea, and the messenger invited Li Banfeng to meet their Big Gold Seal.
• Qin Xiaopang told Li Banfeng that Chu Huaijun had given Three Heroes Gate’s First Boss a pair of Judge’s Brushes, and Li Banfeng arranged a gift for their Second Boss.
• He Jiaqing ordered Wan Jinxian to contact Ghost Hand Gate and recover the Judge’s Brushes.
• Luo ZhengNan overheard He Jiaqing’s interest in the Judge’s Brushes and wondered whether Li Banfeng wanted them.

Bao Yingchen and Yang Xingbo debated whom the Guanfang Envoy wanted killed, while Li Banfeng learned that Chu Huaijun planned to act within days. Li Banfeng gathered his allies to face the coming attack together, and Ma Wu agreed to follow his lead.

• Bao Yingchen judged the Judge's Brushes to be a treasure and discussed how Three Heroes Gate should support Chu Huaijun while determining whose head the Guanfang Envoy wanted.
• Li Banfeng and the phonograph considered taking Bao Yingchen's Judge's Brushes, then turned their attention to Ma Wu's meeting with Shan Baowen.
• Shan Baowen told Ma Wu that Chu Huaijun and the Guanfang Envoy planned to get rid of someone within days, and Ma Wu paid him five hundred silver dollars.
• Li Banfeng warned Ma Wu that he, He Yuxiu, or Lu Chunying could be the target and ordered their allies to gather at Lu Chunying's house.
• Ma Wu worried that gathering everyone together would make them vulnerable, but Li Banfeng argued that splitting up would let the Guanfang Envoy defeat them one by one.
• Ma Wu agreed to follow Li Banfeng's plan as a vicious battle approached.

Li Banfeng prepared for Chu Huaijun’s expected attack by gathering fighters and securing support, but learned that Three Heroes Gate was moving against him instead. Realizing Carefree Dock was their target, he stayed to face them and ordered his allies to respond.

• Li Banfeng persuaded Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye to provide six fighters and arranged for them to defend Lu Chunying’s residence and monitor the Chu family.
• Zhang Wanlong declined to fight but gave Li Banfeng seeds and medicine, which Li paid for.
• Qin Xiaopang told Li that Three Heroes Gate had sent more than fifty fighters out from Goat Horn Garden, and Li realized they were targeting Carefree Dock rather than Lu Chunying’s residence.
• Li Banfeng sent Xiaopang to help the Second Boss seize leadership of Three Heroes Gate and ordered Cao Zhida to gather everyone at Carefree Dock.
• Li contacted Luo ZhengNan, called for Ma Wu and other allies to come, and told Shen Rongqing and Zhang Xiuling to witness the change in Three Heroes Gate’s leadership.
• Li Banfeng entered the Grand Ballroom with a dagger and declared that he would make blood flow.

Bao Yingchen led Three Heroes Gate in an attack on Carefree Dock, where Li Banfeng fought back with Cabbage Men and his weapon companions. After killing Ghostly Fierce Tiger, Li Banfeng faced the vastly more experienced Bao Yingchen, who overwhelmed him with repeated techniques.

• Bao Yingchen led Yang Xingbo and more than fifty cultivators to Carefree Dock, ordering them to kill everyone and destroy the place.
• The attackers began slaughtering the dock’s defenders, but Li Banfeng’s blood-enhanced Cabbage Men fought back and kept them occupied.
• Li Banfeng used the chaos to kill Ghostly Fierce Tiger with the Tang Blade and sickle, then continued attacking the invaders.
• Bao Yingchen noticed Li Banfeng and pursued him with Short Step, striking him with Trample Ten Thousand Rivers and leaving him badly wounded.
• Bao Yingchen used Short Step to appear behind Li Banfeng and launched Trample Ten Thousand Rivers again, leaving Li Banfeng with little chance to evade.

Li Banfeng fought Bao Yingchen and retreated to the Grand Ballroom, where he tried to protect the people hiding backstage. Bao Yingchen entered to attack him, but was grievously wounded by a mysterious halo that resembled a Shut-in Cultivator technique.

• Li Banfeng endured Bao Yingchen's stomp with Benevolent Dwelling Heart, then used pistol shots to prepare a counterattack with Trample Ten Thousand Rivers.
• Li Banfeng and Bao Yingchen exchanged techniques among the Cabbage Men, and Li Banfeng escaped Bao Yingchen's attacks with Deep Mansion Technique and Unimpeded Travel.
• Bao Yingchen ordered Yang Xingbo to search Carefree Dock, then broke through the building's walls to bypass Li Banfeng's entrance traps.
• Li Banfeng hid the workers backstage in the Grand Ballroom, concealed the side door, and set a steel-wire trap while waiting for Ma Wu and the others.
• Bao Yingchen tried to persuade Li Banfeng to make peace, then entered the Grand Ballroom with Unimpeded Travel when Li Banfeng seemed to hesitate.
• Li Banfeng's attempt to use Benevolent Dwelling Heart again failed, but Bao Yingchen passed through a shimmering halo and was left grievously wounded.

Li Banfeng used Close Doors and Windows to defeat Bao Yingchen, then fought to hold off the Three Heroes Gate until allies arrived. Severely injured by using the technique across layers, he returned to the Portable Abode, where the phonograph and Hong Ying prepared to advance him to the Eighth Layer.

• Li Banfeng repeatedly swept Bao Yingchen with the moving Close Doors and Windows halo until Bao Yingchen died, then placed his body in the Portable Abode.
• The Portable Abode and the phonograph realized Li Banfeng had used a House Cultivator technique across layers, while the Portable Abode tried to call him back.
• Yang Xingbo rallied the Three Heroes Gate disciples to attack, but Street Scolding Woman and Liang Wucai provoked them and joined the fight.
• Chi Liuhe swallowed a stinging caterpillar, Duan Wuchou fought with Ghost Servants, and Bai Shou Lian battled the attackers as the corridor erupted into a melee.
• He Yuxiu reached Li Banfeng, who returned to the Portable Abode and collapsed; the phonograph and Hong Ying began helping him advance to the Eighth Layer.

After waking from a three-day sleep, Li Banfeng returned to Carefree Dock, learned that Three Heroes Gate was divided over its leadership, and devised a way to use a staged story about Bao Yingchen. He left to arrange a secret meeting with Shen Jinzhong while preparing a cabbage-made Bao Yingchen for the scheme.

• Li Banfeng appeared in Jiang Mengting’s dressing room, learned that people could not find their way back after leaving through Carefree Dock’s side door, and took the key from the ballroom floor.
• Jiang Mengting told Li Banfeng that Shen Jinzhong was managing Three Heroes Gate, Dong Kaibin had been put forward as a rival, and He Yuxiu had killed Yang Xingbo while searching for Li Banfeng.
• Li Banfeng read Zhang Xiuling’s account of him and Bao Yingchen becoming sworn brothers, then asked Jiang Mengting to keep his return secret.
• Li Banfeng met Qin Xiaopang at Dongping Teahouse and instructed him to arrange a secret meeting with Shen Jinzhong.
• Li Banfeng used Bao Yingchen’s blood to grow a Cabbage Man, then had his household imitate Bao Yingchen’s appearance, voice, and manner using the projector and Golden House Hides Beauty technique.
• Li Banfeng and the phonograph decided to write and rehearse a script using the Cabbage Man to influence the obedient members of Three Heroes Gate against the disobedient ones.

Li Banfeng and Shen Jinzhong staged Bao Yingchen’s return at the Big Gold Seal Hall, using a puppet to settle the gang’s leadership and accuse the Chu family of plotting against Bao. The puppet handed the Big Gold Seal to Shen Jinzhong and collapsed, leaving the guests mourning while Shen Rongqing sensed something was wrong.

• Li Banfeng had Shen Jinzhong sign a contract and rehearse a short speech for a puppet impersonating Bao Yingchen.
• Shen Jinzhong held a banquet, leaving the first chair empty as prominent gang leaders and guests including He Yuxiu arrived.
• The puppet Bao Yingchen entered, reclaimed his Gold Seal, and declared that Li Qi was a friend of the Three Heroes Gate.
• The puppet accused the Chu family of poisoning him through an inner ghost, causing the guests to suspect Dong Kaibin.
• The puppet transferred the Big Gold Seal to Shen Jinzhong, then stopped moving before eating, and the guests treated Bao as dead.
• Shen Jinzhong wept over the puppet as Shen Rongqing remained suspicious of the events.

After Bao Yingchen's death, Shen Jinzhong killed Dong Kaibin and prepared to bury Bao while Li Banfeng pursued the Judge's Brushes. Xie Juncong stole the brushes and Li Banfeng's glove, but the glove recovered the brushes before the Portable Abode consumed them.

• Zhang Xiuling warned Shen Rongqing not to question the visible facts surrounding Bao Yingchen's death, while Shen Jinzhong killed Dong Kaibin and blamed the Chu family.
• Shen Jinzhong arranged Bao Yingchen's funeral, and Li Banfeng urged him to keep it simple before guests including Xie Juncong and Bai Wuchuan paid their respects.
• Shen Jinzhong gave Li Banfeng a Rosewood Box containing Judge's Brushes, and Li Banfeng questioned whether they were the real treasure Bao Yingchen had risked his life for.
• Xie Juncong secretly stole Li Banfeng's glove and left the hall with switched Judge's Brushes, but discovered the glove and the genuine brushes had vanished.
• Inside the Portable Abode, the glove produced the Judge's Brushes, and the Portable Abode melted them into the ground, prompting Li Banfeng to accuse it of stealing from him.

Li Banfeng learned how the Portable Abode’s six Judge’s Brush rails expanded its ability to travel, while He Jiaqing reacted to their theft and Cui Tike and Wan Jinxian discussed resistance and disease. As Chu Huaijun prepared to meet the General Envoy, the Three Heroes Gate was collapsing and Chu Huaijun was being blamed for Bao Yingchen’s death.

• Li Banfeng asked the Portable Abode how its travel abilities changed as it gained rails, and learned that it could reach places it remembered if he described them clearly.
• Li Banfeng considered visiting Face Not Big to obtain fuel oil, but decided to wait until the Guanfang Envoy matter was settled.
• He Jiaqing learned that Li Qi had taken the Judge’s Brushes from Xie Juncong and told Wan Jinxian to have Xie Juncong recover them.
• Cui Tike told Wan Jinxian that he intended to end all life through diseases, then secretly examined and swallowed pus from Wan Jinxian’s body.
• Wan Jinxian learned that he had sold nearly all his Green Water City residences and hoped reaching the eighth layer would cure his rash.
• Chu Huaijun learned that his forces in the Three Heroes Gate had been wiped out and arranged a banquet with the General Envoy.

Liao Zihui warned Chu Huaijun to investigate the conspiracy before moving against Three Heroes Gate, then came under a hidden assassin’s attack while traveling with Sun Junfu. As Shen Jinzhong’s men attacked Chu Huaijun and Chu Huaiyuan confronted him over Bai Le Men, the chapter ended with Chu Huaijun’s lookouts failing to respond.

• At Welcoming Spring Pavilion, Liao Zihui told Chu Huaijun that his trust remained but that Chu needed to clarify the conspiracy before taking action against Three Heroes Gate.
• In the steam car, Sun Junfu criticized Liao Zihui’s cautious approach, then an unseen assassin killed the driver and two bodyguards; Liao Zihui used the car’s hidden mechanisms to vanish with Sun into the Dark Dimension Space.
• Shen Jinzhong led Three Heroes Gate fighters to Welcoming Spring Pavilion and attacked Chu Huaijun, who had brought too few men to defend himself.
• After escaping to a hidden outer residence, Chu Huaijun ordered Yuan XiongHui to give half of Bai Le Men to Liao Zihui to secure Guanfang Hall’s support.
• Chu Huaiyuan arrived and challenged Chu Huaijun over taking her property, while Yuan XiongHui noted that the lookouts outside had not responded.